John D. Rateliff's Blog, page 118
January 17, 2016
Someone says nice things about PERILOUS AND FAIR
So, thanks to Leslie Donavan for forwarding me the link to a blogger (N. Whyte or perhaps N. W. Hyte) discussing his or her picks from among the books that have made the 'long list' for the BSFA [British Science Fiction Association] award -- which, I'm happy to learn, include a collection I contributed an essay to: the Mythopoeic Press volume PERILOUS AND FAIR. Here's the link.
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2591385...
And here's the relevant passage:
Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J. R. R. Tolkien, eds. Janet Brennan Croft and Leslie A. Donovan
The relative invisibility of women in Tolkien's works is perhaps the most jarring aspect of them to a twenty-first century reader. As Una McCormack points out in the last of these essays, quoting an unnamed conference participant, there are more named horses than named women in The Lord of the Rings. These essays prove that you can write thought-provoking stuff about the flaws in the work you love. Though the case for Tolkien's defence can be made robustly, and John Rateliffe recounts his career of being considerably more active and enthusiastic about educating women (including Mary Renault) than was the norm for his day, C.S. Lewis being a sad counter example. There are a number of other very interesting essays, of which I particularly enjoyed Una McCormack's closing piece on fan fiction and Cami Agan's thoughts on Lúthien and bodily desire. I'm afraid there are a couple of silly pieces as well, one about Valkyries and the other about Éowyn, Twelfth Night and Carnival, but the majority of these are very interesting. (And the last footnote to Robin Reid's introductory bibliographic essay is heart-breaking.)
Reid's note (p. 36), which is indeed heartbreaking, reads as follows:
"I directed [Stella M.] Ray's thesis* and include it here** for two reasons: first, it is the only work so far to deal in such depth with these four characters;*** second, the summer after she graduated, before she could begin the full-time tenure track job she had been offered, Ray was murdered by her ex-husband, who is now sentenced to death. As a result, plans she had for publishing articles from her dissertation will not occur, although I still hope to edit and publish a posthumous version of her work, with the copyright still held by her family."
--JDR
*CONSTRUCTIONS OF GENDER AND SEXUALITIES IN J. R. R. TOLKIEN'S THE SILMARILLION and THE LORD OF THE RINGS, of which Reid says "the first (and so far only) of 47 dissertations indexed in the MLA International Bibliography that focuses entirely on female characters in Tolkien's legendarium"
**i.e., in her overview
***Varda, Ungoliant, Galadriel, and Shelob
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2591385...
And here's the relevant passage:
Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J. R. R. Tolkien, eds. Janet Brennan Croft and Leslie A. Donovan
The relative invisibility of women in Tolkien's works is perhaps the most jarring aspect of them to a twenty-first century reader. As Una McCormack points out in the last of these essays, quoting an unnamed conference participant, there are more named horses than named women in The Lord of the Rings. These essays prove that you can write thought-provoking stuff about the flaws in the work you love. Though the case for Tolkien's defence can be made robustly, and John Rateliffe recounts his career of being considerably more active and enthusiastic about educating women (including Mary Renault) than was the norm for his day, C.S. Lewis being a sad counter example. There are a number of other very interesting essays, of which I particularly enjoyed Una McCormack's closing piece on fan fiction and Cami Agan's thoughts on Lúthien and bodily desire. I'm afraid there are a couple of silly pieces as well, one about Valkyries and the other about Éowyn, Twelfth Night and Carnival, but the majority of these are very interesting. (And the last footnote to Robin Reid's introductory bibliographic essay is heart-breaking.)
Reid's note (p. 36), which is indeed heartbreaking, reads as follows:
"I directed [Stella M.] Ray's thesis* and include it here** for two reasons: first, it is the only work so far to deal in such depth with these four characters;*** second, the summer after she graduated, before she could begin the full-time tenure track job she had been offered, Ray was murdered by her ex-husband, who is now sentenced to death. As a result, plans she had for publishing articles from her dissertation will not occur, although I still hope to edit and publish a posthumous version of her work, with the copyright still held by her family."
--JDR
*CONSTRUCTIONS OF GENDER AND SEXUALITIES IN J. R. R. TOLKIEN'S THE SILMARILLION and THE LORD OF THE RINGS, of which Reid says "the first (and so far only) of 47 dissertations indexed in the MLA International Bibliography that focuses entirely on female characters in Tolkien's legendarium"
**i.e., in her overview
***Varda, Ungoliant, Galadriel, and Shelob
Poke-em-with-a-Stick (Sunday)
So, for years one of the points gun advocates cd make in their favor was that guns weren't all that dangerous; that cars kill more people than firearms.
Not any more.
In twenty-one states at least,* including the state I currently live in, more people died in 2014 from being shot by a gun than in car accidents.
The deciding factor seems to be that while people have worked hard to make cars safer, guns have gotten more deadly over the same time period.
Food for thought.
--John R.
P.S.: Here's the link, the most interesting part of the article being the state-by-state listings at the end:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-sugarmann/gun-deaths-now-outpace-mo_b_8990858.html
*plus the D.C.
Not any more.
In twenty-one states at least,* including the state I currently live in, more people died in 2014 from being shot by a gun than in car accidents.
The deciding factor seems to be that while people have worked hard to make cars safer, guns have gotten more deadly over the same time period.
Food for thought.
--John R.
P.S.: Here's the link, the most interesting part of the article being the state-by-state listings at the end:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-sugarmann/gun-deaths-now-outpace-mo_b_8990858.html
*plus the D.C.
