Pictures from Guantanamo Bay

I encourage everyone to see these stark, beautiful, sobering pictures from Guantanamo Bay. NPR posted the slideshow from Atlantic:

http://www.theatlantic.com/slideshows/guantanamo/

I do not think that the American people know what perversions of justice are being perpretrated in their name. I do not think they know, for example, of earlier Supreme Court decisions denying due process not only to alleged terrorists of foreign citizenship, but also to American citizens, arrested both abroad and on American soil.

And now, six detainees are being tried with some semblance of due process. Think, for example, of actually BEING ABLE TO SEE the evidence proferred by the prosecution against you! What's more, think of actually being able to cross-examine your prosecution's witnesses! And wow, for once, you'll have access to competent counsel. How amazing. It's been a terribly recent development, this. It was only last year that the Supreme Court ruled in Hamdan that the Geneva Conventions actually applied to our Gitmo detainees! Before, these PEOPLE (criminals or not, they are PEOPLE and therefore have such a thing as HUMAN RIGHTS) literally existed in the black hole of the Bush War Against Terrorism. No rights. No counsel. No impartial trials. Not even the chance to know what charges you've been accused of, no chance to contest the evidence used against you.

Guess what, people. THE BILL OF RIGHTS IS A PRIVILEGE. THE BILL OF RIGHTS IS NOT GUARANTEED. Hey, until the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, they didn't even apply to the States. And even then, the Supreme Court had to explicitly state their applicability in a series of cases. What we think of as our "inalienable rights," what we take for granted as a given--our rights to counsel, our rights against self-incrimination, free speech, habeas corpus, even...all of these lie on no firmer basis than our faith that they do and should exist.

It's enough to say we should all pray to whatever our respective belief systems tell us to pray to.

Picture from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11381321/

Spring Premonition

Went to work this morning in sunshine, after a week of moist rain punctuated by random, short-lived squalls of snow. The witch-hazel is blooming, spreading out small tendrils of yellow in mid-February. Beside it, the daffodils have begun their inexorable climb up past the frozen mulch and into the sunlight.

The groundhog said six more weeks of winter, and I believe him, but thus far it's been hard to believe. The air is mild, the wind is mild, the sky is blue. Some people feel springtime in their gardens, some say in their bones. Me, I feel it in my nose. The life I live, alas, is climate-controlled and gardenless, but even I, apartment rat that I am, can feel the moisture, that promise of tumescent growth just out of reach. Tuesday this week I reached for Goutal's Chevrefeuille, Wednesday, for Chanel no. 19. Thursday, Guerlain Cherry Blossom, Friday, Caron's Violette Precieuse. Today, it's Goutal's Folavril.

I make no formal choices in turning over one palette of scents for another. But when I start craving those green growing things, I know spring is coming. When I reach for Petite Cherie over Chinatown, or Chanel no. 19 over Coco, I know. It's coming, though freezing temperatures may bar its way (this evening's low is supposed to be 10 degrees Fahrenheit, tomorrow, a high of 16 is expected. Right now, it's a balmy 55 degrees outside).

Please excuse the pictures, they were taken with my cellphone.

The Return of Kimono Porn: Tsujigahana

It's been a long while, hasn't it?

I don't recall if I've addressed the topic of tsujigahana before, although it is a certainty that I have mentioned shibori. Tsujigahana is an old technique, lost and then revived by the artist Itchiko Kubota in his own way (check out the links below for more info). Now, it's a very popular method of kimono embellishment--one of the MOST expensive methods, but a very popular look nonetheless. Most kimono you'll see on sites like Ebay will be an imitation of the tsujigahana 'look,' but not tsujigahana itself. Cheaper 'tsujigahana look' kimono will have an intricate stenciled pattern that mimics the effect.

Modern tsujigahana combines the technique of shibori (super fancy Japanese tie-dye), with additional techniques of ink-painting and gilding. It is incredibly time consuming, requires a huge amount of talent and patience. I've been told that the patterns are tied and dyed blind, so you have to know exactly what the design is in your head in order to get the desired pattern.

These kimono above were made by Itchiko Kubota. Though I think I've posted on him before, they still take my breath away.

I've just realized that I haven't worn full kimono since July, and this makes me sad. What good is it to have a closet full of kimono if one doesn't wear them? The thing is, I've begun to realize that I can no longer dress how I like. Even at school, casual as it is on a day-to-day basis, I've begun to feel as if I should have a suit at the ready in my car or locker at all times. But still, how fun it is to dream!

Pictures from:
http://www.kimonoexhibit.com/exhibit.htm
http://www.civilization.ca/cultur/kimonos/kimoneng.html
(There's also a TON more info on these two sites)