Sunday, January 31, 2010

Are You a "Master Angler?"

Take the fishing quiz on the right.

If you pass this quiz, consider yourself a Master Angler!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 5:30 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: the Sheriff and his mistress/crushee, was he used, and

Nation and international: state of dis-union because everybody is angry and is one Republican right, you shouldn't encourage poor folks to have kids (read Gregory Clark's book A Farewell to Alms for the answer).

But I'll discuss anything. (Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

America is Bankrupt, 2010 Budget Proposal is Robbery of Future

UPDATE III: Too little, too late. Read the Washington Post, Obama to propose freeze on government spending.

I tried to warn him last year. He should have proposed a 10% pay reduction for all government payees (workers, retirees, veterans, social security recipients, etc.), 50% for any payment over $100k/year.


UPDATE II: But is Obama Man responsible for the additional $9 trillion in debt, or did he just inherit the problem? Read The New York Times, Who Gets the Blame for the Deep Deficit?

"The analyses of the Congressional Budget Office and the administration’s Office of Management and Budget . . . agree that much of the $9 trillion through fiscal year 2019 is the government’s so-called baseline deficit — the shortfall that would result if current law and policies don’t change."


UPDATE: An update from my post in February. Read The New York Times, Estimate for 10-Year Deficit Raised to $9 Trillion.

Holy cow Obama Man, that's a lot of money.

Unbelievable, in the first budget Obama "proposed $3.55 trillion budget for the coming fiscal year that he said discards "dishonest" accounting practices of the past . . . [that] would push the 2009 budget deficit to a massive $1.75 trillion."

This cartoon made me think . . .























Is Obama doing too much? Others wonder the same. Read, The New York Times, The Big Test.

Of course, Republi-cons hope Obama will fail. But like Crist, I hope he will succeed. That said, I think it is likely that Obama will fail.

(Note a difference between hoping for an outcome and think it likely.)

Why do I think Obama will fail?

In the 2010 budget proposal, Obama said "There are times where you can afford to redecorate your house and there are times where you need to focus on rebuilding its foundation, today, we have to focus on foundations. Having inherited a trillion-dollar deficit that will take a long time for us to close, we need to focus on what we need to move the economy forward, not on what's nice to have."

So, if Obama is serious, he won't redecorate the White House. Therefore I googled the terms Obama, redecorate, "White House," and guess what, the White House is being redecorated.

In addition, the budget includes 'limits' on pay raises for federal workers 2 percent pay and for the military to 2.9 percent. Given the complete failure of government in the last decade, 9/11, Iraq, Katrina, and the economic mess to name a few, and the fact that the federal government is essentially bankrupt, who thinks that government workers should get a raise. Obama's budget should include no pay raise for any government worker, in fact, the budget should require a 10% pay reduction for all government workers.

The government is robbing our future to save the Ponzi scheme that was Wall Street. The banks know it. Read the New York Magazine, The New Etiquette of Bank Robbery.

Time to end the bailout bull!

Time for GRAC.

Follow the Bouncing Dollars

Track the details of the economic stimulus at CNN Money, The Stimulus Tracker.

The Devil and His Friend the Preacher

UPDATE II: Was the earthquake in Haiti a "US Black Ops . . . [to] obliterated evidence of US Government and rogue official drug-running complicity . . . channeled through the Haitian capital for many years." (quoting Global Analysis International Intelligence (GAII))

The 2008 presidential nominee for the Constitution Party thinks so, because he is "personally convinced that certain members of the Bush and Clinton families have been involved in the international smuggling of illicit drugs for decades."

Don't forget earlier CONservative CONspiracies.

Just think. that guy could have been president.


UPDATE: Is God punitive and interventionist or as capricious as nature? Read The New York Times, Between God and a Hard Place.

Speaking of Palin and her recent comment that she's all part of God's plan, is death, destruction and misery in Haiti also part of God's plan? One so-called minister of the gospel thinks so. Read Newsweek, Haiti, the devil and Pat Robertson.

Obama the Fawning Sycophant Mutt?

UPDATE V: Does Obama failure = Palin presidency? Read The Root, How Barack Obama Is Paving the Way for a Palin Presidency.


