Hey everybody. Some of you have noticed the new tab at the top of the blog, but today I’m officially kicking off a side project: Small Great Love.
Next week I’ll be going to South Africa, with 9 other people from Virgin companies around the world, on a “Wake Up Trip” created by Virgin Unite – Virgin’s global charity. We’ll be heading to Newington – a village about 6 hours drive northeast of Johannesburg – where we’ll spend a week building a crèche (the South African term that’s similar to “kindergarten”) for the local families. Their current crèche is run down and, even worse, the 5 and 6-year old kids are forced to cross an active railroad track to get to it. We’re going to not only be building on the safe side of the tracks, but we’re also going totally environmentally friendly: VOC-free paint, recycled materials, eco-friendly learning toys, a play set made from recycled tires, a vegetable garden, rain-water collectors, and way more.
Starting today, I’ll be chronicling the trip on Small Great Love. The name arose from a quote by Mother Teresa, that “we can do no great things, only small things with great love.” This idea means a lot to me; it speaks to the power we all have to do small things that are unspeakably meaningful. If we look at the world as a whole, our problems easily seem insurmountable. But with acts of small great love any person, any where, can make a difference in the life of someone else. To me, that’s such a beautiful, life-affirming thing.
If you’re into it, please check out Small Great Love. Follow it so that I can show you the trip. And if you want, you can also donate online to the crèche directly through Virgin Unite. The more cash we can raise, the more support we can give the kids at the school. Thanks y’all.
This pisses me off. A few days ago the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced that South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, “the fastest man on no legs”, would not be allowed to compete at any events under it’s jurisdiction – including the Beijing Olympics. A bilateral amputee from the knees down, Pistorius runs on mega-high tech carbon fibre artificial limbs called Cheetahs. Maybe the name is too intimidating. They should call them “Slowpokes” or “Turtlesticks” or something.
Pistorius has been annihilating Paralympic records since he first started running. After only 8 months of training, he broke two Paralympic world records in his very first race. Since then he’s gone on to consecutively break his own world records 29 times and holds the world record times in the 100m, 200m, and 400m. More than that, Pistorius was simply too fast for the Paralympics. Suddenly, for the very time, an amputee athlete was running at almost the same times as his able-bodied competitors.
At the 2007 South African National Championships he won silver in the 400m against able-bodied runners. In July 2007 Pistorius competed in an able-bodied international 400m race for the first time – and came in second. He then announced his intention to become the first amputee-athlete to compete in the Olympic Games. That’s when the international debate began…
Pistorius has blown up the expectations of what a Paralympic athlete should be to compete at the very top of his sport. Rather than assume that maybe he’s one of the best runners ever, it’s assumed that it’s only possible because of his prostheses. Not because of the triumph of his will or a natural talent so great that it simply couldn’t be hidden.
Watching him run is amazing and has to be seen to be appreciated:
Soon, the IAAF was being asked questions it never had to face before. Pistorius was breaking out of the box. What exactly was he? Disabled or enhanced? Transcendent or assisted? A bunch of slower able-bodied runners wanted to know how he was beating them. Because it couldn’t possibly be that he’s just better.
In November 2007, German professor Gert-Peter Brueggemann began testing the artificial limbs at the request of the IAAF. His study found that Pistorius’ limbs used 25% less energy than able-bodied runners to run at the same speed. In December, prematurely discussing his findings before the release of the official report, Brueggemann told Die Welt newspaper that Pistorius “has considerable advantages over athletes without prosthetic limbs who were tested by us.” This week IAAF made the announcement.
The argument is that Pistorius gets an unfair advantage from the spring provided by his prostheses and that since they’re lighter than organic legs he doesn’t tire as easily – giving him an advantage at the end of the race. The counter argument is that since his prosthetics lose 20% of the energy they expend (an organic leg only loses about 7%) it’s harder for him to build momentum – giving him a disadvantage at the beginning of the race. Easier at the end, harder at the beginning. So doesn’t everything even out?
