Whatever just happened?
An update and looking ahead
Hi folks, sorry it has been so long. You know how they say that the aim of philosophy is to understand how things, in the broadest possible sense of the term, hang together, in the broadest possible sense of the term? If that is so, I have had a few extremely philosophical months — just that I did not get to half of the things that were on my agenda for “Philosophy Going Wild” .
You see, since humans still haven’t figured out how to have good neighbourly relations with rats, do something about the climate crisis and avoid wars, I have been stuck in Andalusia, which is where I had gone at the start of the year to help my family. I had meant to go back to the UK already a long time ago, but an unusually wet and cold winter has made it such that a family of rats found refuge, comfort and something to busy themselves with in my electric van — apparently, those cables are extra delicious for them, and replacement cables are currently not available because the Strait of Hormuz is closed. And when I tried to leave my cherished van behind and drive back through heat-wrapped Europe with the diesel pick-up that belongs to my brother-in-law, that car had a problem with the oil — of course it did! Which is why our journey ended in the most surreal setting, in a tenth floor hotel room, near both the airport and the Formula 1 racetracks of Madrid.
Eventually, we got that car fixed so that we could at least return to Andalusia, gathered our strength, and, since humans are also an extremely ingenious and cooperative species, I was able to acquire the very last set of cables currently available in Europe that suits my van. A friend of a friend of my sister, based in North Germany, could locate it in a branch in a small town somewhere in West Germany. Naturally, the spare parts could not simply be shipped by that branch to the one Spain, why should it be that easy? Hence they were sent to yet another friend in South Germany, where my sister picked them up on one of her many travels and eventually, it reached us in Spain. Lucky me, I thought. Surely replacing a few cables can’t take very long and we are all going to make it out of the ever increasing heat with a carefully planned travel over multiple days, driving at night and recouping in nice places in the countryside. And yet, that, too, did not go according to plan. What can I say?
Plans. If there is one thing I have learned, then it is that Brecht was right in his “Ballade von der Unzulänglichkeit menschlichen Planens” — you can make a plan, and make yet another plan, and feel rather smart and in control of things, and yet part of being human is to always be and eternally remain somewhat deficient. I guess that doesn’t mean that one shouldn’t plan, but to accept that one will be battered (a loose translation of the Brechtian “hit him on the hat”), that one will need feedback from reality, and that it is human to fail and not lose one’s sense of humour. Systems fail, too, material fails, money transfers can fail. And yet they can never be amused by their strivings and failures and try better. Humans can do that, and so, while I am snorting and chuckling every now and then as I type, here are my current risk-adjusted plans.
Finishing Up “Philosophy in the Wild: Finding Hope in Mixed Communities”
The anthrozoological vasculum symbolising Mary Midgley’s biscuit tin and collecting material as well as inspiring multispecies poetry to investigate how to co-create more hopeful mixed communities with other species has also made it back to the UK.
Please join us for a homecoming celebration and wonderful opportunity to chat with Karen Simecek and Vid Simoniti about what poetry specifically can do to improve mixed communities, next week in Newcastle, on the 15th of June. Please also get in touch if you are interested in joining a hybrid networking event that is not open to the public but to professionals working on themes or methods related to our project and would like to explore ideas for future collaboration.
Releasing “Dogs in Aid of Nature” for Just Animals Among Other Animals
Remember the podcast I have started? One of my last conversations centred on working dogs in conservation and the topic got me really hooked and inspired me to revisit my past history with canine nose work. I am still busy working on the posts and interviews on the topic to continue the podcast, just that this time, I will prepare all of the content before posting. You will, inevitably, be the first to know. :-)
Finding a Stable Source of Income: Going Paid
I have always had an aversive relation to money. As a kid, much to my mother’s surprise, I used to throw it out, those dirty paper notes. As an adult, I understand that money is needed and will happily give it to all sorts of causes. I just don’t like asking for it. As a woman in academia and the arts, I am probably not unusual at that. But my borderline pathological history of poorly or unpaid labour goes back decades — and must end. It is unsustainable, especially if you have to care for others.
So, I am going to go paid with some of the content here on Substack. All previous posts will remain free and so will all podcast episodes for Just Animals Among Other Animals. But I am going to paywall content and opportunities to connect over a new project: In Good Hands — a combination of animal-informed thinking and guided human-animal-interactions, and a playful approach to becoming better at being human. We’ll look at how to think with and as animals by harnessing our inner child, how to work with other animals, and what role jokes and humour can play in all of this. Outside of Substack, there will be opportunities for online supervisions and in-person workshops. At least, that is part of the plan.
Bye for now.
PS: Please keep your fingers crossed for me that the funding for my novel comes through. Goats play a role, too.