Valentine's Day Dog Run News

The recent dismal weather has significantly limited our visits to the run, but we finally got there today and found stalwarts Laura, Rags and Bree holding the fort with Billie, Henry and Blue. Blue had a "dingleberry incident" but a fast acting Bree solved it quickly and efficiently. Soon John and Berlin showed up and there was some ball throwing and a serious discussion of interior design between Rags and Laura, who just re-upholstered her Mid Century Modern chair in a shocking shade of chartreuse. We await the photo.

As we were leaving we ran into Ajax who is celebrating his first birthday today! Happy Birthday, Ajax!

There are two "official "websites which have information on the Washington Square Small Dog Run, in response to Heather's query on the blog. They are both Yahoo! groups:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/robinkovarysmall/

and

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/smalldogsrule/


The Robin Kovary site has a discussion on the question "Does my dog know when I'm making "whoppie"? which I think is a misspelling of whoopee, a euphemism often used on The Newlywed Game, when the husband and wife tried to concur on how many times they made whoopee each week.

Whoopee appears in Webster's Collegiate Dictionary directly under Whoop-de-do, and is defined as "the feverish participation in alcohol-and-sex orgies first widely conspicuous during the U.S. Prohibition era." Who knew? Wow, you take away alcohol and suddenly, what do you get? Whoopee.

When I get Electric Dave's address from Natt, I will contact Dave and find out how we can all find out about volunteering at the run, contributing financially, etc.

The 12th Annual National Black Fine Arts show continues through the weekend at the Puck Building. No white males were included. There is some outsider art included. Can't wait for Larry to weigh in on this! Admission is $15. Hours are noon to 8 p.m. One nice thing, there is a cafe with food, so you can sit down over a cup of coffee with your friends and discuss why Larry isn't included in the show.


New restaurants, anyone? Two places on my block, St, Marks Place between 2nd & 3rd, just closed, Famous Falafel at 32 St. marks and Cafe Fuego, a Cuban Place at #9. A Pinkberry is set to open because apparently two frozen yogurt places on one block aren't enough. I know most of you are West Villagers but here is an article on the changing scene on my block:

http://www.nysun.com/article/65266

Funny thing, it was written 3 months ago and already there have been many changes. The former Good Dog hotdog place has changed into Spot's Cafe. Here is Sidney with the actual Good Dog mascot:



A new place at 86 East 7th Street, Abraco, got some great reviews in the NY Times and New York magazine, which describes it as a "coffee bar-cum-tapas bar cum pastry shop, the first of it's kind in New York City. The coffee drinks are uniformly excellent, as are light bites like a toothsome grilled cheese and a moist olive oil cake." What does toothsome mean? Delicious, attractive, luscious. So now you know.

As for movies, I have been a stay at home and enjoying lots of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne movies on AMC. I would imagine Jessica will be going to "Defintely Maybe" to save the rest of us the trouble. Being too young to remember Irene Dunne, she will undoubtedly enjoy it. If anyone with HBO would be so kind as to tape "Doris & Bernard" for me, I would be grateful.

Ciao, babies.

Roberta & Sidney

Cute Guy in Blue

taken by Roberta .. one random day

Hip Hop For Dogs

The sister of Anita (Buddy's owner) is working on a second book, Hip Hop for Dogs. (her last one, which everyone liked a lot was "Yiddish For Dogs". If you remember, Buddy appeared in a photo in that book.)

If you’d like to be included please email Janet Perr to make arrangements. She’s on a short timeline so might want to email soon.

Dogs of all races and religious creeds can apply, not just black dogs. (Think Eminem, think Fergie.)

Cheers!

