By Laura Coburn

Articles and photos of hairy leg stockings are blowing up all over the media. The new Chinese-made anti- pervert stockings were created to deter men from raping women wearing the stockings. The stockings are said to be “super sexy, summertime anti-pervert full-leg-of-hair stockings, essential for all young girls going out.”

While a seemingly lighthearted topic about a strange new fashion statement, the new product has its roots in a major societal problem.

The fact that hairy stocking are the latest form of self defense brings to light rape and domestic violence concerns across the world today. With recent news about British chef Nigella Lawson’s husband grabbing his wife’s throat and Chris Brown’s abuse of Rihanna, this is no playful matter.

Women have always been deemed subordinates and inferior throughout history in the majority of cultures across the world. However, domestic and sexual violence, rape, and abuse of women has been addressed numerous times through social advocacy groups and the media in the past decade, and activists have made strides to empower women.

Hairy leg stockings are doing just the opposite. These tights allegedly were invented to protect women from men- who innately will be attacking women because that is just how things work, so women should accept that and do what they can to prevent the inevitable! How about we start making chastity belts for men?

In order to truly stop rape, we must work toward stopping potential rapists- both male and female (yes, both sexes can rape) through education and other programs that inform people about the physical and mental consequences, along with the legal penalties involved. So perhaps we should just throw these leggings into the pile of other ways to stop rape seen below:

While Understanding Art: Hidden Lives of Masterpieces (Athena, 6/18) sounds like a pedantic affair the result is actually the opposite. Not exactly threading on CSI territory yet with an unmistakable taste for mystery and forensic investigation this five-part British series (259-minutes on 2 DVDs) shows you the paintings of five great artists in a manner not readily available to the average bear.

Shot over a period of five years (2006 – 2010), filmmakers Stan Neumann and Juliette Garcias attended a yearly pow-wow at the Musée du Louvre where art experts view the work of a single artist. Only for this unique event the canvases are removed from their frames and set, studio-style, on an easel. The graphic design of the five episodes is modeled after the art of Saul Bass.

The five artists under the scope are Raphael, Rembrandt, Poussin, Watteau, and Leonardo. Some of documentation covers restoration techniques, and the wide range of modern tools like UVF light or X-rays or microscopy or even chromatography to see into the painting. In some cases the art on display has been painted over a pre-existing paining. Then there’s the delicate art of revealing forgeries.

The episode that really takes on a procedural tone revolves around Poussin’s The Flight Into Egypt (c. 1658). The painting was bought by brothers in the 1980s who suspected it was a Poussin and yet the seller thought otherwise and it sold for 1.6-million-Francs with a starting bid of 80K-Francs. Then a lengthy court case ensued with the result that the painting was returned to the owner who eventually sold it to a museum for millions more. Fascinating, yes educational, and never boring Hidden Lives of Masterpieces should occupy a place on your shelf and your mind.

– Michael Bergeron

The Weekly Music Round Up for June 18th-June 23rd

Tuesday, June 18^th:

• Inc., DJ Total Freedom- Live at Fitzgerald’s

Wednesday, June 19^th:

•  Floating Action, Deep Cuts- Live at Mango’s
•  Sold Short, Pulled Under, Beaten To The Punch- Live at Walter’s

Thursday, June 20^th:

•  Discovery Green Concert Series, featuring The Suffers & Chase Hamblin- Live at Discovery Green (7PM)
•  Girls Rock Night to Benefit Girls Rock Camp Houston, featuring Caffeinated, War Boner, Jenny Hoyston, & Kompozition- Live at Rudyard’s

Friday, June 21^st:

•  The Ex-Optimists, Only Beast, Featherface- Live at Revolution Cafe and Bar (in Bryan, Texas)
•  Lost and Nameless Orchestra- Live at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck

Saturday, June 22^nd:

•  Royal Teeth- Live at House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
•  Uncle Lucius- Live at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
•  The Uncluded (Aesop Rock & Kimya Dawson), Hamell On Trial- Live at Fitzgerald’s

Sunday, June 23^rd:

• Deafheaven, Marriages, Peloton- Live at Mango’s

Posted By: Amanda Hart

You may have heard, anti-choice legislators have proposed some really dangerous bills that will severely limit access to abortion in Texas.

Please join us in rallying with the Lilith Fund this Monday evening at Houston’s City Hall! The program begins at 6 pm at City Hall,  901 Bagby. Let’s show Texas legislators that Houston is taking a stand against these attacks on reproductive rights and we are not having it.

