Suede live in Tel Aviv, 30 July 2015

Last night I went to a concert by the British band Suede. I have been listening to their music ever since their first album. I have always loved their ravishing guitar sound and soaring vocals. Sometimes you like a band for a while and then lose interest, or your taste changes, but for me there have been a few bands I have continued to enjoy over the years, and in terms of my taste, their old music holds up, while their newer albums might indicate their changing style over time, but I still enjoy them just as much. I would say Suede was one of my top ten favourite bands.

The show started on time (!) with the warm-up show by Israeli band Siam. This was a one time reunion for the 80s alternative band, who sing in English. I remember knowing and liking a couple of their songs back in the 80s, and their sound triggered some nostalgia for that time. I thought they did well, but it seemed that much of the audience was completely unfamiliar with them. It was also unfortunate that so many people came in just on time or a bit late, perhaps assuming that things would start late, or that the warm-up show is like the commercials and trailers in a cinema.

Suede gave a slick 90 minute show, including songs from all their albums. The audience seemed most familiar with their hits. For me all their songs are very familiar, so I would have been pleased with anything they played. However, I was grateful they played one of my favourite songs, "Everything Will Flow". I was also pleased to hear some songs from their 2013 album, "Bloodsports", and they also played one new song, which was well received.

Brett Anderson is a great vocalist, though it does seem that he can no longer reach some of the high notes of his early career. He gave an energetic rock-star performance, and seemed to be playing especially to the crowd at the front, sometimes touching them or sitting on the edge of the stage. His attempts to get the audience to sing along were not always entirely successful, though the acoustic version of "She's in Fashion" went down well.

I was torn between wanting to experience the show and also wanting to take some photos and videos to have a souvenir. This was the first time I've taken photos at a live concert. Photography and recording used to be forbidden at concerts, but now they are so acceptable that the before the concert screens in the venue displayed an ad for an app, saying "use this app to record the show and get excellent quality audio"! My choice was to take a few photos, knowing they would not be very good from my seat so far above the stage, and to video a few select pieces (quality not good enough to post here), and the rest of the time I just enjoyed the performance.

I haven't seen many rock concerts in my life for various reasons. First of all, not many international artists/bands choose to appear in Israel. Suede have played here five times now, throughout their career, and have never shown signs of giving in to the boycott pressure. Second, there have often been logistical difficulties preventing me from seeing concerts I wanted to, such as ticket price, not having anyone to go with, and getting to/from the venue. Finally, as an introvert I find my dislike of crowds can make live events very draining. In this case I didn't find the experience as exhausting as expected, and it seemed like quite a civilized crowd, mostly in their thirties and forties.

The one criticism I could make has nothing to do with the performance. The venue was a basketball arena, and this made it far from ideal for a rock show, though it was good to have air conditioning. I hope future concerts will be held in more suitable locations.

You can read a review here (Hebrew, with photos and video clips that are better than mine).

Compassion for feral cats

For the past 3.5 years I have been watching various foster kitten cams. These cams show rescue cats and their kittens in foster care until they are adopted. Usually the cams follow each family for 9-12 weeks. The foster homes are connected to various rescue organizations, and the cats are usually abandoned or surrendered pets, rescued strays, and sometimes semi-ferals.

Recently, Shelly Roche, of Tiny Kittens in Fort Langley, BC, Canada, has started an innovative new project involving feral cats. The aim of the project is to care for a colony of feral cats in a forest, with a feeding station, and to reduce the population and improve the cats' health by TNR (trap, neuter, release). Over the past few months they have managed to spay and neuter over 100 feral cats and return them to the colony. They carefully observe and document the cats, and sometime manage to have some interaction with a few individuals, though they remain feral and unsuitable for adoption.

One of the questions arising is what to do with the pregnant cats. Eventually, the hope is that all the cats can be trapped and spayed, but until that happens, there are still some pregnancies, and these are more likely to happen among the cats who are less trusting and therefore more difficult to trap.

Some TNR projects trap the pregnant mothers and abort the babies before spaying. However, non-kill shelters and their supporters usually object to aborting kittens except in real medical emergencies. Other projects wait until the kittens are weaned and then trap and spay the mother, and try to trap and spay or neuter the kittens when possible.

