POSTED: Wednesday, December 15, 2010, 3:00 PM
Every Wednesday, Critical Mass pokes around the blog world so you don't have to.
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| newsgrist.typepad.com |
| Fim still from Wojnarowicz's Fire in My Belly |
➤ The nation has been abuzz after AIDS activist/artist David Wojnarowicz's film,
Fire In My Belly, was canceled at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. after House Republicans had a shit fit about it being"un-American" and "anti-catholic." It seems to be that time of year (albeit, the only time of the year) that it is okay for us to overlook every other part of the holiday season to ponder how Christmas is being "attacked" by the anti-all-that-is-fair-and-good socialist liberals. This is a strange turn. For a party so terrified of losing social liberties and tirelessly comparing the current administration with early communists, pressuring a curator (see what I did there?) to take down a piece of art is downright scary. Luckily, with protests starting to materialize, Artblog's own Andrea Kirsh will be covering the controversy in two posts.
They also provides us with some reactions/articles about the whole fiasco if you're not up to speed.
➤ I could bitch about politics all day, but luckily
there's some good news on Art in the Age's blog to distract me. We as a country have been polluting our waters over the years, killing off valuable members to our rivers' ecosystems. The good news is that the Delaware River is actually bucking this trend. The alewife floater and tidewater mucket, two of the seven species of mussels found in the Delaware River, are alive and well. See, mussels are important because they act as water filters, gobbling up bacteria and other stuff that would likely leave you on the toilet if you came in contact with it. Because of the declining quality of America's waters, mussel populations have been falling rapidly. Don't get ahead of yourself, though, clean and cleaner are two very different words. Taking a big gulp of ship yard water still probably isn't a good idea
➤ If you've come in contact with any Philadelphian, any form of technology, or even had your window open, I'm sure you've heard that Cliff Lee is a Philly once again. Lee will take his place in a pitching rotation that I didn't think the natural universe could let happen: Halladay, Oswalt, Lee, and Hamels. People are already calling Christmas, "Cliffmas" (don't say it too loud though, House Republicans might pressure me take this post down).
Philebrity put together a collection of their favorite Cliff Lee freak-outs with the Philly sports world blurting out anecdote after excitable anecdote about the massive 5 -year deal. A freak-out post wouldn't be complete, however, without also highlighting some New York twitter grief as well.
