Jesus, Marx, Brian Blessed, Jim Morrison.

image

It has been spotted in the most unusual of places… on pieces of toast, bits of plasterwork and even patches of mould.

So perhaps it is not all that surprising that the face of Jesus has now been identified on a beach pebble.

The stone was spotted on Cromer beach, close to the pier, by a local resident.

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, picked up the stone after the extreme whiteness on the other side caught her eye.

image1

It was her boyfriend who suggested the image looked like Christ, although bearded characters have also been suggested.

Some, for instance, have detected a likeness with Karl Marx, the Communist thinker, and larger-than-life actor Brian Blessed.

Jim Morrison, the late lead singer with The Doors, has also been suggested. Others claim to have seen the face within the profile of a bear’s head.

Full story here. I continue to be baffled as to how this sort of thing becomes news.

Skin Deep.

Laurence Sessou, in Women with Tattoos. All photographs: Eleni Stefanou

Laurence Sessou, in Women with Tattoos. All photographs: Eleni Stefanou

Eleni Stefanou’s photographs of women with tattoos disrupt our ideas of gender and beauty – and challenge ideas about the types of bodies that may be displayed.

Full article here.

26.

Theodore Roosevelt. Whitehouse.gov.

Theodore Roosevelt. Whitehouse.gov.

When Theodore Roosevelt took office in 1901, he already had a long legacy of animosity toward American Indians.

Seventeen years earlier, Roosevelt, then a young widow, left New York in favor of the Dakotas, where he built a ranch, rode horses and wrote about life on the frontier. When he returned to the east, he famously asserted that “the most vicious cowboy has more moral principle than the average Indian.”

“I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are the dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are,” Roosevelt said during a January 1886 speech in New York. “And I shouldn’t like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth.”

[…]

Roosevelt’s seven and a half years in office were marked by his support of the Indian allotment system, the removal of Indians from their lands and the destruction of their culture. Although he earned a reputation as a conservationist—placing more than 230 million acres of land under public protection—Roosevelt systematically marginalized Indians, uprooting them from their homelands to create national parks and monuments, speaking publicly about his plans to assimilate them and using them as spectacles to build his political empire.

[Read more…]

The Fight for Mahto Paha.

Courtesy aimag.com The new Full Throttle Saloon’s plans call for construction of 400 cabins and RV hookups shown in the aerial photo at the base of Bear Butte.

Courtesy aimag.com
The new Full Throttle Saloon’s plans call for construction of 400 cabins and RV hookups shown in the aerial photo at the base of Bear Butte.

The fight for the sacred grounds of Bear Butte has not gone well, and now the biggest asshole of biker assholes is planning on wholesale desecration. White people, so darn thoughtful and stuff.

Tribal leaders fear that Bear Butte, one of the seven traditional sacred sites of Northern Plains tribes in or near the Black Hills, is in serious danger of further moral and environmental degradation after a local planning board recommended that Meade County commissioners grant full approval for construction of the “world’s biggest biker bar” on a campground practically at the base of the butte.

Applying for the plot approval is Michael Ballard, whose original Full Throttle Saloon, east of Sturgis, was widely hyped to be the “World’s Largest Biker Bar.” He hopes this new Full Throttle Saloon will be even more successful than the original, which burned down last September. Ballard has obtained unanimous preliminary approval from the Meade County Planning Commission on April 18 and from the Meade County Commission on May 11.

Rosebud Sioux Tribe, President William Kindle, reached in his office Wednesday, said the tribe continues to explore every option to prevent further desecration around “Mato Paha,” and stood by his May 25 statement to the planning board, in which he said his tribe had “grave concerns because this would additionally impact an area that is already stressed by those outsiders who feel the need to develop additional adult entertainment/play spaces, which are located in close proximity to our place of prayer, Bear Butte.

“Not only would this bring additional people imbibing in alcohol, and obnoxious revelry near our sacred site, there would most likely be a serious impact to the water and the ecology of the area.” In addition to a new Full Throttle Saloon, Ballard’s plans call for construction of 400 cabins and additional RV hookups for an adjacent campground — to be named The Pappy Hoel Campground.

Full Story at ICTMN.

