![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Oct. 31st, 2012
Sammy Scare: Day 5
Oct. 31st, 2012 08:20 amWe did not make a note yesterday on Sammy, what with the library trip and the drama over at LJ, but Sammy is looking very good this morning, and I am tempted to say that he seems fully his old self.
I'm going to take it easier on the antibiotics and syringes. Because I suspect that the foulness in his mouth will come back, since we did not get at the root of the problem: the bad teeth and gums, the source of the infection, one presumes based on the vet's words. And we may need to go another round of treatment to see if we can give Sammy yet another bounce.
If it were my money we would lay down the two or three hundred dollars for the dental work. As it is, one has to appreciate that we did as much as we did for Sammy. It is an extra bill that does not give Pop any fun for his dollars, and it is not like Pop is getting any younger himself.
* * * *
1525
Sammy and Ash are even dozing and cuddling together as of the days of old. I may not have mentioned it, but one of the sad things to see was how Sammy seemed to be effectively isolated by Coco and Ash - no more grooming and playing together - as though the instinct for self-preservation had kicked in. And I would see how Sammy noticed this and became that much more embittered and dejected. Once I saw Sammy lie down before Ash, obviously hoping to be groomed and licked, but was ignored.
I only hope that we do not end up making it easier for the infection to spread. And I am afraid that this is only a temporary respite for Sammy.
* * * *
The cats and I are in the office. Lorie is here watching the Spurs with Pop, and we are keeping the cats in late on account of the trick-or-treaters. And I see Ash and Sammy grooming and licking each other. Sammy must be so relieved and happy. I just hope that Ash is not getting sick. Is it too much to hope that Sammy is back to normal, that we only needed to knock out a bit of infection with the antibiotics?
I'm going to take it easier on the antibiotics and syringes. Because I suspect that the foulness in his mouth will come back, since we did not get at the root of the problem: the bad teeth and gums, the source of the infection, one presumes based on the vet's words. And we may need to go another round of treatment to see if we can give Sammy yet another bounce.
If it were my money we would lay down the two or three hundred dollars for the dental work. As it is, one has to appreciate that we did as much as we did for Sammy. It is an extra bill that does not give Pop any fun for his dollars, and it is not like Pop is getting any younger himself.
* * * *
1525
Sammy and Ash are even dozing and cuddling together as of the days of old. I may not have mentioned it, but one of the sad things to see was how Sammy seemed to be effectively isolated by Coco and Ash - no more grooming and playing together - as though the instinct for self-preservation had kicked in. And I would see how Sammy noticed this and became that much more embittered and dejected. Once I saw Sammy lie down before Ash, obviously hoping to be groomed and licked, but was ignored.
I only hope that we do not end up making it easier for the infection to spread. And I am afraid that this is only a temporary respite for Sammy.
* * * *
The cats and I are in the office. Lorie is here watching the Spurs with Pop, and we are keeping the cats in late on account of the trick-or-treaters. And I see Ash and Sammy grooming and licking each other. Sammy must be so relieved and happy. I just hope that Ash is not getting sick. Is it too much to hope that Sammy is back to normal, that we only needed to knock out a bit of infection with the antibiotics?
Orangey droppe by for a bite to eat, naturally enough, and I am afraid that Orangey is a 'she', and it is definitely true that this 'she' has a seriously puffed out belly. Not good, not good, not good!
That's the thing about cats. They are always good for drama. Not quite as bad as teenagers, but close.
Orangey also has a problem with her right eye, perhaps an infection of her own something that might be readily and affordably fixed by a quick trip to the vet. God, we all need help, why, and why can't we get it...
That's the thing about cats. They are always good for drama. Not quite as bad as teenagers, but close.
Orangey also has a problem with her right eye, perhaps an infection of her own something that might be readily and affordably fixed by a quick trip to the vet. God, we all need help, why, and why can't we get it...
“Of all those who start out on philosophy - not those who take it up for the sake of getting educated when they are young and then drop it, but those who linger in it for a longer time - most become quite queer, not to say completely vicious; while the ones who seem perfectly decent... become useless.”
-- Plato, “Republic”
Funny, isn’t it? This is not exactly a call of welcome to all those considering making philosophy a big part of their life, but seems more like a variation of “Abandon all hope ye who enter here!” Which can be pretty irresistible. Especially if you are somebody who has largely given up on life.
However, the larger argument in the relevant passage of “Republic” is that the philosopher only seems useless because society does not know how to make use of him. Nevertheless, I think the quote stands well enough by itself. We do not have true all-knowing philosophers who can govern states brilliantly. All we have are seekers and pretenders, or college professors.
I went to the library yesterday and picked up “Examined Lives: From Socrates to Nietzsche” (2011) by James Miller. If you ask me nicely, I may share a few quotes with you. And, no, I am not taking another swing at philosophy. I lost all such ambitions along with my twenties and thirties. It is all just literature to me now, something to enjoy reading while passing the life away.
