To Be Continued...

Not even close...   Photo: © Stan Banos

As y'all (4 of U) may have noticed- things have slowed down just a tad 'round these parts- and it's for good reason, which I will divulge in good time. Major Life BS- the kind no one wants to go through, but life being what it is, comes out and bites ya nonetheless. And this one's chomping down hard...

I'll continue on impulse power as best I can, but there may come a time when I may have to go dark- temporarily. In the meantime, just trying to put up the brave front- and quite honestly, not for anyone's sake other than my own. No, not anywhere near dying, just something I could have really done well, well without- now, and for a long time coming...

Some Of You May Remember...

The Exonerated Five

The Central Park Jogger Case of 1989. Thirty years ago, a young White, career woman was brutally raped, beaten and left for dead in Central Park while jogging one evening in Central Park. It was a vicious crime, and also the same night that by sheer coincidence, a bunch of teens from Harlem decided to go to that nearby park. You get a bunch of male teens together of any race or ethnicity, looking for excitement and god knows what- yeah, bad shit can happen. Bad shit did happen- all around. Several joggers and passers-by were beaten, robbed harassed and threatened, the perpetrators of those crimes rightly arrested and jailed. Unbeknownst to any of the teens in attendance however, there was another crime committed in that park that evening. It was a far more heinous crime, one committed in an area they did not frequent that evening- Central Park is pretty huge for a city park, one that spans several Manhattan neighborhoods.

I was a teacher in Harlem at that time, and I remember crossing my fingers and hoping with my fellow educators that none of our students (who were the same age) were involved- fortunately, none were. And I remember (much to my regret) thinking- sure, it's a big place, sure the time lines may not exactly match, but with all that running around, all that confusion... hey, where there's smoke, there's fire! If they didn't do it... well then, who the hell did? New York detectives are anything but dumb- if they couldn't piece it together, no one could. And piece it together, they did- just not how I, or many others were led to believe.

New York, the whole country, wanted the bad guy(s) caught on this one... the-pressure-was-on! And when they couldn't make the pieces all fit- the NY DA and NYPD  pieced the story together whole cloth, and went with it. Of course, the whole concocted fabrication should have been thrown out of court when no DNA samples from the victim matched any of their chosen perps- in fact, that there was no evidence of any kind linking The Central Park Five to the jogging victim. Videos of their police coerced "confessions" however sealed their fate; they were going down for that vicious, heinous crime- one they not only did not commit, but didn't have any knowledge of until they received their officially approved police scripts, which had to undergo several creative rewrites. They literally became the faces of that crime- all five were quickly imprisoned.

In 2002, the real assailant confessed to the crime- he had previously committed several other rapes, incl one in the same area, using the same MO! Somehow, New York's Finest never considered looking into that most glaring and obvious of leads...

When They See Us is the painful recounting of that woeful tale: before, during, after and present day. And a scary refrain to that which happened some... ninety years ago.

Addendum:  Donald J. Trump saw it necessary to put out a full page ad at the time in New York's major newspapers demanding a return to the death penalty. When all five were later exonerated of the crime, he said that they still deserved to be in prison- of course, one can only speculate as to why innocent people should remain in jail, but I think there's already a rather appropriate name for those who think that anyone of color should be in jail, regardless.

From Subtle, To...

SUBLIME!!!

SEEN Magazine

© Shane Lynam

Last week I discovered and directed you to Fotoroom- this week for your viewing pleasure, I lucked upon (and once again through sheer serendipity)... SEEN magazine, yet another treasure trove of photographic wonders. The site is heavy on landscape, and going from one winning set of images to another at one's whim and leisure is not only a pronounced and prolonged visual joy, it's also a vivid reminder of how one just begins to scratch the surface on one's own visual journey through life...

What You Can't See...

Photo: © Stan Banos

... can most definitely hurt you (particularly when it comes to radiation)- but there's plenty mischief behind closed doors that can cause all manner of irreparable harm. Mark Klein and Edward Snowden can tell you that for sure. This unadorned, fortress like edifice belonging to none other than AT&T at 611 Folsom St. in downtown San Francisco is, to this day, passed by thousands (incl tech savvy hipsters) oblivious to the sanctum within that held the means to spy upon their daily, private lives. It was in a "secret" room on the third floor of this building some two presidents ago that the NSA began spying on the communications of American citizens- something most definitely not within the legal parameters of its very creation, something we still wouldn't know of to this day if it wasn't for the likes of those, unsung patriotic heroes called... Whistleblowers! 

Once again they're in the news- God bless 'em, each and every one!

FotoRoom

So.... I been at this (blogging) thing how many years (since 2005), and incredibly... I just heard about FotoRoom, this week. And, actually, I didn't "hear" about it at all- came up on it quite by accident. But there you have it, an incredible venue for work which, only now, I've been made aware of. 

Just from the most cursory of glances, I've come across Niall McDiarmid's often wondrous portraits (if only that NY human guy had been this good); Clay Maxwell Jordan's insightful views of the contemporary American South; Shaun Pierson's revelatory photos of his own family members. There's a myriad of high quality work to see, enjoy and learn from- indulge your favorite styles and subject matter, and discover your own faves! One can also become a member, something I'm seriously considering...

