Category Archives: Psychological Musings

A great, manufactured, picture

Americana, Photography, Psychological Musings, Uncategorized,

First, a disclaimer. When I showed this picture to Michele, she didn’t see the cross made by the banner and Romney. Without the cross, it is just a snapshot and I am even more convinced that the photographer was shooting the cross than Michele is that she wasn’t. Of course neither one of us knows for sure. End disclaimer.

I like this picture so much because it seems so “made” rather than “taken”. I can just see the wheels turning in the photographer’s mind.The photographer is Christina Clusiau and I imagine her first shooting from the side. Then seeing the potential of the banner and moving to the center to get Romney and the banner to line up. Then, maybe, getting lower to get the banner higher.

If this had been film, Christina probably would have already shot some pictures with the body on which this lens was mounted – sure, she probably had another body but that would have the wrong lens on it – so she would have to hoard her shots. But today, and this is why digital is so great, she probably started with her camera having a clean card and she probably had atleast a  hundred pictures left. So she could shoot, maybe adjust the light, shoot again, and wait. When Romney looked up beseechingly, maybe pointing to someone to ask a question, she shot again. Making this picture.

When the light is right and the picture is right, it is easy. An almost opposite picture is one I took of Yosemite last year. We were driving through Yosemite to get to the other side of the Sierras which included driving through the Wawona Tunnel. On the other side is the Tunnel Overlook – a National Landmark because of the view – and it was late in the day. The light was great and all we had to do was get out of the car and point the camera in the general direction of El Capitan. The shot below would have been hard not to get.

Glow in the dark

Current Affairs, Psychological Musings, Uncategorized

In an article on looking for a cure/vaccination for AIDS, I read – almost in passing – that they have made a kitty that glows in the dark. It seems that researchers were able to place genes a from a glow in the dark Jelly Fish into a cat’s egg. The glowing gene is used as a marker insuring that the egg accepted an anti-AIDS gene they are working on. This leaves me pretty much speechless. For all sorts of reasons.

One is that the article is so nonchalant about the whole glowing kitty thing. A little bit like the glowing kitty part is something we all know about and the interesting part is the AIDS, well, it is probably more important in the short run, but making a kitty glow in the dark; that is – as Che said about sanitation – revolutionary.  How long before we have Replicants?

In defense of Obama or the advantage of being crazy

Americana, Current Affairs, Politics, Psychological Musings,

Yesterday – maybe the day before that, by now – James Fallows who is usually a voice of reason, answered his question about President Obama’s negotiating stance during the (unnecessary and abusive) debt-ceiling “showdown.” Was he thinking eight steps ahead of the opposition, playing multi-dimensional chess while they were playing tic-tac-toe? Or was he a fatal step or two behind, playing patty-cake while they were playing Mixed Martial Arts? Chess master? Or pawn?”

I think we know the answer, at least about this encounter. Pawn, and captured pawn at that.

It has been very discouraging, it just seems like Obama has been head faked out of his jock. My big complaint, I think most of my fellow lefty’s big complaint, is that he should have seen this coming. Additionally,  he seems to always start the negotiation by giving the Republicans half of what he thinks they want.  He is a little like Charlie Brown and Lucy with the football, except in this case, he is pulling the football out first to try and placate them.

In Obama’s defense, the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party just seems to be crazy. The advantage of being crazy is that the sane people have to do all the accommodating. Something like twenty five years ago – I remember it like it was only five years ago – I was waiting in the ten items or less line, when I realized the person two or three people in front of me had an over-full cart being pushed by a crazy looking teenager. Just then, her mother came running over very embarrassed saying something like Oh! no, dear; it is not nice to put a full cart in this line. The crazy teenager just looked at us like somebody yelling in the street and said They don’t care. She probably wasn’t drolling but I do remember as looking slightly dangerous in a ready to go berserk way.  We all looked at our feet, including the checker, and she went ahead.

If it looks like the other person is nuttier than a fruitcake and could do something really dangerous like shut the government down, then they have all the power. Especially with somebody like Obama whose persona is the cool, calm, sane, only adult in the room. That is great that he is the only adult in the room except he has no power. The Tea Party is getting its way by being crazy.

That actually doesn’t sound too crazy to me.

 

 

“60 Awesome Portraits Of Gay Couples Just Married In New York State”

Americana, Current Affairs, Psychological Musings

 

The title is ripped off the website  BuzzFeed and so are these two pictures. The full 60 -actually, 59 – pictures are there, also. Check it out! It is more than 59 wedding pictures, it is 59 pictures of people who have just been told they are as good as anybody else.

 

 

“Well, it’s not Timothy McVeigh”

Politics, Psychological Musings, Uncategorized,

When I heard about the bombing in Norway, yesterday, my first comment was Shit, I hope it’s not Muslims. The person I was with said “Well, it’s not Timothy McVeigh”.

It turns out to be Anders Breivik, a 32-year-old Norwegian, right wing, nationalist. And, Anders Breivik, it turns out is Norwegian for Timothy McVeigh.