Don't Smash That Bug

Look how beautiful these bugs are up close. It's hard to believe we slap these things when they bother us. Is it because we've never seen them so close?

More of the work of Tulsa photographer Thomas Shahan here

"Experience Things!" - The Experience vs. The Story of The Experience

It's interesting to witness the seismic shift instant messaging has created. When a Big, Important Event is taking place, say a concert or sporting event (or even a first date), we're now expected to send reports from the field using our iPhone or Blackberry. Rather than simply experiencing life, we're asked to record life, placing it in tidy digital context for others.

This isn't surprising: much of what we think we "like" are things we sense we're expected to like. Our tribe tells us what's important, and by reporting back to the tribe, we reaffirm our sense of belonging. Twittering and posting about how awesome the Super Bowl is only confirms what everyone senses deep inside: the Super Bowl sucks. But wait -- the Super Bowl is important! If we're at the Super Bowl, therefore we're important.

Mad Men's Matthew Weiner touches on this:

"When I look at digital, the dark side of it for me is the physicality that's being presented alongside the Internet. I think about that movie The Matrix, and about these bodies that are human batteries that support computers. I met this guy who was creating software where you could watch Mad Men and you could chat with your friend while you're watching it, and things would pop up, and facts would pop up, and I said, "You're a human battery. Turn the fucking thing off! You're not allowed to watch the show anymore. You're missing the idea of sitting in a dark place and having an experience. Are you just like sitting with your phone and you're kissing your girlfriend and saying, 'I'm kissing my girlfriend! This is so great, we're having sex!'" EXPERIENCE THINGS!"


Before long, the idea of recording an individual's entire life, cradle to grave, will be reality. We'll no longer speculate if a George Washington really chopped down that cherry tree - we'll just refer back to his Twitters for proof. The internet will be full of these archived "Lives Lived" for us to study. How will yours measure up?

Another Crazy Grizzard...

From the Daily Telegraph (UK):

"Marc Grizzard, of Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, North Carolina, says that the first King James translation of the Bible is the only true declaration of God’s word, and that all others are “satanic”. Pastor Grizzard and 14 other members of the church plan to burn copies of the other “perversions” of Scripture on Halloween, 31 October."

My heritage is southern Confederate. That's reality. They came from the racist South and they behaved like every other racist Southerner. My heritage is fundamentalist Christian. That's not a surprise, either. We're taught from infancy what we're supposed to believe, and warned of damnation if we stray.

But book burners? That's pathetic and scary — it's a symbolic act of violence against ideas. What happened to THIS Grizzard?

"Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings." — Heinrich Heine.

Fascinating Fact: California

If California were an independent nation, it would be a member of the G8 (a political forum addressing the interests of the eight riches countries on Earth).

From the Family Values Desk: Dad-To-Be Gropes Maternity Nurse

From the UK Daily Mail:

"A father missed the birth of his first son after being arrested for groping a nurse on the way to the delivery room.

Police said Adam Manning sexually assaulted the nurse as she wheeled his wife into the delivery room.

The 30 year old had told the nurse she was "cute" then reached round to grab her breasts.

Police in Ogden, Utah, were called to the hospital and arrested Manning on charges of forcible sexual assault.

When later asked about his actions he said he had no idea why he carried out the assault. Police confirmed that he missed the birth of his son."

Here's the irony of the story: Utah Adoption laws prevent a person from designating their same-sex partner as a second parent if they are cohabitating. According to Utah state law (78-30-1), "a child may not be adopted by a person who is cohabiting in a relationship that is not a legally valid and binding marriage under the laws of this state". Furthermore, state legislature suggests that the optimal Adoption placement for a child should be a married heterosexual couple.

Therefore, in the eyes of Utah law, delivery room groper Adam Manning is far more fit to be a parent than any gay or lesbian (or unmarried hetero, for that matter) couple in Utah. Period.

American Painting

When it's all said and done, this painting by pinup artist Gil Evgren might say more about America than any thing Pollock, Ruscha, or Warhol could ever say.

Family Pictures: Down on the Farm

My mom's parents, Lucile and Willis Logan, owned a 25-acre farm in Taylor County, West Virginia.

The two of them raised four children, then continued to live a simple, old-fashioned lifestyle. They kept cows for milk. They kept chickens for eggs. They grew their own vegetables. They often got their protein from varmints, like squirrel or ground-hog. I helped milk cows. I collected eggs. I saw Grandma behead chickens. I hiked in the woods. I picked berries. I used an outhouse. For a couple of weeks each year, I got to experience a rural, agrarian way of life that was a huge contrast to our families' life in industrial Baltimore. Everything moved so slowly. It was like visiting another country. Grandma played local gospel and country music radio in the house. When she sat down to watch her soap opera, she strung beans, or darned socks, or did something constructive with her hands. I never once saw her sitting idle.

