Bush's Painting and Putin's Dogs

I think the reason that people talk about the paintings of former President George W. Bush is because we think this is a less controversial topic than his presidency, and might well wonder what might have been if he took up a brush some time before deciding to go into politics. With the unveiling of portraits of world figures, however, the politician and the painter collide.

I find the portrait of Putin to be interesting because Bush has the simple, unfussy style that might come from having taken up art late in life. But in the asymmetry of the face of Vladimir Putin, one wonders if this is a deliberate choice of the artist? Is it possible the painter, Bush, has the ability to "do nuance" that the politician did not?  The observer looks at one face, two faces look back. Not a bad rendering, one might say, of a figure into whose soul one might have supposed to look--and who had yet deeper, more opaque layers, no?

But I find the observation that Putin had a kind of one-upsmanship about his dogs versus the former president's kind of absurd and yet very real. All this shirtless horse-riding and wild animal business suggests an affinity for an idealized hyper-masculinism, so "My dogs are bigger than yours"--as if the size of one's dog is an extension of one's, um, virility? Fits Putin's image So. Much.

(No endorsement of Bush or any of his political works intended, mind you.)

It Came From Beneath The Sea

So, it would probably not surprise my readers too much if I mentioned that I was pretty well influenced by H.P. Lovecraft regarding my estimation of what the creepiness threshhold might be.(HINT: the creepy is everywhere.) As a result, I'm sensitive to the idea the nature itself could be overturned and chaos could take over our expected pardigm of a happy, life-giving planet. I also would not be surprised if the "horror" came from the sea, just as life is supposed to have done. In fact, given that we use the oceans as our dumping ground, I'd be very surprised if there wasn't some horror from the sea that we should very well expect--and thus,  I find that I, like the folks at Grist, appreciate the plucky resolve of the humble jellyfish in their bid to shut down powerplants.

I don't know what it is about powerplants that has attracted the collective wrath of the mucosal marine menace, but I do know that, thanks to global warming, the jelly fish as a variety of lifeform has exploded in population. And I also know that most of our forms of energy have a baleful impact on the rest of the oceanic biota, especially in the form of acidification, which is outright harmful to corals, fish, the whole oceanic foodchain.

Could it be possible that, at this very simple level of evolution, the jellyfish boasts the complexity to follow orders and the simplicity to be subject to primal influences--perhaps originating from the planet, herself? Or, perhaps, some other, ocean-dwelling being(s) of greater complexity?

In other words, are the Deep Ones sending jellyfish into nuclear reactors to fuck shit up?

And if so, is it smart of us tool-using primates to send robots to do battle with them?



I welcome the eventual oceanic cybershoggothic overlords that will cap the oil wells and deliver retribution upon the overreaching monkeyfolks of the future. (No I don't. It sounds terrible. Let's don't provoke them.)

Where the Internet was headed all along--Cat and Sloth

 When I point out that sloths are cute and seem very prone to hugging behaviors, my husband points out that they have long sharp claws. He has a point. Still cute, though. (Ripped off from Buzzfeed. You knew that.)

GPOY: Blue Q "Join Us" Tote

I know, that isn't exactly me--but when I saw a fox drinking wine and talking about grapes with a blue hen on a small tote bag made of recycled material, for some reason, I said "That is very relevant to my interests."

Probably because of the "being relevant to my interests."

Anyhoo, I picked up the lovely "Join us" tote from Blue Q (designed by Carolyn Gavin) when I was at Journeys Gifts in Peddlers Village, and I have to say, it's probably the cheeriest lunch bag I've ever had. Also, I like Blue Q because they seem like a cool manufacturer and their products are some of the cutest. Since this is "Strangely Random Stuff"--I have to point out that their site qualifies as strange, random, and cool stuff. Basically this is kind of an endorsement. Also an excuse to point out the totes cute tote I'm pulling my pears and Lara Bars out of, these days.

(I've ordered a shoulder bag that I may blog about because I'm kind of over expensive leather purses, but still a total mega-purse afficcionada. Bigger the better, I say. This is an affordable way to do the status bag without the status: unaffordable credit card bill.)

I got a Fish--I will show you it--

I didn't really want another fish. At one point, we had a twenty-gallon tank with three fancy goldfish and a ninety-gallon tank with five rambunctious comet fish, and taking care of them all was tiring. A fish tank is an artificial environment that requires regular tending to keep one's charges alive and happy. We gave away the five comets when we had to plan a trip to Italy and couldn't care for them, and the three fancies dwindled by natural attrition. And for awhile, even though we had all this fish equipment around the house, we just weren't having any fishes.

