Writing contest: Where's Home?
Inviting entries about where/what
is your sacred space called 'home'
Deadline is June 25
Getting LOVELY submissions...keep them coming!
Warming up the Where's Home? contest
Beth's 1st post in series "Hi Honey, I'm Home" is:
'Bad Boy Lilies of the Valley'
2nd post in the "Hi Honey, I'm Home" series is:
'Leaving home so she can find a bigger one'
3rd post in the "Hi Honey, I'm Home" series is:
'Lilacs in the driveway'
www.virtualteahouse.com
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Where's Home? Contest
Taking off on Anthony McCune's View from Your Window , Virtual Tea House is hosting a contest or exercise, for you non-competitive types, about where's home? (Thanks, Tony, for the idea!)
This is probably not a simple exercise. This is not necessarily about your house, although for many of us, it is.
It is about a sense of place or 'site fidelity', and a feeling of safety or comfort. It can be a wild and harsh place, like the edge of a desert canyon, or a more yielding place like a mountain meadow or stream. Or it can be people-related, like your grandmother's garden, your sewing room or your father's workshop.
Tell us about your sacred space called home: physical, emotional, spiritual, or a place in your memory. The winning entries will be sent a packet of heirloom, hand-selected wildflower seeds that I will locate, just to fit the environment where you live or where you call home.
Winning entries will be short: 750 words or less. They will give the readers the feeling of you at your core place--centered, expansive, safe and joyful! Pictures will be extra credit and gladly accepted!
My favorite entry (or entries) will be posted on the Virtual Tea House by the end of June, 2008.
Send your entries to: beth@virtualteahouse.com Make sure to include a way to get in touch with you--email, phone or physical address.
To get you started, here's some pictures from a part of my feeling of home:
This is probably not a simple exercise. This is not necessarily about your house, although for many of us, it is.
It is about a sense of place or 'site fidelity', and a feeling of safety or comfort. It can be a wild and harsh place, like the edge of a desert canyon, or a more yielding place like a mountain meadow or stream. Or it can be people-related, like your grandmother's garden, your sewing room or your father's workshop.
Tell us about your sacred space called home: physical, emotional, spiritual, or a place in your memory. The winning entries will be sent a packet of heirloom, hand-selected wildflower seeds that I will locate, just to fit the environment where you live or where you call home.
Winning entries will be short: 750 words or less. They will give the readers the feeling of you at your core place--centered, expansive, safe and joyful! Pictures will be extra credit and gladly accepted!
My favorite entry (or entries) will be posted on the Virtual Tea House by the end of June, 2008.
Send your entries to: beth@virtualteahouse.com Make sure to include a way to get in touch with you--email, phone or physical address.
To get you started, here's some pictures from a part of my feeling of home:
Monday, May 19, 2008
Writing contest: 'Where's Home?'
Taking off on Anthony McCune's View from Your Window , Virtual Tea House is hosting a contest or exercise, for you non-competitive types, about where's home? (Thanks, Tony, for the idea!)
This is probably not a simple exercise. This is not necessarily about your house, although for many of us, it is.
It is about a sense of place, and a feeling of safety or comfort. It can be a wild and harsh place, like the edge of a desert canyon, or a more yielding place like a mountain meadow or stream. Or it can be people-related, like your grandmother's garden, your sewing room or your father's workshop.
Tell us about your sacred space called home: physical, emotional, spiritual, or a place in your memory. The winning entries will be sent a packet of heirloom, hand-selected wildflower seeds that I will locate, just to fit the environment where you live or where you call home.
Winning entries will be short: 750 words or less and will give the readers the feeling of you at your core place--centered, expansive, safe and joyful! Pictures will be extra credit and gladly accepted!
My favorite entry (or entries) will be posted on the Virtual Tea House by the end of June, 2008.
Send your entries to: beth@virtualteahouse.com
Make sure to include a way to get in touch with you--email, phone or physical address.
Many thanks!
Myrabeth
This is probably not a simple exercise. This is not necessarily about your house, although for many of us, it is.
It is about a sense of place, and a feeling of safety or comfort. It can be a wild and harsh place, like the edge of a desert canyon, or a more yielding place like a mountain meadow or stream. Or it can be people-related, like your grandmother's garden, your sewing room or your father's workshop.
Tell us about your sacred space called home: physical, emotional, spiritual, or a place in your memory. The winning entries will be sent a packet of heirloom, hand-selected wildflower seeds that I will locate, just to fit the environment where you live or where you call home.
