All I’m saying is that one shouldn’t make up their mind based on a photograph from a bad angle. A lot of detail gets lost, also it’s hard to get a good idea of the scale of the piece.

Thanks Gyge, but there is no angle or light that could improve my impression of a frog holding a beer beyond that of a trival knick knack I could purchase at the local Flying J gift shop.

In whatever light or view you care to provide of it, it would still find no higher place in my home, than my “Jackalope” piggy bank.

All I’m saying is that one shouldn’t make up their mind based on a photograph from a bad angle. A lot of detail gets lost, also it’s hard to get a good idea of the scale of the piece. I don’t generally define art based on my likes and dislikes, there’s a lot of art that doesn’t appeal to my sense of aesthetics. I’m not a huge fan of Wagner’s music, but I still consider it art. I generally follow the school of thought that what defines art is a combination of skill and intent.

And I recommend non-slip shoes for my horses’ frogs – everytime.

http://www.cookinglouisiana.com/Cooking/Recipes/Seafood/Fried-Frog-Legs%20-%20JG.htm

Cooking Louisiana – Fried Frog Legs

Fried Frog Legs are a very popular dish in South Louisiana. Oh I know “those poor little frogs”, well…. I’ve heard people say ” try them, they taste like chicken”, hey, they taste like frog legs to me…. whatever…

This is a “tight crust” recipe so greasiness is at a minimum!

This recipe will fry about 1 doz. medium Frog Legs.

Frog Leg preparation:Frog Legs

Wash the legs, season them and keep them cool. That’s it.

Wet mix
2 eggs
2/3 cup of milk
1 tbs. Creole Seasoning (your choice)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp. hot sauce
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
Salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Put legs in wet mix. Mix it all up and marinade it for 30 or more minutes in the ice box.

Dry Mix
2 cups corn flour (see note 1) or fish fry, or just plain flour.
3/4 cup cornstarch (makes it stick better)
2 Tbs. Creole Seasoning
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
1/2 tsp. Cayenne
1 tsp lemon and pepper seasoning

Don’t hesitate to adjust any of the above to your liking…

Cooking:

Dredge the legs in the dry mix and let sit a minute or so moving them around just a little. Using a paper bag works good for this too. Just drop the legs in and shake it up a few times.

Use peanut oil, about 2″ in the pan depending upon the pan depth. Heat to 365ºF (hot oil will burn you badly, be careful). Place legs in the oil a few at a time leaving at least a 1/2″ space between pieces. Why? If you pack the pan with too much meat the oil cools too much and that equals soggy legs (not good). Stir them around every 10 seconds or so.Frog Legs

Timing: Cook them about 5 minutes. I watch the bubbling to judge the doneness, I don’t time it. Let them fry until they bubble lightly. If they quit bubbling completely they’re overcooked. With practice you can get each piece done perfectly. You cannot tell how done the legs are by the outer color, it’s all in the bubbles! Check this out….

Remove the legs and place on paper towels. Move them around so the grease is soaked up. Taste one once they’re cooled a little to see if you need to add any seasoning. Transfer them to another pan with more paper towels and cover with paper towels.

Let the oil come back to 350ºF for the next batch! Remember, the oil cools as you cook. If you don’t have a frying thermometer get one, guessing just don’t get it! If the oil gets too hot turn the fire off, or lower, and let it cool to the right temperature. If the oil smokes you’ve probably ruined it. A thermometer prevents all of this trouble.

Note 1: I am lucky enough to be able to get corn flour from a wholesale distributor. A 20lb. sack costs about $5.00. You can also use a commercially sold fish fry mix which uses the same basic ingredients. It’s mostly corn flour (read the ingredients), and comes seasoned and unseasoned. You can also mix corn meal and flour and that works okay too. Corn meal is coarser than corn flour, hence the name, “corn flour”. Corn flour is pulverized corn meal.

Note 2: To keep the food warm put the oven on 200°F (or as low as it will go) and let it warm up about 15 minutes. Cover the legs with paper towels (not plastic wrap) or loosely with foil, turn the oven off, and put the pan in the oven. If you seal the pan with plastic wrap or foil the legs will become soggy. If you leave the oven on they will dry out too much. This only works for so long. After a few re-heats the legs will dry out anyway.

Warning: This is nothin’ but good!

This is just the way I fry frog legs. I’d like to see the way you do it. Send me your recipe.

Enjoy…..
Jack

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Like I said, I don’t like the piece because to me it doesn’t constitute art. But I also have no real problem with it. As I said early on, the Pope should just drop it and let it go.

Its not that big of a deal, and Churches only hurt themselves and draw more attention to it when they make a mountain out of these molehills.

