Upgrade Your Grey Matter.

The start of a new collection...

Potential Problems.

Potential Problems.

30x40

Acrylic, Pastel and Charcoal on Canvas

Fossilized Spiral Teeth Finally Explained

For over a century the scientific community has been wondering how fossilized teeth found in a spiral formation were used, or even located, in ancient animals. Now, using CT scans, scientists finally believe they have cracked the code to one mysterious mouth...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/21589719

Woodward at War

Bob Woodward became the surprise darling of the GOP when he wrote a scathing review of The President's handling of the Sequester in the Washington Post, but the story keeps gaining ground as Woodward has refused to back down...take a look.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/woodward-at-war-88212.html

Anti-Smoking Group Against Health Care Smoking Fee

In a rather strange story, anti-smoking advocates have come out against a Scott Walker proposed $50 charge for state-employees who smoke, saying it makes health care harder to obtain for smokers and doesn't get people to quit.

Supporters say the charge would offset long-term health care costs that tend to be up to one-third higher for smokers throughout their lives, saving the state around $2.7million over two years. Anti-smoking groups, however, say that higher charges don't encourage smokers to stop and that the state, instead, should increase funding for tobacco prevention and control. Take a look...
http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/proposed-smoking-fee-draws-surprise-foes-anti-smoking-advocates/article_e0f09472-812b-11e2-adc1-001a4bcf887a.html

I guess I just don't get what they are against. The charge isn't specifically to stop people from smoking, it's to offset the cost for non-smokers who are paying into the insurance pool. So the argument that it doesn't stop smoking is...well...irrelevant. That's not the goal. The goal is to make sure that the average joe who doesn't smoke isn't paying for the health of someone who makes the decision to do unhealthy things to themselves. In other words, if you make unhealthy life choices, the guy next to you shouldn't be the one to pay for it.

I just kinda blows my mind that they'd look at that and say "It's not fair that smokers should pay more for their health when their health costs are more...instead we should all pay more to try to convince these people to stop."

If people aren't convinced by now that cigarettes are bad, I don't think more state funding is going to change that.

Milwaukee Towing.

I'm all for cleaning up the snow...in fact, just a few days ago I was saying they should periodically ban street parking block by block for an hour or two so that they could plow the edges of the road...

What you probably shouldn't do is announce a snow emergency after everyone has left work, only advertise this on the local news a few hours prior to it taking effect, not call out the streets that are being plowed, and not put any signs up on any of those streets.

That's how you tow 250+ cars and piss a lot of people off...

Now, I'm not saying that it's not my fault...I even noticed there were less cars on the street than usual when I parked....but when 250+ cars get towed in one night on one street, you obviously did a piss-poor job of getting the word out.

Congratulations, milwaukee, you've won a ton of extra city funding...but I suppose, then, it's this sort of thing that results in distrust and contempt for public officials among the average joe.

Senate Approves Mining Bill.

The Wisconsin Senate voted yesterday to reduce open-pit mining regulations with the hopes of attracting a new iron mine and bringing hundreds of jobs to northern Wisconsin. The bill passed by just one vote but is expected to pass the GOP controlled assembly with ease in a vote next week.

While at least one conservative considered the moment "the rebirth of the mining industry" Environmental and liberal groups have widely criticized the bill saying that it relaxes regulation too much, threatening the north-woods. Take a look...
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/senate-debate-wednesday-on-mining-bill-could-extend-into-the-wee-hours-sj8uuir-193601021.html

Sea Shepherd's Deemed "Pirates" by US Court.

The Sea Shepherds, an activist group which aims to disrupt yearly whaling by the Japanese, have been deemed "pirates" by a US court, overturning a previous ruling that threw out a lawsuit from the Japanese and throwing the ruling judge off the case, citing a possible bias in the activists favor.

The Sea Shepherds have been accused of aggressive and dangerous tactics while the Japanese are accused of using a scientific loophole in whaling laws to allow fishing of the marine mammals. Both parties have constantly claimed to have the law on their side.
http://news.yahoo.com/court-anti-whaling-protesters-pirates-183649080.html

Supermassive Black Hole Spinning At Nearly the Speed of Light.

For the first time ever, Scientists have calculated the spinning speed of a supermassive black hole found at the center of a spiral galaxy...and it's fast. Take a look.
http://theweek.com/article/index/240688/the-supermassive-black-hole-spinning-at-nearly-the-speed-of-light

More Sequester News...

Since it's not going away, yet no one really wants to hear about it, I'll try to keep today's Sequester stories to this single post...

Is Cooperation back on the docket?
Obama to Meet With Leaders Friday

So, What is the GOP's Plan?
Can The GOP's Plan Be Explained? 

