FIRST THANKSGIVING

Sunday, November 23. 2008

This year our official Thanksgiving meal will be just the five of us, plus the two grandmothers. (As I mentioned last week, that will be my breakfast so I’ll have cricket pancakes and fried beetle eggs, sunny-side up. Later that night I’ll have an actual dinner with Fenton and his parents.)
I’ve gathered that you humans have your own Thanksgiving tradition, but I’ll tell you ours. It began when a group of persecuted settlers left England in the early 1600s. These were foxes, who were being hunted for sport by the upper-class hounds. They landed in America, and found new conflict with the local population of canis lupus.
The two species occupied the same ecological niche, which led to competition and much tragedy later on. However, for one brief moment they set aside their differences for a feast that we re-create every November. (Earlier in Canada.)
The tradition was picked up by the hibernating species who incorporated the feast into their usual practice of fattening up for the winter. The herbivores joined in for a similar reason; the last chance to get as much nourishment as possible before their diet went dormant until spring. Soon everyone joined in, even groups that immigrated later and had no connection to the original feast. It was one of the first universal traditions that involved every single species.
The second universal tradition was shopping like mad the day after.

Posted by Lindesfarne at 13:54 | Comments (21) | Trackbacks (0)

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Got a couple December magazines in the mail. If they are analogous to yours you might want to check them out:
Scientific American has an article Fenton would be interested in. It is on the evolution of bats. New fossils answer the question "What came first, flight or echolocation? Or did they arrive together?" (answer: Flight came first). There is even a picture of Fenton's species (and of a Vampire Bat...noone could mistake Fenton's tiny fangs for those things unless she WANTED to).There is also an article on PNA, the "triple helix" molecule that as a geneticist you would find interesting.
Wired has an article on a security hole in the Internet that could have brought down the whole system...including Hare-Link...if it had been discovered by a bad guy instead of a good guy.
Happy Thanksgiving!

#1 Thomas Mazanec (Link) on 2008-11-23 14:21 (Reply)

Thanks, Thomas, for passing those along. Those articles all sound fascinating.

#2 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-11-23 14:33 (Reply)

In our world, the foxes were humans who were under religious persecution for not being in the state-sanctioned church, while the wolves were other humans who had been living there for thousands of years and thought of land ownership as communal instead of individual property. So, a lot of our religious as well as ethnic differences were species differences in your world?

#3 Nobody on 2008-11-23 16:41 (Reply)

dang... I'm always so caught up in my theories and research that I don't always know what's happening in the rest of the world.

Have you heard of an author named Anne McCaffery? her main series deals with a band of humans colonists stranded on a planet with no contact with earth and under seige by a mycorrhyzoid organism which voraciously consumes all carbon-based compunds. In order to combat this and survive with a rapidly falling technology level, they genetically engineer an indigenous species of "dragonets" into full-size dragons, which are then used to fight the "Thread", as the organism comes to be called after it's appearance. The series is an interesting study of a hypothetical society as well as an entertaining read.

Wow, that was quite the ramble. Sorry.

I had a question for you relating to somthing I was working on, and you don't have to answer it. Does Fenton's family come from any kind of nobility that traditionally gained status through marriage, such as those in Europe?

#4 tsukos on 2008-11-23 17:01 (Reply)

The books in question are the Dragonriders of Pern series.

#4.1 Mortar on 2008-12-01 12:56 (Reply)

I love McCaffery's dragon books! Anything that has to do with flight, I'm there.
And no, there's no nobility in Fenton's background of which either of us are aware.
To Nobody: It seems that a world of just one intelligent species will do its best to create divisions anyway.

#5 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-11-23 17:28 (Reply)

My theory is that, in a society such as yours, instincts related to cultural pressures would develop. One example would be that a european noble could have hypothetically had an instinct for what marriges would improve the status of his family the most, wether the spouse in question seemed of nobility or not (such as in your case.) It would have one explaination for the pushiness of your future in-laws

but I suppose it's somewhat of a bust. If I could travel to your world without putting it in mortal danger, I would do so simply for the opportunities to learn.

