My wife directed me to the email and the attached pics of the dog, a shiba inu cross looking for a home. I threw her a look: “Seriously?” We already have three pugs. Still, I actually considered it. The poor dog had been dropped off at Fetch in North Vancouver for a grooming, and then never picked up. The phone number the owner left with the groomer had been disconnected. Nice. Yet another case of some idiot purchasing a dog and ultimately making the revelatory discovery that pets require more effort than your average house plant. Reminds me of a couple we knew back in Montreal who had a dog that lived in their garage. I say “lived in their garage” because these irresponsible cretins couldn’t be bothered to demonstrate the most basic of tenets of ownership. They were far too busy to take it for walks, and far too “clean” to allow it to roam the house. And so, they compromised by taking it out once in the morning, leaving it in the garage all day while they were at work, and then taking it out again at night. When I learned that they had eventually put the dog down, I had to ask why. “Behavioral problems,”I was informed. “He was way too excitable.” Of course he was excitable, you imbeciles! He’d been locked away in the garage all day! God forbid any of their kids some day show signs of anti-social behavior.
Okay, I’m a dog person. But I think cats are great too. I’m an animal person in general (I’ve often said that people who don’t like animals are jerks at best, serial killers at worst). That said, when Fondy first wanted to get a dog, I was dead set against it. I didn’t think we were ready for the responsibility of pet ownership. But, eventually, she wore me down and we got Jelly (named after Joe Viterelli’s character in Analyze This), the bossy one. Surprisingly, taking care of a dog wasn’t all that difficult. In fact, it was kind of fun. The only drawback was leaving Jelly at home whenever we went out to dinner or caught a movie. The solution: get another dog it keep her company. Enter Maximus (named after Russell Crowe’s in Gladiator), the handsome one. Years later, we got another pug, intending to give it Fondy’s brother who desperately wanted a dog. But after two weeks with Bubba (named after Mykelti Williamson’s character in Forrest Gump), the trouble-maker, I got attached and decided to keep him. We got Fondy’s brother a toaster oven instead. In hindsight, it was a far more practical gift as, at the very least, the oven was self-cleaning.
Let’s take a couple of minutes to get caught on the mail.
Regarding yesterday’s post, SG-1 Forever writes: ” Jack would be awesome! Can you tell us if he’s in the movies, Joe?”
Answer: Nothing to report on this front (sorry) but I can confirm that the character of Jack O’Neill will not be making an appearance in the season ten finale (again, sorry).
Regarding the My Dinner with David post, Tokiya 2 writes: “OMG – are they Nanaimo Bars I see David Hewlett’s fingers inching toward?”
Answer: Alas, no. They’re an assortment of Carrafel gianduja with various cream nut centers.
Regarding The Descent, Stillhere writes: “I liked The Descent but had a problem with the confrontation between Sarah and Juno.”
Answer: Funnily enough, so did I. It was the only problem I had with the movie. At first, I bumped on it because, as you say, Juno didn’t mean to kill her friend. On the other hand, Juno was wholly responsible for placing them in danger in the first place so, in a way, she did get her deserved come-uppance.
Also regarding The Descent, Flowbee writes: “…yes, The Descent is one of the better horror movies in the last couple years. ranks up there with High Tension.”
Answer: Nononononono! I would classify Haute Tension as one of the very worst horror movies I have ever seen. It’s the filmic equivalent of the literary “It was all a dream” device except that it made even less sense in this movie.
Finally, did anybody else finish To Say Nothing of the Dog? I haven’t been able to track down the Jasper Fforde book yet (but I will, I will) and have started reading the very entertaining The Coyote Kings of the Space Age Bachelor Pad by Minister Faust. And it looks like Vernor Vinge’s A Fire Upon the Deep is shaping up to be the February book club selection.
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