Saturday, June 17, 2006

Clement Was Bottle Fed


Performance artist offers breast milk tastings
Dobkin, who has given performances and presented artist's talks and workshops at galleries and universities throughout North America, said she became interested in taboos surrounding breastfeeding. "This project re-contextualizes something often regarded as indecent or repellent, offering a celebratory view," the 36-year-old Toronto-based artist said in the release. "A substance that nourishes us in our infancy later becomes a curiosity in adulthood. Though many drink it exclusively for the first months of life, the memory of that taste and the sensation of drawing milk from the breast are forgotten. No two women's milk tastes the same, and is influenced by things we ingest and our unique biology."


Oh please gimme a break from post-structuralist deconstructionism.

Taste date set at breast milk bar
The federal Tory government says it won't lay a hand on the Lactation Station Breast Milk Bar. A Toronto performance artist is offering the public an opportunity to sample human breast milk, in the spirit of wine tasting, and the lesbian single mother is using a $9,000 grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to help get the creative juices flowing. The breast milk, provided by six different women according to artist Jess Dobkin, will be pasteurized for health and safety reasons. But that consideration didn't seem top of mind for federal Health Minister Tony Clement. "A chacun son gout" -- to each his own tastes -- said Clement, before quickly adding, "It's not for me."


Obviously Tony was a bottle baby. Actually that's a clever quip from Clement.

Funny the silence coming from the screaming Tories who would have their proverbial knickers in a twist over this when in opposition. Now as the government, well of course it's hands off the Canada Council., and keep those hands away from lesbian breasts.

Ok folks here is the $9,000 question if this was a performance in a strip club would it not be denounced as exploitative of women. But since it's a lesbian doing it at the Ontario College of Art and Design its ok. Can you say 'feminist contradictions'.

Pasteurized? Guess the Vegans will be upset over that. Nothing is better and more wholesome than mothers milk as they say. Of course it isn't true anymore.
Milking It: Moms find industrial chemicals in their breast milk

Unfortunately no real breasts will be used. It will be lactacation machines producing your glass of moms milk. Just like they use for that other milk we drink. So the whole experience wil be oh so clinical.

Will the Art Gallery be full of Adult babies?

Wasn't the Milk Bar somewhere Alex and his Droogs hung out at?

Oy the head spins. Even if it's called performance art, its more appropriate for the Jerry Springer show. Excpet that the prudes in the U.S. would probably fine Jerry.
Bush approves tenfold hike for broadcast indecency fines

At least its not public urination art. For which Canada is famous.

But wait it gets better in Scotland the lads have their own art show. Its all post feminism now.Thank the girls for leading the way. Though it all began with DadA in the first place.

Under the influence

IAIN GALE

Dada's Boys
Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh

IN 1992 the British art world saw its greatest explosion of cultural creativity for three decades. The press called it "BritArt" and it was nothing less than revolutionary. But this was a revolution with a difference. For BritArt was underwritten by something essentially conservative. For all the Rachel Whitereads, Gillian Wearings and Tracey Emins that it spawned, it was at its core about art made by 'lads'. When they weren't pickling sheep or bottling their own blood, Hirst, Quinn and their mates were happiest down the pub getting drunk, watching or playing footie or getting their leg over. A new exhibition at Edinburgh's Fruitmarket examines this curious truth and puts it in its historical context with fascinating clarity.

We have become used to shows which deal with feminist or gay and lesbian issues. But, as the curator David Hopkins, Professor of Art History at Glasgow University, admits, it is only now in the comfort of the post-feminist afterglow, that we are able to examine the nature of male identity in recent British art.

Hopkins' starting point, and the source of his irritatingly contrived title, is the Dada movement which rocked the foundations of European art in the early years of the last century. Don't suppose that this is a show of Dadaist art, however. Hopkins is concerned with the legacy of the late Dada which flowered in New York in the 1920s and in particular with the work of Duchamp, Picabia and Man Ray. Thus we are only treated to some seven works by those original bad lads. The core of the exhibition evolves from Hopkins' vision of Duchamp as a subversive form-master teaching all he has learned to a back-of-the-class mob of unruly, anarchic and bullishly heterosexual schoolboys.

See:

100 years of the Avante-Garde 1905-2005






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Friday, June 16, 2006

More Nude News

I see my blogging about Nudes In The News has caught on Weird, Wacky and Wonderful No pictures though. After all it is a Blogging Tory site.


