Good Thing Global Warming Is... A Hoax!

Or Michael could have been, like, ya know... BIG! 

Giant fucking freak storm after freak storm- but Repubs won't dare utter the words "Climate Change" even as their constituents float by on their furniture. And this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. All the warning signs are going off big time all at once: ice caps melting at unprecedented levels, sea levels rising, oceans and atmosphere warming; aboriginal peoples all over the world, be they on ice, sand or jungle undergrowth all full well know it; we're diving head first, right smack into some serious world-wide catastrophic shit! And god help us all when it all hits the breaking point and we go into... free fall- cause Donny The "Self Made Billionaire" doesn't give a flying fucking shit cause he won't be around. Pretty fucking funny, huh?

Remember... The Future Is Fiber Optics?

We paid B-B-Billions for our fiber optic tech, it's in the ground (like right now), and it's lying pretty much dormant; even though it's the safest, fastest, most reliable and... cheapest way of transferring data for our telecommunications needs and devices. So why have we abandoned it in favor of tech which has already and yet to be proven carcinogenic tendencies?

Two weeks ago I didn't know what the hell 5G was, and just figured it the inevitable march of progress. One week later, I found out that at least some of what I had researched wasn't quite true- mainly cause the technology is so new and is just now in the process of being deployed (without the proper, needed testing)! Currently, my wife and I have started rallying the troops to fight a 5G transmitter which is slated to be located right outside our bedroom window, which will sautee us in high intensity microwave radiation 24/7. And I've already discovered that they hadn't notified anyone in our building about their intentions- a direct violation of the established legal protocol.

All the information you want to know (and more) about 5G is right here- and how to organize to defeat it in your neighborhood. Even more scientifically based info... Here!

At Least In Wrestling...

  The Bad Guy knows he's the Bad Guy, and everyone knows it's fixed.

So...

Halfway through the "Limited Investigation" (aka- The Blackout Sham), Kavanaugh or Ford have yet to be interrogated, the former has NOT been polygraphed, a whole host of witnesses have NOT been interviewed along with leads NOT followed, and turtle-man McConnell and Self-Made Billionaire Donald J. Trump certainly don't seem like they're breaking a sweat that "I fall asleep before I do anything stupid when drunk" Kavanaugh gets voted in at the end of the week. 

 

He lied about the emails, he lied about the yearbook, he lied about the "drinking games," lied about the drinking age, lied about "Blacking Out," lied about Ford's witnesses "refuting" all her allegations- and did so while soberly impersonating the nasty, vindictive drunk that he most certainly is. Why would anyone NOT believe him when he so vehemently denies an attempted rape allegation?

This is the man our POTUS and his Republican enablers have deemed...The Best of The BEST!!!

Dear BookWright...

 

Sorry guys- ya didn't make it, this cut.   Photo: © Stan Banos

I've begun putting together At The Fair- my photobook on the leather fairs in San Francisco. I'm happy to say that it's looking quite good! It's not that I ever doubted the photographs themselves, it's just that, well... after having them repeatedly rejected, over and over and over again- it was revelatory to see just how well they actually looked together! The book will be in two parts: eleven B&W photos followed by twenty one color. Yes, I think both mediums complement each other quite nicely; and why those particular numbers... why not? I could easily include more of each, or a more rounded number, or make it just color (of which I have more)- but this just seems to work nicely. 

Dealing with Blurb's bookmaking software called BookWright however has been a slightly different matter. Altogether, it's pretty damn decent... except that no matter what I've been able to do- I can't position each photograph in the exact same position on each page in a uniform manner! They're usually just a little bit... off! It hasn't seemed to matter all that much when I've gotten my previously made books in hand, but still- I don't think having a feature that can automatically lock equally sized images into the same position on successive pages is something so totally beyond today's digital realm. In fact, I would think it a necessity- it takes a helluva lot of needless time to try and center each and every one (they don't move about as seamlessly as one would hope using the margin rulers) on each and every page! 

So I sent an inquiry to Bookwright asking if I had missed something, done something wrong. No answer. So I sent another. No answer. So I was just about to send my congratulatory follow up below, when something called common sense whispered... not to, at least not until I finished, and had a copy or two. Cause something tells me, with my luck, that's the one they'd actually read, and actually respond to...

Dear BookWright,

Thank you for totally ignoring both of my inquiries regarding your book making software. With said track record, I know you won't mind my genuine non-gratitude in wishing you all to go FUCK URSELVES repeatedly, and since you'll no doubt ignore this as well (if anyone even takes the time to actually read any of these, so that they can, in fact, proceed to ignore them)... FUCK U again for good measure. 

