Important topics discussed

But isn't pulling weeds and tending plants an essential part of maintaining human dignity?

Voltaire thought so. "We must cultivate our own garden. When man was put in the garden of Eden he was put there so that he should work, which proves that man was not born to rest."

"Of all God's creatures, there is only one that cannot be made slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve the man, but it would deteriorate the cat." - Mark Twain

Good morning, y'all.

Warm muffins and zucchini-walnut bread, coffee and OJ on the table.

Tend to the garden? --I say yes.
Tend to the lawn? --A definite meh.

As for Phoebe, it sounds like she knows what she wants. Monitor her lovingly and she'll let you know what to do.

The NY Times or some such big newspaper reported that Texas A&M's rose testing program deliberately leaves roses unwatered, un-insecticided, and unweeded.

What a sad situation about your cat. Especially since your offspring have no memory of a world without this pet. And since your cat is an outdoor cat this is especially complicated because, of course, you don't want her to simply vanish from your lives one day.

Although we are not a cat family, I know several people who have gone through this experience. In these cases news from the Vet helped guide their decisions, and it wouldn't surprise me if this is your situation as well. In any case, best wishes and warm thoughts from the boodle to your household.

Mr.A., my son and I were owned by Kazoo, a large female Maine Coon cat, for almost 17 years. Smartest, most verbally communicative creature I've ever been privileged to know. (She also delighted in bringing us "gifts" of prey.)

Also an outdoor cat, when she began to decline we noticed, like you have with Phoebe, that she sought unaccustomed sheltered spots far from home for her naps. Like MsJS said, keep your loving eyes on her and she will cue you as to what will be best for her. I will be thinking of your family and of Phoebe.

Oh, and let the roses be roses and the lawn go to . . . . . crabgrass!

I'm sorry to hear Phoebe the cat is fading. I think of her in Cheshire Cat mode. Keep monitoring her search for a resting place. If you watch closely you can see whether she communicates with the alien feline overlords first.

As I have said at perhaps tedious length, I treat my lawn as an ecosystem. I try to keep it mowed and, when there is fire danger, watered. I pick up large branches which fall on it, and trim the trees and brush. I also try to weed the garden and kill the poison ivy. Beyond that I pretty much let things grow and fend for themselves. I highly recommend this approach. It saves time and energy and you can always claim you're "green".

Phoebe is a good name for such a cat. Ancient Broc, the Collie, now going day by day, is also sweeter than he was in his youth. It touches my heart.

As for lawn advice, I'm of the "let the dang thing die out" school of thought. What motivates this attitude is partly the recognition that what a healthy lawn really needs around here is copious amounts of water regularly applied. This not only seems ecologically incorrect, but, more to the point, kinda a lot of work. True, this can often mean that September will see an explosion of weeds, but, fortunately, there will soon be a decorative layer of leaves to cover the shame.

But that’s just the lawn, which I consider little more than wasted space maintained in the interest of domestic harmony and neighborhood covenants. What matters to me is the garden. The garden occupies an unreasonable amount of energy and is a good example of the existential angst Joel mentions.

I mean, who really cares if the grapes succumb to black rot? Or if the ‘maters aren’t properly tied? The total cash value of my crop is equivalent to what my family spends each week on processed spray cheese. And the quality is usually no better than what you can get at a local farmer’s market. So why do it?

Like all interesting questions, I think there are several answers. Most importantly, hobbies, especially hobbies that require attention, are a pleasant distraction. When engaged in them our brains are freed from worrying about oil, or the economy, or that alarming rash. The world contracts down to something small and comprehensible.

But when a hobby involves creation, there is an added element. Creating something, be it a beautiful garden or a silly little wooden box, is a way of reminding ourselves in a very salient way that we are not entirely without influence. In most careers accomplishments are often amorphous and ephemeral. Further, so many things in life that we dearly wish would work out right sometimes go terribly wrong because of complex factors that we can neither control nor, sometimes, even fully understand.

And yet, sometimes, when the light is fading and we look at a beautifully weeded garden ripe with succulent nascent fruit, we convince ourselves, if just for a moment, that we really are capable of accomplishing something good.

Jumper, I believe in tears, also. I have exercised that option, willingly and often unwillingly. The occasion of tears usually remains but somehow I can respond better. This usually means keep moving through the day.

Besides, tis human.

All I got on ancient cats is that they should be kept hydrated. Sometimes an old cat would stop drinking, often in really hot weather. It leads to a fast renal failure. Siamese are famous for that. It's possible to make the cat drink from a syringe to get it through a rough patch.

We have a very happy VLP.

Got a conference call at 8, but I'll get on to tears too. But first, this word catharsis seems to come up when we talk of emotions. What is it? It is supposed to have originated with Aristotle, in his discussion of the tragedy, but I can't find it. It seems to me to be overdetermined and so we'll have to look at what it is, or whether it exists.

"But isn't pulling weeds and tending plants an essential part of maintaining human dignity?"

Shrink to that I say h*ll yes!

Joel wishing that when ever the end comes for your beloved Pheobe it is peaceful.

Perhaps a new pet goat could tend to the crabgrass.

Happy Canada Day everyone, a little warmer her, just a gorgeous day.

Life is too short to worry about crabgrass, much better spent playing with pets IMHO. Now the beans I'd worry about, they are tasty!

"My Pet Goat", dmd? Okay, as long as Joel doesn't let it graze upside down.

Well said, RD. I tend to spend much more time on my garden, such as it is, than on the yard. This is only partly because the garden is marginally more manageable. My sense of stewardship also requires me to pick the blackberries in season. The garden and I occupy the same space. If the garden graces us with its bounty, it is my obligation to do what I can for it. I say "my" because my family does not precisely share this sense of responsibility.

Crabgrass, shmabgrass (or should it be schmabgrass?). I have noticed that in times of drought, the manicured lawns go brown well before the ecosystems. So that's good. Nevertheless, I'm still planning to adjust my own personal front ecosystem a little, if only to replace the clump of tall ornamental grasses that recently appeared from nowhere to plant themselves in the low spot between the water meter and the curb. It's nice that they're green, but I'm not sure that I like that spot randomly being a foot taller than everything else despite mowing. Maybe I'll see if clover likes it there.

Best wishes to Phoebe for a peaceful fading. Keep an eye out for dogs as she wanders the neighborhood. My mother's elderly cat was in her own yard when unfenced neighbor dogs stole her chance to fade.

Catharsis? Oh! I know! I know! Pick me! It's a nation-state on Mars ruled by a Feline Empress.

Sorry about Phoebe JA. Perhaps in her next life, she will be Empress.

bia's comment reflects an attitude that I have observed before- that it is acceptable to have an "outside cat" who wanders the neighborhood, but unfenced dogs are dangerous. My feeling is that everyone should be responsible for their pets and none should be allowed to roam freely. If my dog gets out and enters a neighbor's yard, they are correct and within their rights to call animal control and I will pay a fine even if my dog does no damage. If a cat enters my yard, defecates in the window box, attacks birds at the feeders, and shreds the cushions on the porch swing, (and cats have done all of these at our house within the last year) that's just kitty expressing his feline nature and I'm just a cat hating grouch. I have also on two occasions had the unpleasant task of removing dead cats from the street and seeking out their owners to inform them of the fatal consequences of letting their pets roam freely. I frankly don't understand people who care about their pets allowing them out in this fashion.

I hope you have lots of pictures of Phoebe. I miss my 15 year old dachshund, Cassie, everyday....sometimes twice a day. We did get a new dog, Mia, from the humane society. She is a totally different breed--mostly yellow lab with a touch of something producing long slender legs and much shedding. While we love her dearly and she is only about two years old and so sweet and full of energy and fun, I sill miss Cassie. Always will.

For all creatures great and small ------

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZfIKOapSck

I am sorry about Phoebe Joel. As others here have said better, your own sense of what is right coupled with advice from your vet, will make her last days easier.

Weeds, don't talk to me about weeds. I hate them with a passion. They offend my sense of order and neatness. I have to restrain myself from weeding other peoples lawns as I walk by them. However, I am trying to adjust these feelings so that the ones in the lawn don't bother me but the garden ones always do. I have waged a year long battle against violets in the flower beds and I am finally winning! If you have a small lawn, it might be a reasonable goal to keep it weed free, hey if it's small enough you can weed it by hand. But as others have said, using too much water or weed killer isn't good for the environment so I guess you need to strike a balance somehow. Personally, if I lived in the D.C. area, I'd give up on having a well manicured lawn. The resources it would require just don't make good sense ecologically. Tend to the flowers and veggies, keep them weed free and watered, that way you'll have both beauty and bounty.

RD, your 10:48 made me pick up a neglected needle and thread and recommence a silly little ball that may outlast my large outlandish struggles. Thank you, and all of you for your eloquence this day.

But kguy, if cats weren't allowed to roam freely throughout the neighborhood, what would keep the rodent population in check? or what would keep all the bunnies from eating up my vegetable garden?

LiT, you jest, but of course, there was that Cathari population in France's Languedoc region, hundreds of years ago, before the papists wiped them out.

"The most popular theory is that the word Cathar most likely originated from Greek καθαροί (Katharoi), meaning "pure ones", a term related to the word Katharsis or Catharsis, meaning "purification"...

According to some Cathars, the purpose of man's life on Earth was to transcend matter, perpetually renouncing anything connected with the principle of power and thereby attained union with the principle of love. According to others, man's purpose was to reclaim or redeem matter, spiritualising and transforming it." Wiki

On a completely different note, a headline has made me wonder: What's the difference between a "debriefing" and a "briefing?" I mean, both involve someone imparting information on one or more Someone Elses, usually with the use of PowerPoint slides.

Thanks to fog at the intended destination, an airline put up a whole planeload at a beach/marina resort in Hong Kong. Lovely landscaping, including lawn. The lawn was more or less mixed weeds, disciplined with the lawn mower. Japanese lawns, even in gardens, are hardly fancier.

The Portland Japanese Garden has perfect Oregon grass. Nothing less would do.

kguy, friend, not to argue, but I grew up on a farm and (with a few intermittent sojourns) live on one still. Freely roaming, well-loved cats are as much a part of the ecosystem as the skunks, black snakes, deer and rabbits, mice and possums. Sad as it may be when early death befalls a kitty, the strong ones do survive and perform their role in maintaining the balance. Even the songbirds thrive despite their ever vigilant predators. It's not necessarily irresponsible to let a cat be a cat.

Tried earlier and had 2 posts held. Optimism is critical.

My best wishes to Phoebe and your family. Sometimes I think one more division in the world is between those who ease a pet's elder years and those who see it as an opportunity to ease their own by dumping or otherwise making it someone else's responsibility. Phoebe is doubly blessed in her family.

The lawn? Lawn guys rock and you're also stimulating the economy.

Our Phoebe, a demure mostly white tortoise-shell, was the belle of the barn and my heart. Despite her somewhat prissy appearance, she survived many trials and tribulations, all the while producing outlandishly large offspring. It's been decades since Phoebe's dainty presence lurked on Earth, but I still remember her soft fur and a certain look in her eye. Like your Phoebe, Joel, at the end she simply faded away, chosing an exit strategy that was not for us to know. Water, food, care, love and the things cats require most - respect and dignity -- are what they seem to need from us as they transcend into the next of their nine lives.

P.S. Let the lawn take care of itself.

Completely off-Kit, my stunning basketball prediction: LeBron James amazes the sports world by signing with the Oklahoma City Thunder. After all, we have a canal and a river - and he could build or buy the best house in town for what he earns making a basket.

Ivansdad's musings on Strasberg and the Nat's failure to back him up with hitting: teams have a problem with strike-out pitchers. The team is out on the field, ready to make the play, when boom! strike, and no play. They relax. Next play, same thing. By the time they get to the plate their muscles are all screwed up. Between muscle and morale, no hits. He saw it with Nolan Ryan and the Astros, and with Roger Clemens in the post-season.

Notwithstanding concerns over birds, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission's lab at the edge of Gainesville once had a feral-but-friendly calico cat, the next thing over from tortoiseshell. Definitely a hardy animal.

