Breaking Fake News Update (v17)

 Fake News Broke on August 30, 2025!

What's up with this particular bit of fake news, you ask? 

Well, it's me, fully embracing the Administration's move to 'classicalify' America, which he's been expressing for a while through Executive Orders. 

First, there was one issued on Inauguration Day, requiring recommendations to "advance the policy that Federal public buildings should be visually identifiable as civic buildings and respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage in order to uplift and beautify public spaces and ennoble the United States and our system of self-government."

And, there's the MFABA order (Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again) issued on August 28th, which requires new federal buildings to be built

in a way that “uplifts and beautifies public spaces” and “commands respect from the general public.”

The same article quotes Justin Shubow, president of the National Civic Art Society, who noted, “Classical public architecture is time-honored, timeless, and the mode most associated with our national values and a form of government is quite simply, the architecture of American democracy.”

Clearly, then, having male visitors to the White House dress as the Founding Fathers did is the best way to illustrate 'the mode most associated with our national values and form of government, right? And the portrayal of the women in classical sculpture is the closest I can think of that approximates the MAGA male's vision of the ideal woman... 

I mean, obviously, Hillary Clinton-style pant suits don't "uplift and beautify" public spaces or "command respect from the general public," do they? And certainly, suitless visitors (I'm talking about you, Vlodomyr Zelenskyy!) and tie-less, stupid-red-hat-wearing officials (I'm talking about you, FOTUS!) don't command respect from us, do they?

Now that I think about it, the creation of the Goldoval Office, the paved lawn in the Rose Garden, the comical Mar-a-lago umbrellas and fast-food-restaurant tables there, and the $200M ballroom aren't doing much to help, either. I hope we still have time to quash that last one, at least, in keeping with the EO. 

As always, when fake news breaks, we'll be here to cover it.

Wondering on Wednesday (v202)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

So, what's on my mind?  Well, for starters,why do technical difficulties always hit when I'm trying to get out a day-specific post? You know, like my Wondering on Wednesday posts? 

Moving on from whining to more important wondering, let's go to Florida, where it seems Gov. Ron DeSantis has had a change of heart and instead of just requiring people from other states to quarantine for 14 days (or the duration of their trip, if shorter),he's finally issued a state-wide stay at home order. And, it seems, he might be at loggerheads with his good buddy the president about the fate of the two cruise ships currently begging to be allowed to dock in Broward County. 

While Trump recently said he'd be talking to DeSantis about the ships, focusing as he is on the humanity of it all, DeSantis doesn't want them to come in (emphasis added).

I obviously am not in control of the port. that's run by the counties in southern Florida, in this case Broward County. I know they're in consultation with the cruise ships. Clearly we're going to be willing to accept any Floridians on board.

And that made me wonder what the Gov thinks should happen to non-Floridian Americans on those cruise ships? I mean, if you're from Missouri, or Iowa, or Minnesota or Wisconsin or Utah or Colorado or North Dakota or West Virginia or Ohio or Kansas or Arkansas or Oklahoma, how are you supposed to get home, if you can't first get off the darn boat?

Staying with Gov. DeSantis for a moment longer, his executive order identifies religious services as an 'essential activity' and therefore excepted from the stay at home requirement, even though we've seen from around the world and around the country that attending religious activities can be a very risky proposition for many people. I have to wonder about DeSantis' decision, and similar decisions in other states, and I'm hopeful that people will stay safe.

Now - let's get to the fun stuff, shall we? The things about which I can only wonder, is there no limit to our creativity, to our desire to make the best of a bad situation?

• Here's a shout-out to folks in Buffalo, NY, who've got a lot of fun quarantine activities going on. There are family porch portraits and there's Yoga Steve and there's the neighborhood dance party
• I mentioned last week that a teacher had made signs for her students, and other teachers are coming up with ways to stay connected with their students. Yesterday here in Onondaga County, teachers from a local elementary school held a parade (motorcade?) through the neighborhoods where their students live.
• This family, from Kent (UK) performed a parody of One Day More, one of the songs from Les Mis, and it's priceless!
• Chalk art! Remember that from when you were a kid?  Here's a story about the beautiful and hopeful art that folks are making out in Southern California.
• And one more dance party, because this grandfather/granddaughter thing is just so darn cute. 

I wonder, what's happening your neck of the woods? Got any suggestions on how to make the best of social distancing? Drop a note in the comments!

Grains of Salt (v37): Public Art for Syracuse

Grains of Salt

I visited my Philadelphia cousin a few years back, and remember being struck by the murals on the walls all over the city. Here's a blog devoted to the artworks - check out the photo galleries in the toolbar and you'll see why they caught my eye.

I remember thinking how cool it was, instead of looking at blank walls on buildings and bridges, that there was art everywhere, in all kinds of neighborhoods, and that it was not marred by graffiti.

How cool, I thought, if something like that could happen here in Syracuse someday...

Now, I know we have a handful of murals, including S.ALT CITY, on the side of the M. Lemp building, which is made from hundreds of QR codes and commemorates the city's salt making heritage; the street scene in Columbus Circle; and Clinton Serenade, depicting downtown Syracuse and the Erie Canal on the side of the NBT Bank on Salina Street.

We might never reach Philly heights when it comes to murals; after all, they've been at it for a while, it's a much bigger city, and so on - there are even books about them. But we're taking baby steps here in Syracuse, we are.

Two murals were recently completed under the railroad bridge on South Salina Street near Tallman St.  Syracuse illustrator London Ladd created the murals celebrating visits to our city by Frederick Douglass (1861) and Martin Luther King, Jr. (1961).  Here's a video of Ladd talking about his murals.

London Ladd Murals from The Girl Mirage® on Vimeo.

Another project recently announced is aiming high -- 12 murals in 12 weeks. This one's an effort of the public art pilot program 315Alive and will be headed by the Spark Contemporary Art Space on East Fayette Street. One mural, "The Hub of the Bicycle World," has been approved by the city's public arts commission, for the walls of the old Stearns Bicycle building.

In case you're not familiar with Stearns bicycles, this article from the Onondaga Historical Association highlights a race between a six-passenger Stearns bike and a NY Central train back in 1896. Ah, the good old days, right?

While Ladd's murals were funded from money Syracuse University pays the city (in lieu of taxes), the 315 Alive/Spark project is relaying on a GoFundMe page to raise $12,000 which will be supplemented by businesses and local foundations, with some $40,000 needed to help pay for insurance, permits, fees, materials and artist stipends.

Want to learn more, or donate?  Here's the link to the fundraising page. And for more info on public art in Syracuse, check out this link.

How cool it would be...