Wha...!?

As if, "if you vote this Nov, we'll have it fixed so good you'll never have to vote again" isn't bad enough... What can one possibly make of, "you don't need to vote this Nov, we don't need your votes!"

Love/Hate...

Photo: © Stan Banos

Wish I could be so unabashedly, unashamedly proud of my body as the person pictured above. You know, comfortable in your own skin so to speak; just able to let it all hang out and let everyone else deal with any consequent visual dilemma, as perhaps it should be. I dunno. Fine for some, and I really kinda admire them, even though it sorta grosses me out at the same time- and it's just as much my own reflection of self, as of anyone else. But then, isn't life just chockful of these walking/waking contradictions...

Ya see, back in the day, growing up, everyone knew where they ranked on the physical attractiveness/social standing scale- fat people, skinny people, hot, smart, athletic, etc. Sure beauty was still in the eye of the beholder, but ya couldn't talk, fool, bargain your way out of your generally agreed upon classification. I mean, if you were borderline, you could gain a few points and raise your social strata if you were somehow stylishly cool and wore it well. But even most of those attempts were doomed to hideously crash and burn. Nature's just so damn hard to upend, most people just grew into their physical destiny, and learned to deal with what society and their bodies dealt them. 

Shit's different nowadays, it started towards the very end of the 20th century. I remember watching Oprah one afternoon; a doctor was describing the dangers of obesity: high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, shortened life span and a myriad of other symptoms and diseases. And then what seemed like the very next day (could have been a week, month or year- I wasn't a regular viewer) there were all these people celebrating how big they were, how large they were, how it was AOK to love, love, love yourself no matter what size you were- it was all good! Five-two and 325? You're good girl- and fine too! Talk about mixed messages...

Then there were the new class of young-uns, overweight or not, who were now presenting themselves as absolute physical paradigms, as being all that, when they very much weren't, not even close! Their origin story didn't matter: blue bloods, inner city, suburbs, trailer parks, black or white, fat or thin, male, female, or... Thing was, they weren't trying to fool themselves, or anyone else- they actually believed it! Delusion's a whole lot easier than a well grounded acceptance of self or anything resembling a more rational societal reset. Everyone a Supasta!

Ironically, to this day, parents still complain that their overweight child is teased and bullied at school. Really? Today, when obesity is practically the norm across this country and rapidly spreading throughout the 'developed' world except in the absolute poorest of countries? I hate bullies, and no one should be body shamed! But if your kid is being bullied today- dollars to doughnuts, it's something more than just the extra pounds. And it's always good to find out why, before they indulge in the other prevalent obsession of our day- procuring assault weapons.

Migrant Crime! Migrant Crime!! Migrant Crime!!!

We must do everything we possibly can to stop the savage, inexorable onslaught of...MIGRANT CRIME- before it engulfs and devours us, our children, the live, beating heart of our very nation... MIGRANT CRIME- before it engulfs and devours us, our children, the live, beating heart of our very nation...

 

Unfortunately, this notoriously funny Last Week Tonight video with John Oliver has been taken down. MAYBE NOT (see above)!!! It featured FOX 'news' perpetually scaring its viewers with the threat posed by "migrant crime," or as Trump calls it, "Biden Migrant Crime,' which he further reduces to the ever so clever (are you ready for it)... "Bigrant Crime," while smiling, pointing to his own head, and then coyly proclaiming... "Smart!"

It also featured a live interview with Curtis Sliwa, as his Guardian Angels proceed to jump "an illegal in the act of committing a crime," who was actually a Hispanic citizen who was just passing through! We also got to see yet another 'illegal criminal,' who was shown repeatedly on FOX, flipping a double bird to the viewer (the audacity of these criminal illegals) to further amp up the fear and outrage factor- turns out the guy they were repeatedly showing (again Hispanic) was... a case of mistaken identity.

Fact is, migrants in the US proportionately commit less crime than their counterparts who are naturally born US citizens- oh... and wasn't 'Law and Order' Curtis Sliwa the guy who faked his own kidnapping?!? Yeah, you heard right...

FINALLY!

 

So... looks like the Dems are gonna get a new candidate, well, if it's Harris- she's unelectable. Personally, didn't like her before- don't like her now. She's a pure politician, whichever way the wind blows- and more importantly, no one but the Democratic base will vote for her, so we'd be back to square one. So... Let the games begin anew!!!

A Furrowed Brow And A Determined Gaze!

And Speaking of... Hypocrites!

It was OK for Bill Barr to appoint special prosecutors without Senate approval under Trump, and no problem with a special prosecutor for Hunter Biden under our current POTUS (again, w/o Senate approval)- but Lo! unto anyone who dares try the same against almighty Trump...

And BTW- while I'm very much against violence, I have to admit I have as much sympathy for Trump's papercut as he did for Nancy Pelosi's husband- who Trump joked about in public after receiving several hammer blows to the head.

Unless It's Tit For Tat...

 Or worse, and no one wants that, it don't matter much who the Dems run now.

Whatever Happened To...

Talk about meteoric rises and falls, whatever did happen to- Eric Kim? He popped into mind the other day and then I saw this wondering much the same. He was always equal parts: super, high energy passionate about "street photography," and all out promotion of self. It was as if the former served as the vehicle for the latter, so... I could never take him seriously. He always came off as a bit of (ie- mostly) a snake oil salesman- a fast talking, high energy, three card monte dealer. Truth is, I often found him annoying- I could only tolerate his incessant "photo dawg, photo tog" litany for so long... but there was no denying his curiosity factor- he was a minor internet sensation! Ya knew he wouldn't always be able to maintain that level of over the top enthusiasm, so ya always wondered- what was the end game!?! Artistic success, financial success or... mental health issues? I recall one video where he was speed walking his way down a sidewalk with these ridiculous wrap around shades, snapping away with this shit eating grin. As genuinely enthused about "street photography" as he was... dude could be ridiculous! And IMHO his photography never seemed to progress beyond a certain level of competent mediocrity.

