The More Things Change …

 Greetings friends and fans! This is The Daily Bone and I'm your perspicacious doggie reporter 

Chester L. W. Spaniel. 

When I first started blogging in 2013, I had a lot of political opinions. I was chairman of the Squeaky Party, and our slogan was "Squeaky Toys For All!" I didn't have any followers at that time, but I persevered with the help of my sagacious, late associate Joseph (Joey dog) Spaniel. With things the way they are today, I think it's wise to take a look back to my older posts. So I intend to update and repost a                                      few of them under the title, "The More Things Change … "                                           

         Today I'm going to update and repost one called "Spinning." I think it's just as relevant today as it was seven years ago. 

SPINNING (2013)

Hi everyone. This is The Daily Bone, and I'm your dizzy doggie reporter Chester L. W. Spaniel. Hang on to your squeaky toys because your head will soon be spinning!

Today's vocabulary word is "spin." It used to mean to turn around and around, like a wheel. But these days, it takes on a whole new meaning. Now it means to take bad news and make it look good, or take good news and make it look bad, or take bad news and make it look worse, or take good news and make it look better, or skip it all together and talk about cute fuzzy things like puppies and birdies and the latest diet craze. It's also used to take credit for something good that you actually had nothing to do with, or make it look like you had nothing to do with something bad, or blame someone else for it. Dizzy yet? 

Politicians and the media have turned spinning into a fine art. So how can we tell if something is true, or if it's being given a spin? For one thing, consider the source. If every channel is saying there's a volcano erupting in Hawaii, then it's probably true. But if you see a celebrity say it's erupting because of global warming, fracking, or Republicans, then it's probably a spin. If a politician says something is a good idea, then turns around a month later and says it isn't, then he's spinning. It's kind of like chasing your tail. It's funny at first, but then you just look like a weirdo and get your picture posted on doggie shaming sites. 

OK, so I'm going to give spinning a try. Do you see that pee pee on the floor in the corner? I have no idea how it got there. Perhaps my elderly associate Joseph (Joey dog) Spaniel might be having a little problem because of his age. We'll have to give it a good sniff and take some time to analyze it properly. Maybe we should send it to a lab for DNA analysis, and then set up a Congressional subcommittee to investigate it further. Or, try this: I saw an ant there, so I had to do something quick before the whole colony comes charging up that little crack in the corner over there. Oh, but it's not so bad. It'll soon dry up and no one will know it was there, except for us doggies with our sensitive sense of smell. It's good practice for us to have old pee spots to keep our sniffing skills sharp. Hey, with all this global warming, and fracking—and how about all those rotten Democrats?—a doggie can't help but be nervous. 

But you know what? That leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Blah! I think I'm better off saying, yes, it was I who made that pee spot in the corner! I'm sorry about that and will try not to do it again. Now that's called personal responsibility. If everyone would be honest about things, the world would be a better place! 

I am not elderly!

These days the spinning has turned into a hurricane complete with mud, rocks, bricks, Molatov cocktails, and rampant, vicious character assassination. Regarding that pee spot I might now say, it's my right as a doggie to mark my territory, and if you don't like it, then you're a racist! My ghostwriter says back in the old days, if a news cast presented an opinion piece, there would be a disclaimer saying, the opinion of our guest is not necessarily the opinion of this station. Nowadays, entire news casts are almost completely opinion, all depending on the political opinion of the network! In other words, propaganda. (You got that, comrade?) 

National Dog Day

 Hello! I'm Chester L. W. Spaniel, and this is The Daily Bone. 

I hope all you doggies out there had a great National Doggie Day! I had a good time because the grand kids came over to help me pick pears from Joey's Pear Tree. 

This year the tree had an abundance of pears! There were so many, the branches hung down to the ground, well within the reach of our miniature humans.

And they were extra super yummy!

Lily picked two and ate them right away. Then she picked many more.

Ryan must have picked a hundred of them, and there are still a lot left on the tree! 

Yup. It was a good, fun, yummy day. Good night.

Mantis Monday

Hello! This is The Daily Bone and I'm your diligent doggie reporter Chester L. W. Spaniel.

