Last Night's Republican Response: I... I Can't Stop Laughing

Oh man, this... well, this is actually sad. In response to Fearless Leaders President Obama's address last night, the Republicans decided to try some one-up-man-ship and bring out the first Indian-American Governor. Sadly, his storytelling skills are... well, they remind me more of a uncle at the corner store than a politician. I had to stop half-way through because I couldn't stop laughing.

Next time, bring out Ron Paul. He actually know what the hell he's talking about.

Don't You Hate Pants?

So I did something that few men and, well, few black men will ever do in this country: I bought a kilt.

I'll repeat that: I now own a kilt. And I love it!

I can't say I know what drew me to a kilt... maybe it was because of how odd it is, how rare it is to see one... but there was something just pretty cool and out there. So I bought it and it came in the mail yesterday. I was going to run around yesterday in it until I thought about. No, the fact that I live in Philly and I was going to Center City wasn't it. Instead, the problem was that... well, what do you wear under that thing?!

The main appeal of the kilt is that it makes up for what us men wear daily: Pants. I fucking hate pants! I didnt' at first, but put on a kilt and you'll agree... fuck pants! What kinda idiot thought MEN should wear pants? No, really, who? Did they not have testicles? I hate when you wear pants and you get that horrible feeling where it seems one of you testicles has decided to... ahem.. "rearrange" itself on it's own. When does it happen? Whenever you wear PANTS!

Most men wear boxers for the comfort and feeling of freedom, something we really get to enjoy when we wear shorts in the summer. Otherwise, we wear pants. Tight, restricting, horrible pants. Fuck 'em! Well, a kilt is better. I had on my boxers, I put a kilt on over them, and my god... paradise! PAR-A-DISE! Walking around the house, feeling free.. my god, FREEDOM!!!!

Well, what DO you wear under them? A real Scot would say "Nothing"... and they're right, your not supposed to wear anything under them. But in "The Real World", a.k.a, Philadelphia, you need to. Especially in winter. So I've debated a few things... no real idea yet, but hey, I'm working on it.

One idea was to wear just the boxers, but... well, it's not exactly a nice view if there's a wind. I also thought about wearing long john underneath them. I tried on a pair and walked around... well, it may be a kilt and not a skirt, but I sure did feel like I was wearing pantyhose! It's... it's a maybe. What? It kept me warm while still being fashionable. You got a problem with that, 'ya girl scout?!

So the solution really isn't simple. I'm debating the long johns... they look good, I could just say their socks, and skateboarding in them would be nothing short of awesome. That, or maybe just a slightly tighter pair of boxers.

Anti-Stimulus Cartoon "Offends" People

When Obama was running I told all my friends the same thing; "I'm afraid of him winning if for nothing else than we may not get to make fun of him. Too many people will be afraid that they'll be labeled racists or offensive or whatever!" My friends... well, they tended to look at me with glazed eyes because they didn't care.

So when the Obama Sock-Puppet Monkey came out and I laughed because I thought it was cute, you can imagine why I wasn't shocked that a lot of people found it offensive. "Your comparing him to a monkey! RACIST!" Well... yes and no. In the past, yeah, comparing black people to monkeys was racist. At the same time, we have a tradition of comparing politicans to chimps, orangutans... simians of all shapes and sizes. We've never cared about the race of poltiican, just the fact that they were an inept chimp.

And then this.

Seriously, outrage over this? “OH MY GOD! It’s two WHITE cops shooting a CHIMP! RACISM!” What are you, 5? If it was two black cops, would it be racist, or just a really interesting political statement no one would care about it? What if it wasn't a chimp at all, but a snake. "Oh no, they killed a snake!" No one cares about snakes! Everyone fucking HATES snakes! Chimps? We like them!

The only people offended by this are people who want to see some sort of racism in and of itself. How many cartoons have there been over the last 8 years comparing Bush to a chimp? Seriously, how many? I lost count after the first 1,000,000.

Apes, monkeys, chimps… people compare politicians to primates all the time! I didn’t see it as a racist; I saw it as them saying only a idiotic chimp would write a stimulus bill like that, that the bill was stupid and seemed to be written by a chimp.

I'm 99% sure that the guy who drew this said, "You know, some people might get offended by this, but I'm sure that it's just going to be a few people and that'll be it. No one is going to care about what a few idiots think. I'm certain that the audience of The New Post have enough of a brain to realize it's not racist but basic social commentary using ideology and imagery we've used for years." He vastly underestimated the basic level of intelligence the average New York Post reader has.

