We are not here long enough...

"Summer's over, kid"

https://schulzmuseum.org/

Just watched "End of the Century"...

...a lovely Spanish language film from 2019, written and directed by Lucio Castro.

The synopsis seems simple enough: two men cross paths in Barcelona and have an affair. But the narrative is not at all simple. This hypnotizing film does what film does best...create a mood with visuals. In fact, the first 10 minutes or so have not a word of dialogue, which sets the tone and pace very well. Once our main characters cross paths, we are in a rhythm that only intensifies through the rest of the film. We end up in a place where dreams and memory blur with reality in a subtle but powerful way. The blurb on the poster says it is a "sexy and haunted" film. If you wonder how a film can be both sexy and haunting, take a look. With that in mind, this film reminds me of last year's emotionally devastating "All Of Us Strangers" which I reviewed here. Two characters in intimate isolation navigating a sort of slow dream world.

The photography beautifully supports this sense, where, even in a large bustling city like Barcelona, we are shown only small sections isolated from a greater perspective. The isolation becomes supremely intimate when our characters explore who they are, were, and might be to each other, and the chemistry between stars Ramón Pujol and Juan Barberini is palpable.

Recommend? Yes, it ticked all the boxes for me, maybe it will for you too.

HAPPY LABOR DAY 2025!

Happy Labor Day, readers in the United States! This is a holiday that recognizes and honors the American labor movement of the late 19th century and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the country.

I believe in the power of labor and work. I believe in the dignity of labor and work. I believe in the power of unions to protect workers from abuse by companies and corporations, and I am a proud union member. Now more than ever in this current political climate, I believe all of these things. I believe in the sense of fairness toward which the human spirit strives. Happy Labor Day!

Standing together with co-workers in a union makes a tangible difference you can feel every day. Here are just a few benefits:

• Workers in labor unions make 18% more in wages than our nonunion counterparts.
• We are more likely to have health care benefits. More than nine out of 10 union members have access to employer-provided health insurance, compared to 68% of nonunion workers, according to the Department of Labor.
• We work in safer workplaces. One study found job sites that were unionized have lost-time claims at a 31% lower rate than non-unionized sites.
• We have more job security—even and especially in moments of economic crisis.

Countries where most workers are in a union are among the happiest and healthiest on Earth.

Life is better in a union.

https://aflcio.org/laborday

September's Here Again 2025

September's here again.

The sun shines high above
The sounds of laughter
The birds swoop down upon
The crosses of old grey churches

We say that we're in love
While secretly wishing for rain

Sipping coke and playing games

September's here again
September's here again

http://www.davidsylvian.com/

Forty years ago...

Incredible to think that all these classic songs came out the same year, forty years ago.

I was there...worked in a record store. And it was pretty cool.

"Alone" by Flo/so

LOVING this intense song and enigmatic video for "Alone" by Flo/so (previously here) from earlier this year...

https://www.flosomusic.com/

COME AND TAKE IT!

It’s official. California’s special election is ON for November 4th.

The People of California will be able to cast their vote for a Congressional map.

Direct democracy that gives us a fighting chance to STOP Donald Trump’s election rigging.

Time to fight fire with fire. If you are in California with me, I implore you to vote YES.

https://stopelectionrigging.com/

BEAUTY: Sculpture--Kevin Francis Gray

I last posted about the marvelous work of sculptor Kevin Francis Gray a dozen years ago and his work since then has become amazingly abstract and gestural. After mastering figures draped in silky, diaphanous material (seen here), he is now taking the texture and silhouette of raw clay, especially the way it moves, and rendering those figures in marble. His Picasso-esque Family Series and Gestural Series stands out.

https://www.kevinfrancisgray.com/

The Waning Days of Summer

Photo of the coastline at Pigeon Point Bluffs, Northern California on 8/17/25 by JEF

Iwagumi - Urban Air Scape by Eness

The Australian multidisciplinary art and technology studio Eness has created a magical outdoor installation on display at Prahran Square in Melbourne.

The studio's statement about the installation:

"This artwork is a celebration of the Japanese reverence towards beautiful rock compositions as found in nature, known as Iwagumi.

By day, visitors can explore immense air-filled inflatables that appear to be thousands of tonnes of rock. As the sun sets, the artwork transforms with a vibrant display of colour and an interactive soundscape inspired by nature’s gentle inhabitants.

This artwork is designed to be placed in the middle of a city, sharply contrasting features of the wilderness with the urban environment. An open-air temporary art installation, Iwagumi Air Scape delivers a public realm statement about nature and harmony that is at once monumental and subtle."

https://www.eness.com/temporary/iwagumi-melbourne

Happy World Elephant Day 2025!

Today is the thirteenth anniversary of World Elephant Day!

On August 12, 2012, the inaugural World Elephant Day was launched to bring attention to the urgent plight of Asian and African elephants. The elephant is loved, revered and respected by people and cultures around the world, yet we balance on the brink of seeing the last of this magnificent creature.

