Best Song From Band/Artist X

I think this is just destined to become an every 8 day thing. So be it.

Last week was John Mellencamp. For me, I like Lonely Ol' Night best. I remember that being popular when I was in upper Michigan on vacation when I was about 13 years old. Worst song? Only fair to include that, too - Cherry Bomb.

This week it's "Weird Al" Yankovic. Plenty to choose from here.

hln

Your Polluting Ways

Ah, CNN gives us this. I would think it wise to save comparison of waste to people for only insulting situations.

hln

PersonalDNA

Dustbury's site sent me here. Personality tests are so fun.


hln

Dogfighting

If (man) is not to stifle his human feelings, he must practice kindness towards animals, for he who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.

Immanuel Kant

And that really says it all, that last bit. I'm an animal welfare person - used to like to make fun of PETA and will likely find the occasion to do so again. The dogfighting case against Michael Vick is very, very sick. Of course, dogfighting's been a problem long before the media pounced on this case of it. And now it's suddenly a big deal because a famous person's embroiled in the headlines, as I commented on a blog earlier today - forget which one. So, what does it all mean? Throw out the legal issue, and what does dogfighting mean?

My Internet is slow loading tonight, but eventually I found my way back to Outside the Beltway, where Steve Verdon posted this morning about the issue in a piece called Libertarianism and Child Pornography. Don't click through if you don't want to see a mangled dog. Whose name he gives - it's Gypsy.

Steve's piece attacks the view that dogs are just property, so what's the big deal. It's a debate I've had before, too, with a libertarian; this picture would have been my best argument. Brian and I have cats, and they're family. If someone broke into my house and smashed something, it better well not be a cat. Anything that has a personality is more than a simple piece of property. I visited PETA today to see what it had to say about the incident, and it goes a little something like this.

NFL star Michael Vick, of the Atlanta Falcons, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on felony dogfighting charges. Vick is charged with violating federal laws against competitive dogfighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting, and conducting the enterprise across state lines.

In a raid conducted on April 25 and 26, local and state law enforcement officials found 70 dogs—including at least 60 pit bulls and many dogs who reportedly were neglected, scarred, and malnourished—on quarterback Vick's rural Surry County, Virginia, property. Some of the animals evidently bear scars and injuries, and paraphernalia commonly associated with dogfighting—including a "rape stand"—are also said to have been found on the property.

Wow - reads just like the news. Criminy, I agree with PETA. Someone bring me an NRA magazine to balance the scale.

Point is - well, I opened the post with the point. We (humans) know better. Deep down we do.

hln

Best Song From Band/Artist X

I'm a day late. What is it this week? John Cougar/John Cougar Mellencamp/John Mellencamp. Go.

hln

Good Wine

Brian and I visited Cline Cellars when we were in Sonoma/Napa in May of 2005. Since then, we've joined the Cline Wine Club. We get little UPS surprises every few months.

Our local Sam's carries the Ancient Vines Zinfandel, which is a lovely medium-priced wine (about $12) that goes very well with steak. I very highly recommend it; I've had about half a bottle already tonight.

In my opinion, the ultimate Cline Wine, though, is the Small Berry Mourvèdre. Amazing.

hln

Planet Earth?

Who ARE these people? How does the human thought process lead to this?

A Foley woman was arrested after sheriff's deputies said she doused her live-in boyfriend with lighter fluid and tried to set him on fire. Jessica Bressie, 30, of the 200 block of Burr Oak, Foley, was charged with first-degree assault and was being held today on $50,000 cash-only bail in the Lincoln County Jail. According to authorities, the couple got into an argument Saturday about writing markers. The children, ages 3 and 6, apparently were playing with them, and they weren't supposed to be. Bressie's boyfriend, 30, who also is the father of the children, decided to leave, but as he tried to back their minivan away from the home, Bressie smashed a baseball bat into the windshield, authorities said. The man got out of the vehicle, and Bressie allegedly came after him with the baseball bat, landed several blows, causing contusions and swelling. While her boyfriend was still on the ground, Bressie grabbed a can of charcoal lighter fluid and poured it over him, soaking his clothing, deputies said. Bressie then chased him around the yard with a cigarette lighter, threatening to burn him to death.

I mean, really.

hln

Tooth Update

Well, mentioning it on the blog is all it took. The first one had its ragged edge's poking through Jimmy's gumline about two weeks ago. It's about 1/3 of the way in now.

4 more are making their apperance known in his upper gum. I learned this on one of our play adventures where I had him turned upside down over my knee, and, hey, TEETH.

Everything I've read says that it's usually the bottom two and then the top two and then the surrounding bottom or top ones on either side. Well, I don't see any signs of the bottom tooth's pair, but those top ones will be completely in fairly soon - couple more weeks. He's going to look pretty funny - in babies' eyes at least - I guess.

Today's his birthday party. All the literature from the experts say not to overwhelm baby at his first party. We're throwing that caution out the window and expect about 35 people.

hln

And Now, the Shirt

The QA Hates You t-shirt. I'm going to be stylin' in my exercise class. Brian'd better work up a Cafe Press onesie for baby James.

hln

Best Song From Band/Artist X

Brian and I a few years back started this dialogue of one of us bringing up a band name/artist and then both of us pontificating on the best song put forth by same. Because he is who he is, he always asked questions like, "Album?" and, "Year?" I pooh-poohed these - don't leave space in my brain for such trivia.

But it might make kind of a fun weekly blog feature. So I start with naming this week's band as Metallica. In a couple of days I'll let you know my answer. But someone must comment first. Feel free to include a memory that said song invokes.

hln

Water! Now! Stat!

What? A woman's been arrested for not watering her lawn? IN AMERICA!

Brian and I better not answer our door. Not sure we've EVER watered our lawn. If you don't water it, it doesn't grow as quickly. The woman lives in Orem, UT - bet they've got an ordinance against home meadows, too. And you probably can't have cows grazing in city limits to take care of the length problem in that fashion.

Very, very scary.

hln

Raining Like The Dog

So, today the husband, the boy, and I ran some errands. The weather was thundery and rain flirtatious, and he parked quite a distance from the Target - really quite a ways out in the parking lot in front of the next store over. I made some silly comment about the distance and the imminent rain, and that was that.

After shopping and paying for purchases, we prepared to step outside into the possible weather. And that's when Brian said it. He said, "I bet it's going to rain like the dog."

THE dog. Not cats and dogs. Not puppies. THE dog. I thought that was pretty amusing, ominous sky and all. Just a spitting of raindrops about 30 seconds after the comment as we stepped into the crosswalk in front of the store. But then the dog decided to bare its teeth.

SNARL. Downpour. Soaked baby. Soaked laughing baby. Soaked parents. LONG, long walk. Big raining dog. Who knew?

So, the upshot of this is, I guess, that if your spouse warns you of impending dog rain, especially if it's THE dog, please listen and insist on closer parking. Soaking wet family is worth a few laughs and a blog post, but, ultimately, a dry family in a dry vehicle is the better alternative.

That's a Launch

Brian's started a new themed blog, QAHATESYOU.com. No, you need not capitalize it, but it's very fitting to do so. hln

All Animals Are Equal

But some are, of course, more equal than others.

BEIJING (AP) - Nearly 2,000 officials in central China's Hunan province have been caught breaking China's strict one-child policy, state media reported Sunday.

The rich can afford to pay fines imposed by the government, the article says later.

hln

Word of the Day

Absquatulate: to flee; abscond.

The baby has absquatulated with the household spatula.

hln