The suicide pilot thread somehow devolved into an argument about gender, so let me offer this to calm the waters.
In other news Dr. Mrs. Dr. F and I are shopping for a rescue dog to go with our soon-to-be first house. Some day in the next two centuries she might forgive me for letting her fall in love with a boxer pup that got adopted before we had the house ready. Maybe. Signs indicate that it’ll take a lot of creme brulee.
asiangrrlMN
Too funny, Tim F. Good luck on the puppeh hunt. I think your best bet in getting Dr. Mrs. Dr. F. to forgive you is to bring home two rescue puppies!
Gus
grrl’s got a point. You don’t want your pup to be lonely.
ruemara
Well, get cooking, man!
And find a cute puppy
Kryptik
I posted these in DougJ’s top just a bit back, but I figure it’s worth re-noting the further crazy floating around in our country:
1) Utah State Sen. Mark Masden wants to observe the birthday of “gun pioneer” John Moses Browning by shoehorning the observance alongside MLK Jr. day. Remarkable tonedeafness, considering Utah’s bad history with the holiday and MLK Jr.’s own worries about gun proliferation.
2) State Sovereignity nuttery is alive and well in South Carolina. State Rep. Mike Pitts has submitted legislation to ban federal currency in the state and return to the use of gold and silver coinage, citing the “the unconstitutional substitution of Federal Reserve Notes for silver and gold coin”.
Chat Noir
Pleased to report my two Balloon Juice Lily and Tunch mugs showed up today. Way cool.
fledermaus
If you’re at home and bored, I discovered the Canadian comedy show “Trailer Park Boys” yesterday. Hysterical! And free full episodes on the internet
Gus
It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
Ash Can
If you get tired of creme brulee, diamonds work too.
AdamK
Maybe if your first house was the one in the post above she’d be more tractable.
Litlebritdifrnt
Hey Tim, check out a boxer rescue group in your area (wherever that is) they are pretty stringent about their adoption policies, but they often have puppies, or boxer/mix puppies in desperate need of a home. I would have adopted about half a dozen from my local rescue had they let me (the photos are so cute!) but seeing as I already have a boy and a girl I can has no more boxers. I has a sad.
thomas Levenson
If you get Chez Henri’s (Cambridge, MA) vanilla flavored creme brulee, you’ll shorten your sentence considerably. Just sayin.
trollhattan
Betty Cracker (of Rumproast fame) had, uh, her boxer had a litter. Maybe you need a trip to Florida? BTW, have any potential boxer screened for deafness–common in the breed.
In the spirit of open thread…”In America you watch computer, in
Soviet UnionPennsylvania, computer watch you.”http://www.boingboing.net/2010/02/17/school-used-student.html
jeffreyw
@ruemara:
Yessir!
jeffreyw
@ruemara:
I’m on it!
JenJen
Delightful news, Tim! And don’t ever forget: Cute Puppies Make Marriages Even Sweeter.
I totally made that up.
ellaesther
Oh dearie me. I don’t think I’ll even go look at the thread to figure out how that happened. Particularly as I was the one lauding you for maintaining a sense of the nuance of human behavior.
In other news: Yay for puppies! Yay for rescue! Yay for creme brulee! Fingers crossed that Dr. Mrs. Dr. F forgives!
ellaesther
@JenJen: And yet it should be on a pillow.
asiangrrlMN
@jeffreyw: Awwwww, adorable! And, I am studiously ignoring your food pr0n, you tempter, you.
@trollhattan: Wow. That is just incredibly creepy (the latter, not the former). Shiver.
Comrade Mary
Since this is an open thread: Fuck you, penguin.
asiangrrlMN
By the way, someone here linked to the Esquire article on Roger Ebert. I can’t remember who linked it, but thank you so much. I really like Ebert, and this article was poignant and beautiful.
Something Fabulous
@jeffreyw: Aww, I really like his “Arrrgh, matey” je-ne-sais-quoi.
