A Blog of Current Events and Ancient Issues.
Magnum Force, the 1973 sequel to the Clint Eastwood thriller Dirty Harry, is getting a musical makeover and may even be Broadway bound, according to The Guardian. English singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock, an admitted Magnum Force obsessive, will compose the score and intends to produce the show with MTV executive Bill Flanagan.
Obama also said his plan would ensure corporate executives do not siphon away tax dollars to fund big bonuses, as he again expressed outrage at big Wall Street pay-outs in 2008.
Overall, given the choice between more government services and higher taxes, or fewer services and lower taxes, likely voters opt for the limited government/low tax option by the comfortable margin of 61% to 25%. That’s pretty much where Americans have been for some time now.
But the story is dramatically different when you break down the electorate by ideology and partisan affiliation. We all know these divides exist, but I, for one, was surprised at the extent of the chasm.
Ideologically, the breakdown looks like this:
HOPE AND CHANGE? New, Transparent WhiteHouse.gov Forgoes Press Briefing Transcripts? The obvious explanation: Bush wanted transcripts online because he expected the press to filter what he said. Obama doesn’t want transcripts online . . . because he expects the press to filter what he says.
The studio plans to develop the film for Roland Emmerich, the director of the cataclysmic sci-fi movies “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow.”
1. I support him as much as Code Pink supports our troops.Seems Fair
2. I support him as much as N.O.W. supports Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
3. I support him as much as the Hollywood community supported Theo Van Gogh.
4. I support him as much as Nancy Pelosi supports the Catholic Church’s teachings on life.
5. I support him as much as Al Gore supports cutting down on his personal carbon footprint to save the world.
6. I support him as much as John Edwards supports The National Enquirer’s right to publish pictures of his girlfriend and baby.
7. I support him as much as Western gay rights groups support Mehdi Kazemi.
8. I support him as much as the Castro brothers support Oscar Biscet’s right to free speech.
9. I support him as much as Ted Kennedy supports renewable wind energy off the coast of his summer mansion.
10. I support him as much as Bill Clinton supports Hillary’s ambitions for higher office.
11. I support him as much as the National Education Association supports the rights of students and parents to get a quality education over the security of a teacher’s job.
12. I support him just as much as he supports the right of a baby who survives an abortion to not spend its only living moments waiting to die in a storage room.
Carolyn Lochhead has an interesting story in the San Francisco Chronicle on the mixed-up oath at yesterday's inauguration:
The oath reads: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
In giving the oath, Roberts misplaced the word "faithfully," at which point Obama paused quizzically. Roberts then corrected himself, but Obama repeated the words as Roberts initially said them.
A do-over "would take him 30 seconds, he can do it in private, it's not a big deal, and he ought to do it just to be safe," said Boston University constitutional scholar and Supreme Court watcher Jack Beermann. "It's an open question whether he's president until he takes the proper oath."
The courts would probably never hear a challenge, and some might argue that Obama automatically took office at noon because that's when President Bush left the office. But because the procedure is so explicitly prescribed in the Constitution, Beermann said if he were Obama's lawyer, he would recommend retaking it, just as two previous presidents, Calvin Coolidge and Chester Arthur, did under similar circumstances.
President Barack Obama's request to suspend all war crimes trials at Guantanamo was promptly accepted by military judges Wednesday in what may be the beginning of the end for the Bush administration's system of trying alleged terrorists.
The judges agreed to the 120-day halt the cases of five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks and a Canadian accused of killing an American soldier in Afghanistan. Similar orders are expected in other pending cases before the Guantanamo military commission.
We live in more of a pussy generation now, where everybody's become used to saying, "Well, how do we handle it psychologically?" In those days, you just punched the bully back and duked it out. Even if the guy was older and could push you around, at least you were respected for fighting back, and you'd be left alone from then on.
You wonder sometimes. What will we do if something really big happens? Look how fast -- seven years -- people have been able to forget 9/11. Maybe you remember if you lost a relative or a loved one. But the public can get pretty blasé about stuff like that. Nobody got blasé about Pearl Harbor.
My father died very suddenly at sixty-three. Just dropped dead. For a long time afterward, I'd ask myself, Why didn't I ask him to play golf more? Why didn't I spend more time with him? But when you're off trying to get the brass ring, you forget and overlook those little things. It gives you a certain amount of regret later on, but there's nothing you can do about it. So you just forge on.