#6 tsukos on 2008-11-23 17:36 (Reply)

Huh, I just found one major difference in our habits, Lindesfarne. I work third shift, so I consider myself nocturnal. When you wake up in the evening, you have breakfast... so when you go to bed in the morning, you have dinner, right? Your meals are based on YOUR scedual.

Myself, I tend to eat the meal in accordance to the time it is outside. When I wake up in the afternoon, I eat dinner, and when I go to bed in the morning, I'll scramble some eggs or cook up some grits... something like that.

I should really be a behavioralist, I love finding similarities and differences in people's habits.

#7 S c y t h e on 2008-11-23 18:53 (Reply)

So, who else is fully prepared for Thanksgiving? I know that I am. Got the storage chamber stocked full with nuts and berries to offer freely to those less fortunate, whom could not scrounge a plentiful meal for themselves. The outdoor table has been scrubbed to a polish with the cover already picked out. I do rather like some of the bowl designs available, this year. And, my prosthetic fox tail is all shiny and flexible. Fits snug about my own. Plus, the traditional Musket is all polished and ready for use to ward off any Thanks-Takers that might think to come around.

If there is anything that I ever had to complain about, it's the simple costume. Can nobody create a more flexible wardrobe? I know that there are many deer that prefere a pure lifestyle. Roam free. Avoid technology or embrace the minimum. Avoid clothes. But, that was never for me. House. Techno-crazed. Cover me up in threads. So, I have never felt very comfortable with stripping down to the simple, white loin cloth (Well, barely. Let's face it. Barely a foot of cloth from the navel to the tiniest bit of the thigh and a slit for the tail. A mini-skirt would cover more space.) and chest strap basket tradition of Thanksgiving. It just feels a little too close to...the unfortunate offerings found on many predatory tables.

I do find myself ponderous as to how Lindesfarne's house is going to happen. The cultural mixture would most certainly show the true bonds of love in action. It sounds as if her folks have chosen not to give freely to strangers, keeping to only family members. Then again, I think that I understand why. In rabbit society, one's family can be so large that there's no room for generosity to others, in such regards.

In closing, I would like to wish to all a Happy Thanksgiving. Take only what you need from the land. And, to the willing predators out there, give Tofu in the shape of your favorite meal a try. It's really good for you. Trust me.

P.S.: I know many Humans are able to read this blog. So, I feel it worth noting that all tributes to our Founding Fathers are traditionally done in either artistic ways, like decorating pies and such with their likeness or in other ways, involving synthetic prosthetic. To adorn oneself with the naturally grown skin or body part of a fox for the ceremonies would be a downright sin, not to mention completely grotesque.

#8 jup-reindeer on 2008-11-23 20:09 (Reply)

Do you use the Linnaean system of taxonomy to classify both the sentient animal-based races and the non-sentient plants, fungi, monerans, and protists?

#9 Greg (Link) on 2008-11-23 20:18 (Reply)

Cricket pancakes? There are just enough cricket-eating humans (perhaps most of them being so-called vegetarians) that I'd like to see that implemented here. I won't ask you for the recipe, tho; I'm sure you're too busy. But fried beetle eggs are very unlikely, if only because the beetles in this world are much too small compared to humans. (Some might be large enough, but they're hard to approach and decidedly not worth our effort.) Chances are, if you ever pay a longer visit to the human world, you'll revert to mostly herbivory.

#10 Classic Steve (Link) on 2008-11-23 20:35 (Reply)

Yes, we scientists use the Linnaean system of classification. So do the telephone books.

#11 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-11-23 21:33 (Reply)

Being a child of over 10 different nationalities I eat a lot of different stuff at thanks giving.

