Without the state

Don't travel to the USA

I've only been to the USA once. I would like to go back, but I'm not going to, at least while the TSA goons have their way.

Changing attitudes to the military

The sight of large crowds turning out in Taunton in pouring rain for the homecoming parade of 40 Cammando is just the latest in what appears to be a change in public attitudes to the military in the UK.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/somerset/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9198000/9198843.stm

I don't know if it began with the crowds in Wooton Bassett , but that is certainly where I first noticed the change.

Support for the armed forces has always been there of course, but over the last few years it seems to have become much more vocal and public. In fact I can't remember such public expressions of grief and raw emotion since Diana's funeral. So what is the reason for this change? Are we becoming more 'Mediterranean' as one commentator argued at the time of Diana's death? 

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

I don't think so. It seems to me that one cause is the war in Iraq, which was and remains hugely unpopular. The widespread use of reservists from the TA meant that the deaths and maimings were not visited on those who in some way expected it, members of the Regular Army, but on ordinary families who saw their children, or the children of neighbours off in a strange country where no one wanted them, and saw them coming home horribly injured, or not at all. In opposing the war and the militarism that underpins it, they looked for ways to do so that still held faith with those who fell in that war. Out of that I think came the first silent demonstrations of respect in Wootton Bassett as the bodies came home, that has grown into the, sadly too regular, event it has become. (Another today)

 

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Another factor I think is that when a unit returns from duty, it is a much more public event. They don't simply come home from the airfield in coaches to meet their families in private, now they march in, heads held high, as they surely deserve.

I was born immediately after WW2. In the 1950s, Remembrance Day was still on the 11th November. At 11.00am, a cannon or a maroon would be fired and traffic stopped. By the 1970s Remembrance Day had moved - for convenience - to the nearest Sunday, and its impact on our daily lives thereby reduced. We now have moved back to observing the minute silence on the 11th, albeit not so comprehensively as we did in 1950, but that minor inconvenience is a dual reminder - of what we owe, but also of the damage done by politicians seeking the bubble reputation.

links for 2010-11-18

• Buddhafiguren.de
  (tags: buddhism buddha)

Back to the Tango theme

Keeping on with the theme of dance and more specifically tango, here are all of my tango images from Flickr. Some of these are also on my web site, but many of them have never been seen outside of Flickr. As ever, if you see anything you like, get in touch and I will see what I can do.

 

Retrospective - Dance images - March 2005

I hadn't realised that almost all my best selling digital prints date from a narrow period in 2005. All these images were first uploaded to flickr in March of that year. I don't think I have had a period as creative as that since.

Versions of these images can all be found on my web site.

links for 2010-11-14

• Mauricio Lasansky :: The Art :: Process :: Original Prints vs. Reproductions
  (tags: art print printmaking reproduction)
• Burnishings: Print vs Reproduction
  (tags: printmaking original reproduction)

Sublime...

Image by ibanda via Flickr

I have to come out of the closet and admit to watching and enjoying the BBC TV programme "Strictly Come Dancing". Not the judges so much, although they are of course a key element of the show and certainly not the insane whooping and cheering of the audience or the booing of the tiniest critical comment. However last night saw something as near to perfection as I have ever seen with a stunning performance of the  Argentine Tango by soap actress Kara Tointon and her partner.

It doesn't hurt of course that she is a beautiful woman in a very sexy dance but this performance was superb. I don't know the technical terms, but the way her body shapes in the dance mirrored and complemented those of her partner, the crisp precision of her footwork, the elegance of her movement all added up to sheer poetry. For once even Bruce Forsyth was almost lost for words.

 

By contrast I thought the higher scoring (by one point) jive by her fellow soap star Scott Maslen was pretty tame, more of a routine from a musical show than a ballroom dance - and don't even think about Anne Widdecombe. Maslen can dance, as can the other top contender, Matt Baker, but taken overall, last nights Tango will take some beating.

Apologies

The widget that automatically generates a post from my new Delicious links appears to have gone seriously wrong yesterday, posting multiple copies at hourly intervals. I have deleted the multiples, but they will probably still show up in RSS feeds, about which I can't do anything. They also showed up on Twitter and Facebook. I'll try to delete the Facebook ones, but Twitter slides by so fast I will leave them.

links for 2010-11-13

• What is a limited edition print, Orginal or reproduction print? Information on process,technique,marketing and selling limited edition prints
  (tags: art prints reproduction original limitededitions printmaking definitions)
• Reproduction Print Issues - Giclee, Offset Lithograph Copies
  (tags: art prints printmaking artmarket giclee)
• THE COLLECTOR’S GUIDE: REPRODUCTION OR PRINT?
  (tags: art artwork print reference reproduction printmaking definitions)

Retrospective - Nightmare in Wicklow - from March 2005

 

Early playing with Photoshop Elements and/or Paintshop Pro. I have actually sold a copy of this to someone, who loved it! Based on my photographs of the Market Square in Tinahely, Co Wicklow.

Print Sizes

A4 Mounted Print £30.00 A3 Unmounted Print £40.00