#she’s a rescue dog and is only 2 and is already full grown at 8 pounds

[fluffypotatey]

yesterday was my babygirl’s gotcha day so here’s a before and after one year apart

before: Rat™️

after: fluffy baby 🥰

[rylredrants]

The New Normal

The pandemic has changed everything and lately I’ve been asking myself, “When did this become normal? At what point of the last 10 months did the idea of the ‘new normal’ fade into a new reality?”

I recently watched the 90 Day Fiancée season that they filmed during the initial “lockdown” period last spring. People were just starting to wear masks because we had just been told they would help “flatten the curve” while learning to bake, and binging ‘Tiger King.’  

I had already been doing curbside pickup because I was afraid of running into *Beetlejuice* at the grocery store. (I’ve decided to not say the name of that ex because that seems to be how I summon more “attention” from him.) I had just decided I was ready to start dating again, going on my first ‘first date’ in years right before restaurants started closing. 

My first date with Pirate on April 29th consisted of slushies in the park with a bit of distance between us while we felt out whether or not the other was truly worth breaking quarantine to get physical with. 

Spoiler alert! Things are just as great in our everyday life as they were in that initial NRE phase last spring. 

I’ve been working from home for the same company for 3 and a half years, so that was no change for me. The daily press briefings from the tRump interrupted my work day but I just had to watch live because I wouldn’t believe the things I was hearing if I hadn’t seen and heard it live… the look on Dr. Birx face when he suggested “hitting the body with UV light” and rambled into the suggestion that doctors inject disinfectant to cure COVID…. The day that a reporter flat out asked him if he regretted “all the lying, all the dishonesty” during his presidency, and all of the other times he discredited the media and rambled about his ‘ratings’ while lying about the severity of the virus.  

I posted articles and tweets about the pandemic so much that I lost one friend early on because I wasn’t my usual sunny self anymore. That was after she messaged me talking about how harmful masks were.

And then the election started creeping up while the Quazy Anons got progressively louder and louder. 

My best friend laid a guilt trip on me for going on a road trip to Mexico for my birthday where people were masked more than anywhere locally, while she cited local COVID numbers from her hotel room in Las Vegas… where she had flown… through Phoenix. I ended that relationship a couple weeks later.

It’s been a blur of one historical event after another while the death tolls climb, surpassing the numbers of lives lost in 9-11 on a daily basis. 

2,977 deaths on 9-11 and a record 4,383 reported deaths on Jan 20th

But somewhere along the way, the pandemic fatigue set in and rather than adapting to the reality of masks, curbside pickup, remote learning and true physical distancing people gave up. They started pushing to get kids back in school, despite teachers not being priority on the vaccine schedule. They went back to browsing the aisles with their masks down under their chins and shrugged off repeated requests by the CDC to not travel for the holidays. 

Some complied with the mask requirements in public, only to host family gatherings at home. Others decided that “my body, my choice” meant they have the right to not wear a mask and go around asymptomatic and spreading COVID because of their free-dumbs.

The political discourse devolved into a full-scale insurrection at the Capitol only 4 weeks ago. 

Today Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went live on Instagram detailing her experience that day. She hid in Rep. Katie Porter’s office, and borrowed casual clothes and sneakers from a staffer so that she would be better prepared should she need to run for her life... again.

And the sidebar story on that article is about Marilyn Manson’s response to Evan Rachel Wood’s naming him as her abuser. I almost got into it with a stranger on Facebook over that today but gave up after my 2nd response including video of her testimony to congress about sexual and domestic abuse in an effort to extend the statute of limitations on prosecuting abusers like Manson. 

Every day there is another trauma, another loss... 

Another reminder that the country has unraveled ways that none of us could have possibly imagined on November 8th, 2016- a statement I made on Facebook today in a post that read, “A heartfelt ‘fuck you’ to everyone who told me I was overacting in November 2016.” 

My mother, who has gone full Quazy down the rabbit hole of conspiracies, echoing calls that the election was “stolen” by President Biden, unironically replied that ‘nobody messes with her woman-child” with a gif of a woman rolling her eyes and sticking her tongue out. Her insanity hit a place a couple weeks ago that was so bad my brother reached out asking for help dealing with her and agreeing with my suggestion that she be committed to a psych ward.  

I can’t wrap my head around this new reality. 

But I keep coming back to asking, when did this become normal? When did people decide that this was okay and life had to just ‘go on’ while ignoring facts, science, and logic?

One year ago today I was waking up in my own apartment for the first time in my life, at 41 years old. I’d never lived alone and was reeling from loss after loss from the quad to my marriage and home, to the ‘false spring’ that ended up being the bridge between dependence and independence in a way I’d never imagined possible.

Today I woke up surrounded by boxes again. 

My personal reality is full of uncertainties… When will Pirate’s ex stop fighting the divorce and sign the quit claim on the ranch? Even if she does, will the bank work with us to modify the loan? Or will we just have to pack again after a few months living rent and mortgage free?

Or the more important questions… am I ever be able to fit into my pants? Will there ever be another event to go to that will warrant dusting off my high heels and putting on lipstick? Is this just what life will be forever? Masked, socially-distanced outdoor dining for those who have abandoned their sourdough bread recipes and grown tire of Door Dashed take out while Pirate and I literally mask up before walking out the door because we heard the neighbor coughing and it didn’t sound like his usual weed cough. Seriously. 

A week from today I’ll be waking up at the ranch with 2 new husky puppies in addition to the 2 Great Danes, 2 rescue dogs, dozen chickens, and a single sheep in a place where Door Dash doesn’t deliver. We will get the workout and eating on track again and find yet another new normal on the ranch together.

[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, November 2

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Jealous O.J. Simpson killed Nicole Brown over sizzling photos 

Page 2: Melanie Griffith was caught in lockdown meltdown mode outside her Los Angeles home yelling at an unsuspecting laborer and giving him a good working over after he somehow crossed her bath and pushed her buttons but it doesn’t take much to get Mel to blow these days because she’s upset about two things which are getting old and not having a man in her life 

Page 3: Lisa Marie Presley’s son Ben Keough’s tragic last moments were caught on tape as he argued with his girlfriend according to the coroner’s report on his suicide and security camera footage also captured the eerie sound of an apparent gunshot said the officer who viewed the tape -- Ben had hosted a party for his girlfriend Diana Pinto then about 4 a.m. the 27-year-old musician went to his bedroom; two hours later Diana went to check on him and had to jimmy the bedroom door lock with a bobby pin and she discovered his body and called 911 but Ben was pronounced dead at the scene -- since his death a devastated Lisa Marie has blamed herself for not intervening sooner; Ben had been to rehab several months before and Lisa Marie could see he was struggling with drugs and depression and she has kept a close eye on Ben’s gravesite with Graceland’s surveillance system 

Page 4: Anne Heche’s shocking public pronouncement that she wants to reunite with former galpal Ellen DeGeneres was met with fury from Ellen wife Portia de Rossi -- Ellen and Anne were Hollywood’s highest-profile lesbian couple when they dated for three years before their bitter split in 2000 and they haven’t spoken since but Anne announced after her elimination on Dancing with the Stars that she would love to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show but Portia has made it clear she wants Anne nowhere near her wife and she believes Anne is using Ellen to drum up publicity for herself, lonely Ryan Seacrest is longing for a reunion with former flame Shayna Taylor but she wants no part of him -- workaholic Ryan announced the combustible couple’s third split in June after eight on-and-off years together -- Ryan’s obsession with being the next Dick Clark tests the patience of everybody around him and it’s made him a nightmare to be in a relationship with as Shayna found out firsthand -- Ryan seemed so cocky and sure that breaking up was the right thing to do but not having Shayna there to lean on has really gotten to him however Shayna is refusing to be played for a fool 

Page 5: Kelly Clarkson made a massive mistake dumping husband Brandon Blackstock according to famed numerologist Glynis McCants 

