Short walk tonight, because someone (not me), at about the mile and a half mark, decided to roll in something so foul smelling that I couldn’t stand the smell of her. I’m not sure what it was, but parts of it stuck to her flank until I threw her into the damned river before letting her into the car. The only downfall to going without a leash is that there is no margin for error when there are dead things to be rolled in- you just have to deal with it because you can’t control it. At any rate, some pics from before the incident:
Bonus wildlife:
I’m predicting this will be the first deer shot in the 2009 hunting season. As you can see, the underbrush is not thick at all, but this deer was making so much damned noise it was unbelievable. It sounded like a drunk frat boy who had stumbled off the path to the bathroom late at night and had walked into a briar patch.
Also, Tunch fans, he was busy eating while I posted this, so I will take a pic later.
Max
When does obedience class start? I think you will enjoy the bonding that comes from it.
harlana pepper
Lily: Wheeee! Oh, well now here’s a putrid, rotted possum carcass, of all things, my, my!
Trollhattan
Wow, Lily’s made a complete transformation into happy critter with some vile huntin’ dawg behavior thrown in for good measure. She’s got a great doggy grin and that wacko curly tail (tucked well out of sight not so long ago).
Good times.
slag
Thank you for the necessary clarification.
Also: Freakin adorable!
geg6
Love, love, love that first pic. The expression on her face! It reminds me of my sister’s dog, Cookie, when she was still able to run for the sheer joy of it. If Tunch ever tells you, Cole, that it’s the dog or you, remember that I’m not far up the road and Otis and Henry love new playmates. Okay, well, not Henry. But Otis does!
Death By Mosquito Truck
Dogs are pretty retarded when it comes to cologne. I figured this out when I gave my dog some lobster and he started rolling around in it. I can only imagine how Shellfish No. 9 must turn on the bitches.
Comrade Stuck
Oh that’s just doggie perfume.
No one could have foreseen that.
Demo Woman
The first picture of Lily is great. She has really settled in and her adoring fans are thrilled.
Violet
Love that first pic! She’s the absolute epitome of a Happy Dog! Yay! Hilarious that she rolled in something smelly. Dogs love doing that for some reason.
Posted in the other open thread, but way at the bottom. We were burglarized today. Came home, someone had kicked in a window. Fortunately they didn’t get much. We guess they were scared when the alarm went off. Still, they got a few sentimental things. They s u c k.
I feel so violated and am still a bit shaky from the whole thing. They did it in the middle of the day too. Probably some high school kids off for the summer and bored. But that’s pretty bold, breaking into a house in the middle of the daylight. Ugh.
oh really
Oh, John, what a huge missed opportunity. If you’d rolled in it too, you and Lily would have been instantly bonded forever.
passerby
If it’s the same smell my dox used to roll in, I’ll testify: nnnnnasteh! indeed.
Did you have a blanket or towel in your vehicle for the ride home? Hope so. If not, I’m really really sorry, live and learn.
On another topic, Comcast came through the neighborhood last month or so running fiber optic lines. Today they went online with the service. Man oh man, doubled my internet speed at no extra charge. Woohoo!
Fiber optic cable. Here’s hoping it comes to your neighborhood soon.
John Cole
@Violet: That stinks. What did they take?
MikeJ
Just wondering, does the shelter from which you got LIly know of this website? They should use you two in ads as a success story.
Doctor Science
You can take her off-lead where there are *deer*?
One of my friends has a rescue Whippet, fairly large for the breed. That dog once *caught* a deer — or I should say she ran after a deer and grabbed it. Then she discovered that she had absolutely no idea of what to do *next*, and that deer have extremely sharp hooves.
jnfr
@Violet:
I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I had it happen once long ago, and it’s an experience that sticks with you a while. Sorry about your sentimental stuff, that really sucks.
When I got burgled that one time, long long ago, along with some silver dollars and other small stuff they took a small film canister that had Vitamin C powder in it (I took the stuff for allergies). So I at least had the amusement of imagining some idiot burglar sniffing my Vit C and giving his nose a heart attack (that stuff is really acidic).
gbear
OK, It’s an open thread, so I’m going to make myself look cranky and paranoid by posting this to go with the post I made yesterday about the gay bar getting raided (and heads getting busted) in Fort Worth on the anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
This stuff bugs the livin’ shit outa me.
John Cole
@Max: I decided to hold off until the fall. I didn’t want to spend all this time trying to get her personality to come out then ramming it back in during obedience classes.
Chris Johnson
I am sooooo bloody tempted to re-run the furry Coulter ad in the spot directly below the Coulter ad….
Bill
John,
I am so pleased you and Lily found each other. You both seem so happy.
PS
I think Lily’s tail is the ultimate J curve.
maya
The reason why dogs will roll in dead stinky stuff is a throwback to their prehistoric existence as hunters. The smell disguised their natural odor and thusly, fooled their prey.
Try putting some Axe body spray on her. It kind of works the same way for male humans.
Annie
@ Violet
I am so sorry. I know the feeling. Hope you can get some rest tonight.
Lily looks fantastic — bad smells and all.
Tunch is probably laughing to himself right now, while he cleans himself and thinks — “so John, you wanted a dog, well you got a dog, bad smells and all………at least I always smell good (hee, hee, hee)”
gbear
@Violet:
Violet, that stinks. My house was burglarized twice in a five month period a couple years ago, both during the daytime. My sympathies are with you. It’ll take a while but the place will feel like yours again eventually. Hang in there.
The crooks took about 200 CDs out of my collection in the first robbery. After the cops left, I called the local used record store to tell them what to look for. About 1/2 hour later I got a call from the cops saying the record store had my stuff. The store had to think about it for a while because they’d bought stolen goods and would be out the money, but I had all the stolen CDs back home the day after the robbery.
