Art, damn it, art! watch (#33 in a series).

December 14th, 2012

Atlanta has this thing called “Living Walls”, which the NYT describes as “an annual gathering of street artists from around the world who paint on walls and buildings”.

Some of these paintings are in “blighted” areas; the theory seems to be that these paintings will make things look a little nicer.

But it has also prompted an outcry. Some residents have raised concerns that too much of Atlanta has become a canvas, and some find the works disturbing or offensive.

The punchline?

One mural depicting a nude woman was taken down in September after residents called it pornographic. On Tuesday, Georgia Department of Transportation workers painted over another mural — of an alligator-headed man with a serpentine tail — that neighbors said confused them and was possibly demonic.

But this had nothing to do with “artistic value”, according to the DoT: rather, they claim that the artist didn’t have the proper permits for public art. (Other “Living Walls” paintings are on private property; the NYT doesn’t make this clear, but it looks like the alligator mural was painted along the side of a road.)

And:

The mural of the woman was done by an Argentine painter, Hyuro, and the alligator painting was by a French painter, Pierre Roti. Mr. Roti, who traveled to Atlanta on his own budget and spent 11 days on the mural, said he found the reaction confusing. He intended the mural as an allegory about the brutality of capitalism, not a statement on religion or demons.

“an allegory about the brutality of capitalism”. By the way, “Living Walls” sponsors include “a prominent law firm, the Museum of Design Atlanta and the W Hotel”.

Posted in Art, Clippings | Comments Closed

Medal of Honor followup.

December 13th, 2012

I’ve written previously about the case of Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta, who was awarded the Navy Cross for heroism in combat. Sgt. Peralta’s family, and other folks, believe Sgt. Peralta should receive the Medal of Honor for his actions.

Updating this story, the Secretary of Defense has declined to award Sgt. Peralta the Medal of Honor. Former secretary Gates initially ruled against awarding the MoH to Sgt. Peralta, but current secretary Panetta was asked to reconsider the decision, and chose not to overrule Gates.

Posted in Clippings, Heroism | Comments Closed

Speaking of Christmas…

December 12th, 2012

The president of the Christmas Bureau of Austin and Travis County was back in jail Wednesday – on new charges unrelated to allegations of financial improprieties involving the nonprofit that has supplied Christmas presents to needy families.

He was stopped after running a red light, “nitially declined to provide his identity” until the cops said they’d fingerprint him, and, oh, by the way, the police also searched his car and found meth.

Also:

…a Travis County judge ordered the organization to close, to disable its website and PayPal account and to stop any other business dealings.

Interesting. I can, as of 8:11 PM local time on December 12, 2012, pull up their website. I can also click on the big “PayPal” button, but doing that results in a message from PayPal stating “This recipient is currently unable to receive money.”

(Previously.)

Posted in Clippings, Law | 1 Comment »

Banana republicans followup: December 12, 2012.

December 12th, 2012

Christmas is coming, so let me give you a gift that keeps on giving.

A while back, I noted the case of San Fernando councilman Mario Hernandez and councilwoman Maribel de la Torre. In brief, the two were involved in an extra-marital affair that went sour, there were accusations of domestic violence by both parties, Hernandez later asked that his charges against de la Torre be withdrawn, and the DA refused.

Ms. de la Torre (who, along with Mr. Hernandez, is no longer a councilperson) went on trial today.

The charges were dismissed “after Deputy Dist. Atty. Ruby Arias announced that she would not be able to proceed”.

Why couldn’t she proceed?

…the alleged victim, former San Fernando Mayor Mario Hernandez, failed to appear despite a bench warrant issued for his arrest.

It seems pretty clear that this was a deliberate act on the part of Hernandez. The thing I wonder about (because I am not a lawyer) is: what now? With the charges dismissed, is there still an active bench warrant for Hernandez? Can he still be hauled before a judge? If so, could he face contempt charges? Can the charges be re-filed if Hernandez is found? The dismissal was “without prejudice” so I think the answer to that last question is “yes”, but, again, I Am Not A Lawyer.

I also wonder if this is really worth pursuing any more. It appears that Hernandez doesn’t want it pursued, I’m sure de la Torre is delighted by this turn of events, and both of them (along with the mayor) are no longer in office. Should the DA just call it an unfortunate series of events and move on?

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, IANAL, Law | Comments Closed

Obit watch: December 12, 2012.

December 12th, 2012

The great Ravi Shankar. (LAT. NYT. A/V Club.)

When I was in school the first time around, I became a big Ravi Shankar fan. I went to see him in concert when he came through Austin, and bought several of his albums. “Live at Monterey – 1967“, as it turned out, was a great way to annoy Lawrence. (Don’t feel sorry for him: Lawrence had, and has, his own ways of getting back at me.)

