Obama, Cuba and the curious case of the 53

Part of the deal made by our President with the racist Cuban dictator Raul Castro, included the release of 53 (from the thousands) of Cuban political prisoners held in the Castro Brothers' Workers Paradise.

Most of those 53 have subsequently been re-arrested, some even while the President was in Havana watching a baseball game.

 Now, (Via) Mario Alberto Hernandez Leyva, one of the 53, has also been re-arrested and his present whereabouts are unknown.

Hernandez Leyva was re-arrested in November 2015 for organizing a pot-banging protest ("cacerolazo"). He was handed a new three-year prison sentence for disobedience.

 

In other words, Raul Castro reneged on his deal with President Obama. 

 

Nonetheless, Obama still traveled to Cuba this past March and didn't say a word about Hernandez Leyva.

 

Hernandez Leyva has been transferred to various prisons throughout Cuba, where he has conducted hunger strikes to protest his unjust imprisonment.

 

Most recently, he was transferred from the nefarious Combinado del Este prison to Santa Clara, where we was being held in a punishment cell.

 

 Last week, he was "discretely" transferred once again -- and his whereabouts remain unknown.

Still not a word from the Obama Administration.

Refueling at Sea

Gorgeous work by Walter Brightwell... perhaps the greatest US Navy ship painter of all time?

This is a Navy destroyer refueling at sea... not too many navies in the world can do this (the Russians can't).

The Way Back at WAW

The Way Back at Washington ArtWorks features artwork by United States Military Veterans whose art pieces are derived from their uniforms. Each artist has transformed their uniform into paper upon which they create works of art and poetry. A therapeutic manner of creating work, this exhibition gives insight into the affects of active duty on military members.

Name of Event: Opening reception of The Way Back

Opening Date: Friday, June 3rd

Time: 6-9pm

Dates of Exhibition: June 3rd - June 30th

Cost: Free and Open to the Public

Contact #: 301.654.1998

Address: 12276 Wilkins Ave. Rockville, MD 20852

Website: http://washingtonartworks.com/galleries-events/upcoming-gallery-shows/

Dulce Pinzon's "Rubber Duckies"

Dulce Pinzon is without a doubt one of the leading contemporary photographers in the world. This immensely talented lady, whom Forbes Magazine called "one of the top 100 most influential Mexicans in the world," has access to an abandoned natural history museum in her native Mexico.

This is my favorite image from that developing series of works - it's a brilliant example of what an intelligent and talented photographer can do with such a cool resource such as an empty and abandoned museum!

"Rubber Duckies" by Dulce Pinzon

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: August 31, 2016


The Gallery at Penn College in Williamsport, PA is accepting proposals for solo or small group exhibitions for the 2017-18 exhibition season. The 3,000 square foot gallery on the campus of Pennsylvania College of Technology is dedicated to promoting art appreciation through exhibitions of contemporary art. All media will be considered.


The gallery offers a shipping stipend, and an honorarium is offered to artists who deliver a gallery talk at the opening reception.


Artists must have enough work to fill the full gallery space, and are encouraged to view the gallery floor plan before submitting. Artists may apply either through a secure online entry system or via mail. There is no entry fee. For full entry information, visit https://gallery.pct.edu/inquiries.htm


Questions can be directed to Penny Lutz, Gallery Director at 570-320-2445

Cheryl Numark Art Advisory New Website

I am pleased to announce the launch of the new Cheryl Numark Art Advisory website. If you haven't visited numarkartadvisory.com in a while, check it out! The new site features: a responsive design supported on all types of devices an overview of CNAA's past projects including slideshows of installation photography a sampling of works CNAA has placed over the years a detailed history of our curatorial experience a list of relevant articles about CNAA in leading art publications  a newsletter signup so you can stay up to date on what is happening at CNAA CNAA works closely with clients to help inform and develop knowledge, perspective, and sensibility in the appreciation and acquisition of fine art. They work with both new and seasoned collectors. This new website shows their extensive history and experience working in the art world. Please feel free to visit the new site.
	Cheryl Numark Art Advisory 4726 Linnean Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20008 www.numarkartadvisory.com TEL 202.460.9843 For general inquiries: info@numarkartadvisory.com

AC Moore's coupons

One of the things that I teach in my Bootcamp for Artists seminar is guerrilla tactics for reducing framing costs up to 80-90% from custom framing costs.


One valuable asset here are A.C. Moore stores, with their significant set of ready made frames at generally affordable prices, often coupled with weekly sales.


Moore's is also a prodigious coupon-generating factory, and quite often you get a coupon that proudly announces "55% off any regular priced item."

To me, being a pedantic Virgo, "any" means that all items in the store which are not on sale are discounted 55%.


Not to A.C. Moore.


The small print on the coupon notes several exceptions to "any."

Limit one coupon per customer, per transaction, per day. Must be surrendered at time of purchase. No reproductions. Not valid with any other coupons, discounts, previous purchases, sale, clearance, or blue, red or green labeled items. Coupon has no cash value. Not valid on purchase of Gift Cards, Cricut®, Home Essentials Frames, Elf on the Shelf, Custom Framing, Custom Floral Arranging, Classroom Fees, Magazines, or www.acmoore.com purchases. Not valid at our Outlet or Liquidation Store locations

Prior to the "any" coupon, I had received an email blast from A.C. Moore's proudly announcing "Today Only: 20% Off Everything‏." And so I rush to the store, thinking that "everything" means.... ahh... everything!


"Everything" is understood by the most casual observer to mean everything in the store... and thus I was surprised when I went and made a large purchase that there were many things at the store where it didn't apply -- that is dishonest advertising to say "everything" and then you get to the store and Essential Frames, clearance items, etc. are NOT part of "Everything."

This, of course, bugged me and thus I contacted A.C. Moore to explain to them that by using the word "everything", the implication was that any item on the store was eligible for the discount.


Below is their response:

Thank you for contacting A. C. Moore Customer Care. We apologize for the misunderstanding about the 20% off coupon from our email subject line. The details of this coupon are printed on the actual coupon, where it explains that the 20% off is on your regular and sale price items, and lists excluded items.  Your detailed feedback is greatly appreciated as it allows us the opportunity to address this type of situation for future visits. 

        I have added 500 points to your rewards account (the equivalent of making a $50.00 purchase) for the inconvenience. 

        We understand your position and we appreciate your feedback about this. We will forward your feedback to our marketing team to take this into consideration for future email coupons. 

         Thank you.

Sincerely,
Caitlin Scarbrough
Customer Care Coordinator | A. C. Moore
130 A.C. Moore Drive  | Berlin, NJ  08009

And I am grateful, and it is an inconvenience to load a cart with 30 Home Essential frames on two separate occasions, only to find out that they are not eligible under the "any" descriptor in the 55% "any" coupon, or under the "everything" descriptor in the 20% coupon.


What's the solution? Can Moore's get out of this borderline deceptive coupon by simply using an asterisk after the word "any" and "everything"? At least an asterisk raises an alarm that there are limitations.


Or am I being too pedantic?