I caught a squirmy one!

We had a fish and chippie lunch at Schnappers, a lovely shack by the beach, followed by a stroll down the pier to see the boats. Sean and Finn were enthralled by the fishermen and squealed like piglets when one of them caught a squid, which narrowly escaped Death By Crocs as Finn tried to dance an Irish jig on it.

I bought some succulent looking scallops from a fishing trawler moored to the pierside and Shameless Finn took the opportunity to ask “Uncle Fisherman” for a ride on his boat so he ended up being given a free little tour the trawler and was super pleased with himself. Everyone here is very chilled out about letting Finn do stuff to their boats, kayaks, boogie boards etc, so he is getting braver and braver about asking! The other day he asked a policeman whether he could drive their car and that was the only time he got a polite rebuff… Oh well, there’s always the fire station round the corner.

Some pics!

Jay Sean performed at this years Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade with his smash hit “Down.”

The biographical information below was compiled by Alan Renga, Assistant Archivist, for the 2009 International Hall of Fame Gala. For more information on the Museum’s Library and Archives, click here.

Sean Tucker Hall of Fame Portrait

He is one of the most talented and famous aerobatic pilots the world has known Sean Tucker.  Born in Eagle Rock, California Sean earned his pilots certificate at the very young age of 17 even though he had a fear of flying.  He quickly realized the only way to conquer that fear was to attack it head on. So he took an aerobatics course…and soon was performing in air shows. Very quickly Tucker earned a reputation for being a highly gifted performer. Many of his maneuvers are original and have never been performed by another aerobatic pilot. Sean has flown in more than 425 air shows, in front of more than 80 million spectators!

Thirty years ago, Sean’s first aerobatic plane was a Pitt’s Special. Striving to push the edge more than the Pitts could deliver, Sean’s team designed the one of a kind Challenger II which produces more than 400 horsepower, weighs only 1,200 pounds, and is considered the most high-performance aerobatic aircraft in the world. Today, the Challenger II is one of the most recognizable small aircraft in the world. To endure the extreme physical demands of aerobatic display, Sean maintains a rigorous physical training schedule by working-out over 340 days per year in a routine of jogging and weight-lifting on alternating days.

Tucker has received numerous awards and recognitions celebrating his career in aviation. He has been named one of the Living Legends in Aviation, is the recipient of the Crystal Eagle Award, was an inductee at the 2001 USAF Gathering of Eagles, and was named one of the Living Legends of Flight. And in 2008 he was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame, joining such famous aviators as Jimmy Doolittle, Chuck Yeager and Bob Hoover.

Expanding on his love of flying, Tucker created the Tutima Academy of Aviation Safety, a world-class flight training institution dedicated to setting and spreading the standard for aviation safety in aerobatics and aviation at large. The Academy offers a variety of courses including stall/spin recognition and recovery training, aerobatic proficiency training, a low-level aerobatic mentorship program, and formation aerobatic flight training, which can be found no-where else in the world.

Tucker’s self-proclaimed goal is to “share the magic of flight with Team Oracle’s guests by inspiring and thrilling them. I want them to go away saying that the air show was one of the most engaging days of their lives.”

For his incredible enthusiasm for flying and his strong desire to pass this passion on to as many people as possible, the San Diego Air & Space Museum takes great pride in inducting Sean Tucker into its International Aerospace Hall of Fame.

Apricots on the lawn

We’re here Australia! It’s been a hectic week as we moved the 3 little ones from Singapore to the sunny Mornington Peninsula last Thursday.  Milo just arrived this morning as well but he’ll be in the Quarantine Motel for a month till he stops acting crazy (hopefully!) but we have been promised that we’ll get him on Christmas Eve, just in time for him to unwrap a juicy bone.

The new house is not going to be ready for another couple of months so we’re renting a beach house opposite Mills Beach in Mornington town, about an hours drive from Melbourne CBD. It’s a lovely seaside town full of quaint little shops, a long pier, many beaches and a view across the bay to the distant skyscrapers of Melbourne.

We have a couple of new nannies, Kathryn does Monday – Weds and Jess does Thurs – Sat morning. Sunday is the day of unrest. We also have a cheerful and efficient housekeeper named Cassie who won my mom over when she arrived at our doorstep with an arsenal of cleaning products and mops and started scouring the floorboards like a tasmanian devil. I think we’ll call her Tassie.

So far the kids have taken to Nanny Kathryn (they haven’t met Jess yet) quickly as she is very keen on getting them outdoors-  most mornings she takes Dylan for a stroll to Main Street to charm the townsfolk, in the afternoon she spreads out a picnic blanket under a tree in the garden or a suntent and gets the kids out there for snacktime, and she made chocolate fudge with Sean this afternoon as well.