UPDATE IV: What can Obama Man do now? For what one die hard Republi-con thinks, read the Washington Post, Obama's options, in a post-Massachusetts nation.

But another thinks that Obama just can't. Read the Washington Post, Abandoning health care after the Brown election, and other Washington nonsense.

And one writer is just about ready to give up on Obama. Read The New York Times, He Wasn’t The One We’ve Been Waiting For.


UPDATE III: Another Massachusetts miracle -- Republican Scott Brown is now the Senator-elect from Massachusetts, winning the seat once held by the Kennedys.

Of course, the newest Republi-con should fit right in with the party of fiscal incoherent and governing irresponsibility that "offers nothing constructive, nothing coherent, nothing concrete, and no support for anything" the other guys try to do.

So was the special election a big stop sign for the Naive-ocrats, a referendum on health care reform, a repudiation of Obama Man, and/or a resurrection of Republi-cons?

Or in our fast-paced, high-tech political culture, is it all part of the ongoing process of political unalignment.

I'm sure we'll discuss it Friday.


UPDATE II: Today's the day of reckoning in Demochusetts.


UPDATE: Much as it would pain me to see the Republi-cons win the special election in Demochusetts, the Naive-ocrats deserve to lose the seat. Read the Washington Post, Just deserts for Massachusetts Democrats?

The Republi-cons are giving the Naive-crats heartburn in the special U.S. Senate election in Demochusetts. And after a year in office, Obama's got a popularity problem. Why the political change of fortune?

Is it because Obama the mutt yearns to be a pedigreed show-dog? One writer has an interesting take:

"Obama has described himself as a mutt on a couple of occasions. His honest, self-deprecating nature is one of those qualities that is easy to appreciate.

It was a welcomed quality after living with a president for eight years who was born on third base and believed that he had hit a triple.

On the campaign trail, Obama showed enough self-awareness to admit and even celebrate the fact that he was not born into an AKC-registry crowd. But in the last year, Obama too often has given us the impression that he wishes he had. It is as if he developed a desire to be more of a pedigreed Great Pyrenees or an AKC Akita than the mutt we once admired.

It is certainly a pedigreed show-dog crowd that this professed mutt is running the streets with these days.Tim Geithner and Larry Summers, the two-legged canines Obama appointed as Wall Street watchdogs, have everything in common with the fierce, pedigreed Dobermans and Rottweilers who run the show in New York's financial district . . ."

Read the rest of the op-ed at the Pensacola News Journal, Obama is running with a new pack today.

So is Obama more like Spike the Bulldog or Chester the Terrier?


P.S. Remember, I tried to warn him. But I predict the Republi-cons hard sell will backfire. Unfortunately for the voters, the choice between Republi-cons and Naive-crats is like the choice between bad and worse.

Monday, January 25, 2010

From an email:

In a podiatrist's office: "Time wounds all heels."

On a septic tank truck: "Yesterday's Meals on Wheels"

At a proctologist's door: "To expedite your visit, please back in."

On a plumber's truck: "We repair what your husband fixed."

On another plumber's truck: "Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber."

On a church's bill board: "7 days without God makes one weak."

At a tire shop in Milwaukee: "Invite us to your next blowout."

At a towing company: "We don't charge an arm and a leg. We want tows."

On an electrician's truck: "Let us remove your shorts."

In a nonsmoking area: "If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action."

On a maternity room door: "Push. Push. Push."

At an optometrist's office: "If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place."

On a taxidermist's window: "We really know our stuff."

On a fence: "Salesmen welcome! Dog food is expensive!"

At a car dealership: "The best way to get back on your feet - miss a car payment."

Outside a muffler shop: "No appointment necessary. We hear you coming."

In a veterinarian's waiting room: "Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!"

At the electric company "We would be delighted if you send in your payment. However, if you don't, you will be."

In a restaurant window: "Don't stand there and be hungry; come on in and get fed up."

In the front yard of a funeral home: "Drive carefully. We'll wait."

At a propane filling station: "Thank heaven for little grills."

Chicago radiator shop: "Best place in town to take a leak."

