3rd and Final

Somehow I've managed to avoid the pomp and circumstance of the presidential debate circuit. I know this may surprise many of you.

Tonight, however, was an exercise in social interaction. I went to Studio 35, a local cinema/bar and watched the last debate on the big screen with approximately 100 other interested locals. It was free, and someone else bought me a pumpkin ale to wash down the politics. I'm not sure which was thicker.

Listening to McCain breathe was painful. Hearing the pundits tell me that he was forceful and in control made me think I was watching something different. To me, he was crazed, bumbling and repetitive. Hyper blinking. Scary.

Sure, Obama could have taken some stronger stances, but an even keel doesn't make one nauseous like the up and down / back and forth approach employed by the other candidate.

McCain said he doesn't want education to be about the privileged few, but 1000 vouchers in a city of 10 million seems pretty privileged to me (whether they work or not).

I looked it up, and I don't think this country needs a maverick.

What we need is a firm, even hand; a father figure, not a grandfather figure.

I worry that my vote will not even count. Ohio has problems with this kind of thing. I could absentee, but that's a sure bet to file 13.

Democracy, hard at work trying to save the Republic.

>>hyper-blinking link added on Oct 16<<

Ask, and you shall receive

The other day I was having a conversation about contemporary artists. The problem was that I didn't know any, save one: Banksy. He stood out only because his art is nigh illegal.

Drunks, eccentrics, dandies... at least yesteryear's artists were out there in all their glory. You'd think that with modern media and technological outlets that the whole world would be a stage for some creative genius to flaunt themselves silly.

While it's true that these tools have given rise to a plethora of little known artists, doesn't this generation deserve a Pollock, Dali or Warhol?

And what of style? Cannibalize, masticate, regurgitate? Are we stuck with the same old list? All I see are bold shapes and solid colors; does that mean that the crowning achievement of modern art is the Vector? Has globalization and the pace of the world made the old time art movement a thing of the past? By the time it's cool, it's not cool (or it's advertising).

I shudder to think that advertising is the modern art movement, as in artists are moving into advertising so they don't starve. Quick! Keep up with trends...no time for your own work. YEAAH!

Well, back to my conversation about contemporary artists. I came across this article about Damien Hirst on art's top 100 list. Yeah, I've never heard of him. They don't describe his art at all, only how much he makes from it.

Jeff Koons and Banksy are mentioned in the article, too. Great! I know these names. Wait, what does Koons do? I had to look it up to refresh my memory.

Perhaps it's my Midwest location. The avant-garde, by definition, is on the fringe, and Ohio is no NY, CA, or UK.

Political Brandy

The gastropodian pace at which we edge towards election day is mind numbing. Personally, I can't wait; I'm burned out on the process.

There is no news but politics, it seems, but I don't want this blog to become a soapbox. The media is concentrated, appropriately so. But the Super Bowl of governance (complete with theme music, flashy graphics, and play by play fact checking) has been going on for too long. Even the Energizer Bunny took a smoke break.

Hence, my less-than-daily notes.

I did find some interesting things to share, however. The first deserves a noted introduction.

I found this article in The Register, a British online journal. It was posted by an author in California. The story takes place a county away from me in Ohio. The story went around the world to go around the block! While Ohio is talking about the latest McCain visit a local 15 yo girl is arrested for dealing in child pornography.

Seems like the kind of thing you'd hear about in your hometown.

Second and last (and saved because best) is a story about a library. This is no government or public institution; It's an amazing private collection that puts my hodgepodge of a den to shame. Take a tour of Jay Walker's library.

Yes, his name's jaywalker.

I have to go outside...I think I see the sun.

Hangin' wit Johnny G

I had just seen him the night before at the annual Museum Ball, our aging astronaut. On Saturday October 4, Senator John Glenn, accompanied by his lovely wife, came to eat veal with 400 other well to do art patrons. Beautiful women in beautiful dresses filled the galleries and garden. Great fun. Let's do it again next year.

Sunday, we crossed paths again. I think he's following me. At an Obama rally on OSU's North Oval, the senator introduced Bruce Springsteen. The Boss sang patriotic songs (one about Youngstown) beside a massive American Flag. The opportunity to see two legends sharing a stage and a hug...and it's free? Sure, I'll go.

I didn't get the greatest patch of grass on the lawn; I was about a hundred yards from the stage. I did bring my long lens, which made up a bit of distance for my eyes.

Here are my keepers from the show. Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, Senator John Glenn, Bruce Springsteen, A Young Fan, and a street shot taken on the walk home. I call it Aroma.

Gone Fishin'

See above. See you soon.