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I like your blog very much, we sometimes post arts and photo galleries on the site you may fine interesting.

For instance this just went up, a collection of vintage photographs from turn of the century Russia.

Thanks,
Cara
http://www.newsweek.com/id/214585

Dear Sheila Joyce Gibbs-
I'm simply reporting here, not taking a stand. I would be happy to publish your comments under the item, but because you sent them to me, I can't do that -- if you would copy them into the space for comments under the item, I'd publish right away.

Thanks for reading and for writing.

Dear Daniel Grant-
I agree, and in fact said that causation has not been addressed. I've published your comment, but because you put it in the "Contact" portion of the website, no one will see it.

If you paste it into the Comments section on the alcohol item, I would be happy to publish it there.

Thank you for reading and for writing.

JHD

While your words are of the past, involving individuals well respected, I'm wondering if it is prudent of you, to have such credit given to Alcohol, when it could be easily read by our young people !?!

At this point in time, there are five common/current health afflictions, solely caused from consumption, by decent, good hard working individuals, that appear without forewarning signs & at this date, have no cures !

They are & in no particular order:
-Grand Mal Seizures
-Rapidly Progressive Blindness
-Rapidly Progressive Deafness
-Rapidly Corroded Livers
And Heart Attacks

Last week I received information from a Medical Surveys Inst. in North America, that based on the assumption they're findings were in fact solid, 7.3 Million of our youth (under 18 yrs of age), drink liquor daily. So imagine what the amount would be if each & everyone of them were in fact, truthful.

Many of us have been attempting, unsuccessfully mind you, to convince our Government Officials of the desperate need for mandatory health warning labels, on all liquor containers.
If we don't warn our youth of what could be laying in silent wait for them, whats going to happen, when us old sods are left in Nursing Homes, who will assume/take over our many Professions, if our youth have already destroyed their own health & futures ?

May God help us all !

The effects of alcohol, heroin, cocaine, sexual orientation, mental illness, poor eyesight and poverty on artistic creativity have been studied and evaluated repeatedly. While claims have been made and links have been supposedly found, the fact is, no connection has been proven. Anecdotes about self-abuse don't prove anything, but what is most distressing about the continued efforts to make links between creativity and various emotional and physical problems is that it seems to target artists as flawed people whose flaws give rise to their art. Or, it is an ad hominem attack on art. There are no studies of which I am aware that track the effects of alcohol (or bipolar or drug use) on any other occupational group, such as lawyers, doctors, dentists, accountants, firefighters, police, journalists, politicians -- anyone. Only artists. These "studies" (my wife, a therapist, receives invitations to attend the twice-yearly "Madness and Creativity" conference, which is always held in attractive vacation spots) stem from a Romantic view of the tortured artist, and they perpetuate that view. We can't do anything about these people, but you don't need to give them any credence.

Dear Ms. Dobrzynski:
I am writing in response to your blog post, “Obama Stiffs the Arts,” to offer some information that I hope proves helpful.

As you wrote, the director of government affairs at the National Endowment for the Arts is a political position. It is important to note that other directors of government affairs, including Dick Woodruff with Chairman Bill Ivey, did not come to the NEA with significant arts experience. It was their knowledge of our political systems and familiarity with those involved in politics that mattered. Anita Decker’s experience in state and national politics and her relationship to President Obama will be distinct assets for the NEA.

As regards Mr. Dale, having a person with an interfacing and coordinating role at the White House for arts and culture should not be dismissed. As Mr. Ivey stated, “It’s a start.” In addition, not being deeply involved in a particular arts discipline can be a significant advantage when working with a variety of arts programs, eschewing hints of favoritism for any one art form. On the other hand, a passion for the arts is important and I think many would consider that helping to raise $15 million for a theater company demonstrates passion.

Finally, under the Obama administration, not only has the NEA been included in the economic stimulus bill, but the agency received a $10 million increase for its FY 2009 budget, encouraging progress for a nine-week-old administration.

We look forward to working with Mr. Dale and the Obama administration and to using the “open line to the White House.”
Sincerely,

Victoria Hutter
Acting Director of Communications
National Endowment for the Arts

Dear Judith, your post on Kareem Dale and the Obama arts & culture program generally leads me to think you might want to check my article on the site NewGeography proposing a new arts & innovation neighborhood in Washington, D.C., which I call "Sonya's Neighborhood" because it is South of New York Ave. The project can be a high-profile signature Obama Admin. project highlighting the importance of arts & innovation. Here is the link:
http://www.newgeography.com/content/00578-a-washington-dc-arts-innovation-district-sonyas-neighborhood

Best Wishes, Ed Sisson