Jun 18, 2016

The Perils of Renting: Read it and Weep--Pit Bull City

The Perils of Renting:  Read it and Weep........or why don't I own my own house by now, anyway?






This is Ronnie, my baby boy and the love of my life.

He passed away almost a year ago at the age of ten years........I think I am ready to get a dog now as I am getting so fat from not walking and I am tired of going to the dog park by myself.

Also, summer is here and I would like to go to the dog beach.....it is just who I am.




So I moved over here to my little rented condo in a very small complex on the border of North Park/City Heights.

Seriously, every dog owner knows it is almost impossible to rent with a pit bull mix so I readily opted to rent from my previous landlord/property manager as I could not find anything affordable in South Park and I was getting tired of folks hanging up on me.

Also being in a time frame and having to find space suitable for my 99 year old mother, as well.

So right, I moved in, My landlord well knew my Ronnie and I felt like we had a pretty good relationship from my over two year prior situation.

Every one saw my very well behaved beloved as he was quite well mannered, walked well on a leash, was overly friendly and liked other dogs and cats.

He was old and there was not any yard or patio so it was not like he was out on his own or available for anyone to have contact with without supervision.






For the life of me I cannot get another dog............



Is it in the stars or what?   So sad about the loss of Ronnie, life is just not good without a dog.   Every attempt to get a companion ends in failure.

Put in a little more effort and do not try to replace Ronnie but get a dog a little bit like him in his honor.

Scanning dogs on Pet Finders and always wanting to adopt from the shelter and finally landing on Scrappy Doo.

No, not the same, dog but he more or less had the same look and more importantly he was not jumpy, but seemed calm cool and collected--as much as one can be for a stray--and in the five mins on our meet and greet.

Knowing dog ownership was fine but a head's up to the property manager--individual in charge of renting--yes, I will be getting someone so a phone call from the shelter may be eminent.

Sounds good was the e-mail reply.


Aware that the San Diego Animal Shelter on Gaines gets the go ahead from the landlord and feeling confident about filling out the paperwork and waiting for the okay to bring Scrappy home,,,,,,confident and ready with the leash in my purse.


Oh Dear, what's the hold up.........

Seems like it is fine with the property manager but somehow the HOA got involved and here they were quoting the rules.......yada, yada, yada pit bull and something about weight.

Wait--the landlord/property manager said I could get a dog--wanted one around the same build as Ronnie.

So, the HOA lady was not going to budge, I explained to her I already had the exact same dog, that is why I moved in--why are you quoting the rules to me now.   It was odd when she asked why I did not ask the landlord.

Talked with Tom, the property manager and he was totally on my side, could not understand the obstinance of the HOA.  Said he would get with the actual owner and have them ask for a waiver to the board per the HOA.

Went back to the shelter a week later just to see if Scrappy was still there and if the lady at the desk could shed any light on the situation as it seemed like something did not add up--I had no idea what.

Turns out they never would have called the HOA had Tom, the prop man not said, "It's fine with me but it is ultimately up to the HOA."

But Tom portrayed to me the Animal Shelter called the HOA on their own without his prompt.

So, of course, I asked him why did you rent to me in the first place.....that was the whole reason I moved in here?

Not to mention why did you indicate to me everything was fine when I said I was going to get another dog yet tell the shelter something different.

His response.  What do you want me to do.  Go to another shelter.

Wow, good personality.

Guessing he was going on the deniable plausibility philosophy and that he was willing to rent as long as no one found out or said anything.

At the end of the day it would have been nice if a grown man could have been more truthful.

In his e-mail he said he was rooting for me when questioned after the first attempt.  He never mentioned he was the one who told them to call the HOA as he positioned himself as an individual totally on my side.

Nice, tom.

On the second attempt somehow the word "pit bull" went out of the conversation and the only issue seemed to be weight.

The second week sojourn ended with tom saying it was okay and not mentioning the HOA but the shelter said they still had to contact them as they originally became involved.

Now, here is the thing....I kind of like Scrappy Doo and have a little thing for him--I can't just ditch him after I tried to get him.

No, I do not know if he will be good with my cats.

You see I got Booker from the Escondido but unfortunately I had to take him back as he was overly interested in not only my cats, but the beautiful neighbor cat and every animal in sight.

