Edvard Munch’s The Scream.
Scientists are speculating that perhaps the inspiration for Munch’s The Scream may have been rare nacreous clouds, rather than a volcanic outburst. There is a definite resemblance, I must say. No one will ever really know, but I’m glad I got to learn about and look at nacreous clouds!
Via Raw Story.
Jim Cooke/FMG.
Just the other day, Unpresident Trump insisted that he simply does not watch mainstream media anymore, no, not ever. He doesn’t watch anything which is negative. Naturally, that statement is belied by his frequent morphs into Mr. Tweet, ranting about this, that, and the other negative something as seen or read on mainstream media. He’s running away to a ‘campaign rally’ in order to avoid the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, but does anyone think the Tiny Tyrant won’t be obsessing over every remark anyway?
It would seem that the Tiny Tyrant’s staff was unaware of his insistence that he does not watch, no, not ever, not anymore, as they have said that it’s extremely difficult to curb his excessive reliance on television. They also said he ‘hate watches’ in the evening, going over all the negative stuff, which outside of Fox, is pretty much everything everywhere.
“When I see it’s such false reporting and such bad reporting and false reporting that I’ve developed an ability that I never thought I had,” Trump insisted. “I don’t watch things that are unpleasant. I just don’t watch them.”
“I don’t watch CNN anymore. I don’t watch MSNBC anymore. I don’t watch [negative] things, and I never thought I had that ability. I always thought I’d watch.”
Contrary to this statement:
Trump turns on cable news immediately upon arising each morning and spends the day checking in via a television in the White House dining room. However, once the president goes upstairs at the end of the day, aides lose their ability to monitor and moderate the president’s intake.
“Once he goes upstairs, there’s no managing him,” one adviser told the Post.
“Sometimes, at night, he hate-watches cable shows critical of him, while chatting on the phone with friends, said someone familiar with the president’s routine — a quirk a senior official jokingly called ‘multi-teching.’” the Post said.
[…]
Foreign leaders are urging their diplomats to go on U.S. television when they visit the country so as to catch Trump’s attention. Trump has insisted that he wouldn’t dream of firing Press Secretary Sean Spicer — even after his gaffe comparing Hitler favorably to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
“I’m not firing Sean Spicer,” said Trump. “That guy gets great ratings. Everyone tunes in.”
There we are again – “great ratings”. That’s all this unstable, stupid asshole cares about. He thinks of himself and everyone around him as being on a television reality show. And if the world is going to hell in a handbasket, eh, who cares? Ratings! Things going bad again? Oh, have Spicer say something stupid about Hitler.
Oh, this is something I wish I could see in person. If you have the chance, take it, because the building is slated to be destroyed in the beginning of June.
Base23 uses 3D installations in his room at THE HAUS. Image courtesy of Million Motions and the artist.
What happens when 165 street artists take over a single building in Berlin? The result is a five-floor urban art labyrinth boasting the work of creators from over 70 countries. There’s not a single canvas in sight. Filled with low-lights, sound effects, 3D casts, growing things, unnerving portraiture, tape, stickers, and smells, it feels as far from a traditional gallery as you can get.
This building was once an abandoned bank on the famous avenue Kurfürstendamm (colloquially “Ku’damm”). Now overflowing with indoor street art, it’s set to be demolished in June to make way for apartment buildings. But that’s part of the fun of it, according to the artists. And until then, anyone willing to brave the two-hour line outside is welcome inside, free of charge.
THE HAUS (tag-lined “Berlin Art Bang”) is a project kicked off by Kimo, Bolle and Jörni (all aliases), a trio of creators on the Berlin urban art scene for more than 20 years. While they operate Xi-Design, a hand-painted advertisements company, it’s their never-for-profit crew Die Dixons that built THE HAUS. After inviting their expansive network of artists to participate, they created the packed-out platform to put street art in the spotlight, offering a temporary, no-fee experience much like street art itself. “We have a huge network,” Kimo tells Creators, “and we’re very organized, but all this really came from the heart and from people’s willingness to do it.”