How many people “outraged” laughed at the Bush-Monkey comparison? How many people “outraged” love Obama and voted for him and would shout outrage at any bad press about it, screaming “conservative bias”? How many of these “offended” people think black people have had it so hard they need to be protected? How many people “offended” realize that Al Sharpton is a idiotic douche bag who has said and done horribly racist things himself?

At the same time, how many people laughed at this:

You remember this, right? Mohammed with a bomb on his head. People laughed and chuckled at it but we all said, "you know, that might be offensive to some people, but at the same time, the guy is basically saying that religion can be used as a weapon. He isn't saying 'All Muslims are crazy, just some of them.'" We all used our brains and made a rational decision and moved on. We laughed at the crazy bastards over the ocean who protested and thought it was so horribly bad.

Well... your turn. It's your turn to realize that your an adult and you need to be treated as such, to be challenged, to be offended! You don't have a right to not be offended, you have a right and a privileged TO be offended! To question! To be treated as thinking, rational, mature human beings!

This cartoon isn’t racist unless you want to be. If you think it is, please cancel your subscription to the New York Post, boycott it, whatever... meanwhile, I'll be over hear laughing at how silly you look.

Gas and Electric Shutoff's During Winter: The Unreported Threat

It was the winter of my discontent, a winter of brutal cold and destroyed dreams. I had lost my job, I was turned down for unemployment since my last job didn't last long enough, trying to apply for welfare, and was about to lose my house. At the same time, I was almost broke and hadn't paid my utilities in months. It was March and I knew that it was only a matter of time and, sure enough, I had until April to pay them. It was nothing short of a miracle that I made it through. In the end, I was thankful that PGW and PECO were not allowed to turn off their services during the winter as it would lead to costly repairs to my house and me possibly freezing to death.

Enter 2009.

My friend has had a hard time getting by; as a freelancer, that happens. You have your great months and your bad months. Despite some large projects keeping him busy, it's been a devastatingly slow few months. Then came the "pay now" letters from PGW and PECO, but this time with a twist: A shut off notice. In February.

We had discussed a few times before that they wouldn't turn off service during the winter for a list of reasons: First, the human reason. Not being able to pay the bill aside, turning off the gas or electric meant freezing the person inside, possibly to death, which is... well, wrong. Then the toll on the house itself. Without either or both on, the pipes could freeze, causing them to burst, and require even more money to fix. In the end, a bill of $1000 could wind up costing the homeowner $2000 and more after paying restoration fees and fixing anything that may have broken or been damaged in the meantime.

What is astounding to me are two things: Why is this legal in Philadelphia and why isn't this being reported?

The reason it shouldn't be legal is actually very obvious since, as I mentioned already, the toll on the person is astounding and the toll on the house or property can be incredibly costly. During the summer months it's not quite as bad, but winter is understood to be the worst time possible to carry out a shut off in this city.

At the same time, this effects the poorest of our friends and neighbors, and it's a devastating thing to happen to a persons emotional toll. I had my power turned off once and aside from the feeling of disappointment you feel in it happening, your angry and sad at yourself for falling so far from society. You feel like an outcast and a pariah.

The toll on the neighbors properties is debatable, but it is likely that a house that is flooding due to bad pipes in a row home will effect the neighbors.

There are 6200 residents without heat in Philadelphia because of PGW, and number due to rising unemployment and steeper fees and declining budgets will most likely make it rise even more. At this moment, we need our lawmakers to take a stand and demand that they take quick and immediate action in order to make sure no one is forced to freeze to death this winter. This is a city on the brink, and this is a public health concern. More people getting sick due to poor heating? Is that what we need?

All the while, we need reform in the CRP and how it's funded. We need to make PGW an agent for change and get it back on it's toe to make a profit for the city. PECO, at the same time, is sending shut off notices and I can only hope that the death of the man in Bay City, Michigan teaches them something about this horrible and inhumane practice.

Photo thanks to PhillyIMC.

...And You Will See the Truth: Rollan Burris Part 2

Back on January 6th,I wrote that Rollan Burris was appointed by a corrupt and soon-to-be-impeached Governor to the US Senate. The outcry from some was that Burris shouldn't be tied to the action of the governor, and some extreme people went out to hint, if not cry out, racism by baring the only non-white Senator, despite his appointment being... well, sketchy.

