An American Lion: February 2012

Father Time

At least I think that is Father Time. It could be some other statuesque representation of a figure who has the same job description and the same group of cherubs and all that.

This was taken in front of the Museum of Natural History in Frankfurt. Between the museum and the rest of the educational complex around it, there is a hideous structure that stands out like a sort thumb amidst these classical buildings. It looks like a slum building put there by a hidebound bureaucrat.

Composite

Motion, cars, people, juxtaposition and horizontal space.

Frankfurt Tower

The Independent Republic of Wyoming

The great state of Wyoming has been in the funny papers recently.

At some point, the people of Wyoming will stop laughing at their own elected representatives long enough to come to an informed decision. A reordering of their legislature is probably coming, and soon. If you follow the link and read the comments, there is one fellow calling himself "gladiator" and using the image of Gerard Butler from 300 as his avatar--he's pretty much the sole supporter of the idea of the bill that was just defeated and I would imagine that not everyone lurking over there thinks he's nuts.

What possessed 27 individuals to consider a bill that would have made provisions for Wyoming to procure an aircraft carrier should the need arise? Talk about being obsessed with war porn.

There are many distressed gentlefolk in Wyoming; people who are dealing with agricultural issues and with rural flight. I would think that a responsible legislature would be working to cut costs, improve government, and deal with the issues faced by Wyoming's population. The fact that they had the time to consider the implications of needing their own force projection flotilla concerns me.

Everyone knows you need three aircraft carriers, and not just one. You have to have one in port, one on the way, and one on station. Perhaps they just want their own Lego version of an aircraft carrier.

The currency of Wyoming is, of course, a buffalo chip.

Abstract Number Seven, February 2012

America Needs Another Concern Troll

This does not bode well for those who wish to see bipartisanship die a horrible, horrible death. Somehow, I'm thinking that Kerrey and his old pals John McCain and Joe Lieberman are ready to throw Lindsay Graham back into the water so that they can hang with Kerrey.

Either that, or there will be some other crazy configuration of confusion and whatnot. How much do you want to bet Kerrey votes with the Democrats exactly half the time or less and never when it matters?

The Germans Are Sending Their Best Tax Collectors

The Germans are now beginning to be seen as a bit heavyhanded in their dealings with countries like Greece and Spain. Over the last few days, I've seen indications that there is a brewing backlash. Will anything come of it?

Well, if austerity continues to reign supreme here in Europe, yes. Yes you will see something come of it. The Greeks are well past their breaking point and Spain is there as well. I would imagine that a great deal of social unrest is probably going to sweep Europe, and soon.

Germany should keep their tax collectors and be prepared to send riot police.

Always Good For a Tepid Laugh

I'm sure that the Academy Awards is thrilled to know that Sacha Baron Cohen was able to flog his worthless film for a few minutes on their dime by going with a lame, easily anticipated joke.

When did mediocrity demand an airing and why are we forced to see this sort of thing over and over again? Cohen practically had a meltdown in public when they wouldn't let him pull his seen-it-coming-from-a-mile-away prank and this is the best he could come up with? Bimbos, a fake beard, and crap dumped on Ryan Seacrest?

I just can't understand why anyone tolerates this stuff anymore. This is why they give money to Adam Sandler to make movies--there's no one willing to tell the people who hand out the bucks that this stuff is over and done with.

Abstract Number Six, February 2012

This abstract shows some brush stroke problems, but they are only problems if I let them be problems. Many times, these dry and I don't have any idea what happened to what I actually painted, but I did have a great time getting to the part where they have to dry.

Still the Most Evil Company in the World

About three million Americans are being fleeced--and I say that with great emphasis--fleeced out of their twenty-five bucks a month by America Online. It is a predatory company that exists solely to keep fleecing consumers until they die and until their heirs shut off their credit cards.

If you want proof that America needs a consumer watchdog with some bite, look no further.

Amazing.

England Slaps an Export Ban on a Manet

Imagine coming up with a significant amount of money for a painting only to be thwarted from buying it at the last minute by the machinations of the British government. How this is fair, I do not know; the cultural treasures of certain nation/states are, understandably, protected.