Grandad chopped firewood every day that I can remember. Grandma baked bread almost every day. The old Philco refrigerator in the kitchen seemed extraneous. You know they didn't really need it.

Still, their house was full of books and news magazines. Grandad read voraciously, and kept nearly every magazine he ever read. All over the house there were stacks of old, mildewed magazines. I spent many hours studying old copies of "The Saturday Evening Post" from 1956, or "Coronet," from 1943. I read articles about politics, entertainment and sports. I loved looking at old advertisements. Back then, most ads featured long blocks of wonderfully written copy. I read every word. And the visuals: photography still wasn't popular back then. Most ad agencies hired talented illustrators to create sumptuous worlds of material wealth and comfort. I was hooked. I grew up and worked as a magazine designer, and then an advertising designer.
After my grandparents both died, there was no way to maintain their house. It was literally falling apart, and with no permanent residents, it was prone to break-ins. The family made the difficult decision to level the house. All of those memories are gone, but a few pictures remain:
Today, I can still smell the meadow. I can hear the sound of the cows braying. I can feel the bounce of our station wagon as we drove up the rough dirt road that led to their home.

We park the station wagon. Grandma is there to greet us. She's wearing a work dress and her hair is pulled back in a bun, as always. She's so happy to see us, and we're so happy to see her. She's so full of life. She loves my sister and I so unconditionally. She smiles at us so sweetly. I'm so happy to be here.

Our family still owns the Logan farm. We'll always own the Logan farm

"Making Money" vs. "Earning Money"

Despite what anti-intellectuals may tell you, words matter. When we spew out a "Freudian Slip," we reveal our innermost secrets. When we speak extemporaneously, we tend to show our hand in an extraordinary way.

Witness this excerpt from a speech by disgraced Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain. Pay close attention to the last sentence:

"Purely based on the fact that Wall Street is a pretty good meritocracy -- you have to have the right skill set -- basically you can start from zero there. You can become the president of Goldman Sachs. You can become the CEO of the New York Stock Exchange. You can become the CEO of Merrill Lynch. You can make a lot of money."

"Make" a lot of money. In the wake of exotic financial transactions gone bust, does the notion of a Wall Street hotshot "making" money sound ironic? It reveals these financial whizzes as Houdini-like figures, conjuring up profits via risk-laden speculation and naked ambition.

The take-away? "Earning" money is for chumps. "Making" money is for winners.

Friday Wack

My Doppelgänger

A search for "David Grizzard" on Facebook brought a few matches.

The most scary match was this dude from Virginia. From the looks of things, he drives a pickup truck and misses the good 'ole days of slavery.

He also wears a very hip moustache/goatee (well, it was hip in 1990, for a few hours).

We Grizzards certainly tend to originate from the U.S. South, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Why is it still acceptable to wear the Stainless Banner in the U.S.? Don't tell me it's a celebration of a "heritage." That "heritage" was based upon the forcible enslavement of other human beings. It's nothing to be proud of.

Does merely invoking the word "heritage" suggest that moral criticism is off-limits? There is a "heritage" shared by families of Nazi soldiers. Should that be honored? What about the "heritage" of the 9/11 hijackers? Would you enjoy seeing their symbols on a baseball cap?

I guess my question is this: why would anyone want to wear the flag of such a racist, murderous, and sanctimonious group of individuals? What message are you trying to send to the world?

Mountain Biking Documentary: Early Footage

My friend Brent and I began filming on a documentary over the weekend. The subject? How NOT to mountain bike. Check out some video from the Northshore Trail, outside of Dallas. Or not. They're actually a complete waste of your time. Read a book instead.
Always wear bright yellow on the trail. Bears are afraid of yellow. I've never seen a bear while riding with a yellow shirt.

Big-Time College Football: Scenes From Stillwater

On Saturday, I once again watched from the sidelines as #14 Oklahoma State battled Grambling St. in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The view from the sidelines is fantastic. You're interacting with dudes who are making plays in front of 56,000 rabid fans, and yes, it's thrilling. If you aren't paying attention, you'll get knocked down. If you have a crazy streak, you might be tempted to run onto the field and line up with the offense. No one would stop you, at least for 15 seconds or so. However, your day would be ruined. I pretended to be a press photographer, and took these shots with my little point-and-shoot camera.

Dez Bryant (1) and pals pose for some pre-game shots. These dudes are physical specimens.