Sign on the back of another septic tank truck: "Caution - This Truck is full of Political Promises"

Friday, January 22, 2010

What Do Rosa Parks and the 'Prostidude' Have in Common?

The answer: Alabama.

Read The New York Times, Country's First Legal Gigolo Starts Work in Nevada.

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 5:30 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: end the exile of BJ, and

Nation and international: another Massachusetts miracle or political unalignment, Judicial Activism Inc. and are Naive-ocrats just too stupid to stay in office.

But I'll discuss anything. (Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Republi-CONs Broke the Economy, But Naive-crats Now Own It

UPDATE II: As I've said before, fear, anger, and hatred works for the campaign, but is not an effective governing strategy. Call the Republi-con bluff.


UPDATE: Time for a vote of raising the debt limit, and after years of fiscal irresponsibility -- two major tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, a costly Medicare prescription-drug benefit and two wars, without paying for any of it -- Republi-cons have found religion.

Naive-ocrats should call their bluff, and refuse to raise the debt ceiling unless it is unanimous. Otherwise, Republi-cons will just use it in the next election.

Here is a life lesson from today's headlines: if you cover for your predecessor's incompetence it will soon be your problem. And in politics, not only will it be your problem, but will spin the blame your way. Read the Washington Post, Promise to Trim Deficit Is Growing Harder to Keep.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Male or Female?

You might not have known this, but a lot of non-living objects are actually either male or female. Here are some examples:

FREEZER BAGS: They are male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them.

PHOTOCOPIERS: These are female, because once turned off; it takes a while to warm them up again. They are an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can also wreak havoc if you push the wrong buttons.

TIRES: Tires are male, because they go bald easily and are often over inflated.

HOT AIR BALLOONS: Also a male object, because to get them to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under their butt.

SPONGES: These are female, because they are soft, squeezable and retain water.

WEB PAGES: Female, because they're constantly being looked at and frequently getting hit on.

TRAINS: Definitely male, because they always use the same old lines for picking up people.

EGG TIMERS: Egg timers are female because, over time, all the weight shifts to the bottom .

HAMMERS: Male, because in the last 5000 years, they've hardly changed at all, but are occasionally handy to have around.

THE REMOTE CONTROL: Female. Ha! You probably thought it would be male, but consider this: It easily gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push, he just keeps trying.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Prime-Time Propaganda

News as entertainment, just tellin what they want to hear. Read the Baltimore Sun, Sarah Palin's Fox debut: Prime-time propaganda.

Congratulations to Hedgehog News (which falsely uses the name FOXNews) for their new mascot and martyr, "a living breathing symbol of all that the network hopes to be: a place for the forgotten, besieged, suburban and rural American middle, long victimized, often dismissed, beset on all sides by elites and liberals, haters and foes":



Palin's "chipper visage, baseless certitude, utter obliviousness and unwavering belief in her own destiny make her an ideal vessel for this mounting white discontent. It’s perfect: blind faith meets blinding frustration. For an image of what this looks like, simply recall her rallies from the previous election."

I look forward to her tired cliches, random jargon, and catchphrases she had been coached to repeat, often resulting in nonsensical answers and gibberish during the election.

And if an occasional scripted appearance on Hedgehog News is not enough, there is always the Sarah Palin Quote Generator.

She is "the Palin that America has long come to know, at once skittish and confident, sing-songy in elocution, repetitive in substance and Palinesque in diction. . . . "To quibble with any of these utterances, in form or substance, would be to simply help fulfill her" destiny.

It's all part of God's plan.

All Hail, the Great Palin has returned, we are saved!

Then again maybe not, the end-time is upon us.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 5:30 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: is it time for an investigation of the Escambia County Commission and their good ol' boy friends or was it all just ignorant innocence and an update on the ongoing legal dispute about God and Santa Rosa county schools, and

Nation and international: Obama the Fawning Sycophant Mutt and should it be open season on abortion doctors, or anyone you genuinely hate?

But I'll discuss anything. (Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth!