In particular, I want to point out Keith Olbermann for his hypocrisy on the matter. No, I like Keith, I still watch his show, but I'm calling him out on this because if's irritating watching him flip-flop on this. Back in Januarary before getting appointed, Olbermann hinted at a "only black Senator" move and that he should be judged on his merit.

It just came out that Burris purgered himself by saying during his hearings that he never had contact with the Governor or anyone close to him... despite talking to his brother.

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This is the story from, of all places, Keith Olbermann. No longer trying to paint him as a good man, instead he's admitted that he is now on the way out and may have the shortest term of a Senator ever.

In turn, I want to simply say he should never have been appointed in the first place.

QUESTION: Does Obama Have a Right Now To Not Be Put On Merchandise?

Over the last 8 years, a small cottage industry developed and was created to insult and defame now-former President Bush. It was fun! Anti-Bush merchandise was everywhere and was fun to look at sometimes. Selling your own anti-Bush shirt meant being more clever and smart than the next guy... and getting there early. I didn't have either so my anti-Bush designs never took off.

Enter #44, President Obama. I wrote previously about how his image was used on just about everything (literally) and how I thought it was tacky. In turn, the Obama team is trying to stop it... which doesn't seem like a good thing to some degree.

You have two things at work here that you need to keep in mind: On one hand, you can't use the image of a celebrity to promote something without their permission. On the other hand, a publicly elected official tends to loose those rights. The First Amendment protects everyone to allow them to insult, defame, and parody the President anyway they want without needing rights to do so. You can make money insulting the guy, and no one can do a thing.

On the other hand, you have businesses using the President in a positive way to attract business. It isn't parody at this point, it's getting a false endorsement.

At this point, I can't say I have an actual view on this yet. I'm angry and think it's wrong for the Obama administration to clamp down on people for using his likeness because we have laws stating that, well, your allowed to. This could set a terrible precedent in the future with other leaders and not being allowed to parody or insult them.

This is a pretty thorny issue and, really, only time is going to tell...

Photo: Shazmosis

Article: No, You Can't Commercialize Obama

SHRED KRISTIN COLLISIONS FACE!!!!

This has to be my favorite skateboard deck that I've ever designed... really happy with it, one of my best designs... I could just go on. Please check it out and if you buy one, please take some photos with it!

The Rules Deck by LuvataciousSkull
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Why Are Retailers So Fucking Stupid?

Back in 2008, Dr. Pepper made a deal with America: If Guns 'N' Roses finally released "Chinese Democracy" before the year was over, they would give everyone in America a FREE DR. PEPPER. Sounds sweet, huh? I don't normally drink Dr. Pepper, but hey, free soda, right? I don't remember the details of how they did it at all, but I do know that they way they did it was bad: You had to apply for it within a small window of time. I never found out when and when I saw people on a message board I go to complain they didn't get it, I didn't really care.

The fallout was Guns 'N' Roses management was angry with how Dr. Pepper did the offer and created some sort of lawsuit to make them to do it again. Let me state, this is all from memory because I don't feel like wasting time finding it. Apparently, Dr. Pepper decided to give it another go because they offered a Free Diet Dr. Pepper if you applied for a coupon on their site. It was incredibly easy to do and I was done in 2 minutes. Last time, people spent nearly an hour waiting to get through!

Well, I got my coupon Monday after only 2 weeks of waiting (again, as opposed to the 2 months some people went through waiting). I decided to use it today and was pleasantly surprised I could also get a regular Dr. Pepper as well. Cool, huh?

There's a 7-Eleven near where I work and it's run by this god-awful Russian woman. I love Russia, I love Russian women, but her? HORRIBLE! She treats her employees badly, has no respect for customers, and just doesn't know how to do her job. In turn, handing her a coupon from a major manufacture, a fairly simple thing at a retail chain, she said, "We don't take coupon." I took it and left. That place sucks ass. 8th and Chestnut, in case your wondering, next to Quiznos and across the street from Starbucks.

The 3rd place I went to was Rite-Aid. I went to another place in between, a really sweet small shop (Old Nelsons, 7th and Chestnut. Great folks!) who couldn't take it, either. "Rite-Aid! I can't go wrong there!" I was greeted with this: "We don't take Internet coupons." "This isn't from the internet, it was mailed to me by Dr. Pepper themselves." "How did you get it?" "....OK, I had to order it online, but it was MAILED to me." She mumbled that "it didn't matter" and went to check with her manager in the back. If he was like me, he was pissed that a rather simple thing like taking a manufactures coupon was turned into a 5-minute ordeal. They took it, I got a free soda, and went back to work.

