Art

I love the sculptures of Bruno Catalano, who was born in France in 1960 and who began sculpting at age 30. His sculptures defy logic and gravity, having large central sections missing. His works of negative space pull the viewer in by having the viewer fill in the blanks. 

His most recent works have been on the theme of Travellers: 

Or maybe you prefer the elephant sculptures of South African artist Andries Botha, made from driftwood and scrap timber: 

..or of recycled tyres, from the same artist:

Origin: Shyster

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Woman: “You're awfully shy for a lawyer.” 

Groucho: “You bet I'm shy...I'm a shyster lawyer!" 

- Monkey Business (1931) 

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Definition:

The definition of “shyster”, according to the Free Online Dictionary, is: 

a lawyer or politician, who uses discreditable or unethical methods 

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Word origin:

shyster -

 

An unscrupulous lawyer (note that the definition presumes the existence of scrupulous ones) . . . 

The term does not come from—as suggested in various dictionaries—the surname Scheuster, supposedly a lawyer noted for shyster-like practices; from the name of the Shakespearean character, Shylock; . . . or from any of the various meanings of shy (e.g., to be shy of money). Rather . . . shyster evolved from the underworld use of shiser, a worthless fellow, which derived in turn from the German scheisse, excrement, via scheisser, an incompetent person (specifically, one who cannot control his bodily functions) . . . 

Hugh Rawson (1991) 

A Dictionary of Invective

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Monday Quotes

Continuing the theme of shoes, particularly women's shoes, here are some quotes with graphics, from the  internet . . .

Easter Island and Its Statues, Part 1

Byter Leo recently onsent me an email, headed “Bodies on Easter Island”, with the following paragraph: 

Why did it take so long for someone to get out a shovel just to see if there was anything under the heads. This is absolutely incredible. Here we've been thinking for all these years that they were just heads. They are going to be absolutely huge when they are completely excavated. It all just adds to the mystery of these amazing sculptures. Maybe now they can get more information about them seeing as they have writings on them. The Stone Statues in Easter Island have bodies! 

This was followed by various photographs of the statues, with bodies revealed. Leo commented: 

“Wow Otto, what a byte. Does it mean that they were actually once full length statues and were covered by a volcanic eruption at some stage which killed off the culture as well?” 

At various times I have been tempted to write about the Easter Island statues but it is one of those topics that requires major reading and analysis, like explaining the lyrics of American Pie, another topic I have sometimes thought about but then put aside. 

Leo’s questions have prompted me to do so and, in the process, I have become fascinated by the information and revelations. 

Before looking at the topic, which will be in two parts, consider also the following: 

One other quick preliminary note. Much of what follows is reflected in Rapa Nui, an excellent movie that was co-produced by Kevin Costner. Some of the issues presented, such as the transportation of the statues and the denuding of the trees from the island, are now subject to contrary opinion by some archaeologists and writers but there are no clear answers on these issues. The film remains both informative and entertaining. 

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Easter Island is located in the South Pacific Ocean and belongs to Chile. It comprises about 163sq k (63 sq miles). It is best known for the 887 statues located at various parts of the island. 

The island was named by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen (below) in 1722 after discovering it on Easter Sunday. 

The Polynesians call the island Rapa Nui, meaning “Big Rapa”, to distinguish it from another island called Rapa. The islanders are known by the same name, Rapa Nui.  For the Polynesians, Rapa Nui was known as the “navel of the world”. 

Estimated dates of first settlement have varied from 900 to 1,800 years ago, the first settlers likely being Polynesians who navigated in canoes or catamarans from the Gambier Islands about 2,600 km (1,600 mi) away. One of Captain James Cook’s crew members, a Polynesian from Bora Bora, was able to communicate with the Rapa Nui when Cook visited the island. 