Program:
Introduction: Lilith Fund’s Amanda Williams
First speaker: Long-time Houston activist, Andrea Greer
Keynote speaker: Houston Representative Jessica Farrar
Closing and Action Speech: Lilith Fund’s Tawny Tidwell

Here is some information on these bills, starting with the omnibus bill, Senate Bill #5:

SB 5 – Author: Senator Hegar – This bill serves as an abortion restrict omnibus bill, and includes regulation of abortion procedures, providers, and facilities; providing penalties.

SB 5 will effectively BAN medication abortions by putting untenable restrictions on physicians. It will require that all abortion facilities be ambulatory surgical centers, closing all but 5 clinics. It will BAN abortion after 20 weeks. It will require physicians have admitting privileges at any hospital their patient might later be admitted to for complications following an abortion – surgical or medication – which is something no doctor can realistically secure.

SB 13 – Author: Senator Hegar – This bill mandates a ban on abortion at 20 weeks and greatly interferes with women’s healthcare decisions before she and her doctor may have important health information about her own health and the health of the pregnancy. Twenty week abortion bans are not only bad policy because they would prevent a woman from making her own personal, private decision about her health and medical care, but because they clearly violate women’s constitutional rights by banning abortion before viability.

SB 18 – Author: Senator Patrick – This bill would further increase the in-person requirements for physicians. In addition to the in-person sonogram 24 hours ahead of the abortion, doctors would have to personally administer both of the two medications used for drug-induced abortions, and see the patient again for a follow-up appointment within 14 days, a particular challenge for the roving doctors who treat women in the state’s rural counties.

This bill serves to further restrict access to nonsurgical abortion (medical abortion) and unfairly targets rural and low-income women. At Planned Parenthood, we support making healthcare more accessible and oppose the new regulatory burdens created by this bill and not required by the FDA.

SB 24 – Author: Senator Deuell – This bill would require medically unnecessary regulations of all health care centers that provide safe and legal abortions. Excessive regulations are already in place in Texas, far exceeding what is necessary to uphold patient health and safety at health centers that provide safe, legal abortion. The additional requirements of SB 24 are excessive and medically unnecessary requirements, and will be difficult for women’s health centers to meet.

House companions and other bills recently filed relating to abortion for special session:

HB 16 – Laubenberg’s 20 week ban
SB 55 – Fletcher’s bill on sex selection bill
SB 57 – Burkett’s bill on admitting privileges
HB 60 – Laubenberg’s bill on provider regulations
HB 61 – Van Taylor’s bill on provider licensing
HB 63 – Krause’s bill on provider regulations

If Texas really wants to promote a culture that supports families, our lawmakers need to focus on taking care of the children we have. Texans want public funding for education and health care for our children, not more unnecessary regulation of Texan’s reproductive health care.

Eliminating access to a legal medical procedure for people who do not live near major cities and who cannot get the funds together for a procedure before 20 weeks creates an inequality based on income and geography that is intolerable in a free country.

Texans deserve better. We are not taking these attacks lightly and we are asking you to join the fight!

You can find more information about the Lilith Fund here.

By Laura Coburn

From the Houston Ballet to the Houston Grand Opera to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston prides itself on the arts. However, not every city in the world has access to renowned performing and visual arts companies— and that is why the “Cargo Space” came into being.

The Cargo Space is art itself on wheels. The new creative project by Christopher Sperandio and Simon Grennan is a way for people across the Southwest and across the world to experience all forms of art and for artists to engage in creative exchanges.

According to the project leads, the Cargo Space is a project that was built out of need. Sperandio and Grennan acquired a grant from the Rice University’s Humanities Research Center and a Rice transit bus, which they are transforming into a “mobile arts platform.” They describe the bus as a “part rockstar-stye tour bus, part utility vehicle and ultimately a blank platform that sleeps six.”

The vehicle will transport artists and cultural workers in all fields and from across the world to participate in events and other activities designed to promote cultural exchange and expansion.

Assistant Professor of Art in the Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts at Rice University Christopher Sperandio explains the inspiration behind the Cargo Space and his goals for the project:

How did you come up with the idea for the Cargo Space?

It’s been on my mind for more than a dozen years. I’ve done a lot of
research on alternative living practices: folks who build small,
low-budget homes, house boats, and, of course, those who convert
school buses into mobile residences. This research was always that,
just research. Then it began to gel with some ideas that I’d been
having about Houston, and how we desperately need more exchange with
artists and thinkers in other places. The two areas of concern just
dovetailed together. An inexpensive and nontraditional residence for
artists.

