Showing posts with label The New Yorker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The New Yorker. Show all posts
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Mid-week Funny, perhaps....
The New Yorker has a caption-less cartoon at the back of each issue and invites readers to submit their ideas. I love this in principle, and spend a little time each issue trying to think of one, usually to no avail. Here's the latest cartoon challenge, and I think I came up with a good one (I included my caption with the cartoon.)
They pick three from the gazillions that are submitted, and then the readers vote for a winner. You might want to visit them online and offer your own entree. And if mine is miraculously chosen, I'll definitely let you know!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Art I'm Seeing #38
Judith Leyster was one of the rarest of birds in the 1600’s, a woman who was an artist. One of only two women to be admitted into the painter's guild in Haarlem during the seventeenth century, she must have been an amazing presence in her own right. Choosing for subjects the lives of the dubious; musicians, gamblers, "idlers" who forsook conventional discipline and morality for the merry life, didn't aid her in attaining a respectable status in the Dutch art world of the northern Renaissance. My overall complaint about her as an artist is her failure to command the human form. Often her subjects leave you feeling that something about their body is out of proportion or angled in such a way that indicates a dislocated joint or broken bone: middle school-esque in its competence. But what she lacks in anatomical accuracy, she makes up for in the simple joy of her subjects.To celebrate her 400th birthday, the National Gallery of Art is hosting an intimate focus show of her paintings in their Dutch Cabinet galleries in the west building. You also get to see works by her husband, Jan Miense Molenaer, and her possible mentor, Frans Hals. Her oeuvre is relatively small to begin with, so anytime a dozen of her paintings are assembled in one place, it's worth the visit.
Furthermore, I commend to your attention the wonderful article in next week's issue of The New Yorker by Peter Schjeldahl, "A Woman's Work: The Brief Career of Judith Leyster." It provides excellent background information.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Quotable Quotes for 2009
The New Yorker hits another cover homerun! Barack is quickly re-establishing the ideals of our founding fathers. Under the Bush years we were invited to be self-serving and slovenly and told that this was patriotic. We were exposed to fear for the sake of creating not a brave citizenry, but a powerful administration. It was a tactic which too many Americans accepted having never been taken advantage of on such a large and consistent scale before in their lives by elected leaders. What Bush/Chaney did to us makes Nixon’s petty deceits assume their trivial place in American history.
As we face a new day for our nation’s adherence to and exploration of the Constitution, it is an act of utter blessing to compare the words of Barack Hussein Obama in these nacent days of his presidency with those of our first President.
ON TORTURE & SECURITY
“Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession.”
~ George Washington, 1732 - 1799
"This is me following through on not just a commitment I made during the campaign, but I think an understanding that dates back to our founding fathers, that we are willing to observe core standards of conduct, not just when it's easy but also when it's hard...the message we are sending around the world is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism, and we are going to do so vigilantly; we are going to do so effectively; and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals..."
~ Barack Hussein Obama, 1961 -
ON LARGESS, GREED, SERVICE & HUMAN NATURE
“Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.”
~ George Washington, 1732 - 1799
“However long we are keepers of the public trust we should never forget that we are here as public servants and public service is a privilege. It's not about advantaging yourself. It's not about advancing your friends or your corporate clients. It's not about advancing an ideological agenda or the special interests of any organization. Public service is, simply and absolutely, about advancing the interests of Americans.”
~ Barack Hussein Obama, 1961 -
ON OUR FUTURE:
“Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.”
~ George Washington, 1732 - 1799
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
~ Barack Hussein Obama, 1961 -
As we face a new day for our nation’s adherence to and exploration of the Constitution, it is an act of utter blessing to compare the words of Barack Hussein Obama in these nacent days of his presidency with those of our first President.
ON TORTURE & SECURITY
“Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession.”
~ George Washington, 1732 - 1799
"This is me following through on not just a commitment I made during the campaign, but I think an understanding that dates back to our founding fathers, that we are willing to observe core standards of conduct, not just when it's easy but also when it's hard...the message we are sending around the world is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism, and we are going to do so vigilantly; we are going to do so effectively; and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals..."
