Today's Wall Street Journal had a very interesting article and graph (pictured) comparing the current recession with the "great" depression of the 1930s. This really excellent comparison has helped me better understand what is going on now and just how bad it was then.
The Journal is a paid site, so I cannot link to the article; however, this graph pretty much says it all: things might be bad now, but things will need to be MUCH worse to be as bad as things were then.
It always amazes me to find out that there are people in the world (still) who think animals do not feel pain, or have consciousness, or have emotions. I mean, seriously: all you have to do is live with an animal for any period of time to realize all animals have the same basic traits as the human animal.
One big difference is self-awareness (essentially, see your image in a mirror and know it is you). Higher animals have this (humans, apes, and I think I even read of a dolphin). Just because they don't have self-awareness does not mean they do not have language, bond with others of their kind (or even other animals) or, of course, feel pain.
So, here is another one of those articles -- this one saying that hermit crabs feel pain AND remember it. And this is news, how exactly?
Anyway, the photograph is of my crabitat at home with the three hermit crabs I have. They have switched shells a little since this pic was taken, but they are the same three. I have had the biggest one for five years, the medium one for four and the little one for three. Aren't they cute?
In May 2006 we lost our wonderful cat Eames to kidney failure. In October, we adopted our new cat, Eero.
Two years later, I digitized a mass of 16mm home movies that had been transferred to video tape years previously. (The last time I saw these films must have been 30 years before.) When editing the digitized copies, I found something very curious: When I was about four years old, I had a cat of which I have no recollection whatsoever. If not for the filmed proof I would never have known this. I do not remember the cat's name or anything about it.
But, here's the odd part: this mystery cat from 1963 is nearly identical in coloring to Eero. (Click on image to see comparison.)
When we saw Eero at the shelter, I gravitated right to her. Was it because she was all playful and cute, or because I had a forgotten memory of this earlier cat? I don't have the answer, but I was really amazed at the similarity. (And, for the record, I never had a white cat before Eero, at least not that I remembered.)
Two interesting articles today on recent dinosaur discoveries around the world.
The first about a small group of baby Psittacosaurus (pictured) that got stuck in some mud and died 120 million years ago in the northeastern part of China. You can read more here.
The second is about Hesperonychus, a tiny dinosaur like a velociraptor but the size of a modern chicken. You can read more here.
So, let me get this straight: some zoos -- when they have baby animals for which they have no room -- kill the baby and feed it to the carnivores. Is that correct?
That's apparently not going to be the case for Farasi (pictured) the baby hippo born last November at the Basel Zoo in Switzerland who has become so popular (voted "Swiss of the year" for 2008) that an outcry has been raised against his impending demise.
You can read more about the uproar created by this cute little baby here.
I don't read novels anymore -- I reserve my reading time for biographies and histories; but back when I did read novels, one author whose work I loved was James M. Cain. You might not recognize his name, but you certainly recognize his works: "Double Indemnity," "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and the novel that became my favorite movie of all time "Mildred Pierce."
On 12 September 1943, the Los Angeles Times ran an article interviewing Cain and writer Raymond Chandler (probably my second favorite novelist) who were both working on a film adaptation of Cain's "Double Indemnity" -- a fantastic movie, if you've never seen it.
Okay, a couple weeks ago we had to go to Tempe to meet Matt's family for Matt's brother's birthday dinner (which we do for all three brothers in the family) and we got there and waited and waited for the table and were standing outside in the cold (yes, it gets cold in Phoenix) and I was tired of standing and waiting so I suggested we (Matt and I) walk around a little bit, which we did, and then we walked by this store that had this gorgeous yellow hoodie in the window, which I didn't really need, but I didn't have a nice casual winter-weather coat-like thing, and it was on sale ($5 off) and it was a bargain ($24.99) so we went in and found one that fit like a glove and I took that one off and found one that fit slightly looser (I mean, who wants to walk around looking like a yellow sausage?) and while we were waiting to buy it, behind a pair of gorgeous black women, I started dancing to this really great song playing in the store that I never heard before and I turned and asked Matt (the human Ipod) the name of the song and he knew it (!) and then one of the black girls said "This song makes you really feel like dancing" and she started dancing too, and so there we were, this black woman and I dancing at the checkout counter of this store, and it was really cool, so when we get home I tell Matt he has to find this song for me -- which he did -- and then he discovered that someone had put it on YouTube (because that's, like, so UNEXPECTED) and I totally love it because whomever thought of it was brilliant, and whomever actually made it is totally brilliant and here it is:
Today's Wall Street Journal had a very interesting article and graph (pictured) comparing the current recession with the "great" depression of the 1930s. This really excellent comparison has helped me better understand what is going on now and just how bad it was then. 
It always amazes me to find out that there are people in the world (still) who think animals do not feel pain, or have consciousness, or have emotions. I mean, seriously: all you have to do is live with an animal for any period of time to realize all animals have the same basic traits as the human animal. 
In May 2006 we lost our wonderful cat Eames to kidney failure. In October, we adopted our new cat, Eero.
Two interesting articles today on recent dinosaur discoveries around the world.
So, let me get this straight: some zoos -- when they have baby animals for which they have no room -- kill the baby and feed it to the carnivores. Is that correct?
There are times when having random advertisements appear on web pages can be, well, awkward. (Click on image to enlarge.)
I don't read novels anymore -- I reserve my reading time for biographies and histories; but back when I did read novels, one author whose work I loved was James M. Cain. You might not recognize his name, but you certainly recognize his works: "Double Indemnity," "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and the novel that became my favorite movie of all time "Mildred Pierce."
