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Gom Soon (the name means “bear”) is a hamster living somewhere in Canada. Yesterday Kevin Maroney sent me a link to a video posted at Cute Overload. It didn’t identify her. I posted the link in the Particles list.
Later, a bit of poking around at YouTube turned up Gom Soon’s name plus the name of her owner, Shootoed; a longer version of the video, titled I Want These Cookies!!: The Director’s Cut; an earlier work, Breakfast with Gom Soon; and assorted snippets.
We love hamsters for their character and personality, not their brains.
…
I’ve been putting off posting this bit of news, but young Porco Bruno is no more, dead at just about one year old of what was probably lung cancer. It wasn’t a terribly painful death, just a much-regretted one. He died in my hands the night of February 25th. I posted a memorial for him here. Fare thee well, Hamster that Roared.
In the midst of death we are in life. We have a new guy, a cheerful little Syrian who looks like he started out brown-and-white but either got caught in an ashfall or has been experimenting with kabuki makeup. He has fine dark shading around his eyes, black stripes along his jowls, a symmetrical assortment of other soft gray spots, and an Ash Wednesday splotch on top of his head. We haven’t yet figured out his name.
My sympathies for the deaprture of the engaging and endearing Porco Bruno from your lives. Even is as short a time as he had to work with, it's amazing how deeply they can dig into our hearts.
As for the new guy, given the Ash Wednesday marking, and the Syrian breed, may I point out Wikipedia's list of Syrian saints?
Given the cheerful disposition, John Chrysostom may not be the best choice, but there are others on the list.
I'm so sorry for your loss, and wish you much happiness with the new guy.
My condolences, Teresa.
As for the new baby, since he's grey, why not call him Gandalf? Or Fafhrd?
Condolences, Teresa.
(BTW, wouldn't Fafhrd be the hamster's companion?)
I'm sure the new hamster will let you know his name any minute now.
He's not gray. He's slighty grayed out, and has various light gray to graphite gray markings.
It feels strange to have a normally behaved hamster.
"Greyfir"?
Man, but they are so much a part of our lives...
I mean, could hamsters get megalomaniac tendencies like certain white mice did?
"Today the Nielsen Hayden abode, tomorrow the world!"
I was going to mention Shaun the Sheep, but then you added the sad news about Porco Bruno.
Guy Kewney has some interesting commentary on what the BBC and YouTube are doing.
My condolences, Teresa.
I checked out the list of Syrian saints, and I have to admit that Frumentious seems to be just begging to be applied to the right hamster.
I am so, so sorry. Your stories about him are fascinating. Tales of Porco, and the photos/stories on Cute Overload, have got me thinking about "hammies" as much more interesting critters than I thought they were.
When I put the link up, I had only given the list a quick look, long enough to notice the Golden-tongued and also the various Simeon Stylites. But St. Raphael of Brooklyn is on the list as well.
I think "he had a good life" is the best thing we can do for the various critters we take responsibility for bringing into our families. Quantity of life is always to be hoped for, but quality is better.
Not that this makes grief any easier, for wee silly roaring hamsters or anything else. Add my condolences to the rest.
Brooklyn has its own saint!! Yes, that Brooklyn. Who knew? St. Raphael of Brooklyn, how wonderful. Fidelio, thank you so much.
Re: naming
Chiana wouldn't be appropriate; is there a good male Nebari name?
#15 Lizzy
I was highly entertained, myself. Note that he's an Orthodox saint.
We are blesssed to have with us still, a guinea pig.
She is the last of what used to be a huge colony (the nature of guinea pigs is such we felt obliged to breed them).
But we moved, and when we moved we had divest ourselves of them. One of them is still with the friends who took her, and by happenstance we are sharing a house with them.
She is, though I forget her exact age, between five and six; which is ancient for a guinea pig. Still alert, and noisy; full of vigor and good cheer.
Having her to give weeds to from work in the yard is a wonderful thing.
Aw, Teresa, I'm sorry about Porco Bruno. I loved your stories about him.
I had a hamster who also liked exploring bookshelves. She could push the smaller books out to make herself little niches behind. Any given session would usually end when she started chewing on a heavier book, presumably in order to make a tunnel in it.
P.
I'm very sorry about Porco Bruno.
"Aureliano" might be an appropriate name for the new guy, given the permanent Ash Wednesday splotch; or would that be ill-omened?
