J o r d i L a b a n d a: D e s i g n s To F a s h i o n. V of V

Artworks by J o r d i  L a b a n d a:

© All rights reserved for all the artworks by J o r d i  L a b a n d a.

J o r d i L a b a n d a . c o m

Tomorrow:  new post(s)

Sexuality in Art – Blog Changes & Considerations, a New IE 7 Feature I Enjoy, & a Possible Issue for WordPress Admins

If you are a regular reader, you’ll notice I changed blog templates yesterday.  The reasons for this include the following:

1)  IE 6 users were seeing the entire pictures in full format.  However, IE 7 users, receivng the same WordPress template, were receiving partial images, truncated to show only the left side.  Art and this blog are about aesthetics, so I have chosen a template that does not downsize pictures “to fit” nor truncate them to stay within the margins (it’s poetically consistent I would choose a template that would allow for larger, more beautiful pictures that can bleed past the normal boundaries).

2)  I could not find another WordPress pre-fab “2-column” template that did not either chop off or downsize the pictures.  I wish WordPress had a 2-column template like “Light 1.0″ that allowed you to change from a white to a dark background (which of course would change all the font colors to compensate for the needed contrast).

3)  I’ve added the Visual Thumbnail Index a new section: “E-L”.  An FYI for other WordPress blog admins, the pages in the ‘contempt’ template list left to right in alphabetical order (I could not get the ‘page order’ function to override the alphabetical ordering).  So you may have to make creative page names to list them in your preferred order.

4)  For new IE 7 users: IE 7 has a lovely function that allows you to create multiple “Home” pages.  So each time you start Internet Explorer, it could automatically load for you in different tabs all-at-one-time-without-you-having-to-do-anything (for example):

a) Your favorite portal (Yahoo! or Google or whatever)
b) Your internet based email inbox. (super-cool)
c) Your blog admin page (for fellow blog admins)
d) Your favorite blog & news pages (like your blog’s front page, your best friend’s blog page, SIA’s blog page (wink-wink), your favorite sports news page, your del.icio.us page, your favorite . . .).

So now you can open up 2 or more “Home” tabs without having to individually load them from your favorites.  I think that’s delightful.  It really tailors bringing up the tabs for your favorite web sources.  And if you have a slower connection, this can be a time saver, loading content in the background while you do other things.

One caution about IE 7 and WordPress ‘Sidebar Widgets’:  I could not get the sidebar widget to move widgets from active to inactive, or vice versa.  I believe Java and MS are not as integrated in IE 7, but I don’t know if that is the IE 7 functionality that the WordPress ‘Sidebar Widget’ feature is working off of.

Work-around solution – I used my Mozilla Firefox to edit the sidebar widgets after I converted to IE 7.

Another side note:  I uninstalled IE 7 and reverted back to IE 6.0, because the page load times with 7 were visibly slower.  Luckily, the reversion backward went smoothly.

As always, if anyone has any other solutions, work-arounds, or corrections to my possibly incorrect causal inferences, please comment.

Katie West: Intimate Self-Therapies Intentionally Transparent. 6 of 6

Artworks by Katie West (aka Avolare):

(Titles and comments by the artist)

Artwork by Matt Wills:

http://www.mattwillsonfire.com

(Click on the images if you wish to view them individually.)

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Editorial note:  If you are not familiar with “Sappho” in either historical or metaphorical contexts, here are some links to basic information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sappho

http://www.classicpersuasion.org/pw/sappho/index.htm

http://nl.wikisource.org/wiki/Afbeelding:Sappho.jpg    

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© All rights reserved by Katie West.

http://www.cafepress.com/katiewest

Tomorrow:  new post(s)

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Most Recent Artworks - All the Artists’ Artworks Index - my43things

Grey’s Anatomy – The “Side Story” That May be a Relevant Cultural Main Story

Those hip to the Grey’s Anatomy ‘faggot’ name-calling incident are probably aware of the back story, but for those who are not familiar: One of the African American lead actors allegedly called one of the homosexual actors a ‘faggot’ in an argument on set.

