Your Enduring Freedom, At What Cost? (Momento Mori)

Freedom, actually, is free — War, however, is not.

Veteran's Day
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Washington, D.C.
Dedicated 1995

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"I have of late — but wherefore I know not — lost all my mirth,
forgone all custom of exercises; and indeed it goes so heavily
with my disposition that this goodly frame, the earth,
seems to me a sterile promontory, this most
excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave
o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted
with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to
me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.
What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason!
how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how
express and admirable! in action how like an angel!
in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the
world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me,
what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not
me: no, nor woman neither, though by your smiling
you seem to say so." Hamlet Act 2, scene 2, 303–312, William Shakespeare

•••

Dedicated to all those veterans who fought in World War I, "The War To End All Wars" (And, every war, that wasn't called a war, after that).

WWII (Second World War)

The Korean Conflict (The Forgotten War)

Vietnam Conflict (The Vietnam War)

Operation Just Cause (Invasion of Panama)

Operation Desert Storm (Persian Gulf War)

Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan War)

Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq War)

•••

Stars & Stripes Forever
(Download the entire Pride of the '48 Band's: Sousa Marches over at Oddio Overplay!)

War
(Buy: Edwin Starr: War & Peace)

War
(Buy: Bob Marley & The Wailers: Songs Of Freedom)

Find The Cost Of Freedom
(Buy: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: So Far)

Espero Alegre La Salida …

Frida Kahlo Following Her Mother's Death, 1932
Guillermo Kahlo
6 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches Gelatin Silver Print
Courtesy of Throckmorton Fine Art, Inc. New York, New York

'Images of an Icon offers a means of seeing Frida Kahlo’s world through the eyes of those who surrounded her. Modern masters of the camera such as Lucienne Bloch, Emmy Lou Packard, Florence Arquin, and Manuel Alvarez Bravo, as well as leading photojournalists such as Giselle Freund, Bernard Silberstein, and Fritz Henle captured her in their lenses. Kahlo’s relatives, lovers, and friends, including Guillermo Kahlo, Nickolas Muray, and Lola Alvarez Bravo were witness to a more intimate Frida. The images span Kahlo’s life and follow the artist from precocious child to famous artist. They permit a look into her bedroom, a seat at her table, a visit to her hospital room, a stroll through her garden, and a view into her collections. There is an ancillary component to the exhibition featuring the work of Northwest artists who have been inspired by Kahlo, the artist and icon.'

This exhibition is organized by Throckmorton Fine Art, New York. Local support is generously provided by Helen and Peter Bing and The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

Sure, Tacoma, Washington is 3,294 miles away from The Rock — but if I had 50 hours of free time — I'd hop in the car and beeline it out to Frida Kahlo: Images of an Icon, February 3 – June 10, 2007, at the Tacoma Art Museum. But, if you, like me, can't get out there right now (but we have until June of this year) — enjoy their site and resource links for more about Kahlo, and the photographers who knew, and loved her.

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Calexico: Quattro (Gotan Project Remix)
(Buy: Calexico: Black Heart)