Wild Horses

That's right, America's symbol of freedom, the wild Mustangs of the West; get 'em by the thousands for pennies on the dollar- perfect for someone's dining room table, all thanks to... 
Great American Orange Man!

Digital Cancer, Analog Reality

Photo: © Stan B.

Imagine waking up, walking down your block and finding Darth Vader's Headquarters right smack in the middle of what was once a picture book, beautiful, American town. Past tense. Just look at that cancerous, oversized monstrosity that metastasized at its very center practically overnight- breaking every environmental and zoning law that once existed, and every promise its creators swore not to do. More of these monstrosities will be coming to yet more towns and neighborhoods throughout the country, gobbling up people's water, land and peace of mind- government sanctioned and without restriction. This is rule by billionaires, for billionaires in a country released of all environmental and corporate regulation(s), where greed is paramount, and people... its servants.

Just Look Up!

Whether you believe in chemtrails- or not, Just Look Up is well worth viewing! And what cannot be denied is that the US government has been 'studying' and experimenting with weather and climate manipulation since WW2- its desire and aim to control it is a matter of public record. Whether it's the weaponization of our climate and skies, or the aerial bombardment of bacterial contamination sprayed on the populace of San Francisco- bombs, missiles and drones are not the only thing we need fear from our skies. 

While there's a minimum of woo-woo in the above doc, it definitely addressed my concerns for direct and measurable scientific evidence to their claims of said manipulation- basically, the measuring of significantly elevated levels of aluminum (and other reflective metal) nano particles after periods of alleged spraying. I've also seen previous documentaries where biologists, geologists and chemists have also recorded similar findings. It would not surprise me in the absolute least (in fact, it makes perfect sense) that our government would be trying to solve a very real problem (global warming) on the sly and cheap (w/o so much as having to admit to it); and in so doing, not only, not solve the initial problem (those same particles that might reflect heat during the day, also trap it at night), but create and exacerbate an even larger one by a) contaminating large swaths of forests, public lands, farms and drinking water with heavy metals, and b) artificially disrupting natural weather cycles as they have exited for centuries without considering the consequences of said changes... 

A Walk In The Sun

Photo: © Stan B.    Soaking in that Vit. D!

The Memorial Day holiday marks the unofficial start of summer in the US of A. Meanwhile, the ten hottest years on record have been in this century, the twenty hottest years on record in the last thirty years, and the very hottest year on record was 2023...

Beyond any and all reason, Donald Trump will likely be POTUS once again- and he's talking about hanging in the White House for possibly another three terms (completely illegal by two, but MAGA isn't counting). That means nothing will get done as far as addressing or alleviating the situation for however many years he remains in office slurring incoherently. 

Oh, and 2024 is already pacing to outdo 2023- SURPRISE! Polar ice is melting at well beyond predicted levels, glaciers are receding worldwide at record rates, and coral reefs (the canaries in the coal mine) are bleaching at unprecedented levels as the Atlantic Ocean water temps are breaking records with the expected storms to match!

I don't have kids, I'll be outta here in a few- so I'll be leaving just as the Loudest Deniers of today (the few who haven't succumbed to heat stroke) bitch the loudest about why our government didn't do nothing!

So enjoy it while you can- should be enough time left to even out that tan!

PS- Or just stand under a tree in Mexico- and the truth will set you free...

American Exceptionalism

Like so many other things in life, you have to laugh- cause the alternative...

In this life, I've gone from disbelievingly ogling vintage B&W photos of circus fat men and women back in the day, to seeing their current, exceedingly more corpulent counterparts live and in person on every block of every town, city and hamlet in the US of A. The difference in sheer volume of everyday homo sapiens in America has exponentially grown and metamorphized into shapes and sizes I never thought humanly possible- as if the entire country was under the control of some mad, sinister scientific experiment gone horribly, terribly wrong. People literally gorging themselves into mutated forms and masses distended well beyond belief or ambulation!

And, of course, those corpulent masses of fat and morbidity are just reflections of the sickness within our one controlling organ that doesn't grow, and that has long ceased to function in any effective, meaningful manner. Something is terribly, terribly wrong in America, as it continues to metastasize well beyond it's ability to reflect, lead or even think rationally- if only to save itself, on an individual or social level. Our national obesity is but a reflection of our body politic- while some of us can no longer see our own feet, even more of us can no longer see beyond our own feelings, beyond our own misguided diet of delusional beliefs and self interests. We have become planets unto ourselves, in size and self importance, oblivious to the universe that engulfs us all. We have need of neither science nor history, no need of empathy, no need of rational, mutual interaction between individuals, peoples or the very earth that sustains us. We simply exist to grow larger, more full of ourselves each and every passing day lest anyone dare deny us all we want.

