The State Of The Union Through Tinted Glass

Current Issues / PotD

The State Of The Union Through Tinted Glass

January 12, 2016

We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free–honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth.—Abraham Lincoln, State of the Union address, 1862

charles i. letbetter - state of the union

Young Kennedys (2012). Models: Erin Rowe and Joel Hoffman. Hair and Makeup: Christopher Thompson

This is a reality check. If you look at this picture and think this represents the United States as it is now, the state of our union, you’re living within a pipe dream. For that matter, if you think today’s picture ever truly represented who we really are, you are a poor student of history. The idyllic, white-bread, everything-is-wonderful world so often attributed to the Kennedy administration never really existed. Just as this photograph is a work of fiction, so is the concept that somewhere back there, between the Eisenhower and Kennedy years, everything was fine and America was perfect.

We are reticent to realize that the state of our union has never been as perfect as it appears when we look back through rose tinted glasses. That era of your parents or grandparents wasn’t nearly as cheerful and happy as some today would make it seem. Theirs was a generation that lived in constant fear, jumping at every sound, constantly diligent in watching the skies and regarding with suspicion anyone who spoke with a non-coloquial accent. Children of that generation, myself included, would have bomb raid drills at school where we would hide under our desks in the vain hope that would prevent us from dying in a nuclear attack. Segregation was real, and inforced. I was in eighth grade before I didn’t have the darkest skin in my classroom. Millions were hopelessly addicted to the cigarettes their doctors told them to smoke for their nerves and they dropped dead in equal number between the ages of 65-70 without understanding why. Retirement was feared because it meant death wasn’t far off.

Do we really want to go back to those days? No, I didn’t think so. America wasn’t as great as we like to pretend.

When the framers of the Constiution decided it would be a good idea for the President to annualy update Congress on how the nation is doing, there was almost certainly an implied sense that if the country wasn’t doing well the Executive just might be replaced. While the impeachment clause was never used until 1868, the threat was always there and with feelings between the Legislative and Executive branches having often been contentious the habit was quickly developed wherein the State of the Union address was made to sound as positive and cheerful as possible, while also being used as a tool for laying out the President’s agenda for the next year.

When President Obama speaks this evening, he’s not going to give us a hard-edged look at reality. He will tout his considerable accomplishments, mention that unempoloyment is down and that manufacturing is up, that the automotive industry is no longer on the brink of collapse as it was when he took office eight years ago. He’ll take about civil rights advancements, specifically the rights of gays and lesbians to marry. and he’ll talk about health care. He’ll give a nod to gun reform but he won’t say anything there he hasn’t said before. Instead, he’ll try to make a case for making his replacement a Democrat so that the country might keep moving forward. In some form or fashion, he’ll say that the state of our union is good, and strong, because that’s what we want Presidents to do: give us a cheery, tinted-glass view of a reality we know doesn’t exist.

Were the President to lay it all out on the table for us, here are some of the points he would have to address:

We remain a nation steeped in racism just as severely as we were in 1860. We don’t like to think we are, but our actions prove differently not only in Ferguson and Charleston, but in the very way we’ve treated this President from the moment he was elected. Anyone who says this country isn’t racist is a fucking liar and deserves to be slapped.
The gains we’ve made economically are being undermined by global forces larger than we are. Our mistake is a mounting debt, primarily owned by China, at a time when the Chinese economy isn’t doing so well itself. We’re not alone. The EU, Russia, and most of South America is in exactly the same condition if not worse. We’re looking at a pending global economic collapse the like of which we’ve never seen, and we’re largely powerless to stop it.
The United States is the most violent industrialized nation in the world. Let’s be clear that we’re making a distinction among industrialized nations. What that designation means, though, is that we should know better. We don’t have any reason to be killing each other at the rate we are. This is more than a gun issue, which is a significant matter on its own. We are actually stupid enough to think that violence solves anything. We teach our children, if not through our words then through our actions, that violence is a solution. Not only is our murder rate inexcusable, incidents of domestic violence and rape are even higher, and we still have some members of Congress who think those matters aren’t really crimes at all.
We still pay and treat women as second class citizens. If it happens at all, it happens too much. We should be beyond this.
17.5 million households, approximately one in seven, are food insecure. In 2014, there were 46.7 million people in poverty and that number has been rising steadily despite decreasing unemployment numbers. What that tells us is that the jobs people have are not enough to pay for housing, food, and clothing, let alone transportation, education, Internet service, and other things necessary to actually improve one’s condition. Even some members of our own military live well below the poverty line.(Source: World Hunger Education Services Associates)
We remain stuck in the Middle East with escalating situations not only in Syria but in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and Israel. We talk big, but the frightening reality is that we’ve tried solutions from both Republican and Democratic administrations and neither have worked. One has to seriously wonder if anyone in Washington actually has a viable solution.

With all due respect Mr. President, the state of our union is not good, is not strong, and it hasn’t been for a very, very long time. What’s important, though, is that this is not a nation that gives up. We may get things wrong more often than we get them right, but at least we keep trying, we keep tilting with that windmill with all the conviction of a knight convinced he can slay any dragon.

We actually think we can improve our country, and perhaps we can. But first, we must remove the tinted glasses through which we’ve been looking, recognize this picture for the myth it is, and then flood the polls this year, including the primaries, with an attitude that we have no choice but to progress and move forward.

Music

David Bowie, One More Time

January 11, 2016

The truth is of course is that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time.—David Bowie

I was eight years old. The music teacher in our school, whom we only saw once a week, wore a young, pretty face though her name didn’t stay with me past the end of the year. I was naive about the world of music, but curious. She was determined to teach us from a contemporary perspective. So, we’re sitting in her classroom one Thursday, with the lights off for some reason, and she puts on a brand new album she had just purchased. The album was Space Oddity. She mispronounced “Bowie.” The rest of the semester, though, we all used the phrase, “Ground control to Major Tom” as often as we possibly could, even when it made no sense.

This past Wednesday, January 6, received an email notice that David Bowie had released a new album, his 29th, called Blackstar. Other concerns were drumming my head at the moment so I made a note to listen to the album later and went on about my business. I find myself now regretting that decision if for no other reason than to have not experienced it first in a posthumous sense.

Perhaps I shouldn’t look at Facebook before I get out of bed in the morning, but I did today. There was only one theme throughout my newsfeed and I didn’t like what it was saying. Enough that this is a Monday and that temperatures are so horribly cold. Enough that the draft from the window left my old bones aching, not wanting to move. Seeing the news that David Bowie died was like being stabbed through the heart with a giant icicle that chilled to my soul. I’d heard that Bowie had been fighting cancer, but I wasn’t expecting this. Not right now.

Get dressed, shove everyone else out the door for the day, I search for and find that damn email with the link to the album. I click. I listen. I cry.

Blackstar is, much like Bowie’s life, full of improvisation. The title track is just short of being ten minutes long and fuses together two very disparate melody lines using some of the most complicated and beautiful jazz riffs ever devised. I will not be surprised if, at some point in the future, someone refers to this simply as his jazz album, because what Bowie does here is, once again, completely different from the 28 previous albums in his discography. Danny McCaslin’s searing saxophone chases Bowie’s vocals to the stars and back as though his very life depends upon it. Rather than singing in isolation, as vocals are most often done in contemporary studios, Bowie stood in the middle of McCaslin’s band, recording every track live. One can feel the interaction between them, even on pieces he’s done before, such as Sue (Or In a Season of Crime).

If I were reviewing this album under different circumstances, I would talk in esoteric terms about transitions and phases and how that, once again, David Bowie had managed to not merely remain contemporary, but a couple of steps ahead of contemporary. Blackstar leads us in a new direction today just as surely as Space Oddity did in 1969. Such is the legacy of the artist, mapping out where we expected him to go, then showing us a very different and unexpected way of getting there.

As I sat here listening, I read through a few hundred different memories that fans and other musicians had of Bowie. Many mention The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (1972) and nearly everyone of a certain younger generation mentions Labyrinth in some form. There are articles about his impact on fashion and how his showmanship changed what we expected from a live performance.

What I find missing from all those tributes, however, are two pieces where Bowie stepped totally out of the character of a rock star. One came in 1977 when the ultra-hip, gender-bending rock star was asked to sing The Little Drummer Boy with legendary crooner Bing Crosby for a television Christmas special. Bowie didn’t want to do the song. He hated the song. So, as writer Buz Kohan later told PBS, he (Kohan) and partner Larry Grossman came up with the now famous counter melody for Bowie to sing. The result was an instant holiday classic that you almost certainly hear 20,000 times each December.

The second, also recorded in December of 1977, was when RCA convinced the singer to narrate Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. Allegedly, Bowie was RCA’s third choice, with actors Peter Ustinov and Alec Guinness having both turned down the opportunity. Bowie said he did the album as a Christmas present for his son, Duncan, who was then seven years old. The timbre and phrasing Bowie gives to the piece is, like everything else he did, quite unique and different than anything Ustinov or Guinness might have done and it is his version I chose to play for my boys when they were of sufficient age.

He was married to the incredible supermodel Iman. He had children, a boy, Duncan, and a girl, Alexandria, who used their father’s more common surname, Jones. His most recent work was a musical, Lazarus, which is currently in an Off-Broadway run at New York Theater Workshop on East 46th street, starring Michael C. Hall. The musical was originally scheduled to run through January 20, but I wonder now if perhaps the engagement might be extended. That would be nice, since the initial run sold out almost the moment it was announced.

The Internet has exploded this morning with stories and articles. Many will be longer and full of greater insight than mine, but I could not let this pass without comment. Bowie was so much more than any one album or performance, or even all of them put together. I find it very fitting that the last track on Blackstar is titled, I Can’t Give Everything Away, a song that starts out sounding familiar, like the Bowie we think we knew, then navigates itself into something very different. Perhaps this was his way of saying goodbye. Or maybe, just maybe, he wanted to show there is still more than we can imagine.

Ziggy Stardust has left the planet. Godspeed, Mr. Jones. You are already well missed.

pop culture / PotD

#IShouldNotBeAllowed

January 11, 2016

#IShouldNotBeAllowed to restore paintings when I’m drunk —Charley Kaye (@charley_ck14)

Emery should not be allowed to make a snack of his mommy’s nose

There are a lot of interesting topics that get attention on social media. Most of them are pure nonsense; we leave them alone and roll our eyes when they show up in our feeds. There are details of one’s life that the rest of us really do not find interesting. #IShouldNotBeAllowed is an exception, however, because not only can I personally think of several things that I should never be allowed to do, I can also think of similar lists for every member of my family and several friends.

We all have those moments when we know damn good and well that we ought not to do something, but we go right ahead and do it anyway. Think of those times when you’ve gone just one drink past your limit, and then another, and another, and …. Or think of that time you thought drunk texting that person you just met would be really cute, and it wasn’t. I’m sure you could add to the list. I know I can, and am going to do so at the end of this paragraph. Before I do, though, be aware that if you want to join in the fun just navigate your way to https://twitter.com/hashtag/IShouldNotBeAllowed and enjoy. Now, here’s my list:

#IShouldNotBeAllowed

to drink more than five cups of coffee within a two-hour period of time; the world isn’t ready for me to be that hyper.
to edit when I’m angry; those pictures just never turn out quite right.
to play with small children when their parents aren’t looking; I will give them Oreo® Doublestuffs™ and then take pictures.
to “sample” the wine while cooking; dinner will be burned and there won’t be any wine left.
to “make myself at home” when there’s clearly no place to set 23 half-empty coffee cups.
to assist with any home repair involving electricity; there are some things homeowners insurance doesn’t cover.
to sleep in an upright position with my head back; no, that wasn’t an earthquake, it was me snoring.
to go out drinking with people half my age; the poor children can’t keep up without puking.
to light my pipe when I’m half asleep; there’s no repairing the burn holes in my pants—or your pants if you’re sitting too close.
to fly across the country within 46 hours of having eaten at Taco Bell®; flight attendants aren’t paid enough to deal with that.

