Incestuous Art

That's a terrible title; it really is.   I'll explain in a minute.  I never thought of myself as a crank,  but the older I get, there's more things that really upset me. 

I never liked stories about writers.  Get it?  It's a writer, writing about a writer.  Or an opera about a musician.  Or a play about a play.  Or a film about a film- maker.  Or a piece of art, a portrait of someone drawing a portrait.  Come on, I think, you guys need to get out more!  You'd think that the only world a playwright knew about was the Theatre!  And all that a writer knew about, was the world of writing. 

It must be so tempting, because of course a writer knows about writing.  It isn't very hard for me to get inside the head of another—mediocre—writer. 

Actually, the Muppet Show is, in some ways, about putting on a variety show.  The reason it works so well is the guest stars.

Well, just today an idea came to me about writing a story about Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein.  I don't know enough about her to write a story about her, and now that I've told you about how much I dislike that niche area of literary art, I couldn't go through with it.  But for a short while, there was the distinct danger that a story about Mary Shelley would rise from the ashes. 

K

Faces

As you all know, I spend a lot of time on the website DA, DeviantArt.  This is a website for artists of all sorts, on which they can put up (upload) their art.  There are also non-artists who are members.  When you check in ón any day, you are shown a sequence of images, which are what the artists have been uploading.  If you click on any of the the images, you are taken to the page of that image, containing (1) information that the creator of it volunteered about the image, (2) any comments that other members wrote on that page, (3) links to similar images by the same person, and (4) owner (artist) information.

All the written comments, including the name of the piece, are sometimes difficult to decipher, if the creator is not a speaker (or writer) of English.  For example, pivotal words, such as 'elf' is written 'elve'.  Sometimes you read 'Occidental Elve', by which I have understood a plain ol' white-skinned elf, in contrast to a dark- skinned one, or one with, say, Chinese features.  Added to all this is the problem of discovering which fandom the character represented belongs to.  For instance, if the universe is some sort of deep space one, it could be from the Star Trek fandom, or the Star Wars fandom, or other worlds of which I am totally unaware. 

Now since AI tools have been introduced, the entire website seems to have been taken over by sort of pseudo-programmers, who must only communicate to the AI software just what he (or she—many of the artists are female) want the software to do.   Starting with the base image that the software is handed, there are a number of transformations it can perform; I don't know what all they are.  (My friend Petra has repeatedly offered to show me how AI art works, but I haven't yet taken her up on the offer.)

I am convinced, though, that the original base image has a huge influence on the final result.  I say this because some of the faces I see on the girls are so amazingly expressive.  I sometimes see a face with an expression so startlingly emotionally expressive, that I want to write a whole story centered around that girl!  If the artist (or AI jockey) could create that face, with that expression, from scratch, then he/she wouldn't need AI!

Kay

Marketing, a Stealth Evil

Caitlin Clark is a beautiful girl.  But now, on Facebook, there are dozens of posts about how awesome she looks in a two-piece bikini. 

Our gymnastic team is amazingly talented.  But the sports writers are focusing in on how sexy the girls are.  And Simone Biles is featured in photographs multiple posts each day, and she does not seem to mind being sexualized.  Naturally, because the TikTok culture that's natural to that generation makes being sexualized painless.

It's the guys who man the cameras, write the scripts, and ultimately make the money.  The women get a little of it, but I think it is men who profit from marketing girls as desirable sexual objects.

That's just the most repulsive aspect of marketing, but marketers are always ľying in wait to capitalize on anything that catches the eye, to make money off it.  Why do the political campaigns spend so much more money every election cycle?  Why are the candidates—in fact anyone running for office ceaselessly pleading for more contributions?  Because there are people marketing these politicians, and they don't work for free.  If you watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, you'll see how elaborate it has become.  It is the scaffolding for a media extravaganza.   Some of the athletes perhaps crave the excitement; after all—the managers are sure to remind them—it is to glorify the athletes.  But some of them will much rather just get onto the field, and run, or jump, or whatever they do.

Greetings

Dear Readers—regulars, visitors, everybody!

No, nothing dramatically bad is going to happen to me!  I just woke up today in a sort of contemplative mood.  The politics of this election year has me in a sort of fight-or-flight mode, and though I tried very hard not to present an aggressive face to you on this blog, it took a lot of effort.  Since Kamala Harris has been headed to the nomination, a huge weight has fallen away.  I feel calm, and energized, but in a quiet way. 