Photo: Arsal Aleem

Celebrate!?!

Tourists posing and celebrating on 6/2023 at monument of death and avarice.    Photo: © Stan Banos

I must admit, I'm kinda obsessed with... The Vessel! The ultra gaudy, $200 million 'art' monument to suicide and man's narcissistic indifference that has been indefinitely closed since summer of 2021. Its ultimate outcome has yet to be decided (far as I know)- though I can't imagine it will get to forever flaunt its legacy of infamy center stage. When I last visited it's vacant, ever winding series of stairways in NYC this June, it seemed the ultimate monument to irony, the circular pathway to nowhere that can no longer be trod by anyone at any price. Said stairs are blocked, locked and secured; no one is getting inside or upside the Vessel proper- and still, no one knows what to do, other than wish they had never risen to the level it never achieved. 

Actually, my 'obsession' is a healthy diversion to everything else that is happening throughout the world- politically, socially, environmentally. In a word, it's... not good; people throughout the world seem more divided than ever, very much as we started the previous century- and we all know how well that worked out and unraveled. And yet, here we go all over again, many of us looking no less... to strongmen, and wannabe strongmen for answers, safety and security- as if we've learned nothing, nothing at all in the previous hundred years. All this occurring as we plunge full steam ahead into a 3 degree Celcius increase (kiss 1.5... Goodbye!) in temperature worldwide, continuing a record setting two decades of unprecedented, unabated, man made global warming culminating in the warmest year on record- 2023! And all the while, we continue to discuss all the things we know we should be doing- while continuing to burn ever increasing amounts of fossil fuels!

Did I mention that there'll be more plastic (by weight) than fish in the oceans by 2050? So yeah, best keep those higher level Vessel stairs closed up tight- and in the meantime...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Nuclear Redux

Well, someone seems pretty damn high on reviving an old flame. And I really can't deny a whole lotta of what he says, problem is (actually, problems are) he can't deny a lotta what opponents still say, whether he cares to admit it or not. I'll let Mr. Stone explain and expound his own talking points on the strengths of reviving nuclear energy, all I can say: we still haven't figured a safe way to store the deadly, centuries lasting radioactive waste; this most recent Russian/Ukrainian debacle has highlighted just how vulnerable and potentially catastrophic traditional nuclear sites can be; talk of safer, new fangled micro plants present ever more attractive targets for terrorists from any political faction you choose; and even if you could eliminate all the aforementioned, humans always (as in always) make mistakes- a leak or fire in a fossil fuel plant can be a generational disaster at most, screwing up where nuclear fission is concerned can result in centuries of human and environmental catastrophe. And let's not forget just how prone to lying and obfuscation the nuclear industry worldwide has been throughout their history.

But... you needn't take my word (or Mr. Stone's for that matter)- if the Japanese and their obsessive attention to detail and commitment to procedure can't effectively avert a major freaking disaster that will literally continue to threaten their children's children (and well beyond), no group of humans anywhere possibly can!

Funny Sick, Or Funny Ha-Ha?

Always amusing how those who attack "feelings," are the same who live by them (as opposed to say... Facts).

Great speech, that ignores the fact that many people are desperately working to bring about change, and being completely ignored, by: the fossil fuel industries, by Conservative, Right Wing politicians (who deny climate change even exists, and if it does, is not man made) and governments by and large, rich and poor. Every few years, these world governments get together, solemnly pledge great things they will accomplish in a few short years, and then proceed to do absolutely... NOTHING.

Meanwhile, Big Oil continues to get subsidized, innovative, clean alternatives continue to get underfunded, and plans for even more climate conventions are made, driving people to the point of near madness where they desperately end up throwing soup on paintings as their elders hasten to mindlessly poison their very future. The ice caps are melting, the permafrost is melting, and glaciers are disappearing wholesale while giant sink holes are appearing in Siberia releasing unprecedented levels of lethal methane. Island nations are disappearing into the Pacific, and storms are more devastating than ever as tornados appear where they never have before; droughts are longer and more severe worldwide, desertification is increasing, and the last ten years are the hottest on record...

