Swedish Artist who Used Jewish Ashes Is Troubling..

"Carl Michael von Hausswolff mixed the ashes from the infamous Nazi facility with water to compose a small painting of grey streaks. The work now hangs in a gallery in the Swedish city of Lund.

But Salomon Schulman, a leading voice in Sweden's Jewish community who lost many relatives to the Holocaust, has condemned the painting as "revolting".

Who knows," he wrote in a letter to a local newspaper. "Maybe some of the ashes originated from my relatives. No one knows where they were deported: all my mother's siblings and their children, and my grandparents."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/9723912/Swedish-artist-uses-Jewish-Holocaust-victims-ashes-for-painting.html

Those ashes were people. There are still people on the planet related closely enough to these victims that this act should give you pause. These were people wiped out because of what they believed, not because of anything they did. On my grandmother's side, we had family in Germany who died horrifically in this way. What if these were your great grandmothers ashes Michael? Would you personally be okay with this? The fact that I am hearing of this the weekend of Hanukkah starting makes it worse. 

 I get he was trying to make art. My daughter is an artist. However, art is not a free license to do anything you want in the name of itself. 

 I have one caveat to this though. If Michael had gotten the ashes from a specific family, and they signed off on it, then I would be okay with this. Because he skulked around, knowing no permissions would be given, and defied the laws of the countries he was visiting, he should be held to account. Not for the art mind you, although we should probably talk about that, but because, "the rules did nor apply to him". 

Star Trek Fandom Arguments 2012: Evolution!

I have given this a lot of thought. So. according to all of the detractors having kittens: JJ Abrams has fucked up the franchise, and no one will go see this new installment. It is not "real" Star Trek, so why should real fans care? 

This attitude flies in the face of what the same detractors were saying about the first film, and it grossed over 300,000,000 dollars worldwide. I love the fact that my daughter and niece can go to a theater and get excited about Star Trek movies just like when I was a kid seeing Star Trek 3 by myself for the first time. No, this is not Roddenberry's Star Trek. However, a true fan would also point out that Gene had less and less influence as he got older anyway. He HATED the militaristic tone of Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan. Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise would not have been his cup of tea either. His vision was extraordinary, and his ideals ran deep and wide. However, Star Trek has always been a microcosm of the moment. From the Iron curtain falling in The Undiscovered County to the idea of how we handle other people's conflicts without losing our way in Insurrection, Star Trek is about how to have humanity prosper. 
The original series was not "DARK", but was born out of a world tortured and ravaged by World War 3. The Eugenics Wars, and Khan, were not puppy kisses and rainbows. As we see in First Contact, humanity fucked up so bad we almost didn't make it. THAT is what carries on from the older Star Trek to the reboot. The idea that we not only bear the burdens, beat the odds, and thrive and spread out into the galaxy. 
One last thing. No hating. Time moves on. This new generation of trek fans is just as devoted as we are. The number on teens/tweens in Trek gear at Phoenix Cactus ComicCon was astounding. They love Star Trek as much as we do. The Star Trek TNG Panel drew 2,500 people, a lot of them youngsters. Do you remember when TNG was pilloried as not being "real" Star Trek" in 1987? To say that the reboot is not "real" Star Trek is just parental basement fan wanking, and we are better than that.