Page 6: Doting dad Kanye West is spoiling oldest daughter North rotten and it’s causing even more problems between him and wife Kim Kardashian because Kim feels North is getting too spoiled but Kanye won’t hear any of it because North is his firstborn and his princess and he treats her like it -- North is regularly served breakfast in bed on a silver tray and gets whatever she wants even if it’s waffles with strawberries and ice cream and she also has a team of beauticians and a stylist to cater to her every need as though she was a full-grown woman and her wardrobe is extensive and expensive and she never wears the same designer outfit twice plus North also loves to shop online for jewelry and Kanye gives her his credit card and she can spend $100,000 in a single sitting and Kanye just thinks it’s cute 

Page 7: Daring Jill Duggar and husband Derick Dillard are rebelling against her conservative parents and causing a full-scale family war as the couple has publicly defied Baptist patriarch Jim Bob Duggar several times since their 2014 marriage and now they’ve been banned from the 19 Kids and Counting reality clan; Jim Bob’s even demanded that their neighbors have nothing to do with them -- Jill and Derick drew Jim Bob’s fury after criticizing her parents’ conservative views and shutting down their own family factory after having two sons and said they’re stopping there for now unlike Jill’s folks who had 19 kids, dog lover Jennifer Aniston adores her new rescue puppy but potty-training the pooch has been the pits so desperate Jen had to sign up her new pup Lord Chesterfield for private lessons with a dog trainer -- she has two other dogs Clyde and Sophie but they’re well-behaved and know to do their business outdoors and Jen loves them all but she forgot how much work it is to train a puppy 

Page 8: Prince Harry’s wife Meghan Markle revealed her private battle with depression as her struggles with first-time motherhood and fitting in with the rigid royal family pushed her over the edge but Queen Elizabeth thinks her conniving confession is simply a ploy to sully the monarchy -- Meghan described the emotional pain caused by criticism as a death by a thousand cuts and said if people are saying things about you that aren’t true what that does to your mental and emotional health is so damaging -- Queen Elizabeth believes Meghan’s confession is a calculated attack on the monarchy and Meghan is acting like the royals waged a war against her but Meghan and Harry’s actions since they quit have infuriated Her Majesty because Meghan keeps orchestrating situations where she takes center stage appearing to support and put the spotlight on those in need but she turns them all into opportunities to talk about herself and how hard her struggle is

Page 9: Rattled Tyra Banks’ rocky start on Dancing with the Stars has her looking for a way to waltz off the show and she is already trying to back out of hosting because she hates the criticism she’s been getting from virtually everyone plus she’s unpopular with the contestants and is bickering behind the scenes with producers who now regret replacing longtime hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews -- ratings have also plummeted since Tyra took the helm with the show losing more than a million viewers in early October from the same week in 2019

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Gwen Stefani during a photo session in Calabasas, Tiffany Haddish used a leaf blower during a skit on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Justin Bieber on a scooter in Beverly Hills, Zosia Mamet donned a unicorn horn as she wrapped the final scenes of The Flight Attendant, Robert Pattinson and Colin Farrell on the Liverpool set of The Batman 

Page 11: John Oliver’s jokey jabs have earned him a crappy honor from the town of Danbury in Connecticut -- after he ragged on tony Danbury on his show Mayor Mark Boughton vowed to rename its sewage plant after him and now it’s official that the Danbury Sewage Plant is now the John Oliver Memorial Sewage Plant and as promised John is donating $55,000 to local charities which has spurred fundraising efforts for local food banks and Boughton is offering tours of the plant for $500 donations to local food pantries, ailing Phil Collins was rocked by ex-wife Orianne’s betrayal and pals fear he won’t make it to Christmas -- the singer was shocked when it emerged that Orianne who he’d divorced in 2006 and reunited with a decade later married another man in Las Vegas and the stunning news prompted him to serve an eviction notice to get her out of his Miami home and his life for good but Orianne refused to leave

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- Nev Schulman on roller blades in an L.A. parking lot (picture), Eboni K. Williams only landed the gig on The Real Housewives of New York City because she co-hosts State of the Culture on Sean Diddy Combs’ Revolt TV cable network and Bravo is desperate to get famous New Yorkers on the show so cameras will be following Eboni around at work hoping to catch Diddy, with Keeping Up with the Kardashians ending E! is looking for the next big reality family and it may be Sylvester Stallone’s daughters Sophia and Sistine and Scarlet Stallone who are all models and not one has a sex tape, with Bravo boss Andy Cohen and axed Housewife NeNe Leakes at war their mutual friends are being forced to pick sides -- Andy gave NeNe access to his famous non-reality show friends and now he’s regretting it -- Kelly Ripa and Anderson Cooper are all Team Andy

Page 13: Kris Kristofferson is battling Alzheimer’s disease and has been forced to retire from singing and acting but the songwriter is in the best place he can be at his home in Maui with family and friends who are surrounding him with love and support, frantic Kate Gosselin is feeling a financial pinch and ready to take a bath on her house by putting her $1.2 million mansion on the market for a measly $815,000 because she’s been struggling with money because she hasn’t worked in a while and living off the money she made in past 

Page 14: Crime 

Page 15: Marie Osmond was blue over being booted from The Talk but husband Steve Craig gave her something to get over it which was a stunning pair of opal and tanzanite earrings worth nearly $3000, Megan Thee Stallion cheated death when she was shot twice in July and is now using the terrifying incident as a platform to empower Black women and she wrote an op-ed saying the attack proved she and other Black women are not protected as human beings -- fellow rapper Tory Lanez was charged with the shooting that left two flesh-shredding wounds in Megan’s feet and allegedly took place after they argued in an SUV in Hollywood Hills 

Page 16: Cover Story -- Rampaging O.J. Simpson was driven into a kill-crazy rage after seeing photos of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson dating hunky young boytoys and flaunting her body in modeling shots -- 25 years after the disgraced football star’s 1995 acquittal intimate images from Nicole’s secret photo album including a picture of the blond beauty posing topless with lover Brett Shaves is believed to have given the jealous ex-jock a motive for murder 

Page 18: American Life -- I found a $1M diamond in the rough 

Page 19: John Travolta paid tribute to wife Kelly Preston on what would have been her 58th birthday three months after tragic death following a secret two-year battle with breast cancer -- John addressed his late love in a touching Instagram post featuring an image from their 1991 wedding day alongside a picture of his own parents as newlyweds, sci-fi legend George Takei has fired yet another shot at former Star Trek castmate William Shatner as the aging actors’ war of words continues to rage on well into their 80s -- George who played Sulu claimed Shatner was jealous of the amount of fan mail received by their late co-star Leonard Nimoy who played Spock but Captain Kirk shot off a testy response and claimed George was making things up and the only person with jealousy is George -- when told Shatner’s comments George calmly remarked that you can tell by those words that he is upset to put it mildly 

Page 20: In a rerun of their long-running rivalry Madonna and Mariah Carey are prepping dueling biopics -- their cold war dates back to the ‘90s but Mariah ramped up their feud when she revealed the very exciting prospect of her biopic but that followed Madonna’s announcement that she was collaborating on her own script -- they’re each obsessed with getting their film out first and getting the right It Girl to play her so the other one doesn’t grab her first

Page 21: Elton John and ex-wife Renate Blauel agreed to zip their lips about their four-year marriage and privately settled her $3.8 million lawsuit over claims he blabbed about their relationship in his memoir Me and the movie Rocketman, Stevie Nicks admitted her insomnia has gotten so bad that she needs therapy or needs someone to hit her on the head with a hammer -- she’s long been nocturnal and it used to be she could sleep from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. but now says she doesn’t nod off until 8 a.m., singer Amy Winehouse died in 2011 but her dad claimed he still can’t get her out of his house -- former taxi driver Mitch Winehouse who is working on a movie and stage show about the late singer insisted he’s regularly visited by his daughter’s ghost who comes and sits at the end of his bed -- Mitch also said Amy helps around the house in his dreams 

Page 26: Niecy Nash’s new bride Jessica Betts has a nightmarish criminal past according to police reports -- Jessica was arrested twice in Chicago once for domestic battery and then for selling a gun to a minor

Page 28: Stars Who Refuse to Zip It -- cringeworthy confessions and nasty habits and more -- Jennifer Love Hewitt, Megan Fox, Al Roker, Olivia Wilde 

