Sunday Observations 2.3

It being Super Bowl Sunday I want to start with a beer related thought. I often joke about signs of the apocalypse but I saw something this week that just might be the final sign. This week the Justice Department blocked Anheuser Busch, the makers of Budweiser, from a complete takeover of Grupo Modelo who just happens to make Corona. AB fully admits the takeover attempt is out of fear of good beer. "We must slow the volume trend of High End Segment and cannot let the industry transform," said an AB spokesman. In the last ten years the number of craft (read that good) beer brewers has quadrupled while over the past two years Budweiser sales have fallen over ten percent. The combined AB/Modelo would control over half the U.S. beer market hence the anti-trust suit by the DOJ which is enough to thwart the apocalypse for now. Or it should until the vegetable growers try and corner the lime market.

Here is an example of the fun side of twitter. I read this tweet a couple days ago, "Leaning over stretching, I panicked for a second b/c I suddenly couldn't move my head. And...I was standing on my hair." Sadly I fully understood how this could happen but it made me smile just to read it because hey I've been there.

There hasn't been any reason to mention Willard for some time now but I found out a couple things this week that have changed that. The first isn't surprising at all. You might remember that during hurricane Sandy Willie's campaign changed one of their events into a pseudo food drive for victims of the storm. I've been reading an ebook by BuzzFeed's Michael Hastings in which he says that before the event the campaign dropped $5,000 at a Dayton, Ohio Walmart to stock the rally's shelves with canned goods. You know, in case Romney supporters were cheap bastards who couldn't afford a can of beans.

The other thing about Willard really did surprise me and reminded me that I had once thought that if Willard had run as the Massachusetts Governor Romney, and not the right wing kowtowing nutjob Romney, he might have won. Thursday the Romney campaign filed its latest report with the Federal Election Commission. It seems that after the election, and with no announcement at all, they had donated $90,000 to the Red Cross for Sandy relief. I thought that I should give him credit for that after all the abuse I dished out over the last year. Than again I should also note that the campaign still has $4 million in the bank.

The Hastings eBook is called Panic 2012: The Sublime and Terrifying Inside Story of Obama's Final Campaign and costs just $5 on Amazon. It's basically a 150 page BuzzFeed article about the campaign's last months which is funny and totally eye opening. It's worth reading and no I don't get a cut.

I don't normally share personal email but this one from a friend on Friday sums up the week so well. "Israel attacking Syria, terrorists attacking our embassy, China attacking the NY Times, Republicans attacking Hagel, all of England attacking the artist who painted Kate's portrait, people attacking commercials... I need a beer." I hope she got that beer and it wasn't a Budweiser.

Have I ever mentioned that I would totally like to go to China?

Observations from the Coffee Shop 2.1

The Super Bowl is just a few days away so I thought a little preview was called for. Personally I think the last version of the Beetle was cuter and this 2013 model would look much better in black. I better shut-it though, I don't want Foxy getting jealous.

Don't sweat me brodder, the sticky bun come soon ....

link
Volkswagen
Published on Jan 27, 2013
Jimmy Cliff - Rebirth

Watch our Super Bowl 2013 TV commercial, where you'll meet Dave and his newfound sunny disposition (that manifests itself in a curious way), all thanks to his new 2013 Volkswagen Beetle.

update - After I posted this it was brought to my attention that some people somehow find the commercial offensive. That a white man speaking with a Jamaican accent and driving a German car is somehow racist and not multi-cultural fun. This was just a little post but some people are just too damn serious and now it's much too long.

In its defense I give you Dr Claire Nelson, the Jamaican born president of the Institute of Caribbean Studies and the Caribbean Heritage Organisation. Dr. Nelson said what she and her group found offensive "are the mostly non-Jamaican critics who contend that the commercial is racist. Some going as far as saying that it's like putting a black face on a white or Asian person. We hasten to assure the viewing public, that being Jamaican, just like being American, is a nationality and not a race.We invite everyone to 'Get in and get happy. No problem, man."

Tourism Minister Wykeham McNeill said Jamaica can benefit significantly from the Super Bowl ad. "I think this is a very creative commercial, which truly taps into the tremendous appeal that brand Jamaica and its hospitable people have globally," he said in a press release. The Opposition Jamaica Labour Party has also endorsed the ad.

I rest my case.

Observations on Art 1.31

It was said that Pixar had killed traditional animation with its computer generated imagery. This simple fact was proved when Disney bought Pixar in a deal that made Steve Jobs Disney's largest shareholder. But somebody forgot to tell traditional animators that there art was dead.

