Tuesday, September 30, 2008
All Things Together: Photographs by Manuel Dominguez, Jr. and Kaitlin Mosley
click to enlarge
Don't miss this show.
A Happy and Healthy New Year to All!
I don't understand this, but while I am an atheist and an opponent of many facets of all organized religions, including Judaism, I am still totally a Jew. Go figure!
So L' Shana Tovah, everyone! Here's to a great new year for all of us: happy, healthy, prosperous and filled with love.
Ode to Judy Blume
While she is most often categorized as a solely a children's writer, I submit that Judy Blume is one of America's most important and influential writers because of her books geared toward children.
Highly Recommended-
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. 1970
Then Again, Maybe I Won't 1971
Freckle Juice 1971
It's Not the End of the World 1972
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing 1972
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great 1972
Deenie 1973
Blubber 1974
Forever 1975
Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself 1977
Judy Blume is a genius. And Judy Blume is also one of the most consistently censored authors. These books have been in print since the 70s and the massive censorship push was in the 80s, so you can see there's been a battle to keep kids from reading these books for a looooong time. Harry Potter is also up there right now with most censored books, but there's no way witchcraft is going to make the religious right more mental than they'd be about masturbation or menstruation.
Judy Blume on censorship.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Banned Books
Click above to read an article about banned books. My friend Tom Devaney was quoted a few times in it.
"Banned books tell stories about society that make people anxious enough that they wanted to censor them," (Tom) Devaney said.
-------
Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2007
1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell. Picture book. Reasons: anti-ethnic, sexism, homosexuality, anti-family, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group.
2. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier. Youth novel. Reasons: sexually explicit, offensive language, violence.
3. Olive's Ocean, by Kevin Henkes. Youth novel. Reasons: sexually explicit and offensive language.
4. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman. Youth novel. Reason: Religious viewpoint.
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. Novel. Reason: racism.
6. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. Novel. Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language.
7. TTYL, by Lauren Myracle. Youth novel. Reasons: sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group.
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou. Novel. Reason: sexually explicit.
9. It's Perfectly Normal, by Robie H. Harris. Youth nonfiction. Reasons: sex education, sexually explicit.
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. Novel. Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group.
I've read 5 of these and plan to read the other 5 this year.
"Banned books tell stories about society that make people anxious enough that they wanted to censor them," (Tom) Devaney said.
-------
Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2007
1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell. Picture book. Reasons: anti-ethnic, sexism, homosexuality, anti-family, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group.
2. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier. Youth novel. Reasons: sexually explicit, offensive language, violence.
3. Olive's Ocean, by Kevin Henkes. Youth novel. Reasons: sexually explicit and offensive language.
4. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman. Youth novel. Reason: Religious viewpoint.
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. Novel. Reason: racism.
6. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. Novel. Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language.
7. TTYL, by Lauren Myracle. Youth novel. Reasons: sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group.
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou. Novel. Reason: sexually explicit.
9. It's Perfectly Normal, by Robie H. Harris. Youth nonfiction. Reasons: sex education, sexually explicit.
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. Novel. Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group.
I've read 5 of these and plan to read the other 5 this year.
So a while ago I posted something about how I included two tender photos in America, neither of which were my favorites in the series of photos that were made in those moments. Frankly, they while they made it into the tight edit of the book they might not make it into I-95.
I mentioned that this was a difficult and painful part of putting the book edit together; including work that I know isn’t my strongest in order to tell the story best.
Jonathan Lipkin asked me, "If it tells the story, how is it not your strongest work?"
Here's the answer! All of my work comes back to being the images working autonomously and as a grouping, and sometimes the ordering of the photos means that images that I prefer don't make it in whatever grouping I'm showing.
For example, check out the spread from America below. The portraits in these spreads are not my favorites, but they are the strongest images for the narrative that I wanted to tell about America. I felt that I needed a subtle gang reference and that the man drinking Olde English provided it. In addition, that photo was made on the Lao New Year just a few blocks from my studio, and so for me there's a connection to immigration, as well as the modifications and adoption of American culture, something I'm really interested in here in the neighborhood.