I should take a break here and mention that not everything following the #IShouldNotBeAllowed hashtag needs to be serious. After all, there genuinely are things no one should be allowed to do. Ever. Let me just throw out a few things that come to mind that I shouldn’t do, and neither should you.

#IShouldNotBeAllowed

to believe everything I read on the Internet; we both know damn good and well most of it isn’t true.
to vote for someone who already has more money in the bank than the yearly budget of my home town; the rich only look out for the rich.
to brandish a weapon when there is no immediate threat nor cause; intimidation of any kind is being a bully and that’s not acceptable behavior.
to interfere with the personal rights of others even if I disagree with how they exercise those rights; everyone has a right to live as they see fit.
to let a belief system trump scientific concensus; believing an airplane can’t fly won’t keep a well-engineered craft on the ground.
to ignore or disregard expert opinion just because I disagree with it; ignorance doesn’t fit anyone well.
to disparage any person because of their race or national origin; there is no race, we are all the same species: human. We are one family.
to steal from the poor and the ignorant in the name of religion; the demons you fear are of your own making.
to demand my fair share when those around me have no share at all; greed is an ugly color and will be our downfall.
to let my fears determine how I respond to another person; I probably look just as scary and threatening to them.

We could probably go on all day with this sort of thing, but I’m fairly sure at least one of us has some actual work to get done. If you think of more, just hop on Twitter and add them. I’ll be watching for a while and can’t wait to see what you post. Be sure to tag me: @charlesletbette so I’ll see what you shouldn’t be allowed to do!

pop culture / PotD

Mansion For Sale: Relics Included

January 10, 2016

Why so large a cost, having so short a lease, does thou upon your fading mansion spend? —William Shakespeare

We can supply nudes for your viewing pleasure, but we can’t replace the mansion

Playboy Enterprises CEO Scott Flanders has apparently dedicated himself to ridding the company of everything that represents founder Hugh Hefner. Last fall, the company announced they were going to stop printing nudes in their flagship magazine. Now, they have put the iconic Playboy Mansion up for sale with one catch: You have to keep Hef.

Actually, the arrangement isn’t really all that unusual for such an estate. Hef has lived in the mansion forever, or at least it feels that way. So, the contract stipulates that Playboy’s founder be allowed to continue living in the facility until his death. My, that’s mighty nice of Mr. Flanders, isn’t it? If I were Hef, I’d have someone start testing my food for poison, ASAP. Flanders can’t seem to get rid of everything that represents the magazine’s founder fast enough, and given the current course of action, one has to think that might include the once flamboyant Hugh M. Hefner himself.

Ostensibly, Flanders is looking to streamline the company in desperate search of the profits it had when Hef was at the helm. That would seem to be a normal and practical business move. What Flanders apparently fails to realize is that with the magazine, the mansion, and the clubs, Hef created the ultimate male fantasy and it was the pursuit of that fantasy that fueled the company’s success.

Let’s be fair, Hef wasn’t necessarily the best business person in the world himself. He had to shutter the famous clubs during the 1970s when they began hemorrhaging cash. Hef didn’t understand that even exclusive private clubs have to adapt to changes in society and in failing to do so he had no choice but to kill part of the dream himself. Playboy’s had to make a lot of other difficult decisions as well, including whether to get into video (which it did early with great success) and how to handle its online presence (not so good a move). When Hef took the company private, though, it was clear the company’s better days were behind it.

Now, Flanders, the company’s first CEO outside the Hefner family, seems to be jettisoning every part of the Playboy dream possible in an attempt to scale it down to mediocrity. He has long said that he wants to focus on licensing, which would include the Playboy name as well as the rabbit head logo. Does he not realize, though, that as he destroys the brand’s reputation he reduces the licensing value as well? Mr. Flanders doesn’t seem to think that’s the case, but personally I don’t see any other logical outcome.

The question remaining is what will Flanders kill off next? Of all the company’s holdings, there are several likely targets. I think they’ll keep Playboy Golf as well as the casinos, since those are mild, boring, and manage to make a profit. Most everything else, though, from the publishing division to Playboy TV, the Spike cable network, Playboy Online, and Playboy Radio could all theoretically be sold off, with Flanders still bringing income by continuing to license the established brand to new owners. Such a move would remove costly assets while continuing a revenue stream that would likely continue for the foreseeable future.

I think what bothers me is the complete lack of loyalty Scott Flanders exhibits to everything that is physically a part of the Playboy empire. Where he sees only a brand to be licensed and manipulated, the rest of us see the icons of becoming a man; the things that helped us know what to do, where to go, how to behave, as we made the transition for adolescence to adulthood. Playboy kept us classy, teaching us to dress well, treat women like royalty, how to put on a condom, and, oh yeah, those are what breasts look like. Flanders seems willing to throw every last bit of that away, and when he gets rid of the mansion he will, effectively, be getting rid of Hef as well.

Flanders is asking for $200 million dollars for the estate, but given the liabilities and the fact that Hef may live another 20 years, as well as the location, he’ll be doing well if he gets a third of that price. Still, if I were lying in Hef’s place right now, I’d sure be careful about who was preparing my food. Scott Flanders doesn’t seem to be much of a friend.

Watch your back, Hef.

PotD / Social Commentary

Sympathy For The Masses

January 9, 2016

To desire and expect nothing for oneself and to have profound sympathy for others is genuine holiness.—Ivan Turgenev

Life is not always as comfortable as it appears

I’m wondering this morning how many people consider themselves sympathetic. I’m not talking about how we feel when someone dies, though certainly we could use more sympathy there, but more along the lines of what the Oxford dictionary refers to as, “understanding between people; common feeling.” Sympathy for our fellow humans, for the people right around us, and especially for those we perceive to be different from ourselves, appears to be in a drought.

For example, being a Saturday, one’s expectations might be that people have the day off, their weekend free, two days of leisure available to them. Yet, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, at least 35% of us work on the weekend. Most of those working weekends are in retail, food service, or sales, which is of little surprise. Of those working weekends, though, more than half of those have more than one job, and that particular statistic has grown substantially over the past ten years. I wonder, as we snarl at how slow a waitress seems to be moving or complain about the number of registers open at the market, if we might do well to show a bit of sympathy for those who are overworked, lacking sleep, struggling to make ends meet, but are still expected to smile and meet the petty demands of customers.

I also think about those around us who deal with persistent pain that we never see. When I was a boy, I fear there were too many times when I thought less of my mother because her arthritis forced her to ask for help. While that attitude reversed itself by the time I was an adult, it is only as I find myself frequently in that same predicament that I truly understand how deflating it feels to have to so often ask for assistance. I know many others who deal daily with chronic pain brought on by a plethora of issues; they smile, they rarely complain, they would rather you not know how they’re really feeling. Yet, when they can steal a moment to themselves, they break down and cry in the silence. Do they not deserve sympathy?

As a general population, I fear we have become so incredibly selfish and self-centered that we’ve lost our sympathy for our fellow man. We deride those who struggle. We make fun of those less fortunate. We even delight in placing obstacles in the path of those trying to better themselves. We would rather strip people of their dignity than put an arm around their shoulder and help them out of the ditch into which they’ve fallen. Instead, we chide them for having dared to fall into that ditch in the first place.

Our lack of sympathy became painfully evident in the past week with a local news story that went viral. A woman complained to a local bar that her New Year’s Eve was ruined by what she mistakenly assumed was a dead drug addict being carried from the bar. Her words were scathing and mean as she not only derided the bar, but her over-worked server. When the bar’s manager came back with a scathing reply, explaining that the “dead addict” had in fact been a 72-year-old woman having a heart attack, the entire Internet cheered that the rude woman had received her comeuppance.

There is a shocking lack of sympathy in that story, first from the woman making the complaint, who was so caught up in how “horrible” her night was that she felt compelled to share her anger on social media. Her words were insensitive and uncaring and the manager’s response was sufficient in correcting that wrong. However, we, as a society, are not happy, apparently, until we’ve taken things too far. As the story became one of international interest, people around the world went out of their way to humiliate the woman making the complaint, even inundating the salon where she rented booth space. Notice that I’m using the past tense in that sentence. Because of the severity of the response, the salon canceled her booth rental. The woman now gets to start 2016 without any income.

“She got what she deserved,” is the common response, but did she? She deserved to be corrected in the same manner as she complained, and that happened rather swiftly. But to think that she, or anyone, deserves to be shamed internationally, to have financial harm inflicted not only on her but on others, who worked at the same salon, demonstrates a global lack of sensitivity, compassion, and sympathy even greater than that which she exhibited herself. Some have said, “I hope she’s learned her lesson,” and I would assume she has, but clearly the rest of the world has not. There is no good reason for the shaming to continue nor for her name to be dragged through the mud of international media.

Throughout my life, I’ve made plenty of mistakes, errors in judgment, outright acts of willful ignorance. Chances are pretty damn high that you’ve done the same. None of us are proud of those moments. We learn our lessons, hopefully, and move on. We all work hard. With the economic devastation of the middle class, the number of people struggling just to put food on the table has increased, despite yesterday’s news that the economy added 292,000 new jobs in December. Simply having a job, or two, is not necessarily sufficient for sustaining a reasonable quality of life.

For 98 percent of us, life is a continual race from one challenge to another. We all have our struggle. We all experience pain we don’t talk about. So doesn’t it just make sense that we should have sympathy for the masses that share our common condition?

A little sympathy and caring goes a long way. Try it.

Music / PotD / Social Commentary

Primal Scream Friday

January 8, 2016

All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.—George Orwell

Go ahead, just let it all out

Just to be very clear, we’re not talking this morning about Primal Scream the movie, nor Primal Scream the Scottish band. I will reference the album of the same name by the late trumpeter and bandleader Maynard Ferguson, but central to my premise this cold, wet, weary Friday morning is the psychotherapy method developed by Dr. Arthur Janov. Dr. Janov’s theory is that, from the very moment we are born, we begin repressing traumatic events in our lives, sealing them away from memory. Who remembers the actual birth experience, for example? None of us, of course. Neither do we experience the trauma of thinking that our parents have left us when actually they’ve only gone into the other room. Janov’s practice is to help us deal with those traumas, which he is sure is responsible for all our depression and anxiety, by bringing back those painful memories and then quite literally screaming at them.

I’m guessing Dr. Janov has trouble keeping neighbors.

While I’m not going to vouch for the efficacy of Dr. Janov’s methods, I do think it is valuable for us to occasionally list the things that are upsetting us, write them down perhaps, and then give them, collectively, a giant middle finger. With social media having become so prevalent in most our lives, we are now inundated with more information than ever, and a lot of that information is something less than positive. Our response tends to fall in the direction of two extremes: we either bitch and gripe about everything, constantly, trolling comments and insulting people we don’t know; or attempting to ignore everything in the hopes it will all go away. Neither of those approaches are exactly healthy.

