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Then, when I started to see images on blogs of rallies starting at Tehran University, I thought it was just a few rebellious youth. But then I started to see streams of Twitters from people in Iran talking about the police coming for them, and in their communication there was a determination I did not expect. Then, to my horror, I started to see images of bullet-riddled dorm room doors, bloody fighting, fires, continuing police brutality–there were reports of police firing into crowds and at least one person confirmed dead.

I notice that many of the larger news outlets were not reporting the uprisings much until last night, but instead on Saturday many were leading with stories like crowds hold “celebrations for Ahmadinejad.”

But then social media outlets dominated and broke through. I think the government in Iran cracked down on the Internet, but people were still able to Twitter using mobile phones. It’s almost as if the youth (those under 25, who are reportedly 70% of Iran’s population) have seized on a rare opportunity to let the world know what is really happening in their country. I fear they only have a few days left before the remaining foreign reporters are expelled or quieted. The foreign reporters who were allowed in to cover the “election” will be sent home now. I fear the government will become more violent at that point, and I hope the international community will not forget what it happening there and what has happened to the people.

No matter the outcome, I think it is too late for the Iranian government to escape without injury. The current regime has lost any remaining respect they had, and I believe the days of dictatorship in Iran are numbered. The people want to be free, and this is clear.

I just read on Bloomberg.com that “[H]undreds of thousands of people demonstrated today in downtown Tehran at a rally led by Ahmadinejad’s defeated opponent, Mir Houssein Mousavi, who charges widespread fraud in the June 12 vote.”

This is a huge movement of brave dissenters! Now, I don’t know Mousavi, and I don’t know how he would rule under the clerics. But I still think the revolt itself is a hopeful sign in the right direction.

In honor of the protestors, and as we approach July 4th, here are the opening words of our own Declaration of Independence…

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world…

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Vadim Perelman is the director, and, like Rand, he is from Russia. I haven’t seen his film, House of Sand and Fog, but I’ve heard good things about it.

The screenwriter is Randall Wallace, who wrote Braveheart, and Angelina Jolie is still listed as the lead. All very good news.

I’m also excited to hear that it will be set in the 40s and may even have hint of a film noir feel.

As this is the 50th anniversary week of the publication of Atlas Shrugged, I think Ayn Rand would be happy with the latest news.

Also at theatlasphere.com, I found another good article by Yaron Brook on the influence of Atlas Shrugged.

Cheers!

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Phil Donahue once questioned Ayn Rand about her atheism. At the time, she was still grieving the death of her husband. She answered that if for one minute she could truly believe in an afterlife where she could see her husband again, she would kill herself immediately. Of course, she could not and did not.

No one knows what happens after death, even though many people claim to know. Religionists have wielded great power over men with promises of “everlasting life.”

Religion is showing its dark side in the world again and dragging everyone down. I attended a lecture by J. Anderson Thompson last week on the psychology of suicide bombers. Dr. Thompson reported that these men — (mostly men) — who strap bombs to their bodies and detonate them to murderous ends will go to great lengths to protect their genitals during the explosions. They do this so they can enjoy “virgins” in an afterlife.

This is insanity. Enough of worshiping death to overcome our fear of it. If there is anything we know at this point in human evolution, it’s that religious theocracies are a bad and deadly idea. You can practice whatever religion you want on your own time, but leave others to believe or not believe as they will.

I think people want to be fully rational. They have both feet in a rational world that they can see, hear, taste, touch…yet, they cling to belief in the unknown and unknowable.

Sam Harris writes of our fear of death in End of Faith:

We are terrified of our creaturely insignificance, and much of what we do with our lives is a rather transparent attempt to keep this fear at bay…We doubt the one thing that is not open to any doubt at all.

What one believes happens after death dictates much of what one believes about life, and this is why faith-based religion, in presuming to fill in the blanks in our knowledge of the hereafter, does such heavy lifting for those who fall under its power. A single proposition—you will not die—once believed, determines a response to life that would be otherwise unthinkable.

It is paradoxical that believing you will not die can lead to hell on Earth. I’m sure many people will read this sentence and think Christianity is exempt from this statement.