January 16, 2016
Terry Pratchett thinks there's something wrong with my head
So, recently I've been working my way thorough an old issue of THE SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE I turned up in the box room. Bought years ago (April 2002) and only skimmed at the time, it makes for a kind of time capsule. Among other things I read about Pullman's winning the Whitbread award; about an author who'd sold a story to THE LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS before he was thirty pulling it back now he'd reached the age of sixty (a wise move, given that fourteen years on the book still hasn't appeared); a snippy tirade from the magazine's editor about his refusal to use the term 'sci-fi'; and Michael Moorcock dissing the Peter Jackson movies, and the books they were based on, and more or less the horse they came in on.
More surprisingly, there's a snip from Terry Pratchett dissing Tolkien. It appears in the Newsnotes section as a paragraph under the header 'Other Stuff':
Terry Pratchett, on England's The South Bank Show,shown on the USA cable channel Bravo, stated, "At 17, if you don't think Lord of the Rings is the greatest contribution to literature there's something wrong with your head. If you still think that at 50, there's definitely something wrong with your head"
[SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE, ed. Andrew Porter, April 2002 issue, p. 24]
This quote is all the more unexpected, given that the late Sir Terry was well-know for being an unabashed admirer of JRRT's work (and also Tolkien's personal example of answering his fan mail).
I have to say I disagree with both halves of Pratchett's equation, but that's a discussion for another time.
But in the context of finding a piece about how judgments shd change over time which was itself an old quote from someone who's now passed on, it perhaps inevitably got me thinking about Discworld itself, and how well it stands up now, thirty years on. Especially since earlier this week I'd picked up THE SHEPHERD'S CROWN, described on the inside flap of its dust jacket as 'The Final Discworld Novel'.
I was an early adapter, having discovered the series thr my friend Richard West (thanks, Richard) when 'the series' consisted of just two books, and the most surprising thing about it was (a) how amazingly well he skewered the cliches of that era's fantasy and (b) that the first book had a sequel at all, given how thoroughly it seemed to have disposed of its main point-of-view character (by having his adventures on the flat world end with his falling over the edge). Pratchett tends to be one of those authors who people either like a lot, or don't like at all; not much middle ground. I like him a lot, and read through the first thirty books in the series pretty much as soon as I cd get ahold of each one -- and much else besides, including the underrated JOHNNY AND series and the overrated Pratchett/Gaiman collaboration GOOD OMENS. In fact, for a long time I'd read all of Pratchett except one early novel, DARK SIDE OF THE SUN, which I was saving because once I'd read it, there'd be nothing new left of his to read.
Over time, however, I found my attention drifting. The Discworld series had early on split into sub-series (Rincewind's adventures, the Witches, the Death books, the Night Guard) or even sub-sub-series (Tiffany Aching), et al. The books had always been uneven, with hits (THE LIGHT FANTASTIC, MORT, WYRD SISTERS, SMALL GODS, SOUL MUSIC, NIGHT WATCH) and misses (EQUAL RITES, SOURCERY, PYRAMIDS, WITCHES ABROAD, THE AMAZING MAURICE, THE WEE FREE MEN), but it seemed to me that the misses were piling up. It felt like the characters I liked best (e.g., Rincewind) were fading into the background and new series characters I wasn't much interested in (Moist Van Lipwig, Tiffany Aching) rising to dominate the series in their place.
So I took a break. Having, as I said, read all the books up to about MONSTROUS REGIMENT (2003), I've only read three of the last ten Discworld bks, and only one of the various recent non-series titles (NATION: his angry book). Now, having just read the final book in the series (and the fifth in the Wee Free sub-series), I'm in the mood for some Pratchett again, and plan to read some of the ones I missed (e.g. RAISING STEAM, UNSEEN ACADEMICALS, poss. I SHALL WEAR MIDNIGHT) as well as re-read a few old favorites. We'll see how it goes: whether Pratchett holds up in the way he doesn't seem to think Tolkien held up (still disagree w. him on that one) or whether a good book is a good book, whenever you read it.
--John R.
just read: THE SHEPHERD'S CROWN, by Terry Pratchett [2015]
currently reading: CELTIC HEATHDOM by Sir John Rhys [1888], and STORIES FROM ANCIENT CANAAN, tr/ed Coogan & Smith [2nd ed., 2012]
More surprisingly, there's a snip from Terry Pratchett dissing Tolkien. It appears in the Newsnotes section as a paragraph under the header 'Other Stuff':
Terry Pratchett, on England's The South Bank Show,shown on the USA cable channel Bravo, stated, "At 17, if you don't think Lord of the Rings is the greatest contribution to literature there's something wrong with your head. If you still think that at 50, there's definitely something wrong with your head"
[SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE, ed. Andrew Porter, April 2002 issue, p. 24]
This quote is all the more unexpected, given that the late Sir Terry was well-know for being an unabashed admirer of JRRT's work (and also Tolkien's personal example of answering his fan mail).
I have to say I disagree with both halves of Pratchett's equation, but that's a discussion for another time.
But in the context of finding a piece about how judgments shd change over time which was itself an old quote from someone who's now passed on, it perhaps inevitably got me thinking about Discworld itself, and how well it stands up now, thirty years on. Especially since earlier this week I'd picked up THE SHEPHERD'S CROWN, described on the inside flap of its dust jacket as 'The Final Discworld Novel'.