My mom travelled down with us as well to spend a week here and help us settle in, so it’s been a pretty smooth transition, we’re pretty lucky! Especially since my mother’s a household Nazi, her talents have been put to good use organising the various cupboards and cleaning away the hordes of spiders and cobwebs which would otherwise have been consumed by Dylan. Now everything is in shipshape and the floorboards are spic and span thanks to mom and Tassie.

The kids are extremely happy,  especially Finn who is over the moon that he can go to beach everyday and see the all the yachts. Today he asked a jetski owner if he could sit on his yellow jetski and the owner said yes, so he spent 5 minutes going vroomvroom on top of the thing. Then he saw a red kayak along the beach and asked the kayak owner if he could sit on it as well, (so shameless!) and the man who owned it was kind enough to strap Finn in the seat and tow him up and down the beach.

Finn has also been allowed to “drive” the tourist trains at the depot while they were being cleaned, various ditchdiggers, steamrollers and bulldozers, an antique red tractor, a ride-on mower and a boat trailer…  I’m a little worried as none of his requests  “can Finn Finn ride on it pwease uncle?” have ever been turned down by strangers yet and I caught him looking at a helicopter overhead with an appraising eye today!

Dylan has been familiarising herself with all the new things to put in her mouth and has consumed a vast quantity of carpet fuzz, fireplace muck, a tiny ball of aluminum foil (most of it was fished out from her mouth in time) and fistfuls of beach sand. Oh well. I guess it was about time the Leahy family had a gastronomical adventurer! She has very rosy cheeks and nose now from all the walks and looks the very picture of a plump cherub. She is an angel baby except for when she’s having her bottom washed as the water is very cold over here!

Sean is still in absorption phase and nearly fainted today when we took him to see the new house and saw the 3 acres of lawn between the house and the dam that he had to mow. Then he saw the hammock on the verandah and embraced it so intimately he had to be surgically removed from it at the end of the visit. He also caught a crab on the beach today but we decided it was too small for chili crab. Sean also found a “Halo Encyclopedia” in the Dymocks bookshop the other day so his appetite for violent computer game data has been temporarily sated.

We’ve just finished used the “basket of goods” CPI method of analysis to calculate Sean’s new pocket money and Sean determined that his weekly allowance should be 4.5 bottles of Gatorade or 2.5 comic books, so that works out to about $12.50. We rounded it up to $13/week and threw in the extra duties of mowing the lawn, collecting firewood, minding the babies on weekends, helping in the kitchen, making bottles in the morning, catching flies and bluebottles and carrying groceries in from the car. I think he regrets asking for a wage increase now…

Mark and I are completely exhausted from the shopping of the past week. I think we’ve been to Target and Coles about 3.5x a day since we’ve gotten here. And bought about 273 baby things that we didn’t think were important to bring along but found absolutely indispensable since! I have also become well acquainted with our lady postwoman as she has already delivered quite a few goodies necessities from Amazon.com, shopbop.com and babysgotstyle.com.

The weather has been extremely fickle – one afternoon we were out sunning ourselves and complaining about the 37 degree heat and within a few minutes a storm came in and the temperature dropped to 20 degrees! It actually made the papers the next day… I’ve now learnt that layering is the key to survival in Melbourne. That and cashmere. And online shopping. And nannies.

Right not Mark is watching “The Castle”, a hilarious Australian “comedy classic” on telly, and I’m about to go to bed. You may not believe this but I actually get up at 7-8 am most mornings these days. It’s impossible to wake up later in the country, especially in summer, especially with Dylan caterwauling to be rescued from her sleepsack. But we sleep earlier and better as well, the fresh air is amazing. So I’m off to bed now, do feel free to drop us an email! We miss you all!!!

Some pics:

I recently joined a new art group called the Crow Crow Collective. It is very early days but should result in some interesting work. Here are the lovely members:

• Joanna Zylinska: I mentioned her work in the previous entry
• Sean: art, magazine, radio… he is involved in the lot.
• Susan Leen: She doesn’t have a website yet but you will probably be able to check her work out on the Crow Crow collective blog relatively soon.
• Denise Hickey: Last but certainly not least, the lady behind the idea and the founder of the collective.

We are looking for all sorts of opportunities (exhibition, collaboration etc) so if you have a project let us know… until we have a website you can do that by emailing me: amy[at]amyseven.com.

