Bogonia

I suppose one could describe it as a black comedy. And it certainly reverberated from challenging (to watch), to bizarrely amusing. But I found the ending (which I was fully expecting to be predictably disappointing) both original, and poignant- an ingenious touch that made the whole endeavor curiously worthwhile...

2025 X 70 X 20

  Photos: © Stan B.

What's with the cryptic numerology? Well, 2025 marks a coupla personal milestones, if ya will (and hopefully- the beginning of the end for the felonious/pedophile/fascist named Donald J. Trump). 

Hard to believe I've done seven decades this lifetime, and looking back, there are things: I'm relatively pleased about, things I look upon with shame and regret, and most of all- a whole lotta time letting life play itself out, most of it just day to day existence, interspersed with those fleeting moments that: teach, resound, challenge or reinforce. It's almost as if we're different people at different times, in different situations with the various people we encounter along the way. Each person gets a different peek, depending on age, mood, amount of sleep, on that particular day of that particular year.

In two weeks, I retire; been running on fumes of late, and am literally counting the days- all the while knowing full well, it will be anticlimactic at best, as are most things in life. I will live frugally, as I always have, and hopefully manage to stretch my modest savings for my remaining years without necessitating a return to the work force. But as we all know, life can be cruel. In the next year and a half, I will rest, regroup, reorganize and plan what and where to do my remaining years- here in San Francisco, the Southwest, East Coast... abroad?

Been blogging a good twenty years now on various platforms, plan to continue and continue photographing- the latter of which I've been doing since a teen. Unfortunately, most of my previous B&W work was destroyed to one extent or the other, and I will be restoring, filing and organizing what I can. But as I've mentioned before, it wasn't until I was sixty and abandoned my beloved analog B&W and picked up digital color that I (quite ironically) began to feel as if starting to actually know what I was doing. At least that's what I tell myself- and also have the results to prove. Hopefully, I can muster some small amount of exposure for it. 

I'm betting on a productive dozen years ahead as my (dare I say it) journey continues... Looking forward to some travel, photos, time with friends, some volunteer work and whatever good times remain- the rest will unfold and be revealed as destined... Thanks for tuning in.

Mermaid Parade- NYC, 6/25

Man's Got Your Back, America!

    Andrew Harnik © Getty Images

He may not have won a Nobel Peace Prize- but this photo should definitely win a Pulitzer!

“An example of the Deep State we have been up against.”

 Photo: © Franziska Wild

Exactly!!! Bondi absolutely nailed it! The agent testified that the sandwich "kind of exploded" upon impact, and that he felt it through his ballistic vest!

Prof. David Cay Johnston- National Treasure

In addition to being a wealth of detailed and insightful political, historical and legal information, this Pulitzer Prize winning author has also written several books on the rise and current reign of Donnie J...

CONGRATS!!!

After all the: LIES, INSULTS and THREATS... from all manner of enemies, local and federal alike. The tepid or complete lack of support from Democrats; NO, he's Not: a Billionaire, Corporate Financier or Tech Tycoon (deal with it)- Zohran Mamdani's Mayor Fuckin' (Elect) of New York Fuckin' City!!!

"PR Failure"

Really, seriously!?! We in this country desperately need someone as brave and responsible as a Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalm- right here, in the US of A! Someone with a conscience willing to make the sacrifice to do the right thing and expose the blatant disregard of law, especially those leaders (convicted and or indicted) who purport to stand for it, while casually and purposely perverting it to their own end.

During WW2, individuals at risk to their own lives, often without special standing or power, stood up to Nazis to protect Jews from certain death or needless persecution- today, we need like individuals to stand up to a lawless Israeli regime brutally persecuting Palestinians- god bless and protect her...

What EVERY American Needs To See...

American Entrepreneurship!

 

Landscape 101                                          Photo: © Stan B.

Halloweenerama!

Photo: © Stan B.

Quite the motley crew of diabolical ghouls and goblins, but the expression that captivates me most is that of the sign maker himself- well, maybe with the exception of the woman on the far left...

Subjectively, Objectively Fine!

