Oh, ABSOLUTELY!This song now appears to have been prophetic!
I have two nephews who are incredible photographers both, and who bemoan the loss of film. I have a feeling that they will be buying and freezing (or otherwise preserving) film and using it for a long time.
The amount of information captured, and the continuous-vs-discrete thing just makes film totally own digital. I find this so emblematic of what is wrong with the world that I started to write a song about it. We have done what is necessary to allow EVERYONE to be a "pretty good" photographer, while disallowing the best of the best to produce their optimal work. Or, if not "disallowed", then at least "discouraged".
Along those same lines, one of my nephews got a gig as a photographer in Africa for several months on the strength of a "Frankenstein" camera he built with a modern digital body and a coveted 1968 Minolta lens.
Why use a lens created in 1968? Because back then, they didn't know how to make the lenses perfect, and there was some natural distortion to the shape of the lens which makes stunningly beautiful shapes in the out-of-focus portions of short depth-of-field photographs. Now, manufacturers know how to make the lenses perfect, and something has been loss.
The world is crazy. I miss film.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Kodachrome - on the Mourning of the Loss of Film
An artist friend posted a question about film vs digital on her blog, and this was my reply:
Monday, March 5, 2012
Vinsetta Garage - The Restaurant
When Woodward's legendary Vinsetta Garage closed its doors a little while back, it was a sad day for me.
But making a cool restaurant out of it seems as good a thing to do with the space as anything.
It's only about 2 miles from my house, so I'm sure I will get a chance to eat there after it opens!
Read about it here.
Atheists and Spaghetti
I am puzzled and amused about the fixation of Atheists with spaghetti.
Of course, their references to the Flying Spaghetti Monster are legion.
Just yesterday, an Atheist on facebook "proved" to me that God is a bowl of spaghetti.
Given the logical equivalence of believing in the two, you would think they'd be puzzled by the huge number of people who worship God, and the miniscule (i.e., zero) number who worship spaghetti. But I guess Atheism just makes you stupid.
Of course, their references to the Flying Spaghetti Monster are legion.
Just yesterday, an Atheist on facebook "proved" to me that God is a bowl of spaghetti.
Given the logical equivalence of believing in the two, you would think they'd be puzzled by the huge number of people who worship God, and the miniscule (i.e., zero) number who worship spaghetti. But I guess Atheism just makes you stupid.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
A Blog I Will Be Following - Heather Policky.
I've just (re)discovered the blog of IFBB Professional Bodybuilder Heather Marie (Armbrust) Policky.
It is rare that anyone is so transparent as Heather is in this entry.
Check it out!
It is rare that anyone is so transparent as Heather is in this entry.
Check it out!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Me, Kate Upton, Carl's Jr., the AFA and Sex.
My wife and I have had a long and storied history with the American Family Association. We go back so far with this organization, in fact, that we pre-date its current name. It used to be called the National Federation for Decency, and Cindy and I founded an NFD Chapter in Humble, Texas, back in the 1980s.
Our Chapter meetings were interesting, because a lot of "characters" showed up, not all of who had the same notion of decency. Once, a fellow showed up who was a conspiracy theorist. He believed that television was evil, because the government had secretly turned every TV receiver into a combination camera and transmitter. They used it to spy on the citizenry. If we were watching the TV, the government was watching us.
Another guy showed up just once, a European. He didn't really hold to our and the NFD's idea that "decency" inheres in the absence of smut. He had ideas about how people ought to treat other people decently, that kind of thing. Since then, I have often wished that I had really had the ability to listen to him that evening. Sometimes, I even wonder if we entertained an angel unawares.
The guy who ran the regional NFD organization was kind of nutcase Fundamentalist. But maybe so was I; I had not yet discovered Anglicanism and become a nutcase Anglican. This pastor held a Rally for Decency in Civil Society, or some such thing, which Cindy and I attended. The onliest thing about that was that the pastor's definition of decency was basically that women should not wear shorts, and Cindy wore shorts to the rally that day. We both felt like the guest at the wedding feast who had crashed the party without the proper clothing. At this rally, the pastor also told us that the Bible defined "nakedness" as any skin being visible above the knee. We went out later that week and bought Cindy some new, very long jogging shorts, cut ridiculously below the knee, so that she should not be seen running around the small Texas town "naked".
We eventually realized that the Humble Chapter of the NFD was going nowhere, so we dropped out of active participation. But we still read the NFD/AFA magazine and supported their boycots where we could.
It was still in the 1980s when my thinking started to depart from that of Don Wildmon and the AFA. I remember that the AFA magazine had featured an editorial by Tim Wildmon, Don's son, about the absolute scandal of bumper stickers on which was written "Shit Happens". He objected to the coarse language. I fired off a letter to Tim Wildmon, letting him know that he had missed the point entirely! I told him that his objection should have been that the bumper sticker denies two basic truths of Christianity: God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. By stating that "Shit Happens" the bumper sticker leaves God out of the picture. It also purports to give man an excuse for his own misdeeds. Curiously, I never heard back from Wildmon or the AFA.
