Since Dan and the folks up at Walsall Council’s press office helpfully include me on their mailing list, I receive a steady trickle of low-level press releases from Walsall Council, which I keep a weather eye upon for anything useful or noteworthy. This morning, I recieved one such press release that surprised me, and having thought about it, I wonder what the views of readers are on the matter. Here’s the release as sent to me.

Walsall Council  PR 4406    30/11/2009    [For Immediate Release]

Residents and council join forces to keep Brownhills clean

Volunteers in Brownhills have joined forces with Walsall Council’s Street Pride team to keep the area clean as part of a tidy up operation. Aruond 10 helpers meet up twice a month to carry out a thorough clean in parts of the town which they feel need targeting.

This weekend saw them clean up an area known locally as the black path which runs from the Parkview Centre, past Holland Park and across the A5 and is used by large numbers of pedestrians every day.

Doug Birch, chairman of Brownhills Local Committe, said: “We feel it is important to keep the town looking as clean and tidy as possible. We are a small but very enthusiastic team of volunteers who want to do our bit for the area we live in.”

Their work adds to and complements the clean ups which are also carried out by the council’s Street Pride team. The volunteers work closely with officers who arrange to meet up with them to collect the rubbish after each tidy up.

Councillor Mike Flower, Walsall Council cabinet member for environment, said: “The Street Pride team do a great job keeping everywhere clean and tidy but it is a never ending job. It is great to see the amount of pride these Brownhills residents have in the area they live in and their determination to keep it looking smart and welcoming to visitors by organising their own tidy ups.”

Let me put this straight from the beginning: I have immense regard for the work the volunteers are doing here. Litter picking is a foul job, and it must take real balls and dedication to do so for no other benefit that that of the community. I salute anyone who undertakes this work, and I’m not criticising you in the slightest. I’m also very much aware that it’s generally idiots within our community that cause the mess, and education and effective detection are key to stopping the litter problem. What is worrying me, however, is that Walsall are collecting council tax and business rates from citizens of the borough in order that they carry out tasks like street cleansing on our behalf.

Clayhanger Common in 2007 - I reported this mess to the council, but Brownhills Champ reckons he cleaned it up as a volunteer. Should volunteers really be dealing with waste of this nature?

I’m not surprised that Councillor Flower is chuffed about the voluntary effort; every job he can get done for nothing by willing volunteers doesn’t have to be funded by an increasingly overstretched authority who are just about to push through another eye-watering council tax increase of over 4% on an already hard-pressed public. Since we’re paying these above-inflation hikes in taxation, it seems reasonable to expect that we should get decent levels of service, not a council that milks every last penny out of it’s citizens then crows about the goodwill of those who are prepared to do a job for free that they have already been paid to do.

I’m aware that this arrangement has been going on for quite some time, and I feel that it’s sad that ordinary members of the public feel the need to clean their own town. That they find it necessary to do this can only signify that the council is not fulfilling it’s obligations fully, and that’s regrettable.

Walsall has been shouting from the rooftops for some time now about its crackdown on environmental crime – however, the reality of this crackdown experienced on the ground is one of a service provider that talks tough but shilly-shallies when it comes to action. Many sites remain blighted by flytipping, like the former Railway Tavern in James Bridge, as the authority claims itself unable to act about issues on private ground. Is it really beyond the authority to clean the site up, then secure it and just bill the owners, taking court action if need be? Brownhills’ showpiece pedestrian bridge remains plastered in the ugly scrawl of Malpas and his mates, because it’s apparently the responsibility of British Waterways to remove it – this point seems to have escaped our mandarins when they trumpeted the new facility as being their own beneficent gift to our town. In fact, every single piece of graffiti I highlighted in that post still exists, whilst buildings like the Brownhills Senior Citizens Centre remain plastered in spray paint for months. One supposes it will all remain until some helpful volunteer with a scrubbing brush comes along and removes it, so that Walsall Council doesn’t have to.

Now I may well be wrong about this, but it leaves an unpleasant aftertaste for me. I’m interested to know what you think.