The spread below includes a image of a woman kissing a baby that I highly doubt that I'd include in I-95. But for America I needed it.
I needed three kisses in the book, romantic, parental and ideological. Below are the 3 that made it.
-----
Also, I would have loved the Econo Lodge image and the Refrigerators in Lot image to be in a spread with blank pages on the left, but it was an imposibility to place them opposite blank pages without losing two images in the book, and that wasn't going to happen. The images that have blank pages on the left indicate a new "chapter" of photos, and sometimes indicate a shift in theme. Many of the singular images are confusing or dense and needed to be on their own, so they started a new chapter or grouping of photos.
For example...
------
Here's to thinking! Thinking about seeing! And thinking about America! Holy FUCK, I can't believe how lucky I am to have been able to work on this project!
I mentioned that this was a difficult and painful part of putting the book edit together; including work that I know isn’t my strongest in order to tell the story best.
Jonathan Lipkin asked me, "If it tells the story, how is it not your strongest work?"
Here's the answer! All of my work comes back to being the images working autonomously and as a grouping, and sometimes the ordering of the photos means that images that I prefer don't make it in whatever grouping I'm showing.
For example, check out the spread from America below. The portraits in these spreads are not my favorites, but they are the strongest images for the narrative that I wanted to tell about America. I felt that I needed a subtle gang reference and that the man drinking Olde English provided it. In addition, that photo was made on the Lao New Year just a few blocks from my studio, and so for me there's a connection to immigration, as well as the modifications and adoption of American culture, something I'm really interested in here in the neighborhood.
The spread below includes a image of a woman kissing a baby that I highly doubt that I'd include in I-95. But for America I needed it.
I needed three kisses in the book, romantic, parental and ideological. Below are the 3 that made it.
-----
Also, I would have loved the Econo Lodge image and the Refrigerators in Lot image to be in a spread with blank pages on the left, but it was an imposibility to place them opposite blank pages without losing two images in the book, and that wasn't going to happen. The images that have blank pages on the left indicate a new "chapter" of photos, and sometimes indicate a shift in theme. Many of the singular images are confusing or dense and needed to be on their own, so they started a new chapter or grouping of photos.
For example...
------
Here's to thinking! Thinking about seeing! And thinking about America! Holy FUCK, I can't believe how lucky I am to have been able to work on this project!
Whoa!
Looks like we're all in a lot of trouble. That free market capitalism ain't working out too great right now.
Worthless Money!
----
Banks Fail!
"It's our view that regulators are expecting 100 to 200 banks to fail" over the next 12 to 24 months, says Jaret Seiberg, a research analyst for the Stanford Group.
(as an aside, I really like the "But I have more than $100,000 in my bank account. Will it be protected?" question in that article. However, I was hoping for an answer to my banking needs, "But I have about $100 in my bank account. Will it be protected?")
-----
Stocks Plummet!
-----
"Hello? Hello? Is Ken in? When? A natural death? Only 64? Yes, that is quite a shock!"
-----
Bailout Package Fails As Dow Plunges
"...Chief McCain strategist Steve Schmidt said yesterday on Meet the Press, 'What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all of the parties to the table, including the House Republicans, whose votes were needed to pass this.' And this morning, McCain backer Mitt Romney told NBC that 'this bill would not have been agreed to had it not been for John McCain....this is a bipartisan accomplishment, a bipartisan success. And if people want to get something done in Washington, they just watch John McCain.'
Instead, members of McCain's own party voted 133 to 65 against the measure. Democrats, on the other hand, voted 140 to 95 for the bill..."
If people want to get something done in Washington, they just watch John McCain! And then they go shoot wolves from a plane!
-----
-----
You know what? Fuck it, it's not really the apocalypse, it just feels like it. A horrible hangover makes you feel like you're dying, but you're not. You just have a hangover. Of course you could get alcohol poisoning and die. Then when Putin rears his head and flies over Alaska... wait, I'm mixing metaphors here.
I'm having brisket tonight with my family and ringing in the new year. And I am dead serious when I say that I look forward with optimism.
