Dogs or Cats? That is the Question.

Cats on the Cover

A while back, DogEvals had an ongoing ‘thing’ about dogs and cats: which one  appeared more often in just-regular magazines. And, of course, dogs won!

Dogs vs Cats or Cats vs Dogs

I picked up an old Real Simple (May 2016 [couldn’t find the cover online so here is the 2018 May cover, sans cat])

magazine for 10 cents at a flea market recently and noticed beaucoup dogs in the pages, then I saw the “Cat on the Cover”! (First things first, of course.)

Results

So, DogEvals decided to revive the competition and here are the results:

Inside cover: 2 dogs, 2 cats

Ikea ad: dog under a table

Editor’s Note: black lab (I think the editor has a dog she likes to feature each month)

Iams ad: Then and Now (puppy pic plus a few years later)

Purina ad: dog on left page, dog and cat on right page

Fibromyalgia pain med ad: two dogs

Litter ad: What else but a cat! And a cat on the package

Ask the vet page: dog in a car with hundreds of stuffies

Next page: smooching a probably bulldog with reference to Best Friends in UT

Heartgard ad: Fantastic! Dal against a polka dotted background

Purina: cat and on the right hand page, 2 cats

Purina ad: dogs

Eye allergy itch relief ad: dog

P 148 – dog

P 149 – cat pillow

P 150 – walkin’ the dog

P 191 – ‘cow’

P 193 – fish bones

Inside back cover – Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream cow

And the Winner Is. . . .

Total:

Fish – 1

Cow – 1

Cat – 7 plus the cover cat

Dog – 19

Need I say more? Dogs rule!

OT Book Review: A Higher Loyalty (leadership, FBI, Comey fired)

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership by James Comey (Flatiron Books, 2018, 290 pages, $29.99)

Not a Teaser

Don’t you just hate teasers – a headline promising a solution, so you click on it, only to have to read a sub-headline reiterating the same fantastic prophecy (“Just wait! It’s coming! Keep reading!”) that they haven’t disclosed yet so you scroll down and have to read through a paragraph or three of background information about how serious the problem is when you want to quickly get to the solution. Then you have to scroll down through the history of the problem. Then, well, the more they can get you to scroll down, the more ads they can show you.

This is not that kind of opening.

I will be upfront about this book: it’s great.

Fast-reading, like a mystery book (even though it’s non-fiction and we all know how it ends) and inspiring. (I read that Comey went to the College of William and Mary, and I was familiar with the name but being from the West Coast know only that I should look it up on Wikipedia – and I did. I also looked up James Comey again.)

So I Read A Higher Loyalty

I wanted to learn more about the Clinton emails and the firing of Jim Comey even though I have highly respected the man for a long time and had diligently followed the events in the news. My view of him has not changed, except possibly for the better.

So, imagine my disappointment (at first) when I discovered I had to wade through Comey’s chapters about being bullied, about moving from NY to Jersey (a world away), about bullying someone else in college, about his work in NYC as an attorney, about. . . .

“But Wait! There’s More!”

It was fascinating!

And interspersed throughout A Higher Loyalty was his view of leadership – a definition, a couple of role models who were not famous but helped make him the leader he is today. Comey is soft-spoken and strong, supportive and challenging at the same time, a leader who has the best balance of self-confidence and humility.

The subtitle of A Higher Loyalty is Truth, Lies, and Leadership. Comey’s book is primarily about leadership but is also a source that now uses the word, lies, in talking about our current president, something that has come about slowly in the media.

As a matter of fact, it’s all about leadership. And I believe I would follow Comey anywhere because I share his ethics.

Just Came Out

It’s June and the book came out in May. I had been on a short waiting list at my public library and now will view his recent interviews with the media.

Proud to be Fired

I would be proud to be fired if I were the wise James Comey and the person firing me was the current president (note that I did not say Leader – of the Free World). It would mean that there is something higher, better than the current state of the world today – or the country – or its ‘leaders.’

Next

Next on my reading list is Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump Whitehouse and Born Trump: Inside America’s First Family.

Final Word

I sincerely hope A Higher Loyalty becomes required reading in leadership courses at our military academies. It is that good and will stand the test of time.