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MP Raj Pannu

Is Raj Pannu thinking of running for the NDP in Edmonton Strathcona in the next federal election?

Civitensis raises the rumour then says it's not true. To bad he would win.

Maybe its time to start a Draft Raj campaign...hey we already have the campaign slogan:

Raj


Against the Machine


See:

Scoop

The Passing of the Raj


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Lagrange 5


I came across an interesting space news blog :

Lagrange 5 Waypoint to the past, present, and future of space.

Why because I was googling around my previous article about Hawking and space colonization, as well as this one:Astronauts board space shuttle for practice launch

So I have to wonder why NASA and all the other space agencies fail to build in L5 rather than in suborbital space where their stupid space stations will inevitably decay in orbit and crash back to earth.

Oh what am I saying, of course it's the planned obscelence of capitalism.

Whereas if we used the Lagrange 5 we could have already been on our way to space colonization.

But of course space stations are not for space exploration, they are war stations in space for use by the Military Industrial Complex to continue its business as usual.

As anarchist sci-fi author Mack Reynolds exposed in his novels.


Libertarian Forum

 Mack Reynolds -- Lagrange Five (1979)
Reynolds was, for 25 years, an activist for the U.S. Socialist Labor Party.
His radical perspective on political issues is reflected throughout his
work. This book -- examining a quasi-utopia without sentimentalism -- is
only one suggestion. Also of huge interest are Tomorrow Might Be Different
(1960) and The Rival Rigelians (1960), which explicitly examine the relation
between capitalism and Stalinism.

Mack Reynolds (Dallas McCord Reynolds) (November 11, 1917 - January 30, 1983)
was an American science fiction writer.
Many of his stories were published in Galaxy Magazine and Worlds of If Magazine.
He was an active supporter of the Socialist Labor Party and consequently many
of his stories have a reformist theme, and almost all of his novels explore
economic issues to some degree. He was quite popular in the 1960s but most
of his work is out of print today.
The Volokh Conspiracy - Decentralization and Federalism in Science Fiction


The image “http://www.l5news.org/graphics/masthead.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.


Space Studies Institute » Second Place

HobbySpace - Life in Space

Lagrangian point: Definition and Much More From Answers.com

Space colonization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lagrangian point - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mobile Suit Gundam: Developing Sound Habitats







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Bear With Me


As my faithful readers will know I am concerned aboutthe plight of Bears. A recent story on cannibal polar bears caught my attention.

Along with one about Thompson Manitoba locking up their garbage dump to keep bears out.

However back to the cannibalistic polar bears, well I have to agree with this guy, Conservative Joe. Shock, shudder, say it ain't so, for the most part.



Wednesday, June 14, 2006 10:47:41 PM

When science is used to achieve a political goal, it is no longer science. It may resemble it, but that is where the relationship ends. In a dramatic story being published across the globe this week, we are told that polar bears are eating each other because of global warming and that this behaviour is unprecedented. Historical evidence and past studies show this to be an outright lie.( Read Article )

He raises serious questions about the cannibal polar bear stories now circulating. Even if he is a right winger who has doubts about global warming.

He is far less an apologist than these guys though;
Polar Bears on Thin Ice, Not Really! Brief Analysis

Who also use science for political ends, just conservative right wing ones. Of course they won't be denounced by Conservative Joe.




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Slaves To Ipod


What was that the right wing was saying about unions being outdated? As long as we have wage-slavery the wage-slaves will need to organize! Yeah codes of conduct are as useless as the paper they are written on. The only real code of conduct is when workers organize. Apple is the new Nike.


Sweatshop Conditions at IPod Factory Reported

IPod 'slave' claims investigated

THE 'ROBOT' WORKERS ON 15-HOUR DAYS

Apple has responded to the recent claims of poor working conditions at iPod factories in China, stating that it takes the allegations seriously and that it is looking into the charges. “Apple is committed to ensuring that working conditions in our supply chain are safe, workers are treated with respect and dignity, and manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible,” Apple said in a statement. The company said it is “currently investigating the allegations regarding working conditions in the iPod manufacturing plant in China. We do not tolerate any violations of our supplier code of conduct which are posted online.”




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Screw Up A Planet And Move On

Yep thats what a leading scientist says.

Hawking: Life on Earth Dangerous, Humans Should Colonize the Moon

Sure its already a desolate wasteland so we couldn't possibly screw it up anymore than it is...could we?

On the other hand this could be another example of capitalism in space since the Moon is rich in heavy metals.


See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download  the highest resolution version available.


