Thursday - September 09, 2010

Another slice of country life

Some snippings from the local newspaper, up there in the hills of Far Away, where Miss Autumn lives in the House of Log and tends to her two pet ducks Harold and Skokie. And her husband.  She writes that the ducks are molting. No word on whether her husband is too.

How embarrassing. Must have been one helluva poor “race car” if the thieves dumped it and just stole the trailer. Darn thing wasn’t even worth stealing for parts. What a nice big slice of humble pie.



Headline News Miss Autumn writes that this was the front page of the local paper.

Posted by Drew458     on 09/09/2010 at 07:49 PM   
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oh heck, i couldn’t resist heidi montag. whoever she is …. EYE CANDY AND GOOD NIGHT

Posted by peiper     on 09/09/2010 at 03:41 PM   
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LA LEADS NATION IN VACANT LOTS AND BRITS GET READY TO BOOT SOME QUANGOS. THEY SAY.

It’s getting late and I forgot to check my mail till late. Busy with other things. Good grief ... 8:32pm. I have to get outta here. Up too many hours again.

So … I checked the mail before shutdown and got something from Rich K. Oh great Rich. Thanks.
Now I have to stay at this darn machine cos what you sent seems to tie in with something different but similar over here.
So, I had to run out to the trash bin outside and retrieve one of our papers I threw away, forgetting I needed something from that paper.  Rich’s mail reminded me.

H/T Rich K

Faster than you can say “We’re from the government; we’re here to help,” along comes the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles with another expensive boondoggle that a) has already turned productive land fallow, b) has dragged on for decades without progress, c) destroyed a rare successful business in South L.A., and d) will almost certainly end up producing the one thing the CRA is good at producing: empty urban prairieland.

Fall in love all over again with the Slauson Central Retail Center, a project that has been kicking around since the 1992 riots, and which is up for a new round of approvals and taxpayer soaking. The L.A. Times’ Patrick McDonnell tries to tell a tale that—another hallmark of any deal involving the CRA—is about as straightforward as your intestines:
About $7 million in public subsidies are committed to the $15-million project, according to official figures. Advocates say it’s worth it. They envision 300 “living-wage” jobs at a 6.5-acre site that is now a fenced-in eyesore at a busy intersection in South Central Los Angeles.
“What the community is going to get here is a wonderful reuse of an industrial site,” said Jenny Scanlin, project manager for the Community Redevelopment Agency.

The agency seized the affected parcels through eminent domain from the former owners, including Kramer Metals, a family-run scrap-metal recycling business that has long been a fixture in the industrial zone.

This is not a long article, and I urge you to read it at …

http://reason.com/blog/2010/09/07/los-angeles-leading-the-nation

I’m always tempted to say, unbelievable. Tempted till I give it a seconds thought.  Very believable.
Well, here’s something in the same vain but different.

Are there “QUANGOS” in the USA?  Or maybe the same thing but a different name.
How’s this for a job.  Two days a week BMEWS. As in, 2. A week.  Some put in as many as three days a week. Poor dears.

And get paid £130,000. As in, one hundred thirty thousand pounds which in USA dollars comes out to one hell of a lot of money. You think that’s a lot?  Yeah.  Well one lefty lady gets £140,000. Pocket money guys.  Another quangocrat gets £200,000. Yikes.  Two hundred thousand ….  In a country where the present govt. says some services must be cut, money must be saved somehow as this country has financial problem that need fixing.

The govt promises at least four are getting the chop. My question is, are they gonna be replaced?  There are ten listed in the article, four are to go we’re told.  We’ll see. But the whole damn quango thing is quicksand that devours only money. Taxpayer money.  And these quangos were put in place by the former left leaning Labour govt. But it would not surprise me to hear from our LyndonB, that the cons have had their hands greased in the past in the same way.
Here. Take a gander at this.  Unbelievable?  Nope.

