Category: Pets

"Only people who'll remember this is us."

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

We just finished watching Gunner Palace (imdb | rotten tomatoes), a documentary about an American field artillery unit who took over Uday Hussein’s old palace in Baghdad. It was a bit uneven and slow at times, but overall a pretty informative slice of (shitty) life for these guys and the Iraqis they deal with. The soldiers have to duck rocks, worry about IEDs and deal with the fact that no one back home will every understand what their time in Iraq was like. The Iraqi people get held at gunpoint, woken up in the middle of the night by soldiers and sent to prisons like Abu Ghraib without much evidence against them.

“I don’t think … anywhere in history has someone killed someone else and something better has come out of it. It’s just … not possible.”

Whatever you think about the war, you have to respect the soldiers for the work they have to do, and feel sorry for them when the situation sometimes pushes them over the line. Gunner Palace was a good look at a bunch of soldiers standing at the edge of it.

.:.

I also watched Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (imdb | rotten tomatoes) this week. Dopey martial arts movie, but holy smokin’ Joe Kubek, that Tony Jaa is one bad-assed squeaky-voiced mofo. No effects, no digital tricks, no “bullet time”, just a little dude kicking and elbowing and jumping and kneeing his way through a whole raft of baddies, including one creepy voiceboxed chief. If you appreciate martial arts movies for the action and don’t mind the thin plot or dippy dialogue, pick this up.

.:.

The Canadiens all but eliminated the Leafs tonight, winning 6-2 after beating them 5-1 two nights ago. Atlanta lost, so Montreal moves back into the 8th playoff spot. The way things are going, the Montreal-New Jersey game we have tickets for in two weeks could be big indeed.

.:.

Clubbed today: protestors in Minsk, baby seals.

.:.

My old friend from university, Farm Boy (ironic that he got the name, since I grew up on a farm and he did not) visited today. He, his wife, Nellie and I had lunch downtown at the Irish Embassy and then caught up for a bit before they left to have dinner with his brother. They were enamored with the cats; who wouldn’t be?

A touch of the rheumatids rheumatiz flu

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

You can buy all the expensive cat toys you want. Nothing will ever entertain them as much as a piece of string with some folded-up paper on the end.

.:.

This chest congestion that started after the flight back from New York has developed into a full-blown cold or something. Whatever it is, I feel like ass. I’ve managed to avoid being sick the whole winter but I guess it’s finally caught up with me.

False alarm

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Fire alarms when you’re trying to relax on a Friday night are a pain in the butt. Especially when you have to carry the cats up and down flights of stairs (can’t wait for that cat diet to kick in). There was no fire, obviously, but the boys were plenty annoyed at being stuffed in their carriers.

.:.

The new Google Talk for the Blackberry is pretty sweet. It uses the same contact list as the full web version of Gmail, and works almost exactly the same way. I was pretty impressed.

.:.

The two songs that Ted Leo posted on his site are both really, really good. I’m looking forward to the new disc. Speaking of music, the new Neko Case is, indeed, excellent. The new Mogwai is also good, but we all knew that already. Their May concert is looking like it’s fo sho now: M2 is in.

Be here to feed me, and possibly clean up my vomit

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

After many aborted attempts, I finally managed to finish Be Here To Love Me (imdb | rotten tomatoes), a documentary about Townes Van Zandt. You’ve probably heard his songs, but didn’t realize it. I’ve noticed his name over the years, in liner notes and during concert chit-chat. I knew he was a great song writer, but I didn’t realize just how…messed up and tortured and drug-addled he was. It’s an interesting profile, whether or not you like his music.

.:.

We have a vet appointment for the boys in a couple of hours. What with it being -612 degrees out there and the eventual dreaded thermometer ass attack, I don’t think they’re gonna much like us.