The Soul Train Awards are back!!!

While many are still talking about how much better the American Music Awards were, I was checking out footage from the Soul Train Awards…
href=”http://www.bet.com/video/678487″>

The following are the nominees and BOLD are the winners I think will get it.

BEST NEW ARTIST

• DRAKE (I think he’ll get it)
• Jazmine Sullivan
• Keri Hilson
• Ryan Leslie (I’d like to see him get it)
• Solange

BEST R&B/SOUL ARTIST FEMALE

• BEYONCE (As usual, they’ll give it to her)
• Chrisette Michelle (I think she deserves it)
• Jennifer Hudson
• Ledisi
• Whitney Houston

BEST MALE R&B/SOUL MALE

• Charlie Wilson
• MAXWELL (I think he’ll get it AND deserves it!!!)
• Musiq Soulchild
• Raphael Saadiq
• Robin Thicke

SONG OF THE YEAR

• “God in Me” – MARY MARY (It was big and a close second!)
• “Pretty Wings” – Maxwell (I’d like to see this late entry win)
• “Single Ladies (Put a ring on it)” – BEYONCE (She’ll win but not by much!)
• “Spotlight” – Jennifer Hudson
• “Turnin Me On” – Keri Hilson/ ft Lil Wayne

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

• Beyonce – I am… Sasha Fierce (Platinum) Sony Music
• Jamie Foxx – Intuition (Platinum) J Records
• Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak (Platinum) Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
• MAXWELL – Blacksummer’s Night (Gold) Sony Music
(My choice to win although Kanye’s album minus his personal drama was superb if you are just talking about music!)
• Ne-Yo – Year of the Gentleman

RECORD OF THE YEAR (SONGWRITER AWARD)

• Beyonce – “Single Ladies (Put a ring on it)”
• Drake – “Best I ever had”
• Jamie Foxx Ft/T-Pain – “Blame it”
• Keri Hilson – “Knock You Down”
• MAXWELL – “Pretty Wings” (Hands DOWN if you are talking about the QUALITY of writing)

BEST REGGAE ARTIST AWARD
• Movado (He had a fairly good year but may not stand out compared to Sean)
• SEAN PAUL (because the people who choose them always go to the guy most popular they’ll probably choose him)
• Serani
• Taurus Riley
• Ziggy Marley

CENTRIC AWARD – SOUL APPROVED/UNDERGROUND

• Corneille
• Eric Roberson
• LAURA IZABOR (I think she’ll win as the most visible, held up and I have not stopped playing this album. Great work musically though I wouldn’t say “underground.” Atlantic just didn’t promoter her)
• Maysa
• The Knux

BEST GOSPEL PERFORMANCE MALE, FEMALE OR GROUP

• BeBe and CeCe Winans – “Close To You”
• Fred Hammond f/John P Kee – “They That Wait”
• Marvin Sapp – “Praise Him in Advance”
• MARY MARY – “God In Me” (As the biggest crossover they’ll win hands down…and I happen to think it’s a great song anyway with a greater message)
• Smokie Norful – “Justified”

BEST COLLABORATION

• Keri Hilson featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo – “Knock you Down”
• Keyshia Cole featuring Monica – “Trust”
• MARIO featuring Gucci Mane and Sean Garrett – “Break up” (I choose this song although it may be too street for some tastes…but the combination of flows made for an engaging journey into downtempo Rhythm & Beats aka R&B)
• Mary Mary featuring Kierra (KiKi) Sheard – “God In Me”
• Trey Songz featuring Drake – “Successful” (People like this dude Drake right now and Trey finally got some hits out this year beyond New York and ATL…This was a good second place mention)

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

• Michael Jackson

Since there weren’t any choices, it goes to Michael. It goes to him not because he was the best this year but because he died this year, let’s keep it real. This music industry is so politically inclined they couldn’t just say we are giving MJ the accolades we haven’t given out of guilt…maybe if more of us were supportive and loving toward one of the greatest to ever do it then maybe the people closer to him would have done more to protect and take care of him.

Looking forward to seeing who actually wins! Maybe the industry can take notes from the AMAs by giving awards based on sales and not politics since sales mean PEOPLE chose the winners! *Pardon me Grammys* but the voters are not necessarily in tune with the music…I’ll get on their case in another blog coming soon!

*Freedom*
www.socialtravelers.net
www.facebook.com/freedom.us
djfreedomjustice@gmail.com

This first post has taken so long to start so instead of some fancy, well thought out intro, we’ll just begin it with this morning.

