Andy Seifert

"Be a nice time to smoke some weed with Jimi," says a college student as he listens to Hendrix wail, which is probably not the first time someone has had visions of marijuana during a press conference. This, though, isn't a press conference held by some PR puppet, but by Sergey Turzhanskiy, Marck Hilgendorf and Nick Andrews, three college students recently arrested at Union Park while protesting current and future wars. Speaking in front of the Army Career Center on South State Street (apparently to really stick it to the man), it feels more like a run-of-the-mill protest: a "No War in Iran" sign with a giant mushroom cloud drawn on it covers up the "There's strong. Then there's Army strong" poster in the window; there's the obligatory older adult supporter, this one in a white "Veterans for Peace" shirt with a black ribbon on his hat, standing out in the middle of Harrison Street so that his VFP flag can wave freely.

With a suitable audience of a few dozen, the students release rhetorical vitriol against the powers that be. "The state threatens us because they are afraid," Sergey says into the megaphone, his peace-sign earring dangling as he speaks and his black and red anarcho-communist flag resting on his shoulder. "Afraid because we are many and they are few. Because they are liars and we speak truth." At some point, Sergey and company must've realized the inconvenience of a press conference in the middle of the South Loop. Forget the oppression of the people at the hands of the Bush Administration, what about the oppression of our ears at the mercy of the Chicago rush hour? Cars honk incessantly, an ambulance careens by with sirens ablaze, and two women in pea coats walk towards the group just to curse their way past. Worse yet, the Green Line rolls by every six minutes with its screeching soprano drowning out the sound of any speaker, forcing Sergey to defiantly shout louder and louder. At this point, the symbolism can go two ways, depending on your political leanings: either the noise is the oppressive forces of capitalism trying to keep the truth from being spoken as the persistent messenger perseveres and speaks even louder; or the noise is the collective voice of the world expressing their apathy, perhaps even conveying an annoyed "shut up."

"Ain't no power like the power of the people 'cause the power of the people don't stop," the group chants after the speakers ask for donations to pay for their legal fees, which they say run upwards to $2,000. "It is dawn. The sun burns hot, and the day is yet to be decided. Decide it," Sergey says, just before the train noise slowly renders him silent.

(2007-11-19)

Also by Andy Seifert

Take It Personal
Two goth kids walk into the Borders in Lincoln Park, and, as one would suspect, head straight for the display featuring "Out of Sync," the new book from Lance Bass, who's scheduled to appear in the store shortly. They lean towards the rules of the event posted underneath Lance's smirking face
(2007-11-06)

Tip of the Week
Amidst the recent rise in popularity of Mapquest and the overwhelmingly intricate Google Earth, the Field Museum's simply titled "Maps" sets out to show that maps were once hand-written and delightfully flawed. Historical heavy-hitters like Charles Lindberg's New York-to-Paris flight chart and J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginary depiction of Minas Tirith highlight the exhibit, but nearly all the pieces exist within their own subjective realm
(2007-10-30)

The Scary Stage
For a holiday whose core values are centered on spooking kids, it’s strange how pumped adults get into it; foremost among them is Jason Chin, the writer/director of "Thriller Theater" at i.O.
(2007-10-23)

Skin Deep
Mr. Skin may specialize in finding breasts in films, but he can appreciate finding irony in bookstores as well. The film-nudity mogul, whose recently released book "Mr. Skin's Skintastic Video Guide" reveals his 500 favorite movies for nudie-viewing pleasure, can’t help but grin when people inside Barbara’s Bookstore start to notice that the children’s book section is bordering the room where his people have set up a video screen
(2007-10-16)

Academic Alliance
(2007-10-16)

By a Thread
(2007-09-18)

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