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The body on this guy! Unbelievable...

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OBAMA A SHOO-IN?

Allan Lichtman, the American University professor, has predicted President Obama will win re-election. Why is this news?
His "election formula has correctly called every president since Ronald Reagan’s 1984 re-election."-

Lichtman developed his 13 Keys in 1981. They test the performance of the party that holds the presidency. If six or more of the 13 keys go against the party in power, then the opposing party wins.“The keys have figured into popular politics a bit,” Lichtman says. “They’ve never missed. They’ve been right seven elections in a row. A number that goes way beyond statistical significance in a record no other system even comes close to.”

According to Lichtman, Obama has nine of the thirteen keys needed. Finally, some good news. (See the link for the keys Obama does and doesn't have.) If, as has been the case since the 80's, this holds true, we can know hope.

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Zen Buddhism Temple

I've been thinking of checking out places to attend Zen meditation services. Of course, Los Angeles is a great place for this as it is very large and diverse. I used to attend the Zen Center of Los Angeles, but it's so far away, it doesn't seem practical now (also, it's services are at 7 am on Saturdays, hard for me with my weekend work schedule). However, I've found another center on-line: Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo. They have Monday evening zazen (sitting mediation) and services starting at 6:30. This might be an option, at least to visit.There's also a monastery right down the street from me that has services Sunday mornings at 10:30. Although not a Zen center (it is Taiwanese in origin), they still practice meditation.

Perhaps, the important thing is not the place or type of zazen, but the intention and the effort put into practice. Mindfulness can be practices everywhere, after all. But, since the time of Buddha, people have come together for meditation and study, and it is good to have the help and support of others in one's practice, whether in Zen or other venues.

Rick Perry (again)

"Witnessing Tools"

Apparently, Evangelicals use symbols, know as "witnessing tools", to start conversations with the people around them with the goal of conversion. The famous fish symbol, seen on so many bumpers, is one, as are a myriad others. I've noticed this stuff, but I only thought it was the expression of the individual; I didn't know these had a name and an organized function. However, there is another analysis of them which makes sense by Fred Clark, wherein he sees them as instruments of contempt by their users:

   "The Jesus-fish on a car is not an invitation, but a declaration of tribal allegiance. It’s a signal that the driver of this car is an “Us” rather than a “Them.” And that Us-Them symbolism has far more to do with conflict than with any attempt at conversion. This is true as well of many of the other things we tell ourselves are “witnessing tools.” One one level, they may be intended as conversation-starters, but on another level they’re also intended as conversation-stoppers — as attempts to win some implied argument. They’re not really designed for evangelism. They’re just the graffiti and propaganda of the culture wars."

I have to say, I agree, considering the following as one example on a site selling t-shirts Clark lists. Yuck!

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God

"God is a thought who makes crooked all that is straight. "
Friedrich Nietzsche

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Jobs

Clearly, Steve Jobs "retirement" will have an effect on Apple's stocks. However, I tend to take the view of the above cartoon: the toys he came up with are fun, but expensive and clearly not a necessity. I like tech as much as the next guy, but Apple's products are too expensive and, really, over the top. Apple used to be the underdog (remember the famous "1984" anti-IBM ad?), but now seems to be gunning for uber-tech company. I'm also a bit tired of people who take this smug attitude that Apple is so superior to anything else out there. I'm just fine with my Android phone and Windows computers, thank you.

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A humorous, anime video about being safe (may not be SFW)

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Drainspotting: Manhole Covers as Art

I came upon this site reviewing the book Drainspotting, about the Japanese using their manhole covers as a "canvas" to place artwork. These usually mundane and unnoticeable objects become magically beautiful adornments to the urban landscape. This is one of the things I love about Japanese culture: everything becomes a work of art, even the act of daily living. In this, I find the influence of Zen - where intense viewing and mindfulness reveals the shining beauty in the world about them. Thus, we can have something as mundane and obscure as making and serving tea - cha no yu  - become a work of art and opportunity for meditation and enlightenment. Although these covers don't rise to that level, they present an opportunity for the casual passerby to be surprised into a heightened level of awareness. I wish we could emulate them here in the states.

Steve Walker Art (again)

I came across this brief article about Steve Walker's art which is worth a read. Money quote:

"But Walker's paintings are not about gay people or homosexuality. He describes his art as being about love, hate, pain, joy, touch, communication, beauty, loneliness, attraction, hope, despair, life and death. His art includes universal themes regardless of race, gender, socio-economic class, culture or sexual orientation. However, his work is unique because he conveys these themes through the subjects in his paintings, young gay men. "Remove the gender of the painting's subjects and what we have is human relationships in general, and one's relationship to the world itself," he said. "As a homosexual I have been moved, educated, and inspired by works that deal with a heterosexual context. Why would I assume that a heterosexual would be incapable of appreciating work that speaks to common themes in life, as seen through my eyes as a gay man. If the heterosexual population is unable to do this, then the loss is theirs, not mine."