[…]
Artists range from Berlin natives to international activists, established crews to newbie collaborators, and individuals to nonprofit giants. Solo artist Urzula Amen constructed a fake grocery store-like room with graphic health-hazard labels in the style of cigarette warnings. Only rooms away, International Justice Mission created a room to look like an Indian brothel, complete with VR goggles to visualize the plight of a modern-day prostitute.
As for the no-phone zone, it’s there for audiences to “get back to the roots,” as Kimo puts it. “Use your eyes and feelings and emotions, standing in the rooms. Step back, look again, touch it. Stop looking at things through your phone, or on the internet. Experience it for yourself, and focus on the moment.”
[…]
Die Dixons are currently exploring new places to build another Haus. “We’re getting inquiries from Belgium, The Netherlands, and several other countries,” says Kimo. “They’re all saying ‘we have a building for you!’ This will not be the last Haus.”
Rotkäppchen Goliath is an agency for urban communication that was founded in 2014 in Vienna. Image courtesy of Million Motions and the artist.
THE HAUS will be destroyed at the beginning of June. For a floor plan and extensive artist overview, check out THE HAUS website. Follow them on Instagram @thehausberlin.
You can see more at The Creators Project.
Gorgeous Pelicans, from Lofty. That first shot, perfection! Click for full size.
© Lofty, all rights reserved.
Chestnut, Lilac, and Walnut, from rq, click for full size.
© rq, all rights reserved.
Red-Winged Blackbird, from Kengi. Click for full size.
© Kengi, all rights reserved.
A few more inches done on the Tree Quilt. Current Hours: 1,067. Skeins Used: 155.
© C. Ford, all rights reserved.
ProPublica has gathered all the very, very quiet hires of the current regime, many of which were lobbyists, who love themselves a swamp. All are ‘loyalists’ to the regime.
While President Trump has not moved to fill many jobs that require Senate confirmation, he has quietly installed hundreds of officials to serve as his eyes and ears at every major federal agency.
ProPublica has obtained a list of many of them. They include dozens of former lobbyists, Trump campaign staffers and some affiliated with the online far-right.
A new Justice League website has launched and will give fans a new way to experience the film. DC Comics invite you to “join the league” and if you sign up, you will be able to get exclusive content like products, sign up for sweepstakes, and more.
Blogging wise, anyroad. I have to work! Work, Work, Work 75. Total time: 1,060 hours. Skeins used: 153.
© C. Ford.
Big Cartel.
Rick Wiles is going full court paranoid with yet another screed, this time claiming that the Tiny Tyrant is under house arrest. I’d be okay with that, actually, perhaps he’d finally pretend to do his fucking job, rather than behaving as though the election hadn’t happened. According to Wiles, there is a terrible conspiracy going on, to hush the far right, to still all those screeching voices, oh my yes. And who is doing all this horrible hushery? Why, the Deep State, of course. I think that must be the new name of the Illuminati or something. I can’t keep up with it all.
Wiles said that O’Reilly’s firing from Fox News over numerous sexual harassment allegations and Jones’ custody battle are the work of the deep state, which he claimed is out to silence influential voices on the Right. Trump, according to Wiles, has also been muzzled by this “shadow government.”
“I’m not sure he’s sending out the tweets,” Wiles said. “I think, more than his Twitter privilege—hey, I’m going to go ahead and say it, this is what I think—I think Donald Trump is under house arrest by the deep state. I think they’ve put him under house arrest. He’s changed. He doesn’t even act the same anymore. He doesn’t behave the same. He’s not the man we elected. Something’s happened to him.”
Yes, something happened. He has been elevated, a la The Peter Principle, to a position so far over his level of competence that even he can’t ignore it anymore. Golly, presidenting is hard! Who knew it was so complex! As for his “twitter privilege”, people have been desperately trying to separate Mr. Tweet from his phone from day one. I’m sure most of us are quite grateful for that effort, too. It’s a pity his house arrest won’t prevent him from heading back out on the Yeehaw Rally campaign trail.
