short notes:
will brady's ruminations
will brady's ruminations
2007-12-30
personal credo
Over the next week I'll be posting an assortment of my own personal values statements. This is the first of the series. Originally penned in 1983, it outlines what I see as essential qualities for human survival.
Over the next week I'll be posting an assortment of my own personal values statements. This is the first of the series. Originally penned in 1983, it outlines what I see as essential qualities for human survival.
Labels: cultural values, human condition, social comment
¶ 01:41 0 comments
2007-12-14
homelessness
Moyra Peralta gets interviewed on the BBC. Only five minutes speaking about the growing crisis. She sensibly disputes London politicos who minimize the seriousness of the problem.
Her book, Nearly Invisible, is a sensitive, even intimate, look a people who are homeless. The focus of the book is on what each man and woman carries with them all the time - essential components of what they need and how each person sees him or herself, in spite of being without domicile.
She is not a voyeur. The people who agreed to be photographed, and have their possessions etched into the reader's memory - are her friends.You can find her book on sale through Amazon.com.
Moyra Peralta gets interviewed on the BBC. Only five minutes speaking about the growing crisis. She sensibly disputes London politicos who minimize the seriousness of the problem.Her book, Nearly Invisible, is a sensitive, even intimate, look a people who are homeless. The focus of the book is on what each man and woman carries with them all the time - essential components of what they need and how each person sees him or herself, in spite of being without domicile.
She is not a voyeur. The people who agreed to be photographed, and have their possessions etched into the reader's memory - are her friends.You can find her book on sale through Amazon.com.
MENTION MADE AT: Wood's Lot, one of my consistently favorite weblogs
Labels: homelessness, Moyra Peralta, social comment
¶ 21:04 0 comments
2007-12-13
art + artists
One week before Christmas I was prowling Main St in downtown looking for something to shoot, when I spotted a Santa working in front of the general store. We got to talking and I came to find out the poor guy was miserable. He lived alone, his health was poor, he hadn't had a job in a long time and he was stuck doing this crummy santa gig out in the cold. He was really in pain and down-and-out, yet, when the children showed up he was a prince. The irony in this pic is that the children were from an obviously well-to-do family - none of whom would probably ever know this man's heart-rending story - and he was giving to them when, in a perfect world and in the true spirit of Christmas, they should have been helping him.
Photographer Ian Grey usually devotes his time to macro-photography and team sports but he's long expressed an interest in doing commentary photos, documenting in particular people who are homeless or otherwise disenfranchised.
His efforts at this are few, but go back to the homeless man in Northampton, Massachusetts [pictured above] and more recently [2004, below] Santa in the Berkshires. Ian takes the time to meet and speak with the people he memorializes. I have lifted [with Ian's gracious consent] the pictures and text from his PBase folio. Check out more of Ian's work, which you can find on sale at the Williams College Museum of Art gift shop in Williamstown and Papyri Books in North Adams, Massachusetts.
His efforts at this are few, but go back to the homeless man in Northampton, Massachusetts [pictured above] and more recently [2004, below] Santa in the Berkshires. Ian takes the time to meet and speak with the people he memorializes. I have lifted [with Ian's gracious consent] the pictures and text from his PBase folio. Check out more of Ian's work, which you can find on sale at the Williams College Museum of Art gift shop in Williamstown and Papyri Books in North Adams, Massachusetts.
One week before Christmas I was prowling Main St in downtown looking for something to shoot, when I spotted a Santa working in front of the general store. We got to talking and I came to find out the poor guy was miserable. He lived alone, his health was poor, he hadn't had a job in a long time and he was stuck doing this crummy santa gig out in the cold. He was really in pain and down-and-out, yet, when the children showed up he was a prince. The irony in this pic is that the children were from an obviously well-to-do family - none of whom would probably ever know this man's heart-rending story - and he was giving to them when, in a perfect world and in the true spirit of Christmas, they should have been helping him.
Labels: christmas, homelessness, Ian Grey, photography, social comment
¶ 01:01 0 comments
2007-02-09
notables
Molly Ivins was 62.
She died from complications due to cancer
1944 - 2007
I think that the writer over at Rude Pundit said it best.
GODDAMNIT!
"She said, often, that the sins of omission were the real crimes of contemporary journalism. Her columns so often filled that gap, talking about labor and working people and countries like the Congo and Indonesia. She refused in the last few years to get drawn into the false debate of "would you rather Saddam still be in power," turning that around to say that the left never wanted him in power in the first place.
