dipsticks and lipstick

Remember that little war between Russia and Georgia a few weeks ago? I didn't think so. We should be thinking on it though in light of the ABC interview with Sarah Palin and her eagerness to please her neo-con tutors on the national stage. When asked about the conflict she said she's ready to go to war with Russia on behalf of Georgia, We better take that seriously before any levers get pulled in November. World War III is not my New Year's resolution for 2009.

What are the political games being played inside the McCain camp that would not only turn Georgia into Chechnya, but put so many lives at risk? What is the real story of Mikheil Saakashvili, and why is it that the US Taxpayer has to now rebuild his military for the bargain price of $5 billion?

The Nation's Mark Ames looks at the troubling questions and more.

On August 14, just as the Georgians and Russians signed their ceasefire, the pro-McCain neocon rag The Weekly Standard published an article "The Pain Game: A military response to Russia's aggression?" calling for the Pentagon to refit Georgian forces to fight a protracted, Chechnya-style guerrilla war against Russia. The author, an old cold war goon named Stuart Koehl, admitted that pushing Georgia into a Chechnya-style guerrilla struggle against Russia would result in a "long and difficult war" and would be "messy," because the Russians "will probably respond to this as they did to the bloodletting in both Afghanistan and Chechnya"--in other words, by killing tens or hundreds of thousands of Georgians. But that's no skin off this neocon's back, because if Georgia managed to hang in as long as it takes for such a war, victory over Russia could be achieved "in a way that would not directly involve US or NATO forces." In other words, Koehl and the rest of the neocons are ready to fight Russia to the last Georgian. And that might literally mean the last Georgian, if you look at what the Russians did to Chechnya.

The idea seems to be gaining traction, as an anonymous defense analyst told a military reporter a couple of weeks ago that America should convert the Georgian armed forces into a "Hezbollah" guerrilla force for the same purpose--bleed the Russians into defeat, while we sit back and chant "Hoo-ah!"

Lost in all of these apocalyptic plans for "helping" Georgia is what the Georgian people themselves might think. How do they feel about the McCainites' plans for turning their ancient, charming country into one of the world's bloodiest hellholes--Chechnya meets South Lebanon by way of Afghanistan, according to the neocons' own words. As the popular war blogger Gary Brecher explained: "Starting a guerrilla war means sentencing most of the people in your address book to a very nasty death." Do Georgians really want that?

Regarding Saakashvili he offers this:

In our conversation, Kochladze raised the most important issue that no one in America will talk about: Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili's anti-democratic credentials. The false spin on Saakashvili as the Jefferson of the Caucasus has driven the hysterical talk of going to war with Russia. Maintaining this false image of Saakashvili has also been key to McCain's candidacy, given McCain's tight relationship with the controversial Georgian strongman.

Jefferson he is not. A former senior US diplomat who served in the former Soviet Union and the Balkans told me, "What Saakashvili has done since coming to power--controlling the television media, rigging elections, attacking opposition protesters and driving his opponents out of the country and now launching a war against an ethnic minority--I've seen this before. Saakashvili is just another Milosevic. He's the kind of guy who will do anything to stay in power for life." It's not like Saakashvili's authoritarian credentials are the world's biggest secret. Freedom House this year downgraded Georgia's freedom rating to the lower end of the "partly free" category, placing it on par with such beacons of democracy as Venezuela--yes, that's right, Hugo Chávez's Venezuela--and Guinea Bissau.

Georgia's freedom index dropped below even such basketcases as Sierra Leone and Papau New Guinea, where nearly a third of the registered voters for last year's heavily-criticized elections were found to have been long deceased. What's more, Georgia's slide towards authoritarianism has only gotten worse, as Freedom House reports:

Georgia's political rights rating declined from 3 to 4 due to the restrictions placed on political opposition following the November 2007 emergency declaration, and the civil liberties rating declined from 3 to 4 due to the circumscription of media and expression in the aftermath of the November protests.

Georgians took to the streets to oppose President Mikheil Saakashvili in October and November 2007, turning out in the largest numbers since the 2003 "Rose Revolution," which swept Saakashvili to power. The authorities violently dispersed the demonstrators, causing hundreds of injuries, and imposed a state of emergency on November 7. The next day, Saakashvili called a snap presidential election for January 5, 2008. The state of emergency, which remained in place until November 16, banned all news broadcasts except state-controlled television and restricted public assembly. Also in 2007, former defense minister Irakli Okruashvili, a onetime Saakashvili ally who subsequently emerged as a principal political rival, was charged with corruption, jailed, and then quickly released.