Sean and I have this tradition (well, it’s more of an understanding) : every night before he goes to bed, he’ll come into my room, give me a hug, cuddle a bit and say good night.

This is, I guess, a form of validation for him (and for me as well) – That at the end of the day, no matter how bad our day has been, no matter what happens between us, we will always be together.

My validation, affirmation, confirmation of relationship actually comes from the morning after. I set my alarm 30 minutes before I have to get up, and when it goes off, I go into Sean’s room and cuddle for a bit.

We wrap our arms around each other, we spoon, we hold hands and we kiss (just pecks – on the lips, neck, cheek).

It’s something we do – it’s our thing – because Sean and I are not in a relationship.

We are roommates, we are bestfriends but we are not each other’s boyfriends. And although there was a point that it could’ve progressed into that, Sean has made it clear that he’d like to pursue other interests: mainly another guy named Robbie.

But I’ll get into that later.

I guess this morning, what I want to hang to is our morning kiss. A quick press on the lips that let’s me know I’m important to him. For me, it reminds me that he’s willing to express his love for me in a way that is special from other friends that he has.

Does it mess us up as friends? Probably. But I don’t care.

What Sean and I have is special…right?

They just won’t be happy until they see someone die. Whether at war, or because of a corrupt healthcare provider or through the death penalty. That’s what they want. A peaceful presidency doesn’t cut it for them and they are going crazy for more blood.

We know him as the teenybopper who released a great cover version of Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds’ “Don’t Pull Your Love.” Now he’s all grown up, an actor and relaunching himself. What do you think?

VideoClip: Cole Give It Up to Music

Tema: Cole Give It Up to Music
Grupo/Artista: Sean Paul Ft Keisha
Letra de canción Cole Give It Up to Music de Sean Paul Ft Keisha

Get out my head and into the bed girl…
Cau yuh dun know, plottin’ out the fantasy..
Hey baby girl and it’s you a di key…yo…mi go so then

[Chorus: Sean Paul]
From yuh look inna mi eye gal I see seh yuh want me
When you gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME
Because yuh body enticin yuh makin mi horny
When yuh gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME
Well if a no today girl then a must be tomorrow (Oooh, oooh, oooh)
When you FULFILL MY FANTASY
Because yuh know I give yuh lovin straight like an arrow
When yuh gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME

[Verse 1:]
So back it up deh..So pack it up yeah
Cause I wanna be the man that’s really gonna have it up and mack it up and
Slap it up yeah…So what is up yeah…You know you got the sinting inna me pants a develop and a swell up and
Double up yeah…So gimmie the work yeah cause if you no gimme the work the blue balls a erupt yeah..
So rev it up deh gal gwaan try you luck deh cause when you stir it up you know me haffi measure up yeah.

[Chorus: Sean Paul]
From yuh look inna mi eye gal I see seh yuh want me
When you gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME
Because yuh body enticin yuh makin mi horny
When yuh gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME
Well if a no today girl then a must be tomorrow (Oooh, oooh, oooh)
When you FULFILL MY FANTASY
Because yuh know I give yuh lovin straight like an arrow
When yuh gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME

[Verse 2: Sean Paul]
Hey pretty girl…Seh mi love fi see you walk…
Yuh no habla ingles but just listen me when me a talk
This ya one yeah from me heart, woman you got me caught
You ever inna me thoughts and no left me inna the dark, inna the…
First place gal that’s where you belong, so just let me flip the switch woman I can turn it on and…
Gimme the passion from dusk till dawn…Tell me if you want it fi gwaan…my girl..

[Verse 3: Keyshia Cole]
As a woman on my own I got it goin on
And I’m liking what I’m seeing I don’t wanna be alone
Cause you got me in a daze your illusion make me sway
We go back and forth and round and round and nothing turn away
Baby boy could it be wonderful like this
To say it’s only bout in the way you twist
Cause you got me in a daze your illusion make me sway
I’m caught into you now I’m tempted to stay, oh no!

