Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Cat in the Hat?

Nope, Cat in the Bag.





I couldn't resist. (props to Pixelville for the pics)

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Lost and Found

Overheard at 5:15 a.m. in the Las Vegas Airport:

"To the male passenger who left his false teeth and hearing aid in the bathroom: If you can hear me please pick up your belongings at the counter."

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

External Genitalia and 60,000 miles

We just got back from viewing Bodies The Exhibition at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. It was an amazing exhibit overall, totally fascinating though a bit unsettling for those who get queasy at the site of blood and internal organs. The exhibit peels back the skin (literally) on donated or unclaimed "John and Jane Does" to reveal muscles, digestives systems, organ functions, veins, arteries, etc.

You name it, if it is part of the human body, they have preserved it, and it is on display.

The fact that I found most astounding was that each of our bodies are home to 60,000 miles of blood vessels. How incredible is that?

On another note, I did have one beef with the exhibit and that was the fact that the female bodies on display (of which there were very few) were labeled with the words "external genitalia" to describe the entire vaginal region. Rather than using what I understand to be the correct anatomical descriptors "labia minora, labia majora, and clitoris," everything was lumped together and described as "external genitalia." This might not be such a bother if the penis were also labeled "external genitalia," but alas, it was labeled with the big P word. And to top it off, the function of this "external genitalia" on the female body was also left unexplained, whereas "with stimulation" the penis was said to "fill with blood, increase in size and become erect."

Hhmmff, the last time I checked, the clitoris did that too.

Indeed, I am forever the feminist in search of misogyny in everyday life, but I can't help it, it is these kinds of exclusions that contribute to the lack of knowledge and understanding about the female body. The fact that these kinds of editorial decisions were made in an educational exhibit of this nature is like adding insult to injury.

So, suffice it to say that the exhibit was truly fabulous, but that it also reminded me that there is still much work to be done. Thank goodness for people like Eve Ensler.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Color and Electricity.




Some cool pics snapped by my sis in Vegas at the theater where the new Cirque du Soleil show, LOVE, is playing. Speaking of love, I love the colors.

And, one interesting fact about my visit so far. There seems to be an extremely large amount of static electricity in the air out here. I am sure that if Jan read my blog he would have the accurate scientific answer for me about what is causing it, but as my sister reminded me, we are surrounded by millions of lights every second of the day out here. Talk about light pollution, it is unreal.

Friday, December 01, 2006

DVD Menus

Since DVD programming isn't easily translatable to blogging, I am posting the menus for my Gender Blender DVD project.


Main Menu


Masculine Compliant Menu


Feminine Compliant Menu


Gender Defiant Menu

All these menus are labeled with commands like "walk, pose, consider, blend" to designate the slideshows or movies that are attached the buttons.

So, I'm pretty proud of these drawings since I'm not a skilled drawer in the first place, and secondly I'm new to Photoshop. Anyway, there you have it.