Random Stuff!

Rest in Peace, Happy the Asian Elephant.

Happy was one of two elephants at the Bronx Zoo. She and the other, Patty, did not get along and they had to be kept apart which isn't good for elephants. They are herd animals. I really wish she had been sent to a sanctuary but it wasn't my call.

For several years, she was too sick and you couldn't see her if you went to the zoo. (I went with my nephew a year or two ago and only Patty was out, looking lonely.)

Important Info:

Happy was 55 years old.

Happy was known to scientists once she passed the "mirror test" that shows self-awareness. She touched an X on her face.

Happy is named "Happy" because there were initially seven elephants calves sold to a "safari" in California. They were named after Disney's Seven Dwarves.

Sleepy died at said "safari". Happy, Grumpy, Sneezy, Doc, Dopey, and Bashful were moved to another "safari" in Florida but when that closed they were split up.

Happy and Grumpy went to the Bronx Zoo where they were kept with Patty and her friend Maxine. Except Maxine attacked and killed Grumpy and the pairs were kept apart thereafter for their own safety. Maxine died in 2018.

Now only Patty remains.

I personally love elephants but I do worry they are not given enough space in some zoos. (The enclosure I last saw Patty in looked quite small to my eye, though I'm not expert. And I should say the Bronx Zoo does give the elephants more space than zoos of the past.)

He's our only actual POV character who has seen an Other.

He's met three Starklings.

He punched Daeron.

Cool Maester Aemon lore.

He's just a big sweetie, why dislike him? Dislike Victarion for beating his wife to death.

I admit the fat pink mast was very no thanks, but I don't find him annoying.

The main response seems to be to that he's "boring" and "annoying" because he's "still so craven."

I am frustrated by this because I thought Jon established early on that he's brave for admitting he is a craven. Also he's killed an Other and punched Daeron and sailed acrros the Narrow Sea. Despite what he thinks about himself (which is more about the mental abuse he suffered from his Dad than him still being the same kid who came to the Wall), Sam is brave. Ned said when a man is scared is the "only" time a man can be brave.

Well, Sam is always being brave then. He's scared all the time. I think he'd probably be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in today's world and I feel for him.

They closed for lunch right in my face. But then the same lady who shut the doors opened them up 30 minutes later and I felt bad she only got 30 minutes for lunch. I remember that. It wasn't enough of a break.

Making people wait for 30 minutes in a small, unventilated space when some of them are known to be sick doesn't seem like a good healthcare strategy.

Sometimes I wonder if Jon will need someone (like Melisandre) to resurrect him at all. I say this because I am pretty sure Bran’s fall was mortal, and he is only alive because of Summer. The impression I have is that his soul or whatever sheltered in Summer until his body healed. And I know it’s a bit different because Maester Luwin was able to keep Bran’s body technically alive, whereas Jon has been stabbed and will probably bleed out.

But I do think the bond has more healing power than just Summer’s howls boosting Bran’s spirits or whatever. And the Three Eyed Crow didn’t have to tell Bran how to do it, it was instinct.

And I thought that was stupid because obviously Robb's army has done harm to the Riverlands--Arya's chapters in ASoS and Brienne's in AFFC are all about injustices done during war. War is bad. It's kind of a theme of the books.

I think people forget the Bloody Mummers were on Robb's side at the end there. Biter and Rorge are bad people. They were literally let lose by Arya, who is one of our heroes. Then they commit atrocities at Saltpans and Brienne, another one of our heroes, is victimized by them to an extent (oh it would've been so cool to see Brienne's fight in the rain on TV, someone should really adapt these novels one day).

Anyway, I've been rereading ACoK and the part with the weasel soup when Arya takes Harrenhal is literally the chapter before Dany sees the rat men vision. The character called "Biter" is one of the men who helps her. Then there's a vision of creatures biting a woman a few pages away.