Sincerely,

Stan Banos

Spineless Bystanders Give Nasty Drunk A Pass

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford gave very credible, very believable testimony in the AM- by the PM, it was all but thrown aside and buried. And once again- spineless, feckless Dems allowed it all to happen!

The very same afternoon after an expert witness stated she was unequivocally, 100% certain of who had attempted to rape her (while laughing in the process)- that very same man at first played the wronged victim card with waterworks challenging Florence herself, only to transform moments later into the nasty, vindictive drunk he no doubt relishes. Lindsey Graham then amplified the hype into a steroid fueled torrent of self righteous indignation not seen since Christ vs. the money lenders!

All the Dems had to do was follow Dick Durbin's lead and hammer home the one question, the only question that mattered- why is he and every Republican present Absolutely Terrified of an FBI investigation? Instead, they effortlessly squandered their opportunities asking him about... yearbooks and drinking games.

Ironically, Orrin Hatch had it right when he called this an even bigger circus than The Clarence Thomas Affair of '91- back then, the sexual predator granted Supreme Court membership was accused "only" of sexual harassment. This man was positively identified as an all out physical predator, and after all of today's faces, taunts, and outbursts (emotional and conspiratorial)... there is considerable doubt that he has the judicial temperament for any court, let alone this country's highest, and that he is quite adamant in suppressing any relevant testimony and investigation. You needn't be a law student to ask why...

90 vs. 95

No doubt some will think I've gone off the deep end with the 5G "Conspiracy." And I have no doubt that these towers will soon be ubiquitous throughout the land as they spew out 5G microwave radiation anywhere between 24 to 90GHz from transmitters every few blocks- Active Denial, the military crowd enforcement weapon that fries your skin operates at... 95GHz. Got your attention yet? 

Are you comfortable with (let's pick a nice round #) say... 50GHz calmly sauteing you from outside your bedroom window as you sleep and eat and... in your home 24/7, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year?

Lobbyist$ for several communications giants have been promoting (and winning) legislative shortcuts around current laws that regulate where and how these towers can be placed. This includes circumventing and negating what regular citizens can do legally, particularly when it comes to health concerns... and consequences.

BUT SCREW EVERYTHING I SAID...

"These firefighters developed symptoms,” says Dr. Gunnar Heuser who conducted a pilot study on firefighters at a station with cell towers. The symptoms included problems with memory, problems with intermittent confusion, problems with weakness.Their brain scans suggest even low-level RF can cause cell damage and he worries about more vulnerable groups like kids.We found abnormal brain function in all of the firefighters we examined."

5G Is No Joke!!!

T

5G is coming folks- to everyone's neighborhood. It's a much higher frequency than 4G, but doesn't travel as far- so their new microwave transmission devices are literally going to be ubiquitous... on existing electric poles, traffic signs, anywhere and everywhere in-UR-hood! One is going to be directly across the street right outside our bedroom window... NOT Good!!!

I know, I know... Big F'kn deal, right? Right! The firemen who suffered serious health effects from the cell phone towers in close proximity to their fire station didn't think it was all that funny. None of this technology, from ordinary cell phones to the oncoming 5G tech which takes radiation to a whole 'nother level has ever been properly tested concerning a host of health related problems- yeah, we're talking cancer folks!

Radiation- can't see, taste it, touch it or feel it. But it can hurt you, in a myriad of ways- Big Time! Especially children. And soon, we will all be bathing in an all time record tsunami of it 24/7...

And The Sign Said...

  

The Words of The Prophets are written on the subway walls, and tenement halls...

Photo: © Stan Banos

Photo: © Stan Banos

Photo: © Stan Banos

Photo: © Stan Banos

The ULTIMATE Scumbag SCOTUS Nominee?

Photo: © Stan Banos

Trump may be the last, dying Presidential gasp of White Supremacy to emerge from a prior century of blatant racism, bigotry and dehumanization- but his foul, criminal legacy will linger well past his personal stench and corruption. I was hoping that his rancid brand of racism would die along with him and my fellow baby boomers. But I can see that their cancer has metastasized to yet more current generations as evidenced at Charlottesville and elsewhere, and the flat out, blatant IGNORANCE so prevalent... everywhere!!!

Had the Dems any balls whatsoever, they would have long ago figured a way, some way, any way (short of some ill conceived, last minute, anonymous high school ploy) to stop lying, conniving Kavanaugh from even being considered- just as Thomas* should have been laughed out of consideration. Lying Kavanaugh wasn't even part of Trump's original grand list of Ultra-Conservative SCOTUS nominees that he so highly touted during his campaign- the one, the only reason he was thrown in post Mueller is because he views the Presidency as a position of infallible, God like supremacy... Trump's Ultimate, All Time, Get Out Of Jail Card. And everyone knows it...