Paperman mixes traditional and computer animation using a new software called Meander which was developed by Disney software engineer Brian Whited. While still 'secret' Meander allows CGI animation to be finished with traditional drawings to add detail. The process gives the finished film the look and feel of drawing but the stability and smoothness of computer generation. Paperman director John Kahrs said "There is something so primal and expressive about drawing, and our hope was to get it back into the CG animation process."

The short was first shown at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in June and is nominated for the Best Animated Short Film in next month's Academy Awards. Disney released it to all on Tuesday.

It's pretty damn awesome.

link
disneyanimation
Uploaded on Jan 29, 2013

Observations on Art 1.30

Two art posts in a row and it's not even Armory time! This may be something totally new. It has nothing to do with a lack of interesting things on my mind, or interesting things pissing me off, just my trying to finally get that balance between art and politics I've been after in both my blog and my mind. I'm not even going to bring up sports today.

I saw this column by Michael Reid in Art Market Monitor and I wanted to share part of it. Reid, who at one time worked for Christie's, is an Australian art collector and dealer. He is writing about the idea that we are all photographers now and by we he means everybody on the planet. It seems an obvious idea but it isn't something I've ever seen thought out before and it's amazing to think that within five years the entire human race will have the ability to take photos or video. What that means to art, not to mention politics and just human existence, is a thought that boggles the mind.

Below are the paragraphs that really had me thinking. In the rest of the column Reid goes into a more collector related slant but as he is a dealer/collector that's to be expected. This should be more than enough to get you thinking but it's worth reading the thing and you can do that here.

"The world of technology and imagery has changed almost every aspect of our lives. Every child born in the world today is a potential photographer. Irrespective of geography or wealth, it is projected that within five years all will have access to a communication device that takes photographs and films. And when I say “all of us” I mean the nearly 7.4 billion projected “all of us” – from the first of the First World, to the new telecommunications boom market of sub-Saharan Africa.

That’s is the killer idea. We are now all photographers, almost every single person on the planet.

With billions of people, hourly taking images, there will be more photographs made in the next five years, than say in the last one hundred years. Digital photography’s chief selling points, the abilities to see the finished product instantly and to take countless pictures without incurring any additional charge, have turned out to be mixed blessings. With effort and cost excised from the equation, photos have become plentiful. And at the same time, as more and more pictures are taken on smartphones, “shared” on social media to all, then lost to the cacophony of the digital universe, meaningful images have become too scarce. However, those photographs that are very good, that are meaningful, those rare few amidst the hundreds and hundreds of thousands, will be greatly valued. Enormously valued for being what they are, much better than the mediocre rest."

Observations on Art 1.28

This cartoon was just to good to pass up on an soon to be icy Monday morning. Lauren Purje is an artist living in Brooklyn, a graduate of Ohio University with a BFA in Painting, and draws funny cartoons that happen to be all too true. Lauren currently is a gallery assistant at Viridian Artists in Chelsea, paints, and draws these most awesome cartoons for Hyperallergic. Her work will also soon be published in the book Fucked in The Pursuit Of Glory. I mention that last item because I like the title of the book.

Sunday Observations 1.27

Have you ever read a magazine article and get to a point where it says continued on page 46 but when you get to page 46 it says continued from page 46 and the missing section is nowhere to be found? That just sucks. I needed to get that out of the way first.

In the mood for something a little different this morning I watched Ultraviolet on my Kindle while we were had breakfast. To be more precise I watched Milla Jovovich, read the Times, and ate waffles all at the same time. It seemed like a good idea to stay away from any of the Resident Evil movies because that might just seem impolite of me.

Here is some Penn State trivia for you. If you had to guess which sport has won the most national championships which would it be? Don't even guess football, there have only been two. I didn't know the answer so I guessed the women's volleyball team but even they have only won five national titles. It seems like they won more than that because four of those championships were consecutive, 2007-2010. No the correct answer would be the men's gymnastics team that has won twelve. I never knew that.

Something else I never knew is that both Nikon and Canon DSLR chassis are made by the same company, Ju Teng International Holdings of Hong Kong. The thing is I discovered this fact while skimming articles about a new Sony technology that originated in Canon film SLRs but was dropped when Canon went totally digital. The technology is an eye following autofocus that to me seems like more trouble than it is worth because of the need to calibrate your eye to the camera. You can read about it here if you want.

