For the Love of Cat Videos

Just a quick late-week pop in here to share something I encountered in my swim through the internet ether the other day.  Am I the only one in the world who wasn't aware of the first annual Internet Cat Video Film Festival held last August!?

This contest, hosted by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN, encouraged people to submit their goofy, funny, zany cat videos for a shot at coveted internet immortality.  The winner was a haut black and white ditty titled, "Henri: Paw de Deux".  Very sophisticated indeed.  I can see how it beat the plethora of videos of kittens riding on top of Roombas.

I'll be sure to mark my calendar for the 2013 deadline.  I have actually directed and produced a little cat video myself a few years back.  This summer, it just may be time to retrieve it from the depths of YouTube home video sludge, dust it off, and bring it out for the world to see.  But perhaps I'll give you guys a sneak preview.

Some background: the star of the video is my cat Scabs.  She's about a million years old with a chronic but maintainable and non-painful skin condition of unknown origin (which is a nice way of saying she's half bald).  One tip: if you abhor the Pussycat Dolls, this may not be the video for you.

Scabs: The Lost Pussycat Doll

2012 in Review - Vets and Writers

Happy 2013!!! I'd like to take a reflective step back today and visit some of the juicy stuff the animal and literary niches showed the world in 2012.

Noteworthy Vet Stuff 2012:

• Summer 2012 Olympics: Every four years the world is exposed to the beauty, athleticism, and partnership of three equestrian sports: jumping, dressage, and three-day eventing.  Germany and Great Britain dominated the majority of the three sports in both individual and team competition. 

• Winner of the 2012 Westminster Dog Show: "Malachy" the Pekingese.

• Uggie, a handsome Jack Russell terrier won multitudes of adoring fans with his performance in the movie "The Artist".

• Tardar Sauce AKA the Grumpy Cat meme becomes an Internet sensation:

• HBO ends the filming of its new series "Luck" after three horses die. 

• A prominent Tennessee Walking Horse trainer was convicted of animal cruelty after video evidence showed various acts of soring and other methods of abuse at his barn, drawing national attention.

• The US's fourth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) AKA Mad Cow disease found in a cull dairy cow in California.

• FDA issued a draft guidance on the voluntary withdrawal of antibiotics for production purposes in food animals.

• The once-mysterious cause of the lethal white nose syndrome in bats was found to be fungal.

Noteworthy Literary Stuff of 2012:

• The Encyclopedia Britannica goes all-digital and stops printing bound volumes.

• The Pulitzer Prize board decided not to award a prize for fiction.

• A Navy SEAL involved in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden publishes a personal account.
• J.K. Rowling publishes an adult novel, "The Casual Vacancy".

• Chinese novelist Mo Yan wins the Nobel Prize for Literature.
• Hilary Mantel is the first woman to win the Man Booker Prize twice, with her novel "Bring Up the Bodies".

• Publishing house giants Random House and Penguin merge.

Did I miss anything?  Let me know!

The Best Little Bookshop in New England

Spending time in Connecticut with my family over the holidays reminded me of one of my most favorite places in the world - a used bookstore called The Book Barn in the wonderful little beach town of Niantic, CT.

Discovered by my mom serendipitously a few years ago, I try to visit The Book Barn every time I travel to CT.  It's sort of become "one of the things the family does when Anna comes to visit".  Included also in this list is hiking up Case Mountain near our house, clipping my parents' dog Phoenix's nails, and going to Dunkin Donuts.  I'm sure you can tell we are a fun-loving folk.

Everyone, meet Phoenix.

Excuse me while I get excited about the Book Barn

There are many wonderful things about The Book Barn.  The most noticeable upon first encounter is the sheer size of the store.  In fact, this place has so many books, it's actually divided into three different locations.  The largest location is a huge barn-ish building with so many nooks and crannies filled with used books that they spill outside into more nooks and crannies created by outdoor shelving and various sheds. 

Families can literally lose one another in this place.  Seriously.  The second time I visited, I spent thirty minutes searching for my dad.  He turned up sitting on a couch in the military history section.  I was beginning to think I'd never see him again.

The place is so big and labyrinthian, it requires ample signage.

Another wonderful fact about the Book Barn is it has snacks.  Now, don't be a fool like I was the first few times I came.  It really wasn't until last summer that I truly took advantage of the snackage.  The key is in realizing the food is laid out by the check out counter in the main building.  They usually have water and coffee, but more importantly Cheez-its and doughnut gems, usually of the powdered sugar variety. 

Old-timey book press.

