Sage Boucher

July 20, 2012

Days of the Mouse

Originally posted 2.26.07

April 21, 2010

Grass-roots WINS: GA arts funding restored! [dkos]

Originally published Daily Kos, April 20, 2010

In the past two days, I’ve posted diaries about the budget bill that was passed last week by the Georgia State House, which in a bone-headed move eliminated the Georgia Council for the Arts (GA-Pics of protest and GA House: State Arts Council on guillotine). Within two days, a grass-roots group formed to publicly demonstrate, form phone chains, and throw everything we had into a hail-mary play.

Today the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $17.8 billion budget that includes money the House had stripped from the arts council. The GCA, which provides seed money for start-up arts-related organizations, will not be wiped off the face of Georgia.
Yay!

POLL

After reading this blog, I feel
52% thrilled that this grass-roots movement prevailed.
36% relieved that Georgia won't add to its ass-backwards reputation.
5% angry that our tax dollars support arts & culture despite what you say.
5 % hungry for pie.

April 20, 2010

Pictures of Protest Preserve Georgia Council for the Arts [dkos]

Originally posted Daily Kos 4.20.10

On Friday, I wrote a diary that the Georgia House passed a state budget that disappears the Georgia Council for the Arts. This is truly a national issue, because when one state eliminates its Arts Council, many more will jump on the budget-busting wagon.

Over the weekend, a facebook page called "Artist march on the Capitol" got 611 confirmed attendees and 781 who might attend. People came from Macon, Augusta and Athens, and the line of marchers stretched nearly the entire mile-long route to the State Capitol. There, we gathered on the steps to hear speakers, perform according to our talents, and chant "Save the Arts!"

I’d say it was a successful demonstration.

So herewith photographs of the event.

Thank you all for your support.

This bone-headed move would make Georgia the only state in the U.S. without a state-level arts council.

Invoking the incredible Gladys Knight and the Pips.

Some had a snarky tone.

Others were a bit more direct.

This really old guy was a hoot. He shuffled along with his walker in his skeleton suit, and when I asked if I could take his picture, he launched into a sort of parallel-bars routine.

Nuff said.

Do I dare quote T. S. Eliot at a demonstration?

As long as we stayed off the grass, they chanted "Save the arts!" right along with everyone else.


And finally, of course, the sign of Daily Kos. Vincenzo Tortorici, puppeteer extrodinaire, with Trickster, got up and made a speech, which was intelligent and well-received.

An hour after the demonstrators dispersed, a handful of us went to the office of Jack Hill (R-Reidsville), chair of the appropriations committee. Although he wasn’t available, we had a lively conversation bombarding his two aides with everything we had. They said there have been lots of phone calls and people are very upset. Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., the committee will meet to decide the fate of HB 947, and I plan to be there, and if given the opportunity, will address our esteemed state senators. I'll let you know how it goes.

POLL

This demonstration rocked because:

52% It was a real grass-roots uprising

20% Every single sign was spelled correctly and used proper grammar.

16% There were musicians, dancers, actors and artists, but no mimes.

8% A puppet made a great speech.

4% Actually, it sucked because they didn't give out free pie.

April 16, 2010

Georgia State Arts Council on Guillotine [dkos]

Originally published Daily Kos April 16, 2010

The Georgia House on Wednesday passed a $17.8 billion state budget that would wipe out the Georgia Council for the Arts.

Georgia would become the only state in the U.S. without an arts agency if the plan holds as the budget works its way through the Senate before going to the governor.

The National Endowment for the Arts sent a letter warning that nearly $900,000 in federal arts funding falls in jeopardy if the is eliminated.

Governor Sonny Perdue’s proposed budget cuts include ending funding for the Georgia Cultural Affairs. The plan is to fold it into the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, an organization with no interest, nor experience, in the arts; neither do they have what it takes to apply for arts funding (public and private), run appropriate public relations, or even stage a simple juried exhibition.

