In Defense of the Constitution

Santorum Rally_49, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

Santorum 2012!

At the Podium

Santorum Rally_103, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

Santorum 2012!

Santorum Rally 2-29-12

Santorum Rally 2-29-12, a set on Flickr.

We arrived just before 11:00 am - myself, my friend from church, Gene Earl, and my fellow NY ex-pat, Eddie Foley. When the doors opened, I was amazed that we were able to secure seats up front, Eddie and I with an intetion to photograph the event.

Beforehand, I met Kelly Jo Bates. She and her family are friends with the Duggars, and the Bates have 18 children. I went up to thank her for being a good role model of Christian motherhood, and to give my regards to Michelle Duggar. I have no issue with people having as many children as they want, when they are raising them without assistance.

Rick was NOT some "brinstone and hell fire" preahcer, telling us the Devil is a-foot in the United States. Instead, he was a rational speaker, advocating the return to "bottom up" growth in America, meaning limited government.

He also talked about a moral composition of America - we became great when we did not ask what we wanted to do . . . but what we ought to do. Like it or not, you have a moral responsibility to work to make this country great . . . again.

I got to meet him and said to him, "Thanks, Rick, for defending Mother Church."  He looked at me and said, "Everyday!"

Santorum in 2012!

A Digi Lenten Almsgiving Opportunity: KARM = Knoxville Area Rescue Mission

Got this from the ever lovely Sharon Nelson:

Ok guys, this is a shameless self promotion but for a good reason..... Jade Reese and I are camping out in a box for KARM in the KARM Campout in April. It is to raise money and awareness for the homeless in Knoxville and all the money goes straight to KARM. We have a team that we are calling 'Broke Photographers', anyone can join our team and camp out with us or donate a few dollars. Either way, we would appreciate your support, even if it's coming out to join us that evening and take pictures, listen to the bands that will be playing or buy some food from the vendors. Thanks in advance. This is my donation page and Jade has one that she can post also.

Go here and throw some bucks her way.  It's Lent - at least $5 for that latte you gave up.  A lot of people are camping involuntarily on the streets, ya know?

I knwo Sharon and I know Jade.  They're good folk.  Help them to help others.

Davy Jones - RIP

As someone who grew up in New York City during the late 60's/early 70's, I knew that the magic hour was from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm.  Why?  Because 30 minutes was dedicated to the great supernatural soap opera, Dark Shadows (Jonathan Frith, you rocked) and the other 30 minutes brought us . . . The Monkees.

Okay, most of my classmates were IN LOVE with Davy Jones, who died today at the age of 66.  I confess . . . my heartthrob was Mickey Dolenz.  But, Davy brought British panache and verve to the group.  I love them all.

A lot of people will be putting up You Tube tributes to "Daydream Believer."  A very sweet song, to be sure, and featured Davy as lead.  I prefer to remember him - and the others, and I want to say I share their grief at the loss of Davy - with this, which blew my mind as a kid.




And even as a kid, I realized there was something pathological going on here:

Better pictures later . . .

Bad iPhone shot of me and Rick Santorum, but will publish my pictures later tonight.

At the Santorum rally . . .

Great seats. Excitement building. Camera settings ready.

Santorum in Powell

Rally for Rick in Powell, TN today! Going . . . with camera . . .

Nick and JJ

Nick and JJ, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

See the story in the picture below. I also got Nick's buddy, JJ, to pose as well. He was a little hesitant - "I'm a little big, ma'am" - but I assured him he'd come out okay. And yes, he did like this shot.

I hope these two young men enjoy their pictures.

Taken February 28, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Nick

Nick, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

This evening, my photography class went down to Volunteer Landing on the Tennessee River to shoot some models in night shots.

The problem was, not many models showed up and it was getting too crazy for me. So I wandered down the river a bit and fell into conversation with young Nick Johnson. He was just hanging out with his buddy and told me he was interested in photography. I asked him if he would model for me - why not? - and he agreed. He was pretty jazzed about this picture - and yeah, I got his email and sent him a copy.

