This blog appreciates all forms of art.
Content on this blog may not be suitable for all readers. Most entries are for 18+ audience and some post are NSFW.
I came across the beautiful work by Virginia artist, Vonnie Whitworth, while visiting the art blog, Art Odyssey. She is known for her very exquisite watercolor paintings.
"This is Texas, mighty colossus of the southwest..."
Directed by George Stevens and based on Edna Ferber's 1952 novel, Giant starred some of Hollywood huge stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo, Mercedes McCambridge, and James Dean.
The American epic Western film, which was released on November 24, 1956, won the Academy Award for Best Director.
If you are my age, you probably get an excited nostalgic feeling after hearing the first few measures of Gonna Fly Now. The theme song is from the American classic film, Rocky.
Directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, the film is about an Italian-American boxer from Philly who gets to fight Apollo Creed for the world heavyweight championship.
The film won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
I joined my girlfriend to Florida to visit her family, in September. They live in the small town of Live Oak, which is about halfway between Tallahassee and Jacksonville.
After spending the day with the family, we decided to explore downtown--the intersection of Howard Street and Ohio Avenue. Although a small town, the city's center does offer numerous restaurants.
My girlfriend was looking for a gazebo she remembered from a previous visit to Live Oak. We were feverishly in search of this spot to spend a romantic moment or two.
Finally, we found our answer as to the location of the gazebo at an art gallery. Hanging on a display stand, there it was, a painting of the gazebo.
Knowing that I appreciate art, my girlfriend noticed that the doors to the gallery were unlocked. I looked in and around curiously, and we walked in.
A gentleman appeared from the back of the gallery tinkering with a lamp device. Since it was 8:00 in the evening, I apologized and asked if they were closed. The gentleman responded kindly and said he was just there temporarily but we could look around.
We discussed art, and I found out that many of the paintings in the gallery were done by him. Then I asked about the gazebo painting. He indicated that the gazebo use to be at the Veterans Memorial Park, which is a corner block from the gallery. He too, however, didn't know where it was moved.
I noticed my girlfriend was disappointed of the missing gazebo. I decided to purchase the painting as a remembrance of our search of the gazebo.
You can read more about this extraordinary artist, John Rice, HERE and see more of his work HERE.
I rarely do post political entries. This is an blog that appreciates all forms of art. However, this election was extremely important to just ignore and not provide my own thoughts and concerns.
As I have mentioned in a previous blog entry, I have concerns regarding President-elect Trump's many threats of opening libel laws. This is a concern because it involves the highest rights we as American's have that is protected by our U.S. Constitution.
To put my concerns to perspective, imagine the fears gun owners had when President Obama was elected to office. President-elect Trump, however, has made numerous threats to the press about opening libel laws. He even had his attorneys threatened a libel suit against the New York Times for publishing recent reports of his alleged indiscretions with women.
The argument by many ill-informed people is that the media, including the press, is and have always been against President-elect Trump. However, one could easily argue that the media made Trump.
Case in point, look at the huge amount of coverage on Trump during the Republican primaries. Had the media balanced the coverage with the other Republican candidates, and avoid all the noise Trump made through social media, perhaps we would have seen a different Republican presidential candidate.
So, as a student of journalism, I don't buy or agree with the argument that the media and press were heavily against President-elect Trump. In fact, I think journalism failed the American public by not investigating deeper in all the candidates for President.
To put it another way, we credit Julian Assange for leaking Hillary Clinton's emails. The media moved quick to report the leaks and triggered FBI Director James Comey to submit a letter to Congress of his investigation to Clinton's emails. The reporting only covered the surface as if scared of FBI repercussions. Similar reporting occurred when women alleged Trump made unwanted advances. The press failed to dig deeper as to who these women were and if there was actual corroboration.
It would be hard for President-elect Trump to win a libel suit against the New York Times, because he himself has been an established public figure, and the publication would have be be found false, defamatory, and published with actual malice. Ever wonder why the National Enquirer is able to publish outlandish headlines without getting sued?
But the concern is the threat President-elect Trump has previously made on numerous occasions infringes our rights protected under the U.S. Constitution.
The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
Not only does the First Amendment deal with Freedom of Press, but it also deals with Freedom of Speech (e.g. art, writing, blogging, protesting, and vocalizing opinions), Freedom of Religion (e.g. how and where we worship our God), and the Freedom to Peacefully Assemble (e.g. veterans protesting healthcare)." You can see a whole list of First Amendment Supreme Court cases HERE.