So, what we’re going to do this morning is list the five things from this week that have pissed me off the most and then turn on the title track from Maynard Ferguson’s 1976 album and scream at them, letting the music provide a counter-weight to our bellowing. One big primal scream. Once we are done, we set those issues aside and try to not mess with them again. Feel free to join me. Create your own list. Let’s move into the weekend emotionally free of the frustrations that beset us. Ready? Here we go:

Gun reform. I fail to understand why anyone with a sound mind objects to background checks for deadly weapons and I certainly don’t see where anyone gets off claiming that such precautions somehow interfere with their right to keep and bear arms. Remember, the Constitution only gives that right in order to maintain “a well-regulated militia,” and part of being well-regulated almost certainly means taking steps to ensure that the wrong people aren’t getting their hands on guns. What’s even more infuriating is the degree to which the GOP has completely acquiesced to the National Rifle Association on the topic, despite the fact that the United States continues to have more handgun related deaths, by far, than any other industrialized nation in the world. The argument is ridiculous to the point of insanity and really makes me want to scream.
Protests in Burns, Oregon. A week ago, a group of gun-toting cry babies led by the seriously delirious Ammon Bundy took over a federal wildlife refuge to protest something that didn’t deserve to be protested in the first place. This has to be one of the worst-planned sieges ever. While the group claims they are planning to occupy the little building just outside Burns for several years, they failed to bring enough food. By Monday, they were asking for people to send them snacks. That they’ve not been set upon by angry birders or scalped by native Paiute, who actually have a legitimate claim to their ancestral land, is actually disappointing. Were these idiots not a bunch of white guys, they would have been on the receiving end of a massive military operation already. The government has cut off power and water to the facility and is waiting them out. Meanwhile, the world laughs.
The global economy. Uhm, hello? Haven’t we been here before? The fact that stock trading in China had to be halted twice this week and is, once again today, taking another roller coaster ride sets off similar sell-offs in both the European and US markets that should have everyone worried. In fact, if you’re not at least a little bit scared you’re crazy. Super-investor George Soros says the situation resembles the 2008 crisis, and this time around we don’t have a Congress that’s willing to do anything about the situation. This could end up very, very bad for the entire world, and it could happen before Spring gets here.
Worsening immigration situation. There hasn’t been a worse time to be an immigrant since World War II. The influx of refugees across Europe continues to grow and as more arrive in the United States, where they should be welcome and where we have plenty of resources to help, our response continues to be about as wrong as possible. Compounding matters, there is yet another article in this morning’s New York Times regarding the plight of families fleeing escalating violence in Central America. I wonder if an uprising of native tribes would be sufficient to remind Americans that this entire country is founded upon immigration, taking in those who were not wanted nor welcome elsewhere. We need to get over our selfishness and put an end to this problem.
Earthquakes in Oklahoma. 70. That is how many earthquakes have hit the state of Oklahoma in the past week. Fortunately, none of them have been terribly large. The largest this week registered 4.8 on the Richter scale, which typically is enough to rattle windows and upset cattle in the area, but seldom causes any substantial damage. The problem is that these earthquakes appear to be the result of fracking across the state and Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, who is in line to be one of the worst governors in the country and certainly Oklahoma’s worst since David Hall in the 1970s, refuses to do anything to reign in the controversial activity pending further study. The unanswerable question is at what point these quakes stop being a nuisance and turn into something critical. We’ve seen the strength of the quakes grow from the 2.6 to 3.8 range to frequently over 4.0 in the past year. This week’s 4.8 quake comes frightening close to the point at which significant property damage begins to occur. Gov. Fallin needs to halt all fracking activity in the state immediately, but she’s far too stubborn and closed-minded to bother.

There’s my list. How’s yours? Once we get these out of our system, the deal is that we don’t keep revisiting them over and over. We let them go in one long, loud, guttural primal scream that comes up from out gut and frightens all animals into hiding. To prevent alarming the neighbors, I strongly suggest clicking the link below and turning up the volume on your computer or mobile device as loud as possible before you begin your primal scream. That way, people will just think you’re trying to sing along to a song that has no words and leave you alone the rest of the day.

Now, go and enjoy your weekend.

PotD

Word From A Higher Power

January 7, 2016

How you correct your mistakes will define your character and commitment to a higher power. — Shannon L. Alder

I’m noticing recently that there seems to be a surge in the number of people who claim to have a word from a higher power justifying what they do. Daesh claims their higher power orders them to rid the world of infidels. A group of silly old white men in Oregon claim their higher power told them to take over a bird sanctuary. A handful of televangelists are quite certain god told each of them to buy a private jet. What’s especially interesting is that at least two of the current candidates running for the office of President claim that their higher power told them to run, which might seem to be a conflict of interest on the part of the deity they share.

My late father, the preacher, was always wary when someone claimed to have a word from god, and in his line of work he encountered such statements rather often. People have, for ages, used the alleged command of their deity to justify their own action. After all, who has the authority to challenge the word of a god? There would seem to be no higher power. The fact that, in the greater majority of cases, that word was used as an excuse to exterminate, enslave, or otherwise harm large groups of people never seemed to bother anyone other than those who were being exterminated, enslaved, or harmed.

Poppa’s response was always to ask them how their “word” lined up with scripture because god wouldn’t contradict himself. More often than not, the conversation ended right there. The same applies across any religion. When one claims to have a word from a higher power, the first thing everyone else should do is compare that “word” with the teachings of that deity. Deities don’t have a great track record for changing their mind, and in the latter three cases mentioned above, one has to wonder exactly how the deity would be interested in the first place. I really wonder for whom god plans to vote in the primaries.

I make no claims toward being a theological scholar. While my religious training was rather extensive, there remain volumes that I don’t know, don’t really care to know, and have no need to know. Nonetheless, I can say with relative certainty that, regardless of what one’s spiritual leanings might be, none of the established deities across any of the world’s major religions are going to require someone to do any of the following:

Kill someone in cold blood
Start or participate in an unjustified war (and at this point they’re all unjustified)
Take something that is not yours
Any action that might put innocent lives in danger
Any action that makes the deity look stupid

Inversely, should a higher power decide that they simply have no other choice in all the universe than to speak privately, without the benefit of independent witnesses, to one select individual or group at the exclusion of that deity’s other followers, one can largely expect that such a declaration is going to fall somewhere within the following guidelines:

Love one another
Help people; ALL people
Give without expecting anything in return, even from the deity
Make peace with those who disagree with you
Hate no one

Across every major religion in the world, and most the minor ones, those tenets are universal. Every higher power has them, and considering how diverse some of the other teachings are, the commonality of those five things probably means that, more than anything else, those are the things we should be doing!

Of course, there are plenty of people who don’t believe any higher power exists and I can respect that point of view. What I find interesting, though, is that among the most devout atheist I have encountered, every last one of them lived according to those same five principles. They didn’t need a deity to tell them what was the right thing to do. Imagine that.

Every time I hear the words, “God told me …” I cannot help but roll my eyes and immediately discount anything that comes after. Believe what you want, but I am fairly certain that when one uses a higher power as a justification for their own actions and/or desires, they’re almost always making shit up. Religion isn’t a blank card for getting what you want.

And no, none of this has anything to do with today’s picture. I was gently reminded yesterday that I had yet to post a nude this year. We have now rectified that issue. Be sure, though, it was no deity that instructed me to do so.

Fashion

Dolce & Gabbana Produces New Arab Collection

January 6, 2016

The Arab World is writing a new future; the pen is in our own hands.—Abdallah II of Jordan

charles i. letbetter - dolce & gabbana go arab

Something tells me this look we created in 2011 wouldn’t quite meet with approval.

In a move that really isn’t all that terribly surprising, Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana introduce their first abaya collection on Style.com/Arabia yesterday, making them the first major Italian design house to directly embrace the growing Arab market. The label, which has focused heavily on themes involving family the past two seasons, has created a line of lightweight abayas and hijabs that invoke some of the themes from their spring/summer ready-to-wear line while maintaining the dress code required for public wear by many Muslim women.

Putting all politics aside, which one should do as often as possible, the Arab market is one the fashion industry as a whole, and the luxury labels in particular, have ignored far too long. There aren’t that many people still alive who remember when Arab fashion was every bit as strong and attractive as that of the West and Arab women have long been customers of luxury handbags and shoes. This is a vital piece of the market and it is growing.

Expect every other luxury house in Europe to be watching to see just how well this special collection sells. Even before matters in Syria and Saudi Arabia reached their current levels of tension, the Arab clothing market was growing. Thomas Reuters estimates that the Arab clothing market will reach somewhere around $484 billion by 2019. That prediction was based on pre-exodus numbers, though, and as millions of refugees flee to Western countries and begin to take up residence there, it is not unreasonable to expect that number to grow even higher. Whether the majority will retain traditional clothing or assimilate to Western fashion is anyone’s guess at this point, but many fled with only the clothes on their back so they will definitely be strong wardrobe consumers in the coming years.

Be aware, this isn’t the first time the Arab community has gotten some attention from a major designer. Tommy Hilfiger and Donna Karan (through her DKNY brand) have previously done capsule collections directed toward this market, as have a couple of other designers. What makes this important is that none of the previous brands have carried the weight or attention that Dolce & Gabbana do. The duo is a critical player in the whole Made in Italy campaign. Should Dolce & Gabbana do well with this Arab line, don’t be surprised if others such as Prada and possibly even Armani follow suit.

This is overdue. Fashion has ignored the Arab world for far too long and I’m idealistic enough to believe that the industry has the ability to mend some of the bridges that politicians so carelessly burn. The collection is quite attractive. We hope this goes very well and that others follow quickly.

PotD

California Dreamin’ Once Again

January 6, 2016

charles i. letbetter - california dreamin

There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.—Edward Abbey

I have been away from California too long and need to go back. How do I know this? We have a wind chill of 16 degrees this morning and I’m not in the mood to put on pants. There’s only one reasonable solution to that problem: California. Southern California, to be exact. I have a fondness for the Santa Monica area, which is where today’s picture was taken.

California is a wonderful example of how we adapt to our environment. Notice the gentleman seated on the bench here. He’s wearing a sweatshirt. A few minutes later, a woman passed wearing a heavy coat, walking her tiny little mop of a dog that was wearing a sweater. It was 72 degrees that morning. Everyone was looking oddly at me because I was in my short shirt sleeves and enjoying what was, for me, considerable warmth. By the time my trip there had ended, though, my own body had begun to adapt. I was wearing long sleeves and not bothering to roll them up as I had when I arrived. If I had stayed another week, I might have been reaching for a jacket as well.

The human body is amazing in how it adapts to whatever climate surrounds it. When I went out to fetch the little ones off the school bus yesterday afternoon, the temperature had risen just to the freezing mark with a windchill of 25. After the cold of the morning, the afternoon warm up didn’t feel nearly as uncomfortable as it might have had we arrived at that temperature coming down from, say, a more moderate 45.

Our response to temperature is relative which is what allows us to tolerate living in places such as Indiana or Michigan or Minnesota. Once we become accustomed to the idea that the temperature at which water freezes really isn’t all that cold, we are better able to tolerate the seemingly endless winters we encounter. There are people across the Midwest who actually miss snow when we don’t have it. There are times when I’m one of those people.

California gets snow, too. The uniqueness of the variations in altitude there allow one to go from the desert warmth of Palm Springs, which is a lovely little city this time of year, to a mountain ski resort within less than a two-hour drive. One might think that such quick transitions from warm to cold might make one ill, but that hardly seems to be the case. Our bodies are amazingly flexible when called upon to do so.

Yet, no amount of adaptation allows me to actually enjoy mornings like this. Perhaps the fact that it is morning has something to do with the problem. I have less of an issue with the cold around noon. By evening, I hardly notice the frigidity.