This morning, while I was browsing my Facebook (yes, I have one, but I don't tell everyone about it) I saw a post about Taylor Swift.  She's so interesting!  I haven't been a fan, so far; I haven't got into her music, though some years ago I heard her do a cover of a Beatles song, and I thought it was interesting.  I should check out some Taylor videos on YouTube, which would be the quickest way to hear a sample of her music. 

My parents strongly influenced my music.  I loved the artists they idolized, but they're dying now; a generation is passing.  (By the way, have you noticed how politicians rarely tell us what music they like?  After Clinton, we hear very little about popular music from the White House, except maybe the Obama White House.)

Well, good morning to you all!  I might get inspired to write more, in which case I'll add it here, or make a complete new post. 

Kay

P.S. : well, I did listen to several Taylor Swift songs, and I liked a couple of them.  I didn't like the videos; they featured Taylor, front and center, so anyone who thinks Taylor is super cute will like them.  (I so think she's cute!  But not to die for, or anything.)

P.P.S:  People arguing about Caitlin Clark are talking past each other.  Some people—mostly those who never watched women's basketball, such as myself, and those who only watched men's basketball,  which appears to be a different game—keep saying that Caitlin is drawing lots of viewers to watch the game, and selling lots of tickets.  So be nice to her. 

Others are saying: she's not that good, and other senior players are actually better.  (They don't care about the money.  Actually, I don't either, but I like Caitlin anyway.)

Yet others are saying that she's a problem for the coach.  The coach says: just don't mind me,  I say weird things in the heat of a game. 

Caitlin got left off Team USA (the Olympic team) for apparently some shady reasons.  But Olympic team selections are usually shady anyway. 

Kay

Kamala Harris Takes Up

I was relieved to see Kamala Harris endorsed by Biden, and Kamala getting on with the job.   She hit the ground running, and it seems to me that we should let her figure out how to proceed, and wait until the August convention date before we focus on the race.  It's not as if we can plan for the Harris team, or influence how they go about things!

One of the aspects of the Trump attitude towards immigration is racism.  I don't think Trump was an out and out racist all along; I just think he saw the alarm with which white Republicans—especially those who hadn't been to college—viewed the 'browning of America', and thought he saw an opportunity for himself, to grab leadership.  I can do racism pretty well, he decided, the best racism.  Top rank racism.  I think Don is a racist just to hang on to the leadership of the GOP.

At the moment, the people who provide the greater portion of government revenue is poor people.  If wealthier people contributed a larger share, it would be less painful to them.  A lot less painful than it is to those who support the government financially at present, namely the working people.  The 1% has taught the GOP to call this idea Socialism, because of course they don't like it.  They took up the cry "education is bad", knowing that a lot of the poor white Republicans had a lot less education that most Democrats.  This made it easier for some of the Republican leaders to manipulate their people. 

Well, I'm really looking forward to what Kamala Harris does. 

Kay

Caitlin Clark

I'm getting all sorts of Caitlin-related news in my Facebook feed, and I'm torn between trying to understand them, and trying to ignore them!

Sports News reporters are fond of jargon.   They'll rattle on about three-pointers, and assists, and various records that Caitlin has broken—and a different player has broken, until I don't know which way is up.  They were talking about some special kind of three-pointer, until it turned out that it was just a basket made from the little circle right in the center of the court, which has the emblem of the home team.  Those shots are just three points, too; I don't know what the fuss was about. 

Recently there was a red-carpet (orange-carpet, they called it) to which CC had showed up dressed nicely, but she had been trying to sneak past the pile of photographers who were trying to get shots of all the players, until some wrangler (I don't know what they're called, the guys in shades, who was sort of keeping order) stopped her, and explained that she was expected to submit to the photographication.  She was so nervous, and playing with her hair, but she looked cute.  One of the comments from a fan was:  OMG, she had a baby face when she isn't playing!  This is quite true; when she's on the court, she's all business, and she has her 'game face one, and sometimes she has her li'l tongue sticking out!  It's no wonder so many people find her cute, including me. 

Good Moode!

I got a new power-pack in the mail for my computer, and it soon could be working fine!!!  I connected it, and it's working better than it has for a year, but now I have to try to do more difficult stuff with it.

But I'm determined to really enjoy my day!  (Donald, I won't have time for your lies!)

Today's post is going to be random, because there's a lot of things I thought about writing, and it's too much work to make separate posts for each of them.

