Sunday, September 6, 2009

Otis and the Bird

We've covered plenty of fanciful imagery here, so it's nice to profile something straight out of, you know, reality.

A pig and chicken cowboy, hats pulled down low, just lazing by the fire after a full day's… work?

As The Bird hoists the rotgut, Otis offers up the traditional cowboy toast: a slab of the cook and good wishes for a manly death, painless or otherwise.

Beneath a blanket of starlight, a snake (only the third ever profiled) huddles close.

The whole thing is so realistic, you have to look closely to see that it's not a photograph; it's a drawing!

Having made that discovery, we realized that maybe some of the details of the scene are actually fictional. First off, in real life, pigs and chickens are seldom employed as cowboys. And—from everything we've ever learned—the ones who are wouldn't be propping themselves up on logs around the campfire. No, sir! They'd be smack-dab in the middle of the fire, where nothing is left to chance! And, if those livestock/cowpokes are anything like the hundreds of animals we've come to know so well, they could also be counted on to strangle the snake and drag him into the flames behind them!

Sometimes we just don't know who to believe.

7 comments:

Bea Elliott said...

Oh it's always such a relief to get a chuckle here... Thanks for being up at all hours! :)

Anonymous said...

I am not sure what to think here. I happen to know this exact picture as it is the representation of a BBQ team I happen to know. This is not a photo as anyone can see its only a caricature of a scenario all to familiar. For someone to compare it to reality is going beyond sane. The image is used to identify that which is used in the very concept it is used for. Pork, Poultry and Beef are all used in BBQ competitions. The snake represents the "out in the desert" visual. For it to be considered "2 nooses= appalling" by this site is about as petty as one can get. If your offended by the consumption or image of the meat portrayed here, I can respect that and agree to differ. But to adulterate this image as a portrayal of the lifestyle of non-vegans borders on the ridiculous in a way I have not yet seen before. Find something better to do in life, this is just plain stupid, IMHO.

miles said...

Anonymous- How could you possibly not notice the blatant sarcasm? It's hardly subtle.

Desdemona said...

Anonymous~thanks for making my day. It was only upon close examination that I realized you're absolutely right; that's NOT a photograph! (What was your first clue? The cowboy outfits, or the fact that pigs and chickens don't usually play an active role in cooking themselves?)

Anonymous said...

hahahahahaha, oh anonymous, you joker you.

Erika said...

I myself have found it extremely difficult to discern between illustrations and photographs since I went vegan.

Ben said...

Please see this post for elucidation.