The social system of the islanders, who numbered about 15,000 in the 17th century, was based on a high chief presiding over 9 clans. Between then and the first European arrival in 1722 the population had dropped to 2,000-3,000 as a result of overpopulation and overuse of resources. Whereas the island had numerous species of trees at initial settlement, including 3 species exceeding 20 metres in height, by the time of European arrival the island had been deforested, suggested by American author and scientist Jared Diamond as being due to use of the timber as rollers for transporting of the statues. The loss of the trees through overharvesting was coupled with overhunting, rat infestation and climate change (the period of cooling between 1650 and 1850 known as the Little Ice Age).  The end result was the extinction of bird life on the island and diminished fishing as a result of inability to build boats through lack of timber. By the 18th century the Rapa Nui were surviving largely by farming chickens. 

After Roggeveen’s first contact in 1722 (when his crew killed a dozen of the islanders), the island was visited intermittently by European ships but the islanders were hostile to such visits. In the 1860’s the Rapa Nui suffered further disastrous events: abduction of half of the 3,000 population by slave traders, smallpox and tuberculosis epidemics and clashes between the remaining islanders and settlers. By 1880 111 islanders lived on Easter Island, only 36 had offspring and 97% of the island population had disappeared in one  decade. Much of the island’s cultural history and knowledge was lost. 

Between 1878 and 1888 the island was ruled and owned by Albert Salmon Jnr:

Salmon sought to rebuild the Rapa Nui cultural tradition, buitd up native numbers and sought and preserved as much as he could of the Rapa Nui oral culture and history. In 1888 he ceded the island to Chile by a treaty the validity of which is still questioned by some of the Rapa Nui. The island was managed by the Chilean Navy until 1966 when the island was reopened and the Rapa Nui given Chilean citizenship. A 2007 constitutional reform gave Easter Island the status of a "special territory" of Chile. 

Next part: Statues and Relevant History

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Bonus item:

I have posted the following quotation previously but it is too good not to include in the present item. . . 

"You look like an Easter Island statue with an arse full of razor blades." 

- Paul Keating in the Australian Parliament 

to Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, 1983 

Paul Keating:

Malcolm Fraser:

 

Statues:

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Selling Shoes: Part 2, Women's Shoes

Caution: Contains images and content that may offend

I was going to illustrate the beginning of this post with a pic of some simple women's shoes.  Then I recalled that when Kate had tried on some shoes in the Broadway Shopping Centre in Sydney recently, I browsed the shelves.   I was astonished to see women's shoes that resembled illegal lethal weapons, shoes that looked like these:

Do women actually buy these?

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Continuing the topic of ads and shoes, I mentioned last week that a lot of the fail ads for men’s shoes were based on sex, portraying male fantasies about women and male dominance, in the process objectifying women. I also mentioned that in contrast,  a lot of women’s shoe advertising have not only incorporated sex, they have also stressed violence and empowerment. 

A 2010 US study by two female researchers found that violent fashion campaign images were more appealing to female viewers than visually pleasing ads. Although the study was too small to be regarded as authoritative or to enable conclusions to be drawn, only 18 women having been interviewed and surveyed, there was a hypothesis put forward that some women projected themselves into the ads as part of a fiction story. According to ScienceBlog.com: “[The researchers] found that in addition to expected modes of engagement with ads, some women approached fashion advertisement as a type of fiction. These women would be transported into the story world set in motion by the ad’s pictures, asking themselves, ‘What is happening here?’ and ‘What will happen next?’ ” 

http://www.thefrisky.com/2010-04-20/study-shows-violent-fashion-ads-lure-consumers-but-is-that-all/#more-687622 

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Duncan Quinn drew the ire of a cross section of the community, not just feminist organisations, for what was termed the Most Disturbing Ad of the Year in 2008, an ad for suits with an image of a man who appears to have strangled a woman who is clad only in underwear on the bonnet of a car: 

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Whether the ads have been created by men or by women is unknown but, in the end, it is unimportant, it is the content that counts.  You decide on whether these ads are okay, inappropriate or just plain creepy. . . 

