Friday, January 20, 2017

Donald J. Trump and Vlad Putin, chained

[photographer/digital artist unknown]

"Chains, my baby's got me locked up in chains,
And they ain't the kind that you can see.
Whoa, it's chains of love got a hold on me. Yeah!
Chains, well I can't break away from these chains,
Can't run around 'cause I'm not free." 
[Lyrics by Jerry Goffin/Carole King]
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Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Moscow Sculptures: Children are the Victims of Adult Vices

By Jack Brummet, Arts & Travel Ed.

In Moscow a few years ago, I had to talk my Kremlin guide into taking me to see these sculptures on the Moscow River. She said they had always spooked her and she waited up the street while I took them in. 

The sculptures by Mihail Chemiakin, "Children are the Victims of Adult Vices," depict 13 vices: alcoholism, child labor, indifference, drug addiction, prostitution, sadism, ignorance, pseudoscience, war, poverty, theft, capital punishment, and violence.






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Injury report details extracurricular activity

The pre-game injury report for the December 31st Citrus Bowl listed University of Louisville linebackers Henry Famurewa and James Hearns as out of action against Louisiana State because of "gunshot wounds."  (Via Sports Illustrated, 12/31/16).

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Monday, January 16, 2017

Another whopper from PEOTUS Donald Trump

By Jack Brummet, National Affairs Ed.


In November, PEOTUS told Lesley Stahl that he would not be taking vacations:
"There’s so much work to be done and I want to get it done for the people,” he said. “I want to get it done. We’re lowering taxes, we’re taking care of health care.”

He told the Times of London yesterday that he plans to take off his first weekend in office.

“One of the first orders I’m gonna sign — day one — which I will consider to be Monday as opposed to Friday or Saturday. Right? I mean my day one is gonna be Monday because I don’t want to be signing and get it mixed up with lots of celebration, but one of the first orders we’re gonna be signing is gonna be strong borders.”
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Sunday, January 15, 2017

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Mystery solved: the Ode To Darwin original by William Holbrook Beard (painted 1891) [update]

by Jack Brummet

This is a painting I bought for $100 at a roadside stand in Jensen Beach, FLA in 2006 (It cost $150 to ship it home in its delicate, ornate frame). The painting is titled "Ode To Darwin" and was painted by David Zarkin.

The mystery of its origins was solved last night by an intrepid member of the Facebook Lowbrowart group, Jon Groobz  (see details below).



Detail:



The original canvas, titled "The Discovery of Adam," was painted by William Holbrook Beard in 1891 (30 years after Darwin published his famous book).  There is a good web site here with this and some other paintings (he was a fascinating painter).  The painting 

The painting I own is an amazing copy of this original, but I know no details of the painter at all or how or where he copied this work.  Here is the original, which resides at the Toledo Museum of Art.





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Tuesday, January 10, 2017

The shocking, if real, entertaining and ambitious if not, Donald Trump dossier allegedly compiled by The Company, a/k/a C.I.A.

By Jack Brummet, National Affairs Ed.


It's hard to know if this is real (they did a great job of making it *seem* real), but you can download, or read, a 35 page PDF of the "Trump Dossier" (purportedly compiled by The Company, a/k/a CIA).  If it is real, and not a red herring created by the Kremlin, wow.  It's hard to know if this is real because you keep shaking your head, saying "this can't possibly be true."
Warning: includes possibly offensive short passages detailing orgies and other sexual behavior. It's no coincidence that "golden showers" is trending today on Internet searches and hashtags. Just Google golden showers
You can read or download the PDF here

I responded to DJT's tweet on this being Fake News:

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