Book Report…part 1

I’ve been finding time to do a lot of reading the last few weeks, so I have three books down. Three very different, but educational, books.

In Dark Banquet we learn about animals who feed on the blood of othe rs. The most famous and fascinating of those is the vampire bat. Bill Schutt is a bat biologist, who has trekked through swamps and jungles in pursuit of his subjects. However, he has to admit that very little is known about the lives of vampire bats. There are three vampire bat species. Thanks to human superstition and fear, they have been persecuted instead of studied. Schutt provides about as much knowledge as there is about these creatures. Vampire bats are physiologically well adapted to a challenging lifestyle. Their feeding habits have led to a unique digestive system and metabolism. They are also exteremely intelligent, learning, for example, to obtain an easy meal from chickens by mimicing chicks. They are ( no the most attractive of bats (that honor would go to the fruit bat), but they can be cute in their own way.

Compared to some of the other heroes of Dark Banquet, vampire bats are irresistably cuddly. Schutt also discusses parasitic vampires like ticks, mites, chiggers and bedbugs. These pests spread itchiness and disease, and thrive among human populations. Bedbugs in particular are a horrifying menace. They are very small and very mobile. They make homes wherever there is dark space to hide. They are diffucult to exterminate. They are everywhere – inside the walls, inside your furniture, in your luggage, in your clothes, under the carpet.

The most repulsive blood feeding animal is the leech. Leeches are squishy, squiggly worms with razor sharp teeth and blood thinning saliva. They are also the most likely to saveives. While leeching and bleeding are no longer the catch-all cure they used to be, leeches have once again become an important medical tool. Leeches are used to stimulate blood flow in reattached body parts, from limbs to ears to fingers. John Wayne Bobbitt’s surgeons used leeches to reattach his penis. Lord Byron died after a vigorous leeching. Leech saliva has been studied for its properties as a anticoagulant and painkiller.

Besides insight into these oft overlooked creatures, Schutt also offers a detailed and easy to understand introduction to the biology of blood itself. There is also a lot of historical information about the medical history of leeching and bloodletting, including an in-depth look at the death of George Washington. All this not always pleasant information is presented in a light and humerous manner. The author is well aware of the absurdity of studying bedbugs, or bottle feeding baby bats, or making a living as a leech distributer.

Cute of the Week: Owls

Owls are amazingly cool birds. They are cuddly in appearance and yet deadly predators. As you know, owls are nocturnal hunters with enormous eyes, swiveling heads and razor sharp talons. They have keen hearing and eyesight. They range worldwide and thrive in a variety of environments. There are 150 owl species, some of whom face endangerment.

Albrecht Durer, 1508

Ando Hiroshige

Pablo Picasso

John Audubon

Scott Stroka

As a child I learned about owls at the Three Rivers Avian Center in West Virginia. Founded in 1990 this nonprofit orginization was originally called the Raptor Center, because they focussed at first on rescue and rehabilitation of predatory birds. Today they have expanded to rescuing birds from all walks of life, so to speak. When I was growing up, they were an important part of our community, providing many educational oppurtinities for children. I was happy to learn that Twister, the barn owl I had seen on many occasions, is still alive and well.

Three Rivers Avian Center,   Brooks Mountain Road,   HC 74  Box 279,   Brooks, WV 25951     Phone:(304) 466-4683

Anybody Seen My Baby?

This is from Bridges To Babylon, again. It’s not that I have any kind of obsession with this album. It’s them naming so many songs with A. (I thought there weren’t any Stones songs beginning with K, but there are two, neither of which I’m familiar with) Again, we’re seeing the same themes that are all over BtB. He’s losing love, he can’t keep his woman, he doesn’t know what to do, where to turn. This song acutally  got airplay when it came out. In the 90s, older bands weren’t cool, liking old music wasn’t cool, so it was hard for them to get attention for new projects. Now, the older generation is getting new respect, and it’s cool to like the Stones again.

This video stars Angelina Jolie, one of the most amazing and beautiful women God ever created. At the time, Jolie was coming off filming Gia, the movie that made her a star. It was for Gia that she shaved her head, making her hard to recognize. You can also catch a glimpse of Jenny Shimizu, Jolie’s girlfriend at the time (she’s the pierced Asian one).

Antiworld

Antiworld, Nina Hagen, Nunsexmonkrock, 1982

This is not a real video, nor is it even the full song, but it’s enough to give you some idea. This song is from Nina Hagen’s most greatest album, Nunsexmonkrock, which is like nothing else in the known universe. I first heard the album on tape, and it was on side B, opening with Born In Xixax, while side A opens with Antiworld. I’ve been listening to it backwards ever since. It’s annoying now that I have the cd that the songs run in the original order.

Anthem

“Every heart, every heart
to love will come
but like a refugee. “

Anthem, Leonard Cohen, The Future, 1992

Leonard Cohen’s songs are usually intimate in subject, focussing on desire and spirituality. The Future is unusual in that many of the songs are clearly political. At once bitter and hopeful, he comments on a rotten world and the possible redemption of love. It was after this album that Cohen decided to pursue Zen Buddhism. He dedicated most of the past decade to study at Mount Baldy Zen Center in Los Angeles, only to emerge and find that  his manager had been quietly embezzling his fortune. Now 74, Cohen is back on the road for the first time since the nineties.  He  is one of the main attractions at this year’s Coachella, providing fans what is most likely the last chance to see the old poet perform. I am excited beyond belief! The bard will be hitting my domecile of Austin TX on Apr 2. It is a rather expensive night out but, it will be worth it. Last spring I had the chance to see George Carlin perform, but I did not feel like spending the cash. Then Carlin died. I won’t be making that mistake again. If you have a chance to see a seventy-something legend, don’t think twice, because they may well die before you get another chance.

