Thought of the Day

"The meaning of life is to find your gift, the purpose of life is to give it away."

-Joy J. Golliver

Starbucks to cut 300 stores, lay off 6,700

But the real news in this story is that the CEO requested that his pay be cut to the absolute minimum required to maintain benefits for himself and his family. Finally, a company run by an adult.

Overdue Thanks

I'm way, way overdue on this one, but I wanted to thank anyone who bought a Kuranda bed from the link on my post during the Christmas season to donate to Pets Alive. They received over 60 beds from their appeal, which allows Pets Alive to place a nice, elevated bed in every single indoor and outdoor run, which makes a huge difference to the dogs - especially in this cold season. Thank you all so much.

Excellent news: new Vick book

Jim Gorant, author of the excellent recent Sports Illustrated article on the progress of the dogs saved from Michael Vick, has just signed a book deal to tell their complete story. Seems like the right man for the job and I'm looking forward to it!

Rest easy

Cellists, rest easy: the medical condition known as 'cello scrotum' has been exposed as a hoax.

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Group sues over a lack of shelters

I always wondered why there were municipal shelters in only 3 of 5 NYC boroughs.

Brilliant

Table of Condiments That Periodically Go Bad

Even.. what?!

Sea Kittens

Though perhaps not entirely correct capitalization, but it's a step in the right direction. :)

Keep It Casual

But Srsly...

Quote of the Day

"Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once, say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud."

-Jimmy Ribbitte, The Commitments

Nose Shower Gel Dispenser

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Church adopts Hooters, both adopt Hurricane Ike victims

An unlikely association between a Baptist church and a Hooters benefits hurricane victims.

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weedz?

best of craigslist

Lets get married tomorrow - w4m. I was with her until "I don't cook".

best of craigslist

My TEETH - m4m

And then, and only then...

Propaganda and Pit Bulls

As anyone who has been reading the blog for a while can attest, I'm a major fan of pit bulls. I love meeting them, they're a joy to work with, and I have many pit buddies at work. However, I'm also a fan of the truth, and it upsets me just as much to see it abused on "my side" as it does on the "other side".

One of my daily blog reads is Dogster's For the Love of Dog Blog, a great source for dog news. I was surprised to see an article there recently about an Animal Planet show on the Vick dogs entitled "Faithful Friends" that had inaccuracies at every turn - starting with the bit about dogfighting being a felony in every state except Wyoming and Idaho, both of which made dogfighting a felony in 2008 - pretty easy to find out on The Google. With extremely basic fact-checking errors like that, there's usually no need for me to consider the rest. But I was gobsmacked when I came upon the claim that "Out of the 53 dogs removed from Michael Vick 52 have now been adopted into loving homes.", taken directly from the show's press release, which just isn't true - and I should know, as my employer is fairly famous for taking on custody of more than 20 of them. Heck, I see some of them every day. That's not too hard to find out about - just about any respectable news organization that checks their facts has gotten that fairly close to correct. The press release also got the total number of dogs wrong, but at least that was somewhat close.

My curiosity was piqued, however, so I followed the URL back to find out more about this Animal Planet show. The home page for the show is, frankly, an embarrassment. There you can find out about 13 episodes with titles like "inriching your pets nutrition" and "when your away from home". Clicking around the site shows little improvement - horribly botched spelling and grammar, which evidently got as little attention as basic fact.

I'm sorry I missed the show, which aired this past Saturday, but from what I've seen thus far I don't think I really need to. Missing it has probably helped keep my blood pressure under control. The sloppy reporting being done is an insult to the incredible rehabilitative and research work done by BAD RAP, Best Friends, and other organizations that stepped up to the plate to care for, rehabilitate, study and learn from these dogs. I’m sure the people behind this show have the best of intentions but they’re presenting themselves in a way that makes them look not very bright in addition to looking dishonest, which in the end is not helpful to the cause they seek to promote. Tell the truth; indeed, the truth will set them free.

Air Cam

More pictures of Cam, who is available for adoption from Pets Alive in Middletown, NY.

Almost enough for a Coke and some parenting classes

Green Acres

I have posted several times in this space about Carrol Crocker, a woman with a giant heart who acted as a de facto municipal animal shelter for years for her poor rural area - which has no shelter or nearby rescues - until they suddenly decided she was a nuisance. Carrol is NOT a hoarder, these dogs were loved and cared for.

Carrol has until Feb 9, 2009 to place the 13 remaining dogs (over 80 have already been placed) living on the property or they will be killed - typically in that area by gunshot or worse. Adopters or foster homes are desperately needed, as is transport assistance. Please click here to find out how you can help.

Keep Trying

Spiderpig?

Neko Case’s “PEOPLE GOT A LOTTA NERVE”

People Got A Lotta Nerve - Neko Case

Find out why this is here!

Wynd

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Jessie's Birthday

Today is Jessie's birthday, we're calling her 9. Like most rescued dogs, her exact birthdate is unknown, so this is a best guess celebrated on the day of her adoption in 2005.