Raysmom - the definition probably changes from environment to environment, but in my world a briefing is when specific information is being disseminated to an individual and the other is when specific information is being collected from an individual.

For example, if I were to travel someplace my boss might brief me on the purpose of the trip. When I got back he would "debrief" me about what I learned by asking me specific questions that were of interest to him.

The unifying characteristic, of course, is that the topics covered are largely controlled by the senior person.

talitha, you make my point for me. On a farm, or at least on my grandfather's farm in East Texas, every critter had a purpose. Horse and mule were there to pull, hogs and cattle gave meat, chickens gave eggs, dogs and cats provided pest control and security. Feral creatures were uniformly varmints, and any varmint that put tooth to his chickens or gnawed his grain was destined to feel the weight of his 12 gauge wrath. This included especially any dog or cat who came round the hen house.

I don't live on a farm. I live in a city. I cannot legally discharge a shotgun from my porch to punish marauders. I cannot walk my dog off a leash. I cannot give free reign to his more bloodthirsty notions regarding squirrels and cats. I cannot "let my dog be a dog," because I am a responsible pet owner.

kguy - Free range cats aren't really the same thing as free range dogs because cats are, in general, not nearly as aggressive to strangers as are dogs.

Still, I understand your concern. We have neighborhood cats who have been known to do unpleasant things in our flowerbeds and chase the birds. On the other hand, they also add a certain visual interest and sense of community to the neighborhood. I kind of enjoy leaving for work and seeing that big fat orange tabby gazing contemptuously at me from across the street.

Now, regarding the well-being of the cat, that too is a tradeoff. Yes, indoor cats sometimes live longer and have fewer diseases. Certainly if you lock a cat up and never let it see the light of day nothing bad will ever happen to it. And, certainly, there are indoor cats who live happy lives. Still, there is something about cats that make them love to explore. They aren't pack animals. Cats, much like people, sometimes crave a life that offers more adventure than safety.

Cats are not pack animals?
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/buffalo-lion-2.jpg

Just for fun,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsgVspgy184

The indoor/outdoor cat debate also depends quit a bit on where you live and the cat. We have a crazy cat who would LOVE to be an outside cat. Unfortunately, after running into the wall full-tilt a few too many times as a kitten, he doesn't have the sense to avoid getting stepped on regularly much less to avoid cars. Not a good combination with a major road all of 5 feet from the front door. I spoil him rotten to make up for keeping him locked up inside. ^_^

Interesting point, kguy. That is indeed an asymmetry, though it's not directly relevant to the death of my mother's cat, who was always too timid to leave her own yard. Admittedly, my parents had not fenced the yard to keep intruding animals out. I would bet that the asymmetry is generally based on the value we place on each species' prey. Free-roaming cats kill rodents and songbirds. Free-roaming dogs, especially in packs, have the potential to maim or kill not only our pets but also people. I can understand the arguments of those who want to protect the songbirds, and restricting the movement of all domestic animals is logically consistent, but we're nevertheless talking about a different degree of emotional connection to the potential victims.

Important topics indeed Joel.

Jumper wrote...
"So, what ABOUT the healing of flowing tears, shrink? I ask because you are the second mental health professional to seem aghast at the concept. I have imagined that experienced pros must have seen too much wailing, weeping, and gnashing of teeth and yet no healing, somewhere. But in my life it's about the only catharsis I know that is personally helpful emotionally, for me. (By that I mean lots of things are helpful, but other forms of catharsis itself - such as anger or blow-ups, etc. - seem like illusory relief, where crying does not.)"

This is an excellent articulation of one of the most important problems we face.

When we lose some being that was an important part of our own identity to death, what helps? There is a great deal of real science going on in this area, especially with regard to ‘resilience’ or the state of mind that allows a person to deal with trauma without becoming traumatized.

We also live with the massive anlage of grief related, culture bound beliefs and practices dating from the beginning of human time. Many believe the point of departure, when humans were no longer apes to be the point at which burial rituals began. So why did humans create healing and purification rituals, that which we might today call magic, or religion depending on what you believe? Illusory relief, or is it real?

If you decide death isn't real and “that person is in a better place now” you are telling yourself, they are not only alive, they are better off and so losing them doesn't feel so bad. Is this catharsis, or believing in lies, or both?

I say the death of loved ones is so profound we are not only willing to, but we, practically speaking, have to go crazy to deal with it. So it is not that I am aghast at crying, I am aghast anyone could think crying is going to have any healing effect on the person who has lost, say, their mother, their brother, or their child, to the permanent and relentless and awful meaningless condition, the emptiness of death.

Thanks, RD, for the briefing/debriefing explanation--works for me. Although the word "debriefing" makes me giggle a little for the mental image it calls up.

I'm in kguy's camp on the cat thing. It's no more natural for my dog to be confined than it is for a cat. And he is far less likely to harm a human than some cats I've known. On a farm, sure--let them all roam. But in the city or the 'burbs the same law should apply to either.

FYI, I grew up in the country, but we always kept a harness and line on the cats. The road was nearby and so busy that they would have soon been kitty squish otherwise.

Portland's plush Eastmoreland neighborhood had a front-porch cat that tended to run over and block my way when I passed by. It finally trained me to stop for rubbing against pant legs and petting.

Oh, and I'm sorry to hear about your flower boxes and cushions, kguy. My cat is indoor-only anyhow; if she were an outdoor cat and caused damage to my neighbors, her outdoorness would stop.

How about free roaming beavers, (don't you all just love when I have a day off - yes this is rhetorical).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sekLEG8xsOs&feature=related

Just as a side note, my city has an ordinance prohibiting my dog from urinating or defecating on private property and requiring me to pick up after him when he relieves himself anywhere including my yard. I'm fine with that. No such provision is made for cats.

Some info about keeping cats indoors:

http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/index.html

kguy, you got me to look up my county ordinance, and it says that the owner is required to pick up all excreta, including on public spaces. How the %#@*& am I supposed to pick up dog pee?

Well, Raysmom, if this occurs after dark I usually just overmark with human urine.

Sorry kguy,

If you find the responsibilty of having a dog a chore, don't own a dog. There's no 'justice' being served in applying the same restrictions to cat owners.

Quite frankly, to this former cat owner who is now a dog owner, you are starting to sound like the cranky cat hater. I've heard the same tired arguments and comparisons to dogs from too many people who obviously just don't like cats. There are big differences between the two animals, so two very different sets of responsibilities.

Our dog is adorable but quite frankly requires much more supervision or restraint by virtue of being much bigger and more active.

LOL dmd. I can't believe that neither the beaver nor the videographer got hurt recording that piece!

Oh, kguy, I understand the 12-guage method of deterrence quite well, believe me. I also know what a bush-hog-tractor cutting grass can do to a directionally-impaired feline.

As children we had a fenceline marked with the little crosses of pets who'd met an untimely demise in various ways. Daddy put in a tomato patch there many years later and reported unearthing the fossils of goldfish, turtles, kitties, frogs, salamanders and any number of other critters we had claimed as ours.

And,I have never kept a pet in an urban home that wasn't completely within my control and appreciate what you say, truly. We okay? I'm a nice old lady, really. ;)

Nope, I don't find having a dog a chore. I love my dog. Yep, I freely admit I don't much like cats. I'm allergic in fact. Now, if you'll just give me the address that I send the cat poop to, I'll be fine with that.

Raysmom, easy: move to the Great White North.

Raysmom, Miss Manners has suggested throwing water on the area, although she was thinking of sidewalks.

Cats, squirrels and rabbits tend to stay out of my yard. I attribute it to Cutter's prowess as a predator, but they probably just have better places to be. I believe dog heaven is squirrel hell.

Lets please not embarrass Joel with pet owner cat fight. The Boodle is an intellectual crucible, but there are some topics that simply explode when touched, every time.

Off to the gym. I needed to type that today to make myself go.

System problem started last night and wasn't fixed until noon. For those who find technical people so annoying, please don't (1)call me at 6 PM for a problem you've known about since 2 PM; (2) insist it has to be fixed by morning if you're not willing to return to work to verify the solution and/or (3) demand half-hourly status reports when you don't understand what's being done or why and you've already been told to pick one: get it fixed or be updated constantly. Oh, for the good old days when I could disable accounts on a whim! Thanks, rant over.

Jumper if you had to do the yearly spring clean up from a dog, when everything is a slushy, gooey mess you would not suggest the Great White North as an alternative.

This chore must be timed right, cold enough so as not to be liquid, warm enough not to need a chisel to remove the article.

Lack of daylight hours impeeds the clean as you go process generally leaving much to do in the spring, several attempts are often needs as the snow melts revealing different levels of poop.

How's that for TMI :-)

I'll veer slightly back toward the kit and just say that when the time does come, based on my personal experience with taking dogs to the vet for the "final visit," I do not recommend holding your beloved companion while he/she is euthanized. I done it both ways and for me at least, turning them over to the doc and crying in the parking lot is easier than staying with them to the end and crying in the office and in the parking lot. None of my dogs feared the vet and I hardly think that my stressed out presence gave them any reassurance. YMMV

I personally see no dignity in maintaining your lawn, I guess if you live in a rich neighborhood it's just another way to show off how much better you are, can't win by being richer so why not just have a prettier lawn?

When I have the income to afford to live in a nice area, I think the only way I'll maintain my lawn is if the homeowners association makes me, which means I'll surely be paying someone to do it for me.

Both of the cats that I have personally taken to be euthanized, I held them for their final moments. One was my long-time companion from the second month of grad school and I just wanted to be with her at the end. The other was her son, who feared everything -- but me, perhaps less than most.

An astoundingly moving chronicle of this experience is in Harlan Ellison's collection "The Deathbird, and other stories." Ellison is not normally where I would go for tenderness or emotions like love, which is what makes the story astounding. I highly recommend it.

S2, like the existence of god(s)?

Funny, shrink -- this plea from the man who brought up the intellectual dishonesty of religious faith? (You see my tongue in my cheek, yes?) Seriously, though, you're right that this is a touchy topic, but we've handled it pretty well today, don't you think? Disagreement without disagreeableness -- that's the boodle for you.

Howdy to bluestilton. Have we seen you before?

Regarding the relative characteristics of cats and dogs, I'd just point out that I find our rabbit to be an excellent companion.

Aside from dmd's "slush" (I lived in the Rockies and owned dogs) there is also this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmVvgo1wxh4

LiT, you beat me to it.

Ivansmom, I really like your 12:37, still wondering if it is true, the baseball part.

DaveoftheCoonties, as do many Portland psychiatrists, I've got a place on King's Hill, near Vista. One day I was walking my big ol' country dog, an English Setter and we came upon a glorious mansion, immaculate is too small a word. There was the owner, scooping poo off grass so perfect it looked fake. He had the little signs up. Sure enough, my dog gets on his grass and he squares up and starts to squeeze. The guy panics and gets hot face. He says, "not....good." I live and breathe today because I brought my roll of blue plastic baggies. The guy stared me off down the street, but looks don't kill.

Hear hear -dbG-! I'll add my own rant to that- "there is something wrong with the computer/printer/website/whatever" is NOT sufficient information to diagnose and correct the problem!

The ex stayed with the vet when we had to put the Australian Shepherd down, then he took the body home and buried it. The dottirs and I cried all the way to school and work, having been there to say goodbye. We got a sympathy card from the vet. I thought that was a nice touch.

Gosh, dbg. I tend to rant about our particular IT guy, I maintain for good reason, but I'm very distressed that clueless users (akin to myself) would treat your time and skills so cavalierly as to wait for hours to report a problem, demand updates on a process they don't understand, and give you a deadline they weren't prepared to verify themselves. What are they, idiots? A good relationship with your IT department (if at all possible) is essential, and good IT people are worth their weight in gold. One should never screw with their time or abilities.

Thank you for the welcome, Ivansmom. I join in the nattering occasionally, so you may have seen my moniker in the past.