I was an early adapter, having discovered the series thr my friend Richard West (thanks, Richard) when 'the series' consisted of just two books, and the most surprising thing about it was (a) how amazingly well he skewered the cliches of that era's fantasy and (b) that the first book had a sequel at all, given how thoroughly it seemed to have disposed of its main point-of-view character (by having his adventures on the flat world end with his falling over the edge). Pratchett tends to be one of those authors who people either like a lot, or don't like at all; not much middle ground. I like him a lot, and read through the first thirty books in the series pretty much as soon as I cd get ahold of each one -- and much else besides, including the underrated JOHNNY AND series and the overrated Pratchett/Gaiman collaboration GOOD OMENS. In fact, for a long time I'd read all of Pratchett except one early novel, DARK SIDE OF THE SUN, which I was saving because once I'd read it, there'd be nothing new left of his to read.
Over time, however, I found my attention drifting. The Discworld series had early on split into sub-series (Rincewind's adventures, the Witches, the Death books, the Night Guard) or even sub-sub-series (Tiffany Aching), et al. The books had always been uneven, with hits (THE LIGHT FANTASTIC, MORT, WYRD SISTERS, SMALL GODS, SOUL MUSIC, NIGHT WATCH) and misses (EQUAL RITES, SOURCERY, PYRAMIDS, WITCHES ABROAD, THE AMAZING MAURICE, THE WEE FREE MEN), but it seemed to me that the misses were piling up. It felt like the characters I liked best (e.g., Rincewind) were fading into the background and new series characters I wasn't much interested in (Moist Van Lipwig, Tiffany Aching) rising to dominate the series in their place.
So I took a break. Having, as I said, read all the books up to about MONSTROUS REGIMENT (2003), I've only read three of the last ten Discworld bks, and only one of the various recent non-series titles (NATION: his angry book). Now, having just read the final book in the series (and the fifth in the Wee Free sub-series), I'm in the mood for some Pratchett again, and plan to read some of the ones I missed (e.g. RAISING STEAM, UNSEEN ACADEMICALS, poss. I SHALL WEAR MIDNIGHT) as well as re-read a few old favorites. We'll see how it goes: whether Pratchett holds up in the way he doesn't seem to think Tolkien held up (still disagree w. him on that one) or whether a good book is a good book, whenever you read it.
--John R.
just read: THE SHEPHERD'S CROWN, by Terry Pratchett [2015]
currently reading: CELTIC HEATHDOM by Sir John Rhys [1888], and STORIES FROM ANCIENT CANAAN, tr/ed Coogan & Smith [2nd ed., 2012]
January 9, 2016
More New Arrivals
So, books continue to come, via gifts, visits to the bookstore (three different Barnes & Nobles), subscriptions, and that great bookstore in the sky (also known as Amazon).
1. MALLORN, #56. This is the latest issue of one of the most long-lived of all Tolkien journals (rivaled only by the Tolkien-Lewis-Wms themed MYTHLORE). Haven't had time to do more than skim it yet, but there's always something of interest herein. At a first glance, the stand-out piece for me is Jn Doherty's review of Jamie Williamson's THE EVOLUTION OF MODERN FANTASY: FROM ANTIQUARIANISM TO THE BALLANTINE ADULT FANTASY SERIES. I've only skimmed this one, and that in pre-publication form, but I think it might well be the most important work on fantasy in thirty years. Certainly it's up there among the top works giving a plausible and persuasive history of the genre.
2. TOLKIEN'S WORLD: A FANTASY COLORING BOOK. This one was a gift (thanks, Misty): I'd had my eye on the two Tolkien Coloring Books that'd come out earlier this year, and kept going back and forth on whether or not to order them (since they never showed up among the table at Barnes & Noble devoted to the new enthusiasm for coloring books). I was surprised to recognize some of the art, having seen it as long ago as Day's TOLKIEN ENCYCLOPEDIA (1978, I think; poss. '79). Anyway, a welcome addition to the shelves of Tolkien artbooks and related material.
3. BANDERSNATCH: C. S. LEWIS, J. R. R. TOLKIEN, AND THE CREATIVE COLLABORATION OF THE INKLINGS, by Diana Pavlac Glyer. This is a re-casting of Diana's THE COMPANY THEY KEEP, rather as my BRIEF HISTORY was a condensation of the fuller HISTORY OF THE HOBBIT. I heard a presentation based on this book at this past summer's MYTHCON and have read the original full version (and also before that the thesis it was based on), though not yet done more than skim this third iteration.
4. EMPRESS DOWAGER CIXI by Jung Chang. Here's a book Janice read a while back and found interesting. It's one of those books I want to read because I know so little about its topic: a sympathetic biography of an unsympathetic person, the Dowager Empress who ruled China in the dying days of the Manchu Dynasty. She's remembered today as a kind of object lesson in how not to rule a country by the West,* but then that's because it's her enemies who wrote the histories (rather like asking English biographers of Wellington scholars write about Napoleon). Even on a little dipping I've already come across something that fascinated me: we don't know what her name was. She was assigned a name when she entered the Imperial court as a sixteen-year-old concubine in the Emperor's harem, and her original name wasn't recorded.
--JDR
current reading: Aratus's PHAENOMENA (tr. R. Hard)
*when I'm done with this one, I may finally get around to reading a biography of Nicholas II, the last Czar, which I've had hanging around for years waiting the right time; his even more disastrous reign might make an interesting counterpoint to the Dowager's story.
1. MALLORN, #56. This is the latest issue of one of the most long-lived of all Tolkien journals (rivaled only by the Tolkien-Lewis-Wms themed MYTHLORE). Haven't had time to do more than skim it yet, but there's always something of interest herein. At a first glance, the stand-out piece for me is Jn Doherty's review of Jamie Williamson's THE EVOLUTION OF MODERN FANTASY: FROM ANTIQUARIANISM TO THE BALLANTINE ADULT FANTASY SERIES. I've only skimmed this one, and that in pre-publication form, but I think it might well be the most important work on fantasy in thirty years. Certainly it's up there among the top works giving a plausible and persuasive history of the genre.
