Be the Tigress of Civilization You Choose

I had trouble getting the images out of my e-mail, so I cadged from this blog, which has the same story I do.

I wrote about this tigress with piglets in June, opining that a tiger's nose is perfectly capable of differentiating the porcine from the feline, and noting that this Thai tiger had been raised around pigs since cubhood, so the whole California-zoo-grief story isn't true.

But additional pictures are making the electronic rounds- two kind souls sent them to me- so the myth persists, even gains momentum. People seem to want to believe that this is just love overpowering an encoded prey relationship. It is not. What it does represent is the power (occasionally perverse where Sriracha's concerned) of domestication and civilization in controlling baser instincts. With a full belly and lots of exposure/training since birth, a tiger can be convinced that piggies are welcome parts of the extended family. However, I don't like to think what could occur if the keeper bringing lunch is absent too often, as I predict the same vile results should I drop over dead and my pooches go undiscovered for a long time.

Speaking of e-mails making the rounds, this spam was so insidiously, breathtakingly mean, I laughed aloud and had to share.

From: Mark
Subject: Dieting

This is not meant to be an insult or anything but people are talking at work about your weight. I thought you should know. I know it would upset you if you knew but I know some friends here and outside work that have used a program that worked within weeks. I am not pushing anything on you but thought it wouldn't hurt if you looked at it. I also think I am doing you a favor as it's always nice when people talk about how much better you look than how much you've been putting on. I hope I am not intruding, just trying to help out...
Thanks for listening.

Lucky I don't work with a Mark, or I'd really feel like a flabby, lousy mess.

A Dress A Day has today's affirmative antidote: You don't HAVE to be pretty. I agree completely that it's no duty or requirement, though I personally enjoy my choice to delight as a walking sonnet, and I don't like Mark's intimation I'm carrying a couple extra stanzas.