Flutes on Screen

When I was little, there were a number of movies I liked, and at the time I had no idea they were from Japan. Such as Totoro and Kiki. Unico in the Island of Magic was another. Made by the same person that did Astro Boy, which is more familiar to American audiences (Tezuka is wildly popular among manga fans - he's considered a classic mangaka).

Unico in the Island of Magic is a sappy movie about a little unicorn who brings joy. I loved it as a kid - my dad had recorded it from TV for me. And as I grew older, I kept the nostalgia for it. And one day, to my surprise, I found that movie was actually a sequel. I watched the first one, but I guess the second one is just mine.

Anyway, that sappy nostalgic cartoon sequel has a really cool, haunting flute song in it, played by someone who is a villain for a while. 

I gave myself one of those ridiculously crazy massive projects that I occasionally come up with. This one is to find cool flute songs from movies, and get sheet music for them. 

Easier said than done. For many of these flute songs, I can't find sheet music. Either I don't know where to look, or it's just not there. And for some of these songs, I doubt anyone would have gone through the effort to write them out.

Toby's flute songs are in this latter category. So I took it upon myself to write out the sheet music. By hand, because I don't have a computer program for it (I had one once, but it was a nightmare to use. Maybe there's something better now, but it seems easier to just write it). Transcribing it was crazy. Especially since I had to go into the movie to get some of it, and try to listen to the music through dialogue. But it made me appreciate the songs all the more. The first song is slow and haunting, and the second variation is much faster-paced. And to my immense relief, the third one was exactly the same as the second one.

I've written out a few more flute songs from other movies, but Toby's were the trickiest. Even trickier than Cardinal Knowledge, because it's less repetitive (Cardinal Knowledge is played in the end credits of Secret of Kells - I've almost finished that one, but not quite). 

So, I'm playing my hard-won sheet music. It will be cool when I get these tricky ones under my fingers.

Writing vs. Intuition?

I was listening to a talk, and someone said something that was fascinating. I have no idea how true it is, but it makes you think. They said that when writing was invented, people were lamenting that it was the death of intuition.

It makes sense. Instead of trying to figure out or feel things for yourself, you just read someone else's account. It would have been a very different way to learn.

I obviously find writing helpful, because it's hard to remember a lot of details. And it lets different people can build off of new ideas. But then again, the whole point of the statement is that we have bad intuition now. Maybe I wouldn't need writing if my intuition was incredible?

Meerkat

Wolves and Wargs

I recently watched parts of a couple movies with my dad: Lord of the Rings, and Wolfwalkers. We watched Wolfwalkers between a couple of the Lord of the Rings movies. And as we were watching Wolfwalkers, my dad said it was violent. I was astonished, and asked what he thought all the battles in Lord of the Rings were. They're far more violent than Wolfwalkers. He said that Lord of the Rings was "fun violent." What a weird thing to say. I mean, I guess there's a bit of that with Legolas and Gimli bantering about how many orcs they've taken out.

But violence isn't fun. There's slapstick, which is funny if it's good. But there's a line between slapstick and violence. Wolfwalkers doesn't have fun violence because there's nothing fun about violence. And Lord of the Rings has some silly stuff in their battles so the films don't get too heavy and dark. But Lord of the Rings doesn't make violence fun either. Think of Boromir.

There are movies that make violence funny. I don't like them. There isn't anything funny about people getting badly hurt and killed. People shouldn't be thinking that way. (It depends on how it's done - in Coco, it's kinda funny when the bell falls on top of a certain famous singer. But that is part of setting up a movie about the dead. It was a deliberate way to lighten people up about death for the duration of the film, so they could really get immersed in the Land of the Dead. Oops, that turned into a Coco tangent).

Write Your Ideas!

An ongoing hurdle with most of my stories is finding a plot. Well, not always a plot. But something going on that the characters, themes, and events center around. 

For example, I recently did a short story to explain how Joaquin came to live at Evva's farm. I knew basically what would happen. But it wasn't enough to fill out a story. As I was brainstorming, I filled out the setting. The city gets seasonal wetlands, and is a place where migratory birds spend the winter. I'd heard of places that have festivals to welcome the migratory birds. That even fit with the themes of the story.

This is why I keep a big file of random ideas. Sometimes I only need something small like "migratory bird festival" to fill in a gap that makes a story whole. Once I have that, the characters will help me fill in around it. 