Roberta & Sidney

[ note from Christina - I didn't post Janet's email directly on the blog, as I do not want her to be the victim of more SPAM, Roberta sent Janet's contact info 2/8]

Controversy with a Capitol K

Due to another editorial error, we have once again mis-identified the ethnicity of Trish, of Trish, Larry & George. Trish is in fact a WASP. As Larry says "if Trish's family were anymore waspy, they wouldn't be able to walk". (Not sure I get the reference - does it mean they would be flying? As wasps do?) You know, if Trish wore her twinset and pearls, headband and penny loafers to the dog run, things would be a lot easier for me. But no, she "disguises" her ethnicity and tries to "blend in". And because I foolishly made the assumption that people usually go with their Own Kind, I erred once again.

Larry goes on to attempt to straighten me out: " As it stands: Bob, myself and Rags are Jewish, oh, and so is Kim and Jessica, Doug is converting, he's hesitating because Bob is supposed to do the circumcision but he already gave up bacon."

I guess Larry feels comfortable "outing" his tribe without fully doing his research. As a matter of fact Rags is a WASH, White Anglo Saxon Hebrew, Larry. Is giving up bacon the first step towards conversion? Tell that to Liz Taylor. And I still think Kim is Norwiegen.

Anyway, I was up all night trying to find a solution to this labeling business, and how Dog Run News could avoid such mistakes in the future. I thought of armbands, brightly colored letters sewn onto outerwear, tattoos, but it all seemed so...done already.

And then as I was surfing the world wide web, I came upon a small company in Lithuania that makes a portable microchip installer that retails for $29.95 plus shipping and handling. It's slightly larger than an electric toothbrush, and works kind of like that air gun that Javier Bardem uses in "No Country For Old Men". But it's more gentle than that, I mean you hardly even feel it. In one press of the trigger, I mean button, you have a fully installed microchip which tells your ethnicity, sexual orientation, and food allergies. With the aid of a small transmitter that I will have next to my computer, I can check anyones information quickly and accurately.

Hey, I'm willing to pay for it, if you guys will let me install the chips. We can do it right at the dog run. And you know what's cool about it? If you change your religion, like Sammy Davis Jr., Elizabeth Taylor and Tom Cruise did, or let's say you wake up one day and are attracted to members of the opposite sex instead of your own, or say you have your DNA tested and find out you're 1/16 American Indian, all you have to do is give me the updated info and I can change it by remote control! Totally modern. I ordered one. It takes 4 to 6 weeks for delivery, so everyone please try to pin down your facts by then.

By the way, if anyone is interested in DOGS, you can go to Yvonne's Website Woof Patrol



That's all folks, I gotta get some rest!

Roberta & Sidney

Dr. Bob Steps Out

Dog Run News sent the intrepid reporting team of Larry & Trish on a mission. Their goal? Recreate for us New Yorkers what it is, what it once was for all of us, to be in the presence of our beloved Dr. Bob.

Bob showed up at Trish's father's home in Pennsylvania at 5:30, provocatively dressed in grey flannel and a button down collar shirt, with pointy half boots from Barneys! (Ken, eat your heart out.)

Trish's Irish family warmed to Bob immediately, as he regaled them with stories of his work helping addicts, but also with his humorous anecdotes about his experiences as the quintessential New Yorker in the hinterlands.

[Editor's note: I am using Larry's descriptions, and words, only editing for tone. On my own I could never spell quintessential or think of the word hinterlands. I would have used the offensive "sticks".]

Here, from Larry directly, only edited for punctuation:

"We went out to dinner with her (Trish's) father, two step brothers and one wife to "Conner's" (carefully chosen by Trish and myself as the best food in the area since the Club was closed.) (We would have chosen the Club were it open but just for atmosphere). Bob ordered a sirloin of pork which they were out of and settled on a steak. Although slightly overcooked he pronounced the meal the best he had had since coming to Pennsylvania. "

I consider that a success!

On the political front, we all have a difficult choice ahead of us tomorrow. One editorial that addresses health care reform was published in the New York Times today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/04/opinion/04krugman.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Hey, we love Obama, we love his anti-war position, we love his vision, we love his rhetoric. We love that Maria turned on Arnold. Kim's Obama benefit raised $60K for the man just last week. But on health care, I think he needs to re-think, although unfortunately, because he has chosen to demonize mandated health care, he may have made a decision he cannot fix. This issue doesn't affect everyone right now, maybe your job supplies health care. But ultimately this is an important issue for everyone and it is something to think about.