-- Plato, “Republic”
Funny, isn’t it? This is not exactly a call of welcome to all those considering making philosophy a big part of their life, but seems more like a variation of “Abandon all hope ye who enter here!” Which can be pretty irresistible. Especially if you are somebody who has largely given up on life.
However, the larger argument in the relevant passage of “Republic” is that the philosopher only seems useless because society does not know how to make use of him. Nevertheless, I think the quote stands well enough by itself. We do not have true all-knowing philosophers who can govern states brilliantly. All we have are seekers and pretenders, or college professors.
I went to the library yesterday and picked up “Examined Lives: From Socrates to Nietzsche” (2011) by James Miller. If you ask me nicely, I may share a few quotes with you. And, no, I am not taking another swing at philosophy. I lost all such ambitions along with my twenties and thirties. It is all just literature to me now, something to enjoy reading while passing the life away.
Law and Disorder
Oct. 31st, 2012 11:59 amThere is no shortage of stories of police officers who get lost in their authority and bravado, and this is just another incident. It sounds like something out of a dark comedy, perhaps fit for a scene in one of those old "Police Academy" movies.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
set to mow
Oct. 31st, 2012 03:48 pmIt would get hot this afternoon, fully sunny and hot, with scarcely a wisp of cloud in the sky, on the afternoon that I am set to mow. I'd wait longer, but there is a good chance of getting rain over the weekend, and I feel that I really need to beat any possible storm. The grass is getting a little wild.
* * * *
2020
Knocked out the mow. There was an extra challenge in it, too. I forgot it was Halloween, and I was a little desperate toward the end to beat out the first trick-or-treaters.
* * * *
2020
Knocked out the mow. There was an extra challenge in it, too. I forgot it was Halloween, and I was a little desperate toward the end to beat out the first trick-or-treaters.
LJ and Russian Business
Oct. 31st, 2012 04:04 pmLJ keeps rolling out big makeovers for the site, and they usually seem to be a big turn off, at least for the Anglo-sphere. And someone shared this viewpoint from the upper echelons of the owners and site-administrators:
Personally, I know I lost a lot of heart in the site a long time ago, but that has more to do with everyone going to those other sites, and my personal uncoolness was apparently becoming too evident as well, and it is just not the fun it used to be ten years ago, without the friends and little flirtations. But I am afraid that I am just one of those people for whom life generally tastes more sour as one ages - more losing, more dying, less hope, less joy.
(Source: LJ)
Anton Nossik, an advisor to SUP Media, has not reacted favourably to criticism by site users. In an interview given in March 2008, he accused LiveJournal users of "trying to scare and blackmail us, threatening to destroy our business," and stated that a large class of users have as their only purpose bringing harm to LiveJournal and its owners; "their goal is to criticize, destabilize and ruin our reputation." In the interview, he predicted that his likely reaction to such pressure would be to retaliate against the users rather than bowing to their pressure.I suppose this is the Russian way of doing business: love it or get purged! I don't know if LJ is hurting itself or not. The site was dying under the new Internet 2.0 - a relic in the fast-changing cyberworld. People say that the site is just being made to be much more like Facebook and Tumblr, which is what the masses seem to want.
Personally, I know I lost a lot of heart in the site a long time ago, but that has more to do with everyone going to those other sites, and my personal uncoolness was apparently becoming too evident as well, and it is just not the fun it used to be ten years ago, without the friends and little flirtations. But I am afraid that I am just one of those people for whom life generally tastes more sour as one ages - more losing, more dying, less hope, less joy.
(Source: LJ)
the neighbor dog
Oct. 31st, 2012 09:35 pmI have been able to 'snack' the neighbor dog again for the past few days. Remember, there as a period of a good few months, maybe longer, when he seemed to lose all interest in getting anything from me, not even caring to come up to the fence. I have no idea what accounts for these mood changes. Maybe the summer was very hard on him?? and he just lost a lot of will?
"The Turn of the Screw"
Oct. 31st, 2012 09:56 pmAll such attempts to "solve" the ["The Turn of the Screw"], however admiringly tendered, unwittingly work toward its diminution. Yes, if we choose to accept the reality of the ghosts, "The Turn of the Screw" presents a bracing account of rampant terror. (This is the way I first read it, in my teens.) And if we accept the governess’s madness, we have a fascinating view of a shattering mental dissolution. (That’s the way I next read it, under a professor’s instruction in college.)
But "The Turn of the Screw" is greater than either of these interpretations. Its profoundest pleasure lies in the beautifully fussed over way in which James refuses to come down on either side. In its twenty-four brief chapters, the book becomes a modest monument to the bold pursuit of ambiguity. It is rigorously committed to lack of commitment. At each rereading, you have to marvel anew at how adroitly and painstakingly James plays both sides.
-- Brad Leithauser
But "The Turn of the Screw" is greater than either of these interpretations. Its profoundest pleasure lies in the beautifully fussed over way in which James refuses to come down on either side. In its twenty-four brief chapters, the book becomes a modest monument to the bold pursuit of ambiguity. It is rigorously committed to lack of commitment. At each rereading, you have to marvel anew at how adroitly and painstakingly James plays both sides.
-- Brad Leithauser