I'm sorry to hear about Porco Bruno. He was a lucky little guy to be so loved.
And "Frumentious" is a tremendously wonderful name.
I am sorry to hear about Porco Bruno. It's amazing how much personality per gram hamsters manage to pack in.
Condolences for the loss of Porco Bruno. May his successor fill your days with as much personality and delight as he did.
Very sorry to hear about Porco Bruno. Good luck on finding an appropriate name for the new hamster-in-residence.
Teresa,
I'm sorry to hear about the loss of Porco Bruno. It's very hard to lose an animal you've made a member of your family, and a part of your daily life.
Porco Bruno was a fine creature, and I'm glad I got to know him. Sleep well, roaring hamster.
I understand the new resident is also a vocalizer, and makes a chuff-chuff-chuff noise. Perhaps the name Isambard Kingdom Brunel would suit?
Very sorry for your loss—and ours, since PB was such a font of "weird hamster" stories.
Aw, I'm sorry that Porco Bruno had such a short run. The idea of a hamster that roared was charming.
Waaah. Now I want another one. (last one, Amber Hamster, lived in complete peril from the cats, Ajacat had her out of her habitat more often than I care to think about but managed not to kill her because Ajacat didn't have it in her. And Amber lived a very long time for a hamster.
Once I'm old and gray and don't want another pet with a potential to live nearly 20 years, AND attrition has taken the cats, maybe I'll have another hammie of my own. (I've got a feline right now, though she's dumb as a rock she is a killer with small furry things--she's my cat police.)
Very sorry to hear about Porco Bruno. If hamsters lived as long as they were loved, they'd be immortal. Even our cats missed Sam when he passed on.
Sorry to hear about Porco Bruno. Since the new guy has dark jowl stripes, he might be Arctonyx Collaris.
It's so hard when we have little companions with shorter lives. I'm very sorry for you guys, and I hope the new hamster brings you joy.
BTW, the hamsterhouse domain won't come up for me.
Patrick says (with confidence) that the hamster's name is Hiro Frumentius.
Oh, that's really too bad about PB.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't have the fortitude to have eensy pets. Saying goodbye so frequently would be very, very hard for me. Seventeen years (how long I had my cat who just died) is Not Long Enough for me.
Looking forward to new hamster stories -- they are so wonderfully expressive and cute, and I love to enjoy them vicariously.
While you are figuring out the name, the New Guy is very likely figuring out exactly what sort of odd behavior will most amuse the Lady and Lord of the house. I'm sorry to hear about PB; he was a fine small fellow.
T, so sorry for the loss of Porco Bruno!
Fidelio at 17: I do note that. One of my favorite writers on things spiritual is an Orthodox priest, John Garvey. Teresa, I'm sorry about PB. And Hiro Frumentius is a stupendous name.
Lizzy, #40: Thank you!
that's a stupendous name! All creatures have their own way of naming themselves and it sounds as if Patrick has divined it.
We're guessing the next couple of kittens (well, when we start looking) and hoping they want to be named Sigfried and Yum!. If I get one that's a Queenly Cat that won't happen.
Oh no! I'm so sorry! He was lovely and I am glad to have known him. I hope you post pictures of the new one soon.
I'm so very sorry for your loss.
How sad for you, the little guys make nests in our hearts and souls and we miss them so much when they are gone.
What a wonderful name for new generation. Congratulations on the new family member.
Sorry to hear the sad news about Porco Bruno. I'm glad for his sake, though, you were able to be there to comfort him at the end.
But welcome to Hiro Frumentius! May he live long in your hearts and your hamster cage.
I went and read your valedictory to Porco Bruno, and it was lovely. Ave atque vale.
My condolences on the demise of Porco Bruno. He was a lucky critter to have you as family.
Patrick says (with confidence) that the hamster's name is Hiro Frumentius.
Wonderful name.
Hiro Frumentius--he's Global Hamster!
My sympathies too. Losing a pet is always so hard!
Last night, I think it was ABC news (national) that had a brief story about fortune-telling hamsters in India: the critter goes up to a pack of heavy looking (tarot?) cards, flings away several, then comes up with its choice. A quick Web search turned up fortune-telling *toy* hamsters, but not this story. Oh well.
Surely with an Ash Wednesday spot, you can't help but name him Marty Grah?
JC @ 5... wouldn't Fafhrd be the hamster's companion?
Yes, but calling him the Grey Mouser conjures up images of an assassin of non-hamster rodents.
