Pavlov's Dog

1/30/2012

I had lunch yesterday with two Republican women in my area. I happen to know them both (all two of 'em! badoom tsshhhh!) and the topic turned, against my will, to politics (before we got back to the real matter at hand which is local gossip.) I respect their right to that one woman-one vote thingy. And I love who they are as women, mothers, and vibrant members of our community. But Newt, really? Or "actually?" as my teenager might say? Well, it takes all kinds and they think of me as some sort of political nuisance and voter who must be allowed to fill out a ballot, unfortunately.

But what exactly does this have to do with a groovin' Golden Retriever? Absolutely nothing. As someone who grew up with Goldens, I just love this video. LOVE IT!!! And you will too. And that's all I'm gonna say about my dear friends, and that man they might vote for who tortured his Irish Setter on top of his car roof. See? I'm not gonna even say it.

WakeUpAmerica

1/30/2012 05:29:48

Loved it! I'm on my third golden, and I couldn't love him more if I had actually given birth to him. His whole mission in life is to love us.

Laura Novak

1/30/2012 05:57:03

WUA- you are SO lucky to be on your third. They truly do just live to love and make us happy. They are a marvelous breed. And this video in particular is so fantastic. He bops his head and truly is saddened when the music he loves stops. I've never seen anything like it.

ManxMamma

1/30/2012 06:52:53

I love Goldies. Since the kitties are in the other room I can say that if I could have one I might even love him more than my kitties. Please don't ever repeat that!

dog is love

1/30/2012 07:55:45

dog is love

grannyj

1/30/2012 07:56:43

Oh I just loved this! It made me laugh out loud. We have a golden- squashed in between all those labs and lab-rotty mix. He has the most beautiful face- I got him when I wanted my daughter to have a baby- and she said "Get a puppy." At the time we had 2 labs- but I fell in love with his beautiful face. They are very special dogs.

Marleycat

1/30/2012 09:38:33

Great vid, wonderful dog! I always wanted to have a Golden - but, my house was always filled with other various muttbreeds, always had 2-3 dogs (usually throwaways from other families or strays) and cats. No, I'm not a hoarder - but I do have to tell myself all the time, no more animals! I currently have two little pomeranian/poodle brothers (and a frail 20 year old cat) from different year litters - whose owners kept them for 6-7 months then "got rid of them"! Oh well, my gain - they have been the best little buddies! Still - I would love to have a Golden Retriever!

Ottoline

1/30/2012 10:11:58

Look: Good news for animal lovers, and about a wealthy man who is doing good: This founder of PeopleSoft got $10B when Oracle bought him out in a hostile takeover. So he used $300M to create Maddie's Fund, which aims to make us a no-kill nation re unwanted pets. So far, the fund gave money to existing shelters, but now it looks like they will build one of their own. AND create 200 jobs. Right when CA is aiming to cut funds for homeless animals.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19760487

Ottoline

1/31/2012 03:33:24

I have a different take on this lovely dog's reaction. It's not the music he loves. Each time the music starts, he goes into "I can relax, zone out, for a little while" mode -- tongue out, panting that obscures his hearing somewhat. Each time the music stops, he goes into full alert: very still; breathing stops or is done v quietly, to hear better; eyes on the man; ready for whatever comes next.

Why? because this dear dogster knows that when the meaningless music thingy stops, some excitement is possibly ahead: get up and go somewhere; get a snack; you never know, with these human beans. But it's all good for a faithful dogster, any change from the many dull, incomprehensible non-moving activities of the boss.

mistah charley, ph.d.

1/31/2012 06:51:28

Your interpretation seems correct to me. He's not unhappy when the music stops - he's alert.

Laura Novak

1/31/2012 04:30:34

ManxMamma, I won't tell the kitties. None of us will!

Ottoline: I hadn't thought of that. Walkies when the music stops? Cookie? I don't know. He seems to have the beat down perfectly.

And how did I know you were all animal lovers? I just knew somehow!!!