Page 29: Kristen Stewart on Robert Pattinson, John Mayer, Lady Gaga, Suzanne Somers 

Page 32: Demi Lovato’s relentless ex Max Ehrich refuses to let her go and her friends are worried he’s turning into a stalker -- since their breakup he’s been particularly creepy, Tatum O’Neal’s confession that she was ready to jump off the balcony of a Los Angeles home was actually a desperate cry for help -- Tatum was reportedly put on a psychiatric hold at a local hospital after the alleged incident and the event signaled she was in unbearable emotional and physical pain and she feels lost and rejected because she was the youngest Oscar winner ever and now she has trouble finding a job and lost all confidence in herself 

Page 34: India Oxenberg has confessed she was afraid of former NXIVM cult master Allison Mack of TV’s Smallville -- India found herself Allison’s slave and realized she was being groomed as a sexual partner for NXIVM leader Keith Raniere and she was branded with Raniere’s initials in her pelvic regions, a disturbing TV interview in England has sparked new fears for the well-being on boxer Mike Tyson -- Mike looked like the train wreck he was when he was plowing through drugs and was sent to prison in the early ‘90s; he looked barely conscious as he slurred his speech and offered incoherent responses -- Tyson blamed his interview on lack of sleep and insisted his contact with drugs is now limited to growing and smoking pot on his California ranch 

Page 36: Health Watch

Page 42: Red Carpet -- Zendaya 

Page 45: Spot the Differences -- Debbie Matenopoulos on Home and Family 

[nythroughthelens]

On rejection, looking for a job, and numbers that boggle the mind...

(Long read, would mean the world if you read it and share it) I wanted to shed some light on the overall challenges I am experiencing in trying to find a full-time job right now.  I am going to share the raw numbers and effort with you before I share my background and situation. 

1. Of the now 317 creative jobs I applied to on various job boards and networks over the last 4-5 months, I only received 11 replies. 

Yes, only 11 replies.

Seven of those replies were automated rejections due to my CV not making it through the tracking systems in place.

The other four replies were mainly that they felt I had a great CV but that the position(s) had been filled internally or otherwise.

2. Let's talk a little more about the automated systems in place that read your CV. The systems are widespread and meant to lighten the load of in-house recruiters. Your CV passes or is rejected due to keywords and phrases. In the past, people apparently used to try to stuff their CVs full of keywords and/or essentially copy the job listing to pass the system. However, the systems have gotten more intelligent and also should you do that to your CV, it makes it a tad unreadable once it reaches the eyes of an actual human.

I am fairly positive that cold-applying to jobs is a futile process for the most part due to this factor.

3. Some listings aren't actually viable jobs. Companies leave listings up long after positions are filled or worse, there are CV harvesting services posing as regular listings that essentially are collecting CVs and data. 

4. I even tried paying to in-mail hiring and talent managers on LinkedIn. I reached out that way with personal notes about 32 times. 

People who replied from this effort: 4

One person who replied was from an agency I really want to work at and she replied to let me know she had just quit her job but wanted to wish me success. Another recruiter also replied to let me know that she moved on to working at a dog rescue and hadn't updated her profile. 

The other two people replied that they loved my background and would get back to me while also admitting that they had a hard time keeping up with in-mails. I never heard back from them despite pinging them again just to re-establish a connection.

I should add that for every job I apply to via that job site, I also seek out the talent acquisition person(s) at the company and send a personal note to them. This hasn't actually led anywhere.

5.  I compiled a list of 84 media/streaming/ad/design/PR agencies in NYC and cold-emailed them all with personalized emails. 

Replies from this effort: 0

Not one response.

6.  I reached out to over 12 recruitment/staffing people/agencies (also called half of them and was assured I would have someone 'get back' to me). 

Replies from this effort: 0

7.  I was referred to 4 recruiters personally who I reached out to. 

Result of this effort: 3 of the recruiters ghosted me after talking to me, and the other one I never even reached in the first place.

8.  I swallowed my pride and plastered myself all over social media publicly asking for leads (for reference, I have around 400,000+ people following me across networks, see below for my actual background if curious). 

Actual responses that panned out: 1

One potential really great lead did contact me and we talked on the phone. 

Perhaps that will turn into something. 

Let that sink in though.

Only 1 person with a genuine lead appeared.

The rest of the replies were from people who didn't read any of my actual post (skipped over where I said I am specifically looking for a full-time job in creative/advertising/media/design related work)

9. I tapped into my network by posting a few private posts to specific groups of people. Truthfully, some people went out of their way. However, ultimately those leads haven't materialized into anything either due to a non-response despite having internal referrers.

In fact, I have exhausted all of the familiar networking advice typically given. I am a the point of not wanting to actively get the people in my network to resent me for all the times I have reached out already to them individually.

In the last decade, I have been to more networking and various industry events than I can count. I have a lot of thoughts on this that would be more suited to another lengthy post though. Just wanted to add that this is not something I haven't done. 

Rejections:

Of the rejections I have received from agencies (creative/media), I keep hearing that I am not being considered because I don't have literal agency experience (meaning, because I never worked full-time at an agency, I am tossed out of the running even with my background which involves doing actual contract work for various creative agencies). This has been the most maddening part of the whole process to be honest.

This brings me to my background. Here's my formal background statement that I had to write out for a job months ago but covers quite a bit.

Having just spent the last decade building my art career from scratch resulting in a following of around 500,000 people across all social media, two passion projects that became a traditional book deal resulting in two internationally published and best-selling photography books, a multi-year financial sponsorship with a major imaging brand, and a wide array of experiences that have informed how I approach collaboration and creation, I am at the next step in my life. That step is to find a full-time creative home. I truly believe that ideas are at their best when they are allowed to thrive alongside a diverse array of audiences and collaborators. Nothing excites me more than sharing an idea with utmost excitement knowing that the sharing of that idea is just the start of the story. In fact, I truly believe that storytelling is at its heart a collaborative process and that everyone has the potential and ability to contribute to the storytelling process. Everyone has their own unique set of experiences and adaptive knowledge that they can contribute and I love nothing more than being the person that can synthesize all of these perspectives and ideas into something incredible. I believe that everyone I have collaborated with, from the astronaut who chose me to tell the story of our trip to the Arctic together, to the teams I worked with to create creative campaigns, to the communities I was privileged to help in the Dominican Republic and Cuba, has changed me in a multitude of ways in terms of my perspective, and how I approach life, art, storytelling, and the process of creation. Every day, as humans, we learn and grow in a variety of ways. The ability to look back and call upon these experiences that help us learn is what truly helps foster a well-rounded view of what it means to be, at heart, a storyteller and synthesizer of ideas. Now that I have hopefully regaled you with that formal statement, here are the last 10 years of my career put into a tidy format:

► Directed the creative process of all photography and writing projects from ideation to execution and distribution ► Managed all project assets, including project plans, data back-ups, uploads, photo-editing, photo-management, photo-shoots, disc storage management, file transfers ► Negotiated contract rates, terms of usage, and day rates while producing project requirements and timelines to consistently meet deadlines for events, exhibitions, and roll-outs of product releases ► Collaborated and executed many large-scale projects resulting in exhibitions around the world and even a featured collaboration with Astronaut Commander Hadfield presenting our collaborative art project to the Toronto Art Gallery of Ontario ► Expanded brand presence across multiple social media networks, resulting in 200,000 followers on Facebook, 115,000 followers on Instagram, 44,000 followers on Twitter, 195,000 followers on Tumblr, 1.8 million followers on Google Plus, and developed PR strategies for photography and books, including construction of a contact list of relevant press targets in the US and UK, production of press releases, and development of pitch ► My two books NY Through the Lens and New York in the Snow were the result of a traditional book deal. Both were published and released worldwide in stores (Barnes and Noble, Target, Walmart, the Strand, Watersmiths, WH Smith, and a host of other well-known stores and indie outlets offline and online) in 2014 and 2017 via Ilex Press, an imprint of Hachette UK. ► NY Through The Lens was based on the writing and art featured in my blog of the same name which had grown in popularity over the span of three years. The book was featured in the Guardian, on the Weather Channel, in the NY Post, on Yahoo News, as well as across many other news outlets. ► New York in the Snow was the culmination of a passion project that involved 7 years of taking photographs in every snowstorm in New York City. The book was featured in the NY Times in December of 2017 and had a major book-signing in London, England in January of 2018 ► As a full-time Sony sponsored artist, my art was used in multiple national ad campaigns and I regularly collaborated with the Sony Digital Imaging, and Sony marketing teams ► Selected to speak on behalf of Sony at PhotoPlus Expo, the largest annual photography event in the United States and at WPPI, the largest annual portrait photography conference ► Ideated and executed exhibitions for gallery spaces and new media installations including a showing at the Park Avenue Armory and show at London's Somerset House during the Sony World Photography event ► Participated in a pop-up store event hosted by Wired Magazine in which Sony sponsored a photography gallery featuring black & white prints and 250 signed copies of NY Through the Lens were given to VIP guests ► Commissioned to write regular features for multiple entertainment and media partners representing the Sony brand Why am I looking for a full-time job with this background? 

