Comicrazys has curated a fantastic collection of cartoons from Gahan Wilson, Playboy‘s longtime cartoonist-in-chief. Wilson has been described as having a “genius for grotesquery,” a trait which is certainly on display in the melted slug-people and splayed-out dead elephants in his cartoons:
There’s plenty more where that came from at Comicrazys. Even better: go straight to the source himself. Gahan Wilson is still alive, well, and doodling, and his site, the Gahan Wilson Virtual Museum,
lets you check out his decades-long body of work and buy collections
and old prints. If you are looking for a different kind of old Playboy material, well: you’ll have to look somewhere else.
Tuesday 2 June 2015 The way we sound is just as much a part of who we are as the way we look. And yet, while there are coaches and stylists to help trans people get the right haircut or wardrobe to suit their identity, there are very few resources available to people who want to change their voices.
Kathe Perez, a speech-language pathologist with more than 25 years of experience, is trying to change that with her new voice-training app, Eva.
Perez first released Eva in 2013 and she’s preparing to launch Eva 2.0, a bigger and better version of the app, this week. The Guardian spoke to Perez about why voice training is so important in the trans community.
Why is voice training such a critical part of gender transition?
What so many transgender clients of mine have told me is “I pass until I open my mouth”. Many of my clients look like a woman but sound like a man. That is very disconcerting to them. If you’ve ever had laryngitis and lost your voice and tried to go to work, you know how strange it feels to not sound like yourself.
My trans clients will say “I do so much to try and look like the real me. I do my hair, I do my makeup, I put on my dress. But then I go to a bar and have to speak to the bartender, and it all falls apart”. Our identities are intimately connected to how we sound.
A screen grab from the courses for Eva’s training app for transgender women. Photograph: Kathe Perez
Why do you think it was so important to make voice training available on an app?
For the most part our transgender clientele are early in transition, often married. Their families don’t know what they’re going through, and they need a private place to train their voices. Changing one’s voice is actually a very intimate thing. Often times people feel embarrassed or silly when they’re practicing – like taking a dance or acting lesson. It can be very vulnerable for people. So that was part of our inspiration. We wanted to give people the privacy to practice this important phase of their transition.
How does Eva work?
Eva’s methodology consists of video-based instruction and self-guided exercises that use specifically designed tools to visualize the voice output, and a series of standalone tools that provide the user with a straightforward and playful learning experience.
Each lesson is a specific learning experience with definable goals and objectives. For example, in Eva 2.0 the male-to-female lessons provide important exercises that “code” the vocal cords to maintain a relaxed/healthy manner of vibration.
One of the biggest differences between men and women’s voices is pitch. A woman’s pitch is about an octave higher than a man’s. The Eva app has a built-in frequency tuner that users speak into, and then get a score based on whether or not they hit the pitch they are aiming for, with feedback on how to improve.
Kathe Perez’s Eva voice-training app also includes modules for transgender men. Photograph: Kathe Perez
What are some of the challenges in changing one’s voice?
I’ve mentioned pitch, but in addition there’s also the question of voice quality. A lot of times when trans women try to change their voices, they go into false speech. It’s too high and sounds cartoonish. I’ll ask them: “when was the last time you heard a [cisgender] woman talk like that?”
Then there’s the “loudness” element. Most people have great difficulty increasing their pitch and talking loudly at the same time. Pitch can be learned over time, but it’s really tough to maintain a different pitch at various sound levels. For example, if you’re talking at a crowded bar or restaurant, you will have to speak louder than you would at home. It can be tricky to retain the pitch.
But of all the factors, resonance is the most difficult part of changing one’s voice. As a woman, even if I talk in a low pitch, or a deep voice, I still don’t sound masculine. If you think of a male tenor singing a note, and then a woman hitting the same note, they sound different. That’s the element of resonance. Learning that is tough.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Eva comes built-in with a frequency tuner to help users refine their pitch. Photograph: Kathe Perez
Is it easier to change ones voice as a male-to-female or as a female-to-male?
Easy or hard isn’t exactly the thought here. Both groups of people require different things, but essentially, male-to-female trans people have more work ahead of them. Female-to-male trans people don’t seem to be as fundamentally unhappy with their voices.
When testosterone is introduced into a system, there are physical changes to the vocal folds; they thicken, which lowers the pitch of the voice. Trans men usually want to make other changes to their voices, but the pitch is taken care of by taking testosterone.
It’s important to note that the female-to-male community is a very different culture than the male-to-female community. Many people whom we may want to categorize at female-to-male would not define themselves that way. Trans* masculine is a better term to use to describe this sub-population of our society. Many trans* masculine folks identify as genderqueer and would likely not take testosterone. Eva accounts for these differences and Eva FTM 2.0 provides two different pitches to tune their voices.
When estrogen is introduced for trans women, it will not change the vocal folds. Pitch is a fundamental element in the voice and trans women need to train their voices not only to change their pitches, but eight other defining voice characteristics (resonance, articulation, melodica intonation, fluency, etc).
How long does it take to transition one’s voice?
