Randomness

[honeybee]

So, today I've been playing with myheritage.com and unbeknownst to me - I apparently resemble Kate Hudson. Every picture I upload has me as a close match for her. Who knew? Anyone else ever upload a picture on this thing?

[Silverbullet]

Too dreary these days. So to lighten things:

A tale of a Cat and a tale of a Parakeet

In Holland I had a male Gray Tabbby. He was an efficent killer. He left many gifts Of Moles, Voles, and birds for my wife. She had quite a graveyard in a corner of her back Garden. Anyway, I drew the line at birds. So the Cat got a new collar with a Bell on it. The first morning he had his new collar on he did as he always did when he wantee his Breakfast he jumped on my stomach while I was in Bed and marched up and down my stomach until I woke and petted him to let the Cat know I was awake. He would then jump off the Bed and run downstairs to wait for me. On this morning he jumped up and started his march. Tinkle went the Bell. My wife, who can hear a Mouse cough across the house, sat up, cocked her arm, aimed and knocked the Cat across the Bedroom. Cat ran downstairs and wife flopped back down. My wife likes her Sack time very much. The next morning I was halfway between sleep and wakefulness when I felt something land lighty on the end of the Bed. I cracked open one eye and saw the Cat Commando crawling up the sie of my body. He stopped once to peer over my body to see if wife was still sleeping. My body must have muffled the sound of the bell. He got to my head and gently pawed my face to wake me. I petted him, he jumped down off the bed and ran downstairs. Every morning after that he would Commando Crawl up my body, stopping nce to check if she was sleepiing and when he rached my head would gently paw my face.

that was stage one of the morning ritual. Stage two:

I got up put on my Robe, walked down stairs and in to the Kitchen. I would start the Coffee. We had an old Perculator coffee maker which made adamned good cup of coffee. I would put the Pot on, then open a can of soft Cat food, fill the Cat's bowl and set it on the floor. The Cat would ignore the bowl, Stage three then:

I would pick up the cat, crook my Arm lay the Cat along my Arm and stroke it. The Cat would knead its claws in the sleeve of my robe (he shredded a few Robes that way) and look at the bowl leaning a little off my arm. I would stroke, he would look and lean. So Stroke, look, Lean. Finally the Cat would drop off my arm and go tothe bowl and eat. I would then start to prepare my breakfast. Did I say my wife liked her Sack time? when the Cat was finished he would go about cleaning Whiskers and face. When he finished that he would go to the door, Meow to be let out. Stage four:

He would walk out of the door with the attitude: It's Me Tom the Atom Bomb. Look out world here I come. Then stalk out of the door. End all stages.

Parakeet:

I was sitting in the living room reading a Magazine when my Daughter rushed in shouting "the Cats got a Parakeet in its Mouth. I jumped up ran into the hall just in time to see the Cat go by with the bird. It started up the stairs and I pounded after it. (It was 1978 and I was a lot younger) I managed to head it off not allowing it to go up the other flight of stairs. I herded the Cat into my Bedroom, shouted at my daughter to get a towel and to tell her mother to bring down the Bird Cage. I strangled the Cat until he spit out the Bird. The bird landed on the Bed dazed. I exchanged the Cat for the towel and closed the Bedroom door. I threw the towel over the bird and then gently brought the bird from under the Towel holding it so its wings couldn't flap. I examined it and there were only two small punctures in its side. I Yelled "where is the Cage." "Putting paper on the bottom." "what" "You want to clean the bottom of the cage then?" "Okay" Wife brought cage down to the Bedroom. I put the bird in to it and closed the cage door. We filled one of the feeders on the side with Water. Then my Daughter and I drove to a small shopping center nearby, bought some Parakeet food, drove home and filled the other feeder with seed. We had a Parakeet. Named him Lucky for obvious reasons.

Lucky was a funny Bird. The Cat, when my wife put the cage down on a Bench seat, would go to the cage put his face against th bars and glower at the Bird. Lucky would hop down, drink some water, have a few seeds for a snack and completely ignore the Cat. NO fright from him. I guess that the Bird felt he had survived the Cat once he would do it again. The Cat would get really irritated because he got no response from Lucky. He would jump down and you could see that Lucky had not made his day.

Se ends the tale of a Cat and a Parakeet

[justTripn]

Wow. Great story. Well told.

[Alelou]

Very cute!

[Asso]

DELICIOUS!

[Silverbullet]

Not sure where to put this. so, here.

I have been blissfully unaware of Crush videos, Apparently they show a puppy or kitten being crushed under a stilleto Heel of a womans shoe.. Not sure if it is a male of female wearing the shoe.

It seems that the Supreme court of the USA has ruled 8-1 for saying these videos are protected by the Free Spech amendment. Means they can be produced an dsold legally. It has been said that "the Law is an Ass." I am starting to belive that.