Chilling, but read the whole article which will have the active links. Also, if you are interested in the developments in Georgia and now Ukraine, I have found Paul Goble's blog a universe of information, history and grounded perspective. WindowonEurasia is a daily read. Paul Goble is director of research and publications at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy.


image: Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove

our gilded age

Seems like as good a time as any to pickup the Twain classic...... now what will Uncle Fester do about this hullabaloo on Wall St.????



Image:Credit: Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, artist.'"Mark Twain," America's best humorist.' Keppler & Schwarzmann, 1885. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Biden - the secret weapon

via: Sullivan

Obama - the 2 minute ad

Palin's Alaskan armegeddon

Alarming footage (June 2005) of Alaska's "God's Commission". Palin's speech accompanied the Wasilla Assembly of God's Masters' Commission, which the church's pastor said will allow Alaska to become a refuge for American evangelicals during the coming "end of days" -- or Armageddon


Here's more on Palin's friend (in the video), Pastor Muthee- at the Christian Science Monitor.
The back story is something like this.

In 1988, Pastor Muthee and his wife traveled to Kenya after being "called by God." Setting up shop in the basement of a grocery store, they claim to have brought 200 people "to God" and away from the town's "spiritual oppression."

The source of the oppression? Witchcraft, Muthee says. When researching the community, they found that a woman named "Mama Jane" ran a divination clinic that drew a large following in the town.

“We prayed, we fasted, the Lord showed us a spirit of witchcraft resting over the place,” Pastor Muthee said.

Muthee made his experiences into a video called Transformations, which documents his "spiritual warfare" against demons and occult practices. Spiritual warfare is more common in Latin America and Africa, where the concept of day-to-day demons has a stronger hold.

"According to accounts of the witchhunt circulated on evangelical websites such as Prayer Links Ministries, after Pastor Muthee declared Mama Jane a witch, the townspeople became suspicious and began to turn on her, demanding that she be stoned," the London Times noted Tuesday. "Public outrage eventually led the police to raid her home, where they fired gunshots, killing a pet python which they believed to be a demon."

via: rawstory

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse vs. drilling trolls

great question and the appropriate response - dead silence

WHITEHOUSE: Gentlemen, we’re in the middle of a near total mortgage system meltdown in this country. We have a health care system that burns 16 percent of our GDP, in which the Medicare liability alone has been estimated at $34 trillion. We’re burning $10 billion a month in Iraq.

This administration has run up $7.7 trillion in national debt, by our calculation. And there is worsening evidence every day of global warming, with worsening environmental and national security ramifications. In light of those conditions, do any of you seriously contend that drilling for more oil is the number one issue facing the American people today?

(Long silent pause during which nobody answers.)

WHITEHOUSE: No, it doesn’t seem so.

via: kos

the Pizza Hut President (ode to Sarah)

Just a small town girl, livin in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in south detroit
He took the midnight train goin anywhere

A singer in a smokey room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on

Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people, living just to find emotion
Hiding, somewhere in the night

Working hard to get my fill,
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin anything to roll the dice,
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on

(chorus)

Dont stop believin
Hold on to the feelin
Streetlight people

- lyrics by Journey

image: Sarah Palin VP hopeful

McCain's real views on Mayors, etc.

via Sam Stein

twin lights

tonight from my neighborhood.

Office of Blame now in NYC

Having worked the streets of the DNC and the RNC, the Office of Blame comes into its final stop in NYC tomorrow. Seeing that this will be the 7th anniversary (amazing) of the vicious attack on our citizens here in the Big Apple, there should be plenty of blame on people's minds. I'm sure it will be quite emotional for us all here.

Yours truly will be subbing in for [Geoffrey Cunningham] this stint and assisting Carla Repice on the phones. So if you are in Manhattan from 4-7pm we will be at Union Square. Stop by and bitch about something.

from the website:

Here at the OBA, our accountants specialize in taking your blame. Through our easy filing method, we will:

• record and provide witness to your blame

• notarize and file your blame securely and anonymously

• provide you with a receipt for your personal record

• all for FREE!

How? Now placing blame is easier than ever! You can find us at our select office hours and locations (updated below) -OR- We are now pleased to announce our ONLINE iBlame filing system! It’s still easy and anonymous and you will receive a receipt via email.

Just click here for the form.

We at the OBA thank you for choosing us to shoulder your blame. Feel free to use us as often as you like, and don’t forget to share our services with anyone.

