civilized ku # 518 ~ gas holes

There's a hole in America's arm where all the money goes • click to embiggenThere are so many aspects of the BP/Gulf of Mexico (aka, The Dead Sea) disaster that would be funny/amusing if they weren't so utterly tragic. One such aspect that I am following is the inane/absurd utterances that many observers and participants are making.

Right at the very top of that list is just about anyone affiliated with BP - does anyone believe anything those people are saying? Like, say, Tony Hayward, the chief executive of BP, who claimed recently that his company’s testing has shown “no evidence” that any of the oil in the Gulf of Mexico is lurking beneath the ocean surface. Oil is lighter than water, Mr. Hayward explained, and will rise to the top. The man is either an idiot or a liar. Most likely, both.

High on that list are the "government-is-too-big" simpletons who are complaining that the government (by "government", they actually mean the black guy in the White House) has let them down ... that the government isn't "taking charge" and "doing more" to solve the problem. The irony meter is totally pegged on that one.

All that said, the idiots that get me really worked up are the ones like Senator Mark Begich, Democrat of Alaska who is a staunch supporter of drilling in the Arctic. Begich, who is annoyed by the new restrictions / moratorium on offshore drilling, said he was frustrated because the restrictions / moratorium “will cause more delays and higher costs for domestic oil and gas production to meet the nation’s energy needs ...”

Begich has also argued that the restrictions / moratorium would cost Alaska jobs and money, and force the country “to export more dollars and import more oil from some unfriendly places, jeopardizing our economic and national security.”

IMO, here's a hint for Senator Begich ... it's way past time for "higher costs for domestic oil and gas production to meet the nation’s energy needs". In fact, it's way past time for higher costs for oil-based energy from any source. Americans have demonstrated time and time again that they are not about to voluntarily give up their thirst for oil. If we wish to reduce consumption, we need to make the cost of excessive consumption excessively expensive.

It's also way past time to start dealing with our nation's so-called energy "needs". While Senator Begich advocates for the development of alternative energy, he is, as far as I know, mum on the subject of meaningfully reducing our nation's energy consumption. This stance places him in the very fine company of most Americans who believe it is their "right" to have cheap energy and their "right" to consume that energy like there's no tomorrow.

(an aside): I've taken to calling these people "gas holes".

Unfortunately, that seems to be holding true even in the face of the BP/Gulf disaster. And, also quite unfortunately for the environment and the citizens along the Gulf Shore (as it stands today - who knows how the reach will extend), the outlook for their "tomorrow" is looking pretty grim.

civilized ku # 517 ~ don't get caught watchin' the paint dry

Stickney Bridge ~ in the Adirondack PARK - Au Sable Forks, NY • click to embiggenRegarding my statement that attendees to my Picturing Making Chautauqua will be required to limit themselves and their picture making activities to a single lens, preferably a single fixed focal length lens, i.e., a "prime", Paul Maxim responded:.

Which is why I'll probably never attend one of your "Chautauqua's". Why is it that it can only be one way? It's like telling a basketball player that the only way to really learn the game is to immobilize one of his arms (or in your "class", maybe cut it off). In effect, you're saying that it's far more likely that a "student" will learn to take "interesting pictures" by using only a prime. Who made that "rule"?

My response: regarding "who made that rule?", the answer is simple - as it applies to my Picturing Making Chautauqua, I made that rule.

As for the rest of the picture making world, it's not a rule at all.

Nevertheless, even though it not a rule, it is well worth noting that the overwhelming majority of bodies of picture making work, Fine Art Division, that one views in art museums and galleries are, in fact, created by picture makers who tend to use just a single prime lens in their picture making endeavors.

The use of a single prime lens for creating unified and coherent bodies of work is neither a new concept nor is it a radical concept.

And, IMO, the reason that so many in the Fine Art picture making world do tend to "limit" themselves to a single prime lens is quite simple - it keeps picture making things, gear/technique wise, simple ... a single prime lens and a camera that one uses in an entirely intuitive / without thinking manner allows a picture maker to concentrate upon seeing as opposed to dealing with (no matter how little) other things.

When it comes to developing / fostering the art of seeing, "limiting" oneself to a single prime is more than a little like coach Norman Dale's idea of "breaking them down" in order to be able to "build them up again" - getting back to the basics in order to get one's abilities more focused on the bouncing ball / what really matters when it comes to seeing.

IMO, being concerned with gear / technique while picture making is an unnecessary and burdensome diversion when it comes to seeing and a picture maker so involved is apt to have trouble following Wilbur "Shooter" Flatch's admonition, re: "... don't get caught watchin' the paint dry".

(an aside) - for the metaphorically challenged, "watchin' the paint dry" = screwing around with gear and thinking about technique.

Oh, and BTW (metaphorically speaking), don't forget to make 4 passes before attempting a shot on basket. Otherwise you're gonna get benched.

civilized ku # 516 ~ history

Chimney - Abraham Hasbrouck house ~ Huguenot St. - New Paltz, NY • click to embiggenThe Abraham Hasbrouck house is next to the Hugo Freer house on Huguenot St. in New Paltz, NY (mid-Hudson Valley Region). The Freer house is that of my 14x-great grandfather, Hugo Freer (my grandson Hugo's namesake).

The Huguenot Street Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, was created to preserve the oldest continuously inhabited street in America with its original houses. The Freer house construction was started in 1692 and finished (in its original form) in 1694.

On Memorial Day, Hugo, the wife and I stopped by for visit on our way back home from south NJ.

civilized ku # 515 ~ say "cheese", pt. II

Cheese and knife - outdoors at dusk ~ Merchantville, NJ • click to embiggenAs luck would have it, re: civilized ku # 514, over this past weekend, I was confronted with cheese in NJ.