Cigar anyone?

HBO: The Alzheimer's Project

Scanning through the channels recently, I came across a documentary on HBO entitled The Alzheimer's Project. Having a Mother who is suffering from this terrible disease, it caught my eye. The episode was called Grandpa, do you know who I am and was hosted by Maria Shriver. Normally, I can take-it-or leave-it regarding HBO programming, however I must admit that this was one of the best , if not the best documentary I had ever seen. Maria Shriver does a superb job of presenting her own experience with Alzheimer's in talking about her father, Sergent Shriver. The children in this video bring a whole new perspective to dealing with Alzheimer's.

Please take the time to view this video.

http://www.hbo.com/alzheimers/grandpa-do-you-know-who-i-am.html

The Leopard Snuggie

The Results

Well, I got the haircut. Evidently because I had matting, they had to cut me especially short. What were Dennis and Carol thinking? It's like 10 degrees outside. Fortunately, Carol wraps me in Kristen's leopard snuggie to keep me warm! Here are a couple of pictures post haircut. One is of me sitting on my chair, keeping a watch out for bunnies, squirrels, and the hot blond lab from across the ditch! Wait until she sees my new do.... she'll be putty in my paws!

Haircut Time

This morning, as I am manning my daily sentry post on Dennis and Carol’s bed, I hear the familiar jingling sound of the tags on my collar. I don’t typically wear the collar around the house, so I know when I hear that sound there’s going to be something exciting going on. Glancing out the window, I know we aren't going for a walk, because it is raining and snowy. That means one of two things: we are either going to Grandma’s, or …. (gulp) I can hardly bring myself to say it…..we are going to Jane’s Pampered Pets. Considering it is only 7:15 in the morning, I know my fate. It’s haircut time. Don’t get me wrong, I know my parents mean well, but do I really need a haircut? The yellow lab from across the ditch doesn’t think so, if you know what I’m saying, heh heh. Anyway, all I can say is they better not put a bow in my hair!

Pictures to follow….

I've Digressed...

In the past couple of months, I’ve digressed from the original intent of this blog. The one thing I did not want this to become was a political and/or religion forum for use in blowing off steam. The original intent was to be a whimsical insight to the daily life of Jack, the Goldendoodle.

I’ve owned several dogs in my life, and some of them have been very good dogs, but in my opinion, none match the intelligence and loyalty this dog has to offer. The world could learn a lot from Jack. He loves everyone! He has no biases!

So from this point forward, look for this blog to be more about Jack’s life, and less about my opinions.

Mark McGwire

Well, its time to discuss Mark McGwire. The last few weeks have been brutal. McGwire has been designated by the media to take on all the sins of the baseball world. Did McGwire cheat? In the purest sense of the word, the answer is an unequivocal yes! He took performance enhancing drugs. Period. But before everyone goes off on their high-horse, let’s put a few things into perspective: there were literally hundreds of PED users back in the late 90’s and early 00’s. This was a time when steroids weren’t even banned by baseball. To basically single out McGwire as if he were solely responsible for the steroid era is at best disingenuous, and at worst, just flat wrong.

There is talk that McGwire should be banned from baseball the same as Pete Rose. That’s fine, but if you are going to ban McGwire, then you will have to ban every other ball player linked to steroids. Good bye Manny, Alex, Andy, and the numerous other “cheaters” still in the game.

What is this infatuation with McGwire by the media? Every time I look at a sports page or bring up espn.com, there is another lead story about some nobody player from years past complaining about how rotten McGwire is. Why is the media so relentless with this? Why are they so bent on persecuting him, when others seem to get a pass? I read a column where a former pitcher was complaining that he would have had better numbers if he didn’t have to pitch to these steroid cheaters. He added that perhaps he could have even had Hall of Fame numbers. That’s cute, but if you’re going to use that kind of logic, you had better be prepared to reconsider all the Hall of Fame members that played prior to 1947! Some of the best competition baseball had to offer was kept from playing simply because of skin color. How different would some of those stats have been if all of those white players had to face the likes of a Satchel Paige on a daily basis? What if Josh Gibson could have batted against the Whitey Fords of baseball?

Which rule breakers should we exclude from baseball? Clearly the PED users, but what about the marijuana users? There’s a lot of them out there, but baseball doesn’t test for that. Do pot smokers have a competitive advantage over the non-pot smokers? If it helps them relax when they’re nervous, then yes, I would say they do. What about a pitcher who gets caught doctoring the baseball? Does that give him a competitive advantage? I think it does. What about the spit-ball throwers? How about those guys that trap the baseball in the outfield and try to sell it as a catch? Isn’t that cheating? Again, the ironic thing is that steroids were not banned in baseball when McGwire took them.

Am I trying to condone the actions of Mark McGwire? No. What he did was wrong; he probably knew it was wrong; and he probably did have a competitive advantage because of it. My point is, maybe its time to give the guy a break. He could have comfortably retired to the golf course and never had to address the issue again. But he loves baseball. Why else would he put himself through this endless attack? Certainly not for the money. Baseball hitting coaches don’t exactly rake it in.

Should McGwire get into the Hall of Fame? No, with a caveat: If you are going to single out McGwire, you had better apply those same rules to all the other cheaters come ballot time.

My point is, the viciousness of the attacks against McGwire have become ridiculous. Mark McGwire is a good man. You never hear about the amazing work he has done for abused children. You don’t hear about the man who walked away from a guaranteed ten million dollars in the last year of his contract because he felt like he could no longer compete at the level that would justify that salary. No, all you hear is a constant barrage of attacks.

It’s time to move on…

Pat Robertson

Well, the infamous Pat Robertson has opened his idiot mouth again. Why do people continue to support this clown? He and his self-absorbed television show (The 700 Club) have been preying (not Praying) on the elderly and those in our society who need help the most, by convincing them that he has an inside track to the mindset of God. He sends out pleas for money to support his crusade against homosexuality, liberalism, and anything else he is opposed to. His most recent comments claim that Haiti experienced the terrible earthquake because of a deal the Haitian leaders made with the devil in 1803.

Pat Robertson is the closest thing to the antichrist on earth today. If you would like to read more examples of his bigotry and hatred, follow this link: http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/funnyquotes/a/patrobertson.htm

Typical Facebook Conversation

Barbie: You’re the best person in the whole world.

Ken: No, you’re the best person in the whole world.

Barbie: No, silly, you are.

Ken: No, YOU are!

Barbie: I love you so much!

Ken: You can’t possibly love me more than I love you!

Barbie: Yes I can!

Ken: No you can’t!

Barbie: I’m SO lucky! It’s a shame no one else has ever experienced the deep love that you and I share!

Ken: As long as I’m in your arms, the whole universe is right!

Barbie: Isn’t it nice that we can share these public displays of affection for the whole world to see!

Ken: It's important that everyone understands the depth of our love. We should shout it from the roof tops!

Mary: I’m so happy for you! You have the same kind of relationship that Bob and I have!

Jane: Barf…

Barbie: Jealous!

Jane: No…maybe I’m secure enough in my relationship that I don’t feel the need to reinforce my own self-esteem by posting personal dialog on Facebook for everyone to see.

Mary: Clearly jealous!

Ken: Wow, what’s her problem? Evidently she can’t grasp the concept of true love…

Jane: AHHHHH…I give up…