White ibis

Take a Seat

As I was going through that big character questionnaire for Evva,I started thinking about something from  Big Hero 6. In the bonus features, they show an animation test for developing characters. For each character, they animate them walking into a room and sitting in a chair. It was amazing how much they could fit into such a simple scene. How the character walks. Do they yank out the chair and crash into it? Prop their feet on the table? 

I found myself trying to picture Evva in a similar situation.

But yeah, Big Hero 6 has incredible characters.

Your irregularly schedule interruption in writing to look up hitching horses to a two-horse wagon.

Can't Stop Talking?

Back when certain people were my friends, we would regularly talk about stories. Now none of my friends are into that. Nicole will analyze movies with me, though she hasn't read my stuff. Nick hasn't read my stuff either, and says he can't analyze it because he's my friend. 

So I don't get to talk to anyone about my stories, and it's like keeping a lid on a volcano. Sometimes it bursts and I end up trying to discuss stories with people who don't care. Such as this account. It always ends badly, since I'm all excited and no one else has any idea what I'm talking about.

La Mancha goat

Pure Sap

For the past few years, I've become a stupid sucker for sappy friendship stuff. Think My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Or Pokémon Masters (the iphone game). 

There's even been a couple times where I started crying during the sappiest stuff. Even if I wasn't really interested in what was going on (Or course this applies to some non-sappy stuff too - Steven Universe makes you feel very real things).

It's easy to tell why this switch happened. When one of your best friends destroys you, it knocks a screw loose. 

I prefer the fact that I now cry about animals, or just because something is beautifully done. 

I've also been informed that the older you get, the easier you cry.

(I think watching cinema therapy videos has also increased the amount of film-induced tears)

Cinema Therapy

After Coco came out, I watched some Youtube videos where people talked about the movie. One of those videos was by a channel called Cinema Therapy. 

I saw their videos suggested a few times, but didn't really pay attention. Until Elemental came out, and I started looking up videos about it. Their video about Elemental (and Wade) popped up several times, and I finally clicked on it. It was great listening to other people who also loved Wade. 

I finally started looking at the rest of their channel. They're reviewed Disney, Ghibli. Marvel, and many others. One of the guys is a filmmaker, and the other is a therapist. So they talk about how movies are made, and about the characters in them. It's a great channel! Look up some of their movies.

Building Up Characters

I finished Evva's story (the first draft) about six years ago. I've been editing it on and off ever since. 

It was many years before finishing the first draft that I was doing tons of research on character development. I found a bunch of pages from different sources with questions to help you create a good character. I compiled questions from all of them to make one mega questionnaire. The ultimate character development sheet. I filled it out for a couple of my older characters. It took a very long time because it's many pages long. I haven't been brave enough to tackle it since. Until now. I finally filled it out for Evva. 

It took ages. I had to do it in stages so I wouldn't zone out. It helped me figure out a lot of stuff that defines Evva. Not necessarily things that would appear in the story, but they would determine how she reacts in certain situations. And how she got to where she is.

That questionnaire I put together (aka stole from many people-though they were online for people to use) is a beast. But it definitely helped! 

Young mandrill 

Baby mandrill

Rights

 An important video: 

On to Galar

I finished my Alola fanfiction a few days ago! 

Next is Galar.

I hadn't written any of the Galar arc since I was focusing on Alola. I just have several pages of notes. I didn't plan on starting it until I finished one other big writing project, and worked some on a second one. 

But the day after I finished Alola, I thought I'd do just the beginning and see where it took me. I couldn't stop! I've been doing so much editing lately that it was so great to casually start writing and see where it went. And it was a day where it flowed really well. 

Leon - the guy in the picture above - is the champion of Galar. I knew he'd have a role in this fanfiction. It was sort of inevitable. He and Cara are around the same age, and they're both champions, though from different regions. The girl in the picture is meant to be Cara, but she's actually older-you can't change your again the game.

Leon and Cara know about each other. Leon is a celebrity, so Cara definitely knows about him. Though she's surprised to learn that he's been following her battles too - she's not a celebrity champion, though some people do recognize her. But after writing this first Chapter, Leon had such a presence that I'm realizing he's going to be a bigger part of my fanfiction than I thought. He already had a large role in a few chapters, but I think he has to appear rather frequently. 