But these same people conveniently ignore the deaths of tens of thousands “heretics” murdered by men of the cloth. They ignore the grisly symbol of a dead man on a cross. They ignore the anti-Semitism inherent in their religion—(Zechariah, 14: 1-9: Behold, a day of the Lord is coming, when…I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered…). Indeed, many Christians look forward to the destruction of Israel as a sign of the Second Coming of Christ.

Thankfully, the Founding Fathers went out of their way to use the vague term “Creator” in the Declaration of Independence and to build a wall between church and state.

Despite the Religious Right’s claims that America was founded as a “Christian nation,” the first Bill of Rights is clear:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

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I briefly met Ayaan Hirsi Ali last week at a book signing event hosted by The Secular Coalition for America and The Atheist Alliance. She is a tall, beautiful, intelligent woman. I was saddened to see her shadowed by bodyguards.

Because she speaks out against Islam and religious oppression, she has to live with death threats from radical Islamists — like the one who murdered her friend, Theo van Gogh. She warns it will get worse here for everyone if we don’t have a New Enlightenment soon.

“Islam is coming,” she said almost matter-of-factly, before disappearing into the crowd.

She hopes her speaking out against Islam will give more people the courage to do the same and to fight for a rebirth of reason before it is too late.

I blog because I don’t think it’s too late. But, I do think when writers (and cartoonists) of our age have to live with death threats for speaking their minds, time is of the essence.

[Below, two paintings I fell in love with at the National Gallery of Art, Washington.]

Cattelya Orchid and Three Brazilian Hummingbirds (1871), Martin Johnson Heade, , 1819-1904.

Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth, c. 1890, Martin Johnson Heade.

Author’s note: The title of this article was changed.

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The film stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale as notorious outlaw and desperate rancher, respectively, whose lives become fatefully intertwined and changed forever.

It’s a remake of a 1957 classic Western directed by Delmer Daves and starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin as the bad and the good. I haven’t seen the 1957’s version, but I suspect this may be one remake that actually surpasses the original. The film is based on a short story by screenwriter and master storyteller, Elmore Leonard.

Crowe’s and Bale’s performances are flawless. Crowe is Ben Wade—a ruthless killer and thief who leads an equally nefarious gang on crime sprees throughout the West. He is the man you should hate, but part of you longs for his redemption. He is too handsome to be pure evil, and he is an artist, which means he must have a soul somewhere. But, he chooses to saunter through the world without a conscience, discarding his pencil sketches as easily as the lives he takes.

Bale is Dan Evans, a one-legged Civil War veteran, a family man and rancher, who is struggling to save his land and feed his family. Evans’ life is crumbling, and he doesn’t know how to hold it together. When Ben Wade is captured, Evans volunteers to help escort him to prison and bring him to justice. Evans knows the dangers, but he feels he has nothing to lose. He is blinded by his desperation.

“3:10 to Yuma” is one of those films that movie buffs love to analyze—it’s rich in symbolism, foreshadowing and deeply developed characters. Great movies are often simple stories that involve complex characters. They leave us a little better able to distinguish between the good and the bad, both in others and in ourselves. “Yuma” reminds us why we love film, and why we love Westerns.

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However, this one’s good for a smile, too…here is Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim singing Frank’s own song…Enjoy!

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Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler) had a wonderful life. He was a successful dentist, happily married, living in New York City with his wife and three young daughters. He never had any reason to question his existence. Perhaps he was even guilty of taking his fortune for granted. Then, one day in September 2001 his family boarded a flight to Los Angeles without him, and the plane went down as part of the 9/11 terrorist’s plot. In that defining moment, Charlie lost everyone dear to him. Their tragic deaths haunt him now, and he can no longer maintain his life as it was. He is a ghost, drifting in and out of scenes without a soul. In a stellar performance, Adam Sandler shows us a man who once had everything but who now has nothing but grief.