Which regions in the United States do you plan to visit?

I hope we can go everywhere the road can take us. I’d love to escape
the boundaries of the US. We could drive to the tip of South America
or up into Canada. We plan to start small, to get the feel of the
thing, and then to push out.

How will you determine which artists to take on tour?

It’s currently by invitation only. I’ve been thinking about different
mechanisms for how we might find artists and writers who would be good
for the project, but we’re right in the thick of installing the
plumbing and electrical systems, so it’s at the back of my mind. I’m
thinking about it, though.

Will artists be required to pay to use the vehicle for tours?

I want to pay artists to be on the bus, not the other way around, but
(and here’s the scandalous part of the interview) there’s more to life
than money! I have an idea that everyone should contribute something.
Right now everyone is volunteering to work on the bus, because it’s a
project that they believe in. I’d like to carry that practice forward.
If you believe in the idea, then you should demonstrably support it
and help improve the project somehow. Build us a killer web site,
improve the gas mileage, make T-shirts for everyone. This isn’t a
major issue, but it is something else that I’ve been thinking about.

Will each tour bring one type of artist at a time (poets, visual artists
or will an assortment of artists go on a tour?

An assortment, definitely. I also don’t want to constrict it to just
those who self-identify as artists. Sociologists? Maybe. Really anyone
who might be able to do something interesting with the experience.

Who do you expect the audience to be? Will the bus visit a certain
type of venue or gallery?

For the most part, there may be no audience. It’s an artwork whose
primary purpose is to engage other artists (practitioners, thinkers,
whatever). We may organize public events around the bus, but sometimes
we’ll just be going somewhere. Sometimes we’ll do something public,
and sometimes the whole thing will be private.

Do you plan to collaborate with other companies to put on events?

I think Cargo Space is the perfect art work for an oil and gas company
to sponsor outright. This is an oil and gas town, and this is an oil
and gas project, literally.

How long will tours last?

Anywhere from days to weeks. It really just depends on who is
involved, where they need or want to go, and what we do when we get
there. I’m open.

How many tour buses do you ultimately plan to use for the project?

When we’re not able to go on the road, I hope to use the parked bus as
a residence for visitors. Any week that the space is empty is a wasted
opportunity. When we can, we’ll take trips. When we can’t, the space
will be a static living space.

When do you expect tours to begin? Where will the first ones go?

As soon as we finish the plumbing and electrical, we’ll get the
vehicle reclassified as an RV. We’ll take a number of shake-down
cruises to make sure everything is working right. Our first official
trip is still top secret. We’ve got our fingers crossed, but we just
can’t say anything until it’s a done deal.
What does the bus look like? How has it been remodeled in terms of
decoration and functionality?

The bus is a 25′ long Blue Bird CS FE. CS stands for commercial
series, and FE stands for front engine. The living space consists of a
dinette that seats four, a bench seat for guests, a galley
kitchenette, a lavatory, a bunk room, and a modestly-sized private
cabin in the back. Maximum capacity is six, but I think the most we’ll
travel with, typically, is three or four. Six people sharing a 200
square foot living space seems a little much for anything but a long
weekend in the mountains, or at the beach. A future phase of the
project (funding permitting) is to add a walkable roof rack that can
support the weight of six people. We’re also thinking about installing
a 90″ wide high definition video screen in the back window, facing
outwards. We’ll be able to roll up on spots and do impromptu
screenings, play games and figure out ways for people to interact via
their smart phones.

Is there anything else people should know about the Cargo Space?

It’s not too late to get involved! If you think you have some
serviceable skill, or free time, raw enthusiasm and a sense of
commitment, email us. Innovation is a rare creature, and should be
supported whenever it appears, so give us money. Your contribution is
tax-deductible and you can do it online at thecargospace.com

To see more pictures and learn more about the Cargo Space check them out online!

Blog: http://thecargospace.com/post/52869343835/unistrutting-our-stuff

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCargoSpace

By Laura Coburn

Eye- Ball licking, also known as “worming” is a rapidly growing practice among adolescents in Japan.  It is exactly what it sounds like- yes, one person licking another person’s eyeball.

The fad has swept across middle and high schools in Japan, with couples engaging in the practice as an expression of intimacy. Eye-ball licking is comparable to kissing or fetishes like licking another’s toes.