I'll also be playing around with a topic that I don't usually touch. Both Cara and I are equally bad at this, so it will be interesting.

Okay, now to get back to the serious projects!  I'll try to keep this is a fun break. For now.

Elemental

I missed seeing Elemental on the big screen. I assumed it had gone straight to Disney + like the other recent Disney films, and I now kick myself for missing it. It would have been incredible. I first watched it on the plane to Ireland. I enjoyed it. I even found myself thinking about it several times during the following days (as my brain slowly processed how much I liked it-the same thing happened with Coco, to a greater extent). On the flight back home a month later, there weren't many movies to choose from. Elemental was one of them, so I watched it again. Although I think I would have watched it again anyway.

I rarely get excited about fictional romances. They so rarely feel real. But I felt this one. You can clearly see every time Ember and Wade find something amazing about each other. I think this movie has claimed the title of my favorite romance.

Both wade and Ember have incredible animation. I love how, well, fluid Ember moves. And Wade is so squishy. No, that's not the right word. Sloshy? Wiggly? Wobbly? Well, he's like jello.The water people have awesome hair. And Wade leaves wet footprints wherever he goes. Each footstep is a little sploosh. 

Spoilers, by the way.

Ember and her family are great. It looks like her parents paved the way for all of Fire Town. Ember's not the only fire person to visit Element City - as she's chasing Wade, I noticed another pair of fire people walking the street. Interestingly, it's only fire people that make a fuss about Ember and Wade being together. 

Dude, that city crew that refused to fix the doors was responsible for destroying Fire Town. It was their job, not Ember's, and they could have gotten so many people killed!

Between Ember and Wade, it looks like Ember is actually the first to really admire the other. But being Ember, she never would have acted on it. In the stadium, when she sees how Wade can unite everyone, she's amazed.

Wade did notice Ember's glow before that, which certainly got his attention. And being compassionate as Wade is, he couldn't not help her (Even though Ember had been hunting him across the city, and threatening him with a wall of fire). By the time they get to the stadium, Wade has gone way out of his way to help Ember, even though she has done absolutely nothing to endear herself to him. Wade looks surprised that she wants one of his tickets, but he doesn't seem to mind giving her one. He's happy showing her around the stadium, and even buys her a hat (RIP hat). Wade's first real "wow" moment about Ember is with the hot air balloon. 

When Ember takes Clod's first flower, she seems satisfied to see it burn to a crisp. But the second time, she's thinking about compatibility between different kinds of people. She doesn't want to burn that flower, but it burns anyway. Ouch.

I watched some behind-the-scenes videos. They said that Wade is a beast to animate. He has to be transparent, but not too transparent. Shiny, but not too shiny. Plus he has no bones, which animation programs are built around. One of the animators did a little demonstration of sketching Wade. I had to draw him too. It didn't look that hard. He doesn't even have a definite shape - he can be almost any shape. But they were right. Wade is a beast to draw. I don't even understand why he was that difficult for me to get right! 

I freaking love Wade. Wade is sincere, genuine, compassionate, smart, determined, patient and a good listener. And he's full of wisdom too! He's quick to fix mistakes, even if he's the one that caused them. He's made it into my top favorite characters. Tentatively #3, after Hector and Garnet (but ahead of Scarlemagne and Kenshin). 

Yeah, the rest of this will be me gushing about how great Wade is. 

One of my favorite scenes is only about ten seconds long. Wade told Ember that he'd meet her at the theater. She said she wouldn't come, so he's waiting with a very nervous look on his face. When he sees her he starts crying. But seeing Ember's reaction, he wipes his face, spends a second to psych himself up, and then gallantly invites her into the theater. But the moment her back is turned, he does a little happy dance. 

Gold, man. 

Poor Wade gets so much abuse. Ember shoves things into his face to try to stop him from talking. Her dad makes him eat explosively hot food (when he's outside the shop at the end of that scene, he's still nursing his tummy). Ember accidentally slams his arm in a door. She drops a sand bag on him (don't expect someone to catch a freaking sand bag!). She nearly drops part of the hot air balloon on him. He's threatened with a poker. And everyone laughs  about his childhood trauma! 

