Aye, Bee, See
 

And this is different from normal how...

(love ya Wonkster :flowers: )

Aye, Bee, See
 

See, This is what I meant before about being cranky. And you seem to be getting more than your share of it, Sebby.

I, too, like Michael Mann.

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

Sebby, I can't imagine you having anything to do with a cat's litter box whatsoever.

Aye, Bee, See
 

I get the heebie jeebies every time I hear that Iron Butterfly song after seeing that movie. Michael Mann did a good job of directing Manhunter, I thought.

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

Either I change the cats' litter or do do the laundry. Me, I'm a litter guy.

Speaking of Crappy Movies...
 

Knight Rider is coming to a big screen near you:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Movi....ap/index.html

Tragically, David Hasselhoff will only be producing apparently, not starring. Though I understand he's very popular in Europe.

p(anyone tries to redo "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and I'll break em's legs)j

Aye, Bee, See
 

Wonk,

If you dig Mann, then maybe you'll agree at just how underrated Insider was, or about how Christopher Plummer should have received an oscar.

My favorite movie quote:

Plummer to Gina Gershon:
"What are you going to do now? Are you going to 'lawyer' me?"

I love that scene - Plummer is so utterly condescending.

S(and I'm still waiting for the right moment to deliver it in earnest myself)D

Green Card (no, not the stupid movie of the same name)
 

I am pleased to report that the trusty INS, afteryears (not kidding) of contemplation, has seen fit to approve my green card petition. Now it's just a matter of processing (should take about another year), but yay!!! Happy news!

Green Card (no, not the stupid movie of the same name)
 

Boy, things are really slipping when they're letting the Canucks in so easily. :D But seriously, Congratulations.

spookyfish

Green Card (no, not the stupid movie of the same name)
 

Congratulations! But remember "should" is the operative word here - these are the folks who deem fingerprints expired every 15mo or so and who lost my entire file (and then told me I didn't exist. Nice.). I will keep my fingers crossed for you for the next three or four years to be safe.

-T(INS Bad)L

edited for spelling

Green Card (no, not the stupid movie of the same name)
 

What a drag for you. Yes, I have experienced a few big bumps on my road so far too. I make about 5 copies of everything I send to them and keep a file at my home, my lawyer's etc., as well as keeping a constant paper trail to remind them that I exist. To tell you the truth, I am amazed that mine was actually approved with all the horror stories that you hear.

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

Whipped.

TM

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

Right? I'm still reeling from the fact he has a cat -- what have you done with Sebby?

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

A. I like dogs, but you think I want to care for one?

B. If cleaning the cat litter is the price I have to pay for being allowed to do mostly whatever I want, I'll take that bargain.

C. I've had cats since I was a little kid - I'm so used to them I couldn't imagine being without one.

D. When I get more space, I'll probably get a dog. Gotta have wide open acreage for the sucker to run... probably a Golden. Can't beat a Golden - killer pet.

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

Is he talking about cats as in felines, or cats as in men he encounters?

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

You're not Mr. Lex are you?

-T(you're kinda freaking me out)L

p.s. If you are Mr. Lex, get home early today so you can finish the taxes.

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

What's to care for? Of course, there's the daily walks (but that's not so hard for me -- my husband does it...), but the feeding is easy, she just kind of lies around the house.

Even when she can run around outside and chase this chipmunk (her arch-enemy), she mostly just sits on the porch or in the yard.

What could be easier?

(And she's a BIG dog.)

No offense intended, by the way, about the cat -- you just struck me as someone who wouldn't want a cat as a pet.

Woof Woof
 

Speaking as someone who is gone from home for significant portions of the day (and night), I suspect I would arrive each night to a floor that needed mopping.

-TL

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

I'm neither a cat nor a dog person. I like both for different reasons.

At this point in my life, I don't think I could give a dog enough attention. Dogs need more companionship than cats (Yes, the notion of children scares the shit out of me).

My concern with getting a dog is making sure we get a smart one. We have one very smart cat and one idiot. Its comical to watch them interact. I'm afraid, however, that a dumb dog lumbering about knocking shit over would be intolerable.

If the wife makes me go to the burbs, however, I may get a dog asap. My uncle's got a wonderful lab which he uses as an excuse to leave the house for long walks... to the pub. I hear dogs are a great cure for screamin children in this regard...

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

Just like you wouldn't expect P.J. O'Rourke to have a cat.

I too was surprised by the cat ownership but the litter box thing just dumbstruck me. Seb's posts do make it clear that he's crazy about his wife, so maybe it's not so surprising, after all.

r(You call it love, TM calls it whipped)p

P.S. I cannot IMAGINE life without dogs. It does make the weekend trip to a sunny clime a bit more complicated, but is so worth it.

And, by the way, what the hell is the point of living in the burbs anyway if you don't have a dog?

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

Aside from the bi-monthly bath, there's really not much to taking care of the Displaced Dog. We go on a walk in the morning, go on a walk at night, and otherwise play. Sure, there was training when he was a puppy, but these days, he's probably better socalized than I am.

Cats & Dogs
 

I don't understand the shock, surprise, or dumstruckedness over Sebby's cat ownership.

We have a cat. She is beloved by the man of the house -- except when she does her nightly laps at 11 pm or is frightened by packs of animals in the nature preserve behind us (as she was this morning around 5 am).

I clean the automatic box. He is the "Bringer of Food."

