Like the poet said...

"Cuando los habitantes de un pueblo emigran, no son ellos los que debian emigrar, sino sus gobernantes."

"When the people of a country emigrate and leave their country, it isn't them who should leave their country, but the people who govern their country"

Jose Marti

Community Gateway Arch

Mayor Vincent C. Gray will join representatives of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) in the dedication of the Community Gateway Arch on Friday, July 18, at a twilight ceremony, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The program will take place outside the Unity Health Care Parkside Health Center facility, located at the corner of Hayes Street and Kenilworth Terrace NE.

"This new work of public art celebrates the District's cultural heritage," said Mayor Gray. "Artists, community members and the District government collaborated on the new installation, which represents the creativity and aspirations of Ward 7 residents."

The Community Gatewaysculpture was designed by Washington Glass School uber artists Michael Janis, Tim Tate and Erwin Timmers, who worked in collaboration with Ward 7 artist apprentice Bill Howard and numerous Ward 7 community members and stakeholders during the early phases of fabrication. The design of the public artwork was intended to mark the entrance to the Kenilworth / Parkside section of the city.

Washington Glass School was selected through an open Call to Artists and panel process led by the DCCAH, through the D.C. Creates! Public Art Program selection committee, in partnership with the D.C. Primary Care Association (DCPCA), the Unity Health Care Foundation, the Ward 7 Community and ANC 7D07 Commissioner Willie H. Woods. Central to the selection of the public artwork and the community input process was the Ward 7 Arts Collaborative, led by artist and community arts advocate Wanda Aikens.

Scam Alert

Recently received a scam phone call from a heavily accented dude calling from the "Windows Security Center" -- this is a classic cold call scam -- the phone that showed up as coming from was (325) 477-7355.

Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award

The deadline for 2015 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award applications is 4:30 PM on Thursday, July 24, 2014.

 The funding categories available for 2015 include:

• Non-Classical Music: Composition
• Non-Classical Music: Solo Performance
• Playwriting
• Visual Arts: Crafts 
• Visual Arts: Photography

All applications must be submitted online. Applicants can click here to access the application, guidelines and technical assistance resources. 

Model releases

Any graphic materials that promote something, whether products, a businesses, or charitable causes, and the graphics contain images of recognizable people, always have those people sign a model release.

Read the whole article here.

The fly and the wedding ring

I've transited through the Suez Canal several times, and as anyone who has done this knows, the place is often abuzz with tons of very slow-flying tse-tse flies, ready, willing and able to bite anyone who stands still for more than a nanosecond.

One time, as we moved slowly through the Suez, I was skylarking and enjoying the view of the fishermen and assorted sights in the canal, and I was also screwing around, sloshing my wedding ring in my mouth... I know, I know...

Suddenly one of those giant-sized, slow-flying flies buzzed my face as it tried to land on it... I slapped at it, dislodging my wedding ring from my mouth and sending it hurling through the air.

In one of the great recoveries in modern history, the same hand that had slapped at the fly, accelerated its downward arch, and in a magnificent affirmation of Malcolm Gladwell's Blink theory, snatched the ring in mid flight and saved it from perpetual burial in the murky mud of the canal.

The sailor standing next to me and who had witnessed the whole event, looked at me, shook his head, and then continued to relax by looking at the nearby shore while chewing on a toothpick... "Wife would have never believed the story if you hadn't snatched that puppy in mid air," he commented. "Fear is a powerful motivator," he concluded, still chewing on the toothpick and offering me one.

Proof that aliens are amongst us

This dude is clearly a Ferengi trying to disguise himself as a human, note the two uneven set of ears. I betcha that if Rachel Maddow had rubbed his ears... well, you Trekkies know what happens when Ferengis get their ears rubbed... cough, cough...