I Know "No"

11.11.11

If thy brother wrongs thee, remember not so much his wrong-doing, but more than ever that he is thy brother.

~~ Epictetus, Greek Sage and Stoic Philosopher, 55 – 135 AD

My human, K, is under the impression that I don't understand the meaning of "no." And she has gathered some evidence, below, to illustrate her point. However, I understand "no" quite well. In fact, it was one of the first human commands I learned. However, as I have woofed before, being an Alpha Male of the Canine Species it is my prerogative to pick and choose which "no" I will understand and respond too.

I don't know what you are talking about. I don't see any hole.

Oh, this? It's not a hole, it is a paw rest.

I think I will just squeeze myself right in.

Ah! The bullpen. At last!

So much cow dung, so little time.

Great view!

What?

~~ MOMENT OF BEAUTY ~~

Raphael, School of Athens [Scuola di Atene], circa 1510-1511 (Apostolic Palace, Vatican City, Italy)

Giovanni di Paolo, The First Circle of Wisdom Led By Thomas Aquinas, Illustration of Dante's Paradiso, Canto X, circa 1442-1450 (The British Museum, London, England)

Back to me...

Submission to one wrong brings on another.

~~ Latin Proverb

Silvius, this is awesome! You really should join me.

What? Don't move my left paw?

Great view!

I'm done here.

Right where I left it!

I protest! I find the above so-called "evidence" to be highly and unfairly prejudicial! And extremely one-sided. I know "no," I just don't always act on that knowing. It is my prerogative and privilege and right, and, dare I woof, my duty, as a Canine to not always follow human rules. Unless treats are involved. Then I will always chose to follow the "no" command. I'm just sayin'...

I've Got Nothing

“Nothing can be created out of nothing."

~~ Lucretius aka Titus Lucretius Carus, Roman Philosopher and Epicurean Poet, 99 – 50 BC

I've got nothing.

Still nothing.

Hey Mr. Caterpillar, do you have something for me?

Nothing.

~~ MOMENT OF BEAUTY ~~

Lion of Lucerne, the monument is dedicated, "Helvetiorum Fidei ac Virtuti" ("To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss"), designed by Bertel Thorvaldson and hewn by Lukas Ahorn, circa 1820-1821 (Lucerne, Switzerland)

King Louis XII Astride His Horse, statue over main gate of Château Royal de Blois, circa 1857 as a replacement for the original statue from the late 15th century, which was destroyed during the French Revolution in 1792 (Blois, France)

Back to me...

“To do nothing at all is the most difficult thing in the world, the most difficult and the most intellectual."

~~ Oscar Wilde, Irish Writer, Poet, Novelist, Dramatist, and Critic, 1854 - 1900

All this intellectualizing is making me sleepy.

You still here? I've told you, I've got nothing.

“I have nothing to declare except my genius"

~~ Oscar Wilde, Irish Writer, Poet, Novelist, Dramatist, and Critic, 1854-1900

I guess my genius is something. I'm just sayin'...

Happy Halloween!

The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?
(excerpt from “The Premature Burial,” a short story published in 1844)

~~ Edgar Allan Poe, American Author, Poet, Editor, and Literary Critic, 1809-1849

Now it is the time of night
That the graves, all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his sprite
In the church-way paths to glide.
(from “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” 1590-1596)

~~ William Shakespeare, British Poet and Playwright, 1564 – 1616

Thank you so much my super, amazing, sweet friends, for all your wonderful comments and concern during my much prolonged absence. I have truly missed you all very much, and am very sorry I have not responded to those of you who left me such kind comments (blame K). I am happy to be back (yay!) and am very excited to visit all of you! Now, brace yourself for my scary Halloween post. Boo!

CEMETERY 1:

This is a rather lovely cemetery. Very peaceful. And quiet.

Who's there?

Who's making that noise?!

Oh, hi K. What? No, I am not hiding.

~~ MOMENT OF BEAUTY ~~

John Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare, circa 1781 (Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan)

Edvard Munch, The Scream, circa 1893 (National Gallery, Oslo, Norway)

Back to me...

While yet a boy I sought for ghosts, and sped
Through many a listening chamber, cave and ruin,
And starlight wood, with fearful steps pursuing
Hopes of high talk with the departed dead.
(from “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty,” 1817)

~~ Percy Bysshe Shelley, English Romantic and Lyric Poet, 1792-1822

On Earth as vampire sent,
Thy corpse shall from its tomb be rent:
Then ghastly haunt thy native place,
and suck the blood of all thy race.
(from “The Giaour,” 1813)

~~ George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (aka Lord Byron), English Poet, 1788 – 1824

CEMETERY 2:

I don't have a good feeling about this cemetery either, Silvius.

I really don't want to go in there.

*sigh

How's this?