Shelly proposed a new option: trap the pregnant mother and keep her in foster care during birth and the first few weeks of raising the kittens, then spay and release the mother and foster the kittens for adoption. The aim is to give both mother and kittens the best solution. The mother gets better food and some medical care before and after giving birth, and is later spayed and returned to her feral colony, while the kittens are born in a safe environment, under constant camera supervision, and can be socialized and adopted into a new life as pets rather than ferals.

Viewers of Shelly's foster kitten cam were privileged to be able to watch the first feral mother in this program, Sloane, and her four kittens. The experience was very different to the usual cam, because Shelly's aim was to reduce stress, and so she only came in twice a day and had no contact with Sloane. The outcome was a great success, with Sloane happily reunited with the colony and her kittens completely socialized and adopted to good homes like all the kittens of foster homes.

We are currently watching the next feral mother, Sisko, who is expected to give birth soon. A companion was trapped and brought in, Mila, who was first considered possibly pregnant, but now it seems she probably isn't, so she will be spayed and returned to the colony soon after Sisko's kittens are born. The purpose of bringing in a companion was to reduce Sisko's loneliness. The feral cats in the colony are very social, and it is possible that Sisko and Mila knew each other in the forest. There was also a chance that two mothers might co-parent, pooling their kittens into one group and sharing nursing and cleaning duties. I hope to see this happen one day with a future pair of mothers.

You can read Shelly's detailed report about the Compassionate TNR project here.

It is compassion and sensitivity that motivate people like Shelly to make a difference in the lives of cats. Expanding her reach from the mostly social rescue cats the shelter takes in for fostering to the feral cats in the forest shows that her care for cats is not motivated by the ability to make them into cuddly pets. She also wants to provide whatever help possible for the unfriendly and often invisible cats who live in the wild. This shows a profound understanding of the nature of cats. Some are socialized to living with humans, others live in cat colonies in the wild, but they are still cats worth caring for. TNR gives them a chance for a better life without trying to change them into something they cannot become.

Earlier this week, Shelly received an emergency call about a mother and newborn baby found in the colony. The mother was young and inexperienced, and one of her kittens was found dead, while the other was cold and wet at the bottom of a barrel. Shelly brought them home and calmed the mother, who was fortunately friendly despite being born in the forest. The kitten was kept warm and bottle fed for hours, but eventually faded and died. Watching Shelly hold the unresponsive, fading kitten was a heart-wrenching experience. Despite all her knowledge, experience, and compassion, sometimes even Shelly is unable to save a cat. It is a sad but unavoidable fact that some kittens die.

Being a foster care provider requires a unique combination of sensitivity and strength. You have to love the cats and then let them go to their new families. Shelly has demonstrated these qualities impressively throughout the time I have been watching her cams. Emotional involvement could potentially lead to a fantasy that everything must go well all the time, and to collapse when things go wrong. Instead, Shelly has shown resilience and a realistic view of life, doing all she can to save kittens, not holding back emotionally, but ultimately knowing that there will be pain and loss some of the time. It is a price that has to be paid, because we are not living in an ideal world and not every life has a happy ending. Let us hope that the joy of fostering and making a positive difference in the world outweighs the pain of sometimes losing a kitten.

In praise of uncertainty

This week I came across an interesting phrase, "unarguably". Here's the context:

Person A: "Arguably, X is worse than Y".
Person B: "Unarguably".

Person B seemed to mean that there was absolutely no doubt whatsoever that X was indeed worse than Y, and there was no point discussing it or arguing about it.

I was struck by the certainty Person B expressed. While I have some clear opinions myself, I would never claim this level of certainty and decide that any opinion is true beyond any discussion or argument. This sort of arrogance seems to me to be unproductive. When people claim that they are right and are unwilling to listen to any discussion, they impose their opinions on others and avoid exposure to any facts or arguments that might contradict their certainty.

Open-minded thinkers feel comfortable with uncertainty. They know that opinions are personal choices, and that even what we consider as facts result from an ongoing process of examination and re-evaluation. The scientific method is based on accepting what seems to be the most likely explanation of the known data, provisionally, until a better explanation comes along. Once upon a time, people would have said "Unarguably, the sun goes around the earth". Now we know better.

