Category Archives: art and humor

An Unrepentant Realist: Rackstraw Downes

Perhaps the most interesting name amongst the list of MacArthur Fellows — aka official geniuses — announced today is the realist painter Rackstraw Downes, known for his exacting portrayal of unbeautiful landscapes. Interesting to yours truly because if art is about opening our eyes to see afresh, what better means that to show us exactlyContinue reading “An Unrepentant Realist: Rackstraw Downes”

Animal Logic — Photos by Another Darn Genius

Having six billion plus humans on the planet creates some problems, but also has some advantages. Surely there are more geniuses amongst us now than ever before. And thanks to the Internet, we can experience their work a little more easily than back in Da Vinci's day. Well, Richard Barnes may not have Da Vinci'sContinue reading “Animal Logic — Photos by Another Darn Genius”

In Wildness, Truth. In Wildness, Life…

From an essay by Jay Griffiths in Drunken Boat: What is wild cannot be bought or sold, borrowed or copied.  It is.  Unmistakable, unforgettable, unshameable, elemental as earth and water and fire.  Don’t waste your wildness: it is precious and necessary.  In wildness, truth.  In wildness, life.  And, for the human spirit as for anyContinue reading “In Wildness, Truth. In Wildness, Life…”

A Pas de Deux for Grown-ups

For the last couple of years, I have been complaining about The Los Angeles Times website, which had so many problems it's not even worth the time to list them…well, amazingly, the new version they rolled out a week or so ago is absolutely first-rate. The search function even works. Unbelievable. Here's a sample. AttachedContinue reading “A Pas de Deux for Grown-ups”

Needed: Anti-Hysteria Czar

So argues the great Washington Post reporter/columnist Joel Achenbach: Is it my imagination or in recent years has hysteria become the default response to anything even slightly controversial or offensive? So the head of Whole Foods says in an Op-Ed that he doesn't like the health care reform proposals. Liberals are aghast. The company mustContinue reading “Needed: Anti-Hysteria Czar”