And More: Update

James Comey has been interviewed recently by everyone (it seems) in the media and come across as very ethical, however, some negative points have arisen, true or not (or perhaps a function of several people using their subconscious biases to see what they see). Stay tuned to the media to see how it all turns out in the long run. We have nearly reached our saturation point on this subject but realize we have a responsibility to learn all the facts.

DVD Review: The Parent Trap, 1998 Style (summer camp fare, dog, twins)

A classic golden retriever remake!

The Parent Trap, with Lindsey Lohan, Natasha Richardson and Dennis Quaid (Walt Disney Pictures, Rated PG, 1998, 128 minutes, remake of the Hayley Mills’ version of 1961 with Maureen O’Hara and Brian Keith)

An Improvement on the Great Original, Yes!

Parent Trap’s more modern remake in 1998 is memorable for its stars: introducing a young and innocent Lindsey Lohan, freckles and all; the adorable late Natasha Richardson*, and ‘hunk**’ Dennis Quaid along with a familiar and comforting supporting cast.

This parent trap is also memorable for the improved plot – the summer camp is in Maine, one twin lives in London with her wedding dress designer mother while the other lives on a California vineyard with her hunk of a father. Although the camp scenes are not terribly realistic (two campers live alone in a cabin and all the campers seem to do the activities they please when they please). The California ‘family’ camping antics are hilarious and unique and all loose ends are expertly tied up together in the end of this fairly long but thoroughly captivating movie experience.

Dog!

And yes, this Parent Trap IS a dog movie – a California golden retriever to be exact is in perhaps the three best scenes (this is not a plot-spoiler so you will have to look for the lovable smart-as-a-cracker golden yourself!)

Why We Reviewed This Version

Firstly, we are reviewing movies in which dogs appear and there are so many!

And secondly, in a few days, at a classic movie event, we will watch the original version of The Parent Trap. We remembered how much we loved the remake and thought, what better time to give away this copy to a lucky member of the audience.

*Natasha Richardson, of the Redgrave family, died after a fall during her first snow skiing lesson

**’Hunk’ was used by Quaid’s movie daughter (and many movie viewers)

Happy (?) Memorial Day

We have seen the videos of military caskets being taken off a plane here in the States, met by the young widow and the soldier's family. We have wept along with them. Or stood at attention.

But have you ever wondered how the ceremony was handled at the other end of the final flight? Often the KIA would be the only 'cargo' on the plane. Here is how he got there (according to my recollections).

At the other end of his final trip home, troops gathered and formed up to march nation by nation (my base housed several Coalition nations) across the tarmac to the open back of the plane - in eight ranks, four facing the other four with enough space in between them for the flag-draped casket to be carried to the empty waiting plane. 

Troops were then called to Parade Rest (someone, earlier, had even aligned the propellers to each other so one blade of each prop was facing upwards) and then Attention as the soldier is carried to the plane by his Battle Buddies. On the tarmac, a very brief but solemn ceremony and service are held by the chaplain. If it is a ceremony for a soldier from another country, the service may be quite long but the main US service is held in the base chapel.

Troops are strongly encouraged to attend as many Ramp Ceremonies as they can to pay their respects. Some of my female troops had an emotionally difficult time and would stand in a rear rank to shield their feelings. And Special Forces ceremonies were often in the middle of the night (US fatalities had to be out of theater within 72 hours.)

And now you know how carefully the soldier is treated at the other end of his final journey.

In Flanders Fields. . . .

What are you doing on Monday? Will you take a moment out of your holiday to appreciate those who died so that you could have a holiday? Did you know that many American Legion posts have brief memorial services at local cemeteries?

Do you know the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day?

Memorial Day is when we remember those who died in service to our country while on Veteran’s Day (in November) we thank all those who have served or are serving in our military – those who are still alive and those who have passed on.

Fly your flag. If you don’t have one, now is a great time to get one.

Did you know that Friday was Poppy Day? Do you know the significance of poppies and Memorial Day? You surely remember the short poem, “In Flanders Fields,” listen to it here (read by an actor), written in 1915 by a Canadian poet-physician who was not satisfied with it so he threw it away. Fortunately it was retrieved and published after first being rejected. The poet was honored on a Canadian stamp. You can read the short poem here in Wikipedia.