● Item One: Dog Show Gone Wrong. In case you missed it, the Westminster Kennel Club dog show started last night and finishes tonight. I never miss this as I think dogs are great. And much like the Super Bowl, part of the attraction each year is when Pedigree puts out new ads. The last few years have featured David Duchovny talking about dogs with the tag line, “dogs rule.” Here are some samples: We’re for Dogs / Shelter Dogs / Doggie Dentures / Rub My Belly.
Imagine my surprise when these commercials did NOT appear last night. Instead, we got some lame generic commercial for Purina using some nondescript song. Totally forgettable pabulum. Hmm.
So I promptly turned to the internet to discover what had gone wrong. It turns out that Westminster decided to drop Pedigree as a sponsor because they didn’t like Pedigree focusing on shelter dogs. Seriously. Said Westminster’s spokesidiot David Frei:
“Show me an ad with a dog with a smile. Don’t try to shame me. We told Pedigree that and they ignored us. Our show is a celebration of dogs. We’re not promoting purebreds at the expense of non-purebreds. We celebrate all dogs. When we’re seeing puppies behind bars, it takes away from that. Not just because it’s sad, but it’s not our message.”To quote Bufford T. Justice, “you aaaaasshole.” Over the past few years, Westminster has gotten a bad reputation because of many of the breeding practices associated with purebreds. Specifically, their standards are creating dogs with breathing problems, back problems, bad joints and mental issues. They’ve been protested and some people have even considered legislation against the things they promote.
Pedigree, by comparison, is for all dogs, not just purebreds, and they’ve matched seven million dollars in donations in the last couple years to help the dogs who need it most. Westminster has not.
Westminster is not only stupid, they are shameful. I suggest they fix this by next year or I won’t be back. In the meantime, up yours Westminster, and your little sponsor Purina too.
● Item Two: Accidentally Naked? A high school football coach had to resign the other day when he “accidentally” posted naked pictures of himself on Facebook. How does that happen “accidentally”? Between this and Sandusky and the guy in Syracuse and the various women’s coaches who keep getting fired for inappropriate behavior with their players and the NFL assistant coach who got arrested driving naked through a fast-food drive-thru, something has really gone wrong in coaching.
● Item Three: Bringing Sexy Back. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin wants Russians to have more sex to halt Russia’s population decline. Maybe they need more coaches? Interestingly, the land of mail-order brides and alcoholism actually has finally stabilized population-wise. In the 1990s, there was speculation Russia’s population would fall by a third by 2050, but that didn’t happen and now they’ve even begun to grow by a few thousand over the past few years. Still, it’s a good political strategy for Putin: how can you go wrong telling people to have more sex?
● Item Four: Machete. Liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer just learned a little something about the joys of law and order when he was robbed at machete-point in his Caribbean vacation home by a masked intruder. Being a liberal, he will no doubt draw the wrong lesson and endorse a seven-day waiting period for machetes. . . or vacation homes.
● Item Five: Big Brother Is Watching, Aloha. Finally this item. I’ve said before that Republicans get stupid when you mention terrorists or criminals. Too many “conservatives” will happily throw away all their rights in the name of safety based on false promises and vague assurances that we can trust government not to abuse absolute power. Combine this with the Democratic instinct to monitor and control you and you have the makings for an American police state. Here’s proof.
Hawaii’s legislature is debating a bill which will require Internet providers to keep track of every website their customers visit. Basically, your provider will need to keep a continuing file showing every website you visited in the past two years. In—flipping—sane!
Why would Hawaii do this? Because Republican Representative Kymberly Marcos Pine is being “harassed” by a web designer named Eric Ryan, who claims Pine owes him money. He launched a website called KymPineIsACrook.com where he makes the claim that she stiffed him (but not in a Russian way). She also contends that Ryan hacked her e-mail account. Hence, Hawaii needs “tougher cyber laws.” Of course, the Democrats jumped on this and are pushing this insane bill.
Ok, let’s cut through this.. First, if he’s lying about the money, sue him for slander. Clearly he’s not lying because she’s taken no action in that regard. Secondly, if he has hacked her e-mail, then he’s already committed a crime under the Patriot Act. So no additional laws are needed. Third, even if a law was needed, it is to punish someone for hacking an e-mail account, not a law that requires private companies to spy on all citizens so some messed up Hawaiian legislator can get her Stalin on.