Yeah, great speech (uh-huh)- and about as funny as a Republican with a snowball on the Senate floor.

The Face Of Insanity

Photo: © Stan Banos

They say a picture's worth a thousand words, you know, the usual bromide. And for quite some time now I've tried to describe to people what it's like walking many a street of today's San Francisco. The deterioration, depravity, hopelessness- people not only without a home or resources, but without a working mind even capable of bettering those circumstances. People whose profound mental illness forever bars them from any semblance of normality on their own. And if you live anywhere near the downtown area, you need not search it out, it’s all around you, right next to you, in front and behind you- not just in the streets and sidewalks, but in your bus, subway car, local convenience store... 

Sometimes, people think you're exaggerating for effect, or they just dismiss it as a generic, nationwide problem, and you want to say- no, this is a bit different, on another level, this is truly out of hand... and in one of the richest cities in the land! This is not the first time I've seen someone babbling to themselves, laughing aloud, encased in their own shit. It's horrible to witness, beyond imagining having to live it- and yet, it is a horror that is allowed to continue and metastasize... right beneath the tech built, luxury condos that helped create it.

Double Take Theater

Photographers are constantly seeking to expand their horizons beyond the normal to see things differently, if only for that one shot. Film goers are constantly seeking to escape the normality of our everyday lives by leaving reality behind within the confines of the movie theater. Irony has a way of transcending reality when, and how, we least expect it. And this most certainly qualifies as the convergence of all the aforementioned in a manner most sublime.

How Bent On Suicide Is Humanity?

As we find ourselves plummeting down the road to environmental, climate induced disaster, we not only continue to excuse what initially caused the problem(s), we insanely devise yet even more ways to exacerbate our demise... like novel, so called 'eco-friendly' approaches that require the cutting down and burning of trees that not only destroy the environment twice over by first eliminating a primary carbon reducer and transforming it into harmful carbon emission, but by also making the local populace sick in the process...

The Picture Not Taken

There’s a sudden flurry of action from the corner of my eye, so quick, in fact, that I’m thinking something of a violent nature. I’m apparently unscathed, so I start to look about for the cause... nothing! No sign of anything!?! Midday hallucination? I repeat the process, this time I avert my attention downwards- and right smack in the middle of Market St. (San Francisco’s main drag), there’s this hawk, falcon, large bird of prey standing atop a pigeon whose wings have now gone suddenly dead still. In fact, neither of them  are moving a muscle. No cars in sight, the only sound and movement from passing female tourists freaking out from what they’ve just witnessed.

And the bird of prey just stands, still as still can possibly be, meal beneath its feet, as if to say- “It’s what I do- what of it?” And I can see the picture clearly, dramatic close up of bird(s) in foreground, shocked, gasping tourists pointing from the back. And just as quickly, I repocket said camera, knowing full well that Mr. Hawk is not gonna allow his wide angle, Hollywood  close up, no way, no how. And upon that realization, the predator lifts directly skyward, prey securely grasped, tourist shrieks echoing anew...

Deep Blue Insanity...

I knew this would be quite informative, but I held off watching it for months, because I knew it would also be incredibly depressing, and hard to watch. It is. And if you eat fish, use plastic, or just plain don't give a shit... you-are-culpable! Point being, dead oceans = dead planet. Translation for Trump supporters- it means you're dead as well: no matter how much you deny, scream "Fake News," try to ridicule, or shoot on full automatic...

Going To Work...

Photography is not about the thing photographed. It is about how that thing looks photographed.

I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed.

In the end, maybe the correct language would be how the fact of putting four edges around a collection of information or facts transforms it. A photograph is not what was photographed, it’s something else.

I don’t have anything to say in any picture. My only interest in photography is to see what something looks like as a photograph. I have no preconceptions.

 

All pretty much the same thing, and yet, one of the most crucial aspects of photography that is often not fully understood or even acknowledged. It influences how we see, process and ultimately perceive and understand. And yet, unless we are consciously cognizant of said process from start to finish, we are at a distinct disadvantage at what we set out to create, and ultimately achieve. The lens, camera, format, exposure, composition, sensor or film all play their distinct role in altering and transforming reality into a two dimensional image. Even a purely documentary photograph meant to depict reality is by its very nature a document directly divorced from reality. Yet, play the game we must....

Sometimes, I'm fairly cognizant, and confident, of what I'm seeing, doing and ultimately capturing; other times, I'm out on a limb, playing the possible fool. The latter is a scary place and time where we are most open to: failure, learning and possible insight.

