- Art is one of the most subjective topics imaginable. What
is beautiful and worth millions of dollars to one man is an indecipherable mess
of squiggly lines and shapes in random places to another. There is nothing
random of subjective about the $35 million price a piece by English romantic
painter John Constable fetched over the weekend at an auction in London. Christie's
auction house confirmed the record-setting sale price for "The Lock,"
finished in 1824. It is one of six paintings from Constable's celebrated series
depicting the Stour Valley and came from the collection of Baroness Carmen
Thyssen-Bornemisza. That a baroness was affiliated with the painting in any way
makes it sound infinitely cooler and classier and the buyer, whose identity was
no released after he or she purchased the painting Tuesday night in an
anonymous phone bid, paid dearly for the right to own a piece said to be "remarkable
for its excellent state of preservation." “The Lock” was also the last of
Constable’s six-piece series to remain in private hands, according to
Christie's. The estimated sale price by the auction house prior to the bidding
was between 20 and 25 million pounds and the final price was right in the
middle of that range, at 22.4 million pounds. And yes, this sounds like exactly
the sort of rich person purchase that the masses hate because it reeks of
arrogance and superiority complex as most people are scraping just to get by
and rich folks are doling out 20 times more than the average person will make
in a lifetime on a piece of art with no practical value……….
- Clone Joe Torre and populate the entire Baseball Hall of
Fame selection committee with those clones. That’s the only way Roger
Clemens will be elected to the hall. Despite his exoneration on charges of lying
to Congress about his use of performance-enhacing drugs because the government
botched the case so profoudnly, Clemens’ chances for the hall remain low, much
like others tied to PEDs, men like Bar-roid Bonds, Mark McJuicer/McGwire and
Sammy Sosa. But when he become eligible for the honor during the next round of
voting, one of his former managers believes he belongs in Cooperstown. “He is
to me,” Torre said. “I can’t make other people look at him that way. I can just
tell you the way I feel. I was proud to have him play for me. He always gave
you everything he had and I always respected that.” No one is questioning
Clemens’ competitive fire or his desire to win; what people do question is
whether that competitive drive led him to take shortcuts to greatness. After
all, how many athletes have some of the best years of their career as they bear
down on 40 and throw as hard as ever in their final few seasons? Torre managed
Clemens in New York from 1999-2003 and again in 2007 and clearly has a soft
spot for Roid-ger, saying the former seven-time Cy Young Award winner was “like
a son to me.” But even Torre admits Clemens will never fully shake the stigma
of steroids. “Unfortunately the question mark is always going to be there with
him,” he added. “It’s something that’s sad for me. Because Roger Clemens, and
the way that he went about his business, I disliked him like everybody else
until I got a chance to know him.” It’s nice that someone has Roid-ger’s
back………..
- There really is an app for everything. In a world where
pollution is a growing problem and most governments are lax to address the
issue of air quality, a new free app from the American Lung Association is
available to show users the
air quality in their area and lets them know when it might be best to stay
indoors.
State of the Air, as the app is known, rovides real-time updates on levels of
ozone and particulate pollution in the atmosphere -- the two most widespread air pollutants,
and among the most
dangerous, in the United States. Is this really a problem in the U.S. – other than
Los Angeles – as opposed to, say, any city in China? "More than 127
million people live in areas of the country where there are dangerous levels of ozone and particulate pollution,
which are the two key pollutants that we address in our new smartphone app," said Carrie
Martin Munk, a former vice president of communications and marketing for the American Lung
Association. "We
really wanted to empower individuals with the tools that can help them live
healthier lives." The app tracks ground-level ozone, produced by emissions
from industrial plants, electric utilities and motor vehicle exhaust. It is one of the most
common air pollutants, causing lung irritation and other health concerns.