Has anyone heard of these Crush videos?

I cannot belive that people will watch them to get thier jollies.

What is this country coming to

[Aquarius]

The videos may be covered under "free speech," but animal cruelty isn't. So if anyone knows who is putting these videos up, they should be reported.

I really could've done without this knowledge this morning.

[Alelou]

Actually, what the Supreme Court said was that a documentary about dog fighting could not be prosecuted as a crime under the law that was written to stop these so-called crush videos. In short, they were saying the lower courts either applied the law too broadly or that the law itself was written too broadly. That just means the law either needs to be written better or the work in question didn't fit the definition under the law. It doesn't mean that eight of our Supreme Court justices like the idea of movies about puppies being crushed. When this incredibly divided court actually agrees on something to that degree, you know there's got to be a serious issue with the law.

I'd like to see Congress write a law to prevent that wacko Kansas church from going to our soldiers' funerals protesting that God hates gays and this is why the soldiers deserved to die. Beyond the sheer illogic of their argument, it's so cruel and hateful and totally non-Christian to grieving families to do that at someone's funeral. Soldiers are not public figures. They deserve some basic privacy rights. I'm all for freedom of speech, but this is ridiculous.

You'd think this could be something Dems and Reps could actually agree on...

I continue to wonder just what kind of people feel motivated to do this. What drives them? How can they be so vicious in the name of God, and not even to the people they're really freaked out about? It's incredibly bizarre.

[Silverbullet]

Aquarius, I too could have gone without learning about this but it was on the front of my favoite section: Editorials. so I read it. I am sorry if it upset you. I am upset too.

Alelou, Hate seems to be mixed in with the religion of Love. My interpretation of Christianity is that Jesus tought love thy neighbor and thyself. Those clowns dib't fit that description.

I am with you, Some things should be protected but there has to be some sense shown too.

You both are good people. As long as your kind exist there is hope.

SB

[panyasan]

I'd like to see Congress write a law to prevent that wacko Kansas church from going to our soldiers' funerals protesting that God hates gays and this is why the soldiers deserved to die. Beyond the sheer illogic of their argument, it's so cruel and hateful and totally non-Christian to grieving families to do that at someone's funeral. Soldiers are not public figures. They deserve some basic privacy rights. I'm all for freedom of speech, but this is ridiculous.

I am shocked about this. To interfere a funeral or to use a funeral to protest is a violation of rule that any civilized person would uphold. You show respect for the people who lost a loved one.

[Alelou]

You'd think, right?

I know that funerals can turn into political rallies, and I imagine they want to make sure a law doesn't prevent that (in the case of a wrongful death this can be a natural evolution). But this situation is quite different. You'd think there must be some way to address it that wouldn't step on important first amendment rights.

Seriously. I'd be all for a "Protection of Military Families Act." How can we have rules about photographing caskets coming back from overseas for the protection of the family (which changed and is now up to the family) yet allow this kind of thing free rein at their funerals?

[JadziaKathryn]

I know that funerals can turn into political rallies, and I imagine they want to make sure a law doesn't prevent that (in the case of a wrongful death this can be a natural evolution). But this situation is quite different. You'd think there must be some way to address it that wouldn't step on important first amendment rights.

Seriously. I'd be all for a "Protection of Military Families Act." How can we have rules about photographing caskets coming back from overseas for the protection of the family (which changed and is now up to the family) yet allow this kind of thing free rein at their funerals?

Very true. You'd think this could be one of those issues where most sane people can find common ground. The protest crowd isn't even against the military, they're just using it as a shameful platform to get attention. But really, I firmly believe that no matter what's going on, a grieving family deserves their privacy unless they choose otherwise. As Alelou mentioned, a wrongful death kind of thing, or the families of people killed by drunk drivers who want to make a statement against that blatant idiocy. But it should be the family's choice. C'mon, people, basic dignity here.

I loved the story about the biker group that actually protected a military funeral from those protesters by creating a kind of shield. I forget where I read it, but that was awesome.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

On a more cheerful note...

Today my parents finally arrived back home from Spain. It turns out they re-booked their flight for today last Monday, when all flights were grounded, and spent an extra week in Spain. It wasn't that nice. They were running low on money and it was actually rather cold, even for Spain. But at least they had an apartment and didn't have to worry about accommodations.

[justTripn]

Wow, that took a long time. I wonder about my sister who was stuck in London?

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Well, the skies were cleared on Thursday, but they just thought it would be more convenient to take the next scheduled flight a week later. I don't even think the airline put in any extra flights.

Your sister ought to have made it back by now, jT, even if the U.K. airspace was one of the last to be cleared.