By the way, the word “reoccuring” is incorrectly spelled. It should be “recurring”.

Don’t mean to correct you but you know how Patty apparently is about typographical errors.

After all she spent half the night lambasting me for them, so I wouldn’t want you to incur her wrath.

Both the Frog and beer mug, seem to be a reoccurring theme in his work

Yes, an it is also a recurring theme found in novelty and knick knack shops located in better truck stops and motels all throughout the country.

Yes, I’m sure this “piece” is so much more breath taking in person.

In regards to you insulting the artist’s technique, I would remind you that pictures rarely do carvings and sculptures justice. Also you should take a look at his paintings, this man had command of a huge variety of techniques, and an incredible sense of aesthetics and an interesting use of symbols.

I’d like to thank Prof. Turley for posting this article, for no other reason than that it introduced me to a very interesting artist.

I don’t know much about the artist, but from what I’ve read he seems to have used his some of his work to create controversy and make social commentary, which is pretty par for the course. On the other hand most of the examples I’ve seen of his paintings show that he was well aware of his faults, and was often willing to mock himself, for examples look at his series Self Portraits or the painting I Am Too Political. Both the Frog and beer mug, seem to be a reoccurring theme in his work. The frog as an alter ego and the mug as an acknowledgment of his struggles with alcohol.

The symbol of the Cross is better described as a symbol of Christ’s suffering than as his love. The later interpretation is probably the newer, and an attempt to reconcile a bloody imagery to generations of people that are more removed from death then earlier believers. The suffering of Christ was more or less self inflicted (he could after all have saved himself at any time), but which served a greater good.

SI’d say he probably was aware of how the piece might be taken. He probably even liked the thought, a lot of artists really enjoy shocking the “unwashed masses,” but that doesn’t mean that the piece was meant to mock their beliefs. It might have been a challenge to look past their initial shock to the deeper “truths” of the sculpture.

All the connotations seem to be pointing to a realization that most of his suffering as an artist was self inflicted, but not without a purpose. He was using a mix of religious and secular images to make a statement about his own life.

I switched careers in the early 90’s after studying Medicine.

I make a difference.

So does a tumor.

My patients’ successes are all I need to know

Your “patients”?

A few minutes ago you were claiming to be a lawyer.

Does this mean when you snatch a new client off the ambulance that you treat his injuries too?

I don’t have to prove anything to you

That’s good since you haven’t.

My patients’ successes are all I need to know
I make a difference.

We, the ones holding degrees in Law, are the ones holding the elevated legal discussions here

Really?

Who’s degree are you holding?

As for the “elevated legal discussions” I’ve had with you so far, the only thing I see that may be “elevated” is your blood alcohol level.

We, the ones holding degrees in Law, are the ones holding the elevated legal discussions here.

Really? I’m so proud of you.

Was that this year, or last?

Well, if you’re excusing his repeated typo’s of actual Editorial comments that will be posted as the headline article, then why exactly would you hold “quick unedited COMMENTS” to a higher standard?

Could it be that in lieu of the ability to present a coherent argument in our atheism debate, you are now reduced to juvenile rants about typographical errors?

Once more. When your opponent is reduced to hunting for typographical errors, they have already admitted defeat.

Yours, on the other hand, are repeated examples of ignorance, as a result of poor education and/or general lack of retention skills,
and/or constant inebriation of one variety or another.

At any rate, there isn’t any thing worth savoring here…
PC

p.s. BTW, I was a Spelling Bee ‘Champ’ in my elementary school

You’ve learned a lot of big words the past few nights, haven’t you?

Two syllables and everything.

That is the source of your little tantrum here, correct?

Don’t worry patty. Lots of A-THEISTS don’t know what the word means when claiming to be one.

Now you do.

Your lack of education is only superseded by your general ignorance

I see. Well, since my “typos” are made in quickly written random comments in a blog, and his articles are written as actual Editorial, wouldn’t you think that he would have less of them? I see them regularly.

Or perhaps, could it be, that unlike you, we don’t use spell checkers, and just post our thoughts “first draft” everytime, and assume our readers are erudite enough to know that if we leave out a character or misspell a word that they’ve spelled correctly on numerous other occasions, that clearly they just fat fingered a key?

Anyway no matter. I will readily and proudly admit to my numerous typograpical errors including past, present and future typos surely to come.

Its been wisely said, that once your opponent is reduced to hunting for typographical errors, they’ve already admitted defeat.

And you make a fine little spell checker. Keep up the good work.

We don’t know for sure what the artist intended.

Well, we know what he “said” he intended.

He called it an ironic self portrait that was intended to show his “angst”.

Were his intentions otherwise? Only he knows for sure. A secret he took with him to his grave.