Firstly, the little cat I'm friends with, I might have have told you that she walks along the top of fences!  Two legs on one side, two legs on the other, she makes her way along the fence, and then leaps off of it, and runs to whereever she wants to go; usually, if I'm watching her, she runs over to say Hi.  But I was looking out the window just now and what did I see?  A squirrel hopping along the top of the fence!  I thought it was peculiar for the cat to travel along the top of the fence, but this squirrel was dancing along!

Squirrels are crazy critters, we know this.  Just watch one trying to cross the street.  Sometimes one will go, like, most of the way across, and then spot a car coming at it, and scamper all the way back, and then give the car a strong lecture!  They certainly are irritable; they're always yelling at birds, and cats and dogs and people.  And cars.  It's as though they feel that everyone should know better.  They're the Marrow Taylor-Green (sorry about that; my spell- checker doesn't like her) of the animal world, but at very high speed.  (They don't live long, so they have to squeeze all their ill temper into the time that they have.)

The cat, when she comes into a room and notices me, she blinks.  It seems that this goes as a smile from her, like "I see you."  I have to say that she's an amazingly chill cat; the very opposite of a squirrel.

Well, I'll add to this if I think of anything more to write, but I don't think it's going to happen. 

Kay

Pockets

I was recently reminded about the stupid, ornamental pockets they put on most women's clothes.  I had switched over to guys' pants so long ago that I had forgotten. 

It appears that appearance trumps utility in women's fashions even at this late date.  Either most women are perfectly happy with wearing clothes with just ornamental or fake pockets, or designers find that clothes with real pockets don't sell.  Or don't sell at the volume that makes them profitable.  (I doubt that they do serious product research anyway.)

To be honest, I do feel unhappy about how men's clothes fit on me.  Skirts that I like don't have usable pockets at all, and they look funny with a cellphone stuck into the back pocket.  I'm losing my sense of humor over this dilemma.  Maybe I need to get some roomy gathered skirts, and insert some set-in pockets that are plenty spacious!  My favorite aunt used to wear those ...

National Elections and the Emotions

Elections are an emotional and a stressful time for all voters.   Especially in these days, commentators are often.   laboring the point that Millennials are particularly fragile—which I'm not sure about—and resentful towards Baby Boomers, which is justified.  Even I stay at home, doing nothing, and you must think, she must be rich!  Actually I have some savings from having worked some years, and from my family, and I live very frugally, in a miniscule home. 

Getting back to keeping cheerful during elections—which really is the topic I want to write about.  I'm so confronted with the mental incompetence of my fellow citizens that I feel as if I'm this close to going postal, as they used to say in the 80s.

I prepare for the worst.  If the 2020 elections are any guide, the MAGA crowd will go berserk with accusations of conspiracies and election fraud.  (There probably is no election method that will satisfy the Republicans as to its security.)

But there is always the possibility that the Democrats will win across the board!  Only the mainline MAGA crowd likes what's going on in the GOP Convention. 

Kay Hemlock Brown

Caitlyn and The View

I haven't watched The View very much, but it seems to be a political talk show that leans heavily liberal. 

Recently—in not sure how recently—Caitlin was asked whether she would like to be on The View, and she said, essentially, that she couldn't see the point of it, and that all they do is yell the whole time.  She isn't wrong!

The response could be that, she isn't very interested in politics—being a jock!  And a young jock, too.   Young people are notoriously uninterested in politics. 

It could also mean that CC leans conservative in her views.  That can't be helped; a lot of people I admire from a distance are probably conservatives. 

Nose to Nose!

Well, there was a really bad storm over here, so I had been visiting my friend with the pets, the cat and the dog.   We had suffered through the storm, the loss of electricity, and downed trees.  (I don't get too upset over trees, but once I go back home and see the state of my yard, I could be more than upset ...)  Because of the foul weather, I was persuaded to stay the night. 

This morning, after everybody had left for work, I sat down to take a little break.  Suddenly, my little furry friend was on my lap, and her nose was just a millimeter from mine!!  I was totally surprised!

I didn't realize cats did that, least of all this cat, who is a very proper little lady!  She gives an impression of great primness, the way she sits with her tail curled round her feet.

Talking of princesses, I saw photographs of Princesses Kate and Charlotte at Wimbledon, and I have to admit that they're an adorable mother and daughter.   But it's much too early to gush; the kid might turn into a total miserable pain in the neck, so we must wait.  Also, the royals are an enormous drain on the British purse, so unless they scale down really fast, they're going to lose popularity. 

