Hope

A personal note:

It’s been worrying these last few weeks to follow the polls and listen to the news and hear the constant stream of negativity and distortion from the right. Democrats have become so accustomed of late to having defeat snatched from the jaws of victory that there’s an underlying sense of uncertainty which I hope is only a precautionary defense mechanism – unnecessary preparation for an outcome that will not come about.

So here’s the good news (as far as I'm concerned). This past weekend I was out at our house in Suffolk County, Long Island - a generally Republican area. To my surprise, however, as I drove around I only saw Obama lawn signs, and when I went out for a run I came across this beautiful tree towering over yet another Obama sign. So I hightailed it back to get my camera and take what felt to me like a symbolic picture of a season of hope and change.

The concept of an intelligent, thoughtful, inclusive, forward thinking, and positive President, who happens to be an African-American, is so true to the promise and nature of this country that before all those golden leaves fall off this tree, I can only hope and believe there will be a new spirit lifting this country.

Crowngate

The British now have a name for it – Crowngate!

As reported earlier, the controversy began when Annie Leibovitz photographed the queen of England. A BBC documentary crew recording the portrait session for a documentary on the Queen, caught a moment when Leibovitz told her royal subject she might look better without her tiara. In a subsequent trailer promoting the film this scene was followed by a shot of the queen walking through Buckingham Palace, saying, "I'm not changing anything. I've had enough dressing up like this, thank you very much." The implication was that Leibovitz had offended the Queen, who then stormed out of the session. In fact, the clip of her walking through the palace was shot before the portrait session but was falsely edited to create buzz and also apparently to make Leibovitz look like a crass American. (This ethical lapse led to the resignation of BBC1 controller Peter Fincham.)

After a regal silence on the subject, Annie Leibovitz finally gave her side of the 'Crowngate' photo shoot last week at the opening of her exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. The Queen was, in fact, "storming into the shoot" said Leibovitz. "They could have had just as good a story just showing that she got a little pissed, a little perturbed, a little bit frustrated. That was interesting enough, I think, and they had to go and make something else up."

Leibovitz defended the Queen's right not to be in the best of moods. "Most people don't like to be photographed," she said. "It's pretty normal that you can have that rough start. As she came in she said, 'I don't have much time'." By the end of the shoot, however, everything was fine, however, and apparently the Queen loved the photos.

Meanwhile Leibovitz's use of the word "pissed" in connection with the Queen's mood has given the British press even more to chew on!

Weekend Video - Stacy McQ

Last weekend was parents' weekend at my son's boarding school, and one of our favorite traditions is to go to "Grasshopper Night" - a review/talent show put on by the students. The performances are always of a remarkably high standard, but this time a 10th grade classmate of my son's, Stacy McQ, performed a song she had written that was so good it seemed ready to be recorded by any one of the country/pop stars who regularly top the charts (if not Stacy herself).