Artist Reynald Drouhin's Statement:

THE NUDE
The Nude is a well-known exercise of the artistic process. It helps the studend built a relationship between various styles of strokes and the human anatomy, the scientific norm.

Although nudity has evolved over the ages, it will always be a symptom of our ambivalent relation to images, halfway between the purity of the body and the downfall of it, whether this downfall be tattered canvas or in the ground.

But what is the nude hiding? What lies between what can and can't be seen? For example in works such as: "The Origin of the World" (Courbet, 1866) and "Etant donnes: 1. La chute d'eau, 2. Le gaz d'eclairage" (Duchamp, 1946-1966), we find an interstice, a fissure where the world finds its origin, its sexuality.

The sensuality of the nude is an esthetical concern, which can only be grasped from a distance. An eye touched by a body becomes blind.

At first sight, it seems that in this age we have standardised nudity, however, obscenity is still present in female bodies. Clothed and hidden they forbid men's blind gazes.

If art is to lay bare one's body and soul, if its role is both to veil and unveil in a single gesture, where is our nudity today? What is a nude when a body can be cloned and nano-technologies penetrate our flesh? And what relates a generalised nudity and the other form of bareness, which is dictated by the aesthetic?

When you move your muse over the women their clothes come off!

The Norway Rat, or Rattus Norvegicus, is a ubiquitous species located in every corner of the world with human settlement. Native to Asia and Japan, the Norway rat arrived in Europe in the 1500's and traveled to North America with early settlers. Contrary to popular belief, the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) is not, and never was, responsible for the transmission of bubonic and pneumonic plagues. These were transmitted mainly by the Black rat (Rattus rattus). Similarly, Norway rats are more resistant to rabies than other rodents.

Interestingly, a group of rats is called a "Mischief"
For Norway Rat video:

This recent news item inspired today's reference to the Norway Rat:Cunning Rat Outsmarts Scientists

The image above is from the Karni Mata Hindu Temple in India, where rats are revered as the incarnations of the goddess Karni Mata's children. The 20,000 rats are housed in the temple and fed milk and sweet treats daily. If you encounter a white rat during a visit to the Karni Mata temple, you will be blessed with good luck!

From today's Times:

"It has come to my attention that The Onion is using the presidential seal on its Web site," Grant M. Dixton, associate counsel to the president, wrote to The Onion on Sept. 28. (At the time, Mr. Dixton's office was also helping Mr. Bush find a Supreme Court nominee; days later his boss, Harriet E. Miers, was nominated.)

I'm even a Yankee fan, but that's some funny shit.

Via Busted Tees.

Commuting Suicide
Killing myself slowly, day after day
Volume V.V: "Overheard Wisdom"

I've been debating whether this was blog-worthy all morning. What the hell. Heard this exchange on the way in:

New Guy: "I just moved to town. You'll think I'm crazy, but we bought the first house we looked at."

Veteran: "That's not crazy. I married my first girlfriend."

New Guy: "Wow. And I take it that worked out?"

Veteran: "Kinda. I've been married twice since."

New Guy: "Oh."

Just hopping on board? Check out Volumes I, II, III, IV and V

The start of yet another “new semi-regular feature that will continue until I get bored with it”. Looking through our server logs, we often spot other blogs that have included links to us in stories they have written. So it seems only fair that we make mention of them, especially when the relevant post is a good read.

For our first Trackback, here's a great entry by John Sibley over on his blog “For Your Entertainment”. The story is entitled “Now It Can Be Told - My Worst Date Ever” on which John embarks on a blind date culled from Craig's List. The fact that he linked to our story on Front Butt gives you some clue as to what his evening had in store. Classic.

Want to be featured in a future Trackback? Include a link to us in a story you write and let us know.

Sure, we had the Justice League, Wacky Racers and the Hair Bear Bunch, but Saturday morning wasn't just for cartoons. Some of the live-action shows were just as good, and we watched them for very different reasons.

Actually most of the live-action stuff was the work of one creative team...Sid and Marty Kroft. One day (if they're still around) I'd love to meeet those old stoners. Anyone responsible for a sea monster named Sigmund, and a Sheriff named Pufnstuf must have a ton of great stories to share.

But I digress...so once again, here's to the babes of Saturday morning. And as we pay tribute, we ask the question we always ask at YesBut...Where Are They Now?