There was an article in The New York Times today about those end of the world as we know it, have your bag packed, I will survive even when the zombies attack type people known as preppers. So maybe the zombie attack is a bit of an embellishment but you get the point. The full extent of my prepping is to keep a full tank of gas and a camera in Foxy to avoid a repeat of Sandy when I didn't have enough gas to get off the island. Somebody in the article does mention the possibility of the bridges and tunnels of Manhattan being closed, which did happen during Sandy, and the need to raft across the river if it should happen again. A raft would be problematical but I remember old beetles supposedly floated so maybe I should just keep an oar in the trunk.

I started the day with Ultraviolet and finished it with Blood Diamonds. I'm not sure what, if anything, that says about me.

Observations from the Window 1.26

I was skimming through blogs a couple days ago when I saw a post that included a link to one of those things that will instantly analyze your personality. The answer is based on on a system developed by psychiatrist Carl Jung in his book Psychological Types according to which there are sixteen different personality types. Yes I'm trying hard to sound professional and I did have to try it out but before I get to my results I should a say you can read her post at Mo' Homo or try the typealyzer yourself if you want.

Normally I don't bother doing these things because a few years ago I did one that told you what writer you were most like. Paste in a few paragraphs of text, I used a blog post, and it came up with with an answer. The problem with mine was it said David Foster Wallace which, while flattering, just reminded me that Wallace had hung himself in 2008. I did this one because it was easy, just paste in the blog address, and the answer comes with a cute picture. I typed in my blog, hit send, and just started laughing when I saw the pic. If I believe the answer I have what is called an ISFP personality.

"The gentle and compassionate type. They are especially attuned their inner values and what other people feel. They usually have a strong appreciation for art and beauty or things around them that affect the look, taste, sound or smell. They are not friends of many words and tend to take the worries of the world on their shoulders. They tend to follow the path of least resistance and have to look out not to be taken advantage of. They tend to value their friends and family above what they do for a living. They genuinely care about people. They are extremely gifted at creating and composing things that stimulates the senses, such as art, music or food. They often prefer working quietly, behind the scene as a part of a team. They have no desire to lead others and they don't want to be led. ISFPs are sometimes not good at giving him/herself enough credit for things they did well."

Granted I may have seen something like this before but with my short term memory I didn't remember so now suitably intrigued I did some more digging. A psych website actually describes an ISFB  (Introversion, Sensing, Feeling, Perception) as "the Artist."

"As an ISFP, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit into your value system. Your secondary mode is external, where you take things in via your five sense in a literal, concrete fashion. ISFPs live in the world of sensation possibilities. They are keenly in tune with the way things look, taste, sound, feel and smell. They have a strong aesthetic appreciation for art, and are likely to be artists in some form, because they are unusually gifted at creating and composing things which will strongly affect the senses. They are likely to not give themselves enough credit for the things which they do extremely well. Their strong value systems can lead them to be intensely perfectionist, and cause them to judge themselves with unnecessary harshness."

And still another site said, "People with ISFP personalities are very in tune with the world around them. They are very much attuned to sensory information and are keenly aware when even small changes take place in their immediate environment. Because of this, they often place a high emphasis on aesthetics and appreciate the fine arts. They are also perfectionists and can be their own harshest critics. Because they place such high expectations on themselves, they often underestimate or undervalue their own skills and talents."

Enough already, between horoscopes, karma, and history I have enough to worry about and I really don't need psychology too, still it does sound like me. Only 5% of people have this personality, two thirds of whom are women, including Hillary Clinton, Keith Richards, Britney Spears, Marilyn Monroe, Sofia Coppola, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. So maybe it's not so bad after all, I seem to have good company.

And Michael Jackson.

They lost me.

Observations from the Window 1.24

It has been a fun couple of days to be a progressive/liberal/gay/woman or any one of the above. On Monday we had President Obama's Inaugural speech and than yesterday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified to Congress on the tragedy in Benghazi, Libya. After seven hours of testimony nobody was talking about what she said but what an awesome job she had done and how bad some of the wingnuts looked. Clinton looked every bit one of the most popular politicians in the country that she currently is. Confident, intelligent, at times emotional, she made a woman proud.

But enough before I get too serious because this is going to be an almost comedic post. I just wanted to share some of the things I have heard coming out of cloud coo coo land because, to quote Rush Limbaugh, "it's a puke fest out there." For the first time, and in all probability the last, I have to agree with him.