But then the spouse got the urge to start up a tank again, because it is nice, after all, to care for something. It's cheerful to have a pet to talk to and see to and do things for. So we set up a small tank (15 gallons) and now we have a little red-capped fishy. Meatman named him DiLusso. I think this is a very smart and cute fish. Also, I do not think we should have another fish--or move this one to a bigger tank. For my part, I have expressed an urge to clean out the 90 gallon tank for use as a faunarium for a nice reptile or two, like anoles. (We have placed some of our larger, more unwieldy "big tank" filters straight out on the curb--they were unhygenic and frankly--I said to myself "yay!" Because, no....more....big...fishtank! Stinky annoying equipment to wash--away! away!)

I think what I really wanted was no fish at all and all the equipment on the curb. But I already like our fish and all, so zie's staying, and in the meanwhile, I get to clean out the big tank for my own fun critter-related experiement. More work--but sometimes work can be fun. Also, I really like "critters".

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This is old--But Elephant Painting Flowers and other animal tales.

This sort of thing always makes me pause--we aren't the only sentient beings on the planet--we're just the ones most certain that we're the only sentient beings on the planet, because of our privilege as the foremost users of tools and symbolic language. I don't know how an elephant is taught to draw flowers like that.  But I think that it could display an awareness of the elephant's selfhood as a being communicating its impression of the concept of flowers. And that ability to convey perspective is the shrinking of a gulf between humans and other species.

Two stories this week tweaked my attention on this subject:

Hens feel empathy for their chicks:

 If you’ve been looking for a reason to take up vegetarianism, here you go: A new study finds that chickens can feel empathy. Researchers in the UK ruffled the feathers of chicks by exposing them to puffs of air. The result: signs of distress in the chicks … that were also mirrored in their mothers. The hens showed signs of stress including an increased heart rate, a lowered eye temperature, and increased levels of alertness, preening, and clucking at their chicks, the Telegraph reports.

And whales may have names:

Subtle variations in sperm-whale calls suggest that individuals announce themselves with discrete personal identifier. To put it another way, they might have names.



The findings are preliminary, based on observations of just three whales, so talk of names is still speculation. But “it’s very suggestive,” said biologist Luke Rendell of Scotland’s University of St. Andrews. “They seem to make that coda in a way that’s individually distinctive.”

Wow. 

You need a cute--I will show you this video with a dog and deer:

That's adorable--I don't care who you are!

Anderson Cooper wears Bunny Suit for Bonobos.

This is a little funny when Cooper, who is such a serious interviewer, puts on the bunny suit to interact with the bonobos, but this piece actually is really fascinating for showing how our fellow primate near-relation does have some cognitive capacity for understanding language. This sort of thing always fascinates me because to my mind, when we think of homo forms of primate as tool-users, the thing that probably sets us the furthest apart from any other variant seems to be language.

It's impossible to know how far back this useful knack was acquired. We only vaguely know from artifacts like cave paintings when we developed an ability to express ourselves symbolically, but our vocal ability must have anteceded that by hundreds of thousands of years. Which makes me wonder if some earlier form of primate, other than homo sapiens, was the first talker.

I know for sure our less-near relation, dogs, definitely develop an impressive voabulary for spoken commands and read situations in context with surprising precision. Also, I have found that dogs and cats in homes where they are regularly spoken to, will not only sort of look like they are listening, but understand more basic things like pointing and being told to sit or go away even if they aren't inclined to do either, as if they can also "read" what is going on.

Sometimes it seems like a dog can understand "walk after dinner"--even in situations when that isn't the habitual, Pavlovian order. Do they have a sense of time? I've known dogs that have hidden treats "for later". It seems like they can strategize. My parents' current dog, Buster, seems to agonize over the decision to eat a treat or hide it under his cushion. Wheels really do seem to be turning.

For pure "squeee!"--the video has an adorable baby bonobo.

Something really inspirational about a dog--Oogy!

I'm both seriously disgusted with people when I can fathom the idea of a fellow creature being used as a "bait" dog, and then warmed right back up to humankind to know a dog with the serious drawbacks Oogy had could find a "forever family" to rehabilitate him and let him have a happy doggy life. I kind of hope there are more nice people in the world, who would take in Oogy's, than the kind of people who would make a dog like Oogy suffer, hurt, be alone, and even let them die that way.