I’d love to go into all the things Perdue has done that placed so much pressure on the state’s budget. Like his pet project, "Go Fish," a huge and very expensive complex designed to push what a great place Georgia is to fish. Not only were the bonds issued tax-free, but when across-the-board budget cuts were made, "Go Fish" was exempt.

Did I mention that the entire shebang is located in the community next-door to where the Governor lives?

Then there’s the matter of losing $20 million in Federal transportation funds because of Georgia’s seat belt law, which exempts drivers of pick-up trucks (whether the vehicle is used for business or not).
Metro arts groups are scrambling to organize patrons, artists and supporters to lobby state senators before they consider the bill. Four legislative days remain in the session, set to conclude April 29.

A coalition of artists plans to show support for the Georgia Council for the Arts by marching on the Capitol on Monday, April 19th, departing at 1:00 pm from the Rialto Theatre.

There is a Facebook page for the protest ("Artist march on the Capitol").
Please send emails and faxes to the head of the Senate Budget and Evaluation Office:

Paul D. Coverdell Legislative
Office Building, Suite 208
18 Capitol Square
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
(404) 463-1970
(404) 463-0346 FAX
Senate.Budget@senate.ga.gov

This diary is based on "State cutbacks put Georgia arts funds in jeopardy" and and "Artists to demonstrate against state's budget cuts," both by Howard Pousner in The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

April 15, 2010

sboucher's Are You Really, REALLY Depressed Quiz

If you Google "Are you depressed" you'll get 342,000 results.

Of these, 263,000 include some kind of questionnaire, created by psychiatric experts, to gain a more complete picture of one’s mental health.

I picked a couple at random and completed them (the links are below if you'd like to take them yourself).
Each of these questionnaires reached the same conclusion: I suffer from clinical depression. No, really? You’re kidding! What a surprise! Using their measures, I bet most of you are clinically depressed, too.

Feeling as I have over these many months, I've longed to "gain a more complete picture" of my mental health, but found every quiz I took to be lacking.

I needed a different quantifier to measure my depression, and so created my own quiz.

sboucher’s Are You Really, REALLY Depressed Quiz

Instructions:

Use only a #2 pencil.
Don't leave any hanging chads.
Points for each response are in parentheses following.

The last time you bathed can be measured in:

a. hours (0)
b. days (1)
c. weeks (2)
d. reeks (3)

The last time you washed dishes can be measured in:

a. hours (0)
b. days (1)
c. weeks (2)
d. every single pot, pan, dish & utensil you own, which is odd because you haven't been eating (3)

The last time you vacuumed, dusted or cleaned your apartment can be measured in:

a. hours (0)
b. days (1)
c. weeks (2)
d. watch out for the dust-rhinos! (3)

The time you took to get dressed today can be measured in:

a. minutes (0)
b. hours (1)
c. all day, so I never went out (2)
d. who got dressed? (3)

If you answered (d), answer (d.a). If not, proceed to question 5.
d.a. The time you’ve been wearing the same t-shirt & pajama pants can be measured in:
a. hours (0)
b. days (1)
c. weeks (2)
d. pants? uh-oh (3)

Today you: (check all that apply)

a. took full doses of all your medications on schedule (0)
b. took full doses of bedtime medications, but forgot the morning ones (1)
c. cut all your pills into pieces because you've already hit your Donut Hole and can't afford to buy more (2)
d. damn, knew I forgot something (3)

The pile of clothes in the corner is about:

a. There is no pile (0)
b. A week’s worth (1)
c. A couple of months’ worth (2)
d. Five feet high (3)

The number of days this week you’ve left your apartment is:

a. 7 (0)
b. 5 (1)
c. 1 (2) [Special trip to buy only cat food, add 1/2 point.]
d. I think about three months? (3)

The number of days this week you talked to someone other than supermarket cashiers is:

a. Seven (0)
b. Five (1)
c. One (my cat) (2)
d. does it count if I talk to myself? (3)