Think about this. One man is harassing her, so she wants the government to keep Stasi-like files on everyone in Hawaii?? How does that make sense? What possible purpose could this serve except to let her see who visited his website. And then what? “Re-education” camps? This is pure totalitarianism, make no mistake. And for those inclined to trust the government’s motives, this should wake you up. This is why government really acts -- because some intolerant a-hole with a grudge and a debt problem decides to use the government to help them in a personal fight.
Government is evil and those who would use the government to control others are evil.
Also, don't forget that it's Star Trek Tuesday at the film site (LINK), and in honor of Valentine's Day, might I recommend revisiting the Top 25 Romance Films article (LINK).
55 comments:
Hey, lots of naked pictures happen accidentally!
LOL! Very funny stuff. The Westminster thing makes me angry and the Hawaii thing makes me insane. What is wrong with this world? When will people wake up that government is not a tool for personal vengeance or profit?
OMG, don't get me started on the Westminster / Pedigree thing!! Every year they've sucked money out of me. I read they raised $500,000 in the 2 days of the show a couple years ago. And Westminster thinks people are turning away???
Excuse me while my head explodes.
The ads this year suck. Dull and uninspired. Ugh.
Dogs rule. I'm gonna go find the Pedigree people and give money anyway. Grrrr.
Ed, They will wake and stop using the government that way when the government can no longer be used that way. Until then, expect people to keep taking advantage of it.
The Westminster thing irks me something fierce. And if people want to let Westminster know what they think of this, here's the appropriate e-mail:
david@westminsterkennelclub.org
Dear Anthony, I stand corrected... fully clothed, but corrected! ;)
Crispy, Good for you. I wouldn't normally care who their sponsors are (although Purina's ads are deathly dull), but to get rid of Pedigree because they didn't want to be associated with a company doing good deeds for shelter dogs is INSANE!
I find it stunning and bizarre reasoning.
You know, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. Westminster already has a reputation for being snobbish. And there's a huge debate about whether it's good / right to breed dogs to specific standards, and all the other horrible things that happen to dogs in the process. (Puppy mills, breeding dogs to where they have health problems, etc.) And for Westminster to come along and throw Pedigree under the bus?? It's awful and it looks even worse for them.
I watched the ads you linked. Man I miss those. I'm gonna go send some e-mails. Grrr. I'm all fired up now, LOL
I was just talking about that naked coach Facebook picture at lunch. How does that happen? First, you have to have naked pictures on your hard drive (tee-hee, you said..) THEN you have to upload it. (shut up, Anthony!) And then you look at what you have posted and hit "publish". And even AFTER that you can go and see what is there and can think "Oh, my, I have accidently posted a naked photo of myself. Let me delete it quickly before anyone sees it!" ("Delete" is your friend, Anthony). So there is NO possibly way that someone can upload a naked picture of themselves "by accident".
2. You guys just don't like the Westminster Dog Show 'cause it's in NYC. So leave them alone. Dogs rule and just remember that Martha Stewart's Chow is going to win Best of Show. Won't you be sorry when she buys...er...wins the big prize!
Crispy, I think it's incredibly stupid from a PR perspective. Westminster has been targeted for several years now as the people promoting a variety of bad things in the pure-breeding of dogs. There has even been talk of legislation to rein in what can be done.
And now to throw out a sponsor because they didn't want to be associated with a company that donates to shelters is just insane. That's not even a controversial cause. They were taking money from Westminster or hurting their image. Etc.
I honestly can't even imagine why anyone would do this? It would be like saying, "I want nothing to do with the Salvation Army because they help the poor, blech!"
It's truly bizarre.
Good selection of stories. Although I could go on and on about the shelter dogs (my Mickey *tear* was a rescued doggie)--I choose the coaching article!
My daughter is a competitive swimmer and they had to can the lady assistant coach for carrying on with a hunky freshman -male- (sorry I have to explain everything these days). Anyhooo, my daughter was shocked but I told her "You'll get old like me and nothing will surprise you!!"
and if the Westminsterites are as big of dog food snobs as my Petsmart mom, they probably buy neither Pedigree or Purina...
