2016 Redux +

It was a pretty shitty joke first time around...                 Photo: © Stan Banos

I never laughed so hard as when Trump was elected in 2016; no one expected it- certainly not Hillary, and least of all Trump! I thought it would be a good wake up call for America- a full display of what happens when we don't pay attention, don't take things seriously, and provide mayhem an open invitation. 

I used to think that which abided in our darkest of corners was best let into the light of day for all to see, and therefore exposed, confronted, and ultimately condemned. I hadn't considered the majority of our nation being just fine with it in the 21st century (just as one hundred years previous), rationalizing and even reveling in it. Southern racists always tried to downplay, disguise and reinterpret their overt racism to the public at large; deep down, even they knew it was the stuff of evil. But along came Trump and said it was not only OK, but something to embrace and declare pride in, loud and openly- and he did it on his very first day! And followed it with ample doses of misogyny, homophobia and a general worship of the very lowest common denominator, vehemently demeaning: education, the arts, empathy and understanding- all were the tell tale traits of those we have always been meant to ridicule, despise and... eradicate. 

Unless physically attacked by one of his riled up minions, I'll probably survive yet another four years of successively worse chaos. Our fragile ruse of democratic rule will take a much more serious hit this time around. Laws regulating our ecosystems will be eviscerated into nonexistence (Project 2025 advocates removal of environmental and clean water regulations) and climate change will be allowed to prosper unabated. More immediately, Ukraine and Gaza will suffer even more needless destruction, loss of homeland and loss of life...

President Trump will now be free to exonerate himself of his pending criminal trials- evidence and justice be damned! His inherently addled "very, very large brain" is now further encumbered by demonstrably obvious signs of increasingly debilitating dementia- his already strikingly limited vocabulary now overflowing with confusion, forgetfulness and misarticulated mounds of unfiltered filler. Funny how they could see it so plainly in their once adversary, but refuse to acknowledge the same with their own...

God Help Us All

I wish I could say it will all finally be over by this Wednesday AM, but of course, anyone with half a lick knows it won't. And anyone who says they know who is going to win (except maybe for this guy) is, well... 

Actually, if Trump wins, the future is fairly easy to predict, a slow steady dissipation of basic civil rights concerning: voting, freedom of the press, free speech, labor rights, health care, women's rights concerning their own bodies and birth control in general, environmental regulations, etc, etc, etc... This from a guy (with "a very, very large brain") who promised to repeal Obamacare, failed to come up with any alternative in his four years, and admits only vague "concepts" of a plan after an additional four to ponder; a guy who said "child care is child care," and whose environmental and climate change 'policy' consists of "I love clean water," denying that his Project 2025 guidebook champions repeal of clean water regulations. A guy who said that women should, in fact, "be punished" if they undergo an abortion, has threatened the press with jail time and believes the military should be unleashed on protestors (other than his own).

This time his administration will consist solely of sycophants and yes men that will compete to make his authoritarian whims come true- and he'll be backed by a compliant and sympathetic Supreme Court. His own court proceedings will magically vanish, and anyone left objecting or defiant will be subject to (extra)judicial overreach. In short, the swamp will become a quagmire for all who defy his edicts. 

Should Harris be victorious, the status quo remains and chugs along as always- the usual ineptitude, corruption and negligence that has always ruled and accompanied our republic. Well, that doesn't sound very good, Stan- it is, what it is.* And what that is, is a thousand times better than what would remain standing under Trump.

Thing is, before we even get to that level of normalized complacency- we still won't be done with Orange Man Borealis. He's going to declare victory regardless before resting the fading golden whisp to bed that Tuesday evening, again. And he's going to declare robbery, theft and all manner of skullduggery the following morning, again. And, yes, once again he will call upon his minions to do his bidding and overturn the election, by any means necessary... There will be protests, there will be riots, and most likely, there will be blood. How crazy it will get is more an unknown than anything that will occur this Tuesday. Hopefully, by next spring, the dust will have settled, and some semblance of normalcy will once again prevail, the name of Trump only mentioned with each succeeding conviction and sentencing.

*The century past, one could effectively argue that Democrats/Republicans were two sides of the same coin. In the 2000 election, I finally got to vote my heart (for the first and most likely last time)- I cast my vote for Ralph Nader. And I suppose it could be (could be) argued that without Nader in the mix, Al Gore would have been President- which means that the completely unnecessary and illegal war in Iraq would have never happened... thousands upon thousands of lives, and billions upon billions of dollars saved!

The Pride Of The Republic!