The problem here is that Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus is not a cultural treasure of England in any sense of the word or idea; it is a treasure that has been rarely seen and has nothing to do with England at all. It is, however, valuable and that may explain why this is less about art, more about money.

How this stands up in the court of international opinion is unknown. I would think that this would lead to people being very wary of buying anything owned by a British subject and would make it exceedingly difficult for a British subject to sell anything valuable.

Warren Sapp and Character

The overwhelming majority of ex-pro football players end up bankrupt or broke with a matter of years when they retire. Sapp may not quite be there, but this is yet another indication of his character. Of which, like cash, he has very little.

Delegate David Albo is a Child

This looks cute and all, but one of the reasons why the Republican Party is actually shooting itself in the foot is because there is no possible way that the voters are going to continue to relate to such privileged, elitist and childish men.

Hopefully, enough people will see this and begin to understand what is really happening here. A small group of rich white men are trying to slut-shame America into denying health care coverage to women in the name of pandering to the anti-abortion crowd. This is directly related to the money spent to lobby against abortion and it speaks to how insanely ignorant they are of basic public health needs.

Laugh. It's funny.

Sacha Baron Cohen Cries and Gets His Way

Hollywood loves a shill, and that's all Sacha Baron Cohen aspires to be.
He has to shill his new movie on the red carpet and try to drum up as much interest as possible. If it flops like Bruno, he knows he won't get to make too many more of these films and he'll be relegated to playing "the foreign weirdo" for the next thirty years.

Television Listings and Front Page Advertising

Over on Scribd, I noticed this upload for the television listings. I'm not sure why it's an issue, but front page advertising and the promotional photo of Laura Allen both seem to be in some sort of conflict with one another.

Even here in Germany, the television listings magazine feature a beautiful actress in some benign pose. The expressions are interchangeable and the colors all look the same. Only the actresses change, and they are usually blonde.

But this is an American television listing insert for a newspaper that slaps ads right on the front page. Do the people who licensed the image of actress Laura Allen know this? That their client could be misconstrued as endorsing the images of the ads that appear next to her on the cover?

TV Weekly - Feb. 26, 2012

Romney Faces an Indifferent America

That is the presumptive Republican nominee for the Presidency in a sea of empty seats. Nobody's buying what Mitt Romney is selling.

This has to be a severely crushing psychological blow to Romney and to the Republicans who currently support him. If he loses Michigan, it's not over for him but it does mean that there is the distinct possibility that vast numbers of Republicans might abandon his candidacy and turn towards Rick Santorum.

When you see the facts staring you right in the face--no one is interested, no one cares, no one wants to go into a football stadium and hear him speak, no one wants to engage with him as a candidate and get on his bandwagon--then there is little hope left for the idea of unseating President Obama. Romney isn't even corporate enough to be considered a possible winner. This is a man who has lost, and who has lost so badly, it's a wonder he still has a smile left in him.

I'm also encouraged by the fact that the vaunted get out the vote system in the Republican Party is now pretty much a thing of the past. In all of the Detroit area, there was no attempt to draw ten thousand Romney supporters. There should have been buses parked at nursing homes, shuttles to bring people in, and there should have been incentives handed out to get people to show up. Even that would have been understandable. Instead, the indifference shows that Romney has spent his money like a fool. No one wants anything to do with him, not even for free, not even for a chance to walk inside of a football stadium and mingle with the presumptive front runner of the Republican Party.

Wow.

My belief is that the status quo wants Obama to stay in office. He's just corporate-friendly enough to be a two-term President.

Trolling For the Laughs

A sampling of me piling on the distress, and I do it for the lulz.

Here you have numerous frothing wingnuts who are apoplectic that someone thinks Sarah Palin isn't the Second Coming. Fancy that. Now, can you have a rational discussion with these people? You can try. But, lower your expectations. Numbers are kind of tough on them. And simple, basic facts rend their garments and muss up their hair.

I really, really love explaining to them that Americans aren't quitters. I don't think they get it, though. Love is blindness, as the man says.

Abstract Number Five, February 2012

I decided to make this the fifth piece of this series, if only because I think it works as a great contrast against the other four pieces. This was done on a heavier type of paper while the others were done on canvas boards.