I am looking towards a sustainable career future I can invest in. What I have loved the most about the last 10 years of my career has been working with various teams. I adore people and I excel in team environments. I also love structure. 

When I say I am looking for a creative home, I mean it. I have a very strong work ethic as is hopefully evident by the career I built from scratch. I am looking to apply that work ethic and my creative output and vision towards a full-time job.

What do I want?

Jobs and roles I have been going after: creative producer, art director, brand strategist, engagement manager, creative strategist, various marketing positions, various social media positions, creative lead I have mainly been looking at ad agencies, media (broadcast and streaming), and some marketing and PR agencies.

Icing on the cake:

To add to this, I am losing the lease to my apartment at the end of August. I have no safety nets which I know is hard for most people to imagine. I don't have family, I don't have a Prince/Princess Charming, it's just me and that's terrifying on tons of levels considering that I really want/need a full-time job right now to not only move on with my career/life but because of this time-frame.

Hope this helps some of you understand my plight. I have gotten tons of messages about this and wanted to answer all the questions generally.  --- Links for good measure: My LinkedIn

Portfolio

Instagram Twitter

[orbemnews]

The Pandemic Work Diary of Margo Price, Nashville Rebel Though Margo Price has long seen herself as a counterculturalist — especially within Nashville’s country scene — she has been spending the pandemic like many people: stuck at home and patiently waiting for it to be over. “It’s kind of like the rug’s been pulled out from under me,” Ms. Price, 37, said in a recent phone interview. “I felt like this third album was going to be so fun to tour and play at festivals, and I had just taken so much time off after having a baby, too. I was really ready to get back to work.” Her third studio album, “That’s How Rumors Get Started,” was released in July, but on May 28 she’ll get to perform it live for the first time, at an outdoor concert in Nashville. Ms. Price is among many hopeful musicians who are collaborating with venues that allow space for social distancing. “The arts, in general, are really struggling,” she said, “and we need to figure out a way to get back at it and preserve the venues that we all play at.” And even during this pandemic, while raising her two children alongside her husband, Jeremy Ivey, and writing a memoir, Ms. Price has been in and out of the studio, recording two albums. “I’m a disciple of all things that are close to the ground — roots music, folk, blues, soul,” Ms. Price said of her new music. “I want to have enough genres that people can’t exactly put their finger on one thing.” Interviews are conducted by email, text and phone, then condensed and edited. Monday 7 a.m. I wake up and have a lemon water followed by a black coffee. I make the kids waffles and take my 10-year-old son, Judah, to Montessori school. I spend the next couple of hours playing with my 1½-year-old daughter, Ramona. 9 a.m. I put on some Miles Davis and start a fire in the fireplace. We stretch and dance and play with puzzles before going outside to enjoy the sunshine. 10:30 a.m. I’m driving to the Cash Cabin in Hendersonville. I’ve been working on two albums;being in the studio has given me a sense of purpose while I’m unable to play live shows. 11 a.m. Jeremy and I tune our guitars and do some vocal warm-ups. We play through a song a couple times to get a tempo and begin tracking it. We can overdub the rest of the band later. 1:15 p.m. We stop for lunch around the fire pit that’s burning here 24/7. 2 p.m. We track two more songs. 3 p.m. Jeremy leaves to pick up Judah. I stay to lay down guitar and vocals for another song. 5 p.m. I get home and take both children on a walk to the local church while my husband cooks dinner. (He does most of the cooking and is a phenomenal chef.) 5:30 p.m. We play hide-and-seek in an abandoned church. They don’t have services in here anymore, but our neighborhood pod is using it as a space to teach our children in. 6:30 p.m. We sit down to a home-cooked dinner. For the last five days, Jeremy was off recording his next album, so we’re celebrating him being home. 7 p.m. I clean up the dinner table, wash the dishes and throw in a load of laundry while Jeremy gives Ramona a bath. My mom, Candace, is helping Judah with his reading. She’s been here a lot during the pandemic, and we couldn’t do it without her! 8 p.m. I answer some emails and catch up on work while Jeremy reads to Ramona. 8:30 p.m. Ramona comes out and says, “Mama, sing to me” — she just started speaking in full sentences a couple weeks ago. She requests “Up Above” (that’s what she calls “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”) and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” 9:30 p.m. Jeremy and I listen to some rough mixes of his songs. 10 p.m. We sit down to watch “Nomadland.” 12:30 a.m. We move from the couch to the bed. Both of us fell asleep after the movie. Tuesday 8:15 a.m. I wake up to a phone call even though I was planning to sleep in. Jeremy and I tell each other about some crazy disjointed dreams. 9 a.m. Ramona and I brush our teeth and hair. We play Legos while I help Jeremy write a lyric to one of his songs. 9:45 a.m. I take my two dogs for a run at a nearby state park. 11 a.m. Jeremy and I just arrived at Frothy Monkey to grab some breakfast outside on the patio. I’m editing my memoir for the next few hours — I’m on the second draft and have to turn it in at the end of the month. (I’m on Page 30 of some 500.) 1 p.m. I take a Zoom interview with the “Poptarts” podcast for Bust Magazine. 2 p.m. I start editing the book again. Currently drinking my fourth cup of coffee. 4 p.m. Ramona wakes up from her nap, so we’re heading on a walk. My neighbors own these two horses that are rescues, so we like to feed them carrots. 5:45 p.m. Ramona is drawing, Jeremy is cooking, and I’m working on my book again. 6:30 p.m. Jeremy cooked veggie stir fry (rice, peppers and oyster mushrooms that were grown and given to us by John Carter Cash when we were over there recording). 7 p.m. We’re watching “Toy Story,” but the kids got distracted, so we’re all running around the house and wrestling to get some energy out. 8 p.m. I’m reading Mona books and doing the bedtime routine while Jeremy helps Judah with some homework. 9 p.m. Jeremy made a fire outside, and I cracked a soda water and rolled a joint. We’re sitting out here talking, listening to music and looking at the stars. Wednesday 7:30 a.m. Ramona’s playing with magnets, and I emptied out a piggy bank so she could put the coins back in. That kept her busy for about an hour while I made her breakfast. 8:45 a.m. Mona put on her red rubber rain boots, and we’re going outside to enjoy the weather. The ice is almost all melted, and we’re walking along the creek that runs in front of our house. We stop to throw in rocks and splash around in the puddle. 10 a.m. I’m driving to Golden Hour Salon for my first haircut since the pandemic started. Noon Back home drinking more coffee. I’ve been editing my book in a large walk-in closet that we converted to be a part-time office. 1:30 p.m. Jeremy took Ramona to the pediatrician to get immunizations. 2 p.m. I took advantage of the empty house and worked on a song. It’s so nice today, so I took a guitar outside to the swing and practiced finger picking while listening to the birds. 4 p.m. Everyone’s home, and we’re hanging out on the couch reading. Judah is whittling and sanding a stick he found — he wants to make a sword. 5 p.m. Jeremy and I pick up some suits from a place on Music Row called Any Old Iron. It’s owned by a local designer, Andrew Clancey, whose designs and beading are so psychedelic and artistic. I adore him. (He also makes great sequin and rhinestone masks.) 6:15 p.m. We pick up dinner from Superica, a great Tex-Mex restaurant, where I always order the shrimp tacos. They’re sinfully good. 7 p.m. My mom already put Ramona to bed since she missed her nap, so Jeremy and I are reading to Judah. It’s nice to give him extra attention when we can because the toddler demands so much. 8:30 p.m. I pour a tea and draw a bath. 9:30 p.m. Turned on the new “Unsolved Mysteries,” and I’m doing a little stretching and a free-weight workout. I used to go to the gym all the time, but since the pandemic, I’ve been forcing myself to work out at home. Thursday 8 a.m. Ramona isn’t feeling great and is running a little fever, so we let her watch a little TV. 9:30 a.m. My hair and makeup artist, Tarryn, arrives to help me do my hair for a photo shoot. This is only the third time I’ve had my hair or makeup done all year. 11 a.m. The photographer arrived, set up a blue backdrop and very quickly snapped some photos. Noon I’m eating lox for breakfast and having another cup of coffee. 1 p.m. Went outside to our picnic table and started editing my book. 2 p.m. I’m picking Mona up from the neighbors to put her down for a nap and go get a Covid test. I take one weekly just to be extra safe. 3:45 p.m. I’m back home, and the kids are outside jumping on the trampoline. 4:45 p.m. Jeremy’s making dinner, and we’re making a fort. 5:45 p.m. We put on Billie Holiday and sit down to eat. We hold hands, and Judah leads us in a prayer. His dinner prayers almost always include asking that God help the homeless and end coronavirus. 6:30 p.m. Judah and I went into the music room to play double drums. He makes up a beat, and I have to copy it and vice versa. 7:30 p.m. I read to Ramona while Jeremy and Judah build a fire and make s’mores. 8:30 p.m. Both kids are in bed. I go out to enjoy the fire, and my friend joins. We pick guitars and drink turmeric tea until 12:30 a.m. Friday 8 a.m. Back at it again with the kids and the morning routine. I make blueberry pancakes while Ramona plays with pots and pans. The house is really trashed — toys everywhere — but it’s Friday, so I don’t stress about it. I’ll clean later. 9 a.m. We go on a walk but get interrupted by the rain. Back inside we FaceTime my 90-year-old grandmother. She beat Covid a couple months ago but hasn’t been able to be out of the nursing home in a year. We call her often to check in. 10 a.m. Jeremy relieves me so I can work on editing my book. Noon Ate oatmeal for breakfast, thought about a John Prine lyric and came inside to pick some guitar. 1 p.m. Recorded a SiriusXM D.J. takeover for a Canadian station called Northern Americana. I made a playlist for International Women’s Day. 2:30 p.m. Ramona woke up from her nap, so we’re jumping on the trampoline. 6 p.m. My mom took the children on a long walk, but everyone’s back for dinner. 6:05 p.m. My daughter throws a huge tantrum (terrible twos are coming early here) so I spend some time calming her down. We take some deep breaths and sit in a quiet room. 6:20 p.m. I finally get her calmed and sit down to a cold plate of delicious food. 7 p.m. I give Ramona a bath and distract her with some washable bath crayons to paint on the bathtub while I sing and play guitar. Jeremy and Judah play Zelda in his bedroom. 7:30 p.m. The toilet overflows, Jeremy fixes it with a few choice four-letter words, I laugh. 8 p.m. We’re all reading books, kissing foreheads and saying good night. 10 p.m. We turn on “Judas and the Black Messiah.” The house is trashed, but I don’t care — I’ve cleaned all week, and I’m tired. We can worry about that tomorrow. Source link Orbem News #Diary #Margo #Nashville #Pandemic #price #Rebel #Work