ABC looks into Palin book banning

Matt Damon on Palin apocalypse

you wonder why.....

Put another way, Palin enjoyed more coverage as a VP candidate during the GOP convention than Obama did a week earlier when he became the first person of color to accept the nomination for president of a major party. With the other ticket making most of the news, Obama was a focus in 22% of the stories last week, by far his lowest week of coverage in the general election season. His running mate Joe Biden registered at 2%.

The extent to which Palin commanded the spotlight last week is clear from the campaign storylines. Together, media narratives about McCain and the convention—including the proceedings themselves, Hurricane Gustav’s impact, McCain’s speech, and George Bush’s role—accounted for 43% of the campaign newshole. Palin themes, including reaction to her selection, her public record, her personal and family life, and the question of sexism—accounted for 45%.

read on

23 LIES to Nowhere ...and counting

and this from Chris Matthews

the other Palin

via Balloon Juice

collective wisdom vs. t he local bully

Like many of us, I have experienced a real trauma over the past week regarding the Palin pick and the subsequent fright fest of the RNC. Perhaps the most morbid piece of political theater I have ever witnessed in my short 36 years. To say that Palin brings up all kinds of ghosts and shadows from my past is an understatement. The Bush years have taught me one thing, that I continue to have scars from my experience with an evangelical upbringing. If you grew up in a rural place - particularly in the South (and now the SWest) - then you know what I mean first hand, or at least second hand which is bad enough in itself. You are familiar with the local politics of the Sarah Palin's of the world. You've known them in your schools and most likely your church. They are the bullies that seek to overthrow the board of ed. and by extension your city council. They annex the bleachers at middle school and high school sporting events and make sure a kind of unspoken religious bigotry gets conflated into sports competition and adolescent class warfare in school hallways. They have a way of belittling kids that seem "unsaved" or "unchurched" in the proper way. They are your local bully and hypocrite where the only rule is double standards and a vehement hatred of accountability and the common good.

The great thing about this week has been finding some kindred spirits on this subject. The Mississippifarian who does a great service in not only cataloging all the Palin links you need to read but discusses some of the feelings I have expressed above.

Intro:

The Sarah Palins I dealt with in my youth weren’t beauty queens. No, back in my day Catholics were still Catholics, and not converts to the pentecostal movement like Sarah Palin. Where I grew up Catholics tended to stay Catholic because of the profoundly anti-Catholic clique that ruled my world: my Lutheran church’s “100 widows.” With the exception of those elderly busybodies, my hometown was still pretty egalitarian.

But my church was the largest in town, so big we had to split into two softball teams (just like the Catholics). So large we made our own rules, which is why our ALC church sounded more like the Missouri Synod on most Sundays. Like any large group, there were differences of opinion among the parishioners. Some realized that in the ’60s the church needed to reach out to its young people, and our Sunday school classes (which didn’t end until you graduated from high school) started to become more “relevant.” (Younger readers should be advised that relevance was “the” buzzword of the late ’60s.)

Art and Char, two of our more liberal congregants, took responsibility for teaching World Religion to my just confirmed peers (we were mostly sophomores). It was one of the best classes I’ve ever taken in my life. Art and Char didn’t teach us what was wrong with these religions, they taught us what these other people believed, and in so doing helped us to better understand how differently people think in other parts of the world. But the 100 Widows were not amused, and shut us down. Art and Char, as I recall, didn’t even get to finish out the school year. The next year we had to take a class from the leader of the 100 Widows, a well-intentioned older woman who, when challenged, would always say something to the effect of “the devil is here among us, prompting you to ask that question.” And that would be that. She single-handedly pushed most of us away from the church.

Myrtle (that was her name), taught me about power, and how a small group of like-minded individuals could take over a much larger organization like our 1,400-member church (that may not sound large now, but there were only 10,000 people living in the entire county). For me, it was all Mark Twain and atheism after a year of Myrtle. If she was right, then I wanted to go to hell.

Women (and men) like Myrtle were a necessary precursor to the Sarah Palin generation. I have no clue where the power lies in today’s churches, but then it was with the older women. Men didn’t live as long back then because contrary to whatever the liars tell you, hard work will kill you. That and men didn’t used to be quite so churched. I had to read history books to learn how godless the Old West was, but my Dad’s generation still knew families that were defiantly unchurched. By the time I came along it was safe to say that anyone who didn’t go to church didn’t advertise that fact. Not being churched was the next worst thing to being a Communist in my part of Iowa, and I think just about everywhere else in the Cold War U.S.A.