Then, there’s that whole time change thing. Time is, of course, an artificial measure of human construct, but it still affects when we do things like sleeping and such. There is a three-hour difference between Indiana and California. I’m accustomed, and my body is well adapted, to getting up around 4:00 AM each morning and having coffee. Do the math. That means when I’m visiting California, I’m looking for a coffee shop that is open at 1:00 AM. I’m sure there’s one somewhere in the greater Los Angeles area, but none within walking distance of my breach-front hotel. When I ask the front desk clerk, he looks at me as though I’m crazy. I have to wait until 6:00 Pacific Time before the nearest coffee shop is open.

Okay, so there is a down side to being in California. Adapting to the time change is not as easy as adapting to the weather. Then, just about the time one has made the transition, it’s time to come home, which throws the body off its schedule once again. Maybe, just maybe, our bodies aren’t as good at this whole traveling thing as we might like to think. Sure, we’re adaptive, but the constant switching back and forth between time zones and climates becomes wearisome. There is a reason our primitive ancestors staked out one place and called it home.

Still, when I put on my coat and scarf in a few minutes (and pants), it will be California of which I’m thinking. I really need to visit out there again, soon.

PotD

How We Face The Cold

January 5, 2016

You can’t worry if it’s cold; you can’t worry if it’s hot; you only worry if you get sick. Because then if you don’t get well, you die.—Joaquin Andujar

I am not a fan of the cold. In addition to the fact that cameras don’t tend to work quite as well at temperatures below 50 degrees, I find colder environments not conducive to thinking clearly; I miss details when my teeth are chattering. Yet, I know plenty of people who are totally comfortable in cold weather and rather delight in getting all bundled up and braving the elements. I don’t understand those people.

We live in a World War II-era house that could use a touch of repairs; the kind we can’t really afford to make. New windows and doors would do a lot to seal up the drafts that keep our feet cold no matter what the thermostat reads. There’s an especially significant breeze coming through one of the windows in our bedroom and, being the gallant, chivalrous person I am, I take that side of the bed. I don’t mind the air being a bit cooler at night because it leads to cuddling under blankets. But that cold leak coming through the front window and under my desks keeps my feet cold all day and makes matters uncomfortable as I’m sitting here at the desk.

Energy conservationists tell us that our winter thermostats should be set on 68. I’m sorry, but as much as I’d like to participate in that little exercise, I can’t. Anything below 70 degrees during the winter and my brain loses efficiency. When I woke up this morning, the pilot light in the heater had gone out; it was 69 degrees in the house andI couldn’t concentrate enough to write the first word until that issue was resolved. Perhaps I should feel ashamed, but for the moment, I’m enjoying the warm air coming through the vents.

Being the spoiled person I am, I can sit here looking at the weather app on my smarter-than-me phone and know that it’s 19 degrees outside, with a windchill of ten. In a few minutes, we will have to bundle ourselves well and take the children outside to wait on the school bus. I am not a fan of the early hour at which school starts in the first place, but this having to wait in sub-freezing temperatures strikes me as cruel and unusual punishment. Mind you, the kids stay warm just inside the back door. I’m the one who has to go outside and watch for the bus.

I would not have made a good pioneer. In fact, I can’t imagine my being very happy any time prior to the twentieth century and the advent of central heat. Yes, my head knows that comfort is largely a matter of acclamation. I remember in college being amazed at students from Alaska running around in shorts while the rest of us were shivering in our heavy coats. Because they were accustomed to the frigidness of being near the Arctic Circle, they found Oklahoma’s 40-something temps to be rather balmy by comparison. I feel the same way when I visit California in January. Our discomfort is largely mental, to a point.

A wind chill of ten degrees is no laughing matter, though. Wind chill is the measure of how much heat our body loses when exposed to the wind. Our body naturally protects us from the cold by radiating a certain amount of heat. Wind takes that heat away, leaving us with nothing but cold. Anytime the wind chill is below -20 degrees we are entering dangerous territory. Frostbite can occur within a minute of exposure under these conditions. I don’t know about you, but I would rather not have my nose frostbitten. NOAA has a helpful chart in case your phone doesn’t keep you informed.

Whenever I feel this level of discomfort, though, I think of those whose life circumstances have left them out in the elements for any reason. I know there are some wonderful, gracious people who make every reasonable effort to get the homeless inside, somewhere, at least for the night. Multiple organizations distribute coats, gloves, hats, and scarves. We are always happy to help out these efforts and are thankful to not need their assistance ourselves.

Still, if I sit down at the desk and feel cool air running up my calves, I’m going to shiver and thank the universe for hot coffee. Winter stayed away much of the month of December, but it’s here now, full force, and looking to cause trouble. We’re ready to face the cold, just don’t as me to be excited about it.

PotD

Back To Work We Go

January 4, 2016

I put my heart and my soul into my work and have lost my mind in the process.—Vincent Van Gogh

Work. Ugh. Welcome to the first Monday of 2016, the day we bid a fond farewell to some of our readers who joined us over the break but must now leave us in favor of gainful employment that frowns upon them spending time with pleasures such as this. It’s a whopping 27 degrees in Indianapolis as I write this and scattered snow showers across the city are threatening to make a mess of everyone’s first commute of the year. We’re getting off to such a great start, aren’t we?

Coffee. Thankfully, we’ve acquired a fair amount of that deliciously roasted bean over the past month. I’m not sure exactly how that happened, but I’m not complaining and it’s coming in especially handy this morning. Kat and I both crashed early last night, but the down side of that is we were up earlier than usual. Work without coffee would be inhumane, in my opinion. I’m fortunate to have never been in a situation where I couldn’t have a cup nearby. I know not everyone can, though, and for those people I truly feel sorry.

I also feel sorry for school teachers who are returning to the classroom this morning. I remember the trepidation Mother always felt when returning after the holiday break. Teachers don’t really get time off. When they’re not at school, they’re doing other adult things such as entertaining family which requires cleaning house and catching up on the piles of laundry that have been ignored all semester. The holidays were never that much of a mental break and today teachers get to welcome back all those darling little demons who have been running around wild the past two weeks. Teachers should get hazardous duty pay the first three days of this week. Be sure they’ll earn it.

Getting back to work after such a long period is never easy. Even if one was technically at work through the whole month of December, the atmosphere following Thanksgiving is different than the other eleven months. Despite the stress of working to complete year-end goals, there is still a sense of frivolity and an absence of the serious tones that dominate the rest of the year. At least, for most people that is the case. For those whose companies completely shuttered on December 31, you have our sympathies.

Here, too, we’re getting back to our normal schedule with some new additions. In case you’ve not already noticed, we’re doing more than just a single post each day. We’re keeping a very close eye on events in fashion, advertising, and music. We’ve only done one extra article per day over the weekend, and for weekends and holidays that will be the new norm. During the week, though, we’ll add articles as we feel appropriate. Fashion is barreling toward February’s Ready-To-Wear runway season, advertising’s eyes are on the Super Bowl ads, and there’s a long list of artists ready to release new albums in the first quarter. We’re watching it all and will comment where we feel we have something valuable to add to the conversation.

So, back to work we go. Bundle up, buckle in, and enjoy the ride!

Music

New Artists Watch

January 3, 2016

I hate to see artists who are real safe. I love to see artists swing for the fences sometimes.—Lee Ann Womack

Latex Liberace. Model: Carrie Pennington. Body art by Jennifer Baxter.

Listening to new music and new artists can be very fulfilling. At the same time, it can be extremely frustrating, especially when an artist who sounds really good on one song doesn’t follow with an equally impressive tone on their subsequent material. I’m not a huge fan of one-hit wonders or mentioning an artist’s name and finding no one else has a clue who I’m talking about.

By adding music to our discussion and photos here, we are treading into somewhat dangerous territory. People tend to be very adamant about who they like and who they don’t. From the very outset, I want to be clear that just because we like an artist’s music doesn’t mean we endorse them as people or the opinions they might later express that prove to be offensive. If there’s anything we have learned the past couple of years it is that the bigger the hero the more people want to see them fall. I don’t understand that mentality, but I can’t keep it from happening. We’re not doing deep background checks here.

Instead, what we’re offering are some gentle suggestions, artists whose music causes me to stop what I’m doing and listen. Yes, we are cheating a bit. I rely on what new artists Spotify throws at me. I understand the limitations of using that single source, but no one is sending me demos and I don’t have time to troll YouTube. A good song is a good song, though, and a good artist transcends the media source. We’ll offer a few that we like and let you take it from there.

To start off the year, let’s talk about a few artists who caught our attention last year and we’re hoping continue to impress.

Saint Raymond

Saint Raymond, aka Callum Burrows, represents yet another instance where what’s big in the UK or Europe has difficulty “jumping the pond” to the US market. For British listeners, Saint Raymond is hardly a new name, having been showing up on charts in the UK for a couple of years now. American radio has yet to catch on, though, and US listeners are being cheated out of Burrows’ smooth voice. The pop rock sound isn’t too heavy and not over-produced. Give it a try.

Conrad Sewell

I’m a sucker for a good, bare piano accompaniment because of the way it lets a vocalist shine. That is why I’m sharing Australian artist Conrad Sewell’s second single and not his first. Granted, the first one, Hold Me Up, did extremely well and is a great song, but Start Again really lets his voice shine through. What is it with all these young guys and really high voice ranges, though? Adam Levine might want to be careful. Guys like Sewell could end up replacing him.

Andra Day

My ears can spot a church-trained voice a mile away and I was smitten with Ms. Day’s sound before she made it to the second word of the song. She has a classic jazz/soul sound that takes one from a smokey Saturday night right on into the emotional confession of Sunday morning as effortlessly as a well-aged brandy. I can’t wait to hear a lot more from this voice. I’m linking you to Rise Up, but you’ll want to listen to Forever Mine as well. She’s touring this year and will be in Indianapolis in June.

Jr Jr

The guys in Jr Jr aren’t exactly new. Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zott have been making music together since 2009. If you heard of them, though, it was under the name Dale Earnhardt, Jr., borrowed with permission and blessing from the NASCAR driver of the same name. One can see where that might have confused a few people. I’ve heard the driver try to sing; it wasn’t pretty. So, they’ve re-branded as Jr Jr and hopefully that will be the boost they need to push heavily into the mainstream. If you liked the Beach Boys, you’ll love these guys. Their harmonies are tight. Take a listen.

Jess Glynne

Don’t tell me the folks at Atlantic Records weren’t thinking about Adele and Sam Smith when they signed Jess Glynne. The comparisons are inevitable. The British singer’s voice is strong, soulful, and full of emotion. With a Grammy already in her pocket for last year’s Best Dance Song, her new single, Hold My Hand, is driving, fun, and as they used to say on American Bandstand, “very easy to dance to.” The biggest challenge she faces is that Adele is dominating the market so strongly that Glynne’s similar sounding tone may not stand out well enough for people to notice. Listen, though. You’ll be impressed.

Will any of these artists list 2016 as their big breakout year? We’ll see. I definitely look forward to hearing more from all of them.

PotD

Sunday Of Sanctity

January 3, 2016

My mother always kept library books in the house, and one rainy Sunday afternoon – this was before television, and we didn’t even have a radio – I picked up a book to look at the pictures and discovered I was reading and enjoying what I read.—Beverly Cleary

Growing up in the home of a Southern Baptist minister meant Sundays were anything but calm or quiet. There was a fairly precise schedule to the day: Up at 7, showers, dressed, breakfast, family devotions, all before 8:30 in the morning. There would be Sunday School, then church, then around 6 or so in the evening, depending on the time of year, Training Union, which became Church Training in the 70s, then evening services, then often a rather pointless choir rehearsal and sometimes a youth activity. The day was full.