A lovely cowgirl. Also a physical specimen.

My friend Neal has a nephew playing for OSU (#87 Tracy Moore, at far right). Tracy caught a TD in the 2nd half. Neal's brother (Tracy's dad) played in the NBA in the early 90's. He occasionally had to guard Michael Jordan. Q: What was it like guarding Michael Jordan? A: What do you THINK it was like guarding Michael Jordan?

Male bonding in the end zone.

I love being on the field, taking pictures of my own self.

"Mad Men's" Don Draper might take his family on vacation in a vintage camper like this one. Sans graphics.

Here's what the press box looks like 2 hours before kickoff.

Anthropology 1.1: The lissome, nubile females of the tribe celebrate the bravery of the heroic young men. Implication? Success on the battlefield promises carnal rewards at home. The times change, but the roles stay the same. [Ironically, each of these young women will likely graduate with a degree and enjoy higher earning power than most of the young men she now celebrates.]

Mike Agan surveys the crowd.

The stylish Dez Bryant shares some love with the fans. Bryant is the best player on his top-20 NCAA football team. He's incredibly fast, charismatic and talented, and everywhere he goes in Stillwater he's quite literally worshipped. He appears genuinely sweet and kind, if slightly blown away by all the attention.

Stretch those hamstrings.

Jerry Rice Not Optimistic About Brett Favre as a Viking

The old graybeard, Brett Favre, just can't quit football. He's shown some steel with the Vikings this season, but the legendary Jerry Rice remains pessimistic:

From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

Q You don't sound too convinced that Favre will play at a high level for the whole season.

A I really don't. Brett is a competitor. But I know towards the latter part of my career, even though I still wanted to be out on that football field, it was like things became a little bit more difficult. But my job was different. It consisted of a lot of running and stuff like that. With Brett, the thing for him is dropping back, planting himself and throwing the ball downfield so it might be a little bit different for him. But he's a competitor. I think if he still wants to play, I think he should. But I really thought this team would be moving and looking down the road instead of trying to look for the one-year miracle.

Q How hard is that for guys like yourself and Brett to walk away from it?

A It's hard. It's hard because you love the game. I was listening to some guys doing commentary the other day. If you have other things going on in your life and you have other businesses going on, I think then you have other things you can focus on. But if it's just football and that's it ... and I think with Brett right now, he's been so in love with the game and he still wants to play. I tip my hat to him for going out there and giving it everything he can give it, but I don't know if it's going to be a good year.

While Rice certainly minces his words, this is still a surprisingly candid interview, especially coming from a man who played football into his forties.

Hollywood Renaissance Woman #2: Lucy Liu

Hollywood has been an historically inhospitable place for Asian women, yet Lucy Liu stands out in a world of willowy young blondes. Here are a few reasons why:

• She's the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants.
• She's forty years old.
• She graduated from one of the most demanding public high schools in the U.S., Stuyvesant High, in NYC.
• She later graduated from the University of Michigan
• She speaks Chinese (Mandarin), English, Italian, Spanish, and a little Japanese.
• In addition to acting, she's a visual artist, and has exhibited her paintings and photography.
• She's served as a UNICEF ambassador.
• She practices the martial art of Kali-Eskrima-Silat (knife-and-stick fighting), skis, rock climbs, rides horses, and plays the accordion.
• She once worked as an aerobics instructor.
• She lives with her brother and his wife.
• She has never tasted coffee (a fact to which she partially credits her beauty).

The View From Norway

From The New York Times:

"As a Norwegian, looking at the U.S. health care debate from the outside, I cannot help but laugh sometimes. It seems like the word “socialism” has become a swear word. In Norway, we just re-elected a “socialist” government. That does not mean that we live in a communist state. We have full-fledged capitalism over here, and we are just about the richest country in the world, per capita. But we have chosen to let the state supply world class health care to all inhabitants.

To allow private insurance companies to let private profit maximizing decisions get in between a patient and a doctor is close to unethical for us. In Norway, you get the same care no matter if you are a homeless drunk or the C.E.O. of one of the biggest companies. And that’s how it should be. They say that the measure of a country’s success lies in how it treats its most unfortunate citizens."

— Gjert Myrestrand

Word Clouds: U2's "The Joshua Tree"

Wordle is a website that analyzes any block of text to create beautiful word frequency diagrams. The larger the word, the more frequently it's used in the source text.

Since I've always been struck by the lyrics to U2's "The Joshua Tree," I decided to create a word cloud based on this album.

