Fur

IT WAS disheartening to read that Scott Brown already feels he's the underdog in the upcoming Senate election ("Brown seeks underdog role," Metro, Dec. 29), even though the primary election to determine his opponent has yet to be held. I think the senator is barking up the wrong tree. According to Wikipedia's summary of election results, between 2004 and 2010 the re-election rate for incumbent US senators averaged 86.4 percent. That's a lot of ground to give up in just one year of field trials, especially for a former show dog and champion, but Brown claims to have done it. Perhaps he should instead reframe...

Some jokes are purely pictorial. They don't require cartoon captions. Explaining them in words would be like dousing a dancing flame. This picture is just such a joke. It's also some kind of masterpiece. Called "Shopping for Furs," it's by Polly Thayer, a Boston native who died at the age of 101 in 2006. It was acquired this spring by the Boston Athenaeum. Just look at this marvelous dame! Thick-set but well-kept, she sits slumped in a brightly upholstered chair, her lemon top zinging in harmony with the chair's pink, mulberry-stain stripes.

A few years ago, the director Steven Shainberg and screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson gave us ‘‘Secretary,’’ the story of an office assistant whose duties included receiving spankings from her boss. Now Shainberg and Wilson have moved on to another tale of a sexual surrender in which a glorified helper finds herself in a sexual noodle with a weird man. The woman happens to be the photographer Diane Arbus and the man is covered, from scalp to sole, in hair. But for ‘‘Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus’’ to work (and it does not)

Alaska polar bears are losing their fur and U.S. Geological Survey scientists don't know why. In the past two weeks, nine of 33 bears checked by scientists in the southern Beaufort Sea region near Barrow were found to have alopecia — loss of fur — and skin lesions, said Tony DeGange, chief of the biology office at the USGS Science Center in Anchorage. Three of four bears inspected Thursday near Kaktovik showed the symptoms as well. Scientists have been collecting blood and tissue samples from the afflicted bears, but they do not know the cause or the significance of the...

Alaska polar bears are losing their fur and U.S. Geological Survey scientists don't know why. In the past two weeks, nine of 33 bears checked by scientists in the southern Beaufort Sea region near Barrow were found to have alopecia — loss of fur — and skin lesions, said Tony DeGange, chief of the biology office at the USGS Science Center in Anchorage. Three of four bears inspected Thursday near Kaktovik showed the symptoms as well. Scientists have been collecting blood and tissue samples from the afflicted bears, but they do not know the cause or the significance of the...

Designer and contemporary consignment chain Second Time Around will host a sale of new, refurbished, and pre-owned designer fur outerwear. Fur haters, hide your eyes -- but luxe labels like J.Mendel, Louis Feraud, and Oscar de la Renta will line racks with more than 100 of their designs at discounted prices at the store's Atrium Mall location. The sale runs from Friday through Sunday but if you're on the hunt for a coveted sable cape or a crystal fox fur bomber, we suggest arriving ready to rumble.

Hugh Dancy has been tapped to star opposite Nina Arianda when "Venus in Fur" hits Broadway. Producers said Monday that Dancy will be in Manhattan Theatre Club's production playing a playwright. He has appeared in HBO's "Elizabeth I" and Showtime's "The Big C. " Performances begin Oct. 13 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on 47th Street. The show will run until Dec. 18. The play by David Ives made its world premiere off-Broadway in January 2010. In the play, an actress' audition for a new play based on an erotic novel gets emotional and kinky.

For their first film together, the artist Matthew Barney and his life partner, the musician Björk, have settled on a simple tale of boy meets girl. Separately, each climbs aboard a great big Japanese whaling ship, partakes in what seems like an extreme spa day (hers includes a bath with whole lemons, his involves a radical eyebrow shave), and is stuffed into an ornately hairy costume. It's all part of the ancient Shinto wedding rite that our lovers undergo for Barney's "Drawing Restraint 9," a project whose obvious peculiarity and impenetrable ambitions come from another...

A central Pennsylvania couple say they've captured a purple squirrel in their backyard. Jersey Shore resident Percy Emert says he and his wife, Connie, caught the purple squirrel Sunday in a trap with peanuts. He says even the insides of its ears were purple. Photos of the purple squirrel ended up online. The couple say they released the squirrel Tuesday. They say a state game warden later took samples of purple fur left in its cage and trimmed from its tail. A Pittsburgh Zoo curator who saw a photo of the squirrel on his cellphone says he...

LENOX -- For some people, "winter getaway" means hopping a plane to the Caribbean. But for those who actually enjoy cold weather, it can mean getting out into the woods to see how they have changed since the leaves fell. With luck, some snow will cover the ground, outlining the bare branches and revealing, in crystalline clarity, the footprints of the animals who prowl more discreetly in other seasons. The Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Lenox promises a treat for those who savor the season and its secrets.