She was goddamned smart, so smart she didn't have to flaunt it. So smart that she could use the down to earth side to say what she meant so all of us could understand it. She didn't suffer bullies. She loved Texas like a parent loves her child even after that child has gone on a three-state killing spree. She was unfailingly polite. And she could eviscerate anyone who was failing all of us with just an image or two. Those guttings will be desperately missed. That sense and celebration of the decency of the average American will be missed even more.
We've lost one of our defenders."
She died from complications due to cancer
1944 - 2007
I think that the writer over at Rude Pundit said it best.
GODDAMNIT!
"She said, often, that the sins of omission were the real crimes of contemporary journalism. Her columns so often filled that gap, talking about labor and working people and countries like the Congo and Indonesia. She refused in the last few years to get drawn into the false debate of "would you rather Saddam still be in power," turning that around to say that the left never wanted him in power in the first place.
She was goddamned smart, so smart she didn't have to flaunt it. So smart that she could use the down to earth side to say what she meant so all of us could understand it. She didn't suffer bullies. She loved Texas like a parent loves her child even after that child has gone on a three-state killing spree. She was unfailingly polite. And she could eviscerate anyone who was failing all of us with just an image or two. Those guttings will be desperately missed. That sense and celebration of the decency of the average American will be missed even more.
We've lost one of our defenders."
Labels: molly ivins, obituaries, pundits, social comment
¶ 00:03 0 comments
2006-05-26
mental health system | crisis intervention
My friend who, a few weeks ago, was losing touch with conventional reality and spending more time in a parallel one, ended up in a psyche hospital last Friday. Although he was a client of what is known as an ACT Team they really had no involvement in his going to an in-patient setting.
Although he had provided the community provider agency with the proper consent [in writing, authorizing I could speak to them about his situation] three weeks ago the ACT Team Coordinator [the boss] not only refused to talk with me, but refused to even listen to my observations outlining my friend's increasing fragile mental state. ...and he slammed the telephone down. End of discussion.
In frustration and alarm, I got in touch with someone I know who works at a state agency who agreed to intercede with the ACT Team coordinator's boss. This led to a week-and-a-half of back and forth calls that involved neither myself nor the Coordinator nor my friend. "What does Will want?" was the weak defense.
Stupid me, I though what I wanted was pretty obvious. Namely, for staff who work on what is supposed to be a "...24 hours a day, seven days a week..." basis with and on behalf of people who experience "...debilitating symptoms associated with mental illness... and to minimize or prevent recurrent acute episodes..." and to aid in avoiding unnecessary hospitalization.
Now, this ACT Team doesn't have an attending psychatrist, whose job would be to assess how well a multi-medication regimen might be acting for someone to minimize or blunt the severity of psychiatric symptoms. They haven't had one of over a year. They have a prescribing nurse. Not that I have any disagreements with the nurse, but presumably a psychiatrist ought to know the finer points of psychopharmacology more so than a nurse.
And this ACT Team doesn't make daily stops to my friend's house, either. The agency has sub-contracted that obligation out to a home-visit nursing organization. The staff from that place see him, maybe, 10 to 15 minutes a day.
Point being, the staff who are legally and clinically assigned to treat this man on a 24/7 intensive involvement basis, spend hardly any time assessing his condition. And they are this lax about these things when working with a man who has never been shy about speaking his mind; when working with a man whom the Agency staff know has a friend who is well connected AND whose job is to investigate neglect and abuse cases.
What do they do with their less connected, and possibly even more symptomatically compromised clients?
There's more... that's for the next post.
Although he had provided the community provider agency with the proper consent [in writing, authorizing I could speak to them about his situation] three weeks ago the ACT Team Coordinator [the boss] not only refused to talk with me, but refused to even listen to my observations outlining my friend's increasing fragile mental state. ...and he slammed the telephone down. End of discussion.
In frustration and alarm, I got in touch with someone I know who works at a state agency who agreed to intercede with the ACT Team coordinator's boss. This led to a week-and-a-half of back and forth calls that involved neither myself nor the Coordinator nor my friend. "What does Will want?" was the weak defense.
Stupid me, I though what I wanted was pretty obvious. Namely, for staff who work on what is supposed to be a "...24 hours a day, seven days a week..." basis with and on behalf of people who experience "...debilitating symptoms associated with mental illness... and to minimize or prevent recurrent acute episodes..." and to aid in avoiding unnecessary hospitalization.
