http://echomagonline.com Just another WordPress weblog Wed, 14 May 2008 02:10:13 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en “The arts saved my life,” says Haki Madhubuti as he takes a visitor past original paintings on the walls of the Third World Press, located in a former rectory on Chicago’s South Side. He pauses before a painting of Malcolm X. “He was one of my mentors even though we ... http://echomagonline.com/2007/09/01/for-poet-and-publisher-haki-madhubuti-success-has-been-hard-earned/ If you attended this year’s Midsommarfest, you might have noticed something strange at play. Andersonville’s predominantly lesbian festival was brimming with gay men. While scanning the crowd for my friends, I was blinded by the sheer density of faux hawks and pectorals peeking through tank tops. They seemed to be ... http://echomagonline.com/2007/09/01/is-andersonville-becoming-mandersonville/ On a mid-September weekend, passengers riding the “L” near Brighton Park on Chicago’s near South Side were confronted with a rainbow of color. Young people held aerosol cans and sketchbooks filled with extraordinary art as they decorated the walls. It was a weekend celebration where graffiti got the recognition and respect ... http://echomagonline.com/2007/09/01/meeting-of-styles-dresses-up-kedzie-avenue/ When the rich and famous party too excessively, they make headlines. They also face real-life consequences. Celebrity “it girls” Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton have been court ordered to seek substance abuse treatment after drug- or alcohol-related incidents. Lohan was also required to complete a drug-treatment program. Non-celebrity offenders ... http://echomagonline.com/2007/09/01/how-to-help-when-a-friend%e2%80%99s-partying-has-gotten-out-of-control/ South of the storefront Baptist churches, fish and chicken shacks, and the yellow and red signs of block-to-block currency exchanges, Southside Occupational Academy sits nestled on the 7000 block of Hoyne Avenue. Near Lindblom Park, where geese play in abandoned football fields, the yards are overgrown and homes with boarded-up ... http://echomagonline.com/2007/09/01/an-overcrowded-school-for-students-with-disabilities-makes-do-with-less/ Soft jazz music floats through the checkered hall of Little Village Lawndale High School Campus to signify the few minutes left before classes begin. On a cool Monday morning in October, students pass through the vast glass entranceway, take off their bags and walk through a metal detector. Police officers ... http://echomagonline.com/2007/09/01/a-school-on-the-southwest-side-struggles-with-neighborhood-violence/ David Thomas and Laurel Legler’s film, MC5: A True Testimonial, is rich in provocative images. The 2002 documentary explores a brilliant Detroit band that came close to making it big but never did. The film includes surveillance footage of the band’s afro-sporting, leather-clad lead singer and his band mates gyrating beneath ... http://echomagonline.com/2007/09/01/what-every-artist-should-know-about-intellectual-property-law/ For the past three years, Jen Marlowe has traveled to war-torn Sudan to give the world more than 30-second sound bites about the lives of its people. Her past documentary work focused on the Darfur Crisis in Western Sudan. Her current focus is on the rebuilding of Southern Sudan. This past ... http://echomagonline.com/2007/09/01/jen-marlowe-builds-awareness-of-a-war-in-africa/ I stand in the Iguana body jewelry kiosk, separating the blue navel rings from the clear ones, the nose studs from the tongue rings, and the Italian silver from the fake rhodium silver. As I finish arranging everything in the showcase, a man approaches me. “Um, excuse me. What are you?” ... http://echomagonline.com/2007/09/01/a-rude-question-led-me-to-an-important-realization/ It’s a minute between news blocks and Ryan Baker is on set at the NBC5 Chicago studio joking with veteran journalists, Warner Saunders and Allison Rosati. “Five, four, three, two, one,” calls out the floor director. Saunders tosses to sports. Baker’s eyes light up and his rich baritone voice booms ... http://echomagonline.com/2007/09/01/for-ryan-baker-mentoring-young-journalists-is-part-of-the-game/