Comrade Stuck
@maya:
Then female humans would just complain that we didn’t bring fresh Buffalo meat home for dinner.
geg6
gbear: I read that earlier today and was flabbergasted. WTF were the cops thinking. Even if there really was a noise complaint (which it seems clear there was not), isn’t that some crazy ass overkill to say “Turn down the stereo?”
auntieeminaz
@gbear:
I read that story and was appalled at the indiscriminate use of pepper spray among other behavior of the officers. Some heads are going to roll in the sheriff’s office after the internal investigation is completed I would be willing to bet.
Violet
@John Cole:
Well, really not much. They grabbed a pillow and took off the pillowcase to use to put stuff in, so they got that. Then they went straight for two dressers in the bedroom and swept some boxes and things that looked like they might hold jewelry, but didn’t (they held things like those packets with extra buttons you get with some clothes, safety pins, etc.). There was actually jewelry on top of the dresser. Not expensive stuff, but not totally without value, and they didn’t take that.
They went into the top drawer of another dresser and could have taken some stuff there, like a belt buckle worth some money, but they didn’t. Honestly, I think they mostly got junk. Like, a box containing the smelly stuff for one of those room scent diffuser thingies. I got it as a gift, hadn’t used it, and it was just sitting on top of the dresser. They took that.
But some of the little boxes were gifts from people and I can’t replace those. They’re not super valuable or anything, but just sentimental. Honestly, we were really lucky. All sorts of stuff they could have got and didn’t. I hope they don’t try to come back. I’m a little freaked out that they might have seen stuff they want and decide to return.
The police said it was kids though, so I suspect they won’t if they were scared off by the alarm. Still…bleh. I feel all violated. Someone touched my pillow, you know? Ick.
demkat620
Lily looks so happy! Where does she sleep at night? Spooned up with Tunch?
binzinerator
Sounds like experience talkin’ there…
maya
Comrade stuck,
Then female humans would just complain that we didn’t bring fresh Buffalo
meatWings home for dinner. Fixed.John Cole
@demkat620: On her doggy bed on my bed. I have ab ig bed and there was room and that was where she wanted to be, so I just put her bed on the top right side.
She is kind of funny, too- a real creature of habit. Every night at around eleven, I take her outside for one last night potty. She walks ten yards outside the house into the grass, squats and does her thing, and then she turns around and leads me back to the house. I open the door, take off the leash and she runs directly to the bedroom, up into her bed, and passes out.
Comrade Stuck
@maya:
Touche! :)
ronin122
Let me tell you there is nothing better in coming here than seeing Ann Coulter’s skeletor body on one ad at the top and to the side a nude Pamela Anderson ad for batshiat PETA. One is bad enough but with two it’s like your ad company wants me to puke.
dr.hypercube
Best dog cologne? Dead seal – it’s one of the canine bennies of living on the coast. The huge amount of fat means that it takes forever to get the smell out of the fur. My old Lab found a carcass once – I swam her for an hour (early December) after, then drove home with all the windows open as fast as I could. Lucky for me, my dogs travel in crates – the stink came out of the plastic pretty easily.
Comrade Stuck
@John Cole:
It’s called Silly Human Owner Training School. Our doggie overlords are smarter than we think.
MazeDancer
“Life is good!
“Life is good!
“Life is good!”
The first picture of Lily looks like she is just saying that over and over, feeling it in every fibre of her lucky doggieness. What a great thing you did, Mr. Cole.
@Violet
That’s some comfort. A prank. Alarm stops retry. In Santa Fe, we’d smudge stick the whole place to clear out the invasive ick. But that may not be of interest to you. Maybe buy yourself some flowers, nice new pillow cases, and some lavender sachets to leave under them. Lavendar helps sleep. But hope your world gets to be Lily-level happy soon.
AhabTRuler
You know, if everyone who complains about the ads donates $100 to John, well, soon he’ll be able to drop the ads. However, until that happens, I’m-a-gonna guess they’ll be stickin’ around town, maybe help out at a bit at the Widow Johnson’s place. Boy, howdy!
Shit, everyone bitched about the Pajamas TV ads, too. You people are like old people complaining about the weather! ! !
demkat620
@John Cole: That is so sweet! What a difference you have made with her.
My dog has an upstairs bed and a downstairs bed. He has decided that he only needs to be in our bed when he gets cold. Considering he is only 12 lbs, he gets cold alot.
harlana pepper
@ronin122: You must not be coming here a lot then, apparently.
shelley matheis
Aaah, stinky dead things!
John, just wait till the first time she encounters a skunk. Hoooeee!
Scrubbing down with tomato juice does work. So does Massengill douche, as I was told when I put in a panicky call to the emergency vet number, one hot summer night.
harlana pepper
Miss Lily has made a transformation that has been a delight to watch and follow! Thank you so much for sharing!
John Cole
I’m thinking I got the better end of the deal. I’ve spent a lot of time the last few weeks watching people with dogs, and very few of them seem to fit well with their dog, very few of them seem to have any control of their dog, and very few of them seem to be having any fun with their dog. All I have to do is say “Lily, come!” and she is right by my side waiting for me to give instruction. I watch folks being dragged by their dog down the path.
In exchange for a little bit of food and water every day, and I get a buddy, and exercise partner, and I spend every day with someone who likes me. Again, I think I got the better part of this deal.
geg6
Just have share my favorite wingnut quote of the day via Sully: “Perhaps people who are busy gushing over the Obama cult today might do well to stop and think about what it would mean for their granddaughters to live under sharia law.”. And that, folks, is courtesy of Thomas Sowell in that fine publication, The National Review.
beabea
I am still somewhat new here…is it forbidden to photograph the Tunch while he eats?
Lily looks like such a happy dog! So great to see.