Go to the link and enlarge the photos you see and read about these people and what they are soaking the public for. And oh yes I forgot to mention it.  Some of them have no real workplace experience.
One of these bloodsuckers was appointed head of the regulatory body for aviation and declared she knew nothing about aeroplanes. Hey, I’m reminded of the song, “Nice Job If You Can Get It”

Bonfire of the quangocrats: Four more public sector chieftains facing the chop

By Steve Doughty

Four more public sector chieftains face the axe following the decision to sack ‘incompetent’ quango queen Jenny Watson, Whitehall sources said yesterday.

They include a former Labour cabinet minister as well as the head of an agency devoted to squeezing more money out of council tax payers.

Miss Watson was first on the hit list. The ‘modern militant’ angered ministers when, as chief of the Electoral Commission, she blamed others for the election night polling fiasco that saw hundreds deprived of the chance to vote.

‘She is not fit for the role. The Audit Commission has lost its way and the last thing we need is someone like her on board. She has no previous experience outside the public sector.

‘We have had a bonfire of the quangos; now we are having a bonfire of the quangocrats.’

Officials have also been criticised for taking expensive trips abroad to discuss tax with foreign counterparts.

Now let’s take the axe to this smug lot...

He may not have film star looks, but Eric Pickles, the rotund Communities Secretary, is painting himself as a hero of the Coalition.

The straight-talking Yorkshireman’s decision to dismiss Left-wing quango queen Jenny Watson from the Audit Commission is a welcome salvo against these unelected and scandalously wasteful bodies.

Here’s a tiny example, at the link you will read way more. And you should if for no other reason then your entertainment if you live outside the UK.
For the folks here, ain’t nothin’ funny about any of this.
See this goofy looking guy?

This is Sir Clive Booth.

He only gets £38,000 a year. Small pots compared to many.  One of his claims to fame, well, He took over the lottery fund in 2004 after his predecessor was removed following disclosure that money from the fund was going to failed asylum seekers and for breeding guinea pigs.
Under his reign, among other things, millions go to encouraging policemen to play football with asylum seekers and to train judges in Siberia to compensate battered women.  Honest, I am in favor of helping those unfortunate women. But look, this is Brit money and aren’t there any battered women here as well as kids, that could use that money? 

So take a peek at the link. I HAVE got to get outta here, it’s 9:25pm and I’m not too sure I even know what I’m about anymore. Tired for sure.
All the photos of 10 of these folks can be enlarged and you will be able to read the unbelievable yourselves.

QUANGO PHOTOS AND TEXT

Posted by peiper     on 09/09/2010 at 02:28 PM   
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A minor interruption

Partway through the bathroom project we found out that the hot water heater was leaking and about to die.

Unlike the hassles that Peiper went through getting his replaced, we emailed the landlord and helped him figure out an appropriate model. He ordered it, it was there the next day, he came over in his truck this morning, and we helped him get the old one out and put the new one in. Ta da, done. And now we have a brand new A.O. Smith hot water heater, and it works just fine. No priming needed, no hoses running out the upstairs windows. We didn’t even need to sweat a single new fitting. Two nuts and a wire. Bada bing. I’m debating getting one of those R-16 hot water heater blankets, since the unit lives in a foam lined cabinet out in the garage. That might help a little in the winter, though with the new insulated door the garage never gets really really cold.

Right. Now back to the project. The concrete is hardened everywhere except where I filled in that spot where the wood was. That was the thickest part of the pour, so it will take the longest time to cure. Right now that part is about as hard as old cheese. So it’s high time I screwed on the new flange ring, and then we can get to work mapping out the floor. I was going to just start at the hall wall and work inwards, but smarter heads than I prevailed upon me to do the job from the middle outwards. That means cutting more tiles to fit, but it makes sense because it’s really doubtful that the room is square. And if the room is off square, starting at one wall results in some of the last tiles having to be slivers, and that looks poor. Better to start in the middle and have evenly sized cut tiles around all the edges. Ok, by “middle” I mean “grid map the floor with a ruler an a pencil, then lay the second row out from the tub and work towards the door. Come back later and cut to fit around the tub and side walls. Grout everything the next day, then put in the tile baseboard pieces. Then put the bathroom back together.”

But we have hot water again, so at least we can shower. And then go buy the flange repair ring - grade 8 stainless steel if they have one! - and get that done. Then the rest of it.