~ Barack Hussein Obama, 1961 -
ON LARGESS, GREED, SERVICE & HUMAN NATURE
“Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.”
~ George Washington, 1732 - 1799
“However long we are keepers of the public trust we should never forget that we are here as public servants and public service is a privilege. It's not about advantaging yourself. It's not about advancing your friends or your corporate clients. It's not about advancing an ideological agenda or the special interests of any organization. Public service is, simply and absolutely, about advancing the interests of Americans.”
~ Barack Hussein Obama, 1961 -
ON OUR FUTURE:
“Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.”
~ George Washington, 1732 - 1799
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
~ Barack Hussein Obama, 1961 -
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween
From the cover the New Yorker to you!
More Treats than tricks come your way this evening of ghoulish fun.
Happy Halloween!
More Treats than tricks come your way this evening of ghoulish fun.
Happy Halloween!
Friday, August 01, 2008
The Military Life
There's a wonderful article in the August 4th issue of The New Yorker magazine about Army Major Alan Greg Rogers (1967 ~ 2007). “A Soldier’s Legacy” exposes the life of a man who exemplifies what it means to be a model American soldier. Alan began his life as an orphan in NYC, as a teenager moved to north central Florida with his adoptive mother. He was devoted to both of his adoptive parents.
He was devoted to God. He was devoted to his friends; friends that he seemed to make easily and friends who felt a very special connection to this son of a Trinidadian domestic who was raised by the good Rogers.
And he was man who's deep and devoted friends didn't always know or even imagine that one or another were part of Alan's life. You see, Alan had friends who knew he was gay and friends who didn't.
The New Yorker article brings together a host of remembrances and reactions from his friends, and the single most interesting thing is how the idea that a highly regarded, decorated, promoted army officer, an ordained Christian minister, and a gay man can all be one and the same person. But isn't that lack of imagination at the very heart of what homophobia depends upon?
Major Rogers was honored by articles in the Washington Post and on NPR (NPR chose to feature his story as a way of honoring the 4,000th casualty in Iraq.) Both organizations were aware of his sexuality and BOTH decided to make no mention of it. And we're talking about a man who in his position as a minister participated in same sex unions, and received an award from an organization of Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender veterans. He was working on a master's thesis at the graduate school of Georgetown University on the effects of DADT (don't ask don't tell) on military recruitment and retention. So while in life, his commanding officers weren't aware of his sexual orientation; his best friend was, as were dozens and hundreds of others.
In the end, the article quotes a letter that he had written to his best friend, but hadn't had time to send before his was killed by an I.E.D. "My only regret is that I have never found that special one to grow old with and watch the sunset with."
I highly recommend this article to everyone with an open heart.
He was devoted to God. He was devoted to his friends; friends that he seemed to make easily and friends who felt a very special connection to this son of a Trinidadian domestic who was raised by the good Rogers.
And he was man who's deep and devoted friends didn't always know or even imagine that one or another were part of Alan's life. You see, Alan had friends who knew he was gay and friends who didn't.
The New Yorker article brings together a host of remembrances and reactions from his friends, and the single most interesting thing is how the idea that a highly regarded, decorated, promoted army officer, an ordained Christian minister, and a gay man can all be one and the same person. But isn't that lack of imagination at the very heart of what homophobia depends upon?
Major Rogers was honored by articles in the Washington Post and on NPR (NPR chose to feature his story as a way of honoring the 4,000th casualty in Iraq.) Both organizations were aware of his sexuality and BOTH decided to make no mention of it. And we're talking about a man who in his position as a minister participated in same sex unions, and received an award from an organization of Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender veterans. He was working on a master's thesis at the graduate school of Georgetown University on the effects of DADT (don't ask don't tell) on military recruitment and retention. So while in life, his commanding officers weren't aware of his sexual orientation; his best friend was, as were dozens and hundreds of others.
In the end, the article quotes a letter that he had written to his best friend, but hadn't had time to send before his was killed by an I.E.D. "My only regret is that I have never found that special one to grow old with and watch the sunset with."
