Apr 23 2023 - Dominion Voting vs Robodies

 

Which headline has your attention today?  Dominion Voting, the Canadian company battling with Fox News?  Or might it be Devanthro's Robodies at a fair this week - "building robots as agile, dexterous and elegant as the human body, but without its fragility - so that one day, we can live as these nobodies and stay curious indefinitely." Both are creepy.  But which one seems creepiest - the known or the unknown? The case for the known: The U.S. defamation lawsuit has to prove there was intentional malice in reporting the false claims, not just reckless spreading of lies. Baseless doesn't seem to be the issue in the U.S. court system here.  The high bar of the first amendment is actual malice.  It is creepy and compelling to experience the moment when the United States spirals into chaos because the pathways for misinformation, disinformation and clear lies are opened wide.  That's the scenario if Fox doesn't lose. Do the Robodies seem creepier?  Yes to me they are personally and individually creepy which is even worse.  "Robodies are Humanoid Robotic Avatars that teleport your senses, action and presence anywhere on the planet. Combining robotics, AI, AR, 5G into one technology, they’re the closest thing to teleportation."  The company is DEVANTHRO, The Nobody Company. "They will allow 1.5 billion baby boomers age with dignity.  The Robody is named 10xNurse - a care-giver who remotely cares by embodying robodies   in elderlies homes. Nurses care for many patients at once, by teleporting between them, when needed. Take a look at the website HERE.  You can see all the presentations promoting the nobodies in Germany.  Evening smiling and hugging the Robot.  I can't help thinking it is a person in a robot suit.  But no this is me in a robot body - it is the opposite.  If only it was a train wreck ahead and not a nuclear explosion. Here's our Cherry tree on Niagara Street in St. Catharines.  The first image is multiple in-camera exposures. The second is a panorama to get the whole tree in the image.  Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Oct 23 2022 - Voting Tomorrow

 

We voted online for the municipal election earlier this week.  So simple, so easy, like magic.  But the headlines say there is a lack of provincial standards for online voting technology.  And the 2018 elections had problems, causing an extension of the hours for voting.  That doesn't seem to spark much cuiosity on my part. Look at the picture below - that got my attention!

The province's education minister having to ask for a professional review of teacher dress codes.  A viral social media post with this picture showed a teacher wearing prosthetic breasts - of a size beyond anything we've known before.   If I were a student what would I do?  This looks some kind of gender presentation issue to me. You can imagine that there have been numerous complaints and protests and that the Ontario Department of Education Minister has to figure things out.   It turns out that the teacher  is transgender.  Kayla Lemieux, (an exemplary teacher by all accounts), identified as male up until recently. According to reports, Lemieux transitioned over the summer, and now identifies as female. This year, she arrived at school wearing the aforementioned prosthetic, which one commentator described as “effectively a fetish outfit,” under a tight-fitting, form-revealing top.  I find this curious that it is being named an "attire" problem.  There's nothing wrong with the shirt to me - it is what is under it.  What if a female to male transgender starting wearing a giant penis in tight pants to work.   There's another scenario that is a challenge. No journalists so far have pointed this out.  No one wants to have to mention transgender issues.   I guess "attire" is also a code word for transgender body image presentation.   I head off to a scientific site to give me the transgender 101 information. "Often, as people are in the process of figuring out what feels most comfortable for themselves, they may experiment with styles and looks. They may later relax into more comfortable clothes, or clothes that reflect their own personal sense of style, rather than basing their choices on rigid cultural norms."  This from ovc.ojp.gov on transgender presentation.  "Body image can play a role in how people express their gender. Transgender people generally have an even more uncomfortable or negative relationship with their bodies than non-transgender people... Some create a literal armor to hide or alter their bodies or to create a different bodily contour: Some FTMs (or other people on the trans-masculine spectrum)— Bind their chests.  Wear baggy or multiple layers of clothing to help flatten the appearance of their chest. Wear self-made or store-bought penile prosthetics.  Use prosthetics to allow them to urinate while standing.  Slouch or intentionally gain weight to add mass to their midsection, altering their feminine contour. Some MTFs (or other people on the trans-feminine spectrum)— Use breast or hip forms to create a more feminine contour.  "Gaff" or "tuck" (i.e., pull back their genitals to create a smoother line).  Wear wigs. Dress in a highly stereotypical feminine way to create an outward appearance of undeniable femaleness. " So here we are - right in the middle of one transgender teacher's body image crisis.  News of the day:  voting machines vs transgender teacher body image crises.  Vote! Today's pictures are a random selection - based on a search for file number 0001. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