2. TOLKIEN'S WORLD: A FANTASY COLORING BOOK. This one was a gift (thanks, Misty): I'd had my eye on the two Tolkien Coloring Books that'd come out earlier this year, and kept going back and forth on whether or not to order them (since they never showed up among the table at Barnes & Noble devoted to the new enthusiasm for coloring books). I was surprised to recognize some of the art, having seen it as long ago as Day's TOLKIEN ENCYCLOPEDIA (1978, I think; poss. '79). Anyway, a welcome addition to the shelves of Tolkien artbooks and related material.
3. BANDERSNATCH: C. S. LEWIS, J. R. R. TOLKIEN, AND THE CREATIVE COLLABORATION OF THE INKLINGS, by Diana Pavlac Glyer. This is a re-casting of Diana's THE COMPANY THEY KEEP, rather as my BRIEF HISTORY was a condensation of the fuller HISTORY OF THE HOBBIT. I heard a presentation based on this book at this past summer's MYTHCON and have read the original full version (and also before that the thesis it was based on), though not yet done more than skim this third iteration.
4. EMPRESS DOWAGER CIXI by Jung Chang. Here's a book Janice read a while back and found interesting. It's one of those books I want to read because I know so little about its topic: a sympathetic biography of an unsympathetic person, the Dowager Empress who ruled China in the dying days of the Manchu Dynasty. She's remembered today as a kind of object lesson in how not to rule a country by the West,* but then that's because it's her enemies who wrote the histories (rather like asking English biographers of Wellington scholars write about Napoleon). Even on a little dipping I've already come across something that fascinated me: we don't know what her name was. She was assigned a name when she entered the Imperial court as a sixteen-year-old concubine in the Emperor's harem, and her original name wasn't recorded.
--JDR
current reading: Aratus's PHAENOMENA (tr. R. Hard)
*when I'm done with this one, I may finally get around to reading a biography of Nicholas II, the last Czar, which I've had hanging around for years waiting the right time; his even more disastrous reign might make an interesting counterpoint to the Dowager's story.
Poke-em-with-a-Stick (Saturday)
So, amid the disturbing reports of the Saudi's executing forty-seven people in one day came the startling detail that one person, whose sentence seems to have not yet been carried out, had been sentenced to be crucified (most Saudi executions are by beheading). I don't know why that seemed so unsettling, but it does. I think it must be the sheer unfamiliarity with the way others carry out death sentences helps us fool ourselves that our own ways of doing the same thing aren't similarly cruel and barbaric.
Here's a link to the article; the details about the particular case are about three-quarters of the way down through the piece.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/02/suadi-arabia-cleric-execution-unrest-predicted-shia-areas
--JDR
current reading: Aratus's PHAENOMENA
UPDATE: I corrected the number of people executed that day from fifty-seven to forty-seven.
Here's a link to the article; the details about the particular case are about three-quarters of the way down through the piece.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/02/suadi-arabia-cleric-execution-unrest-predicted-shia-areas
--JDR
current reading: Aratus's PHAENOMENA
UPDATE: I corrected the number of people executed that day from fifty-seven to forty-seven.
January 8, 2016
Cat Cafes come to these shores
So, it's been several years now since I first heard of the Cat Cafes in Tokyo, where you could sit and have a cup of tea while petting the shop's cats. I've been waiting for them to take root over here, and have seen them pop up here and there but never anywhere close enough to visit one. Now looks like they've finally reached the Seattle area. Here's a news story about Seattle's new cat cafe, and another link to the cafe's website. May be a while before we get downtown to visit this, but it's definitely on the list of things to do in 2016.
http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/pets-and-animals/2015/12/19/seattle-meowtropolitan-cat-cafe-opens/77651816/
https://seattlemeowtropolitan.com
Meanwhile, closer to home, here's a relatively brief cat report of how things are going in the Tukwila cat room.
We’re currently at five cats: ZOE, FLURRY, MYLES & BILLY, and HOUDIN (Houdini)
Sorry that HOUDINi’s adoption failed to take, but I’m glad to have him safely back with us again, and with his energy and curiosity and playfulness undiminished. FLURRY stayed inside most of the morning, so her path and his did not cross much, which is just as well for both. ZOE came out and claimed her favorite spot, from which she reigned all morning. MYLES came out as well and, after a spat or two, tried to play with Houdin. When Houdin wouldn’t play, Myles started stalking him, trying to figure out what was wrong with him and why he wdn’t play. His scrutiny was rewarded: towards the end of the morning my fellow volunteer, who does the shift after mine, had them both playing with the same ping-pong ball, batting it back and forth between their sides of the room. BILLY had it the roughest of everyone, since staying in his cube didn’t keep him from Houdin’s coming in and hissing at him. Poor Billy! He did better when I moved him up to the cage-tops, but seems to prefer his cage best.
Flurry also stayed in most of the morning, aside from when her place needed cleaning, welcoming attention from inside her safe place. Towards the right kind of toy she’s a fierce little predator on her own ground but also very affectionate and gentle. Her snug place in exile turns out to be the basket on the bench; she esp. likes it if you drape a blanket to shield her from the inside (and worry about the other cats) while giving her a good view of outside the room (thanks to my fellow volunteer for sharing this tip with me).
Four out of five cats had a walk (everyone but Flurry). They were nervous and tended to be vocal, but think Myles did the best. I was impressed when we rounded a corner and saw a big black dog not far away with its owner: he simply sat down and waited for it to move along, which it did.
