The list of animals that are extinct or perilously close to it is longer than a babies arm and definitely bigger than a bread box. There are species that have lived and then died out all within my lifetime and this scares the livin’ shit out of me. In reality, when you look at redundant/destructive/inefficient animals, it should be us that is extinct, not the Caspian tiger, Darwin’s Galapagos mouse or the Western Black rhino. Here is a perfect–albeit sad–example. Researchers who were studying a rare and endangered penguin in New Zealand have found evidence of a previously unknown species of penguin that was hunted to extinction by Polynesian settlers almost 500 years ago.

Does anyone else see the irony in that?

Art can come in countless forms; dance, music, audio or written word. Regardless of the medium there needs to be two fundamental links to connect the end result with the word art and those are skill and passion, rather than frat boy tomfoolery. Bernard Berenson, an art historian from the late 1800’s describes it perfectly “Art gives you the strength to carry on” The determination of what is considered art is completely subjective but our notion of that which should be considered art has become such a vague concept that you can deem almost any random object “art” and it then is. This strikes me as totally ridiculous and far too open ended- it also mocks the true artist. I’m in no form implying that art must be either a painting or a sculpture and it must fit within predetermined parameters therefore making it easily recognized and labeled, but tell me, where is the skill in crapping on a canvas and smearing it around like a toddler with an overloaded diaper? It’s a case of a shock value medium used to attract attention and then mislabeled “art” instead of the self-indulgent stunt that it actually is. If the rotting cow skull of Damien Hirst’s A thousand Years is what gives you reason to carry on than you are in a far more dire need of help than most of the “artists” putting forth these so called master pieces. If the medium is the most interesting part of the piece, more interesting than the end result in fact, then it isn’t art, it’s a stunt. Yes, you can squish a live rat with a 25 kilo concrete block onto a canvass but if the guts and the “oooohhhhh” factor are the only reason that it exists calling it art is asinine. (more…)

“Liar, Liar, pants on fire.”

If that saying were actually true, four out of every five of us would be bursting into flames below the waist as we speak. Whoosh! There goes another one.

We are not an honest society. People love the idea of honesty, but are rarely prepared to deal with the resulting consequences. Instead, we lie, and we do it because it’s easiest. I call that lazy. We lie out of utter laziness. If your response to that is “No, I lie to spare someone’s feelings” then I hate to break it to you, but that is the epitome of laziness. It means that you can’t be bothered to put in the required work to foster and cultivate relationships in which honesty is valued. As a whole, society places a great emphasis on being honest, yet is quick to chastise those who dare to speak truthfully. Doesn’t it seem as though the ones who scream the loudest for the truth are the ones who speak it the least? The examples of this are unending though politicians seem to bear the brunt of our supposed desire for honesty and the resulting wrath if it is in fact delivered and romantic relationships run a close second. Remember when you first started dating, and your partner leaned over and lovingly said “I want you to always be honest with me”. What they really meant was; “I want you to always be honest with me, provided it doesn’t hurt my feelings, go against what I think, or make me look bad in any way, shape, or form”.

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Fucking hell. Can you imagine if that were even a possibility? Of course it will never happen, but imagine if it could. Oh, the heavens would open up and rain golden light down on us all while fat little cherubs danced in the background. Imagine being able to hold North American leaders accountable for their actions.

Oh happy days. Dick Cheney on trail at The Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity. I’m sure Bush has already drawn up the pardon as he’d be dragged down with the sinking Cheney ship just as quickly and maybe even with a larger splash.

Out the back door of my office on the other side of the alley is a retirement home. It has 3 stories of apartments with 13 balconies on each floor that are facing me. Almost every one of them has a wind chime of some sort and when I’m out there on windy days like today I feel like I’m in a weird parade and should be giving the Queen wave to anyone who ventures down the alley.

WTF?

Is it any wonder that people often think I should wear a helmet?

So, with the economic upheaval (and don’t kid yourselves, it’s on both sides of the border) it seems as though the catch phrase of the day is “bailout.” I have great empathy for the workers who will undoubtedly lose their jobs and those auto towns that will suffer greatly if plants have to shutdown, however, I don’t agree with a government “cash infusion” or bailout package for the major auto companies. Many of these auto makers have been struggling for a while and the economy cannot be held entirely to blame. Refusal to drop unpopular brands, over spending, lethargic response to consumer desire for more fuel efficient “greener” vehicles, poorly run franchises, inefficient operations, etc, etc, etc. I also don’t recall getting cash in the mail when business was booming.

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