Let’s stop cocking around and just let people vote in peace. This will the last post for 2025. I’ll be back in the first week of January. For now, let’s talk about voting. In this meh land of ours, voting has always been restricted. One by one, restrictions based on sex, creed, color, religion, land ownership, and hair color have been removed. Today, what’s supposed … [Read more...] about Born in the DSA*: Little Donny Dingdong Be Damned**, Let Everybody Vote
Backlash
Dear “The Ground We Stand On,” — A Letter to BIPOC Artists
On June 8, 2020, a letter was sent and signed by 300 artists who were Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). It has since been signed by over 100,000 people. After 5 years, the report card shows a failing grade. On May 25, 2020, as COVID-19 was killing millions of people all over the world, one Black man in Minneapolis was killed by a not-all-that-rogue police … [Read more...] about Dear “The Ground We Stand On,” — A Letter to BIPOC Artists
A.I. and the Arts — I Use It. No one cares. Should You?
“How democratizing,” say A.I. experts. “How thrifty [cheap],” says my piggy bank. “How could you?” say actual artists. I use A.I. for stupid stuff like the image above, although I’m well aware that creating art in any form is not stupid. Neither a graphic designer, photographer, nor other artist received even a penny for that fake photograph. It should be noted, of … [Read more...] about A.I. and the Arts — I Use It. No one cares. Should You?
Born in the DSA*: Remove the Social Security Cap
Did you make more than $176,100 this year? Did you tell your staff that you’re paying a lower Social Security tax than they are? I remember the moment clearly. In Alabama, I found myself in a quandary on a particular payday in late November. All of a sudden, I was receiving a higher take-home salary, even though I had not received a pay bump. I went to our finance office, … [Read more...] about Born in the DSA*: Remove the Social Security Cap
Consequences — If They Cut Funding, You Go Nuclear (or Go Home)
It’s a game of chicken. If your arts organization yields, everyone loses. Gerrymandering has been in the news of late. It’s a word I didn’t know until my eighth-grade history teacher, Mr. Ubick, gave us all a list of dangerous yet goofy-sounding political terms and phrases. “Gerrymandering” was at the top of a list that included “jingoism,” “filibuster,” “pork-barrel,” … [Read more...] about Consequences — If They Cut Funding, You Go Nuclear (or Go Home)