Stuff you LOVE, baby

[tushantin]

Languages change. What's funny is that languages probably also merge. Today's Word-Of-The-Day at Dictionary.com is a Hindi word Kismet, which means Destiny/Fate.

Also weird is that India's crazy about Cricket. I'm one of the very few who's not interested (or probably just doesn't get it). Sucks to be left out.

[Licawolf]

Got a scanner, which is nice, no more lame webcam shots to digitalize my drawings    My last scanner stopped working like 2 years ago  I was intending to get a new one since the last december but never got around to it. Funny now that I can scan any sketch, they all have started to look like complete and utter crap in my eyes, he he  oh well, such is life.

[Sajainta]

D and I are now the proud "parents" of a feisty ferret. 

[Syna]

Ahh, ferrets are AWESOME! So cute and fearless!

Does s/he have a name yet?

[tushantin]

D and I are now the proud "parents" of a feisty ferret. 

PICS!!

[Sajainta]

Here you are!  

The only good pictures I could get of him was while he was sleeping.  The rest of them turned out incredibly blurry because ferrets are so friggin' fast.

Does s/he have a name yet?

His name is Draco Malfoy.  ^^

[tushantin]

One word: adorable! 

Draco Malfoy, aye? Haha reminds me of an cute pup I had when I was thirteen. The name was Darth Vader (not jokin; the black pup was named by a friend who was a Star Wars/Final Fantasy fanatic).

[Licawolf]

His name is Draco Malfoy.  ^^

Well, I can't think of a better name for a ferret  He looks cozy and cute there, congrats! 

[Syna]

That's stupefyingly adorable.

[Licawolf]

Something I found on Deviantart today, a little picture accompanied with a poem
 that got me teary eyed...

Every dog must have a soul, somewhere deep inside
Where all his hurts and grievances are buried with his pride.
Where he decides the good and bad, the wrong way from the right,
And where his judgement carefully is hidden from our sight.

A dog must have a secret place, where every thought abides,
A sort of close acquaintance that he trusts in and confides.

And when accused unjustly for himself, He cannot speak,
Rebuked, He finds within his soul, the comfort he must seek.

He'll love, tho'he is unloved, and he'll serve tho'badly used,
And one kind word will wipe away the times when he's abused.

Altho' his heart may break in two, his love will still be whole,
Because God gave to every dog an understanding Soul!

  I have a soft spot for dogs, waaah....

[tushantin]

Something I found on Deviantart today, a little picture accompanied with a poem
 that got me teary eyed...

The first thing that came into my mind when I read that poem here was "Phatpuppy". And I was right!

The poetry speaks to me. Wolves were once a proud species, always aiming to stay at the top of the food chain and always battling their rival races. For them it was life and death, always proud and vicious. Though somewhere along the lines of evolution and war humans managed to capture and tame them to strengthen themselves. Those who wouldn't surrender were killed, and those who bowed became pets. The wolves swallowed their pride to become disposable pawns and weapons for the humans, always protecting them and keeping watch for guaranteed morsel, and thus began their line of de-evolution as dogs. Lack of pride, lack of challenge and viciousness reduced them to stray, weak canines who today live on scraps.

It's a strange world we live in. Dogs are loyal and lovable. Cats will never be loyal, always deceptive, always elusive, and still remain lovable. Where dogs depend on sheer power, cats were able to get away with cunning capabilities. But I guess this is why I love cats.

[Licawolf]

The poetry speaks to me. Wolves were once a proud species, always aiming to stay at the top of the food chain and always battling their rival races. For them it was life and death, always proud and vicious. Though somewhere along the lines of evolution and war humans managed to capture and tame them to strengthen themselves. Those who wouldn't surrender were killed, and those who bowed became pets. The wolves swallowed their pride to become disposable pawns and weapons for the humans, always protecting them and keeping watch for guaranteed morsel, and thus began their line of de-evolution as dogs. Lack of pride, lack of challenge and viciousness reduced them to stray, weak canines who today live on scraps.

It's a strange world we live in. Dogs are loyal and lovable. Cats will never be loyal, always deceptive, always elusive, and still remain lovable. Where dogs depend on sheer power, cats were able to get away with cunning capabilities. But I guess this is why I love cats.

How interesting is that the poem speaks to you for completely different reasons than it does to me(I guess it touches me on a more personal level because I'm a dog owner, as if it was talking about a close friend, not a whole species).... let me give you my two cents on your commentary    I never concibed the domestication process as an agressive process of taking away the freedom and the nature of an animal, more like a contract that can benefit both species in the long run. I hope I don't ruin your image of wolves, but despite their reputation as proud and powerful hunters, wolves are very opportunistic and adaptable, they would stop hunting and live on scraps and junk if given the opportunity(in reality they rarely hunt large species and prefer to live on rodents and scavenging). Wolves probably just followed men because they were a source of easy food, you can say they are the ones that "chosed" to stay with humans. Leaving aside sentimentalism, the tame of wolves is really just the triumphant example of symbiotic mutualism. Both species unite and both are beneficed. From the evolutionary point of view, wolves did not become weak (evolution is not about becoming stronger, is about becoming more adapted and fit to the situation), they are incredibly succesful, they won the ticket to survival by becoming attached to humans, whenever and wherever there be humans, there would be dogs too.