Changing a voice, especially from male-to-female is quite a daunting endeavor. For those folks, we generally estimate six months to a year. Female-to-male people who want to improve their voices beyond what testosterone and their own work has given them will need about six months to reach the natural masculine sound they want.
Can one’s voice ever permanently change? Or will it always take work?
There will never be a point where it’s mindless, but there will be a point where it’s effortless. Like driving a car or riding a bike, it will become a skill you know how to perform. Less work, and more intuitive.
If you're going to resort to breaking the law, you might want to make sure you don't share the incriminating evidence.
Two
brothers hailing from from Bobai County in Guangxi, China, were
arrested a day after posting pictures online of themselves hunting,
killing, cooking and eating a wild python, which is under first-level
state protection.
According
to People's Daily, the brothers, surnamed Guan, had encountered the
three metre long snake that weighed 15 kilograms during the Qingming
festival on April 5 while tomb-sweeping.
It might seem unlikely that a
naked guinea pig from Poland would hold the secret to happiness, but
when it comes to Ludwik, he's completely on point: It's FOOD and NAPS.
He's so enamored with his favorite foods, in fact, that he's taken to modeling with them, a feat that is evident on his extensive Instagram account. And it's clear that he has his preferences:
Instagram/ludwik_guinea_pigDuring his shoots, he snacks on even more treats, says his mom, Agata Nowacka, who studies business and political science in Warsaw.
This is, of course, tiring.
Instagram/ludwik_guinea_pig"He
seems to enjoy his photo session, and sometimes he even falls asleep,
so I think he feels very comfortable," Agata tells The Dodo.
"What
is funny about Ludwik is the fact that he can fall asleep even during
his vet's appointment," she says. "He could sleep all the time. He could
spend most of his day in his blue polar blanket on my lap."
Instagram/ludwik_guinea_pigLudwik, 1, has a very happy home not only with Agata, but also with two Yorkies and another nude guinea pig, Rachel.
Cue possible love interest.
Instagram/ludwik_guinea_pigBut he wasn't always so lucky. Agata found him at a "very bad" pet store, and like many animals who are sold in stores, he was very sick with pneumonia, a fungal infection and conjunctivitis, and hadn't been given any treatment.
Ludwik shortly after Agata brought him homeInstagram/ludwik_guinea_pig"When
I first saw him at that pet store he was so poor and so skinny," Agata
says. "He didn't look like chubby Ludwik from Instagram photos."
He took about six months to get better, Agata says, because he even had a bacterial infection in his eye.
But now, life is good.
Instagram/ludwik_guinea_pigHe also never misses an opportunity to say thanks to his thousands of Instagram fans.
Instagram/ludwik_guinea_pigHere's to thousands more, little guy.
You can find more images of Ludwik on his Instagram page.
If
you're ready to adopt a guinea pig as cute as Ludwik, you're in luck.
There are thousands of piggies out there who need homes. Get started at Adopt-a-Pet.com, or check out guinea pig rescues like Have a Heart, or simply visit your local shelter or Humane Society.
As if cafes themed around cats, rabbits, owls, hawks and even snakes weren’t enough in a country that loves all things cute, Tokyo residents wanting to spend time with animals have a new choice — a hedgehog-themed cafe. Customers at Harry — a play on harinezumi, the Japanese word for hedgehog — have been lining up to spend time at a bright room in the Roppongi entertainment district where 20 to 30 hedgehogs of different breeds scrabble and snooze in glass tanks.
For ¥1,000 on weekdays and ¥1,300 on holidays customers can spend an hour playing with, and cuddling — carefully — the prickly mammals, which have long been sold in Japan as pets despite not being native to the country. “All of these hedgehogs are friendly even though some of them might spike you,” said Anna Cheung, an 11-year-old visitor from Britain. Staffer Mizuki Murata, who also works at a rabbit cafe in the same building, said the shop had been popular since its February opening, with customers often having to line up. “We wanted to show people the charm of hedgehogs, which give the impression of being hard to handle. We wanted to get rid of that image by letting people touch them,” Murata said. “The cutest thing about hedgehogs is getting them to finally open up and show you their face.”
Artist
Betye Saar, an important part of the Black L.A. art movement in the
1970s, and one of Los Angeles' modern art iconoclasts, watched Simon
Rodia build the Watts Towers as a child.
This experience went on
to subconsciously influence her penchant for collecting as well as the
detailed execution of her own art, even though she tried her hand at
social work, graphic design, and enamel jewelry before she found her
voice as one of America's most important assemblage artists.
On a
recent visit, I learned Saar is someone who embodies the notion of
speaking softly while carrying a big stick. She is a diminutive
firebrand, beautiful and energetic despite her 89 years, ready with
stories and recalling events as if they happened yesterday.
Driving up to her Laurel Canyon studio, one experiences a lost era of Los Angeles, a neighborhood of mid-century, DIY architecture that once housed the city's most creative minds.
Saar's
plot is a small, hilly compound that includes a sprawling flower
garden, as well as her home of 50 years, where she raised her three
daughters: artists Lezley, Alison and writer Tracye.
