TMD Reporters – Page 15

The Mammalian Daily Style Manual

June 23, 2011 By TMD Reporters

The Mammalian Daily’s editorial style has set the standard for Park publications since the beginning of zoocracy

The Mammalian Daily Press, 200 pages

The Mammalian Daily’s editorial style has set the standard for Park publications since the beginning of zoocracy. With the release of this new publication by The Mammalian Daily Press, everyone will be able to benefit from the wisdom and experience of Mammalian Daily writers and editors.

This first edition provides systematic guidelines for the usage of punctuation and capitalization and includes a lengthy discussion of Animal names. As well, a separate “Quotation Guide” offers a thorough discussion of the nuances of a large number of Animal languages and provides a dictionary of shared terminology.

This weighty volume is sure to become the essential reference for all those who love to work with words.

Principles of Anticipatory Zoocracy

June 23, 2011 By TMD Reporters

Foreword by Jor
Birch Bark Books, 100 pages

An ancient political treatise by an unknown author, Principles of Anticipatory Zoocracy is the book to which we all owe our freedom and prosperity. This new, soft-shell edition from Birch Bark Books includes a special foreword that was written by Jor just before his death in 14 AZ.

The most important political document in our possession, this treatise laid the foundation for what we now know as Animal self-government. It should be on everyone’s reading list.

Now, That’s Duperous!

June 23, 2011 By TMD Reporters

Heroic News Items from The Mammalian Daily
Mammalian Daily Press, 100 pages

Anyone familiar with The Mammalian Daily remembers these popular columns that ran monthly for almost five years. Now, in hard-shell, The Mammalian Daily has re-printed them for your renewed enjoyment.

Remember the Polar Bears’ heroic struggle with the snowless Winter? The Giraffe who got his head stuck in the ceiling of the Dupers’ General Store? The Humans who tried to grow their Shrimp in cans? They’re all here to amaze you, to entertain you, and to intrigue you.

You won’t be able to put this book down. But, perhaps, when you’re finished reading it, you should write a letter in support of bringing back the column.

Now, that would be duperous!

Bringing Back the Stick: 75 Years of Retrieving

June 23, 2011 By TMD Reporters

By Bartholomew El Perdiguero
Birch Bark Books, 400 pages

While any book on retrieving would be welcome in The Park, this volume is certain to appeal to those for whom the sport has become a way of life.

Rich in lore, as well as in fact, this commemorative tome also includes a handy “how-to” section for beginners, pictures of Champions in Action for voyeurs, a glossary of retrieving terms, and a separate chapter on water retrieving.

Beautifully bound and brimming with photographs, this book is a true celebration of retrieving and will make a wonderful gift for any species.

The Silent Cluck

June 23, 2011 By TMD Reporters

By Berthilidis Strix, M.D. and Cornelia Panthera, Ph.Zo.
Lemon-Yellow Press, 250 pages

Deep in the recesses of our subconscious, according to veteran psychoanalyst, Dr. Berthilidis Strix, lies a force that she calls “the silent cluck.” The process of isolating one’s own “cluck” is the subject of this book, which Dr. Strix has written in collaboration with her esteemed colleague, Dr. Cornelia Panthera.

The premise on which their book is based is that this force, which is as individual as we are, is responsible for the choices we make throughout our lives. That fact (if, indeed, it is a fact) renders locating our “cluck” essential, if we are to feel that we exercise control in our lives.

But, why a “cluck?”

Dr. Panthera, a noted zoologist, is among those who believe that we all start life as a Chicken. Our process of maturation, as she explains in the book’s preface, is one of “breaking out of the egg,” both literally and metaphorically.

But, even when we are successful and achieve full maturity, say Drs. Strix and Panthera, we are still subject to the longings of that holdover from our earliest days, our “silent cluck.”

“It is not unusual,” writes Dr. Strix, “for the largest of Lions or for the smallest of Snails, to want to revert to the eggshell. It is, perhaps, at our lowest moments in life that we find our cluck is calling us, and we must listen to it.”

Whether or not you believe in the Chicken Theory, this book will bring your deepest desires and disappointments into focus.