A white rectangle glows in the dim backyard light: a business card. The intern snatches it from him on her next orbit, reads it. It says
HIRO FRUMENTIOUS
Last of the freelance hamsters
Greatest sword fighter in the world
Copyeditor, Tor Books
Specialising in cereal-related intel
(alfalfa, barley & wholewheat)
"Stupid name," she says, shoving the card into one of a hundred little pockets on her coverall.
"But you'll never forget it," Hiro says.
"If you're a hamster..."
"How come I'm delivering pizzas?"
"Right."
"Because I'm a freelance hamster."
He was a lucky hamster, to be so loved! I'm so sorry to hear it, though I'm glad there's a new, bright-eyed fuzzbit with a grand and exalted name: Hiro-sama!
We're rodentless for the first time in a long while, as we acquired an active (read: psychotic) kitten after the loss of our last dwarf hamster. After years of tiny squeaking wheels in the middle of the night, and that one year with eight gerbil babies, it's strange to have an empty spot on the mantle.
And the cats, for some reason, have no interest in sunflower seeds carefully hulled in advance.
At #50, Faren Miller mentioned fortune-telling hamsters in India: the critter goes up to a pack of heavy looking (tarot?) cards, flings away several, then comes up with its choice.
There's video here, from Keith Olbermann's Oddball segment last night (Monday the 12th). It's a guinea pig, not a hamster, but it was still little and furry and cute. As opposed to the bit just afterward with rattlesnakes in Texas -- some folks might want to be forewarned of that! (It did occur to me to wonder if any of the kids shown in *that* segment are parselmouths.)
Esther Friesner has oracular hamsters who appear at conventions to perform Cheeble-mancy.
I LOVES Esther's hamsters. I've given much to the EMF that way. (I've also given much other ways but that's a good one).
tiny squeaking wheels in the middle of the night
Vegetable oil is good for that; just apply to the center bar with a napkin, and you should have a nice silent wheel for at least a few weeks. (Do not use anything poisonous, because the beasties will lick it.)
Very sorry to hear of your loss. I'm looking at my almost-17 cat Gypsy and worrying about how much longer he will last. It's hard when we lose them, but it was worth knowing them even when the time is short.
Hamsters steal our hearts and stuff them in their cheek pouches. I'm so sorry for your loss.
These funny little guys have a habit of wriggling their way into our hearts, don't they?
I'm waiting for my little one to go, he's about two and starting to lose his hair. I'm not sure I'll get another. He was a male returned to my pet store, which is a 'female' store, he'd been purchased at a 'male' store. Splitting the stores into male and female stores helps prevent unwanted pregnancies. I took him home because he was sooo cute, and had been there for awhile since we couldn't sell him due to him being male (I forget the reason why we couldn't just send him back to his store-of-origin). Supposedly he bit his first owner, which is odd because he's the sweetest thing ever. I'll be sorry to see him go.
great pix there of the late lamented Porco Bruno and the new kid. I loves their little handses.
Then again, the hamster I had while I lived in Lawrence, KS disappeared unexpectedly (cage lid ajar), didn't turn up in apartment when we cleaned/cleared out. Disappeared the same time as ONE of Jim's high-top sneakers and a 10-inch chef's knife. We figured Ursula hamster decamped with a mobile home and protection...
I'm sorry for your loss, Patrick and Teresa. But congratulations on the new arrival!
More hamstery goodness in the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2034072,00.html
It's really spooky how one looks at the picture of the newbie and thinks, "Well, of course his name is Hiro Frumentius."
Today's Guardian on hamsters "Long dismissed as lumps of fluff that do nothing but sleep all day and fill their cheeks with food all night, hamsters, it seems, are staking a claim to be the indestructible daredevils of the animal world."
Hmmph. It ate my link again. That was
http://www.guardian.co.uk/animalrights/story/0,,2034346,00.html
And now I see Eve had already posted it anyway. Sorry.
I've always found graphite to be good for lubricating hamster wheels.
I was sorry to read of Porco Bruno's demise - belated condolences on your loss. Through your stories of him, he won so many hearts.
As for the new Hiro Frumentious, welcome!
I want a skein of the same self-striping yarn that the Great Knitter used in his creation -- what amazing patterns!
Harriet
(who first thought the Sidelight was titled
New Hampshire Hamsters Old and New, before
the, er, light broke)
Here's a BBC story of great relevance: