Faking It:  Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop

Metropolitan Museum of Art  in New York  October 11, 2012–January 27, 2013
The urge to modify camera images is as old as photography itself—only the methods have changed.  Nearly every type of manipulation we now associate with digital photography was also part of the medium's pre-digital repertoire: smoothing away wrinkles, slimming waistlines, adding people to a scene (or removing them)—even fabricating events that never took place.  This international loan exhibition traces the history of manipulated photography from the 1840s through the early 1990s, when the computer replaced manual techniques as the dominant means of doctoring photographs.  Most of the two hundred pictures on view were altered after the negative was exposed—through photomontage, combination printing, overpainting, retouching, or, as is often the case, a blend of several processes.  In every instance, the final image differs significantly from what stood before the camera at any given moment.  Through today's eyes, we can see that the old adage "the camera never lies" has always been photography's supreme fiction.  See images at:  http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2012/faking-it

Almost a decade after the last family farm within New York City’s boundaries closed, basil and bok choy are growing in Brooklyn, and tomatoes, leeks and cucumbers in Queens.  Commercial agriculture is bound for the South Bronx, where the city recently solicited proposals for what would be the largest rooftop farm in the United States, and possibly the world.   Fed by the interest in locally grown produce, the new farm operations in New York are selling greens and other vegetables by the boxful to organically inclined residents, and by the bushel to supermarket chains like Whole Foods.  The main difference between this century and previous ones is location:  whether soil-based or hydroponic, in which vegetables are grown in water rather than soil, the new farms are spreading on rooftops, perhaps the last slice of untapped real estate in the city.   “In terms of rooftop commercial agriculture, New York is definitely a leader at this moment,” said Joe Nasr, co-author of “Carrot City: Creating Places for Urban Agriculture” and a researcher at the Centre for Studies in Food Security at Ryerson University in Toronto.  “I expect it will continue to expand, and much more rapidly, in the near future.”  For city officials, the rise of commercial agriculture has ancillary benefits, as well.  Rooftop farms have the potential to capture millions of gallons of storm water and divert it from the sewer system, which can overflow when it rains.  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/nyregion/in-rooftop-farming-new-york-city-emerges-as-a-leader.html

Queens County Farm Museum's history dates back to 1697; it occupies New York City's largest remaining tract of undisturbed farmland and is the only working historical farm in the City.  The farm encompasses a 47-acre parcel that is the longest continuously farmed site in New York State.  The site includes historic farm buildings, a greenhouse complex, livestock, farm vehicles and implements, planting fields, an orchard, herb garden and vineyard.  http://www.queensfarm.org/

Archaeologists suspect that archery may have begun up to 15,000 years ago, but the earliest concrete evidence is between 8,000 and 9,000 years old.  The bow probably originated for use in hunting, and was then adopted as a tool of warfare.  Archery was practiced in antiquity on every continent except Australia.  Classical civilizations, notably the Macedonians/Greeks, Iranian Parthianns, Indians and Chinese, fielded large numbers of archers in their armies.  Arrows proved exceptionally destructive against massed formations, and the use of archers often proved decisive.  Archers sometimes rode on horseback, combining range with speed. Apollo, Odysseus, and other mythological characters are often depicted with a bow.  The phrase "A parting shot" comes from 'The Parthian shot' as a rider turned in the saddle to shoot as he rode away from the enemy.  The term "Second String" (or the phrase 'to have more than one string to your bow') derives from the fact that medieval archers would carry a second string in the event that their "first string" snapped.  http://www.boredgourd.com/activity/172/archery.html

“The Common Law Origins of the Infield Fly Rule.” 123 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1474 (1975)  The note, written by William S. Stevens when he was a law student at the University of Pennsylvania, was an immediate sensation.  It was cited in judicial opinions within a year of publication, and it is credited with inspiring the law and baseball movement, “a thriving branch of legal studies devoted to the law and its social context,” as The New York Times described it.   http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/10/08/the-infield-fly-rule-and-the-law/

