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We met my side of the C-A clan in Kansas City to hang out at the Renaissance Festival for the afternoon. There were jousts and characters galore, and the Wee Welshman was almost kidnapped by a pirate. Sweet Sister enjoyed all the animals, and Younger Brother was asked to dance 'round the maypole with a pretty lady. A merry ole' time was had by all! More pictures here.
Gina Spadafori at the Pet Connection is now reporting that the AKC-Petland deal (previously discussed here) has been rescinded.
Thank goodness!
I know it may seem like small potatoes, but it was really screwing with my world--as anything that effects the Wee Welshman's happiness tends to do. Of course, as Gina implies, the fact that this partnership was even suggested indicates that there are still problems to be taken care of. But this is still wonderful news.
I was walking out the door on my way to work this morning when I saw these two on the side of my house.
At first I kind of thought, "Eww!" But on closer examination, I noticed they were spooning. Awww . . . .
Earthdog tunnels, agility equipment, and a nice looking garden--all in one place, living together in harmony?
Just a quick post with a few thoughts I've had on the Chris Wallace/Bill Clinton interview.
I haven't the time or inclination to sift through and weed out who's right. Although I'm a Clinton fan and have noted in the past the horrible right-bias of Fox News, experience teaches that there's probably a grain of truth in both what Clinton said and in the conservative response. I did like the "I tried and failed." I don't think you'd ever catch our current President making such an admission.
But aside from the substance of the interview, two things:
First, I don't think this was an unplanned outburst on Bill Clinton's part. You don't get to be where he is without learning some measure of control over your emotions--especially on national TV, especially knowing (as he had to know) going in that this was likely to be an interview of a confrontational nature and thus being able to prepare for that. He may be many things, but I don't think stupid is one. And that, coupled with the fact that he's all of a sudden in the media again, really makes me think this is part of some bigger strategy.
Second, as alluded to in the title of this post, get a load of the spin that both sides are putting on this! If you're a Republican, Clinton had a "hissy fit", if you're a Democrat he "laid the smack down". The truth, as usual, is probably somewhere in between. But they spin us....
The Wee Welshman and I found a Jack Russell terrier club nearby. Less than an hour drive, and we had a great day practicing go to ground and running in some terrier races.
Of course he blasted through the tunnels in go to ground practice. His fastest time was something like 3 seconds.
And surprisingly, Moe didn't object to the muzzle that's worn for racing. He wasn't a fan of the starting box, but that was understandable as he's a bit taller than your average Jack.
More pictures here.
My very first tigger melon was ready this weekend. It turned the nicest color, but the flavor was a little funky--kind of like cantaloupe and pepper.
Number 1--I am not a fan of the Pope. I think he's misguided (as I think everyone is who asserts that their religion is "the only way"), he's anti-choice (again, I have a problem with people making decisions for others), he's scary looking (but that's only my opinion), and he says bad things about Harry Potter (which makes it official--we're not friends). Despite all of that, I love this article by Anne Applebaum which criticizes much of the Western response to the Pope's recent comments that were perceived as anti-Muslim. She says it better than I could, so please click through to the article, really.
OK, I just have to excerpt this little bit:
"...if stray comments by Western leaders—not to mention Western films, books, cartoons, traditions, ethics, and values—are going to inspire violence on a regular basis, I don't feel that it's asking too much for the West to quit saying sorry and remain united, occasionally, in its own defense. The fanatics attacking the pope already limit the right to free speech among their own followers. I don't see why we should allow them to limit our right to free speech, too."
Amen!
Number 2--A snippet of video from YouTube wherein John Stewart asks Bill Clinton what it would take to defeat Hillary for President (should she choose to run). Goodness, it was nice having a President who knows how to speak. Oh, and I liked what he said too.
One of my very favorite teachers (and I have to say, I've been lucky enough to have had some good ones) was my first grade teacher, Mrs. Suzanne Marshall.
When I look back on that year it seems remarkable that so many lessons could have been crammed into just 9 months. Things like, if you don't finish your math problems you might miss out on the fun afterward; don't help the boy cheat by giving him the answer, even if you do think he's cute; and that writing just for the sake of it can be fun--as a matter of fact, now that I think on it, the first pre-cursor of this blog was probably the journal I kept as part of her class.
Among these many other bits of life-wisdom, I have very clear memories of when Mrs. Marshall encouraged us to find Monarch caterpillars and bring them to school so that we could watch them turn into butterflies. I remember watching the stripey caterpillars get fat in their ten-gallon aquarium in the corner of our classroom, and then building their delicate chrysalises. And I remember the morning someone noticed one was starting to open, and standing, wide-eyed and silent, watching the beautiful, orange butterfly slowly hatch and dry off.
So you can imagine my smile this morning when I saw this article in my hometown newspaper. Mrs. Marshall is still teaching her classes about butterflies. And twenty years later, ever the first grader at heart, I'm still watching for them.
I was doing my daily perusal of my favorite blogs last Thursday, when I read this post on Christie Keith's "Dogged Blog". The post concerns a new contract between the AKC and Petland pet stores, which will endorse the sale of puppies under the AKC banner, with the Petland sales people encouraging people to register the puppies with AKC.
What's the problem, you ask? The problem is that pet store puppies do not come from reputable dog breeders, they come from irresponsible "back yard" breeders, at best, and at worst from puppy mills. (Short aside: There is no exception to this statement. Responsible breeders care about where their puppies are going, and hence carefully screen potential puppy buyers. This is something that cannot be done if pups are sold to a pet store where the only requirement is that the buyer be able to pay.)
The upshot of this is that--unless this contract is canceled--the AKC, aka "the dog's champion", is now for all intents and purposes endorsing puppy millers.
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