And so countless millions of young people like myself left rural America. Most of us had to because there were no jobs, but in fact it was mostly the “hippies” who left, and the conservatives who didn’t, or who came back after college. Small towns like the ones I grew up next to became more and more conservative, and the evangelicals started showing up in greater and greater numbers.

I think the change came about with Reagan in the early ’80s. Rural communities in the north finally began to see what the South had been living with for so long. Which church you belonged to again became a big deal. For a while, in the ’70s, the old divisions had started to fade away. The evangelicals put a stop to that.

It started with the school boards. The thumpers grabbed a couple of seats and suddenly all the usual crap started: Creationism, anti-evolution crackpottery, book banning, wog bashing, etc. And it wasn’t just old women anymore, these movements were led by male pastors and by working women who subordinated themselves to male leadership. They scared the shit out of my hometown and the majority eventually made it a point to vote in the school board elections so they could be rid of the yahoos.

But they came back. They allied themselves with the jock culture that sprang up with an Eastern German fanaticism in the wake of Reagan’s goalpost-worshipping America. Football was a better wedge issue than Jesus. I had a “braniac” nephew with a fast mouth who put up with a lot of bullying despite being on the football team. (My experiences were much the same but I’m glad to say the bullies didn’t scar my nephew anymore than they did me thanks to good parenting and the fact that our bullies weren’t total braindead steroidal psychopaths li

no you can't

the GOP platform 2008

Image © Austin Cline

Artists lecture series at Bidonvillle Cafe (sept.7)

So some friends of mine decided that they were tired of all the careerism and complaining about being an artist in NY so they decided some grassroots connections were needed. The result is a new forum for artists to present their work to other artists via the "lecture circuit" at Bidonville Cafe.

The first talk of the Fall will be this Sunday, Sept. 7 @ 7:00 PM with photographer Lucas Thorpe and painter Michael Lee.

Bidonville Cafe
47 Willoughby Ave. (b/w Clermont & Adelphi)
Bklyn, NY 11205
718.855.4515
G or C train to Clinton/ Washington and march north
7pm

Lucas Thorpe:

“Airsoft is a military simulation game in which players equip themselves with the same uniforms and gear – shooting plastic BBs – that are currently used by military personnel and security contractors worldwide. To photograph The Green Mountain Rangers Lucas Thorpe joined them for practice sessions on Long Island; at an urban combat training center at Fort Knox, Kentucky; and during a four-day event on an island off the coast of Sweden with over 2,000 participants from around the world.”

Lucas Thorpe was born in 1970 and raised in New York City. He was a professional sailor and attended Maine Maritime Academy before shifting his interest to art and completing a BFA in Studio Art from the University of New Mexico. He began developing his photography in 2003 and has shown his work at the Jen Bekman Gallery in New York and in a number of Tiny Vices projects curated by Tim Barber. His photographs have been published in The Journal, Dear Dave magazine, Wired, and Guernica magazine. Lucas completed an MFA in Photography, Video and Related Media at the School of Visual Arts in 2008 and he currently resides in New York City.

Michael Lee:

“ I have been working for several years with the idea of “de-stabilized” landscape painting. Landscape that permits little access or is otherwise blocked, completely filled up, or rendered in impassable perspective ends up being less about specific geography than with all of the things artists do to comment upon their relationship with the world.

Repetitive imagery itself composed from repetitive line and other types of pattern conveys a desire for some kind of order but ultimately serves to undermine an attempt at rational understanding in favor of the romantic, comedic, and chaotic nature of sorting through one’s life in real time.”

Come by and sign up to present this fall!

RNC: the words of choice (minus Choice of course)

This is good:

ThinkProgress has put together an analysis based on the prepared remarks (a total of 38,055 words) of the convention speakers, looking at how many times Republicans said various words. A glimpse at conservatives’ priorities:

Bush Administration Bush: 1 Cheney: 0 Gonzales: 0 Rumsfeld: 0 National Security War/Wars: 38 Surge: 14 Nuclear Weapons: 4 Diplomat(ic)/Diplomacy: 3 Torture (McCain’s): 3 Guantanamo: 1 Osama Bin Laden: 1 Afghanistan: 0 Torture (not McCain’s): 0 Economy Jobs: 36 Economy: 27 Middle Class: 2 Housing: 1 Social Security: 1 Unemployment: 1 Other POW: 14 Maverick: 11 Hockey Mom: 5 Tyrannosaurus: 1 Elvis: 1