Winning entries will be short: 750 words or less and will give the readers the feeling of you at your core place--centered, expansive, safe and joyful! Pictures will be extra credit and gladly accepted!
My favorite entry (or entries) will be posted on the Virtual Tea House by the end of June, 2008.
Send your entries to: beth@virtualteahouse.com
Make sure to include a way to get in touch with you--email, phone or physical address.
Many thanks!
Myrabeth
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
2nd 2nd carnival on engaged spirituality: engaging resistance
I had all good intentions of writing a passable post about resistance on the Virtual Tea House for this carnival, but I didn't do it. I'm trying not to complain these days, but I've been really busy. Who isn't? No excuses...but there are some reasons, mediocre in quality. Call it resistance if you must. I resemble that!
I did a word search on the Virtual Tea House for the word 'resistance' and came up with about 10 posts made by me or other bloggers on the site, including 2 written specifically for this carnival by Rosemerry and Holly. I think that means that either I have a lot of resistance, or all the bloggers on the site do...or maybe we're just a good cross-section of the population!
So here, without further ado, are the posts sent to me or to the blog carnival site, on the topic of Engaging Resistance for our spiritual development.
Helen Mildenhall on Resistance and Spiritual Engagement on Conversation at the Edge As one of the community members quipped on the comments to Helen's post... " a great description of the community here at Off the Map, religion resistors that we are!"
Patti Digh on 37 Days submitted 2 posts: Become You and Follow Your Desire Lines. Patti is a soul-full writer whose blog is about "what would you be doing today if you only had 37 days to live?"
Holly Holbrooks' blog on the Virtual Tea House is a sweet and deep one. She wrote this post for the carnival, "Resistance--Love It" about finally moving through a terrifying block to talk with an uncle. "We often think of resistance as a bad thing, a natural tendency that we try so hard through conscious living to let go of. We try to not try. And sometimes it saves us, when we learn we can just float instead of thrash around in the water." Holly's on her way to medical school in the fall--hope she's the one with the listening heart when it's my time to face the abyss.
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer's blog on the Virtual Tea House is also a sweet and rich one. On Being an Organic Farmer and the Futility of Resistance explores what it takes to roll with the punches of nature. By the way, Rosemerry's poem, 'Cartography' was a finalist on Prairie Home Companion's "Bed of Roses Love Sonnet Contest" this past February!
The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard, is not overtly about resistance, but is ALL about resistance. Her team gave permission to use anything on their site for this carnival. "From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns.
Many thanks to all of you sincere and prolific bloggers out there who submitted posts to the Blog Carnival site! I had to cut the list of submissions off at the deadline of April 25th because there were so many submissions for this carnival. I'm not complaining...it's a great problem to have!
For those of you who submitted after the deadline, there's another edition coming out in early July. From the close to 100 submissions received, here are the offerings that most clearly connect around the topic of the engagement of resistance on our spiritual path.
These posts use nature or exercise metaphors about how to work with resistance:
StarLightWalker presents Obstacles posted at StarLightWalker, saying, "A lesson in purpose of obstacles and why resisting them may not be the best strategy."
kitty presents Make Like a Plant and Move Toward the Light posted at Brave New Kitty.
SamSherpa presents Animal, mineral, or vegetable? posted at Road to PleRoma, saying, "Hey, this is an older post from my blog that sits in happy obscurity. Hope you guys may find it interesting."
Rich Vosler presents Pruning makes growth for new life posted at Sales Training Tips.
Donna Bringhurst presents Conscious Flex: Logic of a Miracle: by Nicholas Powiull posted at Conscious Flex, saying, "There are many wonderful "ah inspiring" articles on this website, but I add this one because it is spiritually related."
The following posts use political or historical models of resistance and weave the personal mirrors into the mix:
Joel Gruber presents Who Are Your Enemies? posted at Fearless Dreams Personal Development.
Phil B. presents Humanity's Responsibilities « Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, "It does not matter if God created man or if man created God."
David Gross presents The Picket Line — 24 April 2008 posted at The Picket Line, saying, "Isaac Sharpless tells the story of Quaker war tax resistance in the colony of Pennsylvania, and gives us the context of Benjamin Franklin’s quote: “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”"
Ian Welsh presents Morality and Health Care in the US posted at Firedoglake.
Christine presents Is Marriage Outdated? posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France.
