Froodee

Living.Blogging

  • Home
  • About Froodee
  • Send us Email

Human-Dog Hybrid

August 7, 2009 By Sally

human-dog-hybrid-300x123Hybrids seem to be spending a lot of time in the spotlight these days, don’t you think? But have you seen or heard of this sculpture that is a different kind of hybrid that is taking the Internet by storm? If you haven’t, then that picture should catch your attention at the very least.

So this is what has been going around the Internet, mainly through e-mails: this picture of a sculpture which is a juxtaposition of humans and dogs. I know that dogs are supposed to be man’s best friend but this sculpture just does not evoke nice and positive feelings in me. Take a look at it again and you just might have an idea of what I am talking about.

The sculpture is the brainchild of Sam Jinks. This particular photo shown is titled “The Young Family,” and is actually part of a larger collection dubbed “We Are Family.” The hybrids in this collection, as you can see, are more human-like than dog-like, but the similarities still do not easily with the average person.

If you want to see more of these strange creatures, you just need to go to Patricia Piccinini’s web site. Not a familiar name? Here is a short description from the National Gallery of Victoria:

She is keenly interested in how contemporary ideas of nature, the natural and the artificial are changing our society. Specific works have addressed concerns about biotechnology, such as gene therapy and ongoing research to map the human genome… she is also fascinated by the mechanisms of consumer culture.

Indeed, this collection supports that, doesn’t it? What can you say about the sculpture?

Minnesota Woman Fined $80,000 Per Song

June 19, 2009 By Sally

dvdsecurityHave you ever downloaded a song, a movie, or any other kind of file from a peer to peer file sharing system? Now that is a rhetorical question, as you may have surmised – no need to answer that. As you may know, however, industries and authorities are trying hard to crack down on illegal downloading. All over the world, governments have laid down measures in an effort to stem piracy in this venue. Rarely do we hear about people being actually caught.

Rare as it may be, the statistics do not matter to Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a woman from Minnesota, who has been found guilty of violating copyright issues. As a matter of fact, Jammie’s case is the only known case about file-sharing to have gone to court. Her case was first heard in 2007. This resulted in the court asking her to pay $222,000 for her crime.

A new trial was ordered by the judge soon after, though. The rationale was that the jury was not given the proper instructions. While Jammie might have thought that her plight would take a turn for the better, it was not to be so. The second trial has resulted in a much graver fine – a stupendous $80,000 for each song that she had downloaded. Counting everything that was recorded, she has to pay $1.92 million!

While we do know that illegal downloading should not be condoned, paying the recording industry this much money is just simply silly, isn’t it? I wonder what the jury was thinking!

Man fined £75 for harming a tree

April 12, 2009 By Jim

article-0-0464ae60000005dc-262_468x471jpg

This is a rather unusual effort to drive the “love for the environment” campaign by the Brighton and Hove City Council in the UK. While most campaigns would grow around information and pro-activity events, this council bears a little teeth by sending a memo to Artist Anton Cataldo for stapling a lot of “lost & found” posters all over what seems to be where he allegedly lost 2 prized paintings.

The fine was later withdrawn but the memo lives in “infamy”, well at least for Cataldo. ‘I found the council email quite patronising. I’m not an expert but I doubt very much that a staple could cause so much damage to a tree that it would actually die.’

He continued: ‘I’m quite a considerate person and I would never knowingly do anything to harm a tree. I didn’t realise there was a law about putting posters up, as you often see them around.

Mr Cataldo complained to the council about the fine, which has since been cancelled. A council spokesman said: ‘This was probably a case of an officer who was a little bit over-zealous.’

Women refuge centers to accept men

April 5, 2009 By Jim

large_53684_59305

Here’s interesting news from across the big pond. Telegraph.co.uk ran a story about new legislation in the UK regarding women refuge centers to offer help to male victims of domestic abuse. This new legislation aims at providing equal opportunity and rights to people irregardless of race and sex.

Services that these women refuge centers offer are varied but covers the basic necessities of living like food, clothing and shelter. Add counseling and health maintenance and see that it is indeed quite a huge help once deprived the male gender.

While noble in nature there are quite a few well-established charities that seem to oppose such move:

Women’s Aid, the domestic violence charity, believes its female-only services are necessary to give abused women the reassurance they need. Often the women and children they help will only feel comfortable without a male presence.

Still, I personally believe these charities should at least have options for men because, after all, men at times do get equally abused too.

Elementary Twittering

March 25, 2009 By Jim

article-1164682-04184fac000005dc-412_468x330jpg

This came to me a little odd because did you know that in the United Kingdom there is a blueprint for a new primary curriculum – which was drawn up by former Ofsted chief Sir Jim Rose following a request from Children’s Secretary Ed Balls? You’d be equally surprised that under this new curriculum, British children are required to learn websites and online tools such as Wikipedia, Blogging and Twitter? 🙂 Further to this proposal “schools will be encouraged to put a big emphasis on internet skills, environmental education, healthy eating and well-being. ”

Serious.

‘English will cover ‘media texts’ and ‘social and collaborative forms of communication’ alongside traditional works of literature. This includes texting formats of sorts. It would seem that the educational system is being proposed to adapt and adopt current culture brought about by the radical shift of technology and how it affects everyday life.

Is this something good or bad for education? Pros and cons time… comments please!

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Recent Posts

  • 6 Elements For Keeping Customers Happy
  • Beat Financial Stress with These Simple Self Care Habits
  • 3 Home Repairs To Make Before Selling
  • Financial Tips For Purchasing Your First Family Home
  • Future Self Journaling Guide: How to Set Financial Goals That Pay Off Later