I hope every Conservative pastor, every Republican civic leader and parent throughout the land proudly shows this clip to their family and children; for this is what the very meaning of "presidential" looks like- someone whose actions, behavior and temperament are a model of what we all aspire to, what we all can and hopefully should be when life takes its inevitable toll and we rise to show what we are truly like in the face of the most audacious adversity imaginable. This is the character, the moral fortitude of the man they seek to lead them, their family... their nation!

Keef!

Happy Halloween!

Laughs, Islands And Garbage...

Even I, as a Puerto Rican, could have laughed off "the floating island of garbage" joke if (IF!) he had spread the... love to others, IF he had gone on to some self deprecating humor. But no- the purpose here wasn't to have fun (see 9:30), it was to make fun of those they don't like, those they look down on, those they think are less than...

Then he went on to claim, after the fact, that "I made fun of everyone." No-you-did-Not! Wish ya did now (maybe), but not then. It would be ironic indeed, if Puerto Ricans, the very same people Trump so contemptuously threw rolls of paper towels at (looking every bit the bored fraternity bro 'shooting baskets' in his dorm room pissed off his toga party was cancelled in order to tend to the sorry unfortunates before him) now had the opportunity to help make Tucker's dream come true, "We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights, I truly can't wait." You and me both Tuck-Tuck, how does an island victory cruise sound? 

The Handkerchief Salesman

Photo: Raoul Minot

Talk about guts! A lot of would be photographers remark how they fear incurring the wrath of strangers on the street should they point the camera their way- a wayward glance, an uncouth comment... This guy risked it all every single time he pressed the shutter- and it cost him. Special ops agent? A goddamn department store, handkerchief salesman! 

Monuments Befitting The Man

He's always had "the very best words" emanating from his "very, very large brain" (yes, a grown 'adult' actually talks like that). And now he finally has the monuments befittingly commemorating his astounding achievements...

The Epitome Of Assholes Show!

I thought we all tolerated this guy's asinine behavior because, well, after all, he is... A Genius! No doubt of that, especially with all that money. So naturally, we all cut the guy some slack. But, uh... what if, he's not? What if he's just another scammer deluxe? What if the reason he acts like an utter asshole is because he's an actual utter asshole- another BS artist currently supporting yet another BS artist! 

Like so many others, I had naturally assumed (exactly what one should never do) the guy was: an engineer, physicist or some failed genius, scientist, whatever- but genius all the same. And he's- none of the above! He's got Bachelors in physics and economics- Bachelors! Fuck, even I gotta Master's! Another 2 bit con who takes other people's ideas, and then calls them his own. He's not deserving of leeway, but of scrutiny of the highest bloody order...

And then, there's this human shit- Trump loving ("I hate him passionately"), bow tie sporting, M&M defending, son of an heiress guy...

Karma

 It's a beautiful thing!

And yet, his crime boss somehow still roams free... 

Operation Midnight Climax

No, you don't have to take my word for it...         Photo: © Stan Banos

This posh locale is situated atop a hill on a secluded dead end street with a scenic overlook of the bay. Sex and serenity with a view (unless, of course, you suddenly found yourself completely delusional for no apparent reason)!

W-T-F!

I honestly don't know what to make of this guy. His affect is far from grandiose, actually, he's pretty low key, and as a fairly accomplished actor, I gotta think that maybe, just maybe, his whole genius routine is one grand act, a prank, a how dumb do ya gotta be to take any of this for reals...

And give credit where credit due- his pseudo-science gibberish is masterfully articulate and delivered with such naive enthusiasm and conviction that he makes one genuinely want to denounce science, turn common sense upside down and inside out, then deliriously embrace his scatterbrained combobulation as the truth, the whole truth and nothing but... Seriously, if nothing else- I was entertained... this is a fanciful and articulate version of The Weave, even his mispronunciations sound believable! I want to live in his universe, where anything is possible and you get to believe whatever you say!!! I wanna believe that 1x1= 2, I wanna believe in the bisexual tones of the periodic table! Please, Terrence, anyone- make it all come true! 

Duet

One Of Photography's Enduring Secrets

Yes, some of you may be shocked, taken aback, dismayed even- but your subjects needn't sport outrageous costumes nor dangling privates to create worthy environmental portraits. As we all know, indulging desperate characters and graphic subject matter appeals only to photographers of a much lesser calling. There's just no excuse. 

Submitted for your consideration, a couple of wholesome, everyday American subjects taken at the annual, local airshow this past weekend... Art through integrity and strength of vision!

