Where To Invade Next

I was tepid at best about seeing Michael Moore's latest, Where To Invade Next. The previews looked, well... not only lackluster, but silly, seen it before and- no longer funny. But being that we hadn't seen a flick in quite a few, off we went- and I celebrated by taking... my first senior discount ($1.50- Woo Hoo!).

Surprisingly, the movie itself did not disappoint. Unfortunately, at this point, Moore's movies only preach to the choir- it's pissed off Trump Republicans that need to watch and learn. Watch and learn how the US has chucked, forsaken and forgotten what once made this country great- and what we could now undertake to heal, repair and restore. As usual, Conservatives go on and on about how the US is overtaxed, and yet they never mention the crippling amounts we have to pay for: health care, higher education and a whole host of other social/civic services that we either pay top dollar for- or (increasingly likely) learn to do without. Our health, economy and hopes breaking down before our eyes just as the very environment and infrastructure we so desperately depend upon. And as Moore points out, insult to injury- many of the very ideas that could alleviate so much suffering and right so many of our current economic and social ills that other countries so effectively employ... originated right here in the good ol' US of A!

Sadly we have allowed ourselves to become so tone deaf and dumbed down, so marginalized in our own frustration, that we can only now seek to blame others as we mindlessly chant on in ever increasing fervor- USA, USA, USA...

Fantasy, Reality & A Few Bits In Between...

 A little levity for the masses...

Yes, things have been pretty quiet 'round these parts; ya know what they say- no news is good news. I was recently saddened to hear the ongoings at B&H, I had done business with them for decades and it was heartening to see a multi hued, multi ethnic sea of faces whenever I visited. Sadly, it does not appear all is at it seems... Cheap prices, come at a price and it's always interesting to hear how many people just don't give a rat's ass as long as they get a few bucks off their L lenses (and don't have to work in their far from public view warehouses). Not gonna rehash everything I said there, but the issues raised accurately encapsulate modern economics, prejudice and society as a whole.

Elsewhere, elephants continue to be slaughtered- forget the solitary big game assholes, I'm talking the wholesale slaughter for the continuing Asian market in ivory. And forget the glaciers, the tundra is now melting as we continue to mindlessly plunge this earth headfirst into the abyss, blissfully ignoring we seal our own fate as we do so...

Whatever photographs do survive into the next century will serve as bleak testament to a memory of how people happily carried on as the signs of the planet's demise danced all about them. They will view them with curiosity, longing, and utterly justifiable rage.

Digital vs. Analog

I had the biggest laugh of the day while shaving the other morning and first hearing about Volkswagen's special emissions reduction software that works only when... being tested for emissions. Brilliant! 

Reminds me of the time when Hyundai had to cut the weight of their cars in order to meet US gas mileage standards. Solution: take the stuffing out of their fenders. Classic!

96- Per Day...

The Christian Capitalist

Remember how Christ always preached that charity began with Capitalism, how he lovingly reminded lepers to stop begging for entitlements and pick themselves up by their bootstraps, and commanded the dead to raise their own damn selves up without the aid of Big Government?

Well my friend, THIS traces the history of those classic Christian economic, self help favorites- and if you act now, we'll also throw in Christ's Twelve Easy Steps To Wealth and Prosperity at no extra charge (and that's one parable you won't find in your Bible)!

The Salt Of The Earth vs. Sebastião Salgado

OK, OK! So I am no doubt at least partly to blame, I'm the one who put Salgado on the god like pedestal, for all that he has shown and taught us photographically, concerning not only the human condition, but the state of the entire planet. I'm the one old enough to know better; no one is perfect- we're all mortal and flawed and sinful and weak... And I was also wrong when I said that Burtynsky should have been more openly critical of the giants of industry and commerce that he so famously documented in Manufactured Landscapes. Truth is, had he been so, he would have never been granted the access necessary to photograph in the first place- and the resulting images would have never even seen the light of day, let alone spoken as loudly as they did. 

But goddang, Sebastião! Now, whenever I hear your hallowed name, think of the spectacular work you have produced, the eyes and minds you have awakened- the grand legacy you sought to so gloriously immortalize will forever be tainted and marred by the rationalizations of such lesser men. I don't know what the budget was for Genesis, but maybe if you had taken one less helicopter ride, had your book weighed one pound less- had your exhibition prints measured in feet, rather than... meters, maybe, just maybe, you wouldn't have had to accept money from Satan himself in the guise of Vale Mining ("a Brazilian mining corporation that in 2012 was voted the worst company for human rights and environmental credentials")! For in doing so, your work has not only documented what man has wrought upon this once great planet, it also explains how all of us, great and small, have contributed to that destruction- be it in full knowledge, sheer ignorance or absolute denial...   Update: Erratum...

Leviathan

The setting is the hinterlands of Putin's present day Russia. Cold, corrupt, brutal. Save for the raw, minimalist beauty of the surrounding seaside, the reality is- it could be a lot of places throughout human history...

