Art Stars may be familiar with my erratic series known as "My Mind on Shuffle"

It's been a long time...I shouldn't have left you...

Without a "mind on shuffle" to step to...

(C'mon, name that tune...I know you got soul!)

Last week I posted a comic style photograph "Be Afraid." It kept crossing my mind all week, how never before had I spent any creative time and film/pixels making images or combining them to create a political statement. I'm using the term "political" here in the narrow term, as in national and world politics, such as we are immersed in these days with the economy and presidential elections....I tend toward making images that have more to do with my personal life and interests; political involvement is not on my usual radar, in fact I usually avoid cluttering up my mind and emotions by not watching or listening to the news on a daily basis..I know I'll hear about anything going on that's important. For me, the a constant diet of "news" is like watching the weather reports....so what....look out the window...keep an umbrella in the car...most of the time they just make you worry about weather that doesn't even happen...(don't get me started on this...I can rant.)
Anyway, the other night I was testing how to best work with people in long exposure night scenes. The last 3 years I've mostly shot tableaus without people, so it's easy to just open the shutter to "bulb" setting and hope the wind doesn't pick up too much when trees are involved. A photo I did a few weeks ago showed me I need to learn more exposure tricks to keep people sharp. Using the self-timer and myself as the subject, I set up the shot you see above, and did a number of variations to work out other visual issues.
Late into the night, my newly spawned political junkie mind led me into the comic software once again, and I concocted a variation of what is shown above...basically it was the same, but the box with the words was much more about just the crappy condition of the world, and the blue bubble suggesting the meditator with the freaked out mind "go deeper" wasn't in what I thought was the piece before I fell into bed around 3am.
Something didn't feel right...I had the sense from the previous comic that what I put out into the world played right into the same fears that have put us here in the first place....fear begets fear. As an artist, I had my irony going on, but at bottom, (or as the new worn out phrase goes.."at the end of the day..." ) I was using my creative energy in a way that was, to me, not too karmically cool. So as I drifted fitfully off to sleep that night, I thought about how to keep the truth of "ommmm my gawd" that I/we are dealing with, but take it to a higher/deeper level, to
express a way to raise our consciousness out of the morass, bring light into the darkness rather than let it continue to drag us into the abyss. Maybe this photographic comic solution is too "airy-fairy," but so be it...I lived in LA for a long time. Om Shanti Om. Namaste.

as much as i would like to just joke on biden for his erroneous call for action for the poor senator to stand, that's not what this is about (though extremely amusing). and, as much as i would like to go passively through this presidential race while my moderately left to extremely left blog counterparts are commenting on the state of affairs of our economy, i must give my two cents worth while still creating original artistic content. 

the capital gains tax will not help our economy.  it may help the national deficit. whoopty friggin' doo.  as businesses who have invested in their business plans and properties finally get a glimpse at a returning market, the profit margin will be limited by the increased taxes and will give little incentive for others to again invest in the housing market.  also, the increased capital gains taxes will decrease the amount that americans can put away into the banks.  as sbb so eloquently described it, if there is no money in the bank, credit will not be given and the economy again is crippled.  mccain who offers a plan of options for the tax payers, does not encourage creating future loop holes for businesses while having a less skewed tax curve that supports economic growth of small and large businesses. 

more to come.  bailouts and nuts.  yes, nuts.  acorn is both nuts and a questionable organization. discuss amongst yourselves. i'm feeling a bit verklempt.

Though our attention is rightfully attuned to the dire state of our economy, nothing frightens me more when the people in charge, or in this case, potentially a "72 year old's heartbeat" away, don't know what's going on. It takes me back to childhood moments and the sense of peace that parents and all good guardians aim to provide. Even if they are freaking out, they must maintain stability. My Mom was unemployed for over a year and never let me feel the brunt of our situation. I couldn't imagine how scared I would have been if my Mom demonstrated a clear inability to deal and eventually overcome our circumstance.

Which brings me to Sarah Palin and her bizarre interview with Katie Couric. She reminded me of someone who had to give a presentation for class but forgot to read the book. Or maybe only read the back cover description and thought they could "wing it." Pulling words out of the air might work in your tenth grade English class, but this is straight embarrassing...

Matter of fact, Fareed Zakaria politely remarks that she needs to do herself a favor and bow out gracefully:

T.I. is one of the best rappers of his generation, the undisputed King of the South.

Earlier this summer I was lamenting that it felt weird to not have a T.I. anthem blasting non-stop on the radio.

But just when I counted T.I. out - he delivered with the hit single "Whatever You Like".

Chairman Ben Bernanke is the T.I. of the financial game.

Watching him today at his joint Congressional hearing was inspirational - game personified.

