Laurel Braitman's Blog
January 6, 2014
Goodbye Mel Richardson DVM
Mel Richardson, veterinarian and animal advocate died, suddenly, on January 2nd. He was 63 years old. Melaccomplished so much in his lifetime. He also taught me most things worth knowing about animals.
Just a few things I learned from him:
Orangs who sit on their heels rocking back and forth are masturbating.
Elephant feet are the Achilles heel of captive pachyderms, their health problems will always start there first.
Don’t get married just to have sex.
One way to know if you’re going to be compa...
August 30, 2013
I Am a Dog
I don’t bark, I roar, watch me drag my ass across your floor.
August 13, 2013
in case you missed it
“…there are some questions in life the very speaking of which are their own undoing:
am I fired? Is this a date?”
July 25, 2013
Defending
Monday at 10am I will be defending my doctoral dissertation, Animal Madness: A Natural History of Disorderat MIT.
Thank you History, Anthropology and STS for letting me in and letting me get this far. And special thanks to my committee:Harriet Ritvo, David Jones and Stefan Helmreich. You have terrified me, inspired me, challenged me, put up with me, fed me, encouraged me, and made me work harder than I thought possible.I’m grateful always in all ways.
Photos: Jake Bratiman
May 27, 2013
WILD ONES LIVE
Jon Mooallem has a book out . You should buyit.It’s fantastic. It’s about his daughter and America and cranes, bears, butterflies and a whale named Humphrey. It’s basically about what it means to be a human right now and not another kind of animal. How confusing that is, so much of the damn time.
To celebrate, he’s collaborating with Pop Up Magazine. You can read more about the show, June 12th in San Francisco,here. Michael Pollan will be reading and lots of other great folks and Black Prairie...
May 17, 2013
May 5, 2013
this is a promise with a catch
Don’t be sad I know you will
Don’t give up until
photo credit: dan murrell Jr
April 28, 2013
Reading! Today!
Things at Animal Madness Inc have been so hectic of late I forgot to mention that I’m doing a reading this afternoon: Sunday, April 28th at 1:30pm at the Headlands Center for the Arts. Admission is free and you’ll be able to wander through everyone’s studios and eat lunch in the Mess Hall as today is open house.
This may be my only outing from the little cave that’s dissertation writing for a while, so come on out and say hi.
April 20, 2013
Marijuanimals
Happy 4/20 Internet
In your honor, I interviewed veterinarian Andrew Springer Browne for the The New Inquiry’s “Weed” issue. Check it.
Here’s a teaser:
“Can cats get stoned?
Cats tend to be more fastidious than dogs sothey don’t usually eat things that make them sick…although I once removed a large ballof hair bands from a cat’s stomach.
But I have seen a cat high. There was catnip involved, not weed. And whether or notthat cat was tripping, it was obviously in astate of bliss. Have you seen or h...
