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Center for Biological Diversity

Center for Biological Diversity

Painting with words

One Sunday my friend Kali and I were sitting in a local bookstore flipping through magazines, and she found one on artistic blogging. That was the motivation for joining the blogging world. There's not much of a map for traveling around in this world, and it's easy to get lost. But I have discovered some amazing blogs. And it's all so beautifully visual. For example, check out intothehermitage.blogspot.com. But I'm not that visually creative. When I color, I color inside the lines. Even when I knit, I tend to follow a pattern.

I like words.

Words can be sarcastic, witty. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" (Pride and Prejudice). They can be sharp-edged and capable of cutting: "Lady Bertram did not like at all to have her husband leave her; but she was not disturbed by any alarm for his safety, or solicitude for his comfort, being one of those persons who think nothing can be dangerous or difficult, or fatiguing to any body but themselves" (Mansfield Park).

Words are powerful.

Words can be heavy, like a brick dropping on your foot. Words can be light, like the shade of blue in the early mornings this time of year in Florida, or like the cotton candy that melts in your mouth and leaves you running your tongue over your teeth to catch the sugar flavor.

You can jump into a bucket of words and make them overflow. But if you throw words at someone, throw them gently. They can really hurt.

Jane Austen and pets

I was checking my email and Barnes and Noble are advertising the Nook, which is a new ebook reader. The page showing on the Nook just happens to be the first page of Pride and Prejudice.

Then again, there was also an ad for Sarah Palin's new "future bestseller". Yeesh.

There's a display in the UCF library as you walk in with images of Cuba. One picture shows a woman in her doorway. She doesn't look happy. What I noticed was the heavily barred window with the nondescript medium sized tan dog standing on the inside of the window looking out through the bars at her.

What do this dog and Lars have to do with Jane Austen?


Nothing.


There's not much in the Jane Austen literature to suggest pets were a part of her life. During my trip to England (my self arranged Jane Austen tour, that is) there were no descriptions of any pets in any of the Jane Austem museums or homes that I visited. Dogs do have cameos in the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice, but I am pretty sure that this is a cinematic decision, and the dogs are all large and mostly likely working dogs. Plus, they are only shown at the homes of the people w/ money: Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy. In Mansfield Park there is the only mention of a pet that I can recall in any of her books. Fanny Price goes to live at the home of a very rich relative, and his wife is constantly asleep w/ her pug in her lap. When the family is trying to convince Fanny to marry Henry the cad, she wakes up and states that Fanny can have a puppy from pug's next litter, which is more than her own daughter, Maria, received. The comment is completely out of the blue and has nothing to do with the discussion. The implication is that she approves of Fanny marrying Henry more than she approved of Maria's marriage.

That this ridiculous situation is the only time Ms. Austen writes about pets suggests that they were a novelty, frivolous, and a luxury only for the rich. She herself did not have money to spare.


But I think pets are far from ridiculous. Everyone should have something to pet, and studies (which I am not going to cite for you) show that having a pet can reduce stress. So I have to disagree with her. Sorry, Jane.


But please remember to adopt, and spay or neuter.

Little Drummer Dog

I found out yesterday that I've been approved for another apartment. So now I will be packing and sorting (along w/ school and work). I will be leaving the last place I lived with Jake. It's been 10 months and I still miss him. I remember the first time I went to Petsmart to buy food just for Lars, about a week later, and the poor cashier asked how many dogs I had. I couldn't answer. But it may be time to admit that I have just one dog, and his name is Lars. I have one dog named Lars. I have a dog.... sigh.