"We’ve Reached A Turning Point"

Photo: © Stan Banos

Unfortunately, did not make it out to the Area 51 Alien Fest this past Sept. But this article is curious in that it encompasses and gives voice to the whole of the UFOlogy world- from crackpots... to scientists. And it's certainly nice to find a mainstream article on the topic that is, in fact, even handed. Yes, the field no doubt attracts more than its fair share of loony tunes- a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y! But within it's cracks and crevices you'll also find the openly dead serious: astronauts, military and commercial pilots, radar operators, astrophysicists, police and other trained observers across the globe who have personally witnessed these inexplicable phenomena, and more...

Photo: © Stan Banos

Up Is Down, Down Is...

So it turns out that Joe Biden was carrying out US policy under Obama back in 2015 by calling for the ouster of a corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor general- and by so doing, was actually outing his son's business dealings in Ukraine.... not trying to bury those ties as Trump's Republican spin machine now seeks to claim!

The Bugs Are Dying, The Birds are Dying and The Oceans Are Halfway Dead...

In other words- carry on... nothing to see here folks! There's still plenty of the Amazon left to burn, vast swaths of Africa we have not yet destroyed or deforested, and even when we do manage to kill off just about everything in the deep blue sea... it'll still look pretty much the same from on top!

Global Turning

Sometimes, sometimes you just feel like you're in the presence of Pure Intellect, intellect of a most profound and palpable presence. I felt that way, reading and listening to Malcolm X, Edward Snowden and most recently, this sixteen year old girl, Greta Thunberg. And what separates the absolute brilliance of these individuals from geniuses like an Einstein or Chomsky is that their message, their wisdom is always imparted and tempered with the appropriate amount of emotion and empathy- however subdued, however impassioned....

Photo: © Stan Banos

And as I've long suspected, and Davis Wallace Wells has quite convincingly confirmed, climate scientists, if anything, have actually sugar coated the horrific speed and consequences of climate change on our planet in the vain hope that populations worldwide will convincingly take heed and react accordingly- instead of falling into the complete denial and complacency so many have instead chosen. Severe climate change is already too late to avoid, it is now simply a question of how many more people we will cause to die in the not very distant future- simply by our continued inaction right now.

Finally- The Verbatim Transcript (& Video)!

Starts 6:00 in:

Here We Go!

Photo: © Stan Banos

So... it begins! The question being- are the Dems gonna trip all over themselves fresh outta the starting gate as the Repubs unleash their Biden this, Biden that, King Panzer propaganda obliteration machine? Dems don't exactly inspire with their fold as they speak history of recent (non) hits. Do they have the tenacity, the ingenuity to endure and counterattack in face of the inevitable no holds barred Repub onslaught? I know where the smart $$$ would go, and I can only pray that perhaps the sight of their own blood is gonna inspire some very ticked off Democratic women to lead the charge right into the lion's den and finally not take NO for an answer!

San Francisco 2.0

So I'm walking about, camera in hand as per usual, trying to train my monkey mind and hopefully catch a photo of something, anything so as not to return empty handed for the effort (as so often is the case). And I get to ponderin'- where are all the photo books/essays on San Francisco and its current myriad of problems (well, save for this bit of brilliance)- especially now that word has pretty much gotten out worldwide on what a godawful mess it's become. Where is the Rich and Poor of San Francisco 2019? Or perhaps, when it just comes down to it (and although very much appreciated), I just can't accept the celebratory model alone- no matter how good! We need all views incorporated to get a clearer, more realistic and somber view of this town, and its people, at this time- a San Francisco 3D/3.0 if you will!

Amongst other things to delve into and explore: tech life and the independent contractors that service them (eg- Uber drivers, cleaning women, delivery people, etc), the homeless (an estimated 80% were formerly housed in this city, many of them mothers with children that we don't necessarily see on the streets), the mentally ill and drug addicted randomly roaming about, refugees.. it's quite the list.

And while SF 2.0 does not directly answer any of the above, what it does provide is a knowing glimpse, a string of clues, a list of tells that can't be ignored- one whose symptoms reveal a city, a people suffering multiple wounds. A once beautiful animal that has been bested, hurt and led astray...
(use diagnol arrows to embiggen)

Radical, Leftist Progressive Speaks His Peace...

At least that's how FOX and Trump Inc would describe Lt. Col. Ralph Peters... 

  

Meanwhile, others continue to ponder the obvious...

Only In America!

Again, you can't make this up; and when you get right down to it- 

this was MK-Ultra, The Lighter Side.

It got way... darker.

PS- And you just know that anything this dark, this sinister, this downright evil could not possibly be occurring right now- except with more secrecy, more technology, and even more methodical refinement gleaned from programs past...

Homage...

And you know exactly who to...      Photo: © Stan Banos

RIP- Robert Frank

“City of London,” 1951. Robert Frank, via Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York

 
One of the things that helps keep Robert Frank's images so fresh to this very day (even while viewed through the lens of nostalgia), is the fact that they aren't so... sharp and crispily detailed! That blurred sense of non reality serves to intensify their dreamlike strength and staying power; something many a modern day photographer has yet to fully realize and appreciate...  
More pixels anyone?

