Randomness

[asdf123]

I just asked that myself in the Netflix thread. I think I am just going to watch Seinfeld from A to Z.

Haha, funny you said so cause I had the same though about Seinfeld a month ago ;)

[endorphinz]

wanna bet?

[Dane]

i lulzed

[Vanna]

If anyone is interested, I'm gonna have two paintings in a show at the Aljira contemporary art gallery in Newark, the show opens on February 16th. Kind of a hassle to get to, but it's a gorgeous gallery that puts on pretty great shows.

[rider]

the truth about leather, i warn you, its graphic.

http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/stella-mccartneys-fashion-message/

[Dane]

the truth about leather, i warn you, its graphic.
http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/2012...shion-message/

Thanks for posting...I tried to watch it....but I just couldn't. It's not that I claim ignorance, because I don't, but I just can't handle the graphics.

I commend her for doing what she does, and although I'm not a huge fan of her clothing, anyone willing to make a public stand and actually follow through in practice deserves some praise.

...this should probably be posted in the Ethics thread.

[cjbreed]

well one thing i wonder is why do they have to treat them like that? you always kill the animal right before u trim it or butcher it. and it is supposed to be a "painless" method like a shot to the head.

i am from texas and some of my family is still involved in working ranches etc and i've seen quite a bit of the reality of ranching and it doesn't take long when u live in that world to lose your sentimentality toward the animals but u never lose respect for them. yes when you shear a sheep sometimes he gets cut but he is never injured. yes we de-horn the cattle and it hurts them and sometimes they bleed but we don't hack it off at the flesh with no regard for the animal. but then yes eventually we sell them for slaughter. so...there's that.

i dunno, to some extent you start to treat them like a material, something u use to make something else, but u always have respect for them because of how valuable they are. they provide your food, milk, clothing, even shelter in some cases. i mean we breed them, feed them, herd them, basically grow them, and then use them to meet our needs, and then do it all over again. its weird.

for a moment i thought the chili pepper in the eye thing was crazy and then i remembered its just because those guys maybe can't afford a cattle prod.

its an all around weird thing. your position is likely to depend entirely on your personal circumstance and experience, and much less on the grey field of "right and wrong"

[mizzar]

^what cjbreed said.
I call BS on this video.
It's just counterproductive to treat animals like that.
Because of all ill treatment the leather quality suffer a lot.
It's just don't make sense, and all this lies about animals skinned alive,
every leather technician will explain that you need to wait some time after killing animals to skin them or it's just be drained in blood and no use.
Cows are sacred in India, for fucks sake!

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

[rider]

mizzar, i thought so too, the India segment shocked me, but the fact of the matter is that if we cant treat each other with humanity why should it surprise us that an industry that isnt regulated enough and is driven by pure profit to use extreme measures to bring hides to market as quickly and inexpensively as possible has this side to it.

i commend her for her stand and only wish as a designer she had a thread of talent that i could relate too. i want to pursue the ethical road but cannot find a bag or shoe i like, damn it...

[rider]

dane, you are right i should have posted in ethics but i couldnt find the venue at the time.

[Dane]

Fact is, PETA is and always has been about shock-value, so in order to get people to board their plane, they have to use some scare tactics. Whether or not the treatment in the videos is true or not, giving people a firm finger-wag doesn't achieve their goal.

Either that or Sarah McLaughlin was busy.

[theconsumer]

Shock tactics rarely works long term where it matters. There was a study where they showed people shocking images of rotten teeth. These images didn't stimulate the viewers to improve their dental hygiene, just the opposite. They couldn't handle the graphic message, so they started avoiding everything connected with it, including brushing teeth.

Same with shocking images of cruelty towards animals: people just repress them and continue in their old ways.

And PETA doesn't really address the problem in depth. For example: dairy production demands a huge surplus of female cows. Since about half of offspring is male, they are unnecessary cost, so they're killed. It's true that calf leather and veal comes from that, but as a side product. Main reason is milk in your fridge.

[Faust]

mizzar, i thought so too, the India segment shocked me, but the fact of the matter is that if we cant treat each other with humanity why should it surprise us that an industry that isnt regulated enough and is driven by pure profit to use extreme measures to bring hides to market as quickly and inexpensively as possible has this side to it.

i commend her for her stand and only wish as a designer she had a thread of talent that i could relate too. i want to pursue the ethical road but cannot find a bag or shoe i like, damn it...

Agreed for the most part, but I actually like her huge bag with chains handle. Is that weird?

[Dane]

Shock tactics rarely works long term where it matters. There was a study where they showed people shocking images of rotten teeth. These images didn't stimulate the viewers to improve their dental hygiene, just the opposite. They couldn't handle the graphic message, so they started avoiding everything connected with it, including brushing teeth.

Same with shocking images of cruelty towards animals: people just repress them and continue in their old ways.

And PETA doesn't really address the problem in depth. For example: dairy production demands a huge surplus of female cows. Since about half of offspring is male, they are unnecessary cost, so they're killed. It's true that calf leather and veal comes from that, but as a side product. Main reason is milk in your fridge.

Someone should send this study to Greenpeace.

Not sure if this is widely used, but in Canada all cigarette packages have ugly picture of people rotten lungs, with a slogan that reads something like SMOKING WILL KILL YOUR BABIES (etc.) Might prevent new users, but doesn't seem to bother the existing ones.

[eleven crows]

what seems the flaw in all of this is the overwhelming amount of issues we're told we need to address; animal rights, homosexual equality, racism, sexism, nepotism, the 1%, the third world, the homeless, sopa, pipa, deforestation, genocide, nationalism, global debt, bank practices, paedophilia, the drug war, the war against terror, the war against waistlines...

how can i care about all of this? i can't. it would drown me body and soul.