The Week What Caught Our Eye

September 10, 2022

John Bulmer is a multi-dimensional artist, as comfortable with a paint brush as he is behind the lens of his camera.

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

She was the improbable monarch, the young woman who was never expected to ascend the throne and yet became the longest reigning monarch in British history, the world’s longest-serving head of state, and the only queen most had known. Fifteen British prime ministers served during her reign, as did 14 American presidents.  Almost a third of the world’s population lives in the Commonwealth countries she headed.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on April 21, 1926, in a house off Berkeley Square in London, the first child of Albert, Duke of York, second son of George V, and his duchess, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Her father became King George VI unexpectedly when his brother King Edward VIII abdicated to marry a twice-divorced American woman. In January 1952, Elizabeth, then 25, set off with new husband Philip for an overseas tour. The King, against medical advice, went to the airport to see the couple off. It was the last time Elizabeth saw her father. She learned of his death while in Kenya and the new Queen immediately returned to London. She reigned for 70 years and seven months.

“Although my experience is so short and my task so new, I have in my parents and grandparents an example which I can follow with certainty and with confidence,” she said after her coronation. “As this day draws to its close, I know that my abiding memory of it will be, not only the solemnity and beauty of the ceremony, but the inspiration of your loyalty and affection. I thank you all from a full heart.”

AN ARTIST’S JOURNEY: Regular Facing Out readers know John Bulmer. He’s been a designer and art director, a commercial and documentary photographer, and a fine artist. Now he is a creator blending of all those roles. “Over the course my career, I have come to realize that all art is built on the same principles of composition and color. Only the mechanics change as the media change,” John said.

Adaptation is essential in any creative pursuit, and John is continuously finding new ways to innovate, build narrative and tell stories for clients and causes that he seeks to promote, such as the protection of public lands and the conservation of fragile ecosystems.

He has designed software interfaces and consumer spaces, illustrated books, and designed packaging and websites. As a commercial photographer, John’s work has been seen around the world. 

Recently, John has turned to mixed media painting, producing drawings and paintings of the landscapes he once captured with a camera. “The paintings are a way for me to slow down and enjoy the process again,” he said. “Over the past 25 years, I have captured millions of photos in an industry that relies on the fast turnaround of thousands of images on a tight deadline. Painting allows me to slow it all down and produce one deliberate thing at a time. For me, in 2022, art is the process of making something beautiful or thought-provoking, the tools used don’t matter so much anymore. It can be with an AI, a computer, a camera, or a paintbrush.”

Learn more about John’s photography at www.bulmerphotography.com or his paintings at www.johnbulmerart.com.

(John Bulmer)  

WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN: Americans’ concern with the threat of international terrorism seems to have waned, mercifully, in the last 21 years. There has not been an international terrorist attack in the U.S. in some time, and Americans seem to have confidence in the steps the U.S. government has taken to protect them. Still, the awful memory of 9/11 never fades, nor should it.

WORDS OF WARNING: The Adirondack Council environmental advocacy group makes a notable political point in its 40^th annual State of the Park report, titling it “Stressed and Challenged,” the group’s assessment of the current and future state of the Adirondack Park. The report expresses concern about the environmental impact of living in an “autocratic” society, predicting the loss of essential environmental protections “without the rule of law and an informed electorate.” The council said it will be working to pass a $4.2 billion environmental bond act that is before New York voters in November, and securing more federal funds for environmental protections.

QUICK AND DULL: That’s the forecast for leaf-peeping season in upstate New York. Blame it on science — higher than average summer temperatures, combined with months of sparse rainfall, mean the colors this fall will arrive sooner and be less vibrant than usual in much of the Adirondacks and eastern parts of upstate. The season is expected to be more typical in Central New York, which wasn’t as dry. If your leaf-peeping takes you farther afield, this guide may help.

