2005.09.21
I'm the taxadermist here in town. The people 'round here have a little joke about me. They say 'Don't cross Lenare, or he'll slice you open, scoop out your innards, fill you with sawdust, and then mount you,' I guess it's more of a warning than a joke. I don't like to be crossed. I guess that's why I ended up doing what I do. It's not that I feel a sense of power when I poke out an animal's eye and replace it with a glass marble, it's that I feel domination. Animals think they are so superior to us. They pretend to act all innocent, all furry and frolicsome, but when we're not looking, they mock us. As I cut away the skin from a deer's skull, I always think, 'Who's laughing now?' Usually it's me.
Ramble of the Moment
On a semi-related note, I'll mention that over the past week or so I've begun to live a personal idea of severely cutting down my consumption of soda pop and mammals. I'm not planning about being completely strict about either, but so far I've been pretty good about both. (The Mammal consumption being limited to a bite of Ksenia's meatball sub, and bacon used as a accouterment to a BBQ Chicken Sandwich.)
There's a name (and website) for "Abstaining from Mammal Meat" - Mafism (a neologism from "Mammals First"). It does make a certain amount of sense, on this planet mammals are the closest on the family tree, and seem to have mental and emotional capabilities that other species lack. There might be some exceptions in the higher birds, like parrots, but as the site points out we don't eat them anyway.
From a practical standpoint, it makes good public health sense as well...some very nasty diseases can jump species, and mammal to mammal is one of the most likely jumps...including conditions like "Mad Cow".
I dunno, maybe this is just a personal fad for me that won't last very long. It seems more sustainable than a lot of eating restrictions, though...and the site is refereshing pragmatic and non-fascist about it all. It's aways a little disturbing that any gelatin-based product, including jellies, don't qualify as vegetarian. Not to mention McD's fries, that whole beef-tallow thing.
Bad News of the Moment
Could Gas Hit $5 A Gallon? Ummm...yow. That's more than enough to let the schadenfreude towards Hummer drivers and the like wear mighty mighty thin.