Observations from the Edge 1.30

Interesting concept actually,

"Be it resolved that we, THE NINETY-NINE PERCENT of the PEOPLE of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in order to form a more perfect Union, by, for and of the People, shall elect and convene a National General Assembly the week of July 4, 2012 in the City Of Philadelphia to prepare and ratify a Petition For Redress Of Grievances on behalf of the Ninety-Nine Percent of the People of the United States to be served upon the United States Congress, United States Supreme Court and President of the United States prior to November 6, 2012."

link
The 99% Declaration

Observations from the Window 1.29

Last Tuesday night I watched President Obama's State of the Union address. I'm not going to get into the content of the speech other than to say it was heavily into the wealth inequality that seems to be the signature issue of out time. It was a good speech that showed the President back in campaign form and maybe ready to finally take on the GOP head on. One can hope.

As watched the speech I chatted with a friend and tried to keep up with a wildly out of control twitter. It seemed as if everybody was watching and had an opinion on it which was good to see because it shows that as the election year begins people are far from turned off by it. They know what the stakes are this year and just want to get past the joke that is the GOP primary season and get to the main event. One way or another I think this is going to be a very interesting year.

I truly love politics and take some pride in usually have a good guess about what is going to happen but these primaries are driving me insane. Newt Gingrich, the very antithesis of the conservative GOP, just wont go away and at times is the front runner. Willard Romney, who I once thought was the GOP's best hope, cries of wealth envy and has most of his own wealth in the Cayman Islands. Than there is Ron Paul who continues to amass delegates but to what end? He has nowhere near the money to spend as the other candidates but seems to only need a bus ticket to the next state to add to his delegate count. What Paul plans to do with them is the first big question of the campaign.

Some election year randomness.

The always popular Rick Santorum on President Obama's policy in Libya, “We should never go to war simply to topple a dictator.” Somebody needs to hand him a history of the war in Iraq. After the GOP debates in Florida it seems Santorum is running more to be Willard Romney's running mate than anything else.

In Georgia a judge ruled President Obama must appear in court in a case which challenges his being on the Georgia ballot for the November election, once again the question is his citizenship. The President's lawyer boycotted the hearing saying it was “baseless, costly and unproductive” while lawyers for the challengers said the president should be held in contempt for not complying. Recently I talked with somebody who said he thinks Obama was born in Kenya at which point I just wanted to shake the crap out of him. In all seriousness, what must the man do for these people?

And finally as the US and Iran drift back and forth from the brink some Republicans still have the gall to accuse President Obama of appeasement. One has to wonder what Osama bin Ladin, Muammar Gaddafi, and some recently deceased Somali pirates would have to say about that.

Observations on JoePa

I wasn't planning on writing more about the passing of Joe Paterno even though I know I could. I could write to try and help you understand why we Penn State alumni feel the way we do but at times it seems a totally hopeless proposition. Than I came across this column by Bill Lyon of the Philadelphia Inquirer and it just made me think, from the first paragraph to the haunting question at its end, it made me think about Paterno's death in a way I hadn't done before. It really is worth reading the entire column but I'm just posting the beginning and end here because they are the two parts that I just can't get out of my head. The two parts that seem to sum it all up. (full column here)

"Once upon a time in the Valley called Happy, there lived a man with monarch powers. And with these powers he bestowed upon the Valley great wealth and fame and philanthropy and enviable reputation, and buildings for football warriors and diligent scholars....

....And here, finally, is the chilling question, the one that you dread giving voice to, the one that sits on your shoulder making you squirm, the one that will haunt you for a long, long time: Did Penn State kill Joe Paterno?"

Joe Paterno was laid to rest late Wednesday after two days of public viewings at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center which his donations had funded. An estimated 30,000 people stood in freezing temperatures to file through, lines so long the doors had been opened a half hour early. A private service followed than the funeral procession wound through State College, past the Paterno Library, and finally past Beaver Stadium, its parking lots once again full, and a lone blue and white tent representing Paternoville. A sign held outside the stadium read “We Are Because You Were.” Joe Paterno won 409 games as head coach of the Nittany Lions, 409 wins at one school, something that never will be repeated.

Over the past couple months I have tried to explain to numerous friends why I, why we, feel the way we do. I'm not sure I ever succeeded completely. Late today fellow Penn State graduate Becky Murdy put better than I ever have when she posted this on twitter, "From the outside looking in, you can't understand it. From the inside looking out, you can't explain it."

Goodbye JoePa, You will be, are, missed.

Observations on Art 1.24

To me visions of Yosemite will always be black and white and always taken by Ansel Adams, maybe some of the greatest photos ever taken. Many people know Yosemite by name but may more know of it by sight because of his classic photos. This video may be in color but it's simply stunning.

Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

"This video is a collaboration between Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty. All timelapses were shot on the Canon 5D Mark II with a variety of Canon L and Zeiss CP.2 Lenses."

Observations from the Coffee Shop 1.24

For better or worse Fridays always seem to be something special. The date or the moon can make them even more so but no matter what Fridays definitely are different.

