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Tuesday
02Feb2010
Date02.2.2010

How To Survive A Horror Film Part II

Just what you have all been no doubt waiting for - round two of the series How To Survive The B Grade Horror Film Narrative!

Twenty two life saving tips! Of course this should only apply to those sorry saps unlucky enough to actually star in one. Because if your life is actually resembling something from the horror / slasher genre, well, in that case, your survival is infinitely more complicated than any remedy offered here.

Best of luck.

But I suppose the pointers couldn't hurt.

  1. If the killer has stalked you over the phone lines, don’t take a job as a phone counselor.
  2. After you manage to kill the monster/killer, never sit beside it and cry. It will suddenly pop back up to finish the job.
  3. Never go to camp or become a counselor. You’ll be dead by the end of summer.
  4. Never say “I’ll be right back.” You won’t be back. End of story.
  5. Always be nice to the shy, quiet, unpopular girl in school.
  6. Clowns never have, nor will they ever be helpful to hang around while in a horror movie. As harmless as the might seem, they WILL kill you once you let your guard down.
  7. Never go back for anything you lost
  8. .Avoid people with pointy teeth.
  9. Never buy your kid a toy that talks back.
  10. Remember: Just say “NO” to human blood.
  11. Pigs blood ain't any better!
  12. Never answer the phone when you are babysititng. Just get the hell out of there and leave the kids for dead.
  13. If you hear a strange noise coming from upstairs that sounds similar to, oh let’s say a severed head falling to the floor, don’t go trying to find out what it is.
  14. Never wait until you NEED the gun to check and see if it’s loaded.
  15. Never try to unmask the killer. You know it's never going to be good.
  16. Never hide in a closet.
  17. If you buried your cat in a strange place, and it came back as a smelly hell kitty, I'd think twice about doing the same thing to your son and wife!
  18. Don’t make a documentary that requires you to hike through the woods while looking for a witch that leaves stick figures hanging in trees.
  19. And if you do make such a documentery, for the love of God, blow your fucking nose
  20. If a giant shark is chasing your family, don’t go swimming. Actually, stay away from the water, period.
  21. If you are babysitting, don’t let the kids play with the Chucky doll.
  22. If a cop calls and says the prank phone calls are "coming from inside the house" - GET OUT! NOW! You're only getting paid, what, five bucks an hour to babysit? Leave the fucking rug rats.
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Wednesday
27Jan2010
Date01.27.2010

The Excorcist: A Mocking Deconstruction

What began as a time waster on a transatlantic flight has since taken on legs of its own.

Because really, the camp value in this is too delicious for words.

So I welcome you to the sparse, yet richly symbolic and interpretative portrayal of that seventies classic, The Exorcist.

ACT 1:

Iraq, before it was "Iraq". A hot, dusty, architectural dig where we see several skinny dogs go nuts on each other, rabidly barking through the entire scene, we see several women with foggy, glassy, grey eye wearing peasant clothes, and last but not least we see a sickly priest. Yes, it's "The Exorcist". Hint- you'll see him soon. Oh and what is he doing? Popping a nitroglycerin tab?!?!  For the slow among you, that would be what we creative types call "foreshadowing".

Never mind. It's a sophomoric attempt at foreshadowing that screams instead of whispers. And besides, no one got it when it first premiered anyway.

ACT 2:

Several years later. Washington DC, in early fall. A majestic brownstone just off the campus of Georgetown.

Where a sexy, but respectable Ellen Burstyn is playing the role of Chris MacNeil, a SERIOUS ACTRESS, whose central character trait it would seem, is to be smartly swathed in monochromatic rayon "twin sets", while filming a polemic about student activism.

Yeah, yeah, get to the goods I know.

Ok, meet the SERIOUS ACTRESS, and also a "mom".

Meet, Chris MacNeil.