About euthanizing animals, I've been there far too many times (cats, dogs, various wildlife, even a horse) but find great comfort in comforting them as they embark on their next journey. The vets at hand have always been very compassionate (I'm tearing up even thinking of it). We are responsible for their welfare during life and often wind up making the decision about when it ends, so we should stick by their furry sides. I always promise them I'll see them on the other side of the rainbow bridge...and now they are free to chew on/scratch the furniture as much as they want.

"Disagreement without disagreeableness -- that's the boodle for you."

Yes, I saw it doing its thing one day, just driving by; people were dealing with oil "spill" feelings I think it was, and I couldn't leave. Its ability to contain intensity is, well, I have said it before, unique on the www.

Good afternoon all, and Happy Canada Day to those who celebrate it.

(Spent part last evening with some Canadian friends who broke out of MD early this morning in order to get back across the the border for celebrations this evening.)

Joel, I, too am sorry to hear about Phoebe, a lovely waning moon.

LiT, your Catharsis comment made me laugh, visions of Burroughs books and Frazetta art.

I believe human emotions - and their expressions - are a necessary part of human existence, as spirituality and faith are.

But that's just me, but don't have any evidence to assure beyond a shadow of a doubt that I have any better knowledge or perceptions of the universe, the existence of God/a creator, spirituality, science, religion, or anything else than any of the billions of other people on this mudball.

That'd require a level of faith I just don't have.

bc

From the WaPo front page: "Byrd makes final sojourn to Capitol."

Discuss.

I think a part of the difficulty with euthanasia (not to be confused with the difficulty with Youth in Asia) is the fact that you decide "Today is the day. Today's painful existence tips the scales. Adios, my friend." This decision must be made in advance and in consultation with the vet. One of our dogs had lymphoma, great honking tumors in her chest that made breathing very difficult. The vet warned us that the medication would shrink the growths for a while, but they would return. He told us what to look for and we all agreed on the criteria for making the decision to end her life, so when the time came all were prepared. It helped some.

When I worked in hospitals and the medical school back in the 80's I was pretty clear in my thoughts about euthanasia and assisted suicide. I still think that terminal patients should be able to assert control over their own exit strategy, but I am much less sure about making those decisions for another. I've talked about this with my 88 YO mom and with my wife. I know what their wishes are. I hope that I can keep faith with them if the need arises.

slyness, I am going to hold off posting the response I prepared for your question on the magic creation/belief wiring of the human brain. It is one of my favorite topics, but it needs a rest.

bluestilton, hello, I love your cheese. Beats Gorgonzola on toast points.

In belated response to the other SYTYCD watchers: Alex, absolutely! He was clearly the big story of the night.

Something else that we discussed at my house were the judges' comments on Jose's samba. What they said was true: he's not technically the best dancer on the show, but he has the charisma to pull off an enjoyable performance. That said, it's awfully condescending to give no technical feedback at all. Oh, you cute boy with the sweet smile, don't you worry your little head about actually improving your dancing. Dmitiri's clever choreography gave Anya much more actual samba to do, without making it look like Jose was just standing there. Still, in what he was given to do, I thought his legs and feet were surprisingly good, but his posture unsurprisingly needs work. Getting his back straight and his head up would help him in every style except hip hop, and surely it's something these judges could see, even though they know very little about ballroom. But I guess they just want him to keep smiling his sweet smile.

Pets in literature:

"Pray steal me not, I'm Mrs. Dingley's, Whose heart in this
four-fotted thing lies,"

by Jonathan Swift (inscription on the collar of a lapdog)
----
EPITAPH TO A DOG

Near this spot
Are deposited the Remains
Of one Who Possessed Beauty
Without Vanity,Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferocity,
And all the Virtues of Man
Without his Vices.
This Praise, which would be unmeaning
flattery If inscribed over Human Ashes,
Is but a just tribute to the
Memory of "Boatswain," a Dog
Who was born at Newfoundland,
May, 1803,
And died at Newstead Abbey
Nov. 18, 1808.

Lord Byron

OK, I'm a linguist, but I think I need an editor. (Again, where's Mudge?) Should that be "something else we discussed *was* the comments"? Or is this structure just unwieldy and impossible and to be avoided altogether?

Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat - Drowned in a Tub of Goldfishes

'Twas on a lofty vase's side,
Where China's gayest art had dy'd
The azure flow'rs that blow;
Demurest of the tabby kind,
The pensive Selima, reclin'd,
Gazed on the lake below.

Her conscious tail her joy declared;
The fair round face, the snowy beard,
The velvet of her paws,
Her coat, that with the tortoise vies,
Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes,
She saw; and purred applause.

Still had she gazed; but 'midst the tide
Two angel forms were seen to glide,
The genii of the stream:
Their scaly armor's Tyrian hue
Through richest purple to the view
Betrayed a golden gleam.

The hapless nymph with wonder saw:
A whisker first and then a claw,
With many an ardent wish,
She stretched in vain to reach the prize.
What female heart can gold despise?
What cat's averse to fish?

Presumptuous maid! with looks intent
Again she stretched, again she bent,
Nor knew the gulf between.
(Malignant Fate sat by and smiled)
The slippery verge her feet beguiled,
She tumbled headlong in.

Eight times emerging from the flood
She mew'd to ev'ry wat'ry god,
Some speedy aid to send.
No Dolphin came, no Nereid stirr'd;
Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard.
A Fav'rite has no friend!

From hence, ye Beauties, undeceiv'd,
Know, one false step is ne'er retriev'd,
And be with caution bold.
Not all that tempts your wand'ring eyes
And heedless hearts is lawful prize,
Nor all, that glisters, gold.

Thomas Gray

One of the things that makes it work is the boodle extrudes people who are careless, who don't care whether their opinion hurts other people and of course, those who do care that their opinion hurts other people.

I've seen people lay semiotic bait, red meat/dog whistle phrasing out here, just to create a battle field, the point being then they then get to argue to win, so to feel important. You ignore them, pointedly. They leave. It is extraordinary.

The Cat of the House

Over the hearth with my 'minishing eyes I muse; until after
the last coal dies.
Every tunnel of the mouse,
every channel of the cricket,
I have smelt,
I have felt
the secret shifting of the mouldered rafter,
and heard
every bird in the thicket.
I see
you
Nightingale up in the tree!
I, born of a race of strange things,
of deserts, great temples, great kings,
in the hot sands where the nightingale never sings!

Ford Madox Ford

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx

God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there.
Billy Graham

When a child is locked in the bathroom with water running and he says he's doing nothing but the dog is barking, call 911.
Erma Bombeck

Where is Mudge, by the way? Did I miss a notice about his vacating the shop steward's office?

I will look forward to your tract, shrink. It is always good to let our thoughts repose for a while, to ensure that they actually are what we want to say.

Outstanding contribution CQP, I've tucked into that line "be with caution bold" so many times it has made me fat.

Poem (As the cat)

As the cat
climbed over
the top of

the jamcloset
first the right
forefoot

carefully
then the hind
stepped down
into the pit of
the empty
flowerpot
_________________

William Carlos Williams

That one's been on my mind all morning because of the cat/garden theme.

I have returned from a lovely lunch of grilled chicken, steamed asparagus, and pound cake with raspberries. A friend was to have come over, but had to cancel. She asked I go ahead and prepare whatever we were going to have and enjoy it as though she were here. And so I did.

dbG & Geekdottir, I recall once I called tech support and said something to the effect of, "I possess little knowledge of technical jargon, so I'll just say my monitor is violating the company's no-smoking policy." It apparently won some sort of 'complaint of the month award'.

I'm steering clear of the faith discussion. My views on the subject are a tad 'out there', and no one has to believe in them but me.

Niece#1 gets back from 5 weeks in Thailand later today. I hope to see lots of photos and hear stories great and small very soon.

THE fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

Carl Sandburg, from Chicago Poems, 1913

Thanks, T.

Yep, bia, Alex is *my* favorite, too on SYTYCD. I'm getting incredibly annoyed with the judges and the judging. They really want to get rid of Melinda (the tapper), and they're getting nasty. Melinda isn't the best of them, I agree, but she does bring something that some of the others don't have. Kent is all right, and his lines are good, but he always looks like barely having reached puberty, and it doesn't always work. But he gets the teeny-bopper vote. Billy is sort of annoying me, even if he is a "brilliant" dancer. It takes more to keep my attention, and he also looks like a 12-year old (being generous). Alex is the real deal and is sooooooo enjoyable to watch, I just can't keep my eyes offa him.

I think Melinda goes this evening, leaving two girls. If any fool puts Alex into the bottom three, there are a number of us going gunning, eh? I mean, the SCOTUS said we could, didn't it?

Gotta go.

ftb, you just slay me with all that talk about gunning!

"Even overweight, cats instinctively know the cardinal rule: when fat, arrange yourself in slim poses." - John Weitz

MsJS- if that is how you word all of your complaints I will gladly provide whatever tech support you need!

I hope your niece had a great time in Thailand!

bia, good point about Jose needing to get honest criticism to help him improve. It annoys me that every time the judges try to give constructive criticism, the boo-birds in the audience light up.

ftb, no problem (this week at least) if Alex is in the bottom 3; the judges would never send him home. Melinda's size (tall, non-petite) doesn't lend well to dancing with a partner. It looked awkward when Pasha lifted her, and he knows what he's doing!

Ivansmom, I like bunnies too.

A quick cat story -

There was a cat I liked well enough (I'm not cat guy, plus I'm allergic), that I'd picked up for the kids when he was a kitten.

He and I were the only two males in the house, so we shared a sort of bond, and a achieved degree of mutual respect/tolerance when he took chunks of flesh from my hand, and I let him know I didn't appreciate it in no uncertain terms(and there was no later retaliation on his part).

He was a complete purrball for the kids, bouncy and fun and good about the litterbox, which I appreciated. Made sure he had plenty of food and water, and that I knew where he was when I started the car.

He'd leave field mice on the steps every so often and loved the activity of butterfly bush in the summertime -- he'd watch it for hours, and occasionaly pounce a Monarch.

Unfortunately, he must have gotten into something - I know some of the neighbors used poison to control the voles in their yard - and found him near the garage, a statue of his former self, not far from that bush he loved so.

After all the tears, I buried him under it.

bc

SCC: "...and loved the activity of the backyard butterfly bush in the summertime -"

Fie upon me.

bc

"Where is Mudge?"

I started worrying a long time ago but I didn't want to be a nattering nabob of negativity. Also, I am on the record as being opposed to worrying.

"I'm a linguist, but I think I need an editor."

I know I need an editor. Everybody needs an editor, our frontal lobes just aren't up to the task. Since this lack of editorial capacity can not be blamed on Bush/Cheney and Obama needs to get stimulus money spent on stuff that really puts people to work, I suggest a massive program to provide editors for everybody who has the temerity to write. Suddenly, a degree in the liberal arts could be worth something.

Raysmom, I don't want to be nasty, but I think Melinda looks awkward dancing without a partner, too. I just don't think her movement is graceful, and it's not clear to me that she can do anything about it. She has quick and intricate feet in her tapping, but otherwise she doesn't seem to have a lot of dance talent to work with. I would have sent her home the first week (I always liked Alexie). Still, the judges shouldn't have said to her face on national TV that they made a mistake not sending her home last week. That's just adding one failure in judgment to another.

When it gets down to Alex vs. Kent, then we can start worrying. I think he's safe till then.

I don't have any cats (never did) and when I asked my mom for a dog when I was young, she forthrightly told me to play with the neighbor's dog. Which I did, and which I've done ever since.

I don't miss not having pets, what with all the work and expense, but I do enjoy visiting them. Regrets apart from that include the naming of the beasts. I would have to have two cats, however, to make the name pairing work the way I'd like, so my favorite feline names are:

*Arbitrary* and *Capricious* (which might be redundant when it applies to cats; and

*Parabola* and *Hyperbole* (likewise).

Back to reviewing employment law cases, where the phrase "arbitrary and capricious" actually appears in regard to ERISA.

Aren't you glad you asked?

Hello all. Just finished a late lunch of faux Pasta Alla Carabonara. Not too faux, but no eggs and much less cheese. (added some mushrooms and a quick splash of white wine to add some depth to the sauce.