The escalation of poaching, habitat loss, human-elephant conflict and mistreatment in captivity are just some of the threats to both African and Asian elephants. Working towards better protection for wild elephants, improving enforcement policies to prevent the illegal poaching and trade of ivory, conserving elephant habitats, better treatment for captive elephants and, when appropriate, reintroducing captive elephants into natural, protected sanctuaries are the goals that numerous elephant conservation organizations are focusing on around the world.

World Elephant Day asks you to experience elephants in non-exploitive and sustainable environments where elephants can thrive under care and protection. On World Elephant Day, August 12, express your concern, share your knowledge and support solutions for the better care of captive and wild elephants alike.

Support World Elephant Day so that we can continue to be a collective voice speaking out on behalf of elephants!

Elephant numbers have dropped by 62% over the last decade, and they could be mostly extinct by the end of the next decade. An estimated 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers seeking ivory, meat and body parts, leaving only 400,000 remaining. An insatiable lust for ivory products in the Asian market makes the illegal ivory trade extremely profitable, and has led to the slaughter of tens of thousands of African elephants. Between 2010 and 2014, the price of ivory in China tripled, driving illicit poaching through the roof. If the elephants are to survive, the demand for ivory must be stopped . As of 2011, the world is losing more elephants than the population can reproduce, threatening the future of African elephants across the continent. Bull elephants with big tusks are the main targets and their numbers have been diminished to less than half of the females. Female African elephants have tusks and are also killed, which has a terrible effect on the stability of elephant societies, leaving an increasing number of orphaned baby elephants. There are still more African elephants being killed for ivory than are being born . . . elephant populations continue to decline.

Elephant Facts
*Elephants ‘rumble’ or purr like cats as a means of communication.
*The elephant is the largest land mammal and can weigh up to 10 tons!
*African elephants care for wounded individuals in the herd and can even identify the bones of deceased members.
*When an older male wants to spar with a younger male, they will often get down on their knees, which is a great example of elephant empathy. Elephants also appear to express grief, compassion, self-awareness, altruism and play.
*When an elephant calf is not feeding, it might suck its trunk for comfort, just as a human baby would suck its thumb. If a baby elephant is distressed, the entire family will rumble and go over to touch and caress it.
*Elephants eat constantly throughout the day and night and can consume up to 5% of their body mass.
*An elephant’s trunk serves as a nose, a hand, an extra foot, a signaling device, a tool for gathering food, siphoning water, dusting & digging and much more.
*The elephant brain is the largest of all land mammals with a mass of over 5kg. It is similar in structure to the human brain.
*Observations suggest that elephants are able to recognize themselves in a mirror. Self-recognition indicates a very high level of awareness, restricted only to few species.

The World Elephant Day website has partnered with many organizations to help protect elephants. Visit their site to learn more and to help.
https://worldelephantday.org/

It's Just A Matter Of Time

And I think we know what this could refer to at this point in history...

David Zwirner Gallery and the Félix González-Torres Foundation present a timely and purposeful remounting of the celebrated conceptual artist's 1992 piece:

“Untitled” (It’s Just a Matter of Time) (1992) by Felix Gonzalez-Torres is currently installed in various locations along the Hudson River in New York as part of Sky High Farm’s inaugural biennial, TREES NEVER END AND HOUSES NEVER END, through October 2025.

“It’s Just a Matter of Time,” a simple yet evocative phrase, appears on standard billboards in white Gothic typeface on a black background, disrupting the typical flow of commercial information. When the work was first installed in 1992 in Hamburg, the text was written in German: Es ist nur eine Frage der Zeit. The work is ideally installed in 24 outdoor billboard locations, and must be installed in a minimum of six locations. Gonzalez-Torres intended for the billboards to be situated in diverse locations and/or contexts in order to reach a broad cross-section of the general public.

Visit the link in bio to see a map of all billboards, which are installed as of August 1 at the following locations*:

Ravena, NY | US 9W, south of Old Ravena Rd.
Albany, NY | 18 Second Ave (Second Ave and Clinton St.)
East Greenbush, NY | NY 9J, 2500’ south of Hays Road
Troy, NY | King St., 200’ north of River St.
Troy, NY | 4th St., opposite Polk St.
Palenville, NY | Route 32, 100’ south of Route 32A

*Note that over the course of the exhibition, the billboard locations will shift.

https://www.felixgonzalez-torresfoundation.org/
https://www.davidzwirner.com/

The Hometown Moon by SYN Architects

Synarchitects have created an amazing public space and chapel in China near Mount Tai. Called The Hometown Moon, the structure features a half moon skylight above the building, floating on and reflected in a pool of water, while below the same half moon can be seen reflected on a silver ceiling. It is a stunning creation.

https://www.synarchitects.com/