]]> http://pretonobrancoealgumcinzento.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/a-preto-e-branco/ Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:58:18 +0000 djamb http://pretonobrancoealgumcinzento.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/a-preto-e-branco/ http://obblogato.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/street-mural/ Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:39:36 +0000 Adam Isler http://obblogato.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/street-mural/

West 40s

Vi hoppades att affären skulle vara öppen men icke. Får åka dit en annan dag för at kolla på ringen.

Men vi gick och tittade i lite andra affärer. Som vanligt blev det ett stop på panduro och Lagerhaus. Jag hittade allt till julklappsinslagningen och är grymt nöjd med det jag hittade. Mysigt att strosa omkring i Lund. Efter ett stop på Grafitti och en bakadpotatis med tonfisk i magen så åkte vi till Nova. Älsk skulle ha nya kläder och visst kliade det i mina fingrar att köpa till mig själv men inte idag. Han hittade ett par jeans som satt så fint på honom och en Fred Perry tröja och två andra tröjor.

Sedan kollade vi lite på julpynt men jag hittade inte nått vettigt, får leta vidare. Fick i alla fall upp julstjärnorna idag och lite julgardiner. Nu sitter älsk och titta på fotboll och jag ska se om det är nått kul på tv idag.

I morgon är det jobb och nu är det inte många dagar kvar till jul wiiii!!!! Fick många dagar ledigt i jul, alla dagar som jag önskat. Kan inte bli bättre faktiskt!

ha de gott!!

With the sun out and the temperature soaring at 9°C, I thought it perfect weather to get out of the house and explore a little more of Fribourg.

Fribourg is filled with modern “art” sandwiched between old charm.

Jardin Botanique is a gorgeous garden – a mini getaway in the middle of Fribourg. It consists of plants and flowers from all over the world, and is home to a diverse range of birds.

It’s obviously not in full bloom at the moment, so we were able to enjoy the trees, winter & year round plants.

After taking in all that we could in this beautiful garden, we ventured over to the Musée D’Historie Naturelle, which is right next to Jardin Botanique.
Unfortunately, we weren’t sure if I could take photos or not inside, so we didn’t risk it – but here is a sign I took a photo of, enjoy!

This museum is filled with a whole bunch of stuffed animals that stare you down – no joke!
Walking through we jumped a couple of times because of the random noises that would just come to life out of nowhere.
It was interesting though – everything from moose, lemurs & bears, to every kind of bird you can imagine, live and stuffed tortouises. Plenty of spiders & insects to keep you on edge; there was also a geology bit where there were a variety of rocks, fossils and dinosaurs on display, and they also had a temporary Arctic exhibit upstairs which had polar bears and reindeer!!
It was free admission, so the lack of intellectual stimulation was worth it!

We decided that we wanted to go and grab lunch somewhere before heading home, so I decided to play tour guide – and bravo to me for getting us right into central Fribourg!!
I must admit I was a little impressed with my ability to navigate so well already! It felt as though it was the most natural thing that I knew these roads, and knew where to walk.

All in all it was a fun day, and walking around Fribourg makes me fall in love with it more each time!

I’m picking up a bit more French here and there, and am now using “Salut”, “Bon jour”, “Merci”, “Sil vous plait” and “Je ne comprends pas” more than I thought I would.
Then again, I hate having to rely on other people to translate for me. I have my French language guidebook – but, as silly as it sounds, it can tell you the words of things and how to ask questions, but I never thought about the whole “what happens when they respond and I can’t understand”… Silly right? But any bets most of us that have picked up one of these guides, hasn’t thought of that!

I definantly think I want to come back to a place like Fribourg, live for a while and perfect my French – it is such a beautiful language, and the culture that surrounds it is unique and amazing!

Um executivo muito atarefado que nas horas vagas curte ser DJ.

Esse era, em resumo, o briefing do cliente que pediu um espaço para refeições rápidas na cozinha.

Banquetas Circus da Estar Móveis

Havia terminado o projeto da sala e dos quartos, mas faltava esse cantinho especial.

Tínhamos que seguir o clima moderno e antenado dos outros ambientes, por isso sugeri as banquetas Circus adesivadas com fotos de grafitti.  Em geral baixas como puffs, elas foram encomendadas em medida apropriada ao projeto. Ficaram com 75 cm de altura.

Street total!!

