Ars Gratis Artis NOPE

Morning!  It's cool here in Central Pa.  The temps are not, I repeat not predicted to hit 70 (F) today.  The high is forecast to be around 68 (F).  I love this weather!

Biggie loves this weather, too.  Three gabapentin every 12 hours are working magic.  I understand the med is a pain blocker, keeping the nerve impulses from reaching the brain, and not an anti-inflammatory.  His carprofen take care of the inflammation cause by his arthritis. 

For those who haven't heard, Sixpence is having some issues with Blogger, evidently there is a threat to shut down his blog because of what he calls the 'little collages' he's taken from Instagram.  The first thing that went through my head was that one the artists he likes has decided to claim copyright infringement.  Just because something is published on Instagram does not mean it's in the public domain.  Many artists are very big on licensing agreements.  They don't care if you publish their work as long as they're getting paid.

And, in case any of you are wondering, I do know a little about artists.  For a number of years I hung out with several.  They're odd people.  Since they make their living by selling their art, many are focused on the money aspects of their business.  Here's a piece by Lawrence Von Barann.  I was hoping Larry would leave me a piece in his will.  He didn't.  If you're interested, you can buy this from the Yale Gallery of Art.  For those who are wondering, the answer is yes, that is Yale University.

And, not surprising, there were more guilty pleas In the North Carolina election fraud case.  Republicans, of course.  Isn't it fascinating how the group that shrieks the loudest is responsible for the most problems?

It's also fascinating that Republican Adam Kinzinger is beginning to advocate for people to not vote Republican.  As he says, "they will try and impeach Biden every other week."  That is not some mindless assumption on his part.  Just like the Orange Anus, the Republican party focuses on revenge.  Conservatives have always been terrible losers.  The idea that the beliefs they hold as intrinsically true are rejected by a majority cuts them to the core.  They simply cannot comprehend how they can be so wrong.

Boarding the Left bound train

Well, it's Saturday, and it's my 2nd day off in a row.  That's right, back to back days off, such a rarity for me.
I had breakfast with my brother yesterday and he told me that he's seriously considering becoming an Independent, after a life long dedication to the GOP.  I suspect some of that has to do with his children.  He has 6, by the way.  One has no interest in politics, one has become a devout Libertarian, and one remains a dedicated Republican.  The other 3 have moved to the left, some of them to the far left, 180 degrees is how he described them to me.  I find this all very interesting.
And, of course, the GOP is beginning to grapple with their problem:  they have a lunatic president who desperately wants to be liked.  He wants to be The Most Popular President of All Time.  However, a majority voted against him and, in fact, if people were given the chance to vote again tomorrow, he'd lose.  He'd be crushed.  As time goes on, as his approval rating fails to rise, and as more and more people take a stand against him, his positions will begin to move to the left.  If he digs in and, as the GOP likes to say, hunkers down, he'll end up tieing 'W' for worst president of all time.  The only way for him to be popular is for him to change his stances.  My money says the ego will win out.  I've already read that the repeal of Obamacare is going to stall, probably for two years.  The excuse is to let it fall apart.  However, in 2 years it's very likely we will have a more Democratic Congress, one much less vocally hostile.
I also put on my artys fartsy hat yesterday and made a lamp... or, maybe you'd want to call it a decoration with some lighting.
Anyway, I had this cut glass punch bowl, and another aquarium stand, and some marble tiles, and I made this:

It looks really sharp when the room is darker.  Nifty, huh?

And on the even brighter side, I've only got 6 more days of dealing with Jane and her sagging parts.

The art of being Pretentious

Back when I worked for Marriott, I got to know some of the local artists, in fact, one of my friends would model occasionally, not that he was ever recognizable.  I remember being at a show where two women were considering whether to buy a large painting and he was all excited.  "They're going to buy one of my nudes," he'd exclaimed.  Walking over I found myself looking at a lot of brown swirls, and ochre lines shooting off in different directions.  If you stared at it long enough you might be able to pick a nipple here and a nipple there.  I managed to count at least 4 different penises (at least that's what I thought they were) and I can tell you, my friend is not that blessed.  I did like the painting but would never have spent that much money for something that was way too big for my house.
I bring this up because I have friends on Facebook who like to think of themselves as artists - they take pictures - lots and lots and lots of pictures.  Some of their other friends fawn over these pictures.  I don't.  The truth is that most of them are just pictures.  These people post albums and nothing really stands out.  One of these friends is constantly trying to enhance her pictures with special effects so we'll get an album with 15 sepia toned pictures of her dogs.  She doesn't understand that the picture needs to be able to stand alone.  Once you start tinting it, and adding halos, while some may still may consider it art, it's no longer a photograph.  It's no longer a representation of the real world.
Then there is one who is just way, way too pretentious.  She will post pics she's taken from "her studio" window of the flowers her lawn, or of the "3rd step in a long climb up the Stanford Lighthouse."  Every time she posts I just sadly shake my head.  This is an example.

In the comment section, she'd noted that she'd taken this while having lunch with a cousin she hadn't seen for quite some time.  This would have been okay if she hadn't added these 3 little words "I drank water."  Maybe she took this because the glass is off center, or because the 'Bonefish' is upside down, or perhaps because of the olives, I don't know, but the minute she added that last, little sentence she became pretentious since those words become the focal point, not the martini.  She drank water... who cares?