Who, it seems, spends inordinate amount of her screen time in that specific turtleneck, and gets tons of mileage out of that pert little bob, as she shakes it all over the set, while at the same time clutching her head and making deep, audible gasps.

Thanks Ellen.

And of course we have "Rags", or Regan.

Who, let's just get this out of the way early on, sounds not too swift on the uptake, and if I was to be more succinct, somewhat "slow".

We are first introduced to the darling plaything of Satan as she is talking about "that B E A U T I F U L horse". Then, the moment all parents live to get right. Bit it's this moment however that Chris fails at; because in the end I bet she's saying,  "Damn I KNEW I should have thrown that fucking wee je board out".

Days later. Cut to one of mom's "actor" parties, the usual nelly queens, fag hags and lounge lizards in abundance. They are just having a swell old time singing Cole Porter around the piano...

In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked upon as something shocking....

...Heaven knows, anything goes.

Why yes, apparently anything does "go".

Like Regan.

All over the carpet.

Stream of yellow consciousness pissing like the dickens.

Not to be ushered away just yet, Rags drops the money quote,

"You're going to die up there Berk".

OOPS. See Burk is a space man. Due to head up that way any old day now. It's also subtly implied he is banging mama. Who, as usual, is grunting and grabbing her head, shaking that perky red bob as she hauls the little attention seeker off to get cleaned up.

Yes, Regan is becoming quite the handful it would seem.

You know, you'd think pissing on the floor during a grown up party and telling a drunk astro man he is going to kick would be enough. But NO.

FIRST, the bed shakes.

"Mommy , mommy make it stop"

Then there is that troubling little scene where she grabs the doctors nuts.

On cue, mommy looks all unintentionally sexy as shakes the perky bob, grabs head in hands and grunts. Rinse, repeat. Several times.

But alas, the tension mounts.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING TO MY BABY"?

Things get serious. Medical assessments. ECG. Cardio strain inducers.

And our insipid little candidate for tech school? "Rags". The girl's turning into a little sewer mouth!

"FUCKING BITCH" she wails to the nurse.

Cue the loyal protective mom,

"Oh no, not my daughter! She doesn't talk like that!"

Grunt.

Hold head in hands.

Cry, shake bob.

(Note to Ellen: Honey, it's getting old.)

A real life point of note.

Now, in my humble opinion, one of the movies weaker moments is when we go from the image below, a sweet yet plucky pre teen (who sounds a tad stupid)

 

who has taken up the somewhat socially isolating habit of calling nurses sluts and spitting inappropriately, to, well, you take a look below.

Ouch.

Oh, where to start.

Besides the concerning issues present in a lack of self care skills, someone does not look like a happy camper here. "Rags", it seems, is becoming an appropriate nickname after all. Looking a little exhausted, the poor dear.

Oh but not for long! Rags is FULL of surprises!

WHEE!

Make way for the backwards stair springing devil spider. A Satan Slinky!

Keep the sugar cookies away from Regan!

Though seriously, I digress. In today's soundbite, quick fix world of energy containment, and the concerning lack of essential parental engagement, nationally as well as globally, this demonstration of energetic "acting out' would be quit inappropriately labeled ADHD, and it would be so heavily tranquilized up, down, sideways and back, all it would need to be entertained would be the banjo from Deliverance.

Weighing the odds in this specific case, one would think that move would ultimately prove beneficial to our little spark plug, but no! Here is the point at which we really go off the fucking rails.

I will frame it as a cautionary tale.

One where plates fly!

Glasses crash!

Dressers catapult!

And of course, like all pre teen, hyper sexualized, social malcontents often do, Regan's head spins around 360 degrees on it's axis! And with a heavily cocknyed accent, the charming contortionist asks her grunting, head holding, red bob shaking mother, "do you know what she did, your cunting daughter".

Although I'm sorry Regan, but I must take issue with tense here. Because the salient point is not "what she did", it's "what she's about to do".