When Ember has dinner with Wade's family, Wade's uncle unknowingly drops that insulting line: "you speak the language so well." Ember takes it in stride, which seems to indicate that she's been through a lot of that kind of thing. But the look on Wade's face! You can tell he wants to get pissed at his uncle, but it's against his nature (I have gotten pissed at a certain part of my family that does the same kind of thing-Wade has better self control than me). At least the uncle realizes that he screwed up. 

When Wade is truly hurt, he doesn't cry. When Ember dumps him in front of the crowd of fire people (then she gets public chame in front of them too). And when he's about to die. And we only see him get really angry once, and it's on someone else's behalf, not for himself.

"I was hoping to make a more heroic entrance." That makes me laugh my head off. He does arrive at the hour of need, like a knight. Only to squish himself through a little hole and smash into a pile of goo on the floor. The most heroic, and least heroic entrance possible,  all at once. 

At the end of the movie, when Wade pulls himself out of that cauldron, he covers himself since he's not wearing anything. Except by that point, there has already been a a couple times where he wasn't wearing anything. 

Yep. Wade. The freaking best! 

Reading Update

Tom Brown's Field Guide: Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants

I hope he's posted information about additional plants - this was amazing. I want to look up more, especially since a lot of what grows by his house is different than what grows here. It's so different from other plant books I've read, with much more depth. And his own tales mixed in about each plant give it life.

One Good Deed, Baldacci

I wasn't sure what to make of it at first, because most of the characters seemed untrustworthy. But it unfolded in a really interesting way.

The Red Pony, Steinbeck

It's hard for me to read books that are so brutal to animals. Sigh. 

Journey to the West, Cheng'en

I finally finished. An old classic of epic fantasies. Though inevitabely repetitive after a while. The monk came off as kinda pathetic, always losing hope and crying about everything. But he was supposed to be a high spiritual individual?

Beauty, McKinley

A take on Beauty and the Beast.  This author has interesting books. But she always hooks her girls up with older guys. Sometimes extremely older... like by a couple hundred years.

My India, Corbett

A look at part of India by someone who worked there for a long time. 

Meerkat Manor, Clutton-Brock

Based off the hit TV show. Good information about meerkats. Great photos too! 

Ulysses, Joyce

I listened to the audiobook. Which was probably a mistake. I kept missing parts and getting lost. But it's full of wit, and is considered a great classic of literature. Basically the book chronicles one full day in Ireland. 

The Lost Metal, Sanderson

Finally finished the series! I had to wait for the last book to come out. Great characters. The stuff with all the different worlds is a strange direction though.

"Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass," and "Alida's Song," Paulsen

Clabbered Dirt Sweet grass was a lovely account of the seasons of growing up on a farm. 

Uncle Remus, Harris

I was excited about this book, but the Uncle Remus was... not portrayed well. I suppose that was inevitable considering when it was written, but I thought Unlce Remus would be portrayed with some respect. Despite the reputation of the Disney one, and its faults, it was way better. 

The Dawn of Yangchen, Yee

Another Last Airbender book! The author really gets deep into intrigue and politics. The books are like going deep into the Ba Sing Se arc. It's fascinating, though they're not as fun as the series. 

Pyramids, Pratchett

In case you didn't think pyramids were unusual enough.

One Hundred Years of Solitude, Marquez

Another depressing one. People build a village, one by one everyone in the family dies, and a couple generations later the village is wiped off the face of the earth. It's a classic, but I never do well with such depressing stories.

Wildlife Diva's Adventure Team, Randolph

I met the authors of the book! It's meant for younger readers, but is about protecting wild gorillas. 

Fairest of All, Valentino

It was fascinating to read about how the evil queen started out. From caring deeply about Snow White to steadily losing herself. Plus they actually developed Snow's relationship with the prince. And it still sense that she would run away from him at the well-Snow didn't want her step mother to see them together, because the queen didn't approve. I tried reading some more books in the series, but those bizarre witch sisters ended up getting most of the screen time. The other books were barely about the movies anymore. I'd been looking forward to the Beauty and the Beast one, but in the end I only liked the Snow White one. I stopped I think after Sleeping Beauty.

Journey to the Center of the Earth, Verne

Another classic! Though I don't know if they actually did get to the center of the earth? I'm surprised the professor was so okay with that. Considering his temperament through the rest of the book. 

Eating to Extinction, Saladino

A fascinating book about the rare and important foods of the world. Definitely worth reading. 