Earl Hathaway
We love our rescued corgi:
Linus at Grey Whale Cove, CA
and another day at the beach — better for seeing the size of the breed Linus size.
We got him from Debbie at tri state corgi rescue. You could either hit her up through the web page or, if you email me, I can send her personal email. She was really helpful both before we adopted Linus then later with training issues.
The breed is particularly nice because they adapt themselves to your energy level and tend to be calmer dogs. Plus Linux goes for 3-4 mile jogs with my gf and is pretty much wiped afterwards — a tired dog is a well behaved dog. He does keep up with her when he’s motivated, though, and has gone on 15+ mile trail runs.
good luck
Mnemosyne
@asiangrrlMN:
Poor G. made the mistake of reading it right before his father went into the hospital for a brain biopsy. He’s been freaked out for days, poor thing.
(On my father-in-law’s brain, so far, so good. They did a quick test on 6 sites of the tumor and they all came up benign, but further testing is required before they can say for sure.)
WereBear
@asiangrrlMN: Brilliant!
But, you know, it’s true. They amuse each other, wear each other out, and learn from each other.
Get a boy and a girl, and chances are, you will each have a “favorite.”
Hob
@JenJen: Unfortunately that didn’t work in my case, but I still have the best puppy ever.
JK
Poll: Americans Don’t Think Palin Is Qualified To Be President — But Some Would Vote For Her Anyway
h/t http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/poll-americans-dont-think-palin-is-qualified-to-be-president—-but-some-would-vote-for-her-anyway.php?ref=fpb
JK
Congrats to former NYPD commissioner and former Homeland Security Secretary nominee Bernie Kerik on his 4 year prison sentence for eight felony charges, including tax fraud and lying to White House officials.
“As testament to his clout, Mr. Kerik had a jail named after him in downtown Manhattan. (The name has since been changed.)”
Don’t let the cell door hit on you on the rear end on your way into the slammer Bernie
h/t http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/nyregion/19kerik.html?hp
freelancer
@JK:
from a different post at TPM, The prognosticator cements Obama’s 2012 re-election.
At least he didn’t use the phrase “last throes”.
JK
@freelancer:
Dick Cheney takes my breath away. The man hasn’t got a shread of decency. I wish he’d do the world a favor and go back to his panic room.
SisterBoo
Tweety is on Celebrity Jeopardy and is behind his nearest competitor by $11,000. Hope his charity hasn’t spent the money. Didn’t he learn from Wolf Blitzer?
RC1
I have 3 boxers – great dogs, but they are prone to cancer. Currently my female, 10 y/o is battling breast cancer and one of her puppies I kept is struggling with either a seizure problem or a brain tumor. I love them dearly, but two of the three with illness at the same time is difficult. I’d still get a boxer, but just information so you know.
Church Lady
A friend of ours has four boxers. One of them started acting ill one day, was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on his heart and died within a week. So sad, both for the family and the other three dogs.
Annie
@freelancer:
Obama wins in 2012. Mission Accomplished…for real this time.
Anne Laurie
I would never try to argue anyone out of a breed they love, but… You do know that Boxers are notorious for having, shall we say, a particularly steep learning curve? They are generally strong, assertive individuals who do not respond to physical coercion and are not particularly sensitive to their human companion’s desires. (A number of veterinarians have said that Boxers are the only dogs in their experience who will attack a porcupine more than once.) If your wife love Boxers, great, find a Boxer — but if it’s just a matter of falling in love with a puppy face, I’d say you were lucky he found a home elsewhere. After twenty-plus years of attending / helping with “household obedience” training classes, I’ve worked with plenty of pit bulls, chow chows, dobermans, akitas, and at least one wolf hybrid… but it’s the boxers that scared me, because they just Did.Not.Care who or what they might be screwing around with, and too often that made them dangerous to their handlers and the other dogs in the class as well as themselves.