-----
Free Falling
by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
She's a good girl, loves her mama
Loves jesus and america too
She's a good girl, crazy 'bout elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend too
It's a long day, living in reseda
There's a freeway running through the yard
And I'm a bad boy, 'cause I don't even miss her
I'm a bad boy, for breaking her heart
Chorus:
And I'm free - free falling
Yeah I'm free - free falling
All the vampires walking through the valley
Move west down ventura boulevard
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
All the good girls are home with broken hearts
Chorus:
And I'm free - free falling
Yeah I'm free - free falling
I wanna glide down over mulholland
I wanna write her name in the sky
I wanna free fall out into nothing
Gonna leave this place for a while
Chorus:
And I'm free - free falling
Yeah I'm free - free falling
Worthless Money!
----
Banks Fail!
"It's our view that regulators are expecting 100 to 200 banks to fail" over the next 12 to 24 months, says Jaret Seiberg, a research analyst for the Stanford Group.
(as an aside, I really like the "But I have more than $100,000 in my bank account. Will it be protected?" question in that article. However, I was hoping for an answer to my banking needs, "But I have about $100 in my bank account. Will it be protected?")
-----
Stocks Plummet!
-----
"Hello? Hello? Is Ken in? When? A natural death? Only 64? Yes, that is quite a shock!"
-----
Bailout Package Fails As Dow Plunges
"...Chief McCain strategist Steve Schmidt said yesterday on Meet the Press, 'What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all of the parties to the table, including the House Republicans, whose votes were needed to pass this.' And this morning, McCain backer Mitt Romney told NBC that 'this bill would not have been agreed to had it not been for John McCain....this is a bipartisan accomplishment, a bipartisan success. And if people want to get something done in Washington, they just watch John McCain.'
Instead, members of McCain's own party voted 133 to 65 against the measure. Democrats, on the other hand, voted 140 to 95 for the bill..."
If people want to get something done in Washington, they just watch John McCain! And then they go shoot wolves from a plane!
-----
-----
You know what? Fuck it, it's not really the apocalypse, it just feels like it. A horrible hangover makes you feel like you're dying, but you're not. You just have a hangover. Of course you could get alcohol poisoning and die. Then when Putin rears his head and flies over Alaska... wait, I'm mixing metaphors here.
I'm having brisket tonight with my family and ringing in the new year. And I am dead serious when I say that I look forward with optimism.
-----
Free Falling
by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
She's a good girl, loves her mama
Loves jesus and america too
She's a good girl, crazy 'bout elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend too
It's a long day, living in reseda
There's a freeway running through the yard
And I'm a bad boy, 'cause I don't even miss her
I'm a bad boy, for breaking her heart
Chorus:
And I'm free - free falling
Yeah I'm free - free falling
All the vampires walking through the valley
Move west down ventura boulevard
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
All the good girls are home with broken hearts
Chorus:
And I'm free - free falling
Yeah I'm free - free falling
I wanna glide down over mulholland
I wanna write her name in the sky
I wanna free fall out into nothing
Gonna leave this place for a while
Chorus:
And I'm free - free falling
Yeah I'm free - free falling
.jpg)
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Photo Quotes
Click the title to go to a site that is all quotes about photography. Here's my quote:
"I love quotes and I love photography. You can't go wrong with a site comprised of quotes about photography!"- Zoe Strauss
----
Here's possibly a better quote...
"Photographs bear witness to a human choice being exercised in a given situation. A photograph is a result of the photographer's decision that it is worth recording that this particular event or this particular object has been seen. If everything that existed were continually being photographed, every photograph would become meaningless." - John Berger
----
Here's a quote about that's kind of about quotes...
"'La experiencia es la madre de la ciencia. Spanish, my dears. Cervantes. Experience is the mother of knowledge.' (quoted) Mrs. Who."
-Madeline L'Engle from A Wrinkle in Time
"I love quotes and I love photography. You can't go wrong with a site comprised of quotes about photography!"- Zoe Strauss
----
Here's possibly a better quote...
"Photographs bear witness to a human choice being exercised in a given situation. A photograph is a result of the photographer's decision that it is worth recording that this particular event or this particular object has been seen. If everything that existed were continually being photographed, every photograph would become meaningless." - John Berger
----
Here's a quote about that's kind of about quotes...
