Two climate activists have each glued a hand to the frames of two paintings by Spanish master Francisco Goya at the Prado museum in #Madrid, police say.https://t.co/QEsM1a57jR
At least they were civilized enough to only glue themselves to the frame instead of the art itself. I vote for lotp’s recommendation of spreading a tarp underneath them, then turning out the lights and locking the door, not to come back until Monday.
#2
Kinda of things he painted, Goya wouldn't mind if they remained stuck to them. Naked, shrivelled, driven insane, captives forever of the shrieking madness of the art itself.
Don't mind me, I was just watching a redo of Pickman's Model. 🥳
#3
Kinda of things he painted, Goya wouldn't mind if they remained stuck to them. Naked, shrivelled, driven insane, captives forever of the shrieking madness of the art itself.
Yeah, but all that screaming and ranting might disturb museum goers who are there looking at the Velázquez or El Greco works.
Just cutting the hands off at the wrists and leaving them attached to the frames would give the same 'Goya-Like' artistic value to the works.
It might also work as a deterrent for others who believe they can improve upon the Masters.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
11/06/2022 8:05 Comments ||
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#4
Naked, shrivelled, driven insane, captives forever of the shrieking madness of the art itself.
Goya was a member of the elite, a friend to the good and the great. His gorgeous, psychologically penetrating oil portraits were desired by everyone, including English aristocrats like the Duke of Wellington. Some of his best paintings are delightful Watteau-like fête galante scenes.
Goya’s darker paintings and his etchings stemmed from the man’s disgust with war, corruption and human stupidity. He was one of our greatest artists, a master of multiple media and an unflinchingly honest critic of human frailty and foibles
Posted by: Billy B ||
11/06/2022 9:07 Comments ||
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#8
Watteau’s influence on Goya can be seen in this beautiful, charming Goya painting from the Prado, Blind Man’s Bluff
Posted by: Billy B ||
11/06/2022 9:15 Comments ||
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#9
Thank you, Billy B. I'm going to read up on him. I only have a cursory knowledge of art history but I find it very interesting in the way how talented mavericks have expressed our devolution into what we have now. Artists, writers, directors...
#10
^ Just don’t watch that terrible Goya biopic flick with Natalie Portman. It’s interminable (and Natalie plays a feral little female b!tch—most unpleasant). Worst most convoluted plot ever. Like ‘Titanic’ without water or icebergs.
Posted by: Billy B ||
11/06/2022 9:25 Comments ||
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#11
Goya was a member of the elite, a friend to the good and the great. His gorgeous, psychologically penetrating oil portraits were desired by everyone, including English aristocrats like the Duke of Wellington. Some of his best paintings are delightful Watteau-like fête galante scenes.
And as such was a much more influential and braver individual than the average Spanish peasant
Goya’s darker paintings and his etchings stemmed from the man’s disgust with war, corruption and human stupidity. He was one of our greatest artists, a master of multiple media and an unflinchingly honest critic of human frailty and foibles.
I am certain the "ruling caste" expressed the same sentiment.
However, it does not take away that he painted things and people how he saw and not how they were sought to be portrayed.
Not so. Appreciating a complex artist like Goya is highly analytical.
It’s the fusion of art criticism — the formal elements like line colour composition genre materials brush techniques etc — and political-historical-social analysis.
So call it a synthesis of left-brain and right-brain activity.
Posted by: Billy B ||
11/06/2022 13:14 Comments ||
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#16
Goya’s portrait of The Duke (no, not that one, pilgrim) was stolen in 1961 in a famous art theft that’s now the subject of a fun movie from Sony Pictures with Helen Mirren (nee Mironov) as an art historian and Jim Broadbent as the postman-thief. The painting was also featured in Dr. No a year after the theft — implication was that Dr Julius No was the thief (or the fence).
THE DUKE is set in 1961 when Kempton Bunton, a 60-year old taxi driver, stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery’s history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government agreed to provide television for free to the elderly. What happened next became the stuff of legend.