I will keep my fingers crossed for the safety of the Bonus Wildlife and hope that he or she smartens up. I don’t know how anybody could shoot a deer. I don’t even like to kill bugs. When there is a bug in my house, I capture it with a plastic cup and a magazine, and release it outside.
I know, the world would be overrun with deer and bugs if everyone thought like me.
Comrade Stuck
If the world thought like you, the world would be overrun with peace, and a lot of dissapointed wingnuts.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@John Cole: My dog is the same way as yours but it was a whole lot of work on my side. Sounds like you got yer dog pre-beat.
geg6
Comrade Stuck: I am a neocon when it comes to bugs. Just sayin’. ;-)
beabea
@geg6
Wow, I guess TNR decided that instead of dabbling in self-parody, they might as well go all in.
John Cole
@beabea: I could never shoot a deer, either.
Having said that, I can testify that deer tenderloins cooked in a little bit of butter may be one of the best tasting meat dishes I have ever, ever had. I just really like that gamey umami taste along with the soft texture of the tenderloin and the rich butter.
Also, deer jerky.
Comrade Stuck
I only have one thought when I think of this. Wingnuts are insane.
SGEW
Cole’s Law
But maybe not how/where you wanted it memorialized.
ronin122
@harlana pepper: Au contraire I’ve been here for almost a year now. I’m mostly a lurker though, I rarely feel like I have anything worthwhile to say so I mostly just read what everyone else says and comment on occasion. But nothing makes me feel ill like those two ads together. Still no clue who here would even deal with either Anny or PETA though.
Lesley
Like a regular dog out for a stroll on familiar comforting turf, Lil looks very happy in those pix.
I feel sorry for the deer, though I know there are people (rural) who view them as rats on stilts.
Louise
Look how happy she is!
Ash Can
Happy doggie! Yay!!
LD50
Among the many metaphors that occur to me in my attempts to describe modern conservatives as they lose their tether to reality, one that occurred to me here is that 2009 wingnuts are like the Japanese in 1945, when they started relying heavily on kamikazes. The Japanese had no strategy, no ideas, no leaders who weren’t buffoons or criminals, the whole rest of the world hated them, and they were on the losing side of history, so the idea of flying planes into ships actually looked reasonable. Likewise, a GOP similarly adrift and clueless resorts to telling people that 8 more years of Obama and our wimminfolk will all be forced to wear burkhas. They have nothing, so any stupidass gesture is seen as acceptable.
If they’re already cranking the crazy up to 11 like this a mere 6 mos. into Obama’s first term, I honestly cannot imagine what they’ll come up with in 3 or 6 or 8 years. Will they just start strapping bombs onto themselves and blowing themselves up in Planned Parenthood or DNC offices?
Comrade Stuck
I grew up hunting everything, from the time I was big enough to carry a rifle. I had my Deerhunter moment at about age 19. I came upon a group of Whitetail Deer in a snowy pine tree setting that would have made a beauty of a Christmas Card. But I couldn’t pull the trigger on a spike buck. The scene and the deer were just to wonderful to spoil by killing. Never went deer hunting again.
beabea
@John Cole
My mom is German and makes the best venison with spaetzle and red cabbage. So I guess when it comes to venison, I kind of take the Dubya stem cell approach: “It’s okay as long as somebody else killed it already.”
Had to google “umami”. And this after learning here just the other day, what panko is. Just coming off a decades-long dependency on frozen TV dinners, the amount of food knowledge I have acquired from BJ has been of great benefit.
@geg6: We may differ on bugs, but we can probably all be neocons about wingnuts.
AkaDad
Sowell didn’t actually say Obama would institute Sharia law, he just wants us to do a thought experiment.
Is it that hard for Liberals to actually think?
Death By Mosquito Truck
I’m making squash casserole this evening. I didn’t blanch my fresh yellow squash so it’s taking a while to cook through.
John Cole
Olbermann just called Limbaugh a “big bag of mashed up jackass.”
I’m dying.
Someone start a blog with that name.
shelley matheis
No, what we’re finding hard to work out is what the last part of that sentence has to do with the first part? Care to diagram it for us? And it’s funny how I’ve only heard remarks like “Obama cult’, Obamania’, and ‘the One’ from bitter, petulant RW’er’s.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@Comrade Stuck:
I hunted with my dad right up until we got one and field dressed it. That was it for me.
AhabTRuler
[ winces ]
Ummm, yeah, I’m gonna have to stop you there, and, uh, give you one history fail and one cultural understanding fail. The crux of the problem is that the Kamikaze weren’t “crazy dudes who were brainwashed into flying into ships,” but instead many were rational (and frightened) young men who wished only to serve their country and protect their loved ones.
The entire subject of the war in general and the Kamikaze in specific is…complex, but let us not perpetuate the caricature of the “Crazed Jap” as portrayed by
USAllied wartime propaganda.LD50
I’m not calling the Kamikazes crazy people. I’m saying it was a batshit crazy idea on the part of the Japanese leaders who were pretty much out of noncrazy ideas. Sorry if that wasn’t clear.
cathaireverywhere
Lily looks so happy! In the first picture, she looks like a teeny, yellow Siberian husky trucking along. Love that tail! Pictures of His Tunchness later? My cat Onyx has mastered the same “Die now” look Tunch uses- it cracks me up.
RedKitten (formerly Krista - the Canadian one)
Smart, though, that you’re using her name prior to commands. I see so many people make the mistake of being inconsistent with their commands, using different words all the time to mean the same thing. They seem to forget that dogs don’t speak English, and so synonyms are pretty much lost on them. Keep it short, keep it consistent, and always use their name first so that they’re paying attention. Good work.
