This definitely falls under the category of pet peeves for me. There are a lot of folks with opinions. From my perspective, a lot of them are very wrong. You may fall into this category. If you do, I don't expect you to change your mind, but I hope to give you a little bit to chew on. "Type", loosely defined, is what makes a dog breed that breed, and not another breed. It is the unique characteristics that make is possible to recognize a breed. Breed type is defined in the breed standard, which describes the ideals, minimum standards, and disqualifications for a particular breed. The standard for the Great Dane is located here:
http://www.akc.org/breeds/great_dane/breed_standard.cfm
At the top of that link is the General Appearance section. It is a summary of what the dog should look like and sets the tone for the rest of the document. I've reproduced it here:
The Great Dane combines, in its regal appearance, dignity, strength and elegance with great size and a powerful, well-formed, smoothly muscled body. It is one of the giant working breeds, but is unique in that its general conformation must be so well balanced that it never appears clumsy, and shall move with a long reach and powerful drive. It is always a unit-the Apollo of dogs. A Great Dane must be spirited, courageous, never timid; always friendly and dependable. This physical and mental combination is the characteristic which gives the Great Dane the majesty possessed by no other breed. It is particularly true of this breed that there is an impression of great masculinity in dogs, as compared to an impression of femininity in bitches. Lack of true Dane breed type, as defined in this standard, is a serious fault.
Further sections go in to detail on a lot of the points. But I want to make a case based on this general description. In the dog world there are taller dogs, such as the Irish Wolfhound. There are also much heavier/bulkier dogs, such as the Mastiff. There are significantly more elegant dogs, such as the Saluki. Finally, there are more athletic dogs, too numerous to name. If I read this correctly (of course I do!), then the Great Dane is singular not because it exceeds those breeds in any one of these attributes, but because it combines all of them (height, substance, elegance and athleticism) in a single dog.
Truthfully, I think that the paragraph stands on it's own, but I will go sentence by sentence, much like a biblical scholar and give an exposition.
Sentence #1
The Great Dane combines, in its regal appearance, dignity, strength and elegance with great size and a powerful, well-formed, smoothly muscled body.
This is the keystone of the general appearance and, in fact the whole standard. When you look at a Great Dane, these are the attributes that should stick out to you. This is 3 of my four characteristics, but it's worth noting that athleticism is, at best, only implied here. The first impression of a Great Dane should always be that of a large, regal, powerful dog.
Sentence #2
It is one of the giant working breeds, but is unique in that its general conformation must be so well balanced that it never appears clumsy, and shall move with a long reach and powerful drive
This is the first point at which the Great Dane is compared to other dogs, specifically the other giant working breeds. This is a kind of vague category but the first dogs that come to mind are the Mastiff and Bullmastiff. The Great Dane, then, is compared against this back drop of large, more lumbering breeds. However, it is not stated that the Great Dane should be "more balanced, and less clumsy" than those breeds. The wording is absolute and imperative. Truthfully, this whole sentence is dedicated to making one distinction: a Great Dane is not just large, it is also athletic.
Sentence #3
It is always a unit-the Apollo of dogs.
This is short and to the point, enhancing the above statement. But this single phrase "the Apollo of dogs," is often misunderstood and misused. I have often heard this phrase used by breeder's to support their own emphasis on height, substance, or elegance. However, if you look at the phrase in the context of the sentence, it is not discussing any of those things. In fact, it is talking about the dog's overall balance. The Great Dane does not give the appearance of disjointed parts. It is put together and moves as a single unit, an Athletic quality.
Sentence #4
A Great Dane must be spirited, courageous, never timid; always friendly and dependable.
I often want to cry when I read this. Here it is, right in the standard. This is an optional quality, this is part of Great Dane breed type. This isn't worded hopefully, but with an imperative "must" and absolute "never" with absolute "always." A Great Dane lacking that friendly, trustworthy temperament is as poor of a specimen as a Great Dane lacking size or substance.