It's the middle of August and there are lots of amazing bugs everywhere. Last night my ghostwriter had to work until 9pm. It was starting to rain then, so she ran to her car, and jumped in as quickly as she could. Somehow, a beautiful preying mantis had slipped into the car as well. She couldn't do much about it while she was driving through a torrent of of rain in the dark, with lightning flashing all around. When she finally got home, she made a fast dash into the garage, and forgot about the mantis. 

This morning it was still alive and waiting for someone to release it. But ghostwriter wanted to take a few pictures first. She gently brought it into the house, and set it on the counter with a big glass over it. Wow! Look at those massive, sharp claws! These insects will catch other insects, and eat them while they are still alive. 

A few minutes later, she brought it outside and placed it atop some red roses. 

After a couple more poses, it flew away. 

This little hover fly was very glad the mighty mantis didn't see it sitting on the rose stem right below it! 

Bye bye! 

Nature Friday

Greetings friends and fans! This is The Daily Bone and I'm your doggie reporter 

Chester L. W. Spaniel. 

We've been looking up, and looking down to find some beautiful and amazing things.

Joey's pear tree is loaded with so many pears that the branches are drooping to the ground!

Not even the squirrels can eat enough of these to make a dent in this crop! 

While she was doing some gardening, my ghostwriter found this nice little toad. She brought him into the house and put him in the sink for a photo shoot. After a few minutes, she put him back outside so he can continue eating bugs. 

 

Here are some of the flowers that are blooming now:

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

The More Things Change …

Hi everybody. This is The Daily Bone, and I'm your lovable doggie host Chester L. W. Spaniel.

Today I'm going to rewrite a post I did in December 2013, called "Politics is Boring."

I seems there are tons of websites and social media pages that are practically bursting with hateful things, especially when it comes to politics. My kind-hearted colleague, the late Joseph (Joey dog) Spaniel and I tried to analyze this using doggie logic, but have failed so far to understand what's so great about hating. So then we decided to look at the problem from a different point of view. What kinds of things do humans love? The first thing to come to mind is entertainment. The humans love to watch exciting movies about good vs bad, especially if it involves the good guys blasting the bad guys to bits. They also love watching sports, like football. Politics, on the other hand, is boring: a bunch of humans in a big semi-circular room, arguing about all the legal minutiae of making complicated laws to regulate every move and penny we make, and then wrapping it up in barrels of pork. Who wants to watch that when the new Ironing Board Man movie or a major football game is playing on TV?

So the media figured out how to make it more exciting, and in the process, choose sides, promote their agenda, and make a ton of money: make politics into a sport! Yeah, that's right! There are two big teams—Democrats and Republicans—and they can be labeled by a narrow list of extreme and unrealistic things they sort of remotely stand for. Now people will take politics seriously, so let the hating begin! From what you see on TV, you might think there is bloodshed, mayhem, and downright havoc going on in Washington, as the two teams slug it out on Capitol Hill. It's a death match, and there's a panoply of reporters and analysts lined up to explain each and every move, try to figure out who will win, and why, and how, and what it will cost, and how it will affect our lives, all whilst spinning the whole thing left or right. Then the hate-fest continues on line. 

Nobody stops and thinks, hey, I know a lot of nice, friendly, logical, fair-minded people who are affiliated with either one party or another, and they're not anything like the exaggerated stereotypes they're labeled with. Our doggie advice to all humans is: Don't judge each other by the lunatic fringe presented on the media. Be kind to one another. Listen to both sides, and make your own judgement according to the goodness in your heart. Maybe you don't agree with some issues, but that doesn't mean you should express your disagreement with hatred. Hate just creates more hate. And that's a memo. 

Joey dog says, "seriously … just stop hating."

OK, that was posted 7 years ago. How are things now? Violent riots in the streets of major cities. Yes there are some peaceful protesters too. But fires and rock-throwing and fighting and wrecking other peoples' cars and businesses is more exciting than people peacefully walking together and carrying signs, so that's what the media shows us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Blah!

Think about it.