Enjoying planned time off, however plans have not materialized ... as planned. Still nice. Wonderful weather to boot.

Even cat people get into arguments about indoor versus outdoor. In my experience, cats that are kept indoors become a bit neurotic. Our stray kitty doesn't want to come in - she stays in our yard, as far as I can tell.

I believe Mudge is alive and well, as evidenced by his showing up in a Kit not long ago. He may have put himself in the penalty box for awhile, or is taking a break from the Boodle for a bit.

russianthistle

...that sauce recipe please, unless, if you told me you'd have to kill me. This whole Russian spy caper has a lot of people on edge. Now every time I spy a hottie I have to feel uncomfortable x2.

A friend had a pair called Bad and Worse.

Thanks, Ivansmom. I believe you about yours; were I to work with lawyers, I'd seek out ones like you.

Gdottir, good to hear from you. there are more of us here :) dbG stands for Database Goddess, which everyone except mortifera has forgotten.

Shrink, sometimes the boodle is coded, like certain personnel ads. People are seeing mudge in places other than here, so we're not desperate yet.

Mudge, come home, please.

ftb and anyone else, Frosti I think (?) who has read the Steig Larsson novels, there is a clever piece in this week's New Yorker by Nora Ephron called 'The Girl Who Fixed the Umlaut'.

I avoided the God discussion and I will avoid the dogs vs. cats discussion also. I'm in a good mood and I'm gonna stay here.

Shrink2,
You're in a remarkable area for urban hiking. Stairways everywhere.

I was in humble Kenilworth, thus got familiar with the dog walking situation at Reed College and vicinity. I never spotted the alleged dog drinking fountain at Reed. Not that I'm claiming it was a hoax.

The pride of my street was a sushi place that had fled high rent in the Northwest. It seemed an odd example of how certain Portland businesses can thrive regardless of location, in this case, near The Bar at the End of the Universe.

'sneaks, I haven't read Steig Larsson, but love Nora Ephron. That piece is a riot--here's a link for anyone interrested:

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/07/05/100705sh_shouts_ephron

Does Larsson really use the writing devices she describes--the italics, the Courier typeface?

"certain Portland businesses can thrive regardless of location"

Yes, I love that part of this city.

"People are seeing mudge in places other than here, so we're not desperate yet."

Great thank you then no worries.

If it were not for woodshedding, Charlie Parker would have been mediocre.

Hey Shrink ... nothing special. Cut up 3 or 4 strips of bacon and popped them into a hot pan. Once they were done, I removed the bacon and poured of the excess bacon grease. I had slivered white onion and tossed them into the pan which is back on high heat after adding a bit of canola oil. I seasoned that with a good portion of red pepper flakes and some oregano. Stirring and getting the onions going for about 3 minutes on high. That was followed by a teaspoon of chopped garlic and stirred. Then, the sliced mushrooms followed by a pad of butter. After two minutes of light tossing, I poured in about a 1/4 cup of white wine and scraped up the bottom of the pan. Back in went the bacon bits and some pasta and a quick toss. I let the dish go for about 1 minute more to bring the pasta to temp... then I added about 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan. (What I had handy). Finally, I added a quarter cup of skim milk. On a low heat, I tossed the dish with a big spoon getting everything coated. No egg, less cheese while adding milk and wine, in exchange. (Sea salt and pepper added, as needed.)

I ended up with nice light flavor without the denseness that would put me to sleep until next November.

Raysmom, yes, Larsson uses all the devices Ephron mentioned. I got a kick out of the names thing as I remember discussion my confusion about the similarity of them with ftb.

Got it, thank you so much.
My wife* is making pizzas tonight, three crusts are in the proofing oven. I'll round out our Italian program with this pasta dish and appear to be creative. She'll swoon (I know she will) and the kids will love it too.

*I know what you are wondering, how could anyone live with a jackassknowitall like that? Easy, we have nothing in common. She has everything I don't have and she knows it.

If you were only a jackassknowitall we would have ignored you by now.

hi Database Goddess! I love the name and I'm really glad I'm not the only one here. ^_^

russianthistle- that looks absolutely delicious, thanks for sharing!

First off,I think Pheobe deserves a six pack of tuna, the good kind in oil,cats just love that stuff.....and oh I do miss the professor. In my neighborhood now,I know a woman(former girlfriend) who has taken in many cats.So there are plenty of happy cats running around. One actually sleeps under my grill.I went to grill one night and he jumped out when I took the cover off.

As for the lawn,yes it is turning brown.Our grass needed cutting,so I raised the wheels.I also did yard work at another neighbors house,she had vines growing through her front porch,through the wood.I was a challenge getting it out.It was a flippin jungle on her porch,but now it is all gone and clean as a whistle.

Remember, Pheobe needs a six paxk of tuna......

Now, I'm in the mood for some pizza!

Heck, I'm thinking a 6-pack of tuna sounds good. Actually, we're having steamed blue crabs again tonight. I eats 'um when I can gets 'um.

My wife, who as I mentioned, has only the most vague idea of what I do for a living, she being a Muslim apostate (and I grew up in a convent, not near a convent, in the Benedictine convent @ Saint Joseph MN, so I know a little something about how those Cathars felt) and who knew nothing whatsoever about Western cooking, has become a pizza impresario. The stone is very important. The yeast, the water, it turns out she can't even teach me how to do it and I taught her how to use a coffee maker when she came to America, how to use tomatoes, how to boil pasta just right and yes, yes, she tasted pork for the first time in her life, prosciutto, in a carbonara I made for her, damned her to hell I did, inshallah.

shrink!

Go all the way:

http://www.babbonyc.com/in-salsiccia%20della%20Ciociaria.html

Put that with some mushrooms in a nice ragu.

Cats can be walked on leash and harness with some training. They can be enticed to show off their skills on the agility course.
I even believe some genius has come up with a way to fence in cats (probably using "coyote rollers").

It seems to me that there need not be a black-and-white choice to have your cat a bored indoors neurotic or at large outdoors.

However, I've known outdoors-enjoying cats to suffer very premature, gruesome deaths, or incur considerable city expense in their rescue. Also, toxoplasmosis, which studies show can cause schizophrenia or other brain damage in infants and fetuses, is often transmitted through cat feces. Also, stray cats do depredate songbirds-- much more so now that there are fewer stray dogs to kill them.

These are arguments, if not in favor of permanently locking up cats indoors, at least evaluating where you live very carefully before you make that outdoors decision.

Loose sandbox next door used by an infant? You know there could be 20 cats using it, but your cat will get the blame because that's what the mom sees. Living a block from a major street? And so on.

As for offleash dogs, I can say that leashes are useless to prevent injury or escape if the owner doesn't control the dog, especially with those long flexileads.

I'd rather see dogs be allowed offleash to train some serious obedience that could save their lives or stop them chasing a cat, rather than live in a world of compulsive flexilead users who have no idea how to pay attention to their dog or make them obey even when they're impeding or even injuring others.

In short, I'd sooner make every owner take a written test to own a dog or cat than impose endless laws, which often written by clueless people.

Oh, I'm in the DC area now. BPH next week might be possible.

I look forward to eating some crabs soon. It is one of my goals (ha ha ha)

Shrink, this might help you locate the original references relating to Catharsis
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Catharsis

The original sense seems to be "purging."

As for crying, emotional tears can release trace amounts of stress hormones and perhaps help adjust to the level of stress; adrenal hormones not only stimulate, but also affect the balance of electrolytes in the blood.

WG, glad you traveled safely. Frosty must still be on the road, what a long trip.

You know I know it is not just ok but very good to cry, I cry all the time. I re-learned it after a brutal childhood. I do reject the notion of catharsis, but that is a technical point.

Crying was not the issue, my insensitivity was (again) and I am going to stay away from things like, who cares about what and how much and why. I don't think I am poking people when I do and I know I don't want to. There are some things even within the special, strangely auspicious containment of the boodle, we have to dance around. It is ok.

I just finished "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" a night or two ago. I'll be starting the next book in a couple days, after I make some progress on some writing that I need to be doing.

I am not bothered by the typographic devices that Ephron picks on -- those seem like fair methods of expressing a change of expression. I was pleased to note that we can only hear the thoughts of whichever of the two protagonists or major subordinate characters is in the foreground; so many writers fail to be consistent in how they use such devices.

I was bugged by an event early on, when Blomkvist is the foreground character, and the narration all is related to Blomkvist -- and then suddenly, there is one sentence referencing Salander's activities that (eventually) will affect Blomkvist, but the two will not meet for several hundred pages yet. The narration was following Blomkvist at that point, and Salander had not yet entered Blomkvist's world. She should not have been there. It was a rare slip.

There is another tropism that is more irritating -- perhaps it is most irritating because that wretched hack, Dan Brown, uses it too. The story will be moving along, and then one of the characters will need to use some perfectly ordinary commercially-purchased device, like a cell phone or a laptop computer or a digital camera, and we get treated to the specific manufacturer and model and maybe a short catalog of features. I don't recall Tony Hillerman or Agatha Christie or Erle Stanley Gardner ever doing that in a story. I really don't care that Blomkvist has an iBook and Salander has a Powerbook. The plot is served well enough if we know whether each has the tools to meets his or her needs. Do publishers sell product tie-ins? Is this some convention in the world of crime/mystery novelists, or perhaps just procedural crime novelists? Sometimes the brand names are all over the page, and other times you can go 100 pages before encountering one. What's up with that?

We got around to seeing the latest Toy Story. The movie has a sly reference to Miyazaki's "My Neighbor Totoro", with a Totoro toy. It was pleasing to see no brand-name soda pops, no recognizable cars, no Apples or Dells...and so on.

The torture scene was unique.

Thanks for the cat pomes, CqP. My dear rabbit has frolicked through the house, eaten, and is now resting contentedly in her cage with the door open. Alas, soon I must shut the door. I say "alas" although I have no idea whether this will annoy her, make her feel more secure, or be of no interest to her at all.

I have wondered whether I am as inscrutable to Beatrice as she is to me, then realize that the question is meaningless to her (or would be, if she spoke English). I strongly suspect that scrutability is not an issue for her.

Tim, I am wondering if the product references are somewhat akin to Kidnappers holding up a newspaper. Seriously, to some, those define you. People talk about my phone as if I must like it. I look at it often trying to figure out just how many times I would have to stomp on it to be able to flush it down the toilet.

Science today has a review article titled "The Unconscious Will: How the Pursuit of Goals Operates Outside of Conscious Awareness" by Ruud Custers and Henk Aarts.

Sounds like stuff a scary movie could be made of.

DotC, Miyazaki was acknowledged (along with Steve Jobs--there's product placement for ya) at the very end of the credits. I wouldn't be surprised if he touched TS3 in more ways than Totoro's magic.

Oh, Canada!
Thank you for this lady.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcrEqIpi6sg&feature=related

On the topic of dogs, had a great debate the other day at work.

Who would win in a fight between Underdog and Clifford the Big Red Dog?

Most folks sided with Underdog. I picked Clifford. I question his demeanor, but his size advantage would help. I admitted that Underdog would have the quickness advantage, and if he got inside, he could do some serious damage. I envision Clifford being disinterested, until Underdog maybe got a good shot in to his belly. Clifford would rear up, grab Underdog and shake him until he called uncle.

Hope everyone has a great time doing whatever they are doing over the various holidays.

Underdog all the way. Better theme song. Doggitude. Temperament counts too and I'd rate Clifford as a 1 on the dog/dog dominance scale.

Geekdottir, if you don't plan on changing your nom de boodle, what if we called you Geek'd? Better than Gdottir, I think.

When necessary, do we invent (reinvent) ourselves or merely realize the possibility we had?

Off to the fireworks, great night, not a cloud in the sky, still warm but might be a little chill by the lake (fireworks are set off on a barge on the lake). Will try to get pictures.

Well, Underdog can fly, but I don't recall any particular super-strength. I suppose he must have had some. However, Clifford is able to move a baby that would dwarf an elephant, and he does it just as if he were a normal-size dog. He must weigh about 40 tons (or mass about 40 tonnes, for you metric types). Whatever he's made from, it must be a lot stronger than ordinary muscle and bone. I don't think Underdog would last a minute.