For those familiar with the album, it's not surprising to see so many of what I call "elemental words." These are the most basic words in the English language, and most would be understood very easily by English speakers living over 700 years ago. They're words like "rain," "eyes," "heart," "cold," "river," "stone," and "sky," and when used with style and invention, they work to form poetic works of striking directness.

These are the kinds of words used in the most memorable Bible passages, which isn't surprising coming from U2's primary lyricist, Bono. He's long been inspired by Biblical allegory. For "The Joshua Tree," he didn't write typical "let's party and get laid" songs. He wrote about feeling simultaneously lost and found across a harsh, yet beautiful landscape.

When a talented poet chooses monosyllabic "elemental words" such as these, the resulting work is timeless. It becomes understandable across generations, centuries, even millenia. It needs no annotation.

Though it has a few clunkers, at its best, "The Joshua Tree" speaks to the experience of being alive, not just being alive in 1987.

Reading Between The Lines

What do y'all think this recent CNN.com headline about young Miley Cyrus is trying to imply?

Appropriate? Inapropriate? Knowing? Cheeky?

Innocent? Innocuous? Wholesome? Hyprocritical?

Teasing? Suggestive? Off-Limits?

Wink-wink, nod-nod!!!

American Health Care, In A Nutshell

Let me put it simply:

In the United States, if you are wealthy, you are entitled to comprehensive health care.

If you are poor, you're up the creek. Sorry. Don't you wish you were rich?

Quick Quiz: Name one other wealthy, civilized country that dooms her poor to such shame and misery.

Yet, if anyone in the U.S. attempts to challenge this disgrace, they're quickly branded an anti-American. A Socialist. A Marxist. A Nazi. Just look at the signs being hoisted by the fat and happy folk benefitting from the status quo.

Why are those most opposed to health care reform members of the White majority?Haven't they been educated in the best public school systems? Aren't they most likely to land high paying jobs, the kind that come with some kind of health insurance?

Why are they so loathe to even entertain the idea of extending guaranteed health care benefits to the weakest Americans?

Do you ever see people of color at these anti-healthcare rallies? There's racism at work here, and it's pretty hard to ignore. If I'm wrong, show me some dark faces at these rallies.

Are we White folk simply afraid those lazy, unproductive minorities might get some free goodies at our expense?
Why aren't we protesting other forms of Socialism, like a paid police force, or public libraries? Why aren't we outraged by the taxes spent to maintain our fire department?

Here's a scenario: let's just eliminate all taxes, full stop. Let the Free Market rule. Stop all social services. No more Medicare. No more Medicaid. No more arts funding. No public schools. Check your history. This is what Republicans dream about.

If you've got money, you're going to be fine. If you don't — sorry, pal! It's social Darwinism, as practiced by Bible-thumping Christians.

Carter Weighs In

"I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he's African-American.

"I live in the South, and I've seen the South come a long way, and I've seen the rest of the country that shares the South's attitude toward minority groups at that time, particularly African-Americans."

"That racism inclination still exists, and I think it's bubbled up to the surface because of belief among many white people -- not just in the South but around the country -- that African-Americans are not qualified to lead this great country. It's an abominable circumstance, and it grieves me and concerns me very deeply," – Jimmy Carter.

Finally, someone is bold enough to strike back at the hate.

For Republicans crying foul: the facts aren't on your side. Remind me of the last time a member of Congress called the President a liar during a nationally televised address.

Jimmy Carter elucidates what all reasonable people in this country are sensing: that a hateful and disrespectful conservative groundswell is working overtime to further erode political discourse in this country.

"The president is not only the head of government, he is the head of state. And no matter who he is or how much we disagree with his policies, the president should be treated with respect."

It should come as no surprise that it was a Southern senator breaching American political protocol with a shout of "You lie!" during President Obama's recent address to the nation. South Carolinians have an embarrassing legacy of hatred and cruelty toward African-Americans in the United States.

How To Connect With 72,000 People

Over the decades, I've attended a lot of concerts. For me, nothing compares with seeing a great up-and-coming band in a small, sweaty club. When everything clicks, the energy is indescribable. The music slices into your core, and everything in the world seems right. You feel young and alive and beautiful. You're flushed with the feeling that, right now, there's no place you'd rather be on the entire Earth.

Sadly, this experience usually doesn't translate to larger venues. I've wasted wads of money to watch big, important acts play to large crowds (say, more than 10,000 people). Usually, the musicians fail to connect with the audience, and you never experience those feelings you get in a small club.

One performer, however, managed to make a stadium concert feel intimate. Freddie Mercury, the shy, African-Asian lead singer of the band Queen, was completely at home performing for large audiences. In fact, the larger the stage, the better his performance.

