general

Just voted for Obama in the primary. If you haven't and are looking for some reasons check out law professor Lessig's video (hat tip df).

Just a few quibbles:

1. Using the Wayback machine, Lessig attempts to refute Clinton's claim, regarding an Obama antiwar speech, that "by the next year [it] was off [Obama's] website." Lessig shows the speech was on the site every *month* up until the end of the first year after the speech. The point still stands that after a year the speech was gone.

2. Bad flub: Lessig says "Osama bin Laden" when he means "Saddam Hussein" (talking about "better intelligence regarding _____" leading up to the Iraq war).

3. Obama invoking Reagan was obnoxious any way you slice it. Reagan was a terrible president, nodding in senility while his cronies tore up Latin America and scaring the shit out of everyone talking about Gog and Magog with his finger on the nuclear button. The only "change" he stood for was giving Americans permission to consume after that scold Carter reminded us that certain resources will run out.

I voted for Obama to thank Clinton for her shameless vote for the Iraq war (and lack of apology for same). Lessig's point is good that we need to show the world we don't agree with the Bushes or their supporters such as the Clintons.

On the eve of the Iraq war I posted the following about Hillary Clinton's political calculation:

Back in October [2002] I posted the names of the Senators and Congresspeople who gullibly (or cynically) approved Bush's war plans: if you want to take another look they're here. It was completely foreseeable at that time that Junior would immediately start moving troops to the Gulf, thus making the invasion a fait accompli (note French phrase), just as his father did in the last Gulf War. But here was Sen. Hillary Clinton's morally convoluted rationale for her vote, stated to the NY Times: "She concluded that bipartisan support would make the president's success at the United Nations 'more likely and, therefore, war less likely.''" From the news today it looks like Bush just gave the finger to the UN, so instead of making war less likely, she made it inevitable. Thanks a lot.

Payback time for Clinton's support of Bush is tomorrow, folks.

...worked as a critic for the New York Press in the late '90s/early '00s while co-running Roebling Hall gallery.

Was hired as a critic by Village Voice, then unhired in 2008 because he was also working as a director for two art fairs.

The difference between then and now was there were no bloggers looking over the magazine's shoulder and complaining 8 years ago.

Whether CVF has a "conflict" depends on how seriously you take the money side of art*, or value the "one way" nature of traditional mainstream media.

Tyler Green, the blogger who brought CVF low, is really into both.

If CVF was a blogger with comments enabled his "conflict" would matter less because his biases could be called out and discussed.

Up till now art criticism has been like blogging--people looked the other way about "conflicts" because there are so few talented writers and criticism doesn't pay a living wage except to a few staffers of dailies.

I guess art is mature now.

Disclosure: In the New York Press Viveros-Faune wrote supportively about my work and a show I co-curated when the Voice and other publications failed to bite. I certainly didn't begrudge him his "conflict" at that time.

*Years ago, shortly after I moved here, I attended a panel discussion of New York art writers at Matthew Marks gallery. Afterwards I asked an Art in America writer on the panel, who I knew, why they kept the topics to vague generalities and didn't mention any artists by name. "Oh, we can't do that," she said. "Why?" I said. "Because if we do that collectors will run out and buy those artists." I pretty much stopped going to panels after that.

From Wikipedia's Full House entry:

Jesse Cochran/Katsopolis (played by John Stamos) - An up-and-coming musician. His catchphrase is "Have mercy!"

Daniel "Danny" Tanner (played by Bob Saget) - He is the co-host of the morning talk show Wake Up, San Francisco. His catchphrase was "Cut..It..Out!", accompanied by hand gestures.

Donna Jo "D.J." Margaret Tanner (played by Candace Cameron) - Oldest daughter in the Tanner household, who is a typical teenager, and deals with everyday issues. She has two occasional catchphrases, "Whoa, baby!" and "Oh, Mylanta!"

Stephanie Judith Tanner (played by Jodie Sweetin) - Middle daughter of the Tanner household. She is known to have an energetic and talkative personality. She also has three catchphrases: "How rude!"; "Well, pin a rose on your nose!"; and "Hot Dog!"

Michelle Elizabeth Tanner (played by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) - Youngest of the Tanner daughters. She has a strong bond with Jesse, who refers to her with the nicknames "Shortie," "Munchkin," or "Rugrat." Michelle has her own catchphrases: "You got it, dude!"; "You're in big trouble, Mister!"; and "No way, José!"

The above prose poem found while boning up on the cultural significance of a recent Paul Slocum artwork.

Good article about the late chess whiz Bobby Fischer's last years, in Iceland, where he was granted political asylum and some peace.
Some bloggers slagged tributes to Fischer after he died because of his "political views."
As "views" go they are very similar to the views of math whiz John Nash when he was living in Europe, seeing conspiracies everywhere, and trying to renounce his US citizenship to become a "world citizen."
What's crazier than Fischer is that he had to fear extradition to the US, his home country, which benefited greatly from his talent when he was mentally well (and/or politically compliant), turned on him for defying a boycott of a Soviet bloc country (and, er, not paying taxes), and then continued to seek his extradition long after the end of the Cold War. There is no genius or schizophrenia in the eyes of the national security state.
For madness more virulent than Fischer's, because this man (was) a candidate for high office, check out Rudy Giuliani's prescription for continuing US military buildup.