Also I have a question about your world Lindesfarne. In our world we have things called cryptids (Creatures that are generally believed not to exist but evidence suggests that they do) Do you have something like this in your world.

Well known cryptids in our world include Dragons, Phinoxes, Griffens, Kraken (Giant squid), Chupacabra, Jackalope, Flyingrods, mothmen and other strange creatures. Komodo Dragon and Dodo's are also on this list but we acutely proven they exist.

#12 Simon Cortez on 2008-11-23 22:28 (Reply)

Technically, though, giant squid do exist here. They may not be quite as big as they were played up in some myths, but they do exists.

#12.1 Koronak on 2008-11-24 01:45 (Reply)

Oh, yes. We have many fantastical creatures of myth and legend. (One is Bighoof; supposedly a giant moose who gains revenge on the predators of the Pacific Northwest.)

#13 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-11-23 22:44 (Reply)

A favorite of mine has been the legend of Paul Bunyan, the mighty Treant that grew so tall, it nearly scraped the sky. With this incredible viewpoint, it felt a need to explore it's world and developed an intelligence to think and remember with. It then willed it's roots from the ground so it could move. Sadly, it grew fearful of the smaller trees and developed a mighty axe to chop them away from it's chosen path. (I do find that bit rather disturbing.) The more it chopped, the more it grew angry at the other plant life, never yielding and always in the way, threatening to trip the great Paul into tumbling upon the ground. He nearly took his axe to his parent tree. However, a great ox stepped in and stopped Paul's developed fury in time. A friendship developed all the way to the point where plants learned how to produce oxygen that animal life needed in turn for absorbing the nitrogen from the air. (Erm...yea...what made the oxygen before that bit happened...) Paul and Babe (that was the Ox's name) roamed the lands for many years, exploring. There were some famous adventures that sprung from these roaming two.

#13.1 jup-reindeer on 2008-11-25 07:44 (Reply)

Simon. there is a very interesting artical that I found while resarching a Native American Legend dealing with THunderbird. It seems that the Mothman legend of the East coast is very simalar in apperance with a thunderbird artifact found on the west coast. very interesting read actually.
I have one question for you though Lindesfarne. In you reashearch on DNAHave you gotten to test any of the Ancient DNA of the Native Americans? Here they are trying with certain finds and would be interested to hear what u thing of certain things. Such as here we had one called Kenniwick Man that basically had to rewrite history. thanks!

#14 Ghostrider on 2008-11-24 03:19 (Reply)

Ours also involves settlers leaving from England, Lindesfarne, although it had nothing to do with foxes and hounds. But it did also involve the Puritans and Native Americans having a Thanksgiving feast.

There is a story in the news about one woman whom demanded her child's school's kindergarten classes put an end to their tradition of the kids dressing up as Pilgrims and Indians. Naturally, many of the other parents are upset about this.

#15 Bixyl Shuftan (Link) on 2008-11-25 17:31 (Reply)

I hope to not tread on any sentiments or sensitivities, but I have often wondered -- are certain species considered less sentient than others, and are mostly fair game?

For instance, certain populations in the Wild -- moose that are hunted in the Pacific Northwest, for instance.

#16 Peppin on 2008-11-26 16:17 (Reply)

But, of course. Each species has to take their own kind of IQ test. There just so many ways of telling how smart each living being is, based upon species. For example, an elementary school for a Crow might be equal to the high school for a Wombat or a college for a fly. And, you can't expect a butterfly to use their entire life, learning how to be a doctor. Some species just have a crash course in basic language and social skills. Why, some of the finest minds in history were born in black.

#16.1 jup-reindeer on 2008-11-27 09:43 (Reply)

Actually this is not a reply to anything, Lindesfarne. I just thought you might want to check out a couple of online web comics that I read, that are not on your list.

RCSI Travel - (Code Name Hunter)

The Gods' Pack

Enjoy.

#17 Morgan Starwatcher on 2008-11-26 17:50 (Reply)

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