Children teach you that you can still be humbled by life, that you learn something new all the time. That's the secret to life, really -- never stop learning. It's the secret to career. I'm still working because I learn something new all the time. It's the secret to relationships. Never think you've got it all.
Obama to be sworn in on 'Lincoln Bible'It's quite fitting that Obama so admires President Lincoln. The only American Dictator. As H.L. Mencken said of the Gettysburg Address, in which Lincoln absurdly claimed that Northern soldiers were fighting for the cause of self determination ("that government of the people . . . should not perish . . .": "It is difficult to imagine anything more untrue.By Matt Kelley, USA TODAYWASHINGTON — The Bible Barack Obama will use at Tuesday's swearing-in ceremony carries great historic and social significance. It was used by Abraham Lincoln at his first inauguration in 1861.
| McCAIN doesn't make you sad that he lost. . .
And maybe that is why he lost. |
We think: It's risky, but citizens have right to fight back against criminalsWhat a ridiculous article. On the on hand Orlando Sentinel readership is so far down that they have stopped "endorsing Presidential candidates" and are tacitly endorsing the right of a law-abiding citizen to defend themselves, but on the other hand say "Leave it to the professionals" when using a firearm because "someone could get hurt." Yeah, the one to get hurt is the moron whose stupid enough to break into my house and face my giant German Shepherd then a 357 Magnum right between his eyes. Gee! Thanks a lot Orlando Sentinel for giving me permission to exercise my 2nd amendment rights. Why don't you now advocate for a genuine tax break for us all and an end of these stupid bailout plans.
With some criminals able to skate through the judicial system without major consequences, life on the streets is getting more and more dangerous.
For them.
Average Joes and Janes have served notice they don't intend to stand by and let crime spin out of control. In Central Florida, a series of recent incidents is proving that people are taking a proactive -- and perfectly legal -- approach to protecting themselves and others.
In Ocoee, a customer shot and killed a robber at a convenience store. The customer was leaving the store when he noticed someone suspicious. He went back inside when he heard a clerk screaming for help, and used a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol to kill the thief.
Los Angeles, CA: The Annenberg Foundation, one of the nation’s largest private family foundations, announced today plans to open a new community space dedicated to both digital images and print photography in Los Angeles, California. The Annenberg Space for Photography will open in spring 2009 at 2000 Avenue of the Stars. Located on the former site of the Shubert Theater, the Photography Space will be a 10,000 square foot facility which will feature a state-of-the-art digital projection gallery along with a traditional print exhibit area. The combination of these galleries will enable the Annenberg Space for Photography to show an unprecedented number of images to the general public in a dynamic environment. General admission to the Annenberg Space for Photography will be free.
In addition to being a cultural experience that celebrates photography as an art form, the Photography Space will present images focused on the human condition as an expression of the philanthropic work of the Foundation and its Trustees. The Annenberg Space for Photography will be under the stewardship of the Foundation’s Los Angeles-based Trustees -- Wallis Annenberg, Lauren Bon, Charles Annenberg Weingarten and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten.
The Trustees will work directly with guest curators throughout the year on all exhibits and programming.
Work by photographers at all levels of expertise from around the world will be featured. The galleries will also exhibit often unseen photographic collections held by museums, galleries and media organizations.
“Photography is one of the most accessible and personal forms of art. We are thrilled about creating a space completely dedicated to it which will compliment the landscape of existing cultural institutions nationally and in Los Angeles. Our Foundation will continue its multi-million dollar grant support of the existing arts and civic life. We see the creation of the Annenberg Space for Photography as a service to the community where visitors can see the world through a different lens and leave feeling motivated to make positive change,” says Wallis Annenberg, Vice President and Trustee of the Annenberg Foundation.
Background
The Annenberg Space for Photography was conceived by the collective Board of Trustees of the Foundation. The original inspiration was sparked by Wallis Annenberg’s personal devotion to photography. A passion for the artform led Wallis to examine the challenges most traditional museums experience exhibiting photographic work. These museums have remarkable photography collections, and in many cases their archives are more comprehensive than exhibit space is available. This motivated Wallis and the Foundation Trustees to create a new paradigm for experiencing photography. A state-of-the-art digital presentation system will allow thousands of photographs to be readily accessible to the public in large and high resolution format.