Sentence #5
This physical and mental combination is the characteristic which gives the Great Dane the majesty possessed by no other breed.
This statement draws the previous four together and establishes them as the differentiating characteristics of the breed. No single attribute is enough, but putting all of these together, including the temperament, is why Great Danes are so striking. If you don't include any part of that, you are missing an important piece.
Sentence #6
It is particularly true of this breed that there is an impression of great masculinity in dogs, as compared to an impression of femininity in bitches.
Here we have an important refinement, establishing that there should be a visible difference between the sexes. In generally, we seem to be good on this as a breed, although to the untrained eye all Great Danes seem to be males... :-)
Sentence #7
Lack of true Dane breed type, as defined in this standard, is a serious fault.
This statement has always puzzled me a bit. It seems to say that the the Great Dane doesn't meet the characteristics of the standard, that's a problem. Well, of course, that's a problem. That is the point of the standard. This isn't even a boilerplate statement, that I can tell. I don't recall seeing anything like it in other standards. So, since this is closing the general appearance paragraph, I take it as a sort of closing summary. I might paraphrase it as follows:
If you have a dog that is lacking these attributes (height, substance, elegance, athleticism, mental stability), that's a big problem. The details on this are contained in the rest of the standard.
So... There is a summation of the Great Dane. We can argue about angles and all the rest, but we must, as a breed get these things right first.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Monday, September 23, 2013
On Music and Insanity
There are a number of songs that resonate with me for different reasons. At the most general level, I like songs with wit and songs that I can steal a bit of emotional energy from. This is why I have both "Barenaked Ladies" and "Celldweller" songs in my list of most played songs. There are, however, a group of songs that are in there for a more thematic reason:
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
Rolling Stones - Paint it Black
The Who - Behind Blue Eyes
Tears for Fears - Mad World
Korn - Coming Undone
Drowning Pool - Bodies
Doors - People Are Strange
Yes.... I seem to collect songs that revolve around insanity. This is a very personal thing for me. Mental health has been an intense subject in my family at times. Of course, for me, the most intimate encounter was my own diagnosis of ADD. Although ADD is usually thought of just as a "focus" issue, there are often significant behavioral and emotional issues that come along for the ride. (If you're having a "But you're not ADD!" moment, please keep in mind that I've been medicated for ADD most of my life and have worked a lot of coping mechanisms.) In additional to behavioral, emotional, and other direct effects of having a mental "illness" (I would call it more of a malfunction) there are additional self-perception and social issues.
There is certainly a stigma against the mentally ill. There is definitely a stigma against folks who have had to spend time in an "institution." Even as I write this, I want to hurry to qualify that I haven't been in an "institution," because I'm afraid that anything I have to say would be immediately disqualified if I had. We don't trust people who are unstable. Certainly media doesn't ever portray someone (like me, I think) who is mentally ill, but through the power of modern medicine is also high-functioning and has a handle on life.
Beyond this, even "high functioning" individuals have an internal stigma. We will always hold ourselves, if not as "less", then certainly as "other" than someone who is "normal." We are acutely aware of those things that we are constantly struggling with that seem so easy to other people. We know when the frayed edges are showing, even if no one else notices anything different. We feel like we are clinging to the pieces our lives with a tenuous grip, always about to slip through our fingers.
But this isn't about anyone's personal struggles, this is about the music...
I imagine anyone who reads this is familiar with at least one of these songs. Chances are pretty good you even enjoy listening to one of those songs. I mean, these are not esoteric Indie artists. These are popular songs that have all had success as singles. So... While I don't have statistics on the percentage of the population who are struggling with mental illness, I'm pretty sure that it isn't high enough to have a noticeable impact on the music industry.
So... Doesn't that mean that these songs probably resonate with "normal" people as well? If that's the case, what are these songs really about? Alienation is certainly a strong theme. We've all been there. Certainly we all hit that point during our teenage years, but I think we also still go there at times. Sitting with our morning coffee, or perhaps in the car during our morning commute, we wonder if we have a connection to anything around us.
