Today we have an extra-special furkid friday/Shout Out two-fer! (Dogs and books, books and dogs; throw in pizza and netflix, and that’s all you really need in life, amirite folks?) I even redesigned the old Colbert Report SHOUT OUT! graphic for the occasion!

Animated gifs, they’re all the rage. Alas, I was lazy and in a hurry and only used four frames for this one, so it’s a bit choppy. But still, animated Stephen! Times two!

The props go to Columbia University Press, which kindly sent me a copy of Creaturely Poetics: Animality and Vulnerability in Literature and Film by Anat Pick, a senior lecturer in film and program leader for film and video: theory and practice at the University of East London. From the book’s back cover:

Exploring the “logic of flesh” and the use of the body to mark species identity, Anat Pick reimagines a poetics that begins with the vulnerability of bodies, not the omnipotence of thought. Pick proposes a “creaturely” approach based on the shared embodiedness of humans and animals and a postsecular perspective on human-animal relations. She turns to literature, film, and other cultural texts, challenging the familiar inventory of the human: consciousness, language, morality, and dignity. Elaborating on such themes as witnessing, commemoration, and collective memory, Pick identifies the animal within all humans, emphasizing the corporeal and its issues of power and freedom. Through her poetics of the creaturely, powerlessness is the point at which aesthetic and ethical thinking must begin.

This looks like an interesting read for those concerned with how portrayals of nonhumans in pop culture – literature, film, television – both reflect and inform societal attitudes and ethics towards our fellow sentient beings. (In other words, me!) If you’d like to learn more, check out the book’s listing on Columbia University Press.

I tried my best to snap a photo of Peedee and/or O-Ren with Creaturely Poetics – mock reading it, or some such other cutesy silliness – but neither was feeling very cooperative. (Too hot!)

That’s okay, though; truth be told, I wasn’t trying that hard anyway. (TOO HOT! Seriously, have I mentioned how hot it’s been lately? We’re looking at a week of 90 degree weather with 70%+ humidity. Ick!)

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In which Jayne comes face-to-face with her great white whale, known to the humans as “Lemmy.”

Actually, some days they spend hours this way, scoping out one another from their respective sides of the dog/cat boundary line. Lemmy knows enough to stay away from Jayne when there’s not an insurmountable obstacle preventing her from mauling him – but from his side of the glass, he becomes quite the provocateur: taking swipes at her, rolling around playfully (and occasionally right off the desk he uses for a perch), yawning and showing off his kitten belly and general lack of fear. And all she can do is quiver! High comedy, I tell you what. The two should star in a buddy film together.

Shane: Hey, come look at this! See Lemmy’s new favorite spot? [In the closet, sandwiched into my old monitor stand.]
Me: OMG, that’s ADORABLE! Did you get a picture? You have to take a picture!
Shane: [pause] I’m not gonna be one of those people who shares cat pictures online.
Me: What! I’m one of those people!
Shane: ….
Me: Well, I’m taking a picture then.

I bet he’ll share this post on Facebook.

is dejected: “Popcorn, y u b so unreachable?”

Ditto: mom, who’s similarly flailing at a new DSLR camera, which will vastly improve the quality of her food and furkid photos. Yeah, ’cause clearly it’s the camera – and only the camera – that’s to blame!

Epilogue: Don’t worry, mom to the rescue! Rennie’s frustrated nomz syndrome is no more.