Last Friday morning I was sketching/thinking on a notepad as I usually do at breakfast. Now Ash seems to have a more thinking artsie type of mind than I do, yes scary, more analytical where I tend to be theoretical. Anyway, out of nowhere she told me to write down whatever word popped into my head. Not necessarily from our conversation, just whatever word was on my mind. Than she told me to do it all day long.

For what it's worth here is my list of words. I didn't quite make it through the whole day because I knew I would post the list here and I could see where it was heading.

waffles, ugh, coffee, euros, Euros, effing euros, étrange, des conneries, putain, weather, speed, sushi, bold, ignorant, skittles, indigo, sapphire, newt, toad, asshat, miley, NOH8, trend, ignorance, tolerate, cubist, impressionist, crap, queer, abstract, blue, tension, sopa, 1Q84, style, stoner, Cuba, loathe, vq, hipster, ice, word, indulgent, silk, black, Corona, crayons, yakuza, tattoo, ninja sex ….

Observations

"Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things."

Joseph Vincent Paterno,
JoePa

December 21, 1926,
January 22, 2012

Observations on JoePa

Speedy, near instantaneous, information is a blessing of the age we live in. It makes possible something like Wednesday's SOPA blackout or the organization of protests worldwide. Tonight I saw how it also can be a curse.

All day I had been hearing rumors about Joe Paterno's declining health. How the family had been called to his side and the Penn State Catholic chaplain had visited him. When I got home tonight I checked and at 8:45 PM Onward State, a Penn State news organization, reported Paterno. had passed away. Seconds later the phone began to ring, texts flew, and emails were sent back and forth as the Penn State diaspora began to grieve the passing of our legendary JoePa. Minutes later the report was picked up by CBS Sports and quickly spread everywhere.

The problem was the initial report was wrong. Devon Edwards, managing editor of Onward State, wrote in an apology, "I never, in a million years, would have thought that Onward State would be cited by the national media, and today, I sincerely wish it never had been." I have no idea what happened but as always I have a pet theory. Twenty minutes before that initial report an email had been sent to Penn State football players probably explaining coach Paterno's condition. Now even at Penn State football players aren't always the smartest chicken in the coop so maybe one of them read it wrong and told somebody who told somebody who ran with it.

Sadly, whatever it was, it happened. Enough said.

But I also have another reason for writing this, call it a study in human nature. I have somebody I currently follow on twitter, currently being the key word, who endlessly tweets about liberal causes. Equal rights, economic equality, an end to the death penalty, health care for all, and on and on. Tonight this person reveled in the reported death of an 85 year old man whose only failing was that when needed most he was all too human. And that is what I'll always remember her for.

Again, enough said.

update - Joe Paterno died at 9:25 am Sunday, following complications related to his lung cancer, according to a press release from Mount Nittany Medical Center.

Observations on the 2012 Election

With the 2012 Presidential election campaign kicking into gear I thought it was time to have an official title for my election coverage. This weekend brings the South Carolina primary and President Obama's first campaign commercials airing in ten states.

Campaign coverage, well I don't take myself all that seriously. Honestly I'm sharing this short video for purely entertainment purposes.


link

Observations from the Window 1.18

In my post earlier today I mentioned a column by Mark Schaefer in which he compared those participating in the SOPA blackout of social media to lemmings blindly following their leaders over a cliff. I really was irritated to the point of leaving a rare comment on his post (my comment). I did notice that he answered most comments so checked back later expecting the worst. With a little pride touched with guilt this is what I found.

"I think we are in violent agreement : )

I would never use an absolute like "all" or "none" to describe people and I'm appreciative that you are taking a thoughtful approach to the issue. My larger concern is about the many people who ONLY use social proof to make decisions and build momentum. Here is a small but accurate illustration. I recently had a controversial post tweeted by a powerful social media celebrity with 200,000 followers. It crashed my server. Despite the fact that my blog was down for more than an hour, the celeb continued to get Rt'ed by people who could not have possibly read the post, let alone agree with it.

A very minor thing. But it just shows how mindless the actions of the social hive can be. SOPA is a much bigger deal and just the beginning of the debate really. I can only hope there is a critical mass of people like you who will put on the brakes and think things through on these very important issues that will determine the future of our lives, and in a real way, our world.

Thanks for being a great example Katie."

Observations on Art 1.18

A friend of mine sent me this short film yesterday which I'm not going to comment on because it speaks rather well all on its own. I will however agree with what she said in the email, this girl had one hell of a year.

2011 from hey_rabbit on Vimeo.

"I shot a little video every day of 2011 on my Canon Powershot, then I edited it all down to a little over a second each. It's interesting to be able to look back on my year and remember these little moments. I love living in LA. I love the friends I've made. And I love seeing how much has changed over just one year being here. Sure, I guess now that I see it, I got sick and worked a lot this year (lots of driving, running around doing errands all day). But oh well, it's motivation for 2012!"