Visual Hybridity

Apparently not everyone gets or agrees with the social construction of race. There are still people who are shocked when they find out that there's no biological basis for our racial categories whatsoever. These interesting photographs illustrate how we construct the race of people of blended heritage. All via Sociological Images.

First, the image on the right is of little Barack Obama with his grandfather (Stanley Dunham) who looks remarkably like the picture on the left of the adult Obama (although the picture looks slightly stretched to me).

Obama, to my eye, is the spitting image of his grandfather. Yet, we see Obama and Dunham as separate races, members of two categories we see as diametrically opposed, even biologically distinct. <rest>

Then this photo project makes us question how we assign racial or ethnic categories by providing faces that are difficult to categorize.

This project consists of a series of 16 color portraits of people of mixed ethnic origin in front of primary color backgrounds. The images challenge the concept of race by highlighting the disparity between the stark natural boundaries between the primary colors, and the ambiguous and artificial, yet commonly accepted boundaries between the different races. This project asks the viewer to question the existence of race in nature.

The aim of the portraits is to strip our idea of race down to its elements. It is in this nakedness that the viewer watches the races literally dissolve in front of their face like so many moth-eaten clothes. The tone is neither confrontational nor ironic, but rather unassuming in its directness

Finally, this story of fraternal twins - one "white" and one "black". Well, actually both are of mixed race, as are their parents. Over at SI, she uses this example "to illustrate how skin color (which is real) is translated into categorical racial categories (which are not)."

Anti-Capitalist, Anti-statist Goals and Strategies

It should be quite obvious, but apparently it’s not, that we can’t devise an anarchist revolutionary strategy until we have a clear idea of what it is we’re trying to achieve.

Regrettably, there has been a vigorous ban on thinking about the future society we want[...]

This lack of attention to the goal is a tragedy, because although it’s true that we live in potentially calamitous times, what with peak oil, climate warming, and the more general crisis of capitalism, we also live in exciting times. A window of opportunity has opened up to create at long last a decentered world, without capitalism, states, or god, a world of democratic autonomous communities.

There are at least two important reasons for this opening. One is the near total collapse of the prevailing social philosophies which have underpinned capitalism to date. Conservatism is dead, as is liberalism... Neoliberalism this second time around through these past forty years has exposed as probably nothing else could have the absolutely destructive, vicious, murderous, immoral, and insane nature of the practices of capitalists.

A second and perhaps more important reason for this historical opening is the possible demise of capitalism itself. At least one eminent anti-capitalist scholar, Immanuel Wallerstein, believes that world capitalism has reached its limits, and faces structural restraints that it will not be able to overcome. He believes we are entering a period of chaos, a time of transition between capitalism and whatever comes next. Whether he is right or not I guess only time will tell.

But at the very least, we know that the century of the USAmerican Empire is coming to an end, and that even if capitalism survives there will be a period of confusion before a new hegemon can establish itself.
[...]
Fortunately for us, anarchy, humanity, and the world, many anarchists pretty much ignored the ban on imagining the future.
[...]
Actually then, we are not in trouble at all as regards the goal. There is no reason for us to be confused or apologetic about what we want. There is a solid historical consensus on what we want. We want to get the ruling classes off our backs. We don’t want to be exploited or alienated. We don’t want to be slaves. We want to be a self-governing people, free and autonomous.
[...]
There is great power in social organization. Revolution means rearranging ourselves socially.... These social forms [e.g.assemblies, cooperatives] will enable us to escape wage-slavery and embed ourselves instead in cooperative labor. They will enable us to get out of commodity markets and build a world based on mutual aid and gift giving. They will enable us to become a self-governing people, free and autonomous in our local communities, and to establish an association of such communities. This is a plausible, realistic strategy.

You see, it is not enough to seize the means of production. We must take all decision making away from the capitalist ruling class and relocate it into our assemblies. To do so we must shift the focus of our attention to these three strategic sites [neighbourhood, workplace, household], and away from protest politics, identity politics, labor unions, and single issue campaigns, which are not getting us very far toward defeating capitalists and establishing anarchy.

What I like about this particular liberatory anti-statist approach is that it works in the interstices, something talked about more and more these days as the vast juggernauts of states and transnational corporations seem impossible to affect. Not to mention they are the only thing we know at the moment - you can't destroy a company someone works for or the state that pays their social security and expect them to be grateful! We need to create positive alternatives, and we need to make sure our movements practice deeply democratic egalitarian principles.

Although I don't agree with abandoning more-or-less failed strategies like electoral politics, identity politics, marches and rallies etc. (I think they do serve an important purpose) I definitely agree it important to connect movements, and work on alternative strategies. Read the rest of this interesting article by James Herod

Design Interior Modern Living Room

Your living room is one of the most important rooms in the entire house, and most of the people spend a lot of time in their living room. The decor of your living room can set the tone for your entire house. If your style is contemporary, then modern sofas, recliners, Plasma or LCD TV stands and entertainment units are an introduction to the rest of the contemporary space in your home.

The living room is the place of first introduction to your guest in your home. In simple terms, the living room is the focal point of a home, and a place that will bring comfort and joy to all of its inhabitants. So, how to create an impression of modernization living room? The idea is to come up with contemporary designs but still patterned to your taste and personality.

1. Focus to the modern living room design

To create your living room as a modern design it doesn't mean that you should be spend more money to buy new items, Simply you only need to create them to be modern look. With simple designs, you can easily come up with modern living room designs.

You can use lighting accessories, such as vanity strips and ornament lights. These items will serve as accent lighting and will emphasize or draw attention to your furniture even if they are not brand new. The idea is to blend modern lighting and not-so modern furniture and demonstrate what modern living room designs are all about.

2. Put some of accessorize

Design interior modern living room is does not necessarily mean buying updated furniture, modern style. Some of modern home accessories can help you to create your living room look as modern design, These items are much cheaper than the brand new fixtures and furniture.

The important thing is you should know about how the modern living room looks like. This would mean using accessories that are elegant, shiny, and patterned in subdued colors such as silver, grey, or black.

3. Choose the color scheme

In order to make your living room looks as modern design, You need to choose the color scheme. Modern homes are usually painted in sleek colors, such as black, white, and silver.

Hence, it is best to stick to basic colors so as to reflect contemporary look. Design interior modern living room for paints are also focused on using matte or flat paint finish. Try to avoid the glossy or shiny paint finish. For the walls, you can stick with the white color and enhance them with modern accessories such as paintings or modern day murals.

4. Create an abstract design

Now days, Many people are patterned their living room in abstract designs. Hence, incorporating these things in modern living room designs will definitely bring contemporary look in your area.

Home accessories such as clocks, picture scenery are can help you to set them create a modern interior design on your living room. Abstract designs provide a playful interpretation on the perception of different things.