Dear Joe,
I wish I could sit down with you face to face and explain why so many of us were offended by the UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House.
For me, it had nothing to do with the UFC or who showed up for the fights. The brand you and Dana have built is a bona fide American success story. More power to you. As for the fighters, in my book, anyone brave enough to put it all on the line in the arena is remarkable to witness. Their dedication and discipline inspire me. I don’t understand anyone who can’t admire that.
And as for the people who attended, I, for one, love Shane Gillis. I think he’s hilarious and brilliant. It was a show. A once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. I can’t blame anyone for wanting to witness it firsthand.
My problem is that I believe some of our public spaces are sacred. And unlike many of the great powers that came before us, these American monuments belong to all of us. Not to whoever happens to hold power at the moment.
The White House does not belong to Donald Trump. It does not belong to any President. It belongs to the people. To treat it as Caesar treated the Colosseum is antithetical to everything our founding fathers fought for.
This is not Rome. Presidents are not emperors doling out bread and circuses for the peasants. The White House is the People’s House. This “celebration” could have happened in any stadium within a stone’s throw of the South Lawn. No one would have had an issue with it.
But that was obviously Donald Trump’s whole point. By holding the event on the South Lawn, what he was saying to the rest of us is:
“This is my house. I own it. I will do with it what I please. I’ll build a colosseum and have the gladiators fight under my gaze. I’ll tear down the East Wing. I’ll pave over the Rose Garden. I’ll cover everything in gold and marble. I’ll erase the names of all the men who came before me.”
The fights were an exhibition of imperial domination, not a celebration of our 250th anniversary as a democracy.
The White House is not Buckingham Palace. It is not the Palace of Versailles. It is not the Forbidden City of Beijing. It does not belong to an emperor, or a king, or a commissar.
The White House belongs to us. All of us. The person who sits behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office is nothing more than an honored guest. A temporary caretaker.
The President is our servant. Not our Caesar.
Respectfully, Hunter
P.S. Cage match between me and Don Jr.? Your call on the venue. Anywhere but the South Lawn.
@WAYSHAK is the pseudonym of Jonathan Wayshak, an American illustrator and comic book artist known for his highly detailed style, packed with intricate linework, heavy inks, and cross-hatching. His work blends influences from underground comix, horror, science fiction, and dark fantasy. 🔥
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#OTD June 16, 1978: Roger Dicken presents his version of the chestburster (affectionately named “the little rascal”) to Ridley Scott. This resolves a long-standing problem faced during pre-production following many failed attempts. One last detail: Scott opts to remove the arms.
FACE/OFF (1997)
Makeup effects legend Kevin Yagher’s prosthetic bodies are masterpieces of realism.
The lifecast body doubles had animatronic movement to breathe and twitch during the surgical face-swap scenes.
No CGI was needed.
Practical filmmaking at its most unnerving.
Frank Frazetta on his Lord of the Rings ‘Éowyn vs. the Nazgûl Lord’ illustration:
“It’s one of my favorites. I got the weight and the forward movement at just the right moment. Perfect balance, perfect motion. That really turned out well. No effort. I remember being excited to see how it would turn out. It just flowed onto the paper like I wasn’t even holding the brush. I guess I was in a zone of some sort. That happens when I really get excited about an image.” — Frank Frazetta, in conversation with Doc Dave Winiewicz, c.1990s
Frank rarely talked about technique in a formal way. He usually spoke in terms of feeling. Here, he’s not describing anatomy, composition, or brushwork. He’s talking about momentum, excitement, and that elusive state artists spend their entire lives chasing…the moment when an image seems to create itself.
🏒 📺
i learned hockey from @hockeynight, 1961 to the early 1970s.
it ended up paying a lot of bills!
i live in detroit, on the detroit river.
saturdays during the season? see you in windsor!
the american broadcasts have never compared! 🍎🍎 🍑🍑