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Mark Jacobs, mild sexism, possible corpse depiction:

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Sexism by women, for women... 

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Ever notice the similarity between a stiletto heel and a stiletto blade? Even CSI had a murder by stiletto heel. 

If it still isn’t clear, then maybe this ad, captioned “Killer Heels by NMA”, will help... 

The ad resulted in complaints to the regulatory authority. The advertisers argued that the ad was a play on the words “Killer Heels” and that they had deliberately sought to avoid giving offence by making the pic unrealistic by making the man small and the heel large. Great defence. 

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Another way to highlight shoes in an ad... 

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Luciano Carvari ad for boots: 

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An Australian ad for hosiery, rather than shoes, that was the subject of complaints to the Advertising Standards Board. Some complainants argued that if the ad had been reversed – that a man was leading naked women on a lead – there would have been outrage. 

The determination by the Board was that: 

“The Board considered that while some people clearly had different perceptions of the advertisement, it represented a satirical comment on a patriarchal world. It determined that, as such, the content of the advertisement did not contravene the Code in relation to either the portrayal of people or the portrayal of sex, sexuality and/or nudity.” 

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In 2007 Dolce and Gabanna launched their spring/summer collection with an infamous ad for shoes that was widely condemned as being suggestive of gang rape: 

The ad was banned by Italy and Spain. D & G responded that the objectors were "a bit backward". 

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Melbourne shoe sellers Loula also took flak for a fashion advertising campaign that depicted shoes on corpses and victims. 

Loula spokesman Jason Zurzolo said the noir campaign - featuring women digging graves and standing over chalk outlines - was never intended to offend. "Every woman desires great shoes. It's just a theme on what women will do for shoes," said Mr Zurzolo. 

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Lamode Fashion Footwear ads that depicted the shoes on corpses under the caption "The Last Wish" drew similar criticisms in 2011. The suggestion in the ads was that the only thing that matters when one dies is to be look good in Lamode shoes. 

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Some more dead body shoe advertising, this time by Jimmy Choo. But hey, it it's non discriminatory, there is one dead female and one dead male... 

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"Advertising is a racket, like the movies and the brokerage business. You cannot be honest without admitting that its constructive contribution to humanity is exactly minus zero."

- F Scott Fitzgerald

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Funny Friday

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I work in McDonald's and a customer was rude to me today, so I got him back by not putting any Coke in his drink.

Just ice was served. 

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Our neighbour's dog shat in our garden, so my mum told me to get a shovel and throw it over the fence.

I don't see what that solved, now we've got dog shit in our garden and the neighbours have our shovel. 

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A newspaper photographer was assigned to take pictures of a huge forest fire. He was advised that a small plane would be waiting to fly him over the fire. 

The photographer arrived at the airstrip about an hour before sunset. Sure enough, a small plane was waiting. He jumped in with his equipment and shouted, "Let's go!" 

The tense man sitting in the pilot's seat swung the plane into the wind and soon they were in the air, though flying erratically. 

"Fly over the north side of the fire," said the photographer, "And make several low passes." 

"Why?" asked the nervous pilot. 

"Ah, because I'm going to take pictures!" said the photographer. "I'm a photographer, and photographers take pictures!" 

"You mean you're not the flight instructor?!" 

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"Jump in and I'll take you home," I said to my dwarf neighbour, who was sitting at the bus stop today.

"Piss off!" he replied.

"Suit yourself then," I said, as I straightened up my backpack and continued with my walk.

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An 8-year-old girl went to her dad, who was working in the garden. She asked him, "Daddy, what is sex?" The father was surprised that she would ask such a question, but decided that if she was old enough to ask the question, then she was old enough to get a straight answer. He proceeded to tell her all about the "birds and the bees." When he had finished explaining, the little girl was looking at him with her mouth hanging open. The father asked her, "Why did you ask this question?" The little girl replied, "Mum told me to tell you that dinner would be ready in a couple of secs."