The birds they sang
at the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don’t dwell on what
has passed away
or what is yet to be.
Ah the wars they will
be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
bought and sold
and bought again
the dove is never free.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

We asked for signs
the signs were sent:
the birth betrayed
the marriage spent
Yeah the widowhood
of every government –
signs for all to see.

I can’t run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud.
But they’ve summoned, they’ve summoned up
a thundercloud
and they’re going to hear from me.

Ring the bells that still can ring …

You can add up the parts
but you won’t have the sum
You can strike up the march,
there is no drum
Every heart, every heart
to love will come
but like a refugee.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
That’s how the light gets in.
That’s how the light gets in.

Antarctica

Antarctica, Al Stewart, Last Days of the Century, 1988

In the 80′s Al Stewart, like everyone else in the  musicsphere, decided that what his music really needs is a lot more synthesizers. Last Days of the Century was the result. For a lot of people the 80′s style wasn’t a very good fit. I admit that I actually really like Last Days of the Century, but it does sound colder and less folky that his previous work. It sounds tainted by trendiness.  It is however, Al’s last really good album. Some of the songs (Red Toupee comes to mind) are uncharacteristically fluffy. Elsewhere, Stewart does what he does, which  is write some of the most literate and educational songs known to rock. Stewart has always been known as a history buff. His hits are littered with references to historical figures. In Antarctica the subject is the race between explorers Ernest Shackleton and Robert Scott for the South Pole in the early 1900s.

Long before I ever saw
The frost upon your face
I was haunted by your beauty
And it drew me to this place
I felt the chill of mystery
With one foot on your shore
And then and there resolved to go
Where no man had before

CHORUS
Maybe I was snowblind
But it seemed the wind spoke true
And I believed it’s stories then
As dreamers sometimes do
In Antarctica
In Antarctica

Who knows what the powers may be
That cause a man to go
Mindless of the dangers
Out across the virgin snow
Seduced by this ambition
I easily forget
The hopeless quest of Shackleton
The dreamlike death of Scott

CHORUS

Maybe I was snowblind
Perhaps it sapped my will
But something of my innocence
Is wandering there still
In Antarctica
In Antarctica
In Antarctica
In Antarctica

Answer Me

Answer Me, Bryan Ferry, Taxi, 1993

Roxy Music broke up just as the success of Avalon had given them a shot at the mainstream. Bryan Ferry had found his niche. He would continue in Avalon’s super smooth vein throughout the 80′s. Bete Noire (87) came closest to matching the spirit of Avalon. Taxi was much in the same style. Ferry always liked to mix original material and covers. Taxi is one of many covers albums.

I don’t have a video right now for this song. Go listen to the album.

Tell Me Where It Hurts

Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing and Hope in My Life as an Animal Surgeon by Nick Trout

 

I grabbed this book off the library shelf because of the cover. My own dog is a boston terrier, so the sad boston buddy immediately caught my eye. I’m glad I did. The book is a day in the life of a busy animal surgeon.  Our  hero begins his day in the wee wee hours with an emergency operation on a very sick german sheperd, then bonds with the dog’s elderly owner. The rest of the day goes on with run of the mill cases to mysterious afflictions. All this is intercut with flashbacks of particularly memorable patients, including a hermaphoriditic boxer. Trout also informs about the latest trends in veterinary science. The book is very straightforward and the scientific details are explained in a simple manner. The whole story is very humorous and touching.

Another Woman

Another Woman, Moby, 18, 2002

Another week, another upheaval! I’m currently without a ‘fli-hi’ connection, so relying on public resources. I’ll have my one internet soon, hopefully.

This is a track from Moby’s 2002 album 18, a follow up to 1999′s Play, which had made him one rich vegan. As I mentioned a while back, Moby rode to fame and fortune using a musical technique first developed by Brian Eno. On My Life In the Bush Of Ghosts Eno and David Byrne had added their own instrumentation to found vocals and sound effects. They created a wildly experimental work. Moby used a similar method of combining fresh beats with vocal samples to create a highly commercial sound. The result is mellow, atmospheric, often very beautiful and extremely successful. Moby padded his pockets by liscencing out practically all of his material. Luckily for him, he avoided accusations of selling out because by 1999 the idea of ‘selling out’ was no longer valid.

 Moby is also known for his ‘uncool’ persona. He’s so uncool that he’s cool – or that’s what he’s aiming for.

Another One Bites the Dust

Another One Bites the Dust, Queen, The Game, 1980

Still in hitsville…

The famous story about Queen; sometime in the 70s they toured America, opening for Lynerd Skynerd. They endeared themselves to heartland audiences who somehow missed all the rainbow flags and didn’t even think that Queen was anything but straight-up cock rock. Looking at it now it’s impossible to miss the gayness, but back then heartland audiences were more innocent. It may seem weird that it took years for folks to catch on to Freddie Mercury’s incredible gayness. However, Mercury was an original. He invented templates of gay masculinity that have by now passed into cliche. Back in the day, there was nobody like him. Just as some people viewed Mercury as a straight frontman, so the band itself has been viewed as hard rock on the strength of a few singles. Some Queen songs do rock pretty dang hard. Yet on many album tracks they sound like the world’s rockingest barbershop quartet. Queen is more complex than just hard rock.