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I know it's been months since my last email, but all this time I've been frantically looking for sexy before I learned that Justin Timberlake brought it back. And all this time I thought it was already back -- since Barry Manilow had brought it back with Copa Cabana. If Timberlake alleges to have brought it back though (along with a little photographer-bashing), I shudder to think who might have taken it away. Certainly not bubble-gum pop boy bands. On a slightly more serious note, the state of world affairs and the cacophonous analysis of it by empty vessels has rendered me virtually speechless, and unwilling to compete in the fray. Only the most serious of issues has provoked me to create any imagery or write any editorial (with the exception of perhaps the Israeli/Lebanese war, of which I still don't quite know what to say.) Kind of like some racist country (America?) bombing Johannesburg in 1980 because they were "enabling" the terrorists known as the ANC. Most recently, the fifth piece for my September 11th Anniversary Series reflected my distaste for ABC, a subsidiary of Disney that was duped into engaging a right-wing nutcase to write the script for "Path to 911", the controversial "docu-drama" that smeared former President Clinton and his Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, advisor Sandy Berger and others. Clinton was no angel, but to create falsehoods about an event like September 11th and worse, try position it as an educational endeavor, is just pathetic and the partisan attack blatant. If, as the documentary asserts in direct contradiction to the 911 Commission Report upon which the hit piece purports to be based, President Clinton was too distracted by the Monica Lewinsky scandal to pay attention to Osama Bin Laden, let's remember who was doing the distracting (rather than focusing on protecting their constituents). President Clinton did not impeach himself. I made this point in a piece back in May, 2002, titled, "Priority: Penis Confidential." The piece depicts Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr telling Monica Lewinsky: "Come in please...I've been authorized to spend $50 million to find out what you can tell us about terrorism, Osama Bin Laden and protecting the United States. Congress wants answers." I think it's time we got some answers. Aside, of course, from Mel Gibson blaming Monica Lewinsky for September 11th on account of her being Jewish. And everyone thinks Lewinsky and Paris Hilton are famous for nothing! |
| Annoy.com Editorials Fox, Henhouse and Chickens Hate-filled morons, swathed in protective layers of faux legitimacy provided by self-defined "news organizations" are making it more and more dangerous to find, access and report the truth. And harsh as it may sound, recently released Fox journalist, Olaf Wiig, in all his idealism, cannot expect to perform his role as a journalist, no matter how noble his intentions, with blithe indifference to the corporate structure through which his contributions are filtered. As long as hard-working, courageous, idealistic and responsible journalists and reporters remain willfully ignorant of the corporatization of news, and allow and accept equal billing with loud-mouthed shills, spitting deliberate provocations in an increasingly divisive substitution of content for discontent, the remaining shreds of nobility in the profession of journalism will be irreparably damaged and news will be forever defined by shallow attempts to generate ratings and revenue, and to push agendas rather than explain them. >>Fox, Henhouse and Chickens: Full Editorial |
| JonBenet Ramsey - The Sequel
Almost ten years ago, as we prepared to launch Annoy.com, a young girl was found murdered in her family home in Boulder, Colorado on Christmas morning. By the time we were ready to go, filing our federal lawsuit on January 30, 1997, there wasn't a person on the face of the earth who did not know who JonBenet Ramsey was. In what would become an Annoy.com trademark, our first image that evoked shock, outrage and ultimately hate mail, depicted Jon Benet's head on a "Tickle Me Elmo" doll, to accompany my editorial, The Gruesome Marketing of JonBenet. >>JonBenet Ramsey - The Sequel: Full Editorial |
| Headbutt Diplomacy
As allies drop like flies, (including even Britain, who issued a powerful condemnation of Israel's bombing campaign in Lebanon), innocent Lebanese civilians are slaughtered, Beirut and southern Lebanon are flattened and northern Israel is showered with Katyusha rockets the only thing left for Condoleezza Rice to do on her trip to Jerusalem is to turn around and headbutt Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the chest. It may have lost the World Cup for France, but it certainly characterizes the bull-in-a-china-shop style of American diplomacy, and is the only thing left that might restore her credibility. >>Headbutt Diplomacy: Full Editorial |
