...and this is your brain on linguistics: just say no to words

This round of "scholarship" with predator and prey is a linguistics research proposal. I look at reports of sexual crimes that are framed within the predator-prey "metaphor" and count the frequency of the signifier perpetrator/"predator" signifying males, females, and juveniles and see if there's any correlation between/among relationships of sex/gender/age  of the victim. This is the exciting part because I think it will involve statistics and I would like to replace words with numbers whenever possible. The other part is some literature review of sociolinguistics and gender/sex that includes pragmatics, semiotics, linguistic frames, metaphor, psycholinguistics, discourse analysis blah blah blah. I'm pretty sure the gap in the research is about the impact on non-human predators when humans are demonized as predators.

I have some sentences about predator-prey dynamics being free of language and morality and point out the many types of ecological relationships left out of the metaphor--what about scavenging? commensalism? mutualism? parasitism?  My bigger claim is probably along the lines of dehumanizing perpetrators, further silencing victims, the power and limitations of framing crime in this metaphor bla bla bla. What I really want to argue is that it's stupid, dumb, and wrong to co-opt the "vitality of the the struggle" (i.e.: the life-affirming, complexity, nuance, necessity of predator-prey dynamics) and label it as deviant, violent, immoral. What better evidence than representatives of the order carnivora--canididae and felidae--eating a previously frozen raw organic Cornish game hen on the living room floor? That troubles the metaphor. I think I'll make a visual argument.

Studies in the Sierra: Koven as Stickeen

"I know that our bodies were made to thrive only in pure air, and the scenes in which pure air is found." 





Going from the presupposition that brains are part of bodies, I decided that in order to thrive (or just think)  Koven, E.Ita and I needed to seek some pure air and the scenery where it is found. As a bow to Muir's spirit of adventure and freedom, when I couldn't find any of the trailheads I'd researched, we appreciated the opportunity to pursue a surprise trail on the El Dorado National Forest that led to the Desolation Wilderness.
"Another glorious Sierra day in which one seems to be dissolved and absorbed and sent pulsing onward we know not where. Life seems neither long nor short, and we take no more heed to save time or make haste than do the trees and stars. This is true freedom, a good practical sort of immortality." 

"Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, inciting at once to work and rest! Days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God. Nevermore, however weary, should one faint by the way who gains the blessings of one mountain day; whatever [her] fate, long life, short life, stormy or calm, [she] is rich forever."

Merr's Miller Analogies

Finally...a photo!
This is Koven in Idlewild Park, which is where he meets his dealer as often as possible. Koven is to goose poop as K9 narcotic units are to illicit drugs...except for the part where he destroys evidence. It turns out his favorite treat dispensing toy is the vibram sole of my Chacos...in case he doesn't get enough of a buzz in the park. We're working on his addiction, and his recent success swimming in the Truckee River hopefully will help him realize how many other pleasurable things there are to live for. Hedonist.

Koven is still trying to fit into the social middle school scene.. He's an artist-philosopher and has a hard time figuring out how to play with his "peers." Judah is only a freshman and has already taken the varsity football, wrestling, rugby, and hockey teams to state championships. He's being actively recruited by the NFL and NHL. Koven really wants to like Polly, but she's a cheerleader with severe ADHD, and, like any reasonable person would do, he sometimes just has to run away and hide. And then there's poor Silas. He's had a very rough childhood and is still deciding on whether to join a street gang or marching band. And the cat...well, he's the higher power in our life and we just try to bring him offerings of sardines and liver in the hope he'll not smite us from the earth.

Shortly after his arrival from the Animal Adoption Center, K seemed to develop some allergies and to be just a bit too mellow... He bravely went to the vet who ran lots of tests, and everything looked great except for his urine sample that apparently was full of white blood cells, indicating an infection. We're dealing with that via antibiotics, and experimenting with the allergy symptoms/treatments. Part of this experimentation is with unprocessed (and often uncooked) foods. He was skeptical at first, far more interested in kibble (Canidae's newest premium grain-free food with primary meat source bison...vet recommended red meats, and I thought it would help him stay in touch with his Wyoming homeland) than various mixtures of beef and lamb and their respective organs. Once The Cat started in on the raw stuff, Koven--again, just trying to fit in--ate a bit. Chicken wings seem to have been his gateway drug (after goose poop) and he's eager to test more of the raw stuff. Koven also has endured a few baths with oatmeal shampoo. I think he's definitely improving.

One of our very best moments in the last couple of weeks was howling together. Sascha, a husky-mix who was "my dog" for a few years (hit by a car while I was at church, February 2, 1997) regularly howled when she heard sirens and I'd howl with her.  Scout never howled, Honey howled once, and Koven...I think, based on his performance last week, will be an excellent howling partner. I don't really know if his howls come from the baying hound in him or having descended from wolves. The two compliments in my life that mean the most to me are: 1) having the attending ER physician tell my dad that I was "very stoic" while dealing with a kidney stone, and 2) the wolf biologist who, upon my demonstration of howling, judged it as very similar to a young female wolf. I'm glad I'll be able to get some more practice--maybe I can get my students' attention better by a howl than my current method of awking like a raven.

My hope is that with the means to take photos of Koven, my narration sickness might be cured.