I highly recommend this article to everyone with an open heart.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Memories
Okay, I love it when two things I love come together. It's like chocolate and peanut butter, Simon and Garfunkel, Oprah and Stedwick.... and this time its "This American Life" and The New Yorker! Talk about your video magic!?
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Goings On About Town #2
I know I've shared my appreciation for the photos that accompany the regular feature in The New Yorker magazine titled "Goings On About Town". They are always interesting. Lately, they've been particularly beautiful, too!
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
"Une Image: Quel Beau"
This is a photograph by the German artist Ingar Krauss that is currently on display at the Marvelli Gallery in the Chelsea District of NYC (until 02 FEB 08). I discovered it in a review of the exhibition in the New Yorker back in December. And it's just too radiant not to share.
The artist is known for his choice of unusual subjects vis a vis portraits. In 2003/04 he photographed juvenile inmates in Russian prisons. If you want a reason to contemplate such things, a google search of these photographs will take your breath away. This image comes from a series of photos taken of migrant farm workers. Of these images, Krauss explains, “Every year thousands of harvest hands come and go like birds of passage. The portraits of migrant seasonal workers show the internal dynamics of a recent migration. They have traveled long distances to work in Germany. The photographs are taken in the fields or in the evening in front of their shacks. They are the people who facilitate our affluent society and who contribute to it in a fundamental way." How much Germany (and Europe) is becoming like California (and the United States) is an ironic under-current in this exhibition.
Contemplate the image offered here: “Untitled: Klaistow”. It could as easily been “Untitled: Barstow,” or “Fresno,” or “Marshalltown.” And yet it is essentially even more than merely a social statement. It's a work of art. Peer into the subject: his face so angelic and his stare almost demonically transfixed upon us. His shoulders are muscular and youthful, while his hands display the swollen deformations of a pitiless manual life.
And consider his attire, particularly the apron. Its pattern of stain and filth seem to form an almost abstract landscape worthy of Turner or Moran -- a work of art within a work of art, a curious echo of the whole image. It's really one of the most stunning photographs I've seen in a long time.
The artist is known for his choice of unusual subjects vis a vis portraits. In 2003/04 he photographed juvenile inmates in Russian prisons. If you want a reason to contemplate such things, a google search of these photographs will take your breath away. This image comes from a series of photos taken of migrant farm workers. Of these images, Krauss explains, “Every year thousands of harvest hands come and go like birds of passage. The portraits of migrant seasonal workers show the internal dynamics of a recent migration. They have traveled long distances to work in Germany. The photographs are taken in the fields or in the evening in front of their shacks. They are the people who facilitate our affluent society and who contribute to it in a fundamental way." How much Germany (and Europe) is becoming like California (and the United States) is an ironic under-current in this exhibition.
Contemplate the image offered here: “Untitled: Klaistow”. It could as easily been “Untitled: Barstow,” or “Fresno,” or “Marshalltown.” And yet it is essentially even more than merely a social statement. It's a work of art. Peer into the subject: his face so angelic and his stare almost demonically transfixed upon us. His shoulders are muscular and youthful, while his hands display the swollen deformations of a pitiless manual life.
And consider his attire, particularly the apron. Its pattern of stain and filth seem to form an almost abstract landscape worthy of Turner or Moran -- a work of art within a work of art, a curious echo of the whole image. It's really one of the most stunning photographs I've seen in a long time.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
And I am thankful for.....
1) My health: It's good in a world of other possibilities! I have a doctor who's known me since 1994. A man who's become more than a physician; he's also a friend. [And since I just found out that a dear cousin has been told that he only has 3 months to live (when will doctors STOP playing "god"?), health has suddenly taken on a new awareness in my life.]
2) My friends: many and diverse over the years, and in some ways few and precious. Each a gem whatever their longevity and carat!
3) My home: a gift....a sanctuary.
4) My nation: How could I have ever become me any place else?
