Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Oh, I'll Tell You, I Will

How did I get Bob to succumb to the lure of my camera... I may tell you, but for now it'll have to remain a mystery. Mua.. muahahaha!
Seriously, for some reason when I uploaded his poem it processed right away, but as of right now my own reading is still being "processed" by YouTube... It's happened before, it may just take some time. But in any case, enjoy Bob's poem :)

Monday, August 21, 2006

Video addiction!

Oh my, my... Enjoying another day off. I mean Really enjoying. My "weekends" begin on Saturday night, actually... So while most of you are heading to work and dealing with a sad case of the "Mondays" I'm sleeping in a bit and catching up on the internet.
Today I'm anxiously awaiting arrival of a new video editing program. Adobe Premiere Elements, ordered from Amazon and estimated to get here sometime early this afternoon (I hope.) Last I heard it was at the nearest UPS station not 15 min. away, but I've had to wait since they don't deliver at all on the weekends, *sigh*
I'm really kind of exited about this, just to see how much easier its gonna be to put things together. It's supposed to have a better timeline than QuickTime Pro, and a lot of other features QuickTime doesn't have... I'm hoping it works. If it does, I'm gonna have a lot of fun with it... lol, not that I didn't have fun before... We'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, you could visit my account on YouTube and see what I'm talking about here: Baileykix
It seems I'm addicted to YouTube. Imagine that!

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Gizmo Flushes

This was so cute and bizarre that I just had to share it here... I just wonder what their water bill is up to these days?

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Thanks 4 The Invite

Far away from thrillers and sci-fi,
snakes on a plane or bears on a planet,
the daisies are waving at us
through a screened-in sliding door
that separates a well deserved breeze from
comcast-on-demand.

They are saying, "Come join us...
The air is much better out here
and there's still enough light yet
for a good book or that one elusive
perfect shot.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Beautiful day here in Jersey! The neighbor's out walking his Westies, its nice with the temperature not too hot and muggy the way it was last week, the balcony garden has gotten its share of compliments (now if we could just get whoever's dumping those gigantic buckets of water over the balcony above ours to just Cut It Out...) I picked up a hummingbird feeder before I left work yesterday. There was at least one around the neighborhood two days ago and I wanted to get the feederÿs soon as possible so he'd come back, but so far there's just been the bees and wasps that I've seen today. There's still plenty of summer left so maybe the hummer will make a few more appearance before too long.

Reading? I highly recommend Cesar's Way by Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer)You might have seen his show Wednesday nights on the National Geographic Channel. Really an enjoyable read and I learned a lot from it even though there might be a some repetition in some of what he's saying. In a way I think that might be intentional though, because it's not just the individual dogs he's working with, he's also getting their owners to approach an issue from a different angle. Everyone who's an animal lover should read this book... it doesn't matter if you're not a "dog person" per se, you can still be able to get something good from it.

One last thing before I go. I was playing around with some ideas the other night and this is what resulted. You could also say... hmm... Pablo the cat has ADD, annoyance ensues. Well, you be the judge:

On The Phone

Pablo has attention issues

Sunday, August 06, 2006

China's brutality (Graphic content)

I am frustrated, outraged, sometimes at a loss for words, pissed off to the extreme... want to lash out brutally myself at those responsible. I want to make the monsters pay. I can imagine some satisfying justice in this world, become some kind of neo-vigilante, join the equivalent of the Guardian Angels... no, they're too passive for the state of my mood right now. Something more like this: an animal abuse version of the Boondock Saints. I want to make the monsters pay. Slowly. They are poison in society with their own sick agenda and mindset. Hate is not a strong enough word for my feelings about these people.

Grrr... the best that I can hope for is swift judgement and punishment through the proper channels. That's why I'm calling for tougher legislation regarding animal abuse. Make it a felony across the board, not just in a few states. I am sick to death of so many of these cases never going the full course or ending in aquittals.

I'd like to see it become law that shelters and pet shops comply with checking names on a database of convicted animal abusers before adopting out or selling a pet. I'd like to see jurors in such cases dole out more of a sentence than a slap on the wrist. I'd like the public mindset to go beyond the assumption that "boys will be boys" or "its not like it was a person" or "a pet is merely property." It's been proven nearly since day one that too often torturing and abusing an animal is a precurser to child abuse or domestic violence, in fact they very often occur simultaneously. There are tons of cases that illustrate this very point on the books right now. Just check out http://petabuse.com/

Sometimes its not just the individual cases that get to me. Sometimes its the attitude of a powerful organization.