[rvb-junior]

Anonymous ask: do you have any pets? What are their names? Why do you keep them? What got you into keeping them? Do you have any future pet plans? 💖💖

Ok anon do u really wanna get into this convo? Itll take a while.

Okay so im at college so rn the only pets with me are my fishb a male halfmoon plakat named Cosmos Florence the second, a nerite snail named Nertb and a black mystery named Onyx. I keep them because god man i just. I just love em so much ya know? Its like. I have this little ball of hate and rage in my dorm who has such a beautiful personality and then to complement that i have these chill snaild who r just trying really hard. Back home we have even more pets and oh man oh man i love them?? They are what love and joy looks like?? We have my dogs, cat, turtle, lizards, birds, hairless guinea pigs, fish, and chickens.

The chickens are named Short Bread and Oreo bevause of how they looked when they were younger. Oreo is a little spunkyer that Short bread while i think short bread is a little…. Confused? Yeah just generally confused by everything.

We have Mr. T, our full grown, healthy red ear slider who lives in a small pond in the back yard with a few feeder fish he never ate. Those fish have grown to be his pals and he just. Hase never eaten them.

Then we have the birds, Able, who likes to tell at you if u look at her to long. Her hobbys are chewing through toys as she is hanging from them and being suprised when she falls. We then have Birbank, named after the airport my dad found him at, who lives very closely with his bf Ruby. Birbank is a grey and white cockatiel and Ruby is a green Indian Ringneck. They had being more than 2 feet apart for longer than 2 seconds and often u will find Ruby yelling when Birbank flys somewhere he cant go (ruby doesnt know how to fly) and birbank screaming when he realises the mistake he made. Ruby likes to give people kisses and is a lover, not a fighter. Birbank likes to hiss at peanuts and ignore everything besides Ruby. Next we have our Canary, Mango whos fav food is blue berrys and kale. He likes to sing when he hears trumpets and my flute. He has a club foot so when we adopted him the bird rescue we got him from was relived because no one else would take him. He is the most graceful flying bird i have ever seen! Finally we have the zebra finch named Shimmy. When we first adopted him he had a super bad plucking problem and was almost completly bald but hes doing much better now, aggressivly peeping when he hears the canary.

Okay now we have 2 lizards, a leopard gecko named Romeo and a crested gecko named Gargoyle. Romeo is a sweet boi with a chubby tail who loves his crickets fast and his meal worms slow. He has one of those reptile hammocks but he prefers climding his cave more. Gargoyle is a sweet girl who will only eat her food when it starts to harden again for some reason. We dont know why but she does and shes kinda a butt. But ya gotta love her!

Our cat’s name is Figaro and she’s currently bald. She had to get shaved, the vet said shes getting up in her years so when she stopped grooming for a month and got matts in her long fur they said she had basicly cat arthritis. Shes doing good and her hobbies are (well atleast when i was home) meowing in my mouth at 3 am to tell me she ate all her food and wanted more.