[Chorus: Sean Paul] (Letters in CAPS means Keyshia Cole is singing with Sean Paul)
From yuh look inna mi eye gal I see seh yuh want me
When you gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME
Because yuh body enticin yuh makin mi horny
When yuh gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME
Well if a no today girl then a must be tomorrow (Oooh, oooh, oooh)
When you FULFILL MY FANTASY
Because yuh know I give yuh lovin straight like an arrow
When yuh gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME

{Bridge: Keyshia Cole]
Boom, boom, boom boom, boom, boom, boom boom
Boom, boom, boom boom, ba ba boom, boom, boom boom

[Verse 4: Sean Paul]
So why can’t you see….we ought to be….together girl don’t front on me
I just wanna be near so don’t have no fear and lemme see you bring your body right over here
Because you should share it…girl I’ll care it…..And I’m gonna give you love so clear
It gonna make you shine and once you are mine…we be rockin’ it until the end of time

[Chorus: Sean Paul]
From yuh look inna mi eye gal I see seh yuh want me
When you gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME
Because yuh body enticin yuh makin mi horny
When yuh gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME
Well if a no today girl then a must be tomorrow (Oooh, oooh, oooh)
When you FULFILL MY FANTASY
Because yuh know I give yuh lovin straight like an arrow
When yuh gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME
From yuh look inna mi eye gal I see seh yuh want me
When you gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME
Because yuh body enticin yuh makin mi horny
When yuh gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME
Well if a no today girl then a must be tomorrow (Oooh, oooh, oooh)
When you FULFILL MY FANTASY
Because yuh know I give yuh lovin straight like an arrow
When yuh gonna GIVE IT UP TO ME

[Outro: Keyshia Cole] (Sean Paul)
Oh ah oh (Yeah yeah, yo yo)
Oh ah oh (Sean-A-Paul and yuh know we a nuh go yo)
Oh ah oh, oooh oh ah oh (Di S.P. and we deh yah pon di go yo)
Oooh oooh oooh (Sean Paul, Keyshia Cole and Don Corleon, a next chapter
Oh ah oh (Yah mon fah all my girls yuh know)
Oooh oh ah oh (Keep it keep it keep it keep it sexy)
Oh ah oh (Boom, boom, boom boom)
Oh ah oh (Boom, boom, boom boom)
Oh ah oh (Boom, boom, boom boom)
Oooh oh ah oh (Ba ba boom, boom, boom boom)
Oh ah oh (Boom, boom, boom boom)
Oh ah oh (Boom, boom, boom boom)
Oh ah oh (Boom, boom, boom boom)
Oooh oh ah oh (Ba ba boom, boom, boom boom)

© Maeve Clancy 2009

Oslo kommunes knallharde graffitipolitikk har fordømt, avvist og straffet en hel ungdomskultur, mener kriminolog Cecilie Høigård. Etter 13 års arbeid slo hun i 2002 i bordet med boka Gategallerier.

(Denne saken sto opprinnelig på trykk i Dagsavisen i 2002. Les mer om graffiti her og her.)

«Utviklingen av graffitikontrollen er et lærestykke i hvordan utstøting og kriminalitet kan skapes», skriver Cecilie Høigård i 500 sider tjukke Gategallerier. Hun har fulgt graffitimiljøet i Oslo siden 1980-tallet, gått gjennom kriminalstatistikk, pressedekning og politiske avgjørelser – og liker ikke det hun har funnet.

- Helt siden 1993 har norsk graffitipolitikk vært systematisk knallhard og ensidig, i motsetning til andre land. Graffiti i dag blir verken sett på som kunst, ungdomskultur eller akseptabel ungdommelig virketrang lenger. Graffiti er nå likestilt med kriminalitet, sier Høigård.

Kontroll i ubalanse
Gjennom hele 1990-tallet er det blitt anmeldt 40.000 graffiti-forhold, der 96 prosent er blitt henlagt. En liten gruppe syndebukker har fått strenge straffer, mens alle muligheter til lovlig utfoldelse er blitt hindret eller motarbeidet. Dette er unikt i verdenssammenheng, mener Høigård.

- Der dansk presse omtaler 45 dagers betinget fengsel for «knallhardt», har vi eksempler på at malere i tenårene er blitt straffet med sju måneders ubetinget fengsel i Oslo. Der Brügge i Belgia i fjor fikk EUs kriminalforebyggende pris i fjor for sin satsing på lovlige vegger og avslappede forhold til ulovlig graffiti, finnes det ikke en gang forsøk på dialog i Oslo lenger.

Høigård mener Oslos knallharde kamp mot graffiti ikke har ført til mindre graffiti, bare dårligere – siden mulighetene til å lage store verk og opplæring ikke er der lenger. Linja lærer også tenåringer til å mistro politikere og politi – mens henleggelsesprosenten også lærer dem at de lett slipper unna loven.

Høigård beskriver situasjonen som et «kontrollsystem i ubalanse». På den ene siden finner vi en gruppe tenåringer mistenkt for lovbrudd som i strafferettslig sammenheng må karakteriseres som ubetydelige. På den andre siden finner vi en allianse av politikere, politi og domstoler, ansatte i transportselskaper, private vekterselskaper og media – som bruker sterke kampanjer, intens jakt, utstrakt bruk av tvangsmidler og uklar arbeidsdeling mellom offentlig politi og sporveisansatte som virkemidler.