Kay

Attitudes Towards the Murder Attempt

2024 July 15.

I wrote in the Helen Blog, my attitude about the shooting.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes that someone would take Trump far, far away.  But when it comes right down to it, it feels very wrong to think in that way, and I'm very resentful that he pushes us to such extremes.  The extreme Right surely thinks that Trump, as a figurehead, is a godsend.  He keeps spouting this preposterous disinformation, so that no one knows which way is up. 

One thing is certain, to me,  that is: I don't want Trump in the White House.  I just don't want to have to make calculations around these undecided nitwits; that drives me crazy.  If I could, I'd go to each undecided moron, and beat him upside the head, as we say.

One reason people even consider voting for Trump is that he's maniacal about limiting immigration.  To be honest, if illegal immigration across the southern border goes out of control (and truly it has already) everyone is going to support fierce policies about immigration control.  But here's the problem: everybody (and I do mean everybody) wants immigrants to do the unskilled labor. 

Do we want unskilled immigrants (or migrants, anyway) to form a permanent lower stratum of society?  This issue is forcing everyone to think carefully about what they want our society to look like. 

Kay, feeling very unhappy

Shot During A Rally!

Last afternoon we got news that Trump was targeted by a sniper on a rooftop, during a rally in Butler, PA.

This is terrible.  Attacking Trump physically will make him a martyr, as some news services have already said.  Another person at the rally was also killed.

Except for hurting Trump's outer ear, he wasn't hurt.  Well, the shooter was identified as a 20 year old registered Republican.

I had better shut up, now; speculation is going to go crazy.  Trump will probably have a great time.

Kay

Yaroslava, High Jump Queen

I've been seeing video clips of Yaroslava Mahuchikh's record-breaking high jump for months!  I was first attracted by her great exuberance, right after her successful jump, and then her considerable charm, and her adorable grin!  Let's find a nice photo to put right here ...

Just a minute ago, I saw her giving an interview—in English, for which she struggled to express herself—at the end of which she laughed, at a joke made by the interviewer, and I was captivated!

Kay

Fancy Braided Hair

Thinking about hairstyles I see on the Internet —not really anywhere else; girls in our part of the world tend to do fancy hair only for special occasions—I have to say, I'm beginning to like the styles with braids.   I mean the ornamental braids, that go sideways.  We were kind of no nonsense as far as braids were concerned, when I was growing up.  They were a neat way to keep the hair tidy and out of the way, when you were going to school, or playing a sport, or going out on a windy day.  In today's world, braids are for fun (a lot of the time), and not there to do a job. 

I haven't made a secret of my preference for hair that's tidy and neat, and I find the wispy, blowsy arrangements that girls wear—mostly girls who are unsatisfied with the shapes of their heads, or unsatisfied with their faces, for some reason—distracting, and actually unattractive.  (At least I didn't call them downright ugly!)

Girls whose hair is a little too textured for their liking (e.g. girls who want to iron their hair before going out) don't want to braid their hair, because it gives their hair extra body.  Some hair reacts well to being braided, other hair doesn't.

For years, I only took notice of the hair of girls from the point of view of whether or not I liked how it looked; not 'what has she done to it.'  I knew how to make my hair do what I wanted.  It was some time before I started noticing details about other girls. 

Well, enough of that.  Suffice it to say, these fancy ornamental braids are growing on me, and they can be used to make hair stay put where you want it.  I'm so envious of girls who have friends or sisters who can help them with these ornamental braids!  I can actually do one for a simple style, but man, does it ever take a long time to do tidily and well!

K.

Caitlin Clark

 I'm not the only one!

Millie Bobby Brown

I think this girl should go in my list of beautiful women.  She isn't quite as devastatingly beautiful as the others on the list (but she certainly could give Fortune Feimster a run for her money!  But Fortune's fortune is not her face, but her comedic genius).

I first saw her in the Enola Holmes movie (I have written about it; I'll link it sometime); she is a wonderful actress.  I think what makes her so charming is her British accent, and her acting.  She's recently moved to the USA, and British fans are giving her grief about her accent, which is morphing towards an American one.  A lot of Brit actresses can talk American, and that's usually a topic when they appear on late night TV.

Kay

Hey It's July Fourth!

I love this holiday, even if I don't go out and party with lots of people!  I don't drink much, and the one day I drink a little more than usual is July Fourth.  I tend to like Gin and Tonic; there's not a lot of aldehydes in gin, and I put in lots of ice, and rarely feel terrible (i.e. crappy) on the day after (i.e. the fifth, if you're counting).

The only reason I don't enjoy this holiday is: the noise.  Doggies and kitties are often terrified by the loud bangs, and I have read that often cats disappear for days after the fireworks—even for weeks—and sometimes get lost. 