Wr have 5 dogs so just get ready for that. All our dogs but 1 is a rescue. Coal is a chow/black lab mix. She was adopted as a pup from a local animal rescue and she kniws the mist tricks. Shes a good girl who likes hugs, treats, and when u massage her face. Her favorite toy is a yellow stick that she will bring to you when asked. Shes the second youngest! Lily is the youngest, i sometiems call her satan but only because she is a trickster! You will turn around and shell be on the table eating food, stealing anything from coal, and trying to think up world domination. She and Coal are super close, when we got her Coal went all MaMa dog and now they are inseparable. What makes it better is that Lily is a half Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix so shes tiny next to Coal. Our third youngest is Scarlet, wr think shes the product of a long hair Chihuahua and a deer head Chihuahua. Shes a primadonna who enjoys her alone time and pets. She also like to be held, mainly like a baby so u can hold her and tub her tum. She also REALLY LIKES CAR RIDES like man even going to the vet shes jazzed. Second oldest is Vinnie, a pug my bro ham adopted. Hes super sweet and good he likes face squishes and whrn he naps his tail uncurles. He stands very proper like hes a gentleman and likes to sit on ur feat. He has a grain allergy so he eats special grain free food. Next we have the oldest of our dogs MY SWEET BABY GIRL GIGI. shes my sun and moon. We got gigi when i was 8 and when i was 10 my sister went to college, leaving her for me to takr care of. And well, shes literally the most important thing in the world to me. My sister got her from a breader (which i dont like cus dogs in shelters need homes) but shes a Brussels Griffon so the breader croped her ears and tail. I DO NOT CONDONE THE PRACTICE OF CROPPING AND PART OF A DOG UNLESS SUGGESTED BY A VET, SOME DOGS GET THEIR TAILS CROPPED BECAUS ETHEY BREAK BONES IN THEM AND THAT IS THE ONLY CROPPING I CONDONE. Her ears were cropped lopsidedb and improperly which brought many problems to her later on. She developed many ear infections that have caused her to scratch her ears until they bleed, has had medication for 3 different ear infections, and has almost no ear canal left. Her vet has told us she is almost deef. Also as she got older she got chronic dry eye and takes medicated eye drops for it but shes fine as long as she has those. She needs loud or sharp sounds to get her attention so i trained her to respond to clapping, whistling (which i do very loudly) and snapping fingers. She is a sweet heartb adn a super velcro dog! I cried for three days after i had to go to college and they drive her up to visit me. When im home she goes looking for me if im out of site for 2 minutes, will wait at the bathroom door for me, stare up the stairs when i go to shower, and press her face against closed doors she knows i went through. Whne she does the last thing i have to drum my fingers on the door so she knows to move back before i open it. I miss her horribly and i skype her almost every day, she gets super excited! The first few days i was gone she actually wouldnt stop barking at night. Shes also a cuddle baby and she doesnt sleep unless she is touching me ao it was probably rough for her. I miss her but ill be able to see her in october when i go to my sisters wedding.

The fish! Okay so my mother has a 75 gallon gold fish aquarium and a 30 gallon in the garage with nithing in it yet (shes thinking tetras). The gold fish tank has 2 butter fly tails and some bristle nose plecos. It also has many a snail rn! A friend of ours dismantled a large aquarium of his own ( he is going through a very hard time financially and im hoping everything works out for him) and gave us the plecos and snails. The snails are 3 rabbit snailsb one nerite (he gave us 2 but the other is with my betta) a few black mysteries, and a golden apple who i named Big Mama.

Lemme tell u about big mama real fast. I call her this because, first of all shes a full grown golden appleb second of all because shes a mama. He had a live planted tank thich included a moss ball he has been taking care of for 5 year, its the size of my head and when we put it in the 75 gallon it because the main pice of the tank. What we found out later was that Big Mama had made her family in ut and we have abou 20 BABY GOLDEN APPLES IN THERE ALONE!! He also gave us an anibius fern which i put in my betta’s tank and after getting to college and living hear for a few weeks i found out there were eggs on it because I KNOW HAVE MANY A BABY GOLDEN APPLE. these ones tho r much smaller than the moss ball ones, mine being hatchlings and those being the size of a finger nail. But anyway they have grown large enough where i can tell they r not pest snails and i will be rehoming them to other fish keepers in my dorms once they get a little bigger.

My mom has 3 hairless guinea pigs. Did you know that at petco people tend to walk in and drop off pets they “just dont want any more”? Well it hapoens a lot and my mom fell in love with them instantly. We have Billy, the oldest, Piggy, the middle in age, and sweet baby Bear who is small and young. They are all good boys and are doing very well so far in their new home! My mom had already owned billy and was looking into getting him friends, (guinea pigs live friends! They actually should be kept in atleast pairs but we were not aware at first, now we know better) all three of them are being slowly introduced! Bear and Piggy already live together but we dont want to rush this process and put billy right into the mix, that would probably be the worst think. They are slowly beibg acclimated to eachother.

I guess you could say i love pets because they are sweet and wonderful. I keep most of them because i know i can care for them, that i have the space, and the resources. I have the time and the will to foster a loving home for all my pets, and so does my family. Animals are a big part of my life and i love all of them with all my heart.

My future plans? Well nothing soon! Im in a dorm so Cosmos and his snail friends are all ivr got planed rn. But i hope to, onece in the distante future, get a tank with a school of danionella dracula in it, they are tiny fishb only getting half an inch in side. But id need a good tank for them since they school about 12 and id like to do the whome thing live plants (i also want one of those rimless aquatiums hnnnnnnnngh) i hope to upgrade cosmos to a larger aquarium b currently hes in a 2.5 which is enough for a betta, sure, but id rather he be in a 5 gallon. But really? I just wanna go home n be with GiGi more than anything.

Thank you for the ask!

[professorsaz]

Game of Thrones: Season 8 Storyline: by a fan.

This starts much before Night King (NK) breaks all hell loose on The Wall.

Bran sends ravens to every nook and corner of Westeros warning them about NK and his army for immediate evacuation of the North. The plan shared is for everybody to fall back south and gather at King’s landing, as Bran saw them all. NK is for over a thousand years so he’s got to have a big ass army. Bran heard their screams as he saw them running at top speed towards them. The dead never sleeps, remember? An army of a million dead and growing. Not less than a hundred giants, bears, wolves, rabbits, ravens, horses, children of forest bloody any life that is dead is a +1, alongside those thick, cold, dead eyed white walkers with a million of dead foot soldiers & of course the Night King himself alongside the dragon. Picture this army running towards you in full speed lynching everything they touch along the way. Crazy blue eyed giants smashing trees making way, and the dragon. You know nothin Jon Snow of the magnitude of a vigorous untiring almost immortal dragon. In this storyline Bran, our new “Three Eyed Raven” is very responsible as he should be. He hacks in dreams and minds of all life in the world creating a soul circle using that white tree, broadcasts them LIVE TV on the horror that’s coming and it’s faster and more effective than sending ravens, and yes including Cersei and other crazies, everyone. Now our heroes and citizens of the west are running there ass off making haste especially the northerners and the people in the east are freaked out. Not to forget the neuron freezing cold, pitch black darkness with fear of the unknown. There are women, old, children and the weak and sick. They need to carry food, war provisions, their cattle, and pets. You get the gist. Interesting fact, if they leave there animals behind, you know what! Anyhow on receiving Bran’s visions in dream, Tormund and Ben clear the wall and nearby lands are evacuated. This evacuation process was not overnight. It was an ongoing process for many months as Bran informed everyone well prior, as he is keeping a close eye on NK’s movements and he is responsible. The plan is to sail for Essos through narrow sea to Dragons bay (Slavers bay, east) with the entire westeros population. According to Bran’s calculations even all of westeros gathered together cannot stop them.

Job Allocation: Iron islands assigned to build ships, Kings landing for building amours, weapons, scorpions basically war stuff. High Gardens, River Run and other fertile places food and water. People and army of Drone have already sailed for Bravos. All these preparations go on for months. While all this is happening, Tyrion, Missandei, Varys, Davos, Sam and other diplomats alongside the ones who cannot fight sail beforehand uses existing ships. The diplomats alongside Daario Naharis will gather army, aid and council to the leaders of the east in planning for the Great War if it comes to that.

Now NK and his army have arrived at the wall and shattered by the dragon. Overall 90% of westeros has evacuated towards south. The rest 10% consists of (couldn’t evacuate, got caught, bad luck, and so on), you know what they are now. The NK army is moving so fast, untiring. Same cannot be said about the living. More and more bodies are added to NK army as they move forward. Although Bran did his very best in evacuating every life, especially wildlife (controlled by him), tribe people and nomads in forests, but some got left behind. Keeping eye on NK is getting more and trickier as he is freezing Bran’s ravens to death adding to his army. Folks, winter have come and the night is darkest and full of terrors, for real this time. This is his hour as he reigns supreme (NK).

Note 1: In S7, Dany asks Snow to ride the dragon, whereas in here she asks Tyrion. The logic is simple; animals never forget those who rescue them at time of crisis. Hence Rhaegal, the green one has grown fond of the dwarf & Dany acknowledges that. Moreover, Jon is better on the field + he doesn’t have any history or connection with the dragons. A dwarf riding a dragon is a sight to see, poetically speaking, would make a perfect song.