Flurry continues to love the peacock feathers, and Zoe thinks yarn just may be the best thing ever. Sorry to hear she had another of her hissy fits Tuesday; she was on her best behavior on Wednesday, welcoming attention (up to a point) atop her favorite cat-stand. Flurry continues to be a little sweetheart and Myles an all-around great cat. Need to spend more time with Billy next week; he’s so quiet it’s easy to neglect him while dealing with the problem cats, which is hardly fair return on his good behavior. Think Houdin will calm down some after he’s been back with us a few days and gotten used to the other Residents.
Health issues: Zoe has cat acne on her chin, but that’ll improve if we all try to take a little off day by day. She’s starting to get a tangle in the fur on her chest, but it didnt’ seem bad enough to upset her over, so thought I’d wait and deal with that next week. Didn’t check anyone’s ears, but suspect Myles’ cd use some attention.
—John R.
http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/pets-and-animals/2015/12/19/seattle-meowtropolitan-cat-cafe-opens/77651816/
https://seattlemeowtropolitan.com
Meanwhile, closer to home, here's a relatively brief cat report of how things are going in the Tukwila cat room.
We’re currently at five cats: ZOE, FLURRY, MYLES & BILLY, and HOUDIN (Houdini)
Sorry that HOUDINi’s adoption failed to take, but I’m glad to have him safely back with us again, and with his energy and curiosity and playfulness undiminished. FLURRY stayed inside most of the morning, so her path and his did not cross much, which is just as well for both. ZOE came out and claimed her favorite spot, from which she reigned all morning. MYLES came out as well and, after a spat or two, tried to play with Houdin. When Houdin wouldn’t play, Myles started stalking him, trying to figure out what was wrong with him and why he wdn’t play. His scrutiny was rewarded: towards the end of the morning my fellow volunteer, who does the shift after mine, had them both playing with the same ping-pong ball, batting it back and forth between their sides of the room. BILLY had it the roughest of everyone, since staying in his cube didn’t keep him from Houdin’s coming in and hissing at him. Poor Billy! He did better when I moved him up to the cage-tops, but seems to prefer his cage best.
Flurry also stayed in most of the morning, aside from when her place needed cleaning, welcoming attention from inside her safe place. Towards the right kind of toy she’s a fierce little predator on her own ground but also very affectionate and gentle. Her snug place in exile turns out to be the basket on the bench; she esp. likes it if you drape a blanket to shield her from the inside (and worry about the other cats) while giving her a good view of outside the room (thanks to my fellow volunteer for sharing this tip with me).
Four out of five cats had a walk (everyone but Flurry). They were nervous and tended to be vocal, but think Myles did the best. I was impressed when we rounded a corner and saw a big black dog not far away with its owner: he simply sat down and waited for it to move along, which it did.
Flurry continues to love the peacock feathers, and Zoe thinks yarn just may be the best thing ever. Sorry to hear she had another of her hissy fits Tuesday; she was on her best behavior on Wednesday, welcoming attention (up to a point) atop her favorite cat-stand. Flurry continues to be a little sweetheart and Myles an all-around great cat. Need to spend more time with Billy next week; he’s so quiet it’s easy to neglect him while dealing with the problem cats, which is hardly fair return on his good behavior. Think Houdin will calm down some after he’s been back with us a few days and gotten used to the other Residents.
Health issues: Zoe has cat acne on her chin, but that’ll improve if we all try to take a little off day by day. She’s starting to get a tangle in the fur on her chest, but it didnt’ seem bad enough to upset her over, so thought I’d wait and deal with that next week. Didn’t check anyone’s ears, but suspect Myles’ cd use some attention.
—John R.
January 4, 2016
The Cat Report, and a cartoon
So, here's a brief Cat Report I wrote up last week following my session with them Wednesday morning (the 30th), followed by a cartoon I wanted to share.
Happy to report that things are much calmer in the cat room this morning. Zoe wanted petting, then went up atop her cat-stand by the cabinet and ignored all the other cats for the next three hours. Flurry stayed in her cage with the door open, coming forward to be petted several times, and enjoyed playing with her feather. The Boys (Myles & Billy) came out and explored the ground level; Myles went everywhere and flirted with every visitor, while Billy investigated the possibilities of various hiding holes. I had the big gloves out and ready for use, but they weren’t needed.
Zoe did kick up a fuss when I made her go back in her cage at the end of my shift; aside from that she was well behaved other than a tendancy to be a bit standoffish (swatting when disturbed). After all the rest had gone in she had a string game and the room all to herself for about fifteen to twenty minutes, dashing back and forth in pursuit of yarn: think the one-on-one time with her favorite game did her good (we did the same thing last week, and she seemed to enjoy it just as much then).
A fellow volunteer came by and gave Myles a walk, and I gave him another: he was a bit nervous but did pretty well. I offered Billy a walk, somewhat to his surprise, but he didn’t stay out long: too much noise and scarey stuff, he indicated.
Flurry was very sweet, grooming me while for my part I cleaned up her eyes. She loves canned catfood* and the feather game (a peacock feather swished along the ceiling or side(s) of her cage). She spent a lot of the morning sitting atop her little stand, looking v. regal. Query: is her eyesight okay? Thought she might be really near-sighted: she seems not to track on things further away than the edge of her cage. Or maybe she can see but just ignores everything outside.
Everyone got a healthy dose of catnip, which went down v. well indeed.
—John R.
*they all did, something I forgot to write down in the record book.
P.S.: Happy to hear that things are going well with Mr. Dermot. Congratulations to Linus for finding himself a home of his own after all this time. Also glad to hear about Brie — it took me a while to figure her out back when we had her in our cat-room, until I realized that all she want was to have things her own way. Commiseration for poor Houdini; hope he finds another and better home to make up for the one that didn’t turn out.