New Yorker Cartoonists

A fun article in the online magazine Slate talks about getting a cartoon into the New Yorker. I used to take that magazine, and recall the cartoons as the highlight. The author here, James Sturm, is a graphic novelist, a much longer form than the gag cartoonist. As an experiment he decided to try his hand at getting a toon into the New Yorker, apparently a near-impossible task. It's a fascinating look at the process of producing the items that gave me so much pleasure.

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Earthquake on East Coast

A 5.9 quake has been reported in the east coast with no real damage reported so far. It's kind of interesting the reactions on cable news: it's as if a major catastrophe hit, breathlessly telling us about how they felt during it, and how the trains are slowing down, and how traffic is snarled. Big deal. As a native Californian, this is a minor shaker. It's interesting how big a deal the east coast based media are making of this, while they virtually ignore it when we have one. Ye gods!

Rick Perry (again)

Couldn't resist posting this photo...

The Art of Douglas Simonson

Another artist of "gay" themes I like.

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Steve Walker Art

I've already featured one of the paintings of Steve Walker on this blog (the man with the cat), so he isn't new here. But I like his work so much that I will feature him occasionally here. His work, to me, features a muted eroticism, which in itself is pleasing, but it also evokes moods ranging from serene to melancholy, joyous to meditative, and even sad. I hope any reader of this blog will look him up for themselves.

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Jason Momoa as Conan the Barbarian, before and after.

A Guilty Pleasure

Yes, I know...pure crap. But what excellent, fun crap it is! Like my love for John Carter of Mars, Conan holds certain pleasures and attractions not to be found in your typical Merchant-Ivory or Masterpiece theater endeavor. This kind of stuff allows me the vicarious thrill of slaughtering my enemies without lifting a finger - kind of like the phoney danger of a roller coaster. And it belongs to one of my favorite genres of film and fiction: fantasy. Of course, "The Lord of the Rings" lives on a much higher plane, but it, too, has its escapist and brutal allure - enough to piss off literary critics. This type of entertainment exists to take us out of ourselves Plus, like all other fantastic fare, it disguises its more serious intent: to analyze and explore grand human themes in the most imaginative and entertaining way possible (although it's really disguised here!). In fact, this type of story-telling existed far earlier than the serious, character-driven stuff which has established itself as legitimate art. Sure, this isn't "The King's Speech", but it has it's place as well. Besides, it features a hot, near-naked man. So, enjoy!

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"The Visitor" by Steve Walker

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Rick Perry (again)

This guy is really something. I thought he might be a formidable opponent to Obama as well as the other repubs, but he's showing that he's really too extreme to last. This has been all over the news today:

 

Not only does he disparage the work of Fed chairman Bernanke and the Fed, but he intimates that the man is guilty of treason and even threatens him with Texas-style justice (ie, lynching). This guy is running for president?! And this is just the first week of his campaign. Give him a few weeks (if he lasts that long). 

 Also, note the reaction of the people listening: no exclamations of horror or disgust, just a few chuckles and general approval. It makes my blood run cold that there are actually Americans who could approve of this Klan-lite man and his nasty views. Idiocracy is really too kind a word for what's on display here.

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Jason Sokody

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Rick Perry

So, we now have yet another Texas governor contending for the presidency. Great, as if Bush and Johnson didn't do enough damage to the country!  Iglesias extracts Perry's nuttier designs on the country here, with a ten point countdown. Among his nuttier ideas is declaring that Social Security, banking regulation, and consumer protection are all unconstitutional. Add to this, his flirtation with neo-confederacy ideas and his extreme, xian fundamentalism, and I really wonder if he has much of a chance beyond the Tea Party and evangelical fringe. Still, in this economic climate, it seems that the electorate is capable of anything, and the worst are full of passionate intensity.

And, as to his position on gay rights...well, I guess only Attila the Hun is further afield. Check this piece out where Perry defends criminalizing gay sex and the Texas law struck down by the Supreme Court. It's interesting what Perry sees as unconstitutional.

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Cartoon of the Day

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Liam McIntyre, the new Sparticus on Starz.

Queen of Rage

It's tempting to simply dismiss this wingnut as woefully unqualified to be president (which she is), but that's entirely irrelevant, isn't it? She speaks to, and for, the disaffected, ignorant, and angry on the right-wing, including those on the Christianist right - a group which has always existed but which has become increasingly visible and noisy, as well as influential. From what I've read, this element, incarnated in the "Tea Party", now has seized virtual control of the repubs. I hope that their radicalism and dedication to unreality will turn off the independents and moderates, but who knows?

I know it's an argument stopper to bring up Germany in the 1930's, but this situation we are in now does remind me a bit of that time. Economic depression, political turmoil, angry and disaffected millions ripe for some answer simple enough to be easily understood, resentment of minorities - well, the list goes on. Nothing reminds me so much of the angry Brown Shirts as the Tea Party rallies and disruptions of democracy, with their mindless appeals to some mythical patriotism and their violent opposition to any dissent. I hope that America's democratic traditions and ideals can withstand this assault and not succumb to the tide of irrationality, anger, and resentment so evident in people like Bachmann.