Note 2: Direwolfs are mystical creatures, out of the ordinary like the dragons. As we know Ghost use to roams around freely beyond the wall. Animals are intelligent creatures and understand danger. He has fought the dead many times to know what’s out there. He has gathered all the direwolves from beyond the wall and the north to save them from certain death and more fuel for the dead army. Ghost is way too tiny in the show. In our storyline he is Hugeish++ as a Direwolf should be. And yes he found Nymeria. We want to make all of them happy who cried in S1 when she ran away to save her life and Arya. She works hard for her age. She deserves it.

Note 3: Show runners have rushed the long night and made it short night. Fans waited so long, in here it lasts long. None of that traveling from Winterfell to Dragonstone in one day bullshit!

Note 4: Horses have saddles but hard ass dragons don’t. That’s so stupid. Both dragons are saddled. We will continue this in the pages to come.

Note 5: The spirits of the past three eyed ravens guide Bran in his visions and council him. They also help in creating that human spirit chain, remember LIVE TV.

Now back to the present.

As the dead approach closer and closer south, panic grows alongside fear. Only a handful of people have seen the dead in real and fought. Rest has no clue. Psychology says it’s the unknown that’s scarier. Kings landing is packed and overflowing with population. The climate is getting colder and darker by the day like never before. Evacuation process is on the rise as more and more ships sail towards Essos. Bran is having issues keeping a live track on the dead as NK is freezing his ravens in blizzards. Our heroes have arranged for a defense army in case of emergency. As the last of the ships sail out of landing the dead arrive destroying what’s left reducing the population from 90% to 85%. For the first time our heroes saw the true face of horror with their own eyes as the dead line up on the shores of Kings landing screaming in madness as the NK gets down from his dragon, takes a slow walk to the shores as he looks hard at the sailing ships with his cold blue eyes & that grim facial expression. Yes it will be dark. Winter has come folks! Both literally and f.

Our heroes have sailed half way across the Narrow Sea with a shy of relief, that the dead cannot cross the water. Then something happens, small drops of snow dropping all around the sea water. “Winter is coming” is for Westeros only. The East is hot as fuck. Now for the first time ever snow falls on the narrow sea. Right in that very moment, when everyone looking at each other saying WTF??

Bran calls for an emergency meeting in the middle on the sea. After becoming Three Eyed Raven, nothing is surprise anymore. Then something happened that blew his balls off. He says this in the meeting, “This is the long night & NK is stronger than ever”. “He is freezing the narrow sea”. Bran saw this before he calls everyone, “the Night King got on one knee, slowly moved his hand towards the sea and put his finger nail on the water. The water started freezing and freezing”. We are not safe anymore, anywhere, Bran says. He adds “Now it meant only one thing, war and death unlike any”.

Spoilers: NK froze the entire sea in a couple of months.

The battle of the west will be fought in east. How dramatic. The “Great War” will take place in the famous Essos that we keep hearing. According to this storyline the war will take place Far East, as east as east can go. The edge of the world, the end of the known world just like it is far beyond the wall. The logic is, the living got pushed back and back till to the very edge where there is no where left to run or hide and then it begins…

The east has never seen cold weather. And now it snows like the Arctic. The NK freezes the entire sea in just a couple of months, solid ice as our heroes prepare their final stand.

Note 6: Advantage of having the Great War in Essos. Yes it will be dark but not as dark as Westeros. So our viewers can see the action.

The Great War armies:

On the side of Living:

Jon & the north men. Tormund & the wildlings. Bronn and the south men. Brienne, Jamie, Sandor, Gendry, Beric leading the rest of Westerosi and Dornish armies. Dany & Tyrion on dragons. Qyburn & co with his huge scorpions & wildfire flame throwers. Grew worm & the Unsullied. Daario and second sons. Jorah & the Dothraki. Arya, Jaqen and the faceless men. All the Red Priestesses from around the world. All other sorcerers and magic users. Iron bank and the Braavosi army. Armies from Astapol, Meereen, Qarth, Yunkai, Pentos, Myr, Volantis and all other cities, villages, tribes in the dragon’s bay. Ghost, Nymeria & the dire wolves. The Greyjoys & the iron fleet. The Golden Company and other mercenaries & finally Bran with an army of ravens. Every one joins as it’s going to be epic.

Behind them inside the walls, deep in the ancient cribs, are the women, children, old and the sick who cannot fight, yet they are there as there is nowhere left to hide. If the above list fails they die anyway no matter where they hide. So it’s wise to stick together and die together.

Note 7: Bran keeps all the rescued animals safe in the crib as he follows Jane Goodall, David Attenborough, Dr. Micha(Gambia),Animal Aid Unlimited & PETA, so should everyone. Be kind to animals, it’s all part of positive karma.

On the side of Dead:

One hundred strong in the art of war white walkers. Not less than a 100 Giants. Blue eyed children of the forest. Countless dire wolves, bears, serpents, horses, dogs, cats, rabbits, ravens, sea creatures pretty much any animal, bird that is available in Westeros and Easteros which can be used as a weapon, along with an army of a million dead soldiers and the uber famous NK, the dragon and power of ice and frost.

The Great War: Finally!

Let’s create a location for the war. It’s Far East, at the edge of the known world. An ancient city, abandon due to reasons unknown. Somewhat looks like Meereen big much bigger with huge walls. There is an enormous open land as far as a raven’s eye can see, connected to the city which can fit easily a million more or less. In addition it has forests surrounding alongside water bodies like rivers and seas for the ships and drinking water. Water is life. Don’t waste water. Rain water harvesting, ground water recharge and water reuse filtration systems are the keys to survival in the future. Else we will all die a terrible death out of hunger, thirst and dryness. Help! Somalia from drought.

Note 8: Fun Fact:

Our heroes are low on energy because of lack of food, water, nomadic traveling, constant stress, fear and n number of things, but high on spirits.

Defense Setup:

City walls are mounted with huge scorpions with DG (dragon glass) bolts for the giants, dragon, white walkers and other beasts. Wildfire catapults mounted all over. Both dragons are mounted with dragon glass on their heads like a unicorn so are the horses and Bran’s ravens. The dragons are saddled for better flying experience with weapon holders and mounted crossbows. For dire wolves design changes, small dual horns like a female antelope on their heads for faster impact alongside special spike bodysuit made of DG. The elephants have DG spikes on their trunks, legs and tail, well saddled with weapon holders and cross bows. The path to the city and the ground positions are mounted with spike walls of Fire woods and DG placed at strategic locations. All the non fighters are inside the walls in the crib with the rescued animals and birds.

Bran’s Security: It’s tight, well thought out with plenty of booby traps and star characters as body guards like Gregor the mountain is one of many. Yes he is an ass clown and everyone is scared of him. But for the NK he is just another pussy as he knows it.

Front Lines:

Dothraki side by side with elephant army, behind them other horsemen like second sons, westerosi, golden company and so on, behind them foot soldiers, behind them the Unsullied. The Red Priestesses just outside the gates providing heat and light to the fighters by their magic in this chilling cold and face of terror. The sorcerers, witches alongside Faceless men mount the walls and gates while dragons patrolling the sky, the iron islanders the water, dire wolves alongside wildlings patrolling the forests. Wildfire catapults and scorpions are mounted at every possible location. BTW you can have any COC troop formation you like my Lord!

Note 9: Millions on dead rampaging on frozen blue narrow sea is a sight to see.

The dead; have arrived at this ancient location lynching and growing at every step on the way from beyond the walls in the west till this far east.

They stop. All of them, as the NK measure the situation. The dead outrank the living 5:1, more so they have giants, myriad blue eyed beasts, forest children and a big group of very strong white walkers with icy weapons than can easily bring down any heavy set. He takes his sweet time as the living take a gaze upon the true meaning of horror, as the men breath heavily and shiver as they gaze upon a wall of giants and sky full of ravens visible waiting at a distance.

The world goes quiet and waits while as they hear 200,000+ panting at the same time in a pin drop silence atmosphere.

The famous A1 camera right on time for Bran when he says “so it begins, now” as the NK lifts his finger & the dead march forward screaming & storming in, with an actual storm by their side.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Great War has started as both armies about to collide. We waited 9 years for this.

