Here at the Doglet Propulsion Laboratories™, we're celebrating the birthday of our muse, the Wünderbunnydoglet, Nuggles von Doglophone. 16 years for her is like 80 for us, and this from a breed whose life-expectancy is 13-15 years. The day after her 14th birthday, she was run over by a car. She hates when I make her wear outfits, but this one was a pastel Rocky Horror finale fantasy for me, so I made her wear it, anyhoo. You always hurt the ones you love. Well, she's put me through it too, bitch that she is, so payback is fair play at this point. I joke that I'll have her hide turned into a little hair hot water bottle so she can continue to function as my personal mini-heater, but don't let that fool you - I'm crazy about this crazy dog. She is a merry, spirited and intrepid creature. She is absolutely fearless and has a degree of toughness that excels even her abundant cuteness. I aspire to be like my dog. I aspire to be worthy of her.

Happy birthday, bun-bun!

A short and violent video. 'appy 'allo'een!

I've been so busy and caught up in things. I just realized my darling maternal grandfather died 20 years ago this month. I've meant to for a while, but I'll try to post an audio file of some of his guitar picking very soon. Listening to him play was what really made me fall in love with music. Grandpa and Grandma Bertie would have a "musical" every so often, when dozens of cousins, aunts, uncles would gather at their house with their instruments, singing and drinking coffee into the night. He loved his grandbabies, and doted on every single one of us. There's really no one who can make you feel special like your grandparents, is there? Since I've been an adult, I've come to know he was a much more complex person than I could have imagined. Although I know he had world-class talent, I think he would have chafed under the yoke of the business end of the music business. He was a free spirit, and the rules sort of didn't apply to him.

Nice work, if you can get it.

Here's a new study. New studies are always interesting, aren't they?

Certain female college athletes, such as swimmers, divers and runners, have
lower bone density than other athletes, a new study finds.

Um, ok. So, is there no possibility that certain body types simply have greater/lesser bone density naturally and that this is not a result of the activity, but that the activities chosen are a result of a certain body type? Could it be that someone with a certain physiology is a natural fit for certain sports for reasons that can be narrowed down to a molecular level? Why is that not a consideration?

I mean, clearly there are different body types for different types of athletic pursuits. I have noticed that there's not a lot of crossover between the ballerina- and weightlifter-groups of women, ya know? I don't think this is merely an accident, but more a matter of people being drawn to physical activity that feels natural and enjoyable to them.

Yes, yes, I understand there has to be a mean average by which everyone is measured, but perhaps there should be accounting for variables like genetics and environment. I think this is probably not all that different than the case of a man who smokes a pack a day and eats bacon & eggs every morning and lives to be a hundred, while some other poor sap succumbs to lung cancer at the age of 45. It's a crap-shoot, baby.

I'm sick of hearing that some scientist has declared the last-word final understanding of a thing or a principle. After all, it was less than 40 years ago that the well-intentioned folks at Sierra Club prevented small managed burn-offs in our forest systems that have resulted in the catastrophic fires that have plagued the west and southwest for the past decade. Oh, and in the 60s and 70s, they knew all there was to know. They said so.

That's why we should believe everything scientists say about global warming, too. *smirk*

Ignorance may be bliss, but arrogance and ignorance can be deadly.

DOG AND PONY SHOW

OK, back home again.

I vowed if I saw a horse this weekend during my visit to the Granbury area, that I would make friends. I walked up to a fence, and an old horse came walking and when he got close to me, he nosed on the ground and of all things, there was a pear on the ground. He seemed grateful to me (yeah, I took credit for the pear) and I rubbed his forehead and along the back of his jawline. Holy crap, I had no ideer horses were SO very dirty. My hand was coated in an oily tan layer of dirt after that. I think I'm doomed to remain all-hat-and-no-horse.

As the horse was bending to pick up the pear, my dog, who I was holding on her leash, started barking like a fiend and she bit him on the nose. He was very mellow though, and though initially he pulled away from her, he afterward seemed to give her no more regard than he would a gnat, as he went about the business of munching and sliming his pear.

She's a little pistol, doglet is. I mean, imagine - this was about a 900-pound horse, I'd say, and here she was, 15 pounds of piss&vinegar-style mouthy little bitch, writing out the check her ass might have to cash. I'd say those odds were pretty skewed, and not in her favor. Still, she had the calmer mind of a human to yank her out of danger. Silly thing.