| Doggone Artist
with Foreword By CLINTON FEIN June 11, 2006 Michael Dickinson teaches English in Istanbul, Turkey. He is also a fantastic collage artist -- one who uses the tried and true method of paper, glue and scissors -- and also happens to be a contributor to Annoy.com. Mr. Dickinson is facing a 1 to 3 year prison sentence for daring to depict Prime Minister Erdogan as a dog in his collage titled, "Best of Show" a violation of Article 301 of Turkey's constitution, which criminalizes insulting "Turkish identity" or state institutions, including the armed forces. >>Doggone Artist: Full Editorial |
| Annoy.com Covers Let's Bankroll I found myself trapped in a mindless haze, lost in fantasy, fact and fiction Wasted on promises, gorging lies by the package...my insatiable addictions. There was fake all around and I groped for compassion There was none, it was gone, like the towers once crashing The taste, the waste, the inevitable so soon The bitterest of products to the ugliest tune. It's been five years, nothing has changed Five years, just more deranged It's been five years, so much damage has been done Five years, and yet nobody's won. It's been five years, so boldfaced we lied Five years of reality denied It's been five years, now the world wants to trade Five years, now there's money to be made. >>Let's Bankroll: Full poem and image |
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Ratings Whore Little Girls are forced to prance In make-up, lipstick, sexy dance Early values, no escape Violence, murder, strangulation, rape Man boys watching all around Silent witnesses, not a sound From the hidden sidelines waiting Executive officers, masturbating In murderous stillness, dangerous creep Cacophonous frenzy, ratings sweep Fanciful confessions, evidence lacking Breathless Specials, Baby Bashing Beauty Queen label to sell the story Pontificating heads to pillage the glory Ten years later little has changed Sicker, Sorrier, more Deranged >>Ratings Whore: Full poem and image |
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Why Burn It? Iconic throwbacks, raging fires Bombing babies, funeral pyres Violent vitriol, heightened hate Bashes and ashes, too little too late Stop a tattered flag from burning Kick a shattered fag for yearning Ignoble politicos, blood on their hands The hate in their hearts, heads in the sand Freedom sputters in stifled winds Expression snuffed by two-faced sloth Silver betrayal, thirty pieces Ban the marriages, save the cloth >>Why Burn It?: Details |
| Exhibitions & Happenings Visual Politics: The Art of Engagement Once again, Visual Politics: The Art of Engagement was an exhibition in which I was incredibly proud to feature. Curator of the Jack Rasmussen put together a formidable show based on the 300-page book of the same name by Berkeley art historian Peter Selz, and I was fortunate enough to attend the opening. Again, thanks to Tim Campbell and Mikki and Stanley Weithorn for loaning their pieces. For my favorite review of the show, Capital Roundup by Sidney Lawrence on Artnet. From conversations I've had, it seems that my work was the hardest to stomach. (Surprise!) My gut suggests that it was more a factor of it being the most current than the content itself. It's easier to look at hectic imagery related to Vietnam, for instance, or even Robbie Conal's Bill, Hillary and Monica are ultimately subdued by the notion of historical context. My Abu Ghraib stuff is too fresh. We're still torturing Iraqis. Fuck knows, we're fighting to redefine the Geneva Conventions to legalize our torture tactics. The only thing that hurts more than the truth is the present. There are photos taken by yours truly. Enjoy. >>Visual Politics: The Art of Engagement |
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First Amendment Project Author Auction 