In fact here is an unofficial transcript of what transpired:

Sen. Schumer: Chairman Bernanke what will you tell companies who are trying to get this Federal bailout money?

Bernanke: Well Senator at the Fed I think it basically boils down to this: Anytime you want to, pick up the telephone, you know it ain't nothin', drop a couple stacks on you.

Rep. Paul: Chairman does this apply to companies illiquid assets such as the complicated mortgage bundles that have got us into this mess?

Bernanke: Yes representative. Once Congress approves this bailout we will act swiftly and decisively to bring stability to our financial systems. We will send Wall Street this message:
You want it, I got it, go get it, I buy it, Tell them other broke niggas be quiet [hey!]

Sen. Dodd: My constituents have great concern about their tax money going to bail out companies just so the CEO's of these same companies can get golden parachutes. What do you have to say about this?

Bernanke: Well as a former Wall Street executive I remember the days of 100K deposits, vacations in the tropics, Everybody know it ain't trickin' if you got it, And you ain't never ever gotta go in yo' wallet, Long as I got rubberband banks in my pocket,
Five, six rides with rims and a bodykit, You ain't gotta downgrade, you can get what I get.

Sen. Dodd: Excuse me Chairman!?

Bernanke: I am sorry Senator. I don't think CEO's should get away with golden parachutes, however, we must get this measure passed as quickly as possible.

Rep. Barton: So you think it is a good idea to have more regulation, accountability for Secretary Paulson, and an equity stake for the American people in the companies that we help bailout?

Bernanke: Well as I have said repeatedly it is the job of Congress to make these decisions. I just urge you to move quickly before our financial situation worsens.

Sen. Reed: Chairman Bernanke do you support or oppose these reforms to the proposal?

Bernanke: Senator, I said you can have whatever you like [if you like]

Rep. Boehner: And what will you tell Wall Street if we approve these reforms?

Bernanke: I will tell Wall Street you can have whatever you like [if you like], yeah [yeah]...

I'm not impressed.

let me preface this by saying... politics is not my arena, but i had to comment.

well paris, you done good girl.  first, hilt-parrious (that's a combination of hilton and paris to make a weird form of hilarious).  no matter how surprising her wit was and even if her 3rd cousin that is trying to work for the daily show, wrote the script, she pulled it off with confidence, conviction and actually sounded intelligent. a far cry from her previous filmed endeavors (simple life, porn, etc.).

second, though she did not fully support barack, she did do something that has been needed to be done for a while; return to the issues and synthesize polarizing plans to, heaven forbid, a compromise.  i'm not suggesting that the main issue that is plaguing this election year is environmental sustainability or that they just need to find a happy medium on everything (that would just make the elections zero fun), instead, move away from pulling race cards and focus on issues. 

finally, fox news has talked about the ad continuously today in their daily news segments and has shown nothing but respect for paris.  she gained a lot of fans with this quicky (no jokes people).  even my own mother said "i think this is the first time i have had any respect for that lady."  ms. hilton who doesn't get most of your family inheritance because she is a spoiled retard, you finally nailed it.  good job and kudos.

First, I want to say that Ross White is an amazing human being, a talented progressive thinker with unlimited potential, a very close and dear friend, and most of all - a good sport.

Second, I want to say that I don't personally believe in the practical application of reparations because I am a pragmatist and fully realize the impossibility and problematic nature of the United States Government applying any reparations policy.

However, Art Star is a space that has been created for the exchange of ideas, information, and to build a community of young artists, thinkers, and influential people.

Yesterday I wrote a column that was meant to be pure entertainment called My Top Ten Guilty Pleasures, and #10 was reparations. I knew that it was a spicy topic and would possibly offend some of our readership as I acknowledged.

However the value of making controversial statements is not from the pure "shock" value, but from the ensuing dialogue about the issue.

In the comments section of my column, Ross and I had a debate which turned on whether or not a white person would learn anything about slavery from picking cotton for a day?

I said yes they would, and he said no they would not.

So, I challenged him to a bet that we would let our readership (and whoever else cares) decide via this really neat new idea called prediction markets.

Using the Inkling Marketplace we will pose the question and you, the reader, decide how right or wrong each of us are (we both believe that we insult everyone's intelligence by making it a yes or no answer).

If "the world" decides that yes, a white person would indeed would learn something from picking a day's worth of cotton, then Ross White will pick cotton for a day, and post footage from that and reflection on his experience in a youtube video.

If "the world" decides that no, a white person would not learn much from picking a day's worth of cotton, then I will issue a public apology to any white people I have offended in a youtube video.

Now of course I don't want to apologize and Ross doesn't want to pick cotton but that is what makes it interesting.

Over the next week or so we will both make posts elaborating, and nuancing our positions.

