Mirror
Mirror
What is heavier
Than the weight
Of a mirror?
Bob Schwartz
February 17, 2016
February 14, 2016
Valentine’s Day
Love is
The boldest embrace
A stroke of the brow
A symphony
A single note
Distance in miles
As close as skin to skin.
Yesterday remembered
Tomorrow imagined
Meeting here now.
Confusion and clarity.
Intoxicated and sober.
Treasure found
Never found
Misvalued or lost.
Glad to sleep
To awake knowing
Or hoping.
February 13, 2016
John Lewis clarifies comments on Bernie Sanders
John Lewis is the latest elder statesperson to have experienced some difficulties in speaking on behalf of Hillary Clinton.
First it was former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who apologized for seeming to suggest that young women who didn’t support Hillary were going to “a special place in hell.”
Then it was feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem, who apologized for saying that young women were flocking to Bernie Sanders because that is where the boys are.
Now it is the turn of civil rights era leader and legend John Lewis. On Thursday he suggested that he knew the Clintons from way back in the movement days, but he had never seen nor heard from this Bernie Sanders guy.
Today he apologized for misspeaking.
”If you take a look at a transcript of my statement, you will find I did not say that I met Hillary and Bill Clinton when I was chairman of SNCC in the 1960s. My point was that when I was doing the work of civil rights, led the Voter Education Project and organized voter registration in the South in the 1970s, I did cross paths with Hillary and Bill Clinton in the field. They were working in politics, and Bill Clinton became attorney general of Arkansas in the 1970s as well. That began a relationship with them that has lasted until today.”
As for Bernie Sanders:
“I was responding to a reporter’s question who asked me to assess Sen. Sanders’ civil rights record. I said that when I was leading and was at the center of pivotal actions within the Civil Rights Movement, I did not meet Sen. Bernie Sanders at any time. The fact that I did not meet him in the movement does not mean I doubted that Sen. Sanders participated in the Civil Rights Movement, neither was I attempting to disparage his activism. Thousands sacrificed in the 1960s whose names we will never know, and I have always given honor to their contribution.”
In fact, Bernie Sanders had been involved in the movement almost as early as John Lewis was. Sanders’ sacrifice included going to jail for trying to desegregate the University of Chicago dorms.
Everyone is entitled to zealously support preferred candidates, and zeal sometimes crosses over into exaggeration. But when icons like Albright, Steinem and Lewis get caught overreaching so far that they are forced to furiously backpedal, especially all in one week, you have to wonder what exactly is going on.
February 10, 2016
New Hampshire Primary Aftermath: Battle of the Billionaire Front Pages
The New York Daily News and the New York Post have been tabloid newspaper rivals forever. And that battle is most deliciously seen on their front pages.
These papers are currently owned by very different billionaires: The Daily News by Mort Zuckerman (leans liberal), the Post by Rubert Murdoch (Fox News, enough said).
In the U.S., the Daily News and Post are the champions of creative, clever, crass or crude. Here is what they came up with the morning after a very momentous night in politics.
February 9, 2016
Match
Match
A bit of paper
A sliver of wood
Tipped in red.
A flick of a wrist
Against a strip of grit.
A stick of incense.
A candle
Lighting the dark
Sparking romance
Marking a birth
Calling to heaven.
Fire igniting
The bed
The room
The house
The world
The next world.
What miracle
Do you have
To match it?
February 8, 2016
New Hampshire Primary: Chinese New Year Quiz Edition
It is the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Monkey. Time to guess what the Chinese lunar calendar tells us about the two Democratic candidates.
Following are descriptions of the two astrological animals representing the dates on which Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were born. The game is to guess which is which.
For those not obsessively interested in the often ridiculous and disheartening zoo/farm of this silly season, good for you.
Note: It is good fortune to wear red for the Chinese New Year, especially red underwear. You likely don’t know me well enough to know it, but I have no red underwear. I do have red ties and am wearing one today. If you are someone who does have red underwear, wear it and good luck.
And now the quiz. Which is Hillary and which is Bernie?
Democratic Candidate 1:
Born in the Year of the Pig
Elemental type of Pig based on a 60-year cycle: Fire Pig
Ambitious, persevering, but impatient.
Pigs are diligent, compassionate, and generous. They have great concentration: once they set a goal, they will devote all their energy to achieving it. Though Pigs rarely seek help from others, they will not refuse to give others a hand. Pigs never suspect trickery, so they are easily fooled.
General speaking, Pigs are relatively calm when facing trouble. No matter how difficult the problems are Pigs encounter, they can handle things properly and carefully. They have a great sense of responsibility to finish what they are engaged in.
People born in a Year of the Pig will encounter so many disruptions in their career that they will work under great pressure. It will not be suitable for them to carry out new plans or new measures.
Democratic Candidate 2:
Born in the Year of the Snake
Elemental sign based on a 60-year cycle: Gold Snake
Determined, courageous, confident, and able. A born leader.