ADDENDUM: Wow... Things have certainly gotten interesting!

*He who swore that he rose to success on strength of character alone, and that racism's legacy or affirmative action should never be a factor in anyone's hiring, sure knew how to pony up the phony, faux racial outrage BIG TIME when it came to slithering into his SCOTUS confirmation.

On Dreams Deferred...

Had to shoot fast on this one and approximated controls w/o glasses; thought it doomed when I realized I had shot wide open @ 1/200 f2.8- but that GR 28mm(e) is a killer, and distance plus crop factor sensor provided depth of field! Photo: © Stan Banos 

Yeah, you know the routine; ya work all year looking forward to... The Big Vacay!!! And then, month after month, week after week, day after day... it-finally-arrives! And it's well over ninety degrees the first four days, and then nothing but a solid wall of rain predicted for the next whole week and then some....................

So went VACATION 2018, VACAY From HELL!!! Aborted prematurely due to reality (was gonna drive from DC to Texas via the South and Gulf environs) . So I'm trying not to let it get to me, trying to stay calm, trying to keep relatively sane telling myself I'll get to try again- this time with visions of Spring, 2019! A new year, a fresh start, a time to regain all that was lost, and more. Yeah, well...

 

Slowly but surely adding to my SQUARED series... Photo: © Stan Banos

Of course, I always try to find the proverbial silver lining in times likes these, and expound on the revelatory insight this minor glitch has provided, the opportunity it has bequeathed, the alternative path that is now made clear to me! And, when one thinks of it in those terms, the take away becomes clearer still- ya got screwed... yet again. Big Time!!!

Well, at the very least, I got to see old friends for an evening, visit with the moms, and The Wife finally got to visit The Mutter Museum. I got a coupla photos (literally), and bought a truly great book for less than twenty bucks.

That said, I wish everyone well in the path of Hurricane Florence- I hope the results are not anywhere near the utter destruction let loose on the entire island, and people, of Puerto Rico this time, last year...

Almost forgot this guy- whose advice I should learn to follow. Photo: © Stan Banos

 

Stopping Fascism

Something to ponder in the interim... He starts 5:00 into the video, and when he does- Chris Hedges leaves-no-stone-unturned!

See Yas in... October!!!

*Photo: © Stan Banos

Travel isn't always pretty. It isn't always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart.. But that's OK. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.   -Anthony Bourdain

Haven't been on vacation since the previous Sept; originally, we were planning on Europe- Spain, Portugal, London, Paris, Berlin, The Netherlands... Some are like old friends, some I've seen bits and pieces- Portugal, I've never been. Bottom line, we just couldn't decide which to pick, and/or leave out... And with only so much time (and the thought that it may just be the last trip we'll ever afford abroad), we decided to put it on the back burner and... road trip USA, once again! Can't complain- besides, for whatever reason, always get more pictures here, than scenic Europe (though no question where ya get the better eats)!

So we're flying to NYC (gotta see the moms), then going to Philly (wife wants to see the Mutter Museum) and DC by train before we hit the road and visit my fellow Americans and Trump supporters down South, on through the Bayou and unto Texas! Yee-ha! I'll be wearing my bright red MAGA cap, well, I'll at least make sure to take my Fuck Trump button off my camera bag...

Looking forward to seeing what the South will yield photographically, culturally- my exposure being limited to those ever so brief bus trips of my youth when I would board a Greyhound for a day and a half trip to New Orleans from NYC for a one day stand to photograph Mardi Gras, then reboard the bus the very same evening for yet another joyous day and a half trip back... A four day sojourn made possible only by youth's vigor and insanity. Still remember how incredibly other worldly The Gulf's topography appeared to this NYC boy from the contours of his small bus window. Looking forward to a slightly more intimate look/see this go around...

*Got lucky on this one! Certainly, doesn't look it here, but this street corner was nothing but a hotbed of the harshest, most glaring light imaginable bouncing off that sidewalk! All I could clearly make out with my naked eye was the guy and his suitcase on the left. I could barely make out some people doing something in the middle, and a constant swirl of shadows around them. Whipped out the GR, aimed into the flaring conundrum best I could, waiting a second or two until the lights and shadows achieved some kinda "balance," and pressed the shutter. Honestly, did not expect much (technically or aesthetically)- figured nothing short of a FF sensor would have any chance surviving that gamma ray burst of a lighting scenario- and... Amazingly, instead of an instant throw away- I had something definitely worth further study. The pocket rocket somehow, some way tamed the monster highlights, I gradually coaxed as much detail from the shadows as feasible, and the composition as a whole appeared nicely in place! Not bad for a wing and a prayer coming home from work!

