“He had managed to climb out through the cat flap in the night, obviously with the intent to get Arthur back. Bearing in mind that Arthur was a huge cat, Oscar must have used all the strength he could muster. Then he pulled him into the basket and went to sleep next to him. Arthur’s coat was gleaming white. Oscar had obviously licked him clean. It must have taken him nearly all night.” The Times has a moving story about a dog mourning his best buddy. (And, a cat even! Dogs and cats living together…mass hysteria.) Update: Megg at Quiddity has posted another interesting tale of animal friendship.
Category: Berkeley
Pieces of Eight.
Friend and colleague Liam of Sententiae et Clamores has tagged me with a meme of eights. And since GitM recently turned 8 and Berk‘s nearing that age himself, the theme seems apropos anyway…So, without further ado:
8 Passions in my life: film, history, politics, science-fiction, civic progressivism, Berkeley, Guinness/Jamesons, basketball.
8 Things to do before I die: finish the dissertation; conduct a Great American Road Trip; get immersed in the world’s Great Cities; have kid(s); write a truly memorable speech; hit the buzzer-beater 3; attend my own book reading; see an Earthrise.
8 Things I often say: “One ticket please.”; “Sit!”; “Ok, let’s go!”; “Want to go outside?”; “Get on the couch!”; “If you bark again, you’re going in the crate.”; “Get in the crate!”; “G’night, little buddy.”
8 Books I read (or reread) recently: An Aristocracy of Everyone, Benjamin Barber; The Final Solution, Michael Chabon; The Dissident, Nell Freudenberger; Confessions of a Reformer, Frederic Howe; Public Opinion, Walter Lippmann; Paris 1919, Margaret MacMillan; Watchmen, Alan Moore; Villa Incognito, Tom Robbins.
8 Films that mean something to me: Amadeus, Brazil, Miller’s Crossing, Annie Hall, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, High Fidelity, The Empire Strikes Back, Fellowship of the Ring.
8 Songs that mean something to me: “Almost Blue,” Elvis Costello; “Get the Balance Right,” Depeche Mode; “Romeo and Juliet,” Dire Straits; “Visions of Johanna,” Bob Dylan; “The Beast in Me,” Nick Lowe; “Country Feedback,” R.E.M.; “If You Wear That Velvet Dress“, U2; “Make it Rain,” Tom Waits.
8 Living people I’d like to have as dinner guests: The Coens, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, Russ Feingold, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Barack Obama, Camille Paglia, Stephanie Zacharek.
8 People I’m passing this on to: This gets tricky, so I’ll just pass it on to whomever feels like partaking…enjoy.
After the Flood: Captchas.
Also, since I came back to find over 10,000 spam comments plastered all over the Ghost, I’ve decided to take drastic action and installed a Captcha system, in the form of Jay Allen’s comment challenge. So, if any of y’all want to leave a comment from now herein, you’ll need to answer the not-very-tricky “challenge question.” (The answer, as the hint basically tells you, is Berkeley.) As a result, the spam ratio around here has gone from 10-15 a minute to none, zip, zero over the past 24 hours. Can the war on spam finally be over? I’m not rolling out the Mission Accomplished banner just yet, but I’m cautiously optimistic.
Matt Daemon?
No, Mayra Daemon, as in Mayra the Hare, because I’m apparently “modest, humble, spontaneous, inquisitive, and solitary.” (Well, they got the solitary part right.) Discover your daemon at the official Golden Compass movie site, which does a decent job of trying to explain the basics of Philip Pullman’s world to non-readers. (And, sorry, Mayra m’dear, but I’ve already got a power animal…no hard feelings.)
Kibbles ‘n poison.
If you have a pet, I presume you’ve already been following this story rather closely. Nevertheless, here’s the current list of pet foods recalled as a result of high levels of aminopterin discovered therein. (The current death toll is 16 cats and dogs, with many more expected.) I was somewhat concerned to notice on Friday that Berk‘s brand (Science Diet) had been added to the list, but apparently the outbreak seems to be confined to their wet food line (and the cat line at that.)
Destination: Tintin
Ten Thousand Thundering Typhoons! As has been rumored for good long while, Steven Spielberg officially announces he’ll be producing a Tintin movie. Berk says don’t forget Snowy/Milou.
The Seven-Year Itch (and Scratch).
A World of Addicts.
Love is a stranger in an open car…or is it just a much-needed dopamine fix? Somebody writes this story every Valentine’s Day. Still, I guess it’s something to keep in mind. (And sorry, Berk, you may be my Valentine again this year, but the same type of deconstruction applies to you. No hard feelings, bud.)
A World Without Lampshades.
Sheltie update: Berkeley (who thanks y’all out there for the well-wishes, by the way) is free of the Elizabethan collar that so marred last week, and his foot — while still occasionally bleeding after a long walk — is now definitively on the mend. And so, Berk is now back to his usual daily regime of spinning in circles and barking at miasmas of evil from his perch near the window. Welcome back, little fella.
My Dogs Wear My Collars, Sir.
As you can see, Berkeley has entered his Elizabethan period in order to recuperate from a foot injury (bloody toe, dislocated nail) suffered over the weekend. Fortunately, he should only have to wear the collar for a few days, while the antibiotics work their mojo.