What little “down time” there was on a Sunday came in that brief period after lunch (which Mother typically had prepared for dining as soon after the service as possible) and the snack that passed as dinner before heading out to church again. This time was for napping. Always. No excuses. Interruptions were frowned upon. Typically, Poppa would sit in his recliner, leaf through the local paper a bit, maybe turn on a football game that he wouldn’t watch, the fall sound asleep. Mother would go to their room and sleep while Squirt and I were given the instruction to, at the very least, stay quiet.

Such a respite only came on Sundays and was almost as sacred as the services on either end of the day. Poppa loathed allowing anyone to schedule anything on Sunday afternoon and on the rare occasion he was forced to do so one could be certain that his mood would not be as pleasant and accommodating as normal. Poppa’s take was that if God rested on Sunday, certainly he meant for us to take a couple of hours to do the same.

As I grew older and moved away from home, my Sunday habits changed. My view of church changed rather dramatically and Sunday became a day that was given to the very respite Poppa tried to squeeze into a couple of hours. I’d start with the Sunday edition of the New York Times, coming up for air and a coffee refill between articles. Brunch back then was less of a social gathering and more of a way to quiet the growing rumble in the stomach without actually admitting that half the day was already gone. I acquired my father’s habit of sitting in a recliner, turning on the football game, and promptly falling asleep. Sunday evenings were for a quiet dinner, maybe some cuddling, reading, or, more likely, laundry so we’d have something clean to wear the next morning.

Now, Sundays are more complicated, less quiet, and too often frustrating. There are too many people who can only shoot on Sundays. The local paper rarely holds any information I’ve not already seen online and even the long-form enticement of the Times isn’t as enjoyable as it once was. I do still hold to brunch because, damn it, I’m not cooking anything before 10:00 if it can be avoided. Laundry is still a must, and so is reading, but increasingly that reading is done through some form of digital media, whether the Kindle or this large-screened smartphone I carry.

The sanctity of Sunday is largely gone now. Kat is frequently at the salon, which means I’m stuck with the kids (or they’re stuck with me). Having time to read quietly means getting up about the same time the party people are getting home. I can make the kids wait for brunch, but they want lunch an hour later and a large snack an hour after that. Sunday afternoon nap? My body aches for one, especially after getting up so early, but the kids would likely burn down the house if I dozed for even a minute. Peace comes only after they’re in bed for the night and by that time I’m rather ready for bed myself.

I understand now, more than ever, the value of a quiet, thoughtful, Sunday. I’m hoping that as the children get older we can hand them a good book and not see them for a couple of hours, knowing they are being sufficiently entertained and, perhaps, even learning something. I can dream. I can hope. I have a library card and I’m not afraid to use it.

We need to allow ourselves downtime; just one day when we don’t intrude on others, nor they on us. May we have one day, please, that is a little more void of noise and a little more contemplative. We need time to re-asses our world, our place in it, and then get our shit together before tackling another week. Not allowing for some sanctity on Sunday is a fast trip to spending one’s vacation either in rehab or the mental health center, and there’s already a shortage of space at both.

Take some time. Breathe. Read. I’ll try to do the same, right after I fix brunch for these heathens.

Photography

Photo Challenge: Should You Do One?

January 2, 2016

The only use of an obstacle is to be overcome. All that an obstacle does with brave men is, not to frighten them, but to challenge them.—Woodrow Wilson

A sure sign that we’re starting a new year is the fact that my email inbox and social media feeds are full of invitations to participate in various photo challenges. Some are monthly, some are weekly, and some overly-ambitious souls think I might be interested in a daily challenge. No, I’m not. I don’t necessarily have anything against a good photo challenge, but I do think there are considerations one should make before committing so such a thing.

Within my overly abundant archives of photographs, I maintain a folder labeled “Random.” Into the “Random” folder goes all the images that I capture while out wandering about, not necessarily looking for anything in particular. These are typically landscape and architecture shots where I see something unusual, out of place, humorous, or, on rare occasion, uniquely lit by catching the sun at just the right moment. There won’t be enough to make a series or expound upon at length, but one image that, hopefully, says something significant. This folder is very full.

Given the bulk of my “Random” folder, I’m not quick to take on any projects that are unlikely to do more than add content to that already voluminous catalog. I’m not lacking for inspiration and have an abundant supply of concepts. What I need is time and willing accomplices, which are not things a photo challenge can provide. However, for those who are tempted to participate in a photo challenge, we have some recommendations.

Find a photo challenge that actually challenges you.

Not all photo challenges are created equal. Some are extremely difficult to fulfill. Some are very narrow and limited in their topic range. Before signing up, take a careful look and see if the challenge matches your interests and the time you have available. Personally, if I were going to do a challenge, I would likely consider something broad and creative, such as the Dogwood Photography 52 Week Photography Challenge.

Make sure you actually have time to complete the challenge.

All our lives are busy and going out looking for photos to meet a specific challenge can sometimes take several hours out of a schedule. Look carefully at the topics and see if you have time to actually chase down the things on the list. The more specific the list, the more challenging the time factor is likely to be, even if everything on the list is supposed to be “common household items.” Not everyone keeps apple cider vinegar on hand, for example.

Choose a challenge that interests you.

One certain path to failure would be for me to sign up for a photo challenge involving flowers. While I like flowers, chasing them down for a single photo doesn’t inspire me like it might inspire others. Some photo challenges are open enough to match a variety of interests, which is great. More specific challenges, however, should be approached with careful consideration.

Consider the equipment necessary to complete the challenge.

A photo challenge that explores the use of slaved strobes could be really interesting and fun, unless one doesn’t have slave strobes or extra stands. I’ve seen a few macro challenges running around as well, but if one doesn’t have a good macro lens is such a challenge a good match? Sure, one could go out and purchase the additional equipment, but if that equipment isn’t going to actually pay for itself is it worth the expense? Don’t take up a challenge that leaves you with equipment you’ll not use again.

What modifications are possible?

A creative photo challenge, such as the one from Dogwood, gives photographers and students plenty of space to modify the challenge to fit their own particular style of photography. Challenges that result in everyone having pictures of identical items or carefully curated themes can be great for beginners, but not so much for more advanced photographers.

At the end of any good photo challenge, one should be able to present a reasonable collection of photographs that have the potential of becoming part of one’s portfolio, or, at least, feel they have learned something positive from the experience. I think such events can be most helpful for those who understand the basics of their camera but don’t have a lot of experience actually shooting. If so inclined, take a look around. There are dozens of new photo challenges starting this week. Find one that works for you and jump in!

PotD / Social Commentary

Surviving In 2016

January 2, 2016

We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.—Barbara de Angelis

Model: Sarah Thomas

Welcome to the real 2016. January 1 doesn’t count; it’s that in-between days when people my age and older worry about writing the wrong year on checks while our children and grandchildren stand by our sides asking, “What’s a check?” January 1 is for parades and football and corned beef if you’re in the Midwest, hog jowl or fat back if you’re in the South. January 1 isn’t a real day.

Today, however, is quite real. Bills are due, including rent in many cases. You may have to go to work. Even if you have today off, since it’s Saturday, there are still things to do such as taking down the damn Christmas tree and tossing a tangled jumble of lights into the closet. Today, the holidays are officially over and the world is obligated to get back to the hectic rat race it left back in November. What will we do, however shall we survive? Fortunately, I have some solutions.

Stay warm.

I am amazed that, every year, people are severely crippled or die due to exposure. I’m not necessarily talking about homeless people, either, though that’s definitely a problem. People who know better and have sufficient means to protect themselves seem to hit January and think that Spring must be right around the corner. Wrong. Especially this year. We’ve got at least three months of cold starting us out here and the rest of the year is really going to suck if you lose extremities because you didn’t take care of yourself. Gloves. Hats. Heavy coats. They’re not just for the holidays, folks. Wear them. Surviving the year starts with staying alive.

Avoid politics (and politicians) whenever possible.

This is a presidential election year and all indications point toward this being one of the most ridiculously stupid campaigns ever. This year’s politicians are totally incapable of telling the truth about anything. Some of them can’t even get their own names correct, “Ted.” The only means of survival is to shut them down, turn them off, and vote for the one least likely to behave like a complete asshole when they reach office. Even worse, though, are people who ardently, feverishly, support a candidate. They will fill your Facebook timeline with some of the most ridiculous article links ever conceived. Unfollow them. Block them if they start getting too pushy. Pay no attention to the slime oozing behind the curtain. Turn them off. Surviving doesn’t mean surrendering your dignity.

Fight terror and violence by loving everyone.

After rampant wandering politicians, the biggest threat the United States faces this year is domestic violence and terrorism. The are some very stupid people out there who mistakenly believe that hate is justified by their religion and violence of some form is an acceptable answer. Nothing could possibly be more wrong. In response to these very misguided individuals, we can have only one response: love everyone. We really shouldn’t be threatened with violence or terrorism to do this, but if we want to shut down our biggest threats to national and personal security, loving each other is our only choice. That means loving each other regardless of religious affiliation, or race, or sexual orientation, or marital status, or whether they watch Fox News. The Beatles gave us the answer long ago: All you need is love.

Pay cash, save as much as possible.

We’ve been monitoring comments by different economists all year and, while they rarely agree on anything, it seems rather certain that we’re heading toward yet another global recession. Blame China. No, it’s not all their fault, but they make a much-too-obvious scapegoat. This is not the year to be running up a lot of unnecessary debt, especially not high-interest credit card debt, which is never a good idea in the first place. This year, when Samuel L. Jackson asks, “What’s in your wallet?” the answer needs to be, “Cash.” With a recession looming, I wouldn’t even trust banks enough to use a debit card. Sure, it’s not a convenient approach by any means, but it could save your ass when the next recession hits. Surviving means save as much as you can, keep as much as you can out of the hands of big banks.

Take more pictures: hire a professional.

For all the talk about Instagram and other online photo sharing applications, the number of good photographs, the ones worth handing down and saving for future generations, are declining. Why? Because you’re not paying for them. You’re taking lousy selfies instead of hiring a professional and what you’re getting in return is just digital trash. 98% of the photographs taken with cell phones are not worth preserving. Sure, our services are not inexpensive, but the value of a professional photograph grows with time, unlike the garbage on your phone that can disappear in an instant if someone spills a glass of water. Having professional, printed photographs are the best way to preserve your memories.

I can’t promise anyone a good year. There are a lot of obstacles that, quite honestly, have me a bit frightened. We cannot see the future, but we can prepare for the most obvious possibilities. Be safe out there, kids. Love each other. Spend wisely. Book your photo session now. Surviving 2016 doesn’t need to be difficult; let’s do this together!

Studio News

2016: A Fresh Start

January 1, 2016

Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.—Francis of Assisi

Somehow, we did it! A new year, a new start for the website with a new layout and design that we hope will facilitate more pictures and more information. A lot of things have changed as we have attempted to streamline the experience a little better and make it more responsive to those of you who can’t visit every day and especially those who view us on mobile devices. Let’s hit a few of the highlights so you’ll know what to expect this year.

Everything on one page … sort of.

Good-bye menu. This year’s new start begins with a single-page layout that allows mobile users to access different sections just by scrolling. This is significant because traditional web design has always held that desktop users don’t like to scroll and content should be kept, “above the fold.” Mbile users respond differently, though, and since an increasing number of people access the site via mobile devices we made the change to accomodate them.