I saw a lovely doe the other day near my place — she was nursing a fawn. I just stood still and watched her, barely breathing, and she was watching me the whole time. The fawn was blithely having a meal, little white tail wagging the entire time. Seeing things like that just really helps clear out all of the stressful crap flying around one’s brain, and makes you really stop and live in the moment for a tiny while.
beabea
@John Cole
Or maybe a new tag: Clown Shoes, Republican Stupidity, Wingnut Event Horizon, The Wingularity, Big Bag of Mashed Up Jackass, etc.
Since they have such a wide-ranging bonanza of stupid on offer daily, this additional classification may prove useful.
AkaDad
I don’t use those fancy elitist graphs and stuff, but I’ll try to explain Sowell’s thinking.
The vast majority of Americans are Christian and for hundreds of years we haven’t implemented a Christian theocracy, but it’s completely plausible that by the end of Obama’s second term my daughter will be wearing a burka.
Get it?
Litlebritdifrnt
@John Cole:
HA HA HA HA HA – I remember just a few short weeks ago we were all talking about “crate” and “not on my bed” and all that sort of stuff. Now it is “on her doggy bed on my bed” in another couple of weeks it will be on the bed, then it will be in the bed, under the covers, especially come winter when your feet are cold, doggies make the bestest of hot water bottles for cold feet, and they appear to love serving in the role. This is my morning routine, at 6:15am I get up and put the kettle on, let the boxers out in the yard, come in put milk in my cup and in the cats bowls. I then go shower. The boxers come in and Cueball goes up the stairs behind the baby gate so Lucky can come out of the bedroom and go outside. While I am letting Lucky outside Judy Pooch sneaks into the bedroom and gets into bed. I bring Lucky inside and give him his morning snack and let Cueball down from the stairs. I return to the bedroom with my tea, get back into bed and watch tv while I drink my tea and warm my feet on Judy. At precisely 7:25 Judy Pooch gets out of bed and heads for the bedroom door to be let out where she promptly falls asleep on the couch. Such is life.
LD50
Ironically, the wingnuts would probably cite the same motives for their nuttier actions. Tho I’m sure some know it’s all nonsense, but have convinced that their ‘larger cause’ is so important that any amount of lying is justified.
LD50
@AkaDad: Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
shelley matheis
Ohhhh, I get it. I forgot that Obama’s really a ‘secret’ Muslim.
Message received.
John Cole
@Litlebritdifrnt: Well, in fairness, I was mainly crating her for her own sense of security. I’m totally cool with her under the covers. I don’t care.
Your orientals look great, btw.
Sad news- deer ate three of my pepper plants and two of my tomato plants appear to have committed suicide. At least it is early enough to replace them.
Comrade Stuck
@AkaDad:
I just wonder if our strawdaughters will also have to wear burkahs.
AhabTRuler
Yes, so I gather, but to dismiss those ideas as simply “crazy” also misses the point.
Was Stalin “crazy” for sacrificing millions, both at the front lines and starvation behind the lines? Was Churchill “crazy” when he advocated that every man, woman, and child should defend the British Isles from German invasion?
Again, there is much to be said about the Japanese military and political leadership (quite frankly, most of it negative) before and during the war years, but they weren’t just “crazy”.
John Cole
BTW- were those Romas?
Tsulagi
Deer burgers are great too. After butchering you grind up the scraps with some pork fat (venison is pretty lean) and maybe also some sausage spices. Excellent for a BBQ in the summer with good beer.
As for Lily, she sounds smart enough she might not need obedience school. One dog I had when growing up, while she was sweet, she was also dumber than dirt. Obedience school wouldn’t have helped.
But our last dog was very smart. Then it’s more like learning than rote repetitive training. Almost never put him on a leash. Just by the tone used saying his name he would know he was a good dog, time to play; a different tone told him to stop what he was doing, and if followed by “No!” he was in deep shit; and if said matter of fact while we were out walking or running he would then walk or run right beside me. Didn’t take long for him to learn that. Seemed like he could sense when I was trying to teach him something and that it was important to me and should be to him. It would only have to be repeated a few times and he’d have it down. Miss that guy.
AhabTRuler
Also, I thought Cole’s Law was that the pets get the futon.
Anne Laurie
John, you are doing such a great job with Lily — she feels secure enough now to disobey you! You have every right to be proud. (But you may want to invest in a box of Odormute, just to have around, y’know. I doubt Lily has the self-confidence to challenge one of those black&white-striped woodpussies… yet… but she’s making such strides, so soon… )
Agree that people should like & respect the dogs they choose to live with, and vice versa. It is a mystery to me why so many “dog owners” can’t grasp this concept. Except that most “dog owners” give more advance thought to the purchase of a new cellphone they’ll discard in a few months than they do to choosing an animal companion. * sigh *
Sighthounds have been bred for thousands of years to chase down anything that runs and “kill” it quickly, before losing interest. Since the dogs were going to be running well ahead of their human hunting partners, ideally they would lose interest once the prey stopped running, rather than worrying the carcase or trying to retrieve an animal that outweighed them (the next links in the root-wolf’s genetic ‘behavior chain’). Two of the dear friends who enticed me into the dog-owning community raised Afghan Hounds and Irish Setters together, and I still laugh at memories of one particular “team”. The AH would shoot out after a thrown dumbbell almost too fast for the human eye to follow, snatch it (sometimes in mid-air), smack it once against the ground, drop it, and wait regally for the IS to lollop up, grab the prize, and happily bring it back to the thrower. We used to joke that the Afghan Hound would have finished her advanced obedience title much sooner if only the AKC rules permitted the use of a “bearer” in the ring.
donnah
Just a note in passing, Mr Cole. With sweet Lily out and about in the wild brush, check her for ticks when you come home from walking. This time of year they start latching onto to innocent warm-blooded critters.
She is adorable and I’m so glad she’s thriving!
maya
AkaDad,
By the end of his second term he’ll have complete control over all branches of the govmint through his new Ayatollah Council of Prosperity. They will make him President for life. And your son will be wearing a burqa too cause we’ll turn him gay. Mmmmuuhaaaahaaaa!
