Welcome to the first iteration of the midweek post- I’m calling it links + recs for now, but please feel free to suggest any better names!
I’ll jump right in with one of my favorite discoveries: there is a species of rabbit which can swim! It’s called the Sylvilagus aquaticus, or Swamp Rabbit. For those of you who aren’t rabbit obsessed like myself (a proud bun-mom as they say), most rabbits cannot be submerged in water as they could go into shock. For this reason, I was confused to come across a TikTok of a swimming rabbit at the beach. I can’t find it, but please enjoy another beautifully shot video here. As cute as that is though, it is not the link that bring us here today. In reading the Swamp Rabbit wiki, I found this: “The Jimmy Carter Rabbit Incident:”
sensationalized as a "killer rabbit attack" by the press, involved a swamp rabbit that swam toward then–U.S. President Jimmy Carter's fishing boat on April 20, 1979. Carter said a rabbit being chased by hounds "jumped in the water and swam toward my boat. When he got almost there, I splashed some water with a paddle.”
Apparently when he recounted the story, his staff didn’t believe him until a video of the event was released. Eventually, it reached the press and inspired mockery. Listen to how his press secretary recalled it:
The animal was clearly in distress, or perhaps berserk. The President confessed to having had limited experience with enraged rabbits. He was unable to reach a definite conclusion about its state of mind. What was obvious, however, was that this large, wet animal, making strange hissing noises and gnashing its teeth, was intent upon climbing into the Presidential boat.
Why didn’t he just let the rabbit on his boat? Hoping the little guy swam safely to shore.
Next up, Critical Thoughts about Tamagotchi by Jef Samp
The Tamagotchi is a digital pet housed in a little egg-like plastic container on a keychain released in Japan in 1996 by Bandai. According to wiki, it was one of the biggest toys in the late 90s and early 2000s, but I swear the craze lasted longer than that because I made my mom buy a couple of them late into my elementary school years. I’d be surprised if these don’t make more of a comeback given how huge Sanrio and other cute Japanese toys have been making.
I was looking up the different Tamagotchi characters when I came across the diagram above. Apparently, depending on the kind of care the pet receives in its youth, determines its behavior and appearance as a teen and adult. The pets that receive proper care (feeding, potty training, discipline, etc) will be kinder and will be in better health than those that don’t. They will also live longer lives; another aspect I forgot- your Tamagotchi can die! All this to say, this is a really time consuming toy, albeit nothing compared to tablets and smart phones. Here is where Jef comes in with his analysis of the Tamagotchi’s ‘aspectral shape’:
For any thing (object or event) we encounter in the world, we bring to bear a certain conceptual context, built up from our previous interaction with that thing or similar things. This context is called "aspectual shape", and it provides a fundamental building block for many modern theories of Mind, Language Acquisition, and Cognitive Development.
In reading through accounts of people talking about their Tamagotchi’s, Jef noticed something interesting, many people defended the time they dedicated to the toy by referring to the Tamagotchi as their actual pet. Others even claimed they teach responsibility (probably parents defending their decision to let their kid waste hours on the device). Jef notes, “the first proposes that TAMAGOTCHI IS A LIVING CREATURE and the second that TAMAGOTCHI IS A LEARNING DEVICE. Both claims negate a competing metaphorical extension: TAMAGOTCHI IS A GAME (OR TOY).”
I’m a sucker for academic analysis of pop culture and I also appreciate an old-fashioned website, so this was a win-win. I recommend you flip through the rest of the site; it seems this was turned in as a class assignment. It’s an A+ from me.
I’d like to end the first installment of links + recs with some music recs!
On repeat:
I’m not a Swiftie, but Karma is such a pop masterpiece! Props to Jack Antonoff
Blessing by Alex G has also been a constant on my rotation. I enjoyed the rest of God Save the Animals, but also went back to some classics like Mary, Gnaw, and Harvey.
Throwback:
I dressed up as Nancy Spungen, aka Sid Vicious’ crazy gf. Talk about a toxic relationship! To get in costume I was blasting some Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and one of my favorites: the Monks. The Monks were 5 American GIs stationed in West Germany in 1964. Their first and only studio album, Black Monk Time, is so weird and loud and amazing, I can’t recommend it enough. Plus they really committed to their name, look at that hair!
Till next time! Look out for the next book review on Saturday and hit the subscribe button below
Wow I forgot about Jimmy Carter and the bunny. “The President confessed to having had limited experience with enraged rabbits.” So great!