Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
The Golden Driller—third largest statue in the United States
By Jack Brummet, Travel and Monuments Editor
The Golden Driller is a 76-foot-tall, 22 ton, statue of an oil worker, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is the third tallest statue in the United States, behind the Statue of Liberty, and Our Lady of the Rockies.
The Golden Driller was built in 1953 by the Mid-Continent Supply Company of Fort Worth for an International Petroleum Exposition. Six years later, it was erected again for a show. Due to the buzz it generated, the company donated the statue to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds which had it permanently installed in front of the Tulsa Expo Center in 1966. The statue's right hand rests on a decommissioned oil derrick from an oil field in Oklahoma.
The inscription reads: "The Golden Driller, a symbol of the International Petroleum Exposition. Dedicated to the men of the petroleum industry who by their vision and daring have created from God's abundance a better life for mankind." The driller is the official state monument of Oklahoma.
The Golden Driller is a 76-foot-tall, 22 ton, statue of an oil worker, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is the third tallest statue in the United States, behind the Statue of Liberty, and Our Lady of the Rockies.
The inscription reads: "The Golden Driller, a symbol of the International Petroleum Exposition. Dedicated to the men of the petroleum industry who by their vision and daring have created from God's abundance a better life for mankind." The driller is the official state monument of Oklahoma.
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Focus in the Occupy Wall Street Uprising
By Jack Brummet, OWS Editor
I'm not sure we're going about Occupy Wall Street the right way. Should we be focused on Washington, D.C.?
Bankers, let's face it, have never had our interest at heart, and never will. In fact, quite the contrary. Their mission is to subtly--and even overtly--bone us every step of the way. Is anyone really surprised about the excesses and the outrages we've seen take place since Congress cut away the fetters with deregulation?
I'm sure the abuses go back much further, but we know that the one time Jesus actually became angry was when he encountered the money-changers, a/k/a bankers, at the temple. (This is the only account of Jesus using physical force in any of the Gospels). You can find the story at Mark 11:15–19, 11:27–33, Matthew 21:12–17, 21:23–27, Luke 19:45–48, 20:1–8 , and John 2:13–16).
We shouldn't expect much from the bankers. During the Great Depression, when they were also largely ungoverned, they foreclosed on many millions of people, just as they have in the Great Depression II. Bankers do what bankers do. . .they chafe under regulation, and go ape when they are periodically set free. But we should expect more--much much more--from the politicians we pay in the mid-six figures to defend our interests. Alas, those six figure salaries, franking privileges, fat pensions, platinum insurance, cars, large staffs, air travel, earmarks for the home district that insure re-election, and expense accounts, can't hold a candle to the satchels of cash delivered by special interest groups. As you know, one of the most pernicious and insidious special interest groups are the banks. And they are outbidding us every step of the way for the services of the legislators and staff we already pay a pretty penny to secure.
I think OWS is doing the right thing. And it feels like the uprising is maturing, and growing. But it would be nice to focus a little more on the politicians, hacks, and functionaries--both the corrupt ones, and the Good Germans, who go along to get along.
I'm not sure we're going about Occupy Wall Street the right way. Should we be focused on Washington, D.C.?
Bankers, let's face it, have never had our interest at heart, and never will. In fact, quite the contrary. Their mission is to subtly--and even overtly--bone us every step of the way. Is anyone really surprised about the excesses and the outrages we've seen take place since Congress cut away the fetters with deregulation?
I'm sure the abuses go back much further, but we know that the one time Jesus actually became angry was when he encountered the money-changers, a/k/a bankers, at the temple. (This is the only account of Jesus using physical force in any of the Gospels). You can find the story at Mark 11:15–19, 11:27–33, Matthew 21:12–17, 21:23–27, Luke 19:45–48, 20:1–8 , and John 2:13–16).
We shouldn't expect much from the bankers. During the Great Depression, when they were also largely ungoverned, they foreclosed on many millions of people, just as they have in the Great Depression II. Bankers do what bankers do. . .they chafe under regulation, and go ape when they are periodically set free. But we should expect more--much much more--from the politicians we pay in the mid-six figures to defend our interests. Alas, those six figure salaries, franking privileges, fat pensions, platinum insurance, cars, large staffs, air travel, earmarks for the home district that insure re-election, and expense accounts, can't hold a candle to the satchels of cash delivered by special interest groups. As you know, one of the most pernicious and insidious special interest groups are the banks. And they are outbidding us every step of the way for the services of the legislators and staff we already pay a pretty penny to secure.
I think OWS is doing the right thing. And it feels like the uprising is maturing, and growing. But it would be nice to focus a little more on the politicians, hacks, and functionaries--both the corrupt ones, and the Good Germans, who go along to get along.
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Asked and answered. Geraldo didn't like the answer; he shouldn't have asked the question.
By Jack Brummet, OWS Editor
Gerald Rivera, on Fox News the other night, asked an occupier at Zuccotti Park "So what's your goal?"
The Occuper responded, "My goal here is to occupy everything possible. I think what you're seeing here, Geraldo, is a large amount of people that have been deeply and profoundly fucked by the system."
Geraldo felt the need to apologize for that answer to his "viewers."
Gerald Rivera, on Fox News the other night, asked an occupier at Zuccotti Park "So what's your goal?"
The Occuper responded, "My goal here is to occupy everything possible. I think what you're seeing here, Geraldo, is a large amount of people that have been deeply and profoundly fucked by the system."
Geraldo felt the need to apologize for that answer to his "viewers."
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Monday, October 31, 2011
Risky, hopeful, ambitious, unlikely, fascinating: A General Strike in Oakland
By Jack Brummet, #OWS Editor
On October 26, the following was passed by the Occupy Oakland General Assembly:
"We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%."