Sorry, no new project pictures yet.

Posted by Drew458     on 09/09/2010 at 12:34 PM   
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an action whose time has come?  yeah. I’d say so.  for once, good for the lawyer.

I haven’t been to a movie in years. Don’t miss it either.  But I do miserably recall those god awful over modulated commercials they started to run in Ca. theaters.  Always bothered me. First, you’re paying to see a movie. You are not an invited guest. It isn’t enough that TV has tons of boring commercials. But at least with a remote control at home, you can do something about that.  And then the worst part is as stated, the volume they runs the ads at. Ear shattering.
But I guess it takes a lawyer, even in a place like China, to do something about it.  I hope she wins her case.

btw ... Coming attractions no thrill either. They used to be pretty good once upon a time.  Is it me?  Had the sound system gone south in the modern age?
Seems like it was a lot better when I was much younger and movies didn’t have the high tech toys for sound engineers to play with. Or maybe it’s the theaters in Ca.  ??

Chinese woman ‘sues cinema for wasting her time’

A Chinese woman is suing a cinema and a film’s distributors for wasting her time by showing 20 minutes of adverts before it started, according to state media.

Chen Xiaomei claims the Polybona International Cinema in the northern city of Xian and film distributors Huayi Brothers Media Corporation should have told her how long the advertisements for the film Aftershock lasted, Xinhua news agency said.

Ms Chen, who is a lawyer, has accused Polybona and Huayi Brothers of wasting her time and violating her freedom of choice.

The case has been accepted by the People’s Court in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, Xinhua said, citing a statement from the court.

Ms Chen is demanding the companies refund her 35-yuan ticket (£3.30), pay her 35 yuan in compensation and one yuan (10p) for emotional damages and write her an apology, the report said.

She has also advised the cinema to publish the advertisement times on its website, in the lobby or on its customer hotline and asked Huayi Brothers to cut the length of commercials to less than five minutes.

“Aftershock”, which is about an earthquake that devastated a Chinese city in 1976, has become the highest-grossing domestic film, raking in 650 million yuan (£61,768,000), Xinhua said.

The movie directed by Feng Xiaogang tells the story of a mother’s emotional reunion with her daughter, three decades after a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated the northern city of Tangshan, killing more than 240,000 people.

CHINA STORY

Posted by peiper     on 09/09/2010 at 11:43 AM   
Filed Under: • CHINA in the news • MOVIES •  
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dealing with muslims. those were the days my friend, we thought they’d never end, they haven’t.

H/T Vilmar

Saw this at Vilmar’s and could not resist borrowing.

Hey Drew.  Interesting graphic for masthead?  Or maybe not as it couldn’t be reduced and keep the same impact I don’t think.

Well anyway ... for the enjoyment of BMEWS ....

Posted by peiper     on 09/09/2010 at 11:10 AM   
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JAWS 3 ?

For other larger shots ....

JAWS 3

Some darn good photography and stunning shots. 

Posted by peiper     on 09/09/2010 at 09:43 AM   
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   Wednesday - September 08, 2010

Another day of the project

So the first pour of self-leveling concrete was given enough time to set good and hard. Then the rest of the floor was given a coat of latex concrete primer. Then I took off the toilet and had to figure out what to do with that board. Yes, an 17” long 2x10 had been cut into the concrete and nailed down under the toilet. As one commenter said, it was probably to allow access to the stack (the sewer pipe). But when I got the toilet off, and tore out the rotting slab of wood, I found that there was plywood underneath. And that the hole in it for the stack was only slightly bigger than the pipe itself.

So go figure. The wood was rotted. The nails that hadn’t rusted through were rusted down to little needles. The block of wood was rank, and split apart with a screwdriver. So it had to come out. I sprayed the heck out of the underlayment with a really strong solution of that D-128 hospital disinfectant, let it dry, and then latex primed the plywood while I figured out the proper approach. I could go buy a 2x10, cut a 4 1/4” circle in it, split it in half and put a new bit of wood back in. Which meant another trip to the hardware store, and the cost of buying a pretty large chunk of board. Or I could fill the hole in in a similar way, using 9 1/2” lengths of 2x4, and just cut the circle out of the middle two. That wouldn’t cost me anything, since I’ve got a bunch of them in the garage. But the more I thought about it, the less I liked the idea of any wood there at all. Eventually it will dry out and shrink, and thus not support the tiles or the toilet. And if any moisture gets down there again, I’ll have another wet rot and mildew situation on my hands.