All and all... decent. I may have to drink more Dr. Pepper now, it's pretty good.

Shepard Fairey Part 2: What We Can Learn About Freelancing

This one is going to be incredibly short because, really, it's cut and dry.

One argument I've heard in defense of Fairey is that even if the Associated Press one, the original photographer wouldn't be compensated. The problem with that argument, though, is that it's still the property of the Associated Press.

Mannie Garcia is the freelance photographer who took the photo under a work-for-hire provision. That means the work created by the freelancer was bought by the Associated Press and they own it, not the original creator. While Mannie thinks it's "pretty cool", which I won't lie, it is, there's still the fact that the Associated Press has a point.

So in this I think is a lesson to any and all freelancer's out there: Realize that when you do work for a client, sometimes your waving your rights as a creator by doing it as a "Work-for-Hire". Doing something as a "work-for-hire" is always risky since you never know what sort of life the piece of art will take on later on.

Shepard Fairey: A Tale of Lawsuits and Arrests

When you do art, there are always a legal problem around the corner. Or, more accurately, when you do any form of street art, there is.

Fairely has become famous, both for his "OBEY" slogan and images of Andre the Giant, and the "HOPE" posters of Obama. His images are iconic and known the world over, but it has always come at the price of other artists. I've seen him defended countless times, and rightfully so; most of what he does falls under "Fair Use" laws and I fully support them. At the same time, a double standard constantly comes up. Frankly, there is a lot of issues in the case and a lot of ground to cover, and it's up to me to kinda give you a round down that is easy to digest, so here goes:




Above us are two images. On the left is the "Big Brother is Watching" poster from the 1956 film adaption of the George Orwell novel, 1984. On the right is Fairely's poster. It can, and has, been argued that Fairely simply "re-created" the image entirely and put his own spin on it. That's true, he did give it a different spin. The problem, though, is that it's still 90% recognizable as the original image. No credit was given to the original artist or film maker, no one was given compensation, and he didn't have permission to use the image for anything.

Now, let's look at another case:



This time, we have a different artist and a different case. On the left, we have an original piece of art and t-shirt by artist Jess Fink. On the right is an image NewBreedGirl is using. Looks similar, doesn't it! Jess Fink had an image, design, and concept stolen by NewBreedGirl and sent them a letter to stop making it. It worked. The company apologized and it was settled the matter out of court.

But when it was found out that the image was stolen, a massive outcry from artists and designers came out at the anger and outrage that the mans idea and concept was stolen. Angry letters and protests images were created in response. Artists agreed: This wasn't fair use, this wasn't a case of basically creating something your own and being inspired, it was 100% plagiarism.



Again, NewBreedGirl ripped off another artist and this time the rip-off was a lot more obvious. The response from the artist?

I can tell we're not happy about it, and are definitely dealing with it. It's hard enough out there striving for some level of originality – a moustache character with a moustache is pretty specific at least – so to have our Moustachio character ripped off so blatantly is really frustrating and annoying. Independent artists and designers like us are constantly striving for and succeeding in coming up with interesting, compelling concepts and visuals, and while most celebrate and enjoy them, some opportunistic, unoriginal hacks can't help but try to cash in.

Sad, isn't it?

Then you have this case where Hot Topic (or a company that hot Topic bought from) stole a piece of artwork from someone after using Google Image Search for a piece of "Pirate Girl" artwork.




As you can see, they stole the image and ripped out the persons name. Blatant copyright infringement and abuse? Unfair use? Yes, yes, and yes.

So, we've just seen 3 cases where companies stole artwork from an artist and used it for their own personal profit and gain. We've seen outrage in response to this, and we've seen that most of the time the plagiarist admits defeat and moves on his way.

Now we have the image of Fairey's "Hope" Poster:



We're left with the question of if this falls within "Fair Use" and if this is protected. The Huffington Post made a good statement about how, in 2006, a case was bought up against an artist who used a woman's face without permission. The judge said that the use of the image was "different enough" to justify using it. In turn, the case was dismissed. So, in turn, is this protected as well? Does the Associated Press have a case on which to sue?

