An unassuming wall that sits beneath the MBTA overpass on the corner of Pleasant and Summer Street in Malden may soon become a work of art.

Last Thursday night, residents of Malden in conjunction with The Art Connection and Youth A.C.T. (Action, Coalition, Trust) held an input meeting at the Malden Senior Center to brainstorm themes and develop a design for an upcoming city project to create a community mural. The New England Foundation for the Arts is funding the program.

“This is another in a series of artistic endeavors that the city and the Office of Mayor Richard C. Howard have supported in recent years,” said Deborah A. Burke, project director for Economic Development for the city of Malden. “The Mayor sees great value in embracing the arts as an economic engine that spurs community revitalization efforts.”

Read more: http://www.wickedlocal.com/malden/homepage/x1365715921/Mural-project-promotes-art-for-all

Summer is traditionally associated with organized youth sports such as Little League baseball. However, a program for youngsters in Malden aims to teach and promote individual sports as well.

For the past five weeks, the Friends of Oak Grove, Inc. has offered “FOOGI Fun & Fitness” at Patchell Park. There, children can participate in activities such as push-ups and jumping jacks.

Read more: http://www.wickedlocal.com/malden/homepage/x1886164727/Summer-fun-meets-fitness-Oak-Grove-organization-holds-alternative-day-camp-for-kids

This year, the slogan for the Urban Art Competition could have been “Take Two” for two reasons.

The competition for youth artists occurred for the second straight year. It also took place after its initial date of June 20 was cancelled due to concerns over the weather (an abridged version of the contest did take place for those who showed up at Lincoln Commons).

So, on the second try of 2009, the competition took place last Saturday, and organizer Mai Du called it a success.

Read on for more: http://www.wickedlocal.com/malden/fun/entertainment/arts/x931236122/Art-with-attitude-Rescheduled-Urban-Art-Competition-a-success

About 100 children let their imaginations run wild in the second annual Urban Art Competition at Lincoln Commons, an event backed by the nonprofit Youth ACT and other sponsors.

“It turned out really well,” said Mai Du, cofounder of Youth ACT.

On June 20 and again last Saturday, youths painted for three hours on 40 canvasses, working with relish, according to Du.

“The event is meant to support youth and their artistic expressions,” she said in an e-mail. “For many, it has been this strong desire to visually acknowledge their existence and express their identity.”

Read on for more: http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/malden/2009/07/youth_art_contest_crowns_winne.html

A common complaint I hear from teens is that they’re being raised by parents who aren’t as smart as they are. Suffice it to say there are a lot of people in the world who just aren’t very bright, and there’s no IQ test required to raise kids.

did not suffer from that particular problem myself since my parents are both pretty bright intellectually. But I can still relate to the challenge of being raised by people with values that differ from your own.

I’ve also had some friends who were raised by — how can I say this tactfully? — intellectually challenged parents.

Some parents simply make some very dumb decisions and not just with respect to parenting. Some make dumb career choices and bad financial decisions. Some make poor health choices. Some are socially inept. And some are spiritually bankrupt. When parents make bad choices, their children are stuck going along for the ride.

In many cases, by the time the child is a teenager, they’re starting to realize that Mom and/or Dad are a few bits short of a byte. Then the kid is left wondering, “How the heck am I supposed to deal with these people?”

This situation can create a lot of conflict and stress during the teenage years. The teen is still dependent on the parents, but the parents aren’t doing a very good job as parents… or as human beings for that matter.

What do you do if you find yourself in such a position? How do you prevent dumb parents from making a mess of your life while you’re still dependent on them?

Read the rest of the article at Steve Pavlina’s site.

Feel like everyone knows about eco-friendly topics but you? NewScientist has published an article with all the dumb eco-questions you were afraid to ask. The article covers topics such as energy use, recycling, and environmental issues.