Heart of the Sea, Philbrick

The true story that Moby Dick drew from. Lots of information about sailing. And depressing accounts of people stranded at sea. It was like Unbroken.

My Beast

Here's my version of Beast. 

A big musk-ox head and a fluffy wolverine tail. His big paw-like hands are too bulky for anything delicate. And because he's a spoiled rich kid, he doesn't really know how to take care of himself. So the only pants he have that fit this big new body are filthy and tattered. It's easier for him to walk on all fours, but he can stand on two legs as well.

 

Wish... for a better movie

I thought I'd mention a few things about the new Disney movie, Wish. 

I went to see it in theaters, because I was really mad at myself for missing Elemental on the big screen. And to be fair, Wish was beautiful. It had a lovely art style. But it was so bland. 

The orchestrations and singers were great, but the lyrics were practically meaningless. I noticed it while watching the movie, and then I saw a Youtube video where someone put into words what I was feeling. The central song was "I wish for more." Really? I wish for more? That could mean anything. A lot of the songs felt like Lin Manuel Miranda knock-offs. The guy on Youtube said that Wish felt like it was made by AI. A bunch of Disney tropes mashed up together without human care and cleverness. And I could see his point. None of the characters had any depth. It was some of the clunkiest exposition I've seen (except maybe for Strange World, but I forgive Strange World because I liked it XD). The villain starts out as a benevolent king who suddenly goes crazy, and they make it very clear that there's no returning from his bizarre lapse in judgement - he'll be evil forever and always. 

The movie had such a great idea. You give away your wish with the hope that it gets granted, but in return you forget your wish. I would have been thrilled to see a good movie about that! What happened?

 Yeah, Wish was the epitome of great concept, but sucky execution.

Manga update

I haven't started too many new manga/anime recently - a lot of it is always catching up on ones I've already started that are still in-progress. But here are the newer ones I've tried. At least the ones that I feel are worth mentioning XD

I already mentioned this one, but it's a movie called Belle. An interesting take on Beauty and the Beast, with awesome music. 

Kimi ni Todoke: I've been enjoying this one a lot. It's similar to Angel Densetsu, but sweeter and more innocent. 

I watched the Bartender anime, but I didn't like it as much as the manga (the opening song kinda sounds out of tune too). I'm watching the drama right now, but they've changed it a lot. 

Big Red Pandas

During the worst of Covid, theaters were closed. A number of movies were released straight to streaming services, including a few of the new Pixar films. Disney decided to bring those movies to the big screen for the first time. I was mad at myself for missing Elemental on the big screen, so I thought I should at least see Turning Red in theaters (I want to see Luca too, when it's turn comes). 

To my surprise, the short that proceeded Turning Red was one of my favorite Disney shorts: Kitbull. It's so good. But it had me crying before the movie even started. Yeesh. 

Speaking of tears, Turning Red animates their tears in a cool way. They're really shiny, almost with a pearly quality. And for some reason, this time I actually cried while watching Turning Red. I don't even remember which scene. I just felt Mei's sense of isolation, I suppose.

As I mentioned in my previous post about this movie, Mei and her friends remind me of my group of high school friends. At the end of college, that group pretty much went up in flames. And now the cynical part of me is looking at Mei being comforted by her friends and thinking, "how will she control her panda when her friends break her heart?"

But no. I'll insist that Mei and her friends always stay friends! 

At the zoo, I talked to a lot of guests about Turning Red, since the filmmakers studied our pandas to make the movie. You know how cats rub their cheeks on things to mark their territory? Well, red pandas do that too. Except their scent glands aren't on their cheeks. They're on their butts. I kid you not. So you'll see the red pandas going around, rubbing their bums on things. I explain this to people, who are wondering what the hell is going on. And one guy said that the panda was gyrating, as Mei does in the movie. We had a good laugh about that. Another time, there was this little little girl that liked the movie. Particularly the "gyrating." She started shaking her butt to demonstrate. Once she started, it seemed like she wouldn't stop.

 

In unrelated news, I finally re-watched Strange World. It's about as subtle as a sledge hammer, but I still like it. It's so creative, and I'm a sucker for the whole analogy it represents.

Lyric Loops

 Here's another video about words!