Somewhere Along The Line

Joshua D. Greer - Somewhere Along The Line from Kehrer Verlag Heidelberg on Vimeo.

Of course, I'm a sucker for essays like this- good ones, that is. And this counts as one of the best. The Great American Road Trip, The Open Road- Frank, Shore, Sternfeld... you get the picture. Somewhere Along The Line by Joshua Dudley Greer does not disappoint- I couldn't find a photo I didn't fawn over for the first two thirds of the book. 

And this book does two things: it brings the geographic and economic expanse of modern day, early 21st century America into view in its captivating compositions, and it doesn't hold back- this is a country that is hurting, and this is a book that doesn't shy from showing it "from sea to shiny sea." Accidents, sinkholes, homeless encampments... a homemade billboard in the midst of a field bears a phone number with the words, "I need a kidney."

This is also the first road essay that actually makes the road a main focus of the photo essay itself; America's highways and byways are the main character here, not just a mere cameo presence as in most of this genre. This is not a tourist itinerary of America by a long shot, it's more hardscrabble America on the go, still proud and industrious, but in search of its bootstraps nonetheless...

It makes us rethink and reenvision the America we've known, and the America we think we know. One of the last photos is of a junk yard in a vast expanse where yellow school buses surround the junked cars held within- we're still circling the wagons...

Photo: Joshua Dudley Greer

The 1619 Project

 

Photo: © Stan Banos

The very fact that Newt Gingrich went ABSOLUTELY BALLISTIC over this would be more than ample reason alone for celebration of its existence. And it would no doubt be interesting to see a complete and thorough listing of all the purported "lies" that Ol' Newt is complaining about! The truth is, there's just so much here that needs to be read, absorbed and disseminated, so much that dispels the lies and myths, the outright and often deliberate ignorance.

I'm, of course, talking about the 1619 Project courtesy of The New York Times. Wish I had had this in my middle and high school years when the long and short of our Catholic recounting of slavery consisted of an approximately ten minute rendition of- "it wasn't as bad as some make it out to be!" Which is certainly a relief, at least for some- I kinda get the idea that Newt pretty much got the same down home, comfort version. 

Now, no one enjoys getting a festering wound poked with a stick, and unfortunately, that's how many a White US citizen not unlike Newt will no doubt greet this. Here we go again: heads a shakin', and eyes a rollin'... When will it ever stop!?

Well, glad you asked. That ol' wound has long been a festering, cause no one's ever dealt with it all that proper! Of course, there wouldn't have been a wound to begin with had we started this here country all free and righteous without its original sin. But those pretty words about freedom, dignity and human rights only applied to one portion of one people. And when we could've helped right the situation during Reconstruction with a "forty acres and a mule" kick start- we still weren't having it. So we kept kicking the can down the road, complaining all down the line, hoping it would somehow disappear...

South Africa had its Truth and Reconciliation Commission, it at least, finally, publicly, put out and acknowledged the evil reality of racism where the light could shine, healing begin, and life continue anew without the prolonged cancer of denial. We in the US however fear to tread that road of honesty, acceptance and accountability. "I never owned no slaves- why should I be held responsible?" No one is saying you did. What we do need to acknowledge and accept in this country however, is our own factual history. A history first based on systematic genocide, followed by the institutionalization of slavery as the financial juggernaut, the economic backbone of our entire nation- North and South...

No... this was not your Bible's slavery, or Rome's slavery, or most any other slavery system throughout history where one's defeated foes would be periodically enslaved- this was a system of beliefs that held one particular race inhuman, a system of laws that established an entire economic system based on the permanent enslavement of one specific group of people, an economy so dependent and intertwined that even Northern Ivy League Institutions of higher learning were profiting from investments provided directly from slavery!

Curiously, people in this country who even desire a rational, adult conversation concerning race or racism are now called "Racist" for just considering it- a laughable situation, if only it wasn't so sadly, deplorably... insane! No, you are not responsible for the sins of your fathers- and no one is suggesting that. But if you choose to ignore and deny factual history, choosing instead to substitute whatever convenient myth(s) to your liking- don't expect reality based humans not to roll their eyes and shake their heads as you continue to kick that ever lovin' can...

Focus on The Arts...

Suffice to say, we have undeniably and unforgivably strayed in our attention to the literary arts here at the ol' blog. Knowing the importance the arts play in our country's priorities, and in particular, the role our First Family has played in fostering them, we now attempt to rectify said situation by proudly featuring our first much lauded, much revered poet at large.

Tiffany Trump- AFP

“Study me as much as you like, you will never know me. For I differ a hundred ways from what you see me to be. Put yourself behind my eyes, and see me as I see myself. Because I have chosen to dwell in a place you cannot see.” -TT

Certainly, more than enough for any of us to ponder, fathom and reflect upon as we stumble about dwelling in our woefully hidden and unseeing lives...

Can't STOP Looking II

Photo: Martino Marangoni

Well, didn't expect this to happen (quite so soon)- but there you have it. No sooner did I just start to get over one photo, when... Boom!