Photos: © Stan Banos

It's Either Right, Or It's Wrong

Every once in a (great) while you get that rare someone who speaks with such clear resounding intellect (usually backed by righteous moral outrage) that it leaves one transfixed in awe and wonder. It's an ability to cut to the chase, not just for brevity's sake, but to calculatingly eliminate the subterfuge that lesser minds (as my own) would get needlessly bogged down in before possibly, hopefully climbing out. Two people who immediately come to mind in my lifetime are Malcolm X and Edward Snowden. Whatever the topic you come away less confused, more enlightened and forever amazed at your own innate ignorance...

Ta-Nehisi Coates exemplifies that exact level in this exchange:

Ramblin' Man...

Personally, I thought the 25th should have been invoked as soon as Trump (repeatedly) insisted that he had a bigger Inauguration Day crowd than Obama- proof positive of his complete lack of judgement and sanity- morally, objectively... every fundamental way possible! Of course, that was just the beginning of his lies while President; by now we've all grown so lovingly accustomed to them all, as they continue to delight to this day...  

"That's what I hear, that's what they say..."

Meet... 'Mr. Nice Guy'

Give credit where credit due- good ol' boy JD came on like Mr. Nice Guy Misunderstood during the debate- when he's every bit the liar (though certainly more finessed) than the larger mass of shit he willingly shovels for..

Anyone remember when (Black) Obama had to renounce his (Black) pastor- funny how White guys don't have to... Is that 'racist' for me to mention? Or is the racism inherent in the actual truth?

Sometimes...

Photo: © Stan Banos 

(Sometimes) ya just have to let loose of all the high falutin', grandiose art expectations in your photographic machinations and embrace the age old, proven simplicity of the good ol' American snapshot! Nothing wrong with it. Your down home vernacular snapshot of the ordinary neighbor next door- the banker, tailor, candlestick maker. Relax, unwind and just enjoy a shared moment. It may not end up in your museum retro, but it may just become its own life long memory that will forever bring a smile to your face, and that of the viewer... 

Tried, Done, Ready!

How does one overturn a democracy- by using the democratic means available. Like the German guy did with his country back in the day, and like a certain American governor did with his state around the same time. You pay off, intimidate, replace and bully everyone who has any say or power under and around your circle of influence one step at a time: legislators, courts and judges, police, civil servants, etc, etc, etc... 

Huey Long did it on a statewide basis, someone now has a plan to do it nationwide- and it starts with... controlling our votes!

Be HAPPY!!!

The Search For...

I don't usually talk the gear talk here, but occasionally I get into it as the prevalent winds (my prevalent winds) demand. I love the 20mm and 28mm (and their 14 and 18mm crop equivalent) focal lengths, use the latter for everyday shooting, while also incorporating the former for event shooting. Recently, I took note of a new 18mm Color Skopar for my Fujifilm cameras, and even though it was manual focus only- I was determined to make it work. The focusing knob and aperture ring on this cute as all hell pancake were true acts of perfection in their precise and silky smooth operation. Alas, the optical quality was... abysmal- far worse than even the 18mm Fuji it was meant to replace! Maybe because it was refurbished, or perhaps it was just a (truly) bad copy? Don't know; but I did focus with the magnified focus check- so that got returned pronto! 

The following week I was checking out an image on the screen of my GR, and when I commenced to reframe- the screen went dead! Must've inadvertently pressed some obscure menu item, but after going through the menu several times, seems my initial impression was correct- and off to the repairman it went! 

Fortunately, my Leica Q continues to perform despite the two of us tumbling hard on concrete the other day, but I'm always slightly paranoid when I take it out, and I sure wouldn't mind using a second focal length on my Fujis. I've refused to imbibe in the overly large and expensive 18mm f1.4 Fujinon, despite its absolute optical perfection, and have pretty much given up hope of an update on the dismal Fuji pancake or third party equivalent. Then along comes the plastic fantastic Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 WA zoom- could that be the an answer? Now I love the results of my optically superlative 14mm f2.8 Fuji (the lens itself is one ugly duckling), and while I love WA's, I don't have much use for anything wider than 20mm (FF)- and I hate lens diameters that go past the 50's (the Sigma has a 67mm filter diameter)! Otherwise, it is fairly compact, and if it can cover 14 and 18mm with sufficient optical quality (which it supposedly does deliver), I may, just may, be able to get over its obese filter diameter size... maybe not ideal for everyday carry, but it just might spell significant ease of use for special events- one camera, one lens, two fave focal lengths! And if'n it can't- off it goes as well, once it gets here. To be cont...

Sigma10-18mm f2.8