 Yet another reason to visit is they have cats.  And everyone loves a good bookstore cat.

 

Last time I visited, August 2012, I picked up four books:

1. Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness by Donald Barlett and James Steele
2. Yeager by Chuck Yeager and Leo Janos
3. The Mercury 13 by Martha Ackmann
4. This New Ocean by William Burrows

So far I've only read The Mercury 13, a VERY enjoyable account of the 13 American women who trained to be NASA astronauts in the 1960s, but due to politics and sexism did not make it to space.  You know how it is - for every one book you buy, you've got five others at home you have to read first.  But I just can't help myself :) 
 

As a post-script, if you're ever in Niantic, also be sure to visit the nearby park in Waterford: Harkness Memorial State Park.  Ignore the mansion on the property and make for the beach - it's a beauty.  Fun to walk down and if you time the tides right, there will be plenty of tide pools to explore - my personal favorite beach activity. 

Harkness beach at sunset in the summer. 

Mom and Pop's Title Generator

The horror, the horror

I'm visiting my folks up in Connecticut this fine holiday season and the culture shock of going from non-parent society to parent-filled society is noticeable, as always.  Dad is on a health-food kick now that he's retired and rails against high glycemic-index foods and white potatoes and high fructose corn syrup (as we're on the way to Dunkin Donuts, mind you) and Mom marvels at the fact that there are a million different types of coffee makers to choose from at Target, when she really only needs one that, you know, makes coffee (instead of one that also steams milk, makes espresso, does your laundry, and walks your dog).

However grating some of these idiosyncrasies are, they can also be highly entertaining.  One habit my mom and dad have is noting a particularly unique turn of phrase, singling it out, and decreeing: that would make a great title for a short story! Or book chapter! Or novel!  For example, last night we were talking about making Christmas cookies and the phrase was: "the last cookie".  Then Mom exclaimed, "There you go!  There's a short story for you! The Last Cookie!"  And Dad agreed.  This happens at least once during every lengthy conversation at our house, so by now they've probably thought up enough chapter titles to fill about 80 novels and enough short story titles to fill numerous issues of The New Yorker.  Frankly, I should be paying closer attention to these ideas and taking notes.  I have a feeling I've let a few gems slip by as I nod in gentle appreciation for said title and continue sipping my egg nog.  

This has got me thinking about my writing process.  I often am more relaxed and comfortable with a story idea if I've already thought of a working title.  I feel this provides some guidance and structure to what is going to happen.  Without a title, I feel the story has no heart, even from the beginning.  It's hard for me to fall in love totally with an idea if I don't already have a title.  And things really get uncomfortable if I've made it all the way to the end and STILL don't have a title.  This happens often while I'm working on a magazine article.  If I don't think of something catchy right at the start then forget it - the working title is guaranteed to be the lamest thing in the world... and then re-worked by the editor :)

Other Mom and Pop title suggestions include:

• The Spider on the Wall
• Don't Eat my Pork Chop!
• Five Bottles of Madeira
• The Thumb Smasher
• The Dog's Last Walk
• Pumpkin Pie in my Eye

This last title reminds me to mention my family has also been known to create rhyming couplets on the fly.  It's like a regular poetry slam around here sometimes, especially late at night.  It's quite possible to wake up to the sounds of Mom and Pop cracking up downstairs because they can't think of a word that rhymes with "buffalo" or some other random noun.  Sometimes, when everyone's all in a good mood at the same time (a seemingly impossible confluence of events) it's like a writer's workshop in the living room - Mom has her yellow legal notepad out with about five different color pens, furiously jotting down phrases, circling words, and scratching things out.  Occasionally, someone busts out the thesaurus and WATCH OUT!  You guys should all come by sometime - maybe we could workshop someone's short story.  Or at least help you pick out a title.

For those wanting some REAL tips on creating a title (don't worry, my parents' feelings won't be hurt), here's a pretty good blog on the topic: For the Love of Writing

The Art of Journaling or My Dad is a Spaz

My dad is a hilarious and very unique person.  In some ways, these two attributes are independent of each other and in other ways they are dependent.  Yes, my dad is sometimes hilarious because of his uniqueness, and other times, well, you get the idea. 

Pops and I at a metric century bike ride in October.  Eating pie.  Naturally. 

Firstly, my dad is an engineer at heart.  He loves to plan, loves to make lists, loves to think about things.  If you are working on a project and need some help, Dad is the go-to person.  He'll make a list or five, think, and voila, have a solution for you.  Sometimes this helps and sometimes the solution comes three days too late.  The problem is, Dad is a planner's planner.  Analysis paralysis, I think they call it.  Pops loves to think about doing things, but sometimes doesn't actually get to the doing part. 

