Meet Beowolf

Here is my newest fuzzy. His name is Beowolf. He is probably older than a year, but probably not older than 2 years.

Since Enkidu is finally comfortable enough here to want to play, I really had to get him a buddy. I've seen Enkidu trying to get Chaos to play, but Chaos is just too old/sick to be interested.

Loki is still a butt. I introduced Beowolf and Loki, and Loki attacked, so I separated them again.

Enkidu and Beowolf hit it off at the humane society, so I'm happy.

Beowolf seems kinda afraid of Chaos, but I think that might have more to do with Loki's previous attack than Chaos.

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I took Loki to the vet this morning. He hasn't been very active lately, he had a sore on his belly at the base of where they cut him open for the surgery and his poo has been neither plentiful nor solid. The vet found that his blood sugar is low and that he is down from 3.25lbs to 2.9lbs. Now Loki will be on prednisolone and metronidazole just like Chaos.

This thing in Gaza has to stop!

Yes, it is really bad that Hamas is attacking Israel. However, Israel's response has been way disproportionate. Hundreds of non-combatants, including children have died.

I came across this blog post from a young Palestinian woman by way of the public radio show Here on Earth.

...

I've had a lot of time to contemplate, the last few days, and looking at my siblings, I wonder how the rest of the world envisions the people who occupy the most despondent and unruly military zones in the world.

My younger brothers spend their free time out with their friends, or playing basketball and soccer at youth clubs. They are passionate about sports, play station, and music. They play the guitar and are exceptional students. My brother who's in collage is obsessed with computers and gadgets, he's an engineering student who comes up with the most ingenious projects for his classes. He listens to music and plays the guitar and prays regularly. He's an honor student who has big goals and big dreams.

So please understand why I am infuriated when I see how we are portrayed on television. Hordes of bearded, teeth-gnashing, stone throwing blood thirsty savages in rags and tatters. And please don't blame me for feeling utter rage against the state of Israel, that has been intentionally targeting the unwary, guiltless, promising children and youth of the Gaza Strip in its vicious attacks over the past 5 days. Already, between 40 and 50 children are dead while hundreds lie in the hospitals, seriously injured or disabled for life.

...

Today the temporary halt of rocket fire coincided with the restoration of power to our home, at least for a few hours, at about 5pm. My brothers went to their rooms and played their videogames, I sat on the couch and read, and my sister went to take a nap. We tried to busy ourselves with regular daily activities in a situation that is anything but commonplace.

I think that this post highlights the necessity of knowing people as individuals and not just as statistics or as "them". If we saw "the enemy" as our own brothers and sisters, it would not be possible to look away as they are murdered.

I have never been in favor of Hamas. I am also not in favor of the Israeli treatment of non-Jews. The oppressed has become the oppressor. I suspect that if Israel would provide equal rights and privileges to everyone within its borders, regardless of religion or ethnicity, then the violence would stop. The Palestinians don't want war. As individuals, they lie on a sprectrum of disapproval to tolerance to support of Hamas only because their current situation is untenable. Treat the Palestinians as human beings and they will stop Hamas for their own self-interest. Until then, to whom can the Palestinians turn for help?

Twilight

I'm hooked. I read the first 150 pages or so the other night and then finished up Twilight by Stephenie Meyer last night.

It's a masochistic endeavor, to read this book as a single woman. It's so enthralling! It's about an awkward girl who enters into a relationship with a guy who is beautiful, smart, funny - and oh, he might accidentally kill her by drinking her blood. The sexual tension is amazing!

The first few chapters were kinda slow, but after that I found it to be quite the page turner.

I'm definitely going to get the next book ... maybe the next couple of books ... in the series. I don't know if the bookstore in my hometown will have them or not, so I'll have to stop in another city on the way there to pick them up. And the store doesn't open until 9am! That means that there's no sense in me leaving until 8am, but I'm kinda awake at my friend's house now. Oh well.

I read the teaser for the next book and wanna know what happens next!

Silly me :)

I've heard the movie is a disappointment, so I'll have to think about whether I want to see it or not.

Cows for Widows

I recently heard about this US Marine program in Iraq from a show on Public Radio.

Basically, the Marines bought 50 cows for 50 Iraqi widows in Anbar Province to help empower the women and keep them from becoming desperate enough to become suicide bombers. The idea actually came from local Iraqi women, which meant that it was an Iraqi initiative, facilitated by the US Marines. Another interesting quirk about it is, that it's mostly female Marines involved.

I really like the idea, which reminds me of Heifer International.

Happy, Sleepy Loki

I took the other ferrets out of the cage and put Loki into it. I also gave him his lover for company. He appears very happy to snuggle up with it in the hammock!

Loki's Den

Since Loki Butt is such a butt and can't be trusted alone with Chaos, it occurred to me that I could just wall off the front hall for him to sleep in at night. That way, he's in a safe place, where he can't get into anything that could damage himself or anyone else. Since he's perfectly litter box trained, I don't have to worry about messes, which is more than I can say for the other two ferrets. I've been keeping him there overnight and when I exercise for the last few days.