These posts explore religious and spiritual resistance. There are several that talk about the laws of attraction. While I'm not a fan of 'The Secret', it is providing a catalyst for many to wrestle with the resistance of the mind to accept and change, even for the promise of what the heart desires.
Albert Decker presents Witness posted at Resonant Enigma, saying, "To me, a moment of releasing resistance, giving in to 'what is,' is what this little piece is about."
Lori Jewett presents Living More Fully - Death as a Motivator posted at Between Us Girls, saying, "Whatever our spiritual orientation may be, death leaves us with many questions but it also provides us with the opportunity to engage more fully with life."
Sanjay presents And They Lived Happily Ever After posted at Quest for Personal Nirvana, saying, "How does resistance within us to our own growth, materially and spiritually, get created in the first place? This article ponders on the villains that we harbor within our subconscious, nurture them and feed them, and which come in the way of our nirvana. It also points a way to tap into the divine intervention that can take us to nirvana."
Gary Evans presents Why Won’t The Law of Attraction Work For Me? , 3 Tips To Install New Beliefs , A Secret Meditation for Law of Attraction Followers and How Much Do You Want It? posted at Good To Feel Good.
Michelle Wood presents What Is Religion from The Prophet posted at * Spirits In Harmony * finding unity in diversity, "This entry is from one of my blogs, a quote from _The Prophet_ by Gibran...it's one of my favorites. Hope it fits your theme."
Ella Moss presents Have no fear - God is here and True Purpose of Life posted at ZODIAC TIMES.
Lorraine Cohen presents Allowing Your Heart and Spirit to Guide You and Oversimplifying The Law of Attraction posted at Powerfull Living, saying, "Expand your thinking about The Law of Attraction to manifest your desires."
Carole G. McKay presents Patience Through It All saying, "Where we find the greatest resistance to spiritual growth and how to handle it."
Chris Edgar presents A New Perspective On Procrastination posted at Purpose Power Coaching, saying, "This article discusses the connection between procrastination and resistance to the reality of the present moment, and some approaches to dissolving that resistance and regaining your focus."
Warren Wong presents How To Deal With Worrying posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, "Three steps to help you stop worrying in no time!"
Tarakananda presents The Spiritual Process of Making Peace posted at The Atma Jyoti Blog, saying, "This beatitude has nothing to do with people who plead for peace, demonstrate or peace, protest for peace, or in some other way bully for peace. It is about making peace, actually creating peace rather than making a cause out of it. This requires a level of spiritual development that must first be obtained by each individual. So the first step in peacemaking is personal spiritual development."
Robb presents The Weight of the World posted at A Yoga Journey with Robb.
Shanti presents Thoughts on Clutter (Part 1 of 3): Why Do We Have So Much Stuff? posted at Antishay Ventenne, saying, "Thoughts on why Americans tend to have so much STUFF, why this brings about unhappiness and dissatisfaction in our society, and on how to see if we can't find joy in life and living rather than in things (part 1 of 3)."
Mike Schwager presents ON THE ART OF COMMUNICATING, AND THE RISE OF DISCONNECTION, In Advocacy of Life - ALL Life and The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth (Part II) posted at PR Straight Talk.
hkalchemy presents The Science of Blue Feathers posted at Effortless Wealth and Abundance.
Shamelle presents It Doesn’t Cost Much To Consult With God posted at Enhance Life.
George L Smyth presents One Minute How-To - How To Become Socially Responsible posted at George L Smyth, saying, "Brant Christopher explains how one hour a month can make a huge difference."
Tim Newbill presents Taking Action Regardless of Mood posted at Conscious Growth.com, saying, "The article helps you learn to choose consciously in the face of resistance."
Alvaro Fernandez presents Peace Among Primates- by Robert Sapolsky posted at SharpBrains, saying, "Anyone who says peace is not part of human nature knows too little about primates, including ourselves- by neuroscientist Robert M. Sapolsky"
Astrid Lee presents We Are One World Healing » Claim Your Energy Back: Detach Others’ Aka Cords posted at World Healing, saying, "I first stumbled upon the term ‘aka cord’ when giving a Reiki treatment for a very experienced and knowledgeable healer. At one point during the treatment, I felt the urge to symbolically ‘cut-off’ an attachment to a specific person for her. Symbolically, I held the attachment in my hand as a cord. With my imaginary sword I cut it off, and freed her from the connection....."
Margaret Mary presents Voluntary Simplicity posted at Earthly Paradise.
spillay presents Looking at Life?. in 6.6 billion ways posted at A Pot of Gold.
