Law & Order Art Show in Los Angeles
Death of a Bully by Box Brown
For twenty years, the heroes of Law & Order have navigated literally hundreds grotesque tragedies, moral quandries, and improbable crimes. They’ve also been the inspiration behind such artistic works as “Death of a Bully,” “A Suspicious Nasal Spray!” and An Egocentric Poet’s Journal.” The three are just a few of the eclectic and entertaining pieces included in “These Are Their Stories,” the Law & Order-themed exhibit currently on display at the Gallery Meltdown.
Each piece is an artist’s interpretation of a one-line episode summary from the DirecTV program guide. Like the series that inspired them, they are sometimes straightforward and sometimes offer a twist; sometimes they contain no easy answers, and sometimes they are just plain goofy.
Featuring works from more than 40 artists, “These are Their Stories” runs July 24 to July 30, at Gallery Meltdown, 7522 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90046.
Cake, ice cream, and snacks will be served all day opening day, as well as at a special reception the night of the 28th.
For more information check out artist Brandon Bird’s website.
Administrator @ July 25, 2010
The “Barefoot Bandit” is No Folk Hero
Go put some shoes on.
America has a long history of making heroes out of lunatics. Our country’s most famous outlaw folk hero, Jesse James, was simply an angry, homicidal ex-Confederate who murdered and robbed because he was most likely a psychopath. But at least people have the perception that he “robbed from the rich and gave to the poor,” ill-informed as they may be.
What has Colton Harris-Moore done besides rob, period? His fans say he wouldn’t hurt anyone. So that’s all it takes to become a modern American folk hero? To follow your criminal instincts, turn your victims’ lives upside down, and have the police talk you out of blowing your head off? The kid’s got serious problems and committed a bunch of crimes. That’s it.
Folk heroes are supposed to stand for something. It’s a sad day when we make a hero out of a pouty-faced child who just can’t control himself.
Dwyer @ July 14, 2010
Indicting ham sandwiches
“The prosecutor can get the grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.”
Are grand juries really so eager to indict ham sandwiches? Any prosecutor worth his/her salt knows grand juries can be prickly, and are seldom impressionable enough to coerce into returning a true bill of indictment for deli meat or particularly weak cases.
Still, it seems like some pundit, reporter, or TV character is always making the “ham sandwich” declaration. If I had a quarter for every time I heard it, I’d be rich—or at the very least, have enough money to buy a few dozen ham sandwiches.
We can blame Sol Wachtler for introducing the phrase into the popular lexicon. Back in 1985, Wachtler was the newly appointed Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals when he told a reporter that prosecutors had such influence over grand juries they could convince them to “indict a ham sandwich.”
More on page 405
Fio @ June 29, 2010
The Conclusion of a 26-Year-Old Murder Story . . . in 140 Characters or Less
Ronnie Lee Gardner
It was the first time in 14 years that a person in Utah was executed by firing squad, but it might have been the first time ever that a state attorney general “tweeted” the world about giving the order.
“I just gave the go ahead to Corrections Director to proceed with Gardner’s execution,” read a Twitter feed fired off by Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. “May God grant him the mercy he denied his victims.”
Kind of a weird thing to do, in our opinion. Perhaps even gross; there’s something about every tweet that’s self-promotional and, well, silly. Wouldn’t a communiqué to the living victims—family, friends, loved ones of Gardner’s victims—suffice? An occasion like this calls for at least a little restraint.
But in case his fans might forget, Shurtleff later advertised the fact that he was going to be one TV and everything. “We will be streaming live my press conference as soon as I’m told Gardner is dead. Watch it at [attorney general office’s website],” he tweeted.
Don’t get us wrong. If a state is going to execute people, Ronnie Lee Gardner was a prime candidate. Whether you support or oppose the death penalty, the fact that Gardner won’t ever commit a crime again is good for all of us.
But some decorum on the part of Shurtleff would have been nice. We expect people representing the law-enforcement system to try to be above it all. What’s next? Tweeting in the actual execution order? Obviously.
Utah banned death by firing squad in 2004, but the law was not retroactive, allowing Gardner, who committed his crimes 26 years ago, to choose this particular method of execution. Here are some other unusual methods still on the books.
Dwyer @ June 18, 2010
