Summer has barely started, and It looks like it's going to be a killer in Chicago. Literally. Already there have been an increased number of shootings and other homicides. The people of the city don't trust the police or the city government, the police on the street don't seem to trust their leadership, and the only actions that people are seeing are more aggressive policing (which isn't the same as more effective policing). Last night saw accusations of the police shooting a man and then planting a gun. True or not, this is the sort of thing that will lead to more tensions.

On one side of the street we'll have have the people who are always around when something bad happens looking to blame someone else and increase their own profile. Blame the police, blame the gun manufacturers, blame the gun sellers... On the other side of the street you've got the people who believe that a badge confers some special power to be able to do no wrong. Finally, you've got the people caught in the middle. I firmly believe that this includes most of the people these things affect most directly: the people in the neighborhoods, and the police who walk the beats. Those are the people who think the solution isn't to pass stupid "gun control" laws that only restrict what people can legally get their hands on. Nor to they think the answer is to assume that the police are at fault when something goes wrong. But the "powers that be" don't live on or work those streets. They sit downtown in their offices, they arrive in a chauffeur driven car after the shootings happen to decry the violence and the unfairness in their custom tailored suits. They yell at the cameras, and then they go out for dinner. And nothing really changes.

And it's hard to believe that anyone really cares. When someone is assaulted in Lincoln Park it leads the news. When there's a homicide on the south side, it barely gets covered unless the police do the shooting. If gang graffiti appeared on a high school in the gold cost, it would be gone over night. The school down the block from me gets a coat of ugly-ass brown paint several days later. And from my perspective, it's getting worse, not better. All of this leads me to believe that before the summer is out in this city, there is going to be a confrontation between the people of this city and the police. And people will die. The worst part of it is, that it's not going to be the gang members or the out-of-touch "leaders" who will suffer, but the people who want to be able to sit on their porch at night and feel safe, and it will be the police who joined the force to help people and keep those people safe. I hope I'm wrong.

People who use the term "Flyover States" or think "Middle America" is interchangeable with "Dumb-Ass" should be kicked in the nuts. Seriously. Just because you live near an ocean doesn't make you special. You want culture, we've got plenty, and we don't consider it to be just something for the elite. We have some of the best universities in the country. I've been to art museums in New York and London and they don't hold a candle to the Art Institute. Yes, New York and LA have an international reputation, but that reputation doesn't give the people who happen to live there some sort of special magic. Oh, and by the way, without us... you'd have no damn food. So, shut the hell up.

A group calling themselves "Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War" disrupted Easter Mass at Holy Name Cathedral. Apparently, they determined that the best venue to voice their opposition to the war was:
A) In a Church
B) In a church that has vocally opposed the war
C) During a service
D) During a service on one of the most important Holy Days in the Christian Faith
E) By splashing fake blood on people at the service who were dressed in their Easter best.

Regardless of your opinions of the war, or the Catholic Church, I think you should be offended by the actions of these people. I don't understand what kind of logic goes on the heads of people like this. These actions will alienate them from people who are religious and oppose the war, and will definitely add fuel to the fire of people who do not oppose the war who feel that protesters are generally misguided and more concerned with getting attention than accomplishing anything useful.

First, the name of their group: "Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War"; I don't know about most people but "Catholic Schoolgirls" brings to mind soft porn more than anything else. Clearly, at least some of the group were not schoolgirls in any sense of the word (being male) and if they were actually Catholic they would most likely have more respect for their faith than to interrupt mass in this fashion. Then there's the choice of venue. It takes no guts at all to protest in a church opposed to the war. You are, quite literally, preaching to the choir. It seem that the only reason to stage a protest in this fashion is because you are afraid of actually having to face opposition to your protest. They knew there would be cameras, but security would be minimal and inclined to be gentle. No one is likely to attempt to shout down your "message". Finally, if you're going to commit a felony to further your political aims you should make sure it counts. The fundamental voice that Americans have is their vote... and felons can't vote. If convicted, these people have sacrificed their long-term voice for a single whisper.

There are people defending them, but I can't help but wonder if they'd be so inclined to defend them if they had staged the same protest in a synagogue, a mosque or a Buddhist temple on a major holy day. While I believe these people have the right to protest the war, and if they truly believe that it is wrong, that they have an obligation to do so. But their actions were misguided at best, and outright stupid at worst. They should be ashamed of themselves and others who oppose the war should be ashamed of them as well.

TBWITWW likes to cook, and for the last year or so, she's been assisting with the culinary program at a store downtown. Ben, the chef who was the coordinator of the program (and a really fun guy), had his last day on Saturday. Last night a few of the "regulars" got together at Suite Lounge to send him off in style. Now, as any respectable chef will tell you, bacon is the perfect food. So in keeping with that, all of the gifts were bacon-related including a nice selection of actual bacon, a bacon air-freshener, bacon mints and, even Mr Bacon vs Mssr. Tofu Action Figures. During the course of the evening, it was determined that henceforth the group would be refered to as the "Baconites."

And it was good.

Today, TBWITWW and I went to the Renegade Craft Fair. It was an interesting gathering of people and stuff to look at. I think it's telling though, that while we spent a couple hours there, we didn't find anything we wanted to buy. (We did come close to buying an Inigo Montoya baby shirt for Tommy, but it was just a little too expensive. There were some interesting items, and we collected a few business cards of places we thought would be worth another look. Among these were Eight Gang Switch, Loose Leaf Collective, Traveling Rhinos, Campfire, Aisha Celia Designs, Catia Chien, and Avec Mes Mains. Unfortunately, the truly interesting an unique stuff was the exception rather than the rule. Unsurprisingly the crowd seemed to be similar. Every other booth seemed to have the same type of kitchy small buttons, and lots of "outsider art" type graphics. Silk screened drawings similar in quality to what children produce without the innocence that children bring. Many of the people who were attending the event had the same sort of sameness about them. The whole "I'm a rebel, just like all my friends" aspect seemed prevalent. I think it's trendy right now to be part of the "crafting movement". Hopefully a balance will be established between the people who are crafting because it allows them an outlet, and the people doing it because it's trendy. There's good stuff out there, and more and more people are interested, so it's become easier to find supplies, and support.

A subset of this is the people who see digital cameras as bad for photography because they make it too easy to take crap pictures. Therefore, more people are taking, and seeing, huge numbers of crap photos. However, I think people have the ability to learn the difference between what's truly great and what's just good. Now, people who wouldn't have had the resources to have created their art, or the audience to get the art seen, have that ability so more great stuff is accessable now. Eventually, this can only help the overall quality of the art in general. People who, 10 years ago, would have taken a handful of snapshots at family gatherings will now take enough pictures to become curious as to how they can make their photos better. They'll learn about "the rule of thirds" and lighting. The same applies with crafts. People will begin to think more of how things are made, and explore making things themselves. They'll get ideas for layout and composition that they may not have seen before. In the end, we all benefit from art being something for everyone rather than for the elite.

Chicago is attempting to become the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics. There is some debate about if this is a good thing for Chicago to do or not. I am firmly on the pro side. If we do it right, we will have people begging to help us improve things like housing, transit, and roads. In the meantime Chicago can use this as an opportunity to step out of the shadow of those prima donas New York and LA. I've spent a little time in those two cities and I'll take Chicago any day. Let people see that America is more than glitter and fashion and they'll come back for more. In the meantime, I think we should, in Chicago fashion, act as if we've already won it. Start getting the funding to improve infrastructure, transit, housing, etc. Pull in every event we can before then. We should show the world who we are, and at the same time show the IOC that not only can we make our city Olympic-ready, but that we've already started.

Photo provided by Jeff Lewis.