Not only has the act received media attention for its bizarre and unconventional nature, but it also because it is the cause of widespread eye diseases among the eye-licking lovers. Sties,  Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, has been rapidly spreading across middle and high schools– so much that eye patches appeared to be a new fashion trend.

A middle school teacher released a memo (below), which was translated from Japanese to English, reporting having caught a young couple engaging in “worming” during gym class.

“After class one day, I went into the equipment store in the gymnasium to tidy up. The door had been left open, and when I looked inside, a male pupil and a female pupil had their faces close together and were kind of fumbling around. Could it be bullying? I wondered, but when I had a good look, the boy was licking the girl’s eye! Surprised, a shouted “What are you doing? Stop it at once!” and the two of them were so shocked they jumped apart. The girl burst into tears, and the boy just went bright red and was shaken up. At any rate, to try to calm them down I took them to the janitor’s room and listened to their story.”

The licking quickly transmits bacteria from the mouth to the recipient’s eye, leading to potential outbreaks in conjunctivitis and keratitis, corneal infection. Dr. Rahul Pandit of The Methodist Hospital further explains that, “all sorts of bacteria exist in the mouth which are not present in the eye, and it is possible that other types of infection such as Herpes (from a cold sore) or fungus (patients with oral thrush) or other infectious agents could severely damage the eye.”

While these eye infections are curable without permanent damage, Pandut says that it is not always the case. “…Certainly if the infection spreads onto the cornea, an ulcer can develop which can lead to severe vision loss, and even loss of the eye,” Pandut describes.

Another risk factor involved is contact lenses, which can also advance eye infections. “If a person were wearing a contact lens at the time of the eye licking episode, it is much more likely they would develop a severe infection,” Pandut warns.

Surgery may be needed to cure severe cases of infection. “Permanent scars in the cornea can result in permanent loss of vision,” Pandut says. “It is only a matter of time before someone undergoes eye licking, perhaps with a contact lens in position, and gets a severe bacterial, viral, or even fungal infection that results in severe pain, loss of vision, and a need for surgical removal of the eye.”

Despite health risks, Japanesse youth continue to engage in eye-ball licking and even more are continue to test it out. The craze is said to have stemmed from a music video by a Japanese band, Born. The video shows a woman holding a knife licking the lead singer’s eye, as he is chained to a chair.

Watch the music video here (3:30):

BORN – Spiral Lie

I recently had the opportunity to record Nelson Mills III who played trumpet on the 1968 #1 hit “The Tighten Up” about his experience.

listen to the mp3 of the interview: StoryBehindTheTightenUp

Nelson today

Nelson back in the day

The James Turrell exhibit at the MFAH is all about light. James Turrell: The Light Inside, currently on display until September 22, creates a space where art impacts the viewer’s psyche.

Working with neon, fluorescent, projected, LED, and natural light Turrell designs a series of rooms where time and space exist only to define the light on display. Speaking at the media preview Turrell recalled how in the ‘60s, when there were just three or four different broadcasting stations period, he could walk down the street and tell from the ambient light of television screens bouncing against the walls and out through the living room window what network they were tuned into. Turrell originates rooms with lighting that can change your perception; the room’s mood seems fine tuned like a mechanic’s car.

There are a handful of rooms where you can sit and observe light being manipulated by your perspective from different phases of Turrell’s career, as well as several prints or photos or portfolios revolving around Turrell’s environmental project: Roden Crater. But the topper is a large room called End Around: Ganzfeld (2006) that absolutely surrounds your senses. You take off your shoes and put on provided paper shoes, and climb up several steps to the entrance of the room, all the while aided by museum staff.

Once inside the room you notice a slight rake downwards of the floor. There are no right angles, and the walls feel rounded; the light subtly changes every six minutes. Being immersed in a single color of light actually felt therapeutic – this was like a healing room. I lost track of the amount of time I stood in one position just letting the light bathe my mind, but the light changed more than a few times. The other people and staff (about four to seven depending who went in and out) took on a monochromatic glow and complimentary aura dictated by the light. You’re going to want one of these in your house.

The Light Inside is included with regular museum admission but reservations for End Around: Ganzfeld are recommended due to the fact that only a handful of people can enter at any one time. Also note that the museum offers free admission on Thursdays, and will also provide free admission between noon and 2 pm on weekdays with a purchase at the in-house café (Café Express) or the food truck in the museum parking lot.