They say you don't see and think straight when you're depressed. One of the biggest, all time lies we constantly tell each other- just to keep each other going. When we're down and out, we basically see things as they are, stripped of unrealistic hopes or pretension- when we're not, we merrily look the other way. Most times, things don't get particularly better; for many... luck, life itself, means they just keep going.

In many places, Russia being one of them, if you don't have the connections, the money, the privilege- your existence is merely circumstantial...

Happy Thanksgiving!

9/22/14 NYC- Photo: © S. Banos

And speaking of unbridled greed run amuck- James Risen's Pay Any Price, will walk you through one very long list of astronomical economic gaffes willingly perpetrated by our government.  Up to $20,000,000,000 (yup, billions with a B) were delivered to Iraq in 2003, on pallets no less- and quickly... l-o-s-t! Up to half of that is still completely unaccounted for (if you really believe the first half was)- and the US has shown no desire whatsoever to even look for it. Billion$ to shoot, maim, bomb and kill; billion$ to lose and corrupt, but scant few dollars for these people, or even those much, much closer to home...

Income Inequality Is Higher NOW Than In 1928

 

In 2001, the deputy spokesperson of the White House Press Office was asked what he thought the median income was on that year's tax returns. He replied it was around... $250,000.

It was $28,000.

The Maier Conundrum(s)

Recently, Petapixel linked to a couple of items of note concerning Vivian Maier, the more mundane of the two concerned this post from The Online Darkroom:

Vivian's photography is of a standard that I imagine I or most readers could have produced given the same opportunity...    
-Bruce Robbins

I think the key word in that statement is "imagine;" anyone's free to imagine they're as good as anyone else. No, she's not HCB. but she definitely deserves every accolade she's earned for the plethora of quality images she created in a time when such artistry was not exactly plentiful. Certain photo critics, historians and gallerists will snub her talent and/or work due to the lack of original prints, and don't take into account the most obvious of factors- how on earth was she then able to assess and improve her work without actually seeing it? And yet, that's exactly what she did- that alone is some unique kind of extraordinary genius in and of itself! Ironically, no one snubs HCB for not doing his own printing.

The author then goes on to assert that she must have had money to burn since she owned a Rolleiflex and shot a lot of film. Huh??? Maybe that's why she couldn't afford (to make) prints, she saved every penny of her meager nanny's salary to acquire basic, but top notch shooting equipment- and simply had to sacrifice on the other end. Not that hard to figure, especially if you've had to live on a tight budget- something's gotta give...

One of the main problems with Ms. Maier is that her extraordinary life story sometimes tends to trump her incredible legacy of work and talent- both are equally remarkable. Interestingly, would we know anything of an HCB, or Eggleston, or... if they hadn't been born into $$$?

---------------------------------------------------------------

The other issue, the one of considerably greater concern, is found within this article in the NY Times. This is where the Maier saga finally transforms into modern day, capitalist horror story via hostile takeover courtesy of none other than that classic 19th century villain reassuming his rightful position as 21st century scum of the earth. Enter (the oh so appropriately named) Mr. Deal, lawyer and leech of the lowest order, crawling in after the fact, seeking whatever crumbs he can wrest free and acquire. 

In truth, it was the one and only factor that has been missing from this fairy tale of art and longing- up until now we haven't had a real villain, a true foil to Maier's innocence and Maloof's quest to anoint her. The stage is set, the final act has commenced, as bullshit writ large strides in demanding its cut of money and notoriety. This chapter will only add to the legend; unfortunately, when lawyers ride in on the back of the law, the conclusion can be anything but happy.

China's Wholesale Slaughter Of The Innocents

...20,000 elephants were killed just in Africa in 2013.  -AP

I really don't care if this is politically correct or not, I know the world can't do anything about asinine Americans slaughtering their own with every kind of firearm available- but I do wish the so called "civilized" world would do something, anything to publicly shame, humiliate and hold China accountable for what they're doing to the animal kingdom. In short, China is funding and facilitating the wholesale slaughter, torture and even extinction of entire species: elephants, rhinos, sharks, dogs- you name it... Weak and ineffective laws are not an answer if these animals continue to be slaughtered for their parts, and then continue to be sold "illegally." The consequences must be strong enough to matter, before these animals cease to exist in the wild.

The facilitators and perpetrators of these mass killings must be held responsible before a world court and international law before it's too late. They will not stop funding this slaughter as long as there is one elephant left in the savannah to fashion into a trinket, one shark swimming in the ocean to turn into soup. These merchants of death must be made to lose face and be held to account- financially, legally, morally... Their greed is limitless, these animals are not.

Japan are you listening? ASIA are you!?!?

Self Destruction

Unfortunately, since this video was made, we have not only failed to curtail our own self destruction, we have redoubled our effort to destroy the very planet we live and depend upon and everything within it...

The 9/11 Cheeseboard!

If ya can't afford the official 9/11 cheeseboard after paying $24 to get into the The 9/11 Museum- you'll have to drink your coffee solo from the 9/11 coffee mug...
(and no French cheese within those borders, please!)