Did he post the pix accidentally or take them accidentally or both? Not that it matters really, I'm just curious how stupid he is...
machetes don't kill people...
"Russia" and "sexy" in the same sentence seems so wrong somehow...
and Hawaii... speechless.
Ok, I just got around to the rest of the article. ;)
Screw you, Hawaii. Ever heard of VPNs? 'Cause I'll sign up for one.
In the same vein, I've recently discovered startpage.com. It's a search engine that does not track you, and it acts as a proxy. Basically, it runs out to google for you and does your search without telling google about you. Two thumbs up! Now they just need an e-mail product. :D
Bev, admittedly, Martha's chow was a total cutie, but apparently she didn't have the clout she thought she did!
In the meantime, go dachshund go!!
Bev,
On point one, no kidding. This is not something that happens by accident. There are steps all along the way where you have to affirmatively take steps to make it happen: (1) strip, (2) get camera, (3) take photo, (4) upload to computer, (5) find Facebook, (6) upload to page, (7) approve upload. That's a LOT of accidents.
On point two, I have to admit that Martha Stewart has a very pretty dog. But then it is Martha Stewart. Of course she's going to have a pretty dog. She probably bred the dog herself, out of old wool and ground cookies.
Personally, I have to cheer for the dachshund, as we have one... though I've never seen any dachshunds in real life that look like the ones at Westminster. They're the equivalent of these fashion models -- seven foot tall, 47 pounds with eyes the size of baseballs.
I never watch the Westminster Dog Show because I find it boring. But I did watch part of the Puppy Bowl after the Super Bowl, and found it kind of interesting, if by "interesting" you mean "adorable."
Cris, Thanks! It's like cafeteria news day! :)
I could go on forever about the dogs too. We have a dachshund who was rescued from being found in the street and a very large Pomeranian (actually a "Middle Spitz") who is a mill dog rescue. It's taken a long time for her to become anything like a normal dog and even now her favorite place is hidden behind the couch. And some of the stuff I've seen just makes me sick that humans would act that way.
On the coaches, I'm STUNNED how many stories there are now of teachers having sex with students, sending them naked pictures or letters, etc. It honestly seems like an epidemic. I don't know if it's just better reporting, more people getting caught, or if something has gone wrong in the culture, but either way it's amazing how often we hear about these things now.
They could solve Russia's population problem (and a lot of other problems, too) if they could just find and destroy all the vodka. Then again, that would probably induce nationwide rioting, so maybe it's not a good idea.
rlaWTX, I would bet they don't buy Purina or Pedigree either. They buy food for champions, which I think is Budweiser, right? The breakfast of champions? ;)
He says he took the photos for his girlfriend, but then accidentally posted them on Facebook. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb. When has "I started by taking naked pictures of myself" ever ended well?
"machete's don't kill people" -- LOL! "Vacationing near people with machetes does."
Yeah, sexy is far down the list when it comes to Russia. Cold, vodka, old women with scarves over their heads, KGB, etc. That's what I think of when someone says Russia.
I'm amazed people aren't more angry about this Hawaii thing. What in the world gives someone the idea they have the right to track people's internet usage?
behind the couch??!!! Awwww...
Crispy, I hadn't heard of that. Interesting. That's the one really good thing about technology, someone finds a way around all of their efforts to track you almost within minutes of them imposing the new system.
In any event, however, this should shock people that AMERICANS are thinking about doing this. I don't think the Stasi were even this brazen.
Crispy, I thought Stewart's dog did advance to the final round? Hmm. I guess we'll find out in a few hours.
T-Rav, I've watched Westminster for years. I like seeing all the breeds and they do a very good job of telling you about them. Plus, having dachshunds my whole life, we always cheer for them. :)
The Puppy Bowl can be fun. Love puppies!
T-Rav, Get this. When I was in college back around 1990, I took a year of Russian... yes, yes, I did. My professor had been over there with the Air Force as an embassy attache. He said that during the Yeltzin years, they were trying to reduce alcoholism with a slogan (about vodka):
"One bottle, per person, per day."