So I did the only proper thing. I covered up the flange with duct tape on both sides, used some more duct tape to fill the gaps in between the side of the stack pipe and the opening in the plywood, and then I just filled it all with concrete. And now the hole is gone.

120 pounds of self-leveling cement made the second pour, and now I have a level floor. It’s feathered out on the tub side and the back side behind the sink and toilet, and I managed to cover 99% of the exposed floor. Phah. The little bits left can be handled with a bit of extra tile adhesive. Good enough, and then some.

This might take as much as 2 days to fully dry, so we’ll be without a toilet for that long. In case of minor emergencies, the Wal-Mart around the corner is open till 11pm every night. In case of major emergencies, I have a doubled 2x4 long enough to act as a gangplank up to the tub. Eww, but that wasn’t my idea. I’ve got an empty Snapple bottle I can use. She’s got ... nothing. Somehow my idea of a bucket didn’t go over too well. Women. What can I tell ya?

When the concrete is dry we’ll map out the floor and lay down a grid square to the hall wall and the hall doorway. And I’ll start laying tiles. And the first tiles to be laid, the first tiles to dry, the first tiles to be mortared and then put in use ... will be the ones under the toilet. 

Posted by Drew458     on 09/08/2010 at 07:03 PM   
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burning the koran might not actually be the best idea, but not for pc reasons …

The American church, if you want to call it that, has I am to understand, only 50 members. Is that a church or a cult?
Whatever, I see no point to burning the koran.  Whats it do for our side?  Naturally, half the world will see it as an American thing and blow it out of all proportion.
Then the president will have to go on TV and apologize.

The only reason I’d be for it to be truthful, would be to get up the noses and annoy the folks who don’t like us anyway and won’t no matter what we do.
Downside of course is that it just gives our enemies grist for their mill.  Not so sure I like that idea.
How do you feel about it?

Vatican condemns Koran burning

Irish Times

The Vatican added to world condemnation of plans by a Florida church to commemorate the September 11th attacks on the United States by burning a Koran, calling it an “outrageous” act.

The Vatican added to world condemnation of plans by a Florida church to commemorate the September 11th attacks on the United States by burning a Koran, calling it an “outrageous” act.

Leaders ranging from US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to the head of the Islamic Society of North America and the top US commander in Afghanistan have denounced plans by the pastor of a tiny Florida church to burn a copy of the Koran.

In a statement today the Vatican said it had heard with great concern of the planned commemoration of the attacks in 2001 which killed 2,752 people.

“These deplorable acts of violence, in fact, cannot be counteracted by an outrageous and grave gesture against a book considered sacred by a religious community,” it said.

“Each religion, with its respective sacred books, places of worship and symbols, has the right to respect and protection.”

Pastor Terry Jones, who heads a congregation of 50 at the Dove World Outreach Centre in Gainesville, Florida, says he scheduled the Koran-burning on the anniversary of the 2001 atrocities to stop what he sees as the encroachment of Sharia in the US and because “we must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam. We will no longer be controlled and dominated by their fears and threats.”

The Obama’s administration made clear that it deplored the planned event, which State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley described as “un-American.”

“I am heartened by the clear and unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths,” US secretary of state Hillary Clinton told American Muslims at the State Department last night as she hosted an Iftar, the meal at which Muslims break their daily fast during the month of Ramadan.

US attorney general Eric Holder reportedly called the planned Florida event “idiotic” during a closed-door meeting with a small group of religious leaders.

General David Petraeus, the head of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, said the burning could “endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort” to stabilise the Afghan situation.

“It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems, not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community,” Gen Petraeus said.

I kinda think I’d want to pay more attention to the general. He’s in a position to know what he’s talking about.

