Vision Thing

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) invited Washingtonians to a public meeting last Wednesday to provide input for a master plan for outdoor sculpture and murals, a Public Art Program “vision.”

We are neither ophthalmologists nor optometrists, but the event clearly indicates the DC government’s urgent need for Public Art vision correction due to:

Shortsightedness: The “public meeting” ran from from 5 PM to 7 PM, before many working people could get there. Other government agencies start public meetings at  6:30 PM or 7 PM (just look at the DC Government calendar). Want to go through the motions and avoid the hassle of having lots of citizens at your “public” meeting? Hold it earlier.

Distance Vision: The plan for site-specific art in DC’s streets and neighborhoods is actually being drafted by consultants from St. Louis and Philadelphia.

Fuzziness: The meeting’s maps, posters, slides, charts, and chats all featured the phrase “Creative Economy,” but none of the consultants or DC Government employees present would define the term.

Transparency: Selected “open house” guests attended “closed house” meetings before and after the open meeting.

Double Vision, Lack of Focus, Disorientation: The Environment and Tourism are not within the purview of DCCAH, but were prominent topics of the meeting, duplicating efforts of other DC agencies and DC-funded nonprofits. DCCAH is the only public Arts agency serving the District of Columbia; no other agency picks up the slack if it abandons that mission for others.

Intermittent Blindness: A written agenda, descriptions of (or references to) Art in Public Places guidelines or Best Practices and other documents were not visible.

Take the Vision Test.  See for yourself. Here is the “questionnaire,” the only document distributed to the few people at this pro forma “public” event:

DC’s Community College Has a CEO But No Students or Campus

Dr. Eurmon Hervey (photo: HigherEducation.org)

The University of the District of Columbia is spinning off a two-year community college. The controversial new school has no students yet, but Dr. Eurmon Hervey has been appointed to head the new institution.

Dr. Hervey is the former assistant state superintendent for post-secondary education and work force readiness in  DC’s State Office of Education and has served as UDC’s Acting Provost for the past year. The last appointment was not admired by some members of the  UDC faculty, but critics think the community college job may be a better fit.  

The Economy — Top 25 People to Blame

Time picked the “25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis” and invites you to rank-order the most culpable meltdown miscreants. Number one to date is – no surprise - Texas Republican and Swiss banker Phil Gramm, PhD.

Here are the current poll standings for these polecats, and Time’s rationale for the feature.

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Downtown Art Picture Fades

Margery Goldberg is closing Washington’s Zenith Gallery on March 29th.  The gallery was founded in 1978 as part of Zenith Square, a complex of 50 studios at 14th Street and Rhode Island Avenue, NW that offered DC artists a place to create art as well as show it.

The gallery moved to 413 7th Street NW twenty years ago as part of the city’s effort to create an Arts District. In another triumph of DC urban planning, the area is now characterized by chain restaurants, shopping mall retail, loitering teenagers, and bewildered tourists.

Presidents’ Day

Photo: © Dale Lowery. All rights reserved; used with permission.

You may think today is “Presidents’ Day.” Not quite.

As the  U.S. Office of Personnel Management puts it:

This holiday is designated as “Washington’s Birthday” in section 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code, which is the law that specifies holidays for Federal employees. Though other institutions such as state and local governments and private businesses may use other names, it is our policy to always refer to holidays by the names designated in the law.

In 1968, Congress decided to recognize the birthdays of George Washington (February 22nd) and Abraham Lincoln (February 12th) on a single day, the third Monday in February, but rejected a new name for the holiday. 

Jurisdictions that did adopt the new name don’t agree on its punctuation. Presidents Day, President’s Day, or Presidents’ Day? No wonder Congress stayed out of it.

Happy Holiday.

 

Photo: “Jumbotron Inaugural, Obama Arrives.” © Dale Lowery, all rights reserved; used by permission. Dale says: “I snapped it from about 6th Street on the Mall on January 20th, as Mr. Obama entered the Capitol and they flashed him up on the Jumbotron, and I think it captures the electric excitement of the moment.” We agree. For more information, go to DaleLowery.com.

Entertainment Exploiters, February 13 — 19, 2009

NotionsCapital presents this week’s Roll of Shame, Washington, DC area music venues and events that advertise “Live Music” but do not include the names of bands in their ads. You may think this is a mere quibble. Think again.

2009 Valentine

 

Valentine’s Day, 2009. The proper gift? Sour candy.

 

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Valentines for Our Times

Valentine’s Day, 2009: Romance Without Finance.  

Cupid confronts a cold economy and finds love on a budget:

Valentine’s Day at White Castle. 

Waffle House by candle light.

 ”What to do for Valentine’s Day? A few ideas,”
Fast Food Maven.

“Last-minute Valentine’s food ideas,” Mike Sutter, Forklore.

“Valentine’s pizza: It’s the shape that counts,”
Mike Sutter, Forklore.

 Omnia vincit amor (your mileage may vary).

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Evolution

Gawker uncovers the awesome esoteric arcana of iconic evolution.
Or something.

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Blind Justice

This week’s Washington City Paper carries Arthur Delaney’s television review – he writes about the Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) system of DC’s Metropolitan Police Department. He says it’s a turkey.

Mr. Delaney’s verdict is the only one this TV program has seen. MPD CCTV imagery has never been used to obtain a conviction in court.