Slog - Comments on This Just In, Too... http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too An elephant paints a picture! Of an elephant! Holding a flower in its trunk! Somebody contain me. I am apt to explode with amazement. Oh, and this is sort of real, as far as I know. I don't do "April Fools". And I have no idea how old it is, so if you've seen it before, hooray for you!... Copyright 2008 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:24:18 -0800 Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:51:38 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by apostrophes "Its" trunk, not "it's" trunk.

]]> apostrophes http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987232 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987232 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:38:40 -0800 Comment by Justin It's the pachydermal reincarnation of Henri Matisse!

]]> Justin http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987236 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987236 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:40:00 -0800 Comment by mk I saw the thumbnail on the google video homepage yesterday, so it can't have been released today. this was the first time i've watched it, and wow.

]]> mk http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987245 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987245 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:45:37 -0800 Comment by Bellevue Ave how long do you think they took to train it to do that?

]]> Bellevue Ave http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987254 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987254 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:51:41 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle My question is: Did it use organic paints? Or were they lead-based?

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987273 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987273 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:02:51 -0800 Comment by Bob Ross's Rotted Corpse Umm, the "clever" use of camera angle and zoom sort of indicates the faux nature of this stunt.

]]> Bob Ross's Rotted Corpse http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987280 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987280 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:06:30 -0800 Comment by Chris Elephants can recognize themselves in mirrors too. Slow != dumb.
http://www.livescience.com/animals/061030_elephant_mirror.html

]]> Chris http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987282 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987282 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:07:59 -0800 Comment by Chris More here:
http://www.elephantartgallery.com/learn/

]]> Chris http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987286 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987286 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:11:52 -0800 Comment by duncan now I've seen everything.

]]> duncan http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987291 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987291 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:16:09 -0800 Comment by Mr Fuzzy That's an ugly-ass elephant.

I've seen some other paintings by elephants (maybe this same one), though, and it's really neat.

]]> Mr Fuzzy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987292 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987292 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:17:54 -0800 Comment by eclexia Please have Mr. Mudede review this painting.

And here is more info:
http://www.elephantart.com/catalog/thailand.php

]]> eclexia http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987313 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987313 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:37:44 -0800 Comment by Jason Petersen I click on Adrian's name and it takes me to a page called "Articles by Adrian Ryan". I'm confused though: nothing linked to from that page looks like an article.

Can someone help me here? Has Adrian ever written anything real? Or anything not referring to some internet video that made the rounds two years ago?

Thanks for your time.

P.S. Mudede reviewing this would at least add something to the noise on the internet; I'd read it. I might even like it.

Nevermind that, as mentioned, the camera angles make this highly suspect (though I don't think it's out of the question for an elephant).

]]> Jason Petersen http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987319 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987319 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:43:06 -0800 Comment by gawker http://gawker.com/374396/somebody-figure-out-if-this-elephant-is-really-painting-a-self+portrait

]]> gawker http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987363 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987363 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:18:36 -0800 Comment by Andrew I've seen the paintings on an world indigenous crafts website from which I bought a mask. It was a couple years ago, so I can't remember the site's name.

]]> Andrew http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987365 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987365 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:19:20 -0800 Comment by STJA At moment 2:11 it's tough for me to see how this could NOT be an elephant doing something with its trunk. Too bad the internet age has made us all skeptics.

I think it's real.

]]> STJA http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987369 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987369 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:21:01 -0800 Comment by adrian dear number 12:
close your mouth, darling. your stupid is showing.

]]> adrian http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987375 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987375 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:25:21 -0800 Comment by Schweighsr Unfortunately the elephant was trying to paint a picture of an alligator...

]]> Schweighsr http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987419 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987419 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:08:49 -0800 Comment by Sargon Bighorn Everyone can now enjoy art, it's cheap and made by an elephant possessed by Satan.

]]> Sargon Bighorn http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987478 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987478 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:55:41 -0800 Comment by meatwhichdreams It's quite beautiful, but I think the elephant must have been carefully trained to make this one single recognizable image. All the other elephant art looks pretty similar to gorilla art - lots of abstract wiggles and lines and colors - and is probably what they would do before you trained them. Of course, elephants have to be ridiculously intelligent to learn how to paint like that, so, yeah. This is really cool.

]]> meatwhichdreams http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987528 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987528 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:47:06 -0800 Comment by todd What's really amazing is that the next thing the elephant painted was a written statement: (sloggers, fill in the blank)

"____________________________________________"

]]> todd http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987616 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987616 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:26:15 -0800 Comment by bemaha From the website's bio page on Hong (the artist):
"Just for clarification, with these realistic figural works, the elephant is still the only one making the marks on the paper but the paintings are learned series of brushstrokes not Hong painting a still life on her own."

]]> bemaha http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987631 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987631 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:18:51 -0800 Comment by The CHZA The fact that they can learn things like that is cool nonetheless.

]]> The CHZA http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987636 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987636 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:25:38 -0800 Comment by NapoleonXIV @20:

All your base are belong to us.....

]]> NapoleonXIV http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987643 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987643 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:40:30 -0800 Comment by JME Isn't there a gallery in Pioneer Square that sells paintings done by an elephant? or was it a primate? This is so several years ago.

]]> JME http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987663 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987663 ??!! Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:19:17 -0800 Comment by Gabe That's not an elephant painting. That's the Cloverfield monster.

]]> Gabe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987949 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/this_just_in_too#c987949 ??!! Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:51:38 -0800