Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Even furry gargoyle lapdogs like these need exercise:
Doesn’t take many rounds of fetch in the summertime to leave these two splooting and panting. We usually have to take the ball away for fear they’ll keep running until they get a heat stroke.
Open thread!
Slate published an article that says dog names are trending more human-style in recent years. Anecdata from my circle seems to confirm this.
Humans tend to name new dogs immediately for obvious reasons. But sometimes I wish I’d gotten to know these fellows better before naming them.
“Badger” and “Pete” suit them well enough. But as a pair, they are so Felix and Oscar! Or maybe Tessio and Fat Clemenza (sorry, Pete, but I know damn well your mind would be on the cannoli, even after a mob hit).
I also think “Feldman” would have been a terrific name for our bug-eyed Badger dog. Pete would make a fine ”Ralph” too — even though “The Honeymooners” was before my time, I can detect Pete’s Kramden qualities.
Oh well. We do the best we can in the moment and move on.
Open thread!
What will win the Palme d'Or? Cannes closes Saturday with awards and a tribute to George Lucas https://t.co/ZE9ETlOX8E
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 25, 2024
The world has indeed changed, because I can remember a Cannes Festival era when the phrase “a tribute to George Lucas” would’ve caused actual physical violence to break out amongst the judges…
The 77th Cannes Film Festival draws to a close Saturday with the presentation of its top award, the Palme d’Or, along with an honorary tribute for George Lucas.
The closing ceremony is set to begin at 6:45 p.m. local time, 12:45 p.m. U.S. Eastern time. It will be streamed live on Brut internationally and air on France 2 within France…
During the brief awards ceremony, Lucas will be given an honorary Palme d’Or. During the festival, Cannes gave the same tribute to Meryl Streep and the Japanese anime factory Studio Ghibli.
The real stars of Cannes may be the dogs https://t.co/s6jizpg1no
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 23, 2024
Me, I’d give an award to Xin, just on general principles…
… Swiss comedy “Dog on Trial” premiered in the Un Certain Regard section, directed by and starring Laetitia Dosch. Based on a real case, the French-language film tells the story of a defense lawyer who takes on Cosmos, an aggressive dog facing legal action, as a client.
The titular dog is played by Kodi, a griffon, who Dosch says is really the star of the movie. It was important to her that Kodi had his name on the credits and the film poster and would be by her side in Cannes. A comedy-drama with a feminist outlook, “Dog on Trial” is about exploitation, Dosch says — and she has an offbeat theory as to what women and dogs have in common.
“Dogs come from wolves and we have been sculpting dogs for 40,000 years to become our perfect friends full of love,” she explains in an interview. “We castrate them also, so they can be peaceful all of the time, so we manipulate them to fit and to be exactly what we need. So, if I replace the word ‘dog’ by ‘women’ and I say the same sentence, it also makes sense.”
Kodi, however, did not get the memo. He spent the interview humping Dosch’s leg and licking her face, sending her earring cascading through the slatted flooring and earning him an eviction from the interview. He was kept away from subsequent red carpet appearances…
Also competing in Un Certain Regard — which curates a lineup of original and daring films — is another dog-centered drama, “Gou Zhen” (“Black Dog”) from the Chinese director Guan Hu. In it, Taiwanese superstar Eddie Peng plays Lang, who’s charged with removing stray dogs from his hometown on government orders ahead of the Olympic Games. One particular dog has a profound impact on Lang — and, as it turns out, on the actor himself.
Peng built up such a bond with his canine co-star Xin, a Jack Russell-greyhound cross, that he adopted her after filming ended and credits her for changing his outlook on life.
Saturday Morning Open Thread: Entertainment NotesPost + Comments (163)
John was going to do a post on this tonight, but turns out he’s without power, so it falls to me.
Some of you already know that Adam Silverman’s pup, Rosie, has developed lymphoma and is currently in treatment. Her chemo is going okay, with some pretty scary side effects that landed her in the emergency room for an overnight visit, as well as pushing her third treatment back at least a week. BUT, the good news is, her lymph nodes have returned to normal size with only a few treatments. So her prognosis is good.
Barring further complications, she’s due for a total of 16 (!) very expensive treatments over the next few months. After conferring with the Blogfather, it was decided a fundraiser would be very helpful in defraying the costs.
As always, donate if you can. No obligations. Kind, supportive words in the comments are always welcome.
Bonus Rosie and Ruby chillin together
We did have a bit of a hiccup after I set things up and pulled it to ensure everything worked and I restarted it today.
Here is the link to the GoFundMe: Support Rosie’s Cancer Battle
Otherwise, this is an open thread
Not sure some of you fellow ‘vintage’ TH fans are gonna love this, but they undoubtably meant well…
Music Review: Miley Cyrus, Lorde and more team up for fun Talking Heads' 'Stop Making Sense' tribute https://t.co/MXbXcQUrnK
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 13, 2024
Harris utters a profanity in advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders https://t.co/utEVPDHzXC
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 14, 2024
… Harris was participating in a conversation moderated by actor and comedian Jimmy O. Yang when he asked her what it means to be the first vice president of Asian descent and how that heritage has informed her views and roles as a leader. Harris’ mother was from India and her father was from Jamaica, and she’s the first woman elected vice president.