So here he is. Once I've figured out more of this technical stuff, and get more batteries for the digital camera there will be more pictures in the album in the previous link. His story is this: I was working at the vet, and this woman brought in this 6 month old puppy (claimed he was pure Chihuahua, but we knew better) because he was vomiting etc. The doctor felt his stomach and took x-rays and found that he had coins in his stomach. She tried to get him to vomit them up throughout the day, but determined that surgery was going to be necessary the next day. The woman couldn't afford any of his care, not even the x-rays. She signed him over so we could find him a home, and I agreed to adopt him. He did end up vomiting the coins over the night. Turns out there was a quarter, a dime, a nickel and several pennies. It was the pennies that were harmful: they were so pitted that it was obvious a lot of the zinc was in his system. After blood transfusions and chelation medicine (special ordered and picked up from a human pharmacy) he finally pulled through. He needed a new name though, and one of the lab guys stated that since he had all that metal in his system and therefore being heavy metal and all, he should be named after Metallica. So I chose Lars Ulrich (the drummer, of course) and Jason Newsted (yummy!). The lab guy said I couldn't put those names together but I said he was my dog now, and so yes I could. So his name is Lars Jason. He's a Chihuahua mixed with something, maybe terrier. He can destroy toys designed for "powerful chewers" that are much bigger than he is. He actually likes to wear the hoodie I knitted for him. There are no dog clothes on the Metallica site, although even if there were, I'm sure the guys in the band do not want to know there is a Chihuahua named for them.

He's been healthy ever since, though we have been going through a rough patch lately. It's been decided that he may all of a sudden have become allergic to something in his regular treats so he's been deprived of treats for a couple of months now. I found a great website, bbbonz.com, which is all organic and vegan treats. They have cat stuff too. Lars' Yule wish, though he may not know it, is their three month supply of treats. I will be submitting him for their taste testing squad also. It's a great site.

Nobody Knows

My fascination with Netflix is no secret. I can see anything. In the last month, I've reconnected with my childhood with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, saw an old Emma Thompson/Kenneth Branagh flick (Dead Again, don't recommend it), and traveled the world with movies made in Japan, India, and about Argentina. The Japanese movie, Nobody Knows, was about four children who are basically abandoned by their mother and the oldest boy tries to keep them together and surviving. This would be horrible in America, but in Japan, with the emphasis on family, this would be completely unheard of. Supposedly it's based on a true story. It's an amazing movie, but hard to watch. The pivotal moment seems to be when he's in the store paying bills and the machine keeps asking which account he wants to put money in. He buys a video game instead. Gradually all the services are shut off. But it's hard to blame him. He's only twelve, and presumably wants to be a child.

The Indian film is directed by Gurinder Chadha, who did Bend It Like Beckham. She's quickly becoming my director to watch. It's an Indian musical interpretation of Pride and Prejudice called Bride and Prejudice. Overall, fun! Lalita is not as likeable as Elizabeth Bennet, but changing Mr. Collins' name to an Indian Mr. Kholi was a great touch. Definitely a worthy addition to the Jane Austen film genre.

Michelle showed me that you can get exercise videos and TV shows also. I'm on the third season of Wonder Woman (quote: I've got the best idea since women's suffrage). Netflix is my friend. I think I'm addicted.

Nick Hornby

I was looking at my movie collection the other day and realized that evidently I need to break down and read a Nick Hornby book. I was never interested while I was shelving them- they seemed to be aimed at guys, ya know about sports and stuff. But I own High Fidelity (John Cusack!) and About a Boy. I've also watched the English version of Fever Pitch, (Colin Firth!) about rugby, and the American version, about baseball, is next in my Netflix queue. Obviously, I have overlooked reading material, and so my next reading goal will be a Nick Hornby book. Maybe there's something new since my bookstore days. The basic plot: loser guy (whether or not he realizes it) wakes up and realizes other people exist. The epiphany is usually helped along by a woman. Of course.


OMG! It's Jane.
What does Nick Hornby have to do with Jane Austen? Colin Firth, duh. He's the ultimate Mr. Darcy, and he's in the English Fever Pitch. Silly question!

The first one

You used to be able to write books as if they were journals. Been there, done that. Read it also. Take Bridget Jones' Diary, for example. Nowadays, though, if you're going to develop a character, you have to think about what she would blog. But if Bridget Jones had blogged instead of keeping a diary, then Mark Darcy would have know much earlier how much she hated him and there would have been no story. I have always wondered why anyone would need to blog and have everything just hanging out there for everyone else to see. But it's time to plug my nose and jump into the 21st century. I hope I don't drown. I figure if no one reads this, it's just like a journal anyway.