The hours per day you spend playing mindless computer games just to pass the time is about:

a. 0 – 5 (0)
b. 6 – 12 (1)
c. 13 – 24+ (2)
d. shush, I'm up to elebentygajillion! (3)

This week, the percentage of time that you felt wretched, despairing, bitter, miserable, anguished, melancholy, sad, grieving, desolation, torment, ennui, malaise, or listened to "La Vie en Rose" is:

a. 0% (0)
b. 50% (1)
c. 100% (2)
d. 110% (3)

Scores
0 – 9 Normal Too normal. I want some of whatever you’re smoking.
10 – 19 Poseur Do some yoga, talk to a friend, ignore all those ads you see on teevee, and you’ll be just fine.
20 – 29 Depressed If you’re not already, please make sure to take care of yourself and get the help you need. We wish you the best, and hope you’ll let our community help you in any way we can. Seriously.
30-36 Really Depressed That totally sucks. Same as "Uh-Oh," but in bold italics. And stop isolating.
37- 44 Congratulations! You are really, REALLY depressed! Join the club, and make sure they don’t give you ECT again!

Links to a couple of the standard depression questionnaires.
Goldberg Depression Questionnaire
ABC Health & Wellbeing
NYU Langone Medical Center Depression Survey

On sboucher's Are You Really, REALLY Depressed Quiz, I

	scored 0 - 9
44%	25 votes
	scored 10 - 19
23%	13 votes
	scored 20 - 29
8%	5 votes
	scored 30 - 36
5%	3 votes
	scored 37 - 48 (and I'm possibly a liar or poor at math)
7%	4 votes
	wondered why there was no mention of pie, which is an excellent antidepressant.
10%	6 votes

October 8, 2009

In Georgia, 10,000 Misprint Absentee Ballots to Be Recopied by Hand

This originally appeared in the Huffington Post, October 28, 2009

At least 10,000 absentee voters from Gwinnett County, Ga., used a ballot that was printed with the wrong bubble. Scanners refused to read the heavily-outlined ovals, as the county election officials learned last week during "routine testing."

More than 19,700 misprinted ballots had already been mailed out.

Election officials are going to hand-copy those 10,000 votes -plus any additional that come in onto new ballots that can be scanned successfully.

The County acknowledges that correcting the errors could be "complicated," and will follow strict guidelines in correcting the problem:
- Between 200 and 300 election workers will look at the misprinted ballot and transfer the vote to a second ballot.
- There will be two sets of eyes on each ballot.

Workers will be sequestered throughout the process, with no personal or electronic contacts whatsoever.
Sheriff's deputies and party auditors will be assigned to maintain integrity of vote transfers.

The two-envelope system (an outer one for mailing, an inner one with no identification) assures anonymity of the voters.
The County says it has contacted representatives of both parties. Also contacted was Secretary of State Karen Handel, who is a Republican.

Overwhelmingly middle-class Gwinnett County, located about thirty minutes north of Atlanta, has voted Republican -- with few exceptions -- since 1990 in presidential, gubernatorial, and senatorial elections.
Lynn Ledford, director of Voter Registration and Elections for the county claimed the error "was not apparent to the naked eye," and that registrars aren't required to test their absentee ballots until three days before an election. She did so several weeks in advance.

It would seem that running the ballot through a scanner before printing [20,000?] of them would be a matter of policy. The County won't be able to tally the cost of this mistake until well after the election, depending on the number of "bad" ballots they receive.

May 25, 2009

Memorial to fetching soldiers

They’re lean, they’re mean, they’re highly trained fighting machines.
And they like to play fetch in their down time.

Now, even though I'm definitely more of a pootie person, I thought these cooperative programs for dogs and humans working in military service were great.

Dogs have served our country since Pearl Harbor, as sentries and messengers, as detectors of mines and bombs. But under these two new programs, dogs are supporting troops in a whole new way – therapeutically.

sboucher’s note: I post this diary in the spirit of Woozles-meet-Memorial Day, and not to generate a discussion of whether or how dogs should be used by the military. Please?