REALITY INTERJECTION:  Here is an example of REAL FORESHADOWING: At this point, please make yourself aware with what the child is grasping in her right hand.

I KNEW I put that crucifix somewhere! And put it somewhere she does! Evidently to prove her "love" of the Lord, Regan proceeds to masturbate furiously with said crucifix, snarling to no one in particular to "let Jesus fuck me".

Jesus, as usual, has nothing to say.

Then, as if to underscore the ever widening dysfunctional gulf between mother and daughter, our dear Rags decides the moment needs a close up. What does our plucky heroine have in mind? Shoving her mothers head into her bloody crotch, screaming in guttural tones, "LICK ME, LICK ME!"

Chris is devastated. She is unable to grunt, hold her face or shake her bob. So instead she just wipes away her daughters genital blood from her face.

Please, read that last sentence again!

OKAY THEN!

I think a fair assumption would be that at this juncture, Chris is seeing the futility with a strictly somatic approach.

ENOUGH ALREADY!  CALL THE FUCKING PRIEST.

Who, when met with this special welcome, really should have turned on his little Catholic heals and ran for the hills

Part II is soon to come.

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Thursday
21Jan2010
Date01.21.2010

HIV In Africa: A Reframe

This is a tough discussion, and it's one I have spent much time considering how best to present. Not only because of the bleak future that those with HIV in Africa face, but because, no matter how socially aware, and no matter how well versed one is in the theory of HIV in Africa, it is virtually impossible to get your head around it if you haven't seen it first hand.

Please realize I say that from experience. Therefore to start, I'm going to try a more detached, numbers and figures first and foremost approach.  As even with that, the reality and it's inevitable trajectory are hard to escape.

Sure, we can simplify the numbers into abstract models; and we can show them in relation to one another; we can chart them, graph them, subdivide them into smaller more tangible numbers. However, we have to accept at the end that we are not capable of grasping the scale in which people of Africa are suffering and dying due to HIV/AIDS.

What diagrams and advanced demographics outlined on nice power pioint templates also fail to do, is to connect statistics with the real people they are meant to represent. When looking at a chart, it is easy to forget that each number represents a real life, with real family members and friends. A death is not a single unit, but an end of a painful progression of sickness that leaves behind widows, orphans, and demoralized communities.

The statistics that I will present here, including HIV prevalence, cause of death, and HIV/AIDS models, may be verified through the UNAIDS public website and the World Health Organization's public online library. Information on drug prices is partly drawn from a report by Doctors without Borders, as well as from my own experience (limited as it is) in primary health care in both Sudan and Somalia, as well as my conversations with those who specialize in the medical management of HIV in Africa.

Framing the context

When discussing HIV in Africa we need to keep in mind the differences from our western experience. Chief among those is the actual virus. In north America HIV is predominately experienced as HIV - 1 sub tropic. In Africa, it is HIV - 2. Important, in that both strains have remained almost exclusively consistent to each continent since the epidemic began. And while most of the treatment options are similar, there are two key differences.

HIV 1 sub tropic (North American HIV) is considered highly virulent (how strong the virus is, thus how difficult to manage it is), but with a low (as compared to other viruses) infection potential. To use gay male statistics, one's chance of becoming positive by unprotected receptive anal sex with an infected person is between one in fifty to one in two hundred episodes.

HIV 2 (AFRICAN HIV) has a low virulence (a much weaker virus, thus easier to clinically manage), but a much higher infection potential. Risk of becoming positive is estimated to be between one in five encounters for the activity described above.

Here's the catch. The "easy to treat" part only applies if we are actually treating the disease. Which in Africa, we are currently not in most cases.

So ask yourself, does it make sense that HIV positive individuals in North America who are infected with a much more complicated, virulent and hard to manage disease, and who are currently being treated with triple combination therapy, have a significantly greater chance for survival than do those in sub Saharan Africa? Where the disease, if treated, is much easier to manage, much easier to survive, but of course, much easier to catch.