UPDATE: turned out Brie's adoption didn't stick: her new owner brought her back and un-adopted her after just three days. Poor Brie.
So much for the slice-of-life of specific cats in a specific adoption room of a local no-kill shelter; I also wanted to share the following cartoon, which gives a wider picture. And yes, just about all the reasons it gives for why cats wind up in shelters I can confirm from cats who's passed through the Tukwila cat room during the time I've volunteered here.
http://www.breakingcatnews.com/breaking-cat-news-special-report-shelter-cats/
Or, to sum it up another way: people can be incredibly thoughtless and lacking empathy, and people can be thoughtful and kind. Most cat-shelters are started by the latter trying to limit the damage caused by the former.
--JDR
Happy to report that things are much calmer in the cat room this morning. Zoe wanted petting, then went up atop her cat-stand by the cabinet and ignored all the other cats for the next three hours. Flurry stayed in her cage with the door open, coming forward to be petted several times, and enjoyed playing with her feather. The Boys (Myles & Billy) came out and explored the ground level; Myles went everywhere and flirted with every visitor, while Billy investigated the possibilities of various hiding holes. I had the big gloves out and ready for use, but they weren’t needed.
Zoe did kick up a fuss when I made her go back in her cage at the end of my shift; aside from that she was well behaved other than a tendancy to be a bit standoffish (swatting when disturbed). After all the rest had gone in she had a string game and the room all to herself for about fifteen to twenty minutes, dashing back and forth in pursuit of yarn: think the one-on-one time with her favorite game did her good (we did the same thing last week, and she seemed to enjoy it just as much then).
A fellow volunteer came by and gave Myles a walk, and I gave him another: he was a bit nervous but did pretty well. I offered Billy a walk, somewhat to his surprise, but he didn’t stay out long: too much noise and scarey stuff, he indicated.
Flurry was very sweet, grooming me while for my part I cleaned up her eyes. She loves canned catfood* and the feather game (a peacock feather swished along the ceiling or side(s) of her cage). She spent a lot of the morning sitting atop her little stand, looking v. regal. Query: is her eyesight okay? Thought she might be really near-sighted: she seems not to track on things further away than the edge of her cage. Or maybe she can see but just ignores everything outside.
Everyone got a healthy dose of catnip, which went down v. well indeed.
—John R.
*they all did, something I forgot to write down in the record book.
P.S.: Happy to hear that things are going well with Mr. Dermot. Congratulations to Linus for finding himself a home of his own after all this time. Also glad to hear about Brie — it took me a while to figure her out back when we had her in our cat-room, until I realized that all she want was to have things her own way. Commiseration for poor Houdini; hope he finds another and better home to make up for the one that didn’t turn out.
UPDATE: turned out Brie's adoption didn't stick: her new owner brought her back and un-adopted her after just three days. Poor Brie.
So much for the slice-of-life of specific cats in a specific adoption room of a local no-kill shelter; I also wanted to share the following cartoon, which gives a wider picture. And yes, just about all the reasons it gives for why cats wind up in shelters I can confirm from cats who's passed through the Tukwila cat room during the time I've volunteered here.
http://www.breakingcatnews.com/breaking-cat-news-special-report-shelter-cats/
Or, to sum it up another way: people can be incredibly thoughtless and lacking empathy, and people can be thoughtful and kind. Most cat-shelters are started by the latter trying to limit the damage caused by the former.
--JDR
January 3, 2016
Happy Tolkien's Birthday
Once again it's time to celebrate JRRT's birthday (January 3rd, 1892).
So far as state-of-the-Tolkien goes, there are still top-notch books coming out with material by and about Tolkien (most recently THE ART OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS)and good venues for publishing scholarship on Tolkien (e.g., the newest volume of TOLKIEN STUDIES having just come out about two weeks ago). So that's all good.
So far as the non-specialist public goes, Tolkien's popularity remains undiminished, so much so that what would once have been a note in a fanzine (e.g., the discovery of a hand-annotated LotR map) becomes a News Story and runs with a big headline.
As for pop culture, the movies have now run their course, so things shd quiet down a bit for now, until the Next Big Thing in Tolkien comes along, whatever it turns out to be.
So, a quiet time; a good time to pull some of those new purchases from this past year off the shelf and read them. And, of course, to plan for what Tolkien events I can make it to in this coming year.
So, a Happy Tolkien's Birthday to all.
--John R.
current reading: Eratosthenes & Hyginus, constellation myths (tr. R. Hard).
So far as state-of-the-Tolkien goes, there are still top-notch books coming out with material by and about Tolkien (most recently THE ART OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS)and good venues for publishing scholarship on Tolkien (e.g., the newest volume of TOLKIEN STUDIES having just come out about two weeks ago). So that's all good.
So far as the non-specialist public goes, Tolkien's popularity remains undiminished, so much so that what would once have been a note in a fanzine (e.g., the discovery of a hand-annotated LotR map) becomes a News Story and runs with a big headline.
As for pop culture, the movies have now run their course, so things shd quiet down a bit for now, until the Next Big Thing in Tolkien comes along, whatever it turns out to be.
So, a quiet time; a good time to pull some of those new purchases from this past year off the shelf and read them. And, of course, to plan for what Tolkien events I can make it to in this coming year.
So, a Happy Tolkien's Birthday to all.
--John R.
current reading: Eratosthenes & Hyginus, constellation myths (tr. R. Hard).
December 23, 2015
The Return of Poke-em-with-a-Stick Wednesday (Franklin Graham)
So, today saw the news that Franklin Graham, son and heir of the late Billy Graham's evangelical empire, has give up on Republicans, Democrats, and Tea Party-ers alike. Instead he's calling for Xians to run for local office. The goal seems to be to urge "godly men and women" to seek secular power in order to impose a kind of Xian sharia law (or, in his phrase, "uphold biblical values").