KRK
@Violet:
Very sorry to hear about your being robbed, Violet. Almost the same exact thing happened to my best friend a few years ago: the perp(s) took a pillowcase and the comforter from their bed, swept the top of her dresser clean, rummaged through a few other drawers (probably looking for guns), and left. Didn’t bother with any of the large and expensive electronics.
At the risk of worsening your sense of feeling violated, I advise that you give your bathroom a good cleaning. The deputy who interviewed my friend said they often find that a bathroom stop has been part of a robbery. The adrenaline rush has certain effects.
@John Cole:
Danger, Will Robinson. You’re turning into one of those people who gets stuff like this as gifts. Lily seems a great match, but that much affection could be bad for you over the long term if undiluted. Tunch is the kind of buddy who keeps it real.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@John Cole:
My yellow crookneck squash plants keep dying. The squash I had tonight was from the market. I’ve gone through twelves squash plants. My last two are out there dying now.
I’ll prolly try six more in a different spot.
I spend more money failing to grow vegetables than I’d spend buying them at the market. But it’s a hobby, whatcha gonna do?
AhabTRuler
@maya: Do we at least know whether Obama is Sunni or Shia? Because that’s gonna be important when we pick out the colors for the team jerseys.
geg6
Okay, last one. Digby has a great catch. Chris Cilizza apparently thinks the Goopers have found their savior. Drum roll, please! It’s Lindsey Grahan, based on his apparently bravura performance on MTP this past Sunday. Now, I wouldn’t watch Gregory for the winning numbers for next week’s Powerball, but seriously? Pansy boy? Seriously?
LD50
@AhabTRuler:
By 1945, most of the more rational people among the Japanese military & political leadership had basically been killed (i.e., Yamamoto) or forced out. My reasoning for calling the kamikazes a crazy idea was because it cost lots of lives and resources and lacked any potential to actually turn the war around in a way that would have been favorable to the Japanese. In fact, there’s an argument to be made that it was a motivating factor when the US Army had to decide whether or not a land invasion of Japan was worth it, as opposed to just dropping two atomic bombs. So if anything, it may have helped the US to decide to just go the nuclear route.
So my analogy is, that in the same sense, conservatives seem to have lost any little voice inside their heads saying “don’t do this — it’s insane, we’ll lose all credibility, and it won’t help”. Maybe Sowell actually DOESN’T believe our granddaughters will all wearing burkhas by 2016, in which case he simply thinks it’s a great idea to lie about it. The shared ethos seems to be “any extreme idea is good — let’s not think through whether it makes sense”.
I’m not really sure how this is relevant, but I feel it’s safe to say that sacrificing millions by starvation did nothing to help the USSR to win that war. It’s pretty much acknowledged Stalin made some huge mistakes in WW2, and didn’t stop making huge mistakes til ~2 years in. The USSR *never* should have lost so many millions of soldiers and taken 4 years to expel the Germans. The bottomline reason he won was simply that he had far more humans who he could sacrifice than the Germans did, and a land base that made their industry safer than the Germans’.
Good lord, this is a massive digression. Sorry, everyone else…
PS: “Was Stalin “crazy” for sacrificing millions, both at the front lines and starvation behind the lines?”
Also don’t forget: this crazy idea, if such it was, actually WORKED.
Anne Laurie
Violet, as per GBear’s experience: If there’s a community bulletin board in your area — at the local supermarket, for instance — I’ve known people who recovered sentimental-value-only items by posting some variation on “LOST (items), small reward for return, no questions asked”. Depends on how badly you want the item back versus your natural unwillingness to deal with the criminals again, of course…
wonkie
Hi John,
I really hope that you will go back to putting a leash on Lily. There are so many things that can go wrong: a sudden noise and she bolts, she prances out ahead of you into astreet, she gets chased by a bigger dog…I am terrified thqat you will lose her.
Out here small dogs get snatche by bald eagles.
Is she mircochipped?
I’m a worry wart. But seriously– a leash, please.
AhabTRuler
@LD50: Let’s just agree to disagree, but please, ix-nay on the razee-kay!
AkaDad
It’s a secret.
maya
AhabTRuler,
This is where his brilliance really shines; since we know he is in one, both black and white, he will be both, Shia and Sunni;he will give new meaning to the word choice , wherein each team can decide for themselves what colors and verses from the Qur’an they wish to inscribe on their mandanas.
And all will live in peace with one another, until the final day World Cup match with the heebs.
passerby
Today, they celebrated National Sovereignty Day in Bagdhad.
Here’s hoping we all find our sovereignty.
My best wishes to all. And as my Mere Mere would say:
‘ Lache pas la potate, comme meme c’est chaud.
Svensker
Lily looks wonderful.
Yay, John!
(Sorry about the ‘maters, tho.)
Demo Woman
Violet, I am so sorry. Years ago a friend was robbed and it does take time to trust that your house is a safe haven again. I have been so lucky that although folks have robbed things out of the car and garage, the house hasn’t been entered. Please take care of yourself.
@John Cole: The damn bunnies ate my beans and beets. They left the squash and peppers alone. I actually have my tomatoes outside the fenced in area and there are lots of stray cats around so they are in great shape. My herb garden is outside my kitchen window.
Last bitch of the night, yeah right, I just turned on tv and where is Rachel?
Phoebe
Yeah, I want to see Tunch eating – is there something we’re not supposed to see/know?
Indylib
@John Cole:
I’ve never had a piece of venison I could stand, but I will admit that’s probably because I’ve never had venison that wasn’t shot in southern Colorado or northern New Mexico, where it’s all flavored with pinon. I love elk and moose, though, especially moose, it’s rich, soft and very mild for wild game.
