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Fried Cats and Human Dogs

I did not have a furry friend to cuddle up with during my years living at home; however, it was not for

the usual reason that parents provide their children. My mum, whose wacky sense of humor I inherited,

told me that in Vietnam, my mums home country, dogs are eaten and not kept as pets. I dont really

remember, but I believe I was shocked. I can say that I had a vivid image of my mum serving up mywould-be-cat on a platter, so I withdrew my plea for a black, fat, and selfish feline. Of course, soon after

I realized that my mum would not actually fry a mammal in her frying pan; however, by then I was used

to the no pets rule in our house. Even though I had a happy pet-less childhood, I improvised as much

as I could with spiders, rolly-pollies, furry orange catapillers, and a very large mouse which kept me fairly

busy. For fun, I would like to ask you what would be your ideal pet. Mine would be the gluttonous and

loyal Garfield as he always makes me laugh.

In any case, the artwork that interested me most was the Hox Zodiac project created by our professor

Victoria Vesna and Siddharth Ramakrishnan, who is a Neurosience and Integrated Applied Science

researcher at Columbia University. This project especially interested me because even though, as a

senior at UCLA, most of my schooling has been focused on the sciences, I have always been awed by the

beauty, individuality, and variety of art. The Hox Zodiac project combines the fascinating medical

potential of the Hox gene with the mysterious Zodiac system developed to help maintain health and

balance. Discussing about this project in class reminded me of the Vietnamese Zodiac, called Tu Vi,

based on the Eastern Zodiac system. Basically, each year in the zodiac system is represented by a yearly

animal sign and its personality attributes (there are twelve animals). Slight differences in the animal

representations set Tu Vi apart from the Chinese Zodiac (i.e. the ox and rabbit are replaced by the

buffalo and cat). Instead of repeating only every twelve years, however, the five earthly signs (Wood,

Fire, Metal, Water, and Earth) are combined with the twelve animals to create a cycle of 60 years. To

look up your own horoscope, please go to this website:http://www.viethoroscope.com/. I, myself, wasborn in 1994 and therefore I am a wood dog and should be loyal, dependable, unselfish, intelligent,

open-minded, stubborn, lazy, and cynical. I very much hope that I am not lazy or cynical, but the others

sound better than I expected. Anyway, I close with a trailer of a very cute Japanese manga series that I

used to watch that builds its storyline around the legend of the zodiac. I hope you have fun watching it

and if you would like to watch the full series, there is always Hulu!

http://www.viethoroscope.com/http://www.viethoroscope.com/http://www.viethoroscope.com/http://www.viethoroscope.com/

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Bibliography

Cohen, Barbara; Ngoc, Huu. The Vietnamese Zodiac. ThingsAsian: Experience Asia Through the Eyes of

Travelers. 1 March 1998. Global Directions, Inc. 22 January 2013. < http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-

photos/1198>.

Fruits Basket. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 22 January 2013. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22

January 2013. .

People: Lab Member Profile: Siddharth Ramakrishnan. Bioelectronic Systems Lab. 22 January 2013. .

Ramakrishnan, Siddarth; Vesna, Victoria; Yoldas, Pinar. Hox Zodiac. 22 January 2013. UCLA Art/Sci

Center. < http://artsci.ucla.edu/hox/#body>.

VietHoroscope: Your #1 source for Vietnamese horoscopes and zodiac signs. VIET horoscope. 22

January 2013. < http://www.viethoroscope.com/>.