People's Choice

When did the idea of "The People's Choice" start?  This is not a topic  - it has no origin date and no serious definition.  At the urban dictionary, we'll find a satirical definition:   "Any group of tossers that self proclaim their greatness by assuming the collective title of "Peoples Choice". Usually participate in QuietThunder, if not it is because they are also known to suffer from permaflop.  Oh man, i would rather sit on the grenade than deal with the "Peoples Choice" It seems to me that there are a few possibilities:  that people's choice awards and ideas come out of the microeconomic theory area of Consumer Choice.  The idea of a People's Choice Award is to give consumers the voting power to decide the # 1, #2, and so on.  The second possibility is having political origins of making decisions/choices through voting. Today we have opportunities to vote for our favourite retail and service organization, usually through media outlets - newspapers and websites.  Up pops the number 1 city and restaurant in the world.  A humorous article says that Wawa's bathrooms were voted number 1 in Pennsylvania and number 2 in the country? I did vote for Longwood Garden's washrooms as the most interesting washrooms in the U.S.  They won (!) Who would guess washrooms would be a subject of people's choice. People's choice awards should also be considered a reaction to awards that are juried and judged by experts and authorities. This is the case of the People's Choice awards where the intent is to "thumb their nose at the Academy" and "The people have spoken and their choice has been heard, and high time too. What we have here is democracy in action, and a poll in which every voter is equal and every ballot counts."  These two quotes are from The Guardian newspaper article by Xan Brooks in 2009. And so we conclude the topic of People's Choice -  very prevalent, but without much analysis.  That would leave an opening for a book or two. We have two abstracts today -the first picture is grunge 'as is' with slight enhancements in Photoshop.  The second picture starts with a grunge image and then is finished with painting in photoshop using French Kiss grunge brushes to create a more interesting composition.

Voting Today

Voting isn't fun or funny anymore to people who live in Ontario.  Not after Doug Ford slashed in half the number of councillors to represent Toronto, and is safeguarding the legislation with the Constitution's notwithstanding clause, while launching an appeal of the judgement that temporarily stopped the downsizing. There was a time when democracy seemed a 'sure thing' and here to stay.  All the countries in the world would eventually move up the evolutionary government rule ladder and get there.  The big think.com tells us that democracy is on the decline everywhere.  The annual Democracy Index report by the Economist Intelligence Unit shows that democratic governments are in trouble everywhere. Of the 167 countries ranked this year, 89 of them received lower scores than last year. The scores reflect a wide range of liberties, attitudes, and norms that are vital elements of a free society.  The report has a ranking system that places a country's score in one of four categories:  full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime, or authoritarian regime.   I thought I would reach back to the past for some voting jokes.  I've not looked looked for election jokes in the past.  This is my selection: Q Where do Polar Bears Vote? A The North Poll If voting made any difference they wouldn’t let us do it.  —Mark Twain Don’t buy a single vote more than necessary. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay for a landslide. —Joseph P. Kennedy "Daddy," a little girl asked her father, "do all fairy tales begin with 'Once upon a time'? " "No, sweetheart," he answered. "Some begin with 'If I am elected.'" Two friends are discussing politics on Election Day, each trying to no avail to convince the other to switch sides.  Finally, one says to the other: ``Look, it's clear that we are unalterably opposed on every political issue. Our votes will surely cancel out. Why not save ourselves some time and both agree to not vote today?''  The other agrees enthusiastically and they part.  Shortly after that, a friend of the first one who had heard the conversation says, ``That was a sporting offer you made.''  ``Not really,'' says the second. This is the third time I've done this today.  Our picture today shows the Beauty Berry bush.  Quite the eye-catching colour.  Then another of our motion blurs from Denver.

Redbubble and Fine Art America are more than Sales Sites

Being a Host on an Art Site

I am a member of two art sites - Redbubble (rb) and Fine Art America (FAA) - because they sell my work.  Betterphoto is the host of marilyncornwell.com but it doesn't have any fulfillment capabilities so far.

I 'host' groups on these sites.  On Redbubble the two groups are related to gardens and flowers.  On Fine Art America the group is urban and nature macro abstracts.

The opportunity to host means I select images to feature in a display portfolio 0each week.  Over the few years, I've learned about what makes great images that have the 'wow' factor, and about putting images together into a portfolio with the 'wow' appeal.  I've discovered what makes an engaging topic for challenges where voting decides the top ten images.

Redbubble has a wonderful community of talent – here are the features this week in my garden and lilies groups: 

All Glorious Gardens

All Glorious Lilies

If you click the links above you can see the groups and look at my portfolios.  If you click this link -  All Glorious Gardens Challenge - you can see the latest images in the challenge, but you will want to sign in to vote.  

And come see the groups regularly and check out the features and gallery!