Public markings

aka graffiti..... 

this is here, in Hull, right behind a cemetery. we were just walking on the cemetery when i found a way to climb up, and suddenly we were in a fort, with an amazing view on the ocean! great historic site... but.. not so much.. it was in such a bad state, everything covered in graffiti. i was rather surprised, as i have come to understand that americans cherish anything with a little bit of history. but no, this fort was just abandoned and most likely used by local youth (ow, do i feel old, writing something like that!) to drink beer and mark the walls...

i never liked graffiti but recently i changed my mind. a little. maybe not so much about graffiti but more about advertisements that are placed everywhere around us. wherever you go, you will see billboards or smaller ads. pretty women making clear that you should buy this and this shampoo if you finally (eh..?) want nice hair, telephone companies that want your money or half naked ladies in victoria's secret underwear. do i want to see all that? not more than i want to see graffiti... i guess. and at least graffiti sometimes can be funny, while advertisements are just telling you that the products you are currently using are crap, or that you really should start to loose weight or goto the gym......

anyways, this morning there was an article in the newspaper about graffiti. apparently, in boston its not easy to spray walls. the police is always on the lookout. fines being between 500 to 5000 dollar. and... and average of up to 3 years of jail time. an average of three years?! isnt that a little too much...? a funny detail was that some artist that had his work displayed at the ICA got arrested for placing graffiti across boston city...