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

That's quite a low bar, isn't it? ;)

Eau de Canada
 

Congrats! Just curious, though: Are they still using the old stationery that says INS, or the new stuff that says Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS). The answer to this cxould tell you how long your approval was sitting on the final person's desk waiting to be mailed.

Mostly whatever he wants
 

I want to know what Sebby means by "mostly whatever I want".

If we draw a Venn diagram that shows, in one circle, what Sebby wants to do and, in the other circle, what Mrs. Sebby lets him do, what sort of things lie outside the diagram?

AM(Paigow, stop using my name in vain!)M

Green Card (no, not the stupid movie of the same name)
 

I sincerely hope that part of your petition required you to state, under oath, that "Chretien is an Asshat "

not7y(Friend to the North, my eye)S

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

There are several really smart breeds. Some though are only smart at what they're bred for--labs, for example, are brilliant at retrieving, but lord are they stupid for anything else.

Watch out for the big smart ones, however--they can completely rule your household. Or at least have the brains to destroy only something valuable when you tick them off.

p(big-dog fan)j

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

When you get one, you might then also want to get one of these:

http://www.digikitten.com/playhousev...ILLER_GOLD.jpg

Oops. That's probably not what you meant.

From smartdecals.com [Spree: Goofy Signs]


My sister has had three over the years, and she's wanted to beat them on occasion. Goldens are nice pets, excellent with children, but be warned:

1. Chewing (clothes, furniture, shoes, toilet paper rolls, disposable razors) can be a big issue.

2. If you lead an active lifestyle and want to include the dog, they are fine, but if you are more sedentary, they may not be a dog for you.

3. Some of them can be as neurotic as Paigow.

spooky(just my $.02)fish

Aye, Bee, See
 

It was a very good movie and Plummer did an excellent job in it. I just hate Russell Crowe so much that it's hard to get past him.

Green Card (no, not the stupid movie of the same name)
 

It's good these days to be a citizen of the UK.

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

And actually, from a liability perspective, I read Goldens I have a very high rate of biting people.

p(my dog only tried to attack all other dogs)j

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

Whipped.

TM

Green Card (and more on stupid movies)
 

Congrats!:D Out of curiosity, did you go lottery, or family, or did your employer sponsor you?

BR(really curious as to whether any firms still sponsor people)S

Oh, and I liked Manhunter better, but marginally. That opening walk-through was terrifying and Brian Cox was, IMHO, a much more interesting Hannibal Lecter without all the show-boating, though in both versions they whimp out and don't let the tooth fairy mangle the hero's face (which is how the book ends). But Emily Watson was wonderful (so was Joan Allen in the same role), they stuck closer to the original ending in RD, and I understand that Ralph Finnes schlong is so HUGE that, despite his willingness to do scenes nude, they had to digitally obscure it because after the test screenings it was all anyone could remember about the movie.

The one good thing one can say about the movie Hannibal is that it was better than the book.

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

Herding dogs tend to be very smart. The different belgians, the different shepards, corgis etc.

Working dogs range from smart to thick as a brick. Goldens and Labs while two of the sweetest breeds tend to be extremely dumb for everything, but as PJ says, retrieving.

Terriers can be smart, but they are aptly named. Generally not a good idea to have them around kids. They normally have tough personalities.

Green Card (and more on stupid movies)
 

Don't tell us you're getting a dual personality too.:confused:

Or is that the really bad spelling problem cropping up?:brick:

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

Several thoughts:

I wanted to point out to followup on ther person who said labs were dumb for most things that werent retrieving. Labs are the most ocmmon guide dogs for the blind. I have to assume this takes some intelligence to pull off.

As for shepherds, I had an australian shepherd/doberman mix that was dumber than a box of sunny bonnies. She actually got hit by a car and died. Maybe the doberman half was the stupid half but I thought dobies were wizards.

THere is a ranking of intelligence in breeds available online. http://www.petrix.com/dogint/

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

Herding dogs are great if you have kids because the dogs will tend to organize and contain them just like sheep.

I agree on terriers. Too high-strung to have around rugrats, especially ones in the 'exuberantly grab and pull everything' stage.

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

That is very funny that poodle ranks #2. Growing up we had a big beautiful elegant standard poodle (that we did not clip into those godawful pom pom cuts, so she retained her dignity) who was the dumbest creature I have ever encountered. She was wonderfully friendly and good natured, but the stupidest dog ever. She was very narcissistic too. Loved to look at herself in the mirror from all angles.

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

Just goes to show there are exceptions to everything. We have some corgis that are so smart it is like having a young child. Others are so dumb you wonder how they manage to even move.

I think it is the case with most animals (including humans I imagine.) I have a cat that is incredibly smart, I have watched her figure out how to get up to areas she couldn't jump to, and it was clear she was puzzling it out. The other one is pretty darn stupid. Sweet, but stupid.

Genetics definitely comes into play. Show dogs are bred for certain characteristics. Those labs paigow mentioned that are guide dogs are also bred and carefully selected for the job.

Some breeds are more bred for brains, others for looks, and others personality. If you go to a breeder for your dog, as opposed to a puppy mill or a pet store, you have a better chance of getting a sense of what your dog will be like. Just look at the parents, and the siblings, as well as any other relatives the breeder might have around.

Bright Young Things, or Life on the FB
 

They're right on on border collies. Incredible dogs for kids. But they have dissed the humble bassett hound, a most intelligent, obediant and pleasant dog. And even a toddler can out run them.