http://aeon.co/magazine/nature-and-cosmos/liam-heneghan-ecology-childhood/
Returning to blogging after I finish translating The Enchanted Quill, an anthology of nineteenth-century fairy tales collected by Franz Xaver Schoenwerth. Once you read these stories, you will abandon any ideas about the literary transmission of fairy tales–these are tales in the raw, not cooked to suit the tastes of the literate. My deadline is Sunday at midnight. For now, a fascinating article about the ecology of Pooh, and yesterday’s interview on storytelling with the wonderful Jane and Dr. J. on the Social Network Station.
http://thesocialnetworkstation.com/reading-stories-developing-values-versus-online-aggression/
It seemed like a typical day on The Social Network Show, it seemed like that way–but what to make of it, oh my ears and whiskers, what to make of it–and what had me worried–what to unmake of it. Do you know? The workman had just shown up, with a shovel, as unusual, and Dr. J had just given me the look that I needed to behave, but that was the least of most om my problems. No one knew, or knew that I knew, I’d been commissioned by the commissioner to determine whether, and in what kind of weather, Alice had really gone down the rabbit hole. One of the workman said, murmured and mumbled…shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t be here at all–it is my unbirthday and my unbirthday party shall be underway without me. I just know it…! Here is the shovel–find Alice yourself, he said, as I am undoing my commitment to look for rabbits under any circumstances– and not unwillingly I might add. But you didn’t add it, I said I am sure your didn’t. You have you have subtracted from any commitment–actually subtracting yourself from this job I said since you are less one shovel and I have added one. A bad day so far, is all he said and off he he went, a very bad day indeed… he murmured, or mumbled I couldn’t tell which. Just then or after just then came a breeze from wonderland, and it hit me right on the cheek nearly moving three whiskers out of alignment. And then Dr. J tried to stay the course–yes let’s always do this as it is good for us ships to keep the show on course–she’d say. Steady as she goes she’d say–staying the course is always better than it’s opposite. Of course it is I’d say pun intended. I teach stay the course in all “my courses” you know!”
Then, or right after just then, I couldn’t tell–Dr. Tatar whispered: let’s you and I jump down the rabbit hole Jim its plenty big enough–Dr.J won’t seem to mind and our guests won’t seem to care. And so we did–right in the middle of the weather–whether you believe us or not, and we aren’t coming back until we prove Alice preceded us.