MORE AT THE IRISH TIMES

Posted by peiper     on 09/08/2010 at 02:07 PM   
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folks who just do not understand the tea party …

If you follow the link to her editorial and scroll down, there are tons of comments from both Brits and Americans.  And there is let us be honest please, quite a bit of race involved among many people who just can not abide a president of color. A Negro. 
As Drew once pointed out some time ago.  And I agree btw, it shouldn’t matter and it doesn’t to many, if a person is a Martian and green. What he says and what he does count. And for me personally, no matter what color, if he or she is one the left I am automatically against them.  I don’t like the left, I can hardly tolerate liberals and in fact, I can’t tolerate them.  But I do honestly think that our critics have some basis in truth for once.  There are an awful lot of plain old fashioned racists who have found a legitimate cover to hide behind in the TP.  I think it’s wrong to try and hide that.  On the other hand, there’s lots of folks who don’t hate anyone but just naturally prefer to hang out with other folks just like themselves.  And they are tagged as racists, unfairly I think. 

With regard to the BBC and radio which is often what I listen to, it isn’t so much that their on air ppl say or pontificate about the TP.  No. But what I often hear are interviews with Americans who are mostly on the left side of things.  Not so much screaming Marxist activists.  But rather soft spoken and well speaking Americans who, when they are not hinting at race and the TP, still manage to paint a pretty racist picture of the USA.  Some smart asses on the left who are on panel shows almost always find a way to say something not altogether kind about my country and of course, they are still blaming Bush for the state of the world. And still mentioning how inarticulate he appeared. One even suggested he’d never read a book.

And that’s how things are.

Janet Daley was born in America where she began her political life on the Left as an undergraduate at Berkeley. She moved to Britain (and to the Right) in 1965 where she spent nearly twenty years in academic life before becoming a political commentator: all factors that inform her writing on British and American policy and politicians.

The BBC completely fails to understand the Tea Party movement

By Janet Daley

With the smug incomprehension in which it takes so much pride (can’t understand – won’t understand!), the BBC sets about the American Tea Party Movement as if it were a cross between the Klu Klux Klan and the German neo-fascist brigade. Not once in all the demonic depictions I have seen and heard (last week’s Newsnight package was particularly outrageous) have I heard a mention of what the TPM is actually about: taxation. (Note to BBC editors: the movement is named after the Boston Tea Party because it is protesting about the imposition of higher federal taxes and over-weening controls on citizens who believe their voices have been ignored.)

The British generally and the BBC in particular have a real problem understanding the obsessive suspicion in which the power of central government is held in the US. This is not some funny redneck eccentricity: it is fundamental to the Constitution which gives individual states much greater sovereignty than the countries of the European Union enjoy.

The states have independent judicial systems (some states have capital punishment, others do not) and separate taxation systems (some have sales taxes, others do not). Only a Supreme Court ruling can over-turn state law by, for example, declaring something (such as abortion) to be a legal right which a state legislature may not deny.

Traditionally there is only one nationally imposed tax - federal income tax – which is designed to pay for those functions that must be carried out by national government. Resistance to the Obama healthcare reforms is as passionate as it is precisely because it imposes a federal requirement to purchase health insurance which seems to contravene the basic economic freedom guaranteed by the Constitution.

The BBC obviously finds it impossible to believe that ordinary people could actually take issues like this seriously. (They can only be racists or hillibilly know-nothings.) The Corporation really ought to encourage its correspondents to get out more and talk to some of the articulate Americans who don’t spend their lives in liberal salons.

SOURCE AND COMMENTS

Posted by peiper     on 09/08/2010 at 11:48 AM   
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idiots of the left on parade …

I’ve named this, Idiots on Parade for good reason.  Also, I could not think of another title but I can live with this.

Look at what President Sarkozy has to put up with.  And why?  I’ll tall ya why.  Because he has rounded up and deported 1,000 ILLEGAL Romas in the last 30 days.

The ONLY European politician to state openly that people who do not belong in his country will have to leave.  It’s a shame that France also is paying these scum.
But I guess if it works to a degree ....  Thing is. So many say they will come back. 