Realization

From an email:

My dog sleeps about 20 hours a day. He has his food prepared for him. He can eat whenever he wants, 24/7/365. His meals are provided at no cost to him. He visits the Dr. once a year for his checkup, and again during the year if any medical needs arise. For this he pays nothing, and nothing is required of him. He lives in a nice neighborhood in a house that is much larger than he needs, but he is not required to do any upkeep.

If he makes a mess, someone else cleans it up. He has his choice of luxurious places to sleep. He receives these accommodations absolutely free. He is living like a king, and has absolutely no expenses whatsoever.

All of his costs are picked up by others who go out and earn a living every day. I was just thinking about all this, and suddenly it hit me like a brick in the head...............

Holy S#!t, my dog must be a democrat!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

The Panic Industry

Was the so-called H1N1 flu 'pandemic' just another industry con? Read OpposingViews.com, Expert Says Swine Flu Scare Just a Money-Making Scam.

The panic industry is big business, just ask the Republi-cons.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Fly Naked or Die

UPDATE V: Were recent event justification of panic and anit-Muslim discrimination? Read The New York Times, A Year of Terror Plots, Through a Second Prism.


UPDATE IV: How are al-Qaeda and the Republi-cons alike? They both use fear, anger, and hatred for power. Read the Washington Post, Don't panic. Fear is al-Qaeda's real goal.

And don't forget panic -- the Republi-con reaction to the to the failed Christmas terrorist attack make them sound like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off.


UPDATE III: Connect the dots for national security:




UPDATE II: Be very, very afraid, the parrot might be a terrorist. Read The New York Times, Take Off Your Shoes, and Is the Parrot Loaded?


UPDATE: One moderate Republican thinks the Republi-cons are being childish and hysterical in their reaction to the failed Christmas terrorist attack. Read The New York Times, The God That Fails.

I don't think Republi-cons will be happy until the TSA implements this new regualtion:





So much for the next family vacation.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Are You Ready for Some Republi-CON Smack Down

UPDATE: "Are the battles among establishment Republicans and the tea party folks the desperate thrashings of a dying movement or the labor pains of a new one?" Read The New York Times, G.O.P. Grief and Grieving.

2010 will be a year of Republi-con civil war, and Florida is where the fighting is now fiercest.

As previously noted, the 2010 Florida Senate race is shaping up to be Washington leadership v. grassroots, pragmatism v. ideological delusion, reality v. lunacy. It is an intra-party fight whether to moderate the political agenda or go all-in conservative hypocrisy, whether the campaign theme should be hope for the future or fear and loathing.

And Florida is a great setting for this smack down, a political "swamp of Elián Gonzáles, Terri Schiavo, Mark Foley, Katherine Harris, William Kennedy Smith, confused Jews voting for Pat Buchanan in Palm Beach County, the National Enquirer (based here), Rush Limbaugh (lives here) and Tiger Woods (crashed here). " (BTW, there is a local NW Florida/Republi-con Riviera angle to the article.)

So get ready for the fun by reading The New York, The First Senator From the Tea Party?


P.S. One of these guys needs a catchy and practical proposal to unite and reform the party. I'd suggest GR&TR (formerly known as GRAC). We'll discuss Friday.

Republi-CON Victimhood

In 1948 Strom Thurmond of South Carolina ran for President of the United States on the Dixiecrat (or States' Rights) ticket. Thurmond had based his presidential campaign largely on an explicit racial segregation platform.

In December 2002, at the 100th birthday party of Thurmond, Trent Lott, Senate Republican leader, said: "When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over the years, either." After an outcry by Democrats, Lott resigned his leadership post.

Now it has been reported that during the last U.S. presidential campaign, Harry Reid, Senate Democratic leader, praised Obama as a "light-skinned" African American "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." Republicans are demanding Reid resign. Should he?

Is pining for the good old days of segregation and white supremacy the same as an accurate analytical comment on politics and race?

Truth is though, a review of statements by members of both parties show they are not so different after all.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 5:30 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: local kid helps power Alabama win the BCS championship game, but is Alabama the best team in the country, maybe global warming wouldn't be so bad after all, and Ronnie Mac wants back and

Nation and international: are you ready for some Republi-con smack down and religious war anyone?