Expanded portfolios.

How many pictures should a photographer display in their online portfolios? Almost everyone you ask is going to give a different answer. We’ve limited the number the past couple of years on the belief that simple was better. Apparently, we were wrong, so long as the means of navigation isn’t complicated. The new layout puts all the portfolios in one place for easy acess. Note: these are still going to look best on a larger desktop monitor; that’s not going to change. However, everything about them should be improved.

Expanded content.

More than just a Photo of the Day, we will be including additional content addressing topics related to fashion, advertising, and photography. For those who like charles’ fashion week coverage, this should be especially exciting. Not that we plan on having too many posts each day, but this would be a very good time to subscribe. Check the link in the sidebar.

Service pricing.

Kat and I have debated adding this information for a couple of years and this year she won. Services and basic pricing are listed just below the portfolios. Nope, we’re not cheap, but at the same time we’re a long way from being at the top end of unreasonable. This isn’t to say we won’t run sales or make deals, mind you, but at least it gives everyone a reference point.

Today is a new start in a lot of ways for a lot of different people. This year is already a switch from 2015, even though it’s only a few hours’ old. We hope you like the changes and will share the new look with your friends. And again,if you want to keep up, we really recommend that you subscribe now.

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Photography / PotD

Time To Say Goodbye

December 1, 2015

Unless one says goodbye to what one loves, and unless one travels to completely new territories, one can expect merely a long wearing away of oneself and an eventual extinction.—Jean Dubuffet

Today is my birthday. Unless something dramatically changes, which might not be a good thing, I’ll likely spend the bulk of the day alone. Weather will likely dictate whether I even try walking anywhere. Kat and the kids are at school. The kids will be home by mid-afternoon, fussy, tired, hungry, and destined for an early bedtime. Kat won’t be home until late, though, and I may already be in bed. In many ways, the day is inherently understated and that is not terribly inappropriate.

This feels like a good place to stop. We built this current site in a rush after the previous server totally crashed back in March. Changing hosts forced us into some design decisions we didn’t really have a chance to adequately test and now that we’ve been doing this for several months, we need to make some serious adjustments. There’s no way to do that with the site fully live.

Should you visit over the next month, and we certainly encourage you to do so, you may see things in the middle of transition; not all the links may work all the time and there may even be points where it’s all a giant jumble. When you’re likely to see the biggest change is after Christmas, when we start preparing to take the sight completely live.

You can probably say goodbye to the #POTD as we now know it. #POTD has been fun for the most part, but maddening at times. When we started, I thought I’d just pull pictures from the archives, no big deal. What we quickly discovered is that some of our oldest pictures needed some help to be appropriate for the newer high-resolution monitors everyone is using now. Fixing those images morphed into using special effects and completely re-processing the majority, which was a lot of extra work. IF we continue the #POTD, it will have to be in a different vein that is considerably less effort.

At the same time, I want to leave room to expand our creativity. I’m not sure what all that may entail or how it might be presented, but there almost certainly will be new things on the site next year that we’ve not seen before.

So, with this post, we say goodbye for the remainder of 2015. Thank you for joining us on this adventure. To show our appreciation, here’s a quick review of some of our favorite images from the past few months.

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pop culture / PotD

Surviving THE END Times

November 30, 2015

Nearly half of the American population is eagerly anticipating the end of the world. This dewy-eyed nihilism provides absolutely no incentive to build a sustainable civilization. —Sam Harris

Ooh, it’s #CyberMonday! This is your opportunity to buy stuff at cheap prices without getting trampled by fat ladies stealing rice cookers from three-year-olds! Oh, this might also be a good time to stock up on things for THE END times. Apparently, according to a fair number of people, that’s sufficient reason to panic. I’m not sure I exactly understand why. We’re just taking a month off. We’ll be back in January. Still, you might as well be prepared.

Having Kat as today’s #POTD is appropriate, I think, for a number of reasons. First, she has been a great help with getting through these posts all year. In fact, she even wrote a few of them. Second, this shot is THE END of a shoot we did back in August. Burberry had just leaped from Kat’s hands, having tired of being used as a prop. Third, she’s so freakin’ cute! If there’s one image to carry with you through THE END then this should be it.

But hey, for millions of people who are kicking themselves for not thinking of shooting up a Planned Parenthood first, this whole apocalypse thing is serious business. So, here’s our final list:

How To Survive THE END Times!

Stock up on all the advice we’ve given.
We’ve given a lot of advice over the past several months. Now would be a very good time to go back and begin taking notes. I’m not going to live forever, you know. Well, at least not on this planet. We’ll be posting links to some of our favorite articles on my Facebook page. I’m not saying there will be a test, but you never know when that advice might come in handy.

Bookmark your favorite posts in case of an emergency.
The Internet can be very difficult to index and our site doesn’t come with a table of contents. Fortunately, however, every post has its own unique address so that they can be bookmarked, added to your browser’s list of favorites, with the links stored on your own computer or mobile device. You never have to leave home without me! Isn’t that wonderful? Yes, I thought so, too.

Make sure you like us on Facebook and/or follow us on Twitter
We’re not going to leave you through these END TIMES without resources or ways of communication. We’ll still be somewhat active on social media throughout the month. Those of you into blasphemy can think of it as our holy spirit, or digital ghost, or what have you. We’ll post something at least once a day. Speaking in tongues not required.

Make the Almighty Google your best friend
Come to the Google. Only the Google can save you through eternity for Google is the permanent retainer of all knowledge. Once Google has indexed something, it never really goes away no matter what happens. Websites that haven’t been online for years are still indexed by Google and their images are still viewable in a Google search. All you have to do is enter my name and low, I am with you always, even unto the end of the Internets.

Order my books.
I don’t mention this too terribly often, but you know, I do have a set of books that I actually wrote myself. I didn’t risk “inspiring” someone else to do the writing. I actually created the entire contents myself. You can find them all right here and if you order today, use the code CREATIVE40, you might even get a discount. You can carry me with you anywhere, even without electricity.

Prepare for the possibility of an Internet outage.
I know, it sounds very scary, doesn’t it? Who would survive in a world without the Internet? We might actually have to go back to using libraries and reading books (see above). For those of you who only come here for the pictures, though, there’s another solution: order a print. We don’t have many available, because it’s just too difficult to keep up with a bunch of stuff, but you can get yours now if you act quickly, before the Russians cut the undersea Internet cables or something.

Contribute to my Holiday Sustenance.
This is not an easy task we undertake. There are thousands of options to consider, tens of thousands of images to re-consider. The hours will be long. Time shall be consumed. Our ability to sustain ourselves shall be challenged. If you’re really all that worried, though, we do accept gifts of chocolate, coffee, and most importantly, Scotch. We hold a very special place for those who bring us Scotch. Contact us for details.

Book a shoot for January.
I know you’ll miss me, and for some of you our absence is quite frightening. What if we never return? We will, and you can secure a place right here, in our studio, in front of our camera, simply by booking your shoot for January. Don’t worry about the cold or the inclement weather. We don’t make everyone stand in the snow. We have options. Book your shoot now and know that you have favor with the photographer.

Pray for the Second Coming.
Lo (because it’s too early to be high), I go to prepare a better place, for you. And if I go to prepare a better place, for you, I will surely come again and receive you unto my digital self so that you can feel as though you are here with me (even though you won’t be, really, because we just don’t have the room). Our target date is January 1, but things do sometimes happen. Pray nothing happens. Pray hard.

If all else fails, buy a camera.
We try to be cautious and stay away from danger, but there’s always that slight chance that I might be walking past a local mosque or Planned Parenthood and get taken out by some overly-religious right-wing terrorist wacko, aka Ted Nugent. Should the unthinkable happen, should the Internets completely disappear, you have my blessing to purchase your own camera, continuing in the faith and knowledge that I have taught you well. Carry on in my memory until I return.

Hey, it could happen. We’ve one more day. Be ready.

PotD

5 Signs You Are A Fashion Failure

November 28, 2015

charles i. letbetter - 5 signs you're a fashion failure

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.—Coco Chanel

Fashion is something that eludes 98 percent of all people. Take this wedding dress, for example, from designer Catherine Fritsch; as wonderful a concept as it is, the dress didn’t actually sell until years after this photo was initially released. The problem isn’t with the dress, but the not-quite-in-touch fashion opinions of those who turned it down. Thinking of all the brides who went with dresses as staid and boring as their now-married lives makes me sad. Fashion is about expression and personality and when one chooses less-than-interesting fashion for themselves they’re not exactly putting their best foot forward.

This photo also reminds me of just how much people change over the years. Originally taken in 2011, our model, Erin, was a bright, young college student working on her degree. She’s now married with a beautiful little girl and is head of a relatively significant government agency. Makeup artist Christopher Thompson now runs a haunted B&B in Atlanta, Indiana. Catherine Fritsch rebranded last year and her Rue Violet line generally sells quite well. Isn’t it wonderful to watch people grow?

Speaking of growing, let’s get to today’s list:

5 Signs You Are A Fashion Failure

When you see a dog wearing the same outfit as you and the dog wears it better.
Just because you saw something on last season’s runway, or your favorite celebrity, doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you. Consider how a garment is cut, whether it’s full or tailored. Full cuts are more generous and work with a wider variety of body types. Tailored looks, though, especially those designed to be tight around the hips and waist, make the wearer look like a sausage bursting from its casing if their curves don’t match the designer’s ideal. It’s better to have a wardrobe that actually looks good on you rather than trying to adopt someone else’s style.

When there’s no Pantone® number to match anything you’re wearing.
A couple of caveats at the beginning of this one: if you’re legitimately color blind you get a pass as well as if you’re young enough your mother still dresses you. For those who don’t know, Pantone® is the color-matching system used by printers to make sure they’re printing the correct color. Pantone has identified hundreds of thousands of shades of everything and indexed them numerically; they pretty much have ever visible color covered. Yet, every once in a while I’ll come across someone who has put a color combination on their body that even the Pantone book doesn’t cover it. No, dear, it doesn’t look good no matter what your friends say; they’re laughing behind your back. There are color wheels and charts all over the Internet. Use one.

When people follow you because they’re sure you must be on your way to a circus.
I’ve seen designers send some pretty bizarre looks down the runway, but nothing beats the collision of styles that occurs when some people start mixing separates. Not everyone has a talent for matching styles and fabrics well. As a result, we see things like polka dots and ruffles mixed with denim and lace and two or three different animal prints along with stripes running in three different directions and eight contrasting colors all in the same look. No. Stop. Barnum & Bailey is not a personal style. Seek help.

When you’re wearing fishnet and the park ranger gives you a ticket for carrying over the limit.
The only thing that really looks good in fishnet every time is fish. Sure, we see a lot of it on the runways, but the best applications are as accents or carefully matched accessories, and even those don’t always work in the real world where we have to figure out how to dress ourselves. Remember, fishnet exposes what lies beneath it. Do you really need what is under your fishnet exposed? Also, just because fishnet is flexible doesn’t mean its tensile strength should be tested. Fishnet is ultimately a tailored element; don’t push it.

When the tags in all your clothes say “Made In Bangladesh.”
Check the labels in your clothes before you buy anything. If the label says made in Bangladesh, Taiwan, Singapore, or Vietnam, know that your garment is assembled by the poorest of the poor, typically in conditions worse than those in which we house our farm animals. Among those, Bangladesh is likely the worst. If you’re buying clothes from H&M, Wal-Mart, Target, Old Navy, Penney’s, K-Mart, or any other discounter, chances are you’re contributing to the economic enslavement of thousands. Read here, here, here, and here for more details, then change your buying habits.