The idea that these left wing and illegal tramps and thieves can somehow equate Sarko’s actions with Nazi Germany is maddening.  They know better. They’re liars and disingenuous bastards every damn one of em.  (see photo at link above)

Just like the left everywhere in the world but especially in the west which is our concern.  Don’t have any facts?  No problem. Make something up and then rope in dupes and idiots who will believe anything.  Get people with nothing else to do and no sense or knowledge of history to march, shout insults and make things appear as something other then what they really are.  And of course the media just love the pictures.

Maybe what the French should do, since they are being accused of it anyway, is to actually use Nazi methods in the roundups and give these jerks a good taste of what the reality was like in fact.  I’d even go as far as black uniforms and firing squads.  Unless gas is cheaper then bullets as these scum are not worth spending too much on.  Then once that problem is solved, well.

Anyone for muslim clearance?

Europe accuses Nicolas Sarkozy of Roma gipsy ‘witch-hunt’

Nicolas Sarkozy has been accused by European politicians of carrying out a “witch-hunt” against Roma gipsy migrants following the expulsion of 1,000 gipsies from France in the past month.

Bruno Waterfield

During a debate in the European parliament, MEPs expressed grave concerns over Mr Sarkozy’s policy or returning the Roma from illegal camps to Eastern Europe.

Social Democrat, Labour and Liberal MEPs will vote on Thursday a European Parliament resolution condemning the French President’s policy to expel Bulgarian and Romanian gipsies.

A draft text expresses “deep concern regarding the recent measures taken by the French government to repatriate and return thousands of Roma EU citizens to their countries of origin”.

MEPs also criticised the European Commission for failing to enforce freedom of movement rights for EU citizens.

Martin Schulz, the German leader of Social Democrat MEPs accused President Sarkozy of carrying out “a witch-hunt against a minority” in order to boost his flagging popularity at a time of economic crisis.

He accused José Manuel Barroso, the Commission President of “kowtowing” to Mr Sarkozy by not enforcing rules allowing EU citizens freedom of movement.

Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian Prime Minister and leader of Liberal MEPs, said: “What’s taking place in France is unacceptable, and unfortunately is not an isolated case. Several governments while confronted with the difficulties of the economic crisis, are sliding towards populism, xenophobia, and racism.”

France has expelled more than 1,000 gipsies in the past month, bringing the total this year to more than 8,000. The expulsions have been condemned in France and abroad.

Does not the term, “Illegal” mean nothing to these dummies?  What the hell is it with the kraut, Mr. Schulz , accusing Sarkozy of a witch hunt? What hunt? They’re illegals! Oh, and a “deep concern” regarding French measures protecting their country. We can’t have that. And guys, have you caught on to the use of language with regard to ... “EU CITIZENS?” And who is this Belgian idiot to say what is and is not “acceptable” in a sovereign country?

The Europe-wide backlash against gipsies continued to gather pace after Italian police evacuated and demolished a gipsy camp in Milan that housed 250 Roma in 64 barracks and 35 tents.

Riccardo De Corato, the right-wing deputy mayor of Milan, said that 315 Roma settlements had been dismantled in the city since Italian expulsions of gipsies began three years ago. He said that the Italian policy, imitated by Mr Sarkozy, has reduced the number of gipsies in Milan from 10,000 in 2007 to 1,200 this year.

Last week, Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome said the Italian capital would carry on demolishing dozens of illegally-built shanty camps and repatriating their Roma inhabitants.

Posted by peiper     on 09/08/2010 at 09:51 AM   
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photography and George Bernard Shaw

OK, before anyone flames me for a limited subject let me say at once.

This is for those who read books and have some feeling for same, if not for this particular person. What really caught my attention today was his intense interest in photography.  I never associated him with that art form. Of course, way back when I didn’t have a computer to expand my knowledge of him.
I didn’t find him that easy a read, only based on the admitted very little I was exposed to.  But I became a fan of Man and Superman which certainly showed his sense of humor.

