Goin' To the Dogs

I really, rilly like this clip:

   

Now, how cool is that?  Answer: very.

Hat-tip to Occasional Reader and Constant Correspondent Lin.

It's Here, For Better Or Worse

But mostly worse: this morning my inbox was filled with e-mails shouting BLACK FRIDAY DEALS!  Everyone from the GOP ("George H. W. Bush socks!") to Grassfire ("40% Off On Grassfire Christmas Gifts for all members") to Cigar dot com ("Box Bedlam") to HP ("Up to 50% off!") to... well, you get the idea.  Everyone wants my money, and yours, too.

That said, here's a rather unique Christmas gift ideer: a "Fuck you Anderson Cooper" tee shirt.  Really.  Like this:

And here's what it's all about:

Last month, Anderson Cooper dedicated a segment of his show "Anderson Cooper 360" to mocking the Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan for posing with cats on the cover of PAWS Chicago Magazine (the magazine for the no-kill animal shelter PAWS Chicago). Corgan initially came back with a pair of angry tweets, but since this is a musician beef in 2014, it's not official until someone responds by making a T-shirt about it.

That's from an article at Pitchfork, where you can see the Cooper segment on CNN that prompted the shirt.  It's actually a nice looking shirt, if you're into cats.

In other news... Ma Nature is giving those of us living on The High Plains o' New Mexico an early Christmas gift.

Isn't THAT nice!?!

Saturday: Waltzing, Matilda?

You don't have to watch the whole ten and a half minutes like I did...



Apropos o' not much... I WANT that El Camino looking vehicle, in left-hand drive, please.

Scary

Halloween is coming...



That would scare the hell outta ME.

This scares the hell outta me, too:

But for entirely different reasons.

Pretty Cool

Occasional Reader Rob sent this along yesterday...



Computer animation has reached the point where it's pretty danged hard to tell if something's real or if it's Memorex.  That said, one wonders why there aren't any frogs in this vid.

It's (Almost) Another Shoebox Day

... but not quite.  The bits by Mia, first:

Which made me think of my dearly departed puppehs, which, in turn, made me think of this post:

Puppies

Apropos of nothing…except for the fact that there’s waaay too many frickin’ cat pictures on these here inter-tubes…here are a few pics of my late, lamented puppies. Late is an understatement: the last of these old ladies left this life back in 1996, well over ten years ago. I’ve been dog-less ever since, mostly because having a dog is semi-incompatible with my lifestyle. Yes, people who live in RVs own dogs. I’m more than aware of the fact. But a dog is a big commitment, and I tend to be commitment-averse these days. Let’s leave it at that… and get on with the biographies. 

First…FiFi La Bonne, otherwise known as The World’s Ugliest Dog. She was a mixed-breed terrier and was so damned ugly she was cute. She was also a hunter extraordinaire, and was one of the few dogs I’ve ever seen who could run down a squirrel and kill it. Which she did about two or three times a year when I lived in Michigan, always making sure to bring The Second Mrs. Pennington and I some sort of trophy from the kill. We really appreciated that, ya know. She was also quite adept at assassinating gophers and moles. The gopher-hunting wasn’t nearly as popular with me, as she tended to dig huge holes in my yard in pursuit of her underground quarries. When I say “huge,” I mean bomb-shelter huge. Large enough for me to drive my riding lawn mower into one of the holes and flip the mower over on its side. That huge.

I wish the above photo of FiFi in the snow was better… she had the strangest habit of burrowing in deep snow, and it was a hoot to watch. She’s pictured after coming up from one such snow-burrowing exercise. FiFi came to live with TSMP and I while we were in Oklahoma (around 1984, or so) and lived with us until 1996, when TSMP put her down due to complications associated with old age.

And then there’s Bōgus Dōgus, who was a Lab/Border Collie cross. TSMP and I got Dogus shortly after we arrived in England in 1980, and she was with us for 16 years. She was my favorite, even though she was TSMP’s dog first and foremost. That dog was crazy… in that she had this “thing” for food. The “thing” being she’d eat anything that wouldn’t eat her first. Anything. Everything. Including, on at least two occasions, an entire loaf of bread… snatched off the table once and out of a bag of groceries another time, and consumed within 45 seconds. The first time she wolfed down a loaf of bread I thought she was gonna explode from the resulting bloat and gas. I had to put her outside until the gas went away, for what should be obvious reasons. But not until such time as she laid at my feet… moaning, farting, and generally making life uncomfortable for everyone within ten feet of her.

This is also the dog who tried to commit suicide by leaping off a bridge in Wales. If we hadn’t had her on a leash she would have died in the fall to the river and it was a near-run thing, anyway. Have you ever tried to pull a strangling dog over a bridge railing? It’s not easy, Gentle Reader. As to why she jumped… I have NO earthly idea. I said she was crazy.

Lastly we have Fritzi Ritz, a German Shepard cross. Crossed with what breed is unknown, but a cross she was…and she was small for a Shepard. Fritzi had all the good traits of a Shepard… intelligence, loyalty, and beauty. She also suffered from hip dysplasia, which eventually got so bad we had to put her down. Fritzi was the alpha female, as might be imagined, and kept the other two dogs in line. The first pic was taken in Oklahoma, the second in Ferndale, MI.

Each dog was a mutt; I’ve never owned a pure-bred dog. Further, two of the three were “rescued” dogs. TSMP was active in a dog rescue organization when we lived in Oklahoma; FiFi and Fritzi arrived in our household via that organization. All three dogs slept in the bed with TSMP and me, and they each had their places…never varying position from night to night. You might think things would get a bit crowded, but it really wasn’t. They were very discreet Old Ladies, too, always being considerate enough to give us our space when it was time for TSMP and me to play. It's a great good thing dogs don't talk. Coz those dogs could have told some stories, Gentle Reader.