Edited to add: updated with the A/V Club obit. Also: A/V Club obit for Reinhold Weege, creator of “Night Court”.

Posted in Clippings, Music, Obits, TV | 1 Comment »

That soft, wet sound you heard earlier today?

December 11th, 2012

That was the sound of former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s head exploding, as well as the heads of many other Chicago politicians.

In a major victory for gun rights advocates, a federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a ban on carrying concealed weapons in Illinois — the only remaining state where carrying concealed weapons is entirely illegal — and gave lawmakers 180 days to write a law that legalizes it.

More from Shall Not Be Questioned.

Posted in Clippings, Guns, Law | Comments Closed

TMQ Watch: December 11, 2012.

December 11th, 2012

TMQ was oddly silent last week about Kansas City. TMQ is oddly silent this week about Dallas. TMQ loves him some Patriot offense.

We actually watched last night’s game at the home of some friends. (Those friends shall remain nameless to protect their privacy, but thank you, nameless friends for hosting us!) We have not seen a Monday night game since the contract moved to ESPN, and we were amazed at just how awful the commentary was. We were also amazed at how much time was spent talking about Every. Single. Little. Aspect. Of the New England Patriots (especially Brady) and how little time was spent discussing the Texans.

We’re not that upset the Texans lost. A win would have been nice, but 11-2 is pretty good, and it isn’t like they lost to an incompetent team.

Additional note: as we write this, news is breaking that Paulie Tags has thrown out the New Orleans Saints player suspensions. We’re not sure what to make of this, or how this is going to play out. We need some time to think about it.

After the jump, this week’s TMQ….

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Books, NFL, Sports, TMQ watch | Comments Closed

Gratuitous snark.

December 11th, 2012

<sarcasm>
If only we outlawed fireplaces, natural gas, razor blades, and speaker wire, Dr. Cecilia Chang would be alive today.
</sarcasm>

Setting aside the point (that people who want to kill themselves are going to do it, with or without guns), this NYT story is interesting reading.

Dr. Chang, a dean at St. John’s University in Queens, associated with a whirlwind of characters: Catholic priests, Chinese gangsters, American lawmakers, a Taiwanese general and a fantastically corrupt city politician, to name a few. She had been married three times. One husband, she had told several people, was involved in organized crime; another told the police before succumbing to gunshot wounds that she was behind the attack.

Dr. Chang was basically a rainmaker for the university: she brought in millions of dollars in donations. Many of those donations were from what we might call “questionable” people. (One person who was awarded a honorary degree from St. John’s is currently a fugitive from justice.)

But that life, prosecutors charged in state and federal indictments, was enabled by fraud and embezzlement. Federal prosecutors accused her of forcing foreign students to perform household labor in exchange for tuition grants, stealing over $1 million from the university and taking $250,000 from a Saudi prince to organize academic conferences that never happened.

Dr. Chang took the stand at her trial. It did not go well for her, according to the NYT account, and she killed herself shortly thereafter.

Posted in Clippings, Guns, Law, Sarcasm | Comments Closed

Connally.

December 10th, 2012

(I don’t remember why I had such an odd angle on this picture. Maybe I couldn’t get a better one, or I was trying to shoot around something else that was in the way.)

(Biographical information on John Connally from the Handbook of Texas Online.)

Edited to add: I like my mother’s version of this better than my own.

Posted in Obits, Photography | Comments Closed

Hard to believe…

December 8th, 2012

….that, at one point, this man was probably the most hated person in the state of Texas.

(HouChron obit, which explains some of the background to that comment.)

Posted in Obits, Photography | 1 Comment »

Morris, Weingarten, and MacDonald.

December 7th, 2012

I have written before about my complicated relationship with Gene Weingarten and his writing.

I have a tremendous admiration for Errol Morris as a filmmaker.

I own, but have not yet read, A Wilderness of Error: The Trials of Jeffrey MacDonald.

The intersection of these three things: Weingarten in the WP profiling Brian Murtagh, the federal prosecutor in the MacDonald case. And, in the process, taking on Morris and his book. Weingarten believes MacDonald is guilty:

I’ve concluded this both because I have researched the case extensively, and because, as a writer, I see exactly how Errol Morris prejudiced his account while shrewdly appearing not to do so. I admire his skill but not his book. I think the media have been careless and gullible in reviewing it, perhaps partially because the story of a grievous, enduring miscarriage of justice presents a more compelling narrative than the alternative.