"We propose a city wide general strike and we propose we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city."
"All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them."
"While we are calling for a general strike, we are also calling for much more. People who organize out of their neighborhoods, schools, community organizations, affinity groups, workplaces and families are encouraged to self organize in a way that allows them to participate in shutting down the city in whatever manner they are comfortable with and capable of."
"The whole world is watching Oakland. Let’s show them what is possible."
On October 26, the following was passed by the Occupy Oakland General Assembly:
"We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%."
"We propose a city wide general strike and we propose we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city."
"All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them."
"While we are calling for a general strike, we are also calling for much more. People who organize out of their neighborhoods, schools, community organizations, affinity groups, workplaces and families are encouraged to self organize in a way that allows them to participate in shutting down the city in whatever manner they are comfortable with and capable of."
"The whole world is watching Oakland. Let’s show them what is possible."
---o0o---
Image: Rick Perry is on fire, but not in the good way
illustration by Jack Brummet
click to enlarge
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The Jolly Green Giant Statue
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Visitors can have their photo taken standing directly under the Green Giant. Blue Earth still has a canning plant formerly owned by Green Giant that continues to can corn and peas each summer.
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
Christ of the Ozarks
By Jack Brummet, Arts and Travel Editor
Gerald L. K. Smith, the man behind the Christ of the Ozarks, was an organizer for Huey P. Long's Share Our Wealth movement[1] and led it for a short time after Long was assassinated in 1935. After stepping away from politics and activism, he retired to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and bought an old mansion and some property, where he hoped to build a religious theme park called "Sacred Projects". Sacred Projects never actually got off the ground, but Smith did commission the centerpiece--a gigantic statue of Jesus that was finished in 1966. It is called "Christ of the Ozarks."
He also completed a 4,000-seat amphitheater that is the site of outdoor performances of "The Great Passion Play", patterned after the one performed in Germany. The play runs five nights a week from the end of April through the end of October.
The statue is more than 67 feet tall--making it one of the tallest statues in the North America. It is the work of Emmet Sullivan, who also worked on the nearby Dinosaur World.
One art critic said it was looked like "a milk carton with a tennis ball stuffed on its top," and locals refer to it as "Our Milk Carton With Arms".
[1] Huey (a/k/a 'The Kingfish") Long's story is a fascinating one. Many writers and novelists have tackled the Huey Long story over the years. The most memorable work is the novel All The Kings Men, by Robert Penn Warren (who claims it wasn't about Long at all). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long).
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Gerald L. K. Smith, the man behind the Christ of the Ozarks, was an organizer for Huey P. Long's Share Our Wealth movement[1] and led it for a short time after Long was assassinated in 1935. After stepping away from politics and activism, he retired to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and bought an old mansion and some property, where he hoped to build a religious theme park called "Sacred Projects". Sacred Projects never actually got off the ground, but Smith did commission the centerpiece--a gigantic statue of Jesus that was finished in 1966. It is called "Christ of the Ozarks."
He also completed a 4,000-seat amphitheater that is the site of outdoor performances of "The Great Passion Play", patterned after the one performed in Germany. The play runs five nights a week from the end of April through the end of October.
The statue is more than 67 feet tall--making it one of the tallest statues in the North America. It is the work of Emmet Sullivan, who also worked on the nearby Dinosaur World.
One art critic said it was looked like "a milk carton with a tennis ball stuffed on its top," and locals refer to it as "Our Milk Carton With Arms".
[1] Huey (a/k/a 'The Kingfish") Long's story is a fascinating one. Many writers and novelists have tackled the Huey Long story over the years. The most memorable work is the novel All The Kings Men, by Robert Penn Warren (who claims it wasn't about Long at all). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long).
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Saturday, October 29, 2011
Handle With Care, a WPA safe driving poster from 1943
By Jack Brummet, Arts Editor
This excellent silkscreen poster was created by the Missouri W.P.A. Art Project in 1943 to promote safe driving. I like the austere but stylized traffic signal and steering wheel, and, of course, the rocking primary colors. It is in the collection of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. and is reproduced by permission. . .because we, the people, paid for it.
This excellent silkscreen poster was created by the Missouri W.P.A. Art Project in 1943 to promote safe driving. I like the austere but stylized traffic signal and steering wheel, and, of course, the rocking primary colors. It is in the collection of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. and is reproduced by permission. . .because we, the people, paid for it.
click to enlarge
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Touchdown Jesus!
By Jack Brummet, Arts and Travel Editor
The King of Kings statue, more often called The Touchdown Jesus (because his arm gesture is similar to a football referee's sign for a TD), was a 62-foot tall fiberglass statue of Jesus near Interstate 75 at the Solid Rock Church--a 4000+ member Christian megachurch near Monroe, Ohio.
In June, 2010, the statue was hit by lightning and burned down to its skeletal metal framework. The church said they would rebuild it, using fireproof material. As a curious side note, PETA offered to pay for its reconstruction via an 'anonymous Christian donor'. . .if they are allowed to promote veganism at the church. I am guessing the Solid Rock Church declined this generous offer.
license. Attribution: Morhange
The King of Kings statue, more often called The Touchdown Jesus (because his arm gesture is similar to a football referee's sign for a TD), was a 62-foot tall fiberglass statue of Jesus near Interstate 75 at the Solid Rock Church--a 4000+ member Christian megachurch near Monroe, Ohio.
In June, 2010, the statue was hit by lightning and burned down to its skeletal metal framework. The church said they would rebuild it, using fireproof material. As a curious side note, PETA offered to pay for its reconstruction via an 'anonymous Christian donor'. . .if they are allowed to promote veganism at the church. I am guessing the Solid Rock Church declined this generous offer.
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