"'La experiencia es la madre de la ciencia. Spanish, my dears. Cervantes. Experience is the mother of knowledge.' (quoted) Mrs. Who."
-Madeline L'Engle from A Wrinkle in Time
Thanks, Todd Oldham!
Without Todd Oldham, America would not have been possible. Thanks, Todd! Seriously, Todd is the best.
I encourage everyone to buy any and all of the products Todd makes. Including, but not limited to...
BEDROCK CITY – PLACE SPACE SERIES #1
HOME STUDIO HOME, PROVIDENCE, RI – PLACE SPACE SERIES #2
JOHN WATERS – PLACE SPACE SERIES #3
CAMP NEST – PLACE SPACE SERIES #4
All published by the great AMMO Books!
I encourage everyone to buy any and all of the products Todd makes. Including, but not limited to...
BEDROCK CITY – PLACE SPACE SERIES #1
HOME STUDIO HOME, PROVIDENCE, RI – PLACE SPACE SERIES #2
JOHN WATERS – PLACE SPACE SERIES #3
CAMP NEST – PLACE SPACE SERIES #4
All published by the great AMMO Books!
David Graham: Almost Paradise
Here's a show I'm really looking forward to seeing...
Almost Paradise
Photographs by David Graham
Sept. 19 - Nov. 8, 2008
Opening Reception Friday Sept. 26 6-8
at
Gallery 339
339 South 21st Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
with what looks to be a beautiful accompanying book/catalog
Almost Paradise
Pond Press, publication date September 2008
Almost Paradise
Photographs by David Graham
Sept. 19 - Nov. 8, 2008
Opening Reception Friday Sept. 26 6-8
at
Gallery 339
339 South 21st Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
with what looks to be a beautiful accompanying book/catalog
Almost Paradise
Pond Press, publication date September 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Phillies Clinch NL East!
------
Here's Patty from last year...
------
"The revolution made progress, not by its immediate tragicomic achievements but by the creation of a powerful, united counter-revolution, an opponent in combat with whom the party of overthrow ripened into a really revolutionary party."
-Karl Marx from Class Struggle in France
Oh honey, that's not the kind of party I'm talking about tonight. GO PHILLIES!
Obama, McCain, Kissinger: American Realpolitiks
Bear with me on this...
During the presidential debate Obama and McCain had a little back and forth regarding Henry Kissingers's statements and opinion regarding preconditions of diplomatic meetings with Iran.
Here's a recap from the LA Times...
"The candidates each were right when they clashed over what former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said about the wisdom of holding diplomatic meetings with Iran.
Obama was right when he said that Kissinger, in a recent appearance with other secretaries of State in Washington, said U.S. officials should talk to Iranian officials without preconditions.
McCain, in response, mischaracterized what Obama had just said. He implied that Obama had said Kissinger approved of presidential level contacts with Iran. The Democrat did not say that.
Nevertheless, Kissinger later issued a statement to the Weekly Standard as if Obama had misspoken.
'Sen. McCain is right. I would not recommend the next president of the United States engage in talks with Iran at the presidential level. My views on this issue are entirely compatible with the views of my friend Sen. John McCain. We do not agree on everything, but we do agree that any negotiations with Iran must be geared to reality.'"
-----
I was shocked by this exchange. Really? You're both vying to make Henry Kissinger's words a reality in current foreign policy? Henry Kissinger is a war criminal. What the fuck?
Ask the people of any of the following countries about Kissinger's policies...
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Cambodia
Chile
East Timor
North Vietnam
Paraguay
Uruguay
-----
Henry Kissinger/Richard Nixon Transcript regarding the bombing of Cambodia, December 9 1970
Henry Kissinger/Al Haig Transcript regarding the bombing of Cambodia, December 9 1970
The Trials of Henry Kissinger
The Case Against Henry Kissinger: Part one by Christopher Hitchens
The Case Against Henry Kissinger: Part Two by Christopher Hitchens
From PBS frontline on the US bombings of Cambodia- "...the devastating American bombing also helped fuel the Khmer Rouge's growth. Former New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg said the Khmer Rouge "... would point... at the bombs falling from B-52s as something they had to oppose if they were going to have freedom. And it became a recruiting tool until they grew to a fierce, indefatigable guerrilla army."