But I promised you Kate Upton and Carl's Jr., didn't I? Today, I received an email from the AFA, asking me to boycot Carl's Jr. and Hardee's for running the following "sordid titillation" ...
I guess that since leaving the AFA and buying Cindy some regular length jogging shorts (she has great legs!) I have gone over to the dark side, but I am somehow not shocked or even titillated by the Kate Upton commercial. Maybe I'm just getting old. It did make me want a hamburger, I will admit.
Using sexy girls to promote products has been done for a very long time. I'm sorry to tell Mr. Wildmon and the AFA, but I think they lost this battle at least as early as 1950 ...
Our Chapter meetings were interesting, because a lot of "characters" showed up, not all of who had the same notion of decency. Once, a fellow showed up who was a conspiracy theorist. He believed that television was evil, because the government had secretly turned every TV receiver into a combination camera and transmitter. They used it to spy on the citizenry. If we were watching the TV, the government was watching us.
Another guy showed up just once, a European. He didn't really hold to our and the NFD's idea that "decency" inheres in the absence of smut. He had ideas about how people ought to treat other people decently, that kind of thing. Since then, I have often wished that I had really had the ability to listen to him that evening. Sometimes, I even wonder if we entertained an angel unawares.
The guy who ran the regional NFD organization was kind of nutcase Fundamentalist. But maybe so was I; I had not yet discovered Anglicanism and become a nutcase Anglican. This pastor held a Rally for Decency in Civil Society, or some such thing, which Cindy and I attended. The onliest thing about that was that the pastor's definition of decency was basically that women should not wear shorts, and Cindy wore shorts to the rally that day. We both felt like the guest at the wedding feast who had crashed the party without the proper clothing. At this rally, the pastor also told us that the Bible defined "nakedness" as any skin being visible above the knee. We went out later that week and bought Cindy some new, very long jogging shorts, cut ridiculously below the knee, so that she should not be seen running around the small Texas town "naked".
We eventually realized that the Humble Chapter of the NFD was going nowhere, so we dropped out of active participation. But we still read the NFD/AFA magazine and supported their boycots where we could.
It was still in the 1980s when my thinking started to depart from that of Don Wildmon and the AFA. I remember that the AFA magazine had featured an editorial by Tim Wildmon, Don's son, about the absolute scandal of bumper stickers on which was written "Shit Happens". He objected to the coarse language. I fired off a letter to Tim Wildmon, letting him know that he had missed the point entirely! I told him that his objection should have been that the bumper sticker denies two basic truths of Christianity: God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. By stating that "Shit Happens" the bumper sticker leaves God out of the picture. It also purports to give man an excuse for his own misdeeds. Curiously, I never heard back from Wildmon or the AFA.
But I promised you Kate Upton and Carl's Jr., didn't I? Today, I received an email from the AFA, asking me to boycot Carl's Jr. and Hardee's for running the following "sordid titillation" ...
I guess that since leaving the AFA and buying Cindy some regular length jogging shorts (she has great legs!) I have gone over to the dark side, but I am somehow not shocked or even titillated by the Kate Upton commercial. Maybe I'm just getting old. It did make me want a hamburger, I will admit.
Using sexy girls to promote products has been done for a very long time. I'm sorry to tell Mr. Wildmon and the AFA, but I think they lost this battle at least as early as 1950 ...
The Automotive Art of Ed Tillrock
We ran into some really fine visual artists at Detroit Autorama this year. I would like to feature two of them on this blog.
The first of these is pencil artist Ed Tillrock. His stuff is just mind-blowingly good. His reflections are especially strong. See what you think. He does non-automotive subjects, too, chiefly architectural, but I will feature only a sampling of his automotive art here.
The first of these is pencil artist Ed Tillrock. His stuff is just mind-blowingly good. His reflections are especially strong. See what you think. He does non-automotive subjects, too, chiefly architectural, but I will feature only a sampling of his automotive art here.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Insights for Life from The Nutty Professor (1963)
I remember once speaking with an elderly woman on the way out of church. The congregation had just finished singing Amazing Grace, and she commented to me that this hymn seemed to her as something of inestimable depth. She made this comment:
One thing that had not impacted me as much on earlier viewings was the way in which bodybuilding, as it later developed, eventually answered all the yearnings of the weakling Professor Julius Kelp. In the movie, before he invents his magical androgenic formula, he tries bodybuilding for six months. He joins Vic Tanny's gym and begins to lift weights.
But, alas, Professor Kelp is not very gifted at bodybuilding. He begins his regimen at a weight of 153 pounds, and ends his six-month effort at a weight of 151. It is then that he turns to chemistry to make him the man that he wants to be. It was no different in real life, for during this same time period, bodybuilders were discovering the wonders of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids (AAS).