I suspect it was intended as humorous and probably provocative, but only he knows for sure. That it would insult people however he no doubt was aware, unless he was as dull witted as his art.

JT’s typos are minimal and which he clearly admits to because he is busy, and most certainly NOT because he is uneducated – like you, ape…

Your lack of education is only superseded by your general ignorance.

Ok, then advocate me.

Well, let me play devil’s advocate for a moment, here. HA!

We don’t know for sure what the artist intended. What if this artist is trying to say that even a frog is worthy of the type of reverence people give to their gods? Maybe the frog represents nature? Maybe the artist is saying that all living things (or their cute, stuffed representatives) suffer as Christ did.

Maybe the artist is just well intentioned, but naive or ignorant, instead of mean or rude?

Maybe we should give the artist the benefit of the doubt, here?

Just curious.

Righty – O

Mojo credited you with with ‘eloquence’ – Hah!

You can hardly spell! You ‘wreak’ ie ‘REEK’

- LOL and then some…!!!

- The two feet nailed together, first of all, and then the two other ‘feet’, apart, nailed separately, one holding an egg, and the other, instead of a chicken(?), a beer…

Rather than a beer and a IV depiction, it is totally twisted, if not inimitably insane…

… ‘BUT I LIKE IT!’

Do you feel that “The Life of Brian” also mocks the beliefs of hundreds of millions of people?

Of course not. While some Christians are offended by it, most are not.

The Life of Brian was never presented as anything more than zany comedic entertainment, and it was never about Jesus, but a man mistaken for him. It looked at religion and faith in a slapstick sort of way, something the British, if anyone, has a right to do, considering their suffrage under the yoke of the Church of England for centuries.

It did not insult Jesus, but instead looked more at the people who follow, or claim to follow. It certainly was irreverent but it was not mean spirited.

This frog, is not a big deal, and the church should let it go.

But the artist knew what he was doing and no doubt, given his talent equals some of the better peices I’ve seen in better roadside tourist knick knack shops across the country, most likely did it for publicity, and all the church is doing is feeding that publicity by condeming it and demanding it go away.

As I said above, the same protections that permit the church to condemn us all to hell, permit the artist to make muppet models mocking them. I didn’t condemn the artist, although his work is what it is. I condemned the “mean spirited” gleeful mocking by a blogger in here, by calling peoples belief system by calling it a “fairy tale” without any other commentary or purpose, other than to exhalt their own Atheist Belief System above that of the Theists.

What’s your opinion of Monty Python’s “The Life of Brian?”

“crucified or set free?”

“ha ha , just kidding, I’m here to be crucified”.

And to pretend this “piece” is not mocking the beliefs of literally hundreds of millions of people is to dismiss intelligence.

The artist clearly knew what he was doing, however I also thing the pope and others displaying outrage should let it stand. The religion of Jesus never encouraged the stifling of free will, or expression of thought, but in fact encouraged it, so to demand this “artists” “piece” be removed, is to act in an un-Christian-like manner.

This artist is guilty perhaps of “flogging his frog”, and offending a lot of people in the process, but he does so with the same protections the Christian enjoys when he offends the rest of us by proclaiming we’re all headed straight to hell.

What’s your opinion of Monty Python’s “The Life of Brian?”

Making fun of a cherished fairy tale. Sign me up!!

This comment provides a prime example of how the emnity between the Theists and the A-Theists perpetuates.

It is one thing to debate and or dismiss the beliefs of others that do not coincide your own.

But gleefully mocking them just for the sake of mocking them, shows why A-THEISM is really no better than THEISM.

Insulting what someone else feels is sacred, and not in a debating manner, but merely one of juvenile glee, is a hubris all its own.

Actually while Christians indeed see this as a tenet of faith, the untold thousands of people crucified by the Romans in this horrible manner(See history of Spartacus and Israel’s revolts for instance) saw and see this as evidence of the savagery that was Rome. The true barbarian culture of its time, whose only upsides were their fighting and engineering ability. Everything else they borrowed from other cultures, except for civilized natures.

I do not mean to stigmatize Italians since their Renaissance is a much better example of the glory of Italy and its worthiness as a culture.

Carl Jung once remarked that frogs were God’s first attempt at making humans.

Personally, I think the Big Guy got it right the first time and was constrained to create a pair of sin-prone oafs named Adam & Eve; because he wanted to be needed more.

Thus the reason the Big Guy only called on his perfect frogs for the more troublesome cases; like getting the Jews out of Egypt.

But I digress.

You are evil–in a wonderful way!

Inhuman bastards!

But where are the frogs?

There ought to be frogs.

Quick, send in the frogs.

http://www.latimes.com/features/la-on-frog29-2008aug29,1,3528463.story