Several weeks ago, Akemi and I were watching Survivor. In the episode, the contestants were treated to surprise visits from their loved ones. They had been separated for quite some time (over a month!) and, not surprisingly, the reunions were incredibly emotional. One girl hugged her father like a long lost love. Another woman broke down at the mere sight of her husband. I tried to imagine what it would be like for me, standing there, watching as, one by one, my fellow contestants had their moments with their significant others, anxiously awaiting my turn, eyeing the tree-line for my special someone… Akemi? Mom? My sister?
“Jelly,”said Akemi, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. And, the second she said it, I realized: “Of course! Who else?”
Who else would it be but my 14 year old pug, Jelly, snarfling and panting as she’d break through the treeline and waddle up the pathway on her arthritic legs into my waiting arms? We’d probably lose the challenge but nevertheless be chosen to join the winners on the reward getaway where we’d enjoy a wonderful feast of assorted meats, veggies, assorted fruits and desserts. And before saying goodbye, I’d give Jelly a smooch on the noggin’ as I do every time I carry her up and down the stairs or in and out of the house (Full disclosure: I probably kiss that dog more than I do my girlfriend) and then we’d part ways – me, back to the island, inspired by her visit to persevere in the face of adversity; she, to her guest hut, provoked by the richness of the meal to void her bowels for one endless diarrhea-festooned evening. Now THAT would be reality television!
Hey, my pal, Tara Yelland, is trying to raise money for Response Time, a short film she’ll be working on in the next couple of months. She didn’t specify what, exactly, she’d be doing (my guess is crowd control) but it’s obviously something she’s passionate about (like nail art, Mad Men, and my occasional dog-related blog entries). So passionate, in fact, that she produced the following video in support of the project: http://vimeo.com/65869540. The goal is to raise $10 000 in 30 days and, with 6 days to go, they’re at $5590. Apparently, the way the fundraising works, they need to reach their target in order to get the money pledged. If they don’t, they get nothing. Also, at some point, someone breaks into their homes and soaks their pillows in linseed oil.
Don’t let this happen to Tara! Help her and her reach her goal by visiting and pledging here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/response-time
And check out her personal blatherings here: tarayelland
How does Lulu sleep like that, so cute, all the pups, so cute. Never got into Survivor, but thanks for the puppy pics!
~Just read where Louis Ferreira is in a new series tomorrow night, Monday, May 20th on ABC called “Motive”, He plays Det. Alex Vega, and Lauren Holly(NCIS) is in it also, looks like it should be a good one.
~Best of luck to Tara!
Awesome post, but you can never go wrong with pug pics. The dogs look in fine form! And maybe if you were on Survivor, Lulu could bite the producers in the butt for producing such a crappy reunion show this past season.
I’ll have to check out Tara’s video after I get home.
I haven’t watched Survivor in awhile now, but are you telling me they still feed the “winners” of a challenge all the delicious food they have been missing? From what I remember, talking about an “endless diarrhea-festooned evening”… Seems like that should be for the losers of the challenge. 😉
How is Bubba’s paw healing? Cute pictures.
Joey, I’m right there with you – I definitely kiss my cats more than I do my husband. LOLOL!…no lie, as I typed this my husband came in and I tried to give him a kiss, and he stopped me, saying, ‘I’m in the middle of belching up peanuts!’
He has gas issues. 😛
Anyway…I eventually got my goodnight kiss, and fortunately it didn’t taste like peanut burps. Soooo romantic.
Just saw the second ‘new’ Star Trek movie tonight (in GLORIOUS 2D!!) – it was great! I love me some Scotty (Simon Pegg, of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead fame). My only complaint is the over-use of that …dunno what it’s called…the ‘starburst’ lens effect, or whatever. I call it a ‘glare’. Very annoying.
I am glad, however, that our theater gave us a choice this time and I didn’t have to endure yet another 3D film. When Avengers came out we could only see it in 3D, and I ended up watching most of the film with the glasses off. There is only ONE thing 3D is good for – cheesy 1950s sci fi and horror flicks. That’s it.
das
Of course it’s Jelly, I knew that before I read it. :p :p Thanks for the pictures.
