My health care

I will keep this short as I am tired but I was informed today of something so distressing.

Thanks to health care changes (AKA ObamaCare) I have lost my general practitioner. If I wish to stay with my doctor, I will have to pay about $2,000 a year in addition to my insurance. I have seen this doctor since I was 18 and now I no longer will have a private physician. I do not have the money to pay this steep rate.

The letter explaining this new cost, details that he has to classify the type of care that he practices which is considered 'old school'. This type of care requires additional fees and costs. I guess having a doctor sit with you and answer all your questions is just too inefficient and personal for America's new system. Humph.

Months ago, I was without insurance. Now, I have no doctor :(

New York

After a long flight I arrived in New York shattered. Indeed, while crossing the Atlantic with United Airlines was expected to be long, the connection between Washington DC and New York was nearly as lengthy. After hearing American people complaining about the poor quality of the French service, I found that a bit rich! Anyway, after a long trip a bed was all I wanted and I had it so I will not complain too much. It also gave me the opportunity to observe the American people in the airports lobbies and I could not resist but wonder why a huge majority of these respectable American ladies had short hair and were not really feminine as if past 40 they were told to look as unattractive as possible, odd...

The Guggenheim Museum was my first stop in the city and it harboured the Haunted exhibition. It represented a series of pictures representing the past and symbolising melancholy and a haunting feeling due to the past. According to the website, the explanation is that “much of contemporary photography and video seems haunted by the past, by ghostly apparitions that are reanimated in reproductive media, as well as in live performance and the virtual world. By using dated, passé, or quasi-extinct stylistic devices, subject matter, and technologies, this art embodies a melancholic longing for an otherwise irrecuperable past.” This painting somehow touched me more than then rest, probably because it represent a mysterious landscape and that I also like the way the colours are applied. Several exhibitions were present along this one but only the Thannhauser Collection retained my attention. It gathers a collection of classic modern painters including most of the Impressionists yet remains brief, a feat appreciated by your servitor.

I then turned my look on the nearby Metropolitan museum of Arts: a comprehensive museum, rather a supermuseum, which regroups a vast array of artefacts from different civilisations in its permanent exhibitions. Someone could say that it is a clone of the Louvres, however its location and different collection makes it unique and nearly on par with the biggest museum in the world (it felt good to write that!) but makes it probably second to none bar this exception. It possesses galleries about various prime civilisations such as the Oceanic people with a nice collection of mask and the classic antique Greek, Roman and Egyptian galleries which boasts the impressive temple of Dendur from 15 B.C. in one of its room which also offer a view on Central Park. Its collection of classical paintings is also remarkable thanks to the actions of generous donators. It includes most of the Impressionists painters, the Flemish Masters such as Vermeer, the Spanish with Goya, a few English painting of notably Turner and Constable and of course the Italian painters from the Renaissance to later.
On a sidenote, I was happily enthusiast with Arkhip Kuindzhi's Red Sunset on the Dnieper which featured a vivid view over the taiga. Obviously it is only a part of the collections presented by the museum and it is to note that some reconstitution of parlour of various period and style are also present notably in the American Wing. Some American painters, notably Frederick Church through his Heart of the Andes, were talented landscapists.

As for the temporary exhibitions, I decided to avoid the Picasso exhibition because there are simply too many of them around the world and they get boring and mainly because his various styles do not inspire me. Instead, I went to see the art of illumination, which is under represented. It was about the Belles Heures of Jean de France, duc de Berry; not to be confused with the later work and masterpiece Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry. These illuminations represented “a book of hours—a prayer book made for private use in the intimate devotion to the Virgin Mary that grew popular toward the end of the Middle Ages. In addition, it also includes seven “picture book” cycles that tell stories through a succession of full-page illuminations, with text limited to a few lines in alternating red and blue ink. These sections, which were added by the Limbourg brothers in the later stages of the manuscript’s production, show the artists’ increasingly developed power. The brief texts included on the pages are not devotional, like the texts in a typical book of hours, but rather relate stories from the lives of the saints.” Magnifying glasses were available in order to admire these rare objects and the presentation was quite good; in addition the exhibition was not too long which is always a plus in my book.

After being in museums for so many hours, I decided to walk and ventured quickly through Grand Central Terminal and its vast hall with an astronomical painting on its ceiling. I opted to walk toward Battery Park at the bottom of Manhattan and went to see the site of the 9/11 attacks and the remains of the World Trade Centre filled with cranes and other construction and public works installations, Ground Zero, bound to be replaced by a tower recalling the event, the Statue of the Liberty and Castle Clinton and went back via Broadway.