I am so shy about talking to strangers . . .

Taken February 28, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Most Patriotic Hat

Bar none . . .

When They Get Older, Do I Also Need to Get Them a Training Bra for the Breasts?

My husband sent me the following email:

Fwd: Live Chicks In Tractor Supply Co. Stores Starting This Week


He wants to pick up a couple of chicks.  And have chickens.  You now, those little buck-buck-bucks that scratch around the yard.

Why do I already sense the dogs licking their chops?

But look - they can be INDOOR free-range chickens!

The Hen Holster solves the problems typically encountered with chicken diapers: incorrect fit, uncomfortable fit, poor quality fabric, inferior construction, leakage, complicated to put on and take off, difficult-to-change liners.

The Hen Holster doubles as a harness! Want to take your pet chicken outside for a walk? Just snap on a leash and go!

Wait, what?  No, no, I can honestly say I have experienced "the problems typically encountered with chicken diapers" - really, THESE THINGS EXIST AND USED WITH SUCH FREQUENCY?!

AVAILABLE IN TWO STYLES: Wrap-around and Bikini! Both are comfortable harness-style diapers with removable liners available in three sizes to fit most chickens.

A bikini for a chicken.  That just seems . . . creepy.  And a diaper to boot makes it . . . okay, really f**kin' weird.

But I guess some people might find it stimulating - right, Ernie (and, uh, the link goes to a video that is NSFW for language, but remains one of the funnier newscasts to come out of NYC, okay)?

Meanwhile, The Crescat is thinking of getting chickens as well.  Good Lord.  Stay tuned for pictures should she succeed in her coop d'etat.

Captain Jack

Captain Jack, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

In addition to human models, we had some canine models on Sunday pose in the gardens at the University of Tennessee. I liked this guy - a wirehaired terrier just begs to be made a little more "edgy" to match their tenacity and energy.

Don't mess with him - he's a terrier!

Taken February 26, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Heard today . . .

"Someone who hates you normally hates you for one of three reasons:  they either see you as a threat; they hate themselves; or they want to be you."

    -- Julian Lennon

There are lies, damned lies, and statistics . . .

As once remarked by Mark Twain.

Headline in the Los Angeles Times this morning:

Wealthy, motivated by greed, are more likely to cheat, study finds

But of course . . .

People driving expensive cars were more likely than other motorists to cut off drivers and pedestrians at a four-way-stop intersection in the San Francisco Bay Area, UC Berkeley researchers observed. Those findings led to a series of experiments that revealed that people of higher socioeconomic status were also more likely to cheat to win a prize, take candy from children and say they would pocket extra change handed to them in error rather than give it back.

But let's talk about the thoroughness of this "study" done by Paul Piff, a doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley doing his thesis on "attitudes towards the Occupy movement."

First, the intersection experiment.  

The driving experiments offered a way to test the hypothesis "naturalistically," he said. Trained observers hid near a downtown Berkeley intersection and noted the makes, model years and conditions of bypassing cars. Then they recorded whether drivers waited their turn.

It turned out that people behind the wheels of the priciest cars were four times as likely as drivers of the least expensive cars to enter the intersection when they didn't have the right of way. The discrepancy was even greater when it came to a pedestrian trying to exercise a right of way.

What is the problem here, putting aside his description of this being done "naturalistically" which makes no sense (what, "empirically" was not available as an adverb)?  Well, for one this is one intersection.  In Berkeley. Populated largely by wealthy people.  It could be that a majority of people drive like idiots, regardless of what they drive - I would like to see what he would have concluded had his "trained observers" staked out an intersection in downtown Oakland.  What, people in the barrio don't drive the "priciest cars?"  Think again - I have seen tricked out Yukons parked outside soup kitchens in Santa Ana, where recipients of handouts have gotten in . . . and driven away.