Mighty Mouse, on the other hand, could be a formidable opponent.

That's an interesting question, dbG. I am definitely Yoki in a way I never was Stampede, so I'm thinking we try on identities until one is comfortable and right. Like being an internet adolescent :0

Move a baby? I meant, move a BODY. I must have confused it with the fact that he is still, apparently, just a Very Large Puppy.

... I have heard that term somewhere before...

I yam what I yam, and that's all what I yam.

I don't know...Underdog took pills to make him strong (or so he thought...they probably just made him oblivious to danger). If he's gotten himself into any type of 12-step program or rehab, I'm gonna have to go with Clifford. He may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he's good-hearted, he's got a good community of people around him, and everything seems to work out in about 18 minutes.

Oh... just solved a two week mystery on some PHP code. Lazy boy. Worked on PC, but not MAC browser. I am stupid.

hello friends: long time no blog. been kind of busy working on losses of my own. from time to time i have hinted here about my work. still have to keep things cool, inside the belly of the beast, so to speak. this i know from almost 30 years in the mental health sector--none of us know very much. what we think we know now will likely turn to rubbish in the light of new discoveries and new understandings that will emerge in the next two or three decades. for now, cry if you have to. it is a release for some, and that can be healthy. do not listen to 'experts' on grief (or much of anything else). work on your lawn if that feels good. hug your cat if you have one. get next to good people, such as many who check in here daily, as often as you can.

That's true. I think of you as Yoki even though I know your irl identity. Not so for dmd and tbg. I think their irl names. Yoki is far more than an i'net identity, and I was wondering about whole-life invention.

butlerguy,
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=1237

Remember that Underdog had Polly Purebred on his side. Besides, he was voiced by Wally Cox.

You don't wanna be messin' with Wally Cox.

LiT - I hope that in those sessions they can also help Underdog do something about that whole Rhyming Compulsion.

Hmm. King kong vs the airplanes. Flying's an important skill.

Some have a style
That they work hard to refine
So they walk a crooked line
But she won't understand
Why anyone would have to try
To walk a line when they could fly

Gosh. I just remembered that Clifford was voiced by the late great John Ritter. Now I'm all bummed.

Bunny poem:

LESSON FROM THE RABBIT ELDER

Saw a human on a boat.
With a carrot! I took note.
Though rabbits are not known to float . . .
That carrot did such skill promote.

I jumped into the frigid lake,
And floundered toward the human’s wake.
I wondered . . . what a big mistake.
And then I thought of carrot cake.

As I approached the tasty prize,
A bit of cramping in my thighs,
That carrot, snack of giant size,
Was not itself, to my surprise.

That thing I’d bonded to my soul,
That thing I’d made my utmost goal,
That thing that made me lose control,
Was nothing but a fishing pole.

The human, though, was more surprised.
He at last now recognized
The bobbing ball of fur comprised
To be a creature much incised.

The human leaped up to defend
His life and limb. Did I offend?
He yelled and swatted to no end.
I knew right then I’d lost a friend.

I swam ashore to rest my limb,
The carrot vision growing dim.
And found myself in love with Swim!
Keeping trim without the gym.

The morning after found me there.
The clear blue water, my new lair,
Fitness, fun, and if I dare,
A fresh new way to wash my hair.

All at once I saw a mate
Astride on shore with steady gait.
I swam away and he with hate
The pond did circumnavigate.

I fell upon a clever plan
To keep some distance from the man.
I found the shore, then home I ran,
Just like that guy from Kazakhstan.

And so, my children, shun mistake.
Avoid the fox, the owl, the snake.
And when you swim keep clear the lake
That we’ve since christened “Carrot Cake.”

More bunny poem-madness at:
http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/killer-rabbit-prize-poem/

DNA_Girl,
So if there's a little-girl Toy Story in the future, it'll have Totoro as a character?

It seems the computer used by the dinosaurs is an old Mac.
http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/06/18/toy-story-3-easter-eggs/

That's wonderful CP! Thanks.

The thing, too, about bunnies as pets is that they are very different from dogs and cats. Bunnies are prey, so they are timid around things that might eat them. Which, to a bunny, is pretty much anything. Bunnies do not panic about not being able to escape from their homes. They panic about not being able to get back into their homes.

So they require a lot of patience to gain their trust. But once you do they are remarkably affectionate. They like to snuggle up against you.

But maybe that's just because they assume that if any nasty carnivores show up, you'll serve as a tasty distraction.

Regarding the failing of a beloved pet, I have to say that there is not a correct answer. How to handle it depends entirely on the pet and the owners. I lean toward the elimination of suffering near the end, for all involved. If the cat is a lap cat, my guess is giving her as many chances as possible to sit in a friendly lap in the sun and purr while getting her ears scratched would be a good way to go.

RD, one reason I find Beatrice so fascinating is that, as a prey animal, she and I have no common frame of reference. I don't even know what she sees, really, with her eyes on the sides of her head.

You are right about the rewards of winning a rabbit's trust. I don't think the closeness is purely prudence in the face of possible predators, though. I strongly suspect she is aware she is snuggling with the creature which not only feeds her boring rabbit food, but gives her carrots, sugar snaps, tomatoes in season and yogurt treats.

Totoro and the catbus!
http://www.samdowning.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/catbus.jpg

http://www.nutsidea.net/wombats/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/catbus_totoro.jpg

My older brothers always made fun of Underdog and called him Underwear. Me being an impressionable kid,I had to follow suit......so he was always known as
Underwear........

Boxers,briefs or panties......

That shows a small failure of imagination, green-man. Underwear can (and should) go *way* beyond those three, as I've said here more than once.

dbG, to tell the truth, I actually dream of myself in the Yoki identity, my irl name is almost never used by Morpheus.

As a kid Yoki,those were the three types I knew and really as a kid all I knew was tighty whities.

Underwear... didn't somebody ask the difference between a briefing and a debriefing?

The way I always understood it was that you get briefed before a date or a mission, and then if all goes well, you get debriefed after. What?

Clifford. Don't know Underdog, but basically, all Clifford has to do is sit on him, or drown him with his tongue. He'd just step away, a single huge step, whenever Underdog swung or whatever at him, let him tire himself out, and then smother him with friendship.

(In my dark, twisted cartoon world, see, Clifford is the ultimate Tai Chi Kong master; the dog that has the ultimate Buddha-nature.)

Underdog snaps up,
cannot wrap teeth around flesh:
Clifford walked away.

-Wilbrodog-

re: relationships with prey animals.

It takes a lot to earn the trust of a critter trained to shy away from aggresion.

I was a short skinny kid who normally had a bully or two targeting me until about my mid-teens. Ever since then, I've been known (on fairly rare occasions) to overreact to behavior that others perceive as blandly boorish. We've all got our vulnerable spots. I had a couple of relationships (to include a fairly long marriage) with women who used rage as a negotiating tool. Those relationships were destined to end.

I'm deeply embarrassed when I have a temper tantrum. They're short-lived, they generally involve a loud withdrawal from the engagement rather than any intentional infliction of damage, and I'm perfectly willing to make amends and am anxious to work on solving the underlying conflict.

Predator animals see things differently.

See... I'm such a nerd that it annoys me to no end that Nora Ephron went to all that trouble to write such a funny piece of satire and then made the mistake of using the Q-tip to clean the "Alt" key. Nope. It's the "Option" key on a Mac.

For our Canadian friends, who are celebrating today the signing of papers or some such method of acquiring their independence, here are fifteen signs to know if you’re talking to one...

http://tremendousnews.com/2010/02/25/15-signs-youre-talking-to-a-canadian/

Unfortunately when we are used to being bullied, we often react defensively in many ways even to nothing, which can inflame minor issues into full-out conflagrations.

Girls get bullied too, but often those bullies often make their victims strike out defensively, without actually touching them physically, just with words, cutting them out socially, and yes, the silent treatment without rhyme or reason.

Then there are the expert girl bullies who never get angry, unless it's essential to shock and threaten others into compliance.

In the middle are women who get angry, argue, forget and forgive, and expect that language to be understood from the get-go.

Rabbits may be prey animals, but they can and do treat each others (and even predators) pretty roughly when push comes to kick. All prey animals do.

TBG - I hope the northern contingent of 'boodlers are amused by that link. It certainly amused me!

This is more-or-less the iconic Joni Mitchell for me. Looks very comfortable in her own skin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJIuP7zEVeM&feature=related

Those are all so true they cannot help but be funny, TBG. Especially No. 10. I mean, you should have *seen* my legs by the time the Habs were eliminated!

I'm sorry for your experiences, Bob-S.

Thanks, that's funny. True? Yep.

TBG, those are great, and each one is spot on. Most directions to a friends cottage up here include at least one reference to, the Beer Store, Liquor Store, nearest Tim's and the A&P.

Thank you for posting that.

Just back from the fireworks very enjoyable pictures are not great as our camera has decided it likes to play roulette with the settings and randomly selects them while you take photos, videos are a little better, finale was to Great Big Sea - it was fun. I shall post the pictures on the boodle link, just remember failing, cheap camera!

One of the benefits of the location where our city holds the fireworks (waterfront park) is you get a clear view across the lake (we are at the western tip) so I could also see fireworks from I think Niagara Falls (or somewhere well on the way - perhaps Port Dalousie or St. Catherines as well as from the City of Hamilton.

Oh, I wasn't really crying in my beer, just wanted to point out that those sorts of things are formative.

I try to keep an eye out for those overreactions on my part. If I hadn't been forgiven many (many and many more) unsociable behaviors, I'd be unwelcome in dozens of states and more than a few countries.

Yoki, I'm sure I called you Yoki when we spent time together "irl", as dbG would say.

The Yarn Harlot always does a Canada Day post. This one is pretty funny -
http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2010/07/01/the_true_north.html

So enjoyed the boodle comments today. Such a sensitive, intelligent group. Great poems, CQP and others. And thanks to Joel for moving the dial allowing for occasional explosions (as Shrink2 mentioned) of pent up emotion.

http://www.kraftdinner.com/

Now, that's just low, Bob-S!

Blech.

Jeez, and I did it for you!!

... chortling merrily ...

Good evening, all.

As far as the Battle of the Kid's TV Dogs, Clifford would have the obvious initial advantage of, well, being effing *huge.*

The whole living on Birdwell island thing is weird, and it would be interesting to see what kinds of dogs are running around there 50 or 100 years from now, in a Darwinian sense. Even a 20 ft high pink poodle/mutt would be kind of scary (to say nothing of Cleo's relationship with Clifford).

But I'm going with Underdog here -- due to the chemical, er, *advantages* LiT points out as well as his mad rhymin' skills. Rumors persist that those Super Pills/Vitamins were provided by a shady pharmaceutical firm that was said to have assisted Tour de France riders and female East German weightlifters during the 1960s and 70s. Nothing has been proven to date, though some insist that all of Underdog's records should have an asterisk, as the Barry Bonds of his era. I disagree -- after all, Scooby Doo gets to keep his records despite the Scooby Snacks and whatever else he and Shaggy were doing behind the closed doors of the Mystery
Machine. [And no one's talking about the Scrappy-Doo years, thank goodness.]

Don't even get me started on Super Chicken and the Secret Sauce. For those of you now singing the Super Chicken theme song to yourselves now, I'm sorry.

But you knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred.

bc

*Laughing*

I wonder if it wouldn't be a profitable line of inquiry -- was it Pillsbury Pharma what supplied those teams?

No question-Underdog.

I have strong views about where pet cats belong, but won't go on about them. I prefer to say that the best place to seek refuge upon the death of a beloved pet is the boodle. So boss, we'll be here for you.

Too tired to add anything else to today's discussions, but backboodling was the best time I had all day. Thanks to all.

Toodles boodle and sweet dreams.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr_3TVucft0&feature=related

Alley Cat Love Song

Come into the garden, Fred,
For the neighborhood tabby is gone.
Come into the garden, Fred.
I have nothing but my flea collar on,
And the scent of catnip has gone to my head.
I'll wait by the screen door till dawn.

