Sociological perspectives

A reader wrote to tell me he had recently received a complementary book in the mail (he is a sociologist and the book appears to fit into that discipline’s boundaries). The book is titled “If You Tame Me” and from what I can tell, it has something to do with developing a conceptual and theoretical framework for looking at “human-animal intersubjectivity,” whatever that means (who said sociology is obvious?). If you are concerned that this perhaps hasn't the worth of a more conventional text, do note that it has been favorably reviewed by Jeffrey Masson, author of "When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals and The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats: A Journey into the Feline Heart."

But there's more: in the envelope, along with the book, a baggie was included with a little promo card announcing the release of the book. Along with it, there were 3 animal chewies and a little green mouse with pink ears. I want to know what's behind this. The publisher writes that “’If You Tame Me’ makes a persuasive case for the existence of a sense of self in companion animals and calls upon us to reconsider our rights and obligations regarding the non-human creatures in our lives.”

Are we to chew the toys ourselves, perhaps to demonstrate ‘the animal within’ (meaning our shared traits with other species)? Or should we take on the task of bringing a greater number of animals into our fold? I presume the little toy mouse is for a cat? Aren’t we, therefore, sacrificing one animal-kind (the mouse) for another (the evil predator cat)?

The other (literally) mystifying thing is the author’s previous publication. It appears to have no relation to this most recent topic. Or does it? She is only an assistant professor of sociology but she already has an earlier book in print. That previous one has the title of “Codependent Forevermore: The Invention of Self in a Twelve Step Group.” It is at times like this that I have a lingering regret that I am no longer part of the sociological enterprise. The things I could be reading right now! Instead, I am stuck with deciphering the contextual antecedents to the legal best interest standard in custody determination. Bummer.

Disconnect

Sometimes there is a total disconnect between what you want to accomplish in a day, or in an email, or in a post (your intent) and what ultimately appears to happen (your inept end-product). Perhaps on those days it’s best to make your way to that part of Owen Woods where charred fallen logs are still smoking after a burning of deadwood. Then, on returning, you can play an endless number of Chopin’s Nocturnes (try Nocturne No.2 or No.1 for a real Polish-style melancholy spin into the land of moroseness). And then? I’m still working on the “then.”

Spring Update

Last night I pulled weeds, all 847 of them, until it was so dark that I couldn’t tell a weed from an honest plant.

The perennial beds are so full of promise at this stage! I can’t see the planting mistakes yet, everything looks fresh, dense, alive.

I especially like my clumps of Aquilegia out front and my pink Gaura plants in the back. Each comes with a delicate stem, but it is misleading: the blooms will be sturdy and strong and subtly beautiful. And when the Aquilegia fades in late spring, the evening primrose will take over – that magical flower that has spread to form a mat of yellow faces. All are well established by now, just biding the time until the weather decides to settle down into a more stable pattern of warm days and nights.

A letter from my mother

I’ve blogged about my mom on numerous occasions, particularly around the time of the primaries. Though she is 80 years old, I don’t think most would regard her as feeble or soft-spoken.

With each letter she sends newspaper clippings and these reflect her unique Berkeley-style take on the political scene. I haven’t read all the clippings yet. Each time the size of the envelope grows—she’s now using yellow manila to pack it all in. But I did read the letter.

One has to know this about my mother: she has a not insignificant interest in home decorating. Though she lives in one tiny room in a very modest retirement home in Berkeley, there was a period in her life when she moved in and out of diplomatic circles (my father worked for the UN, actually at the time that Bush Sr. was the US Ambassador) and she studied carefully that which she herself could never have: the glamorous life of privilege (the UN itself was an odd assortment of wealth and modest means, depending on which country you came from).

This time she writes:

“Incidentally, did you see the picture in last week’s Newsweek of Bush with the Saudi prince inside the Crawford ranch?? What an ugly, ugly house with those ugly dining room chairs, ugly tall windows, ugly bookshelves and ugly sofa chairs. Ugly, ugly, ugly.”

You heard it here. Listen, the woman knows classic high-end décor, so I’m taking her comment seriously. The operative word here is ‘ugly.’

Perhaps I am over-sensitive…

In the NYT Sunday Travel Section there is an article about Warsaw (here). I was expecting it, really, what with May 1st being just days away (Poland, along with 9 other countries, will be joining the EU then).

I know the author of the article is the NYT Bureau Chief in nearby Prague and so he is knowledgeable about Central European matters. Still, there were many points in the piece that I felt were skewed and misleading.

The opening paragraph is just fine. I read:

"Poland is the new player in the New Europe, the biggest by far of the 10 countries set to join the European Union in May. Its lure is not the grand or the quaint; it was leveled with systematic cruelty by the Nazis in World War II, and you can still find houses where holes from bullets and shells have not been repaired. No country suffered more in the last century. Rather, Poland, and particularly Warsaw, is a place where you can almost see history being overcome."

But then, we come to observations that are a touch more troubling. Briefly, the article raises the following points:

* It concludes that Poles are skeptical about joining the EU, not foreseeing any immediate benefits for themselves.
[response: although Poles will acknowledge that an immediate economic miracle is not in the cards, virtually every single Pole I have raised this with has said that they are hopeful because of the emergence of a European community, with Poland in its midst.]

* There’s the following sentence to worry about as well. The Times writes: “Luckily for visitors, that moment comes in spring, when Poland shakes off its long winter and the flowers of its big downtown parks eliminate all shades of drear.”
[question: Drear? What drear? Does the author imply Warsaw is dreary at times when it isn’t covered over with flowers? I'm not liking this guy...]

* Then, there is also the Chopin bit. From the Times: “When the weather finally warms, Poles pay weekly tribute to Chopin - revered like no other Pole, with the possible exception of Pope John Paul II - in free Sunday concerts at Lazienki Park off Aleje Ujazdowskie. Poland is rarely overrun by tourists, so the concerts attract a fair share of ordinary folk”
[comment: Poland is rarely overrun by tourists? Well, okay, though maybe the Prague Bureau chief hasn’t been in Warsaw during its hot days of summer when tourists are EVERYWHERE, especially in Warsaw and Krakow. And what’s this last line about ‘ordinary folk?’ Who is the referent here? Ordinary, plain, colorless, fade-in-the-crowd type people? And am I an ordinary folk?]

* Comment on the Polish cuisine: I have never eaten wild-boar knuckles in my life. I do NOT consider it a well-known or beloved traditional Polish dish.

* On the subject of milkbars, the Times writes: “For a quick and cheap meal, it is worth a visit to one of Warsaw's vanishing Communist traditions, the milk bar. Among Poles, milk bars are regarded with nostalgia, disgust or both. They are places where students and workers could fill up on breakfast with a glass of milk, pancakes, pirogi and soups inexpensively, often in gloomy surroundings.”
[comment: how many things are wrong with that paragraph? Are milk bars a Communist tradition? Are they regarded with disgust, ever? They are the former fast food emporia of sorts. Most Poles did like them quite a bit and I don’t remember anyone ever referring to them as gloomy. They may not have had the pizazz of an American food court, but they were nonetheless highly popular.]

It’s late. I’m sure I’ll see the good sides to this article come morning. For now the exuberance is lost on me. I read a description of a city that is dreary, with uninteresting food and ordinary folk lappin’ it up, in gloomy surroundings. Makes you want to pack your bags and go to Prague.