Some numbers may make things a bit clearer.

All numbers are current to the end of 2005, the most recent date for hard, empirical data.

Individuals currently living with HIV

  • world wide: 40.3 million
  • sub Saharan Africa: 25.8 million
  • North America: 1.3 million

New HIV infections per year

  • world wide: 4.9 million
  • sub Saharan Africa: 3.2 million
  • North America: 43, 000

Deaths due to HIV / AIDS per year

  • world wide: 3.1 million
  • sub Saharan Africa: 2.4 million
  • North America: 18, 000

Another way of looking at what those stats point out, is that, very clearly, we have slashed the death rate in the westernized world to an incredibly efficient degree, when contrasted with the rate before the advent of triple combination therapy.

Conversely, in Africa, where the disease is significantly less virulent, but significantly more infectious, (remember easier to get but easier to treat) we have not even made a dent in the death rate. If anything, it is increasing. The main reasons for this:

  1. a lack of access to medications that treat local health concerns (malaria, amebic disentry) that if occur concurrently with HIV, will prove fatal very quickly.
  2. A lack of access to standard triple combination therapy for HIV.

Another way of seeing what those numbers really mean when translated out:

In 2005, 2.3 million people died of HIV in sub Saharan Africa.

That's one person to die of HIV every 13.1 seconds.

Which works out to 23 people who die of HIV every 5 minutes. Moving into the hour range, that's 274 people who die of HIV every hour.

The days total? 6575 people die of HIV in Africa, every single day.

That's 2.3 million people a year who die of a completely preventable disease that currently is viewed as having a favorable treatment potential.

Here's the part that is really hard to stomach.

The staggering cost of those life saving medications? In 1997, $12, 546. per person, per year. Pricey, weren't they?

I use the past tense intentionally, because due to some very successful global HIV activism, the price is now at $400.00 per person, per year to treat and clinically manage a disease that has a statistically favourable outcome if treated early.

In a nutshell?

If the existing power structures in the western world gave a damn about this disease, we could stop it cold in it's tracks. Without so much as a dent in the global economy. $400.00 a year to save a life. But I suppose we have other, more pressing concerns.

Tell that to the 6575 individuals who will be dead by days end. To the 2.3 million who will die by next New Years Eve.

Please take some time to think about the information that I have included here. Think about what it means and what it suggests in a broader context, both the obvious and the underlying inferences present when the leaders of the westernized world smile and nod their heads in empathetic gesture, but really only pay lip service and offer token support to a continent that is rapidly becoming extinct.

More to come.

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Tuesday
19Jan2010
Date01.19.2010

In Brief

Am home.

Exhausted, but energized.

Found what I was looking for?

Don't know about that, but I know I feel better than when I left.

Plan on sleeping for a good three days.

Then, lots to tell.

Peace.

 

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Thursday
14Jan2010
Date01.14.2010

Horror Films, Decapitation & 27 Safety Tips?

 

Of course I need to add my creative expression to the online discussion. 

I'll take horror films for six hundred Alex.

Though all kidding aside, one of the less than thrilling realities of doing a stint in a foreign and politically volitive part of the world, is your complete vulnerability to the external realities that make up your comfort in that thing called a "safety awareness".

For the third day in a row, that has been the problem. As for myself and the other seven North Americans I am sharing a hotel wing with, we've been told it's inadvisable to venture to the rural clinics when the terrorist opposition is threatening your team with "decapitation". My guess is testing that little theory out would be self destructive in some seriously life hindering ways, so I am content to hang at the hotel. 

What to do, you ask? Considering the seriously creepy and pervy owner of the hotel, the one with the eye that crosses when he gets horny or flustered (it's hilarious), has a B grade horror film fascination / fetish, well, you become an aficionado in the art of slutty, cheesy, B grade horror films. As you truly have watched every fucking horror film that has ever been made.

Every

Last

One

Of Them!