"Dog Tags" is a partnership between the Washington Humane Society and Walter Reed Army Medical Center; its mission brings together recovering, injured soldiers and homeless dogs to teach and learn from one another.

Volunteer soldiers learn the basics of dog training, plus the therapeutic benefit of spending time with animals and helping others. By the end of the certificate program, they have a foundation for a future career with dogs in animal training, care, and welfare.

title=

I'm a very happy customer.

The shelter participants contribute their expertise as dogs. Meanwhile, they get a break from the shelter and learn the skills they need to find the loving adoptive homes they deserve – training and socialization. This in turn increases their adoption and retention rates.

By tapping into the power of the human/dog bond,
together pets and people jumpstart the healing process.

"One of my real beliefs in this work is that in addition to adopting animals out and protecting animals from cruelty, it's important to have programs that bring people and animals together in meaningful ways," says Lisa LaFontaine, the WHS's president and CEO.

Understanding the power of such a strong connection, all instruction is based on humane, motivational methods of training, and WHS absorbs all financial related costs for this program. Now there's a waiting list for the program.

Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Foster, a 25-year-old from Wichita, Kan., whose right leg was amputated below the knee, connected with a black lab at the shelter after losing his family's dog, the one he grew up with. Calling the course "an awesome opportunity," Foster says he'd like to eventually work with special needs children while using the experience he's getting.

I would love to work, if I could, in a canine unit in any police department in the country that wants to hire a one-legged guy. Children with special needs will be able to relate to me better than a person who's whole. They'll see me and think, "He's got only one leg and he did it."

Not to mention the physically therapy that is working with a big, energetic dog. Says Foster, "It goes along with the therapy I'm doing — it's another challenge."
*
*
A new Army program sends "therapy dogs" to war zones to help troops combat stress.

title=

In December, two black Labrador Retrievers named Boe and Budge made history when they were deployed to Iraq as the first skilled therapy dogs. They were donated and trained by America’s VetDogs. Recognizing a growing need for specialized service dogs for America’s fighting forces, VetDogs initiated the therapy dog concept with Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, which has been helping provide guide dogs since the 1940s.

Boe and Budge have been instructed to provide comfort and relaxation through physical interaction, whether it’s a game of fetch or just a peaceful few minutes of petting.
title=

...I can do that!

Sgt. 1st Class Boe is the newest member of the 85th Medical Detachment Combat Stress Control unit at Contingency Operating Base Speicher. And here’s Boe on the job, already earning rave reviews.

title=

Ever had a Sergeant 1st Class lick your face? title=

"I felt more relaxed after being able spend some time with her," said Sgt. 1st Class Brenda Rich, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Medical Operations.

"For a few minutes it was just me and the dog
and nothing in this environment seemed to matter."

Photos by Christopher Appoldt, courtesy of VetDogs
*
*
There's lots of ways to support Military Working Dogs.
Learn more about the Washington Humane Society’s Dog Tags program and find out how to help.

If you would like to adopt a military dog, you can e-mail MWD at info@militaryworkingdog.com and they will send you the additional information you require to contact the MWD Center. [problem with homepage?]

Operation Baghdad PupsS.P.C.A. International, a Washington-based charity, began "Operation Baghdad Pups," an initiative created to provide medical care, clearance and transport for the animals our U.S. soldiers have come to love (and that have helped them cope) during deployment in the Middle East.

America’s VetDogs, a subsidiary of the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, offers guide and service dogs to veterans of all eras. The program provides service dogs to members of the military recently wounded in combat and deploys therapy dogs to Iraq to help relieve combat stress of soldiers in the field.
*
*
UPDATE: In a commentbelow, vzfk3s asked about cool-packs that are made for dogs serving in Iraq.