The dogmatic approach that demands total certainty can only hold back the progress of the human race, which is based on discussion and experimentation. It is uncertainty that drives our curiosity and our ability to question and examine.

Here is my challenge for myself and others: Whenever you think you know something with any certainty, ask yourself what makes you so certain, and whether you could be mistaken. Question and doubt everything, until you can form opinions that make sense to you, based on facts. Try to avoid the confirmation bias that makes us take seriously only opinions similar to our own. Be willing to listen to other opinions and consider their merit. Be willing to not have an opinion on certain issues, especially those about which you have little knowledge. Uncertainty means openness and flexibility. Embrace your uncertainty!

Sea glass finds

On Monday we had the opportunity to walk on the beach. It was an overcast day, and the light was diffuse and watery. The sea and the sky were similar shades of blue-grey. The beach was largely abandoned, apart from a few people fishing.

My friend Ariadne from Greece introduced me to the world of collecting sea glass a few years ago. I have been following her photos of her finds and the artwork she creates with sea glass. Here is a piece she sent me last year, a felted stone decorated with sea glass, beads, and shells:

Since then I have always looked out for sea glass when I'm on the beach, here in Israel, on holiday in Greece, and even in England. So far I haven't had much success, only finding one or two pieces each time.

This time I found a good collection of sea glass of many different colours and sizes, and also an interesting fragment of a painted cup or plate. I think the storm last week must have brought in such a rich variety of finds from the sea.

Sea glass is an interesting combination of a product made by humans out of sand, which is then used and discarded, its broken fragments smoothed and roughened by the sea, and finally tossed back onto the sand of a beach to be found and reused in its new, altered state. It represents an interesting cycle of nature and art.

2015 ITA Conference

This year, as in many previous years, the annual conference of the Israel Translators Association was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Jerusalem. I understand that participation was higher than ever.

The first evening's gala event was held at the Bible Lands Museum. After a reception, we were divided into groups and taken on a guided tour. The tour focused on the development of languages in the ancient world, and we saw findings including written texts from Egypt and Mesopotamia. Then we visited the new exhibition, By the Rivers of Babylon, containing findings, particularly Akkadian texts on clay tablets, relating to the Judean community there during the Babylonian Exile (about 600-500 B.C.E.). Of course, the short tour was only a taste of the museum, which would be well worth visiting again.

We then had dinner, followed by an after-dinner lecture. The speaker was Simcha Jacobovici, who explained the story behind his book, The Lost Gospel. He presented his theories about the life of Jesus, which were somewhat controversial, but possibly partly correct. It made an interesting evening.

The next day of lectures opened with a talk about objectivity in journalism, by Eetta Prince-Gibson. She explained with cogent examples why objectivity is impossible and is not even desirable in journalism. To be objective means not to have any personal opinions or connections to reality. Since we are all human and exist within a specific context, it would be better to be aware of our lack of objectivity, to acknowledge it, and to seek a different guideline instead. She proposed some ethical guidelines, such as compassion and empathy, and also suggested that instead of seeking to simplify the news, writers and readers should seek complexity. This was a fascinating talk that should be useful for translators and writers of all genres.

Next was a presentation by Yael Sela-Shapiro about using the free tools offered by Google. It was interesting to see the possibilities for collaborative working involving using the Cloud. However, many translators raised questions about confidentiality, and when I thought about my clients, most of whom are much less technically capable than I am, I realized this was not really relevant to my work. Google was one of the conference's sponsors, and the lecture was technically a marketing presentation, though since the tools are free it didn't feel like "trying to sell something", and Yael sometimes mentioned competitors' tools as well.

After a short break, the conference divided into four tracks. As always, this made it difficult to choose which lecture to attend, and I hope some of the lectures I missed will be given at the ITA's monthly events during the coming year.

I went to the Academic Track, and the first lecture was by Racheli Lavi, about the Ivri software for correcting mistakes in Hebrew. While the software seemed useful enough, I found it disturbing that this was presented as a lecture in the academic track and was not clearly marked as a commercial presentation, at least in the English section of the conference program. I saw the Hebrew abstract of the presentation only later. I have no problem with the sponsors making commercial presentations, but I believe they should be in a separate track, especially when the presentation discusses price options.