AhabTRuler
Eh, sovereignty is just another word for what the other countries will let you get away with.
gex
@gbear: So apparently it’s open fucking season on gay people.
Fuck these people who make up complaints – like the assholes that called the cops leading to Lawrence v. Texas. These people need to stop and consider the fact that while they may think gay people are immoral, they are the ones calling up the cops and telling complete lies. Then they should stop feeling all superior and self-righteous.
Did you hear how violent crimes against gays was up 50% in 2008 over 2007. Good times, good times.
Demo Woman
Since this is an open thread, I thought that I would share the headline tonight that is on the AJC
This is the first sentence of the article
Well duh, What happened was one section of a parking deck collapsed near GA Tech. Fortunately, there are lots of smashed cars but so far there are no fatalities. It was a four story parking garage.
Lesley
Violet, you have my sympathies. It’s a terrible violation when someone breaks into your home. In my city, it’s common to see street people selling varied goods on the sidewalk. I suspect most of it’s gotten through theft, as property crime is through the roof here (as is drug addiction. The two go hand in hand).
If you don’t have a big, threatening looking dog, you can still give the appearance of having one. Get a “beware of dog” sign, get a large dog food bowl and put it on your front porch, as well as a chewed up bone. Tape loud barking noises and leave the tape running whenever you go out. Always leave your stereo or radio on.
I recommend having a dog (if you also happen to like dogs). They are a good deterrent.
Some thieves have a conscience, as this local story shows. People who stole computers destined for hospitals and schools in Africa returned all but two with a note that read “sorry for the trouble, hope you forgive us, hope those kids in Africa enjoy”.
AkaDad
His cat dish is actually a punch bowl.
demkat620
@John Cole: Can’t. too busy starting a band called Soci// alist Fucksticks.
beabea
I’m a little worried now that He Who May Not Be Photographed While Eating, is actually chowing down on that poor bonus wildlife.
gex
@John Cole: Give yourself more credit than that, John. What you are doing is helping her be a healthy, happy, well-behaved dog. Your description yesterday of how you handle your off-leash walks shows how seriously you take your responsibility as a dog owner – and that definitely shows up in a dog’s behavior.
What you see with those other people are people who don’t take it seriously and don’t put in the work. Sure they’re walking their dogs, but that’s just to keep the bad behavior at a minimum.
I hate it when people don’t take dog ownership seriously. It’s not fair to the dogs, and it’s not fair to all the people who are exposed to those dogs.
gex
@gex: Damn Ajax wouldn’t let me fix my omission. That stat was for the state of MN, not nationwide.
Doctor Science
All of you people talking about how you wouldn’t kill a deer because they’re so cuuutte clearly don’t live in one of the areas where *everyone* has killed a deer — with their car. Yes, deer are beautiful, and the fawns are kind of adorable this time of year — but we should be eating more of them. Unfortunately where I live is too built-up for most hunting to be legal or safe, though I could probably take some out if we had baseball bat season.
I don’t have access to deer meat much these days, but I make *outstanding* venison meatballs — rye bread crumbs, flavored with allspice, in a cream sauce.
AhabTRuler
It’s so damn sweet that it actually chips away at the cynicism that has accumulated by my left ventricle. If I weren’t already hetero, I’d be smitten.
Kristine Smith
She looks so happy! The change in her demeanor and her expressions in the few weeks you’ve had her has been wonderful to behold.
John Cole
Not to be a dick, but shouldn’t they shed those concerns? It seems to me they have been addressed, and rather dramatically, at that.
LD50
Well, THAT certainly is a crazy attitu…
Uh.
Never mind.
JK
Worst of both worlds so far on Fox News Channel and CNN
Greta Van Susteren just spent the 1st 20 minutes of her show discussing Obama’s economic stimulus, his healthcare plan, and other domestic issues. Of course she’s a lying fucking asshole, portraying all of his actions in the worst possible light and not giving any pretense of objectivity.
Meanwhile, flaming douchebag Anderson Cooper is all Michael Jackson all the time. He interviewed the atty for Jacko’s doctor and now is interviewing Al Sharpton. Someplace several years ago, this cocksucker Anderson Cooper boasted that AC360 does hard news, while Greta focuses on the sensational stories.
When will someone start a genuine 24 hour all-news cable network? Fox News’ programming is a putrid super-sized steaming of excrement and is nothing but a propaganda arm of the Republican Party. CNN can’t kick its habit of wallowing in tabloid sleaze like Michael Jackson. MSNBC doesn’t think any real news ever happens over the weekend so it takes Saturdays and Sundays off and airs garbage like Lockup and To Catch a Predator.
xyzzy
This quote really struck a chord in me, as it shows just how well off we are right now as compared to, say, 1940. My dad was a poor farmer’s son in that year, one of 12 siblings — not uncommon for rural folk in those times. He used to tell me that the difference between the family eating or not on any given day was often decided by whether one of the boys managed to shoot a deer.
I’m not saying that compassion is a luxury, just that our perspective in these fabulously wealthy times is pretty far removed from what our ancestors lived with daily in the past, and people all over the world live with now. Hunger is a powerful motivator. (Both literally as well as figuratively.)
The veneer of civilization is thin indeed.
LD50
Venison varies tremendously in taste depending on gender as well as what they eat. First time I ever had venison it was a buck that had been eating my hosts’ grape vines. It was evidently loaded with deer testosterone, so it had that weird gamey taste. It wasn’t real good. Second time, it was a doe that a friend had hit with a car. No testosterone (or much less, I guess) and so it tasted MUCH better, like some new kind of steak I’d never tasted before.
Indeed, there are WAY too many deer in the US for what their habitat can support, ever since us white folks killed off all their predators. Provided you can accept killing animals at all, deerhunting is MUCH more defensible than shooting, say, bears or wolves.
LD50
It’s still that way in parts of the US. There are plenty of dirt-poor people in rural Maine, for example, who basically depend on shooting deer in order to have enough to eat much of the year.
