Swine Flu and Sensationalism

I talked to my mother on Monday, and one of the first things out of her mouth is “Be careful, the swine flu is going around. You and Keondra make sure you wash your hands.” We were dying laughing because it sounded pretty ridiculous. I have been reading headlines about the swine flu since I left the country, but I haven’t actually read any of the articles but the headlines have been enough and apparently the panic is increasing.

While the swine flu is spreading, I do think that we have to acknowledge the amount of sensationalism that is going on through the US media. While the swine flu is real it is only affecting a very small percentage of the population and it is very unlikely to be fatal. Headlines like yahoo news’ “Is swine flu the ‘big one’?” just seem a bit unnecessary. So people, wash your hands but no need to start counting down the days until swine flu causes the extinction of the human race.

Random Question of the Day

When will the world’s obsession with Obama end? I’m getting a bit tired of seeing his face one the cover of all the magazines on the stand. Its almost May people!!!

Wall Street vs. Detroit

With the recent government ousting of General Motors CEO, Rick Wagner, I can’t help, but ask, why is the government being so hard on the car industry and letting the greedy bastards on Wall Street off scott free? Without hesitation, the former administration, yes that includes Bush and Congress, gave the banks a $700 billion injection, with no questions ask. Then in comes Obama and the new Democrat majority Congress and what do they do, they give the banks another couple hundred billion dollars. Now I don’t claim to be an economist but it is estimated that the banks lost over $3 trillion dollars, between bad mortgages and bad investments and Congress blindly gives them upwards of a trillion dollars without asking a single question as to how they are going to spend the money.

Now enter the executives from the auto industry. Congress gets caught up in the fact that they flew private jets to D.C., when coming to BEG for money, and Congress is not hearing it. They put them through the ringer. Do they think that the CEOs of the banks don’t have private jets? While all this nonsense was going on, I think Jon Stewart said it best on “The Daily Show”, to sum it up, he pointed out that at least they have a product. You can see what they are giving to society. The banks have no product and based on the current state of our financial institutions, they would be the last people that I would be giving money to.

The greed of the banks got us into this mess so what the hell would possess anyone to give them more money. Clearly the monkeys on Wall Street have a gambling problem and they are not winning. Millions upon millions of people will be affected by the collapse of the auto industry, everyday people, whose livelihoods and retirements are dependent solely on the Big 3. Between travels, I stay in Detroit and the effects of the decline of the auto industry have been evident for the last five years. Michigan was in a single state recession, prior to the rest of the country catching up. Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the country. Michigan is one of three states to have a negative population growth in 2008. This is affecting everyday Americans. These are the people that need the money and the jobs, and the only way that they will get help is if the auto companies get government funds. They do not need nearly as much as Wall Street has already received so, what is the hold up?

Nuclear Bullies

If we can have nuclear weapons, why can’t other countries have them? Why should we be able to wreak havoc on countries who cannot defend themselves against such forces? While I can understand that when launching a nuclear attack, we do not want them to be able to retaliate, why should we want to launch such an attack? What happen to common human decency?

Lower East Side’s Hidden Gem

Two weeks ago I received a private invite to the Woodward Gallery in Manhatten’s Lower East Side. When I got off the D train at Grand Street I was pretty sure that I was in Chinatown and just knew that I was walking the wrong way. With my iPhone/GPS in hand I start following the directions, reluctantly. Looking at the numbers on the building, I should’ve been very close, but looking at the buildings I felt I was far from my destination and while my shoes were cute, my feet were aching. Suddenly I look up and spot a red flag on the building that read “Woodward Gallery”. I had arrived.

Once inside, I was amazed by the simple beauty of the space. The featured exhibit was “Margaret Morrison: Larger Than Life”, an exhibit of oil paintings of your favorite childhood candy. Think gummy worms, gumballs, wax lips and ring pops! The theme of the event was “Candy and Champagne” and I filled up on both. I was given a ring pop and told that I had to wear it on my finger until I left.

Shortly after I spotted my friends, a man walked up and introduced himself as John Woodward (who just so happens to be the Director/Co owner of the gallery). I was taken aback by his humility and explained briefly that I was drawn to the gallery after seeing that they had Jean-Michel Basquiat (my favorite artist of all time) and Andy Warhol originals, which are hard to view unless they are on tour. After I explained my love for Basquiat, he proceeded to tell me how he was good friends with both artists. I was floored. So we chatted and he shared stories about Warhol and Basquiat. Imagine my amazement.

Kristine Woodward, John’s wife, and Owner/Vice-President of the gallery, and an amazingly nice woman,  took a small group of us on a tour of the vault, which is a sub level, temperature controlled room where they hold loads of original paintings by some of America’s most famous artists. Of course I asked to see Basquiat and Warhol originals and we also saw the first LOVE, that Robert Indiana painted.

Overall the Woodward Gallery is one of the best that NYC has to offer. The humility of the Woodwards was inspiring and the collection is one that you can only find in this hidden gem.  So if you are lucky enough to get invited to a private event or can get an appointment for a tour, I highly recommend it. And if you can actually afford one of the pieces, feel free to add a Basquiat to your tab for me!

http://www.woodwardgallery.net/