The photograph should be more interesting or more beautiful than what was photographed. – Garry Winogrand

 

Photos: © Stan Banos

I passed this alley many times, thinking it held possibility; this time, I actually stopped. The rectangle up front kinda balances with those behind, and the dominating blue and grey tones balance nicely with the earthier hues. What's it about? Beats me.

Initially, was interested by the graffiti, but disappointed it was just... gibberish. But the tree's presence came through Big Time- much more so than when I was standing before it!

 

I was looking at the gorgeous light bouncing off the artificial turf which looked like CGI perfection, not a blade of delineated, pixelated grass out of sync, but still... nothing. Then I turned the corner and saw this now ubiquitous poster which I find annoyingly too cute for its own sake, but this time it supplied the necessary anchor buttressed by the dramatic shadows that made it greater than the sum of its parts. Life is Weird.

 

Dead center minimalism accentuated by the subtle monotones.
Then there's the content- front, center and hidden from sight all the same...

Not saying any of these are all that, just keepers (walking on the way to work), everyday keepsakes that define and compromise most our waking days between those more memorable instances we plan for, live for and sometimes pay justice to. 

What's In A Title?

Some of you younger kids out there (yeah, I know, I'm kidding myself) may be wondering what the "Skittles Raised Beef" is all about in the sub-title... So there ya go!

2020+++

Photo: © Stan Banos

I'm not the kind to make New Year's Resolutions, but I do make time to take stock and ponder what lies ahead... Last year was actually pretty productive photographically; after the novelty of the lock down(s), mid year protests picked up the slack- photo ops based on the aftermath of people's pain and loss. But then, isn't that the basis of most photojournalism on any given year?

Of course, this bungled fiasco of a pandemic that was left to fester unabated could have been shortened, had we adopted some kind of science based nationwide program instead of the patchwork, devil may care, incoherent guidelines we semi adopted into our herd mentality of contradiction. And it's almost surreal that someone as myself, living on the economic borderline of uncertainty in the city supreme of financial inequity and inequality, has thus far managed to remain whole while so many above my station have folded. How much longer can this unnoticed crack of sustenance sustain me? But then, uncertainty is the current lingua franca...

Despite how bad 2020 was, 2021 probably won't be that much more ebullient, at least not the first half- and let's not forget the domestic terrorism yet to come. Hopefully, the vaccine (with all its uncertainty) will, in fact, come through and help- the economy then follow and normalcy gradually ensue. Shit, after all, my productive years on this mortal coil are now officially limited!

A coupla bad years- true that! But many of us (fortunately) won't be around for the full onslaught of global climate change: massive famines, droughts and floods, increased pandemics, wholesale mass migrations, global desertification, stronger storms, increased global conflicts and a slew of other shit we can't even begin to imagine at present. That series of upcoming plagues will span... generations, and the recovery- generations more.

Enjoy it while we can!

WHY?

It still does, just a little less come 1/20/2021.            Photo: © Stan Banos

 

Why does it always take the needless deaths of thousands for such desperately needed change to occur? Usually, such wantonly sacrificed deaths occur on the far away battlefield- this time, it was right here at home! And the person most responsible even made it a point to spread his callous, self serving policies of death and indifference to his very supporters... who eagerly reveled in their own endangerment. 

This was a man who had known criminal ties and associates throughout his business career, a man whose plethora of failed businesses were frequently in court paying fines that saved him from jail sentences. This was a man whose innate insecurity and emotional (in)stability was such that he continued to insist well beyond any rational discourse that his inauguration crowd was larger than the previous President's- despite the indisputable and overwhelming evidence to the contrary. That petty display of infantile emotion and magical thinking alone was more than ample proof that this man was prone to a terminal and irrational thought process hardly conducive to sentient, responsible leadership. It was the same childlike irrationality that fueled his naked and life long: racism, duplicity, and narcissism; the same nonsensical mindset capable of uttering that windmills caused cancer and that Mexico would pay for it's own involuntary isolation. And-make-no-doubt... Americans would have enthusiastically (s)elected this unabashed criminal yet again- if not for those sacrificial deaths!