But I'll discuss anything. (Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Kill Them, or Give Them a Lawyer

Ever wonder why we kill some would-be terrorist, and give others a lawyer. Because that is how justice is applied.

Tell Cheney to read The New York Times, What’s Our Line?, and the constitution if he has one (which I doubt),

Teabaggers Unite!

Naive-ocrats and Republi-Cons, beware -- the peasants are angry. Read The New York Times, An Uneasy Feeling.

And the tea party movement is now more popular than either sorry party, but will it become a major force in American politics? Read The New York Times, The Tea Party Teens.

Color Me Not Surprised

More naughty Banksters making foobs of us, again. Read The New York Times, Fannie’s Christmas Eve Surprise.

The Frog and Golf

A man goes out golfing.

He is on the second hole when he notices a frog sitting next to the green.

He thinks nothing of it and is about to shoot when he hears, "Ribbit 9 Iron."

The man looks around and doesn't see anyone. Again, he hears, "Ribbit 9 Iron."

He looks at the frog and decides to prove the frog wrong, puts the club away, and grabs a 9 iron.

Boom! He hits it 10 inches from the cup. He is shocked and says "Wow that's amazing. You must be a lucky frog."

The frog replies, "Ribbit Lucky frog."

The man decides to take the frog with him to the next hole.

"What do you think frog?" the man asks.

"Ribbit 3 wood."

The guy takes out a 3 wood and Boom! Hole in one.

The man is befuddled and doesn't know what to say.

By the end of the day, the man golfed the best game of golf in his life and asks the frog, "OK where to next?"

The frog replies, "Ribbit Las Vegas."

"They go to Las Vegas and the guy says, "OK frog, now what?"

The frog says, "Ribbit Roulette."

Upon approaching the roulette table, the man asks, "What do you think I should bet?"

The frog replies, "Ribbit $3000, black 6."

Now, this is a million-to-one shot to win, but after the golf game the man figures what the heck.

Boom! Tons of cash comes sliding back across the table.

The man takes his winnings and buys the best room in the hotel.

He sits the frog down and says, "Frog, I don't know how to repay you. You've won me all this money and I am forever grateful."

The frog replies, "Ribbit Kiss Me."

He figures why not, since after all the frog did for him, he deserves it.

With a kiss, the frog turns into a gorgeous girl.

"And that is how the girl ended up in my room Elin. So help me God or my name is not Tiger Woods."

Religious War Anyone?

Some have suggested strip seaches and separate lines for Muslims.

But should Muslims be banned, as some have suggested, from all U.S. air travel?

And more than half of the people who took an online poll said yes!

It's called guilty by association. Is it appropriate? What do you think?

We'll be discussing this on Friday at NoBullU on 1330 WEBY.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Say No More

From Time, Say No More: The Banned Words of 2010:

1. Shovel-ready
2. Transparent/Transparency
3. Czar
4. Tweet
5. App
6. Sexting
7. Friend as a verb
8. Teachable Moment
9. In These Economic Times...
10. Stimulus
11. Toxic Assets
12. Too Big to Fail
13. Bromance
14. Chillaxin'
15. Obama as a prefix

The Congressional Reform Act of 2010

From the internet, the "Congressional Reform Act of 2010":

1. Term Limits: 12 years only, one of the possible options below.
A. Two Six year Senate terms
B. Six Two year House terms
C. One Six year Senate term and three Two Year House terms

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.


2. No Tenure / No Pension: A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.


3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security: All funds in the Congressional retirement fund moves to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, Congress participates with the American people.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.


4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.


5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.


6. Congress looses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.


7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.


8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/2011. The American people did not make this contract with congressmen, congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.


I can't think of a reason to disagree.

If you agree with the above, pass it on.

Unusual Talent

This video shows the winner of " Ukraine’s Got Talent", Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch:



She begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated.

It is replaced by a woman’s face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Ms. Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman’s face appears.

She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.

This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house.

In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye..

The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine , resulted in one in four of the population being killed with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million.

Ms. Simonova is reported to have said: "I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there’s surely no bigger compliment."

She won the top prize of 1,000,000 Ukrainian Hryvnia (about $125,000).