Njideka Akunyili Crosby -- James Bond -- Rude Politicians Gaining Acceptance from Men

Njideka Akunyili Crosby was painting in her high-raftered studio in Los Angeles in early 2017, when she got the text from a friend. Just a few years earlier, she had been selling works for $3,000 apiece. Now, one of her paintings had just sold at Christie’s in London for $3 million, more than six times its estimate.  WSJ

The price of art has me dismayed;

how can such giant sums be paid

for art still wet behind the ears

from painters in their early years?

Methinks the middlemen concerned

are looking for a gain unearned;

collectors, too, jack up the price

with bids as airy as puffed rice.

And I suspect the artist's cut

buys but one meal at Pizza Hut.

*********************************************

Now audiences watch — and often weigh in on — the entire filmmaking process as it plays out through news reports and social media postings. And that’s exactly what’s happening with the 25th installation in the James Bond franchise. Few movies demonstrate the sheer public nature of today’s blockbuster-making process better than the unreleased movie.  WaPo

Movies become such big news,

with so many long interviews,

that you just might think

we've come to the brink

of battle again on the Meuse.

*********************************

But while three-quarters of women (75%) say it’s essential that political leaders maintain a tone of civility and respect in politics, men are 14 percentage points less likely to say this (61%).  PEW Research Center

Civility isn't essential

for those who would be presidential.

The polls are quite clear

that persons who sneer

find Capitol Hill residential.