August 10, 2008 • 4:57 pm
The little peasant is squatting. He’s already evacuated. There’s a brown pile there and it’s surprisingly realistic. Oh, the Catalans and their scatological fixation. I’m continually fascinated when I think about caganer figurines. What does this mean for a people? What does this mean for a culture?
Not only do the figurines exist, they are placed in Nativity scenes! Imagine preparing the solemn Nativity scene with shepherds, animals, Mary, Joseph, Magi, etc. . . and then placing a little figurine hidden away and squatting.
Something happened when the Conquistadores were crossing the Atlantic. As far as I know, Latin America is lacking this scatological component. We do not casually mention shitting on the communion wafer. In Mexico shitting on anything is not used as an insult, shitting is shameful. What does this mean about Catalans and Spaniards? On the one hand, I admire the idea that even at this great cosmic moment – the birth of the Savior – we mere humans still had to poop. I admire the figurines of famous people squatting and pooping. Yes, Zapatero, Bush, and the Pope all poop (and caganers of all of these people have been made). But on the other hand, isn’t this larger scatological fixation kind of weird?
Filed under: curios, images, wtf
Yesterday’s issue of Nature has a piece on the platypus genome. It’s interesting to compare the reporting in Nature, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. I found the Post article thoroughly enjoyable and not at all lacking in substance.
Yet in its wackiness, Wilson said, the platypus genome offers an unprecedented glimpse of how evolution made its first stabs at producing mammals. It tells the tale of how early mammals learned to nurse their young; how they matched poisonous snakes at their venomous game; and how they struggled to build a system of fertilization and gestation that would eventually, through relatives that took a different tack, give rise to the first humans.
The Times article was too short and the sense of wonder/weirdness was missing.
An international scientific team, which announced the first decoding of the platypus genome on Wednesday, said the findings provided “many clues to the function and evolution of all mammalian genomes,” including that of humans, and should “inspire rapid advances in other investigations of mammalian biology and evolution.”
The Nature article is of course good but I still prefer the wonder and style of the Post article.
Filed under: curios, hmmm, images, random, wtf
In an effort not to deal with the breaking news regarding Eliot Spitzer and a prostitution ring, I’m going to focus on something completely frivolous… I’ll assess Spitzer’s Sins later.
Damn him, in order to conform to Eurovision’s ban on political lyrics, Mr. Chikilicuatre will change the lyrics to his stupid song. Those political lyrics are the only interesting thing that stupid song had going for it!
Lo canta el tigre-puma con su traje a rayas, Y Juan Carlos le dice ¿por qué no te calla?
A big boo to Eurovision for discouraging political content and also to Mr. Chikilicuatre for appeasing the bland order!
La alusión a Chávez, Rajoy y Zapatero choca con la norma del festival de no incluir “contenido político”
Filed under: hmmm, random, wtf