Health Care Health Care: 26 Medicare: 1 Medicaid: 1 Environment/Energy Drill/Drilling: 18 Nuclear (Power): 10 Clean Coal: 7 Environment: 7 Gustav: 6 Climate Change: 1 Global Warming: 1 Green Economy: 1 Katrina: 0 Science Technology: 13 Internet: 1 Science: 1 Stem Cell: 0 Civil Rights Immigration: 5 Gay/Gays: 0

McCain accepts lifetime achievement award

Last night were you were wondering like me -what is that weird image behind McCain? It was none other than Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, California???????????????

image: TPM

the Palindrome

Ok - so here is a great piece of political humor.- Welcome to the Palindrome

the real deal

Take the time and watch this Obama speech given Monday in Milwaukee for Labor Day. No teleprompter or special Rovian tutors to get up to speed. This may be the best of his speeches, prepared by the natural himself. Seriously, does anyone in Washington measure up to this man?

Office of Blame now at the RNC

Last week I posted on the exploits of artists Carla Repice and Geoff Cunningham at the DNC. They have moved office to the RNC in St. Paul. So far no tear gas or aerial gunshot wounds from separatist candidate Sarah Palin. Here are some pics from their Flickr page where even Joe Scarborough plays along...

office of blame at the DNC

Artists Carla Repice (NJ)and Geoffrey Cunningham(CA) have an event/project currently ongoing at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Welcome to the Office of Blame Accountability.
Their website reads:

Here at the OBA, our accountants specialize in taking your blame. Through our easy filing method, we will:

• record and provide witness to your blame

• notarize and file your blame securely and anonymously

• provide you with a receipt for your personal record

• all for FREE!

How? Now placing blame is easier than ever! You can find us at our select office hours and locations (updated below) -OR- We are now pleased to announce our ONLINE iBlame filing system! It’s still easy and anonymous and you will receive a receipt via email.

Just click here for the form.

We at the OBA thank you for choosing us to shoulder your blame. Feel free to use us as often as you like, and don’t forget to share our services with anyone.

So far the report from the field is that people have been lining up to participate. At this time they haven't been harassed by SWAT teams either so all signs pointing to a positive intervention. If you are in Denver definitely go by the OBA desk and speak with Carla and Geoff. There's plenty of blame to go around.

Their next stop is the RNC in Minneapolis!

let them eat cake

Sitting in my "cone of silence" here on a Friday, wondering how much longer I have to endure this this rather long winded Obama veep reveal, it's good to know you can still laugh at the little things. I was directed this week to Cake Wrecks blog. Here are some personal faves.

Pro-life Cannibal cake

Kermit's Watermelon Vagina cake

Grand Theft Toddler cake

relationships

cartoon: Pablo Helguera [via ArtworldSalon]

rhinestone cowboy returns

A good friend sent the above picture as he had the great fortune to see Glen Campbell this week at the Troubadour in L.A. Apparently Glen is getting the Johnny Cash treatment with a back to future image update - a selected covers type of thing. Jury is out on whether it's any good but glad to see a great voice get another crack.

the partisan viewing of cable news

The latest Pew Research survey on the partisan make up cable news network viewership:

CNN: 51% Democrats, 18% Republicans, 23% independents

MSNBC: 45% Democrats, 18% Republicans, 27% independents

Fox News: 33% Democrats, 39% Republicans, 22% independents

It is quite surprising to see that 33% of Democrats watch Fox News. That seems to indicate to me that many viewers can't even differentiate between political messages on cable news. Not good for November.


via:political wire

ronnie lane

Debris (the Faces version) is always on my heavy rotation. So finding this version with Slim Chance is a treasure. Ronnie Lane is one of my musical heroes - so much integrity in his sound. This has me daydreaming on a lazy summer night.

water falls in new york

Wired readers submitted the following the pics of Eliasson's waterfalls here in NY. Some good images in there and not everyone in the crowd is impressed....

a studio view

McCain enables job loss in Ohio

The above is a powerful ad put out by Ohio Democrats last week. Obama is on the record as saying this is a turning point for his campaign.

It shows footage from a recent town meeting:

"Mary Houghtaling, who runs a hospice in Wilmington, Ohio, choked up as she told McCain of DHL's plans to close its domestic air hub in her town, a move that could throw 8,600 people out of work. "This is a terrible blow," McCain told her. "I don't know if I can stop it. That's some straight talk. Some more straight talk? I doubt it.""

Interspersed with the footage are screens that say:

"McCain and his campaign manager, Rick Davis, played roles in the fate of DHL Express and its Ohio air park as far back as 2003."