FYI: I did not buy any new shoes this weekend. That said, I didn't actually go near any places that had shoes, so this is not indicative of self-control so much as a lack of opportunity. I did get all drooly over a pony-hide purse dyed dark red, but I DID resist. Can you believe it?

And if we must make concessions for comfort/heel considerations, then at least we have the new mauve/pink combo in the classic Angels/Michael shoe from Fluevog. I have 4 pair of these shoes, and some are more than 10 years old. I have them in pearly gold, and black/burgundy and brown/hunter green. They's just so cute, is all.

This was a whirlwind week from Hades.

Anyway, I haven't made my usual blogrounds, but I'll be hitting everyone's blogs on Sunday night. Going out of town til then.

In the meantime, for all those folks who've been talking about the pain of wearing heels, there is ONE shoe company I would recommend that makes the most remarkably comfortable shoes that I know of for less than $100/pair.

The brand is called Sofft, and you can get them at Nordstrom or Zappos. They are amazingly comfortable, and I suspect that someone who couldn't wear other heels could manage to be comfortable in these. Plus, they are amazingly cute.

Also a word on fit for heels is they should pass the pencil test: you should be able to slide a pencil in between the back of your heel and the inside of the back of the shoe. This is the proper fit. Tighter than that is too tight. By the way, I learned that from a tango dancer who knew too well the importance of proper fit for heels.

Have a great weekend!

From Tam at View From The Porch:

The House of Representatives has passed H.R.1955, the "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007". One of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Harman (D-CA), said

"We must intervene before a person crosses the line separating radical views from violent behavior, create an environment that discourages disillusionment and alienation, and instill in young people a sense of belonging and faith in the future."

Do you have any radical views? Said any radical things on a blog or forum? Belong to any radical organizations? Maybe one that advocates private citizens patrolling the border or calls the 2nd Amendment the "Reset Button"? Call yourself a "People of the Gun"?Just think what a second Clinton administration is going to be able to do with all these cool new toys left hanging in the toolshed. We're all terrorists now, baby.

Well, I figure if they're going to end up treating me like a loon, I may as well cut to the chase. I'm going to make up a bumper sticker that says:

The voices told me to

go clean my guns.

email me if you want one of of 'em.

There's a bomb scare on a bus in downtown Dallas right now.

I hope Sandy and Keanu got off in time.

a double shot of sadness, straight up, sidecar of longing with a guilt chaser

I bought the new PJ Harvey cd White Chalk recently, and I finally gave it an intense listen over the past couple days. This cd is absolutely gorgeous, but the mood is quite melancholy. At moments I feel the cd is so monolithically somber that it almost seems a tone poem. Polly Jean is incredibly taltented, and I like this cd, but I think she's channeling Sylvia Plath. If you like PJ Harvey, then you can probably handle it, but if you're not a fan already, you may want to dip your toe in her pool with one of her earlier offerings first.

Tremendously lovely, exceedingly sad. I give this 4 nose-blows on the Institute of Phlegm's Snotometer™.

I went to a Halloween party Thursday night, and dessert was a Kitty Litter cake. Have you heard of this? It's actually crumbled up white/chocolate cakes & cookies topped with caramels and tootsie rolls kind of melty and molded to look turdly.

Yeah, it was revolting, but it was funny, too. And delicious.

I found the recipe below on this site:

CAT LITTER CAKE RECIPE !!
[*NOTE: THIS CAKE CONTAINS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THAT IS NOT EDIBLE!!*]
CAKE INGREDIENTS
1 box spice or German chocolate cake mix

1 box of white cake mix

1 package white sandwich cookies

1 large package vanilla instant pudding mix

A few drops green food coloring

12 small Tootsie Rolls or equivalent
SERVING "DISHES AND UTENSILS"
1 NEW cat-litter box

1 NEW cat-litter box liner

1 NEW pooper scooper
Prepare and bake cake mixes, according to directions, in any size pan. Prepare pudding and chill. Crumble cookies in small batches in blender or food processor. Add a few drops of green food coloring to 1 cup of cookie crumbs. Mix with a fork or shake in a jar. Set aside.
When cakes are at room temperature, crumble them into a large bowl. Toss with half of the remaining cookie crumbs and enough pudding to make the mixture moist but not soggy. Place liner in litter box and pour in mixture.
Unwrap 3 Tootsie Rolls and heat in a microwave until soft and pliable. Shape the blunt ends into slightly curved points. Repeat with three more rolls. Bury the rolls decoratively in the cake mixture. Sprinkle remaining white cookie crumbs over the mixture, then scatter green crumbs lightly over top.
Heat 5 more Tootsie Rolls until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle with crumbs from the litter box. Heat the remaining Tootsie Roll until pliable and hang it over the edge of the box.
Place box on a sheet of newspaper and serve with scooper. Enjoy!

