Archive for » November, 2008 «

Saffron the dog (for you, LeeAnn!)

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House of Night

The movie uses this image as well.

The movie uses this image as well.

Despite my terror of vampires as a kid, the Twilight series has officially ruined me and my fear of vampires. You think I’m kidding? I used to imagine them on the London Underground when I was there — I was 21 years old. I had such vivid dreams of vampires as a kid, I used to see them crawl in the window of our basement all the time.

Like people with a fear of snakes or heights, my fear of vampires was no joke. A picture of a vampire could give me nightmares for a week, and one time I caught part of “Interview with a Vampire” at an auto repair place — not only did I have to leave, I had to sit in the car and get over the panic attack (no, I do not like Interview with a Vampire, and yes, a lot of people have told me how not scary it is. To them.).

I picked up Twilight because I kept seeing it in stores and that apple just bothered me for some reason, so I finally picked it up and started reading.

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as Bella and Edward

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as Bella and Edward

Of course I got totally immersed in the story, had to buy all four books and then inflicted them on my friends. The movie came out this weekend, and can I say that Robert Pattinson made Edward not just sexy but ZOMG sexy — not because of his looks, but because of his attitude.  Hard to explain, but it’s worth a second look (and a third, and a fourth…)

Anyway, now, what with Stephenie Meyer’s oh-so-sparkly vampires, I find that I’m somehow attracted to this whole vampire thing. I’m becoming acclimated to the idea. Thus it was I picked up the first novel in the House of Night series, entitled Marked. The library has a new system, much like Amazon, that recommends books according to your check-out history. This is very cool, but I found that, after ordering Marked, I wasn’t willing to wait 3 weeks for the other books, so I bought the next three in the series. :(

Wow, I look young!

Wow, I look young!

However, I did enjoy the series, and I was relieved when the author(s) finally brought in some shades of gray to alter her black and white view of the world, particularly the world of religion. But really this post is just an excuse to put this picture up — the website for the House of Night Series has a very fun app that let’s you “mark” yourself as a vampire with a forehead tattoo. I used an old picture of Ben and I — isn’t he cute — and we both have vampyre (yes, with a y) tattoos now. I’ve gotten over my fear, world, so you’d better watch out!

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The Dog

We are still adjusting to life with Saffron; I thought I had pictures but don’t yet (sorry LeeAnn!).  I will take some soon.  Marti continues to call her Steak and we are continuing to deal with her behavioral issues but things are coming along slowly; she’s sleeping in the laundry room (better for my furniture) and she is able to approach other dogs without absolute terror (no more watching her cower before a rat terrier).  She likes to lay on my feet when I’m at the computer and keep them warm, and I say, if Marti did that, would I need a dog?  He still disagrees.

Anyway, I was reading Dooce today and followed her link to a craigslist ad entitled “Hideous, Mean Saggy-Titted Cur” in Austin, Texas. 

Those are some big nipples...

Those are some big nipples...

I don’t know if the poor dog ever found a home, but I certainly felt grateful that Saffron just pees on my carpet after reading this ad:

When my roommate found her on the streets, she was malnourished and skittish and had heart worms. You know, I’ve read more and more stories about pets being abandoned lately because of the economy. I recently got back from a gay wedding in California where one of the grooms had just rescued a Papillon he found starving in a ditch. He was neurotic and defensive for like the first few days, but now a week later he has settled in, and is doing great. And the Papillon’s doing well, too. But this pendulously mammaried cur – Elzora, my roommate calls her, though you might as well be meowing at her, because she doesn’t know the difference – she is not like that. Not. Like. That. At. All. This is not the precious, precocious Papillon someone rescues from a ditch. This is the miserable, ugly bitch (I use the term technically) that you make a little scrunchy-face at while glancing at it askance…before calling fricking Animal Control.

If you want to know what she looks like, she’s a dead ringer for the Capitoline Wolf [see above]. Look it up on Wikipedia while the article is still accurate. So Elzora would be great if you had two infants, for example, that you wanted to abandon in the woods only to have them found Western Civilization. Without the two little baby statues beneath her, though, I have to say that the first thing you notice about Mama Dog is: nipples. Obscenely large nipples. We think she was probably used for breeding or something because there’s really no other explanation. I’m not being cruel, I’m just saying. Because there’s one nipple in particular that is really disturbing. The rest you could maybe overlook. But she has this one nipple that hangs really low, and it’s fat, but then it gets really skinny, and then it gets fat again. It’s like it’s just barely hanging on, though it’s not, and evidently there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with it except how it looks. But man, that nipple is unsettling.

Anyway, thankfully Saffron has very normal nipples and we’ve been pee-free for about a week (knock on wood). Oh, and for anyone looking to get rid of a urine smell, might I recommend the product Out!, which I purchased after a long, trying drive out to Walmart in search of shoes for Maya and cleaning products for me. I used an entire half gallon — just dumped it on my carpet — but I am finally smell-free. My carpet is, anyway. :)

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Idealism

The election is over, the polls have closed and Barack Hussein Obama is now the President-elect of the United States.

Barack Obama visiting his paternal grandmother

Barack Obama visiting his paternal grandmother

It still feels dreamlike; Obama has won, the Democrats have overtaken the House and Senate, and, even among states, there has been a lot of movement to the left. I’ve gotten congratulatory phone calls from my family and I suspect my mother may have secretly voted for Obama (you don’t say that too loud in Payette County, which voted for McCain by an overwhelming 70 percent). Everyone’s talking about Obama being the first black President and how amazing that is; I guess it is a sign of my generation that I didn’t realize how many people were holding their breath for the first black President. more »

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