But first, some horror movie trivia. What recent and suffiently twisted little horror fest is the following image taken from?

First person to get it right wins one night, all expenses paid, with green face above. I'll even toss in the pea soup for free.

No? Fine, be picky!

So without further hesitation, I offer you my ever growing (for the past three days that is) list of:

How to not only live, but dramatically survive, the seriously never ending B grade horror hell narrative. (Listen closely now).

  1. When it seems that you've killed the monster, it will be of great benefit to you that you actually check to see if it's dead.
  2. Twice.
  3. If you find that your house is built upon or near a cemetery, was once a church used for black masses, had previous inhabitants who went mad or committed suicide or died in some horrible fashion or who performed necrophilia or satanic practices, move the fuck away immediately.
  4. Do not search the basement, especially when the power has just gone out.
  5. If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they do not know, or if they speak using a voice other than their own, shoot them at once. It will save you a lot of grief in the long run. 
  6. This one has always wound me up. When you have the benefit of numbers, never pair off or go off alone
  7. As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.
  8. If you're searching for something which caused a noise and find out that it's just the cat, leave the room immediately if you value your life. Because guess what, it wasn't the fucking cat!
  9. If you're running from the monster, expect to trip or f all down at least twice, more if you are female. Also note that, although you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it's still moving fast enough to catch up with you.
  10. If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, um, get away from them as fast as possible.
  11. Stay away from the following geographical locations:  Amityville, Elm Street, Transylvania,  the Bermuda Triangle, or any small town in Maine .
  12. Beware of strangers bearing tools such as chain saws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, combines, lawnmowers, butane torches, soldering irons, band saws, weed-whackers or any device made from deceased companions.
  13. Don't make fun of or play with dead things.
  14. If you find a town which looks deserted, it's probably for a reason. Take the hint and stay away.
  15. If you walk into the local abandoned-looking church to seek help or shelter, and you notice that the crucifix is mounted upside down, hey Skippy, get the fuck out!
  16. When you happen to be one of the fortunate ones and actually make it through the film alive, never, NEVER sign on to do a sequel. If you do, expect to depart this world in the first five minutes.
  17. If you realize that the people in your town/county are having their minds taken over by some strange force, alien or otherwise: DO NOT call the police as they are a) either already taken over themselves and will turn you in or b) will not believe you and laugh at you. Either way, you must handle the problem yourself.
  18. If a small band of children appear to be smarter then the adults that are around them, be cautious. If they stay together in a small, secretive group, and display nothing but hostility towards their elders, authority, and the church, leave town at once. If you wish to stay, be as kind to the children as possible, but expect to die anyways because you are inferior to them.
  19. When one of your spaceship's crew finds a hideous parasite attached to his body, don't let him back on the ship. The guy's dogmeat anyway.
  20. When a hideous alien menace is hunting you never wander off alone to hunt for the ship's cat.
  21. If someone who seems important tells you to do or NOT do something (like DON'T fall asleep, DON'T leave me, DON'T look for the homicidal-chainsaw-wielding- psychopath by yourself) by all means, listen to them, unless doing so would break another of the guidelines.
  22. If you are wounded by flesh-eating zombies, aboandon all hope, because sooner or later, no matter how many anti-biotics you take, yer gonna become one of 'em. 
  23. You'd think this one goes without saying. Don't open the closed door, especially if you hear scratching, heavy breathing, or any other strange noises from the other side.
  24. If you're a male, get out of there as fast as possible! The only one who ever survives is a female.
  25. While in a horror film, never bathe, especially when in the house alone.
  26. If you are a female, never show your breasts, slutty women are expendable. 
  27. Never camp or build homes on Indian burial grounds.
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Tuesday
12Jan2010
Date01.12.2010

In The Market For A Good Read?

In regards to how I occupy my my not at all prevalent off hours, sleeping has proven useless, so reading ranks in at a close second. Still too early in my time here to actually enjoy a nights sleep, I am catching up on some book reading of some authors I have been anxious to indulge.