Enter the relevance to writing.  I keep a journal.  I started this journal during my senior of vet school, in order to record all the crazy patients and their owners I worked with along with memorable moments in the OR (3 am colic surgeries), the large animal hospital breezeway (loose cow, anyone?), and instructors, techs, and other staff we had to learn to work with (or work around, depending).  I regret not starting my journal in earnest three years prior, at the start of freshman year, but better late than never.  As such, I've surprised myself and have kept the journal going since then (about 5 years). 

I don't make daily entries.  Sadly, my life is just not that exciting and I can't bear to draft an entry that reads: "July 15 - Ramen for lunch and dinner.  Walked the dog.  Had a bowel movement."  But I do write in my journal on average 3 to 4 times a week.  Now that I'm in the habit, I find it relaxing and cathartic - a way to record what's happened, to take a step back and really re-live the past day or so.  When I first began journaling, I put pressure on myself to write every single day and record every single thing that happened in excruciating detail.  Thankfully, those self-imposed demands quickly fell by the wayside when I realized if I adhered to them, the journal would last about one week.  Now, my entries are much more relaxed, often stream-of-consciousness, and rarely account for things in minute detail.  My grammar is atrocious, spelling is embarrassing, and sometimes things don't make sense.  But for me, this is ok.  Now, enter my dad.

Dad post-retirement

Dad retired in April.  Since then, he's been busy painting the house, hiking, bike riding, and taking yoga classes.  He's busier now than when he was gainfully employed!  He's also healthier.  As he finds himself doing more interesting things than being a desk jockey, he has started keeping a journal.  Sort of. 

Last time I talked to Dad, he informed me he bought a new journal to start over.  Confused, I asked why he needed to start over.  How does one start over in a journal?  Did you mistakenly record something on Tuesday that you actually did on Monday?

He told me that as he was reading his older entries, he found them full of typos and long, rambling sentences.  Plus, he said, it was profoundly boring.  To which I responded: yes....?  I think everyone's journal is that way, unless you're Neil Armstrong or Nelson Mandela or a member of ZZ Top.  This wasn't good enough for Dad.  Nope, he's starting over, this time paying more attention to short, succinct sentences, spelling, handwriting, and content. 

We'll just see how long this lasts.  As I said, he's a planner's planner, which means he'll think about the journal and his wonderful spelling and properly placed adverbs.  He even went as far as informing me he's only going to write on one side of the page, not on the back.  All I could do was say ok and jot down the make and model of the journal he ordered. 

In the mean time, I will continue my own journal.  In a recent issue of Vanity Fair, their Proust Questionnaire involved an older author who I am ashamed I didn't recognize and therefore now can't recall his name.  The question was: What is your most prized possession?  His answer: his over 100 volumes of personal journals.  This struck me as an amazing achievement in recording the most personal history of one's life.  This also gave me something to work toward.  Since my budding journal writing beginnings 5 years ago, I only have about 6 volumes.  I better get crackin'.

PS: while I'm on the subject, here's a good post on 5 reasons to keep a journal (important for us writerly-types).

Viva Las Vegas!

Let's step away from the writing and vet med topics for a second and expound on the myriad of reasons why Las Vegas is probably in the Top 5 of The Most Awesome Places in the World.  This is a timely topic since:

a. Winter is creeping in around the Mid Atlantic and I start to dream of dry deserts and palm trees
b. I'm running the Rock N Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon on Dec 2 and I am just dying to get there

I've been to Vegas three times before.  Three wonderful, magical times.  I love the place.  If I were single and it was legally possible to marry a location, I would propose to it. 

One of the reasons I frequent Las Vegas is because the annual Western Veterinary Conference is held out there in the beautiful Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.  One of the annual national veterinary conferences in the US, the WVC is the West Coast's version of NAVC (North American Veterinary Conference) which is held annually in Florida.  And why choose WVC over NAVC since Florida is closer to home than Nevada?  No contest - I'd take Vegas over the humidity of Orlando any day.

However, I feel like I give people the wrong impression when I talk ad nauseum about my sincere love of Las Vegas.  I'm not a big drinker (note the qualifier there), not much of a gambler (I yell at the video poker machine when I'm in the hole ten bucks), and not really in the market for strippers or prostitutes.  But let me tell you, this is why I love Vegas:

1. Neon lights.  There's just something about being able to walk down a street at 11 pm and have everything lit up like the middle of the day.  Combine that experience with the fact that the lights are colorful and moving and blinking and are in the shapes of cowboys and martini glasses and castles and ... just... wow.  Love it.