Owing to a glitch in my email system, I was not able to get this reminder out in time for our latest auction for First Amendment Project. However, it's not too late to make a donation and First Amendment Project needs toe support more than ever. Please consider making a donation to this incredibly worthwhile and I portent organization!!! Fourteen of America's most prominent authors, including John Lescroart, Carl Hiaasen, Elinor Lipman, Francine Prose and Edward P. Jones are participating in this year's character name charity auction to raise money for First Amendment Project (FAP) through eBay Giving Works, the dedicated program for charity listings, starting on September 7th and running through September 23rd, 2006. The authors will auction off the chance to name a character in their upcoming books, and donate the proceeds to the FAP, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to providing free and low cost legal services to protect freedom of information, expression, and petition. Some authors are also offering wining bidders the opportunity to speak on the telephone. The authors participating in the FAP auction at include: Kevin J. Anderson, Emily Barton, Stephen Elliott, Tim Green, Carl Hiaasen, Edward P. Jones, John Lescroart, Elinor Lipman, Philip Margolin, Lorrie Moore, Patricia Polacco, Douglas Preston, Francine Prose, and Chris Ware. The authors represent the full spectrum of literary genres, from children's literature to science fiction, to graphic novels, to mysteries and thrillers. >>First Amendment Project |
| First Amendment Project Roundup Oh Say Can You Handle It? Reports in the mainstream media (those that even bothered to cover the fact that the President of the free world had received the most spectacular dressing down ever delivered to one face-to-face) tended to focus on the lack of laughter. Given that most of the audience consisted of mainstream media and politicians, and given that Colbert's stinging attack was delivered at both, it is little wonder that the laughter was muted, although not entirely devoid. The reality is that no one in that audience had ever seen balls before, let alone had them. Delicious, but rare, pans of the C-SPAN cameras revealed priceless moments, and should give cause for C-SPAN to invest in a couple more. Surely the reactions of the President and audience are as newsworthy as the speaker at hand. Certainly in this story. >>Oh Say Can You Handle It? |
| Select Irrit8 Postings
Fascism & Liberation Mr. Rumsfeld's assertion that critics of his bungling of the war in Iraq can be framed as fascist and compared to the appeasement of Hitler is almost as ludicrous as the suggestion that its consequences, unlike the efforts of the allies in World War II, and characterized by a violent and deadly sectarian war, can be referred to or is perceived as, liberation. >>Fascism & Liberation |
| Fashion of the Christ
"This story is still fresh, but Gibson will find a way to weasel his way out of it. Maybe the money-grabbing bastard who poured him his tenth glass to drown his spiritually evolved happiness was Jewish." Little did I know how accurate that would turn out to be. Old and obvious habits die hard. "A woman should be home with the children, building that home and making sure there's a secure family atmosphere." So said actor Mel Gibson in 1991. As opposed to getting fucked up on alcohol and racing his 2006 Lexus LS 430 on the Pacific Coast Highway at 87 miles-per-hour in a 45-miles-per-hour zone. >>Fashion of the Christ |
| Previous Email Hide and Leak If any of you happen to be in Washington DC over the next two months, Visual Politics: The Art of Engagement is an exhibition at American University Museum worth seeing. And certainly not simply because I am in it. Based on the book of the same name by art historian Peter Selz, and curated by Jack Rasmussen, the caliber of political artists in this show is remarkable, and to say that I am honored to grace the same walls is a gross understatement. Two of my works will be on display and thanks to the collectors of those pieces who loaned them to the American University Museum. Mikki and Stanley Weithorn loaned Condoleezza Antoinette and Tim Campbell loaned Like Apple Fucking Pie. Both the Weithorns and Tim have formidable collections in their own right and I am grateful to them for making these pieces available, as well as, of course, Toomey Tourell Gallery in San Francisco and Axis Gallery in New York. >>Hide and Leak |
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This is a monthly online newsletter by Clinton Fein. You receive it because we're friends, family, know one another, or you have requested to be on this list in order to keep up with what I am up to. If for any reason, you don't want to receive this, please just hit your reply button and enter the word "Unsubscribe" in the subject line, and your name will automatically be removed from the list. Clinton Fein Email:  I try and send out updates about once a month, but am not alway able to be so fastidious. I will respond to all and any emails I get from anyone, so please respond when you can. Feedback is not just welcome, it's encouraged. |