There are three permanent Turrell installations in Houston (and over 75 worldwide). The three in Houston include The Light Inside, a 1999 commissioned tunnel walkway that connects the two buildings of the MFAH; One Accord, The Live Oaks Meeting House located in The Heights; and Twilight Epiphany located on the campus of Rice University and with few exceptions open for sunrise and sunset every day. The latter skyspace seats 120 people and has an LED light show that compliments the rising or setting rays of the sun that filter in from “an aperture in the 72-foot square knife-edge roof.”

Perhaps the most interesting work by Turrell is his on-going work on Roden Crater. A glance at the Roden Crater website reveals a complicated system of rooms, skyspaces, crater bowl support and walkways around the crater, itself located on private property northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona. Turrell has been working on the outdoor structure since 1979 and Roden Crater will not be open to the public until it’s complete. In his remarks Turrell (who lives there) mentioned that during the Harmonic Convergence (August 16-17, 1987) that he found “about 100 people, all naked” meditating in the crater.

– Michael Bergeron

By Laura Coburn

Faking It: Manipulated Photography before Photoshop.

June 2- Aug 25, 2013

We have all learned about how the celebrities, runway models, and political leaders sporting a gleaming smile and a perfectly contoured body on the front covers of Sport Illustrated, People, Cosmopolitan, and Time Magazine do not actually look as spectacular in reality. Nearly every image has been digitally retouched, airbrushed, reconstructed or edited in some form.

However, what many do not already know is that this process is not a new concept. Manipulated photography existed long before Adobe Photoshop was invented and has always had the same convincing effect. The exhibition “Faking It: Manipulated Photography before Photoshop” at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston explores the history of altered images from the 1840s-1850s.

The exhibit emphasizes, “that photography has always been a medium of fabricated truths and artful lies.” The works on display represent the history of altering reality. While the techniques of editing images have changed with the development of technology, the pre-digital techniques accomplished similar results. According to the MFAH website, older methods could diminish wrinkles, slim waistlines, add or remove people from a scene and completely invent scenes that did not exist.

The exhibit will display about 200 photographs by artists including Gustave Le Gray, Edward Steichen, Weegee and Richard Avedon. The images are arranged thematically, starting with earlier works that were limited by the technology available at the time. Works during the 19^th century were hand-tinted, while others were merged through collage. With advancements in technology, manipulation methods expanded to include combination printing, photomontage, overpainting, ink and airbrush retouching, sandwiched negatives, multiple exposures, and other darkroom magic, according to commentary presented by the National Gallery of Art.

The exhibit includes a section that presents images use in political or social campaigns, including anti-Nazi photographs and fabricated images from Russia under Stalin. The last part of the exhibit transitions to more modern manipulated images by artists including Duane Michals, Jerry Uelsmann and Yves Klein, who express the unauthentic nature of manipulated photography through their work.

From the time photography surfaced, manipulated photographs have contorted viewers’ perception of reality by leading the eye to believe what it sees- a fictional portrayal of the truth. The exhibit, organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, will expose everything from images used in politics to entertainment, but all share the element of distortion.

Date: Jun 2, 2013 – Aug 25, 2013

Location: Museum of Fine Arts Houston

Beck Building, Lower Level

5601 Main Street

Admission: Free entry included with Museum admission

MFAH Members receive free general admission.

This Sunday is a very special day. It is the one day that dads have secretly been waiting for all year. It is the day that fathers are celebrated for being fathers.

So, to help you make father’s day as special as possible for your dad, step-dad, grandpa, uncle or whoever else you want to dedicate this day to, here are a few ideas to show them how much you truly appreciate him. Most importantly, they are all FREE and will last a lifetime (or at least until the next technology emerges).

1. Teach him how to download Google Chrome, how to use Incognito mode and how to delete browser history. Of course, he is only looking up his bank statement, but just in case…
2. Show him how to update his iPhone software (if he has one) on his iPhone. Yes, Dad, your Maps app can talk to you, too!
3. Teach him how to sign into the Facebook that he asked you to make him three years ago so that he could keep in touch with his second-cousin-once-removed and people he has not seen since high school.
4. Show your dad how to download music onto his iPod or MP3 which currently only has two CDs on it- one album by the Ramones and another by the Talking Heads. Great artists. Let’s add more.
5. Introduce him to the calendar feature on his phone. The days of lugging  around his big black Outlook calendar are over!

Tip: Be sure to compliment his competency as you gift him with these life skills. These gifts are meant to keep Pops connected, so that you can always keep in touch– not just on Father’s Day, but every day!