Charlie’s college roommate, Don Cheadle, has been thinking of Charlie ever since he read about the tragic event. Perhaps because he senses his own growing complacency toward his family, he is obsessed with Charlie’s loss of his. He sees Charlie on the streets and reaches out to him. The rest of story unfolds as their friendship grows.

This movie is the antithesis of a high-speed action thriller, and yet it is an eloquent example of high drama. Reminiscent of the subtle but powerful dramas like “Ordinary People” or “Terms of Endearment,” the movie is carthartic. The suspense in the film comes not from what people do as much as from what they don’t do. Charlie’s life is the consequence of inaction and repression—which are not the easiest subjects to portray on screen. Mike Binder does it masterfully.

You may be surprised by how long this movie stays with you after you leave the theater.

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The festival winds through historic Winter Park, Florida, along the city’s main thoroughfare, Park Avenue. It’s a very high-energy display of some serious artists who create in a wide range of categories including: Clay, Digital Art, Drawing and Graphics, Fiber, Glass, Jewelry, Leather, Metal, Mixed Media, Paining, Photography, Sculpture, Watercolor and Wood. This year, artists competed for 62 awards, including one $10,000 prize for Best of Show, one Award for a Distinguished Work of Art, 10 Awards of Excellence, 20 Awards of Distinction and 30 Awards of Merit.

My friend and I are partial to painting, drawing, watercolor and photography. To save time, we agreed upfront to ignore the jewelry booths and most of the fiber art, glass and leather work, unless it really attracted our attention. We were after images. Still, it took nearly four hours for us to maneuver the crowds and visit each of the booths we selected for focus.

My personal favorite was an acrylic painter, Lynne Fischer-Roche, who painted very rich, succulent tropical plants in strong, vibrant colors. Wow. Maybe I’m biased toward acrylic painters because that’s my preferred medium, but I was very impressed by her ability to capture the feeling of the Florida landscape. Her compositions are simply sexy.

The winner of Best of Show, Randy Eckerd, a watercolorist was reminiscent of Andrew Wyeth. I enjoyed this painter’s incredible dry brush technique and exquisite eye for detail. In a way, his pictures are tributes to rural America and to those quiet, aesthetic moments enjoyed when sunlight or shadows play upon the objects of everyday life. If you have ever worked in watercolor, you know just how difficult and unforgiving a medium it can be. To accomplish the level of detail he does require countless hours of keen observation and a true affection for the scenes he creates. Eckerd is a hyperrealist, and his ability to evoke a feeling of relaxation and quiet joy through his images is highly impressive.

There were a number of notable watercolorists this year, including Yukimo Ichikawa, David G. Gill, Diana Hsu and Barbara Groenteman.

A pastel artist of note was Don Coons. His American landscapes are luscuious and inviting. His technique is flawless.

Another favorite was Michael Bryant, a digital artist. (Kudos to the festival organizers for including this category.) I don’t usually have a strong emotional reaction to photography or digital art, but this artist was different. He uses these media with such skill that you forget they are digital and simply enjoy the beauty of the images. My friend enjoyed this particular artist, too. She noted over dinner something the artist said in his statement–that when he stops breathless over his work he knows he’s reached the final stage. That’s how she felt when she saw the images. For me, the images were mysterious, almost surreal in their beauty.

This is just a small sampling of the artists I enjoyed. As with most art, seeing it on the web or in print does not do justice to the work. The lossy quality of the jpeg files are akin to the mp3s of the music industry.

Also, I was somewhat surprised and disappointed by the lack of sculpture in the show. I’m not sure of the reason for this fact. Perhaps this is not a show that sculptors find profitable to enter. There were only seven sculptors entered, and none of their works caught my attention. (Probably because with sculpture, I’m always looking for a David…) The stars of the day were definitely the watercolorists, acrylic and oil painters.

Overall, a very enjoyable day.

Below, Anne’s picture of her favorite flowers captured the spirit of the day…

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Before I moved here, I read that Orlando is the third best city for artists–(Los Angeles is first, New York second and Memphis fourth)–and I haven’t been disappointed. There is definitely an energy of creativity here that did not exist in the Denver area, at least not to the same degree. I’ll be posting links to my favorite artists here soon!

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