Monday, December 7, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
A follow up article on Cats and drug abuse
In doing further research on my topic, cats and alcoholism, I found that giving cats addictive substances didn't stop with Masserman in the 1940's and 1950's. Not only are cats still being given alcohol, but they are also being given marijuana, ecstasy, and a myriad of other addictive substances. What's worse is that these substances are being given not in the name of science, but in the name of fun.
Here is an article about students at Palo Alto High School, who came forward anonymously and shared their experiences with giving their cats and dogs the same drugs they were using, mainly marijuana. A lot of these students don't see the harm, stating that they are not giving their cats much, so it can't be that bad. There is a toxicology report here by a veterinarian, saying that the most common side effects of marijuana toxicosis are depression, ataxia (lack of coordination) and bradycardia (abnormally slow heartbeat). We should not be putting our cats through this just for our own enjoyment!
The prognosis for cats that have ingested alcohol is much worse. Many sites I researched stated that cats can die from alcohol poisoning, this one in particular was written by a Veterinarian. A number of other sites also said that cats can easily suffer liver and renal failure from alcohol poisoning.
The point of this post is- don't give cats ANY addictive substances, whether you're a scientist or a layman, it's bad for them and not worth their lives!
Here is an article about students at Palo Alto High School, who came forward anonymously and shared their experiences with giving their cats and dogs the same drugs they were using, mainly marijuana. A lot of these students don't see the harm, stating that they are not giving their cats much, so it can't be that bad. There is a toxicology report here by a veterinarian, saying that the most common side effects of marijuana toxicosis are depression, ataxia (lack of coordination) and bradycardia (abnormally slow heartbeat). We should not be putting our cats through this just for our own enjoyment!
The prognosis for cats that have ingested alcohol is much worse. Many sites I researched stated that cats can die from alcohol poisoning, this one in particular was written by a Veterinarian. A number of other sites also said that cats can easily suffer liver and renal failure from alcohol poisoning.
The point of this post is- don't give cats ANY addictive substances, whether you're a scientist or a layman, it's bad for them and not worth their lives!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Background Wallpaper for Zine
Basically all of my covers are doubled, so they will be sort of a pattern by themselves once the pages are folded together. The zine will go like this from when front to back:
1) Cover
2) Dead kitty background
3) Kitty and wine background
4) Artsy background
5) Artsy background
6) Kitty and wine background
7) Dead kitty background
8) Back cover
1) Cover
2) Dead kitty background
3) Kitty and wine background
4) Artsy background
5) Artsy background
6) Kitty and wine background
7) Dead kitty background
8) Back cover
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Live Traced Image
*This is the image I scanned in to Live Trace. I tried to find something on the Internet, but all the images I found were too small.
**This is the sketch after I Live Traced it and filled it in.
**This is the sketch after I Live Traced it and filled it in.
Topic Research
When I first read this assignment, I thought I was doomed. My subject for the past few assignments seems to be. . . .alcoholic cats. What kind of articles am I going to find on alcoholic cats? Actually, this topic has been around for some time. Let me tell you a little bit about what I found during this research.
At first, I just found articles about cats hanging out in wineries. Apparently almost all wineries have cats around for pest control. There are even calendars whose pictures feature cats that live at wineries, and a number of web sites that refer to this subject. So I settled in on this, thinking that this was probably the closest I was going to get to my specific subject anyway. But then I thought, why not give it another try and see if there is a more direct article or two out there.
Turns out there were a bunch more on the very specific and quite disturbing subject of "alcoholic cats." Most of them refer to experiments conducted by psychiatrist Jules H. Masserman of the University of Chicago.
In the mid 1940's Masserman was using cats to try to deduce why men turned to drink. He would set the cats on a routine where they would lift a lid in their cage to get a food morsel. Once the routine was established, he would stop rewarding them with food, making it random, or giving them a blast of air in the face or an electric shock. After a while, the cats would be so afraid they would even "recoil from a caged mouse." At this point, Masserman force-fed them alcohol through injection or a stomach tube. The "drunk" cats then opened the food boxes even though they had been a source of pain for them in the past.
After that, Masserman offered the cats a choice of regular milk or milk spiked with alcohol, and most of the cats chose the alcohol, having learned that this made them "feel better." Masserman goes on to find that only by curing their neurosis could he get the cats to choose the regular milk again.
There is a short article here from TIME in 1945 on Masserman's experiments. And there is a more detailed one here from a company that sells inner peace software (it's an ad but is still informative).
There is also a much more lighthearted article here about cats that develop a taste for beer, from a book filled with secrets our cats want us to know. I decided not to go into it because I think I've already made you read enough!
At first, I just found articles about cats hanging out in wineries. Apparently almost all wineries have cats around for pest control. There are even calendars whose pictures feature cats that live at wineries, and a number of web sites that refer to this subject. So I settled in on this, thinking that this was probably the closest I was going to get to my specific subject anyway. But then I thought, why not give it another try and see if there is a more direct article or two out there.
Turns out there were a bunch more on the very specific and quite disturbing subject of "alcoholic cats." Most of them refer to experiments conducted by psychiatrist Jules H. Masserman of the University of Chicago.
In the mid 1940's Masserman was using cats to try to deduce why men turned to drink. He would set the cats on a routine where they would lift a lid in their cage to get a food morsel. Once the routine was established, he would stop rewarding them with food, making it random, or giving them a blast of air in the face or an electric shock. After a while, the cats would be so afraid they would even "recoil from a caged mouse." At this point, Masserman force-fed them alcohol through injection or a stomach tube. The "drunk" cats then opened the food boxes even though they had been a source of pain for them in the past.
After that, Masserman offered the cats a choice of regular milk or milk spiked with alcohol, and most of the cats chose the alcohol, having learned that this made them "feel better." Masserman goes on to find that only by curing their neurosis could he get the cats to choose the regular milk again.
There is a short article here from TIME in 1945 on Masserman's experiments. And there is a more detailed one here from a company that sells inner peace software (it's an ad but is still informative).
There is also a much more lighthearted article here about cats that develop a taste for beer, from a book filled with secrets our cats want us to know. I decided not to go into it because I think I've already made you read enough!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Pen Tool, Gradient, and Color Picker
1) Here is my original sketch: It scanned in very light, so I didn't need to use the template function.
2) Here is my traced sketch:
3) Here is my filled in trace:
***I'm not sure what a colorful description is. Using the pen tool was very difficult. When I was ready to put the gradient in I watched the tutorial, which was very helpful. I also watched the pen tutorial, which I should have watched before I started! I think it turned out well in the end, though, I especially like the grapes on the wine bottle.
2) Here is my traced sketch:
3) Here is my filled in trace:
***I'm not sure what a colorful description is. Using the pen tool was very difficult. When I was ready to put the gradient in I watched the tutorial, which was very helpful. I also watched the pen tutorial, which I should have watched before I started! I think it turned out well in the end, though, I especially like the grapes on the wine bottle.
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