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There once was a lady from Thrace,
Whose corset no longer would lace,
Her father said "Nellie,
There's more in your belly,
Than ever went in through your face."

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Reader Comment

Byter Richard writes:

Indeed, candy apples are still around. Most often they are at the circus or a county fair, but we have them in our candy stores here in St. Augustine. The red coated ones are the candy apples, and the coating is usually hard. We also have those coated in brown caramel, and they are cleverly called "caramel apples." Love your daily blog.

Thanks, Richard, enjoy the candy apples/toffee apples.

 

Great Moments in Court

We don’t hear much of him these days but Marshall Bruce Mathers 111 (1972-), better known as Eminem and by his alter ego Slim Shady, has sold more than 100 million records world wide. This year he will star in the films Shady Talez and Have Gun, Will Travel. 

Back in 1999 Mathers released an album, The Slim Shady LP, the majority of the tracks being from the perspective of the character Slim Shady. The success of the album made Mathers a high-profile celebrity. 

One of the tracks, Brain Damage, describes the abuse directed at him by a bully, D’Angelo Bailey. 

Sample lyrics: 

Way before my baby daughter Hailey

I was harassed daily by this fat kid named D'Angelo Bailey

An eighth grader who acted obnoxious, cause his father boxes

so everyday he'd shove me in the lockers

One day he came in the bathroom while I was pissin

And had me in the position to beat me into submission

He banged my head against the urinal til he broke my nose,

Soaked my clothes in blood, grabbed me and choked my throat

I tried to plead and tell him, "We shouldn't beef"

But he just wouldn't leave, he kept chokin me and I couldn't breathe

Apparently Bailey liked the attention when the song was first released but later changed his outlook, bringing suit against Mathers for damages for defamation. He maintained that he had never touched Mathers. 

In 2003 the matter came before Judge Deborah Servitto (1956 - ), pictured below, who agreed to an application by Mather’s lawyer for summary judgment before trial. Judge Servitto was of the opinion that the statements in the song were clearly hyperbole rather than statements that could be construed as stating actual facts about a person. 

Judge Servitto delivered a 13 page judgment and added a closing footnote: 

11. To convey the Court's opinion to fans of rap, the Court's research staff has helped the Court put the decision into a universally understandable format: 

Mr. Bailey complains that his rap is trash
So he's seeking compensation in the form of cash
Bailey thinks he's entitled to some monetary gain
Because Eminem used his name in vain

Eminem says Bailey used to throw him around
Beat him up in the john, shoved his face in the ground
Eminem contends that his rap is protected
By the rights guaranteed by the first amendment

Eminem maintains that the story is true
And that Bailey beat him black and blue
In the alternative he states that the story is phony
And a reasonable person would think it's baloney

The Court must always balance the rights
Of a defendant and one placed in a false light
If the plaintiff presents no question of fact
To dismiss is the only acceptable act

If the language used is anything but pleasin'
It must be highly objectionable to a person of reason
Even if objectionable and causing offence
Self-help is the first line of defence

Yet when Bailey actually spoke to the press
What do you think he didn't address?
Those false light charges that so disturbed
Prompted from Bailey not a single word.

So highly objectionable it could not be
--Bailey was happy to hear his name on a CD
Bailey also admitted he was a bully in youth
Which makes what Marshall said substantial truth
This doctrine is a defence well known
And renders Bailey's case substantially blown

The lyrics are stories no one would take as fact
They're an exaggeration of a childish fact
Any reasonable person could clearly see
That the lyrics could only be hyperbole

It is therefore this Court's ultimate position
That Eminem is entitled to summary disposition 

— Bailey v. Mathers

Case No. 2001-3606-NO, slip op. at 13 n. 11 

(Macomb County Circuit Court, Oct. 17, 2003).