So Weingarten should maybe be taken with at least a small grain of salt. But he does bring up several places where Morris himself admits problems. For example, a woman named Helena Stoeckley allegedly confessed to a federal marshal, Jimmy Britt, that she was present when the killings took place. Britt filed a sworn affidavit stating that Stoeckley confessed while he was transporting her to the trial. Both Britt and Stoeckley are now dead.

None of what was about to come out was in Errol Morris’s book, though it was available to him in public records.
Jimmy Britt, evidence suggested, had not transported Helena Stoeckley from South Carolina at all; he’d never had hours to talk to her. The transport had been done by a tag-team succession of other marshals. Some of the paperwork still survived. Two of the transporters testified.

More:

There are many significant, incriminating facts glossed over in, or completely omitted from, “A Wilderness of Error.” Conversely, much is made of nonsense. An entire chapter is devoted to the supposedly startling fact that Helena Stoeckley reported seeing a broken rocking horse in Kristy’s room. Yes, the horse had been clearly visible in newspaper photos, but no one, Morris argues, had ever publicly disclosed it was broken.

Punchline: it wasn’t broken. And:

Just before this story went to press, Errol Morris and I spoke for nearly an hour; he concedes there are some things he wishes he’d written differently — for example, disclosing that there were some credible challenges to Jimmy Britt’s story. Morris allows that he may have used some facts selectively to make a case for what he believes — selectivity, he says, is part of all journalism — but adds that his belief remains solid that MacDonald did not get a fair trial. He also thinks MacDonald is innocent, but of that is less certain.

The entire article is pretty long, but I commend it to your attention if you have any interest in the MacDonald case.

(Hattip: Ted Frank by way of Popehat on the Twitter.)

Posted in Books, Clippings, Law, Movies | Comments Closed

Quiet, modest people.

December 7th, 2012

If you ask me, “Professor, Librarian, Mentor” is a pretty darn good way to be remembered.

Also, if you served honorably in our country’s military – especially if you fought at the Battle of the Bulge, or were at Pearl Harbor, or any number of other great battles – yeah, that should be all over your tombstone.

(Dr. Mersky isn’t as famous as some of the other folks I’ve posted about, but I found this very nice conference announcement/tribute to Dr. Mersky, with an awesome picture of the gentleman in life. He sounds very much like someone I would have enjoyed knowing.)

Posted in Obits, Photography | Comments Closed

Random notes: December 7, 2012.

December 7th, 2012

Happy Pearl Harbor Day. On this date, as always, I will pause for a moment of silence to remember the Japanese-American graduate of Texas A&M who, on December 7, 1941, bombed Pearl Bailey.

Jim Letten, the chief federal prosecutor in New Orleans, has resigned over the comments scandal in his office. For those who weren’t following the story: two of the prosecutors in his office, including his top assistant, were exposed as the authors of pseudonymous comments about active cases on nola.com.

The exposure of Ms. Mann, months after Mr. Letten’s avowals that Mr. Perricone had acted alone, raised doubts about the effectiveness of an internal investigation by the Justice Department. The revelations could also jeopardize hard-fought convictions — including those last year of police officers involved in post-Katrina killings on the Danziger Bridge — as well as continuing inquiries like a bribery investigation that appears to be steadily encircling C. Ray Nagin, the former mayor.

Oh, isn’t that special? The Danzinger Bridge convictions might get tossed because a couple of prosecutors couldn’t behave themselves online. Thanks, guys.

Posted in Clippings, History, Law | 2 Comments »

Random notes: December 6, 2012.

December 6th, 2012

Dave Brubeck obits: NYT. LAT. A/V Club.

The demise of “The Anarchist” raises questions about the theater business. Did the lead producers’ devotion to Mr. Mamet — and the hope of a lucrative “Glengarry” revival — mean staging a new work that wasn’t right, or ready, for Broadway? Should playwrights direct their own work, as Mr. Mamet did with “The Anarchist” and his last new drama on Broadway, “Race”?

Posted in Clippings, Music, Obits, Theatre | Comments Closed

“…with the eyes wide open”

December 6th, 2012

Something about the state cemetery that I didn’t realize until I went there; many of the monuments are, for want of a better work, architecturally interesting.

There are quite a few standard flat tombstones (especially in the section for the Confederate dead) but it seems like many people have the attitude of “This is the state cemetery; let’s make it interesting.”

I wish the focus had come out a little better on this one. I think it works, but in retrospect, it would have been better if i had taken another shot with a smaller aperture to get better depth of field.

(And call me a sentimental old fool, but I like the inscription.)

(Tom Lea Institute. The Tom Lea Collection at the University of Texas.)

Posted in Art, Books, Obits, Photography | Comments Closed

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