Sunday, January 31, 2010

Global Cooling Wipes Out Florida Shallow Water Coral Reefs

After months of  report after report of falsified climate data being brought to light, the myth of man made global warming took another hit today when it was revealed record breaking cold has killed Florida Keys coral reefs that were hundreds of years old.  But, of course, any mention that this unprecedented wave of cold temperatures might refute the false God of man-made global warming - is never even mentioned in the story.

Now there is no question that the earth has gotten warmer in the past decades - though it is now known that it has not gotten as warm as was recently claimed and with the recent discovery that the places where the temperatures have been taken have been moved from cooler areas to... warmer areas...., that warming trend may be even less than was thought even a short time ago.

But whatever the recent past was, it appears as if we are headed into a cooling period that will be far more devastating to mankind than any global  warming could ever be.  So if there is any kind of affect on the earth's temperatures by man - hopefully it will be enough to save us.

latimes.com
Winter chill takes toll on Florida Keys coral
Scientists begin early assessments of the damage on marine life, but initial reports are bleak.
By Curtis Morgan
January 31, 2010
Reporting from Miami

January's bitter cold may have wiped out many of the shallow-water corals in the Florida Keys.

Scientists have only begun assessments, but initial reports are bleak. The damage could extend from Key Largo through the Dry Tortugas islands west of Key West, a vast expanse that covers some of the prettiest and healthiest reefs in North America.

Given the depth and duration of the frigid weather, Meaghan Johnson, marine science coordinator for the Nature Conservancy, expected to see losses. But she was stunned by the devastation when she joined a dive team surveying reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The divers were looking for "bleaching," a telltale indicator of temperature stress in corals.

Star and brain corals, large species that can take hundreds of years to grow, were as white and lifeless as bones, frozen to death, she said. Dead sea turtles, eels and parrotfish also littered the bottom.

"Corals didn't even have a chance to bleach. They just went straight to dead," Johnson said. "It's really ecosystem-wide mortality."

The record chill that gripped South Florida for two weeks took a heavy toll on wildlife -- particularly marine life.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported that a record number of endangered manatees had succumbed to the cold this year -- 77, according to a preliminary review. The previous record, 56, was set last year.

The warm Gulf Stream is believed to have protected deeper areas, but shallower reefs took a serious, perhaps unprecedented, hit, said Billy Causey of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
More at the above link.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Why Eli Broad's Art Museum Belongs On Grand Avenue

Here is the opening of my Huffington Post column on Eli Broad starting negotiations with the Grand Avenue Committee to being his Foundation's Art Museum to Bunker Hill.


Will Eli Broad Join Jeffrey Deitch & MOCA on Grand Avenue?
After a cross-town game of musical chairs, the 2,000 piece – and still growing – Broad Art Foundation Collection may finally have the one site that makes the most sense for its new home.
The Grand Avenue Authority yesterday began negotiations with the Broad Art Foundation for parcel L, immediately south of Disney Hall and across Grand Avenue from the Museum of Contemporary Art.
This decision is a radical turnaround from little more than a year ago when even MOCA remaining on Grand Avenue was seen as unlikely by some until the Eli Broad led bailout stabilized its finances.
The current plan for the Foundation started when the Los Angeles County Museum of Art was unable to fund its ambitious expansion/redesign and Broad stepped up to fund the first building of a more modest expansion.  This was seen as an indicator he planned on leaving his art collections to LACMA. 
But Broad soon appeared to realize no matter how much space was added, the majority of the collection would still remain in storage.   He also appeared to understand no existing museum could realistically spend the time, money or resources for a single part of its collection to be on loan around the world when any existing museum has so many prior commitments and often-competing constituencies. 
The solution was for the Broad Art Foundation collection to remain an independent entity in a new building large enough to display a significant part of the collection and to also provide the Foundation with an ample (200 million dollar) endowment to fund its study, preservation and touring.
Then, to honor the foundation’s commitment to Los Angeles, it has been stated that LACMA and MOCA would have first call on borrowing any works of art they wished to display from the Foundation and that the other parts of the collection would be shown at the Foundation’s building on a rotating basis when they are not on loan.  

(the rest of the article is at the above link)

Friday, January 22, 2010

Why Doesn't the Los Angeles Times Cover Rain Fall Amounts?

Once upon a time, if you went to the LA Times weather section, every day - 365 days a year - there was a chart that would tell you this seasons's rainfall amount along with what the historical average rainfall amount was for that time period.  Any rainfall story would also tell you how much rain had fallen during an on going storm since it's start and how much had fallen in the past 24 hours.

Now, though, that kind of reporting has long since vanished.   And since this rainy season has started - I have been unable to find - even once - any mention of the rainfall amounts for this season or even the amounts after any one specific storm has finished.  Additionally, the narrative descriptions of the forecast - beyond a few days - are less detailed then on other sites.

And - amazingly -  the top tool bar does not even have a link to the weather section of the website.

So this has become just one more reason why the LA Times website is increasingly not where I go to find out even the basics of what is happening in LA.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Art Dealer to run Art Museum; MOCA To be Latest Deitch Project

Below is the lead to my latest Huffington Post column:


When LA Times writer Mike Boehm revealed New York mega-art dealer Jeffery Deitch is to be the next head of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art - my reaction was the same as everyone's in the art world.
Painfully bruised toes after my jaw dropped on them.
Early Facebook status updates ranged between disbelief to horror along with the occasional call for minyans to sit shiva. MOCA clearly leaked the news in advance to allow the initial shock to die down and to allow purists to be able to process the five stages of mourning prior to Monday's formal announcement.
There were some early supporters, though, such as COAGULA editor, Mat Gleason, who declared that since art museums were already brothels, it was an inspired choice for MOCA to hire a first rate pimp to run theirs.
Click on the above link for the rest of the column.

Saturday, January 02, 2010

Going to Nick Agid show at Chinatown's Jancar Gallery - 6 - 9 Tonight!

Four other good artists at tonight's opening, too.  See below invite for details.  And I'll be there a little after 6 PM if anyone wants to catch up on the latest news about all the new art galleries & non-profit and educational organizations coming downtown this year.

Saturday January 2, 2010  6 - 9 PM


J A N C A R G A L L E R Y
961 CHUNG KING ROAD
LOS ANGELES, CA 90012
TEL 213 625-2522
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday 12 – 5 PM (and by appointment)
www.jancargallery.com

JANCAR GALLERY is pleased to announce 2 concurrent solo exhibitions:

JAN. 2- JAN. 30, 2010

ALISON FOSHEE
LESLIE KNEISEL

Opening reception for the artists: Saturday, Jan. 2nd, from 6 - 9 PM

ALSO:

JANCAR PROJECTS
Curated by Mery Lynn McCorkle and Tom Jancar

Nick Agid - Sheri Mendelson - Norma Markley

Jan. 2 -Jan. 30, 2010

Opening reception for the artists: Saturday, Jan. 2, from 6 - 9 PM