Help NOT Wanted

If you don't know me,  I am a semi-retired college professor and digital graphics professional who was disabled by a stroke in my 40's, despite good health and no history.  but this story is not really about me; it is universal.

I was motivated to finish this, although working on it for a while, by a twitter comment I saw a few days ago: "No filter, say what you feel".  It made sense in context.


I've always tried to "say what I mean and mean what I say".  No white lies or backing away from the truth..."What a tangled web we weave etc. etc.  My ingrained sense of humor often warps this in ways other people may find offensive at times.  But I say it with a smile, and if it sounds offensive to them, they should call me out on it, which they often do.  If not it remains their problem, not mine.  I have often called people out on things I find offensive, and if a joke, point out that it is not funny.

One consequence of stroke is the effect on executive function, meaning decision-making, working memory, difficulty with transitioning between tasks, organization, control of impulses and emotional responses.  There are more.  See below.  As my filter  is now damaged, my innate "damn-the-torpedos" nature takes over.

Okay, let me get to the point here...

I have some trouble walking because of the stroke.  Living where I do, I am extra careful when weather creates obstacles.  However I consider it good for me, holistically, to get out of my climate-controlled building every day.   

Gov. Nothram steps in shoe polish

I graduated college in 1979, and even by then it was clear that wearing blackface or Klan garb was NOT funny, but offensive, and not just in the north.  Although many have raised the point, with which I generally agree, that one should not be held to the standards of today for past bad behavior.  If so, no one would run for office -- we all have skeletons.  And it is politics, where mud-slinging is an honored tradition.

But this is a rare case, in which the actions of a young man should make us wary of his judgement later in life.  There seems to be no doubt as to him doing this.  And no one called him out on it because, oh, we were all drunk, young, and clueless.

But by then, there was enough obvious controversy that it's hard to believe a smart med school student would be unaware enough to do it twice.

The sixties and seventies turned everything upside down.  Despite that, there were many cases of poor judgement on the issue of race:

Joni Mitchell, of all people, went to a party in blackface in 1974.  And she was not widely criticized, despite that her next album cover featured a photo of her in this same costume.

But there were many who realized the insult of blackface, including this 1977 decision by U.S. Postal Service, surprising to us New Yorkers as the complaints were in "several southeastern states":
 
"Controversial Poster removed by Postal Service"

If you need a subscription to read this article, here's the guts of it:

The poster, a generous 30 by 40 inches, depicted Al Jolson with arms outstretched, made up in blackface. His darkened face was upturned to the samera. “You ain't heard nothin’ yet.”

Designed to promote a new United States Postal Service stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of the popularization of talking pictures, it was sent to 5,000 major post offices (eight in New York City), most of which hung it for about a week until complaints from the public and postal workers persuaded postal officials in Washington to order it removed.

The idea, according to a chagrined postal service official, had been to use scenes from “The Jazz Singer,” the celebrated Jolson film, to promote a commemorative issue honoring the 50th anniversary of talking pictures. The stamp itself, 160 million of which were printed, shows a drawing of a 1927‐vintage motion‐picture projector and not the Jolson image, officials were quick to point out.

But because of complaints to postmasters from citizens and postal workers “in several southeastern cities” that the poster was insulting to black people—the service declined to say how many complaints—the poster was withdrawn.

“It wasn't the kind of thing you try to defend or argue with,” said the official, Ronald McDowell, manager of stamp development. “We found that we had offended people and we responded just that way.”

Now this was probably not on the radar of a college junior, but we did have a showing of "Reefer Madness" in my dorm, in which marijuana was shown as the fuel for black musicians playing honkytonk piano.  I knew this was racist, but not an unusual depiction at that time, about which I was uncomfortable (as a weed-smoker probably).  I knew few black people then, although the ones I did were fairly accomplished.  But I knew even as a child that there was something bad about the depiction of Spanky in "Our Gang", on the rare occasions when I watched it.  Being raised as a JFK Catholic may have had something to do with my discomfort.

My point is that the skill of Judgement is learned, not given, and if you don't learn it by Med School, you are unlikely to improve.  As with Sexual Harassment, that argument of "but that was years ago" just does not wash anymore.  That goes for Republicans AND Democrats.  How much has #45's judgement changed since his pussy-grabbing days?

Gov. Nothram should resign honorably, be thanked for his service, and study black history.

He can start here:
A very good report on the history of blackface (make sure you watch the video)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/history-of-blackface-unmasking-the-racism-reignited-by-megyn-kelly-controversy/

and then to bring him up to date:
https://hyperallergic.com/476097/prada-accused-of-blackface-pulls-controversial-animal-charms-from-retailers/
 

wtf i'm slow. I forget the granular nature of this environment like some

kids we were,

Wish I could weave stories ;ike Henry Rollins

I did not know bloggr was an actual thing. I thought it was just a meme, I guess,

Travesty of Treasure

Today's topic is one more step in the seemingly relentless erosion of the rights of the public as a group, not just individually.

