tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post2547752909340779088..comments2024-03-29T15:04:20.549+11:00Comments on ART and ARCHITECTURE, mainly: Did Trump pervert "The American Dream"?Helshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-52693897225155384592019-01-18T10:36:14.287+11:002019-01-18T10:36:14.287+11:00Parnassus we have committed party supporters in th...Parnassus we have committed party supporters in this country, but Trump's 'base' is a new word. It may be true that many people do not have the energy or intelligence to read about politics or the economy, but those people still have fully formed views. From Fox News?Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07701188167981018244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-29897885213427359712019-01-17T23:30:29.009+11:002019-01-17T23:30:29.009+11:00Mike
You are totally correct about polarisation i...Mike<br /><br />You are totally correct about polarisation in lots of countries. In the past voters were indeed on an Left-Right wing continuum; and most people saw themselves as middle-of-the-road Labour or middle-of-the-road Conservative. That continuum has not changed but the distribution of voters along that continuum has. There are now far more people on both extremities, AND the hatred between the two main parties is increasingly bitter.<br /><br />It almost doesn't matter what the issue is: Brexit in the UK, elimination of pro-democracy organisations in Hungary, taxation in France, xenophobia in the USA, pro-gun policies in Brasil etc.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-2117697186392985032019-01-17T20:49:36.852+11:002019-01-17T20:49:36.852+11:00That's a really interesting article, Hels. Sli...That's a really interesting article, Hels. Slightly off-topic, but related, one thing that really bothers me in the UK is the way that politics - and politics is life - has become so polarised (and it's not just Brexit). Trump strikes me as illustrative of that in the US - and, anyway, he's a bully who lacks elegance and style.Mike@Bit About Britainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08741370413282813229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-13062704972378693632019-01-17T10:11:51.904+11:002019-01-17T10:11:51.904+11:00Parnassus
thank you. Marevna, whose name I did no...Parnassus<br /><br />thank you. Marevna, whose name I did not know, lived in and near my absolutely favourite Paris art community of La Ruche from 1912 until 1936!! I thought I knew them all. <br /><br />Poets Max Jacob and Max Voloshin, artists Diego Rivera, Chaim Soutine and Ossip Zadkine!! And partying with Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris and Modigliani.... what a life. And talented too - great portrait of Modigliani.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-24445686950869836162019-01-16T21:42:01.196+11:002019-01-16T21:42:01.196+11:00Hello Hels, To change the subject to a more pleas...Hello Hels, To change the subject to a more pleasant one, that combines sad and interesting aspects, I wonder if you saw this story on the Mark Hill blog (he usually writes about modern ceramics) about some remarkable artistic detective-work concerning Modigliani's last days and his friend, the artist Marevna, also known as 'Marie Vorobieff-Stebelska (1892-1984)':<br /><br />https://markhillpublishing.com/modigliani-marevna-a-students-promise/<br /><br />--Jim<br /><br />Parnassushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08958901307538141468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-64299986968284657312019-01-16T21:34:12.828+11:002019-01-16T21:34:12.828+11:00Hello Hels, Proof and sources are not necessary, b...Hello Hels, Proof and sources are not necessary, because intelligent people don't believe spouted nonsense, while those incapable of thinking or checking on something believe whatever they are told that supports their bigoted views.Parnassushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08958901307538141468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-39954721651911797882019-01-16T20:57:50.582+11:002019-01-16T20:57:50.582+11:00Student
if I was saying something as provocative ...Student<br /><br />if I was saying something as provocative and outrageous as "thousands of illegal immigrants are in Texas jails for child sex crimes", I would be citing the proper books or reports in detail. Why don't his speech writers tell Trump never, ever, ever to cite "findings" without reliable evidence.<br />Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-7440267909277177312019-01-16T20:50:39.707+11:002019-01-16T20:50:39.707+11:00Andrew