Impending loss of control is the second strong theme. If I ever get around to it, I'll share my opinion on "civilization," but in the mean time I'll give you this thought: it is a very complex thing to be a civilized modern human. Some time, or another, we all get to the point where we feel like we are ready to throw of the last shreds of our civilized demeanor. Most of us go there at least once during our daily commute. But, even beyond road rage, we have the stress of being tugged multiple directions at once. There are days when there are so many phone calls, emails, pressing errands, and people we really ought to be interacting with that we just don't know where to start. The pressure to do and accomplish is often so strong that we'd know that "one more thing" and we will simply stop functioning as a human...
Okay... So maybe it isn't about the music after all... But, perhaps we can recognize that in the end, we are all struggling to keep it together, and that's okay.
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
Rolling Stones - Paint it Black
The Who - Behind Blue Eyes
Tears for Fears - Mad World
Korn - Coming Undone
Drowning Pool - Bodies
Doors - People Are Strange
Yes.... I seem to collect songs that revolve around insanity. This is a very personal thing for me. Mental health has been an intense subject in my family at times. Of course, for me, the most intimate encounter was my own diagnosis of ADD. Although ADD is usually thought of just as a "focus" issue, there are often significant behavioral and emotional issues that come along for the ride. (If you're having a "But you're not ADD!" moment, please keep in mind that I've been medicated for ADD most of my life and have worked a lot of coping mechanisms.) In additional to behavioral, emotional, and other direct effects of having a mental "illness" (I would call it more of a malfunction) there are additional self-perception and social issues.
There is certainly a stigma against the mentally ill. There is definitely a stigma against folks who have had to spend time in an "institution." Even as I write this, I want to hurry to qualify that I haven't been in an "institution," because I'm afraid that anything I have to say would be immediately disqualified if I had. We don't trust people who are unstable. Certainly media doesn't ever portray someone (like me, I think) who is mentally ill, but through the power of modern medicine is also high-functioning and has a handle on life.
Beyond this, even "high functioning" individuals have an internal stigma. We will always hold ourselves, if not as "less", then certainly as "other" than someone who is "normal." We are acutely aware of those things that we are constantly struggling with that seem so easy to other people. We know when the frayed edges are showing, even if no one else notices anything different. We feel like we are clinging to the pieces our lives with a tenuous grip, always about to slip through our fingers.
But this isn't about anyone's personal struggles, this is about the music...
I imagine anyone who reads this is familiar with at least one of these songs. Chances are pretty good you even enjoy listening to one of those songs. I mean, these are not esoteric Indie artists. These are popular songs that have all had success as singles. So... While I don't have statistics on the percentage of the population who are struggling with mental illness, I'm pretty sure that it isn't high enough to have a noticeable impact on the music industry.
So... Doesn't that mean that these songs probably resonate with "normal" people as well? If that's the case, what are these songs really about? Alienation is certainly a strong theme. We've all been there. Certainly we all hit that point during our teenage years, but I think we also still go there at times. Sitting with our morning coffee, or perhaps in the car during our morning commute, we wonder if we have a connection to anything around us.
Impending loss of control is the second strong theme. If I ever get around to it, I'll share my opinion on "civilization," but in the mean time I'll give you this thought: it is a very complex thing to be a civilized modern human. Some time, or another, we all get to the point where we feel like we are ready to throw of the last shreds of our civilized demeanor. Most of us go there at least once during our daily commute. But, even beyond road rage, we have the stress of being tugged multiple directions at once. There are days when there are so many phone calls, emails, pressing errands, and people we really ought to be interacting with that we just don't know where to start. The pressure to do and accomplish is often so strong that we'd know that "one more thing" and we will simply stop functioning as a human...