Also — and LittleBrit will hate me for saying this — too many uneducated / ignorant security forces and HOAs will assume that any Boxer is a “dangerous pit bull” and raise your insurance rates / make you take out a dangerous dog license / forbid you to keep your Boxer, even if it’s the sweetest most harmless innocent animal on the face of the planet. If you love the breed, or a particular member of the breed, you’ll find a way to work around those restrictions. But if it’s just a matter of finding a nice, high-energy puppy… that’s the time to think about how much energy, money & time you can realistically afford to commit to a particular animal.
Jon H
Lots of greyhounds need homes, I hear, what with tracks shutting down and all.
Loon Juice
If you need a Great Dane, look me up, my wife runs a rescue and always has plenty to spare.
wonkie
I don’t understand the infatuation with puppies. I love old dogs. My pug was eight when I got him, my corgie mix was seven, our pure bred AKC smooth coat collie was five and our current big dog, a collie/GSD mix is three.
Puppies are a pain and they do not grow up to be who their person wants them or trains them to be any more than kids do.
But enough of that. I just get sad watching all the adult dogs being passed over for puppies at the rescue where I volunteer. So somebody has to stick up for older dogs!
But what I really wanted to post about: I rescued a dog today! He’s a stray on the nearby reservation. A nice lady has been putting food out for him. I went by several times to try to pick him up but he was there when I was. Today I went out to the lady’s house and there he was, standing in the dark of her backyard. I hopped outof my car and offered him a hotdog. I lured him to the open car door, grabbed him, boosted him in.
He crawled inot my lap as I drove off, making it hard to steer and harder to shift gears; he’s a least a fifty pound dog. Poor old boy leaned his head against my chest and sighed.
He’s such a sweet dog. Anyway he’s down at the kennel now with a soft bed in a warm cozy den, with abucket of kibble and fresh water and some hotdogs. I hope he isn’t scared.
Janet Strange
@wonkie: Awww. What a great story.
I’ve had dogs most of my adult life and I only had a young puppy once. A beagle who developed epilepsy and disappeared out of our back yard one night when he was about 6 months old. We never did find him in spite of all of our efforts. So I never even got to know that dog as an adult.
Right now I have an elderly poodle, who is blind, deaf, and very unsteady on his feet, but seems happy in spite of it all. A miniature dachshund who is at least 16, but still very energetic. Though I can catch her now when she gets out the front door and takes off. Couldn’t when she was younger. And a 5 year old lab-like mutt. I’m with you – older dogs are great.
All rescues of course.
Mum
@Anne Laurie:
I’ve raised and trained three different breeds of dogs over my life, and had a brief experience with a boxer. The boxer was a childhood pet that my father brought home. She was great with us kids, but unfortunately my parents pretty much left her to me to care for and I was all of six years old. She was a loving dog, but very energetic, and much too strong for a child of six to control.
I raised a couple of collies. They’re beautiful dogs, but high-maintenance when it comes to coat. They can be a bit nervous around loud noises – trains, storms, sirens, etc. They’re pretty good with kids, especially if you have a large group that you want to keep in one place; it really brings out their herding instinct.
I had a wonderful St. Bernard that I lost to hip displasia when she was pretty young – 4 years old. She was a great dog, except for the drooling/slobbering. (She nearly always had a bandanna tied around her neck to aid in mop-ups.) Great temperament, a great sense of humor, and surprisingly protective of me.
But best of all, I raised two Dobermans and they were hands down the best dogs I’ve ever known. Intelligent, playful, wonderful with both of my kids and the cats and the neighborhood kids. Protective and watchful, but never aggressive toward dogs or friendly people. Grooming was a snap, and they took to obedience training like fish to water. And housebreaking was amazingly fast; I think Dobes have a reputation for housetraining faster than any other breed. And once a Doberman smiles at you, and they smile a lot, you’ll be hooked.