Andy Adams recently recommended Subjectively, Objective and while it opened up a whole new world of beautiful (somewhat minimalist) landscape photography, it also seemed vaguely familiar. The reason became apparent as I attempted to add it to the blog under my listing of: Magazines, Galleries, Resources, Etc- it was already listed! While Subjectively, Objective is a host of varied, vibrant projects (book and magazine publishing, online galleries, real life gallery, printing service, You Tube channel, etc) all under the capable auspices of Noah Waldeck, it seemed that the blogging endeavor linked to on my blog (since fixed) pretty much ceased circa 2020, and foolishly not looking beyond it, I assumed the whole enterprise dead in the water. I believe Mr. Waldeck does indeed write and update on Substack, Reddit, IG or some such app, social media, dark web medium (all of which I do not frequent)- only a handful of certain fools continue to publish an actual blog these days. Anyway, he most certainly has his hands full with all I've already mentioned, which is most definitely very much active under any definition...

I recently ordered one of the many available magazine/monographs on site (Richard Fraser, Vol 123) for... $8 (+$2 SH) and received a lovely little 5 1/4 x 8 1/4in zine of eleven photos that were finely printed and a pleasure to hold and view- already ordered two more... I mean what can ya buy for eight dollars anywhere today, except for a microbrew- and ya piss that out in a coupla minutes, ya get to keep the zine! The hardbound books also look absolutely fab- wanted to order Observations In The Ordinary, but sold out. Fortunately, Investigations In Infrastructure and Everything Is Narrative also look pretty damn tasty!

Called Off!

Photo: © Stan B.

ICE was supposed to be deployed here in San Francisco as of yesterday morning (in addition to the National Guard at a later date), but called off at the final hour! Supposedly, Mayor Dan Lurie and POTUS Trump managed to make nice-nice with each other so that ICE Barbie and The Cavalry would not be stopping by...

San Francisco has a shitload of problems, no doubt; but they're socio-economic- they ain't gonna get fixed by armed Feds. Things in SF have gotten ever so microscopically better recently, but there is one long, long haul to go. The Dems have a habit of looking the other way (when not arguing among themselves), while Repubs excel at making a grand show of everything that has to do with nothing- so that, in the long run, little, if anything, gets done by either side...

Been Pondering..

Photo: © Stan B.

And after considerable consideration, think a good part of why I got such few photographic keepers at the No Kings II march was the actual tenor of the crowd itself. The whole attitude of this particular version (and it seems it wasn't just a San Francisco thing) was more upbeat and satirical, complete with an absolute plethora of costumes... particularly- The Inflatables! Satire and weird get ups are always part of the overall festivities, but this had an almost predominantly exuberant, playful Halloween costume parade feel to it! 

Now, I'm all for laughs, non-violence and positive vibes- but I hope this was a one off; not just because of my own selfish photographic needs and desires, but because I think the opposition really needs to be focused, determined and sufficiently motivated to fight back this outright Fascist onslaught. MAGA is playing down and dirty, and while comic relief is often necessary to keep the temperature down, we're certainly not going to humor our way back to all we've lost, and will continue to lose in the three plus years to follow... 

Sic Semper Tyrannis

Photo: © Stan B

There were an estimated 2,600 Anti-Trump, Anti-Fascist protests throughout big cities and small towns alike in the USA on 10/18/2025. This was The Biggest protest I ever attended in San Francisco by far, even bigger than the No Kings of June 14; could have split it in two and still had a massive protest. 

Not surprisingly, took the most pictures at any one time in my life (approx 300), first time I actually used a second battery, and ironically... got one keeper I can swear to. Why such decrepitly poor photographic outcome- not sure, perhaps because this was the only somber faced fellow to be found. But ya know what they say, as long as ya get one...

More importantly- as long as the message gets across!

Before?

Photo: © Stan B.

Cry Freedom!

Photo: © Stan B.

As we all know, the Demonrat Radical Left Socialist Terrorists purposely shut down the US government to all our detriment; therefore, the US Navy F-18's couldn't perform their annual death defying, aerial acrobatics at the annual Fleet Week in San Francisco this weekend. Our neighbors to the North, the Hard Left, Radical Socialist Terrorists known as Canadians (the supposed "friendlier Americans-" yeah, right) offered to substitute their Canadian Snowbirds as our main attraction. And although the young man above doesn't seem very enthused, I can personally verify that they did, in fact, put on quite a show that was very much appreciated by all present, even though crowds were admittedly half the usual attendance. 