Abstract Number Four, February 2012

Probably one of the least successful pieces in this series, but it does have a few things that recommend it. I worked at the blending of the blues and greens a bit too much.

Is This Really a Big Deal?

There is a controversy brewing over whether to take the staff of the Stars and Stripes publication and move them from Washington D.C. to Fort Meade, Maryland. I'm not sure what the problem is, but let's get a few things out of the way.

First, Stars and Stripes is an award-winning publication. It is not crap or unprofessional. There is great merit behind what they do. I have no reservations citing them in the posts that I do.

Second, it is not an "independent" publication in any sense. It is, in fact, an authorized news outlet of the Department of Defense, albeit one that, at the direction of Congress, has some independence in editorial judgement. Monetary considerations are understandable. Here in Europe, there are deep cuts on the way. Everyone has to do their part.

Third, there's nothing wrong with moving the staff to Fort Meade, unless you have a problem with Central Maryland. Having been stationed there, I can tell you, the facilities where these people will be working are pretty up-to-date. They are entirely separate from the other facilities located on the base. Where they will be working is in an area where there are barracks, a gym, a park with a lake, and numerous other quality of life benefits. Don't weep for these people to be moving out of Washington D.C.

When I was there, the construction boom had just started. Fort Meade has a great deal to offer. I think that what the people here might be uncomfortable with is "being inside the wire." Each and every person who goes onto Fort Meade has to show identification. This is how it is with military posts nowadays. It's inconvenient up to a point; if you can't handle it, find another line of work.

Sacha Baron Cohen is a Flop

Once you have spent a great deal of time reading about dictators and studying history, this sort of thing becomes tedious and unfunny. I'm not sure what is humorous about a man who calls for the slaughter of other human beings and parodies the inhumanity of your garden variety dictator. This looks like a fairly lame flop to me. If people are hungry for this, then they don't know much.

Small Town Crank Beats His Drum

Somehow, the idea that illegal immigration is destroying the American way of life has taken hold in small towns (and, pretty much everywhere else) and it has driven people over the brink. This is all they think about. This is what is making them miserable.

But it's all a crock. This is the classic example of that.

First of all, there is no way of knowing how many "illegal" immigrants there are. Many of them may be illegal but they conform to the laws, earn money, pay taxes, and exist on the fringes of the economy.

Second, they hold jobs Americans won't do. Americans won't pick vegetables, clean offices, or do the things that these people do. And they certainly can't do these things as well as they do and that's important to note. So-called illegal immigrants outwork most Americans. It's a simple as that.

Third, this is a wedge issue used by one political party to get votes. No one who actually has money, runs a business, or doesn't have to worry about their next paycheck cares about this issue beyond the point where they might be inconvenienced and have to actually pay the people who do menial tasks for them more than they currently pay them. Those people tell politicians what to do, and that's why nothing actually gets done about illegal immigration except by accident.

The government can solve this problem in a matter of days. All it has to do is pass a law that says that anyone who employs a person who is not an American citizen can lose their business or property if convicted of employing a person who does not have a valid Social Security Number. All of their property.

So why don't they? Well, it's simple. Americans won't do what these people do no matter what. And they never will.

Tree From Below

The Nasty Business of Lawyers

That's actually a great way to deflect blame. When Sugarland's lawyer says "voluntarily assumed risk," that's exactly how they're going to get away with turning back all of the lawsuits that have been filed.

It all comes down to planning. Who planned out the construction of the stage and the lighting equipment? Who specified that the overhanging stage portion would have lights and would thus be "appropriate" for the venue, the artist, and for the shows that were planned?

Given that this was probably going to be a shared stage with numerous acts, someone had to have produced a document or a plan that specified that the artists would be presented on a stage with x number of lights, y number of overhead sound speakers, and z number of scaffolding pieces upon which to either attach or secure that equipment. There are also considerations for video equipment and how many operators would be utilized in that overhang as part of each show. Each band would either provide overhead lighting technicians or would use the venue's technicians for the duration of the various shows that were scheduled to take place and so there had to be a schedule or an agreement as to how all of that would be organized and run. Finally, the panels that screened or covered up that equipment as it faced the audience no doubt carried corporate logos or advertising, perhaps even video screens.

