Entries Tagged 'Politics' ↓

Simply crazy about the 44th president? Don’t you wish you could just grab him and take him home with you? Well, now you can, and, when you get there, you can eat him, soaked in a delicious curry dip. (Thanks for the tip, Ray.) Says USA Today‘s “On Deadline” blog,

The German frozen food company Sprehe is offering a new product called “Obama Fingers,” which the packaging [above] describes as “tender, juicy pieces of chicken breast, coated and fried,” the German news magazine Der Spiegel reports.

The magazine quotes Judith Witting, a sales manager for the company, as saying Sprehe decided to offer the product after noting  that “American products and the American way of eating are trendy at the moment.”

“Americans are more relaxed,” Witting explained. “Not like us stiff Germans, like (Chancellor Angela) Merkel.”

Possibly still doused with post-racial goodwill, however, there was no comment from “On Deadline” about something of which Der Spiegel seemed highly aware: Namely

a risk that the product might be seen as racially insensitive. Fried chicken has long been associated with African-Americans in the US — naming strips of fried chicken after the first black president could cause some furrowing of brows.

According to Der Spiegel, “The company says it was unaware of the possible racist overtones of the product.”

Witting told SPIEGEL ONLINE the connection never even occurred to her. “It was supposed to be a homage to the American lifestyle and the new US president,” she said.

Twenty bucks says Obama smiles it off.

[via On Deadline]

The ascension of Barack Obama has inspired a heightened wave of response from people worldwide, much of it artistic. That’s a good thing. The bad thing is that, well, a lot of that art is just bad.

Or at least that seems to be the contention of the web site Bad Paintings of Barack Obama. By flipping through its contents, viewers with the stomach for it can sample a range of pictorial takes on the 44th president, some skilled, some unskilled, and some just deranged. And some, like the hunky image of Obama, above, skin wet and glistening, emerging from the foaming waters like a Greek god-stud, roses lining his path as an untamed Arabian offers its worthy mount, are a bit of all three.

[via The Telegraph]

If you thought Barack Obama had a tough-looking jawline before, sculptor Jean Dukens Boivert’s 22 x 17 in. framed portrait of the President should practically intimidate you back to your barstool. The image, according to gallerist Marcel Wah,

is made out of metal from recycled oil drums. It is coated with a primer, painted with acrylic or oil paint, then varnished for protection.

In other words, you cannot outlast this. It’s one in a limited edition of 150, and priced $475-$675, depending on what number you get in the series. Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery directly from Haiti.

As Moth said on Missbehave, “There is something really familiar about the new Pepsi logo,” left, “but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

Me, either, but every time I see it, I wanna run for President.

By now, you’ve seen a billion pictures of Barack Obama. But if you’ve got a good eye or visual memory, you’ve already noticed something unusual, something familiar, about this one, above.

The image, by photographer Mannie Garcia, was, as he notes on his blog, taken of

then Democratic Senator from Illinois, Barak Obama, when he was with actor George Clooney at the Press Club in Washington, DC in April 2006. They talked about human rights and Darfur.

But the association with Clooney, or Darfur, is not what makes this image special, or unique. Or controversial.

This is:

Continue reading →

What’s way cooler? Is it this February 2009 cover for MAD magazine, above, titled, “Obama: The First 100 Minutes,” revealing a hyperperplexed new president in a classic “What? ME WORRY!!!!” pose, sucking down nicotine sticks by the bushel, gurgling Pepto-Bismol, and grabbing his cranium for even a moment’s sweet relief?

Or is it this dry March 2009 Vanity Fair cover, right, pushing forward a dignified, confident, fossilized, stuffy Obama, complete with bland taupe background, shot in a style that seems as dated as Obama’s presidency is fresh?

As even the fastest walk-run past a newsstand reveals, everybody’s sticking Obama on their covers, even if they have absolutely no reason to do so. I can hardly wait to see Expert Bowler Today, Black Mother Magazine, and Stutterers Digest get in on the action.