ITAKEOFFTHEMASK presents The Law of Attraction and the Key of Transmutation posted at itakeoffthemask.com, saying, "Before one can be transmuted, one must be capable of being formed. Rigidity is the first problem of transmutation. Where one is not willing to be processed and moulded, transition cannot take place. This is the reason why pain sometimes serves a useful purpose to us."
Karen Lynch presents The Greatest Source of Joy posted at LivethePower.
Jessica Jones presents My Struggle With Living Purposefully posted at Practical Nourishment, saying, "Living with purpose."
Scott Goolsby presents Stepping Toward Compassion posted at Unapologetic Genius, saying, "Developing more compassion."
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of engaged spirituality using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Thanks again!
Technorati tags: engaged spirituality, blog carnival.
I did a word search on the Virtual Tea House for the word 'resistance' and came up with about 10 posts made by me or other bloggers on the site, including 2 written specifically for this carnival by Rosemerry and Holly. I think that means that either I have a lot of resistance, or all the bloggers on the site do...or maybe we're just a good cross-section of the population!
So here, without further ado, are the posts sent to me or to the blog carnival site, on the topic of Engaging Resistance for our spiritual development.
Helen Mildenhall on Resistance and Spiritual Engagement on Conversation at the Edge As one of the community members quipped on the comments to Helen's post... " a great description of the community here at Off the Map, religion resistors that we are!"
Patti Digh on 37 Days submitted 2 posts: Become You and Follow Your Desire Lines. Patti is a soul-full writer whose blog is about "what would you be doing today if you only had 37 days to live?"
Holly Holbrooks' blog on the Virtual Tea House is a sweet and deep one. She wrote this post for the carnival, "Resistance--Love It" about finally moving through a terrifying block to talk with an uncle. "We often think of resistance as a bad thing, a natural tendency that we try so hard through conscious living to let go of. We try to not try. And sometimes it saves us, when we learn we can just float instead of thrash around in the water." Holly's on her way to medical school in the fall--hope she's the one with the listening heart when it's my time to face the abyss.
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer's blog on the Virtual Tea House is also a sweet and rich one. On Being an Organic Farmer and the Futility of Resistance explores what it takes to roll with the punches of nature. By the way, Rosemerry's poem, 'Cartography' was a finalist on Prairie Home Companion's "Bed of Roses Love Sonnet Contest" this past February!
The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard, is not overtly about resistance, but is ALL about resistance. Her team gave permission to use anything on their site for this carnival. "From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns.
Many thanks to all of you sincere and prolific bloggers out there who submitted posts to the Blog Carnival site! I had to cut the list of submissions off at the deadline of April 25th because there were so many submissions for this carnival. I'm not complaining...it's a great problem to have!
For those of you who submitted after the deadline, there's another edition coming out in early July. From the close to 100 submissions received, here are the offerings that most clearly connect around the topic of the engagement of resistance on our spiritual path.
These posts use nature or exercise metaphors about how to work with resistance:
StarLightWalker presents Obstacles posted at StarLightWalker, saying, "A lesson in purpose of obstacles and why resisting them may not be the best strategy."
kitty presents Make Like a Plant and Move Toward the Light posted at Brave New Kitty.
SamSherpa presents Animal, mineral, or vegetable? posted at Road to PleRoma, saying, "Hey, this is an older post from my blog that sits in happy obscurity. Hope you guys may find it interesting."
Rich Vosler presents Pruning makes growth for new life posted at Sales Training Tips.
Donna Bringhurst presents Conscious Flex: Logic of a Miracle: by Nicholas Powiull posted at Conscious Flex, saying, "There are many wonderful "ah inspiring" articles on this website, but I add this one because it is spiritually related."
The following posts use political or historical models of resistance and weave the personal mirrors into the mix:
Joel Gruber presents Who Are Your Enemies? posted at Fearless Dreams Personal Development.
Phil B. presents Humanity's Responsibilities « Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, "It does not matter if God created man or if man created God."
David Gross presents The Picket Line — 24 April 2008 posted at The Picket Line, saying, "Isaac Sharpless tells the story of Quaker war tax resistance in the colony of Pennsylvania, and gives us the context of Benjamin Franklin’s quote: “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”"
Ian Welsh presents Morality and Health Care in the US posted at Firedoglake.
Christine presents Is Marriage Outdated? posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France.
These posts explore religious and spiritual resistance. There are several that talk about the laws of attraction. While I'm not a fan of 'The Secret', it is providing a catalyst for many to wrestle with the resistance of the mind to accept and change, even for the promise of what the heart desires.