Whoever ordered the lights, speakers, video equipment, corporate logos and flat-front panels is liable. Whoever specified how that equipment would be used and for there to be roadies in that collapsed overhang is to blame. And this is for the entire duration of the production, since it could have been equipment installed by another act that actually made the overhang heavy and/or susceptible to collapse.

But people tend to go after whoever has deep pockets and hope for a settlement. This was a planning and safety failure. It should never have happened, but there it is.

So much for all of that sympathy and for all of those prayers. Lawyers don't much care if you prayed for the injured and the dead. They want their money and they're going to find a way to get their money.

Who's That Crazy Man Being Attacked by Birds?

When Chris Brown isn't beating women, or telling women that he wants to date that he will not beat them, he is being attacked by birds. Who lives their life like this?

Entrance

The Worldwide Leader Needs a New Headline Writer

Here's what I think of all of this.

First, the inherent racism in the National Basketball Association is evident simply because a player who is not an African-American is now doing exceptionally well and is helping his team win, which is not what anyone really does during this part of the NBA season.

Second, I really do think that whoever wrote that headline had no idea what they were doing when they used the phrase "chink in the armor." I think that ESPN hires some exceptionally stupid people who do not understand history, culture, or society.

Third, Sports Illustrated is always the go-to place for a story about something ESPN did wrong.

Midnight in Paris

I used to have a running joke. Every time Woody Allen would put out a film, I would say "there's another Woody Allen film I'm never going to see," because, well, why bother? Has he done anything in the last twenty years worth watching?

Midnight in Paris will probably make me stop telling that joke, but, let's be real. The joke is so 90's anyway.

Lifestyles of the Permanently Unemployed

Kudos to CBS News for actually trying to understand the demographic shifts that have occurred in this country since the economic catastrophe of 2008. A number of Americans fell out of the Middle Class and are trying to get back in; this piece shows you what that has meant for these people and why it matters.

This gets to the heart of the matter:

These are not the statements of a hippie, or an Occupy Wall Street protester or a Democrat pretending to care about poor people while a Republican tells them to pull themselves up by the bootstraps of their trust fund. This is coming from a man trying to help thousands of people get back into the workforce.

The lack of focus on why this happened and what continues to happen in America is troubling. That is why there is a powerful disconnect out there between what politicians are saying and what is truly driving people to the end of their resources. This disconnect is why the American dream is disappearing.

The Pathetic Debacle Surrounding Whitney Houston's Funeral

It would seem that a larger-than-life drama is going to surround Whitney Houston's demise for some time now. I don't think any of this stuff will disappear. What was supposed to be a celebration of the someone's life turned into a pissing match between Bobby Brown and the Houston family.

I deliberately shut down and avoided this nonsense over the weekend. Who, in their right mind, would want to try and make sense of how Brown would throw a fit at his ex-wife's funeral and storm out? Who would want to sit and read the "insider" speculation from the well-paid hacks within the family's circle who are leaking every detail to the press? It all seems so pathetic and sad.

Now the drama will center around three issues. First, what will become of the only daughter, Bobbi Kristina? Second, when will Bobby Brown himself overdose on drugs and end up on a slab? Third, what will happen to all of the money that Clive Davis and LA Reid didn't already steal?

You can expect years of this nonsense to continue. The leaks out of this family will never stop, either. If you follow the link above and go to the The Daily Beast, you can see the "insider" stuff practically oozing off the screen. Some nobody bent the ear of a hack, and that's what it reads like to me. Of course, you can fully expect Brown to try to cash in on what happened and try to make money for himself. Which is fine, because he needs it now that his cash cow of an ex-wife is gone and her money will probably be handled by lawyers and the Houston family like a bottomless pot of gold.

Oh, and you can expect the record label now holding onto her recordings to continue fleecing consumers and you can expect that this tragedy will be milked for every penny it has left in it. Everyone will get their cut in the end and nobody will take the high road.

Flowers and Stairs

This was shot last year on Mainau Island, which is in the Bodensee or Lake Constance, on the northern side. These gardens are very well tended and start to look spectacular in the early part of spring.

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