[Vision2020] And now for something totally and undeniably different . . .

[Nicholas Gier]

Hi Tom,

Hindu followers of Shiva would love this.  Last week I did my Shiva show
for my continuing ed students.  The second part of the evening focused on
Shiva lingas in India, Bali, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Tibet.  Yes,
even the Dali Lama has his very own lingam.  His Yellow Hat sect takes the
sexuality of Tantra symbolically, but the Red Hat Lamas have their very own
tantric consorts. The one from from Red Hat Bhutan was found on the left
side of a home entry.  Most Bhutanese homes have one painted on the outside
for fertility purposes, and to shock tourists . See attached and but viewer
discretion advised.

No need for viagra in Asia,

Nick

P.S. My course Hindu Gods and Goddesses will continue after Thanksgiving
with "The Incarnations of Vishnu) on Dec. 11/12 and "The Hindu Goddess" on
Dec. 18/19.  The Wed. night sessions (7:30-9:340) are at my home 509
Taylor, and the Thurs. afternoon class (2-4) is held at 909 Travois Way,
#16.



On Mon, Nov 25, 2013 at 4:28 AM, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:

> While browsing the web for off-the-beaten-path college mascots, I came
> across several that were interesting, to say the least.
>
> I came across the Fighting Ocra of Mississippi's Delta State University.
>
> I visited Artie the Fighting Artichoke of Scottsdale Community College.
>
> I even ordered and received a coffee mug depicting University of
> California at Santa Clara's mascot, the Banana Slug.
>
> But nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, could have mentally prepared me for . . .
>
> Rhode Island School of Design's mascot . . . Scrotie the Nad!
>
> Here, I'll let the school's website (at
> http://www.risd.edu/About/News/Scrotie_Responds/) introduce Scrotie:
>
> (FYI:  Decency and censorship prevent me from posting a photo of Scrotie
> the Nad)
>
> ---------------------------------
>
> Scrotie Responds to Hands-on Attention
>
> Most RISD students have had the pleasure of watching the eyes of our
> friends and families widen in disbelief when they first learn about
> Scrotie. While students at other colleges cheer on their lions or tigers or
> bears, RISD is the only school in the country with a friendly phallus as
> its unofficial mascot.
>
> Even without any legs to stand on, Scrotie rises an impressive six feet
> tall and serves as a sometimes too-real reminder of our grueling Foundation
> Studies life drawing courses. But what most students may not realize is
> that the Scrotie we now know and love is actually a reincarnation.
>
> The original Scrotie was born in 2001 when students created the first
> anatomical costume, which had a small red cape. He frequented Nads hockey
> games to dance around and encourage fans to yell “Go Nads!” Then, after
> eight years of bringing rowdy students to their feet, the original Scrotie
> succumbed to understandable wear and tear.
>
> A year of mascot celibacy followed, but as hockey fans grew increasingly
> restless and dissatisfied, RISD’s Center for Student Involvement<http://csi.risd.edu/> stepped
> in just in time. The CSI invited senior *Sean Devare 12 IL* to reconceive
> our heroic hot dog.
>
> Working with a talented team that included *Liz Mooney 12 IL*, *Jesse
> Bonelli 12 IL*, *Nick Truss 12 IL* and *Darian Brenner 12 FAV*, Devare
> dreamed up a radical redesign of the cocky mascot. Functionality was of
> paramount importance, so the team added adjustable straps for support and
> comfort, along with strategically placed openings that enable the wearer to
> sit down. It pumped up Scrotie’s super-hero feel by adding a larger cape, a
> mask and a sperm emblem emblazoned on his chest.
>
> The mascot’s new “skin” – a bright red on top blending with royal blue
> testicles below – is the most noticeable and controversial change. But
> Devare explains that “we wanted Scrotie to be race-blind” and points out
> that the wearer conceals his own skin color by donning a mask, gloves, long
> sleeves and pants.
>
> Of course, the biggest challenge for the Scrotie redesign team was
> actually creating the huge sculpture. After commissioning the basic
> structure from Big Nazo, the local puppet studio run by alum and RISD
> faculty member*Erminio Pinque 83 IL
> <http://www.risd.edu/Film-Animation-Video/Erminio_Pinque/>*, students
> took over the responsibility of bringing Scrotie to life. They worked in
> basements and alleyways to get the necessary space and ventilation, and
> once even worked on the roof of a building next to the Biltmore Hotel in
> downtown Providence. “The people staying at the Biltmore that day had quite
> a sight,” recalls Devare, remembering the hotel guests looking out their
> windows at students hard at work making a giant foam penis.
>
> But wherever the reconstructive surgery took place, the team worked with
> their “balls to the wall” making hair follicles out of fishing line,
> sculpting veins in foam and even trying to incorporate a squirt gun into
> the tip. In the end, though the squirt gun never quite worked out as
> planned, the new Scrotie is an impressive representation of RISD’s
> collective talent as well as of our family jewels.
>
> Scrotie made his first post-surgical public appearance at the 2010 RISD
> Block Party. “There was definitely rejoicing going on,” recalls Devare, who
> was the first to wear the updated version. “I just put on the suit and
> hammed it up,” he says. And his peers loved it. That day they swamped
> Facebook with pictures of themselves posing next to and even hugging the
> loveable penis. Since then Scrotie continues to visit Nads games and pop up
> around campus, embodying enthusiastic yet typically strange RISD school
> spirit.
>
> And as true fans like to say, “The people cried out for a hero, and a hero
> came.”
>
> *—Samantha Dempsey 13 IL*
>
>  *also of interest:*
>
>    - *Go Nads!* <http://www.risd.edu/About/News/Go_Nads/>
>    - * Game On <http://www.risd.edu/About/News/Game_On.aspx>* (about the
>    RISD Pricks and the RISD Seamen)
>
> ---------------------------------
>
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares"
> http://www.MoscowCares.com
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "There's room at the top they are telling you still
> But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
> If you want to be like the folks on the hill."
>
> - John Lennon
>
>
>
> =======================================================
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>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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