A pity

[clevermanka]

My Southern Baroque Art Period Loving Heart has been longing for this image my whole life and I never knew it. This is marvelous. Go look. Go. GO.

I hate to post a link to the inspiration for this piece, because I feel like I'm catering to philistines. But I know not everyone is as enamored with this period of art and so not everyone is as familiar with Michelangelo's Pietà. It's an awe-inspiring piece of sculpture. It's arguably the most amazing piece of sculpture ever, from a technological and logistical standpoint. Beautiful, beautiful.

Not beautiful: I'm not sleeping well. Again. I'm hoping the past three nights of restlessness can be blamed on a particularly bad cycle this month. I haz discomfort. Because yesterday was rather excruciating, I didn't follow through on my plans to fast. I didn't follow through on my plans to do anything yesterday. The only thing I managed to complete that was remotely noteworthy was a three-hour nap.

To close on a note of rage, let me point you to a couple news articles I saw posted on ontd_political this morning. First, A RNC National Committeeman told Governor Susana Martinez's staff that her agreeing to meet with Native Americans is disrespectful to the memory of Col. George Armstrong Custer, the infamous cavalry officer who killed thousands of Native Americans in the 1800s. And second, Racism, Bigotry and the Death of Respectable Conservatism. I don't agree with everything Wise has to say in that second article (mostly about how William F. Buckley was just a sad little man who needed just a little spot of being shown up to come around), but overall, it's a very good observation of just how fucked up the GOP has become. Look at the article and note all the links to all the ridiculous issues raised by the Republican party during the past four years. If articles like these aren't indicative of the fact that the RNC has completely lost its collective mind and sense of reason, I don't know what else could convince you. The idea of these people in control of me, my life, and my country is terrifying.

I am going to have a very hard time this year at faire, biting my tongue when I hear the conservative asshats (there are a lot of them) pipe up about politics. I have no interest in engaging with them. I don't have the energy or inclination. I wonder how many tables I'll find myself vacating.

Comments

[hdsqrl.livejournal.com]

The Col. Custer thing has me absolutely dumbfounded. W. T. F. ???

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

The whole state of politics in this country has me dumbfounded.

[anomali.livejournal.com]

The Pieta is, by far, Michelangelo's greatest sculpture. The BVM's face is just exquisite.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I agree. In general, I'm not a fan of his sculpture. I recognize its greatness, it just doesn't speak to me. That one, though, wow.

[femfataleatron.livejournal.com]

High Renaissance = 1490's
Baroque = 1600's
Mica was dead before there was a twinkle in Caravaggios mammas eye.
It's still a great homage tho.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the correction! I don't know why I remembered Michelangelo as a peer of Bernini.

[femfataleatron.livejournal.com]

He was probably his primary influence... tho not if you asked him. I bet if they were contemporaries they would have killed each other, in a secret duel. with chisels. Stone carving chisels are not sharp

[carmy-w.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh, that would be MESSY, indeed! LOL!

[pointoforigin.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this, especially the article on the Death of Respectable Conservatism. Via links at that article, I found the video of James Baldwin's debate against William F. Buckley. The image quality isn't great at times, but it is so worth watching. I hadn't seen it before. Buckley gets his ass handed to him. It's as if they weren't even in the same ring. Baldwin is magnificent and gets a standing ovation. After Buckley's speech, Baldwin is looking very polite, but you can see the thought balloon of "WTF . . . I don't even . . . ." floating through his eyes.

Here's the thing: I was raised to be Conservative with a capital C. My father knew Buckley and wrote for his magazine and went to conventions with him. IMHO, Buckley was an Asshole In Excelsis then too. He just had a more erudite way of expressing himself. The elegant conservatives of the 50s and 60s may have looked better, but it was all pose. They were full of the same crap at the core. Just my angry and bitter two cents' worth . . . .

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

The elegant conservatives of the 50s and 60s may have looked better, but it was all pose. They were full of the same crap at the core.

I believe you and I agree with you.

[siro-gravity.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed the Tim Wise article. As for the comment about how meeting with Native Americans is disrespectful to Col. Custer...it's really hard to believe he's serious. Are we sure it's not irony?

Sorry about the insomnia. :(

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Are we sure it's not irony?

Wouldn't that be nice? I really really really really doubt it, though.

[theoneinblue.livejournal.com]

This is why we keep having to kill Custer, over and over again. ;) But yes, I feel your pain, in that I've been delightfully insulated from conservative asshats for a year in HI, so being where I am now...well, let's say I'm looking for community here, just for sanity's sake.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Welcome back, good luck, and happy hunting!

[tama-grey.livejournal.com]

That was a very adjective-y essay. Thanks for the link. Some of those points were unpleasant surprises to me. It's so over-the-top that it's like this is all a big Reality TV show that giant corporations are putting on, and Republicans got cast as the evil villains.

I'm still behind production in fucks, so I'll have to forward a coupon to the Conservatives until I restock (http://missmokushiroku.tumblr.com/post/29975759621/eventually-a-person-gets-to-the-point-where-they). But when I do, we're gonna have a Grand ReOpening Event. Because damn.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

:/

[tama-grey.livejournal.com]

That is the most hilarious thing I've seen all day!

Fuck duly given, but still about 314569876169876546879 too few. I'm not sure I'll ever have enough inventory to fully address my needs...