Estetisk arbeid
Høigårds har ingen nøytral forskerrolle opp i dette. Hun er tilhenger av både lovlig og ulovlig graffiti, og i 1993 aktivt skrev hun løpeseddelen «Writere mot snuten» – en forklaring av malernes juridiske rettigheter.

Hun forstår at myndighetene er nødt til å reagere mot ulovlig graffiti, men det er omfanget av reaksjonene og tiltakene hun synes overdrevet.

- Poenget mitt er ikke at alle skal synes at graffiti er fint, men at det kan gå an å forholde seg til graffiti på andre måter enn forbud og fordømmelse. Det er overhodet ingen forståelse for at de som driver med graffiti selv synes de arbeider med skjønnhet og estetikk. De øver, studerer og investerer så mye tid i penger på det, men folk tror bare de er ute for å lage kvalm.

På 1980-tallet ble graffiti ofte omtalt som kunst, og selv Sporveien tillot lovlig graffiti. Vendepunktet skjedde for alvor i 1993, da Norge skulle pyntes opp til Lillehammer-OL – og kulminerte med Oslo kommunes storstilte kampanjer i 1994.

- Disse kampanjene innebar et gigantisk klimaskifte. Malere ble framstilt som vandaler og pøbler, og hensikten var å snu folks likegyldighet mot graffiti til sinne og angst samtidig som kampanjene oppfordret tenåringer til å se på graffitimiljøet som idioter.

Kommunen sendte falske taggeregninger hjem til tenåringsforeldre, graffitimalerne ble framstilt som tomhjernede idioter i «Taggerhue»-kampanjen og vold, generell hærverk og graffiti ble koblet i en voldelig reklamefilm.

«Graffitikrigen kom før graffitiproblemet, det var ikke befolkningens bekymring over graffiti som ledet til kampanjen i Oslo. Den skulle få folk til å forstå at graffiti var et problem», skriver Høigård.

Ikke så kriminelle
Koblingen mellom graffiti, vold og kriminalitet er siden blitt en akseptert sannhet, med hyppige henvisninger til «tall fra politiet».

«99,9 prosent av alle i dette miljøet er innblanda i voldsforbrytelser, vinningskriminalitet og narkotika», sa Rusken-general Kjellaug Løken til Klassekampen i fjor. Hun viste til «tall fra politiet».

Høigård har gått gjennom kriminalstatistikken til hver femte maler som ble anmeldt på 1990-tallet og dette var hva hun fant:
* 180 av 229 eller 79 prosent. har rene rulleblad i forhold til annen kriminalitet.
* 31 har én straffereaksjon.
* 13 personer står for halvparten av samtlige straffereaksjoner.

- Tallene som brukes går dessuten på anmeldelser, ikke dommer. Tenk om en skulle ført samme statistikk over anmeldelser mot politiet, det er utenkelig. Husk også at malerne er en gruppe som er overkontrollert av politiet, sier Høigård.

Graffiti handler dessuten om mye mer enn hærverk, mener kriminologen. Det handler om forholdet mellom generasjoner og sosiale klasser, og ikke minst om hvem som har makt til å forme bybildet.

- Samfunnet rundt oss er en allmenning, men det er bare noen personer og sosiale sjikt som har makt til å sette spor etter seg. Det utspiller seg en maktkamp om bybildet, og den er ikke spesielt demokratisk. For det er pengemakten og eiendomsbesitterne som bestemmer hvordan bybildet skal se ut, og det er dette graffitimalerne opponerer mot.

Det grunnleggende spørsmålet er hvordan vi skal leve i storbyen, der den største utfordringen er at flere miljøer skal leve med hverandre i respekt. Her bommer Oslo grovt når en innfører nulltoleranse mot graffiti, mener Høigård.

- Nulltoleranse er umulig å håndtere, det flytter bare frontlinjene i striden.

Eller som maleren Pay2 sier det i boka: «Nulltoleransen, den rammer fire karer, den. Det er Sean, Raide, Coderock og meg. Det er vi fire som lager lovlig, de andre driter i det».