Riots in Great Britain

For the past three days, riots have been raging in parts of Britain's major cities. There are no signs that these have been spurred by political agendas, but by the mere joy of mob violence and looting. It brings to mind the movie A Clockwork Orange: though that film didn't depict riots, it did present a scenario where disaffected and unsupervised underclass youth organized themselves into predatory packs to loot and rape and pillage. I suppose one shouldn't be too shocked at such a phenomenon: after all, as Hobbes put it, life without government is "nasty, brutish, and short," and, as population grows, economic conditions continue to stagnate or decline, environmental viability disintegrates, and large numbers of young people are just superfluous to a wealth-obsessed culture, a whole underclass characterized by despair, nihilism, and socio-pathology will emerge. I guess my mental image of England, a land which nurtured my ancestors and my imagination, will have to take another hit. [sigh]. Waking up from the nightmare of history is hard to do...

(At top: policeman with white paint on his face. Directly above: lone policeman faces down feral mob)

Monkey Business

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm getting heartily sick of the bad news coming out of our dysfunctional government and economy (and wingnut repubs) - too much bad news and speculation doesn't make for much serenity. One can, indeed, be overwhelmed by the media's obsession with selling itself through emphasizing bad news. Thus, I am taking a break, and shifting my attention to some fun stuff, like the following:

Yes, I know: another retread from a Hollywood bereft of ideas. However, this is getting great reviews (an 80 on Rotten Tomatoes.com and a good review from the L.A. Times' Kenneth Turan), and the effects look interesting. And, as with all great SciFi, important issues can be examined in an imaginative way (treatment of animals, drug experimentation, enhanced intelligence drugs and genetic manipulation, etc.). Plus, another Andy Serkis CGI performance...

Given the record of humanity, maybe it's time to give the simians a chance! ;-)

Romney Signs Anti-Gay Pledge

So, now, the "moderate" in the Repub presidential race, Mitt Romney, has signed the anti-gay marriage pledge pushed by the so-called "National Organization for Marriage"? This, in my view, is indicative of just how far right the repubs have gone, when even the "moderate" in the field feels the need to kow-tow to the far-right, christianist, extremists who now call the shots.


Romney, Bachmann, and Santorum signed on to supporting a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage, to appoint federal judges who don't see a Constitutional right to same-sex marriage, and to back the Defense of Marriage Act.
They've also pledged to support offering a referendum on marriage in the District of Columbia, and to establish a "presidential commission on religious liberty" aimed at protecting the rights of marriage foes to speak out.

My contention has been that the repub party is the enemy of gay people, especially now with TeaParty and christianists in the driver's seat. Former moderates, such as Romney, have to toe their line or else. I hope the next election doesn't see the ascension of these extremists to power...but who knows? With the economy getting worse and people more desperate, we may be seeing the beginnings of something bad. 

John Carter of Mars

I remember reading these novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs during my teen years and being enthralled by the fictional Martian world they portrayed. My budding sexuality was stimulated by the descriptions of John Carter's magnificent physique and the nudity on display among the Martian people (never mind that the big romance was with the beauteous Dejah Thoris - the hidden subtext was quite homoerotic - LOL). Burroughs is, of course, better known for the creation of Tarzan, but to my mind, the Mars novels are more interesting and entertaining. I can also partly ascribe my lifelong love of science fiction to these books (also my obsession with reading - although that started earlier).

Imagine my joy when I heard that these great stories are being filmed! They see tailor-made for the big screen, as they are quite cinematic. Of course, the images and adaptations of our favorite books rarely meet our imagined worlds, but I'm still looking forward to seeing they measure up. Here's the teaser trailer, and, though it doesn't match what I'm carrying around in my mind (no nudity, for instance - big surprise), it looks intriguing...

Can't wait!

Ex-Gay?

Andrew Sullivan briefly looks at the ex-gay thing in his blog today, specifically the notion that if gays can chose to be straight through ex-gay therapy, then straights can go gay. An absurd notion, of course, as he points out: what straight man, given the overwhelming pressure to conform and which relentlessly  celebrates heterosexuality, would chose otherwise? But the point he makes - and with which I agree - is,

My view is that the point of the gay rights movement is not to force everyone to be gay, or even every gay person to be openly gay, it is to expand the possibilities for individuals to be themselves. That must include those gays who cannot bear to be who they are. Unhappiness, like happiness, is an option every free society should respect.

Yes, the movement has to be the freedom to be one's authentic self, even if that means the choice to conform and live an unhappy life. This sheds a different light on the subject, one which the religious and social conservatives neglect: that the real issue here is one of freedom in a free society - including the freedom to be different. This is a blow against those would demand conformity whatever the cost, and who only give lip-service to the notion of individual freedom.