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Monday, July 12, 2004

Simian

Everybody has their quirks, and one of mine is that I don't like to see animals dressed up in clothing or depicted as having too much of a human quality. I'm not sure where this strange quirk originates from, draw your own psychological conclusions, but seeing animals behave too much like people have always given me a bad taste in my mouth.

Moreover, I also despise when either TV or movies portray animals talking by moving their mouths. It's unnatural, it looks stupid, and I assuredly am not convinced that the animals are actually talking.

This is not to say that I cannot enjoy a Donald Duck cartoon simply because he wears a sailor shirt and a hat, or that I cannot watch Shrek because the donkey talks. That's not it. Cartoons are fine. What irks me is when real animals are dressed up in a full regalia of clothes or when real animals are portrayed too closely like humans. I'm sure my inexplicable dislike for monkeys stems from this quirk.

So, the hospital that I work at has a large hallway that connects the atrium and clinic side of the building to the hospital proper. Along one wall of the hallway, the hospital has decided to display a series of paintings, pictures, or photographs by a local artist that they select on a bi-weekly basis. It's a nice way to dress up an otherwise dull hallway, and it also gives a local artist a chance to display their work and possibly sell a piece or two.

Today I happened to notice that the particular group of art portrayed on the wall were very colorfully illustrated drawings of some sort. Closer examination revealed that these were drawings of animals behaving like humans: Bunnies dressed in motherly clothes baking bread, a dog in overalls driving a tractor, two cats dressed like children playing hopscotch.

I recoiled in immediate disgust, and hurriedly continued walking.