And what is an example of the "priciest cars?"  Does a Prius in Berkeley count?  Or do those folks get a pass for being environmentally correct.

But Piff went back to the lab . . .

So back in the laboratory, Piff and his colleagues conducted five more tests to measure unethical behavior — and to connect that behavior to underlying attitudes toward greed.

For instance, the team used a standard questionnaire to get college students to assess their own socioeconomic status and asked how likely subjects were to behave unethically in eight different scenarios.

In one of the quandaries, students were asked to imagine that they bought coffee and a muffin with a $10 bill but were handed change for a $20. Would they keep the money?

In another hypothetical scenario, students realized their professor made a mistake in grading an exam and gave them an A instead of the B they deserved. Would they ask for a grade change?

The patterns from the road held true in the lab — those most willing to engage in unethical behavior were the ones with the highest social status.

One possible explanation was that wealthy people are simply more willing to acknowledge their selfish side. But that wasn't the issue here. When test subjects of any status were asked to imagine themselves at a high social rank, they helped themselves to more candies from a jar they were told was meant for children in another lab.

Okay, I have a question - did Piff actually verify that the students reporting a high socioeconomic status did, indeed, have that?  And were there actions compared against those who reported themselves as poor?  As with the intersection test, I wonder whether the group chosen was slanted, that is, out of 100 students, 35 identify themselves as wealthy, and so only that group is administered the test, and if a majority of those "cheat," why then it must be that in any situation, wealthy people cheat - without looking to see what percentage of students identifying themselves as poor might cheat.

And even if the two socioeconomic were compared, how is a finding based on people "imagining" themselves at a high social rank sound?  If I am a student at Berkeley who is part of the Occupy movement, and I am told to "imagine" that I am a wealthy CEO who just got a multimillion dollar bonus . . . would I possibly paint my imaginary status in the worst light possible?

Of course, what is the real story here?  It does not matter whether the methods used were sound or not - to a newspaper like the LA Times . . . rich people are greedy.  That is what they want to report and that is what their readership wants to hear.  And what could be more compelling than "experiments" proving this out of a great academic institution such as UC Berkeley?

I do not doubt Mr. Piff's intelligence.  I wonder if he does not begin the study with some bias.  And for all I know, the LA Times is not doing him any favors with inaccurate reporting of his experiments.  But for many, this serves to confirm that the rich are evil and greedy . . . and deserve punishment of some sort.

BTW, have you seen that photograph of an alleged credit card receipt where a wealthy banker left a 1% tip and wrote a note to the server to "get a real job?"  It's a hoax.  But I note that based upon the comments to this story on The Smoking Gun, some people simply do not want to believe it is a fake.  Tipping is not common in Europe; therefore, Europeans must be greedy plutocrats . . .

Amanda and Justin

Amanda and Justin, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

Yesterday at UT Gardens, we had models that posed for us. This couple, Amanda and Justin, were so beautiful, especially Amanda who glowed in her pregnancy. Another model lent Justin this hat and perched on the running board of an old rusted truck, I kept thinking of a story in my head, where it's the 1930's, and they're on the run from - I don't know, the law? Their parents? - because they're an interracial couple. But love conquers all, doesn't it, and all they know is that they have one another and they're blissfully happy. So I had to take my original shot and process it like that to fit the story I had. I wish Justin wasn't wearing modern sneakers, but I added a little blur to bring the attention to their faces. Oh, yes, I can be a romantic!

BTW, I asked but Amanda did not yet know the sex of her baby. "Either way," I told her, "it's going to be a beautiful baby because its parents are!"

Won't you tell me, my brother . . .

I can be mad, but I can never hate.  And once I love someone, it simply doesn't stop.

Prayers continue . . .

Oink!

Maybe it's pissed for being so maligned.  Halal THIS, Achmed!


