(Photographic) Year In Review

Photo: © Stan Banos

Well, must say I did way, way better in procuring new images this year than I had dared think possible- all in a city now bereft of over half its downtown population and services (no joke). I actually managed to get fifty genuine keepers this year, which amazes me more than anyone- a guy who for decades struggled for 2-3-4 per year (if lucky)- while living in NYC no less! I'd like to think it's because of a heightened sense of urgency (mortality looms), but I'm trying no harder now than at any other time previous! In part, it's the annual photo op events held here, but maybe this whole color thing agrees with me more than I realize, don't know; whatever it is, just hope it continues- cause I can't continue being this lucky indefinitely...

That said, I didn't exactly succeed at getting any of it actually... seen- ya know, the whole bleepin' purpose of photography! Send it out and it gets sent back in your face... This year I really got creative in the self abuse arena- I actually started sending out the pdf for my zine/wanna be book Broken City! which I'm fairly pleased with. I like making books/zines, and that was a particular challenge trying to corral a whole bunch of loosely related issues into one coherent storyline- using nothing but pictures. Think I kinda pulled it off, least, like to think so... 

I do miss having (not so much making, but having) actual prints though, it's where photography ultimately shines, as in- show me what ya got, close up and personal! Rich, sensual, satisfying, the ultimate culmination of everything that went into pressing that shutter- all the hope, dreams and potential made flesh despite every technical, personal and aesthetic problem that stood in the way! 

The end of 2025 will also pose new possibilities (and problems) for sure- retirement! Never done it. More time to go out on the road promoting my: books, prints, exhibits and speaking/lecture tours, uh-huh. Which reminds me... all those authors, actors and artists with the nerve to actually moan and groan about having to go out and promote their work on (a paid) tour- a pox on the whole lot of 'em...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

PS- Saw that poster a half hour previous in a poorly lit locale, carefully untaped and walked about some seeing if I could find it a better venue. The gasoline station seemed worth a try, so I retaped and shot away. The guy on the left center emerged from his gasoline hut to see what the hell I was doing- looked at it, looked at me, and walked on back. Didn't realize how well the blue tape complemented the blue stripes of the station till I got home.

Smart, A Looker, And... Pretty Goddamn Evil!

How do you possibly even contemplate posing such a question (with such an overtly obvious answer) to such heavily traumatized... children?!?

Sightings

I was familiar with the sightings in both Hudson Valley, NY in the '80s and those in Belgium (2:10-19:30) in the '90s. What I didn't know was that there were hundreds of sightings at each over the years. In Hudson Valley, entire towns (and their respective police forces) witnessed a variety of giant boomerang shaped UFO's on a regular basis; a decade later, civilians, police, radar and even F-16's repeatedly witnessed a slew of triangular shaped craft. 

Obviously, all of these hundreds of individuals in separate towns, many professionals, most unknown to each other, conspired to fool a worldwide public- or were the unknowing victims of "mass hysteria." The only viable, if ludicrous, 'explanations' other than the most obvious- the mass witnessing of unknown craft of unknown origin and technology maneuvering under unknown, but intelligent control.  

I've been interested in UFO's since the '70s and am quite familiar with most of the major cases in "Ufology." What I didn't realize until quite recently however is how many thousands upon thousands of sightings and cases have been reported across our planet- describing a wide variety of UFO configurations and behaviors, along with a surprisingly wide variance in the physical appearances and behaviors of many of their occupants. The question isn't are we being visited- it's how many different races of beings are we being visited by? And, of course... why?

Whistleblowers are currently testifying before members of Congress- many handcuffed in what they can say publicly under threats of legal action from our government (violate their NDA's and it's off to jail they go), as well as the recipients of death threats from...

"I Love The Uneducated"

And he aims to keep them that way.

It's no secret that it's easier to control those ignorant of how they are controlled, those incapable of wresting control to best suit their own needs. You don't need any draconian laws or authoritarian police force; you just need to subtly deny them the knowledge of their own disempowerment. Simply make that source of knowledge and learning too costly and out of reach. Banish tuition free universities, defund education programs on all levels- publicly ridicule and humiliate the few who dare to expose the ruse. And if anyone asks why things are not working out the way they should- there are always plenty of less fortunate to blame!