Finally, despite the much promised wailing and gnashing of teeth by he who feels perpetually wronged, we will now be soon rid of this all too human of monsters, and hopefully witness an almost endless array of perp walks in New York courtrooms that will culminate in the long term incarceration of one desperate and balding senior criminal (and his family cronies). We have  thankfully been spared an additional four year onslaught of "the worst is yet to come-" pray we do not suffer the deranged attacks of domestic terrorists unwilling to accept the demise of their cult leader. His remaining months will be punishment enough and we will continue to suffer the residual hangover of his criminal enterprise (SCOTUS) for many a year to come.

All said and done, this is but a return to the status quo of a century past... At best, the next four years will begin to address the massive harm done to our: environment, citizenry and relationships throughout the world. Only then will we commence that rarest of opportunities in American history- effectively confronting the existential challenges we already face in a new century.

09/09/2020

11:00AM   Pedicure Apocalypse         Cause, ya know... gotta look good! 
Photo: © Stan Banos

Today was the first day in which all the legitimate and cautionary warnings concerning climate change became (a trifle more) real, palpable and visceral to yet another (albeit small) group of people (in San Francisco). As rural California continues to burn unabated all around us, most urban Californians are content to just continue about their now semi-routine Covid existence. One crisis at a time, please! But nature, and the onslaught we have ravaged upon it, deems otherwise.

And again, this is just one small portent of much greater (and catastrophic) things to come. Because we won't always be able to simply pause, get out nails done and and casually take pretty pictures of the world burning all around us. And it won't be limited to CA much longer.

So look the best you can folks, cause the clock is ticking...  

12:53PM    Bay Bridge             Photo: © Stan Banos   

For Your Consideration...

Strange Bedfellows Indeed!

Relax, calm down, take-a-deep-breath.... There are some things on both sides of this issue that I could readily believe, some that are beyond ridiculous, and some that I am just damn up in the air about- which is the exact purpose of (Russian styled) propaganda- throw up enough seemingly credible scenarios and explanations on all sides so that everyone in turn throws up their hands in collective confusion, despair and ultimate... disengagement.

I have no idea if Covid 19 came from a Chinese wet market, or a man made weapons lab (actually, I lead to the former). And if the latter, yeah, it was planned- and don't tell me that neither government would do such a thing. And... I have no idea if Bill Gates is doing more harm than good, more good than harm, or just raking in more millions with a cosmetic halo (well, definitely the latter- regardless of the first two). 

Here's what I definitely do know: vaccines have saved countless numbers of lives/vaccines can and have caused debilitating, life long injuries. Big Pharma would sell each and every one of their your mothers for an extra buck. Vaccine makers cannot be sued or held liable for any injury or death their product(s) cause- at least that is the law in the US of A. Our current administration has given B-B-B-Billions of dollars to companies that have never produced a vaccine, to produce a vaccine in record time (translation: the usual safety protocols and testing will be compromised- guaranteed).

"I don't need facts to back up my feelings" is not a viable option. And even if everything in the video below is true, it still means the disease is out and about amongst us- so not wearing a precautionary mask when in proximity to other humans for the time being is both selfish and stupid. And no matter your politics, no matter your side of choice, one more thing is most definitely certain- we must make the time and effort to hold our governments accountable!

Plandemic II: Indoctornation - powered by ise.media

(click close on commercial to watch film)

Rebuttal, Facts And Possibly... HOPE?

I always usually like to hear different sides and opinions about various issues- I'll even tolerate flat earthers and people who scream, "Git the govmint outta my Medicare," strictly for comedic effect. Like they say, "You're welcome to your own opinion- not your own facts." 

Last week I thought Planet of the Humans was a relevant update (and revision) on basic truths I had wrongly taken for granted- perhaps because I hadn't been paying close enough attention. And quickly upon posting, I began hearing from reliable sources that such was simply not the case. Seems the "documentary" was, in fact, loaded with outdated info and inaccuracies- and this video summarizes it nicely (with a most welcomed sigh of relief). It's not always easy separating fact from fiction these days when there are so many sides to every story- and that is the classic Russian take on propaganda... pump out so many differing slants, opinions and "alternative facts" to make your freaking head spin! A tactic a certain POTUS has well learned and utilized from his best bud- "no one could see this coming... we have it under control... I always knew it was a pandemic... I was being sarcastic..." Etc, etc, etc...

Anyone taking their news strictly from mainstream news or alternative sources is simply setting themselves up for deception. And there is no happy medium, no way to relax and rest assured you're not being lied to. Time, effort, due diligence- there is no escape. No government, no matter the admin, can be trusted, and god help ya if you rebound in Alex Jones's backyard! Buyer Beware...