And perhaps at this juncture it is hard to see the threat as anything more but rhetoric. However, one clear indication of change in policy regarding libel laws and freedom of speech will be on who President-elect Trump selects as his district judges, supreme court justices, and cabinet members.
Based on the novel by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone debuted in U.S. theaters on November 16, 2001. The British-American fantasy film introduced us to Harry Potter, played by Daniel Radcliffe, and his adventures during his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Some fun facts regarding the film: J.K. Rowling insisted that the entire cast be British or Irish; it was originally titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone but was changed because publishers felt Americans wouldn't be familiar with the term; and the film was the highest grossing film of 2001.
There is something about Paul Beel's art that is sensual yet freighting. His realistic paintings of the human form is often displayed against uncomfortable objects or situations.
Paul Beel is an amazing American artist whose work has been shown internationally. You can see his paintings on his website HERE.
Jack Vettriano, born Jack Hoggan, is a Scottish painter known for his 1992 painting, The Singing Butler. The original canvas sold at auction for approximately $936,000.
Born on November 11, 1928, Len Fulford was a British commercial photographer and director who founded a successful commercial film production company called BFCS.
Fulford is known for a successful marketing campaign, Go to Work on an Egg. The advertisements featured comedian Tony Hancock and Patricia Hayes.
I was fresh out of college, living in Austin, Texas when Gregg Alexander's New Radicals released their international hit "You Get What You Give."
The lyrics accommodated my young naive view of life and believing, "This whole damn world, could fall apart, You'll be okay, follow your heart." Although, I have to admit the last lyrics in his song still applies today, "Health insurance, rip-off lying FDA, big bankers buying Fake computer crashes dining Cloning while they're multiplying Fashion shoots..."
Directed by Evan Bernard, the music video was shot in Staten Island Mall in New York. The setting was used as a metaphor for society.
Tomorrow is Election Day, and we Americans are given the privilege to go to the ballot box and submit our choice for the next leader of our nation. And regardless of Trump and his camp's propaganda, the election process, which is well monitored by both parties and independent observers, is fair. We as American citizens have to trust our vote is counted, and we should respect the election results.
We live in a wonderful nation where we can disagree and protest without harm... or so Austyn Crites thought when he decided to hold up an anti-Trump sign at a Trump rally in Reno. He was quickly beaten and escorted out of the rally.
Like Crites, I too am a registered Republican. Actually, I'm a registered Texas Republican -- you can't get more conservative than us Texans. And as a Republican, who does happen to be a Mexican-American, I can't vote for the person who does not share my political ideas and has a long history, which is well documented, of disrespecting minorities, people who happen to be different, and especially women.
Don't get me wrong. I am a fan of The Donald as a TV personality. I religiously watched The Apprentice. I listened to him when I could on Howard Stern. I was entertained. And to be honest, I was entertained during the primaries. But then I got scared because he built a following of individuals who my mom warned me to avoid--bigots.
Our nation is so unique and precious: the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights state, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." RIGHT TO ASSEMBLE PEACEFULLY. FREEDOM OF SPEECH. FREEDOM OF PRESS.
The Columbia Journalism Review reviewed many of his threats he has made against journalists who have published unfavorable reports about Trump. You can read the report HERE.
There is a certain code of ethics journalists are taught and follow when reporting news, such as accuracy of information before reporting. You can see the list of ethical standards followed by many journalists HERE. So, As a student of journalism, I take his threatening comments seriously. "One of the things I'm gonna do If I win...is I'm gonna open up our libel laws, so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them, and win lots of money."
What Trump is proposing is to go after journalists who don't report news favorable to his views. To put it into perspective, what he proposes is similar to the laws practiced in countries like Syria, North Korea, and Libya. So, as a student of journalism, and as an American who appreciates having the freedom of speech, his comments about libel laws is absolutely scary.
You should be scared, too, because this basically means you or your family member who writes, says, or posts something negative can be sued, period.
To add levity to this serious note, Trevor Noah from Comedy Central's Daily Show did a skit four years after Trump's first four years in office if he is elected.
Trevor Noah ended his skit by impersonating the great Steve Harvey, "'because no matter what you think your vote matters...'"
Born on November 10, 1948, Sergei Cherkasov is a renowned Russian artist whose works of drawings, watercolor and painting has been exhibited internationally.
