italiangreyhounds.org » Animal Behavior

Yeah, whatever.

Archivist, University of Polyleritae — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 17:53:30 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxuZ-zcL3E0

die Fledermaus

Archivist, University of Polyleritae — Mon, 30 May 2011 15:17:39 +0000

I was fortunate recently to acquire a copy of Franz Marc, the 1936 biography by Alois J. Schardt. This is a cool book with a lot of drawings I had not seen before, including this study. This bat is a lot more cheerful than the one in Hoffnungslos. The echolocation abilities of bats were not identified until 1938 (but bats flew first, 53 million years ago, and then developed this type of sonar also used by dolphins and moles), so Marc wouldn’t have known about it. It is really cool to see that Marc realized how amazing bats are, though.

Anatomical study of bats and birds from Franz Marc (1936)

: Anatomischestudien 1907 detail of bat, from Franz Marc

Don’t Cry, Work

Archivist, University of Polyleritae — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:24:50 +0000

Unidentified Coastal Organism

It’s June 2010.

“The end of history involves, then, an ‘epilogue’ in which human negativity is preserved as a ‘remnant’ in the form of eroticism, laughter, joy in the face of death. In the uncertain light of this epilogue, the wise man, sovereign and self-conscious, sees not animal heads passing again before his eyes but rather the acephalous figures of the hommes farouchement religieux, ‘lovers,’ or ‘sorcerer’s apprentices.’ ”
– Giorgio Agamben, The Open: Man and Animal, (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004), 7.

Hans Selye Gets Advice…

Archivist, University of Polyleritae — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:06:04 +0000

“When he saw me thus launched on yet another enraptured description of what I had observed, he looked at me with desperately sad eyes and said in obvious despair: ‘But Selye try to realize what you are doing before it is too late! You have now decided to spend your entire life studying the pharmacology of dirt.’ ”
– (Hans Selye, The Stress of Life, 1956)

Decemberist

Archivist, University of Polyleritae — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 21:00:57 +0000

There has been quiet lately. We still miss our little dog so much it seems impossible to think ofÂ rattling on without her being present.Â EveryÂ day, Astra and I lookÂ for hours at the place where theÂ girlsÂ slept in the sun, andÂ theÂ minutes drag as the light moves across that patch.Â Astra misses having her own personalÂ guide dogÂ far more than IÂ had expected.Â WeÂ will all always miss Quee. ThisÂ photoÂ is one of the last I have of the girlsÂ taking their habitual nap together.Â TheyÂ both lookedÂ melancholy in advance.

My Girls Are In Trouble

Archivist, University of Polyleritae — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 03:47:36 +0000

There hasn’t been any posting for a while, nor the promised Live Dog Cam, for a couple reasons. First Astra was very sick…she had to have 17 of her teeth pulled (her exploits chronicled here). Then Queequeg, not to be outdone, began experiencing the kidney failure that commonly, critically becomes an issue for dogs of her age.

Queequeg is at Coral Gables Animal Hospital tonight, on an IV. It is hard to know what to do. I swore I wouldn’t subject her to the horrible indignities Moshe had to go through before she died…and that’s the consideration; they are old, and they die anyway. I hope I can keep my promise to her, but it’s so hard to accept the tough little dog … not being around. It’s not like with Astra; Astra just doesn’t care, and she wants to live, dignity or none. Queequeg has quite the opposite personality. She would sign a DNR if she could.

I guess we will all try to sleep and see what tomorrow brings.

Yesterday was Astra’s fifteenth birthday, and I am happy now we spent it quietly, with just a little bit of celebrating, a few treats and lots of hugs and napping.