----
Henry Kissinger's portrait by Richard Avedon
Henry Kissinger
Photo by Richard Avedon
Henry Kissinger
Photo by Marion S. Trikosko
Unflattering Photos of Kissinger by Adriana Lorete caused Kissinger's lawyers to send a letter to Jornal do Brasil (a daily newspaper published in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) saying the former secretary of state would file a lawsuit for damages if the newspaper did not immediately cease and desist from selling the photos published of Kissinger at a trade conference in Brazil.
----
Please lord, please let me get through the election without an aneurysm. Also, his post truly reflects the ridiculousness of my blog. Who do I think is interested in reading about Kissinger's war crimes? What is this blog? Seems like it's just me talking and talking and I'm OK with that.
During the presidential debate Obama and McCain had a little back and forth regarding Henry Kissingers's statements and opinion regarding preconditions of diplomatic meetings with Iran.
Here's a recap from the LA Times...
"The candidates each were right when they clashed over what former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said about the wisdom of holding diplomatic meetings with Iran.
Obama was right when he said that Kissinger, in a recent appearance with other secretaries of State in Washington, said U.S. officials should talk to Iranian officials without preconditions.
McCain, in response, mischaracterized what Obama had just said. He implied that Obama had said Kissinger approved of presidential level contacts with Iran. The Democrat did not say that.
Nevertheless, Kissinger later issued a statement to the Weekly Standard as if Obama had misspoken.
'Sen. McCain is right. I would not recommend the next president of the United States engage in talks with Iran at the presidential level. My views on this issue are entirely compatible with the views of my friend Sen. John McCain. We do not agree on everything, but we do agree that any negotiations with Iran must be geared to reality.'"
-----
I was shocked by this exchange. Really? You're both vying to make Henry Kissinger's words a reality in current foreign policy? Henry Kissinger is a war criminal. What the fuck?
Ask the people of any of the following countries about Kissinger's policies...
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Cambodia
Chile
East Timor
North Vietnam
Paraguay
Uruguay
-----
Henry Kissinger/Richard Nixon Transcript regarding the bombing of Cambodia, December 9 1970
Henry Kissinger/Al Haig Transcript regarding the bombing of Cambodia, December 9 1970
The Trials of Henry Kissinger
The Case Against Henry Kissinger: Part one by Christopher Hitchens
The Case Against Henry Kissinger: Part Two by Christopher Hitchens
From PBS frontline on the US bombings of Cambodia- "...the devastating American bombing also helped fuel the Khmer Rouge's growth. Former New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg said the Khmer Rouge "... would point... at the bombs falling from B-52s as something they had to oppose if they were going to have freedom. And it became a recruiting tool until they grew to a fierce, indefatigable guerrilla army."
----
Henry Kissinger's portrait by Richard Avedon
Henry Kissinger
Photo by Richard Avedon
Henry Kissinger
Photo by Marion S. Trikosko
Unflattering Photos of Kissinger by Adriana Lorete caused Kissinger's lawyers to send a letter to Jornal do Brasil (a daily newspaper published in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) saying the former secretary of state would file a lawsuit for damages if the newspaper did not immediately cease and desist from selling the photos published of Kissinger at a trade conference in Brazil.
----
Please lord, please let me get through the election without an aneurysm. Also, his post truly reflects the ridiculousness of my blog. Who do I think is interested in reading about Kissinger's war crimes? What is this blog? Seems like it's just me talking and talking and I'm OK with that.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Rest In Peace, Kelly Harper.
I received a note from Kiki Darling today, "Sadly Ms. Kelly Harper passed September 22, 2008..."
a back in the day photo of Kelly Harper via Kiki Darling... Kiki says about Kelly, "A Philadelphia legend who's beauty was timeless! I hope she finds the peace, happiness and most of the love that she never got here on Earth. I will miss her dearly... "
Philadelphia Welcomes Palin!
Incredibly, I had the exact same sign as the woman in the top photo!
Here's my sign.
----
Here's my #1 Sarah Palin quote...
"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state"
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