* Award winning photographer * Published author * Frequent contributor at VentureGalleries.com
During the last week of April 2011, my wife and I visited New Jersey and completed a photo shoot of the New York City skyline. Three locations proved excellent for the shooting. Over two dozen images made the cut from several hundred shots. Check back to the link above over the next few weeks as more will be added to the Zenfolio gallery as they make it through the editing process.
On the evening of March 19, 2011, the moon was not only full, it was as close to the Earth as is has been in eighteen years. I set up my tripod and got my camera and 600mm lens ready and waited. Moonrise was later than I thought, it had to come up over Cold Mountain for me to see it, and there was a lot of clouds moving through the area.
Vargas’ work is considered by many critics and aficionados to be some of, if not the best, of the pin-up and illustrator category. It is both inspired and inspiring and therefore some of the most copied. A Google search for “alberto vargas” yields 2,240,000 results. Delving into that search, you can still find specific site references to Vargas’ beautiful, sensual, exotic women nineteen pages deep.
A search on YouTube for “vargas girls” turns up an amazing 750 results; that’s a lot of video clips! It must be mind boggling for curators of his work and representatives of his estate to protect the images from those who would use his incredible talent and amazing work for personal gain. Out of millions of reproductions of his work, there’s just no telling how many are meant to honor the man and his work and how many are malicious attempts to capitalize on the name/ “Vargas” for personal gain. No doubt, Playboy magazine has an interest in various copyrighted works as well – Vargas became a household name because of Hugh Hefner.
As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and it was proven time and again in the military. Countless aircraft carried images (many inspired or copied from Vargas) of scantily clad women with suggestive names. Shown above is the “Memphis Belle” along with the original Vargas girl that inspired the nose art. (Image credit: B24BestWeb.com)
Check out my article commemorating the 115th anniversary of the birth
of AlbertoVargas here: http://technorati.com/entertainment/article/vargas-remembered/
“Is that an iPad in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?” – Mae West would most likely enjoy the opportunities that our media-driven world now offers for more people to be happy to see her. Whether you’re using the new Playboy Hard Drive or looking forward to the just announced Playboy feature (about to be available on iPad) to fill your eyes with beautiful models, opportunities abound.
No longer will viewers need to rely on hiding their covertly obtained copies of the magazine in their closet or under the bed. Now when an unwanted pair of eyes approaches, you can minimize the screen – just like on a computer – or simply put your iPad face down.
On Thursday, January 19, Hugh Hefner announced (via his “official” Twitter account) that Playboy (archives and new issues) would be available “uncensored” on iPad. That news became a cause celeb and sparked a media explosion over the possibility of Apple changing their rules to accommodate what some people regard as porn. Later, with another post on Twitter, Hefner amended his previous statement by saying, “Playboy will be available on iPad without the Playmates. Steve Jobs has a thing about nudity.”
Hef is in the process of taking over control of the Bunny Empire and has over the years learned that there is no such thing as bad publicity or a bad review. Since news came out about the possible buy-out, Playboy Enterprises has been in the news constantly. Last fall came the announcement of the Playboy Hard Drive and the news that more Playboy Clubs are on the drawing board. A new line of “retro” oriented Playboy products was revealed. Now the iPad thing has the attention of all the media news bureaus and others such as Device, PC magazine, and Forbes.
Forbes reports, “According to a Playboy spokeswoman, the content will be accessible through a ‘web-based subscription service’ that can be opened on the iPad. Meanwhile, iPad users will be able to access a nudity-free Playboy iPad app that meets Apple’s current guidelines.”
Hefner’s recent moves could be counterproductive. Playboy products are multiplying like rabbits! If he’s too successful, the term, “Playboy” could become too commonly used and endanger his copyright just like Xerox, Kleenex, PhotoShop, Jell-O, Band-Aid and aspirin.
Role-playing is a part of our lives. Americans are used to it. There was an entire session devoted to teaching us how to change roles quickly and completely in the Dale Carnegie Course I took back in 1978. At the time, I had a wife, two small kids and a job. Throughout the day I had to change roles frequently. Daddy, husband, gardener, mechanic were all different duties around the house. At work, doing my specific job wasn’t enough. At times I was a counselor, cashier, stock boy, janitor, and pharmacist. It’s hard to avoid letting one role interfere with another.
Often, our societies and cultures assign us roles. Many times those assignments are based entirely on the color of our skin, our ancestry, where we live, or our religion. As the general public becomes familiar, those assignments morph into stereotypes. How we respond, of course, varies. In 1650, George Fox mentioned in his journal that his religious sect was ridiculed because they would “tremble at the word of God.” Over time, The Society of Friends embraced their stereotype and now everyone knows about the “Quakers”.
Emphasize, or over-emphasize an aspect of a subject and you have a caricature. One example that comes to mind would be a drawing of Jay Leno with an overly large bottom jaw. Archie Bunker was a character whose popularity and acceptance turned out to be the antithesis of his creator’s intent. According to Wikipedia, “Norman Lear was shocked when Bunker quietly became a beloved figure to much of
Some might be surprised to learn that an outspoken apologist for Mr. Bunker was the man who once described himself as “the most discriminated-against person in
Discrimination leads us directly into profiling. This writer experienced it back in 1973 when a long lost cousin from
Flash forward to a CNN report in 2005 from Paula Zahn about an airline ticketing agent who checked in Mohamed Atta on September 11, 2001, who “would later say that looking at the pair his first reaction was to think ‘If this doesn't look like two Arab terrorists, I've never seen two Arab terrorists.’ But he immediately felt guilty, and had no legal grounds to search on the basis of their suspicious appearance had he wished to.”
Many readers will remember the story of Danny Glover and his experience with the
The late Michael Crichton, author, medical doctor and anthropologist defined prejudice as “opinion in the absence of evidence.” When we form opinions based on stereotypes, caricatures, profiling and prejudice, we make mistakes that can not only be embarrassing to ourselves, but potentially hurtful and disrespectful to the subject. Dr. Dorian McCoy, a personal friend of this writer earned his doctorate at L.S.U. and took a job teaching at the
Stereotyping, profiling, and prejudice may be the only facets of inter-racial relations that are truly non-discriminatory. We’ve all been victims and we’re all guilty as charged. Will complaining about it, acts of aggression and filing suit help? Perhaps we should take the advice of Jesus Christ when he said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.” (KJV). Remember the question asked in 1991 by another man who became famous, “Can’t we all get along?”
The answer to Rodney King’s question should be a resounding “Yes!” It will take generations of hard work, self examination, and individual acceptance of responsibility for attitudes and mutual respect for it to happen. But it’s possible.