There are two things that actually make me feel violent--and those things are the injury to innocent animals, and to children. I just think mature, well-adjusted people shouldn't ever want to see any sentient being suffer. And that people who abuse the helpless are bullies--and to me that means "Scum of the earth". You are among the worst of people living if you feel better knowing someone or something is beneath you, and especially so if you act from that. And my experience with dogs mostly tells me that dogs are pretty good "people". They are honest, they are loyal, they are empathetic, and considerate. They try to get along, they show courage, and always return affection.

There are humans who really don't get all that I think dogs know instinctively. They don't get that they are their brothers' keeper, the way guidedogs know. They don't understand that they are a part of a pack--which every dog I ever knew knows.

It's funny--I feel happy for a dog like this who is rescued from certain destruction, but I know people get used, too, and also need rescued. And do we hear those stories, too? Or those of used and abused people, rescued, and called back to our gentle world?

But we understand a dog so much better--how he was misused, and how he was rescued.

And we might let our recognition of what it truly means to be used like a dog, let alone be talked about as one, simmer for another day. Once we grasp what that might mean. And how awful it can be.

Now, this could even be a 'shop, but still-- BIG FISH!!!

Now, this picture is of a mind-bogglingly big goldfish. Something about the hand-position, particularly the left hand's fingers, if you can see'em, makes me think this is a really, really cool Photoshop. But I've raised Comet fish, which are the Koi's boisterous American cousins as far as goldfish go, and I think the fish in this pic is too still to be alive. If he let that thing go, it floated, because what I know about big old goldfish like comets and koi is--they are all swimming muscle. If you snatch them up in a net to move them to a tank for quarantine or whatever, they writhe and make a hell of a fuss. They do not pose for a picture.

On the other hand, I have experienced the weirdness of goldfish growth. It seems like the more room you give them to grow, the more they do. I know they can be pretty self-sufficient in man-made ponds, so I can easily imagine them thriving in lakes given the opportunity. But part of their coloring is enhanced by the commercial feed they get. So I kind of think if they were let go in a lake or large natural pond, they wouldn't be as pretty as the big ol' boy in this pic is because their color would fade a bit. But maybe having been bred for color, a truly orange/red koi might hang on to the color, too.

Anyway, as a fish-fancier, I thought that was a really neat picture.

New turtle species discovered in US river

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Scientists have announced the surprise discovery of a new turtle species -- not in some far-off exotic location, but in the southeastern United States.

Northern Arizona University researchers say finding the new turtle in a familiar environment proves that even in a country considered well explored, more new species could still be awaiting discovery, a university release said Wednesday.

Discovered in the Pearl River that flows through Louisiana and Mississippi on its way to the Gulf of Mexico, the newly named Pearl Map Turtle had until now been mistaken for one native to the neighboring Pascagoula River, scientists said.

UPI.com

Nice and small and green. Squee-worthy.

SQUUEEEEEE!

Wee froggies!

Okay, I think these are adorable. Also, it's always fascinating to me that we are still discovering new species. Now, these little guys were seen before--

I saw some specimens in museum collections that are over 100 years old. Scientists presumably thought they were juveniles of other species, but it turns out they are adults of this newly-discovered micro species.

Neat!

I haz also a squid--this is it.

This relates to the book review I'm working on for China Mieville's Kraken, in a way--it's a squid necklace:




It's from Noadi, whose stuff I kind of lusted after on Etsy until I broke down and....well. Steampunk squid it was.

It's a talisman, of sorts. It doesn't give me any luck, but when I look at it, I am promptly reminded "You are the kind of person who has a steampunk squid necklace." Isn't that cool enough?

I'm pretty much down with squid--and depending on the size of the squid, that could be pretty far down, indeed.

I haz ellerphunt. Let me show you it.

This is my elephant bottle opener. It is ridiculously cute, but it's also seriously practical. It's a bottle opener. Because it is decorative, unlike the other bottle openers I have, I can't lose the little feller. That makes it exceptionally handy. Also--again--it's cute. It's a little hard to tell, but the bottle-opener part is right where the trunk is. Cheers!

I got it this past weekend at Strawberry Jam on Main Street in New Hope. It's one of the dozen-or-so odd shops out that way I always find cool stuff in. (If you plan on going there--make a list of your friend's birthdays or anniversaries because they have a great card selection that kind of made me wish I had more interesting friends to give cards to.) Anyway, this blog is about random stuff. I randomly found a carved elephant statue that was a bottle-opener, and this qualifies as pretty neat stuff.