Can you believe that? Apparently, vodka consumption was close to two bottles per person per day. Amazing.
But that's what happens when society offers you nothing to live for and you have no freedom to go your own way.
Cris, Yeah, it's her safe and happy place because she thinks no one can reach her. She's a fascinating dog. She won't take food from your hand, she won't come out when people she doesn't know are around, and it took weeks to get her to go outside to use the bathroom because she was terrified of EVERY noise.
By now, however, she's become a much more normal dog in many ways, though she's still afraid of a lot. But she LOVES going for a ride in the car.
Andrew, you are a great doggie-dad. We got Mickey as a tiny (toy) puppy b/c several men were attempting to sell him for $500 on a street corner with no papers (he was a poodle mix anyway). I offered $50 and they let me have him. My husband was convinced he was the "prize" from a drug deal.
Cris, Thanks! It's all just a matter of patience and understanding "dog psyche."
A drug dog! LOL!
I was going to post pictures of my purebred Great Pyrenees dog, naked, eyeing the Russian wolfhound next door, and eating Pedigree, but I guess I won't now.
I shall attempt the best story of all by combining your headlines!
Ahem...
Dog Show Gone Wrong (by) Accidentally Bringing Sexy Back: Big Brother Is Watching Accidentally Naked Machete!
Lawhawk, Westminster would not approve. :(
Andrew, I remember reading once that in the '80s when Gorbachev was introducing his reforms--one of which was to cut vodka consumption by destroying the stuff or making it very expensive--a lot of Russian men responded by distilling alcohol from any fluid they could find, including the ones in their cars, and drinking that instead. Needless to say, this did not turn out too well. That's how you know you have a national drinking problem.
Patti, Nice headline! That just about sums it all up very nicely! :)
T-Rav, I recall that as well. I even recall an incident where they caught people using jet fuel as an alcohol substitute.
And that's always been the problem with things like prohibition is that people will look for substitutes and those are often dangerous. That's really what killed Prohibition in America, a steady stream of deaths from poisoning through "bathtub gin."
alright - let me say that the Commetarama official mascot, Lady Margaret of Tanasi Point is a purebred Norfolk Terrier, and I have watched faithfully over the years. But, I agree. Dogs Rule, NYC is already too liberal and too full of itself. They need to get right with this.
He "accidentally" published naked pic's? Oh please. TV Guide entry: Beaver takes a flashlight to bed and plays pup tent.
Why is it a state as beautiful as Hawaii has to get taken over by liberals. My god, these people are what is wrong with everything in this world. And Republican politicians are all that far behind them.
Jed, I recall when you first mentioned Lady Margaret, and the connection to Thatcher! :)
Yeah, there's no way this was an accident. It sounds like someone doing something really stupid and then it blew up on them.
I can't explain Hawaii too you, but I'm all for granting them independence and letting them make their own way in the world. Maybe that will wake them up? And you're right, the Republicans aren't far behind the Democrats in many of the liberal states. Very disturbing.
What is wrong with people? The Hawaii thing in particular is upsetting. Our government fully intends to take over the internet. This neesds to stop.
DUQ, It won't stop so long as people are capable of using the government for their own purposes. So long as the government is an easy tool, it will be abused by those who have the power to wield it.
Is it just me, or do all the tropical paradises tend to go left-wing? Hawaii, Cuba, Venezuela, most of Africa....
Wait, I said "paradise," didn't I? Okay, Africa's not exactly a paradise, but it could be, if it wasn't all Third World and....oh, you get my point!
T-Rav, What do you mean Africa isn't a paradise? Actually, I'm kidding. We know it's messed up because white multi-national companies are over there looking for diamonds. Otherwise, Africa would be just like California.
Oh... wait. California and Africa are already pretty similar. ;)
To answer your point, however, yes, all those wonderful places go lefty for a variety of reasons and they all keep verging on collapse because of it. That's also why we should NEVER allow any of them to become states and we should send Hawaii packing while the getting is good. Think of the benefits in the Senate!
how could we be talking Westminster and forget "Best in Show:" to wit:
"looks like Rhapsody in White has two mommies"
"we met at Starbucks. Actually we were both at diffeerent starbucks across the street from each other"
"Bloodhound is the best doggie on God's earth"
"I'm not wearing underwear"
"doin' it doggie style" well you get the idea.