Three of the books I have recently finished are three I give the highest recommendations to. If it's a book you are looking to throw yourself into, you can't do much better than one of these.

Enjoy....

The Collected Storied Of Amy Hempel is made up of four slim volumes: "Reasons to Live," published in 1985; "At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom," 1990; "Tumble Home," 1997; and "The Dog of the Marriage," 2005. More than 20 years to accumulate just over 400 pages, her prose is more than worth waiting for.

A highly skilled first person narrator, Hempel's central characters are smart, damaged loners whose lives have a sense of being salvaged from a wreck. The humor is mordant, rather than what is too commonly called redemptive. Often with a bold, intentional assurance, this author crafts situations that often see no hope of redemption anywhere. In a strangely ironic way, that is in itself often refreshing.

Living to Tell The Tale  Gabriel García Márquez's first of a planned three part memoir follows the author through to his mid twenties. Written at 76, Márquez has the comforting confidence of a man unafraid to chronicle all that has been his life in his native Colombia. Particularly engaging is the historical timeline that forms much of the text, and underscores the authors passion for human rights and justice; a freedom and privilege often denied him in his early years.

The Year Of Magical Thinking Long a Joan Didion fan, I had read this when first published in 2005, however my circumstance of late has seen me anxious to give a second, more considered pursuit to this harrowing, though ultimately exhilarating memoir of one amazingly cruel year that began with the sudden death of Didion's long time husband, and concluded with the demise of her only adult child. For those who have faced the sudden, tragic loss of someone close, you will appreciate her refreshingly on point accounts of the almost 3D like hell storm involved in simply staying grounded.

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Tuesday
29Dec2009
Date12.29.2009

Quotes

Going through some old, archived files, I was reminded what it is about Larry Kramer the author, not so much the activist, that I appreciate. It's in his ability to take a completely normal, almost banal moment, and so precisely demonstrate the inherent humanity in each of us.

From Larry Kramer's speech at Copper Union. This, is brilliant writing.

I was in the hospital just after my liver transplant and I wouldn’t eat and Dr. Fung said I had to eat, or else I would die, and I just couldn’t eat (do you know how strange this is to someone who was always on a diet?).

It was New Year’s Eve. We were in beautiful downtown Pittsburgh. David had brought a hamper filled with my favorite dishes. And I could not eat anything. Furiously he crawled into bed with me, boots and all, and started to cry.

“We haven’t come this far for you to die because you won’t eat,” he screamed, tears streaming down his face. I will never forget that. I will never forget this man I love so much in bed with me with his snowy boots on starting slowly to spoon into me whatever he’d made and I trying so desperately hard to swallow it, looking at him, this man I love so much, doing this for me, both of us now bawling our eyes out and hugging each other in this strange bed in this strange town, wondering how we got here.

Wow.

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Sunday
27Dec2009
Date12.27.2009

A More Than Worthy Cause

On the tails of yesterdays post that touched on the concept of dog rescue organizations, I include a bit of background on what these organizations do, how they are funded and managed, and what you can do to help them continue to offer the life saving care to abandoned and in need dogs.

The information below is specific to the majority of dog rescue organizations in Ontario, Canada.

And by the way, accusing me of having a concerning conflict of interest in my selection of breed occupying the photographic elements of this post? To that I say....guilty as charged!

What is animal rescue?

When people hear the term "animal rescue," or more specifically "dog rescue," they immediately think of search and rescue--that is, animals employed in the use of locating people lost in the wilderness or by some other peril, such as natural disaster.

Animal rescue (dog rescue, cat rescue, horse rescue, etc.) is different. It is people rescuing animals from peril, such as threat of euthanasia by animal shelters and other at-risk situations such as neglect and abuse.

Can I get a dog today?