Imagine working outside all day in arid desert conditions where the temperatures rise to 145 degrees-without the comforts of air-conditioning. Now imagine wearing a full body suit of one-inch thick fur.

An organization called Space Coast War Dog Association SCWDA is working with military.com to send every MWA a space-age cooling vest. Check these links for info on how to participate.
Thanks, vzfk3s!
*
*
VISUAL POLL!
These are pics that didn't make it into the story. Vote for your favorite!
title=

1.Deuce 2. Charlie 3. Ratchet
title=

Unnamed only cat in program 5. Dog tags

My choice in the visual poll is

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

May 12, 2009

Art works healing broken kids in Uganda

In which a painter travels to Gulu, Uganda,
to work with children who have been
abducted by terrorists, to serve as soldiers and sex slaves,

and the healing begins.

Art is a wound turned into light.
Georges Braque (1882-1963)

Don't miss the slide show of the paintings, linked below.

You've probably never heard of Ross Bleckner. He's a painter who became famous in the 1980s; he's considered an "important artist," and has works in museums all over the world. But he’s not exactly a household name, and here's why I hope this will change.

Earlier this year, Bleckner went on an official mission to the Gulu district of northern Uganda. Gulu has been terrorized for many years by the rebel force known as the Lord’s Resistance Army. Formed in 1987, the LRA continues to rove around Northern Uganda and the Southern Sudan, abducting and conscripting thousands of children, who are forced to become killers and sex slaves.

Bleckner worked with a group of 25 children ages eleven to nineteen. The former abductees and ex-soldiers – many of them orphans – had all experienced horrific trauma, and some had been forced to kill or maim other children or adults before they escaped from, or were released by, the rebel movement.

Using donated paint, brushes and paper, Bleckner spent several days teaching them rudimentary painting and drawing skills.

Then the children began to open up to him, and to create work that powerfully expressed their experiences.

∼ ∼ ∼

Bleckner is the first visual artist named to be a Goodwill Ambassador since the position was created by the United Nations in 1954.*

[W]hen United Nations officials first approached him, they asked whether he thought art could perform a useful role in drawing attention to the plague of human trafficking.

And I said to them that if art can’t perform a role like that,
then it has no role at all.

The children made 200 paintings that will be sold at a benefit at the UN headquarters tonight, Tuesday, May 12, when Bleckner will be officially installed. He plans to return to the area early next year to enlarge the painting project and that — in his role as ambassador — he hoped to enlist many more artists to become involved in efforts to fight child enslavement and trafficking.
Says Bleckner:

What this mission accomplished is what is called microcreativity.

It is a personal interaction which gives someone the tools to create something that they can be proud of, and which can help them on the arduous path to restoring their dignity and sense of self-worth.

In an interview with big think, Bleckner talks about how he intends to fulfill his new post (site offers both video and transcripts).

[W]hat they were trying to do was essentially go to Northern Uganda and re-socialize, and have the story be told through art-making to see if that was a viable way of telling the story ...
They asked me as the first [visual] artist to go...and start a program at a refugee camp, a very large, internally displaced person camp, an IDP it’s called, where people from Uganda actually live in this refugee camp that they could keep them under guard essentially so that the kids don’t get kidnapped.

I basically painted with the kids. And there’s going to be an exhibition at the United Nations...of all the work. And it’s going to be for sale and the money will go to help them reconstruct their lives and essentially send them back to school. So that’s a program that they want to get going around Africa

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that human trafficking generates $32 billion a year in profits, third only to drug and arms trafficking.

∼ ∼ ∼

Please take a moment to view the Slide show of works by the children in the project, which is attached to "For Child Soldiers, a Chance to Wield Brushes, Not Arms," NYT, April 28, 2009, the primary source for this diary.

*Audrey Hepburn , Harry Belafonte , Roger Moore, Angelina Jolie, Susan Sarandon, Danny Kaye, and Mia Farrow are but a few examples of previous ambassadors.