Say you have always had a dog or cat in your household. You've always cared for that animal, made sure it had plenty of food, water, adequate medical care. Always took it to the vet when it was sick, always made sure your pet's vaccinations were current. But one day you're out in the neighborhood walking your dog. A stranger suddenly approaches and tells you he's been ordered by the government to exterminate all the dogs within a three-mile radius. Why? To ensure containment of rabies. He wrestles the leash away from you, other officials approach with canes or sticks and begin beating your dog to death... How would you react? This is what's going on in China right now.

Ok, so we live in America, not China... but put yourself for an instant in the other guy's shoes. If someone was killing your pet, would you stand by and let it happen? Not me. Not even if it was government sanctioned.

Who's with me on this? You can view and add your electronic signature to a petition designed to prevent this from happening again: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/131317412?ltl=1154864998
You can view the story I found at CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/08/04/china.dogs.ap/index.html?section=cnn_mostpopular

What happens now is up to you.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

It's friggin' hot out there people!

Ok, it seems I'm a little late in reminding people to be careful of the high temperatures when it comes to their pets, because in the last few days there's been neglect and just plain avoidable stupidity. In York, PA a puppy strangled on its leash trying to get out through the window of a locked car. And in Chicago, a man left his German Shepherd tied up the entire day in the blazing heat with no food or water, resulting in the animal's death.

Is anybody listening?

I'm reposting this article, and will continue to repost as long as I think it needs to be seen...

Keeping Cool - Keeping Cool Dogs Out of Hot Cars
In the warmer months, hundreds of reports come in from across the country where pet owners have left their dog in a hot car. Since many of these incidents occur in situations where the dog is otherwise well cared for, we must assume that it is ignorance on that part of the pet owner that causes these tragic situations.

Keep Your Pets Safe
Never leave a dog in a parked car. On a mild 73ºF day, the temperature inside a car can reach 120ºF in 30 minutes. On a 90ºF day, the interior of a vehicle can reach 160ºF in minutes.

If you have errands to run, leave the dog at home. Tha majority of cases we see involve pet owners who were "just running into the store for a minute". Minutes turn into a half-hour, and suddenly the dog is in a life-threatening situation.

If you see a dog in a car and in distress, take down the cars color, model, make, and license-plate number, have the owner paged inside nearby stores, and call local humane authorities or police. Have someone keep an eye on the dog. If police are unresponsive or too slow and the dogs life appears to be in imminent danger, find a witness (or several) who will back your assessment, take steps to remove the suffering animal, and then wait for authorities to arrive. Contact PETA for a supply of fliers on the dangers of heatstroke to leave on windshields.

Dont carry your dog in the bed of a pickup truck. This is always dangerous, but the heat brings the added danger of burning the dogs feet on the hot metal.

Dont take your dog joggingexcept on cool mornings or eveningsand dont force exercise. On long walks, rest often and take plenty of water. Hot pavement can burn dogs paws; choose shady, grassy routes.

Trim heavy-coated dogs fur, but leave an inch for protection against insects and sunburn. Keep an eye on areas where hair is thin, like eyelids, ears, and nose as they can get sunburned.

Keep your dog indoors. If he or she must stay outside for long, avoid the hottest part of the day. Provide shade, water, and a kiddie pool. Keep drinking water in an anchored bucket or a heavy bowl that wont tip over.

Be a watchdog for chained dogs. Make sure that they have food, water, and shelter. If you see a dog in distress, contact humane authorities. Give the dog immediate relief by providing water. Click here for more information.

If You See an Animal Suffering From Heatstroke
Heatstroke can come on quickly and result in brain damage or death. Watch for symptoms such as restlessness, excessive thirst, heavy panting, lethargy, lack of appetite, dark tongue, rapid heartbeat, fever, vomiting, or lack of coordination. If your dog shows any of these symptoms, get her or him into the shade immediately and call your veterinarian. Lower the animals body temperature gradually by providing water to drink, applying a cold towel or ice pack to the head, neck, and chest, or immersing the dog in lukewarm (not cold) water.

source: http://petabuse.com