I hope our country shows its appreciation for saving the day, by tariffing the ever loving daylights outta those treacherous, Antifa loving opportunists!

I Remember...

Informing people of this simple fact... 60 years ago! Don't think it woulda made much difference then (or now), but it sure woulda felt better had I simply added... "dear."

It's Good To Learn...

Something (not exactly) new every day! Whether it's about Israel, or America, or its health care:

R-U "Hyper-Masculine?"

Regret not bookmarking the actual video short, but when I first saw/heard it, I was just so dismayed and dismissive (for obvious reasons) that I just scrolled away ASAP, shaking my head while laughing. But it went pretty much along these lines...

Manly Man: What is the definition of "hyper-masculinity?"

Young & Clueless guy: Uhm-uh...

Manly Man: Exactly! 

Manly Man: Name me one bad thing that has ever happened because of hyper-masculinity!

Young & Clueless Guy: I don't know. 

Manly Man: That's right- because nothing bad has ever happened because of it!

Hmmm... Now, I got nothing against guys being masculine, mind ya- but.... "hyper-masculine?" Yeah, I can see that going nowhere but south, real, real quick; in fact, I don't have to imagine it- we're surrounded by it every day: endless WAR(S), road rage, domestic abuse, domestic terrorism, countless gun deaths, etc. We're drowning in the shit morning, noon and night- but uh-uh, those two (and the millions they actually represent) don't have a freakin' clue, they just-can't-see-it... Or, just don't want to- which, no doubt, is its number one problem which sets off everything else...

Draining The Swamp!

 One... Small... Drop- atta time!!!

The man's a Bloody Saint, he is!

End Of An Era!

The Last Photo- © Stan Banos

And just what era might that be? Well, for the last dozen years or so, I've been attending the annual leather fairs in San Francisco (the Folsom St. Fair and the Dore St. Fair). And although I'm not gay, and don't even have an interest in S&M (I'm sure some have their doubts, whatever)- they sure have proved to be fertile ground for photo ops, around 120 keepers to date! 

And although I'm quite thankful to all that allowed me to photograph them, and all that didn't object, the writing's clearly on the wall, the law of diminishing returns have come into play. Hey, that might be... nah, got one similar, only better. Everything has its expiration date, and what was once fun and challenging has now become almost chore-like and routine. 

This Sunday, I just knew it was the end- the thrill, the novelty just wasn't there... Will I be tempted to go back next year- you bet, precisely because it remains such a wealth of possible photo ops to this day. But it's a bit more complex than that, and it's precisely because I'm not of that scene, that I feel somewhat uncomfortable with the changes that I personally perceive, and my right to objectively and justifiably criticize. I've always considered myself a guest at the event, one who enjoyed and appreciated the event for the photographic results in what was often not unlike a collaborative undertaking. I also enjoyed a lot of the energy that celebrated the power and energy of the individual, that which was original and different- Viva La Difference! 

Admittedly, much most of what I feel is simply the blues at project's end- it was fun, exciting, a proven photo mine, and now... the thrill is gone! The other, smaller part is that I also feel it's changed, even though it's always been a celebration of sex, a certain kind of sex, and particularly a certain kind of gay sex (although not exclusively)- it now seems less focused on the individual, originality part, and more on the hard core sex part. Put on a Furry costume, and you're not really that original, just part of a team, same with the diaper guys. And seeing both of those groups, along with more and more others, openly humping each other in the middle of intersections is not my thing, aesthetically, photographically, any which way- yeah, even if it was heterosexual! But hey, I'm just an old straight guy, so who am I to complain about whatever they wanna make it; and no one forced me to be there anyway- got it... 

On the positive note, I do see more women attending, and people with disabilities! It was a long productive stretch (photographically)- and it's their party and I wish them well... Having already made a book called (appropriately enough) At The Fair, this winter I'll edit a larger, more extensive version in zine format, and try and drum up some interest- most likely, with same sa(i)d results. Granted the photos ain't for everyone, they don't break any grand artistic boundaries, they don't ride any current wave- some are pretty interesting, a bunch fairly humorous, a few even kinda poignant...