∼ ∼ ∼

Visual Poll!
These are paintings by Ross Bleckner from various times in his career. Vote for the one you like best.
title=

My favorite painting is:

	In Replication, 1998, oil on linen, 84 (upper left)
7%	4 votes
	Middle Brother, 1997, oil on linen, 84 (upper right)
11%	6 votes
	Memorial I, 1994, oil on linen, 96 (lower left)
33%	17 votes
	Time and Meditation (The Leaves and The Birds), 2008, oil on linen, 84 (lower right)
41%	21 votes
	Wayne Thibaud
5%	3 votes

April 23, 2009

Censorship & Culture Wars: Mapplethorpe's 'Obscenity,' 20 years later

This spring marks the twentieth anniversary of Robert Mapplethorpe's infamous exhibition that conflagrated the "culture wars" between the National Endowment for the Arts and the likes of Sen. Jesse Helms and Rev. Don Wildmon.

In observance of the anniversary, the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) and the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiativeat The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, which co-sponsored the original exhibition, held a symposium re-examining censorship in the arts:

How much has censorship - and funding - of the arts changed since then, and in what ways?
How will the loss of newspapers - and their art critics - impact such censorship?

The symposium examined the significance and ramifications of "Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment" (December 9, 1988 - January 29, 1989).

That retrospective of more than 150 works featured photographs depicting gay subcultures, explicit homoerotic and violent images, as well as a chronology of the artist’s battle with AIDS (he died one week after the exhibition closed).*

Because the exhibition was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

an independent federal agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education

conservative politicians seized upon use of taxpayers’ money to fund "obscene art" as a prime example of wasteful and misused governmental funding. The ensuing controversy drove some venues for the traveling exhibition (including The CorcoranGallery of Art in Washington DC) to withdraw from the schedule. One venue that chose to remain in the tour was Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center; its director was tried for obscenity, but was acquitted.

Thus began a period that came to be known as the "culture wars" that changed forever how NEA funds are granted, and led to the implementation of the PMRC.*

Sen. Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY) and the late Sen. Jesse Helms(R-NC), spurred on by pressure from conservative groups including the American Family Association and the 700 Club, led the charge and introduced floor amendment:

...prohibits funding for projects that promote, disseminate or produce materials which in the judgment of the National Endowment for the Arts or the National endowment for the Humanities may be considered obscene, including but not limited to, depictions of sadomasochism, homoeroticism, the sexual exploitation of children, or individuals engaged in sex acts and which, taken as a whole, do not have serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

In other words, government is better able to discern what has "artistic value" than peer review by those who have spent their lives devoted to creating, disseminating and analyzing art. And despite what Justice Potter Stewart said, Sen. Helms and his crew knew exactly what art they considered obscene.

On the basis of this amendment, in June 1990 NEA chairman John E. Frohnmayer denied four of eighteen proposed grants despite the unanimous favorable recommendation of a panel of artists. Three of the artists--[Tim] Miller, John Fleck, and Holly Hughes--are openly gay or lesbian, and the fourth, Karen Finley, deals in her work with various aspects of sexuality including homosexuality. All were previous recipients of NEA grants.
gbltq

These artists came to be known as the "NEA Four".

According to Wikipedia, the NEA made in excess of 119,000 grants between 1965 and 2003 (despite Ronald Reagan's attempt to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts in 1980, which was foiled by insufficient support in Congress). Congress granted the NEA an annual funding of between $160 and $180 million from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.

In 1996, Congress cut the NEA funding to $99.5 million. Since 1996, the NEA has partially rebounded with a 2004 budget of $121 million. For FY 2008, the budget is $144.7 million. For FY 2009, the budget is $155 million – less than it was twenty years ago. [Whether the arts should accept support from government, and the regulations that necessarily come with it, is another diary.]

The article about the symposium appeared in the blog art:21, based on twitters from the conference by Tyler Green of Modern Art Notes, who asks, "Now, what happens next time because arts journalism is almost gone[?]"

