Is It Art ?

Often dismissed as rudimentary and crude - graffiti is the most visible form of graphic street art.

But Picasso's use of free forms and contrasting colors is seen as art worthy of gallery shows and high auction prices.

Warhol couldn't think of anything original so he just copied Campbell's Soup can fonts.

Miro's paintings look like those of my five year old niece.

While proportionately incorrect, this artist's use of color and style isn't really that different from Picasso.

And this artist at least took the time to create his own original font.

Is it better to Create or Copy?

One is usually one of the following;

A Creator,

A Consumer,

Or a Destroyer.

Of the three, one that creates is the only one who is of any real use.

Harry Connick Jr. v. Australian Doctors

No, I won't post it here.
I'm sure everyone has seen the footage of Harry Connick giving the Aussies a lesson in currently acceptable social conduct.
My opinion?
Who cares what a bunch of Convicts, Shackle Draggers and Criminals think?
(Or is referring to them in these terms considered poor taste?)

WTF?

Until yesterday, the San Diego Padres had been thought to have the ugliest uniforms in all of sports history.

The NFL has a history of off-putting uniforms.

(Does anyone remember the '70's Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniforms of Doug Williams, Jimmy Giles, Ricky Bell, et. al.?)

But I guess the Denver Broncos decided to take the game one step further.

Even their coach couldn't stomach the idea of wearing a color scheme and design that went beyond the ridiculous.

One has to look to fictional sports franchises, like the Pittsburgh Pisces of The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (Really, Dr. J?), to find the only worse example of uniform design.

The Pieces' uniforms were so poorly designed that when their color scheme was the question on an old ESPN game show ("Whose team colors were; pink, orange, teal blue...") - "The San Francisco Sodomites" was the contestant's answer.

NCAA

1 Florida - A nice win against former number four LSU.

2 Texas - Beat a so-so Colorado team.

3 Alabama - Beat Mississippi

4 Va Tech - Whooped Boston College

5 USC - The Trojans return to the top five in their off week.

If USC wins out, Florida beats Alabama, Texas stumbles against Oklahoma and Va Tech chokes in their usual manner - USC v. Florida for the title.

Albinism

While white peacocks are said to be white and not albino - does this male get more female peacocks (which are usually attracted to color)?
Or if a female - are the colored peacocks more or less attracted to her because she is white?

White seems to be the thing to be Down Under - but would this kangaroo benefit from it's color?

It would be hard for this crocodile to sneak up on prey with it's distinct coloration.

If this wise owl hunts at night - wouldn't it's coloring (or lack thereof) make it more difficult to be stealth?

Don't lions use their coloring to blend in with the brush of their hunting grounds?

Does this help or harm zebras and their fabled ability to disappear?

And this gorilla just seems mad to be white.

Or maybe he's just mad at all of the darker primates.

Albinism

Is being "White" just the color of one's skin?

Does this Chinese woman count as "White"?

What about this Afghan girl?

Or this African?

Vanilla

What's the best selling flavor of ice cream?
Yep, vanilla.

Why?
Because it's the best flavor?
Nope.

Because vanilla is non-offensive.
Because vanilla mixes with everything while retaining the flavor of any other ice cream.
Because vanilla is the default choice when people don't feel thinking.
Because vanilla can be tolerated by most people in most situations.
Because vanilla is somewhat bland.

What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?
You probably can't find more than two people out of ten who would list vanilla as theirs.
While it would be hard to find any group that would overwhelmingly pick another flavor as their favorite - most would settle for vanilla.

The Ideal Beauty

The "Whiter" the better.
At least that what seems to be the case when it comes to beauty.
I guess Scandinavia has this market covered.

But even in Japan, polls cite pale skin as the leading asset regarding a woman's beauty.
Maybe it has something to do with colonization by Europeans and the Geisha of times past.

Recent video that attempted to mimic The Jackson 5 (In black face and all) in Australia seems to hint at that country's leaning in regards to beauty.