I guess I don't see anything wrong with domestication ( I see it even in a romantic way, as a "friendship"   ), I think is beneficial for the domesticated species too, not just for the humans. Horses are an excellent example of a species saved by their domestication. Equidae died out in the western hemisphere at the end of the last Ice Age, their cousins in Eurasia survived because they were being kept as livestock. Mammoths just wished they were that lucky  

[tushantin]

@Licawolf: Thanks for your insights! I did learn something from it. I'd hate to say this, but the only reason most wolves go for lesser preys is because their challenges were too great (they were significantly threatened by humans and most feline predators like tigers since thousands of years back; I assume around 8 thousand or earlier), and in order to survive those challenges they were either forced to flee or be tamed by humans who required beasts of burden. They were often used for fur or straight up tools for survival, but before that they were quite awesome.

That said, wolves were nevertheless quite friendly species (that is, friendly to each other rather than anyone outside their species) and mutuality did play a part in their domestication and survival, but it wasn't the sole reason. Also, I didn't mean to imply that the domestication process was entirely aggressive (although it was to some extent, like it or not), but you'll change your mind when you visit Pune once and look at the stray dogs, dying for every scrap of food. They're kicked like pests, they're ignored like some disease, and every day at last one of them die under some kind of vehicle. Some even throw rocks at them for their own amusement, and they just try to run away. If they attack, they put them down (with a spear or gun, nonetheless). Whatever happened to those wolves, those once proud wolves, that claimed some part of a forest for their own?

Each time I read that poem, images of those stray dogs flood my mind. Believe it or not, but clean, beautiful puppies are all people here at Pune crave for, and only as keepsakes or decorations, not as some mutual friendship. As for the stray dogs? About 80% of the population here want them eliminated/extinct even if they don't have any valid reason to put them all down. This is what domestication has brought upon them, and this is why it saddens me.

And I pray, if only there was a better way the dogs could co-exist with us.

[Licawolf]

@Licawolf: Thanks for your insights! I did learn something from it. I'd hate to say this, but the only reason most wolves go for lesser preys is because their challenges were too great (they were significantly threatened by humans and most feline predators like tigers since thousands of years back; I assume around 8 thousand or earlier), and in order to survive those challenges they were either forced to flee or be tamed by humans who required beasts of burden. They were often used for fur or straight up tools for survival, but before that they were quite awesome.

That said, wolves were nevertheless quite friendly species (that is, friendly to each other rather than anyone outside their species) and mutuality did play a part in their domestication and survival, but it wasn't the sole reason. Also, I didn't mean to imply that the domestication process was entirely aggressive (although it was to some extent, like it or not), but you'll change your mind when you visit Pune once and look at the stray dogs, dying for every scrap of food. They're kicked like pests, they're ignored like some disease, and every day at last one of them die under some kind of vehicle. Some even throw rocks at them for their own amusement, and they just try to run away. If they attack, they put them down (with a spear or gun, nonetheless). Whatever happened to those wolves, those once proud wolves, that claimed some part of a forest for their own?

Each time I read that poem, images of those stray dogs flood my mind. Believe it or not, but clean, beautiful puppies are all people here at Pune crave for, and only as keepsakes or decorations, not as some mutual friendship. As for the stray dogs? About 80% of the population here want them eliminated/extinct even if they don't have any valid reason to put them all down. This is what domestication has brought upon them, and this is why it saddens me.

And I pray, if only there was a better way the dogs could co-exist with us.

I see. I know the domestication process is always agressive to an extent, but I think it's usually more beneficial in a long run, from the point of view of survival (aaah...that sounds so cruel on my part   ). Sadly enough, I'm not sure is a question of learning to co-exist and live with other species, humans do that even to their own kind, out of pure cruelty. Maybe that's why I prefer dogs company sometimes, ha ha   .... But this thread is about what we love, let us not get into such a depressing discussion here.  It's always interesting to read your commentary, tushantin, it's always enlightening to hear the point of view of someone from a different part of the world.  

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

It's always interesting to read your commentary, tushantin, it's always enlightening to hear the point of view of someone from a different part of the world.

I agree! I love how we have so many countries represented - Great Britain, France, the United States, India, Mexico, and I know there are others. And we're all brought together through one tiny interest - an old Super Nintendo video game called Chrono Trigger, which came out nearly 16 years ago!