BANNED FROM FACEBOOK

I was banned from facebook for posting this picture of myself around age 3 which i recently found in my family’s archives.  My father was at the time an active amateur photographer with a sense of humor as is made very clear by this image:  my posture clearly reflecting my shyness about my nudity, yet I evidently do not yet have the self-awareness required to stop playing with my penis for the camera.  When I posted this image on facebook, it did indeed occur to me that it might be an issue:  there is a long history of irrational censorship of images of nude children(see Jock Sturges, Ron Oliver, Sally Mann), in which all depictions of underage nudity are lumped together into the sleaze bucket, and the internet has been a war zone with respect to censorship and all kinds of imagery deemed too indecent for public consumption since it became an accessible means for sharing photos in the late 80s/early 90s.  It is impossible for me to ignore the site and moment at which this particular censoring has occurred, for I have recently been made aware of a “story” seeping into mainstream media outlets regarding the dissemination of risque, semi-nude, nude and occasionally lewd photographs of underage subjects on anonymous image boards on the internet.  It is true that this is somewhat a growing trend, but having grown up during the internet boom, I became aware of the practice in unspeakably seedy AOL chatrooms at an early age.  These photos are generally first distributed by the author/subject of the photograph via instant message, facebook, photobucket, a text message(sexting), email, and then shared and re-shared by the growing number of recipients, or in some cases directly to the audience at large, that is, to an anonymous image board, with countless numbers of drooling voyeurs “fapping” away to whatever underage indiscretion strikes at their dark soul.  I recently heard a discussion of the matter on NPR.  In a few cases, I gather, the initial posters, that is teenaged boys and girls who have photographed themselves nude and shared it with their friends, have been charged criminally.  A number of good points were touched on, which I wish to reflect upon here.  1) This is not a criminal matter! As of yet, there is no legal distinction between a teenager posting a nude picture of him or herself and a pedophile doing so. This is insane, for a number of obvious reasons. 2) Kids have been allowed, and even encouraged to engage in similar activities on social networking sites for years. It is the parameters of the medium of the text message, or private chat room that allows for them to make the next logical step of sharing nude self portraits. The language of myspace prepares them for it perfectly. and 3) the media’s obsession with this “phenomenon” and the hysteria it seems to inspire in parents and society at large speaks VOLUMES about our obsession with teen sexuality and our desires to insert ourselves into the drama, albeit under the guise of one motivated by protective and/or moralistic intentions. Before one classifies an image pornographic, one needs to look in the mirror and ask oneself why they might categorize it as such.  With that, I’d like to apologize to whichever facebook employee found my photo and banned me for it.  “Sorry if I gave you a boner.”

Sando Attacks Continue…

“In a sudden crime wave involving sandwiches”

from ChattahBox, MA

VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Vero Beach man faces a domestic violence charge after authorities said he assaulted his girlfriend with a cheeseburger. An Indian River County Sheriff’s Office arrest report said a 22-year-old man and his girlfriend got into an argument as they sat in a car in front of their home.

The report said the man would not let the woman out of the vehicle, so she threw his drink out of the car. In response, the man allegedly grabbed her arm and smashed the cheeseburger into her face. The pair got out of the car, and authorities say the man again took the McDonald’s sandwich and put it on her face.

The man was released on $1,000 bond Wednesday.

Information from: Press-Journal, http://www.tcpalm.com/vero

Wanna get laid? Join an Iraqi cult!

According to the L.A. Times today an Iraqi cult known as Heaven’s Army is trying to wreak chaos all over Iraq. The goal is to cause a rapture-esque event where the saint Imam Mahdi, a descendant of Muhammad, will come down to earth and throw a party. But they need as many suicide bombers as possible and unlike oil they are not a renewable resource. So they need lots of dudes and lots of bitches, mostly bitches to hump all the dudes and keep them stoked on blowing shit up. Abu Jassem said he could join and would get cash-money, but he had to let the other dudes sleep with his wife, daughter and sister. A foursome sprinkled with the zest of incest, no less. Hell yeah. And a woman named Iman was approached by a friend who said, “Listen girl, you want Imam Mahdi to come back? Then you should hump my husband.” Swingers! If your sex life is not up to code then join Heaven’s Army. Sounds heavenly humptastic to me!

weekly plugs

I have decided to star suggesting good things in NYC. Because unlike LA we can get as drunk as we want and go to as many things as possible cause’ we ain’t got no cars.  Danny-boy still has some paintings up at Arts Tropical in Greenpoint. Barnaby Whitfield has a show opening tomorrow night, but I am more interested in the show he curated in the back “WARM, RED, SALT AND WET” at 31 Grand Gallery (located where its name suggests).There is a closing reception at Brooklyn Fire Proof, for the “Mixed Emotions” show curated by Sophia Dixon on Friday?  
  Then later on Friday night, if you enjoy fun, and welcome the the end of winter and the departure of its abysmal icy cool breathe (mint mojito) make sure you make it to the Redemption Center, because Bobo and Dj Wastes Muny playing together is basically like sharks communicating with luminescent skin, (see below).