I too don't believe that Britain, Aust...Andrew<br /><br />I too don't believe that Britain, Australia or New Zealand had prime ministers who were such liars, you didn't know from one month to the next which philosophies they believed in. <br /><br />I thought Mrs Thatcher, for example, was horrible, but I trusted her consistency and reliability totally. But if Thump is pushing one world view today, we have no expectation WHATSOEVER of him remembering that world view next week. He will lie, forget, obfuscate, backtrack and attack any member of his team who still promotes last week's view. Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-7581164661419030992019-01-16T13:53:46.698+11:002019-01-16T13:53:46.698+11:00“In the last two years, ICE officers arrested 235,...“In the last two years, ICE officers arrested 235,000 criminals who were able to come in over the years through the United States.” President Trump said at the White House, Jan. 2.<br /> <br />"Thousands of illegal immigrants are in Texas jails for child sex crimes", President Trump claimed today.<br /><br />Which books or reports was Trump citing? Which of his expert speech writers gave him these data?Student of Historynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-57908919820718748752019-01-16T13:05:25.647+11:002019-01-16T13:05:25.647+11:00While we may not have The American Dream, I fear w...While we may not have The American Dream, I fear we are following what happens in the US rather too closely, and I don't mean reading or watching about it. Regarding your last comment, some political leaders the world over are just beyond the pale, which is quite different to not respecting them as a leader, regardless of politics. I don't think the has been such a leader in Britain in the recent past, nor here, although who knows where Abbott may have taken us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-66205822233398893132019-01-16T00:58:26.043+11:002019-01-16T00:58:26.043+11:00Parnassus
I suppose every leader in every generat...Parnassus<br /><br />I suppose every leader in every generation in every country has had to get, and keep his/her supporters, unless elections have been cancelled. And it seems inevitable that all leaders may be manipulative to some extent, and power-hungry to some extent. Yet even when the leaders have been from parties I could not EVER vote for, I don't remember being mortified at hearing the views that came out of their mouths. Nixon, for example, might have been a criminal, but I could understand every view on which he was expounding.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-43587485895498954372019-01-16T00:47:41.175+11:002019-01-16T00:47:41.175+11:00LMK
interesting that you should say that! I used ...LMK<br /><br />interesting that you should say that! I used to think it didn't matter than Trump couldn't understand books very well... after all he had all his very smart advisors to write his speeches and practise getting the philosophical issues right. <br /><br />But now I think his advisors cannot control what philosophy comes out of Trump's mouth, even if his speeches are already pre-prepared. In 2018 Trump said that "Britain has tough gun laws but that their hospitals are awash with blood because of knife wounds. They say British hospitals are as bad as military war zone hospitals ... knives, knives, knives."Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-37272902649264347832019-01-16T00:28:41.793+11:002019-01-16T00:28:41.793+11:00Hello Hels, What complicated issues you have open...Hello Hels, What complicated issues you have opened up with this post! I think we have already mentioned Sinclair Lewis' novel Babbitt, which showed the lengths the powers in control went to in order to insure their selfish version of Adams' vision.<br /><br />"Leaders" like Trump get supporters by making promises of prosperity to their constituents, promises on which they have no intention of delivering. Paul Fussell would have understood the operating principle, which is the same as the intense-to-the-point-of-irrational support of a successful sports team. By identifying with a theoretical "winner," even though they gain no advantage themselves (in fact, they lose considerably), the idiots at least get to claim psychological victory through membership in the "leading team." That is, until they go bankrupt trying to pay for medical care or exorbitant health insurance.<br />--JimParnassushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08958901307538141468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-63195178405324144412019-01-15T22:15:44.906+11:002019-01-15T22:15:44.906+11:00To pervert Adam's philosophy, Trump would have...To pervert Adam's philosophy, Trump would have had to read Epic of America. But since Trump is functionally illiterate, he must have waited for Fox News to give the abbreviated version. LMKnoreply@blogger.com