Nicole Kidman, Portia De Rossi and Cate Blanchette are often cited as the country's most beautiful.

While Aboriginals (such as these) get the low spot on the skin color influenced index.

But even Aboriginals can't remain blameless.

Most of these Aboriginal models would pass for white in most situations.

The same could not be said of this Aboriginal lady.

India and Bollywood seems to celebrate everything associated with their former rule by the British.

The above Bollywood actress could be from almost anywhere.

But these Dalits are definitely from India's lower caste.

Mexico also celebrates it's former rule by Europeans.

This photo from a Mexican Playboy magazine could be from any European influenced country.

But this is the image that is generally associated with Mexico.

Yes, American Blacks also play the "White is better" game.

I've always liked A.J. Johnson.

But when she was cast next to the lighter skinned Teisha Campbell in the House Party movies - Ms Campbell garnered the most attention.

So in today's popular culture -

Why is "White" seen as more beautiful?

Good(?) Hair

This is the second time I've had to teach one of my young cousins how to shave.
The first time was when he noticed a few stray whiskers on his chin that he called his "beard".
This time I had to school him on how to use clippers to remove most of the hair from his calves down, and then to use a razor to prevent the tape from pulling out the hair of his legs.

Yeah... it's an odd look, but anyone who endured the pain after a trainer failed to properly apply under wrap before taping one's ankles can tell you - this look saves a lot of tears.
But what does any of this have to do with having "Good Hair"?
Well... nothing, directly.
It was just that my cousin's grandmother and aunts were teasing him about how nappy even the hairs on his legs were.
This led to a long and drawn out session of The Dozens concerning the value of one's hair.

Having grown up with that in-between type of hair, that one of my brothers was often teased as having "Wolf Hair" by young kids in the hood, I always thought that hair was just hair.
But the funny thing is; what was seen as one's childhood "Wolf Hair" becomes seen by many as "Good Hair" as an adult.

But who determines these standards?
By and large, it isn't white people.
This form of discrimination and appreciation seems to be perpetuated by Blacks mostly.
I still hear young boys tease each other because their hair has grown too long and the natural curls have become visible.
BeBees, Naps and Dirty Kitchens are to be shunned in favor of a straight in appearance short cut.
Many of these short styles even mimic the straight hair styles with the inclusion of a faux part that is shaved into one's head.

But this style is at least natural.
This short style doesn't attempt to fully mimic "Good Hair" in the way that many wore Jheri Curls back in the day.
Obviously the attention paid to having "Good Hair" isn't limited to Black women (with their endless need for perms, weaves and the old school pressings), but when did young boys become so concerned with their hair being good or bad?
Is this just a result of many boys being raised by single mothers and grandmothers who have been inculcated with the idea of what is "Good" and what is "Bad" by those who often felt inferior or lacked any true self esteem?

Just ask anyone who has gone through Cancer treatment and has lost all or most of their hair -
Isn't any one's natural hair "Good Hair"?

Save The Boobs (And More)

How is this ad "sexist"?
Aren't the advertisers just trying to use humor to promote the awareness of an important problem?

I wonder what the advertisers were trying to say about who was effected most during the Great Depression.

Umm... Did Cosby know about this before he performed his silly antics on the small screen to promote the same product?.

Is this meant as in the pejorative or as a compliment?

Any white kid who'd never seen a Black kid could make the same mistake.

Aww.. why de' gotta' haba brotha' talkin' like dat?

And she smiles in agreement.

"They choose the best.

Their friends and assiciates - White.

Their motorcar - Cadillac."

Umm.. you still driving your "Gator" (Navigator)? I see why.

Morals, sensitivities and values have been shifting since man had a mind to think.

Are boobs bad?

Nope. In fact, I'd like to see and touch as many fine specimens as possible.

If the Pink Ribbon women want me to help save the boobs - I'm helping.
Am I offended?

Nah... this ad is nothing compared with the past examples.