Read the 8-page article published anonymously at:  http://www.pennumbra.com/issues/pdfs/157-1/Infield_Fly_Rule.pdf
The infield fly rule is a rule in baseball intended to prevent infielders from intentionally dropping pop-ups in order to turn double plays (or triple plays).  Without this rule, a defense could easily turn a pop fly into a double play when there are runners at first and second base.  If the runners stay near their bases to tag up, the defense could let the ball drop, throw to third base and then to second, for a force-out at each base.  If any of the runners stray too far from their bases, the defense could catch the pop-up, and double-off any runner that failed to tag up.
When the rule is invoked, the batter is out (and all force plays removed) regardless of whether the ball is caught, thus negating the possibility for multiple outs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infield_fly_rule
Read about American lawyer William Stanley Stevens (c. 1948 – December 8, 2008) here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Stevens
 

THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, et al. v. WESTERN STATES MEDICAL CENTER et al.  certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the ninth circuit  No. 01-344.  Argued February 26, 2002--Decided April 29, 2002

Drug compounding is a process by which a pharmacist or doctor combines, mixes, or alters ingredients to create a medication tailored to an individual patient's needs.  The Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 (FDAMA) exempts "compounded drugs" from the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) standard drug approval requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), so long as the providers of the compounded drugs abide by several restrictions, including that the prescription be "unsolicited," 21 U. S. C. §353a(a), and that the providers "not advertise or promote the compounding of any particular drug, class of drug, or type of drug," §353a(c).  Respondents, a group of licensed pharmacies that specialize in compounding drugs, sought to enjoin enforcement of the advertising and solicitation provisions, arguing that they violate the First Amendment's free speech guarantee.  The District Court agreed and granted respondents summary judgment, holding that the provisions constitute unconstitutional restrictions on commercial speech under Central Hudson Gas & Elec. Corp. v. Public Serv. Comm'n of N. Y., 447 U. S. 557, 566.  Affirming in relevant part, the Ninth Circuit held that the restrictions in question fail Central Hudson's test because the Government had not demonstrated that the restrictions would directly advance its interests or that alternatives less restrictive of speech were unavailable. 

Held:  The FDAMA's prohibitions on soliciting prescriptions for, and advertising, compounded drugs amount to unconstitutional restrictions on commercial speech.  Read entire case at:  http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&navby=case&vol=000&invol=01-344

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who helped design Beijing's Olympic Stadium and has since drawn tough scrutiny for his political activism, is opening the first North American retrospective exhibition of his work in Washington.  The show is on view through February before traveling to Indianapolis, Toronto, Miami and New York City.  "Ai Weiwei: According to What?" takes up an entire floor of the Hirshhorn Museum with the outspoken artist's photographs, videos, sculptures, installations and, on the walls, thought-provoking quotations.  It also features 7,000 digital photographs -- many of them inoffensive snapshots of his cats -- that Ai would have shown the world via the Internet had the Chinese government not shut down his access to social media.  It includes new works created since the last major exhibition in Tokyo.  One piece involves 3,200 porcelain crabs called "He Xie."  The Chinese words for river crab sound like the Chinese word for "harmonious," part of the Communist Party's slogan of "the realization of a harmonious society."  The term has become Internet slang for online censorship.  Several works emerged from Ai's response to the devastating Sichuan earthquake in 2008 that killed more than 5,000 children in poorly constructed schools that collapsed.  One wall lists all of their names.  A snake on the ceiling is made of children's backpacks in their honor.  And a sculptural piece, entitled "Straight," was created from 38 tons of twisted steel from collapsed buildings.   Visitors will find a photo montage covering the gallery's walls and floors of the "Bird's Nest" Olympic Stadium under construction.  Smithsonian leaders celebrated the exhibit's opening in the U.S. political capital near diplomats from more than 200 countries.  Hirshhorn Director Richard Koshalek called it one of the museum's most important installations.  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/chinese-artist-ai-weiwei-smithsonian-showcase-article-1.1176014