Archive for the 'Anthropomorphism' Category

Feeling Like We Do

Article on the similarities between rats and humans. Interesting bits:

  • They laugh when tickled, especially when they’re young
  • Rats dream as we dream, in epic narratives of navigation and thwarted efforts at escape
  • Look forward to good sex, “They wiggle and paw at their ears, hop and dart, stop and flash a come-hither look backward.”
  • One study showed that rats accustomed to good times tend to be optimists, while those reared in unstable conditions become pessimists.

(Source) – NYTimes free signup required

Brings this documentary, on animal emotion, to mind.

Posted on July 24th, 2007
Tags: Anthropomorphism, Curiosities, Psychology, Science

Was Dali an Asshole?

Whoever wrote this article hated his ass. However, they mention some things I’d not heard about him:

  • He “suggested that the deepest way to demonstrate one’s love for another is to eat their excrement”
  • Congratulated the dictator (Francisco Franco) on political tortures and assassinations
  • Enjoyed hearing of transport disasters

It goes on to describe numerous other ways he was a pompous ass. Unsure of the validity behind the claims of the writer, but I love Salvador Dali’s work, especially his surreal, sultry portrait of Mae West.

(Source)

Posted on June 21st, 2007
Tags: Anthropomorphism, Art, Atrocities, Beautiful, Curiosities, Esoteric, Paintings, Scandalous, Subversive, Surrealism, WTF?!

Wagging Interpreted

Straying from my signature style, it should be noted that the emphasis for this project was the typography, rather than image quality. Further, the image is not my own, nor was it used for profit, but for a school project.

Bron-Y-Aur Stomp Typography Project

This is intriguing, the angle to which a dog’s tail wags is indicative of their mood:

  • Wagging to the Right = Happy Dog
  • Wagging to the Left = Anxious

Read more here: (Source) – requires free signup

Also gives me an excuse to post a Typography project based on my favorite Led Zeppelin song, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, which is all about the good times had with the best dog ever. That song is also not typically my style, but it’s so upbeat & fitting, for what it describes!


Posted on April 24th, 2007
Tags: Anthropomorphism, Art, Beautiful, Graphic Design, Illustration

Corpse Flower in Bloom

Corpse Flower, aka Devil's Tongue

Amorphophallus rivieri

  • It emits a corpse-like smell when in bloom, to attract flies for pollination.
  • The flower contains both male and female flowers that open at differing durations to avoid self-pollination.
  • Varying names for this pungent plant: devil’s tongue, voodoo lily, leopard palm, snake palm. Those are the best names ever.

Georgia O’Keefe &/or Robert Mapplethorpe would have dug this flower. ;)

One must pardon the hickboy editorial tone from the source, it’s the info I’m after.

Isolated and tweaked the photo a bit, to better suit my aesthetics. Everything always looks washed out to me, I LOVE saturation, the intensity of color – the more, the better.

Posted on April 15th, 2007
Tags: Anthropomorphism, Art, Beautiful, Curiosities, Science, Surrealism

Skinny Mannequin Ban

Do women feel pressure to emulate inanimate objects?

Far too frail, Spain has disallowed use of lithe mannequins in stores because it “contributes to eating disorders.”

Personally, I don’t get it. Clothes, fashions, etc. look BETTER on physically appealing specimens – it helps move product. If an enormous ass is devouring the seat of some pants ‘tween its massive cheeks, it’s less flattering to the clothing, thereby potentially affecting sales. I’m being extreme though, their mandate limits it to Size 6 and up, which isn’t big at all. I just get riled when people imply that the media is responsible for girls’ feelings of self-loathing.

What I dig about this article, is that “designers will standardize women’s apparel so a given size will fit the same way no matter who sells it.” YES! Do this. I hate shopping, and if sizes were universal across designers it would make life so much easier!!! Do it to shoes too, then I can order everything online and never set foot in a store again.

Futuristic Badassedness:

To get a better idea of the shapes of Spanish women’s bodies, the government is employing some heavy technology. Using laser-fitted booths that can take 130 measurements of a body in 30 seconds, the Health Ministry is fanning out across the country to assess the sizes of Spanish women.

I demand an uprising, we require this in America, too – the standardization of sizes, that is, NOT the banning of mannequins!

SOURCE

Posted on March 15th, 2007
Tags: Advertising, Anthropomorphism, Art, Beautiful, Body, Curiosities, Marketing, WTF?!

Haunted Headless Ghost Painting

Haunted Painting of the Headless Ghost Photo on which the painting was based

I’ve not seen this one before but this painting was based on the photograph and supposedly a string of unfortunate consequences begat those with the misfortune to possess it. Read the rest here.

Shown at left is a close-up on the area of interest from the painting. Click on it to see the entire painting. At right, the original photo of the Headless Man taken in Arizona. Click on it to visit the site, essentially it’s a double exposure with an inexplicable human-like image in it.

See the other infamous haunted painting here.

Posted on December 30th, 2006
Tags: Anthropomorphism, Art, Curiosities, Esoteric, Horror, Pop Culture