The artworks in the Art Museum of my youth are being auctioned to provide dollars for a proposed expansion, as well as to cover a supposed operating expenses shortfall, neither of which were the intentions of e donors.  This move has been opposed strongly by members of the community and of the art world.   

below is my letter to the local newspaper, the Berkshire Eagle:

To the Editor of the Berkshire Eagle:

I was saddened and then appalled when I first heard about the sale of the 40 works of art from the Berkshire Museum.

I was raised in Pittsfield, and still think of Museums as places of worship.  One important gift upon moving to New York City in my twenties (to pursue a career in art and design) was the number and variety of museums.  I have visited many if not most of the art museums, which the time spent at my hometown museum taught me to value.

But no matter the type of museum, the elimination of assets without the participation of museum members and ignoring the interests of the community is a travesty and shows disdain for the idea of the public trust, a concept being chipped away at an increasing rate recently. Many of these artworks were gifted with the expectation, for some contractual, that they would be viewable by the County community.

The so-called "compromise" by the Attorney General of sending some works for display in a city 300 miles away and to which Berkshire County residents are offered free admission is no compromise.

Living less than a mile from Sotheby's, I will stand proudly in front at the next sale, as a Berkshire County native, protesting the insult and sellout of the community by the Museum board. Massachusetts should take the word "common" out of Commonwealth.

More letters:

June 5, 2018 

 

Feb. 9, 2018: Museum Board "transparency", in opinion of a museum and arts  professional:

June 1, 2018: unanswered questions 

June , 2018: from Board of  Museum

 

Berkshire Eagle stories:

 

  

crotch phone cases

outdoor pod

So I like the feeling of indoors/outdoors in a space. 

list I mean

So what's with this?
list of hoom? why?

Such easy questions
https://artberkshires.org/list/

#FASCISMSIGNS

A running list of events notable as small steps toward fascism (UPDATED DAILYISH)

5/2/18

1.  White House Dr. Freak admits #45 wrote his own health review and his office raided for records (HIPA protected if he had ever signed form)

2.  Mueller makes it clear he would subpoena #45, and reaction no surprise

 3.  Pruitt trip to Morocco paid for by lobbyist involved in biz deal

4. Pence honors Former Sheriff Apaio

5.  Former HHS admits that Obamacare repeal will raise healthcare prices

time capsule

The Atlantic magazine posed this question in their March 1 edition:
What object would you put in a time capsule for the next century to represent our current moment?
 

An iPhone is the easy answer.
My variation, though, would have these additions, which I hope would not disqualify it:

It would be an iPhone with a screen protector on which is printed a choice @theRealDonaldTrump tweet.

The iPhone would be glued to the center of an LP — I think Dj Khaled’s “Grateful” from 2017  would be good.  The whole would ideally be packaged in an recent edition of the Washington Post.

figure skater guy at olympics korea no skates? wtf?

Mount olympus today

So you stand up, the two of you, drunk or tipsy, and he looks down.
actally he would look down only a couple times, not him.  lookig out, like watching the hawks.

It's the palisades, you are at the edge of a cliff. literally.  the husband facing outward, wife in.  life insurace scam, etc.?

just like camera roped to rock, actress not.  Like pic in lobby.  3D reconstruction of scene.

same crime could now be re-examined in detail as its 1984.  cameras everyewhere, watching every move.  there is no privacy.  ready player one?

were almost there.  but it's more like the truman show.  timeline used as a verb...they timelined it carefully:
granularity of time on stun.  they timed the intervals between camera scans, could erase themselves from all.
think of the usefullness of that.  what if she were the codewriter who could do this?

So I know Korea can be cold, right, and it snows?


 







 

It all starts next door (or accross the street).

Like many of my generation, I grew up in a fading industrial city in the Northeastern U.S.  This one's saving graces were being surrounded by the natural beauty of New England hills, and its proximity to New York City, making the area a prime spot for the country houses of the Robber Barons.

Jarvis Rockwell Exhibit
 http://www.nrm.org/2009/11/jarvis-rockwell-maya-illusion-and-us/
random:

ELECTRONIC FREEDOM FOUNDATION

JOHN PERRY LYRICS GRATEFUL DEAD

HA

Trumpians beware

Trumpians beware

Feds bust Long Island man who told ISIS he would 'die for Allah' days after he got caught turnstile jumping.http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/long-island-man-accused-join-isis-syria-article-1.2988684

 This is not disturbing, it is pathetic.  "turnstyle jumping", whaaat?

Does 45 know that 1/15th of 1% (300) of the immigrants to the U.S. from the dreaded 7 countries have gone on to commit crimes here?