De harde tall
Cecilie Høigård har gjort flere oppsiktsvekkende funn ved å gå gjennom oslopolitiets kriminalstatistikk fra 1990-tallet. Her er noen:
* Til sammen 40.000 graffitilovbrudd er anmeldt på 90-tallet. 96,2 prosent er henlagt.
* I 1990 var 1 av 100 anmeldte skadeverk graffiti. I 1999 var det to av tre. Dette betyr ikke at det er blitt mer graffiti, men at alt anmeldes.
* Maleren «Amel» anmeldes 24 ganger på samme natt, sted og klokkeslett i 1994.
* I 1990 utgjør graffitianmeldelser 0,02 prosent av totalen, i 1999 er andelen 7,31 prosent.
* 1136 forskjellige ungdommer er anmeldt for graffiti. Snittalderen ligger på 15-16 år.

Bonus 1: Håper på ny graffitidebatt
Graffitimalerne Coderock, Pay2 og Sean håper boka Gategallerier kan bidra til en mer nyansert debatt. Men de er ikke optimister.

I boka Gategallerier skriver kriminolog Cecilie Høigård at den knallharde linja mot graffiti har fordømt, avvist og straffet en hel ungdomskultur. De eneste konkrete resultatene er at antallet anmeldelser har eksplodert, mens noen få syndebukker er blitt hardt straffet.

Graffitimaler Christian «Coderock» Bloom har allerede lest boka, og mener den vil bli et referansepunkt for graffiti-debatten.

– Gategallerier byr på så mange harde fakta og gode argumenter at det blir vanskelig å debattere graffiti framover uten å ta utgangspunkt i den. Jeg håper Oslo kommune vil revurdere sin nulltoleranselinje, men har ikke tro på det. Har en valgt nulltoleranse som utgangspunkt, er en ikke på jakt etter nyanser, sier Bloom, som begynte med graffiti i 1987.

Ulovlig spenning
Opprustningen av graffitikampen i Oslo startet i 1987, eskalerte i 1993 og kulminerte med Oslo kommunes nulltoleranselinje i 2000. Denne legger til side alle gamle skiller mellom fin og stygg graffiti, og fastslår at all graffiti på annens eiendom er hærverk, skal anmeldes og fjernes så fort som mulig. Det åpnes heller ikke for tillatelser til lovlig graffiti i kommunal regi.

Bloom, Lars «Pay2» Undli ogBjørn « Sean» Hagen tilhører første generasjon av norske graffitimalere, og er i dag for etablerte, late eller feige til å drive med ulovlig graffiti. De tror nulltoleranselinja bare skremmer vekk de som tiltrekkes av det estetiske, mens den trekker til seg spenningssøkere.

– Nulltoleransen rammer bare oss som ønsker å drive med lovlig graffiti, og ungene vi kunne ha lært opp til å bli flinke malere. Resten driter i om det de gjør er lovlig eller ikke, mener Undli.

Sean har drevet med graffiti siden 1984, og driver i dag bare med lovlig graffiti. Han men mener kicket med å gjøre noe ulovlig er med på å lokke ungdom til graffitimiljøet.

– Du drives av de samme mekanismene som når du leker cowboy og indianer eller går på epleslang. Det gir et veldig kick å ta seg inn på forbudte områder, og dette kicket er manges motiv for å spraye. Men når reaksjonene og overvåkingen er så streng som i dag, forhindrer det bare de forseggjorte arbeidene.

Hærverk
Sean ser ikke på seg selv som en del av graffitimiljøet i Oslo, og er også kritisk til den manglende viljen til å ta et internt oppgjør rundt det han karakteriserer som hærverk.

– Svært mye av graffitien jeg ser i byen i dag vil jeg kalle hærverk.

– Men er du tilhenger av kommunens nulltoleranse?

– Både og. 100 prosent-toleranse er ikke veien å gå, da er jeg heller for tiltak som kan få graffiti inn i mer ordnede former. I dag ser en på graffiti som kunst med en gang det tas inn på en utstilling eller et seminar, mens folk flest ikke lenger får lenger se hvor flott graffiti kan være. Bybildet er bare preget av hærverk og jævelskap. Det er konsekvensen av nulltoleransen, sier Sean.

Bloom er også overrasket over hvor ensrettet og nådeløs kommunens antigraffiti-kampanjer har vært siden 1994.

– Kampanjene har demonisert graffitimalere som voldelige, dumme, narkomane og kriminelle. Men det samme har egentlig skjedd med en rekke ungdomskulturer hvert eneste tiår siden rocken kom; de beskyldes for vold, stoff og andre lovbrudd. Men en ting skal myndighetene ha: Deres knallharde har ført til at det i dag bare er nazisme og graffiti som kan regnes som skikkelig ungdomsopprør. Alt annet er blitt stuerent, mener Bloom.