Divide And Conquer!

Illustration via Tywkiwdbi

I've always found it... amusing how so many people blame the poorest, most powerless people in the world for many of their woes. As if those on the bottom are the ones with all the money, pulling all the strings- they're the ones holding people back from their dreams and aspirations! And yet, that is exactly who gets blamed time and time again...

Why is it that (in America) those in the middle (ie- White Middle Class) seldom look up at their own when daring to question or challenge the monied power structure that separates and uses them as pawns, keeping their heads pointed at those who have even less. Decades past, certain people would tell me in a very somber, sober tone that if only those lowly bottom feeding illegal and temporary immigrants weren't here, deserving Americans citizens would no longer be undercut and undermined, and would happily absorb those very jobs with- substantially increased wages! 
And I had to admit- there was a certain logic to that...

And yet- all I've seen over the decades are those on top sending as many good paying jobs: first to Mexico for cheaper wages, then onward to China for yet cheaper wages, then onward to South Asia for cheaper wages still; all the while their profits soar- profits kept off shore to avoid the very taxes that would strengthen infrastructure, job growth and wages here at home! And as for those not so great paying jobs that are not outsourced... their hours are reduced, their wages stagnated or cut (further), while their benefits... extinguished! The one (1) percent is now even after worker tips- the fact is, US worker lives (or deaths) have now literally been declared... no longer even worth mention!

 But Don't Take My Word For It...

TOP Of The World Ma!

It's always nice to get a bit o' recognition, particularly from one's peers. Such was the case this week when Michael Johnston of TOP unexpectedly mentioned, complimented, and linked to my work. Actually, it's not the first time over the course of the years, but this year, when making a concerted effort to get my work out there, it sure hit home! Photography, like other artistic endeavors, is something one creates for one's self- but the very nature of the medium is one that screams to be seen.

MJ started The Online Photographer around the same time I started Reciprocity Failure- those heady times of the brand spanking new internet's wild frontier when everyone and their momma started their own blog! There was a real sense of anything possible back then, as well as a real sense of community for those who participated. Then FB, Twit & Insta came along, and... Oh, well.

To have successfully lasted this long with your own thriving "brand" and community, that so many (like myself) sought to originally create, speaks to that person's commitment, originality and sincerity. It's why I've visited everyday since I discovered TOP, and why this particular shout hits home...

PS- And just in case your not familiar with the reference...

San Francisco Awash In Homelessness

Photo: © Stan Banos

They are everywhere. In our: streets, sidewalks, subways and buses, in our libraries, stores, parks and apartment entrances. They are ubiquitous... And I don't know what to do.

The homeless problem was bad when I first arrived in San Francisco at the turn of the century. The city was strapped for cash- two decades later, the city is awash in it, and the situation more dire than ever. The skyline is chock a block with construction cranes every which way you turn, luxury high rises and condos rising all around us. The tech industry has inundated and infiltrated this town with its virtual culture of promise and prosperity, and yet- the poor, the destitute and the indigent roam the streets more than ever... We now have a new mayor, one of the least progressive candidates who ran, and I have no doubt she will do every bit as much as her predecessors- bare-minimum-nothing.

Last Friday, on my way home from a couple of beers with a friend, I stopped to take a picture. As a photographer, I sometimes cannot not photograph the homeless all around me. I like to tell myself that someday these photographs will somehow make a difference, like the change I occasionally give, the 911 calls I make to report a possible OD. Of course, I realize its not a proverbial drop in their bucket of misery. But after taking this photo, the person suddenly startled themselves awake, staring right at me, confused and anxious- the same desperate, destitute gaze I had photographed just one week prior (see below). And realizing it was a woman somehow startled me in turn. Despite countless previous encounters, I found myself not knowing what to do, or how to react. In short, I panicked, heard myself mouth something like the most disingenuous, "How ya doing," and then hastily retreated in my utter impotence and humiliation- full well knowing I had inflicted yet more pain, instead of alleviating it, instead of just leaving well enough alone...

Of course, this is one problem that will take more than one person to address. And it is well more than one problem. We need jobs, plain and simple, living wage jobs that will allow people to become productive citizens who contribute and pay rent in modest living quarters that have yet to be built! And yes, we need drug rehabilitation programs and mental health programs for those who simply do not have the ability to take care of themselves, mentally or physically even under the best of possible scenarios. Right now, their only alternative is a jail cell, and there's the rub- that's the-most-expensive/least-effective-alternative of all! And most people with mental health issues don't commit violent crimes- they are victims of it! I instruct and provide care for people with intellectual (and physical) disabilities- they're the lucky ones. Substitute intellectual or physical disabilities with... mental (health)- and they're on the streets! One or two more IQ points north of the cut off point- they're on the streets!

