Local bastard

I call shenanigans! In a case of typical small-town bullshit, a certain local business was forced to paint over a commissioned mural because of a certain government organization (prompted by uptight neighbors) saying it was graffiti and telling the business to cover it up or risk losing a certain license. The business owner doesn’t want any trouble, so Local Bastard is leaving names out, but if you are one of the neighbors who complained, realize that murals help stave off unwanted graffiti. Other recent aerosol murals in town on the side of the Esplanade Duke’s Liquor, the railcar murals alongside the railroad tracks and the butterflies in Lindo Channel (pictured above) have made ugly tag sites disappear. So, in addition to censoring art, your complaints have actually increased the likelihood of more graffiti on the alley-side wall. Way to go.

Thinking is hard. It’s so easy to point out the bone-headedness of the art Nazis above that it’s amazing anything would actually come of their empty whining. Granted, it’s hard to respond when things are kept quiet by those involved, but Local Bastard is constantly amazed at the tiny number of voices that actually join the discourse in Chico. There are a lot of contentious issues in town involving public art ( COBA anyone?), local music (why hasn’t there been any live music at Mr. Lucky lately?), local media (where does this Local Bastard live?) and probably a ton of yet-to-be-voiced things hiding in the summer shade.

So, Local Bastard is asking (again) for your comments, complaints, gossip and insults—Bring tha noise, and we’ll tear things apart here in the back of the paper like a good pack of wolves. Send it in: noise@newsreview.com.

TO DO: Sat., 6/4, 8am: Juanita’s memorabilia yard sale—come for a bar stool, stay for the memories; also, that family of mortuary bastards is back! It’s the last season of Six Feet Under, which is now on Mondays, beginning Mon., 6/6, 9pm.

TO BURN: Save this one for the holidays: NWA ’s classic “Fuck the Police,” with all non-explicit words edited out (thanks Red Bluff Phil): http://ni9e.com/nwa/02_Fuck_Tha_Police_EDIT.mp3

TWO MORE: In case you haven’t seen it already, Mother Hips singer/guitarist and outdoors enthusiast Tim Bluhm was featured as one of Outside magazine’s 25 Coolest People a few months ago—check him out in his bike shorts at http://outside.away. com/outside/features/200412/adventure-allstars_19.html. Also, got the site address wrong for the FreezeTagBasketball home—here’s the correct URL (no “www”): freezetagbasketball.tripod.com/