While many may see this as purely tabloid fodder and ‘non-news,’ I respectfully disagree. The cultural story I see and interpret as indicative of a possible cultural paradigm shift is this: This is the first major incident where in response to a homosexual being called a faggot in the workplace:

a) There appears to be at least a large portion of the population that sees this as an offense. In the past, this type of hateful slur may have been largely seen as benign, not worth addressing, or ‘deserved.’ And I suspect, many people who are still uncomfortable with homosexuals, transsexuals and bisexuals probably don’t see much harm in this current incident.

b) The ‘entertainment news’ issue is: Should this person be fired? - an unlikely and ill-conceived response in my estimation, but nevertheless that headline itself suggests that editorial decisions didn’t see the question as so beyond par as to be preposterous to assert.

c) An African American man, a man who has personally lived with racial prejudices and slurs his whole life, is being attacked for exhibiting similar hateful prejudice against another ‘group’ of persons. This is interesting to me. But more interesting and revealing of both his personal character and cultural morals is this: His chosen response has courageously been to publically state that he may have a prejudice that deserves treatment.

It is poetic and beautiful that someone who has lived with the negative effects of hateful and stupid prejudices would be willing to concede he too may be exhibiting similar prejudices to others.

So let me weigh in that I hope he does see his prejudice and adapt his behavior. But let me also praise his courage. It is ironic that a victim of prejudice would be so prominently critiqued by the press for his act of prejudice. Hopefully the press will equally praise, what at first appearances, appears to be his very intelligent and well-considered response to recognize his thought processes and reconsider what may be better thinking going forward.

Katie West: Creative Responses & Comparisons. 5 of 6

Artworks by Katie West (aka Avolare) and others:

Artworks by John Gaertner:

(Click on the images if you wish to view them individually.)

http://www.scribblepunk.com/

Artwork by Allen Passalaqua:

Artwork by Allen Passalaqua:

Artworks by Jack Vettriano:

Artwork by Jack Vettriano:

Artwork by Edward Hopper:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper

Artwork by Frank Herholdt:

http://216.70.100.29/

Please encourage Ms. West’s artwork and see more of her work at:

http://www.flickr.com/people/katiewest/

http://www.avolare.net/

Tomorrow:  I may take a day off, or I might post.  I’ll play it by ear.  – Best wishes to everyone.

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Most Recent Artworks - All the Artists’ Artworks Index - my43things

Supporting Our Troops – Part 3 of 3

© All rights reserved for all the artworks by their respective creators.

Artwork by Shane Glines:

http://www.cartoonretro.com/
http://www.shaneglines.net

Artworks by Joe Pekar:

http://www.joepekar.com/

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Artwork by Elisa:

http://www.xanga.com/echavarri

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Artwork by BeLiAL:

 

http://www.drawingboard.org/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=6953

We never forget you are in harm’s way, and we work for your safe return.

Supporting Our Troops – Part 2 of 3.

© All rights reserved for all the artworks by their respective creators.

Artwork by Euan Mactavish, aka “Em . . .”:

http://paper-pencil-pixels.blogspot.com/

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Artwork by Mike Wieringo and Euan Mactavish:

http://www.mikewieringo.com/html/Blog.htm
http://paper-pencil-pixels.blogspot.com/

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Artwork by Charles Allen Harris, aka “Scruffy”

http://www.livinglightning.com

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Artwork by Chris Lensch:

http://www.chrislensch.com/

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Artwork by Dan Jones, aka “Jester”

http://www.jesterspawn.com

Tomorrow:  new post(s)

THE POLICE, Tom Hanks, & Cast Away – Message in a Bottle

This blog passed 50,000 hits today.  My brain, processing this information, queued up this verse from THE POLICE song “Messsage in a Bottle” in my head:

“Walked out this morning
Don’t believe what I saw.
A hundred billion bottles
Washed up on the shore

Seems I’m not alone
In being alone
A hundred billion castaways
looking for a home”

When I started writing this post, I intended to just highlight the above stanzas.  But as I was typing in the above verse, my brain queued up Robert Zemeckis’ & Tom Hanks’ film “Cast Away.”  William Broyles Jr. wrote the screenplay (he also adapted the screenplay for The Polar Express).  Please forgive me, because ‘everyone’ probably already noticed this distinction.  But for the few who may not have, the Tom Hanks movie was titled “Cast Away.”  It was not titled, as many may have presumed, “Castaway.”  There are many reasons for why the film’s creators chose the title “Cast Away” over the more expected “Castaway.”  The movie’s story deals with the primary ethical questions of:

How do you find the cognitive will to survive when it appears you will never be rejoined with the ones you love?

How do you find the cognitive will to go on when you ‘return’ to someone who knows you have loved them, and they turn you away because they have made intimacy agreements with someone else, agreements that exclude you?

At the end of the movie, Helen Hunt’s character does not run out in the rain, jump in the car, and drive away with Tom Hanks’ character.   Tragically, the clear implication at the end of the film is that she will probably cut off all substantive communication with Tom Hanks’ character.  He is cast away.  Their love, and so much of the good that could have come out of their community of friends & relatives, unique rapport, common efforts, and chemistry is cast away.