And some harsh words from Harry Reid...
Reid Says Democrats United Against GOP Plan for Flexibility on Sequester Cuts

An article pointing to an inaccurate claim from the administration
Teacher pink slips claim by Duncan not backed by evidence

Has "the world will end" rhetoric hurt Obama?
Obama losing credibility on Sequester

and finally, a word against woodward..
Woodward is Embarassing Himself.

Stereotyping Stereotypes

Are stereotypes actually as negative as we are all told or have we stereotyped stereotypes to the point we are working against a natural tool?
http://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2013/02/26/dont_be_afraid_to_stereotype_strangers_106469-comments.html#disqus_thread

500 Million Year Old Fossil Found

Scientists have uncovered one of the best preserved and earliest known fossil's of an animal yet discovered...take a look.
http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/27/17119273-500-million-year-old-sea-creature-unearthed?lite

The Best of "The Grip Is Gone."

Check out my favorite images from the recent collection The Grip is Gone

Bradley Manning Seeks to Make Statement

For the first time since being charged, Bradly Manning will seek to read his first statement to the public at a court hearing Thursday in an attempt to better explain his motivation behind leaking thousands of classified US military documents to Wikileaks. Take a look...
http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/27/17118625-wikileaks-case-bradley-manning-seeks-first-public-statement-on-motive#comments

A New Piece In-Progress.

Take a look at my brand-new new piece in-progress, started last night!

Stephanie Barenz Wins The Pfister Residency

A big congratulations to Stephanie Barenz and all the finalists in the Pfister residency competition...make sure to check out some of Stephanie's workon her website below!
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/entertainment/193388421.html

http://stephaniebarenz.com/

And make sure to check out Eddie Vilanueva, the winner of the public vote who gets a solo show at Gallerie M!
http://www.eddievillanueva.com/

A Family of Four on $14K

Think you don't have enough to live comfortably? Think again...Take a look at this family of four living on $14,000 per year while the husband finishes undergraduate school...
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/how-a-family-of-four-manages-to-live-well-on-just--14-000-per-year-174803218.html

Titanic II Blueprints Unveiled.

Yes, that says "Titanic II" as in a second version of the most famous sunken ship history has to offer...take a look.
http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-ii-blueprints-unveiled-dont-call-unsinkable-195203971.html

The Sequester Fairy Tale...

So we made it through the Mayan apocalypse unscathed only to face a self-created  "sequester apocalypse" this Friday, when $85 billion is arbitrarily cut from the government budget. Everything from people losing jobs to poison meat will derail  the US for years to come...but will it really?
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/02/26/the_fairy_tale_on_spending_cuts_117168.html

or, apparently, it WILL hurt as much as they say...
http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/what-is-sequestration-and-what-does-it-mean-for-me-20130226

I guess the bottom line is this...if you cut spending, someone is going to get hung out to dry. It depends whether you want to deal with it now, or kick the can down the road, but all in all, someone's going to get the short end of the stick with reduced budgets.

Maybe these cuts are dire and they will negatively affect the fragile economy...but then, I suppose, you could probably make that argument at any point in time...at some point you have to bite the bullet...and I'm not saying that the sequester is the way to do it, but I don't know if there will ever be a time when making tough cuts won't hurt the people that use the funds.

More Questions on Eisenhower Memorial.

Following a review of mock-ups for the proposed steel tapestries that surround the controversial Eisenhower Memorial, questions are being raised about the cost, durability and safety of one of the more questionable aspects of the already questionable design. Take a look...
http://washingtonexaminer.com/experts-proposed-eisenhower-memorial-may-turn-out-fragile-dangerous/article/2521732

and here's a more opinion based article on the memorial and why, he thinks, it just isn't right...
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2013/02/22/congress-should-scrap-frank-gehrys-eisenhower-memorial-design

The Banksy Mural Affair.

With the mural pulled from the sale, rumors swirl around the latest instance of money trumping integrity in the art market...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/25/banksy-mural-art-market-racket

Does Washington Need the Sequester?

We've been hearing the dire predictions for weeks now...thousands will lose jobs, our military readiness will be hindered...I've even heard that we won't know if chicken nuggets are safe or not...but no one seems to be addressing the fact that our government is ineffective and causing this whole thing to begin with. While the sequester may hurt, is it necessary to force Washington to take a long look in the mirror?
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20130225-editorial-maybe-automatic-cuts-will-force-d.c.-to-confront-itself.ece

The Grip Is Gone.

I told myself I was going to take a break  after the last set of work...I guess this kind of counts...