I am a young lion and this is my pride, being a fictionalized account from the perspective of the King of the Jungle

Lion

For the past three years, I have wandered mostly alone after being driven from the pride of my birth, doomed to lurk at the edge of my elder’s territory, always on the outside, looking in, but all that has changed since I drove off my father and killed his cubs.  I am a young lion,… Continue reading I am a young lion and this is my pride, being a fictionalized account from the perspective of the King of the Jungle

Lessons on the passing of an aged coonhound

Are we masochists when it would be much, much easier not to have one in the first place, both in terms of mourning their loss and the truth that this animal depends on you for everything?  Or does it represent something far more wonderful and special in human nature, that we voluntarily bring another creature… Continue reading Lessons on the passing of an aged coonhound

From cat ladies to eating cats, a presidential election like no other in microcosm

While the raging debates over cats – first childless cat ladies and now whether or not Haitian migrants are actually eating felines in Springfield, OH - might seem small on the surface, the ferocity reveals much more fundamental issues underneath. Six months ago, if you were to suggest that the presidential election would be dominated… Continue reading From cat ladies to eating cats, a presidential election like no other in microcosm

The dogs we love, the emotions they might or might not experience, and what it means for ourselves

Is your beloved dog really excited about a treat or is looking excited simply an evolutionary strategy to get more treats? How about our own emotions, can they be as selfish or even more so? Our greyhound, Rosie, is by all outward appearances a very happy dog most of the time, literally hopping with excitement… Continue reading The dogs we love, the emotions they might or might not experience, and what it means for ourselves

Progressives are coming for your pets

There is, apparently, a “robust scientific literature [that] leaves no doubt about the anguish pets experience.”  This anguish includes “physical confinement, social isolation, and chronic exposure to stress.”  In other words, we are torturing our pets and should let them run free... Last week, people were a threat to the planet itself.  This week, people… Continue reading Progressives are coming for your pets

An aging coonhound’s bizarre behavior and a lesson for all of us

Lily gave up a treat she loved because dinner was bigger and better, but now she doesn’t get the treat at all – and she doesn’t even realize it.  Lest you think I am picking on poor dogs, there are likely many, many people out there that suffer from a similar phenomenon.  Most dogs are… Continue reading An aging coonhound’s bizarre behavior and a lesson for all of us

Nature means nothing without people and the experts have all gone insane

For hundreds of millions of years, life persisted on Earth with no meaning at all.  Trillions upon trillions of creatures lived and died, born as dust and returned to it without remark.  Humanity changed all that, making the meaningless, meaningful. Nature means nothing without people might seem a bold statement on the surface.  Nature, after… Continue reading Nature means nothing without people and the experts have all gone insane

This Christmas, celebrate the magic of the moment

You might not ever be gathered with the same people in the same place, not next year, not ever.  So this Christmas, sever yourself from the past and the future, stop calculating everything, and simply enjoy it.  It may seem like a bad dream only two short years later, but the experts recommended we cancel,… Continue reading This Christmas, celebrate the magic of the moment

How a dog sees and navigates the world

In many ways a dog navigates the same world as we do with shared systems and processes across our senses, but in others their reality is dramatically different with a sense of smell so powerful they can count molecules in the air and see ghosts. I can’t be the only dog lover who frequently looks… Continue reading How a dog sees and navigates the world

ChatGPT is a harmless blowhard not a world-conquering super intelligence

Bizarre behavior, dark fantasies about terrorism, claims to have hacked people’s webcams, and actual threats have prompted many to express fear at the face of this new development and some to claim the robots are about to take over the world. The headlines are everywhere, ChatGPT integrated with Microsoft Bing, is on a rampage and… Continue reading ChatGPT is a harmless blowhard not a world-conquering super intelligence