– Men når alt kommer til alt, er graffiti bare maling på en vegg – og ikke et alvorlig lovbrudd.

Bonus 2: – Kan bidra til holdningsendring
Billedkunstner Anders Eiebakke håper kriminolog Cecilie Høigårds Gategallerier-bok kan føre til en endring i holdningene om graffiti.

– Jeg har få illusjoner om at den politiske ledelsen i Oslo kommune vil høre på nye argumenter og fakta om graffiti. Men jeg tror og håper boka kan skape økt forståelse, og bidra til en holdningsendring overfor graffiti blant alle som har politisk påvirkningskraft. Det er jo ikke politikerne som bestemmer alt her i byen, sier Eiebakke.

Han drev selv med graffiti i tenårene, og har satt sammen og deltatt på flere graffitirelaterte utstillinger – senest som deltaker på «Inner City Attac» i Bjørvika og «Zero Graffvity 2010: A Graffodyssey» på Soria Moria.

– Høigård har flere innfallsvinkler som ikke er kommet fram før – og hun bidrar med innsikt og viktige fakta. Selv tror jeg at den stigmatisering og kriminalisering av graffitimiljøet vi har sett, bare har forsterket de negative tendensene, sier Eiebakke.

Han er også helt enig i Høigårds utsagn om at Oslos linje mot graffiti ikke har ført til mindre, bare dårligere graffiti.
– Det har jeg selv sagt tidligere, og dette så vi allerede i 1987 da Oslo Sporveier for første gang gikk hardt ut mot malerne langs Grorudbanen. Det ble med en gang færre store «piecer» og gjennomtenkt graffiti, og mer umotivert klottring.

– Hva håper du en ny debatt kan føre til?

– At Sporveien og politiet bruker mindre tid og ressurser på å jakte på tenåringer, men det er mange som vil oppnå fordeler ved å opprettholde kjøret mot graffiti. Høyre har oppnådd klare politiske gevinster på sin harde linje, og for Sporveien er det enklere å klage over graffiti enn å diskutere høye priser, forsinkelser og lignende. Samtidig har det oppstått en hel industri som tjener store penger på å fjerne graffiti.

- Graffitimalerne er en takknemlig fiende.

That’s right, 50 yrs ago, yours truly floated into the world in a rather fast labor and delivery-one hour to be exact. Yours truly was the loudest baby in the nursery too. My mom said she heard me over the other babies and got up to comfort me and was ushered back to bed. I was welcomed home by my older brother David, age 5. Three months later, my mom got pregnant again and was also coping with a troubled marriage. My father was to leave us all in 1972 (by that time there were 4 kids, Ken came along in 1967) to go back to his home state of Oregon where he would pass on alone in Feb. ‘08.
Though I’ve had a rough childhood, I think we still had many blessings and I’ve tried to hold on to family traditions with my own son. Mom always outdid herself on birthdays, Halloween and Christmas and we had so much fun. I don’t remember wearing a store bought costume. In fact one year, she cut up her wedding dress for a 1st grader. It felt a bit odd wearing it, but I’m sure I felt pretty special. My birthday was usually shared with my year younger brother Don. We had the best one when we were about 6 and 7 when we had a house full of neighbors and cousins. Christmases were special, down to the overstuffed stockings that would always hang on the stair railing. One year my mom and grandmom(she was my second mom) sold some evergreen trees that my late grandfather had planted to have money for gifts.
Here’s me as a newborn babe-with my mouth open:

I turned out to be a stay at home (mostly, I’ve had a few jobs) wife and mom, though I went to college to be an Early Childhood Education teacher and came very close to doing so. I have been an aide to many children over the years. I think I would love to do art projects with little ones now. Sean always enjoyed doing projects from making paper to painting wooden plaques.
I think I’ve been a good wife, sister, aunt and mom. I’ve been there for people. I look forward to this part of my life when I hope, things will get easier soon. It’s hard to believe only 10 yrs ago I had a son entering his teens and now he’s a young man. He’s been my best gift ever. And he was almost my birthday gift back in 1986.
And lastly, thanks to Brian for being there for me through thick and thin. He’s been a great husband and best friend. I hope when we are 80, we have scooters to toot around Longwood Gardens on.

Anoop performs Down in Chapel Hill on Nov 8. For more videos from his Chapel Hill concert, visit the setlist/video/mp3 archive thread at the Street Team Forum.

Que veux-tu?

Kanye West x Common x Kid Cudi x Big Sean x Consequence – Whatever u want rmx

Props à 2DB