Also See:

NASA




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Thursday, June 15, 2006

Don't Eat No Yellow Snow

Did ET pee in the arctic?

U of C searches for ET

Arctic's strange sulphur spring may hide secrets of life
University of Calgary geology professor Benoit Beauchamp was in the High Arctic studying rocks when he noticed an unusual yellowish stain in a snow-covered valley. He flew over in a helicopter several times, but couldn't figure out why the snow had turned yellow. "I thought it was some sort of moss or vegetation," he recalled Tuesday. "It's not until I landed that I realized it was pure sulphur.University of Calgary geology professor Benoit Beauchamp was in the High Arctic studying rocks when he noticed an unusual yellowish stain in a snow-covered valley. He flew over in a helicopter several times, but couldn't figure out why the snow had turned yellow. "I thought it was some sort of moss or vegetation," he recalled Tuesday. "It's not until I landed that I realized it was pure sulphur.
Arctic expedition will investigate alien-like glacier


And remember Frank Zappas warning kids: Don't Eat No Yellow Snow

Save for an unexpected pair of top-40 hits in "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" and "Valley Girl," Frank Zappa didn't make much of a dent in the mainstream in his quarter century as a recorded artist. And understandably so; he was, and remains more than a dozen years after his passing, years ahead of his time. To Zappa's benefit, and probably much to the appreciation of his still-die hard fan base, he never fit the rock and roll mold, inspired more by the likes of Igor Stravinsky than the Fab Four and making no bones about it. He was also an astute social and political commentator, despite penning locker-room savvy classics such as "Broken Hearts are for A******s" and "Bobby Brown."

Let's be Frank

Frank Zappa's Family Brings His Music to a New Audience



Also See:

Classical Rock



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Prehistoric Loonie


Another fossil discovery with Canadian links. Just like Frank and Gordon.

This time it's the Loon.


The similarity of G. yumenensis to modern birds came as a surprise: Previously, such advanced anatomical features had been seen only in birds that lived during and after the late Cretaceous period — within the last 100 million years. "In short, no one expected to find a bird this modern in rocks this old," Harris says, referring to the shale formation where the team made its discovery. The shale dates to the early Cretaceous period, which occurred between 100 million and 145 million years ago. As a result of the finding, G. yumenensis now has the distinction of being "the oldest-known bird that is really, really modern in its anatomy," he says.

As such, G. yumenensis may help fill in gaps in the branch of the evolutionary tree that gave rise to today's birds. Specifically, scientists are looking to G. yumenensis for present-day evidence of whether modern birds originated in aquatic or terrestrial habitats.

An artist's reconstruction shows Gansus yumenensis in a lake in China's Gansu province. The bird probably had the ability to dive and swim underwater, much like modern loons or grebes. Illustration by Mark A. Klingler, courtesy of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

"The most primitive living birds — for example, ostriches, rheas, and chickens — tend to be terrestrial" and therefore would seem to hint that today's birds got their start on land, says Matthew Lamanna, a research team member from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pennsylvania. Yet two other features of G. yumenensis — webbed feet and a large crest on its lower leg bone that would have provided a strong anchor for leg muscles — suggest the bird was aquatic and had the ability to dive and swim underwater like loons or grebes. According to You's research team, this supports the idea that modern birds actually originated in water habitats.

Also See:

Fossils

Prehistoric


Dinosaurs


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Scoop

Daveberta has a scoop on his site. Following the resignation announcement by Edmonton Strathcona NDP MLA Raj Pannu, Daveberta correctly predicted that Rachel Notley will be announcing her candidacy as Raj's replacement. . notley quick on the draw.

As the ultimate party insider, daughter of former NDP Leader and Saint; Grant Notley, her shoo in is assured. Seems though that Daveberta was not supposed to announce her candidacy. Dave writes:

UPDATE: It seems that a clever webmaster has discovered that I have prematurely announced Ms. Notley's candidacy.

As such, her site has been taken down until the official announcement is made. Even though I did have the foresight to see this coming and captured screenshots and copied her announcement speech and press release (dated June 16), I'm really not cruel enough to post stuff like that (this early in the nomination game).


She will be announcing her candidacy tommorow, Friday June 16, 10:30 AM at the Edmonton Strathcona Community Centre. Then her website will probably go back up.

Her hubby is Lou Arab a former PR guy for the ABNDP now PR guy for CUPE Alberta. And maybe Bob the Angry Flower will join her campaign.


The old family compact is alive and well in the Alberta NDP.


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