[FEL-L] Re: [Phoenix_Exotics] Decorative lion statues a bit too realistic, get ousted

[Ray]

This is stupid but not a first. I think I posted the story here about the 
stone lions at a Canadian park that were "neutered" with jack hammers after 
a woman protested about their "maleness."

Some people would seem to be threatened by it...

Questions: Who makes them? What? No pictures?

Ray

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <SOUTHZOO at AOL.COM>
To: <Phoenix_Exotics at yahoogroups.com>
Cc: <The_FCF at yahoogroups.com>; <felines-l at catbox.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 21, 2006 10:33 PM
Subject: [Phoenix_Exotics] Decorative lion statues a bit too realistic, get 
ousted


> Decorative lion statues a bit too realistic, get ousted
> Scott Wong
> The Arizona Republic
> Oct. 21, 2006  12:00 AM
>
> The eight lifelike lion statues across from what  soon will be Arizona's
> largest cineplex apparently are a bit too lifelike for  some tastes.
>
> Guarding the entrances of a children's water fountain park  at a West 
> Valley
> retail project, the concrete beasts are depicted raising their  rumps in 
> the
> air, each with a terror-stricken ram trapped under it in what some 
> perceive as
> a sexually suggestive pose.
>
> And as work crews point out, the  lions' tails are swished to the side,
> leaving their, er, pride in plain view.
>
> Glendale Councilwoman Joyce Clark hasn't seen the statues but doesn't 
> think
> they're appropriate for a family park.
>
> "I can see children getting  an instant lesson in the birds and the bees,
> which maybe their parents wouldn't  want them to have," she said.
>
> Clark and others need not worry. No  children or other members of the 
> public
> will be exposed to the lions.
>
> Developer Ellman Cos., which is building the Westgate shopping and
> entertainment plaza, said the statues will be gone before the center 
> welcomes  its
> first customers next month.
>
> "We're removing more than the anatomy,"  company spokesman Jeffrey Hecht
> said. "We're removing all the  lions."
>
> Hecht said Ellman was not pressured to get rid of the beasts.  Rather, the
> company decided to return the statues to the manufacturer when they 
> arrived.
>
> "(The statues) represent too much of a gargoyle or medieval feel  that was
> out of place from the Arizona Deco architecture of the center," he  said.
>
> In addition to ditching the lions, Ellman plans to swap out some  potted
> plants, experiment with new lighting fixtures and adjust the center's 
> bright
> paint schemes.
>
> A 20-screen AMC Theatres complex, Gordon Biersch  Brewery restaurant, 
> Coffee
> Plantation and other tenants are set to open Nov. 17  at Westgate City 
> Center,
> north of University of Phoenix Stadium.
>
> For  weeks, construction workers have been making jokes about the lions, 
> but
> they  don't think they should be scrapped.
>
> Biff Bennett, who installs sprinkler  systems at the site, said children
> wouldn't give the lions a second thought.  It's the adults who have their 
> minds in
> the gutter.
>
> "If it's killing a  ram, I don't see anything unnatural with that," the
> Phoenix resident said. "It's  a male lion. Are you going to remove the 
> gonads of a
> lion in the  zoo?"
>
> Hecht said the molded, mass-produced statues were ordered by a  landscape
> architect. The development company is still deciding whether to  replace 
> the
> statues with public art pieces.
>
> "We're still in the design  phase of what we're doing. We're testing
> different items and features to see if  they will work or not," Hecht 
> said. "The
> general consensus is the lions do not  work."
>
>
>
> Reach the reporter at _scott.wong at arizonarepublic.com_
> (mailto:scott.wong at arizonarepublic.com)   or (602) 444-6914.
> _http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/print.php?referer=http://www.azce
> ntral.com/news/articles/1021lion1021.html_
> (http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/print.php?referer=http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1021lion102
> 1.html)
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> Community email addresses:
>  Post message: Phoenix_Exotics at yahoogroups.com
>  Subscribe:    Phoenix_Exotics-subscribe at yahoogroups.com
>  Unsubscribe:  Phoenix_Exotics-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com
>  List owner:   Phoenix_Exotics-owner at yahoogroups.com
>  Website:      http://www.PhoenixExotics.org
>
> Shortcut URL to this page:
>  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenix_Exotics/
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> <*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
>    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenix_Exotics/
>
> <*> Your email settings:
>    Individual Email | Traditional
>
> <*> To change settings online go to:
>    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenix_Exotics/join
>    (Yahoo! ID required)
>
> <*> To change settings via email:
>    mailto:Phoenix_Exotics-digest at yahoogroups.com
>    mailto:Phoenix_Exotics-fullfeatured at yahoogroups.com
>
> <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>    Phoenix_Exotics-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com
>
> <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
>    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>