In Chinese culture, the Snake is the most enigmatic animal among the twelve zodiac animals. People born in a year of the Snake are supposed to be the most intuitive.
Snakes tend to act according to their own judgments, even while remaining the most private and reticent. They are determined to accomplish their goals and hate to fail.
Snakes represent the symbol of wisdom. They are intelligent and wise. They are good at communication but say little. Snakes are usually regarded as great thinkers.
Snakes are materialistic and love keeping up with the Joneses. They love to possess the best of everything, but they have no patience for shopping.
Snake people prefer to work alone, therefore they are easily stressed. If they seem unusually stressed, it is best to allow them their own space and time to return to normal.
Snakes will have a smooth career after overcoming hardships in 2016. They will be hampered by unscrupulous people at the beginning of the year, but the situation will change in the middle of the year, and it will turn out smoothly at the end of the year. They will not achieve anything if they give up halfway; therefore, they must be confident about their future.
February 7, 2016
Saturday Night Political Comedy and Science Fiction
There were two moments of comedy from Saturday night politics, one spontaneous, one planned. And a weird science fiction scene in between.
Comedy. The chaotic opening of the Republican debate was described by Politico as a “train wreck.” But a really funny train wreck:
As Gov. Chris Christie walked out on stage, moderators David Muir and Martha Raddatz called out Dr. Ben Carson. A camera backstage showed Carson starting to walk out, but he stopped himself once he heard the moderators announce the next candidate, Ted Cruz.
Cruz walked out, and Carson stayed put as a stage manager tried to wave Carson on stage. He didn’t move. Donald Trump then walked up next to Carson as his name was called, but also stopped next to Carson.
Marco Rubio was called up next, walking past both Trump and Carson onto the stage, as did Jeb Bush. John Kasich initially didn’t make it out onto the stage at all.
The moderators thought they were done. “Ladies and gentlemen, the Republican candidates.”
But they weren’t. “Dr. Ben Carson, please come out on the stage. He’s standing there, as well. Dr. Carson.
“And Donald Trump,” they added.
Then Carson chimed in. “I can introduce Kasich?”
“Yes, yes, we’re going to introduce Ohio governor John Kasich,” the moderators said.
All that was missing from the botched introductions was the candidates colliding with each other and falling all over the stage. Keystone Cops style (that’s for you, Mitt Romney). This hilarious mess didn’t quite make the endless hours of blah blah that followed tolerable.
Then there was this bit of absolute weirdness at the debate:
Science fiction. Chris Christie attacked Marco Rubio for giving the same canned speech every time, no matter what the question. Rubio responded by giving the exact same speech he had just given. Later in the debate, Rubio did it again, word for word. And then again.
It was like a sci-fi movie where a robot is running for President and the mission is to push him to the point of meltdown. The only way we did know that Rubio was not a robot is that later on he began to sweat. Aha!
Or maybe it was like The Manchurian Candidate, where Christie would show Rubio the Queen of Diamonds from a deck of cards, and Rubio would walk off stage in a hypnotic trance.
Comedy. Bernie Sanders went on Saturday Night Live with his doppelganger Larry David. SNL concocted a bit in which Larry David was the captain of a Titanic-type ship that was sinking. The captain was trying to jump ahead of the women and children getting into the lifeboats. Bernie appeared on deck as a radical immigrant who had had “Enough! Enough!” of the privileged one-percent pushing ordinary people around. The happy ending is that the ship has hit not an iceberg but the Statue of Liberty. Bernie did a charming and self-effacing job of delivering his lines with comic gusto.
February 6, 2016
Best Cartoon Ever
Following is the best cartoon I have ever seen. Excuse the low quality, because it is a scan of an old and precious magazine clipping.
You could write a doctoral dissertation on how these four panels work their magic and represent the art and mechanics of humor. Or you could just laugh.
February 6, 2016
Round Trip to Heaven or Hell
If you had a round trip ticket
To heaven or hell,
Bliss or madness,
Sure you would return,
Would have to,
Which would you choose?
Tour over,
Now the common surroundings
Might seem shabby and disappointing or
Simple comfort and sanity a relief.
Conscripted for travel
Or volunteering,
This is what you learned
Gladly or sadly
For the next inevitable journey.
February 5, 2016
Shepard Fairey: The Art of Political Revolution
Not many people had heard of the artist Shepard Fairey (“Manufacturing Quality Dissent Since 1989”) until he created the Obama “Hope” poster, one of the most famous pieces of art in modern American politics.
Since then, he has been spending his time creating, exhibiting and selling all sorts of provocative and eminently viewable art/propaganda on the beneficial edge of society, politics and culture.
He created the poster above for today’s Bernie Sanders benefit concert in Los Angeles. For those who haven’t looked for a while, or don’t know Shepard’s work, here is a sampling:
Bob Schwartz 