SNOW BUSINESS: If you thought kids already hated remote learning, wait until you read this: The chancellor of New York City public schools decreed this week that snow days are a thing of the past. Instead, when snow and ice hit, students and teachers will be required to log on to their computers and carry on, a skill they learned when the pandemic kept school buildings closed. City schools will have 13 weekday holidays, in addition to winter and spring breaks.

The monarch butterfly, newly added to the endangered species list, has an ally in Glens Falls, N.Y.

SPEAKING OF MONARCHS: As we mark the passing of one exceptional monarch, a group of people in Glens Falls, N.Y., is trying to ensure the survival of another. The monarch butterfly was added to the endangered species list just this year, and Glens Falls’ Crandall Park Beautification Committee is hosting a Monarch Festival to spread the word about what we can do to help reverse the monarch’s decline. The festival will take place on Friday, September 16, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., at the pollinator garden behind the Crandall Park duck pond. Activities for children include coloring, seedball-making, and face-painting. At 4 p.m., Mayor Bill Collins will read the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge and Skidmore professor and Beautification Committee member Erika Schielke will give a brief talk. Children will get to re-enact the monarchs’ migration from Canada to Mexico — albeit in a much-abbreviated form — along the route, gathering pollen that looks suspiciously like M&Ms.

FUNNY AND FASHIONABLE: Jerry Seinfeld successfully transitioned from standup comic to TV icon, a turn that has enabled him to live life at his own pace for more than a quarter-century and still draw a crowd wherever he goes. So it should come as no surprise that Seinfeld’s selection as the face of streetwear brand Kith’s 2022 fall collection is drawing rave reviews.

ANOTHER CURE: Just as it was the world’s leading location for the cure of tuberculosis for nearly 100 years, Saranac Lake will be on the front lines of science again in fighting future strains of COVID. The Trudeau Institute and Ampersand Biosciences have received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop tests that help COVID-19 researchers assess the effectiveness of new vaccines under development. Trudeau will produce monoclonal antibodies for Ampersand and Ampersand will include those antibodies in tests — or reagents — it produces for use by immunology researchers.

WORDS OF WELCOME: In her final public appearance, Queen Elizabeth II asked Liz Truss to form a new British government in her name. Truss replaced Boris Johnson as prime minister. Marina Hyde, a columnist for The Guardian, welcomed the new prime minister this way: “Well, there it is. The UK’s third prime minister in just over three years is Liz Truss, the troubling result of a lab accident in which a community centre asset stripper was crossbred with a Live-Laugh-Love decal.” The British. Never at a loss for words or political barbs.

THE WAY WE WERE: The pyramids of Giza tower above a desert landscape, ancient marvels that have attracted the curious for centuries. Researchers using modern techniques and data have created a climate timeline suggesting that a former branch of the Nile, long extinct, was used to transport the tools and materials to build the three pyramids of Giza, with a harbor constructed to unload the ships. An artist’s reconstruction imagines the pyramids in a lush riverside setting.

RUN, CHRIS, RUN: What we meant to say is, Siena College President Chris Gibson announced this week that he would retire at the end of the current academic year. Gibson, a former three-term congressman, became Siena’s 12^th president in 2020, at the height of the pandemic. He didn’t indicate what he plans to do next, but Gibson would seem to have far too much left in the proverbial tank to permanently bow out of public life. Selfishly, we hope this isn’t the end for an extraordinarily bright, principled and gifted public servant, but if it is, we honor and thank him for his leadership and example.

PRESENT TENSION: The Port of Albany, N.Y., and a smaller, privately owned and operated Hudson River port in Coeymans, 15 miles south, are buzzing with activity and anticipation. Both are making investments to capitalize on state and federal incentives to bolster renewable energy production, especially the massive components of offshore wind, but recent missteps and activism from concerned neighbors have introduced unexpected uncertainty about what’s next and long-term prospects for bringing new industry to the river.