The greater question here is one that will keep arising as biological technology evolves. A scientist can bounce his prostheses up and down in a machine and determine that it releases some percentage of energy versus a human leg, but how do we quantify the effort and skill it takes for an athlete to adapt their body to function that way? If we’re cool with assisting an amputee to a point that they’re considered “equally normal” to us, how can we then use that very assistance in a bid against them if they excel at something? Clearly Pistorius is naturally gifted. At what tipping point do we decide that someone is being given an unfair advantage instead of a fair one?
In a world that over-uses the word “hero” and makes false-champions out of a lot unworthy personalities, he’s the real deal. Imagine the training and willpower it’s taken him to train his body and the courage to fight the dissent he clearly faces. He’s a pure example of turning what everyone tells you is a disability into a unique ability. He inspires me.
Pistorius has said before that if the IAAF decides to not let him run he’ll appeal. I hope he does. And I hope he kicks ass.
UPDATE #2 – 01.26.08: I recently got an email from Brandt Botes asking me to post this apology to Justin Jorgenson. It’s easy to not be accountable for your actions in the blogosphere, and I think apologizing takes some guts. Here’s Brandt’s statement:
“Thanks for featuring my set on your blog. Since doing this in 2001, i got told about the original Obscene Interiors by Justin a few years later. I loved what he did to personal ads and the commentary he wrote – more than that i couldn’t think of a more apt description than Obscene Interiors. I carelessly hi-jacked the name in 2007 when i published my set on Flickr, without asking permission or giving credit.
When created, it was done so without knowing anything about Justin’s work. For me it revolved around a love of wallpaper and pattern – something found in excess in 70’s porn. Once the figures were removed, it became a “guess the position” scenario to boot.
Justin – apologies for using your name. I have changed it, for what it is worth. Other than that similarities between the work is purely coincidental.”
UPDATE #1 – 01.11.08: Since this post went up I’ve been contacted by artist Justin Jorgenson. Here’s what he said:
“FYI – this concept of removing the figures from porn began with a feature called “Obscene Interiors” on my website http://JustinSpace.com in 1999 and was covered shortly after by The New York Times and other publications. My collection of online male personal ads with the figures grayed out became a book, “Obscene Interiors: Hardcore Amateur Decor” published in 2004 by Baby Tatoo. This Brandt Botes person (aka Von Brandis) you’ve mentioned was clearly “inspired” by my work.”
I looked through his site and his claims are totally legit. Whether Brandt Botes had seen Jorgenson’s work before beginning his own is impossible to know. Either way, plagiarism is serious shit. Check out Justinspace to decide for yourself…
ORIGINAL POST:
And you thought the best part of vintage porn was the music (or possibly the glaring lack of pubic grooming). Well, think again…
Thanks to South African artist Brandt Botes‘ (aka Von Brandis) latest Flickr set, Obscene Interiors, we can now clearly see how vintage porn really excelled in “set design”. By removing the actual pornstars from old skool shots he found on the internet, we can now check out, unhindered, the no-holds-barred shag carpeted key party glory of it all. Plus the white silhouettes, positions discernible from the outlines but the details and money shots blurred away, are tantalizing little brain teasers. Of course our imaginations are pervier than reality… or at least mine is.
If you’re into it, he’s also got a (ultimately not-printed but still worthwhile) tee design on Threadless.
Via Juxtapoz
These well done print ads for the Cape Times, an English paper with a South African focus, use an effective “day-before” approach through some of the biggest events in recent history and the line “The World Can Change In A Day”. The obvious power here is that, for most people, the shortest route to play off the emotional after-math of an unexpected tragedy is to pinpoint the simple carefree unknowingness of everything that came right before it.
Sept 10, 2001 – the day before 9/11
August 5, 1945 – the day before Hiroshima
November 21, 1963 – the day before John F. Kennedy was shot
Via Coolz0r
shape+colour 