It's Winter

Well, close enough... and the photos just ain't coming fast and easy anymore, as if ever, if at all. So...  what to do, what-to-do. Tis the season to review the files and see what needs some readjusting, a nip here, a tuck there. For those of you with a Master's in photo-editing, you need not apply; for those like me who marvel at those like you, this is the time to continue to putter along and refine my skills (ie- fix it the wrong way the best way possible) best I can, one little pixel at a time. Every year, I tell myself I've finally caught up with all my color images, and every year I find yet more images that still need a tune up. At least it's something photographic to do when not actually making new ones- and in a way, you are.

Every teeny tiny section of this image needed proper 'massaging.'                     Photo: © Stan Banos

Retirement's coming in one year, and the plan is to finally put on my big boy pants and invest in grown up photo-editing software like Lightroom or Capture One. Maybe then, I'll finally have the time, if not the patience, to learn a full fledged editing system and (perhaps) make my life a tad easier (after the long and unforeseeable months of torturous, self inflicted trial and error)... or not.

U-F-NO?

An admiral, several intelligence officers with Top Secret, classified clearance, a former NASA administrator (amongst others) all testified on 11/13/24 (and previously) before members of Congress that there are craft moving about in our air and water doing things human technology has yet to achieve- and are doing so under intelligent control. 

So where are: the craft, the bodies, the artifacts- or at least, verifiable pictures and videos of such?!?

A) What most people don't realize is that the majority of these whistleblowers are still very much under government contract- if they spill and present everything they know to the public at large... they'd be in prison by end of day. Period.

B) Keep in mind, most of these same whistleblowers have also testified behind closed doors at secret congressional hearings where they can and have provided enough meat and potatoes for their claims to actually warrant these government officials to proceed in public without fear of ridicule.

Most likely, there'll be a continued, slow drip, drip, drip of info on this topic until the straw finally breaks the camel's back and it's no longer advantageous to maintain the lies and subterfuge...

HALLELUJAH!!! Let's Hear It For...

                                                                                                 PROJECT 2025!!!

Looking For Answers?

Photo: © Stan Banos

Ain't we all (on the losing side)? And the reasons, most assuredly are legion, but here are a few that pertain to 75% of most political debacles:

✔  If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself. 

✔ Propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by specifying the targets for hatred (emphasis mine).

✔ This is the secret of propaganda: Those who are to be persuaded by it should be completely immersed in the ideas of the propaganda, without ever noticing that they are being immersed in it.

I like giving credit where credit due, Trump is the greatest con man (as in one who gains your "confidence") in a century- it is where the majority of his "very, very large brain" resides. He has elevated racism, misogyny and outright ignorance into badges of pride and honor- even pre-Sixties Southern bigots knew deep down that it was nothing to be openly proud about (thus the hoods). Trump is so good at it, that he has even convinced those of the affected categories (ie- those blanketly victimized by his taunts, vitriol and retribution) that they are not like... the rest; so good at it, that a convicted felon (with 11 close "associates" who have either plead guilty or have been convicted and sentenced) can run on a "law and order platform." Easy solutions for tough problems, and if reality gets in the way, simply revert to the three tenets above.

Yeah, I could go on, even though it really does one no good- what good did delving into all the inequities of the George W. regime do us now? I 'learned' that we could not possibly go any lower, and yet, lower did we go- much, much, much lower! But I yam what I yam, so I'll eventually I've already dug in for the next four years, a decidedly worse four than the insanity that preceded it... forever hoping like the fool I am that evil finally gets its comeuppance.  

Truth is, the guidebook was written centuries ago- just needs the right guy at the right time to pick it up and run with it- cause so many of us don't have to be convinced at all!

*Quotes courtesy Joseph Goebbels.

Photo: © Stan Banos

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!