"New Orleans Man Drowns at Party for Lifeguards"

News from 1985

 

Via Reddit

Happy Syttende Mai!

Do they still celebrate Syttende Mai in Stoughton, Wisconsin? They did when I was kid growing up in nearby Middleton, WI. We had our own summertime festival called "The Good Neighbor Festival, " always around the last weekend of summer.  Other small communities had theirs too: Sun Prairie had their "Corn Festival." Waunakee had something called "Volksfest," but that went away. Now I understand they celebrate "Wauktober Fest"? Perhaps Titus can enlighten us. Jefferson, WI had "Gemuetlickeit Days;"  Madison had "May Day" (I kid).

The names suggest a strong European influence which I think is waning fast.

Do people do these kinds of things outside of Wisconsin?

Bless their little hearts, the mean lady made the children cry

These portraits of children crying brought photographer Jill Greenberg hate mail. What an awful thing to to do, people wrote, but Jill didn't care, what the heck, you make children laugh and smile, don't you? It's the same thing. You go, here's my cell phone. Oh, wait, give that back, then photograph the kid's reaction you provoked. What's wrong with that?

It's ART !

And political statement besides. About Bush's failed economic policies. It is justified, how else is Jill going to reach people emotionally? Huh? Emotion. It's all about emotion. It's how children communicate about anything at all save for politics and its how emotional photographers loyal to Party uber alles communicate. And it's good stuff too. Who doesn't like seeing kids cry? You should see 'em at Slate. 

And now it's in book form. How 'bout that? 

Obviously this is not for low information voters. It is not even for no information voters. And not just for passive un information voters either. This is emotional manipulation by and for fierce anti information voters. And look over there how well it works.