I think "just a copy" is a bit of a misinterpretation. Whether an artist uses a photograph or a model the painting is still an original work of art. It's just based on another image -- like all representative works.

I love the way the wrinkly mask matches his face.

Gnomeone knows

Here's the OKC museum website's Chihuly page

Py, I saw the same exhibit. It was fantastic.

Tim,that's actually why I wondered about the tagging idea,because without a way to identify a specific whale as private property, the money is just going down the drain. Now whether privatizing sea mammals is even legal is a question for the lawyers.

The whale boats are pretty high tech, so they could pick up an electronic signal, the kind the marine biologists use for tracking specific whales. I'm not saying it's a workable idea. Just wondering...

Interesting. Alessandro Volta used lemon juice in the original experiment.

I was wondering if it might not be a canine version of the alien hand syndrome.

Hojo, thanks so much for sharing your music. It's really beautiful. Very soulful.

Hannah, the article seems to be based on interviews conducted throughout Dade county, although the author suggests that these stories are more widespread. The way she explains it, these are mythologies in the making, passed from child to child in the form of stories.

And we thought swan boats were exclusively monogamous!

Sorry, anon, I'm the new kid on the block and haven't figured out all the Word Press technology. (I use Typepad at home)

The article says it's just for "consciousness raising," but I wonder if you couldn't confirm the sale by choosing and tagging a specific whale with a GPS and signalling device and then suing anyone who kills it.

It would certainly be tricky to verify.