Albert Decker presents Witness posted at Resonant Enigma, saying, "To me, a moment of releasing resistance, giving in to 'what is,' is what this little piece is about."
Lori Jewett presents Living More Fully - Death as a Motivator posted at Between Us Girls, saying, "Whatever our spiritual orientation may be, death leaves us with many questions but it also provides us with the opportunity to engage more fully with life."
Sanjay presents And They Lived Happily Ever After posted at Quest for Personal Nirvana, saying, "How does resistance within us to our own growth, materially and spiritually, get created in the first place? This article ponders on the villains that we harbor within our subconscious, nurture them and feed them, and which come in the way of our nirvana. It also points a way to tap into the divine intervention that can take us to nirvana."
Gary Evans presents Why Won’t The Law of Attraction Work For Me? , 3 Tips To Install New Beliefs , A Secret Meditation for Law of Attraction Followers and How Much Do You Want It? posted at Good To Feel Good.
Michelle Wood presents What Is Religion from The Prophet posted at * Spirits In Harmony * finding unity in diversity, "This entry is from one of my blogs, a quote from _The Prophet_ by Gibran...it's one of my favorites. Hope it fits your theme."
Ella Moss presents Have no fear - God is here and True Purpose of Life posted at ZODIAC TIMES.
Lorraine Cohen presents Allowing Your Heart and Spirit to Guide You and Oversimplifying The Law of Attraction posted at Powerfull Living, saying, "Expand your thinking about The Law of Attraction to manifest your desires."
Carole G. McKay presents Patience Through It All saying, "Where we find the greatest resistance to spiritual growth and how to handle it."
Chris Edgar presents A New Perspective On Procrastination posted at Purpose Power Coaching, saying, "This article discusses the connection between procrastination and resistance to the reality of the present moment, and some approaches to dissolving that resistance and regaining your focus."
Warren Wong presents How To Deal With Worrying posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, "Three steps to help you stop worrying in no time!"
Tarakananda presents The Spiritual Process of Making Peace posted at The Atma Jyoti Blog, saying, "This beatitude has nothing to do with people who plead for peace, demonstrate or peace, protest for peace, or in some other way bully for peace. It is about making peace, actually creating peace rather than making a cause out of it. This requires a level of spiritual development that must first be obtained by each individual. So the first step in peacemaking is personal spiritual development."
Robb presents The Weight of the World posted at A Yoga Journey with Robb.
Shanti presents Thoughts on Clutter (Part 1 of 3): Why Do We Have So Much Stuff? posted at Antishay Ventenne, saying, "Thoughts on why Americans tend to have so much STUFF, why this brings about unhappiness and dissatisfaction in our society, and on how to see if we can't find joy in life and living rather than in things (part 1 of 3)."
Mike Schwager presents ON THE ART OF COMMUNICATING, AND THE RISE OF DISCONNECTION, In Advocacy of Life - ALL Life and The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth (Part II) posted at PR Straight Talk.
hkalchemy presents The Science of Blue Feathers posted at Effortless Wealth and Abundance.
Shamelle presents It Doesn’t Cost Much To Consult With God posted at Enhance Life.
George L Smyth presents One Minute How-To - How To Become Socially Responsible posted at George L Smyth, saying, "Brant Christopher explains how one hour a month can make a huge difference."
Tim Newbill presents Taking Action Regardless of Mood posted at Conscious Growth.com, saying, "The article helps you learn to choose consciously in the face of resistance."
Alvaro Fernandez presents Peace Among Primates- by Robert Sapolsky posted at SharpBrains, saying, "Anyone who says peace is not part of human nature knows too little about primates, including ourselves- by neuroscientist Robert M. Sapolsky"
Astrid Lee presents We Are One World Healing » Claim Your Energy Back: Detach Others’ Aka Cords posted at World Healing, saying, "I first stumbled upon the term ‘aka cord’ when giving a Reiki treatment for a very experienced and knowledgeable healer. At one point during the treatment, I felt the urge to symbolically ‘cut-off’ an attachment to a specific person for her. Symbolically, I held the attachment in my hand as a cord. With my imaginary sword I cut it off, and freed her from the connection....."
Margaret Mary presents Voluntary Simplicity posted at Earthly Paradise.
spillay presents Looking at Life?. in 6.6 billion ways posted at A Pot of Gold.