HISTORIC DISQUALIFICATION: An elected county commissioner in New Mexico was removed from office by a state judge for violating a clause in the Constitution prohibiting participants in an insurrection from holding office. Couy Griffin, a commissioner in Otero County, was among the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol in January 2021. He is the first elected official in U.S. history to be removed from office for insurrectionist activities, and is barred from holding any state or federal elected office in the future.

A LEGEND BOWS OUT: Sue Bird, arguably the most decorated player in the history of women’s basketball, ended her playing career this week after 19 professional seasons, all with the WNBA’s Seattle Storm. Bird, a point guard, won two NCAA titles at Connecticut, four WNBA titles and five Olympic gold medals, and is the WNBA’s all-time leader in assists and games played. “I know I had a positive impact on my community, on my teams.” Bird told ESPN. “I don't feel like any stones were unturned in that way.”

CAREER PATHS: Jobs that pay $35-plus an hour to start? Sign us up, high school students are saying. Happy to, respond construction companies and others in need of blue-collar workers, some of which are pledging to welcome to full-time employment fresh high school graduates who complete trade and apprenticeship courses. “We’ve hired three or four young men and women who have come in with the summertime and we’ve hired them right out of high school,” the owner of a bridge-building company told the Albany Times Union. “There’s something gratifying about looking at something you built.”

DYING FOR TRUTH: An elected official in Clark County, Nevada, where Las Vegas is located, was arrested this week as a suspect in the murder of a local reporter who had exposed turmoil in the official’s personal and professional conduct. Clark County Public Administrator Robert “Rob” Telles was arrested after the fatal stabbing of Jeff German, a veteran reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

WE DIDN’T FORGET FOOTBALL: Who could? The Buffalo Bills showed why they are the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history with a season-opening 31-10 demolition Thursday night of the defending champion Rams in Los Angeles. And to think, not long ago this was a popular joke in Buffalo: Why do the bars in Buffalo have their TVs on the floor? So Bills fans can watch while hanging their heads.

ALMOST FINAL WORDS

 “When Americans lend a hand to one another, nothing is impossible. We’re not about what happened on 9/11. We’re about what happened on 9/12.”
—    Jeff Parness

LIVES

BERNARD SHAW was the face of CNN from its founding, delivering the day’s biggest news from the anchor’s chair from June 1980 to February 2001. He anchored coverage of presidential elections, and reported on the ground from Iraq during the First Gulf War, earning accolades for his cool-headed demeanor while bombs rained on Baghdad. While serving in the Marines, he sought out Walter Cronkite for advice on becoming a journalist, and Dr. Martin Luther King told a young Shaw, “One day you’ll make it, just do some good.” He was 82.

ANNE GARRELS had been a bureau chief for ABC News in both Moscow and Central America when she left TV news to become a foreign correspondent for NPR, an assignment that took her to some of the world’s most dangerous places. She was a fearless and creative reporter who once got a story by hiding in a rolled-up carpet to report in the heart of Baghdad. Her reporting covered not just politics and conflict, but culture, social issues and the arts. She died of lung cancer at 71.

THE SIGNOFF

OPEN FOR REPAIRS: A ceremony celebrating the opening of a new pedestrian bridge in the Democratic Republic of Congo was interrupted when the bridge collapsed as the ribbon was being cut.

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THANK YOU to our contributors: Bill Callen, Ryan Moore, Troy Burns, Claire P. Tuttle, John Bulmer, Tina Suhocki, John Brodt, Lisa Fenwick, and Tara Hutchins.

FACING OUT is what we do. We help companies, organizations and individuals work effectively with their most important external audiences – their customers, their shareholders, their communities, the government and the news media.  www.behancommunications.com

Facing Out features news and other nuggets that caught our eye, and that we thought might be of value to you, our friends and business associates. Some items are good news about our clients and friends, others are stories that we hope will leave you a bit more informed or entertained than you were five minutes ago. As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback. 

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