As IF Times

link Giant mass extinction may have been quicker than previously thought | e! Science News.

If the conclusions in this most recent study are to be believed, the mass extinction of most life forms on earth happened almost “instantaneously” in geological terms, a few millennia ago.  Hmm.

Instantaneously.

That sounds dramatic until you read further and discover that “instantaneously” in geological terms is plus or minus 60,000 years.  So the virtual annihilation of all of the earth’s life forms, took almost 60,000 years from the time of the postulated explosions of volcanoes.

For most, 60,000 years is a stretch of time that would allow someone possessed of even the slowest reflexes to take action in the event of a calamity, even for a cataclysmic one described in the article.  From the time that you observe the volcano begin to spew forth with fire and smoke, you knew that you probably only had 857 or so generations to warn your descendants; there is no time to waste.

This bit of information may be a revelation to those who have been inhaling the hot air of the global warming doomsters over the past few decades.  What it means is that the ‘imminent’ disaster of global warming is much more like when your wife tells you she’ll be ready in “5 minutes”.

As demonstrated by probably the richest fiction writer of our time, Al Gore, climate alarmists have the same conceit as an ant crawling up an elephant’s leg with the intention of bedding it.  By trotting out specious statistics over laughably short time lines, they extrapolate the “imminent” extinction of mankind.   While amusing at first, the persistent bleatings of the Gore goofs and climate nutters have become as irritating as a Justin Bieber story.  Reasoning with the indoctrinated is like trying to explain the flavor of the number 9.

Well now, we have an out for them.  Let’s just concede that man does have a cataclysmically detrimental effect on the earth’s climate because of  SUV’s and burning coal for electricity.  But let’s also agree that we do not have to live in caves, ride bicycles and wear hemp clothing.  After all, it looks as if we have some time to spare.  Heck, when Noah was told to build an ark to house all animals because of incoming high water, he had plenty of time to do so, especially impressive without the help of union labor.

“Imminent” is not as urgent as “instantaneous”.  Instantaneous is 60,000 years.  Maybe we can all hold off on selling the Escalade.

link What happened to Lady Gaga? | New York Post.

The reason that the product of many artists is so revered and timeless is because their works were often poignant reflections of the particular zeitgeist of their era.  Through their respective media, they brilliantly capture and convey their observations and perceptions.  It was the resonance with the audience that would determine the timelessness of their work.  The medium didn’t matter; painting, sculpture, literature or music.  While we know that many works of art were commissioned by patrons during their time, most ‘true’ art has no real correlation with financial value…at least not at the outset.  It’s a fair guess that nobody commissioned Pablo Picasso to create cubist paintings for financial gain.  In fact, when the patron first saw the result, he probably refused to pay.

With the passage of time, the appreciation of high artistic expression has been driven by those who have been  mysteriously appointed as arbiters of value.  Today, works of art are sold through Sotheby’s and Christie’s  for tens of millions of dollars or more because essentially, somebody convinced somebody else of their value.  Music of course is a general exception to this.  If it doesn’t catch on with the masses, its value is truly only esoteric.  Music isn’t better because it costs more.  As far as other forms of high artistic expression, the general public wouldn’t know a Cezanne from a Monet.  Or Walt Whitman from Walt Disney.  The masses are happy with their velvet Elvis’ and their paintings of bulldogs playing poker.

Interestingly, there is an attempt to transplant the high art model into the pop culture business. In the world of pop culture, what passes as artistic is usually overwhelmed by what is marketable and profitable.  No one went broke capitalizing on the very brief lives of teeny pop stars.  From the David Cassidys and Leif Garrets of yesterday to the Taylor Swifts and Justin Biebers of today, the teeny girl demographic will always be a dependable source of pop star mania.  Of course, in order to market the young phenoms, at the very least, they need to have some semblance of talent, however  limited that might be.  The fact is, much of the reason that pop stars become pop stars is because of promotion, not unlike the art auction racket.  Once they begin to market that boy band “A” is the flavor of the day, then the public believes it and the process becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.   If any art or talent is truly involved, it’s a happy coincidence.  Come to think of it, that’s how politics works.  Hmm.

In the case of Lady Gaga, her ascension to pop culture icon status is truly a mystery.  Bereft of any vocal or observable entertainment talent, her shtick seems to be dressing as if her outfits were picked by seeing eye dogs or designed by 3 year olds in art class.  Full credit to her team of promoters, over the past 3 years or so, she has managed to place herself front and center in the pop culture business.   This is exhibit “A” of what happens when entertainment is pursued as a marketing exercise rather than as artistic expression, (Exhibit B being Miley Cyrus).   It’s hard to imagine that years from now, people will listen to a classic Gaga track and then say “hey that’s good, play it again!”

So the question posed in the linked article is, what happened to Lady Gaga, as if some great talent has disappeared.   Nothing has happened to Lady Gaga.  It’s more likely the audience has moved on.  In the absence of talent, the shelf life of weird can only last so long.  Unlike in the high art world, it’s much harder to convince the plain folk that a sow’s ear is a silk purse.  Sometimes weird is just weird.