He was extremely lovely to watch television with and loved kissing and snuggling--sad to take him back but he seemed like he really loved the girls at the Humane an awful lot.  He just loved kissing and baby talk.  He was a house dog and beautiful but it did not seem safe to ever leave him in the house with the cats.  Not feeling like that level of dog training expertise was in my repertoire.

And that is my story and I am sad.

What's the upshot?

I hope Scrappy gets the best home in the world as he has been at the shelter a while.  I think he is a pretty good dog--it's said he gets on well with others and here is his picture:

Inline image 1
file under:  writing in frustration

cl--the ronnie re



Dogs Who’ve Been Real Jerks to Their Dear Old Dads: from life with dogs...........


Dogs Who’ve Been Real Jerks to Their Dear Old Dad

 POSTED BY  1 COMMENT


Dog dads absolutely love their pups, but sometimes the little rapscallions pull some pretty unsavory shenanigans.  They feel no shame in their game, and even though dad is mad, he loves his little knucklehead, anyway.  That’s right, it’s dog-shaming: Father’s Day edition.
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What are the worst mischief your silly little rascal has gotten into?  Show and tell us in the comments section!         

copied from lifewithdogs.tv

Jun 14, 2016

GENTLEMEN'S AFTERNOON TEA & TOUR: Globe Exhibition & Tour with Gentleman’s Afternoon Tea at Swan, Shakespeare’s Globe





GENTLEMEN'S AFTERNOON TEA & TOUR

£43.00
Globe Exhibition & Tour with Gentleman’s Afternoon Tea at Swan, Shakespeare’s Globe

Enjoy a guided tour of the Globe Theatre and a visit to the Exhibition followed by Gentleman’s Afternoon Tea with a complimentary tankard of Globe Ale at the Swan.
Take a tour of the Globe Theatre and listen to one of our expert storytellers bring the space alive. Discover more about the Globe, the reconstruction process and Shakespeare's London in our extensive Exhibition with complimentary audio guide.
Gentleman’s Tea is a feast of savoury tea-time treats: 4oz shorthorn beef slider, blue cheese & cider scones, scotch Legbar egg, fish finger sandwich, croque monsieur and potted smoked salmon, served with your choice of tea and a tankard of Anspach & Hobday smoked brown ale. The smoked brown ale (6%) is inspired by the era when malted barley was kilned over fire giving the beers of Britain a smokey character. This modern tribute uses Rauch-malt fired over beechwood in Bamberg, Germany – home to Rauchbier. Aged on oak, this complex brown ale is the perfect accompaniment for strong cheese and meats.
Additional information 
Purchase - Once your payment is approved you will receive an email confirming that we have received your order. Your gift pack will then be sent to your chosen recipient at the postal address nominated on your order. Please check our estimated delivery times on our FAQs page for information regarding how long delivery will take. If you are buying this gift experience for multiple recipients, each order will need to be placed separately.

Redemption & Validity - Your gift pack will include information on how to redeem your visit, which will need to be done via email at least 72hrs prior to your visit. Gift experience vouchers are valid for 6 months from date of purchase. Please note gift experience vouchers cannot be redeemed during the month of December.

Opening Times - For Exhibition & Tour opening and tour departure times please visit our calendar.  Recommended visit time for Exhibition & Tour 1hr 30mins. Gift Experience Afternoon Teas are served between 2:00pm - 3:30pm Monday to Saturday, and 2.30pm – 3.30pm on Sunday. 

Dress Code - There is no dress code.

Other Info - Price does not include postage costs, this will be added at the checkout.

For further information about this package, please contact the Exhibition Department by phone on 020 7902 1500 or by email at exhibition2.m@shakespearesglobe.com.
- See more at: http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/shop/product/gentlemens-afternoon-tea-tour/2554?session_id=14659136028f7eef8adf99fffd906e06c6cbf814d7&utm_source=Shakespeare%27s%20Globe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=7215834_June%202016%20General%20Newsletter%20-%20Public%20Booking%20open&utm_content=tea%20image&dm_i=1U22,4ANRU,KB7JO0,FPTVR,1#sthash.nkSIWnpe.dpuf

copied from Shakespearesglobe.com and here is a link to the page:

http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/shop/product/gentlemens-afternoon-tea-tour/2554?session_id=14659136028f7eef8adf99fffd906e06c6cbf814d7&utm_source=Shakespeare%27s%20Globe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=7215834_June%202016%20General%20Newsletter%20-%20Public%20Booking%20open&utm_content=tea%20image&dm_i=1U22,4ANRU,KB7JO0,FPTVR,1