Plots and Themes, Hand in Hand

I often have ideas for characters, themes, or concepts. But it's harder to find an overarching plot to set these ideas on. So many plots have been done to death. Or they're bland. Or don't really fit the characters or themes.

I've seen many movies and books like this. The new Disney movie Wish has an amazing premise. There's a kingdom where everyone gives their greatest wish to the king, with the chance that the wish will be granted. The catch is that they forget their wish. And yet the movie fell flat on its face for so many reasons. (Partially because it didn't really have any depth. The big central song said "I wish for more!" How vague and bland can you get?)

Then there's the Wax and Wayne series. I loved those books, because the characters were so great. But the plots for most of the books were pretty standard. "Find the magical artifact." Or, "find the weapon before it goes off." 

 

I've been trying to think of an overall plot for my Beauty and the Beast. Beast and Beauty need something to work together for, where Beast can prove himself. I thought about how nicely the Disney version does this. It got me thinking - some of the best plots reflect the themes and concepts through the story. Beauty and the Beast is about looking past appearances. You have this monster who seems like a beast. But if you want the real beast, you're looking in the wrong direction.

 

After many months, I think I finally have an overall plot for my Beauty and the Beast. I'd spent a long time thinking about it. And then the plot points dropped out of the sky. I was watching a Youtube video. Actually two videos, which I saw at different times and ended up being about the same subject: how much textiles pollute the water. It was only after I saw the second video that it started to process in my mind. That could be a good thing to echo the beauty and vanity parts of the story. Soon after I had this idea, I read an article in the Sierra Club Magazine. It was about American Indians trying to save two species of fish that are sacred to their people. Part of the problems these fish are facing is water pollution. That might tie in with some ideas I had for Beauty's arc. 

 

Sometimes, even if you spend months trying to think of a plot, you just have to wait until it falls in your lap.

I'm Cringeworthy

So, yeah. I get excited about stories and try to explain them to people. And I generally do a very bad job of it. My friends are mostly used to it. But occasionally I can't keep it in and try to explain it to someone I don't know quite as well. It doesn't happen too often, but once or twice... 

For example, soon after I got my idea for Beauty and the Beast, I was talking to the big cat keeper at the zoo. And I'm going, "I have this idea for Beauty and the Beast, but Beauty is a Zoo Keeper!" 

I mean, that's not exactly what I said. That's not really what I meant either. But the aftermath left me cringing. 

Why do I do this to myself?

Elevational Attitudes

There's more than one way to make your audience cry!

 

 

 

From Ireland to Italy

I don't think I ever actually said where I went from mid November to mid December. After I left the zoo, I wanted to take the opportunity to travel. My cousin invited me to stay with them for three weeks in Italy. They have a neighbor that runs an animal rescue, so I decided to use the trip as a volunteer opportunity. 

I'll upload a proper travel log at some point, but I haven't even finished doing so for my Peru trip (which was over a year ago).

These are the basics of my trip. The place I most wanted to go in Europe was Ireland. I decided to fly into Ireland, and then boat/train across Europe to my cousin's house, stopping a few times along the way. I had less than two weeks to plan the trip, because I wanted to get home before the Christmas rush (and before winter started to hit hard). It was a stressful couple weeks, needless to say. And the travels across Europe were rather hectic too - I only spent a couple days in each place because hotels are expensive, and I had no income. And despite Europe's excellent train system, there are still some very chaotic things about it (one asshole conductor threatened to give me a ticket because he refused to believe that my ticket was real, until some random strangers came to help me).

I flew into Ireland and had three days in Dublin. It was awesome. I hope I can go back some day. Especially since I missed two of the four things I really wanted to do. 

I took a ferry over to England and spent a couple days in London. 

Rode the  train under the English channel and spent two days in Paris. 

Took the train to Switzerland and spent a day in Bern. 

And finally got on a train to spend just over three weeks with my family. And I made best buddies with a wild boar (she'd been rescued as a piglet and was hand-raised, so she was friendly). She loved belly rubs. And my roommates were two older kittens. 

Accursed Fingers

I feel like this is a newer problem. I keep starting a ton of my sentences with "and" and "then." It comes out of my hands in some sort of automatic pilot. Whenever I go back to edit, I have to cut out so many of them!

Sob. 

Hopefully I grow out of it. The same way I grew into it...

