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The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Friday
Aug292014

Tan and the Man

Because of the international impact of this controversy, it deserves its very own blogpost.

Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed: "A Republican Congressman Is Actually Upset About Obama’s Tan Suit. Republican Rep. Peter King of New York ... blasted President Obama for wearing 'a light suit, light tan suit' to talk about the threat of ISIS on Thursday.

There’s no way any of us can excuse what the president did yesterday. When you have the world watching… a week, two weeks of anticipation of what the United States is gonna do. For him to walk out — I’m not trying to be trivial here — in a light suit, light tan suit, saying that first he wants to talk about what most Americans care about the revision of second quarter numbers on the economy....'" -- Peter King, on right-wing NewsMaxTV

... Later, Rep. King clarified his angry remarks about Obama's suit by appearing on CNN to say he was still angry about Obama's suit. With the whole world watching Pete on the international network, Pete chose not to wear a tie. Hey, it's summer. AND casual Friday. But he surely looks angry.

The suit was a metaphor for his lack of seriousness. -- Peter King, on President Obama's tan suit, on CNN

... CW: You're right, Peter King. That's why when I saw this snap of you wearing a tan summer suit in a season that appears to be summer, I was flabbergasted. Maybe the world isn't watching you at this particular moment, but -- my lord -- is this how you dress to represent a city that has a whole week! -- twice a year! -- dedicated to fashion???? Have you no shame, Sir?

... AND here you are, discussing the Troubles no less, in a tan sports jacket. And sweater. It must be winter. Are you even wearing a tie? As Scott Shane of the New York Times reported a few years ago, "Long before he became an outspoken voice in Congress about the threat from terrorism, he was a fervent supporter of a terrorist group, the Irish Republican Army." And here you are with Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, the IRA's political wing, dressed like a bum or a college professor. Look at Gerry there, all decked out for a wake in a proper dark suit & tie. The look of dispproval on his face tells you just what he thinks of your outfit. All of Ireland is watching. There's no excuse....

... Both photos via Joe Coscarelli of New York, who has a point: "Peter King has never discussed much of substance, so his point may still stand."

President Obama, Thursday. President Reagan, way back when, with Pope John-Paul II. John-Paul would go on to become a saint. Reagan would go on to rot in hell for insulting God, the Pope & the whole of Christiandom by wearing a tan suit to meet with God's representative on earth.

Oh, P.S. Those effete artistes of the fashion industry loved the suit.

UPDATE: Many thanks to Akhilleus for inserting the appropriate musical accompaniment:

... AND thanks to MAG for suggesting the appropriate comedic accompaniment:

Comments Off

Reader Comments (5)

Wonder why Peter (Fashionista) King didn't throw a flag on The Decider when he played dress-up army man while real Americans were fighting and dying in his illegitimate war? Or why he hasn't brought up the too, too shabby way Ronald Reagan was always pretending to be a cowboy like those rootin' tootin' six-gun shootin' sheriffs he played in B movies? Guess he was too busy admiring their made-up manly demeanor. Oooooh, pretend tough guys and IRA terrorists make Pete go all a-quiver.

Maybe he should take a cue from the Peter Scolari character in the old Newhart Show. The always fashionably dressed Michael Harris and his equally vapid but fashionable girlfriend played by Julia Duffy made a point of criticizing, in the most disgusted terms, the clothing selections of their fellow Vermonters, to point of writing up and handing out citations for bad fashion choices.

Someone as obviously attuned to fashion as Peter King seems to be--making the president's choice of suit color an issue of national security--must needs have his dedication to habiliment celebrated in song.

Oh wait. It already is! Peter King: Dedicated Follower of Fashion.

Now, Pete, what do you think? Checkered socks with striped pants, or should I stick with plain black, over the calf silk ones? Oh, the humanity!

August 30, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

I liked a tan-suit comment on Daily Kos: "I hope next week he'll wear seersucker just to fuck with people." Pretty much my thought, too.

August 30, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterJames Singer

It's sobering to realize that Peter is the less dopey of the two Republican Kings in Congress.
And, by the way, I see nothing frivolous about the suit. I'd say the President looked appropriately subdued in dress and somber in demeaner.
And, per James Singer, I hope Obama does appear in seersucker at his next presser. That would be a hoot!

August 30, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterVictoria D.

Obama could really wind up King if he resurrected the Nehru jacket. Think I'll drop that in the WH suggestion box. I wonder if the next fashion outrage will involve boxers vs briefs.

August 30, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterDiane

...there's the Puffy Shirt option! Maybe at the Kennedy Center Awards.

August 30, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterMAG
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