Para receber a máquina Nespresso, uma bancada branca e reta com gavetas para talheres e afins.

Bancadinha para refeições rápidas

Projeto em 3 tempos…

Sesión de video-graffiti realizado el 28 de octubre de 2009 en el mercado pescaditos, santa úrsula coapa, méxico, df.

…electricidad conseguida del módulo de policia (llamado oficialmente de “participación ciudadana”)

…tags de múltiples jóvenes que se encontraban en el lugar

…. música de bocafloja

…auspicio del imjuve

gracias a todos los que participaron en esta intervención!!!

Dia 25 de novembro tem uma balada cultural na Usina Cultural Energisa. A Livraria Usina das Letras promove o lançamento da edição especial da revista Zupi, com desenhos e uma entrevista com o artista Shiko, que estará autografando reproduções (posters) das séries “Armários” e “Moleskine”, à venda no local.

Tem também uma mostra de curta metragens inéditos na cidade de João Pessoa, na sessão Assacine, do TinTin Cineclube, da ABD–PB. E pra encerrar a noite, bar e discotecagem pra movimentar a balada.

Livraria Usina das Letras (Av. Juarez Távora, 243 – Usina Cultural Energisa) a partir das 19h

Esta es la segunda parte de nuestros post de Grafitis, que tal vez haya un tercero. De verdad que esto sí es puro arte y como dijo el Chef:

En este tipo de “pintadas” hay más arte que en algunas piezas de muchos museos contemporáneos, donde hay colgada cada cosa….¬¬

Chéquense nomas!

Buen inicio de semana a todos!

Em evento, grafiteiros chamam a atenção para o projeto de lei que regulamenta o grafite, em tramitação no Congresso Nacional Foto: Renato Araújo/ABr

Grafiteiros do Distrito Federal e de outras regiões do país estão reunidos em Ceilândia (DF) para participar do projeto 100 Muros Mil Cores, um evento que faz parte do 1º Encontro Brasileiro de Grafiteiros. 

Os grafiteiros querem, além de diferenciar a sua arte das simples pichações, o reconhecimento e o apoio ao Projeto de Lei 138/2008, que faz a distinção entre as duas formas de manifestação gráfica. Ele regulamenta, entre outras coisas, o grafite como uma manifestação artística que promove a inclusão social e prevê pena de prisão para o pichador. Com a regulamentação, o grafite pode ser exposto em qualquer lugar desde que autorizado pelo proprietário do imóvel que vai receber o grafite.

 ”Grafite é uma arte e seu autor um artista, que passará a ter chance de ter até uma remuneração. A pichação é uma agressão ao patrimônio, uma agressão ambiental e como tal punível com crime que pode levar até um ano de prisão”, disse o deputado Geraldo Magela, autor do projeto.

Fonte: Agência Brasil

I stopped back in my local shop that carries the 3 inch Dunny series and had to grab a few more. After the cool ones I snapped up before I thought I would try my hand again and hopefully not get a lot of dupes. I actually only got one dupe and all the rest were new to my and fairly rocked.

Title: Return to the Dark Syde
Date: 20/11/2009

365 Project: Day 61

I find the graffiti in and around Penrith so interesting. Mostly it’s just tagging but every once in a while you stumble across something like this, something that’s art.

Ripo. Trabalhos ótimos.

Quem curte grafitti, e acho que mesmo quem não curte, precisa ver duas exposições que estão em cartaz em São Paulo: Vertigem, d’Os Gêmeos, e De Dentro Pra Fora, De Fora Pra Dentro, de vários artistas.

Detalhe de Chuva de Verão, obra d’Os Gêmeos

A primeira está na FAAP (Rua Alagoas, 903, Higienópolis. Tel.: 3662-7198) e traz as obras grandiosas, coloridas, surreais, de dois dos grafiteiros mais famosos do mundo (não sei bem por quê, mas os grafittis deles sempre me lembram o mundo de Alice, em particular o gato…). Dentro de uma grande instalação, de paredes pintadas, Gustavo e Otávio Pandolfo, conhecidos internacionalmente como Os Gêmeos, colocaram painéis, esculturas e vídeos. A mostra fica aberta até 13/12, e pode ser vista de terça a sexta das 10h às 20h e de domingos e feriados das 10h às 17h. A entrada é franca.