ITAKEOFFTHEMASK presents The Law of Attraction and the Key of Transmutation posted at itakeoffthemask.com, saying, "Before one can be transmuted, one must be capable of being formed. Rigidity is the first problem of transmutation. Where one is not willing to be processed and moulded, transition cannot take place. This is the reason why pain sometimes serves a useful purpose to us."
Karen Lynch presents The Greatest Source of Joy posted at LivethePower.
Jessica Jones presents My Struggle With Living Purposefully posted at Practical Nourishment, saying, "Living with purpose."
Scott Goolsby presents Stepping Toward Compassion posted at Unapologetic Genius, saying, "Developing more compassion."
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of engaged spirituality using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Thanks again!
Technorati tags: engaged spirituality, blog carnival.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
The Story of Stuff
Here's an amazing website and video 'The Story of Stuff' by Annie Leonard, who spent 10 years researching the issues of the production/consumption patterns of western culture. It's well-worth 20 minutes to watch the video. While doing so you can also look at th workbook and other features on this well-designed, interactive site. 'Good stuff' so to speak!
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The Dog's in Heaven and the Cat's in Jail
"Somebody's going to emergency, somebody's going to jail. You find somebody to love in this world, you better hang on tooth and nail...the wolf is always at the door...." lyric from 'In a New York Minute' by Don Henley
I have seen the following silliness before, but tonight when it showed up again in my email and just wanted to jump onto my blog, I let it. No spiritual significance here, other than to marvel at how wonderfully different we are (as evidenced by the anthropomorphizing of our pets). And just for the record...cats are weirder than dogs.
But, what's even weirder is that 9 year old rescued Siberian Husky/German Shepherd-probably-some-wolf-in-the-woodpile Geronimo, aka Damn Dog, aka You Dog You, has some cat-like qualities. I am taking a huge liberty in trying to translate a recent interview I had with Damn Dog, wherein I asked him what he did with his days and told him some other dogs' responses. I am working on more effectively channeling his authentic voice, but for now this will have to do. Damn Dog is a dog's-dog, but I swear he's part cat. Geronimo's responses to the interview are in blue. Any misrepresentations are purely mine. He was very clear.
Ostensibly the 2 original dog and cat diaries are from the same household.
DOG DIARY
Wolf pup from Defenders of Wildlife website. Looks a lot like Geronimo must have as a pup.
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
As long as it's raw hamburger, buffalo or elk, I'm in. Try any of that high quality turkey or chicken, or gawd-awful salmon (what kind of a northern dog do you think I am??) and I'll lay beside it and not eat until I die.
Oh, and the kibble thing. Don't try to sell me on those little round pieces of processed plant food and animal by-products being the same thing as real food. Don't try mixing it in. I'll pick around it if it takes me all day.
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
I hate riding in the car. I howl and pace the entire time hoping that the door will swing open on a curve and I'll jump out and find a bush to whiz on and a cow to eat. Now THAT would be my favorite thing.
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
Don't you people know about the Iditerod? It's this fun thing where you use your large feet to snowshoe across thousands of miles of snow--for fun. A walk in the park? That's for sissies like poodles and mini-dachs.
What I do with Beth or Andy every morning between 5 and 6am is a watered down version of the Iditerod. After I've howled and ululated for 30 minutes to wake them up from their boring slumbers, and only after they've taken 10 l-o-n-g minutes to put on coats, hats, mittens and shoes (humans are so ill-equipped for life on this planet--they have no hair to speak of, bad eyesight and can't smell worth a damn)..sigh...I trot about 20 feet in front of them, or more correctly, I trot when I can. At this time of day they don't trot very well. They stumble a lot. I take it in stride. If they'd put a harness and a cart on me...now THAT would be my favorite thing. Maybe they could sit in the cart and drink their stupid coffee and be nicer and glad to be up at this hour if I pulled them in the cart or on skis or something. They have bad attitudes sometimes.
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
Usually. When I feel like it, I do admit to liking to be petted. What really irritates me though is when Beth rubs my luxurious fur the wrong way because she thinks I like it. She's nice enough, but sometimes I wish she'd just ignore me a little bit. You know what I mean?
12:00 PM - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
I've wagged my tail twice in the last 3 months. Humans are really pretty simple-minded and easy to train. If I wag my tail at everything they do, how will they understand what I really want them to do? You have to be clear with these people. Wagging your tail all the time is bad inter-species communication and leads to confusion on the part of the humans.