In his Inaugural speech President Obama mentioned gays for the first time in an Inaugural and he also mentioned Stonewall. On Fox Pat Buchanan asked "What was he talking about? Stonewall. That's a barroom brawl in Greenwich Village in 1969, when cops were hassling gays and their bar, and the gays fought back and threw them all out. Does that belong in a presidential inaugural?" As Jon Stewart later remarked yes that was Pat Buchanan for the wrong side of history.

During the Clinton testimony wingnut Senator Rand Paul said this; "I think that ultimately, with you leaving, that you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11. And I really mean that. Had I been president at the time and I had found that you had not read the cables from Benghazi, you had not read the cables from Ambassador Stevens, I would have relieved you of your post. I think it’s inexcusable." I wont get into what dreamworld Paul lives in to think he would ever be president but I do wonder why 4 dead in Libya qualifies as the worst tragedy since 9/11 and not the deaths of over 4,000 in Iraq and Afghanistan. I should also add that in 2011 Paul proposed cutting the State Department's budget by 70%.

There are so many more of these I could post from Wisconsin wingnut Ron Johnson suggesting Clinton should have just called Benghazi on the phone to find out what was going to NRA President Wayne LaPierre quoting one of the more liberal justices in the history of the Supreme Court. In a totally unnecessary rebuttal to the President's speech LaPierre quoted Hugo Black as saying that there were absolutes in the Constitution that couldn't be debated. LaPierre didn't mention that Black had specified the second amendment as one of the exceptions to that rule.

One of the few politicians as popular as Hillary Clinton is New  Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Again I give you Senator Paul this time on the N.J. Governor and again showing why he will never be president. "I think criticizing the Second Amendment movement and the over the top ‘give me my money’ stuff, ’I want all 60 billion now or I’ll throw a tantrum,' I don’t think that’s going to play well in the Republican primary."

Why do I love politics? The thought of a Rand Paul - Chris Christie debate is all the reason I need.

update - My brother reminded me that Senator Johnson was the same Johnson who as a Senate candidate said of global warming, "I absolutely do not believe in the science of man caused climate change. It's not proven by any stretch of the imagination." In the same interview he also described believers in man made causes of climate change as crazy and "it's far more likely that it's just sunspot activity or just something in the geologic eons of time."

Awesomeness

I'm taking a break from the usual to share some pure awesomeness. Jenna and Jess met at a lesbian bar in New York City on November 19, 2006. I'm wont bore you by saying the rest is history but it seems pretty damn, well, awesome.


Jenna + Jessica || Two for One Drink Special Film || Produced by Epic Filmmakers from Epic Filmmakers on Vimeo.

Venue - Wadsworth Mansion, Middletown CT
Cinematography - Epic Filmmakers
Photographer - Scott Perham Photography
Flowers - A Victorian Garden
Antique Car - Tim Grano
Reverend Stacey Harrell,
Ceremony music by Scott & Ashley Doty,
Makeup - Karyn Ohlson (Jess sister)
Wedding attire - Vera Wang at David's Bridal
Shoes - DiMaggio Armucci from Xklusif

"Epic Filmmakers is a boutique wedding film studio that believes in visual storytelling and preserving life's most precious moments. Our team of creative filmmakers carefully craft each of our films with the goal in mind of creating a piece of cinema that you'll love to watch over and over again. Our films tell the personal story of each of our couples, while highlighting the little moments that build into the unforgettable memories throughout the day. Every epic love story makes it to film. Let Epic Filmmakers capture yours."

Observations 1.21

This a short story about a segment of the population that didn't see the beauty of President Obama's second Inaugural Address. A segment that will forever live in the past and for which the word "Stonewall" in the President's speech has an entirely different meaning.

Somewhere in the area of one million people were in Washington to be part of President Obama's inaugural today which also happened to be Martin Luther King Day. At the same time one hundred miles to the south the Virginia State Senate was in session in Richmond, the one time capital of the Confederacy. The Virginia Senate is evenly split with twenty Republicans and twenty Democrats but on this day 79 year old Democrat Henry Marsh was absent. Marsh, a veteran of the civil rights battles of the 1960's, was in Washington to witness the second inauguration of the country's first African American president and celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King.

The Virginia GOP used Marsh's absence to push through a redistricting bill even though the districts had just be redrawn two years ago. Predictably the bill passed by a vote of 20-19 and erased a Democratic seat in western Virginia. The Republican Governor Bob McDonnell hasn't yet said whether he will sign it or not but if he does the GOP will control all of the Virginia legislature. Nationwide the Republican strategy seems to be if you can't win using the current rules simply change the rules and do it in as despicable a way as you can.