With a police officer wounded and the presidential palace breached, the Pakistani capital has launched a fresh offensive against a uniquely feared enemy in the Muslim country - the city's ever expanding population of wild boar.


"The pig was like a terrorist. We shot him down," said station chief Fayaz Tanooli. "I have told the guards if another pig gets in then they will be dismissed."

Or is a terrorist like a pig?  I would not say that - I have too much respect to God's porcine creatures for their ultimate sacrifice to feed, quite literally, my love of bacon.

Camouflage!

Animated Anatomy

What if . . . cartoon characters had skeletons?

Goofy

See more here.  Grotesque, but also kinda cool.

All The News That's Fit to Ignore: Muslims Stoning Christians in Jerusalem

Hello, did you read your morning headlines?  Of course, you know that Obama went out of his way to apologize for the inadvertent burning of some copies of the Koran by US military in Afghanistan.  As did the ambassador.  As did the military brass stationed there.  Evidently, this book - the Koran - is, to quote our Vice President, "a big f**kin' deal," and its burning . . . did I mention it was done inadvertently? . . . requires such a massive effort at apology.

In retaliation, insurgents in Afghanistan killed two of our military.  But do not expect any similar response.  In fact, President Karzei has requested that the United States "bring the perpetrators of the act to justice and put them on trial and punish them."

There is a perverse mathematical equation here that goes like this:  Mistakenly burning copies of the Koran = deaths of US miltary + punishment of those who burned the books.  Actually, I read one account of a jihadist leader who said the only appropriate gesture for mistakenly burning the Koran would be the death of Obama, which could sound like a damn fine deal in my less sober moments . . . but as my blog is visited regularly by Homeland Security, I won't go there.

So what else?  Well, while the mainstream media was busy making sure the world knew how apologetic our President is (at some point, I expect a "Best Of" anthology of such apologies, highlighted by Willie Nelson singing "You Were Always On My Mind" in the background), they ignored the story about Christians getting stoned by Muslims . . . in the heart of Jerusalem.

A mob of 50 Muslims reportedly attacked a group of Christian tourist's atop Jerusalem's Temple Mount, according to Israel Today Magazine. Israeli police intervened to protect the Christian group and three officers were wounded.

50?!  Less than that show up for a pro-choice rally and the media covers that.  Mind you, the article mentions that "many of the attackers were minors" - which could mean ten, leaving 40 adults throwing stones at a group of tourists such that they required police protection and officers were wounded.

But - those Jews!  Chances are we will hear reports how they "rough housed" youths in arresting them, or that they unjustly apprehended some, since who could be sure who threw what?

In the meantime, tourists can no longer expect to visit a major tourist site in Jeruslaem in the middle of the day and expect safety.  It's news in Mexico when tourists have their bus hijacked and are robbed at gunpoint in Puerto Vallarta, but Christian tourists . . . well, had they been harassed by ultra-Orthodox Jews for bearing too much flesh, now THAT's the news that's fit to print!

And the Oscar goes to . . . zzzzz . . .

I gave up at the award for sound editing and went to bed.

I give credit to the Grey Lady for saying it best:  "The whole night looked like an AARP pep rally . . ."

That being said, I did see Octavia Spencer win Best Supporting Actress, which I thought was well-deserved.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

If you are not familiar with that Latin phrase, it means, "Who will guard the guardians?" attributed to the ancient Roman satirist, Juvenal.  The phrase came to mind while reading this opinion piece in yesterday's Los Angeles Times, in which Steve Lopez tongue-in-cheek takes the Los Angeles City council to task for getting beat by Chicago in political sleaze, and just not trying hard enough.

We've got Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa marketing himself for his next job before he finishes this one; City Atty. Carmen Trutanich insisting he's not the liar he appears to be; auto painters at the DWP making $109,192 a year while the agency guns for a rate hike; and Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez under investigation for an alleged scandal involving tax breaks for clients represented by his friend.

