June Solstice

Today is the June Solstice (1st Day of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere and 1st Day of Winter in the Southern Hemisphere) and the longest/shortest day of the year. In Portland, today, the sunrise was just about 5am and the sunset was about 9:30pm. The temperatures, for our 1st day of Summer were wonderful (high of 77F low of 54F) with partly cloudy skies, intermittent showers, and a slight breeze. A good day to be a Portlander, no matter how liberal that means you are.

...burn out all the recent immoral developments...burn out the poison of immorality which has entered into our whole life and culture as a result of past liberal excesses. — Adolf Hitler (in a speech proclaiming his staunch conservative christian beliefs)

etch-essomenic

If degenerate artists see fields blue, they are deranged, and should go to an asylum; if they only pretend to see them blue, they are criminals, and should go to prison. — Adolf Hitler

Curiouser and Curiouser

Powell, 4 months

I am providing this to avoid being cited by feline-failure-to-post-a-feckin-foto enforcement officials.

More importantly (and to insure you don't think this has become one of those) I pose this rhetorical observation:

Because I do not happen to own a book of Hitler's writings or quotes, I used a small strand of the web to find some of what he said or wrote. This month, I decided, would be Adolf's month not only because I wanted to know what the web would reference for a notoriously bad guy (and since he was prolific and outspoken, I chose him) but, mostly, because I thought that evil people probably say the darnedest things.

Before I could get to that strand of the web, I let the google do its thing. But, it declined.

Normally, I would type a few letters and it would give me ten options and I'd scroll-click. Not this time. All the way to 'a.d.o.l.f. .h.i.t.l.e' . . . and not listed as a suggestion. I found the lack of his name in the suggestion drop-down rather baffling.

It is there now. Obviously. As soon as I type 'a.d', but that's because I'm treading trodden ground.

The first time around though, the google didn't want me to learn about the bad man. It caused me to mutter, 'Open the door Hal'.

That was my first curious hmmm. My second hmmmm (a bit longer) came as I scanned the things he is attributed with saying. I try to make some association with the topic of my post in the quote. Not always. And the quote I choose does not always have a connection that's readily apparent to others, but I try. Not so easy with this extremely insane Austrian.

Every quote engine has the same few dozen (or less) quotes. Almost all of them paint a very bleak picture. To scan his quotes is to see he was a bigoted dullard. A manipulative, fucktard. Not very imaginative. Not very well spoken.

The weak offerings from the quote engines may be sufficient for someone writing a 3-page paper for World History Class, but it only makes me want to know where the real writings are; because it's too much like the google declining to help me.

A lengthy search did uncover some translations of his writings; I still haven't found any direct quotes about pets, or his dogs, or animals in general. So, this will suffice.

A meeting between two beings who complete one another, who are made for each other, borders already, in my opinion, on a miracle. — Adolf Hitler

New Cat

Decided it was time (the 14 months without a cat was fine, but it was time), so I looked for a month or so and finally found and brought home a 3 to 4-month-old kitten from a shelter.

He's mostly white with black splashes. Some of the black spitter-splashed in a smattering of small speckles...so he has almost a Dalmatian-thing going in coloration (but not in shedding). Although he is a domestic shorthair, his coat is extremely short and slick—like a seal's—and there's a sizable dollop of Abyssinian in his not-too-distant ancestry, so he has large ears and a small, pointy head (which lends him a Spuds Mckenzie-thing in the looks department).

I've named him Powell. I call him Pow.

He has been living here for five days and has demonstrated:

• Fetching. Throw a wad of paper, it's returned in short order to be re-thrown.
• He easily drinks from a syringe placed in the corner of this mouth. This is essential to taking cats hiking in the wild...so I can decide when and how much he needs to re-hydrate. It also makes administering liquid medications simple.
• He sleeps near my shoulder or curled under an arm (it is important to me that he enjoys human proximity). Also, a plus because our other cat, Aggie, prefers the between-our-legs spot.
• Allows the clipping of nails, the administering of earmiticide, and immersion in water without display of anger or fear (not that he loved a bath, just that he tolerated it).
• Socializes wonderfully with other cats (ours and a couple of locals who visit routinely).
• Rides in a car (in and out of a carrier) with no problems or complaint.
• Not overly boisterous. He has a diminutive vocal range, and seems to use quiet vocalizations rather than loud or incessant ones.
• Will drink out of a plastic water bottle cap held in my hand (valuable for when he's thirsty and a larger receptacle is not available).
• Doesn't extend his claws or forcibly bite when engaging in pseudo-aggressive play behavior.
• Follows me when I walk ahead (for 200+ feet). This was done only in a controlled setting, but it looks promising that he may be able, and willing, to hike with me when he gets older.
• Still working on: 'No', 'Come here' and his name as a 'pay attention to me' signal. Need to test his ability to ride in a cat-backpack. Need to locate an 'open' area (visually) to train him to hike. Establish wearing a collar = going hiking.
  

Films - Early Summer

UP - Pixar continues to generate greatness. It will make you cry and laugh; for adults who like an intelligent story behind their animation.

The HANGOVER - You will explode with laughter every ten minutes; not really the film the trailer paints it to be.

AWAY WE GO - A couple in love, who stay in love all the way through the film; more about all the "crazy other people" (in the world)...since I generally hate people in general, this film played to that part of me.

STAR TREK (2009) - A superbly scripted and produced story. Action SF at its best.