To put it another way, his goal is to unseparate church and state. To subordinate the political to the religious. Which, to my way of thinking, wd be disastrous for the church side of the equation. Trying to channel faith into the pursuit of political power hasn't worked out too well in the past. History has shown pretty clearly that Xianity shows its best side under adversity and has been at its worst when it held temporal power. Do we really want to go down that dark road again?
Here's the link:
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/franklin-graham-quits-republican-party-217077
--JDR
To put it another way, his goal is to unseparate church and state. To subordinate the political to the religious. Which, to my way of thinking, wd be disastrous for the church side of the equation. Trying to channel faith into the pursuit of political power hasn't worked out too well in the past. History has shown pretty clearly that Xianity shows its best side under adversity and has been at its worst when it held temporal power. Do we really want to go down that dark road again?
Here's the link:
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/franklin-graham-quits-republican-party-217077
--JDR
December 22, 2015
A Day at Elliott Bay
So, while mourning bookstores lost, it's good to also celebrate good bookstores that are still with us. And in the case of Elliott Bay Books, which wd certainly have to go on anyone's list of Seattle's best, they seem to be thriving in what I still think of as their new location, atop Capitol Hill. Despite being inconveniently located for us down here in Kent, I make it a point to visit at least once a year, usually around my birthday.Their fantasy/science fiction section is fine, but what I really go for is to look through their shelves on prehistory, early history, and mythology, all of which are excellent. I never fail to find some intriguing book I didn't know about on their well-stocked shelves. This year's new acquisitions are a nicely mixed group:
I. THE SPECTACLE OF THE LATE MAYA COURT: REFLECTIONS ON THE MURALS OF BONAMPAK by Mary Miller & Claudia Brittenham [2013]. A huge coffee-table book, lavishly illustrated, with extensive commentary describing the murals and putting them in context. In many cases they reproduce images twice on the same page: once in color (to see the beauty of the artwork) and once in black and white (for better clarity of seeing what's being shown, given how badly the murals are damaged). Not so much a book for sitting down and reading through as for leaving open and mulling over, occasionally dipping in to read sections and slowly absorb the whole.
II. ROYAL CITIES OF THE ANCIENT MAYA by Michael D. Coe (text) and Barry Brukoff (photography). Another coffee-table book, but this time of a more manageable size. Again it was really the pictures that attracted me here: I've never seen a book on Mayan ruins that so strongly conveyed what it'd be like to be in each of these places. This one is text-light and about half the weight and size of the previous book, so I'll definitely be reading it as well as enjoying the images.
III. LONDON FOG [2015] by Christine L. Corton. A rather odd topic for a book: the great London Fog, particularly during its height in the last half of the nineteenth century and first half of the twentieth, when millions of coal fires in homes combined with river mists and industrial pollution to create a toxic yellow smog, so thick that at times when out walking in it you wouldn't be able to see your own feet. The book is full of really striking photos and paintings depicting what the fog looked like. both from within and without. Looks to be an interesting read.
IV. CONSTELLATION MYTHS by Eratosthenes and Hyginus, tr. Robin Hard. Ever wonder where all those stories about who became what constellation and why came from? Me neither, but it turns out that at least part of the answer is these works. This one was frankly an impulse buy, thinking it'd be a good book to read in snatches spread out over as long a period of time as it took.
V. A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION: ROMAN BRITAIN, by Peter Salway. Background reading for my current project; I was drawn by a brief discussion of curse tablets, something that's directly relevant to the Nodens evidence. I've started in reading this and already come across a number of interesting things I didn't know, so picking it up was definitely worthwhile.
In addition, there were some runner-ups wh. I might have picked up had the above not already strained the budget: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION TO CELTIC MYTH (which on a quick skim didn't look to contain anything I didn't already know about Nodens), AFTER YORKTOWN (which focused on the two remaining years the international wars we think of as 'the American Revolution' continued after we dropped out of it), and YURIE: THE JAPANESE GHOST (a look at a spooky bit of folklore that sometimes impinges on various anime or manga but which I don't know first-hand other than in obvious sources like Lafcadio Hearn).
And then aside from the Elliott Bay books, some other new arrivals came by post: two 'C. S. Lewis Mysteries' by Kel Richards: C. S. LEWIS AND THE CORPSE IN THE CELLAR (retitled here 'The Corpse in the Cellar') and C. S. LEWIS AND THE COUNTRY HOUSE MURDERS (retitled just 'The Country House Murders'). I learned of these through David Bratman's posts (which I'm no longer able to find the link for, unfortunately). Each attempts (and, I think, fails) to both present a mystery novel in the mode of the 'golden age' while alternating the mystery-solving with theological discussions between CSL and the callow narrator. Richards apparently is fond of writing mysteries using real-life people as his detectives: in addition to this C. S. Lewis series (of which a third has either been published or is soon to be so, and a fourth on the way) there's also at least two books in which his version of G. K. Chesterton solves mysteries. Plus he has several Sherlock Holmes books to his credit (or otherwise, as the case may be), some of them supernatural. And one or two books of apologetics without the fictional guise.
In brief: not the worst Inklings-as-characters novels, but in the bottom half of the list.