Destination: Antwerp, Belgium @solotraveler on @TheRonnieRe

Solo Travel Destination: Antwerp, Belgium

We are pleased to present a new Solo Travel Destination Post from Vivian, a member of the Solo Travel Society on Facebook. Vivian lives in Brazil, and submitted the following report about Antwerp. Do you have a solo travel destination that you would like to recommend? Submit your description here, along with a few photos, and share it with fellow travelers!
Solo travel rating: 1 (1 is easiest, 3 is most difficult. Please see chart below)
Languages spoken: Flemish, French, English
photo, image, grote markt, antwerp, belgium
Grote Markt

Reasons to Visit Antwerp

Antwerp is fashionable and historical, at the same time. Getting there is very easy – I traveled there from Brussels by train in a short trip (around 40 minutes). From the Centraal Station (which is amazing!) to the Grote Markt, passing by Meir Street, it is possible to see the Belgian’s way of life and share their culture and habits. There are a lot of interesting places to see, such as the Groten Market, The Steen (a replica of a fort, near the river), the Port (one of the biggest in the world), the churches (the Cathedral of Our Lady), the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, and the ModeMuseum (the museum of fashion). There are a lot of good bookstores, especially about design, fashion, and arts. There’s also a big mall, with a lot of stores, including a good FNAC.
Walking through the old streets is a nice way to find interesting places, such as restaurants, bookstores, and gift shops. I had lunch in an amazing natural restaurant at Hoogstraat, that looked like a house with a big room and kitchen – that made me feel at home! So cool! And if you are in Antwerp, of course you must try the amazing waffles and the fries.
photo, image, waffle, antwerp, belgium
Be sure to try the waffles!
Solo Travel Destination Rating System
Safety – 1 (1 very safe, 2 safe in most areas, 3 be cautious at all times.)
Language – 2 (1 English is first language, 2 English speakers easy to find, 3 English speakers rare)
Navigation – 1 (1 easy to navigate by transit or car, 2 poor transit, car necessary, 3 not easy to get around)
Culture – 1 (1 Similar to North America or Western Europe, 2 Different from above but relaxed and easy, 3 Challenging)
Average Rating – 1 (1 is easiest, 3 is most difficult)

Jun 12, 2016

Hello Gorgeous: @BarbraStreisand appearing tonight @TheTonyAwards for the first time in 46 years! #CantWait #TonyAwards

Amazing @BarbraStreisand appearing tonight @TheTonyAwards for the first time in 46 years!


View image on Twitter


Honestly, all of these words describe the lady...............




gor·geous
ˈɡôrjəs/
adjective
  1. beautiful; very attractive.
    "gorgeous colors and exquisite decoration"
    • informal
      very pleasant.
      "a short but gorgeous hot summer"







Jun 11, 2016

George Noory Update: Continues to bash My Girl Hi...



George Noory Update: Continues to bash My Girl Hillary Clinton

Last evening George Noory of Coast to Coast AM fame, the supposed paranormal themed late night radio talk show, continued his bashing of Hillary and Bill Clinton with his ultra right-wing guest Jerome Corsi.

George has been heralding Jerome's new book about what he feels are improprieties of the Clintons and insists his facts will be earth shaking.

He claims the main theme of his book will be used by Donald Trump in his promised speech vilifying Hillary Clinton and also being kind enough to shed light on this subject.


Seriously, why does George Noory think I want to hear his political opinion.  It is not like he is reporting the news--he kind of lumps this kind of info in with his pre-guest pseudo news-cast and tidbits.  It might be more palatable if he would share both sides of the issue in his political editorializing.

George Noory acts like Coast to Coast AM is a platform for what he considers to be much needed insight into the election.

George, I love Hillary Clinton and I have been waiting for her forever and I love President Obama, too.  Not only do I like him as a person but I also agree with his policies.

Could it be that George Noory loves guns as he often proclaims and enjoys this chat topic often on his show.

And let us not forget the George Noory also has to keep promoting "the world is going to hell in a handbasket" philosophy but that is always one of the main themes of the paranormal talk shows.

You know what, Art Bell at least made the show interesting.  We know George has a political opinion and I guess he can share it if he has to but it would be nice if George Noory can appreciate that others, this blog lady, might have an opposite opinion and his comments are offensive.