OH FOR FECK'S SAKE!!!

A 7 year old has been suspended from school in New Jersey for drawing a water pistol on a piece of paper.

The case is not the first in New Jersey in which students were suspended
for depictions of weapons.

Four kindergarten boys were suspended in 2000 for playing cops and
robbers, even though they were using their fingers as guns.

Sheesh.

The new 'vogs are here!

The new 'vogs are here!

Yip yip yahoo - footgasms two days in a row. I really need to set up pay-per-view site for foot obsession, don't I? Anyway, it only took 2.5 weeks for these shoes to arrive. Fluevog is fantastic, but I think their order fulfillment department may be running on APT or some such. Oh well, better late than never.

Anyway, these are the nearly-sold-out Scarlet by John Fluevog, only mine are kind of a charcoal gray, and they have that tooled-leather look, and this heel is some kind of engineering feat.

______________________

I must be brief, as for some insane reason, I allowed myself to be talked into going to work early Thursday for an appointment. Eek.

We get an extra hour this weekend, right?

Wow. Tuesday was SUCH a great day for a whole bunch of reasons. The germ of an idea has been kind of growing in the back of my mind for a little while. I've been hankering to get a pair of cowboy boots. Well, cowgirl, anyway. I got a pair of Dingo fashion boots when I was in high school, but that sort of doesn't count. I also got a pretty nice pair of used boots that fit perfectly about 15 years ago, but those boots were never the same after I chased my dog into the surf in them on a beach in California. (I don't recommend it.) Anyway, I might be singing somewhere in the near future, and the combo I'd perform with is country-oriented, so I thought why not celebrate this groovy, beautiful cool day in which my sinuses feel so much better by going to look at boots that I could maybe wear onstage.

I went in the place and *sigh* *gasp* I said THAT's it! THAT is my boot. That's the pair for me. Alas! It was not to be, for an $899 pair of Lucchese was simply not what the wallet goddesses dictated today. (btw - for you furriners, that's pronounced Lew-casey. Even alluding to fromagerie is a hanging offense down here, fyi)

I settled on a modest but still cutely (?) stitched pair of Ariat boots in black leather that fit my feet perfectly. There's a really nice grain to the leather and the toe is pointy, but not too pointy. It's a rounded point. Whatever. Anyway, here's a picture. YEE HAW!

I left work in the thick of rush hour and picked through the back streets to Western Warehouse on Stemmons Expressway. They have those ginormous plate-glass windows where you can see out onto the freeway and all the miserable people stuck in cars. *smug mode* Why drive when one might be trying on footwear? It was very western zen, in a way.

Anyway, as I kept unwittingly choosing the expensive boots, the guy finally said "you have really great taste!" I said "yeah, but unfortunately, I can't afford my taste right now, I just need a basic black pair of boots." So these caught my eye, they feel great, and he said "they look incredible with that skirt, actually." Hmm, cowboy boots and black silk georgette? Yeah, I can fight through that. Actually, the edge of the skirt is not ruffled, but it is kind of sinuous and fluttery, so it really did work with the boots. I didn't want to leave them orphaned in the store, so Thelma and Louise came home with me tonight. Went out to grab dinner, and I thought going to get good barbecue is probably a good way to celebrate a new pair of cowgirl boots, so me and Thelma & Louise went for some pulled pork over at Dickey's. (that sounds wrong, doesn't it?) Anyway, I was so excited I barely touched my beans and dill tater salad.

Yee Haw, people! A day you get a new pair of boots is a very good day. Actually, in a way, I was also sort of celebrating two of the best days in a row at work I've had in a very long time. Things are going well, and I'm feeling better physically, too. By better, I mean not just better from the recent allergy/sinus thingy, but the best I've felt since I got pneumonia. YIPPEE! Maybe I sweated the last of it out at Gogol Bordello. Who knows?

Have a great day!