Loosely Speaking

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Monday, March 19, 2012

Family- vs Pack-mentality dogs

When I distinguish between 'family' and 'pack' mentality, I am commenting on a certain flexibility of temperament, seeing 'pack-think' as very inflexible, a dynamic that does not allow for deviation, and doesn't require much figuring-out of the behavioral rules, once the pack members are settled as to whose role is which. But Naut's comments, and the blog most recently posted by my daughter in her website ( http://www.dancingdogs.co.nz/dog-blog/ ) leads me to ponder further on this. My tentative... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Dogs beside us

I've noticed, living with Davy and the two dogs of the housemate, that there are some dogs who are family-minded, and others are pack-minded. The family-member Davy is much more amenable to taking direction, but also taking the occasional permitted liberty without it being a confrontational event. One of the others seems to only comprehend pack-dynamics, only listening to the one who can physically assert dominance. Eager as he is to play and grin and be a Good Dog, it has taking him weeks to... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

"LOVE NEVER DIES"

Some stories, however, should be permitted the graceful exit, never to be dragged down by an inept sequel. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA was a profoundly moving story when it was first published in the 1800s. It became a lush and fantastic production, as Andrew Lloyd Webber made it into a showcase for Sarah Brightman's voice, and the movie of the musical was spectacular. LOVE NEVER DIES also has some wonderful, extravagant costuming and set-design. Instead of the Victorian gothic of the original, the... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Inspired by TAPS, on news and vasty ignorance

TAPS today remarks on the prevalence of youthful indifference to the daily news, sighs for the loss of true journalism. I am totally with her on this! Since journalism has largely been replaced with unacknowledged editorializing, and journalists don't know the basics of grammar--such as when to say, "he and I" vs "him and me," or even scarier, they do, but pander to the common ear and misinformed masses... What news can be relied on for actual information? Even CNN is full of bimbo-journalism... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Betta and betta...!

I have this argument every time it comes up, with a certain person who is quite sure she is right. But she isn't. She has heard so many people get this wrong, that it sounds right to her. It is still wrong. "Betta" is a fish, popularly known as the Siamese Fighting Fish because they originally were found in small pools in SE Asia, and the males are maniacally agressive towards each other--or any other fish with long fins. The word is spelled b e t t a. It is properly pronounced "bet-ta," not... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Peter and Wendy

It isn't new, this understanding that Peter Pan is a vain, cocky perpetual boy with a fear of all things adult. In fact, it was always there, right there in JM Barrie's book, and in all his other little stories of this magical lad. Barrie knew what he was writing about. Disney and the familiar musical version (Mary Martin's) sweetened it to just a kind of sugar-cookie kiddies adventure, and that is all most of us ever have known of it: just a story. But it isn't 'just a story.' It is a myth. And... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, December 9, 2011

The Suicidal Brain

Autopsied suicides have shown abysmally low levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that has much to do with mood: depression is treated with drugs like prozac, which does one simple thing: it inhibits the reuptake in the brain of 'used' serotonin, making more serotonin available to the normal operations of the brain, hence, a better mood. Suicide is a product of such deep despair and hopelessness, that the conscious mind can see nothing else. It can care about nothing else, value nothing but to... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, November 28, 2011

I said goodbye...

...to someone who has been an influence, or at least an effect in my life for just over 2 years. There have always been issues, always rolling the dice whether to drop or play on. I kept faith as long as I could, believed in good faith, honest intent, essential integrity of this person who persuaded me to trust and care, to open up, to risk where I have been most shy, most protected. I held on far longer than anyone else would have, making excuses, allowances... I was determined not to abandon... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Why oh why..?

...are we wasting news time on Mr Cain, just as if he is a serious presidential candidate?...are we vigiling over the jury's deliberation in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor? I have been in a TV-free zone for three months, and have gotten starved for news, and now, can find nothing on the news channels but the nonsensical, frivolous and irrelevant. I find, finally, BBC World News. At last... some inkling of what is going on in the world. In a newspaper of limited pages, in a pocket of time... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, October 28, 2011

The Decision That Makes a Hero

When a soldier enlists and goes to fight, that soldier lays his or her life on the line. Not just the fact of life, accepting the risk of death, but the whole of a life. War may not accept the whole offering, but it will surely take some great portion of it. Lives are changed irrevocably, and all the lives connected to that single life, are likewise changed, shaped forever around War's particular imprint. Of course, all actions, all decisions that move us through a lifetime, do this, but few... Sign in to see full entry.

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