This is the fourth time I've posted this old chestnut, having put it up in 2008, 2009, and 2010.  I think we've exceeded the useful life of this post now.  But I STILL miss my puppehs!

Why Your Dog(s) Is (Are) Always So Happy to See You

Alternative title: "Shoebox saves my blogging bacon yet again."  Mebbe I should give 'em equal billing on the masthead.

I Got Nuthin'

It's true.  I've read all the overnight mail, made the blog rounds and checked memeorandum for potential blog-fodder.  Nuthin'.

Wait.  There's this:

That will have to do for the moment.  Mebbe I'll see something worthwhile when I journey out to Cannon Airplane Patch this afternoon.

Saturday: Going to the Dogs

Heh.  That was Teh Cute.

Saturday: Young Dogs, Old Dogs, and Older Dogs

First, because we're dog people, this:



Dogs most certainly enjoy life.  We should all be that happy.

And then there's this...

See that kid on the left?  He's 47 today.*  That kid on the right... and family... will be on the premises in about an hour or so.  There's gonna be a whole helluva lot of celebrating today!

Happy Birthday, Buck!

* One feels a bit old when one has kids pushin' 50, not to mention the fact that BOTH elder boys could retire from the military if they had a mind to do so.  Aiiieee.

Saturday: In Which Network News FINALLY Is Relevant

Heh.  Fallon's people do good work.

And then there's this:



Anyone who's ever had a dog will relate.

More Blatant Thievery

This time I snuck into the Brighton Pensioner's place and relieved him of this:



Heh.  Who knew "carpe diem" meant catch the Frisbee?

I miss my puppies...

That would be Fritzi Ritz (sitting) and Bōgus Dōgus (lying).

Saturday: Bear Party!

Pretty cool, eh?  The first runner-up was pretty silly.  Some guys have waaaay too much time on their hands.

And then there's this:

Want!

Saturday: It's In the Car! It's In the Car!

The occupants o' that Toyota are damned lucky the cheetah didn't follow the impala into the car.

―:☺:―

In other news... Occasional Reader and Good Buddy Rob sends the following along from the Bay Area: 

Ho Lee Fuk is right...

Update, 20 minutes later.  As long as we're on about the Bay Area, there's this beautiful piece that's been making the rounds a lot:



There used to be a USAF radar site (scroll down to the very bottom o' that link) on top o' Mt. Tamalpais in Marin county and I was fortunate enough to watch scenes like the above through large plate glass windows in their Officers/NCO club, drink in hand.  One other thing... that fog is COLD when you're in the middle of it, on the ground.  Even in August, mebbe especially in August.

Spring Fauna

There's this in the southwest corner o' my carport...

It's pretty cool to sit out on the verandah during feeding time.  Those lil chicks make a real peeping racket... or as much racket as peeping can be... when Mom flies in with a snack.  Mom did a pretty good job o' decorating the digs, dontcha think?  The flowers are a nice touch.  Dad helps out too, but he was nowhere to be seen today.  Mebbe later, when he gets home from work... or the birdie strip bar.

One other thing, and I'm tempting fate by mentioning it, they have yet to shit on my car.  It's thankful, we are.

Saturday

Oh, this just cracks me UP!



The Usual Source is too cute by half in its description:

The Guardian Viral Video Chart has got the perfect solution if everyone has been getting on your goat this week, the kids have been bleating and you've been feeling a bit gruff. Just when you think you have herd everything – we've got the goat version of Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer at number one. And if that's not enough to cheer you up, here's a link to 22 more internet remixes featuring goats, with thanks to Buzzfeed – we kid you not!

The "22 more" link is good, too, even if I didn't recognize but two or three of the artists there*.  It's still funny shit.

And then there's this:



There's sumthin' about bein' a Luddite that works*, yanno?  There are a LOT more of those, here.  Good stuff, too.

*Full disclosure:  (1) Yeah, I'm an OLD Fart.  (2) I send e-cards.  A LOT of 'em.

The Usual Saturday Post...

... critters edition, beginning with a cute frog.  Wait.  Did I just put those two words... "cute" and "frog"... together?  Yeah, I did.  (I've done that before... here's another cute frog)



And then there's more screaming goats.  We posted a short clip o' screaming goats before, but that was NOTHING like this...



That makes me laugh while feeling just a little bit creepy.

Cheaters

So I'm browsing through the overnight mail and come across this lil blurb in a message from NatGeo, to the effect of "Is your cat cheating on you?" along with this supporting video:

^{(There used to be a video here but I had to take it down due to an annoying auto-play glitch with the audio.  Go here to see the video.)}

I suppose that's yet another reason I'm a dog person: unswerving loyalty.  We don't NEED no steenkin' cheatin' critters!

OTOH... cats do kill rats.  And eat the diseased things.

Oblivious By Design

I hear there's sumthin' happening in DeeSee today... about which, this:

That looks like me where said event is concerned.  There was a hockey game on this afternoon but I think it's over now.

It doesn't really matter... we stayed abed until noon-thirty today and are just now pouring our second cup.  Sometimes it bees like that.

PS:  That photo?  An Honorable Mention in the "Nature" category of NatGeo's 2012 annual photo contest.  You can see all the photos here.

Update, 1515 hrs: A tweet from David Burge:

David Burge ‏@iowahawkblog

Like listening to cannibals say grace while they lower you into the pot. #inauguration

Yup.  Egg-zactly.  We shall now proceed to drink. Heavily. 

Saturday

Why I'm a dog person:



Cats can't/don't Skype.

And then there's this...



I could watch THAT commercial a lot.