Thousands of photographs from a collection that belonged to him, are going to be made available online. This is a project of England’s National Trust, and there are somewhere between 20 and 24 thousand pictures they are going through.  Many are in need of cleaning and restoration and so not everything is on display.  According to a short article in the paper this morning, there are supposed to be “several hundred” already online.  But I couldn’t find even a hundred. So far.  Must dig for more I guess.

The trust hopes to have it all available by next summer. 

In addition to prints are approx. 4000 cellulose and glass plate negatives.

There are also albums collated by Shaw which are still in their original housing and covering topics such as Shaw’s family and travels, including his visit to Auguste Rodin.

This should also interest those who enjoy early photography and history etc.

I’m so used to seeing Shaw as an old man with that white beard.  Never thought about him as young.

At this point in time, there aren’t many on show, but there are links to some very interesting things and much reading.
I suppose if you have the patience and the time, you could spend a lot of it with the Natl. Trust.  There’s also a link for those so inclined to be updated as the trust adds to the collection.

Man and Cameraman - revealing the photographic legacy of George Bernard Shaw

“If Velasquez were born today, he would be a photographer and not a painter.” George Bernard Shaw, quoted in The Best of Popular Photography, p276.

George Bernard Shaw bought his first camera in 1898 and was an active amateur photographer until his death in 1950. Shaw was a pioneer of photography as a serious art form: reviewing exhibitions and writing widely on the topic.

His photographs document a prolific literary and political life offering glimpses into Shaw’s inner world. Shaw’s images are almost endless in their subject coverage, from changes in fashions to portraits of the 1860s from architecture to education, and their personas, from Vivien Leigh and Mrs Patrick Campbell to Sidney and Beatrice Webb. They also record his experiments with photography and for the photographic historian the collection provides a record of the development of photographic and processing techniques available from the 1890s. In total the archive comprises approximately 24,000 photographs and negatives and 15 photograph albums compiled by Shaw.

MAN AND CAMERAMAN

‘Bernard Shaw’

The dawn of colour
August 31st, 2010 by Karyn Stuckey, Man and Cameraman Project Archivist

Every picture tells a story: this one signals a new age when the dream of colour became a reality. Early photographers experimented with how to reproduce colour but it wasn’t until 1903 that a device for doing so, the autochrome, was patented (commercial available from 1907). Prior to this hand tinting was the only guaranteed way of providing colour images, although many other techniques were tried. GB Shaw’s photographs and negatives show him as a keen experimenter and forays into colour are no exception. Early colour images allow us to see a world we are used to seeing in black and white in colour, though of course the quality of that colour was not always true to life.

THE DAWN OF COLOR

Posted by peiper     on 09/08/2010 at 08:26 AM   
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A PERSONAL THING … some ppl I don’t think much of.

IT’S A PERSONAL THING ...

There are people, innocent ppl, who have awful luck and become victims of crime or else suffer very bad health.  Or both.  So it really does gall me, I mean really,really bother me to an extreme, that slags like Gloria Allred (and Jane Fonda) sail through life with apparent success and happiness and no ill winds blow.  Nobody has thrown acid in their face or run them down in a car or taken shots (that we know about) at them.  No one has chased either with an axe or a hammer. Charmed lives.

Recently, a mom had to make a choice in saving one of her two kids. With her car in 10 feet of water upside down, she got her two year old out, thinking she could return for her 16 year old boy, or maybe he’d get out somehow. But she could not grab both. Saving her little girl she wanted to go back into the water but was stopped by rescuers who’d arrived by then, having been called by others.  They went down for him but too late. What a choice for a mother to have to make.

Reason I bring this up now is because a week ago, one of the magazines that come with our paper did a huge spread on Gloria Allred . Five pages in fact, devoted to her including an almost full color page photo.

Now then, if the bitch is going after folks who really deserve the aggro and actually have done bad things and need a junkyard dog lawyer, I’m fine with that.  But why on earth would the women who played house with Tiger Woods, need her to represent them?  Against him.  Why?  There were no charges of rape.  No charges of getting them drunk and taking advantage of them.  Oh but Allred is going to be there for these poor unfortunates and as the story goes, “has done battle against Tiger Woods.” Huh? 