A segunda leva ao MASP (Av. Paulista, 1578, tel. 3251-5644), pela primeira vez, um grupo de grafiteiros que já são bem conhecidos entre os que gostam de arte urbana – Carlos Dias, Daniel Melim, Ramon Martins, Stephan Doitschinoff, Titi Freak e Zezão. No total, a exposição tem cerca de 60 obras, incluindo quadros, fotos e vídeos Os visitantes também vão poder penetrar, literalmente em suas criações, através de uma instalação composta por seis painéis, um de cada artista. A exposição fica em cartaz até 14/2, com visitas às terças e quartas das 11h às 18h, às quintas das 11h às 20h, e de sexta a domingo das 11h às 18h. A entrada custa R$15, exceto às terças-feiras, quando é gratuita.

*3ª quinta-feira do mês

A 7-11 in Seattle, WA

For my History of American Consumerism class this week we’re reading some terrifically depressing stuff – if only because it marks a sort of economic ‘loss of innocence,’ if you will, for me. Believe me, I have no desire to live “off the grid,” but studying the history of American consumerism and consumption has effectively wiped me of any desire go shopping for shopping’s sake anytime in the near future.

On Friday my teacher lectured about supermarkets and landfills (how clever) and challenged us record every new package we open/use in one week – last Friday at 2pm to this coming Friday at 2pm.

I’m already up to 40! Just for my own personal use!

I took some pictures at a local 7-11 several weeks ago for a follow-up post on the PBLKS regarding my 7-Eleven Japan post, and it seems fitting to include them in this post.

Last week we talked about 1950s optimism and the “throw-away society,” idea that was dominant after WW2. This week the readings are all from early 1960s critics. If you’re interested:

John Kenneth Galbraith – “The Dependence Effect” (from The End of Affluence); Vance Packard – The Wastemakers; Betty Friedan, “The Sexual Sell” (from The Feminine Mystique); and E.P. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful

Thoughts?

*click images for full view

Real nice SC from http://cambersc.blogspot.com/. Low as hell. Black body/ widebody. An it’s a V8.

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 5.2Mb

Street Art – much of Belo Horizonte seems to be colonised by elaborate street art and graffitti, on a scale I’ve not seen anywhere else. Complex artworks are sometimes run the length of an entire city block or radically transform municipal features such as bridges and stairs. These are clearly artworks, not just random graffitti – some are clearly commissioned for private or public buildings, but most seem to be tolerated if not officially sanctioned.

Arte de Rua – grande parte de Belo Horizonte parece ser tomada por graffitti e arte de rua bem elaboradas, numa escala jamais vista em nenhum outro lugar. Obras de arte complexas algumas vezes ocupam um quarteirão inteiro ou transformam radicalmente estruturas municipais como pontes e escadas. Estas são claramente obras de arte, e não apenas pichações – alguns foram claramente comissionados para prédios públicos e privados, mas a maioria parece ser tolerada quando não oficialmente sancionado.
(tr.Diego Mancini)

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 5.2Mb

Street Art – much of Belo Horizonte seems to be colonised by elaborate street art and graffitti, on a scale I’ve not seen anywhere else. Complex artworks are sometimes run the length of an entire city block or radically transform municipal features such as bridges and stairs. These are clearly artworks, not just random graffitti – some are clearly commissioned for private or public buildings, but most seem to be tolerated if not officially sanctioned.

Arte de Rua – grande parte de Belo Horizonte parece ser tomada por graffitti e arte de rua bem elaboradas, numa escala jamais vista em nenhum outro lugar. Obras de arte complexas algumas vezes ocupam um quarteirão inteiro ou transformam radicalmente estruturas municipais como pontes e escadas. Estas são claramente obras de arte, e não apenas pichações – alguns foram claramente comissionados para prédios públicos e privados, mas a maioria parece ser tolerada quando não oficialmente sancionado.
(tr.Diego Mancini)

Visto y capturado en los retretes del Ateneu 9 barris, que tienen por sintonía a Paul Simon, de su graaaaaaaaan disco Graceland.