Now, this ACT Team doesn't have an attending psychatrist, whose job would be to assess how well a multi-medication regimen might be acting for someone to minimize or blunt the severity of psychiatric symptoms. They haven't had one of over a year. They have a prescribing nurse. Not that I have any disagreements with the nurse, but presumably a psychiatrist ought to know the finer points of psychopharmacology more so than a nurse.And this ACT Team doesn't make daily stops to my friend's house, either. The agency has sub-contracted that obligation out to a home-visit nursing organization. The staff from that place see him, maybe, 10 to 15 minutes a day.
Point being, the staff who are legally and clinically assigned to treat this man on a 24/7 intensive involvement basis, spend hardly any time assessing his condition. And they are this lax about these things when working with a man who has never been shy about speaking his mind; when working with a man whom the Agency staff know has a friend who is well connected AND whose job is to investigate neglect and abuse cases.
What do they do with their less connected, and possibly even more symptomatically compromised clients?
There's more... that's for the next post.
Labels: crisis intervention, mentally ill, social comment, social justice
¶ 09:05 1 comments
2006-05-01
iraq quagmire | high crimes | protest
A friend sent a link to a Flickr group, with postings of photos from the NYC Peace March April 29, 2006.
Held just yesterday, I wasn't there since I was hauling furniture from Florida to about half a mile from here [where I write you just now] during the weekend and setting it up in someone's home only today.
The march was planned and co-ordinated by a coalition of willing peacemongers going under the umbrella name of United for Peace.
The USA Media [those who bothered to provide coverage], included the erstwhile Washington Post who affirmed that "tens of thousands" attended. It was left for the international press, such as Monsters and Critics to actually provide something other than stock wire coverage of the event.
Dubya declined comment on the march, but at a dinner held in his honor by the White House Correspondents [can you imagine?] Bush spoke instead about the faux staff change shuffle at the White House, indicating that he "...survived the shake up" himself.
Meanwhile, the Hartford Courant, in it's Sunday magazine, questioned whether or not Dubya could still lad the nation given his increasingly abysmal job performance ratings. The article made mention of a contingent of voters who support impeachment or at the very least censure for his and his administration's actions. Me. I say dispense with the niceties and try the whole lot of them for TREASON and get it over with. Would this be devisive? Doubtless. But bring it on!
Held just yesterday, I wasn't there since I was hauling furniture from Florida to about half a mile from here [where I write you just now] during the weekend and setting it up in someone's home only today.The march was planned and co-ordinated by a coalition of willing peacemongers going under the umbrella name of United for Peace.
The USA Media [those who bothered to provide coverage], included the erstwhile Washington Post who affirmed that "tens of thousands" attended. It was left for the international press, such as Monsters and Critics to actually provide something other than stock wire coverage of the event.
Dubya declined comment on the march, but at a dinner held in his honor by the White House Correspondents [can you imagine?] Bush spoke instead about the faux staff change shuffle at the White House, indicating that he "...survived the shake up" himself.
Meanwhile, the Hartford Courant, in it's Sunday magazine, questioned whether or not Dubya could still lad the nation given his increasingly abysmal job performance ratings. The article made mention of a contingent of voters who support impeachment or at the very least censure for his and his administration's actions. Me. I say dispense with the niceties and try the whole lot of them for TREASON and get it over with. Would this be devisive? Doubtless. But bring it on!
Labels: imipeachment, iraq, protest, social comment, treason
¶ 02:55 2 comments
2006-03-29
paris riots
I love Paris in the Springtime... Well, maybe not this year. Traveling a quarter-way around the globe to get a romantic whiff of CS gas is not my idea of a good time, though it would be certainly taking part in dramatic historic events.
But I want to know about this kind of thing, and I did when I stumbled across the Flickr photo collection of Charlotte Gonzalez. Here's a couple of her photos with her own comments:
"the guy on the right ran to help the guy who fell.
the guy on the left ran, turned back his head and saw the guy on the ground and kept running away. and i stayed there taking photos, until i couldnt breathe anymore
after that, i ran to a water canon, took blurry shots of people being soaked, and then was soaked myself. had the good reflex for the camera. the water has chemical products, and my face burned for quite a while. i don't even mention how aweful i look these days :P
She also maintains a gallery of her remarkable journalistic photography at DeviantArt
But I want to know about this kind of thing, and I did when I stumbled across the Flickr photo collection of Charlotte Gonzalez. Here's a couple of her photos with her own comments:
"the guy on the right ran to help the guy who fell.
the guy on the left ran, turned back his head and saw the guy on the ground and kept running away. and i stayed there taking photos, until i couldnt breathe anymore
after that, i ran to a water canon, took blurry shots of people being soaked, and then was soaked myself. had the good reflex for the camera. the water has chemical products, and my face burned for quite a while. i don't even mention how aweful i look these days :P She also maintains a gallery of her remarkable journalistic photography at DeviantArt
THANKS TO: Jake Compton |
Labels: paris, protest, s, social comment, travel
¶ 00:22 0 comments
2006-03-21
our surrealist society
I must be losing something in the translation, but none of my Bibles have the Prince of Peace espousing body slamming, choke holds and clotheslines as proper avenues of evangelism. Not even in the writings of Apostle Paul [who, in my mind was the most aggressive of the early disciples] can provide me a hook to connect this to. Maybe it's kind of like the Crusaders, if they don't convert, pummel the crap out of them, steal their riches in the Name of God.