Again, not hatin' on the guy, annoying as he could be and was, he was somewhat of an innovator- as far as selling himself using video on the internet, one of the firsts of the genre. Honestly, I wish him well...

Now, whatever happened to that guy who used to jump out of phone booths and snap away at his unsuspecting victims subjects?

Right... they stopped making phone booths (rimshot).

Watch Where You're Going!

Previously, I wrote about tripping and falling spectacularly on an uneven sidewalk (while looking elsewhere other than where I was walking)- something that can be an occupational hazard for a photographer. It was only after I wrote that particular post that I recalled that the exact same thing occurred a few years before under similar circumstances! That time, my camera and I were spared a slightly softer landing (with no less shock) because I happened to land on mother earth after my foot landed in a hole some ten inches wide by 5 inches deep. Needless to say, the possible danger of these occurrences increases with age.

And so, I pass on this blatantly obvious but sage advice- 

Watch Where You're Going!!! 

What I Sacrifice For Art!

Painting: © Niko         Photo: © Stan Banos

So I'm walking back home after a mostly* fruitless photowalk this Sunday. And I'm two blocks from home walking through a small park that was recently renovated. Now, I've seen good renovations, and bad- this was the latter. Previously, South Park (near downtown San Francisco) was like the little park that time forgot. Generally unmanicured and as 'wild' a park as one city block long by one half block wide could possibly get. But neither was it abandoned nor garbage strewn. I loved it... 

The renovation featured a nice upgrade of a small playground, but then they created a wide curving sidewalk right through the middle that covers half the damn park- there's enough concrete and sidewalks outside the park!

Anyway, I'm still looking around as one is apt to do on a photowalk and my foot lands right between the edge of the sidewalk and the lower grass area. Down I go- this wasn't a slo-mo, uh-oh I'm losing my balance fall. This was a BOOM! shot by a shotgun immediate deadfall... I couldn't believe how hard and fast I went down- no ice, no banana peel (yeah, I've done both)! And a split, split second after I hit the ground HARD, I hear my camera hit- HARD! My mighty weekend warrior, my one and only L-E-I-C-A! 

Hell, I'm probably headed to the ER, and even worse, my dream camera is dead after a year and a half. Anyway, I usually spring right up when something like this happens- but I thought discretion the better part of valor in this instance, and I decided to stay down for the count to assess my remains, and I sure as shit didn't wanna look at my strewn about camera innards... Finally, no sharp pains and I slowly rise as my body supports its own weight- looks like I escaped major damage! Now, I turn to the camera and the part that didn't hit is fine, of course- and the side that did take the brunt of the impact, also seems... OK?

The pants may be fugly- but they saved the day!

The bottom of the camera had its pants on (ie- its leather half case) and the bottom of said case is rimmed with thick aluminum that had absorbed the majority of the impact. The case bottom was markedly scratched, but the camera itself was unscathed and seemed in good working order! The Leica lens hood, which can double as armor on a Tiger tank, while scratched on the bottom, was unbent and unbowed! This was the second time one of my cameras has miraculously survived a fall to concrete- the first time was completely my fault when I haphazardly placed my Fujifilm in my bag without securing it, and slide on out it did. And once again, the lens hood and thumb grip saved the day, although both of those were good and deformed. 

*I did manage to get a snapshot of what I'm calling the best art show of the year- the portrait above by an anonymous painter (named Niko) on the side of a vacant restaurant put a much needed smile on my face! And hell, I did get a good shot just the previous Friday coming home from work with my GR.  All in all, a bit sore for damn sure, but (fortunately) not the worst weekend.

Jesus H. Christ!

Seriously, are the Dems that desperate, or that sadistic- to us and him? How big a laughingstock are they willing to make the guy?!? He needs to be gone- by the end of this weekend... Give a nice farewell speech via the teleprompter on Sunday evening and fade into history with whatever dignity left- it's either that, or be forever remembered as US history's biggest political punchline of the century! This is one gaping hole that has already hit bottom- and can only get deeper...

Hypocrites vs. Zombies

On one side we have those who swore that no one (NO ONE!) was above the law including the POTUS, and that abortion was a settled and done deal (why are you even asking?). Not to mention that it was simply beyond all reason and human decency for a sitting Democratic POTUS to nominate a Supreme Court justice with just under a year left in his presidency, but it was perfectly copasetic for a Republican POTUS to nominate and install a Supreme Court justice of their choosing with just a few weeks left in his presidency (why are you even asking?).

And on the other side we have those who allow the walking dead to remain in office well (well) past their expiration date. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, accomplished and agile as she still was, clearly had the buzzards circling, and it cost the party dearly. Dianne Feinstein already had flies buzzing about her state of decomposition for quite some time, and was still allowed a seat amongst the living! And now we have our current POTUS whose handlers visibly cringe on the sidelines every time words may or may not come forth when his mouth goes agape, unlike the other guy's supporters who don't give a flying fucking all about anything and everything that comes outta his- wanna hear the tale about how our brave troops secured the airports during the Revolutionary War?

Happy Fourth Everyone!!! What's-your-poison?