I don't know how I will vote tomorrow.

Don't forget to vote!

Sidney & Roberta

Dog Run News Ground Hog Day 2008

As the weather warms up ever so slightly, we're seeing a better turn out at the run. A Big Celebrity even showed up today, the beautiful indie actress Parker Posey, with her little white dog, Gracie. Everyone pretended they didn't know who she was. Well, actually, most people DIDN'T know who she was. Okay, if you're so smart, quickly name three of her films. See?

The Academy Awards are coming up, and we may have a pool. $1.00 to enter, one ballot only and the entrant (is that a word?) with the closest accuracy takes the pool. Top categories only. (I am checking with Mayor Bloomberg to make sure this is legal.) And yes, Bob we will accept absentee ballots.

While we're talking Hollywood, Rags reports that he once "saw Daniel Day-Lewis naked". And it wasn't in a movie, it was in Real Life. No, not at a bath house, kids, at a GYM. A regular old non-sexually discriminating, no sex even legally allowed, gym. Despite having played a gay man before Heath Ledger was even old enough to legally have a beer (remember our Danny boy breaking taboos in "My Beautiful Launderette"?) we believe Mr. Day-Lewis, despite having a hyphenated last name, despite being British, despite being beautiful, is as straight as the line from Sidney to a piece of lamb's lung. (Not that there's anything wrong with it.)

And, according to Rags, yes, it was real, and yes, it was spectacular.

On the religious front, I have uncovered evidence that the Church of Scientology has turned John Travolta into a DOG. Here he is rehearsing for an upcoming "Grease" 30th Anniversary tribute with Olivia Newton John:

Click to Watch John Travolta

Didn't you read that Angela Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson on The Simpsons) just gave 10 million dollars to the Church of Scientology? Obviously, that was so they wouldn't turn HER into a dog. Wow, what a wacky religion. I wonder who she's supporting for President.

My friend Bobby Pinn is featured in tomorrow's Sunday Times travel section. He has an East Village Rock & Roll Walking Tour you can go on for $29. I actually give the same tour but mine costs a LOT more. I'm like the Linda Evangelista of Walking Tour Guides, and I don't even THINK of getting out of bed for less than $10,000. But hey, that's me. Bobby's tour is very popular, I see him on my block several times a week with a gaggle of tourists.

Beth, mother of Dugan, who sent me the John Travolta link, also gives us this total time-waster:

Click to Play Hangman

I scored 75 on my first two games. I think that makes me slightly smarter than a 5th grader, but only just.

The Saturday Times had a big article about the dogs rescued from Michael Vicks dog fighting ranch. Vicks had to pay nearly a million dollars towards the rehabilitation of the dogs and they were all adopted by rescue places, except one that had to be put down. One of the rehab centers is Dogtown which is featured on the National Geographic Channel (channel 65 on Time Warner) after the Dog Whisperer. The article is pretty inspirational. Would that Veronica Cartwright had donated her 10 million to Dogtown, then she could rest assured that even if Scientology did turn her into a dog, she could find a welcoming home there. Some people just don't think things through.

Barbara, Tucker's mom, alerts us to the existence of Pandora.com which provides unlimited FREE music of many types, so check that out if you like music.

While the most famous Ground Hog, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow and predicts 6 more weeks of winter, apparently there's a Staten Island Ground Hog who is blind and saw nothing. So I'm going with him.

Let's all get ready for Christina's Super Bowl Party tomorrow, all you can eat and drink from noon on. It's being held at Pier 42. Here's a little tape of the little bash Chrissie threw on St. Patrick's Day last year. People are still talking about it.

Click to Watch Video of Last Year's Party

That's all folks. See you at the run.

Roberta & Sidney