Weirder still, this site is not the only "Born Again" stomper site. There's also the Ultimate Christian Wrestling, itself an adjunct to Harvest Church in Atherns, GA, which describes itself as a "...Spirit-filled fellowship where everyone is welcome..." Of course, Harvest Church also has a "Motorcycle Ministry", though it's not clear what that's all about either, that approach seems well, more travel based than aggresso.
Having so pointedly commented on this [in my mind] abberation I must confess to finding fondness for the wrestlers modest Christian Garb [go check out those cod pieces].
Weirder still, this site is not the only "Born Again" stomper site. There's also the Ultimate Christian Wrestling, itself an adjunct to Harvest Church in Atherns, GA, which describes itself as a "...Spirit-filled fellowship where everyone is welcome..." Of course, Harvest Church also has a "Motorcycle Ministry", though it's not clear what that's all about either, that approach seems well, more travel based than aggresso.
Having so pointedly commented on this [in my mind] abberation I must confess to finding fondness for the wrestlers modest Christian Garb [go check out those cod pieces].
FIRST SEEN AT: Pam Spaulding's House Blend |
Labels: distractions, humor, social comment
¶ 10:59 0 comments
2006-03-18
death + taxes
Here's a fast peek at what your federal tax dollars really get spent on. Graphic Artist Mibi posted his impressive work at Deviant Art 
He provides the following info on the page:
Two years ago, when Mibi posted this he was selling copies. Worth the effort to purchase one. Worth it to find out as well if they are still available. I've sent him an e-mail just beofre posting this. If there's a positive response, I'll provide more detail here in an update.
He provides the following info on the page:
My guess is that the only changes is that the dollars for the military and Homeland Secruity have increased and the human services have gotten smaller. Wonder if Halliburton has their own dot.
THE SUPERDEVIATION IS COMPLETE
Please click fullview, it is 1.8 megs [NOTE: click on the above pix to directly link to the full view]
After a year in the making... researching, number crunching, layouts, stock gathering, and lots of procrastinating, i am proud to say it is finally done.
the SUPERDEVIATION, or "spot" as it was known to some, comes now with the final title.
Death and Taxes: A visual look at where your tax dollars go.
Most people are unaware of how much of their taxes fund our military, and those aware are often misinformed. Well here it is. Laid out, easy to read and compare.
With data straight from the White House.
I hope this makes people think and ask questions.
• Why do we spend more on jets than we do on public housing?
• Why is the Endowment for the Arts so small?
• What's with all this foreign military financing?
• I'm sure you can come up with numerous questions of your own. Unfortunately i dont have any answers. Our leaders do. Your president, his cabinet and your congress person have these answers. Ask them for the answers or better yet, demand them.
The version submitted to DA is 3500x2333 and is 1.8 megs.
I have provided a larger version so you can see all of the details.
It is 9000x6000 and 5.8 megs. (so make sure your PC can handle it)
Sorry for all the watermarks, you know DA these days.
The source for the print is 12000x8000 at 400 DPI, with wonderful clarity and resolution.
Two years ago, when Mibi posted this he was selling copies. Worth the effort to purchase one. Worth it to find out as well if they are still available. I've sent him an e-mail just beofre posting this. If there's a positive response, I'll provide more detail here in an update.
FOUND AT: Joel's Blog
Labels: artists, politicians, social comment
¶ 01:32 0 comments
2006-03-14
reproductive rights
Michalia Reid writes The Boiling Point a carton weblog that discusses everything from the the Sperm Sufferage rights mobement to Queer Cowboys and the importance of teaching intolerance.
I think I love her stuff and plan on adding her to my blogroll.
Michalia Reid writes The Boiling Point a carton weblog that discusses everything from the the Sperm Sufferage rights mobement to Queer Cowboys and the importance of teaching intolerance.I think I love her stuff and plan on adding her to my blogroll.
FIRST SEEN AT: AlterNet |
Labels: emerging artists, humor, social comment
¶ 10:37 1 comments