Why not have someone from Hillary's side on for equal time--for equal editorializing?  Does George think all of his listeners are all Republicans and Conservatives?  George claimed he would like to run for President of this United Stateson the Democratic ticket.

George, just letting you know if that thought ever comes to fruition, this is one radio listener and Democrat that will not be voting for you.


George Noory Update: Continues to bash My Girl Hillary Clinton

Last evening George Noory of Coast to Coast AM fame, the supposed paranormal themed late night radio talk show, continued his bashing of Hillary and Bill Clinton with his ultra right-wing guest Jerome Corsi.

George has been heralding Jerome's new book about what he feels are improprieties of the Clintons and insists his facts will be earth shaking.

He claims the main theme of his book will be used by Donald Trump in his promised speech vilifying Hillary Clinton and also being kind enough to shed light on this subject.

Attention TCM Fans: The Decline of Musicals in American Cinema--What Happened

It seems to me that musicals are much less common in the American Film Industry these days in comparison to the 30's, 40's, and 50's. Of course, I'm not saying that they never make musicals (e.g. Disney/Pixar films, Baz Luhrmann films, etc...), but it seems like they used to make a lot more a long time ago.
When did this shift away from musicals occur? What are the factors which led to the apparent decline? Why don't we see very many american musical films?
shareimprove this question
   
I don't know the logistics of when, but it all comes down to the mighty dollar and what people want to see. When the majority of people aren't looking for musicals, the production companies will quit making them. If there is a resurgence for musicals, they will come back into vogue. – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Dec 12 '13 at 2:38 
   
@Paulster2: Even if that were true, it doesn't really explain the essence of why people stopped wanting to watch; when there is a clear trend of commercial viability in the past. – Paul Dec 12 '13 at 3:55
   