Scenes of compassion, consideration and love from my own life.
Counterclockwise, from top-left: the family of geese who shared “my” pond last year,
and who have returned again this season (no goslings yet though!);
my sister Michelle and brother Mike cuddle and comfort our canine sibling Shadow
shortly after surgery to repair her shattered back leg;
Ralphie and I share a moment during a sentimental visit to
our old neighborhood in Fairport, NY; and
a mother cow licks her baby clean.
Sadly, both were the property of our former landlords, and are most likely ground beef by now. It was a privilege to live next to such lovely creatures – but one constantly clouded by sadness and despair, given their near-certain fate. The knowing can be painful; but the not knowing is far, far worse. Go vegan, for you and for them.
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One does not need to be human to feel the deep-seated instinct to protect her babies, to seek the warmth of one’s mother. When animal advocates point out the obvious – that mothers and their babies suffer profoundly when they are separated, that harming one’s baby causes emotional trauma to the mother – we are accused of anthropomorphizing. We are portrayed as having centers as squishy as marshmallows, as having naive, sentimental, childish minds. In fact, it is a cold biological imperative, not just an emotional one, that drives a mother to want to nurture and protect her young: entire species would be wiped out if not for a mother’s instinct to defend her babies. I think, though, that it’s highly arrogant and self-serving to presume that humans alone have an emotional stake in their babies’ livelihoods. [...]

One also doesn’t need to be a mother to be deeply driven to protect another. Long before I ever had a baby, I felt the same kind of adrenaline surge when someone intentionally whipped a hard rubber ball at my dog as I would have if he had done that same thing years later to my son. I chased that guy down the beach, screaming at him, and he ran away as if his life depended on it. Maybe it did. I’m a non-violent person, but you don’t mess with the ones I love.

For Mother’s Day, I propose that we honor this natural drive within all of us to protect the ones we love, the ones who depend on our consideration, by not consuming the products of exploitation and cruelty. This common thread of wanting our babies to thrive is natural and noble, a key part of our essential being. Whether we are men or women, children or adults, human or hen, that universal mother is in all of us. Let’s celebrate without exploiting another innocent mother who had not only the autonomy of her body but also her babies stolen from her for our appetites. Let’s connect to that profound mothering spirit that links us together. She wants her babies to be well and protected from harm. I think we can understand.

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone.

….with extra special hugs and kisses (and a few odd few bitter tears) to Miss Kaylee, of course.*

* Usually I stick with the status-neutral “Ms.,” but Kaylee prefers “Miss.” It makes her feel young, yo!

** The quote is excerpted from The Universal Mother… by Marla Rose, the one and only Vegan Feminist Agitator. Read and share, please and thanks.

I’m forever amazed (and amused) at the degree to which the rat terriers – particularly Rennie and Peedee – are able to bend and twist their noses whilst sniffing a scent on the breeze. So flexible, it’s almost as if they’re made of rubber!

I mean holy Ceiling Cat, Rennie must have her nose cocked at a 15-20 degree angle here! You can practically see an invisible pair of fingers twisting it to the side.

I didn’t manage to photograph an equally impressive example for Peedee yesterday, but this one gives you an idea:

That little pink strip running down the middle of his nose? It should be perfectly vertical. His poo sensors must be kicking in, for it to be all off-kilter like that.

That is all.

boil down to this:

GRRRRRRRR!!!!!

He’s a grumpy old fart, just like mom!

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Me: Okay, the afternoon sun is shining on your side of the house.
IT’S PICTURE TIME!

Lemmy: Silly human. The only times I recognize are “mealtime” and “playtime” and, since I don’t see any nomz around, YOU WILL ENTERTAIN ME.

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This week I spent a few (much-needed) lazy afternoons outside, alternately napping and chasing the dogs around the yard, camera in hand. I can’t remember why, but I thought it might be fun to take some “macro” shots of the dogs and all their adorable little body parts: eyes, noses, behinds, ears, legs, tummies.* (Lever 2000, holla!) Now I realize that this might make for an awfully cool art project – print and display my favorites in uniform sizes and frames, arranging them on a single wall to make one larger exhibit. I just need to find an available wall!

And more pictures of Ralphie: of all five dogs, the 13-year-old, one-eyed wiener dog proved hardest to catch on camera. Go figure.

Ralphie butt, on the move!
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Not very macro, but here’s a decent look at Ralphie’s missing eye.
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Ralphie shoulder, complete with extra skin rolls!
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