That's on the physical side of things. But the Nutty Professor is much more about spiritual and inner things. The Julius Kelp / Buddy Love dichotomy is fascinating. It sets up for us a choice between Professor Kelp (weak, ineffectual, debilitatingly verbose, self-effacing, self-doubting, inept, awkward, clumsy) and his lounge lizard couterpart Buddy Love (arrogant, rude, self-absorbed, narcissistic, strong, confident, talented, smooth, suave).
To be honest, I've often found myself vacillating between these two poles. Sometimes, I am very confident in my talent and usefulness, and even in my virtue. But then I fail at something rather badly, or fully notice a previous failure for the first time. And suddenly I am converted from my Buddy Love mode to my Julius Kelp mode. I become apologetic, self-doubting, ineffectual, and self-effacing. It lasts a while, after which the temporary humility (if that's even what it is) wears off, and I begin to be confident and arrogant again.
I find that weekly church attendance can regularize this oscillation. It is necessary, in approaching the weekly eucharistic Sacrament, to humble oneself. But sometimes, on Monday morning, all bets are off. I roar to work in my fast car in full, blazing Buddy Love Mode. So that while weekly participation in the Mass may control the periodicity of the fluctuations, it seems not to eliminate them. I find myself to be either Professor Kelp or Buddy Love most of the time.
At some point, though, one gets tired of both these characters. At the end of the film, Kelp's student and Love's admirer, Stella Purdy, marries Professor Kelp. But she makes sure to bring a few bottles of his magic formula with her to the honeymoon. She wants the option of choosing which guy to be with. Each has certain advantages, but also glaring disadvantages.
There must be a third way. And there is. It is not (as G. K. Chesterton would certainly tell us) an averaging of the personalities of Dr. Kelp and Buddy Love. It is holding the best features of each in dynamic tension. And this third way is (do I even need to tell you?) Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, like Buddy Love, is subject to control by no other man. He is strong, confident, and teaches as one with authority. He is able to silence fools and send bullies packing. But, like Professor Kelp, he is humble and engaged in humble service of others. He is a man who not only possesses authority, but is one under authority. One passage that points out this dual role is John 10:17-18:
"Every time we sing Amazing Grace, I notice something new in it that I had not seen before!"While I was unable to concur with her regarding this hymn (everything I ever got out of it seemed evident to me on first hearing), I do feel that way about the Jerry Lewis film, The Nutty Professor (1963). I watched it again last night, after an interval of perhaps eight years.
One thing that had not impacted me as much on earlier viewings was the way in which bodybuilding, as it later developed, eventually answered all the yearnings of the weakling Professor Julius Kelp. In the movie, before he invents his magical androgenic formula, he tries bodybuilding for six months. He joins Vic Tanny's gym and begins to lift weights.
That's on the physical side of things. But the Nutty Professor is much more about spiritual and inner things. The Julius Kelp / Buddy Love dichotomy is fascinating. It sets up for us a choice between Professor Kelp (weak, ineffectual, debilitatingly verbose, self-effacing, self-doubting, inept, awkward, clumsy) and his lounge lizard couterpart Buddy Love (arrogant, rude, self-absorbed, narcissistic, strong, confident, talented, smooth, suave).
To be honest, I've often found myself vacillating between these two poles. Sometimes, I am very confident in my talent and usefulness, and even in my virtue. But then I fail at something rather badly, or fully notice a previous failure for the first time. And suddenly I am converted from my Buddy Love mode to my Julius Kelp mode. I become apologetic, self-doubting, ineffectual, and self-effacing. It lasts a while, after which the temporary humility (if that's even what it is) wears off, and I begin to be confident and arrogant again.
I find that weekly church attendance can regularize this oscillation. It is necessary, in approaching the weekly eucharistic Sacrament, to humble oneself. But sometimes, on Monday morning, all bets are off. I roar to work in my fast car in full, blazing Buddy Love Mode. So that while weekly participation in the Mass may control the periodicity of the fluctuations, it seems not to eliminate them. I find myself to be either Professor Kelp or Buddy Love most of the time.
At some point, though, one gets tired of both these characters. At the end of the film, Kelp's student and Love's admirer, Stella Purdy, marries Professor Kelp. But she makes sure to bring a few bottles of his magic formula with her to the honeymoon. She wants the option of choosing which guy to be with. Each has certain advantages, but also glaring disadvantages.
There must be a third way. And there is. It is not (as G. K. Chesterton would certainly tell us) an averaging of the personalities of Dr. Kelp and Buddy Love. It is holding the best features of each in dynamic tension. And this third way is (do I even need to tell you?) Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, like Buddy Love, is subject to control by no other man. He is strong, confident, and teaches as one with authority. He is able to silence fools and send bullies packing. But, like Professor Kelp, he is humble and engaged in humble service of others. He is a man who not only possesses authority, but is one under authority. One passage that points out this dual role is John 10:17-18:
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.Jesus Christ has the strength and authority, the confident manhood, of Buddy Love, raised to the umpteenth power. But he uses it in humble service to humanity. Those who would resolve the Kelp/Love dilemma in their own lives must seek the way of Christ.
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