When All Good Things Begin with “B”

June 23, 2011 By TMD Reporters

By Mavis Malamute
Tall Tail Books, 35 pages
Recommended for ages 4 weeks and up

Another triumph for Tall Tail Books, this enchanting book was written for Puppies but is suitable for all ages and species.

Narrated by a mother Bitch, it is the story of Barney, the runt of her litter, who discovers that, like his name, all the good things in his life begin with the letter, “B”: ball, biscuit, bones, etc.

The story is a delightful one and the illustrations, by renowned illustrator, Pirkko Panther, lend a sense of bucolic tranquility to an otherwise urban tale.

When All Good Things Begin with “B” will make a great gift for new mothers and for all those little ones in their pre-weaning weeks.

Olden Goldies: Noreen interviews The Barkettes

June 3, 2011 By TMD Reporters

Long a fan of Thisbe and the Barkettes and, at one time, a Dog in-the-running for one of the top singing spots in the group, Noreen recently sat down with The Barkettes (Estelle, Lorraine, Carmen and Mercedes), for an honest chat about life, love and the Canine music world.

N: When did you first realize that you were on your way to becoming the top Canine singing group of all time?

E: I don’t know if we actually thought about it in that way. We knew that we were good; we knew that we could make it, as long as we were allowed to make it, that is. And my Mum, in particular, kept us going and wouldn’t let us ever be discouraged. Even when we faced blatant discrimination and anti-Caninism. There were many times we saw signs that said “No Dogs Allowed” and I, at least, would want to collapse. But Mum would never let me do it.

L: I don’t think people — Humans, that is — realize the impact such things have on Dogs. And other Animals, too. For so many centuries, we’ve been treated as chattel…as if we have no value outside the value of the Humans we live with — if we live with Humans. I think The Barkettes have done a great service, really, in showing the world — Canine, Human, Feline — what Animals can do when they set their minds to it.

It’s not just the sound of our music or our voices — although I’m sure that the quality of the sounds helped immensely. I think it’s partly that we have an honest desire to do something with our lives…

M: And our love of music, too. That can’t be discounted. Without that, we never would have been able to sustain the blows we did and the insults, too.

C: Absolutely. I think in that way, the arts, whichever of them, can help to sustain anyone who is an underDog.

We were underDogs, too, when we started. We played living rooms, parks, anywhere they would book us. And we were glad to do it. We wanted to bring our love of music to the whole world — not just the Canine world, but the whole world. I used to practice in my backyard; some of my highest notes I sent up the chimney. But when it worked, there was no feeling like it. I don’t think I could have done it in any other field.

N: Do you ever miss having a normal life?

E: Who knows what’s normal, anymore? This is what’s normal for us…or, at least, it’s what’s become normal for us. I would hate to have missed the life that we’ve had, the things we’ve done, the Animals we’ve met.

And I would like to say here that I will always be grateful to Thisbe, because this was all her idea. I could never have envisioned it.

C: That’s true and I think we all agree on that. But if you mean do I wish I’d had the opportunity to…say…have a litter…I don’t know. I guess I feel it’s something I could have done if the opportunity had arisen. But it didn’t, so I don’t regret it, really. I have 187 nieces and nephews and they all give me great joy when I see them.

M: I think we can’t regret it when we know that soon we’ll have to retire and we know how much we’ll miss performing.

L: I will really miss it. But I also am looking forward to a rest. And I’ve always wished I could have gone for training, so that’s something that I’m thinking of starting when we retire.

Park economy reacts to Census

April 30, 2011 By TMD Reporters

The Park’s economy has begun to react to the release of data from the 25 AZ Census. The Park Census Office (PCO) released the first data, which covers Park population and dwelling counts, at the end of December, 2010. Shortly thereafter, a spike in the value of Marine Mammal currencies caused the Central Bank of The Park to halt currency trading until after the New Year. The currencies hit record highs when the PCO reported that immigration had fuelled the growth in The Park’s population. The Marine Mammal Bank of The Park has been the major lending institution to Park immigrants since 12 AZ.