There's no overall theme for today’s round up, but you can decide. The categories are: graffiti, the exploding Mentos guys, bizarre attempts at prison cuisine and a rather large man’s attempt at running the Boston Marathon. Buzzers ready.
The spray paint menace: Last night the South Portland City Council had a first reading on a proposed city law that would create big fines for minors found on public property with spray paint or other "graffiti implements," which if I’m reading the ordinance right means:
"...an aerosol paint container, a broad-tipped marker, gum label, paint stick or graffiti stick, etching equipment, brush or any other device capable of scarring or leaving a visible mark on any natural or manmade surface."
As someone who’s been accused of advocating for graffiti simply by writing about it, I can tell you this is a divisive issue. Depending on how you see it, the kid with the spray can is either a vandal or an artist.
Under the proposed law, anyone caught pays $250 the first time and as much as $500 any time after that. That's on top of clean-up costs.
The South Portland proposal will still need another vote from the City Council to pass. If you live in the SP, or have an interest in graffiti, mark your calendar for May 7.
What if the technology fell into the wrong hands: Remember typing the words Mentos and explosion into YouTube? That was instant gratification. The guys who gave us the Mentos-Diet Coke science experiment - Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz – have had their website nominated for a Webby. The Webby Awards are handed out each year for the best Web sites, online videos and interactive material. EepyBird was nominated for a people’s voice Webby, which means anyone and everyone can vote for it. Make Maine proud, bring us home a Webby.
They eat the worst so you don’t have to: Say friend, have you ever wondered about fine cuisine offered in the slammer? Tired of waiting for the Food Network to answer that question? Wait no more, as The Bollard offers an exciting (and terrifying) glimpse with "The Clinkito." Yum-o! Who needs to watch “Juvies” to scare you straight when there’s this?
Gotta have a montage: His name is Jacob Seilheimer, and he finished the Boston Marathon dead last. A couple weeks back we had a story about Seilheimer, a Colby graduate and current student at Franklin Pierce in New Hampshire, who planned to run the marathon partially for charity, but also for himself.
Seilheimer, 26, will be the first to tell you he’s a large man, but when he started out he weighed 438. Just prior to the race, he was down to 349. He’s not ashamed he finished last, and he took a lot of criticism for even trying to run the race. Still, his blog on the race is a great read thanks to the photos and tidbits like this:
"I'd also like to congratulate the 122-year old guy who passed me around mile 13. I have no idea if he finished but as he passed me -- he took with him any and all self-resecpt (sic) that I may have had."
The best part? A real training montage:
Finally, a couple of shows tonight – both are all ages. That’s great news if you’re on school vacation week.
The Pete Kilpatrick Band and Ryan McCalmon Band are playing at Ludcke Auditorium on the University of New England Westbrook Campus in Portland. The show starts at 7 p.m. and is FREE. The auditorium is at 716 Stevens Avenue.
Over at the Station, Mr. Lif and Labseven are kicking off a big weekend in hip hop shows. The doors open at 7 p.m. at the Station, which is located on St. John Street. Tickets are $13 and should still be available, go to Bull Moose or ticketweb.com.
The one and only consideration that needs to be discussed when it comes to graffiti artists is the defacing of PRIVATE or PUBLICLY maintained structures. Private is completely self explanatory. By 'Public' I mean any structure that the public pays for or is maintained by tax dollars.
If a graffiti artist chooses to mark any structure that falls into either category, then they are vandals and should be fined and, I feel, put in jail for a period. They have absolutely no right what-so-ever to deface or place their 'art' on these structures. In either case these individuals are considered vandals not 'artists' since no one commissioned them to place their mark on private or publicly maintained property.
Justin is a former newspaper intern and has the scar tissue to prove
it. Justin has been a staff writer for the Portland Press Herald/Maine
Sunday Telegram since 2003, and in 2004 began writing a weekly column in the
Monday Magazine.
If he had to pick a label, the column would fall under "youth culture,"
covering everything from high school dance etiquette, dealing with college
debt, the resurgence of Roller Derby and Portland's one-of-a-kind music
scene. This of course has not stopped him from answering letters to Santa
Claus or writing about his experience riding shotgun in a drift car.
Justin is an export from the Midwest. He is a graduate of the University of
Missouri and is originally from Minnesota. He enjoys bacon, cheap beer,
redheads, Burt Reynolds jokes and wondering what the soundtrack to his life
would sound like.
When he grows up he wants to be an international art thief. Or Captain
America.
Until then he'll be bringing you dispatches about "the young people" and
what they do.
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