Jessie was picked up by an NYC police officer in Brooklyn, NY as a stray in the first few days of 2005. According to protocol, he should have taken her to NYC's Animal Care & Control, which holds the city's animal control contract. Why he didn't I will never know, but taking her to the tiny no kill BARC shelter almost certainly saved her life. In 2005 NYC's AC&C kill rates ran about 50%, and as a fear biter Jessie almost certainly would not have made it out alive.


I turned up a few days later, brought in by my then-girlfriend, who had been doing nearly all of the legwork up to that point. She was very excited by the dog she had found at BARC and had already visited several times before convincing me to come see her - I, at the time, wasn't even positive I would be able to devote enough time to a new family member.

We'd been talking about adopting a dog - the first time for both of us - and we were particularly keen on spaniels, having done a lot of dogsitting for a spaniel that we both adored. Walking into BARC we were overwhelmed by the noise of all the dogs who wanted our attention - leaping, pacing, barking - and then came to the pen with one dog sitting at her gate quietly, watching attentively, trembling slightly from fear. Jessie. When we came back in from walking her, we both knew that she was the dog that would be joining the household.


It wasn't easy, especially in the beginning. Jessie used to bite when afraid, and in the beginning she was very, very afraid. It took her a while to settle into our home and to be confident that we weren't going to hurt her, and then it took us time (and a few wrong turns!) learning about fear biters and how to help them - learning that I'm still doing!

That was four years ago, and Jessie, my first dog ever, kicked off my fascination with dogs and desire to help rescued dogs. She has traveled the country with me on tour with The Producers, peed in parks from Seattle to New Jersey, lived with me in tiny hotel rooms and my first house in Las Vegas, and now she's here with me in Kanab, supporting me while I work with dogs in a sanctuary and guarding the apartment while I'm gone - and every night, sleeping next to me and getting belly rubs, just like she should.


Thanks, Jessie. Happy Birthday.

Thought of the Day

"How can I believe in God when just last week I got my tongue caught in the roller of an electric typewriter?"

-Woody Allen

Bring Me Solo and the Wookie

Watching You

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Saturday Night Live

I think this is across town

Wow.

In a televised interview, George Bush tells the story of personally authorizing the torture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. It takes some serious stones to confess to war crimes in a nationally televised interview.

NYPD Wants to Jam Cell Phones

The NYPD wants to be able to shut down cell phone networks at will. What could possibly go wrong?

Hyundai takes Detroit car-of-the-year award

Hyundai has won the Car of the Year award for its Genesis at the Detroit Auto Show.

I recall Hyundai's first export to the United States, the 1986 Excel. Ridiculed for its terrible build quality and substandard reliability, the South Korean company quickly made serious investments in their design and manufacturing capabilities. Today, the Hyundai Elantra is the number one rated small family car by Consumer Reports, beating offerings by Honda, Toyota, GM, and Ford, among others. The Hyundai Accent is rated by JD Power as the most dependable subcompact in 2008.

So maybe there's a lesson here for the Detroit automakers: it is, in fact, possible to look at what you're doing wrong and make dramatic improvements.

Or you could just beg for money.

Walkers launch new Cajun squirrel flavour

It's a good day to be a vegetarian.

Bikers Rescue Orphaned Kittens

Rescue Ink rescues 180 cats from a house in foreclosure in NY. I'll admit that although they looked intriguing, they were a little too camera-ready for me to completely buy into. Good to see them out there doing good work, and I'm looking forward to following this one as it develops!

Oh, and you really should click that photo to embiggenate. It's friggin' adorable.

Asshat of the Day: Montana State Rep. Robyn Driscoll

Ms. Driscoll has introduced a bill that would kill every "pit bull" in Montana. Montana has had a total of 3 fatalities (none of which were caused by a pit bull) from all dog breeds in the last 43 years - but in 2005 (the last year for which data is available), 251 people died in car accidents, and in 2005 car accidents were the leading cause of death for Montanans under 18 years old. Gotta get rid of those cars, pronto.

Better Start Today

Adopt Saffron.

One image doth not a gallery make

Keeping Christ in Christmas. Or Good Friday. Whichever.

Burris

And you thought things would get boring once Palin was gone.

I used to have a friend who was a clown. When he died, all his friends went to the funeral in one car.

Dream Interpretation

So last night I dreamed I had a straight razor fight with Kelsey Grammer from Frasier. Anyone wanna take a crack at that one? I don't remember who won, but I didn't wake up screaming, so I'll assume it was me.

Expensive Dogs

N.Y. street vendor pays $362,201 for prime corner

Dump Drags

Thought of the Day

"Academic politics are so vicious precisely because the stakes are so small."

-Henry Kissinger

How YOU Doin'?

Riding the Chairlift

You're doing it wrong.

My brother is a Ski Patrolman and EMT for Vail Mountain - I can't wait to hear about this one.