And:

"Those jobs are on the chopping block because Sen. McCain and his campaign were involved in a deal that resulted in control of those positions being shifted to a foreign corporation."

-- Joe Rugola, president of the Ohio AFL-CIO"

And:

"The firm of Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, earned $185,000 lobbying for foreign ownership, and $405,000 after the deal passed Congress"

In case your wondering, it appears that the McCain camp knew job loss was enevitable while lobbying for the deal.

via: Obsidian wings

Isaac the great

few give so much.

intervention

image: William Lamson(2007-2008)
via: Space and Culture and Phronesisaical

Suskind's transcript

While the media goes haywire with John Edwards sex life one has to wonder if they will have the same reaction to the following transcript release from author Ron Suskind:

A note to readers

I've decided to post a partial transcript of one of a number of taped conversations in which Rob Richer and I discussed, on the record, the Habbush letter. We discussed it many times through the spring of 2008.

Rob Richer received a copy of The Way of the World on Monday night, August 4, the day before publication. On Tuesday, he said he had read key portions of the book and was comfortable with what they contained. Later that day, though, he issued the following the statement:

"I never received direction from George Tenet or anyone else in my chain of command to fabricate a document from Habbash as outlined in Mr Suskind's book."

The conversation below took place in June 2008. As in all of our conversations, it shows Rob pressing to get at truth and embrace probity.

This posting is contrary to my practice across 25 years as a journalist. But the issues, in this matter, are simply too important to stand as discredited in any way.

--Ron Suskind

I'm guessing this will get the back burner and yawn that all the other whistle blowers receive. Just another disgruntled CIA employee, nothing to see here move along. This isn't shocking to many of us except that it is SHOCKING and CRIMINAL and every other negative that you can conjure. At least historians will asses the contents of The Way Word Works. Of course whether those historians will be American is another question. This should be the only story the media is concerned with, regardless of partisanship. What bigger story than impeachment and treason? Just keep saying to yourself - the Surge works, the Surge provides....political cover and media myths that is.




image: Christopher Hitchens Watch

beijing opens

The politics aside, you have to admit these opening night shots from Beijing are fantastic. Soooo much more advanced than the Disney type crud we usually get at such forums. Gursky be damned! Great tip from Jagers.

J. Edgar Chertoff

The new policy by Homeland security to seize any laptop, camera, or mobile phone they wish at international airports sure has me more than chilled. Visiting this country will become an act of pure masochism and for us natives, we may never be able to leave our harrowing hamlet again without the fear of some twit at the airport picking us out of the crowd only to fuck with our identity and long term personal safety. This could be especially problematic for artists and documentarians dealing with sensitive or controversial subject matter. It's harrowing to think of the costs and abuses of such a policy especially when you consider the "trained" eye of TSA workers.

Wired, should get a lot of credit for speaking to Chertoff about some major questions/concerns for us all. Of course our little czar misleads and answers in some of the greatest doublespeak ever uttered. What exactly is an "experiment in interactive policy-making" ?

be afraid and speak out.


image: Wired (an my sincere apology)

infinities and limits

The landscape is infinite and the imagination limited. I see an endless plain under a blue sky while I think of all the places on earth that cannot be touched in a single life time. Yet try as I might, I cannot image the moment of my death. - Bill Viola

image: Gerhard Richter

anatomy of a painting [2]

So this is the new stage for the painting shown last week or so. This is a probing period, and like I said, I ditched the photocopy you saw in the last image. I like to attack the canvas(linen) at this point in the process with as much paint as I can reasonably manage. This is always, a wet into wet situation, rough, fast handling with highly charged colors. If I'm doing it right, I'm combining as many colors as I can at once. Of course there is a pre-set of colors, that are quite considered for mood, tempo and scale. I trowel these on and work the surface for a few hours - playing the drying times of each color - manipulating the high oil density colors against the more absorbent colors.
The results, if I'm on my game are that within the drying process I get rewarded with some encaustic type areas along with passages that feel geologic, and reflective. What I'm looking for here is a topography that will lead to other decisions. Lately, I am also concerned with the smoothness of the surface, and this seems to be pushing me towards and almost c-print quality.

Also, I want to have a certain freedom with the materials that can at times overwhelm me physically. If my arms and hands are not fatigued and aching after this stage, then I haven't fulfilled my obligation to get as much of my physical presence into the piece as I should. For me this is critical at this point in the process because I need to feel a commitment to and from the surface before proceeding into more complicated waters.