However, tomorrow we will introduce how YOU will decide and let the betting begin.

We encourage for you to comment on our bet and the issues, because although we both realize the inherent silliness in making a white person pick cotton, both Ross and I strongly believe that our countries ongoing conversation about race, history, discrimination, equality, and fairness are very important and isn't a "black" issue, or a "white" issue, but an American issue.

If God gave Asian people their own, special equivalent of coons, Michelle Malkin would be at the top of the list. She and John McWhorter would get along just fine in hell.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Defense_of_Internment

There's a term used in the community called "thirsty."

It means what you think it means, but it's now being used in different contexts. Only to make a point of the extremes to which some people will go to get what they want. More severely, what they need.

John McCain, for lack of more sophisticated terminology, is thirsty.

His thirst for another orgasm is that of an amplitude we may not have ever seen before. Not in sports, business, crime, corruption or politics. Keeping it community: He's thirsty like a fiend.

John McCain needs to cum to the White House without Bush.

This thirst -- whether he admits or denies or realizes it -- comes from a needing to do this without George W. Bush. It's a needing to come as close to Ron Jeremy and Ron Jeremy's legacy as any other Republican politician alive right now … and maybe in the future. It's a needing to prove to himself what he's known and told himself ever since he challenged Reagan to play one-on-one at age 11.

Redemption, chip on his shoulder, edge, anger. None apply. There's a fiend-like component inside McCain that exceeds all of the above labels that no politician in any other state possesses, and the closer he gets to attaining another cum shot, the more impossible it is going to be for anyone -- or any one campaign-- to deny him. His want has gone into an almost dependence stage of validation, of recognition, of being the last man standing. There is no politician or collection of politicians on Obama's squad -- no politicians(s) on any campaign the Republicans have faced throughout the primary, no entire 12-man roster in the Democratic Party, to be honest -- that can match his need to "superman a ho".

A compulsion to prove to himself -- and us -- that he's been right all along is what's at the center of this. Right that he's not a bad guy, a prima donna, arrogant, aloof or antisocial. Right that he is engaging and personable. Right that he might be the best politician your kids will ever see. Just as he was right about publicly forcing the Republican Party to make some roster moves, in every fabric of his being he has to be right about how he sees himself and what he sees himself as. Even though he said on The Bill O Reilly Show that he was comfortable being the No. 2 guy while winning rings with Bush, and in so many words to please stop the Ron Jeremy comparisons because there will never be another ("He's a different person … the greatest ever … let me do me …. Thank you!"), those who have watched his evolution -- his ascendance -- know better. He tries to cover it up in interviews and private conversations, but once he gets in "black" Lexington Steele mode it becomes clear as Claritin. He's on something extra. Something that once he calls it quits about eight years and two presidencies from now, he's going to need some serious form of detox to get out of his system.

Does this look like the face of a man who will let anything get between him and his nut?

It's the life of a fiend. Trapped inside the shell of a politician who almost had his prostate taken from him. The fact that he could have been responsible for not being able to show the world this stage of his life probably still eats at his mind. It might be what ultimately drives him. Maybe it's something deeper, something that revealed itself at birth. Who knows? And the beauty, he'll never -- not even in Spike Lee's documentary about him -- be the one to tell.

The Democrats are thirsty for that pussy, too, but they aren't dying of thirst. Which essentially is the difference between McCain and them -- maybe between McCain and all other human beings. And until Obama, Hillary and Jesus (anyone: Tiger, Ron Paul, Peyton, LeBron, Edwards, etc.) can equate death with what it will mean to not have sex on these terms, until they can make themselves believe -- as McCain has -- that their survival depends on getting this nut, then their collective and collaborative effort may not be enough.

Fucking is the difference between a mission and an addiction. The Democrats are on a season-long mission against a dude that for the last five years has forced an addiction on himself to fuck. Having sex substantiates this dude. It eliminates every doubt that may have somehow crept into his überconfident mind about his ability to carry a load and lead his party at the highest level of this sport. He has tasted something his competition (outside of Bill Clinton) has never tasted, is hooked on something they've yet to sample. Addiction does not come by osmosis, whether it's meth, crack, coke, chocolate, caffeine, nicotine, sports, gambling, drinking or body art. To feel what it feels like to want to experience that same feeling again, you would have had to have it in your system before. The power of that feeling always makes those who reach that level of necessity more powerful than those who wish they knew what it felt like.

McCain has that feeling. The others don't. And he is still thirsty.

As those who are close to the game and those who still hate him despite what he's done since the primaries started will testify, you can't beat a fiend at his own game when his game is sex and sex is all he has.

Which leaves only one thing left that John McCain can do: Obey his thirst.

To read the real article about Kobe Bryant by my favorite sports writer Scoop Jackson click here