Yes... and no. Most of the people who are defending Shepard are Obama supporters, and that's a fact. That doesn't mean that they don't have a point. Duchamp was the man who created the DaDaist movement by basically taking a urinal to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and saying, "Hey, this is my latest piece." In turn, a controversy about if it really was "art" or not was created and the entire concept of "found art" and re-purposing items for art was, in short, created. Well, not really, but in the modern world it was.

I bring up Duchamp because Fairey is, in a lot of ways, doing the same thing: Taking an existing image and recreating it into a new context. The problem, though, is in how he does it and what it means.

Let me boil down what (I think) he did: He took the image into Illustrator, traced it, added his own personal touch, and in the end, created his own take on the image. He traced the image, he put his own vision and idea into it, created a new platform for it, and made it his own. Did he rip off someone for it?

Well, ask yourself this: I've pointed out 3 examples where an artist was ripped off by a larger company. These companies may have done exactly what Fairey did: They saw an image or idea, re-purposed it into their own vision, and made it "their own". The image created by/for the AP (or their freelancer, more accurately) was to make them money and convey an idea; Fairey did the same thing.

I think it's both. He did create his own version of the image, his own idea on how to use it. In turn, though, he used an image that is incredibly similar to the one that was already created and copyrighted.

To add insult to irony, Fairey supposedly threatened to sue someone who parodied his "OBEY" image:



The artist is Baxter Orr from Austin, TX. Funny, isn't it? Didn't this guy re-purpose the piece for his own use and made it his own? Isn't this a re-imaging of a piece?

In the end, it's a lesson any art student needs to learn early on: Be careful about what images you use.

For more on this issue, please check out this awesome article by artist Mark Vallen titled "Obey Plagiarist Shepard Fairey."

Last Night's Daily Show: You Could Hear a Pin Drop!

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Above is a really awesome clip from last nights episode of The Daily Show. I watched the full thing and it was off how you could actually almost here a pin drop. Most of the laughter seemed dubbed in and the crowd didn't seem to enjoy themselves. The jokes were the same, and John Stewart took some swipes at the current administration, as well as leveling it off with the same about the GOP, and rightfully show. I couldn't help but wonder, "Wow, why is it so quiet?"

Then I found out: One of Bush's former Economic Advisers was the guest. This was going to be ugly.

Lawrence Lindsey came on the show, already sitting at the desk when they came back for the interview, and he actually had a ton of great points and, yes, agreed with John Stewart on the idea of giving the money from the bailout straight to the consumers to pay off their debt. Lawrence basically said that with this bailout that good and honest behavior was needed on both sides of the table, with the banks agreeing to lower interest rates and borrowers actually paying it back. John seemed to go for a "gotcha" moment that never came, and really, it was just a great interview.

Lewis Black on.. The Weather Channel

...seriously, do I need to say anything else?



Actually, more Lewis Black stuff:

How Spending $1 Can Save You $400: Your Furnance and You

Back in the summer of 2008, I noticed that despite having my Central Air on and running, my house wouldn't get much cooler. I also noticed a rather large leak coming from the unit. While most people would think the worst, I basically just ignored it and decided that it was being caused by me not having a working humidifier (which hasn't worked for about 5 years now!).

Turns out I was wrong.

In all actuality, the blower, the piece of equipment in your furnace and Central Air that blows air through the house, was dead, the motor shot to hell. I hadn't replaced the air filter in the furnace for over a year, and I was now stuck paying the price. The furnace in my house is at least 20 years old, so I knew getting a new motor wouldn't be cheap at all. Worst of all, it was early October and my house gets real cold real fast (insulation here is bad, though I'm not sure as to why).

So I had to buckle down and call a Central Air guy to come out and fix it. Try telling your friends about this, especially if they don't own a house! "Man, I can't believe the motor in my central air is broken!" "Well, thank god it's winter, so you don't need it until summer!" "No, I need it now, it pumps warm air through my house during the winter." The repair cost me nearly $400, and I was actually lucky since the guy didn't have to do a lot of work and lived right around the corner.

"So why did this thing break down? Was it old age?"
"No, you forgot to put in a new air filter, so it got clogged and died."

That's the long and short of it. If you have a furnace, central air, etc... make sure you change the filter AT LEAST once every 3 months, if not once a month. My problem is that there aren't a lot of places to buy a new air filter for a furnace so it's hard and difficult to do. I finally bought some today. They wound up costing $4 a piece since those were the only ones in the size I needed, but they tend to last long and do a great job.

Hey, I'd rather pay $4 now for a filter than $400 to get my furnace fixed again!