Well now, I’m so disappointed. I was sure that your favorite person in all the world would be Carl Binder. I could just see him jogging forward to hand you a gynormous cheeseburger.
Das, what you’re talking about is lens flare, something that is apparently JJ Abrams’ trademark. I hated it in the first movie, and although I haven’t seen the new one yet, looks like more of the same. Ugh.
I think Jelly could be a fantastic secret weapon. They’d be all surrounding her, giving her love, food, praise, while you sneak off and complete the task.
PS. If you are serious about the dog vs girlfriend kissing, it’s time to flip those ratios.
I don’t know Joe. Don’t think you’d last long on Survivor. There are no gourmet restaurants. 😉 You would hafta catch your own sushi. Plus…you’d miss your doggies too much. 🙂
I really enjoyed your blog today! You described the reunion with Jelly so well, I could picture it easily. However, they would need a caretaker for Jelly…do you think they’d send Akemi to be Jelly’s personal assistant? What kind of demands would Jelly make as a guest? Would they get her a Rygel hover chair (Farscape)? So many possibilities!
And check out her personal blatherings here: tarayelland ? I hope you don’t see her soon.
Loved the pictures!
Just looking at the pics of the dogs/children, they look so happy with you 2 guys! a sure sign of much loving going on all around 🙂
Lulu is an angel!! Bubba seems healed and Jelly is in super form 🙂 !!
@ gforce – Well, JJ better come up with a new gimmick because I found it very distracting. And thanks for the explanation!
das
Very nice dogs pics joey. I see Bubba is top form.
Abut Lens Flare:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHqjmlM3kxs
Star wars new movies can be at least dificult to see without Polarized Sunglasses.
@ Das and gforce: Wow, I didn’t notice the lens flare at all. I knew that was his trademark going in, and yet in both the first Star Trek and this one, it never even registered. I suppose if someone reminded me about it right before the opening credits rolled, I might be more tuned in and notice every time it happened, but as it was, I was too involved in the story to be pulled out by lens flare. I guess it says something about the story’s pull on you, Das, (or lack thereof) that it wasn’t enough to keep you from being annoyed by the CGI tricks.
I chose 2D also. The last 3D film I saw was The Hobbit this past Christmas, and after that, I never want to see another 3D film again. I spent the whole time trying to keep my head aligned JUST RIGHT, so as to minimize the ghosting. It was so distracting! The odd thing is, that movie was filmed in 3D; it wasn’t a conversion ex post facto, the way a lot of movies are (including Star Trek 2). You’d think that would make the 3D seamless. But no. It was, in fact, the worst 3D experience I’ve ever had. I wish we could, as a society, just declare 3D a failed experiment and get back to making movies that are good, and not merely gimmicky.
@ Kathode – The problem for me with lens flare is that my vision is very poor, and I wear strong toric contact lens. At night, especially when driving, I get my very own ‘lens flare’ with street lights and on-coming headlights. It’s getting to the point where I may not be able to drive at night much longer, at least not on unfamiliar roads. I have problems with glare when I wear glasses, too. So imagine how annoying it is for me when I go to see a big screen movie and there’s all this ‘glare’ on the screen! So, yeah – I may notice it more than others because ‘lens flare’ is a constant annoyance in my everyday life.
das
@ Das: Ah, yes, the toric contact lens glare. I had that problem too. From about age 10 to age 34, I wore those, and spent many accumulated hours (at every sporting event, movie, parade, etc., where you want nice, clear vision) fiddling with my lower eyelid, using it to rotate the damn lens on my eye when it wasn’t aligned precisely where it was supposed to be. My eyes are kinda dry naturally, so when the lens would rotate off-kilter, I didn’t always have enough moisture to lubricate my eye to allow the lens to rotate back in position easily. I completely understand!
I got LASIK done about 6 years ago, and it’s been like being reborn. No exaggeration. To go from blinder than a bat to 20/15 vision has been nothing short of miraculous. It was very nerve-wracking contemplating the surgery before I got it, but I’m so glad now that I went through with it.