Okay... So maybe it isn't about the music after all... But, perhaps we can recognize that in the end, we are all struggling to keep it together, and that's okay.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Disclaimer
I enjoy the company of a very diverse set of friends and acquaintances. It should come as no surprise, then, that I don't agree with the religious and political views of all of these friends and acquaintances. Because of this, I try to be careful with what I post on Facebook. I find no value in stirring up controversy. This is particularly true in the current American social climate where it seems that no issue is complete without controversy.
Those rules do not apply to this blog. While I do not intend to post anything overtly offensive, I do intend to post opinions that I hold. Sometimes those opinions may offend you. Often, you will not agree with those opinions. I will welcome your well-reasoned attempts to change my opinion. If it bothers you that I simply have a different opinion than you, you are encouraged to remain silent.
Please also keep in mind that although I've learned to temper and control it a good bit, I still have running through my veins the "Anderson" blood. Although the Andersons are swedish in decent, they seem to have a more Irish temperament. I also am a designer of computer programs. This means that in a good week, I spend a significant amount of time debating from vague principles to detailed minutiae, with a good dose of semantics thrown in.
So, can you expect that there may be a good amount of heated discussion... with a purpose. The opposite side of this is that any opinion I currently hold may be changed or tempered with reasonable discussion. So, if you have the fortitude, feel free to engage me. If you don't, I will try to mark topics that could cause controversy so that you can skip them and not be offended.
The purpose of this blog
This blog is about me. It's not really about you. When it is about you, it's not really about YOU you, unless you want it to be. You see, I love to create. It doesn't really matter much to me what it is I create. I tend to dabble in whatever catches my interest at the time. This is because, to me, creation isn't about making something. It's about exploration. It's about understanding a process that I never understood before, then quietly slipping that process into my back pocket, should I ever need it. I'm not ashamed to say that I have a ton of half-finished "projects," scattered about my life. These are projects that I will likely never go back and finish, and that's okay. I learned a lot from each of those projects and I think they have made me better.
Among those half-finished projects are blogs that I've started and haven't kept up with. Each blog surrounded something I felt I had to say. "I can speak intelligently on this topic," I said to myself. And so, I built myself a platform and I spoke intelligently... And found I had little else I wanted to say regarding that thing. But I always seem to have *something* to say. Although my parents didn't make a big deal out of it (there are a lot of things like this), they have always breathed into my brother and I the mindset of an educator. When I understand something, it is often important to me to be able to share that understanding and hopefully enrich the lives of those it touches. Originally, this was blog was going to be titled "Bullets in the Dark," with the idea that I would write focused, tight, epistles to no one in particular, that might have a direct impact on their life.
But this blog isn't about you. It isn't about the topics. It's about me. Writing, for me, is just part of my process of understanding. It lets me view my thoughts through an outside eye and then see if they stand up in the cold light of day. I imagine there will be a lot of things that I start to write that you will never see. That's okay. In the end, this is my creative journal. A place for me to leave a few footprints in the sand.
Among those half-finished projects are blogs that I've started and haven't kept up with. Each blog surrounded something I felt I had to say. "I can speak intelligently on this topic," I said to myself. And so, I built myself a platform and I spoke intelligently... And found I had little else I wanted to say regarding that thing. But I always seem to have *something* to say. Although my parents didn't make a big deal out of it (there are a lot of things like this), they have always breathed into my brother and I the mindset of an educator. When I understand something, it is often important to me to be able to share that understanding and hopefully enrich the lives of those it touches. Originally, this was blog was going to be titled "Bullets in the Dark," with the idea that I would write focused, tight, epistles to no one in particular, that might have a direct impact on their life.
But this blog isn't about you. It isn't about the topics. It's about me. Writing, for me, is just part of my process of understanding. It lets me view my thoughts through an outside eye and then see if they stand up in the cold light of day. I imagine there will be a lot of things that I start to write that you will never see. That's okay. In the end, this is my creative journal. A place for me to leave a few footprints in the sand.
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