TX Expat
John, seeing you with Lilly is really making me want a small dog (even more so than when I first started wanting one over the past year or so). I’m just nervous that I’m not going to have enough time to spend with my new companion (I’m in law school). Is being away from the house from 4-8 hours a day too long?
She just looks so happy and splendiferous compared to when you brought her home! As to the rolling around in smelly stuff, my brother’s beagle made it a point to roll his fat body all over a fossilized lizard whilst on a walk one afternoon, all the while looking up at me (and I swear) – laughing.
Ok, gonna cruise the animal shelter sites for my perfect mate…
And to Violet, I too, was robbed several times back in my early twenties. It takes a while for that “invaded” feeling to wear off, but wear off it does. I would recommend cleaning the bathroom and buying all new bedding as well as posting signs (as someone up above commented) on community boards for your sentimental treasures. My thoughts are with you, that’s a tough thing to live through!
PGE
@Doctor Science: I used to live in the north woods of Wisconsin (and can’t wait till I can get back there.) I had a co-worker who hit a deer one day, borrowed his parents car the next day, and hit another deer that day. And not because he was an idiot; as you say, in some parts of the country it’s almost unavoidable. I was the only person I knew who hadn’t hit at least one.
Deborah
We often use the leash for the last 5 minutes of our woody walks after bitter experience with the dog’s “ooooh, better wade into that sticky mud” instincts, which kick in just before we reach the car. Also led to the discovery that she could hop from the rear of the minivan into the back seat and thence, of course, to every seat as she tried to figure out why people kept yelling “No!” at such a good dog.
Laura W
I can’t find a link but I’m certain that in the small SW CO town in which I lived for a decade there was some sort of “Needy Family Gets First Dibbs on Road Kill” program whereby they’d get a call to come haul the dead carcass off the highway shoulder. I always thought that made just a ton of sense.
Xanthippas
In case any of you get a hankering to bash Texas again, please try to remember that Oklahoma is the real backwater of conservatism.
Violet
Thanks for all the kind comments everyone. I’ve told/warned all the neighbors, so I think everyone will be on heightened alert for awhile. The windowpane is replaced and we’re currently working on a board to put up as security so someone can’t smash in the new one very easily. We’ll probably look for something even more robust (burglar bars?) in the next few days.
@KRK:
I had the same thought about the bathroom, but really it doesn’t look touched. If they did use it, they were very tidy and flushed. LOL. It really looks like they only went into the bedroom as far as touching anything. We can’t see anything else that was disturbed, except for the room in which they smashed the window. But in that room the only thing that were disturbed were from climbing in and out.
Just to be on the safe side, though, I think I’ll give everything a thorough clean tomorrow. I am so exhausted tonight I’m not sure I can deal with it now.
@Anne Laurie:
I don’t really know of any such bulletin boards in our area. I’ll check with our local supermarket, but I don’t recall seeing one. I can’t decide if I want to meet the criminal element or not. Shudder.
@Lesley:
I wish we had a dog, but for various reasons we can’t at this time. I like the idea of the dog bowl and barking recordings. Maybe we should get some dog paraphernalia.
I hope I can sleep tonight. I’m okay for awhile and then I get all weird about the whole thing. I am totally exhausted, but have this feeling I’ll be waking up every few hours. Ugh. I do need some good sleep.
Weirdly, last night I had the worst nightmare I’d had in ages. It was about someone breaking into my home and coming after me. Except I wasn’t “me” in the dream – I was someone else. But it was still me. Dreams are so weird. But the dream was chilling – I was in quite a state when I woke up. Even after I woke up I couldn’t shake it and only dozed for the next few hours. And then this happens today. Creepy.
Deborah
Should Lily transfer any special smells to the apartment I can attest that the enzyme-based cleaners you get at a pet supply store work well. You have to let them air dry, which is fine for tile and slow for carpet in humid weather….but it’s the humidity that brings out any latent smelly spots.
Our dog never chases deer, on the grounds that they are obviously not squirrels. She also believes ducks to be squirrels with magical powers of levitation. At age 8 she’s accepted that the squirrel will always, always climb a tree, so her pursuits are pretty pro forma these days.
I tried to figure out how we’re going to wind up under sharia law, and it doesn’t track no matter which order I read the comments. Also.
xyzzy
@LD50/113
Good point. I lived in Boulder, Colorado, for years. Deer are admired there, walking about as they do down the streets, looking like Bambi. Except the mountain lions followed them into town, and not too many years ago a jogger was killed in Idaho Springs (within the lions’ range of Boulder) by a lion acclimated to human presence. Now it’s not uncommon to hear of a lion taking a dog out of a back yard, or placing a killed animal on someone’s patio to come back to it later. The deer are out of control, and the predators are moving right back in.
@LD50/114
An even better point. The US is a country of contradictions, not the least of which is the fact that people here can starve to death.
Morbo
Sigh… Sully-subs. I’m just glad that their job right now consists of passing along Iran links. If left to their own devices they inevitably get tedious as all hell and are barely more tolerable than Ross Douthat.
Beej
That is one happy dog! What a transformation. Good work, John.
LD50
On the subject of deer, let’s not forget this.
Rosali
@John Cole:
Dude, sounds like you need to date.
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
Wow. that first picture makes me happy.
The Main Gauche of Mild Reason
@Morbo:
Amen to that. Awhile back, while Appel was tending the blog, he linked to a video of a servicemember decrying Obama for “not supporting the mission of the troops in Iraq” and claimed that the sentiment might evolve into the GOP’s version of “yes we can”.