 

Yes, sick -- not physically, I'm in top shape for an old crippled guy :-)

But sick of the narrative of 45 (what Lawrence Fushburne calls him because he won't say his name, so I've adopted it as a sign of outrage). Sick of the garbage in / garbage out rhetoric: Briefs by Fox News, then confusing statements using Twitter. Travel Ban, Republicare, supply-side economics, the list goes on... but starts and ends with cluelessness. All of us, and I mean worldwide, are left confused and worried.

Start with something he claims to know something about...money.

Is he unaware that the value of U.S. currency is tied to trade?

He can start by reading this.  It's at about the level of the Intro Macro-economics class I took as a freshman in college.  He claims to have gone to college, or maybe that is an "alternate fact".  He should be really, really careful about changing trade policies.  The chair of the Federal Reserve could explain it to him, but she's not pussy-grabbing material :-(

I am reminded, in a very scary way, of 9/11, in that no matter how horrifying and tragic, I just can't stop watching. I'm not good with marching, but I am good at standing, sitting, teaching, and short filmmaking. Currently I am teaching an ESL class so that immigrants can support themselves by taking all those high-paying American jobs like cleaning my building and caring for our children and dying elderly people. I am ashamed of our government, and of the people -- racist, zenophobic (look it up, unschooled people who don't know the word), vindictive, ignorant, and pessimistic supporters.

ISIS LOSING "WAR"?

Jones said the number of foreign fighters traveling to join IS had dropped by between 75 and 90 percent, both due to it being harder to get in and out of Iraq and Syria and because the reality of doing so had been exposed as unappealing. What did they expect, Disneyworld?  Nothing like youthful excitement followed by a distaste for actual work and disappointment in a cause.

 

 

A lasting effect of war

I am of course past the deadline for Memorial Day Memorials, but this is honestly the first time I ever considered the meaning beyond BBQs and beer -- and maybe traffic.  And being a peacenik hippie may have been a part of it as well, of course.

No one in my immediate family or among our friends was killed in any war or conflict, or whatever we are calling them now.

I live across the street from a wonderful place called "Constitution Park".  I have shared many photos of it in the past, mostly because it was once the home of multiple movie studios in the silent film era.  It also has multiple memorials to those who had served to protect our citizens, including firemen and policemen as well as the military.  It has a prominent sculpture made from a large steel beam of the World Trade Center.

But this year before the BBQ and beer, I made sure to walk across the street and visit the monument to those who lost their lives in World War II, and place a single flower on it. My wife later said it is supposed to be a poppy, but all I had was a tulip.  Here's why:

In March my father Ralph Gionet died at 89 after living a full and happy life.  He was young when the U.S. joined the war, but knew he was needed and expected to serve.  As it turned out he had a minor medical condition that prevented him from being recruited.  So instead, he went to work as a welder in several shipyards in the Boston area throughout the war.  Cannot have a Navy without ships, right?

Last year he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, which is caused only be regular, ongoing, daily exposure to asbestos.

This would likely make him one of the oldest American men to die from an injury sustained during WWII.

I placed this flower and took this picture to honor him and all of those other people who have given their lives, not in the trenches, but in the factories, kitchens, hospitals, communications centers, and every other place providing support for the people at the front.  There are maybe way more than we could even know, given the chaos of war and passing of time.  

Please remember their sacrifices as you go back to your regular busy lives.

Bruce

$4 billion for a war with no enemy?

Mandy Potankin is on Colbert tonight, oppressed.  He says we need "a new paradigm".

That sum could go a very long way towards educating the world's disadvantaged, marginalized, and opressed.

Lack of, or poor, education is clearly the biggest problem the world's population faces.  Ignorance encourages hatred and fear, which then incite violence.  I have been saying since the 80's that the real chant of young people in disadvantaged and war-torn countries is, "We want our MTV".  Sadly this desire for wordly goods and associated global perspective is denied those who could actually use it to advance their own messages of peace and commonality.

Sadly, in many parts of the world, particularly those with restrictive religious tenets, the concept of education is itself under fire, literally, especcially for girls.

My One-minute movie about the Boko Haram in Nigeria is only one extreme example.  In our own country, we fan fear with the increase of mass shootings and the associated proliferation of guns.  The fear of people "not like us" causes events like targeting Sihks and other Asians who at first glance may look like Muslims because of their garb.

Where does it stop?  In the 60's and 70's we feared nuclear annihilation, but those potentially responsible were easily identifiable and located, and their motives clear.

Now it is far more like Orwell's 1984, including "doublespeak", supporting the sociological perspective known as conflict theories. Conflict theories detract from ideas of society being naturally in harmony, instead placing emphasis on political and material inequality as its structural features (which we seem to be suffering from now).





