NaBloPoMo

Dog days

May 22, 2009 by kathi

I enjoy watching almost all sports occasionally, but I’m not a real fan of any Chicago sports teams. I really don’t care for baseball at all. So it’s no surprise that once again I missed the White Sox Dog Days on Wednesday, May 20. I’ve always thought I might like to go once, just so one of my dogs can walk on the field. And I have always had at least one South Side or south suburban born dog, so I suppose they would not have objected too strenuously to being dressed in Sox garb. Well, maybe a bandana or cap at least. Axel was born in the south suburbs and Freya in the northwest suburbs, so there would actually be a cute Sox-Cubs rivalry dress-up thing we could do there if they’d put up with clothing.

Maybe next year!

I want to take a second to look back to another Sox Dog Day, though: the one ten years ago when they almost banned Rottweilers and Pit Bulls from attending. It was one of many times I’ve seen the power of the Internet at work. The listmembers of Rottie-L, a Rottweiler e-mail discussion list, went into action at the urging of one of the Chicago area listmembers. Hundreds of emails and faxes went to the promotions manager of the White Sox. Rottweiler and Pit Bull people were also lucky to have radio host Steve Dale’s support. When he found out that the Sox were planning to discriminate against these breeds, he informed them he would not be participating should they go that route. The Chicago Veterinary Medical Association also pulled their support of the event. Ultimately, the Sox admitted their error, and the event has been open to all breeds ever since. As it should be. It really is the responsibility of dog owners to determine whether their dog, of any breed, is well trained and of suitable temperament to attend and enjoy a large group event like Dog Days.

(NaBloPoMo | May ‘09: 22 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 118 of 274)

Motorcycle musings

May 20, 2009 by kathi

Although I haven’t ridden any motorcycle except as a passenger in a long while, I’ve owned at least one for the last thirty years. I’ve kept my “M”-for-motorcycle (duh) license current, although all that means here (and probably most states) is answering a few more multiple-choice questions on the written test when that comes around every few years. I’m thinking that it might be time to get one of my current bikes out of mothballs.

It would probably be this one:
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The photo is pretty old. I’m somewhere in Nebraska, about 16-17 years ago, and was lucky not to fall asleep while riding because was that ever a boring stretch of road. My husband took it with a cheap point-n-shoot 35mm camera while riding alongside me. Since that photo was taken, the bike (1989 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 Hugger) got a different seat, a larger windshield, and really cool big-bike looking floorboards.
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I really enjoyed riding, but things have changed out there since I last rode on a regular basis, and changed a huge amount since I learned to ride way back when I was twenty-something, immortal in my own mind, and too stupid to realize that maybe learning to ride a motorcycle on the side streets around the City of Chicago was not the best setup for a safe and happy experience. It was actually very happy. I am positive it was not safe in any way.

Distracted drivers scare the hell out of me. I know that horrible incidents like the nail polish killer are probably not as common as I fear. But jagoffs like that are still out there, and the roads are way more crowded than they were even a few years ago. And there are so many more distractions to keep drivers from paying attention to what should be their real task at hand: getting down the road and not hurting themselves or anyone or anything else.

There were not all that many women who rode their own motorcycles when I first learned to ride, but I was light years away from being a trendsetter. Other women did that years before and in much better style than I ever would have. Plus, I didn’t want to be a trendsetter anyway. I didn’t learn to ride because it empowered me or made me feel free, and certainly not because a Harley is like a giant vibrator. Yes, women have actually written statements similar to the previous words, for publication no less, and I’m sorry, it just grossed me out. If you wrote that, please do not sit on my bike ever, thank you very much.

I just thought that riding a motorcycle looked like fun. Also, when I was 22, I had enough money to pay cash for a decent small motorcycle, but would have had to get a loan for a decent car. That’s it. No big statement, no grrrl power crap. I just thought it would be a fun way to get around that would not saddle me with loan payments.

I’m actually amazed how, and how much, motorcycles are marketed to women these days. I guess that’s okay. Some of the changes are really great, if you are talking about how it is easier to get good quality riding gear in small sizes, or accessories that can safely lower a bike, or make the clutch pull lighter. Some are just stupid, like just making things pink. Pink should probably be a color choice (for someone else, not me), but it should not be my only choice for something being marketed to women.

Since I don’t have a sidecar, and don’t really feel comfortable about adding one to a bike as small as a Sportster (yeah, I know they make them, go back to the part where I don’t personally feel comfortable about it), it would cut into time for the dogs. That’s the only downside I see so far. We’ll revisit this whole motorcycle question. On a day like today, so nice and sunny, seems like the answer is obvious!

(NaBloPoMo | May ‘09: 20 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 116 of 274)

Dog dancing

May 19, 2009 by kathi

Axel dances like nobody’s watching. But he stops cold if there is even a slight chance I could grab a camera of any kind.

Ever since Axe was little, he has done something that we call “poodle-paws.” It’s sort of like “sit pretty” or “sit up and beg.” He is sitting up on his hind legs and moving his paws like a cat would paw at something. Axe pounces on a ball like a cat would, too. I am sure this was taught to him by kittyweiler Oliver.

I have been trying on and off over the last few days to get some video of Axel poodle-pawing for a project I am trying to do. He has poodle-pawed quite often during this time. He poodle-pawed to greet me a few times when I came home. He poodle-pawed at that weird-looking robin with the white patches. He poodle-pawed and howled when an ambulance went by. With all that poodle-pawing… I have a total of maybe five seconds of usable video.

I guess I’ll keep trying. He’s a dog, I’m the person, I should be able to trick him into not noticing such a small video camera as a Flip Mino, right?

(NaBloPoMo | May ‘09: 19 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 115 of 274)

Search and you shall find

May 18, 2009 by kathi

I didn’t have this blog visible on search engines until about a month or two ago. Not surprisingly, many of the searches that lead here have “Rottweiler” in the phrase or question.

I was distressed to see that my blog did not in fact provide the answers to some of those questions. I know it might not help much after the fact, but these question cannot go unanswered forever.

Rottweilers watch television: Why, yes, they do. Freya and Axel were not happy when last year’s New Amsterdam was canceled. Main character John Amsterdam was immortal, and his dog breed of choice throughout his 400-year-life was the Rottweiler. His current dog was named “Thirty-Six” (a 1940s flashback shows him with his then-Rottweiler, “Twenty-Nine”). While watching the show, Freya and Axel referred to themselves as “Five” and “Six.” All right, I don’t know for sure whether they did that, but if they thought of it, they would have. In real life, “Thirty-Six” is “Missy,” an AKC Obedience Trial Champion: Nordike’s Misty Meadows Mischief owned by Barb Doering. The obedience trial championship, OTCh, is the highest obedience honor a dog can receive and it is not a trivial undertaking.

Rottweilers also like Entourage and “Arnold” and Kath and Kim and “Cujo.”

A favorite Rottweiler movie is the 1996 version of The Island of Dr. Moreau. Actually, I don’t know if all Rottweilers like this movie. Our dear departed Oscar loved it, though, as did the rest of the original crew. The whole idea of using human DNA in animals is kind of creepy, but the human/beasts really held Oscar’s attention.

I bet you thought they were going to say they liked The Omen, huh? They do, but they thought that answer was too obvious. Of course they’ve seen it. What Rottweiler hasn’t?

Similar animals to Rottweilers: There is nothing like a Rottweiler. No animal that will bring you so much love and joy, along with so much frustration during their “teenager” time. No animal so devoted to their people. No animal that is so very special, in every sense of the word!

(NaBloPoMo | May ‘09: 18 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 114 of 274)