At Madison square, I noticed the Event Horizon (thanks to luck and observation, as it is not indicated.I thought that I saw most of the statues, six foot two cast iron sculptures, but I obviously missed most of them as I counted six of them instead of the fifteenish as shown of this map...) These sculptures of person are supposed to make people aware of how to deal with the conception of cities and growing urban population. Instead, some people thought they were real person about to commit suicide!


I continued my journey in Manhattan and came across the Flatiron building and last but not least: the famed Time Square which was awfully overcrowded and reminded me of the busy sidewalk of the boulevard Haussman near the Printemps and Galleries Lafayette and Oxford Circus in London, some places that are best to avoid, as a result I quickly looked at the giant boards.

Overall, I walked for around 25km and feel humbled by the sheer size of the Big Apple. At first, I thought that Paris was bigger but then I remembered that it was only Manhattan and not the whole city. On the other hand, I wonder if the other parts of New York are that interesting but I would feel too disappointed as there are always some parts of a city which are less appealing.

-C

Tea Party

On Saturday, my hometown and current residence had a ‘Tea Party’. This new form of political activism that is argued to be rightist and fanatical and ignorant was not as the media has presented it. The rally was quite tame with vendors and information booths. People seemed friendly and open to promoting positive change not destruction. However, it appeared just like any political activism, politics. They are just as much a group trying to gain money and power, like any other. Republican candidates for example had tables to talk to prospective voters and appeal for their bid. One form just replaced another. The masks on the political machine are changing but the ‘tea party’ was begging for money just as any other party or candidate would. However, their message is clear that they are not a political party. Then why do they need money? They are peaceful protestors who sell t-shirts and take donations. I guess this money will be distributed to the homeless or the US Treasury or lobbyists asking for reduced government or someone’s pocket?

The event had booths around the periphery and the center had the rally with speakers and the audience which let out periodic cheers with the wave of an American flag. The core values (as printed in the event’s program) are fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free markets. These are not radical in my opinion or out of line with a more conservative view of American government. So where does the opinion come from that these are radical conservatives?

The program also included the top ten disasters of Obamacare. I will outline them from the event program to provide a better glimpse into these disgruntled citizens’ distress with the new health care plans.

1. New spending grows the federal deficit
2. Bending the cost curve in the wrong direction (meaning increasing health care spending overall not decreasing it)
3. New taxes and mandates hinder economic growth
4. Regulations grow government control over health care
5. Expanding broken entitlement programs
6. Burdening state budgets (because it requires expansion of state run health programs)
7. Neglecting Medicare (the current health care safety net)
8. Creates discrimination against low income workers (incentive to avoid hiring workers from low income families)
9. Exchange eligibility creates inequality (unequal subsidies towards health care purchases)
10. Questions of constitutionality (requires all Americans to purchase health care, which extends congressional power)

From these I think there are some more significant points than others. Numbers 1, 4, and 10 are the most concerning to me. I feel that government regulation is necessary in certain cases and health care is one such thing (to an extent). Increasing power beyond constitutional restraint to control a market is against our principles on both economic and political levels.

~PB

Turner et ses peintres 24/02/2010 to 24/05/2010 at the Grand Palais

Weeks after the opening of the Turner et ses peintres exhibition at the Grand Palais, and weeks after pondering whether I should wait in the queue or wait till no one would queue for it, I decided to do the first. The exhibition aims to explain by whom Turner was inspired and how he tried to create his own style.

 

Whether the exhibition was good or not, i just considered that waiting for about an hour in the shadow was a tad overextended. Even the people who booked their tickets had to wait for a certain amount of time. In addition, there were plenty of people in the museum, a good reason to make us wait outside I guess. If it means that the exhibition was successful on a frequentation aspect, it still did not improve my visit. Indeed, I felt that the room were packed and obliged to skip the first rooms so I could enjoy the next ones with less people in.

Besides, I felt that the explanations concerning the comparisons made between the paintings of Turner and the ones he was inspired from were underdeveloped and that the paintings were not always easy to compare. They were sometimes hung on the opposite wall due to their size and thus it was like playing “Where is Wally?” in order to spot the differences. A simple explanation would be given telling us that there, Turner used the techniques of this artist and here Turner was inspired by so-and-so.