Pixar's never made a musical, it makes more sense to just say Disney films, or even animated as non-Disney production houses had fair amounts of success with musicals. – vastra360 Feb 24 '14 at 20:47
up vote18down voteaccepted
The reason why musicals are less popular now, or more prolific back in the first half of the century is pretty long, but hopefully engaging and interesting. It certainly was to me when I studied it. There are tons of academic books written about the downfall of musicals, but here's the short(er) version:
Musicals (along with Westerns) were very much a staple of the now defunct Star System that American studio's used to participate in. As such, if you could make a Musical Western, you were laughing all the way to the bank.
enter image description here
As you have correctly pointed out, these days Musicals (and Westerns, for that matter) are only produced as Prestige Pictures, and there are reasons for that...
The 1920's saw a technological leap forward that would change cinema forever: Namely, the introduction of sound. The Jazz Singer featured the first sequence of synchronized sound in a widely distributed feature film, and was met with immediate success. From its very inception, the use of sound in cinema was linked with music, and more specifically yet singing, so the connection to musical theater was recognized and explored immediately.
The Star System was already in place, and as such singing and dancing were added to actors feature lists to make them all rounders. Early successes of the pre-sound cinema, like Florence Lawrence, the 'Biograph Girl' fell to the wayside in favor of more musical fare. Appropriately, the Biograph Girl's story was turned into a musical itself, and both The Artist and Singing in the Rain borrow elements from her story. The studios enjoyed great success from the stars they promoted into musicals, and there was global appreciation for them for many years.
It wasn't until the late 1950's that things within the Star System started to fall apart, and it was just as much the studio's fault than it was that the audiences didn't want to see musicals anymore.
You see, for a long period The Studio System enjoyed Vertical Integration, meaning that they owned and controlled their entire production, distribution and exhibition processes themselves. This level of control may seem beneficial, but it whittled movie production into only 5 competing studios, 'The Big Five': MGM, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, and RKO. (There was also'The Little Three', but as their nomenclature would indicate, they weren't as big!)
The result of this set up meant that Studios were only really competing with a small market, and as they had all more or less decided to keep out of each others pockets, very little even there. This meant that there was no competitive market to decline or bargain for movies, so the only thing that could influence what sort of film was being made was a studio executive in his office, who were hardly representative of the masses!
It wasn't until 1948 that the Supreme Court ruled that this system should be broken up, and it was itself only delayed because of the focus on the war. This meant that the studios' control was finally broken up, but it had very little real effect to the Big Five who had used their time wisely to consolidate their assets into a firm grip on the industry.
However, for the time being, the studios continued to prosper. Different Genre's came in and out of popularity, and so not being a genre itself, but more of a method of application Musicals survived by simply adopting the genre a la' mode and wearing it like a mask for a while.
WWII nostalgia films become popular? War Musicals.
enter image description here
Warner Bros. have a spate of successful Gangster movies? Gangster Musicals.
enter image description here
It didn't matter whether or not people actually wanted to see these movies, there was no choice in the matter and as a result of that, they enjoyed the illusion of popularity, not to mention being genuinely popular anyway as a means of family entertainment in a very conservative America.
The real killing blow to musicals came with the same blow that threw the entire industry into crisis: advent of Home Television. It was a slow death however, over a number of years. For the most part, the Industry didn't even realize it was dying. People had been provided with Choice for the first time, and for an industry who's unofficial motif was "You'll get what you're given", this was bad news...The motto slowly became its epitaph. Some Studio's began to experiment with Television, and set up sister studio's in the rival industry, but even this did little to change their programming output.
The rise of Suburbia also struck its blow, as people were expected to take long journeys into cities to see movies, and the Television was already sat in their living room. It would have to be something pretty impressive to budge them, so in a way they were voting with their feet.
Still, the studio's remained stubborn in their refusal to adapt. Whatsmore, the Hays Code was still very much in place, not only prohibiting certain types of film but encouraging Studios to stick to what they knew already, stifling any creative experimentation.
When this all finally came to a head in the late 60's, the industry was in crisis. It didn't know, or more accurately didn't care, what their audiences wanted anymore.
The only solution to this was tantamount to almost total replacement. Crew and Cast from leading men to lighting operators, Directors to set designers were systematically replaced for younger, fresher and more in touch counterparts. This became known as The New Hollywood, and produced what many people consider the greatest movies of 20th century's second half.
This came at its price...
The Directors had to fight for years, and continue fighting, to wrestle creative control from the old guard. They heavily resented the former ringleaders of the industry, and poured scorn on their pitiable output of incessant Musicals.
Furthermore, many of these directors looked up to the writing of Cahiers du Cinema, and the European cinematic giants who wrote for it: Bresson, Goddard, Truffaut to name a few. These were figures that hated Musical Cinema, not only for what they considered to be unoriginal copies of stage productions, but for the American Imperialistic intent these films harbored as they washed over Europe. This hatred found its way stateside and embedded itself into the New Hollywood.
The Hays code was finally lifted in 1969, giving these film makers a freedom no one had experienced since the mid 1920's. And what did they do with this freedom? They ran as far away from Musical cinema as possible.
The only studio to continue exploring Musicals as a prolific statement is Disney, for obvious animation reasons. It is for this reason that they are able to credibly produce programmes like Glee and movies like High School Musical: They have a fair claim to owning the Modern Musical Mastership, and they pretty much kept it breathing for the last part of the 20th century.
So, until the late 60's, audiences were forcibly saturated with Musicals, and came to collectively loathe them, even if it took a bunch of pretty spiteful up and comers to point this out to them.
These up and comers ended up taking on their own downfall, however, proving history repeats itself. But that is a story for another time!



copied from;



shareimprove this answer
   
Isn't there also a parallel with stage musicals? Both forms appear to have dwindled in popularity at around the same time/rate. – coleopterist Dec 12 '13 at 13:54
   
@coleopterist as I said, saturation is probably the key player there. Stage Musicals still enjoy wide success, but their territory is largely Broadway and the West End, as opposed to Hollywood. – John Smith OptionalDec 12 '13 at 14:13
4 
If only all questions could be answered this well. Bravo good sir! – MattD Dec 12 '13 at 17:21
   
Thanks Matt. I'm on a bit of a spree at the minute, trying to lead by example and contribute interesting answers! – John Smith Optional Dec 12 '13 at 17:26
   
I very much enjoyed reading your answer. +10,000 if I could! – System Down Dec 12 '13 at 17:33
1 
@SystemDown thankyou, that's cool to read. I think the reason I was able to give an interesting answer is because it was an interesting question, and sometimes we're way to quick to close down questions like this without giving them time to blossom into discussion. I hope other people have different contributions/research to add, but sometimes we close in on questions before they have a chance... I'll step down off my soapbox, now. – John Smith Optional Dec 12 '13 at 17:40