The only other new arrival is TOLKIEN AMONG THE MODERNS, ed. Ralph C. Woods. I'd ordered this thinking it'd be interesting to see Tolkien treated as a Modernist (like Joyce, Woolf, Eliot, Yeats, et al) or anti-Modernist (like Orwell, Larkin, &c). On first glance, however, I can't seem to grasp their definition of modernism -- one essay compares Tolkien to Cervantes (a contemporary of Shakespeare, and hence 'modern' only by a very generous definition); another deals with Nietzsche (later nineteenth century), another with Iris Murdoch (a younger contemporary of Tolkien's who's actually closer to Postmodern than Modern, if we're going by how academia breaks up English literature). There is one piece on Joyce and Tolkien, which is pretty much the only example of the sort of essay I thought wd make up the entire book. In the end I have to admit that a quick glance has left me at a loss as to their definition of Modernism is or how it relates to Tolkien's work. Perhaps a more thorough examination later on will bring clarity.
--JDR
current reading: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION [to] ROMAN BRITAIN.
current Kindle: CARTER & LOVECRAFT by Jonathan Howard.
current viewing: various old DOCTOR WHOs.
I. THE SPECTACLE OF THE LATE MAYA COURT: REFLECTIONS ON THE MURALS OF BONAMPAK by Mary Miller & Claudia Brittenham [2013]. A huge coffee-table book, lavishly illustrated, with extensive commentary describing the murals and putting them in context. In many cases they reproduce images twice on the same page: once in color (to see the beauty of the artwork) and once in black and white (for better clarity of seeing what's being shown, given how badly the murals are damaged). Not so much a book for sitting down and reading through as for leaving open and mulling over, occasionally dipping in to read sections and slowly absorb the whole.
II. ROYAL CITIES OF THE ANCIENT MAYA by Michael D. Coe (text) and Barry Brukoff (photography). Another coffee-table book, but this time of a more manageable size. Again it was really the pictures that attracted me here: I've never seen a book on Mayan ruins that so strongly conveyed what it'd be like to be in each of these places. This one is text-light and about half the weight and size of the previous book, so I'll definitely be reading it as well as enjoying the images.
III. LONDON FOG [2015] by Christine L. Corton. A rather odd topic for a book: the great London Fog, particularly during its height in the last half of the nineteenth century and first half of the twentieth, when millions of coal fires in homes combined with river mists and industrial pollution to create a toxic yellow smog, so thick that at times when out walking in it you wouldn't be able to see your own feet. The book is full of really striking photos and paintings depicting what the fog looked like. both from within and without. Looks to be an interesting read.
IV. CONSTELLATION MYTHS by Eratosthenes and Hyginus, tr. Robin Hard. Ever wonder where all those stories about who became what constellation and why came from? Me neither, but it turns out that at least part of the answer is these works. This one was frankly an impulse buy, thinking it'd be a good book to read in snatches spread out over as long a period of time as it took.
V. A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION: ROMAN BRITAIN, by Peter Salway. Background reading for my current project; I was drawn by a brief discussion of curse tablets, something that's directly relevant to the Nodens evidence. I've started in reading this and already come across a number of interesting things I didn't know, so picking it up was definitely worthwhile.
In addition, there were some runner-ups wh. I might have picked up had the above not already strained the budget: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION TO CELTIC MYTH (which on a quick skim didn't look to contain anything I didn't already know about Nodens), AFTER YORKTOWN (which focused on the two remaining years the international wars we think of as 'the American Revolution' continued after we dropped out of it), and YURIE: THE JAPANESE GHOST (a look at a spooky bit of folklore that sometimes impinges on various anime or manga but which I don't know first-hand other than in obvious sources like Lafcadio Hearn).
And then aside from the Elliott Bay books, some other new arrivals came by post: two 'C. S. Lewis Mysteries' by Kel Richards: C. S. LEWIS AND THE CORPSE IN THE CELLAR (retitled here 'The Corpse in the Cellar') and C. S. LEWIS AND THE COUNTRY HOUSE MURDERS (retitled just 'The Country House Murders'). I learned of these through David Bratman's posts (which I'm no longer able to find the link for, unfortunately). Each attempts (and, I think, fails) to both present a mystery novel in the mode of the 'golden age' while alternating the mystery-solving with theological discussions between CSL and the callow narrator. Richards apparently is fond of writing mysteries using real-life people as his detectives: in addition to this C. S. Lewis series (of which a third has either been published or is soon to be so, and a fourth on the way) there's also at least two books in which his version of G. K. Chesterton solves mysteries. Plus he has several Sherlock Holmes books to his credit (or otherwise, as the case may be), some of them supernatural. And one or two books of apologetics without the fictional guise.
In brief: not the worst Inklings-as-characters novels, but in the bottom half of the list.
The only other new arrival is TOLKIEN AMONG THE MODERNS, ed. Ralph C. Woods. I'd ordered this thinking it'd be interesting to see Tolkien treated as a Modernist (like Joyce, Woolf, Eliot, Yeats, et al) or anti-Modernist (like Orwell, Larkin, &c). On first glance, however, I can't seem to grasp their definition of modernism -- one essay compares Tolkien to Cervantes (a contemporary of Shakespeare, and hence 'modern' only by a very generous definition); another deals with Nietzsche (later nineteenth century), another with Iris Murdoch (a younger contemporary of Tolkien's who's actually closer to Postmodern than Modern, if we're going by how academia breaks up English literature). There is one piece on Joyce and Tolkien, which is pretty much the only example of the sort of essay I thought wd make up the entire book. In the end I have to admit that a quick glance has left me at a loss as to their definition of Modernism is or how it relates to Tolkien's work. Perhaps a more thorough examination later on will bring clarity.
--JDR
current reading: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION [to] ROMAN BRITAIN.
current Kindle: CARTER & LOVECRAFT by Jonathan Howard.
current viewing: various old DOCTOR WHOs.
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