Sunday, July 09, 2006

Ars longa, Kim Jung Il brevis

Photograph vs Painting
Japan Probe

13 comments:

vnjagvet said...

Photoshop is at work for the Dear Leader. I wonder whose body was used.

They can't do anything about that face or haircut, though.

Charlie Martin said...

The right hand one is a painting, V.

vnjagvet said...

Seneca, they had to have something to paint from. If they didn't use of a photoshopped photo as a model, why not make the head in the proper proportion to the body?

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Barry Dauphin said...

Speaking of the little man who longs to have big missiles, the "discussion" on Fox this morning seemed unable to make its way to the elephant in the living room. I find it curious that discussions about North Korea rarely mention how many South Koreans (in addidtion to several thousand US troops) NK could kill with conventional artillery within a 24-48 hr window. This should be basic information in these discussions as to why the military option is so tricky there. Sure, such an attack would ultimately be a death warrant for the regime, but it is still a big deterent. Anyone who has his minions doctor paintings in order to make him look big is probably capable of doing reckless things when he feels small.

Syl said...

Charicature long predates computers. Artists are perfectly capable of doing this on their own. Photoshop has a reputation beyond its capabilities I'm afraid.

Besides, very few artists believe their goal is to reproduce exactly what their eyes see. The ones who do have very specialized jobs and usually are known more as technicians than artists.

Syl said...

Barry

There are almost as many opinions on NK as their are opiners. And I suspect there's a bit of 'truth' in each one.

Although some of those opinions are rather pathetic. Like the ambassador during the Clinton admin on FNS today who said Bush concentrated elsewhere (meaning Iraq) and took his eye off NK.

NK would be screaming for attention whether we went into Iraq or not. If we hadn't, I'm sure she would be one of the first to demand that Bush do something about Saddam instead of getting bogged down in Afghanistan. Either way, Bush would be criticized for NK just because Kim pulled another stunt.

Syl said...

Actually this reminds me of one of my trips to the Dominican Republic with my ex.

We visited a house that Columbus lived in for a time. Carlos is only 5'9" and had to stoop to get through the bedroom door. The bed was so short that even I (5'2") would have felt uncomfortable.

Doesn't mean much re Kim, I just felt like sharing my memory.

Charlie Martin said...

Barry, I was noticing the same thing. the cloest I heard was someone mentioning the the 30,000 US forces in the RoK.

Syl, I was just watching the afternoon replay of Fox News Sunday and I was struck by how everything was going just great in the Clinton administration, but went all wrong under Bush.

At least, if you believed that woman from the Clinton administration.

Syl said...

StY

Yes, so great under Clinton that 9/11 happened because that administration was concentrating on Kim instead of Osama.

Both administrations chew gum and walk at the same time. It's simply the perception of which threat is more worrisome that dictates the comparitive level of response.

Since it's been 5 years since 9/11 and Kim is in the news, he's considered the greater threat these days.

Syl said...

next to global warming, that is. ;)

vnjagvet said...

Syl and STY:

Of course you are both right about the painting. I was trying to kid around, but my humor was not succeeding, I am afraid.

On the (much) more serious issue, the extent to which the former Clinton Adminstration officials try to justify their ineffectual moves against Osama and Kim nearly ten years ago is specious in light of the events giving rise to the current situations in the mid-east and Korea.

9/11 was in the planning stages years (not months) before it occurred.

NK never stopped developing missiles and nukes during the latter part of the Clinton Admin.

I suppose according to them, we should have attacked NK in March 2003 and engaged in multilateral talks with Iraq.

We can be sure the opposite of whatever this President does, is what he should have done.

cf said...

Pants break funny on the painting.Look like the artist painted over his shoes and extended his legs...or he's on tiny stilts..

cf said...

Doctored paintings are de rigeur in places like N Korea. In the early 1980's I was sitting with the procuratos in the office in Kiev on business when I looked up and noticed that on the painting of Brezhnev an additional medal (painted on canvas) had been glued onto the painting.It was hard not to laugh out loud.