Harris gave a lengthy response in which she told the young people to keep their chins up when they go into spaces where no one else looks like them.
She added: “We have to know that sometimes people will open the door for you and leave it open. Sometimes they won’t. And then you need to kick that f——— door down.”
The audience clapped and hollered. Laughing herself, Harris said, “Excuse my language.”…
The vice president made her comments in a conversation at the annual Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies Legislative Leadership Summit. The conversation was live-streamed on the White House website…
Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Cherish Joy!Post + Comments (92)
Just a quick hit of kindness before I run off for the day.
Best thing you’ll see today….Providence College students raised money for their security guard, James, for a trip to Nigeria so he can visit his family….I’m not crying, you’re crying 🥹🙏 pic.twitter.com/zxPEo9r7JB https://t.co/TUUYFiqbTe
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) March 9, 2024
From Raymond Hall on campus at Providence College, students were on a mission to surprise their favorite person in the building, James, who’s the security guard, with a gift.
“You told us a while ago that you wanted to see your family in Nigeria that you haven’t seen in a long time, so we came together and spread the word, and we started a GoFundMe because we take care of our own because that’s what we do at Providence College. They’ve done that for me, we’ve done that for each other, so now we’re doing it for you. You’re of the family, so our gift to you is a trip to Nigeria,” said sophomore student Daniel Singh.
Nearly $3,000 was raised within 24 hours for James to see his family, including his son, in Nigeria.
“He’s just the kindest soul anyone has ever met in this building. He means so much to us he’s so important. It was amazing how fast everyone connected and were able to put it together for him,” said freshman student Brandon Reichert, who helped organize the GoFundMe.
Singh and Reichert say it was a no brainer to start the GoFundMe after learning it had been 11 years since James had seen his family.
A moment that no one in the room to witness the act of kindness will forget.
“Tears to my eyes. Such an act of kindness. It was such a great reminder of the good our Friars are bringing into the world and a great reminder of how we can all do a small act of kindness every day that can make a difference,” said Dean of Students Sean Sears.
You can watch the entire story here
Open Thread: A Little Kindness All AroundPost + Comments (130)
I decided I wanted to have some portraits done of the dogs. This is why I asked in a war update post a few weeks ago for contact info for Larime, which Cole provided. Larime is now back up and running in the making art business after Sylv’s passing last year and all the craziness that goes along with that and I figured now was a good time to have it done. They did the two current doggos, my previous three who have passed on, and they also did my brother’s dog and cat. I’m not posting these last two because I haven’t given them to my brother and sister in law yet and because I have no idea if they’d want their pets’ portraits posted on the Internet. So nobody ruin the surprise!
I’m going to post the portraits of Rosie and Ruby, my two current lab mixes, above the jump and the remaining three portraits of Genni, Kylie, and Blue after the jump.
I asked Larime to do two-in-one portraits of Rosie and Ruby that included them as puppies and as adults. I have good quality pics of them from 3 months old until just last week (over the past thirteen years for Rosie and 10 for Ruby), but not for the others as they were puppies well before we all had good quality cameras in our phones.
Here is Rosie. She’s a black Lab and either German shepherd or Belgian shepherd dog. Rosie has the longer, leaner Belgian shepherd dog body, the lab face, and ears that are sort of in between. She also has a partially purple tongue. And she’s got a ruff and the double coat and is currently the resident Flooferina. The puppy photo Larime used was what was advertised by the rescue organization and, once you see Kylie’s portrait, you’ll understand one of the reasons I thought to adopt her. The adult pic I sent to Larime is of her hanging over the edge of the couch.
(Rosie)
Here is Ruby. Ruby is a chocolate Lab mixed with ? The rescue thought her mom was a Lab/boxer mix, but Ruby has the body of a Bull & Terrier (and the permanent toddler disposition to go with it). She also has crystal eyes and spots on her paws, which are hallmarks of a Catahoula leopard dog. She also has a white tip on her tale, so beagle? She’s predominantly chocolate covered, but has caramel brindle markings, as well as a cream patch on her chest, and cream socks with brindle spots on her paws. The puppy photo I sent to Larime, which is the upper image in the portrait below, is of a two or three month old Ruby running across the wood floor at the foster family’s house in PA. I like to refer to it as the “NO BREAKS!!!!” puppy pic. This was the same foster family and rescue organization I got Rosie from. When Kylie died I reached out immediately about adopting a puppy after a two to three months.
The adult pic was taken after an annual vet visit. She hopped into the driver seat of my car and grinned up at me with the look you see below as if to say “GET IN THE CAR!! NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!!” The next pic I took right after that, not included in the portraits has her looking at the dash like “how do you start this thing?” Ruby is my forever toddler. And despite a fierce bark, she’s a sensitive soul who just wants to be next to or on me at all times.
(Ruby)
Genni, Kylie, and Blue after the jump.