The interesting thing about fireworks is that they can be manufactured much quieter than they currently are.  The big bangs are only half to get the big wide dispersion of twinkles; they're at least half for direct enjoyment, and their dramatic effect.  In some communities, they have something like fireworks by programming synchronized drones, carrying bright lights!  They can do almost miraculous things, by choreographing the aerial ballet of these drones.  I haven't seen one of these events; when I do, I will report.

Election Ticket

You know, who is running for President is important, but not that important, for most middleclass Democrats.

If you're desperately worried about how to defeat the ex-President, how to get the Undecideds to vote with the Democrats, how to get the Never Trumpers to vote with us, how to get someone who can get the populace excited about voting, so that the downballot races get the attention they need: then sure, we need someone exciting at the top of the slate. 

As for me, it won't make a difference.  I will vote the same way whether Biden is at the top of the slate, or someone else. 

What a pity it is, that logistically it's impossible to have someone like Elizabeth Warren running for President!  A Democrat White House is never a one- man, or one- woman show; it is a team operation.  Sure, during a war it becomes more of a one person show, but even then, it shouldn't be.  Senator Warren would be such a great leader!  But people like to imagine a guy in the oval office, at the hamburger desk, ordering KFC, and nervously watching the News.  But that's their problem; I'm happy with any Dem running for President. 

Šo no more sleepless nights for me. 

Kay

Sarah Silverman

An actress/comedienne whom I love to watch, is Sarah Silverman!

She's a little in your face, some of her utterances are phrased deliberately to make people wince, and—I wince.   But I find her voice really sweet!  So I've sort of adored her from afar.  My sense of humor aligns closely with hers, and most of the time, my sense of indignation coincides with hers, again, uncomfortably closely. 

But, whereas I take a lot of trouble not to be offensive, because a blogger can only measure their success by how many readers they have, Sarah S, in contrast, considers that the more viewers she offends, the better!

Quite irrelevantly, I find her super cute!  But she seems very much a straight woman, but my 'Gaydar' is practically nonexistent, and I know this.  Anyway, it's only on the Blog that I make a fool of myself; in real life, I appreciate people in a sort of distant way. 

K.

Switching Candidates: Will it Work?

President Biden had a bad evening debating Donald Trump (Debate 1).  In fact, President Biden had such a bad time that, in despair, I called for Biden to back out, and for a new candidate for this election.

I still think this is the best decision.   The US needs younger leaders.  (Not youths in their 20s, but people younger than in their 70s and 80s.)  We should have had young people already working in the Party, ready to take up the reins. 

In the 2020 election, there were a number of these sorts of candidates: Pete Buttigieg, Eric Swalwell, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Beto O'Rourke, Andrew Yang, Marianne Williamson.  Over the years, American culture has evolved to accept a broader swath of society for any responsible job.

But the voters have become more picky.  (Not really more picky, but just as picky as in, say, 1960.)

Now, in the upper 'floors' of the Democratic Party, there are people who make decisions about what choice of candidate is likely to win.  In recent decades, they've always bet on a White man.  They threw in Hillary Clinton in 2016, but she lost.  Some of the reasons for the loss are:

• She's a woman. 
• They didn't like her personally (because of Bill Clinton, Bernie Sanders, etc)
• Too educated.
• Too Upper Class.
• Too Judgemental.

In spite of all these reasons, the Democrat 'election managers' took away the lesson: women won't work.  In their fear, they told themselves, Blacks and minorities will probably not work either. 

Basically, given all these fears, because of how much control the upstairs boys (and girls, I suppose) have over selecting the candidate, Biden is the only choice, it appears.  I'm sure we all feel: no, we don't think so.  But they have too much of a stranglehold on the process.  

To get back to Joe Biden.  You realize I don't know much about being President.  Clearly, Biden will find it difficult to debate Trump again.  He has candidly told someone that it is impossible to debate someone who's constantly lying.  (I know this is true; when you respond to a challenge,  Trump comes back with something from the fifth dimension, like blue is brown, and anyone who is unaccustomed to lies of that sort does not realized that he actually has won the point.  It gets in the way of responding to the next piece of nonsense Trump throws out.  Honestly, I myself would be at a loss trying to reply to a total lie such as Trump tosses out.  He says them as if he, Trump, believes them, but he probably knows they're lies. 

So, though debating anyone will be difficult for Biden—certainly debating Trump—being president would probably not be a problem. 

Kay