Additionally, the app monitors particulates, a mix of breathable bits of soot,
exhaust, metals and chemicals, are detrimental to both the heart and lungs and among the
most dangerous air pollutants, with the readings provided by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). Air quality data includes current conditions as well
as forecasts for later in the day and the following day. When air quality is
low, the app provides alerts based on the Air Quality Index (AQI), which is a scale
showing how clean or polluted the air is. These alerts offer guidelines on whether
it might be best to cut back on outdoor activities, especially for at-risk
individuals. "It's especially valuable for moms whose kids have asthma for
when they have after-school soccer practices to know what kind of air they're
going to be dealing with and to make decisions for a healthier life," Munk
said. Poor air quality affects even healthy people and can be especially hard
on those suffering from a range of illnesses. Individuals with lung disease, like
asthma or COPD, people with heart disease, diabetes, older adults and even
children are all susceptible to the effects of polluted air. App users can also
share their air quality alerts through Facebook, Twitter and email. The ALA
hopes all of these connections will significantly raise awareness about air
quality. The organization is responsible for the annual report detailing the
most-polluted cities in the United States and California continues to dominate
the list, with Los Angeles, Bakersfield, and Fresno holding strong at the top
of the rankings as usual……….
- The musical credibility of British rockers Radiohead and
the directorial skills of actor Jude Law don’t seem like a natural match, but
that combination will be at the heart of a new campaign film for environmental
activist group Greenpeace. Law and Radiohead will team up to produce a film
that tells the story of a polar bear forced out of her Arctic habitat due to
climate change and features the Radiohead track “Everything In Its Right Place”
from the band's 2000 album “Kid A.” Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, who has
always had activist leanings, explained the reason he and his band wanted to be
involved with the film. "We have to stop the oil giants pushing into the
Arctic. An oil spill in the Arctic would devastate this region of breathtaking
beauty, while burning that oil will only add to the biggest problem we all
face, climate change," Yorke said. Other prominent names in music and
Hollywood have also signed on for the campaign, including Paul McCartney. These
famous faces join Greenpeace and members of the public in signing and promoting
an Arctic Scroll calling for the Arctic to be protected. In a noble (and
probably meaningless) gesture, once the campaign gets a million names,
Greenpeace will plant the Scroll in the sea bed in the North Pole. “That’s why
I’m backing this campaign, and why I have signed the Arctic Scroll. I’ll know
whenever I look north that my name is planted at the bottom of the ocean at the
top of the world as a permanent statement of our joint commitment to save the
Arctic,” Yorke added. The good news, even if one doesn’t give a damn about the
campaign, is everyone can enjoy a movie featuring an adorable polar bear with
great rock music as a soundtrack………..
- There is a lot of potential here and Stone Park, Ill. may
have just inspired a terrible movie script that could become the cornerstone of
a revival for Whoopi Goldberg and the “Sister Act” franchise. The Chicago
suburb is the epicenter of an epic battle between those classic, ages-old
nemeses, nuns and strippers. Yes, there are some strippers whose stage persona
includes donning a nun’s outfit, but it’s doubtful any of those skanks are
actual nuns. A group of legit nuns at the convent of the Missionary Sisters
of St. Charles Borromeo and the order’s home for retired nuns are locked in a
pitched battle to stop the planned opening of the Get It gentleman’s club (a
verrrry subtle name, by the way) because they believe it will plunge their
peaceful neighborhood into the darkness of lascivious anarchy and moral decay.
The club is just over the border of neighboring Melrose Park and the sisters of
the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo have been fighting against the
club for months now. “We believe in the family values of Stone Park. We want a
healthy community,” Sister Noemia Silva said. The club was supposed to open in April,
but road construction along Lake Street has slowed those plans down. Silva
believes the Almighty intervened in the form of road grading, asphalt and
orange barrels. “God answers prayers in different ways, whether it’s the
construction or what have you,” Silva says. “Take it whichever way you like
it.” To keep their cause in the public eye, the sisters organized a protest
Monday that featured children, parents and nuns releasing clusters of helium balloons
inscribed with messages of peace, love and hope – and opposition to drug-addled
skanks with daddy issues taking off their clothes for $1 bills. Oddly enough,
the club’s owners refused comment on the issue and did not want to respond to a
Roman Catholic legal group, the Thomas More society, sending them a letter claiming
the state liquor control act forbids a license to the club. Sounds like the
nuns won’t be enjoying a lap dance any time soon…………
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