Tell Silvius to stop crying. He is freaking me out!

Hey! Why does Silivus get to hide, I mean sit, in the car?

This is spooky.

Can we go now?

Extra treats for a few more photos? O.K.!

What was that?!

And what's that?!

I'm outta here!

Hope you all have a spooky, scary, and fun Halloween!

Cemetery 2 was very freaky. Silvius kept crying and wanted to get into the car, and once inside, he would not come back out. I was brave, and did my photo shoot, but leaving could not come soon enough! It is not that I am a scaredy-cat, quite the opposite! I am a very brave and courageous dog! However, when confronted with ghosties and ghoulies, I think it best to scram! I'm just sayin'...

When You're Smilin' The Whole World Smiles With You

A smile cures the wounding of a frown.

~~ William Shakespeare, British Poet and Playwright, 1564 – 1616

Today is my sweet friend Sugar's 10th birthday, or, as us doggies woof, "barkday." Happy 10th Barkday Sugar, and may your birthday/barkday be filled with lots of fun, treats, and smiles!

Sugar is 10-years-old on the 10th; 10 on 10! How cool is that?!

Sugar always has a beautiful Golden smile on her face which brightens our day, and our hearts, every time we see it. In honor of her 10th barkday we are joining Sugar in her 10th barkday celebration by smiling right along with her.

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.

~~ Mark Twain, American Humorist, Writer, and Lecturer, 1835-1910

~~ MOMENT OF BEAUTY ~~

Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (a.k.a. La Gioconda), circa 1503-1506 (Musée du Louvre, Paris, France)

Leonardo da Vinci, St. John the Baptist, circa 1508 - 1516 (Musée du Louvre, Paris, France)

Back to me...

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

~~Dr. Seuss (aka Theodor Seuss Geisel), American Writer and Cartoonist, 1904-1991

Smiles are beautiful! And seeing beauty brings happiness. So, if we could fill up our World with smiles then we would have a beautiful and happy World! As Frank Sinatra sang, "When you're smilin'....keep on smilin'...The whole world smiles with you.". So turn that frown upsidedown and smile! Unless, of course, that frown is being used to evoke pity and guilt to garner food and/or treats from your humans, then you may frown until said food/treats are successfully acquired. I'm just sayin'...

And Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Blogging

Nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend who is really a friend.

~~ Titus Maccius Plautus, Roman Playwright, 254 – 184 BC

My human, K, spent the oppressively hot month of July slowly knocking items off of her task list. Hence, I was unable to blog because I was moved down to the bottom of her priority list. Shocking, I know. However, I soon discovered that as each item was marked off her list I was slowly but surely making my way back to the Number One spot. Well...voilà! I finally made it! I am now back on top of K's priority list, so I welcome myself back to my regularly scheduled blogging!

I have a lot of catching up to do, I know. And I look forward to making the rounds of the blog-o-sphere to see what all my pals, buddies, and friends have been up to, and hopefully I did not miss too much.

I have mentioned before how fortunate I feel to have such great friends. One such friend, whom I have mentioned before, is Kika, from Portugal. The other week I received an e-mail from Kika and was very surprised to find three photos that Kika had creatively decorated for me:

Aren't those awesome?! Very cool! Kika is such a talented kitty-cat! I feel very special that Kika took the time to design the photos just for me. It is a wonderful act of kindness from a sweet friend. Thank you Kika! You are a very special kitty-cat to think of me and treat me to such fun things.

~~ MOMENT OF BEAUTY ~~

Theodore van Thulden, Athena and Pegasus, circa 1644 (John Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California)

Pompeo Batoni, Continence of Scipio, circa 1771-1772 (Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia)

Back to me...

As you may recall, my very cool and super-fun friends, the FiveSibes, held a fantastic Patriotic Pets contest for the 4th of July holiday. I entered and was honored to have won the “Vintage Patriotism” award. Thank you FiveSibes! As a winner, I received a beautiful award certificate, a very nice “Honorable Mention” ribbon, and a very fun squeaky bone toy. The FiveSibes sure know how to make a pup feel special! Thank you again, FiveSibes, not only for your awesome contest, but for the wonderful award and gift. All the contestants rocked and I am humbled to be included among the amazingly creative winners.

To quote Charlie Sheen, "Duh, Winning!"

Didn't the FiveSibes do an excellent job on the award certificate? I love that my name is on it.

I must woof, it feels good to be a winner. Especially when winning means you get a fun new toy.

I realize I am looking a bit rough in the photos, but it has been a sweltering July, with at least four weeks of temperatures reaching 100+ F almost every day, and high humidity accompanying many of those days. Needless to woof, my fur has been out of control for quite some time now. But, I am actually starting to like the look. I think I look handsomely rugged. Or ruggedly handsome. And hot. Because I am hot. I’m just sayin’…