This "second stage" may repeat itself a few times until the skin of the canvas feels right, this skin being critical to how the paint glides in future passes. The glide has everything to do with how the colors combine and mutate seamlessly. Another critical aspect besides an internal commitment, is somehow getting a light to present itself. Light is very important to me and I need to have a source developing immediately upon covering the ground layer. This isn't necessarily directional light but should be evident throughout the surface in this foundational stage.

So I think I'm pretty sure about where this is going next, and I have a maquette or two in the wings. I should have a new update in a week or so on this one.

birth of the CUIL

So the new search engine CUIL just launched - crashed- and reloaded.

From the NY Times:

SAN FRANCISCO — In her two years at Google, Anna Patterson helped design and build some of the pillars of the company’s search engine, including its large index of Web pages and some of the formulas it uses for ranking search results.

Ms. Patterson left Google in 2006 to found Cuil. The new company has other prominent ex-Google employees, including Russell Power, who worked with Ms. Patterson on the large Google index, and Louis Monier, a former chief technology officer at AltaVista, a pioneering search engine. Cuil, which has about 30 employees and is in Menlo Park, Calif., has raised $33 million from venture investors.

I checked it out (searched myself of course) and there seem to be the obvious bugs and such but I do like the design. This could be promising and that is good news to all of us embedded into Google.

hot summer looks

Looks like Goth may finally be getting a much needed image update after 30 years!

Check out all the jokers at Comic Con..



image: wired

making us proud

I sincerely hope that you had a chance to watch and listen to the Obama speech in Berlin today.
It was incredible. I mean a hundred thousand people or more. An endless sea of people, a rapt audience. Even Obama faltered on his words a couple of times. Who wouldn't with that many eyes upon you? It was impressive and presidential and uplifting and clear. I actually got choked up. This is what leadership looks and sounds like. This is what free people should aspire to. As Americans we should be very proud of the fact that man speaks on our behalf - and relieved. Truly awesome.

Of course, CNN promptly plants the seed that this success and welcome by so many in Germany may be a bad thing. The bullshit never ends with the media.

believe it...?

FORMER NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr Edgar Mitchell - a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission - has stunningly claimed aliens exist.


our world unravels a little more, not to mention this little ditty about Flight 93 being shot down via the war crimes trial of Bin Laden's driver...



image: the famous Lubbock Lights

debts to pay

The future for young Americans (18-35 set) does often look and feel bleak in economic terms. We talk alot about the financial struggles of being an artist but it really is a much wider net. Financial insecurity for young people is the core of American economics. It is a perversion of the highest order for the world's wealthiest nation. Take a look at some statistics below and realize who you must vote for in November and the importance of getting involved anyway you can locally and at the State level.

via TomPaine.com:


A poll done for Qvisory, an online advocacy organization aimed at helping young adults manage economic and lifestyle issues, revealed that the results of conservative economic policies have taken a severe tool on people between the ages of 18 and 35. In the Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll :

• Fifty-five percent said that their finances, the economic squeeze and money are their biggest problems. Young people simply do not believe they have enough money to keep pace with the cost of living.

• Forty-eight percent of young people worry frequently about making ends meet, and another 38 percent worry at least occasionally about making ends meet. Thirty-seven percent of parents also worry frequently about their children being able to make ends meet.

• The percentage of young people holding almost every form of debt, other than mortgages and auto loans, is up from 2007. That includes credit card debt (52 percent, up from 49 percent), student loans (37 percent, up from 31 percent), unpaid medical bills (28 percent, up from 23 percent), loans from parents (20 percent, up from 12 percent) and payday loans (6 percent, up from 4 percent).

• A small, but significant, minority report having their phone, cable or utilities cut off because they failed to pay their bill (19 percent) or have had their credit revoked, including a repossession or card cancellation (15 percent), in the last year. A large number of young people say they only pay the minimum monthly amount on their credit cards (57 percent) or that they have paid a late fee on a card (36 percent) in the past year.

now consider how the "drunken" Wall street cronies have fared over the last 20 years under predominantly GOP leadership. A group that not only has consolidated unprecented wealth, but is currently being bailed AGAIN by the taxpayer to the tune of billions. Can some one remind me why regulation is bad?

According to IRS data, “the richest 1% of Americans in 2006 garnered the highest share of the nation’s adjusted gross income for two decades” and “possibly the highest since 1929.” Meanwhile, “the average tax rate of the wealthiest 1% fell to its lowest level in at least 18 years.”

