J.G. Ballard dies

Of all the writers I've read, this guy was the biggest influence on my own artwork. His science fiction stories always take place in the present and bring into focus a creepy side of life caused by industry, tv, psychosis, neurosis, & the machines we build.

The UK Guardian does a nice job eulogizing Ballard, his contributions, & his unique genius in these two articles:

How JG Ballard cast his shadow right across the arts : JG Ballard's influence on culture went far beyond literature. We look at his lasting impact on film, pop, architecture, TV and visual art

Crash author JG Ballard, 'a giant on the world literary scene', dies aged 78

Quoting from the second article:

The young science fiction author "wasn't interested in the far future, spaceships and all that", he explained; rather he was interested in "the evolving world, the world of hidden persuaders, of the communications landscape developing, of mass tourism, of the vast conformist suburbs dominated by television – that was a form of science fiction, and it was already here".

After reading Ballard more than 20 years ago when I was in college, I never saw things the same way again. Abandoned buildings, empty swimming pools, highway overpasses, machinery, and tv always make me think of Ballard and the creepy side of modern life.

AZ Daily Star continues coverage of Jaguar's death

As the Arizona Daily Star continues to cover the death of Arizona Jaguar Macho B, evidence has emerged that researchers from the state Fish and Game Department intended to trap a Jaguar but told the public that Macho B's capture was unintentional.

In a tragic and cruel case of messing with Mother Nature the 12 year old cat was lured with female jaguar poop, captured and apparently injured, then captured again and euthanized by vets at the Phoenix zoo.

The Star has covered the story almost daily. Today's story has video that shows how cruel this capture was. The Star pretty much summed up my feelings about this incident:

Some environmental groups such as the Sky Island Alliance and Center for Biological Diversity have questioned or opposed capture on the grounds that its risks to the rare animal outweighed the benefits.

IMO, scientific study is important in preserving rare species and in measuring the effects of such asinine and destructive things as the giant iron wall BushCo was trying build along the Mexico border. But it's completely stupid to lie about your research and then to bungle it and kill the jaguar you're trying to study.

Death of Macho B Jaguar

The Arizona Daily Star has been following the story of Macho B, the Jaguar that was recently caught, radio-collared and released in southern Arizona.
I'll quote from a 3/28/09 update, bascially a teaser for a story being run in tomorrow's Sunday edition:

What killed Mach B, the country's last known jaguar living in the wild?
Four individual U.S. jaguars have been confirmed to exist since 1996 — two each in Southern Arizona and southwest New Mexico. With the recent death of aging Macho B, who was caught in a trap then released with a tracking device in Southern Arizona, no jaguars are known to live in this country today.
Officials have said the jaguar euthanized early this month due to kidney failure clearly had suffered from the disease before his Feb. 18 capture. A vet also said the stress of the trapping probably aggravated Macho B's problems.
New information uncovered in a Star special investigation into the death of Macho B contradicts earlier conclusions.

Way to go AZ Daily Star for following up and investigating on an important, local, environmentally-oriented story.

Arizona responds to Sunshine Week by kicking reporters out of State Capitol

Since 1960 reporters in Arizona have had a press room in the state capitol in Phoenix. Now state Senate President Bob Burns has announced legislators will take over the press room in the Capitol and prevent reporters from using any other rooms in the capitol. This announcement was made in a speech detailing what State Government will do to ensure transparency in State Government. Cocky, eh? Well this what we here in Arizona are being treated to now that Gov. Janet Napolitano has left for D.C. This is only one example of rightwing backlash & retaliation since January 09. State legislators have also moved to allow guns on school campuses, gut higher education, restrict abortion, and abolish the governing body of the State University system, the Arizona Board of Regents.

Wow they are feeling high and mighty up there but it's not the Dark Ages anymore, morons. From the Arizona Daily Star, 3/17/09:

Capitol Media Services
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.17.2009
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PHOENIX — For the first time in nearly 50 years, reporters will not have work space in the state Capitol after July 1.
Senate President Bob Burns said Monday he is not interested in finding new space for reporters after Republicans take over the current press room in the Senate on that date.
Burns wants the current press room for Republicans to have caucuses, meetings of party members to discuss policy and pending legislation.
Burns also said he is not interested in providing space for reporters in any of the other rooms that will open up once the caucus room moves out of its current second-floor location.
And he's not interested in finding space for reporters who cover the House and Senate in the adjacent Old Capitol building.
"We have needs for the space," he said.
Burns' statement came at the end of a press conference where he and other Senate Republicans used "Sunshine Week" to detail what they say they are doing to make government more transparent to the public.
Sunshine Week is an unofficial effort by the American Society of Newspaper Editors designed to educate the public about the importance of open government and freedom of information.
There has been a place for reporters to work since the current House and Senate chambers were constructed in 1960, according to Rep. Jack Brown, D-St. Johns, first elected to the Legislature in 1962.
Reporters have been in the same room on the first floor of the Senate since the late 1970s.
About a decade ago, amid concerns about subsidizing private operations, the Senate began charging rent based on the equivalent cost of Class A office space. The rent this year is $77 a month per reporter.

Chernobyl in 2009 photos

See Boing boing's wonderful post full of photos of Pripyet, the town that was zapped in the Chernyobl meltdown.

And read Martin Cruz Smith's "Wolves eat dogs."

Lux Interior R.i.p.

True Wildman of the dark swampy recesses of the world of R&R- The Cramp's Lux Interior has apparently passed away.

Arizona state legislator attacks public media in Tucson

Although the AZ Daily Star reported it here in the 1/23/09 op-ed section, "conservative" yah-hoo Al Melvin, the freshman Republican senator from Legislative District 26 did walk in to KUAT's offices and threaten to cut funding to public media in southern Arizona unless somebody conservative enough for M. Melvin starts to appear on KUAT's Arizona Illustrated segment "Weekend Roundtable." This segment, which already includes a conservative voice (usually somebody from the Star) has caused this fucking right-wing moron asshole Melvin to waltz in there and pretty much threaten "well I'll cut your funding unless you put a paid right wing radical mouthpiece on your program." And this guy is supposed to represent the people who supposedly elected him.

This just illustrates the right wing backlash retaliation effort in Arizona, now that Janet Napolitano has answered the higher calling and departed for Washington D.C. The clowns come out of the woodwork, and acting cocky, they immediately want to slash k-12 and higher education, arm every redneck creep in the state, and twist public media to broadcast their phony, destructive crap. What's next? Prayer meetings for State employees? Hire Blackwater to be the police force? Teach creationism in the schools? Fire State employees and University faculty members who are not right wing "christians?"