1:00 PM - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
I cannot fathom what it is that's fun about chasing a ball around and around and around. I have some pretty retarded cousins out there, and I like to smell them and all, but they just give dog-hood a bad name with all the running after balls and sticks and such-not. Play, like tail-wagging, is to be reserved for special occasions.
3:00 PM - Ran back and forth in the hall! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
I'll be polite and keep my opinions to myself. Phiff if all I have to say about this behavior. However, I do occasionally do a 'crazy dog' routine where I run as fast as I can around the yard dodging stuff and screaming to a halt and then taking off and doing it again. I'm not trying to justify or explain it. It just feels good. 5
5:00 PM - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
If it ain't raw meat, it ain't worth my time of day. Beth and Andy keep bringing home these bits of rawhide and green things shaped like--like toothbrushes? I'm not sure. Sometimes at the drive-through or walk-through coffee shop or at the bank some well-intentioned person will hand me a foul-smelling biscuit made out of plant material and animal by-product (see my opinion about 'dog food') and expect me to eat it. Sometimes I try to be polite, take it and bury it under the front seat. Sometimes I won't even take it, and they seem offended. THEY'RE offended. Do you see the irony of that?
And then there's the stuff that they say I should like, like pigs ears. I happen to like pigs, and don't really fancy eating their ears. The people say they're like big potato chips. Since I've never even touched a potato, and don't plan on doing so, this accolade doesn't mean a lot. I just want a frozen hot dog every now and then, or a real bone with real meat (and this does NOT include poultry or fish) on it. I wish they'd save their money and buy me a half a cow to munch on. I could bury most of it in the iris bed for later, but I might eat some of it now.
7:00 PM - Got to play tug! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
Are you shining me on? And entertain the possibility that the human might win? Fits under the category of wagging tail and playing: don't do it, don't want to, can't make me.
8:00 PM - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
Well, I do love to snuggle on the couch with them while they watch endless reruns of West Wing, Northern Exposure, Big Love, Brothers and Sisters, and Frazier, with that little rat-dog, Eddie. Whatever.
11:00 PM - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
Favorite? Define your terms. I do like sleeping on the bed and cuddling. But favorite? Better than the Newspaper Hydrant? Better than a long slow trot? Better than a frozen hotdog on a summer day? Whatever.
CAT DIARY
Day 983 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am.
They continue to pick me up and handle me, an obvious attempt to subvert me. There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.
Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs. I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released -- and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.
Tonight I will again lay on their heads while they sleep and hope to smother them.
"Somebody's going to emergency, somebody's going to jail. You find somebody to love in this world, you better hang on tooth and nail...the wolf is always at the door...." lyric from In a New York Minute by Don Henley
Here's to the love of our pets...let's hang on tooth and nail!
What we can learn about how our perception is everything! So the question is: "is it--whatever 'it' is-- heaven or jail?"
Technorati Tags: humor,dogs,cats,behavior,silliness
I have seen the following silliness before, but tonight when it showed up again in my email and just wanted to jump onto my blog, I let it. No spiritual significance here, other than to marvel at how wonderfully different we are (as evidenced by the anthropomorphizing of our pets). And just for the record...cats are weirder than dogs.
But, what's even weirder is that 9 year old rescued Siberian Husky/German Shepherd-probably-some-wolf-in-the-woodpile Geronimo, aka Damn Dog, aka You Dog You, has some cat-like qualities. I am taking a huge liberty in trying to translate a recent interview I had with Damn Dog, wherein I asked him what he did with his days and told him some other dogs' responses. I am working on more effectively channeling his authentic voice, but for now this will have to do. Damn Dog is a dog's-dog, but I swear he's part cat. Geronimo's responses to the interview are in blue. Any misrepresentations are purely mine. He was very clear.
Ostensibly the 2 original dog and cat diaries are from the same household.
DOG DIARY
Wolf pup from Defenders of Wildlife website. Looks a lot like Geronimo must have as a pup.
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
As long as it's raw hamburger, buffalo or elk, I'm in. Try any of that high quality turkey or chicken, or gawd-awful salmon (what kind of a northern dog do you think I am??) and I'll lay beside it and not eat until I die.
Oh, and the kibble thing. Don't try to sell me on those little round pieces of processed plant food and animal by-products being the same thing as real food. Don't try mixing it in. I'll pick around it if it takes me all day.
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
I hate riding in the car. I howl and pace the entire time hoping that the door will swing open on a curve and I'll jump out and find a bush to whiz on and a cow to eat. Now THAT would be my favorite thing.