Jed, Well timed reference! LOL! I have to say I see many of those characters in my head when I watch the show.
I kept thinking of the movie Machete when I read this. It sounds like life imitating art.
Off topic(s)
I think Amazon is going to go away. Their customer service is terrible. They manage to never answer your questions or blame others.
I had this interesting series of emails today. I put it on my blog in case anyone else has had similar problems.
Oh, and this guy has the nerve to say, "I'm committed to providing world class customer service." and the last line of his email is "Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company."
/Off Topic(s)
Westminster Kennel Club = Stupid short sited elitist group.
Accidentally naked = Lies no one ever believes.
Ahmadinejad complained about the same thing last year. Maybe he shared it with Putin during pillow-talk. Who knows?
This reminds me of an old saying, "A Conservative is just a mugged liberal." Maybe Breyer will change. I won't hold my breath.
Google already does this, but not the depth this representative wants. Two weeks I think is the limit Google has history on my computer. I haven't checked history lately.
Joel, Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with Amazon. My experiences have generally been good, though I've had problems with their affiliates.
Yep, I can't see how anyone would believe the accidentally naked thing.
I thought about that with a conservative being a liberal who's been mugged, but I doubt Breyer will wake up after this. He strikes me as a guy whose liberalism too deep-seated and to easily hypocritical to change as a result of any facts or experiences.
Putin and Ahmadinejad pillow talk. Hmm. That's a pretty ugly image.
DUQ, I thought about that too -- LOL! This set of facts almost perfectly fits the trailer.
So
The answer is to keep a list of every website everyone has visited.... hmmm...
There is some advice that is given to people who know that they are the subjects of bugging. If you suspect someone is bugging you and listening in to your home.
Throw wild parties all the time. Play music 24/7, invite the debate club over every day after school to practice. As many evenings as you can invite all the nerds over from the comic bood shop to play games and then ask one who would win the Hulk or Superman.
The point is that you flood the area being listened to with so much static that the person listening in can't possibly focus on what you are doing.
Evidently this lawmaker does not grasp this concept as forcing the IP to provide the gigs and terrabytes of data every week that would be required to comply with this law is essentially applying this avoidance strategy for whoever the state is trying to listen into.
Indi, The problem in this case is that you can't overwhelm the system because no one is listening in real time. Instead, it just keeps track of what you do. Then, when the government comes after you for some real or imagined crime, they will pull this to "look for evidence" and will scour the list for anything they can charge you with.
And if the system turns out to be as incorrect as other systems like this, you may well find out that there are a whole lot of websites on the list that you never visited. Now imaging being charged with kiddie porn because someone used your wireless router two years ago and it ended up on the list (or the ISP just recorded it wrong) and some uppity prosecutor decided to go after you with a full court press because you decided to fight that speeding ticket.
That's the danger.
Not to mention, the idea is to chill activity in general. If you know someone is watching, you might not go to some place you think would appear questionable if you had to explain it in court.
I can't believe people aren't more upset about the idea of the government recording what webpages they visit?! How can people in Hawaii not be up in arms over this? I'd be furious!
Terry, You and me both. Unfortunately, the truth about human nature is that a huge chunk of the public really are just sheep who will accept what "the authorities" tell them and they will do what they are told. That's always been true.
Andrew,
I don't think you read it well. It wasn't just A bad experience. It was every e-mail they sent me. Not once have they satisfied me. The first series, they blame the problem on their suppliers giving them false information. They were selling the part. Their software search engine included something that I didn't want. I bought it. I put hard earned money down for it. I mistakenly picked the wrong part, yet not once did the say, "Whups, I am glad you caught that. Send the part back to me and I will send the part you really want. It will cost you x more dollars, but I have to satisfy my stockholders." It wouldn't have been ideal, but I would have done that. Nope, they just explained it away as getting faulty information from the vendor. When I complained about the recommendations that I didn't want, basically they said it was MY FAULT for not configuring the software to remove it. How can it be my fault when it is their software designed to give me recommendations? Besides, all I asked for was an off button.