The next lecture was by Nuria Brufau-Alvira, about gender equality in translating. She gave examples of gender analysis and intersectionality, showing how increased awareness of the ways language does or does not promote equality can lead to more equal writing. Of course, much depends on the context and the target audience, and sometimes trying to write for equality ends up distracting the reader from the content of the text.

After lunch, I moved to the Business Track to hear Micaela Ziv speak about business ethics. This lecture was made interesting by her comparison between how she handled ethical issues in her translation business and the lessons she had learned about business ethics from growing up in the Sieff family, who used to run Marks & Spencer. The lessons about reliability, customer service, and treating employees as assets served Micaela well. She contrasted her ethical way of doing business with the typical Israeli tendency to become confrontational and avoid taking responsibility.

Next, Brazilian translator Fernanda Rocha addressed the issue of how we see our role as translators. The point of this lecture was to encourage translators to combine their professional skills with a professional attitude. She urged us to stop using the combination "professional translator", since translator is already a profession, and nobody says "professional doctor" or "professional lawyer". When people pointed out that there seem to be many less qualified so-called translators who are not really professional, she encouraged ignoring them and showing our quality through our work.

Then I heard French translator Anne Diamantidis explain how translators can use Facebook for professional networking. This is not usually the place to find end customers, since people don't come to Facebook wanting professionals to market at them. However, it is possible to use it to create and maintain relationships with existing clients and with colleagues. She discussed the difference between creating a separate business profile for your translation business, and alternatively creating different groups among the friends on your personal profile and addressing each post to the relevant groups.

Circumstances meant I was unable to stay for the final day this year, so I missed out on many more interesting lectures and opportunities to meet colleagues. The conference was enjoyable and interesting as usual, and I look forward to next year's conference.

John Bradshaw - Cat Sense

John Bradshaw, Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet, Basic Books, 2013.

[Note: The UK edition's title is Cat Sense: The Feline Enigma Revealed].

Cat Sense combines two things I love: cats (obviously), and using scientific methods to understand reality. There are many books on cat behaviour, but most seem to be based on observation and anecdotal evidence. This book applies the findings of recent scientific research, discusses both genetics and environmental or learned influences on cat behaviour, and also includes some stories about the author's own cats, which makes it a bit more personal.

As one could expect, the origins of the domestic cat are discussed near the beginning of the book. I have always been interested in how early humans started interacting with other species, leading eventually to us having farm animals and domestic pets. It is also interesting to learn more about the similarities and differences between our domestic cats and other feline species.

The various stages of a cat's life are discussed, from birth, through early learning and socialization, to typical cat behaviours such as hunting, mating, playing, and social interactions with other cats and with humans. Some of these aspects are illuminated with the results of new research. There is some rational discussion of the controversial topic of cats' hunting, which often leads to heated exchanges based on prejudice rather than evidence. It was good to see real evidence presented and explained here.

This topic of hunting is related to the issue of keeping cats as indoors-only pets. Personally I support this, and it will become more usual throughout the world as urbanization increases and more people live in flats (apartments). Also, hunting has turned from a desirable trait in a cat to something most humans dislike about their cats' behaviour. We can no longer say it is cruel not to allow cats to go outside, and therefore people should only have a cat if they have a garden. Instead, we have to find ways to help cats adapt to life indoors.

The book has an agenda, and I found it very interesting. The author's argument is as follows: At present, the only deliberate, human-controlled breeding of cats focuses on their appearance, which is what qualifies cats as belonging to pedigree breeds. Nowadays, almost all pet cats are spayed or neutered, most often before they are old enough to breed even once. Therefore, almost all the cats who are now breeding are strays or ferals. This means that the cats who are most friendly towards humans and best suited to a home life are not reproducing and raising the next generation of cats. Instead, it is the wilder strays and ferals who provide us with new kittens. There is some evidence that the behavioural traits we want to encourage have both genetic and taught aspects. If we want to have more friendly cats who are less interested in hunting and better adapted to living indoors with people and other cats, the author argues that we should consciously identify and breed domestic pets with these traits instead of spaying and neutering all young cats automatically.