Honestly, I live from paycheck to paycheck with my wife in a rent controlled apartment for well over a decade. Our landlord would love to have us out so she could double the rent (easily). We could not afford another apt anywhere in or near this town. And if I'm being completely honest, I too cuss out and despise the homeless. Their very stench alone is unbearable. I have to cross the street and alter my routes because: their tents and/or bodies block the sidewalks I need to use; I might step in their rampant litter, urine or piles of feces; I might step on a dirty needle laden with any number of infectious diseases. Yes, it's very easy... to blame and hate; very easy to join and partake in our current culture of hate, where we blame and victimize the poorest, and most powerless- all so that we may somehow, someway feel that much better!

Technology is not our answer, our future, our savior- San Francisco is living proof. We must invest in humanity, the people around us, in the community we live in. Social media needs to benefit society, not separate us from its reality, inure us from its everyday injustices and inequities. I'm too old to be an idealist- no, everyone can't be "saved," but we owe it to ourselves to make sure everyone has that chance. Look how "the mighty" are now just starting to fall at the very top, the wielders of power who abused it every which way while going out of their way to purposely demean those without. Now, they scramble to retain whatever vestige of dignity and humanity they can possibly salvage. Yeah, it can happen to... anyone.

Photo: © Stan Banos

We've Only Just Begun...

Release The Hounds!!!

Poor Little Mikey- his long time steady has left with problems of his own so he asked the new twinkle of his eye to the prom, and so far... not the slightest modicum of slightest interest. Macho Tough Guy Michael Cohen is now the wounded puppy of lovelorn neglect as he pines for the slightest gesture of tenderness from a distant Senor Mueller. And the latter has gone from hard to get, to just plain-not-interested. After all, there are so many other fish in the sea! A magazine publisher, his former love's top financial officer, so many choices- with more yet to come. The guy who would take a bullet for a 5X deferment is now left to wallow in the sorry little pool of his own doing. So very, very... sad.

Addendum: Apologies for calling little Mikey "David" earlier today- what ya get for posting during lunch break...

Including Those Excluded

Recently, I attended a discussion on Community at SF Camera Work and although admittedly, didn't interact much, as I was dead dog tired with a headache to boot- was nonetheless happy to see that both speakers and attendees alike were a very mixed bag of ages, sexes and colors. So many of the photographic functions I've attended are inexorably such homogeneous affairs. 

Below are two very insightful articles discussing inclusion in photography and journalism from two distinct angles. The topic in both mediums are age old problems that have still yet to be adequately addressed, let alone alleviated, and of course, if you're talking inclusion, one must first discuss how those in question are being... excluded.

Two decades into the 21st century, Western media/photographers continue to portray their point of view without particular regard to the cultures and peoples they are portraying. Sometimes that callous disregard can be blatantly obvious, other times its just simply the narrative we've come to expect. The other article exposes much more subtle (though substantial) nuances in how language, as well as photos, and the interaction and presentation of both can emphasize, minimize or change the context of what we see, read and eventually... believe. The scary subtext to the latter being that this often occurs on a very subconscious level without our realization. This is something I have no doubt noticed along the way, continually strive to notice, and come no where close to noticing to the extent that this most observant person does... The example starting at 5:20 in the video really hit home for me.

Daniel Postaer

Photo: Daniel Postaer

One shining light from the current Pier 24 show is a youngblood photographer from right here in San Francisco by the name of Daniel Postaer. On display were a coupla knockout images that heralded the coming of age of what may well be one very bright star. There were several outstanding images: a "synchronized" cell phone group shot (very reminiscent of a Richard Bram shot), a near apocalyptical shot featuring a woman in bright red heels, and a street corner shot caught mid stride which one can appreciate here for its beautiful light, shadow and dynamic composition- but when seen writ large in person, one can then really notice the centerpiece of said photo, the man who has stopped walking, eyes closed in quiet exasperation, a momentary respite from a life hard fought and unrelenting...

November

This film could have easily been annoying as all hell, particularly the first half when there's seemingly little if any rational, logical story line. But time and time again, just as you're about to pull the plug- it surprises you and makes you: laugh, think, pause and wonder anew. And always, always, always- it carries you through with some of the most beautiful B&W cinematography imaginable... (free on Amazon Prime).

Without Comment...

 AND...