Helen Hunt’s character knows that everyone involved acted reasonably.  Everyone did what they thought was right – what they thought was best.   She was almost assuredly right to move on to someone else when it appeared he was dead. 

But when Tom Hanks’ character makes an unexpected return, I disagree with her decision that “the best thing for everyone” was to cut off her relationship with him.   From all I could see of how well he had treated her, he did not deserve that response from her.   Considering the total of all he had done, and all the good character choices he daily displayed against inhumane & desperate circumstances, both in his actions with her and in his actions to return to her, he did not deserve her choice to cut him off for an indefinite time period or forever.  

I know it would be complicated for everyone if she continued to relate to him going forward, but I am probably in the minority in believing that would be the more humane, civilized, and considerate choice for everyone.

“I’ll send an SOS to the world.
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my . . .
. . . message in a bottle, yeah.”

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Police

http://imdb.com/title/tt0162222/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_away

Mike Wieringo – Empathy in Motion

Artworks by Mike Wieringo:

Inks by Karl Kesel, Colors by Paul Mounts & Isanove, Words by Mark Waid.

(Click on images to view them individually.)

© All rights reserved for all the artworks by their respective creators and Marvel.

http://www.mikewieringo.com/

You can buy these back issues 509 -511 individually, or they are contained in a Marvel Trade Paperback compilation. 

Tomorrow:  new post(s).  I only added one non-humorous ‘visual’ post today, because I wanted to give it emphasis.  I love Mike Wieringo’s intents, intents that are revealed in his artistry. 

On another note, thank you very much to those who left the insightful recent comments on Anne Frank’s works.

Here is another tribute post to Mike Wieringo’s Artistries:

http://sexualityinart.wordpress.com/2007/08/16/mike-wieringo-a-tribute-to-his-intellect-compassion-and-artistries/

Most Recent Artworks Index of Artists

Audrey Hepburn

“I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.” – Audrey Hepburn

“I’m not a born actress, as such, I care about expressing feelings.” – Audrey Hepburn

Humor of the Day – Sexuality in Star Wars. Part 2 of 2.

I will start with something silly and slightly off topic because it made me laugh: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomburns/sets/72157594423742441/

Some of you commented on how Leia’s “Return of the Jedi” costume was sexy.  You are evidently not alone in that persuasion.  And there are several women who have thought about these things a lot more than me, and who chose to go to public conventions dressed like Leia: 

A girl’s gotta eat:

A side note:  They originally shot a ‘cafeteria’ scene in Jabba’s Palace, but it was left on the cutting room floor. 

So that you don’t think she is alone in her fascination, here are a few more Princess Leias (Editorial note:  There are pictures of Leia impersonators who simply painted her costume on and attended conventions, but I chose not to show those):

And like Mudd’s Women, sometimes Leias come in multiples:

Troopers & Troopers:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wfdt/

And then there’s a whole bunch of “Mr. Lucas, did you really have that in mind when you wrote the first movie?” moments that I’m afraid no amount of therapy can undo in our collective cultural memory:

And I’ll close this silly post with some beautiful and loving images that I will treasure always:

© All rights reserved for all the artworks by Lucasfilm Ltd, etc.

The Star Wars Humor Post Trilogy: 1 2 3

May the Force be with you . . . always.

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Anne Frank’s Response To The Likely Fate She Could Foresee

Letters by Anne Frank’s father will soon be revealed, showing his desperate efforts to get his family out of Europe.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070125/en_afp/usnaziannefrank_070125102207

Different people respond to bad circumstances differently.  I want to highlight that when Anne Frank knew with a high degree of certainty that she may be rounded up like livestock and slaughtered at any time, her response was in part:

1)  If I only have a short time left to live, I will use it to write the most truthful and substantive things I know.

2)  I will love those around me as much as is allowed and be honest with myself about that love.

And those themes in her writings are what continue to inspire us.  It’s amazing that an adolescent girl, who had to live a hidden life, still found ways to so positively effect the world.   While she had aspirations of being a writer, she could not have reasonably thought her words would be published or famous someday.  With those understandings, she did what she could do, and she wrote her intimate thoughts down – at least for her own peace of mind, if not also for the possible benefit of others.

Mere hope.

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Here are 5 related Anne Frank and Rutka Laskier posts (click on thumbnails to see the posts):

  

 

© All rights reserved by the respective artists.

Anne Frank on Wikipedia

Rutka Laskier on Wikipedia 

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Most Recent Artworks   All the Artists’ Artworks Index   my43things