Ottoline

1/31/2012 04:49:56

The reason I wrote in the non-music-lover interpretation is that I once had a v smart dog who loved to run far once he escaped from leash control. So instead of training him to come with the usual commands, I trained him to come upon my saying "How about a treat?" and indeed I never cheated, always giving him something extremely tasty, preparing for the day when my non-car/street-savvy dog would be in danger. After awhile, he became so alert to this question, that I had only to say "How about . . . " and he would zoom over to me. And then when I had barely uttered "Hh . . ." ditto. The eerie part came when I would just THINK the phrase, preparing to say it, and he would lift his head up out of a snooze, adopt that alert stance, ready for me to say it. True story.

I might have posted this part before: One night it was pouring rain, 3 AM, and my dear dog escaped out the front door. I ran after; I could see this all-black dog was two blocks away by the reflections in his eyes as he looked my way. My thin nightgown was now plastered to my body as I ran down the street shrieking "How about a treat!! How about a treat!" when I noticed a car behind me, lowering its window, and the man asking "Do you need help?" with a little leer. I don't blame him. All ended well.

V-A

1/31/2012 08:00:55

sorry. all I see is a bud light commercial. as a former Mad Ave copywriter, I resent how insidious ads are now. this is a fake video that is really an ad. Dogs, kids. I love animals but I had seening them used as shills. I particularly loathed the coke polar bear ads.

mistah charley, ph.d. link

1/31/2012 22:01:35

I saw that and hoped it was an accident. As you say - not. Darth Sidious's disciples are using all the info channels these days.

One has to protect oneself as best one can. See Cialdini's book Influence: Science and Practice (5th edition). I have heard of idealistic grad students who objected to being assigned this book as a text because they thought it was too cynical - 'pc'ism at its worst, this attitude assumes that things we dislike don't affect us if we don't look at them. Au contraire - "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

V-A

1/31/2012 23:16:27

sorry for the typos. I wrote in a white heat. I, for one, love the Dog and Bacon video because it is so obviously fake and funny. Ad Agencies are exploring all new ways of reaching you without you realizing it. From the information gleaned on FB (and maybe even from this blog) to the shameless shilling of children for Investment Banking firms and yes, the poor polar bears for Coke.

On a brighter Dog Note, how about that photo circulated of President Obama and his dog in the limo, looking out the window. A lob at Romney and Seamus?

Ottoline

2/1/2012 01:08:37

Maybe we should get lidia17 to make a talking dog/cat video of the PalinHoax. I see that the bacon/dog video has 98 million hits.

Ottoline

2/1/2012 01:10:42

Laura, did the Repub women you lunched with know about the Palin hoax? Did you do the spiral of silence?

Laura Novak

2/1/2012 01:25:32

V-A I hear you. And yet this one took me straight to the dog's face and heart. Perhaps that's just the point? The beer placement didn't escape me, though. But I am a sucker for the E-Trade baby!

No, Ottoline, I did not even go there. We got off politics as quickly as we knew how. It wasn't the purpose of our lunch and who needed to ruin a good time? We'll never see eye to eye on these candidates.

2/1/2012 03:03:55

O/T, but I am happy to have discovered Charlie Pierce's blog:

www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/
susan-g-komen-planned-parenthood-6649665

Yet this is not totally O/T. Our Republican women friends enable this crap by not at least threatening to take their money and leave their party. I remember reading Christie Todd Whitman writing about her "Big Tent" party and how she campaigned for then-Sen. Santorum. How could any feminist do that? He may be a nice guy in their political party, but he's dangerous. And she's deluded.

Meanwhile, I'm looking into supporting the Nat'l Breast Cancer Coalition as an alternative to Komen. The camel's back is broken.

Laura, I commented here rather than at your current post because my attitude right now is very un-Tao-ist. And, Ottoline, thanks for making me smile in spite of my disgust with Komen and Whitman and, well, any of them, all of them.

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