But what is to be expected when the citizenry does not care what the guardians are doing?  The demographics of Los Angeles shows a growing population within what I call the entitlement class; so long as they receive their entitlements - whether it be WIC, or the comfort in knowing that no matter how badly you perform at your job, your union membership protects you - they ignore what happens within their government.  Or worse - they come to expect it, and eventually the Southland becomes a banana republic, albeit one in fine suits.

Spring IS Coming!

Just some shots I took yesterday in downtown Knoxville while helping Tom Geisler with his field trip for his photo newbies.

Will be shooting later today at UT Gardens, but we'll be photographing models.

Steyn on Perversion of Rights

Back then, “human rights” were rights of humans, of individuals — and restraints upon the king: They’re the rights that matter: limitations upon kingly power. Eight centuries later, we have entirely inverted the principle: “Rights” are now gifts that a benign king graciously showers upon his subjects — the right to “free” health care, to affordable housing, the “right of access to a free placement service” (to quote the European Constitution’s “rights” for workers). The Democratic National Committee understands the new school of rights very well: In its recent video, Obama’s bureaucratic edict is upgraded into the “right to contraception coverage at no additional cost.” And, up against a “human right” as basic as that, how can such peripheral rights as freedom of conscience possibly compete?

The latest from Mark Steyn.  And I blogged about this before, how a personal right is evolving from permission to provision.  The all-powerful "right" of a human being within a collective will eventually trump an individual's right to practice their faith.  

I do not think any Catholic has the liberty to ignore what is happening now and not educate themselves, both as to the current news but also to study of history as the prediction to where we are going.  It pains me to think there will be Catholics - like Danica Patrick, who is mentioned in the article as saying, "I leave it up to the government to make good decisions for Americans," which is contrary to the Church's teaching on free will and the choice we have to make between bad and good (would she have said the same thing in 1939 as the Nazis invaded Poland?) - who will become stooges of the state, and naive Bishops who will lead them, and ready to sacrifice their fellow Catholics out of their own fear that we mustn't "upset" people.  We see it already in persons like Nancy Pelosi and "Sister" Joan Chittister (and support of abortion does indeed, literally and graphically, sacrifice fellow humans).  

Woe be to them when they have to answer for that before God.

Love the Wonka Meme!

Still my favorite version of the story . . .

Frank Martin

Frank Martin, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

My father, Francis Xavier "Frank" Martin. Born February 24, 1925, died March 16, 1995.

I am very, very fortunate. My husband's father was an abusive alcoholic, and I have heard absolute horror stoies of other people's fathers. Not my Dad - he was a great guy, a hard worker, and a good family man.

I am going to say that this picture was taken late 80's, early 90's - but probably in the 80's. For any Bronx-born folks out there, especially if you played on a local sports team, note his uniform - Bronx Umpires Alliance. My Dad, in addition to his day job, also worked as a local official, so he would have the money to put us three kids through Catholic schools, including high schools.

This picture was taken at the table that sat in our kitchen in our house on Perry Avenue. If it was daytime, from that window you would see Reservoir Oval Park.

Man, I miss you, Daddy. I loved the way you called me "Baby Girl" and "Stephanooch." I tell your stories to the kids, so they know about their Grandpa Frank. I was hoping one would have come out with your red hair.

Me at 20

Me at 20, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

Another slide scanned in from 1981. I am a 20-year-old PFC, at Ft. Sill, OK. 47th Field Hospital.

Wow - that's over 30 years ago . . .

Mick and the Boys

Mick and the Boys, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

Another slide that I took in 1981, scanned, and processed in black-and-white.

The quality of the shots is not good - heck, I had a Canon AE-1, cheap telephoto, and even cheaper seats. But it is fun to travel back in time, isn't it?

Sing it if you know it!

"I met a gin soaked bar-room queen in Memphis . . . "

Why I Could Never Work at Walmart

Because I heard this come across the loudspeaker:

"Kim, customer service at the fish tanks in Pets; Kim, customer service at the fish tanks."

