Ova

Eggs.

No no, this isn’t about Easter.

This is about… [William Wallace]our FREEDOM ![/William Wallace]



You see, there’s this Swedish artist named Lars Vilks & back in 2007 he made 3 drawings of a certain prophet.

While understandable if you do, this event is nevertheless not to be confused with the Danish newspaper cartoons about that very same prophet which happened before in 2006.

Anyhoo, ol’ Larsy boy got himself an invitation which egged him on to join a proper art exhibition with the theme of “The Dog In Art” which brings us to the next part…



He decided to depict this earlier mentioned prophet with the body of a dog which sorta kinda angered certain elements within the faithful community of the prophet’s followers.

“Bad eggs” if you will.

It all got very ugly with death threats & everything but let’s flash forward to the present.



Lars Vilks is (still) alive but unlike Molly Norris (remember her ?), he hasn’t gone into hiding.

Refusing to walk on eggshells, he has continued to appear in public & talk about such topics as freedom of speech, censorship & democracy.

Just a few days ago, for example, he was invited to hold a lecture at Karlstad University but some of the audience members did not appreciate this appearance.



As all of a sudden, they began to throw eggs.

Lars however wasn’t hit once & these people were quickly escorted outside after which the lecture continued.

Later, responding to questions from the (remaining) audience, Lars Vilks said the following:

“Insults are part of democratic society. If we begin censoring ourselves, it will mean undermining freedom of speech in the long run. I don’t think that the problem is that artists are too provocative but that we are not provocative enough.”

Now, no one wants a salmonella infection but the “weapons” there that evening of the lecture were eggs not bombs or even swords.

Isn’t it funny how when people go through all the trouble to stand up for freedom, in this case by way of art & even lectures, they totally forget about the freedom to protest or isn’t that part of democratic society ?

Mr Vilks, you weren’t hit but you have egg all over your face.



Source

Consumed By That Which Once Fed It

Oh wow, look at today’s date.

Can’t believe it’s an entire year later already but in any case…

Happy EDMD everybody !



Yeah, remember good ol’ EDMD & how it all began ?

Once upon a time… there was a US female cartoonist named Molly Norris & one day, after hearing a certain episode of South Park would be censored, she decided as a form of protest to create a cartoon about the prophet Muhammad by depicting him as a cup of coffee (or was that tea ?), a domino stone, a box of pasta, a spool of thread, a single red cherry & a doggie purse (wait what ?).

But then she was seriously threatened (oh no !) by some of Muhammad’s most “devout” followers & she vanished into the night never to be seen or heard of again !



Now, no person in their right mind throws away his or her life for a mere animated cartoon.

& I’m using the word animated loosely here as it’s South Park we’re talking about.

So, either she was a really stupid fan or it must’ve been really really REALLY important for her to do so.



Buuuttt a question remains.

Yes, just a single question.

But an extremely important one…



Where oh where is Molly Norris ?

What is she doing ?

& as whom is she doing it ?



Well wonder no more pilgrim !

Join us here on X-Mer’s New Atlantica Page for the possible answers as we celebrate the first ever…

Everybody Draw Molly Day… South Park style !



First up, Molly Norris before the threats made her disappear & she was still known as plain ol’ Molly Norris…







Add a lil’ bit of Muslim fanatic threat & *POOF* she went into hiding & no one knows who she is or where she is…







So, did she go mad with fear & end up in an asylum or something ?

Yeah, that’s possible.

But what if, while on the run, she ran into some rich Arab guy who then recognized her ? She could’ve asked him to forgive her for her actions & spare her life, right ?







So, did she end up as wife #03 assigned to kitchen duty somewhere in the Middle East ?

Yeah, that’s possible.

But what if, while on the run through rough desolate terrains, she came across a small town in the middle of nowhere ?







Wouldn’t that make for the perfect hiding place from religious loonies ?

Yeah, that’s possible.

But what if it’s none of those things & something completely different ?







Yeah, that’s possible too.

In fact, we might never EVER know what really became of ol’ Molly.

However, something tells me wherever she is & whatever she’s doing, she’s happy doing it…













Say, anyone else wondering about the identity of that unknown Navy SEAL that killed Osama ?

Re: EDMD

See Molly Norris ?

Not all of ’em are Evil.

Oh wait, instead of trying to actually talk to at least… oh, I dunno 1 of them… you went back to that drawing table of yours.

My mistake.



But after having heard from a Muslim participant, I wondered about the non-Muslims.

What were their thoughts ?

So, to locate someone who’d participated in EDMD & was willing to talk about it, I went to the 1 place that’s guaranteed to have all the answers… the I-Net.



However, as I approached people with the question “Did you draw Muhammad ?”, their answers were about as eager & forthcoming as a Republican around Tax Day.

& after several “no comments”, like for example…




& also…




…I suddenly found someone who was willing to talk about it.



Here below, a transcript of this conversation.

Hey, Click Me !

& there you have it folks, both sides of the tale.



…now where did I leave all those pics of hot women with ripped off bras again ?

Error 404 – Not Found

May 20th ?

Why, that means today it’s EDMD.

Happy “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day” everyone !



As you may have heard this 1st-ever EDMD was thought of by a female cartoonist from the US called Molly Norris .

She did this because of what happened in New York & Washington DC on 9/11… no, I meant because of what happened in Madrid on 3/11 of 2004… no no, it’s because of what happened in London on 7/7 of 2005… wait, EDMD is because of South Park ???

Now that (the animation series) is just stupid.



& also stupid was the whole reason for holding this event.

But even more stupid was Miss Norris because after making the drawing calling for EDMD, posting it on her website & even giving an interview on the radio about it, she chickened out & distanced herself from the whole thing mere days later.

She eventually posted a statement explaining herself, part of which follows below…

“Personally I can feel afraid of Muslims because I really have no idea if in their hearts they hate non-Muslims.

I hope for the sake of this country that moderate Muslims will speak out with everyone else against any violent members of that or any other religion. That way I would know that there is a difference. Maybe this cartoon I made, this fictional poster of “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!” had such a wildfire effect because it is finally time for Muslims and non-Muslims to understand one another more.

I am going back to the drawing table now!

Thanks,
Molly”

WTF ?

What kind of response is that ?

To Hell with this clueless “oh-I-dunno-know-if-Muslims-are-evil-or-not” sell-out of a hypocrite.



But her desertion is no reason to worry.

Because we here at X-Mer Central do care for the Freedom Of Speech, so how could we remain silent ?

& by silent I mean picking up the computer mouse & using it for some good ol’ counter terrorism art.



However, EDMD is in no way meant to attack evil Muslim terrorists or even help bridge cultural &/or religious differences between Islam & non-Islam.

This event is nothing more than a piss-poor excuse for non-Muslims to ridicule an entire religion at the expense of everyone including themselves.

& for this very reason I will not be joining up on EDMD to create “art” depicting a certain prophet.



Not all is lost though, as I can still create some art that is not related to EDMD or what it stands for.







She’s not a prophet, she’s not holy, she’s not even realistic.

She’s a cartoon depiction of a cow & a rather nice one at that.

You see, I had never drawn a cow on my computer before & I’m proud that on this day a stupid event still made me do something new, worthwhile & productive…