On the other hand, the concept of the exhibition is interesting. The possibility to compare his masterpieces to other’s like Claude Lorrain (vaporous light effect and trees framing antique sceneries), Canaletto (painting Venice and improving his skills), and Rembrandt (painting light contrasting strongly with the darkness and pastoral sceneries) is an excellent way to explain Turner’s art and how he chose his path. Indeed, Turner chose for himself a pantheon of his favourite masters and from there inspired himself from their techniques and subjects and developed them to suit his own style: a landscape painter influenced by a mix of Flemish, French and Italian schools with a strong focus on painting light in a transcendent way.His rivals in England, such as Constable  or Bonington , were also his associates and also provided him with a lot of ideas as we can see all along the exhibition.

The Grand Palais website offers a virtual tour of the exhibition  in French and other media materials to complete it. The Tate gallery has an excellent website  with numerous sections dedicated to Turner and where it is possible to virtually visit the gallery established by Turner close to his home in London.

Being enthusiastic about both the representation of landscape and light, Turner hold a special place for me, on the other hand I found some of his paintings paradoxically too bright nor did I appreciate the subjects. If the museum was more spacious, I think that this exhibition would be much more enjoyable but it is hardly easy to regulate a successful exhibition besides having bigger rooms to hold more people. Nonetheless, it remains a comprehensive display of Turner's art and answer its problematic in a clear manner.

-C

Is the sun setting on California?

In order to get out of its nightmarish financial situation, the state of California has decided to vote two bills supposed to help solving this problem. Indeed, its penitentiary system is to be lightened and marijuana is to be legalised.

I can see the point of why it would be easier to save and gain money. I am also aware that the judiciary system in California is tough and thus it is one of the main causes in the overpopulation of its penitentiary facilities. 150,000 inmates are at the moment in the prisons and the bill aims to reduce this number by 55,000 over 3 years by shortening sentences, releasing people inculpated for minor sanctions and other mechanics. Prisons are often reaching the double of their designed capacities making the living conditions in them hard to manage; classrooms and gymnasiums had to be converted so that they could allow prisoners to sleep in. This reform would save from $803M to $906M per year and is endorsed by Governor Schwarzenegger. However, this problem does not only concern the state of California but the whole country, and as a matter of fact a lot of nations suffer from this problem. In 1972, there were 172,000 prisoners in the USA while now this number has skyrocketed to 1,403,091 people.

The bill on the legalisation of the marijuana would make of California the first state to legalize its use in the USA. A poll in April 2009 revealed that 56% of the Californians were favourable to it while in October 44% of the Americans would not mind this step. Proponents argue that it would diminish crime linked to the traffic as the ban has bolstered an aggressive underground economy while opponents argue that it would increase the problems linked to social behaviour notably on the road.

This bill, if passed, in conjunction with the prison bill would allow California to significantly reduce its prisons population and increase its finances thanks to a tax on the commercialisation of marijuana.

I am a bit dubitative at this double decision as I do not really know what would be the impact of such measure on the society. Does this mean that the cartels controlling drug traffic are going to be out of business without trying anything and thus crime will fall? Does this mean that people susceptible of a federal offense will take more liberties confident in the fact that minor crimes will be less punished? Will there be more troubles linked to the consumption of marijuana? Or are these more laxist measures supposed to perpetuate the ideal of happiness in the country blessed by God?

These events combined with the failure of the education in California do not announce a bright future to me. I do not really see how it would be beneficial for the society to profit from these bills. Is it a sign of the degeneration of the American society or of an evolution?

-C

Easter comments

I read an article yesterday in the local paper (sorry no link) about the growing purchases of dvds and dolls and other consumer products at Easter as opposed to chocolate bunnies and candies. I have a few thoughts about it...

One, people probably should be cutting out the chocolate goodies and the jelly beans as there is a growing obesity problem. This is one good thing about this changing trend. However, there is little benefit to consumer behavior. Why does a little girl need a doll to celebrate the resurrection of Christ? I am a little baffled how there is any need. I also can't imagine that these people making these purchases have the money to fund them. But on this note, is there little relation between bunnies and Christ either? I can't recall such a story to connect the two. So bunnies are just a marketing ploy, as well, to result in consumer spending--just differing industries.

I didn't have much to say on this holiday outside of my disdain over this holiday spending and the changing and increasing trend. As such, this can be a short note.

I am in a funk over my temporary job--counting people for the American decennial census (every ten years)--and I hate that there is little structure to it. I have scanned parks and neighborhoods for the homeless and driven to abandoned homes in the middle of the country. I am nervous of talking to people and nervous of being alone during this process. Ducks pop up from behind rocks and scare me something silly. I am sure I will get a call tomorrow in the middle of exercising at 3pm and asked to do something that afternoon! Sigh. I even have my French lesson tomorrow at 5pm. I had better do some review. I have had a week without much practice. Sigh again.