Boolah

So friend and writer Nancy Rawlinson has now committed herself to bloggery. The new blog will cover books/lit, publishing, MFA's and the creative process. Sure to be a nice companion to Maud Newton for the literary among you. So please check her out at Boolah.

pacific ocean blue

This just moved to the top of the queue for must have music!
Here's the blurb from Other Music:

Late Beach Boy Dennis Wilson’s ‘77 solo LP has long been heralded as a lost classic. Like Chris Bell’s “I Am the Cosmos,” Wilson’s album is considered a masterpiece in soul-baring, lonewolf pop, and here it’s reissued in a deluxe edition with unreleased tracks.

* side note: If you don't own the Chris Bell record, do yourself a solid and buy it now. It's essential.

What do you think is essential reading for the artist?

So this in an open call for a discussion about what you consider essential reading for the contemporary artist. Let's limit it to 5 titles - books or essays. These can be historic, contemporary, of any discipline. You can also include an artists monograph if you can explain why it is essential beyond your affinity to that artist's work, like perhaps the guest essay of that title.


I'd like to see what parallels are out there for artists that are online regularly via blogs, etc.
Also, I'm personally interested in uncovering any educational gaps that I might have. So please impress me with something other than total silence on the subject ;)

29 years ago....

The following from Jimmy Carter - 29 years ago. Some things never change, especially American amnesia.

CARTER: Point one: I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States. Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977 -- never...

Point two: To ensure that we meet these targets, I will use my presidential authority to set import quotas...

Point three: To give us energy security, I am asking for the most massive peacetime commitment of funds and resources in our nation's history to develop America's own alternative sources of fuel...

I will soon submit legislation to Congress calling for the creation of this nation's first solar bank, which will help us achieve the crucial goal of 20 percent of our energy coming from solar power by the year 2000.

These efforts will cost money, a lot of money, and that is why Congress must enact the windfall profits tax without delay...

Point four: I'm asking Congress to mandate, to require as a matter of law, that our nation's utility companies cut their massive use of oil by 50 percent within the next decade and switch to other fuels, especially coal, our most abundant energy source...

Point five: To make absolutely certain that nothing stands in the way of achieving these goals, I will urge Congress to create an energy mobilization board...

Point six: I'm proposing a bold conservation program to involve every state, county, and city and every average American in our energy battle. This effort will permit you to build conservation into your homes and your lives at a cost you can afford.

To further conserve energy, I'm proposing tonight an extra $10 billion over the next decade to strengthen our public transportation systems...

Our nation must be fair to the poorest among us, so we will increase aid to needy Americans to cope with rising energy prices. We often think of conservation only in terms of sacrifice. In fact, it is the most painless and immediate way of rebuilding our nation's strength. Every gallon of oil each one of us saves is a new form of production. It gives us more freedom, more confidence, that much more control over our own lives...

I do not promise you that this struggle for freedom will be easy. I do not promise a quick way out of our nation's problems, when the truth is that the only way out is an all-out effort. What I do promise you is that I will lead our fight, and I will enforce fairness in our struggle, and I will ensure honesty. And above all, I will act. We can manage the short-term shortages more effectively and we will, but there are no short-term solutions to our long-range problems. There is simply no way to avoid sacrifice.

Continued reading at A Tiny Revolution

I don't have time for noncontroversial art exhibits...

My love affair with boundary-pushing art began more than 10 years ago. Back then I had a ton of energy and a lot less responsibility. I had time for each and every marginally disgusting effrontery to common decency within a 50-mile radius. These days, my schedule is pretty packed. Take this week, for example. Monday: Abu Ghraib flip books. Tuesday: a blackface reenactment of the Reagan assassination attempt. Wednesday: drive upstate to watch an amputee roast and eat his own golden retriever. You get the picture. I swear, if my wife didn't spend her weekends making plaster sculptures of Catholic saints being fisted by famous serial killers, I'd never see her.

Bottom line: If people aren't protesting, becoming nauseated by, or threatening lawsuits against an artist's work, you can look around for me, but I'm not going to be there. Using light and shadow to mythologize the pastoral and create a setting where human beings and the natural world can coexist peacefully? Best of luck to you. If you need me, I'll be watching a heroin addict use his own HIV-positive blood to paint Hiroshima victims on the side of a school bus. You know, with all the other real art buffs.

The only thing these so called "masters" have in common is that they didn't have the balls to shake things up. Why would I waste my time solemnly staring at a meticulously painted portrait of an aristocratic woman when I can see someone drink glow-stick fluid and vomit onto a canvas covered with pictures of Nelson Mandela?

good laughs continue on at the Onion