Camera : Logorrea   ::  Childhood Vaccines : Autism...
oh, wait, that wouldn't be right... good thing I did so fantastically on the GRE.

Opposable Thumbs? Really?

According to the usually-legitimate source, Wikipedia, Homo habilis was benefiting from opposable thumbs one million years ago. The perks of opposable thumbs initially involved the capacity for fine motor skills, which resulted in the ability to develop and use tools. So--whatever--it's a big deal and one that I don't often consider as part of my primate identity. Until today, and I'm having an identity crisis.

When I have a lot of work to do, I make sure that Koven gets some good running/training/river time before settling in. I also try to offer him some engaging stuff to do, should he wish to do some "stuff." With the generous gift from Koven's Uncle Bryce, we selected some new toys and treats, including a new treat dispensing toy, since he's mastered excavation of the stuffed Kong.

The rationale for selecting the treat dispensing toy was to amuse Koven and in so doing allow me some sustained and focused work time. However, watching Koven problem solve this new puzzle was quite absorbing. After getting the "easy" treats, he struggled with how to get the larger ones. I want this game to be far more reinforcing than frustrating, and so eventually I stepped in. An hour and ten minutes later, with supposed advantages from opposable thumbs and the use of multiple tools, the larger treats were dislodged. My natural conclusion is that I don't have much up on Koven.

Opposable thumbs also "ensured that important human functions such as writing were possible." Hmmm. Maybe I should try that.

The Antidote Anecdote

I have a sleep disorder more accurately described as a wakefulness disorder. In the past it's been managed effectively with--what else?--medication. My current insurance does not cover this medication, which requires me to prioritize the days that I "pay" to be awake and functional--and weekends don't always make the cut. Insurance can't touch Koven, though, and he is the best drug ever. He gets me up, gets me out, makes me laugh, and when he takes naps I recognize my limited window of opportunity for getting work done--this promotes motivation. We're just back from some playtime at Idlewild Park along the Truckee River. In my enthusiasm to show Koven how great water is, I tripped and did some swimming myself. That'll wake you up. So will a dog sprinting in great wide circles all around you.

Anniversary Celebration

Today marks our one-week anniversary. Koven came to school with me this morning (he embodied perfection under the cover of a service dog in training--brilliant, beautiful boy!) and then he got to see Forrest and relay all sorts of love back to his Amy.

In the spirit of Byrd Baylor's, I'm in Charge of Celebrations, Koven and I choose to celebrate today as a proclamation of  puppy enthusiasm for rolling in dead things and eating goose poop, of trying so hard to get the cat to play and taking it all out on tug toys when cat spits/hisses/yowls/swats, of settling into sleep to dream the celebration(s) of tomorrow...

Today is also "Foucault Action Figure Day," the day of social theorists' descent into and out of my brain in the essential (but not essentialist...more post-structuralist) context within a discursive field of language free Koven-inspired reality. I'm glad that one's been a short-lived celebration.

Friends! Cats! Off leash! Chicken Livers!

From Koven's perspective, today was his best day in Nevada so far--at least that's what he told me. Despite the original plan where he helps motivate me to get out of bed, mornings are all snuggly--Koven on one side of the bed, The Cat on the other, me in between. Eventually I realize I have some mandatory non-Koven centered commitments and he and I agree that we should take a brisk morning walk to problem solve the non-Koven commitments. Our walk paid off in a big way because we finally got to meet the three dogs next door. It's a pack of three: a senior boxer, middle-aged pit bull and an eight month old pit bull. Their humans are very nice, and Koven was invited into the yard to play. Nothing is so blissful and puppies playing. Despite the common perceptions about pittis--these guys are fabulous and not at all aggressive. Koven is so desperate for dogs to play with, and he can play long and hard with Juda--he is much faster and a good little wrestler whenever he allows himself to be caught.

On the domestic side, the almighty Dinofelis Sunshine Qiviut the first has finally agreed to allow Koven and me in his house. The line about "ain't nobody happy if mama ain't happy" manifests in my world by replacing "mama" with "The Cat." Said cat hasn't allowed any sort of play or cuddling with Koven, but they sniff at each other regularly and get through the day without conflict.

Koven and I took our first off leash walk this evening at a dog park in the northwest part of town. He isn't especially keen on going off to frolic in his freedom, but he did do a little exploring and sagebrush/rabbitbrush hurdling.  We saw a bunch of rabbits and he didn't chase, he pooped off-trail, stayed very near to me and when he did get ahead of me, he seemed to sense we weren't in line-of-sight and came dashing back to check in. At one point he saw a couple of dogs playing and headed that way, and when it became clear they didn't want him in their club, I called him, and...he came--with enthusiasm. I'm glad he has some ideas about the recall--my nephew asked me when I was going to train Scout to come; Scout, at this point, was twelve years old. I am so thrilled about having a pup who is very responsive and not a chaser or bully--it gives us so much access to doing the stuff we love.

Treats seem to be one of Koven's reasons for living. However, it's surprisingly hard to find treats of a quality worthy of this boy. Which means I performed a tremendous gift of love when I bought chicken livers--one of the most disgusting concepts and sensually repulsive encounters I've had recently. They got boiled and cut up--and before putting them away Koven did every behavior he could think of in the hopes of a liver reward.  When I finally asked him to do some work for those treats, he was ready.