SH Comments
Reged: Feb 16 2004
Posts: 1056
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This thread is for comments and feedback about The Absence of Animals, by Matthew Cheney.
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copperfish
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Reged: Nov 07 2006
Posts: 1
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Interesting article. My condolences to you for your missing cat. Sometimes the missing cat is harder to deal with than the dead cat because you keep expecting it to come back. As a major sci-fi fan I and a pet owner I get the problem of pets in zero-g and metal spacecraft, but I agree its a level of existence I'd find depressing. My dogs and cats are a real balancing force in my life.
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David de Beer
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Reged: Nov 03 2006
Posts: 1
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"These animals were defended by women and children."
from the movie "Equilibrium", a movie I rather liked but not many others seemed to. It's funny, but I watched part of it again recently and that line jumped out at me because of this article.
I recall Philip Dick's "Bladerunner", also subtly addressed this theme, with Decker forever running around with his catalogue and checking up every time he saw an animal.
There are so many things we simply take for granted -like TV, electricity, the dishwasher - it's hard to imagine a world without them.
I have no doubt humanity will survive, even thrive to a degree, without animals. Still, an irrational part of me can't help but feel we would be lesser for it.
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Efrddyl
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Reged: Nov 07 2006
Posts: 1
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This has been bugging me from the first two episodes of the season. Where did the dog come from?? The one whose bowl Gaeta tipped over to indicate a message? If there are so few animals, you'd think the dog would be treated better than to be chained outside. Where was it going to go?
I can't fathom a future/world without humans interacting with animals. Maybe that's the problem with everyone on Battlestar. Just give everyone, including Cylons, a cat/dog/rat etc., and everyone will join hands and sing happy songs.
Won't they?
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M Frost
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Reged: Sep 27 2006
Posts: 8
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Great post, Matthew, and my condolances on the loss of your cat. Animals really can become members of the family.
I, too, noticed the lack of animals on Battlestar Galactica--one of the many things in short supply for a population on the verge of extinction. Indeed, seeing the dog whose bowl Gaeta used as a code for the message drop warmed my heart. I didn't mind that he was chained out--indeed, he lived the same kind of life as the humans around him, with temporary housing more than a little rough around the edges. Being where he was, on the street, put him in the position to be part of the lives of many people. Perhaps it was a way to share that dog companionship with more than one household.
I found it fitting that the dog and the dog's bowl (the empty bowl) came to symbolize resistance and freedom. I also found it interesting that the Cylons also stopped to pet the dog, as if they, like the humans, found in that act a sense of comfort or reassurance.
Wouldn't it be great if we see that dog again? I can only hope he joined the exodus.
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