Lets face it, she’s a showboater and quite a successful one.  In another age, one less politically correct, she’d be out on her ear.  She’s pictured holding a sign protesting David Letterman (like he’d have been impressed or even chastised) reading, “David Letterman, just say no to sex in your workplace.” She was at a premier for some film. Real class there I tell ya.  Can’t take the roots outta the girl.  Thing is, why would she make that any of her business?  She wasn’t there to see what went on.  So he had a fling with someone on his staff.  Hey, works the other way too.  Whoever the lady was, she was having a fling with him.  But Allred’s gonna fight that other woman’s quarter, even though she wasn’t asked.  Can’t help but wonder how many unfortunates she’s shaken down over the years.  Maybe none as she’s still alive. Or has stuff hidden away in safe places ….  Yeah. That must be it.  btw ... Her daughter is also a lawyer in the same mold.

And then there’s Fonda.  I think I’d better stop here.

Posted by peiper     on 09/08/2010 at 07:54 AM   
Filed Under: • Personal •  
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   Tuesday - September 07, 2010

speaking of islam …

BMEWS, This is a very, very, very looong read at the link.  Sometimes I think these things get overlong, but darn if they aren’t also very interesting.

So then, here’s a taste and it’ll be short here.  No comments from either myself or WOOF, who I just decided to name. I said what I wanted to say in a previous post.  I’ll leave the the rest to anyone interested.  Which don’t seem to be many which you might say is a plus for the enemy.

WOOF

Oh yeah ... H/T Europe News ....

Teaching Sweden about Islam

EuropeNews

By Henrik R. Clausen

In Denmark, it is well known that the Swedish public debate about immigration, and Islam in particular, hardly exists

The established political parties have a tacit agreement not to discuss the developments, and a compliant press is very helpful towards achieving that goal. Only one political party is seeking to open the discussion in anticipation of the September 19th general elections.

On August 30th, they hosted an evening conference with guests from abroad invited to teach interested Swedes about Islam, the connection to crime and the possible implications for freedom of speech and other civil liberties. This packed the hall with just under 100 in attendance. The speakers were:

Nicolai Sennels, Danish psychologist. His extensive professional experience with criminal Muslims has taught him important reasons why the cultural differences between Western and Islamic cultures makes traditional crime-preventing methods ineffective.

Farshad Kholghi, Iranian-born, non-Muslim refugee to Denmark. Now a professional actor and debater, his personal experience of living in an Islamic society has motivated him to speak out now, in order that we may know the dangers of Islam and Sharia, and defend our Western ideals of freedom.

Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, daughter of an Austrian diplomat. Having lived and worked in several Islamic countries, her extensive experience and studies earned her an invitation to teach the Austrian political party FPÖ about the dangers of radical Islam. For her assessment of Islam, she was reported to Austrian police for ‘Hate speech’, but continues to stand up for womens’ rights, freedom of expression and other Western values.

Nicolai Sennels:
How do we deal with immigrant crime?

The first speaker, Nicolai Sennels, was armed with an array of slides with examples and statistics regarding immigrant crime. A handful of Antifa-style youth was watching from a distance, but apparently found the charts, bars and numbers presented by Nicolai Sennels to be not worth their time.

Sennels pointed out that crime rates are not falling over time (as one might expect), that quite to the contrary crime is more extensive among second and third generation immigrants. Thus, we cannot expect immigrant crime to level off in the foreseeable future, unless new methods are found and applied.

With his documentation he busted several other myths, including the one that the high crime levels was due to the traumatic experiences of coming from a war-torn country. This is countered by way of example, as crime rates among immigrants of Turkish background are at the very top of the statistics, beaten only by those of Moroccan background. Neither of these contries have suffered major military conflicts for many decades. In contrast, immigrants from Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan have much lower crime rates. War trauma simply isn’t a plausble explanation, but rather a diversion from the real problems.

OK ... I checked and it worked ... try again. Thanks

http://europenews.dk/en/node/35004

Posted by peiper     on 09/07/2010 at 12:25 PM   
Filed Under: • FREEDOM • International •  
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