Nubian goats (my BFFs)

Animal Stories and Endings

I recently read "H is for Hawk."

While it was a good book, she said something that made me think. She loved animal books as a kid, but the animals always seemed to die. I started thinking of the older animal books I'd read (or at least the less new ones). And she's right. The main animal generally seems to die. 

(Spoilers for several books/films)

In Watership Down, Hazel has lived a long and full life, so it's not so bad when he joins the Black Rabbit. 

But most of the deaths are pretty gruesome.

Sometimes it's to deliberately highlight how humans treat animals. Like in Black Beauty, which was written to draw attention to the cruel treatment of horses. It's not the main horse that dies in this instance, but one of his friends.

Most of the time, the author seems like they're killing off animals just to teach kids a lesson about life. 

I haven't read The Yearling yet, but I saw the movie. That at least said that wild animals don't make good pets. Which is true, except for a rare person who knows exactly what they're doing. In this book, as in life, humans interfere with wild animals and the animal usually ends up paying the ultimate price (animals that are too friendly with humans generally end up dying for various reasons - for example, at the zoo there was a young squirrel who was apparently very friendly and was climbing on people and letting them pet him. Then he bit a girl, who had probably scared him. Staff had to catch the squirrel and send it in for rabies testing. You can't do a rabies test on a live animal. That squirrel had probably been hand-raised illegally, and released as a tame animal. Only to die shortly after. And the girl who was bitten was told to go straight to the doctor). 

For Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows, the dogs die fighting a dangerous enemy. Yeller saves several people from a rabid wolf. And while he doesn't die in the fight, he's bitten by a rabid animal. Which is a death sentence. The dogs are heroes in these cases. 

Sometimes it's hard to tell why the animal suffers such an awful fate. In The Red Pony, the young horse caught a chill which lead to a long and painful decline. When we first see the dead horse, a vulture has just torn out his eye. The boy smashes the bird to death. Then he gets a new foal. Well, actually he gets a mare that's about to foal. But there are complications. A horseman bashes in the mare's head and cuts the foal out of her stomach.  From that point on, we never really see the foal again. Considering how important the red pony was to the boy, it's baffling that the second foal would completely disappear once he's born.

So, the Zoo

I've had to explain this so many times that I've resisted writing it on the blog. 

I loved working at the zoo. I never wanted to leave. But for over two years, my boss had been bullying me. Accusing me of things I hadn't done and making up ways to get me in trouble. Finally he submitted an official report against me because I didn't understand a new schedule, which he didn't explain to anyone (It was a deliberate setup-it was so obvious). 

And Human Resources wouldn't do anything about it. Because they're also incompetent. The lady is nice, but doesn't do anything to help anyone. And the guy has very unprofessional behavior - for example he spent a couple minutes shouting at me for something he knew wasn't my fault. Then he stopped and told me it wasn't my fault. Then he continued shouting at me again.

Unfortunately the upper management is extremely corrupt. The director hires her friends for ridiculously high-paying jobs where they don't really do anything (they're posted on the public tax papers- one rich friend gets paid over 100,000 a year to hand out parking passes and answer questions). My boss is one of those people. I worked under him for over five years, and I still have no idea what he does. Nor does anyone else. Which is why everyone says that nothing will happen to him, even though he's done stuff that should get him fired. (The director also doesn't do anything)

In October, I left. I was so stressed that I'd often have trouble sleeping. I miss the animals so much. Especially my goat buddies!

Luckily people are banding together finally, to fight this mess. Because I'm not the only one who's suffered because of all the rot in there. I'm just one of many. 

So, I'm trying to use this as an opportunity. Beyond a trip to Europe (where I volunteered at a wildlife rescue for a couple weeks in Italy). 

Let's see how it goes.

Pet the Beast

A little while ago, I watched Beauty and the Beast (the Disney cartoon) with my cousins. I said it was to help me get pumped up for my story. 

They have a dog named Buji. They're teenagers, and have seen the movie before. But one of them had comments which beautifully reflected the way the audience is supposed to view Beast.  Beast starts off as a nasty monster, and you grow to like him more and more as the movie progresses. Farther on, my cousin said, "he looks like Buji." And by the end, he said, "I want to pet him."

There you have it. A perfect audience.

Fossa (pronounced "foosa")

2024

 Happy New Year everyone! 

Red panda, playing with his tail