“I think the shadow government said to him, ‘You were not supposed to win, but you did it, but we’re going to allow you to stay in the White House under our terms,” he continued. “I honestly believe the man is under house arrest. I believe that they have locked him down, they have isolated him and he has been surrounded by the deep state goon squad and they are making the decisions … I do not believe he is the president of the United States anymore, I believe he is a figurehead.”
He was never the president. Never. He’s an unstable bully, perched in a position of power, who has realized that his usual bully tactics aren’t suited for government, and who doesn’t have the spine to commit to a full tyrancy. Apparently, he’s not the only one who doesn’t know how government is supposed to work. If anyone has isolated Trump, it’s the man himself.
Wiles later cited the news of O’Reilly’s firing, Jones’ trial, and the retirement announcement of Rep. Jason Chaffetz as proof that the deep state is “taking out” powerful conservatives “one by one.”
Oh gods. Chaffetz? Who the hell cares? At least Chaffetz finally had the sense to realize that he was fucking up on the behest of Trump multiple times, which was going to kill his career if he didn’t get out. That puts him a bit ahead of the other rethugs. As for O’Reilly, well, perhaps if the man had stopped doing everything penis first, he would not have lost his job. As it stands, he got millions of dollars in a golden parachute, and is going to start doing podcasts. I don’t see the slightest sign of him being silenced.
“Alex Jones may not survive what’s happening to him right now,” he said. “They’ve got his lawyer on record in the courtroom saying, ‘He’s just acting, he’s a performance actor.’ I mean, that’s from his own lawyer.”
Wiles claimed that Jones may have been set up by the supposed deep state, saying, “They just took down Bill O’Reilly. Now Alex Jones is on the ropes. Who is next? Who is the next person that’s going to be taken down? They are eliminating all opposition to the shadow government.”
Jones is professional liar. He lies, and if that isn’t swallowed, he tries a different lie. He’s also claimed that eating chili affects his memory, and he smokes weed once a year to test potency. As for who is going to be next? Does the shadow government have a request line, because I’d be happy to submit your name, Mr. Wiles.
Via RWW.
The couple with Donald’s daughter Ivanka at the 2004 Met Gala.
By Evan Agostini/Getty Images.
Vanity Fair has an interesting profile of Melania Trump, who, it seems, simply wanted a life of quiet avoidance cushioned by a great deal of money. Interesting reading, but also truly sad, a look at brittle, splintery, unhappy lives.
As the gorgeous wife of a Manhattan billionaire, Melania has had every opportunity to become a fixture on the gala-going benefit circuit. But that would presume an interest in social status or a cause. As Bytner recalls, “She was passionate about . . . Well, I can’t think what she was passionate about.”
[…]
Trump decided not to run in 2012, saying he wasn’t ready to leave the private sector. Four years later, the time had come. Trump’s official story is that he consulted with his family about his decision to run, and they all agreed. A former campaign aide recalls a conversation in which Melania told this aide that she didn’t want Donald to run, because she was terrified he might win. According to another Trump insider, “She never wanted this, and never had any interest.” (Grisham maintains that “Mrs. Trump has always been supportive of all her husband’s endeavors.”) Tolerating his boorishness—that she could do. Repeating a couple of lame sound bites to Joy Behar—fine. But serious campaigning for one’s spouse required far more actual effort.
Melania seemed to do her best to ignore the new reality, on the grounds that she wanted to be home for Barron. Over the course of Trump’s 17-month campaign, she rarely joined her husband at rallies, and the speeches she gave could be counted on one hand. Compare that with Michelle Obama, who spoke all over the country on Barack’s behalf, though she too had young children. During the primaries, Donald made do by re-tweeting a picture of Melania next to an unflattering shot of Heidi Cruz, Ted’s wife, with the caption “The images are worth a thousand words.”
But then he clinched the nomination, and more Melania participation was required—which, alas, did not do her any favors. In February 2016, in an interview with MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski, Melania expounded on illegal immigration, using her personal story as an example of model behavior. “I followed the law . . . . And you should do that. You should not just say, O.K., let me stay here. And whatever happens happens.”
