Wherever American artist Andrew Krasnow displays his maps, cowboy boots, and American flags, controversy is hot on his heels.

artcritical / CC

Why all the fuss, guys? Using human skin donated to medical science to make a nice pair of boots is a use of flesh that we should all throw our weight behind!

While the photos of his work (which he says is intended to question American ethics and values) might make you a wee bit queasy, Krasnow's creations are far more humane and understandable than leather jackets, snakeskin belts and baby-alligator–skin purses (their small heads included). Those turn my stomach because—unlike the folks who donate their bodies to science—cows, snakes, alligators, and other animals did not sign up to have their skins ripped from their bodies.

Krasnow's next show has been commissioned by the U.K. Human Tissue Authority. Hopefully, the protesters howling outside the show will stop to consider the skins used for their own belts and bags.

Posted by Karin Bennett

The nation's fleeting attention was caught today by a story about a Florida woman who was surprised to discover a full-sized alligator nonchalantly wandering around in her kitchen looking for treats. For her troubles, the woman in question—Ms. Sandie Frosti—gets an all-expenses-paid trip to New York to do the talk-show circuit, so everything turned out OK for her.

But what's to become of old Andy the Alligator? Well, according to local authorities, our reptilian friend, who is believed to be a grown-up from a group of baby gators that the neighbors used to feed in the pond, has been bound up and is awaiting slaughter, which will probably come via a knife or ax to the spine, so that he can be paralyzed before they skin him alive to make shoes, belts, and bags out of him.

Which is pretty much the price that animals who don't pass the "cute and cuddly" test always tend to pay in these situations. There's going to be plenty of yukking it up about Ms. Frosti's wacky experience during the talk-show fluff pieces tomorrow morning, so I figured at least somebody should tell the alligator's side of the story. If nothing else, maybe it'll at least serve as a reminder never to buy exotic skins.