After reading this book, I find myself agreeing with the argument presented. Yes, it would be better for us to breed cats for personality rather than looks. I don't consider cats to be merely decorative additions to the home, and while some may continue to admire the extremes of appearance created by the breeders, most people would prefer to live with a friendly, indoor, non-hunting cat. My own cats have always been rescued strays, and while they have adapted to indoor life, their feral origins can be difficult to overcome. Pandora, for example, never quite became the lap cat I wanted, and Eleni is still a bit fearful of strangers.

I wonder if we can achieve the author's enlightened vision, where breeders could identify the desired behavioural traits in young cats and select them for breeding, regardless of appearance. This would obviously depend on creating a popular demand for cats bred for domestic personality traits. Instead of choosing a kitten without really knowing much about its personality or its parents, people would be able to choose a lap cat, or a playful cat, or a cat who can be trained easily.

Another aspect the author mentions is the possibility of training cats. Most people assume that cats are untrainable, but with the right method, working consistently, and starting from an early age, it is possible to train cats. This could help cats adapt to the expectations of their owners and become happier in their homes.

I strongly recommend this book to everyone interested in cats, or animals in general. It is an interesting and thought-provoking read.

Let the Animals Live Conference

Last Friday I attended the first conference of Let the Animals Live, Israel's leading animal welfare organization. It was held in Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv. I estimate that there were about 150 people, fewer than I expected.

The host was actor Avi Grayinik, one of many Israeli celebrities known to support this organization. The event started with greetings from founder and spokeswoman, Eti Altman, a true animal welfare hero.

Let the Animals Live CEO, Yael Arkin, described the organization's history, activity, and achievements. The non-profit was founded by Eti Altman in 1986. It maintains a no-kill policy, and tries to save the life of every animal rescued. They have a large shelter housing about 200 dogs and 100 cats, and a clinic with space for 60 animals, as well as some local branches. There is a help line for reporting injured/trapped animals, and two rescue units operating throughout the country, including military bases. The organization operates a TNR (trap, neuter, release) program for feral cats, and of course spays and neuters all animals prior to adoption. There is an education program for children, From Violence to Compassion, in Arab villages in northern Israel. The legal department has been responsible for many court rulings on animal welfare and animal rights.

The next speaker was Adv. Yarom Halevy, who described the organization's court case against human-crocodile fights at Hamat Gader resort. In 1994-1995 the resort put on a show in which a man sat on a juvenile crocodile, bent its head back 90 degrees, turned it on its back, and punched it in the neck. The case went through three court levels, and the Supreme Court eventually ruled in Let the Animals Live's favour, and banned the fights.

Then we heard a fascinating talk from Dr. Ariel Tsovel about the mutual influence between humans and animals. He described the theory of Wolfgang Schleidt, that early humans learned some of their social habits from living and hunting in collaboration with packs of wolves. In contrast to the usual narrative whereby humans domesticated wolves, leading to the evolution of dogs, Schleidt considers early humans and wolves to have co-evolved, and mentions some behaviours common to wolves and humans that are not found in primate societies: mutual reliance among pack members, caring for injured individuals, living in dens, and herding prey animals. This interesting proposal would undermine the ideology of human superiority and show that early humans were an equal part of the animal world.

The final lecture was by Adv. Yossi Wolfson. He described the principles behind animal rights, starting with recognizing that an animal is "someone", not "something", and discussing speciesism. Since humans extend the same rights to all humans, regardless of their skills or sensitivity, surely other animals are on the same scale and deserve if not complete equality, at least compassion?

Following these lectures the participants could take part in round table discussions. I chose one on systemic action for animal welfare, led by Adv. Yonathan Spiegel. He described the type of court cases and legislation proposals the organization has initiated, and we talked about issues such as hunting and a requirement that any animal given for adoption should be neutered first. He noted the difficulty in changing people's traditional perceptions, and my conclusion was that the legal efforts need to be accompanied by widespread education and public awareness work.

I enjoyed the conference, but found it to be a bit disorganized. The lectures started late, which meant I had to leave before the end and missed the Q&A session. It was also not clear what the audience was meant to be. Many participants seemed to be staff or volunteers, but the lectures were aimed at a wider audience. I would have liked to hear more about the work of shelter volunteers and foster care providers.

On the way home I saw a two-legged dog taking a walk with a wheel contraption attached to its hind section. It seemed happy, and the sight made me grateful that there are people in the world willing to give injured animals a chance at a good life.