I save the best part of my story for last. Remember that today was Martin Luther King Day and President Obama's Inauguration Day. On this of all days, and taken from its official minutes, the Virginia State Senate choose to end it's day the following way:

"On motion of Senator Stosch, the Senate adjourned in memory of General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson at 4:10 p.m. to convene Tuesday, January 22, 2013."

January 21^st also happens to be the Confederate general's birthday.

Observations on the 2013 Inaugural

"We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths, that all of us are created equal, is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth."

Inaugural Address by President Barack Obama

President Obama Delivers His Second Inaugural Address
(official video)

Observations from the Window 1.21

Today is Inauguration Day, along with Martin Luther King Day, and President Obama will be sworn in yet again followed by the official celebration of the beginning of his second term. Confused because you thought he was sworn in yesterday? Under the Constitution the president automatically begins his term on Jan. 20. This year the date fell on Sunday so President Obama and Vice President Biden followed tradition by being sworn in at a private ceremony. President Reagan did the same in 1985 which was the last time the inaugural fell on a Sunday. Never let it be said that I didn't teach you something.

Yesterday The Telegraph posted a gallery of photos chronicling President Obama's first term which is totally worth looking at. This photo from the 10^th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks just jumped out at me when I saw it. I may have seen it before but I didn't remember it if I did, either way it's just a gorgeous shot. The angles, the broken light falling on the waterfall, the way the leaves frame to top of the shot, it's just one of those photos you look at and nod because you know it's exactly what you would have done in that situation or like to think you would have.

Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy
Tumblr link

Sunday Observations 1.20

The NHL returned from its extended hiatus yesterday as the Penguins defeated the Flyers 3-1 in the first game for both teams. It wasn't quite as bad as the score indicates as the Flyers didn't start their season until the second period so we shall see how the Flyers look today in Buffalo. It will be their second of seven games in eleven days.

In one of those funny quirks of sports there are times that Philadelphia is truly the capitol of North American hockey. I'm not saying that because I'm a Flyers fan or because they played in front of a sold out crowd at the Wells Fargo Center, it's always sold out. I say that because after the Flyers game Penn State played Vermont in college hockey in front of another sold out WFC crowd, Penn State won 4-2. That means in a span of six hours about 40,000 people watched ice hockey in south Philly. I don't have to remind you what big field hockey fans Pennsylvanians are.

I could write a whole post about this next item but I don't feel like writing another gun post right now and I really don't want to take seriously at all. I'm only mentioning it because I once again want to show you what total nutjobs some of these gun people are. There are some out there who honestly believe the Newtown slaughter was orchestrated by the government to make the climate better for gun control legislation. One of the things they say proves this is that the parents of the dead children weren't suitably grief stricken.

Now conspiracy theories are nothing new to America. A few of the lasting ones are that Kennedy was killed by Johnson or the CIA, that there are aliens at Area 51, or that the moon landings never happened. Lately though the conspiracy theories are bordering on the macabre. This Newtown one is right there with Israel being behind the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11 to draw the U.S. into war with Islam. Nutjobs.

So while I'm on guns I should also mention that yesterday was the first annual Gun Appreciation Day. During the celebration of this grand day five people were injured, shot, at three separate gun shows.

I've found I'm turning into my grandfather of all people. I blame my kindle because at breakfast and dinner I've started to read out loud items of profound importance just as grandfather always sat and read the paper to everybody. As usually happened with him everybody in turn just ignores me. I find it irritating when they ignore me.

Finally, I was reading a magazine when I saw a pic of a model wearing some cool striped underwear, yes underwear. When I looked to see what they were I saw Marc Jacobs briefs $525 and that is today's sign of the apocalypse.

Observations from the Window 1.17

The whole gun debate is more likely to piss me off than bring tears to my eyes but yesterday President Obama did just that when he mentioned Grace McDonnell, a victim of the Newtown massacre. I always say massacre because the word shooting doesn't quite seem enough and slaughter, though that's exactly what it was, seems too much. Whatever, every time I read these words I tear up.

"When I visited Newtown last month I spent some private time with many of the families who'd lost their children that day. And one was the family of Grace McDonnell. Grace's parents are here. Grace was seven years old when she was struck down, just a gorgeous, caring, joyful little girl. I'm told she loved pink. She loved the beach. She dreamed of becoming a painter."