tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974406546323301344.post4528871478063629659..comments2023-04-08T06:06:13.055-07:00Comments on Notes from the Pens: Understanding the Denotation of WordsAya Katzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830585801297506770noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974406546323301344.post-90592913276208116252014-07-21T07:53:12.475-07:002014-07-21T07:53:12.475-07:00Thanks, Kathy! Having an iphone really helps with ...Thanks, Kathy! Having an iphone really helps with the quality of photos. Aya Katzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07830585801297506770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974406546323301344.post-33718114484307460692014-07-21T06:38:33.196-07:002014-07-21T06:38:33.196-07:00P.S. Nice pictures!P.S. Nice pictures!Nikkis Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04900207220789667368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974406546323301344.post-48474110429431248662014-07-21T06:38:13.488-07:002014-07-21T06:38:13.488-07:00Aya, I really enjoyed this post! I am so sick of ...Aya, I really enjoyed this post! I am so sick of the politically correct language that everyone is trying to impose on us today. It shouldn't even be called "politically correct" language anymore. It should be called, "language for crybabies"...or something. Communications used to seem so clear to me but with this current environment of avoiding the real issues and clarity, it is hard to identify the true meaning of what people are trying to communicate. For example, we aren't supposed to say "illegal aliens" now - we're supposed to say, "undocumented immigrants". What horse poo!!! <br />I didn't realize that such a softening had taken root in my own language until I started working more closely with our German colleagues. Given the language barriers and their own culture, our communications work much better if I just speak very clearly and directly with them. It is very refreshing! I enjoyed your analogy of the bad cage vs. good cage with the diving / shark point.<br />The use of the term concentration camp has such a bad connotation for everyone because of its obvious historical references, so I think your describing what it really means is useful. Other terms suffer the same negative association - such as slavery. Some kids even cry out in rebellion to chores, "this is slavery"! Ha!<br />As to our long-term planning for our animals - my mother-in-law took her own dog to the vet and had it put down before her death from stage 4 cancer. I thought that was very humane of her, since the dog was essentially not adoptable to anyone else. I don't believe my dog would easily adapt to anyone else either, due to her past traumas, so I would have to probably plan for the same ending for her, in case of my earlier death.<br />As to the rest of your post, I am always shocked to hear how many people try to impose their beliefs on you and try to tell you what to do and how to manage Bow. Given your own very libertarian views of allowing people their own freedoms in their own lives, it must be very disappointing and frustrating that so many try to control you in return. I do admire how you handle it with grace - I think my own head would explode. The issues with the sanctuaries and trying to suppress the breeders is similarly going on with the killer whale sanctuaries. While I'm against the taking of the wild orcas, I do believe the ones bred in captivity can provide some educational benefit to future younger generations. But I also believe as you do about these sanctuaries that they should have a sufficient habitat, closely mimicking their social and structural natural environment. Wow, you covered a lot of ground in this post!Nikkis Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04900207220789667368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974406546323301344.post-42952288288403582702014-07-21T05:23:15.729-07:002014-07-21T05:23:15.729-07:00Julia, I don't have to advertise on Craigslist...Julia, I don't have to advertise on Craigslist. The place to offer internships for working with chimpanzees is on PrimateJobs. I have stopped posting there, because the risk of danger to us from interns who are not accepted by Bow has grown, and I think it is safer for all not to try. <br /><br />I did have some excellent interns who made good connections with Bow when he was younger, and I wish I had had stipends to offer them as grad students to keep working with Bow, and then post docs for after that. Bow needs to form lifetime attachments with those people, so they can be there for him when I am gone.<br /><br />But all young people are looking for a paying job after they volunteer, and career opportunities. They cannot stay unless I can offer them that. My isolation from the academic world is a big problem. We need permanent volunteers, not temporary ones. We need someone who will make a lifetime commitment to Bow. <br /><br /> For this, someone needs to offer me a tenured position at an academic institution and grant money that has no Federal strings attached. But having temporary people come and go would just be upsetting to Bow. We've tried it, and it is too unstable a situation. Aya Katzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07830585801297506770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974406546323301344.post-14218200365657921072014-07-20T20:31:56.515-07:002014-07-20T20:31:56.515-07:00Bow leads a good life, and anyone reading your blo...Bow leads a good life, and anyone reading your blog should be aware of this. I keep hoping perhaps you can find some new interns or new renters who share your passion and vision for working with Bow. That might be a good solution. I see a lot of people on Craigslist post how they will provide free room and board and perhaps a small stipend to someone who wants to help educate and work with their children. I imagine there are people in this world who would be interested in doing it with Bow. Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11147781152448695481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974406546323301344.post-54544332008565197022014-07-20T18:22:28.691-07:002014-07-20T18:22:28.691-07:00Yes, I still have the Shaker chairs.
My turtles pr...Yes, I still have the Shaker chairs.<br />My turtles probably will outlive me, too, but in their case it is no problem as almost all of them can be released into the wild. The dwarf will need adoption as she is too little to be safe outdoors on her own. Although a couple of turtle keepers have expressed interest in acquiring her, I don't want to do so as they will see her as just a genetic freak of nature (they also have albino turtles and two-headed turtles. My cat likely would get adopted out, she is an unusual breed (Siamese Snowshoe) so would have no problem finding a new home.Ozarklorianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09348265376584155745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974406546323301344.post-17343769838444408662014-07-20T13:01:38.573-07:002014-07-20T13:01:38.573-07:00Hi, Pam. It sounds as if that particular cat owner...Hi, Pam. It sounds as if that particular cat owner had a good plan to provide for her cat after her death. Do you still have the Shaker chairs?<br /><br />Many people don't plan ahead, and this includes dog owners. I was once chided by a woman who lived near Orchard House about having a chimpanzee, because she had seen on a documentary that chimps can live for over forty years. One day when I was driving Bow to his Floortime session with the interns, she knocked on the glass of my car and had me roll down the window. "What are you going to do when you die?" she demanded without preamble. I wasn't sure at first whether she was asking me about an afterlife, but it turned out she had seen the documentary about chimps the night before and was therefore very upset with me. She was a great lover of dogs, having at least half a dozen of them, most of whom outlived her when she passed away a few years later. Of course, new homes had to be found for all those dogs.Aya Katzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07830585801297506770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974406546323301344.post-59910211982986650392014-07-20T12:25:38.353-07:002014-07-20T12:25:38.353-07:00The problem about what to do with our animal compa...The problem about what to do with our animal companions after our death is shared by many, not just those with exotic animal companions. The solutions, with rare exceptions, have almost always been sad. The only local instance I know of an interesting solution occurred when the elderly owner of a young cat died. She had no children, and the cat was provided for in her will. The cat owned the house so long as it stayed alive, and provisions were made so the cat could be taken care of twice a day by a caretaker who provided two hours of companionship daily, too, plus take it to any veterinarian every six months for care. The cat lived for five years more like this. The will then stipulated that the house and all the antique contents would be sold at auction, with the proceeds going to the ASPCA. I've never forgotten that auction. I bought two Shaker wooden chairs there with woven seats, and one of them must have been the cat's favorite, as it had long white Persian fur still in the seat.Ozarklorianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09348265376584155745noreply@blogger.com