One of the many things I dislike about American buying habits this time of year is the over-emphasis on sales and who has the lowest prices. Fashion isn’t cheap. Quality clothes aren’t often found on the racks of discounters. Where and how you spend your money makes a difference in the lives of thousands of people. In the shopping realm of the holiday season, today is Small Business Saturday. We strongly encourage you to take advantage and look for garments made by local designers. Sure, you’re not going to find any $5 price tags, but your money is more likely to help someone rather than contribute to their enslavement.

Use some common sense, people. Shop smart. Happy holidays.

PotD

8 Solutions To Lousy Sex

November 27, 2015

I haven’t trusted polls since I read that 62% of women had affairs during their lunch hour. I’ve never met a woman in my life who would give up lunch for sex.—Erma Bombeck

Move over, Cosmo, you’re not the only website who can use cheap and tawdry sex headlines to get people’s attention. The difference between our list and those you’ll find elsewhere, though, is that we’ve undertaken years of personal research so we could offer solutions by telling you, with expert authority, what not to do. My only caveat here is that if you are related to me, especially if you’re one of my sons, STOP READING NOW! There are some things family doesn’t need to know.

As for today’s picture, this one is a little over ten years old and remains one of my favorites from when I first moved to Indianapolis. Lovely, open people like this just don’t come along too terribly often and once she moved on there wasn’t anyone to fill the void she left. C’est la vie.

Meanwhile, we have a silly list to which we must attend, which, if nothing else, is better than standing in some stupid line out in the freezing cold:

8 Solutions To Lousy Sex

Stop getting out of bed so damn early to go shopping.
Seriously, where are your priorities? You could actually be in bed, snuggled up with the one you love, ticking that special spot they love, leading up to the best sex ever. But no, instead you are totally wasting your time out in the cold standing in some stupid line and even if your lover is right there with you, this is not sexy and not romantic in any way, shape or form. Geeze. Loser.

Cut back on the food you know gives you gas.
Flatulence is a natural bodily function and to some extent we can’t keep it from happening. However, when you load up with buffalo wings, cheese sauce and cheap beer, what do you think is going to happen? All that garbage you just ate is like shaking up a soda bottle; the gas is going to explode! Why would anyone want to get close when they know that’s going to happen? Why would you even want to do that to yourself? Gross.

For all that is holy, try taking a shower.
While the amount of grooming one does is totally a personal matter, being clean is not and is definitely a reason for lousy sex. In fact, your smell may be keeping you from having any sex at all. Worth noting: this includes those of you who apparently bath in cologne. Stop. It’s not attractive. The best fragrance with which you can greet your lover is fresh soap. Give it a try sometime.

Stop trying all the positions you see on Pornhub.
You do realize porn sex is different from real-world sex, don’t you? Those crazy positions they get in are designed to give the camera a better angle and more light, not for comfort. If you need help with positions, perhaps you should add the Kama Sutra or similar books to your holiday shopping list. Better yet, grab them online and have them shipped so you’re not seen carrying them around in a store; that can be a bit creepy.

Try A Little Tenderness.
Careful, things are rather sensitive down there! Some of the most embarrassing emergency room visits come from putting something down there that doesn’t belong, and yes, that includes hot food. If you’re that damn hungry get a plate. For both men and women, the skin in the groin area is extremely sensitive and no, it is not sexy when you put something stupid down there. This includes champagne and liquor. Don’t do it.

Pay attention to what you’re doing.
I never have understood people who try to watch television or text on their phones while having sex. If you’re that disengaged from that act, you’re not going to have a good time; you’re just going through the motions. Actually paying attention to your lover not only helps the sex, the entire relationship benefits. Explore. Find those auto-erogenous areas above the waist. See how much things improve.

Stay healthy.
No one wants to have sex with a partner who is coughing up a lung or gasping for breath after three minutes. In case you’ve not figured it out yet (and some of you haven’t), sex is an extremely physical activity. Being healthy and in shape factors significantly in your ability to have good, enjoyable sex. And yes, this includes not being overweight. Why? Strenuous physical activity puts stress on your heart. Dying during sex is not acceptable.

Try using a real, live partner every once in a while.
Please tell me I don’t need to explain the benefits of this one. Seriously, though, it’s not going to happen if you don’t get out of that chair, away from in front of the computer, and try meeting people. Clean up. Act nice. Don’t be a douchebag. This is allegedly the time of year for miracles and you’re due. You can thank me later.

We probably could have made this list a lot longer, and I certainly know some people who could use the instruction. I don’t want to overwhelm you, though. Start with these and perhaps we can add more later, when you’re ready. Who knows, you might start the new year happy.

PotD

5 Tips For A Better New Year

November 26, 2015

charles i. letbetter - 5 ways to have a better new year

Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.—Benjamin Franklin

What’s this? We’re not talking about Thanksgiving? No, we’re not. Everyone else is doing that. We’re going a different direction, heading for the new year. We’ve only five days left for the #POTD after today, remember?

The whole #POTD concept has created some challenges this year and at times it has been extremely difficult to make sure there were different pictures going up every day. That’s why we’re going to mix up the format a bit next year to give us a little more flexibility. The end result is likely to be more content, not less, but with fewer restrictions as to exactly what we’re posting on any given day. So, there’s one thing right there to look forward to in the new year.

I still am amazed every time I see this photo and am reminded that we achieved this level of tone with just the light coming through the white blinds of a window. I don’t have another set anything close in topic or tone to this one, though, so it has been difficult to find a theme into which it would fit this year. Otherwise, you would have seen it much sooner than now.

Speaking of new years, here’s a list that’s not likely to be duplicated anywhere else.

5 Ways To Make Your New Year Better

Stop believing everything you read on the Internet.
Not only are there more satire sights than ever, there are innumerable websites posing as “news” that are simply nothing but a bunch of lies. Vaccinations save lives, and do not cause autism. GMOs increase production and do not introduce chemicals into the food. Unless you have an allergy or celiac’s disease, you can probably eat gluten. Stop being so damn gullible and paranoid.

Don’t rely on the computer to help you make friends.
Social media is great for keeping up with friends and family, but it’s not the best place to meet new people and make new acquaintances. Get out. Do things. Meet people in person first and then, if they’re not douchebags, add them on social media. Doing it the other way around only increases your anti-social tendencies and isolates you further from the real world.

Do something you’ve never done before.
Most of us are so stuck in a rut we don’t even realize the depth of the rut we’re in. The new year gives you a wonderful chance to at least add a touch of variety by doing something different. Take up glass blowing. Train a cat. Chase ghosts. Train a cat to chase ghosts into blown glass. Almost everyone has something on their bucket list that can be done this next year. Go ahead and do it!

Vote the bums out.
2016, in case you’ve been living under a rock, is an election year. That gives you a wonderful opportunity to make a difference. There is absolutely no reason to re-elect anyone. This Congress has been the worst ever about failing in their responsibility to take care of the American people. State legislatures downright suck. Change that. Don’t re-elect anyone. Just do some research before you vote for stupid.

Read something longer than a damn list.
Ever ask yourself why there are so many lists on the Internet? The answer is because that’s what most people are likely to read. You don’t want to be bothered with details, just short headlines. As a result, you’re growing dumber by the minute. Details matter. Details keep you informed so you don’t support stupid, racists, closed-minded bigots. Go deeper than the headlines. Maybe even read a book or fifty.

I could go on, but statistically lists with more than five points get half as many readers as those with more than five, and those who do read longer lists typically abandon them less than half-way through.

Aren’t you glad I didn’t give you another list of things for which you should be thankful? That’s one list you really should create for yourself. If you’re getting your thankfulness list from the Internet, you need to re-examine your life. Seriously. The new year will be a lot better if you start doing more things for yourself. Consider that a bonus point.

Now, go enjoy the rest of your day.

PotD

8 Reasons To Steal The Bed Covers

November 25, 2015

The bed is a bundle of paradoxes: we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late.—Ogden Nash

For the larger part of this year, I assumed I had completely lost this series. The hard drive on which it was originally saved had decided it didn’t want to work with the operating system on the computer. There weren’t a huge number of pictures on there, but there were some that I considered quite lovely, this one among them. Fortunately, after we upgraded systems last month, the drive was magically readable again! Not sure how that happens, but I’m not complaining.

Another thing I lose often is the covers. Someone I know tends to be a cover hog and since one tends to react instinctively when asleep I just let her have them. I am not going to risk upsetting the Marine while she sleeps; somehow, I imagine that ending rather badly for me. When winter hits, beds become the battlefield of relationships and whoever loses either freezes or sleeps on the couch. We don’t want you sleeping on the couch, so that’s why we have today’s list.

8 Reasons To Steal The Bed Covers

You have to get up first in the morning.
Whoever has to get up first deserves to go to sleep first and have the longer uninterrupted sleep, right? The person on the other side of the bed can have the covers during that extra five or ten minutes they stay in bed each morning. You, on the other hand, have to get up and get busy. You deserve to have the covers during the night.

If someone would snuggle more you wouldn’t need the covers.
Let’s face it: body heat is a wonderful thing to share during the winter. Unfortunately, a lot of people have difficulty snuggling; they keep rolling over to the other side of the bed, leaving you alone and cold. Therefore, you deserve the covers to punish them for not being more intimate during a time in your life when what you really need is an all-night hug.

Without the covers, your cold feet go onto your lover’s back.
Our extremities are what lose heat first, even in bed, and that means one’s feet are going to get cold quickly when deprived of the covers. Cold feet instinctively migrate all on their own toward the nearest heat source, which is typically the cover hog’s backside. If they don’t want to be jolted awake by your cold feet, they need to share the covers.

Covers keep you from becoming ill.
Why should you have the covers? Because you’re a delicate flower who is going to become terribly, horribly, and ferociously ill if you get too cold at night. If you’re sick, then that’s definitely going to ruin all those wonderful winter plans you had, including that visit to the in-laws over the holidays. Does your significant other really want you ill over the holidays? Of course not!

You snore louder when you’re cold.
Not that we’re actually admitting that we snore, because you’ve never heard you snore; but, you’re pretty sure that if you were going to snore it would definitely be worse when you are cold. The louder you snore, the less sleep everyone else gets, including the pets. Ask your significant other if they really want to put up with a grumpy Mr. Snickety Lemons in the morning.

You’re grumpy when you don’t get enough sleep.
You need your eight hours of sleep each night or else you’re going to be an unbearable best the next morning. You take going to bed rather seriously and follow a precise routine to make sure you get the optimum amount of rest possible. When your partner steals the covers, though, that upsets the delicate balance you’ve created and you cannot be held responsible if salt somehow winds up in the coffee the next morning.

There are other blankets in the closet, damn it.
You have a big bed and the covers just barely fit over the whole thing even when there is no one under them. So, it just seems logical that your significant other would just grab their own blanket from the closet and let that solve the problem. Well, unless they grab the 115-year-old quilet that your great-great-grandmother handstiched together with her bare hands. That one’s yours; they’d best leave it alone.

No one’s getting sex as long as you are cold.
Science has proven that it is almost impossible to become sexually arounsed when one’s external temperature is below a point of reasonable comfort. If your partner has any plans for being even the least bit fiesty, they’d better let you have those covers. Otherwise, they can just keep those grabby little paws to themselves.