UPDATE: Alas! The memorial cheeseboard has been... removed!

Photo: Scott Lynch / Gothamist

“I don’t recognize the United States government as even existing.”

Cliven "USA" Bundy 
Photo: Scott Watson

I'm sure used to seeing the whole "Love it or Leave it" crowd wrap itself within the flag, but for a guy who straight out swears he doesn't even believe in the United States- Cliven Bundy sure does go outta his way to drape himself in the very symbol of what he doesn't believe in one whole heapin' helpful! And, of course, while he rails against "Negroes on government subsidies," he has no problem unlawfully using government assets for personal gain to the tune of several million dollars.

But then, these are the armed, demented morons that the Republican Party has embraced and unleashed upon us all...

What I Did On Spring Break...

Last time it was "the right to bear arms," this time- corporate takeover of one's home... If it's something I'm passionate about (and a fairly sane site) the Comments section is a venue to sharpen and hone one's viewpoints, facts and debating skills- and in the process, maybe even learn something (and help ward off the oncoming dementia).

Google Go Home!

The first time I saw one of these unmarked buses, I thought it was just a fancy foreign tourist bus. Then I found out the truth*- they're luxury "Google buses" that transport Google employees to and fro between San Francisco and Silicon Valley. They use public bus stops, often nudging out public transit buses so that they have to pick up their working class passengers in the middle of the street. These Google riders are the same elitist slime that are currently doubling rents in SF (already amongst the highest in the land) and encouraging landlords to evict elderly tenants, single mothers, you name it. They come and take at will, they expect to be served and catered to, and those who make less must defer and exit in their presence- they make no apology, offer no compromise, and if you complain or call them on their unlimited greed and callousness, will simply dismiss you as a whining loser. Case closed; earbuds need not be removed.

It's high time these people were made less comfortable, less welcomed. These ass wipes need to be taken down a few notches; I'm not advocating violence, I am advocating that they contribute and share- or get the fuck out. I'm not talking about nickel and dime contributions to a coupla charities, that doesn't in any way compensate for the long time residents they're single handedly kicking out. It's high time they realized they too are imperfect humans with faults and imperfections, and that they must share this space in a fair and equitable manner with fellow humans of all economic levels. Or... get the fuck out!

* if you think I exaggerate their complete arrogance and overriding ignorance- just read their comments...

Save $5,000!!!

Someone from something called "The Sedatel Studios" of Toronto, Canada sent me an email announcing their official Spring Cleaning Sale. Perhaps they need to tighten up their marketing research before sending the likes of this in my direction...
(for that $$$, you'd think LEICA would afford properly cut inserts)

Blinded Them With Science

To say this is so scary on so many levels is, of course, a cliche. And yet scary is exactly what it is- and this I found particularly chilling (and telling)...

And eventually, when I spoke with the lawyer here at the University, I was told that, "Well, I represent the university, and I protect the university from liability. You’re kind of on your own." And I remember I looked at him, and I said, "But the very university, from the Latin universitas, is a collection of scholars, of teachers and students, so who is this entity, the university, that you represent that doesn’t include me?" But clearly there’s some entity that doesn’t really include us, the professors and students, and doesn’t really protect our academic freedom, I think, the way that it should.  (emphasis mine)

"Either There Is An America, Or There Isn't"

The following is what should obviously be referred to as... self explanatory.

David Simon on Billionaires and the Demise of the Social Contract from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

When my parents first arrived in NYC in the early fifties, they first settled in SOHO (of all places) which was hardly the chic area of residence then, more industrial than neighborhood. They settled into a cold water flat for fifteen dollars a month, later moving to Brooklyn when the rent was raised to twenty. They arrived unskilled, got low tier manufacturing jobs, and as my father recalled, "You could get fired one morning and get the same job in another place that afternoon."

The point is, you could afford to live on what you made; jobs were plentiful, shelter anything but luxurious- nevertheless affordable, and available. Yes, it was a time when "lift yourself up by the bootstraps" was a reality, not some empty, long dead axiom. Now you have young couples both of whom are working full time (often in addition to P/T) minimum wage jobs vying with recently, and not so recently, unemployed college grads well over fifty- for those same dead end jobs. Now you have corporations paying their workers so little they have to rely on food stamps to survive.

Incredibly, once your average American who wanted to get ahead could attend a City College... tuition free! Now, more than half of college professors constitute (are you ready for this?)- the working poor!   The point is, the bootstraps are long gone. For many Americans, it's no longer about the dream- it's about mere survival. But the so called "job creators" keep insisting that we should get on our knees and thank our lucky stars that they exist and tolerate us, as they give themselves million dollar bonuses, and get multi-million dollar tax payer funding for their personal pet projects while deliriously decrying the wanton excess of raising a long (LONG...) overdue raise in the minimum wage.

The Republican Road To Riches...

Ever hear of the TPP? Neither did I. Listen to David Cay Johnston as he explains and reveals just some of the reasons we continue to get robbed, pillaged and raped by our Rich, Republican Overseers...