1) My health: It's good in a world of other possibilities! I have a doctor who's known me since 1994. A man who's become more than a physician; he's also a friend. [And since I just found out that a dear cousin has been told that he only has 3 months to live (when will doctors STOP playing "god"?), health has suddenly taken on a new awareness in my life.]
2) My friends: many and diverse over the years, and in some ways few and precious. Each a gem whatever their longevity and carat!
3) My home: a gift....a sanctuary.
4) My nation: How could I have ever become me any place else?
Friday, October 26, 2007
A Gift To Christen
I had hoped to have the work done on my sunroom by this past Wednesday, but this spell of rain has set the completion back until next Wednesday. But at 99% complete I'm shopping for a gift to christen the room, and I think I've found it.
The New Yorker, my beloved weekly, has a massive marketing department for it's prints and cartoons and covers. And this one by artist Harry Bliss from the January 27, 2003 issue fits the bill!
Oh my, my, my.........
The New Yorker, my beloved weekly, has a massive marketing department for it's prints and cartoons and covers. And this one by artist Harry Bliss from the January 27, 2003 issue fits the bill!
Oh my, my, my.........
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Saturday, January 20, 2007
My Beloved Magazine Strikes Again!
With such poignantly satyrical covers, why wouldn't you read The New Yorker?
Ich Bin Ein Neue Yorker!
Monday, October 30, 2006
Start The Week With A Smile
The Caption Reads:
"He rubbed your belly and it felt good--that doesn't make you gay."
But it doesn't mean your not, either..... he he he
"He rubbed your belly and it felt good--that doesn't make you gay."
But it doesn't mean your not, either..... he he he
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Hindsight Is....
sometimes more than 20/20; it's just weird!
I loved the cover on this week's New Yorker the first time i saw it. Pure genius: single engine planes dusting the trees of New England with the colors of fall. Brilliant, right? That is until New York Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor careened into a Manhattan high-rise.
An ironic coincidence......
I loved the cover on this week's New Yorker the first time i saw it. Pure genius: single engine planes dusting the trees of New England with the colors of fall. Brilliant, right? That is until New York Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor careened into a Manhattan high-rise.
An ironic coincidence......
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Mind the Gap
Leave it to my blessed New Yorker magazine to lift my spirits after a long day at work and training session after.
This is one of a dozen or more adverts for the Gap that appears in the latest issue (Oct 9-16). They all feature famous people with a word in which the last three letters are r e d which appear in parenthesis. The first, for example, is inspi(red) and features a picture of Steven Speilberg. And unfortunately, he's the only celeb that I recognized! Man I'm so un-hip!
Yet anonymity didn't spoil my appreciation for this one! Now some young hipster needs to let me know who this conjito is, por favor.
This is one of a dozen or more adverts for the Gap that appears in the latest issue (Oct 9-16). They all feature famous people with a word in which the last three letters are r e d which appear in parenthesis. The first, for example, is inspi(red) and features a picture of Steven Speilberg. And unfortunately, he's the only celeb that I recognized! Man I'm so un-hip!
Yet anonymity didn't spoil my appreciation for this one! Now some young hipster needs to let me know who this conjito is, por favor.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Sunday Evening Musings
I love this photo of President Clinton with Nelson Mandela. It's from a recent New Yorker magazine article. The two statesmen are visiting a pediatric care unit in a Johannesburg Hospital. Notice their hands. The former president clasps the Nobel Prize winning elder statesman with a firm and compassionate grip. You know that they are both in that moment. Real to each other on a level that transcends a mere photo op.
It makes me long for a day again when we as Americans will be led by a man or woman who's character aspires to the greater good, and who's character flaws don't translate into policies that breed fear and contempt among the nations of the world.
I understand that one of the leading conservative, Christian, right-wing activist, Representatives (from Florida), a Mr. Mark Foley, is in actuality a closeted Homosexual who has a thing for men who are 38 years his junior, below the age of legal consent, and apparently heterosexual! My, my, my.... What a surprise ---> NOT!