And speaking of getting in on the action, how mega-lame is it for Vanity Fair to front a front by using the exact, same, leftover shot they ran back during the American Express RED Africa, 20-person multiple cover back in July 2007? And how come The Huffington Post, raving over the cover, didn’t notice this? Tih-zired.

Mad: 2. Vanity Fair: You get nuh-ting!.

Copeland: Baby’s got belting power. Photo by Carol Friedman

Harlem native Shemekia Copeland has been making a name for herself as a singer of gutsy, earbusting Black music since childhood. Born into blues royalty, the daughter of now deceased Texas blues guitar legend Johnny Clyde Copeland, she’d often accompany her dad onto the stand, right, where she’d wow audiences with a voice womanly beyond her years.

She’s still doing it. Though not yet 30, Copeland sings songs full of the attitude, soul-weariness, and hard-earned wisdom that is the hallmark of her trade. On her new album, Never Going Back, songs such as “Sounds Like the Devil,” “Rise Up,” and “Limousine” portray a woman beset with calamity, but facing it undaunted; tired and often demoralized, certainly, but absolutely not giving up.

Shemekia Copeland is a guest today on my WBAI-NY / 99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION, this afternoon, Friday, January 23, at 2 pm ET.

Then, Joe Stevens, half of the transatlantic directing team Randall Stevens with Nicolas Randal, will talk about their 2008 short, Made in Queens. The film documents a group of Trinidadian-Tobagonian youth living in said borough who, as a hobby, build “enormous stereo systems jury rigged onto ordinary BMX bikes.”

The gargantuan “Basszilla,” above, posed with its creator, crew leader Nicholas Ragbir, features

Four 16 volt car batteries powering four 15” bass speakers in back, two 6.5” mids over two 6×9” mids up front. Two 3000 watt bass amps and one 2000 watt mids amp. DVD touch screen with navigation and music equalizer. 22 tooth chainring. Heavy duty chain, rims, tires and custom-welded support brackets.

Made In Queens is screening tomorrow at the Queens Museum of Art, as part of the Queens International 4 exhibition (January 24 – April 26). “Rumor has it,” says Joe, “the crew and a couple of the bikes may even be on hand.” Hopefully they’ll find parking.

Then, Barack Obama’s inaugural address on Tuesday has been widely hailed by people of every stripe, and on every side of the political spectrum. In The New York Times, Gordon Stewart, a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter, said the address was filled with “fine language” and “thrilling sentiments.” Meanwhile, Clark S. Judge, a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, called it a “marvelous,” “deeply American” speech.

But was it? Wouldn’t that depend on what vision one has of America?

Ronald Takaki, emeritus professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of the book A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America, above, believes that Obama’s speech rendered a picture of America that, though inspiring to some, leaves out far too many Americans.

You can hear Shemekia Copeland, Joe Stevens, and Ronald Takaki by tuning in at 2 pm. If you’re outside of the New York tri-state, check out our stream on the web. If you miss the live show, dig into our archives for up to 90 days after broadcast.

If you went to Washington for the Obama inauguration without a ticket, but wanted a good view of all the proceedings, your only alternative was up—423 miles above the Earth’s surface.

As TechCrunch.com reports, describing the above photograph,

This is the first satellite image of the inauguration taken at 11:19 AM EST today by the GeoEye-1 satellite. This is the same satellite that supplies Google with images for Google Maps and Google Earth, so we may see this image show up there one day as well.

To give you a better sense of how powerful this technology is, click on the image, and you’ll see that those oblong, blurry, brown spots are people. Which means that, when it comes down to it, despite everything Obama said so well during his inaugural address about the power of the United States, Rockwell gets the last word.

The cover of The Nation magazine‘s February 2 edition, above, depicting the inauguration of Barack Obama as it would take place were America, and not God alone, truly just.

Go to The Nation‘s specially prepared key for the identities of all persons portrayed.

Art by John Mavroudis.

[via thisisbandit.com]