When the Foundation announced its plan to move its administrative offices from Westwood to its current location at 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles Councilmember Jack Weiss and real estate developers at Trammel Crow approached the Foundation with the opportunity to operate a community space on the property, providing the perfect location for the realization of the Foundation’s plans for the Photography Space.
Councilmember Weiss comments, “I am grateful that the Annenberg Foundation, with their vision and standards of excellence, is helping enrich the city by bringing world class digital art and photography to Los Angeles. This space will add cultural vitality and excitement to Century City.”
The creation of the Photography Space builds upon the Foundation’s long history of supporting visual arts. Most recently the Foundation demonstrated it’s commitment to the arts by giving a grant to help LACMA acquire the Marjorie and Leonard Vernon Collection, an important group of 19th and 20th century photographs, featuring more than 3,500 prints which include the work of Ansel Adams, Julia Margaret Cameron, Edward Steichen, W.H. Fox Talbot and Edward Weston. In recognition of this support, LACMA's Department of Photography is being renamed the Wallis Annenberg Photography Department.
Opening Exhibit
The Annenberg Space for Photography’s opening exhibit will be a group show of eight Los Angeles-based photographers in the genres of fine art, architecture, documentary, fashion, photojournalism and celebrity portraits. The show, soon-to-be-titled, will feature the work of John Baldessari, Catherine Opie, Greg Gorman, Douglas Kirkland, Tim Street-Porter, Julius Shulman, Lauren Greenfield and Carolyn Cole. All based in Los Angeles, these artists work in the city in which the Foundation has expanded its philanthropy in recent years. The exhibit will also include work from staff photographers at the Los Angeles Times. Anne Wilkes Tucker, renowned photography curator from the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, will serve as a Special Advisor for this inaugural exhibit.
Ms. Tucker comments, “The opening exhibit inaugurates an exciting new space with work by eight internationally recognized photographers. Their work represents richly diverse aspects of contemporary photography and of Los Angeles itself, from film and television celebrities to the Los Angeles Times coverage of international and local news, to city’s rich cultural scene. The multifaceted displays of prints and digital projection, along with interviews with the artists speaking about their projects and careers, are uniquely innovative. This exhibit should appeal to the public and to many artists who might participate in future programs in this new space.”
In addition to featured exhibits which will change several times a year, shorter weekly shows will enable visitors to have different daily experiences with multiple visits. Simultaneously, videos of photographers discussing their work will give guests the often rare opportunity to hear directly from the artists.
Workshops, lectures and discussions featuring artists will be a prominent part of the ongoing programming. Educational opportunities will be created for adults, children and teens. Guests of the Photography Space will have access to Century Park and its restaurants within steps from the Photography Space doors. The Photography Space is adjacent to 2000 Avenue of the Stars, the location of the Foundation’s Los Angeles headquarters.
The interior design by architects DMJM Design was influenced and inspired by the ergonomics of cameras and lenses. The building also includes a residential-style workshop area that will be used for intimate discussions with photographers. The technology of the Photography Space enables extreme digital clarity, sound and multiple image presentation --giving artists a wide range of creative possibilities for showing their work.
Photographer Greg Gorman comments, “I worked with film for decades before converting to digital. As the artform has evolved, I’m excited to see a space celebrate both. I expect that this will change the way we all think of a traditional photography gallery.”
Fulfilling a Mission
The Annenberg Space for Photography aligns perfectly with the mission of the Foundation -- to improve the well-being of the community through the exchange of ideas and new ways of thinking. The Trustees believe that the experience of this art form and images exhibited there will further their vision as philanthropists for a better world.
About the Annenberg Foundation
Established in 1989 by Walter H. Annenberg, the Annenberg Foundation provides funding and support to nonprofit organizations in the United States and globally through its headquarters in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and offices in Los Angeles, California and Washington, D.C. Its major program areas are education and youth development; arts, culture and humanities; civic and community life; health and human services; and animal services and the environment. In addition, the Foundation operates a number of initiatives which expand and complement these program areas. The Annenberg Foundation exists to advance the public well-being through improved communication. As the principal means of achieving this goal, the Foundation encourages the development of more effective ways to share ideas and knowledge.