On a hot Saturday in 1985, my sister and I sat glued to the television all day long, fighting over the right to videotape our favorite performers. It was Live Aid, and she was 13, I was 17. Chandra got to record the New Romantics and New Wave acts. I recorded the more established acts. When it was time for U2 to take the stage, I invoked my first-born status and got to record their amazing set. Their performance at Wembley Stadium cemented their status as the best up-and-coming band in the world. Their performance of "Bad" transfixed the crowd, and I wondered how anyone could top them.

But then Queen took the stage. Queen was already very established, though in my mind, they were already well past their prime. Freddie Mercury didn't seem to dress very cool. He was almost forty years old. Wearing a pair of skin-tight faded jeans and a wife beater, he looked like a Tom of Finland character, before I knew what that was. I pressed "record," on the VCR, but wasn't expecting much.

Within a few moments, though, I realized that Queen was in complete command of the massive crowd. They burned through a few well-known songs, sounding tight and lean, and far younger than any band I'd ever heard. Freddie, in particular, was in total control of the audience, and I was stunned by his ability to capture the attention of such a huge crowd.

By the time the band started into "Radio Ga-Ga," the wall between artist and audience had been shattered. Everyone in the stadium clapped in unison to the chorus. It almost resemble a German Youth Rally. Mercury pranced and preened across the stage, relishing the moment, and you knew you were witnessing the highlight of the day.

In fact, many respected rock critics still rank this performance as the finest in rock history. Judge for yourself. For me, I still get goose bumps.

The song is essentially an aging man's love letter to a part of his past. He loves a thing that he knows is dying (radio), and delivers an elegy to her fading glory. But in the end, he still holds out hope that she'll rise up once again, cheating death:

"You had your time, you had the power
You've yet to have your finest hour "

Today he's reminding an audience half his age exactly what he loves. Watch his eyes. He's completely focused. Watch how he moves on stage. Nothing seems extraneous. He acts as if performing for 72,000 people were old hat.

Just two years later, Freddie Mercury would contract HIV. He eventually wasted away, and died at the age of 45.

Mercury was a complex man. He was born in Zanzibar, a tropical island off the coast of East Africa. He was raised Zooroastrian. He married a woman when he was young, and though they later divorced, they remained best friends until his death. In fact, he left the bulk of estate to his ex-wife, Mary. "The only friend I've got is Mary and I don't want anybody else," he once said. She still resides in his mansion in England.

His untimely death shined a bright light on the spectre of AIDS, and for many, served as a catalyst into action.

Over 20 years after his death, Freddie Mercury's status as a rock god has only grown. This sweet and gentle man with the enormous onstage charisma has become an iconic figure in rock history, and this performance at Live Aid may be his finest.

Mini Roadster Concept

Mmmmm... I love this Mini Roadster concept.

Check out the tilted-back windscreen.

It's a small car, but it's pugnacious-looking. It's designed with a huge aesthetic, managing to be gorgeous and full of scrappy attitude all at the same time.

Lean & Mean

From the NY Post:

"One simple indication of the difference in age and status of the two finalists: The 28-year-old Federer's guest box was full, with pals such as rock-star couple Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale and Vogue editor Anna Wintour seated alongside Federer's parents, wife and agent. Only three of the 15 available seats were occupied in del Potro's box."

Q: May I Say A Few Words in Spanish? A: No.

After a stunning 5-set win over tennis god Roger Federer on Monday, twenty-year old Juan Carlos del Potro dutifully answered questions from CBS Tennis lead announcer Dick Enberg. It was clear the young Argentine struggled with English, but still, he did his best.

But when del Potro asked for a moment to speak a few sentences in his native Spanish, how did Enberg react? "No, I'm afraid we don't have time," he deflected, nervously.

A few moments later, after yet another request to speak in Spanish, Enberg finally relented.

Does anyone else realize what kind of message this sends to the world?

Perhaps "Desperate, Fading Superpower?"

In a sport struggling to win fans in the United States, what is the value of disrespecting the language of a surging minority Hispanic population? Wouldn't you want to win Hispanic fans?

Why must American sports coverage constantly scrub away any semblance of diversity? Are we really so jingoistic as to deny a Spanish-speaking champion a moment or two to speak from his heart in his own language? Are we really that desperate to cut to an episode of "How I Met Your Mother?"

And how about Enberg's lustful check presentation? He positively purred out the amount of Del Potro's payday: one-million, eight-hundred thousand something or other. How crass is this? Is this our message to the rest of the world? Come to America, make some crazy money!!

Isn't this why we're in the financial mess we're in?