No, and this intentional. Impulse dog or pet purchase is the cause of many animals eventually being surrendered to shelters. While specifics vary, an application and interview process is standard at most rescue organizations and the process generally takes two weeks.

Are the dogs free?

No the dogs are not free. This is an adoption service, so you as an owner will incur the cost of vet care required by the dog. In Ontario this includes spay/neuter, all vaccines, a full check up by a vet, microchipping and any incidental medication.

If you are interested in donating to a dog rescue, it should be noted that for those organizations registered as dog rescues in the province, all of the money you donate is used toward dog rescue. Staff are strictly volunteers and receive no pay.

What is wrong with these dogs?

Nothing. These dogs have needed to be rescued from various circumstances, through no fault of their own. Most commonly people rush out and impulsively buy a dog without a thought of what dog ownership entails. Then once the cute puppy stage is past, reality sets in and they realize that dogs must be walked and played with regardless of the weather or how tired the owner is.

Some dogs have problems and will continue to have them to some degree; other problems require behavior modification to successfully eliminate. However most come with no serious problems at all other than they have been unjustly abandoned. Most rescued dogs have had little or no formal training, and most have had poor care, as well as being abused in one way or another. Minor or major in scope, it is fair to say these dogs come with some degree of "baggage".  Not surprisingly, just like a lot like people.

In the majority of cases, medical issues have been either resolved or constructively addressed by the time the dogs are ready for adoption. Generally speaking, most behavior problems simply require time, training, tender loving care and, mostly, commitment on the part of the people who are giving the dog his or her new lease on life.

How can I help?

Ask anyone who works with these groups and they say the same thing; anything you can do or provide is hugely impacting to a dog rescue organization, as tey exist in a constant state of deficit. A little may not go a long way but it is always required.

As these groups are NOT shelters they are limited in the help they need. The need for safe and loving foster homes is enormous - but this can't be just a couple day commitment. Homes who will watch the dog until he or she is placed, is a process that can take months. Potential foster homes must expect that

  1. the rescue dogs will need attention and work.
  2. Only positive reinforcement training and techniques are endorsed. These dogs have been beaten, it doesn't work.

So, back to the question of how to help? Money and personal time are always appreciated and in great demand. If circumstances are such that you can't offer those, rescue organizations always require collars, toys, bedding, flea and heartworm medicines, and as always - dog food. The list is long.

Besides that, do you have a particular skill to offer that isn't listed here? Give your local dog rescue organization a phone call and tell them about it.

Dog Rescue Organization Links

Dalmatian Rescue Canada

Dog Camp

Wood Green Animal Shelter

RescueMe.org

American Kennel Club Breed Rescue

My all time favorite shot of Singher, the insane canine....

 

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Saturday
26Dec2009
Date12.26.2009

Meet Ringo

No, not him.

This Ringo has more than a few roles; a friend to many, a world traveller, and in the understatement of the year, a watchdog with a mission. Though he is due to return home to Santa Cruz, California in the next month, this three year old lab has been working for his country in Afghanistan.

From the LA Times....

Ringo is credited with finding 10 improvised explosive devices in the last six months while on route-clearance patrol with Combined Anti-Armor Team 2 of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

Ringo sniffs the ground for the presence of explosives. When he finds something suspicious, he sits down near the spot, allowing Marine technicians to dig carefully to uncover the buried bombs, which remain the top killer of U.S. troops.

It should be noted that Ringo is from an animal rescue society; a place where abused and abandoned dogs are taken so they may find a home. The difference between an SPCA and a dog / rescue is that a no kill policy is in effect at most rescues, assuring the animals are not further victimized and given every chance possible.

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Wednesday
23Dec2009
Date12.23.2009

On Second Thought

 

The only requirement for employment at the time?

  • Good physical condition
  • No fear of heights.
  • I am guessing a well executed and confident ability to walk toe to toe on a bloody foot wide, stainless steel beam, on one of Manhattans tallest construction projects!
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