The fireflies court in the sweetgum tree.
The nightjar calls from the pine,
And she seems to say in her rhapsody,
"Oh, mustard-brown Fred, be mine!"
The full moon lights my whiskers afire,
And the fur goes erect on my spine.

I hear the frogs in the muddy lake
Croaking from shore to shore.
They've one swift season to soothe their ache.
In autumn they sing no more.
So ignore me now, and you'll hear my meow
As I scratch all night at the door.
___________________________________________

Dana Gioia

When we last left Scottynuke, he was hot on ‘Mudge’s trail…

Which quickly merged with the C&O towpath for some reason, most likely the near-perfect bicycling conditions. NukeSpawn and I stopped to observe the ambitious project to rebuild the Catoctin Creek Aqueduct (I hear concrete will be used, kinda makes sense), when a shout went up from one of the workers in the creekbed.

“A bent sextant!” the man exclaimed, holding up his prize. “And there’s an inscription!”

I took a look – “To ‘Mudge – Thanks for that whale tale, I’ll see what I can do with it. Herman”

A clue! Tough to tell what the last reading was, but based on the sextant’s location and depth in the creek mud, I deduced it had been tossed from a westbound train. Intrigued, NukeSpawn and I continued down the trail to Point of Rocks, since that was the next place someone could have boarded a train.

Under the PoR bridge we found a cardboard wine carton with a corkscrew inside – “Stone Mountain Vineyards Wine Club – Diamond-Encrusted Platinum Member” Yep, definitely ‘Mudge.

We returned to the NukeAbode to plan our next move…

(To Be Continued)

*off-to-D.C.-and-a-visit-to-the-Mall-hoping-everyone-has-a-safe-holiday-weekend Grover waves* :-)

bc - You had to mention Super Chicken. Not only do I have that theme song now running through my head, I have those for Tom Slick and George of the Jungle just fer spite.

Which reminds me. Just where does one get parts for a 1967 Thunderbolt Grease-Slapper?

Well done Scottynuke!

I will stay tuned and keep my fingers off the dial.

Superchicken? Chicken Man is the time cootie I'm getting.

Watered the garden, about to go to an emptied-out office.

I heard something on the radio about putting a casino around Gettysburg. Locals like it, others don't. Let me see what I can track down. A while ago the state gambling cmission negotiated several casinos statewide with the handy provision that locals could not stop them. Two were planned for the phila waterfront. Massive protests from affected neighborhoods, the casinos seem to have given up and some state officials voted out. A separate one went up in lower Bucks, not far from me, but it was welcome.

'morning all. The Hat lady had a good day in Ottawa yesterday. She sure dressed in the right colours. http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Ottawa+letter/3225600/story.html

My Alouettes lost 54-51 to Yoki's Stampeders last night. They've got to work on that defence concept. It sure wasn't "that" kind of football.

The quizz was right on TBG, every Canadian was shamed in one way or another with some winter clothing issue. The humiliation I felt in kintergarden or first grade by having my mittens tied with safety pins to the sleeves of my coat is still seared in my flesh.
I recently committed a Canadian version of a red neck classic. I instructed someone to turn right at the crossroad where the SAQ/liquor store used to be (like 5 years ago...) in Wakefield. I'm such a moron sometimes.

Morning, all, happy Friday! Hi Cassandra, hope you are cool and comfortable this morning.

57 degrees and cloudy in the high country right now. I slept with the windows open and it felt so gooood. Of course, Mr. T insisted on going to the grocery store at 0 dark 7 ayem, but at least that chore's done. And we had to go to get provisions for breakfast anyway.

Nice touch for the hat lady to wear a diamond maple leaf brooch. She was home when Mr. T and I went by the house several weeks ago, but she didn't ask us in. That was okay, we were tired and wanted to go back to our hotel anyway.

Not the Stamps, dr's RoughRiders. Man I need thats second coffee badly.

'Morning everybody. We started our busy weekend last night by going to see Boz Scaggs. He puts on a great show and closes with 'Lido', which has the whole audience singing along, great fun. Tennis this morning and fried clams tonight -yum!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend. Oh, I forgot to wish the northerners a happy Canada Day yesterday, I am sorry.

"mittens tied with safety pins to the sleeves of my coat..."

And if they were wool mittens, mom would rub soap in the thumbs and near the fingertips to minimize the chewing of same.

Nice link there, TBG. Some of you may remember that I once surveyed the three readers of my blog and the folks here to illustrate another Canadianism to The Lovely Mrs. byoolin:

There is a group of kids in the street. One of them yells, "Car!" What are the kids doing?

The responses I got were quite clearly delineated by nationality. Every Canadian who responded - and, if I may be so bold as to extrapolate a wee bit - who has ever existed knew that those kids were playing hockey.

That car break was always a great time to take a suck on the end of the mit-ewwwwww!Soap!

I'd forgotten about Catbus. Wonder if Catbus was a one-off or whether there might be a bunch of them in the Washington area. Maybe a black blob of a river spirit from Tiber Creek, too.

Thinking of Underdog/Underwear, advances in fabric have made for comfortable, astonishingly quick-drying golf shirts, golf shorts, and board shorts (snotty term for surfer-dude swim trunks). One brand even promotes "dobby" fabric that's both quick-drying and less likely to chafe.

I don't think rash guards (what surfers and surfer-emulating beach goers wear to keep from getting burned) have quite kept up. The need to survive board wax may be a problem. And finally, with all this wonderful stuff available, do we need Underwear to to promote better, faster-drying underwear?

If this sounds obsessive, I'm in a climate of sogginess and chafing.

Good morning, y'all.

Warm muffins, coffee and OJ on the table.

Clifford or Underdog? I'd go with Mr. Peabody.

At Wimbledon, Berdych is up a set over Djokovic. Murray and Nadal play each other later.

And in South Africa, the continent of South America takes on the rest of the futbol world today and tomorrow.

It's gorgeous outside, so I'm off to enjoy it.

Database Goddess! Geek'd is awesome, much easier to type than geekdottir. I'm too lazy to change my name now, but I'll respond to both.

Underdog, Clifford is entirely too much of a pacifist to win that fight.

@russianthistle- don't beat yourself up over things like that; I just spent an hour eyeballing code trying to figure out why a couple of names were being duplicated before checking the users table and realizing the users had two entries each. We all do stuff like that.

I'll be off camping with the wife and boy until Tuesday. Enjoy what you all do this weekend, folks.

I've got to read some love poems, run back to Rilke and hide. I am feeling powerless and enraged, a bad combination. You see we have this missing seven year old kid drama going on in Portland, four weeks now. I know all about people capable of doing this, maybe that is the problem; every once in a while my misanthropy abscess leaks and I feel like killing them all. Sure I would easily kill to protect my own, hell I'd rather die to protect them from just being stricken with disease. It is hard to walk around in public without wondering who is capable of such menace, who would do such a thing and who needs to be stopped. Don't have much of a point I guess, just so sad and angry about another murdered little kid, unless someone is doing a Jaycee Duggard on him...humans make me sick, vile creatures.

Good morning, all.

RD, I'm singing those theme songs right with you, dude (trying to resist the Roger Ramjet theme...).

I don't think you get parts for the '67 T-bolt Grease Slapper, I believe it was a one-off race car like each of Max Balachowski's "Ol' Yeller" series, or the Mach 5. Met a guy this past weekend who claimed to have done some work for the Grease Slapper back then, a retired aerospace engineer working on hush-hush DoD and NASA programs who fabbed up some titanium pieces from leftover gummint scrap and slipped 'em to Slick. Ti throttle cable brackets seem like overkill to me, but hey, every oz. counts in racing. "Add lightness," as Colin Chapman used to say.

DBG, was in Gettysburg on Wednesday (doing a TSD road rally stage that led through the battlefields) - there are lots of signs around there against the Casino. Interesting to see folks up there fussing again -- it's been kinda quiet since they tore the Observation tower down.

And byoolin, in my neighborhood, the "car" call depended on the season - this time of year, it was street baseball or our prehistoric X-games (ramps for bicycles/trikes/red wagons and skateboards), in the fall and winter, street football. Scars? Yeah, I have some.

Working from home today, but working nonetheless. Well, except for now.

bc

"I'm in a climate of sogginess and chafing."

Were truer words ever spoken? Of course I'm talking about summer in the DC area, but it works for Dave's locale, too.

But today seems to be another glorious day. I've got to stop in at work today for an hour or so to meet a deadline, but I'll be spending a good time of the day outside, you can bet.

Such sorrow. And, these cyclones of evil are with us always.

BUT:

"When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has
always won. There have been murderers and tyrants, and for a time they can seem
invincible. But in the end they always fall. Think of it, always."
-Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948)

---
And, yes, he was complicated. Likely a poor spouse and father. But what he says is true. (the vessel is imperfect but the water contained can be clear and potable and refreshing)

This is also our responsibility to live this truth: love always. Love more. Love harder. Love those in your circle, those seated at the table you find your self in communion at now.

The best and most human response is love.

Another take on this:

He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness, [1]
and to walk humbly with your God?

GOD? Insert what you will:

honor code
designed universe
mystery
unknowable
dna coils
logos
reality
being
stardust/big Bang leavings

FSM
Stuff....

Off to the day; students shall be supported and mildly corrected, etc. Rinse. Repeat. With jimmies of love on top....

Cool here on the left coast today. High on only 70 forecast.
maybe it will help dampen the enthusiasm at the Black Crows concert tonight at the Britt.
Less broken glass to pickup tomorrow morning.
(the Britt is one of the few venues to allow bringing your own beer and wine)

The slogan is "Picnic under the stars with the stars."
To some a picnic only comes in a bottle.
Depending upon the performance.

Shrink, I have young relatives in Portland myself. I think everybody here understands that rage-- even without the insider knowledge painting in all the details.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. All we can ever do. And read good stuff. I spent some time with Rilke a few days ago-- not sure I like the translator's style, but they fed the daydream.

Some poems from our new poet laureate, W.S. Merwin.

Speed of Light: http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/w__s__merwin/poems/19928

Yesterday:

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/w__s__merwin/poems/19919

W.S. Merwin on the art of translation:

http://www3.wooster.edu/artfuldodge/interviews/merwin.htm

Geekdottir, you're up early!

I've always loved that quote from Micah, CqP. Maybe we all would understand the world better if we studied the prophets as we should.

Some have names amenable to multiple identities, such as Robert, who can be Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob, Bobby, or Bert. Others, like Frank, have fewer choices.
I know three who have changed their first names, and met them all after the change. Observing their families' continuing reactions was enormously educational; among other reasons is how I realized that it is often those closest to us who are most resistant to our changing. Seem obvious now.

Prey species:
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/byissue/default.asp?doctypeid=12&selDate=156

Thank you CpQ and W_G.

Oh, Canada -- I've never been to Newfoundland. How hard would it be, at this late date, to get accommodations for a family of four for late July or early August? We are considering what we might do for a summer vacation. Camping is a possibility.

FSM= Flying Sphagetti Monster. Become a Pastafarian!

http://www.venganza.org/join/

My alarm goes off at 9, 'course I'm up! Though it is approaching naptime...

Shrink2- I can't think of anything inspiring, but my thoughts are with you.

I don't think it would be a problem, ScienceTim. Most of the accomodations outside St. John's and Cornerbrook are B&Bs, and there are thousands of them. Most of them are not big Queen Anne-style, specially-renovated houses, but regular family homes where Missus is making a little on the side. The last time I was there in summer, we just found rooms as went. Lots of camping, too, though I know less about that.

One cool thing about traveling in Canada, Tim, is that many of the universities offer rooms for families.

We did that on one trip across Ontario and we all loved it. At the University of Guelph, we stayed in a brand-new townhouse where we each had our own room on its own floor!

Of course, the strange thing is no decorations... No pictures on the walls, etc. But the experience is lots of fun.

Human evolution in 3000 years or less (at least in one important phyisological need).

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100701145519.htm

This is a case of intense natural selection, of course. Can't breathe, can't live.

That's an interesting tip, TBG. I'm considering visiting Ottawa in the next few years.