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!

(Shut up, we all have our fears, and I'm doing pretty well if mine are fish. Plus realistic animatronic dinosaurs. But that's another story. Plus they probably wouldn't let me take photographs of the customers . . .)

One of the things I am working on this Lent is to let go of fear.  Fear of consequences at the cost of compromising my values.  Fear of taking on a new ventures in life.

So far . . . it's getting there.  And feeling good.

Just found out, too, I have to be in SoCal on Palm Sunday weekend.  Very cool, there are two events - Walk Out of Poverty and Blessing of the Streets - that I like to shoot.  It will be good to see my friends from St. Joseph Church again.  Maybe I can freelance it and get a story sold.  

Would You Be Ready?

“I will die in bed, my successor will die in prison, and his successor will die a martyr in the public square.”

           - Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, 2010

Can You Really Say That If They're Neutered?

True story:  of my three male dogs, only my Schnauzer, Dante, is neutered.  Yet he has been moping lately because his little girlfriend, Skittles, moved away.  For the last couple of days he has gotten stuck in her yard when he jumps down to look for her - but cannot jump high enough to get out.  I think he has accepted she is gone and moved on . . .

Moral of the story:  it don't mean a thing / even if he ain't got that swing / males are still dogs . . .


More bad album art can be seen here.

That Mary!

No, no, not the BVM . . . the great philosopher of the fictional Santa Royale, CA - Mary Worth!

I get a kick out of how you can take one panel out of the strip and it takes on a whole new nuance.  Don't mes with Mary . . .remember what happened to Aldo Kelrast?  You don't want to cross Mary, Nola!

(BTW, in true Mary Worth style, I suspect the name of the current person on Mary's radar, Nola Wolvenson, is an anagram for something.  So far all I have come up with is Nola = NOLA = New Orleans = slut willing to show her boobies to get ahead in business . . .)

BTW, if you want to see this done with Peanuts, go here - this fellow has a site called 3nuts.

And thanks to the blog, Mary Worth and Me, for feeding my shared obsession with Mary . . . (and move your cursor over the panel on his blog to see the super-secret message!)

Listen, if God can speak through a burning bush, He might just be in your funny papers . . .

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

To this day . . . we don't know what the heck he was holding in his hands when this picture was taken . . .

Francis X Martin 1926A, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

My father, who died in 1995, would have been 87 today.

Dad, I know you are still watching out over me, and especially your two grandkids. Please continue to pray for our sakes. I know Mom is with you, and say hi to Uncle Mike, and Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncle Billy and Aunt Marie for me.

Also, keep two other people in your prayers who share this birthday with you - Jonathan Koretzky (geez, I bet you and his Dad never thought he'd be that big a guy, huh?) and my lovely friend, Imelda Castaneda, she of pure heart.

I love and miss you, Daddy.  You were a wonderful father.

Total Consecration Via Mary

A Facebook friend, Fr. Sibley down in Cajun country, brought this surprising link to my attention this morning.  Surprising, because this is not the type of article I would expect the Los Angeles Times to have printed - but I am glad that they did.

Lent 2012 offers observant Catholics and other Christians a unique opportunity to honor the sacrifices of Jesus Christ by first honoring his mother, Mary.

Because of a quirky series of calender coincidences, Christians can use this year's Lent to also follow in the footsteps of St. Louis-Marie de Montfort. He was a French priest known for his deep commitment to Mary, and came up with a series of short prayers and spiritual practices to honor her called the Total Consecration.

Now, I have never heard of this devotion.  I invite you to follow the links and check it out for yourself.

It is heartening to see an article like this in a newspaper that in the past has been notoriously antithetical to the Catholic Church.  Of course, there are negative comments to the article, since for some people, any opportunity to bash Mother Church will be taken.  But for now, kudos to the Los Angeles Times for rinting this.