I like Andrew Sullivan, even though he irritates me sometimes; but I think it says something about conservatives these days that he’s sui generis and even HE can’t find sane conservatives to serve as his staff…
Combined with Appel’s previous statements about how he thinks that Sullivan is the most talented blogger on the internet, all this convinces me that the only reason they even go along with his ideas is that Appel and Bodenner are status-seeking sycophants.
asiangrrlMN
Sniff, sniff. Lily looks so happy in that first pic. John, you may pooh-pooh what you’ve done, but I still think you’re a stand-up guy for taking in this cutie.
@Violet: I’m really sorry to hear that your home has been burgled. Even if it was ‘just a prank’, it’s still an invasion of your space. I would second the sage-smudging idea to purify the home, but fresh flowers sound good, too. I’m glad no one was hurt and that it wasn’t more serious.
@gbear: You don’t look cranky or paranoid. That story is just shit. Makes me not happy at all. Harumph.
Indylib
@Laura W: Yep, that’s common in the San Luis Valley, too. I know a lot of places across southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico where they do that.
bago
Road kill for the poor was the standard and the norm up in Alaska. Of course when your roadkill is a half ton moose….
MikeJ
Afghan Whigs? Oh yeah, I got high with them at the Antenna in Memphis and talked about the water tower in Florence , KY with them. Good guys.
Oh sorry. What?
Lesley
@Violet:
Expect to feel unsettled for awhile and do what you have to over the next few days to feel better, even if it means taking time off work. Seek hypnotherapy or counselling; whatever it takes to lower your stress and make you feel empowered and in control. If you’re into fitness, take a kickboxing or weight lifting class instead of a usual aerobics class or a run. I always feel empowered after punching a bag and doing high kicks for 45 minutes. :) You might want to get some boxing gloves and a bag for home. It’s really important, for women especially, to feel your own strength.
Take consolation in the knowledge that the thief is unlikely to return to your house.
Although you have an alarm system, take further steps to beef up security ASAP. Police/PIs can provide useful tips on the right kinds of locks for doors and you can get attractive “bars” for the windows and sliding doors to prevent entry. It sounds like a horrible thing to have to do, but your sense of security is more important than appearances. Many shop owners have bars but they’re also nicely done (in artistic patterns). There’s a growing market for security like this that factors in aesthetics.
Talk to neighbours about starting block watch and if you get enough people, the cops will come out and help you set it up. Thieves do not like block watch neighbourhoods.
I’m not sure if you mentioned it, but file a police report on the incident.
If you can borrow a friend’s dog, do it. Just the presence of a dog will make you feel better. (If you like dogs that is.)
Get motion-sensitive floodlights that automatically come on and put them around your house (front door, back door, patio doors, outside of the garage).
Post camera lenses around. Even fake ones can deter someone. Post signs that say your home has video security. You can get these at most home depots.
Re the dream: I’m a firm believer in telepathy having had similar seemingly coincidental experiences. Dreams are your friends. :)
I take it you don’t live alone, but if you do, have people stay over. And keep the lights and a radio or tv on.
We’re thinking of you.
Anne Laurie
You could certainly take out the ones here in the Boston exburbs with a ballbat — I’ve seen bigger labrador retrievers than the whitetails in Lincoln or Wakefield. They’re still too big to colonize Woburn, although this spring we did get a visit from a yearling moose, who escaped police surveillance somewhere between the NTB parking lot and the Subway on the other side of the Route 93/95 junction…
And is there anything that wouldn’t taste ‘outstanding’ mixed with rye bread & allspice in a cream sauce?
x
Lily is one happy looking woozle!
I’ve read that a tomato juice bath gets the smell out, but I would recommend vinegar. Bathe her in it, and keep a spray bottle of vinegar & water or alcohol handy to spray her down.
She sure has found her dogness. That tail says it all.
She looks joyful.
grumpy realist
My feeling about deer is since we don’t have the predators any more, they’re either going to be taken out by cars or by people shooting them. Your pick.
You drive through Pennsylvania at certain times of the year and the roads could be used as the background for a horror movie, what with all the dried blood and carcasses.
I’d just like it if we refused to let hunters run around with guns in their hands until they demonstrated a certain level of proficiency, knowledge of the hunting laws, and common sense (don’t shoot at what you can’t see, don’t shoot within 1/4 mile of a dwelling, etc.)
Ash Can
I don’t have the desire to do the trigger-pulling myself, but I’ll happily and serenely eat the venison my bro-in-law bags. Like any proper sportsman, he’s a clean-kill fanatic, and this, I must admit, makes his venison quite likely the most humanely raised and slaughtered meat we could ever eat.
Elizabelle
Love that photo of Lily. She’s so happy with her new life.
Tsulagi
Yep. If you can’t one-shot, one-kill consistently you have no business pulling the trigger until you can. I never pull the trigger unless I have a clean head or heart/lung shot.
Not only for humane/compassionate reasons, but if a buck or doe is wounded dying some time later, that meat is going to suck. Adrenaline starts pumping, fear causing glands to secrete hormones, and muscles and flesh tighten up. All that will cause a really bad gamey taste and much tougher meat.
bey
@John Cole: Oh no! I’m sorry to hear you’re putting it off.
Obedience class was the premier bonding opportunity for Tina and me. It was positive reinforcement clicker training and she loved every minute of it. It was me, treats, and good girls! constantly for 10 weeks. To this day, when I turn into the shopping center where we had our classes, she’s up on the seat, feet on the window, and wagging fit to beat the band.
Her very favorite thing is practicing her commands, especially Down!. She’s half chiahuahua and half daschound and Down! was hard for her to learn. In order to teach them, you start with a treat at nose level, then take it to the floor while saying Down! Well, for Tina, that was only about 5 inches and she just could not figure out what I wanted. It took 3 weeks and the moment she finally understood was fabulous. You could actually see her make the connection and she *threw* herself to the floor with such a happy confidence that it brought tears to my eyes. Now that’s her favorite one.
Man I love my dog.