Posted by: Billy B ||
11/06/2022 13:36 Comments ||
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#17
* Jim Broadbent as the postmancabbie-thief
Posted by: Billy B ||
11/06/2022 13:37 Comments ||
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#18
Gahan Wilson mentioned Goya's art in a horror short, that's when I looked him up. Fabulists like Clive Barker and Whatsisname... Koontz! They keep alluding to his sinister depictions.
I found, like Billy B said, that he's just being critical. He's a thorough cynic maybe.
You can see his love of beauty, truth and goodness in those early exquisite, sunny Watteau-like paintings
Posted by: Billy B ||
11/06/2022 16:51 Comments ||
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#20
Jeepers... of all the stuff I didn't expect to wake up to today! Love this place. Off the "bad movie reviews" pile from last spring...
Unwilling Suspension of Belief
A spurious lady of Spain
Meets a curious ham named Bardem
Who can't just approach her
Directly -- not kosher! --
And so he arrests her,
Uplifts and molests her.
The rest of this picture's a pain.
Couldn't agree more with Billy about this lavish period production of a mediocre opera, sans music, from the guy who did Hair. J.B.'s his usual ticcing slime bomb. N.P.'s "midnight movie crowd shouting the lines" bad. Fans should scrupulously avoid. Pretty much wrecked my faith in Hollywood.
#21
Anyone got a good word to say about the Wolf thing? Never made it past the first few minutes, but lord knows I'll watch anything on a Rantburg rec.
#22
Goya's illustrations and paintings about French counter-guerilla atrocities in Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. ...Military history and tabletop wargaming enthusiast back in the day.
#23
A bit of context for the 1961 theft of the Goya painting, Portrait of the Duke of Wellington, from Britain’s National Gallery. The thief claimed he’d return it if Her Majesty’s Government would “provide free television to the elderly” in Britain. I suspect that this odd demand, and the unusual bargaining chip, May have been an unintended consequence of the extraordinary popularity of Kenneth Clark’s radically new (at the time) television lectures on art such as his 1959 series on Five Revolutionaries: Goya, Brueghel, Caravaggio and two others I forget.
It was reported that ordinary Britons loved these TV programs so much and were so intrigued by the artists Clark discussed — brilliantly, fluently, clearly and always interestingly — that you could go to a pub and have a decent chance of hearing people arguing about Caravaggio.
Posted by: Billy B ||
11/06/2022 22:28 Comments ||
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The newly designated United States Brigadier-General of Nigerian descent, Amanda Azuibike, has extended an open invitation to anyone passionate about joining the United States army to contact her.
Azubuike was last week promoted from Lieutenant Colonel to Brigadier General.
She was promoted to the rank at a military base in Fort Knox, Kentucky, USA in a ceremony held recently.
According to the senior army officer on her official Linkedin account, there are many opportunities in the U.S army regardless of one’s occupation and profession.
She added that anyone who wishes to join the force or knows anyone who wishes to should not hesitate to personally contact her.
"I feel privileged to serve in USl Army Cadet Command, and contribute to our future Army leaders. We have many opportunities for those looking for a sense of purpose and service. As I found out very early in life, the Army has many opportunities, and many occupations, and we award many scholarships. PLEASE CONTACT ME if you or someone you know wants to be an Army officer. Regardless of how YOU define success, the Army can help you get there — we want to be part of your journey!" she wrote.
Also speaking on her journey in the US army, Gen Azuibike said she was able to join the US military even at a time when she was not yet a citizen of the United States. She added that she feels proud of her Nigerian heritage and roots as much as she is proud of being an American.
"My journey is unique, and you can learn a little about it in my ineloquent, but heartfelt speech (start at min 24:50): https://lnkd.in/g277H6Ub. And as I said in my speech... l
"I joined the U.S. military before I was even a U.S. citizen, but I always knew this country was great, that it was worth fighting for, and that it is truly the land of opportunity — I am very proud of my heritage and ethnic roots, but I am equally as proud to be an American and to serve in the world’s best Army!"