2. Weather.  The dry desert weather does a person good.  At least, does this person good.  Even in the summer, when the mercury frequently climbs above 100, well, as they say: it's a dry heat.  Also, the lack of rain is friendly to vacation plans - any time I've been there, the thought of rain ruining our plans never occurred to me.  Also, on a side note, the geography of the place is a stunning bonus.  A backdrop of mountains to frame a sunset across the desert is such a welcome sight to eyes used to seeing the comparatively bland forests and fields at the foot of the Appalachians.  (Mind you, there are some lovely places out here: Assateague National Seashore and Shenandoah National Park to name a few.  Mental side note: I owe you dear readers a good solid blog on the wonderful National Parks.) 

3. Sequins.  I can't think of anywhere else I've been where it's perfectly ok to wear sequins at any point during the day or night.  And I do love sequins. (Would it be unprofessional to have my white DVM coat re-done with a simple sequin border? Yes? No?)

4. Best people watching ever.  Walking the strip is an endless source of entertainment, no matter what time of day.  8:30 am?  Hey, giggle at the drunks happily wandering out of the casinos, bleary-eyed and startled by that bright yellow orb in the sky.  4 pm?  Catch a few people dressed as Elvis, or Hello Kitty, or Homer Simpson, or Batman.  2 am?  Your guess is as good as mine.

mmmm wonderful, salty, broth-y pho

5. So many things to do.  I'll admit it - I'm a bit of a wild child.  Last time I was in Vegas, I tried for the first time ever... pho.  Yeah, it was crazy.  You know what they say - what you eat in Vegas usually makes a second appearance on the flight back home... Actually the pho behaved itself.  But besides being a gastrophile's heaven, you would not believe all the stuff there is to do in this relatively small city (beyond the drinking and gambling and debauchery, I mean).  For example:

• Ride the roller coaster outside New York New York
• Travel up the Eiffel Tower at Paris
• Visit the National Atomic Testing Museum
• Shoot a machine gun
• Ride to the top of the Stratosphere
• Visit the aquarium at Mandalay Bay
• Tour the art gallery at the Bellagio
• Visit the Neon Museum, City Hall, and the Nevada State Museum

And for those wanting to venture a little farther, there's always:

• Red Rock Canyon 
• Valley of Fire State Park
• Hoover Dam
• Grand Canyon
• Death Valley

Perhaps for a second career, I'll try things out as a Las Vegas tour guide.  And wear blue crushed velvet pant suits all day long.  With sequins.

Me, in 30 years

Interacting with the Writing Crowd

A few weeks ago I got up the nerve to attend a writers' happy hour in DC.  It was terrifyingly thrilling.  From past posts, you may remember that I'm a tad bit of an introvert, so to attend such a function is WAY out of character for me.

 I'll admit I walked past the bar (The Science Club) not two but THREE times before I actually went in.  It's called Gathering Courage. 

Anyway, I went in and ... had an alright time.  There were about ten of us and the organizer, the lovely Willona Sloan, walked us through three writing exercises of 20 minutes each.  Willona gave us writing prompts and we all wrote furiously for the given time limit, with the option to share at the end. 

Being a writers' happy hour virgin, I didn't dare share my pathetic attempts at literary genius with the group.  I was too embarrassed, too self-conscious.  I was also finding it difficult to concentrate with the awesome 80s music soundtrack and a loud and intense conversation going on at the table next to us.  But, it was a learning experience.  It was a start.

The point is, dear readers/writers, that these types of exercises are good for us.  Writing is most often a lonely excursion but if we lock ourselves in our offices or bedrooms or basements or wherever our writing place is for too long, we may lose something of the human dynamic that is so important in writing.  For me personally, I lose the ability to write acceptable, believable dialogue.

I encourage everyone to search their local writer's scene for a writers' get-together.  If happy hours aren't your thing, what about a poetry slam or even a book club?  I have found that most members of such groups, be they for writing or reading, are extremely accepting of other new members and very encouraging toward everyone's personal goals. 

Better yet, if your local area that doesn't have something to stir your inner writer cravings, create a group of your own.  Willona saw a lack of such get-togethers in the DC area (What? DC not having enough happy hours?! Get out!) and started her own.  And so far, it's going very well.  On that note, I'd also like to encourage writers to search for writer's retreats and workshops. 

Since proving to myself that attending a writing social event does not cause immediate death, I do think I'll attend another.  (A little run n' coke helps, too.)