See, you’re totally justified in demanding the covers every night. Now, you just need to make sure that your lover actually sees this list before you go to bed. Maybe if you share it to their Facebook wall and tag their mother that will work. You know the mom-in-law understands.

pop culture / PotD

6 Reasons To Never Give Up

November 24, 2015

The secret of our success is that we never, never give up.—Wilma Mankiller, Principle Chief of the Cherokee, 1985-1995

Today’s picture is rarely posted because we typically go with the more familiar frame that resembles the famous Rosie the Riveter illustration from World War II. In some ways, though, I prefer this to the original because it demonstrates that strong and independent women don’t stop being attractive and sexy. That never give up attitude has its own form of attraction that is accentuated in the full-length pose. Jennifer Baxter did a great job on the body art, too, don’t you think?

This time of year, a lot of people look at what hasn’t been accomplished and give up. Actually, this time of year, a lot of people have difficulty just getting out of bed. When the sun doesn’t even start coming up until you’re already half-way through your morning, it screws with one’s sense of place and time. After fighting the same emotions day in and day out, persevering becomes a tremendous challenge. That’s why we have today’s list.

6 Reasons To Never Give Up

Plenty of people didn’t succeed on their first try; giving up removes the opportunity to win.
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Julia Child didn’t start cooking until she was in her mid-30s. Dr. Ruth Westheimer survived the Holocaust, immigrated to the US, raised a family, and didn’t even start talking about sex until she was in her 50s. Keep trying. Amazing things are yet to happen.

You can’t see the future; giving up denies you the victory right around the corner.
There are no crystal balls. Horoscopes are ineffective. That line about once a loser always a loser? Absolute bullshit. There’s no giant carrot dangling in front of us, but that doesn’t mean that the reward isn’t waiting for us to get there. Keep going. You’re almost there.

There’s only one you; giving up leaves a void no one else can fill.
What you do, your voice, your presence in the universe is wholly unique and the universe relies on you being here, being you, to make everything complete. No one can take your place. No one else has your perspective. You are the one piece to the puzzle that makes the picture complete.

No one is going to just hand you success; giving up takes you out of contention.
You cannot win the race you haven’t run. While that sounds like a rather simple platitude, the reality is that success doesn’t just show up at the front door after you’ve been sitting on your ass all day. Imagine the futility of planting a garden but never watering it. If you want the food, if you want the car, if you want anything, you have to get up and go get it; life doesn’t have an at-home delivery service.

Darkness doesn’t last forever; giving up makes you blind to the sunrise yet to come.
There are days when life seems to have been going on for so very, very long without any noticeable progress and you just want to go back to bed and sleep all day. Darkness has a way of making us think that it is going to last forever, but it lies. Sunrise is inevitable, but one has to stay awake long enough to see it. Now is not the time for a nap.

You are setting an example; when you give up, you teach others to give up as well.
One doesn’t have to be famous or a parent or in a position of authority to be a role model. No matter who you are, no matter how isolated you may feel, someone is watching you and is patterning their own life after yours. The responsibility we have to persevere is tremendous. Sometimes what ends up making the biggest difference is the legacy we leave for someone else to follow. Your legacy has yet to be written.

It’s Tuesday and this is a short week. You’ve got this. Get up, get dressed and make things happen!

Note: After all that talk I need to make one point very clear: if you even think you may be suffering from any form of depression, please seek professional help. Feeling unmotivated, frustrated with a current situation, or just tired from working too long without a break are situations we can conquer on our own; depression is not. Depression is a disease that kills too many people. Please, get help.

Art / Music / pop culture / PotD

5 Memories From Last Summer

November 23, 2015

charles i. letbetter - 5 Things About Last Summer

We cannot stop the winter or the summer from coming. We cannot stop the spring or the fall or make them other than they are. They are gifts from the universe that we cannot refuse. But we can choose what we will contribute to life when each arrives.—Gary Zukav

Technically, this isn’t the best photo I’ve ever taken, even though it’s one of my favorites. Summer photos are usually brighter and the fact that the whole photo is set on a diagonal slant is a bit unnerving to the eyes. The location had limitations that prevented me from shooting from a better position, though, and working with a diagonal frame was the only way to capture the reflection with the equipment I had available.

I don’t know how things are where you live, but we’re shivering in our shoes this morning with a wind chill of 20° F. I know many of us in the North had our first significant snowfall this weekend and while some find that exciting, most of us are less than thrilled. Where did that extended summer go? Summer is always full of memories, and this one was no exception, so let’s take a look at five things from this summer that we really shouldn’t forget.

US Wins Women’s FIFA World Cup
Did we see that coming? No, not really. We wanted it to happen, but when it comes to FIFA level play, the US just hasn’t had the best luck in the past. Routing Japan 5-2 was totally unexpected unless one happens to be a die-hard supporter of the team. This was one of the best feel-good moments of the summer.

Misty Copeland Promoted to Principal Ballerina at American Ballet Theater
This just doesn’t happen; black women don’t become principals in American ballet. One of the longest-standing bastions of racist tradition in the US fell with a thundering crash when Misty Copeland was promoted to Principal Ballerina this past June. Her promotion not only opens the door of diversity in American ballet but gives hope to millions of little girls in pink tights and toe shoes all across the country. Here’s a sample.

Inside Out Hit Theaters
There were lots of movies that had a bigger box office this summer, but none will have a larger long-term effect than this animated movie from Disney/Pixar that, more than anything, helps kids better understand what emotions are and the importance of feelings. The price of a movie ticket and popcorn is likely the cheapest source of therapy this generation will ever experience.

Shut Up And Dance was the feel-good song of the summer
Again, it wasn’t the biggest seller of the summer, but Walk The Moon’s catching song and its unusual video was the one song that brought multiple generations onto the dance floor to strut their stuff. My youngest son introduced me to the song and it’s been on my playlists ever since. Even now, the song is still charting.

Spending Time With Family
This is why we love summer; those moments in the park, or the pool, or the lake, or hiking, or whatever brings your family together. While school is in session, everyone is going their own direction with a dozen different activities, but summer gives us time to do things together, things we’ll remember the rest of our lives. We went traveled, spent time with extended family, and cooked food outside over fire. There are so many pictures I’m still not done editing them all. This is how summer should be.

I can’t keep the cold from coming any more than I can keep my old bones from hurting, but we can keep the memories of summer alive and maybe, just maybe, that will help keep us warm on the inside a little bit longer.

pop culture / PotD

The Final Countdown(s)

November 22, 2015

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.—Martin Luther King, Jr.

We’re hurtling toward the end of the year and that means we only have ten, count ’em, #POTD posts left before we take our December break. So, we’re going to spend these final few days with pictures that we weren’t able to make fit anywhere else and counting down a number of things we think are fun and important.

There’s no real cohesive point to the images. Some, like today’s, are quite old by digital standards. The Legends Football League’s Cynthing Schmidt was only 19 years old when we took this picture. Now, you’ll find her popping up in places like Sports Illustrated’s Lovely Lady of the Day feature. She seems to have done quite well for herself, but that has absolutely nothing to do with today’s list.

10 Things We Need To Do Before The End Of The Year

Kiss A Baby.
Chances are, unless you live in a cave with absolutely no interaction with anyone, you know someone who has a baby, or at least a toddler. Nothing is as calming and joyful as being slobbered upon by a six-month-old who thinks you taste good.

Spend five minutes doing nothing but petting an animal. Animals are wonderful givers of affection and are surprisingly effective at de-stressing humans. Just be selective about the animal. Lions and fish aren’t so cuddly.

Take an online class. Yep, there’s still time for you to actually accomplish something so that you’re not totally embarrassed while visiting with family over the holidays. Mashable has a good list here.

Donate some time to a charity. This time of year, charities who directly help the poor need more than just money, they need your time. Packing and distributing food take a lot of effort. If you have children, make it a family affair. The lesson in giving is invaluable.

Count your blessings. Seriously. Pen. Paper. Write. Do it the old-fashioned way so that it actually sticks in your head how fortunate you’ve been this year. Then, seal it in an envelope to open next year when you’re feeling blue.

Try the new Oreos® churros. Seriously. They’re real. Check here for details. The holidays are time for special treats, right? J&J Foods just gave us the best present ever. You know you want to try them. Go ahead. Give in. We won’t tell.

Read a book. You’ve been meaning to do that all year, but somehow the time just slips away. There are a lot of lists with great titles from which to choose. We rather like the choices at NPR Books, or just visit a bookstore and browse!

Join a sing-a-long. The world is full of timid singers that would never dare to sing in public on their own, but one of the joys of this time of year is that several groups sponsor community sing-a-longs, usually featuring holiday songs that everyone knows. Look around and find one near you.

Wrap something different in bacon. There is no going wrong with bacon. I’ve put it around food I otherwise detest and it totally changes my ability to down brussel sprouts. I’m thinking bacon wrapped sugar cookies sounds like a good idea.

Thank a service member. Holidays can be especially tough for those who are away from their families. Remember, the US military is comprised totally of volunteers. Show them some appreciation for their sacrifice.

This is your final chance to keep the year from totally sucking and should keep you busy for a moment or two. Should you become bored, don’t worry, we have more lists coming all week!

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The truth is of course is that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time.—David Bowie

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#IShouldNotBeAllowed to restore paintings when I’m drunk —Charley Kaye (@charley_ck14)

#IShouldNotBeAllowed

#IShouldNotBeAllowed

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Why so large a cost, having so short a lease, does thou upon your fading mansion spend? —William Shakespeare

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To desire and expect nothing for oneself and to have profound sympathy for others is genuine holiness.—Ivan Turgenev

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All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.—George Orwell

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How you correct your mistakes will define your character and commitment to a higher power. — Shannon L. Alder

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The Arab World is writing a new future; the pen is in our own hands.—Abdallah II of Jordan

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There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.—Edward Abbey

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You can’t worry if it’s cold; you can’t worry if it’s hot; you only worry if you get sick. Because then if you don’t get well, you die.—Joaquin Andujar

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I put my heart and my soul into my work and have lost my mind in the process.—Vincent Van Gogh

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I hate to see artists who are real safe. I love to see artists swing for the fences sometimes.—Lee Ann Womack

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My mother always kept library books in the house, and one rainy Sunday afternoon – this was before television, and we didn’t even have a radio – I picked up a book to look at the pictures and discovered I was reading and enjoying what I read.—Beverly Cleary

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The only use of an obstacle is to be overcome. All that an obstacle does with brave men is, not to frighten them, but to challenge them.—Woodrow Wilson

Find a photo challenge that actually challenges you.

Make sure you actually have time to complete the challenge.

Choose a challenge that interests you.

Consider the equipment necessary to complete the challenge.

What modifications are possible?

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We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.—Barbara de Angelis

Stay warm.

Avoid politics (and politicians) whenever possible.

Fight terror and violence by loving everyone.

Pay cash, save as much as possible.

Take more pictures: hire a professional.

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Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.—Francis of Assisi

Everything on one page … sort of.

Expanded portfolios.

Expanded content.

Service pricing.

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Unless one says goodbye to what one loves, and unless one travels to completely new territories, one can expect merely a long wearing away of oneself and an eventual extinction.—Jean Dubuffet

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Nearly half of the American population is eagerly anticipating the end of the world. This dewy-eyed nihilism provides absolutely no incentive to build a sustainable civilization. —Sam Harris

How To Survive THE END Times!

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Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.—Coco Chanel

5 Signs You Are A Fashion Failure

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I haven’t trusted polls since I read that 62% of women had affairs during their lunch hour. I’ve never met a woman in my life who would give up lunch for sex.—Erma Bombeck

8 Solutions To Lousy Sex

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Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.—Benjamin Franklin