Couple of links for the Science Family,

http://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/#

http://www.explorenewfoundlandandlabrador.com/

I am a little envious have yet to get to Newfoundland, it is on my bucket list.

If you want interesting Wilbrod, in my second year of university we had to wait a week before we could get into our apartment, my roomate and I spent the week at the Hostel (not sure if it is youth only), it was converted from the old jail, complete with bars on the doors. Nothing like bars and stone walls to make you feel comfortable :-).

That reminds me, Wilbrod -- gotta get a copy of "The 2000 Year Old Man" with Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. I have it on vinyl (it belongs to the parents) but my LP player isn't working right. That has got to be some of the funniest stuff I've heard in ages. Gotta keep those guys alive, I tell ya!

As for Melinda's exit from SYTYCD last night, anybody who was surprised about that needs more than a long nap. Nor was I surprised that Billy and Robert were in the final three. They gotta start eliminating more of the boys, but if they touch Alex, they'll have a huge fight on their hands!

Cya later. . . .

If you want interesting Wilbrod, in my second year of university we had to wait a week before we could get into our apartment, my roommate and I spent the week at the Hostel (not sure if it is youth only), it was converted from the old jail, complete with bars on the doors. Nothing like bars and stone walls to make you feel comfortable :-).

*interrupting the flow of this boodle to post from a back-boodling moment*

Bob-S, thanks for the link to the same Joni M. concert that I ref'd (both side now) earlier to send Big Yellow Taxi this way ........ and I'll tell you why.

My mother, who liked to listen to beatlesdylanstones,etc, would never *admit it*. Then, one night (1969?) while we were doing the dishes after dinner listening to the ra-di-o, Joni's Big Yellow Taxi broke through the clink and clack. Mother listened, made me dance with her, and told me "whoever that girl is, she knows what I mean about all this asphalt covering up good dirt roads." She hated the tract houses going up within ten miles of the farm.

From that moment on my mother and I were able to trade music and much, much more.

Sorry about that, seems the hostel has been upgraded, my memory can be sketchy but didn't think I exagerate that much, fancier than I remember - of course it was over 20 years ago.

http://www.hihostels.com/dba/hostels-HI---Ottawa-Jail-Hostel-011004.en.htm

I read you, shrink. Another thing the boodle supports is frustrated rants.

It's impossible to top CqP.

Hope everyone also finds some joy today.

All heck breaking loose at the World Cup, Netherlands gets ahead of Brazil 2-1 in the 2nd half, Melo gets a red card for Brazil and the team has to play a man down with about 12 minutes left.

Netherlands are a solid team, but Brazil losing here would be huge.

Bracketastrophic, some might say.

bc

Wow!
Good thing I didn't care much for Brazil this time.
I'll save my passion for Saturday.
I feel for Melo though. How would it feel to be the most hated man in Brazil, even if for just a moment...

And it's the Netherlands!

Part of me is glad cuz they are my WC pool winners. Part of me is sad cuz I thought an all-South America semi-final would be very cool.

SciTim, MrJS lived in St. John's for nearly 4 years way back when. He has always had a soft spot in his heart for the province.

That said, its rugged beauty is not for the faint of heart.

OK, we have another Michael Steele moment.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/michael_steele_speaks_truth_to.html

In this video, the RNC Chairman goes rogue again to the point where the RNC has to issue a clarifying statement that bears little resemblance to Mr. Steele's original statement.

Today, with some little passerine in his feet, the tercel is giving big baby a workout and oh she doesn't like it a bit. Screaming, louder than I've ever heard.

MsJS is understating the starkness of St.John's while she more than aptly describes it's beauty.

I love the Maritime Provinces (N.B., P.E.I., N.Scotia and Newfoundland) for their open homes to wayfaring strangers. I spent dollar-poor and hungry, open-eyed weeks exploring there back in the early 80s. Found that I could pull into a town, go to a shop or pub and ask who might accommodate me for a night or two for a nominal rate. Without exception I was welcomed into home and hearth and found "groaning boards of food" to send me on my way. Wonderful people who shared their world . . . . . . I would never have seen it's riches without their fiddles and fishing poles and guidance.

ooopsy, too many tabs open...that was supposed to be an email to a friend who is a falconer. We have a resident pair of peregrine falcons on a nearby cliff and this is the time of year they teach their chick how to be a falcon.

scc: 'its' riches . . . . . especially the fish chowders!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mVWWmIXKxk&feature=related

A few years ago I saw Taj Mahal* with Toumani Diabate and it still rings in my ears. What a show.

*translates, Palace Expensive, btw

My family has a little property (solar power, no running water) in NB on the Bay of Fundy. It's a wonderful area. I love it up there. I haven't been able to get farther north than an hour or so up the coast from St. John but my hope is to get up to Nova Scotia and maybe more late this summer or early fall. I love the water, the music and the people.

Damn, tell me again why am I going to Connecticut this weekend?

Visiting the Constitution State seems apropos on July 4?
You want to blow raspberries at Joe Lieberman from up close?
It's time to go through Mianus?

Fair enough, all valid reasons I suppose. Especially the last one as I drive through giggling uncontrollably.

cowhand, the Hopewell Rocks in NB are worth a trip but need to experience both high and low tides. We traveled NS last summer, it was wonderful, the people, the music, the scenery. If you go, make sure to get to the northern tip of Cape Breton (Meat Cove). Meanwhile, have fun in CT!

I hope that everyone has a nice weekend and that all you other 'mericans enjoy the three day weekend. (Those, of course, who are lucky enough to have one.)

We have relatives arriving tomorrow so I need to help get all the paper plates and plastic wear polished up. And check the venturi tube on the grill for spiders. Because not all 4th of July fireworks are enjoyable.

Which reminds me. I really do need to see what my son, the budding chemist, is doing with all that chemical fertilizer and No. 2 fuel oil.

Is there *really* a town named Mianus? Or is that a Boodle joke?

"Mianus (formerly, Mayamus and Upper Landing) is a neighborhood in the town of Greenwich in Connecticut. Unlike other Greenwich neighborhoods such as Cos Cob or Old Greenwich, Mianus does not have its own ZIP code or post office. Mianus lies partly in the Cos Cob ZIP code area and partly in the Riverside ZIP code area. It lies at an elevation of 23 feet (7 m) and is home to an elementary school."

Near Greenwich, Conn. on the Mianus River, and you probably don't want to eat the fish that come out of that!

What is funny about Mianus? Uranus gets a frikin' planet and you are calling Mianus a joke?

Looking up Mianus on MapQuest yields endless opportunities for third grade humor with listings of "Real Estate in Mianus" "Personals in Mianus" and "Jobs in Mianus."

OK. Thanks guys.

What were they thinking!?

Very good, shrink.

Mianus was allegedly the name of a revered native chief and the natives named the local river and gorge in his honor long before the Europeans arrived.

Uruguay and Ghana are tied 1-1 at the 83 minute mark in their quarterfinal match.

At Wimbledon, Berdych and Nadal will face each other in the gentlemen's singles final on Sunday.

No, Mianus is cute.

Uranus just looks huge and cyanotic. It's also well-known for Shakespearean moons.

Shrink, really we cannot talk about Uranus in mixed company, can we?

Someday when we find the largest xenoplanet known, I have a feeling it will be called Ur-Momma.

SCC: (Self-castigation club): make that Yo'momma.

Well, in defense of the good citizens of Mianus, it is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable, sort of like the non-snickery way you pronounce "Uranus."

shrink... when we get talking at a BPH about Mianus there's no stopping us... and no shortage of great, loud laughter. It makes me smile just thinking about it.

After election day 2008, bc wondered aloud, "Do you suppose there are polls in Mianus?" You should have seen the way he was walking!

Sorry for that gas blast Manon, its just that, Mianus can get pretty sore being the butt of so many jokes.

W_G, my little kids still think it is the funniest thing to point to stars in the sky and declare. "That is Uranus, no, that is Uranus, no that is Uranus..." Not me, no way, not even a smirk.

Speaking of BPH... aren't we due for one soon?

Meanwhile, the Uruguay-Ghana match is in extra time. If it's still tied at the 12o minute mark, they'll go to a penalty shootout.

I still think my idea of gradually
1) widening the goal mouth and
2) reducing the number of players
would make for a shorter, more exciting overtime.

We're having one on July 28, aren't we?

Do third graders in
Mianus laugh as the ones
outside Mianus?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnaIwGy03Tk

Speaking of BPH... aren't we due for one soon? -TBG-

What, already so soon? My temples sweat just thinking about it.

Speaking of Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy, checking on that is a menace to Mianus.

MsJS, are you excited yet!?

Ahhhh I can't breathe!!!!

One doesn't joke about butts if one doesn't wish to be the butt of the joke?

In my family, it's usually the adult males who are most apt to pun horribly. I think you must take the lead and teach them higher wordplay and let them enjoy language from the bottom upwards.

UUUUURRRRRR

uguay!!!!!

TBG, I could do a BPH next week on Wednesday or Thursday.

The vuvuzelas are silenced :-(

Yeah, Uruguay. I was rooting for Ghana, but it was not to be; they were redshirts.

Uruguay's Celeste takes the quarter final in the shoot-out. Ghana missed a penalty awarded for goaltendening (a hand) in the last minute of play...
Who would have put any money on Uruguay over Brazil for the qf?

Asamoah Gyan slammed a penalty kick into the crossbar is now crying for the whole continent. Football is cruel.

I have proof that Mianus exists. I even have a picture of it.

http://livebythefoma.blogspot.com/2008/07/visit-to-mianus.html

My family had a siamese cat as long as I can remember. When I was ten, the cat died and we buried in the backyard garden. It was the first time I cried out of grief. These are valuable lessons to a child.

A few years back I told my parents that I had tested positive for allergies to cats. My parents' reaction was "We knew that. We had the cat first." That doesn't explain the two subsequent siamese cats.

My latest tweat:

The first problem with our East Berlin hotel room on the 11th floor: The elevator only goes to ten. [Insert Spinal Tap joke here.]

Beyond that, it was over 90 deg F today in Berlin and our hotel has no AC.

Many are unaware Mianus is a favored spot of the Witness Relocation department.

"our hotel has no AC"

Meh, just another guy gone Euro, bragging about how great it is to be green. Next you'll tell us the tap water is unfiltered and no one uses soap.

You would likely see a made-in-Florida surfboard on Long Island, less likely but quite possible on Newfoundland (but there's a successful surfboard factory in Montreal, something to do with rapids and locals being inspired by their freshwater counterparts in Munich.

yello has been all Euro for years.

I row, euro, we all row for yello.

Newfoundland didn't join Canada until very late. Could they instead have become part of a United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and Newfoundland and Labrador?

Then there's Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, French but is it as French as Martinique, home of a nasty volcano once confused with the similarly nasty one on Montserrat?

yeah.. some of us call him yurojkt.

Hey... where's Eurotrash? We haven't seen him around for quite a long time.

We were in Quebec City a few years ago (such a wonderful place, really it is) and each time people realized the reason my French was so bad was not because I was Canadian, but because I was American, they suddenly got very friendly and they used their English with me, which was about as bad as my French.

The last time I was in Quebec City, I was just strolling through the town, outside the tourist-ish areas, and came across a quartet playing Baroque music in a little suburban park. That experience has become part of the magic of Quebec for me.

talitha1, Taj Mahal at the Britt tomorrow night.

Yoki, I would have stayed there as long as they played.

Yello, no sympathy for you from me. If you don't know to check that before you go, too bad.

Mr. T and I were in Augsburg in 2000 during a heat wave the week of the summer solstice. We had a west-facing room and no a/c. He took a cold shower and laid on the bed with a wet towel on him. I periodically took the towel and wrung it out in cold water and put it back on him.

In our defense, we were with a group and did not make the arrangements. It will never happen again.

So, yello, one assumes no old-growth, soft tp either?

I am an hour away from my first 3day weekend in 6 months and 2 hours away from a big pot of Jumbo Wye river crabs.

Yeehaw!!!!!

Yeeehaw, gwe! have a great time!

