Oh, those young whippersnappers and their crazy hip lingo. A few UU readers have some questions about things they've seen and heard around the neighborhood lately:
- "I've been seeing these 'clam chouder' tags all over my neighborhood in the Winthrop/ Lawrence area. Any idea what this means? I think it's kind of funny that the idiots spelled "chowder" wrong..."
- "I live near the corner of Lawrence and Sheridan. I was walking south on Sheridan the other day and heard a guy on the sidewalk shouting 'blue squares' to anyone nearby. It confused me at the time, but later I realized blue squares probably meant the little blue bags dealers put crack, etc. in. Have you heard this slang before, and am I right in what I think he was meaning?"
Readers, can you shed any light?
There are several of the "clam chowder" tags on buildings facing the east side of Broadway near Foster as well.
ReplyDeletewe've been washing the "clam chouder" tags off our building for close to 2 years. always in chalk...
ReplyDeleteOrigin: Blue; (the Color of the Newport cigarette pack), Square;(a slang term for cigarette)
ReplyDeleteGuy 1-"Blue Squares, Blue Squares!"
Guy 2-"Yo man, lemme get two"
Guy 1-"One dollar."
"Yo man, you got any blue squares?"
A square is a cigarette...maybe Newports in the blue box? That's just a guess.
ReplyDeleteThe nail salon building facing Winona at Broadway has the entire side of it written in blue chalk that says "Clam Chouder". This address is approximately 1142 W. Winona (according to Google maps). I have called 311 several times and I have to believe the business owner has called as well. However, as with every other service in this City lately, it's taking forever to get it removed. If anyone else can also call, we can take care of this problem together.
ReplyDeleteThis is the view of that wall in question when the building was being built:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=1039+W.+Winona,+60640&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=31.23349,56.513672&ie=UTF8&t=h&layer=c&cbll=41.975223,-87.659067&panoid=wzMvzukVDZG1Yqmzt0HDmg&cbp=12,53.13,,0,10.88&ll=41.975221,-87.658968&spn=0.007147,0.013797&z=16&iwloc=A
The red or the white?
ReplyDeletePerhaps you can grab a little water and wash it off? It's chalk. Geez.
ReplyDelete"Resident," you are correct, it is just chalk. This is not my building and it would take a hose for several minutes to wash that entire side of the building. This even more displays a need for landlords to take care of their own buildings. I cannot believe whomever owns this building or the business owner has not cleaned it off themselves. Why does it take an entire community to scream about something so simple? Certain building owners are allowing gang symbols to mature in public, this should not be allowed, and perhaps invoke fines on those who do not take care of their property.
ReplyDeleteIf the property manager's name is on the building call and leave them a message to get it cleaned up. I recently did this on an apartment building on my block along with making a request to 311 and notifying the community policing office.
ReplyDeleteWhere do most of these taggers live?
ReplyDeleteI'd like to tag "Chicken Noodle" on their doors.
Maybe they're advertising their next gig?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_N1IPG_DSE
Resident,
ReplyDeleteWhy should we (taxpayers) have to clean up after these punks?
Because in the time it took to post another lengthy rant on UU, you could have taken the initiative to get a bucket of soap and water, gone outside and washed it off yourself. That's absolutely what I would do in this case.
ReplyDeleteIt's counterproductive to sit on here complaining day in and day out about a system we all know if beyond flawed.
Ken,
ReplyDeleteBecause you live there, too, that's why. So what, you pay taxes--so does everybody else! If you want your neighborhood to be clean, then put in a little legwork yourself. It's chalk--we're not asking you to remove spray paint with a toothbrush. If someone drops a McDonald's bag in my front doorstep, I pick it up and throw it out, even though someone else made the mess and I should technically call 311.
Suzanne, I think there's a fundamental difference between picking up a McDonald's bag in front of my own home, and cleaning up graffiti on another property owner's property.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that, in any neighborhood, everyone needs to get out there and do things for the betterment of the community. But I also know that I, and many other Uptowners, already do that. We take time off to go to meetings that are scheduled during the day, we attend Court Advocate meetings and take time during the day to go to court, we positively loiter during the evening and late night, we call 311 and 911 all the time, and yes, we pick up trash that people drop in front of our homes.
I agree with Ken - I draw the line at doing the job of Graffiti Blasters, as well. I also draw the line at cleaning up the property of other owners.
Property owners need to take responsibility for their places. I feel it's the city's job to "convince" them to do that, not mine to make it easier for them to continue to shirk that responsibility.
If the property manager's name is on the building call and leave them a message to get it cleaned up.
ReplyDeleteWould it be wrong to leave the message in chalk on their door?
There's a guy that stands by the southbound exit of the Wilson stop trying to sell "blue squares" been wondering about that myself
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, Suzanne. If I see trash in my building's landscaping or on the sidewalk/parkway in front of my building I pick it up. I don't make 15 calls to 311 requesting that "someone" come and take care of it.
ReplyDeleteResident and Suzanne
ReplyDeletego clean it up then if you so willing I do enough cleaning around my building. Do you need the address again?
Calm down, Ken. My last comment wasn't directed toward you specifically, however I can see how you might have thought it was.
ReplyDeleteWhy should we (taxpayers) have to clean up after these punks?
ReplyDeleteBecause no one else will, becasue apathy kills, becasue you're tax dollars have done all they can, and it's actually time for you to step up to the plate. It's just chalk. wash it off, and move on to the next fight. Sometimes you have to pick your battles and make your own bed, it's just life.
OMG- Seriously? ... isn't there enough strife on the streets of Uptown without the additional bickering here on a blog meant to bring a community together? It seems there are different opinions on how tagging should be handled. So what?! Let's show some tolerance and do the best we can to set a (much needed) positive example for how to handle differing opinions and conflict resolution.
ReplyDeleteSo what does "clam chouder" mean?
ReplyDeleteI thought Newport boxes were green?
ReplyDeleteThe Clam Chouder kids have been reported to be twelve years old, one asian, one black, wearing "Scream" masks.
ReplyDeleteAre you all thick in the head? Look down at the street from the Wilson platform, and you will learn all about blue squares.
ReplyDeleteSure enough I heard a guy yell "blue squares" this morning by the SW Lawrence/Sheridan bus stop. It reminded me of the Eddie Murphy "how much for one fry?" routine.
ReplyDeleteI saw this on the side of a building located on the east side of Broadway between Bryn Mawr and Catalpa.
ReplyDeleteThere was "Clam Chouder" written in black on the sidewalk in front of my building on Greenview just north of Montrose. Blue squares and cleaning it up aside, does anyone know what it actually means?
ReplyDelete