In this latest series of emails, this guy kept on reminding me that I specified free shipping yet couldn't explain why everyone else on the list managed to send my purchases prior to this last one. Finally, when he did find out the information, he again didn't answer my questions in any shape or form that I requested.
Now, it might seem to you that I am nitpicking. Yes, you would be right, but it is MY MONEY. When a customer complains or points out problems or even asks a simple question, the way you answer the question or solve the problem, induces whether the customer will come back. Now, the first time, didn't upset me enough to not buy from Amazon, just buy less. $2000 dollars less. This time, with MR NO ANSWER, induces me to not use them again.
Why ask a question or make a request when all he or she will do is point out that it isn't Amazon's fault, constantly remind me that I specified FREE shipping or that I haven't configured my account to stop their annoying recommendations? Why spend money with Amazon when their attitude is to cover their ass, not solve the problem or answer a question?
Joel, I've never had any of these problems. And if you think it's a bad enough problem, then stop dealing with them. But in truth, I don't think you'll find better service anywhere else. Quality, careful, attentive service is a thing of the past.
And in terms of bringing down Amazon, I think things would need to get a whole heck of a lot worse before it becomes a problem for Amazon. Their primary selling point is a combination of extreme convenience, fast shipping, and low prices. And there's really nobody who can beat them on those points. So I don't think they're in any danger at this point.
Andrew,
I have been around a long enough time to remember how large IBM was and almost the exact same thing was said about them. There are suppliers, like Newegg, who sell the same things Amazon sells. Their prices are comparable and their shipping is just as good and cheap as Amazon. All of what Amazon sells can be bought directly from their suppliers. Higher markup, but then again less hassle. By the way, all of what I bought from Newegg, I have already received. I have yet to receive one item from Amazon. That includes the stuff that was ordered with shipping.
Also, if this is the jewel of the customer service, why is the guy doing his level best to make sure I know I haven't spent enough on shipping when I have bought quite a lot from Amazon and I am a returning customer? Yes, I didn't pay more for shipping, but they offered free shipping. Does that really mean free crappy shipping and when I ask a question, they will do their level best to call me on it time and again just to avoid answering a question?
You haven't had a problem with them. Good for you. I hope you never do. I did. Not once, but twice. I probably won't buy anything more from them. They failed and didn't even have the guts to admit it.
The ugly truth is that disposable income is shrinking. Why go with a company that can't satisfactorily answer a question with information that they actually had? Also, I really didn't have a problem with Amazon, even with their crappy shipping until I talked to a person who is supposed to be trained to give world-class customer service from Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.
Joel, You're right that companies can implode before anyone realizes it and it's something they should be concerned about.
Are they? I doubt it. Customer service isn't something too many firms value today. Look at all the God-awful call centers in India who can't even speak to you, much less know the products, understand the issues or care. We're in a mass-produced, lowest-bidder customer service world right now.
And you are absolutely right that disposable incomes are dropping. I can tell you that I see this all around me where people simply aren't spending what they would have five years ago -- and where higher prices are making people even more leery of spending.
So let me put it this way, I think you make a good point, but I don't think Amazon will care.
Andrew
That is the problem for the average Joe but unfortunately I don't think it will be an issue for the crooks the government might actually want to use this on.
The crook will set up the ISP account on a wireless router in a populatede area. Maybe even buy one that is large enough for a supermarket. The router will be unencrypted and anyone will be allowed on without a password. People will be encouragedd to use it.
The crook will funnel his important communications through a VPN using a throw away computer (like a burner cell phone except instead of ditching the computer for a new one just reformat the hard drive. The traffic will look like someone that causually used the router. Defence Lawyers will have logs of the activity that luckily the router was set to record just in case the individual needs to prove their innoncence.
It is difficult to track someone in cyberspace if they have resources to stay hidden.
Indi, That's always the case. These broad sledge-hammer approaches only hurt the people who aren't doing anything wrong. The bad guys find a way around it almost instantly, and the people who get snared in it are just the good people who find themselves targeted by a zealous prosecutor who is either on a crusade or wants to make a name for themselves to get re-elected or promoted. That's how it works.
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