Photogsnazzy: Depression Bread Line, by George Segal

As I've said before, I don't know much about sculpture, but one of my favorite sculptors is George Segal.

He is well-known for his "Depression Bread Line" which just beautifully captures the pathos of 30s poverty.

Pics taken at the Ground for Sculpture.

He is also featured in the wonderful work he did for the FDR memorial in Washington D.C.

I think I feel a kinship with the dash of melancholy and bleak anonymity his style often gives his subjects. There is something very New Jersey (tri-state?) about it to me; Segal lived in New Jersey for 60 years. My writing professor once described my writing as: "You have Beauty & Nature versus, for lack of a better word, New Jersey." That's not exactly how I see it, but there is something of that going on in me, and perhaps in Segal as well.

Photogsnazzy: My summer friends, the Snapdragons

Rutgers rarely does things of which I approve, but I must congratulate whoever is responsible for this lovely bed of snapdragons outside the dining hall near my office. Every time I see their bright summer cheerfulness, I cannot help but smile and acknowledge that there is beauty and grace in the world.

NYTimes talks Male Beauty Standards

Cool article in the NYTimes Style section this week about a new model-athlete: South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius.

Pistorius is being featured as a sort of cyborg-super hero in a new ad campaign for a fragrance by Thierry Mugler (yeah, idk anything about the 'fragrance' industry either). But the thing that is supposed to grab our attention: he is a double amputee who runs on blade-like prosthetics. Not your typical hunk.

While debate continues about whether paralympians and amputees have become a bit of "thing" in the fashion world of late, and whether this is exploitative, I appreciate this article drawing attention to Pistorius because for once, we are not exclusively focusing on women as we discuss fashion/advertising and body image.

Women definitely face extreme and rigid standards that are supposed to determine the value and success of our body, especially in the fashion/modeling world. But this article actually acknowledges there are pretty ridiculous standards out there for men too, and that striving to meet them can be pretty unhealthy. And men should be allowed to acknowledge this and transparently work to change this. It is really cool to see someone taking the issue of body conformity to other genders, even if it is an ad company. Everyone benefits when we reexamine all the strict rules we impose on ourselves, and that reduce anyone's worth to fitting into a certain "image."

Pistorius leaves us with this to chew on: "[The ad's superhero image] talks about not conforming to what are believed to be the limits of others, but striving to make the limits of your own."

We often forget that the limitations others construct for us--- usually based on silly things like weight, gender, race--- don't have to be our limitations. And this message is just as powerful whether coming from a man or a woman.



Although, what all this has to do with a perfume/cologne . . . . ?

Photogsnazzy: My summer friends, the Hydrangeas

My parents took my camera on a two week trip around New England. But that didn't stop me from taking pics, cuz my phone now is a camera phone because I am super hip and cool. Here are some GORGEOUS hydrangeas I had the privilege of encountering last weekend.


They were in full bloom, glowing with summer. I just wanted to dance around in their glory and splendor. Unfortunately, that would have been really weird and embarrassed the people I was with.

Photogsnazzy: King Lear, by J. Seward Johnson

I don't know much about sculpture, and this artist had many other, different sculptures around the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ, but I was very taken with this 20ft metal depiction of King Lear. Something about it captures the forlorn, weary despair about the classic character yet retains its regal dignity and moral certainty.

I was very much fascinated by the haunting face and eyes.

Ok, so maybe JK Rowling is a little bit of a genius.

Although I readily admit to getting a kick out the ole Harry Potter books, (not the least because they spawned a movie franchise that continuously parades the pantheon of British acting elites) but I've never really believed that they really qualify as "great work of literature."

Sure, the Harry Potter global phenomena (even pre-movies) needs to be acknowledged. And, to be fair, she's cooked up some pretty stupendous characters, dreamed up some great settings, has a pretty good sense of wholesome humor, and suspense, and can clearly write an engaging adventure. She definitely has a more than healthy dose of creativity and narrative-construction skills.

But still, in my book, she still wanders into some pretty cliched or let's say heavy borrowing of ideas not really worthy of her---why oh why the "chosen-one" prophesy thing? we were so fine without it!--- and her writing is not what I would consider "great prose."

HOWEVER, perhaps I've been overlooking a few other things that deserve mentioning.

I came across this blog post entitled "The Women of The Harry Potter Universe," and by golly, now that you point it out to me, JK has serious done something pretty incredible: She's constructed a world and a narrative that takes women's equality as a given.

As the article explains, the women in the Harry Potter books are not only well-constructed, dynamic characters who avoid stereotypes (not a treatment the gals regularly get) but they are just as awesome, active, and crucial to the stopping the baddies as the gents. Sure Harry is the protagonist, so we spend a bit more time fussing over his feelings and his mentors/nemesises (Dumbledore, Black, Malfoy, Snape) but he is only ever as good as his supporting cast--- male and female. And as Feurbach says:

"These women fill all sorts of roles: mothers (Molly Weasley, Narcissa Malfoy, Lily Potter), professors (McGonagall, Pomona Sprout, Sybill Trelawney), highly trained aurors (Tonks, Alice Longbottom), Dumbledore's Army members (Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, the Patil twins, Lavender Brown), nurses (Madam Pomfrey), Triwizard champion (Fleur Delacour), and Quidditch players (Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, Cho Chang)."

The women are just as strong, diverse, competent, inspiring, and talented as the men who run about doing awesome things alongside them--- just like in real life.

But hold the applause. There is more.

What is even more incredible is that Rowling has also managed to give us a cast of male characters who see this whole thing as a non-issue. Harry, Ron, Neville, Dumbledore, Fred & George, Hagrid, Lupin, Dean, Seamus, Flitwick, and the rest of the lads are not wimping around worrying about the state of their masculinity and plotting petty ruses to undermine the ladies. Because you know what? It doesn't bother them.

Just because Hermione is brilliant, doesn't mean Harry can't be brilliant. McGonagall being great doesn't make Dumbledore somehow less great. Angelina Johnson and Oliver Wood can both be phenomenal athletes. You'd want Ginny and Mrs. Weasley on your side, just as much as you'd want Ron and Mr. Weasley. Lupin is not crippled with an inferiority complex because his wife is also a super-cool auror. Even Bellatrix is just as horrible as the other death eaters.

Somehow, these men are able coexist with these spectacular women without feeling threatened and inadequate. It goes without saying, that they can admire them, appreciate them, and, you know, respect them as equals. Again, just like thousands men in the real world! For some reason these men don't usually make it into our mainstream narratives, but thanks to Rowling, we've now got a few (quite a few) more!

In short, JK Rowling gives us a story in which men and women being equally extraordinary can work together to achieve victory over evil. And what a great story! Both genders bring tons of talent, courage, and charisma to the table--- regardless of their genders. She doesn't make a huge song and dance about how women and men are equal, she just shows us that they are.

The beauty is in the simplicity. And that, friends, is a pretty great achievement.