Make America Native Again.

Facebook.

Facebook.

There is a new product hitting the interwaves that hails from Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. It’s a red baseball cap featuring the caption: “Make America Native Again” in response to Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, which states “Make America Great Again”.

The hat, produced by Bowen Creative of Albuquerque is worn in this image by Christina M. Castro on her Facebook page. Ms. Castro works as a staff facilitator for Tewa Women United’s A’Gin Program: Healthy Sexuality & Body Sovereignty Project. She’s also the managing editor of the Santa Fe Indian School Leadership Institute’s youth publication, The Yucca Cord.

Castro calls herself, “a writer, educator, all around badass native woman!”

“You know it’s interesting how Trump, a rich, white man can be blatantly racist and it’s ok. When people of color have a response, we are quickly shut down. We Native American people have an increasingly powerful voice that will not be silenced!”

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[…]

These are all strong Native women making statements, empowering each other but also just living their daily lives, making America Native, again.
The “Make America Native Again” hat can be found here: http://bowencreative.co/shop.

The full story is at ICTMN.

Thunder Boy Jr.

Courtesy Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Courtesy Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Thunder Boy Jr., the new children’s picture book by Sherman Alexie (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2016), is the latest in long line of literary works by the Native author and humorist. Alexie has been touring the country, doing personalized readings for schoolchildren and other audiences for several months. Recently he stopped at the historic KiMo Theatre in downtown Albuquerque, where he regaled the capacity crowd for more than two hours, offering insights into the book’s creation as well as personal revelations. Indian Country Today Media Network sat down with Alexie for a glimpse into his life and work.

ICTMN has the interview.

GAG

gag

Sunday’s NYC Pride parade will include an important new contingent of marchers. Hundreds of people will march in a group called Gays Against Guns (GAG), formed in the wake of the June 12 Orlando massacre. The parade begins this Sunday at noon starting at 36th street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

From organizers:

About 150 people showed up for GAG’s first organizational meeting at the LGBT Community Center on Friday, June 17, to organize the group’s presence at the March. In attendance was openly gay City Councilmember Corey Johnson, who invited GAG to join his March contingent. “Gays Against Guns is taking this fight to the NRA’s front door,” said Johnson. “Our community has been fighting for gun control as part of other organizations for many years, now we’re starting our own. The LGBT community has vanquished bigger enemies than the NRA.”

Said Kevin Hertzog, who started the group with Brian Worth, “We know that several groups have been fighting gun violence in the U.S. for decades now. We’ll be meeting after Pride to hash out positions and a strategy approaching the November 2 elections. But for now, we want to present as large a crowd as possible on Sunday, to show New York and the U.S. that LGBTQ people are outraged. The current situation with guns in America makes us gag in disgust!”

[…]

Follow them on Facebook at “Gays Against Guns NY” or @GAGnoguns on Twitter.

(Staging area is 35th street between Fifth and Madison, Section 0, Group 33, from about 11am.)

Full Story is at Towle Road.

A Gay Republican Is Still A Republican.

Jason Elliott.

Jason Elliott.

A conservative republican, gay or no, is still a conservative republican, with a lot of repugnant views. I’d so like to think that being queer would provide more insight, generate some compassion, but it doesn’t in such cases. Next January, Jason Elliott will become South Carolina’s first openly gay lawmaker, representing a portion of Greenville in the S.C. House that includes conservative Bob Jones University.

Elliott says voters in Greenville’s House District 22 know he is gay but his sexual orientation did not play a role in the race. […] “With my knowledge and understanding that people knew of my orientation, the election results tell me that — rightfully — we focused on issues that are relevant to the position for which I was running,” Elliott said. He is pro-life, and supports the 2nd Amendment, restructuring state government and school choice.

Right. No surprises there. What did leave me scratching my brain was this little bit:

“Unquestionably and undeniably, I am a Republican and proud to be one,” Elliott said. “I’m also proud of the fact that I’m a white male, 6 foot, 2 inches with too much gray hair for 45 — and also happen to be gay.”

Um, what is that? An advertisement? Because those are kind of odd things to be proud of, outside of being gay and out.

Via Greenville Online.