That's not really Slash from Guns N' Roses standing with Fox 25's Maria Stephanos. It's Boston's Chris Elias pretending to be Slash at the "2012 Fur Ball: A Dance Party for Animals in Need," a benefit for the Animal Rescue League of Boston. The Friday night event, which was organized by Elias (who happens to run Fenway Park's Green Monster scoreboard), was held at the House of Blues. Auction items included tickets for Roger Waters at Fenway Park. Stephanos served as emcee.

A central Pennsylvania couple say they've captured a purple squirrel in their backyard. Jersey Shore resident Percy Emert says he and his wife, Connie, caught the purple squirrel Sunday in a trap with peanuts. He says even the insides of its ears were purple. Photos of the purple squirrel ended up online. The couple say they released the squirrel Tuesday. They say a state game warden later took samples of purple fur left in its cage and trimmed from its tail. A Pittsburgh Zoo curator who saw a photo of the squirrel on his...

IT WAS disheartening to read that Scott Brown already feels he's the underdog in the upcoming Senate election ("Brown seeks underdog role," Metro, Dec. 29), even though the primary election to determine his opponent has yet to be held. I think the senator is barking up the wrong tree. According to Wikipedia's summary of election results, between 2004 and 2010 the re-election rate for incumbent US senators averaged 86.4 percent. That's a lot of ground to give up in just one year of field trials, especially for a former show dog and champion, but Brown claims to have done it. Perhaps he should instead reframe...

West Hollywood has approved an ordinance that bans the sale of fur clothing, becoming what is believed to be the first U.S. city to enact such a law. Council deputy Michelle Rex says the precedent-setting ordinance received final approval early Tuesday. The ban would affect sales of clothing made from the skin or pelt of animals with hair, wool or fur. Rex says the ordinance wouldn't take effect until 2013. The city has yet to decide what the penalties may be for violators.

Designer and contemporary consignment chain Second Time Around will host a sale of new, refurbished, and pre-owned designer fur outerwear. Fur haters, hide your eyes -- but luxe labels like J.Mendel, Louis Feraud, and Oscar de la Renta will line racks with more than 100 of their designs at discounted prices at the store's Atrium Mall location. The sale runs from Friday through Sunday but if you're on the hunt for a coveted sable cape or a crystal fox fur bomber, we suggest arriving ready to rumble.

PICK OF THE DAY Wing-ing it The Museum of Fine Arts celebrates its new Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art with documentaries honoring works on view by Ellsworth Kelly, Alex Katz, and El Anatsui. The MFA Film Program Celebrates Contemporary Art screens ‘‘Alex Katz: Five Hours" and ‘‘Ellsworth Kelly: Fragments" tomorrow at 4 p.m., followed at 6 p.m. by ‘‘Fold Crumble Crush: The Art of El Anatsui. " Sept. 21 at 4 p.m. (through Sept. 24; check website for additional screenings)

PICK OF THE DAY Wing-ing it The Museum of Fine Arts celebrates its new Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art with documentaries honoring works on view by Ellsworth Kelly, Alex Katz, and El Anatsui. The MFA Film Program Celebrates Contemporary Art screens ‘‘Alex Katz: Five Hours" and ‘‘Ellsworth Kelly: Fragments" tomorrow at 4 p.m., followed at 6 p.m. by ‘‘Fold Crumble Crush: The Art of El Anatsui. " Sept. 21 at 4 p.m. (through Sept. 24; check website for additional screenings)

The De Vil wears Dior. But she wants to wear puppies. Let’s face it, the oft-told tale of those 101 spotty pooches has always served mainly as an opportunity to drink in the sheer, delicious villainy of Cruella De Vil. With her whatever-it-takes approach to fashion, she is one of the meanest baddies ever to flick cigarette ash on an underling. To see her is to get a sudden chill, indeed. One problem with “The 101 Dalmatians Musical,’’ now playing at the Citi Wang Theatre, is that we don’t see enough of the fair Ms. De Vil. This is doubly disappointing...

Hugh Dancy has been tapped to star opposite Nina Arianda when "Venus in Fur" hits Broadway. Producers said Monday that Dancy will be in Manhattan Theatre Club's production playing a playwright. He has appeared in HBO's "Elizabeth I" and Showtime's "The Big C. " Performances begin Oct. 13 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on 47th Street. The show will run until Dec. 18. The play by David Ives made its world premiere off-Broadway in January 2010. In the play, an actress' audition for a new play based on an erotic novel gets emotional and kinky.

HANDSOME FURS With Earthquake Party at Brighton Music Hall on Wednesday, 9 p.m. Tickets: $13. 800-745-3000. www.ticketmaster.com The cover of the Handsome Furs' new album features a woman standing stark naked in the dim lights of a nighttime highway overpass. Like the origins of grimy dance-pop on the record, that concrete interchange could be anywhere or everywhere. Maybe she's stranded in Berlin or wandering through Hong Kong, or maybe she's milling about under McGrath Highway.