Thanks TBG and Have a Great 4th of July!!!

G dottir, it was a bad week staring at code. The worst part was that it "worked" for me.

'In Foucault’s Pendulum I wrote the grotesque representation of these kind of people. So Dan Brown is one of my creatures.' - Umberto Eco

New Achenbach story, reporting from the BP war room.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/02/AR2010070205570.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2010070203428

Oh I did, slyness. And clapped at the end. That was sound of two hands clapping, since I was the only audience-member, and they appreciated it.

Have a happy time off, gwe!

Once burnt, twice cool, Slyness?

I know I'm a little late to the, er.. dance, but can I talk about SYTYCD? I watched last week at the beach with my sister, who has been a faithful viewer of the show. I really enjoyed it and of course was thinking of my boodle pals while I watched.

I didn't see it this week, but I was talking with my sister tonight and she told me about Alex's hip hop dance. I found it on YouTube and wow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHfNj0ARo4k

Oh, sometimes even if air conditioning is advertised, it's not up to the job. I spent two nights sweating in a very lovely hill fort under renovation; the suite was so big that the air conditioner and fans barely made a dent in the 100+ degree heat-- this after I nearly collapsed while shopping from acute dehydration (I had cholera or its second cousin, too.)

I remember dancing that last evening, nearly fainting, drinking a quart and then continuing. I don't really remember sleeping more than 20 minutes if at all during those two nights, though.

The wise thing to do is complain and check out to a better hotel room, of course. There are only a very few circumstances in which you have to put up with such a situation, such as when you can't book a room or taxi directly due to language barriers.

Jumper, not sure about the thread here but Umberto Ecco is a living treasure. He is one of the founders of the audience-centered reader's response approach to literature. This places him in the company of Stanley Fish, Roland Barthes, Louise Rosenblatt and even C.S. Louis.
Readers matter; audience matters.

"The good of a book lies in its being read. A book is made up of signs that speak of other signs, which in their turn speak of things. Without an eye to read them, a book contains signs that produce no concepts; therefore it is dumb." --
Umberto Eco

CqP, you are a living treasure too. No life...sheesh.

W_G, your post brought me back to a night in a concrete hotel in SE Asia, the mock AC droning away over the door and I swear there were heat coils in those walls.

IR energy was pouring out of the walls of that room. Of course it was stored up from the heat of the day, but I thought, so this is what that witch in the Hansel and Gretel tale felt like.

Except that the witch didn't have wall geckos to amuse her with while she fried.

Except that witch had no wall geckos to keep her company.

Sigh. Moveable type moved on me again.

Frankly, Wilbrod, if you walk through any Indian city in the afternoon of a summer, dehydrated, and with dysentery (I am sure it wasn't cholera because if it had been you would have been neither walking nor dancing) and then go dancing... well. You need to learn to look after yourself better. I know you were there to attend a wedding, but honestly.

Exactly. You haven't traveled if you have not been baked, roasted, steamed, broiled, fried, batter dipped and broasted to death in a place where everybody else is just fine, like the weather is perfect. I look like boiled pork, perfectly pink, sweating from places I did not know could sweat, soaked between my fingers, my ears full of sweat...and all these moslems in full piety gear, not even a damp blush around their eyes. Bush was wrong, they don't hate our freedom, everybody loves freedom, they hate us because we can't take the heat. The maritimes are not for the faint of heart someone said. I'll take 'em any day over equatorial incineration. If its chilly, mother used to say, you can put on a sweater.

russianthistle, Unreproducible problems are the worst. I have run into multiple issues with random errors (and of course no logging) that literally took months to track down.

I think I've got everyone's heat stories beat. My father took Elderdottir and me to Texas one summer to visit relatives. This would have been fine and dandy except for 4 things: 1) it was summer, 2) the AC in the car didn't work, 3) there was an issue with the coolant that meant we had to keep the heat on so the engine wouldn't overheat, and 4) 1 window worked.

greetings, geekdottir. glad to have you here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FgBUQWvEKg&feature=related

having nothing to do with the price of tea, just appropriate for the turning of the day, central time.

G'dot, that pretty much approximates Chennai on a summer afternoon four floors up in a windowless office block in monsoon season, during an electricity blackout.

My biggest mistake on my first visit was to wear nylon stockings (but thank goodness not pantyhose!) and a long-sleeved suit to the negotiations.

greetings geekdottir. glad to have you here. not that this has anything to do with the proverbial price of tea, just because i can and usually do at this hour. scc, in the event that this a double post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L-mlegTq3k

rats. refreshed twice, didn't see anything suspicious, submitted a second time, and still double posted. what a maroon.

Yoki, I wasn't walking outside in the heat of the loo during the day; It was 110 degrees, no way.
I collapsed in a jewelry shop. I got caught short, and came out really wilted. The rehydration powder and water really helped. A rough night even so.

I had begun to feel better by the next evening, when the wedding occured. I also suspect I might have been having a fever and couldn't tell quite if I was pushing myself too far until I started feeling bad and grabbed some cool water from a waiter drank, rested a few minutes and got back into it.

I remember I was determined to have some fun that night. And I did. Beats sweltering in a 100 degree heat wave in a dorm room.

But yeah, I do wish things had gone better. I've used up a lifetime's supply of sweltering now. No more walking outside in 90+ degree heat.

Yoki, at least monsoon is cooler than the loo season, but Chennai is truly tropical. It was a pleasant 85 degrees when we were there-- in January.

The loo wedding actually happened in Rajasthan, which is supposed to be a desert climate and so cool off at night. Hah. Never did either time I visited.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEke7x4CKSM

Also related to nothing (except maybe shrink2's recent speculation on the proper reaction to the death of a mother or brother). Having lost my littlest brother to death in the last few months, I now think of a withdrawn but living beloved friend whom I dearly miss and would welcome back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqEqLku5cBk&feature=related

Good night, dear Boodle.

Group tour. This will go into our evaluation. Although as a taste of former Communist style architecture, it is a good experience. How water, wifi (pricey, but fast), and BBC World News in not all bad.

Now to find a place to watch the World Cup today. I hope it's on somewhere.

Hi -jack-!

Yoki, if Chennai in monsoon season without AC in a windowless room is as bad as that car trip was, I truly feel for you! We at least had the option to get out of the car and get ice cream to cool off!

'Night boodle!

Well, then, good for you, Wilbrod. It IS an experience, isn't it?

Just I worry, you know? You have vulnerabilities.

In Chennai monsoon season is not cooler. It gets hotter and wetter, both at night and during storms. When storms come at night, aiyaiyai! Being from a climate where condensation (condescension?) on the windows means cold, it was quite a shock to step out at 4:00 am to find it was 9 degrees hotter than it had been in the afternoon.

*Sneaks into the Ready Room*

*Leaves warm Bran/Date/Pecan/Orange Muffins, hot coffee, cold grapefruit juice, greek yogurt, honey and almond granola, and a fruit salad for the Dawn Patrol + Vintage Lady on the breakfast table*

*Tiptoes out again and falls asleep on the 'on call' cot in the dorm*

Thank you for the coffee, Yoki, and the fruit salad is wonderful.

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. I hope to be around a little more now. My work schedule is back to normal. So nice when things feel normal again, even if 'normal' isn't really anything other than a state of mind.

'morning all. Have a good 4th of July weekend you Murrican type. Today happens to be day 3 of this 4 day weekend of Canada day. Good weather all-around.

Science Tim, I haven't been on the Rock in summer but the SIL did that last year with her tribe. They were very pleased with their experience. If the Science Family is relativey fit there are plenty of good hikes to be taken. One warning: bring layered clothing. The weather is very changing out there. Could be freezing (I'm talking less than 50F) and foggy in the morning and warm and sunny an hour later. And my, when the wind picks up... The Rock is a large ship sailing the North Atlantic.

Interesting fact: I've been to L'Anse aux Meadows (the village and the park) but I have only seen a 20 ft wide strip of it. The island was battered by the remains of a tropical storm on this September business trip. The horizontal rain had nothing tropical to it IMHO. Even the locals thought this was a bit much.

Good morning, you all and many thanks to Yoki for the fruit salad. I have a code in my node and that salad is the ab out the only thing I can taste this morning!

Speaking of cats, we took our disabled son to Wolf Trap recently to see CATS. He hadn't seen it before and cast was very strong and we all enjoyed it.

Our cat, Robin, lived a good life of 16 years and when it became apparent that she was wearing out with partial paralasis in one hip the vet and I decided that it was time to let go of her. I held her in my arms while he gave her the injection. A little jerk in her body and she was gone. It was so hard, you all, but it was also peaceful. I could not leave her without final family support when she needed me. I just bawled like a baby in the car all the way home and off and on for the next few days. I played Linda Ronstatt's "Good by, my old friend" over and over, and got most of the grief out. She was a good cat, a calico.

Going to take it easy with my cold and all, but hope every body enjoys their 4th celebrations.

Good Morning Everyone.

It is beautiful outside here - dry and cool and all morningish.

Joel has an epic story in the WaPo this morning:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/02/AR2010070205570.html?hpid=topnews

It really rounds out his coverage of the oil leak and is an example, I believe, of the kind of writing that Joel does better than just about anyone. It combines technical awareness with keen, sensitive, and honest descriptions of the people involved.

The Bear and the Shih Tzu.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/just+like+cartoon/3230268/story.html

Good morning, all.

Off to the grocery store to provision for tomorrow's festivities, then get a few things done around the house during Argentina v. Germany.

I read Joel's piece last night, and it brought home to me the idea that when you come right down to it, people are people, no matter how extraordinary their circumstances.

bc

Good morning, y'all.

Warm muffins, coffee and OJ on the table. Many thanks Yoki for your generous bounty.

Getting set for Serena v. Vera at Wimbledon.

I just finished Mr. A's piece. I have to confess the isolation of this 'war room' may make it easier for these people to do their jobs, but it also isolates them from the bigger picture of the magnitude of this fubarous disastahoochie.

That they are quizzical about BP being viewed as a 'villain' leads me to wonder how much denial still lingers. They acknowledge the deaths of 11 people, as they should, but then they go back to their monitors and don't want to be disturbed. The very nature of the 'war room' atmosphere is designed to insulate them from having to deal with the rest of the world's experiences. This is not conducive to achieving optimal outcomes.

Rant over. Off to watch tennis.

I'm snickering (in sympatico of course:-) at your heat stories.

But Yoki, W_G, I think "loo" refers to dry heat/hot wind conditions in Pakistan/northwest India, not the south. I'll have to ask mum.

I am thinking this is the WC final, or, in other words, Germany or Argentina will win the cup. Can't wait. Good morning.

Which reminds me about this article I read in Sci Daily last week about a "new" air-conditioning system:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100621071943.htm

aka the air-conditioning system used in Pak/India for centuries:

"Windows shielded with fiber-screens of the fragrant khas (ख़स/خس or vetiver) dry-grass that are kept damp with a simple water-pumping mechanism are quite effective as an inexpensive form of air conditioning, and have been in common use throughout the plain portions of the northern Indian subcontinent for centuries. Because evaporation proceeds at a very rapid rate in the extreme dryness, the cooling effect can be quite dramatic and result in dwellings where the interior feels chilly."
-Wiki.

I remember long summers in Jaipur, tumbling in the sand dunes in the mornings and recovering in the afternoons with nimbu sherbat (lemonade) and kalingadh (watermelon) in what felt like a refrigerated living room at my aunt's.

Omigosh, what I would give to be where yello is right now!!!!

Good morning, all. MsJS.... Dr G loves your word "fubarous." I think we have a new G family word. Thank you.

I think what does, indeed, set Joel's coverage of the oil spew apart is his focus on the people. Just like many of us here in the boodle are "Washington," those folks are "BP," and it's the people, rather than the company, who are going to eventually fix the problem. And they're not likely the same people who caused it in the first place.

Ausgezeichnet!

Wahnsinn!

Well I mean he could be in the loo or something, but I doubt that very much. I hope Scotty saw that goal too, where ever he is...

And RD_P, epic is surely the right description for Joel's story; thanks for the link.

Mudged? New kit!