As a gay man living in the shadow of the capital, I can tell you he is probably NOT alone in his sexual duplicity as a Republican in the Congress. I've heard the rumors for years of at least one Republican Senator, and two Representatives of the Grand Ol' Party who like it doggy-style...And they are not the Top Dog! But "Daddy" Foley is the first hypocrite who would be better off living in the Netherlands, where the age of consent wouldn't impose upon his indiscretions the additional mantle of criminality.
Foley is a great poster child for the "sick" state of Republican leadership and his fall is particularly ironic in the shadow of the GOP's witch hunt against Clinton, which turned a consensual and LEGAL (however, immoral) act of fellatio -- which was by no means unique in the history of the presidency -- into a reason to malign the office of the Presidency and the national and collective sense of pride in our country.
Make no mistake about it. The GOP used the Lewinsky Affair to shame supporters of Clinton, and by extension, all Democrats into a place of silence and submission. We were fools for accepting this "scarlet letter", and our nation has been damaged profoundly by our lack of moral fortitude in light of this scandal.
So how much sweeter when the pendulum swings home? I, for one, hope that the Democrat Leadership will stop playing nice, stop placing their “Poly Anna” sense of the "national good" before petty party politics, and use this little situation to play "Pay Back Time" for all it's worth!
The Republican's have depended upon the Democrat Party to place principle above partisan advantage for too long now. And the Dems have done this believing that the high ground would translate into support for a political party that is above the fray. Makes sense, no? But it just doesn't work. The nation appears to be by and large trapped in a "Jerry Springer" mentality. They want a fight. And when it doesn't happen, they have no stomach for what they perceive as a "weakness" dressed up as moral turpitude.
Will the DNC figure this out? I'm not holding my breath....
It makes me long for a day again when we as Americans will be led by a man or woman who's character aspires to the greater good, and who's character flaws don't translate into policies that breed fear and contempt among the nations of the world.
I understand that one of the leading conservative, Christian, right-wing activist, Representatives (from Florida), a Mr. Mark Foley, is in actuality a closeted Homosexual who has a thing for men who are 38 years his junior, below the age of legal consent, and apparently heterosexual! My, my, my.... What a surprise ---> NOT!
As a gay man living in the shadow of the capital, I can tell you he is probably NOT alone in his sexual duplicity as a Republican in the Congress. I've heard the rumors for years of at least one Republican Senator, and two Representatives of the Grand Ol' Party who like it doggy-style...And they are not the Top Dog! But "Daddy" Foley is the first hypocrite who would be better off living in the Netherlands, where the age of consent wouldn't impose upon his indiscretions the additional mantle of criminality.
Foley is a great poster child for the "sick" state of Republican leadership and his fall is particularly ironic in the shadow of the GOP's witch hunt against Clinton, which turned a consensual and LEGAL (however, immoral) act of fellatio -- which was by no means unique in the history of the presidency -- into a reason to malign the office of the Presidency and the national and collective sense of pride in our country.
Make no mistake about it. The GOP used the Lewinsky Affair to shame supporters of Clinton, and by extension, all Democrats into a place of silence and submission. We were fools for accepting this "scarlet letter", and our nation has been damaged profoundly by our lack of moral fortitude in light of this scandal.
So how much sweeter when the pendulum swings home? I, for one, hope that the Democrat Leadership will stop playing nice, stop placing their “Poly Anna” sense of the "national good" before petty party politics, and use this little situation to play "Pay Back Time" for all it's worth!
The Republican's have depended upon the Democrat Party to place principle above partisan advantage for too long now. And the Dems have done this believing that the high ground would translate into support for a political party that is above the fray. Makes sense, no? But it just doesn't work. The nation appears to be by and large trapped in a "Jerry Springer" mentality. They want a fight. And when it doesn't happen, they have no stomach for what they perceive as a "weakness" dressed up as moral turpitude.
Will the DNC figure this out? I'm not holding my breath....
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Goings On About Town
Another reason to love "The New Yorker" magazine. Each issue has a page featuring five events happening during the week. And each of these pages always features a lush photo. Here are three from this summer's offerings. Bravo, TNY photographers!
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