 

standing

My doc said something a cople weeks, ago, that was so zen-like it was funny.  And it was, but in a completely unexpected way. 

circling the globe

Facts About the Plastic Bag Pandemic

http://www.reuseit.com/facts-and-myths/learn-more-facts-about-the-plastic-bag-pandemic.htm

Fast plastic bag facts
• Over 1 trillion plastic bags are used every year worldwide (Earth Policy Institute). Consider China, a country of 1.3 billion, which consumes 3 billion plastic bags daily, according to China Trade News.
• About 2 million plastic bags are used every minute around the world (Earth Policy Institute).
• Approximately 32 million tons of plastic waste are generated annually, representing 12.7% of total municipal solid waste (Environmental Protection Agency).
• Only 1 in 200 plastic bags in the UK are recycled (BBC).
• The average American family takes home 1,500 plastic bags a year (Natural Resources Defense Council).
• Americans use and throw away 100 billion plastic bags every year, which requires 12 million barrels of oil per year to manufacture. (The Wall Street Journal).

Why are plastic bags bad?
• Scientists estimate that every square mile of ocean contains approximately 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in it (United Nations Environment Programme).
• A single plastic bag can take up 500 years or more to degrade (Measuring biodegradability, ScienceLearn.org).
• In good circumstances, high-density polyethylene will take more than 20 years to degrade. In less ideal circumstances (landfills or as general refuse), a bag will take more than 500 years to degrade (ScienceLearn.org).
• An estimated 3,960,000 tons of plastic bags, sack and wraps are produced annually. Of those, 3,570,000 tons (90%) are discarded. This is almost triple the amount discarded the first year plastic bag numbers were tracked (1,230,000 tons in 1980) (Environmental Protection Agency).
• Anywhere from .5% to 3% of all bags winds up recycled (BBC, CNN).

Plastic bags' impact on the environment
• The U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually at an estimated cost to retailers of $4 billion (The Wall Street Journal).
• According to data from the Ocean Conservancy's annual International Coastal Cleanups, plastic bags are consistently in the top 10 pieces of trash collected on beaches around the world.
• The extremely slow decomposition rate of plastic bags leaves them to drift on the ocean for untold years. According to the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, these plastic bags cause the death of many marine animals (fish, sea turtles, etc.), every year when animals mistake them for food.
• When plastics break down, they don't biodegrade; they photodegrade. This means the materials break down to smaller fragments which readily soak up toxins. They then contaminate soil, waterways, and animals upon digestion (Earth911).
• 10% of the plastic produced every year worldwide winds up in the ocean. 70% of which finds its way to the ocean floor, where it will likely never degrade (United Nations).

The solution? Reusable shopping bags >
• The solution is not a plastic bag ban, which is an emotional response which fails to strike at the heart of the issue; instead of a market-based solution, a ban shifts production to paper bags and compostable bags, both of which have heavy environmental consequences.
• The solution is not switching to paper bags or compostable plastic bags. A study on the life cycle of three types of disposable bags (single-use plastic, paper, and compostable plastic) showed that both compostable plastic and paper bags require more material per bag in the manufacturing process. This means "higher consumption of raw materials in the manufacture of the bags...[and] greater energy in bag manufacturing and greater fuel use in the transport of the finished product. ...The added requirements of manufacturing energy and transport for the compostable and paper bag systems far exceed the raw material use in the standard plastic bag system." (from a peer reviewed Boustead Consulting & Associates report)
• reuseit.com™ supports a multi-pronged approach that discourages the distribution of plastic bags with a tax and a cultural shift away from use-and-toss plastic bags:
     - Plastic Tax: In 2001, Ireland implemented a plastic tax (or PlasTax); the first of its kind, this route acknowledges the fact that people will still occasionally use plastic bags. This market-based     solution discourages daily, thoughtless use of plastic bags by charging a nominal fee per bag at checkout. In a study by the Irish Department of the Environment it was found that plastic bag usage had dropped 93.5%. This breaks down to a drop from 328 to 21 bags per person each year.
     - A cultural shift away from use-and-toss culture: Each reusable bag can eliminate hundreds (if not thousands) of plastic bags.

Okay, that seems clear enough.  Now my solution to reducing it is both practical and elegant (in the programmer or mathemation sense).

The Zipdry (patent pending):

Turns this:

Thoughts from Pavopolis 11/15

World War 3 started long before 9/11 or any other specific event.  However, now that ISIS is an actual nation with land, there is a sort or relief that we are now fighting an actual geographical enemy.

As I look over my realm of Pavopolis, including Treemania (where I was duly elected), currently visible to me now through only the heart, not the eyes, I support our inner fight for peace and outer show of strength, not fear.

peace,
your most solemn and obliged King,
Bruce the Mindful

Sex is just not what it used to be

John Oliver did a great show last week about the many failures involved in teaching sex education in te U.S.

But for me the highlight of his tirade was this "period  piece" with bowling.


Here is some accurate reporting from the Los Angeles Times with the amusing cast information.