...I’m not sure if we, as a culture, are less shocked by some of the images in "The Perfect Moment," but Green’s...point is particularly poignant today as we see dozens of newspapers and mainstream media outlets slashing arts critics and journalists from its staff. Who will be the people that speak out against censorship when another issue like this emerges? Who are the professionals who can parse the political posturing from valid issues surrounding the arts? My suspicion is that blogs...will have to fill that vacuum. The cultural life of America is far too important to be left to the political tide.

Aside from John Ashcroft's fear of breasts, you may wonder about how much art is still being censored. Art on Trialprovides a virtual exhibition tour of "artworks that were once at the center of actual courtroom battles."

Many Americans assume that the right of artists to express themselves and the right of the public to view artistic works are absolute under the United States Constitution. ...that works of visual art are a form of 'speech' fully protected by the First Amendment... In fact, American courts have interpreted the First Amendment as allowing many restrictions both on what artists can say and what the public can see.

-----
Out of respect for the artist, potential copyright issues, and (except for the first and second) a desire to provide the best quality images, I'm providing links to Mapplethorpe's works rather than repost them here.

[Warning, graphic sexual images]
link to XXX, 1978, the one that caused the most trouble. The series this one XXX is from also created quite a stir. Well, I've just discovered I can't link you to those photos. Do teh Google images for +mapplethorpe +bullwhip (first image up) for the first; for the second, use +mapplethorpe +black +penis (again, first image up).

[Warning over]

Link to slide show for the chronology of self portraits (a particularly poignant visual diary), and other series including male nudes, female nudes, flowers, and portraits. Take a moment to go through Mapplethorpe's oeuvre and delight in his art.

-----

*...during the mid-seventies [Mapplethorpe] acquired a large format press camera and began taking photographs of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. These included artists, composers, socialites, pornographic film stars and members of the S & M underground. Some of these photographs were shocking for their content but exquisite in their technical mastery.
Mapplethorpe told ARTnews in late 1988,

I don’t like that particular word "shocking." I’m looking for the unexpected. I’m looking for things I’ve never seen before...I was in a position to take those pictures. I felt an obligation to do them.

** One of my favorite images is of Frank Zappa, John Denver and Dee Snidertestifying before congress in opposition to the PMRC proposal. Note that this was when "hidden lyrics" and "subliminal messages" came to awareness as wingnuts played records backwards. Hey, wait a second, didn't I just see that here recently?

Art

	should be supported by gov't because it's important in our lives & good for the economy.
72%	60 votes
	shouldn't be funded by gov't - it becomes subservient to rules and regulations.
18%	15 votes
	like this should not be funded, period.
1%	1 votes
	is best when painted by Wayne Thiebaud.
8%	7 votes

About me

I am a Sagittarius

Rooster

Cur moriatur homo cui Salvia crescit in horto?

Why should a man die whilst Sage grows in his garden?

Scooters rule!

Main arteries. How could that not be aortas?
How could it NOT? No! It’s not! Yes! It is!

That’s three things I have in common with Jon Stewart: doing the New York Times crossword puzzles and being left-handed.

Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.

There’re many good reasons to not eat meat: cruel treatment of animals, drug & genetic mutilation, environmental contamination, world hunger. Admirable motives all, but I don’t eat meat because I think it’s gross.

If you want more information on reasons to be veggie, go here.

Life itself is the proper binge

Cooking is like love: it should be entered into with abandon or not at all.

Cooking and baking – creating a meal and sharing it with friends – is about one of my favorite things to do. Special people get their choice of cakes on their birthdays…you'd be a fool not to ask.

Researchers have discovered that chocolate produces some of the same reactions in the brain as marijuana. The researchers also discovered other similarities between the two but can’t remember what they are. (M. Lauer)

	1
21%	8 votes
	2
7%	3 votes
	3
42%	16 votes
	4
21%	8 votes
	5
7%	3 votes