Amanda was born in London, United Kingdom, to Nigerian parents,
...so really she is an English-American with Nigerian ancestors, not a Nigerian-American. The two are very different, culturally...
and joined the US Army in 1994 where she rose to the position of an aviator after passing the Army Aviation Officer Basic Course.
News Wire NGR has her resumé, which will no doubt be revealing to those Rantburgers who know about such things, mentioning in passing:
Azubuike was born in London to a Nigerian father and a Zimbabwean mother.
So only of half-Nigerian descent. Gotcha. But it’s sweet that all the Nigerian news sites are excited anyway.
She graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in Communications in December 1993.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2022 00:00 ||
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#1
She added that anyone who wishes to join the force or knows anyone who wishes to should not hesitate to personally contact her and send bank details with account and routing numbers. This would enable her to unfreeze the funds necessary to process induction of the aspiring soldiers, a SWIFT process that costs approximately $30,000-$80,000 (US) — fees which she will reimburse after the induction ceremony.
#5
Maybe I spoke in haste. Looked like a token woke thing. But she does seem a good fit for cadet command? A long history of work in public affairs and corporate management degrees etc. Deals well with youth and may just induce black folks to try for a meaningful life in the army instead of be muscle for some blinged out shit stain.
Posted by: Billy B ||
11/06/2022 8:01 Comments ||
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#10
Rebuilding Wakanda?
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
11/06/2022 8:06 Comments ||
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#11
@#6 Yeah, straight from short colonel to a star.
Can you say, "diversity promotion"?
Posted by: ed in texas ||
11/06/2022 10:03 Comments ||
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#12
Hopefully she sends the invitation via email.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/06/2022 10:07 Comments ||
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#13
Not here Spike; accidentally thought you were at your mom's?
from Lieutenant Colonel to Brigadier General
Well then.
Amanda has earned the Army Aviator Badge, Air Assault Badge, and Parachutist Badge.
She is also a recipient of several awards and decorations, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with 3 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with Silver Oak Leaf Cluster and the Joint Service Commendation Medal.
Bagged.
Amanda bagged her Master of Professional Studies in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Georgetown University.
Looks like she came over to fly Hueys, checked her boxes, and got into HQ and messaging. Air Assault, y'all.
Q: What did Communists have before candlelight?
A: Electricity!
[Breitbart] The communist Castro regime in Cuba aired a new set of propaganda pieces through its media apparatus this week claiming Cuban citizens are “content” with daily power blackouts and offering tips to make the most out of the three hours of electricity that they receive per day.
Cuba’s obsolete power grid infrastructure — some of which still features Soviet-era equipment — has further teetered on the brink of total collapse throughout 2022, which prompted the communist regime to impose fierce rolling blackout schedules across all of Cuba’s cities. Citizens have responded by fiercely and peacefully protesting against the Castro regime on a daily basis, demanding not just an end to the blackouts, but an end to the communist regime that has ruled over them for more than six decades.
The already derelict state of Cuba’s power grid and severe deficit in power generation took another hit following the passage of Hurricane Ian in September, which prompted Cuban citizens to continue protesting in peace despite the ever-growing repression of the communist regime.
As reported by the Spain-based website Diario De Cuba on Friday and the outlet Cibercuba on Thursday, the regime aired interviews of Cuban women on Tuesday through its television channel, Canal Caribe. In the interviews, Cuban women offered tips to make the most out of the roughly three hours of power that Cuban citizens are receiving per day as part of the regime’s electrical authority to share the power blackouts in an “equitable way.”
“In the three hours [of power] we try to carry out the tasks that we have pending. That is to say, if we are going to clean we have to know that, at the moment they put it [power] on us, we have to have everything ready,” said Ridalma Ríos Camino, a Cuban citizen from the province of Ciego de Ávila during the regime’s Canal Caribe Tuesday evening news.
“The family must cooperate so that everything is done in the estimated time,” Cuban citizen Isabel María Empernas said, while exclaiming that, “in union everything can be achieved.”