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
Don't you people know about the Iditerod? It's this fun thing where you use your large feet to snowshoe across thousands of miles of snow--for fun. A walk in the park? That's for sissies like poodles and mini-dachs.
What I do with Beth or Andy every morning between 5 and 6am is a watered down version of the Iditerod. After I've howled and ululated for 30 minutes to wake them up from their boring slumbers, and only after they've taken 10 l-o-n-g minutes to put on coats, hats, mittens and shoes (humans are so ill-equipped for life on this planet--they have no hair to speak of, bad eyesight and can't smell worth a damn)..sigh...I trot about 20 feet in front of them, or more correctly, I trot when I can. At this time of day they don't trot very well. They stumble a lot. I take it in stride. If they'd put a harness and a cart on me...now THAT would be my favorite thing. Maybe they could sit in the cart and drink their stupid coffee and be nicer and glad to be up at this hour if I pulled them in the cart or on skis or something. They have bad attitudes sometimes.
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
Usually. When I feel like it, I do admit to liking to be petted. What really irritates me though is when Beth rubs my luxurious fur the wrong way because she thinks I like it. She's nice enough, but sometimes I wish she'd just ignore me a little bit. You know what I mean?
12:00 PM - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
I've wagged my tail twice in the last 3 months. Humans are really pretty simple-minded and easy to train. If I wag my tail at everything they do, how will they understand what I really want them to do? You have to be clear with these people. Wagging your tail all the time is bad inter-species communication and leads to confusion on the part of the humans.
1:00 PM - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
I cannot fathom what it is that's fun about chasing a ball around and around and around. I have some pretty retarded cousins out there, and I like to smell them and all, but they just give dog-hood a bad name with all the running after balls and sticks and such-not. Play, like tail-wagging, is to be reserved for special occasions.
3:00 PM - Ran back and forth in the hall! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
I'll be polite and keep my opinions to myself. Phiff if all I have to say about this behavior. However, I do occasionally do a 'crazy dog' routine where I run as fast as I can around the yard dodging stuff and screaming to a halt and then taking off and doing it again. I'm not trying to justify or explain it. It just feels good. 5
5:00 PM - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
If it ain't raw meat, it ain't worth my time of day. Beth and Andy keep bringing home these bits of rawhide and green things shaped like--like toothbrushes? I'm not sure. Sometimes at the drive-through or walk-through coffee shop or at the bank some well-intentioned person will hand me a foul-smelling biscuit made out of plant material and animal by-product (see my opinion about 'dog food') and expect me to eat it. Sometimes I try to be polite, take it and bury it under the front seat. Sometimes I won't even take it, and they seem offended. THEY'RE offended. Do you see the irony of that?
And then there's the stuff that they say I should like, like pigs ears. I happen to like pigs, and don't really fancy eating their ears. The people say they're like big potato chips. Since I've never even touched a potato, and don't plan on doing so, this accolade doesn't mean a lot. I just want a frozen hot dog every now and then, or a real bone with real meat (and this does NOT include poultry or fish) on it. I wish they'd save their money and buy me a half a cow to munch on. I could bury most of it in the iris bed for later, but I might eat some of it now.
7:00 PM - Got to play tug! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
Are you shining me on? And entertain the possibility that the human might win? Fits under the category of wagging tail and playing: don't do it, don't want to, can't make me.
8:00 PM - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
Well, I do love to snuggle on the couch with them while they watch endless reruns of West Wing, Northern Exposure, Big Love, Brothers and Sisters, and Frazier, with that little rat-dog, Eddie. Whatever.
11:00 PM - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!
Damn Dog:
Favorite? Define your terms. I do like sleeping on the bed and cuddling. But favorite? Better than the Newspaper Hydrant? Better than a long slow trot? Better than a frozen hotdog on a summer day? Whatever.
CAT DIARY
Day 983 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am.
They continue to pick me up and handle me, an obvious attempt to subvert me. There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.
Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs. I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released -- and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.
Tonight I will again lay on their heads while they sleep and hope to smother them.
"Somebody's going to emergency, somebody's going to jail. You find somebody to love in this world, you better hang on tooth and nail...the wolf is always at the door...." lyric from In a New York Minute by Don Henley
Here's to the love of our pets...let's hang on tooth and nail!
What we can learn about how our perception is everything! So the question is: "is it--whatever 'it' is-- heaven or jail?"
Technorati Tags: humor,dogs,cats,behavior,silliness
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