Yesterday, I found him in the cage during play time. He was snuggled up with his lover. Oops! I'd forgotten to put his favorite toy in his den! Now he has it and most likely all is well.

set and sprung!

So, I was driving down University, which has three driving lanes, a bike lane, and a bus lane, which are one way, traveling west posted at 25mph. I was coming up behind a police car (depicted here in white) and slowed down like everyone else. (That red blob over there should indicate me - though there should be lots of other cars behind me and in the other lanes as well.) Anyway, the police car was in the left lane and signaling a left turn. He slowed down and looked like he was going to make that turn. Instead, he waited for the guy ahead (shown here as the yellow blob) to speed up to what couldn't have been more than 35 mph. The officer turned on his flashers and swept across all three lanes of traffic to pull the guy over in the right lane.

Fortunately for me, though I was planning to speed up, I had decided to wait until AFTER the officer made his turn.

Anyway, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the guy who miscalculated.

Chaos

Chaos seems to be still interested in exploring the various bags and stuff in the living room, but seems to not be incredibly hungry. Hopefully, he's just too excited to eat and will eat after he has played a bit.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

I've just finished watching Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. It was a cute movie, but was very different from the book. In the book, the daughter, Sidda, has sequestered herself at a friend's cabin in the Seattle area, where she is able to page through the scrapbook. In the movie, the Ya-Ya's, minus her mother, kidnap her and take her to Louisiana and tell her stories.

Basically, the entire modern day story of the film is different than that of the book. There is also a lot that was left out of the film.

Some things were changed as well. In the book, it's an elephant ride that teaches Sidda not to be afraid. In the movie, it's an airplane ride.

*shrugs*

I recommend the book, and the movie isn't bad either.

I think that the book is more in the tradition of Fried Green Tomatoes.

"First they came..." by Martin Niemöller

"First they came…" is a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. (Wikipedia)

There are various versions of this poem. This is the one that is listed as the original at Wikipedia. Other versions include other groups such as the Catholics and the homosexuals. The idea is the same, though. If we don't speak out when we see injustice, we may be next!

Original:
Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.

Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.

Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.

Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Jude.

Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.

Translation:
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Loki Update

Here are pictures from the last couple of hours of Loki post-surgery.

Elephants are friggin' cool!

Take a look:



If the elephant recognizes the elephant that he paints as an elephant, than that means that he is able to make the connection between reality and symbol. Of course, this ability to make symbolic connections has already been demonstrated by the fact that elephants can be trained to respond to words.

Dogs also have this ability. Dogs that have been sufficiently trained can accurately identify various items by the words that their trainers use to identify them (i.e. they know the difference between "get your ball!" and "get your bunny!"). It's actually pretty cool.

Loki is superstitious

Loki's internal monologue:

If I just stay on this mat long enough, chicken baby food will appear!

Chaos' internal monologue

"I was going to clean my face on the carpet - you really didn't have to scoop me up and wipe the extra chicken baby food off of my chin with a towel before I could get there!"

The Flavor Bible

If you feel inclined to purchase something for me, I think that I could really make good use of The Flavor Bible. (Hmm...A guy I know named Kelsey would probably really appreciate it too.)

It's a book that tells you which seasonings and ingredients go well together, so you can more consistently be successful when engaged in experimental cooking.

Chaos' Head.

Chaos seems to have gotten himself a tonsure...

I guess it's just ferret pattern baldness and no religious statement after all.

He also has cataracts and is licking his chops in anticipation of supper.

Keeping the Chaos Boy Warm

Here's my snoogly-butt! He wouldn't tolerate this shirt when he was healthy, but it's staying on him now. It's probably cold enough now that he finds it cozy.

Chaos, the not so fuzzy

Poor little guy...he was out exploring the hallway this morning, though. Life isn't completely gone out of him yet.

Loki makes me laugh.

Loki found a dish of vinegar on the floor that I'd been using for cleaning. He dipped his nose in it and then backed up and shook it off. Then he tried it again from the other side and came away shaking his nose, looking rather disgusted. Chaos had a similar experience and so did Fuzzball. I guess ferrets need to be sure that their senses aren't deceiving them!

And then I called Loki a bit later with the squeaky toy. He was in the kitchen by the fridge and I was by the cage. He came racing around the stove, but didn't quite make the turn. His little feet went out from under him on the linoleum. I laughed so hard and have been laughing again every time I think of his little ferret exploits this morning. Schadenfreude.

Ferret Adventures

Loki once again found the door on the cage that I forgot to close this morning. The little guy was out exploring the apartment when I got home. He was quite the busy bee. He got a paper towel out of the bathroom trash and dragged the plunger and the toilet brush to the bathroom door. I hope that he has developed enough anti-bodies to survive such adventures! He seemed to be one happy little camper. (During all this, both of the other two were apparently still sleeping in the hammock in the cage.)

Lately, I've been wearing pants with rather wide legs. Enkidu keeps trying to climb up inside them. Very cute; not very effective.

Chaos is still trucking along.