Once
inside, if you are even remotely familiar with Saar's work, you
immediately recognize the spacious studio as if it were one of her
installations: immaculate, color coded by project and shelved by theme.
Betye Saar and the political nature of her assemblage art.
Betye
Saar, "Sock it to 'Em," 2011. Mixed media assemblage, 17.75 x 8 x 5 in.
(45.1 x 20.3 x 12.7 cm). Private Collection; Los Angeles. | Photo:
Robert Wedemeyer; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton,
Culver City, California.
![[Click to enlarge] Betye Saar, "Liberate (25 mammies)," 2015. Mixed media assemblage, 12 x 11-1/3 x 2-1/2 in. | Photo: Brian Forrest; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.](https://www.kcet.org/sites/kl/files/atoms/article_atoms/www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/images/Betye_Saar%2520_art_Liberate_%252825_mammies_%2528Open%2529_2015.jpg "[Click to enlarge] Betye Saar, "Liberate (25 mammies)," 2015. Mixed media assemblage, 12 x 11-1/3 x 2-1/2 in. | Photo: Brian Forrest; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.")
![Betye Saar, "The Challenges of Fate," 2013. Cage and table on books, 40 x 13 x 13 in. (101.6 x 33 x 33 cm). | Photo: Robert Wedemeyer; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.](https://www.kcet.org/sites/kl/files/atoms/article_atoms/www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/images/Betye_Saar%2520_art_The_Challenges_Of_Fate_2.jpg "Betye Saar, "The Challenges of Fate," 2013. Cage and table on books, 40 x 13 x 13 in. (101.6 x 33 x 33 cm). | Photo: Robert Wedemeyer; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.")
![Installation view, "Betye Saar: The Alpha & Omega," September 14 - December 14, 2013, Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California. | Photo: Robert Wedemeyer; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.](https://www.kcet.org/sites/kl/files/atoms/article_atoms/www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/images/Betye_Saar%2520_art_Alpha_and_Omega_Install_2.jpg "Installation view, "Betye Saar: The Alpha & Omega," September 14 - December 14, 2013, Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California. | Photo: Robert Wedemeyer; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.")
![Betye Saar, "Sock it to 'Em," 2011. Mixed media assemblage, 17.75 x 8 x 5 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 12.7 cm). Private Collection; Los Angeles. | Photo: Robert Wedemeyer; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.](https://www.kcet.org/sites/kl/files/atoms/article_atoms/www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/images/Betye_Saar%2520_art_Sock_It_to_%2527Em.jpg "Betye Saar, "Sock it to 'Em," 2011. Mixed media assemblage, 17.75 x 8 x 5 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 12.7 cm). Private Collection; Los Angeles. | Photo: Robert Wedemeyer; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.")
![Betye Saar, "Objects, Obsessions, Obligations," 2013. Shelf with assorted objects, 49 x 20 x 13 in. (124.46 x 50.8 x 33 cm). | Photo: Robert Wedemeyer; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.](https://www.kcet.org/sites/kl/files/atoms/article_atoms/www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/images/Betye_Saar%2520_art_Objects_Obsessions_Obligations.jpg "Betye Saar, "Objects, Obsessions, Obligations," 2013. Shelf with assorted objects, 49 x 20 x 13 in. (124.46 x 50.8 x 33 cm). | Photo: Robert Wedemeyer; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.")
![Betye Saar, "Liberation (10 mammies)," 2015. Mixed media assemblage 29 x 19 x 4-1/2 in. | Photo: Brian Forrest; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.](https://www.kcet.org/sites/kl/files/atoms/article_atoms/www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/images/Betye_Saar%2520_art_Liberation_%252810mammies%2529_2015.jpg "Betye Saar, "Liberation (10 mammies)," 2015. Mixed media assemblage 29 x 19 x 4-1/2 in. | Photo: Brian Forrest; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.")
![[Click to enlarge] Installation view, "Betye Saar: On the Shelf," November 1 - December 15, 2014, Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California. | Photo: Robert Wedemeyer; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.](https://www.kcet.org/sites/kl/files/atoms/article_atoms/www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/images/Betye_Saar%2520_art_On_The_Shelf_1.jpg "[Click to enlarge] Installation view, "Betye Saar: On the Shelf," November 1 - December 15, 2014, Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California. | Photo: Robert Wedemeyer; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.")
![Betye Saar, "Birth of the Blues," 2015. Mixed media assemblage, 28 x 12.5 x 1.75 in. (71.1 x 31.8 x 4.4 cm). | Photo: Robert Wedemeyer; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.](https://www.kcet.org/sites/kl/files/atoms/article_atoms/www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/images/Betye_Saar%2520_art_Birth_Of_The_Blues.jpg "Betye Saar, "Birth of the Blues," 2015. Mixed media assemblage, 28 x 12.5 x 1.75 in. (71.1 x 31.8 x 4.4 cm). | Photo: Robert Wedemeyer; courtesy of the artist and Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, California.")
