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Weak XXXV

28 August 2012

No. 3,940 (cartoon)

Do you worry about death?

I don’t have that kind of time.

29 August 2012

The Proper Exposure

Malcolm Browne died yesterday; he was eighty-one years old. Despite his long life and myriad accomplishments, he’s primarily known for just one photograph that he made on June 11, 1963. That’s when Thich Quang Duc, a Vietnamese monk, immolated himself on a public street.

The photograph of the burning protester proved to be an icon for opposition to the war in Viet Nam, but Browne explained he had no motives when he made the photograph.

“Journalistic photographs certainly have no point of view in them because there is no time for energy for point of view in this kind of photography. Any point of view ascribed to them later is just that. That would apply to my picture of the burning monk. I had no point of view. I was concerned that they be properly exposed, but since the subject was self-illuminated that wasn’t much of a problem.”

The proper exposure wasn’t much of a problem. I’ve met a lot of cynical journalists and never heard a more sardonic remark.

30 August 2012

This Poor Guy

Most of the seven billion people on the planet are decent folks. But alas, the laws of probability dictate that a certain percentage of them are despicable.

I don’t understand why a seemingly disproportionate percentage of child molesters are employed by Roman Catholic religious organizations. Is there a culture of child rape in those institutions, or do Catholic pedophiles just get an inordinately large amount of press?

Reverend Benedict Groeschel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal provided an unusual—or is it?—perspective on child abuse.

“Suppose you have a man having a nervous breakdown, and a youngster comes after him,” he explained. “A lot of the cases, the youngster—fourteen, sixteen, eighteen—is the seducer.”

He referred to Jerry Sandusky, the former football coach who’s spending the rest of his life in jail for sexually abusing minors as, “this poor guy.” He went on to say, “on their first offense, they should not go to jail because their intention was not committing a crime.”

I could go on about Robert W. Finn, the American bishop who was convicted shielding a priest who made hundreds of pornographic images of little girls, but I won’t. At least he didn’t suggest the girls liked to model.

31 August 2012

Charm Offensive

Gerrit’s on a charm offensive, only without the charm. Feh.

Charming. Or perhaps not.

1 September 2012

Gratuitous Photo of the Weak: Bread Crimp

For years, I’ve been collecting the plastic thingies that hold plastic bread bags tightly closed. Some time ago I read that the little doodads had a technical name, but I couldn’t discover what it was despite almost four minutes of research. I saw them referred to as bread bag clips, clamps, climps, crimps, tabs, tags, ties, and even Wilsons.

Wilsons?!

No matter what they’re called, they’re obviously photogenic. I shall photograph them all as soon as I have enough of them to make the collection tedious in its entirety.

2 September 2012

Not All Paths Are on the Map

When I told Alicia that I didn’t know how proceed, she replied, “Not all paths are on the map.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“It’s just some pseudo-Zen nonsense to confuse you even more,” she explained. “With enough befuddlement, you may come full circle back to clarity.”

“Sounds like more pseudo-Zen nonsense to me,” I replied.

“It may be working!” she enthused.

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©2012 David Glenn Rinehart