“The three-hour experience does not solve the blackout, but it does help ensure that energy reaches all consumers in an equitable way, while keeping them away from long cycles,” the regime’s news anchor stated.
The interviews, which omitted any dissenting voice or criticism of the communist regime’s handling of the power grid situation, are part of the “Creative Resistance” narrative spearheaded by the Castro regime puppet-president Miguel Díaz-Canel since January that seeks to exempt the Castro regime from responsibility for any of the island’s severe woes, placing all of the blame on United States’ sanctions and the “embargo” of Cuba.
The Castro regime’s continuous narrative against the “embargo” was once again bolstered through a pro-communist hashtag, #MejorSinBloqueo (“better without the blockade”), promoted on Thursday and Friday following the U.N. General Assembly’s routine vote to condemn the United States for its “embargo” of Cuba. Only the United States and Israel voted against the condemnation; Brazil and Ukraine abstained. Castro regime officials have cataloged the results of the U.N. vote as a “victory for truth and justice.”
The worsening inhumane conditions that Cuban citizens continue to face — such as the power blackouts, lack of access to medicine and proper health care, hunger, and the regime’s brutal repression — have caused an upsurge in the number of Cubans desperately fleeing from communism throughout 2022.
The Biden administration continues to detain and deport Cuban balseros, or “rafters,” Cuban exiles that make the dangerous sea trip to flee from Cuba towards the United States via boats or makeshift rafts.
[NYP] As promised, Elon Musk’s Twitter announced Saturday that users can get verified with the once sought-after blue check for $7.99 a month.
"Get Twitter Blue if you sign up now," the announcement said. "Blue checkmark: Power to the people. Your account will get a blue checkmark, just like the celebrities, companies and politicians you follow."
"Coming soon... Half the ads & much better ones," the statement added. "Since you’re supporting Twitter in the battle against the bots, we’re going to reward you with half the ads and make them twice as relevant."
Twitter also promised that users will be able to post longer videos and that there will be a "priority ranking for quality content."
Twitter Blue with verification is available on iOS in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the UK, according to the company.
[ConservativeTreehouse] Reports are starting to come out that various regions in the Southeastern U.S. are running out of diesel fuel [North Carolina Example] – [Midway Kentucky Example].
Posted by: NoMoreBS ||
11/06/2022 01:39 ||
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#1
So far I have understood from many traveling the northeast has been the worst. One bright spot was southeast. Well it was projected weeks ago all fuels in bad shape in about a week. Even home heating oil.Still many proclaimed it will not happen. Perhaps you have noticed Walmart rail cars?. They went rail but rail strike never was resolved in most of the country. Looks like after the election all will break lose for new representatives. They will be overwhelmed. I hope they have plans to act quickly. OH, problems before Thanksgiving spoken of.
#5
Yes TW Blue Def major problem and also winter fuel switch over is happening now I understand. They want to go AI but no fuel, no go. Drivers claim older diesels are getting better mileage not needing Blue Def.
#6
Which companies will benefit if there’s a prolonged rail strike?
XPO Logistics?
Asking for a friend.
Tia,
B.B.
Posted by: Billy B ||
11/06/2022 16:55 Comments ||
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#7
Given the Left/Green Extremist/Biden agenda against fossil fuels, what better than have a year of transpo/food hardships and starvation right before 2024?
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/06/2022 17:08 Comments ||
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#3
Your problem, my dear, is promiscuously slapping the Nazi label on every group labelled “far right”, when many of them are merely the local version of conservative or populist, and very few have any interest in violently enforcing white supremacy.
Try instead: violent white supremacists bad; Jew haters stupid and bad; violent Antifa and related bad; violent Communists of all flavours bad; violent Muslims bad.
#4
In other words, my dear, stop believing propaganda talking points and start using the eyes and brain God or nature gave you — as we have been doing for decades while you wandered through the world in blissful, abysmal ignorance.
Adam was thrown out of the Garden of Eden for eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.