Living Vs Dead. Epic* #onceinalifetime #thegreatwar #livingvsdead #gots8 #gotfan

<leaving this part for your imaginations. Rain your comments as hell rains over the realms of men ;>

The screams; the bloodshed; the turmoil; and true meaning of dread and bravery fueled with emotions at the oddest of places, the battlefield.

Note 10: Night King has gone rogue++. He is raising dead immediately. You fight; you die, fall down then back up. No wait no delays. He wants to strike fear in the hearts. The age of men is over (feat. lord of the rings).

Note 11: Dead blasting off when stabbed by VS or DG causes visual distraction during the fight, that too when fighting side by side in such hefty numbers.

The End:

At the end, of course the dead have the upper hand. The NK moves towards Bran. Fighting and breaking every trap, warrior and weapon on his way as he gets closer. I kind of like the idea of Arya stabbing the NK but the way it’s presented in the show is silly. We are going to make some changes to that. Firstly the NK is so fucking strong and cold, he is a God for Christ sake, an immortal probably more than thousand years old, how could Arya move and breathe when the NK is holding her throat as she tricks him and stab with the change of hand. Am I to believe that Arya’s reflexes are better than a God? Certainly not, that’s stupid. As NK nears Bran he would face many opponents like Gregor, Brienne, Bron & more who are good at one on one combats distract him while Arya is heat/light powered by multiple red women so she can survive NK’s frost. After all its “song of ice and fire”, and Brandon with his warg abilities strengthens her as NK can snap her neck like a mosquito. Jaqen slips her a magical potion before the war begins which increase speed and reflexes a thousand times for a fraction of time. Yes the main war is still going on and the living are getting hammered by the White Walkers.

At the end as NK nears Bran, Arya sneaks up & jumps on him, as NK grabs her dagger hand and neck, a spring loaded VS blade appears from under sleeve and she stabs him. This entire process is executed in milliseconds. As she wouldn’t last more than a second in his grasp, in spite of having many protections. Yet she suffers severe neck injury and trauma as she was touched by the NK himself. He blows up along with all the dead as Arya drops senseless on the ground. One more second and the NK have squeezed her to ashes. Bran jumps out his chair, crawls towards her to check.

Aftermath:

Peace is finally achieved.

Dany return to Meereen where she belongs with Darrio and rule the east ending slavery. Tyrion sits on the iron throne as his skills are best suited for the job. He was unanimously voted by our lead characters and Emmy awards. Lands and titles of westeros are fairly divided amongst the leads from where they belong and deserve. Jon goes back north of the wall to live along side Ghost and Tormund, visits winterfell often. Grey worm goes with Missandei to her family island. Cersei and Jamie live happily in Casterly Rock as they always wanted, being together. The nights watch is still there as an ancient order of glory and to punish the guilty. Varys serves both east and west. And Arya, the hero of the new world awakes after being in coma for a couple of years. It’s a huge celebration. Everyone has gathered at Winterfell like in the lord of the rings last scene.

Spoilers: Even Tyrion was deeply injured and lost his new best friend when they killed the blue dragon and ended its carnage.

Yes NK is gone but the winter is still on. Not as cold and dark, yet enough.

Last Scene:

The camera takes a journey from a raven’s(albino) eye, starting from the far east where the great war was fought moving all the way towards the far west, far beyond the wall. At the edge of the world, as west as west can go. A cave covered in permanent snow. As the raven moves inside the deep dark cave, there sits a woman facing her back towards us, with shiny long white hair having peculiar clothes. The camera slowly moves towards her front and sees her holding a baby on her lap. The camera slowly rises up towards her face, blue eyes. The End: Thanks for reading.

If?

If this story is made to a movie or series; expressions, emotions will play a bigger role rather than out of the world GCI which is also required. Plot understanding and perception is vital for all the characters while acting. Everyone must be on the same page as the director and story writer on how they visualize it. Many things cannot be written down on paper or explained verbally. It’s a matter of perception that needs to be visualized.

The Night King of the real world is Plastic. WHO? wants to fight the real Great War, for glory and future of our kids. Be vegan, grow empathy, love animals, plant a tree, save water & be less “greedy”.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/vectors/game-of-thrones-coat-of-arms-shield-1722710/#

Thank you.

-by Saz.

[helpingthingsgrow]

Smoky the War Dog

In February 1944, Smoky was found by an American soldier in an abandoned foxhole in the New Guinea jungle. She was already a young adult Yorkie (fully grown). The soldiers initially thought the small dog belonged to the Japanese, but after taking her to a nearby prisoner-of-war camp they realized she did not understand commands in Japanese or English. Another GI then sold Smoky to Corporal William A. Wynne of Cleveland, Ohio, for two Australian pounds (equal to $6.44 at that time)—the price paid to the seller so he could return to his poker game. World War II

For the next two years, Smoky back-packed through the rest of the war and accompanied Wynne on combat flights in the Pacific. She faced adverse circumstances, living in the New Guinea jungle and Rock Islands, suffering the primitive conditions of tents in equatorial heat and humidity.[4] Throughout her service, Smoky slept in Wynne's tent on a blanket made from a green felt card table cover; she shared Wynne's C-rations and an occasional can of Spam. Unlike the "official" war dogs of World War II, Smoky had access to neither veterinary medicine nor a balanced diet formulated especially for dogs.[4] In spite of this, Smoky was never ill. She even ran on coral for four months without developing any of the paw ailments that plagued some war dogs.

As described by Wynne, "Smoky Served in the South Pacific with the 5th Air Force, 26th Photo Recon Squadron [and] flew 12 air/sea rescue and photo reconnaissance missions."[5] On those flights, Smoky spent long hours dangling in a soldier's pack near machine guns used to ward off enemy fighters.[3] Smoky was credited with twelve combat missions and awarded eight battle stars.[6] She survived 150 air raids on New Guinea and made it through a typhoon at Okinawa.[4] Smoky even parachuted from 30 feet (9.1 m) in the air, out of a tree, using a parachute made just for her. Wynne credited Smoky with saving his life by warning him of incoming shells on an LST (transport ship), calling her an "angel from a foxhole." As the ship deck was booming and vibrating from anti-aircraft gunnery, Smoky guided Wynne to duck the fire that hit eight men standing next to them.

In the down time, Smoky learned numerous tricks, which she performed for the entertainment of troops with Special Services and in hospitals from Australia to Korea.[2] According to Wynne, Smoky taught him as much as he taught her, and she developed a repertoire beyond that of any dog of her day.[3] In 1944, Yank Down Under magazine named Smoky the "Champion Mascot in the Southwest Pacific Area."

Smoky's tricks enabled her to become a hero in her own right by helping engineers to build an airbase at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, a crucial airfield for Allied war planes. Early in the Luzon campaign, the Signal Corps needed to run a telegraph wire through a 70-foot-long (21 m) pipe that was 8 inches (200 mm) in diameter. Soil had sifted through the corrugated sections at the pipe joinings, filling as much as half of the pipe, giving Smoky only four inches of headway in some places. As Wynne himself told the story when he appeared on NBC-TV after World War II:

“I tied a string (tied to the wire) to Smoky's collar and ran to the other end of the culvert . . . (Smoky) made a few steps in and then ran back. `Come, Smoky,' I said sharply, and she started through again. When she was about 10 feet in, the string caught up and she looked over her shoulder as much as to say `what's holding us up there?' The string loosened from the snag and she came on again. By now the dust was rising from the shuffle of her paws as she crawled through the dirt and mold and I could no longer see her. I called and pleaded, not knowing for certain whether she was coming or not. At last, about 20 feet away, I saw two little amber eyes and heard a faint whimpering sound . . . at 15 feet away, she broke into a run. We were so happy at Smoky's success that we patted and praised her for a full five minutes.”

Smoky’s work saved approximately 250 ground crewmen from having to move around and keep operational 40 United States fighters and reconnaissance planes, while a construction detail dug up the taxiway, placing the men and the planes in danger from enemy bombings. What would have been a dangerous three-day digging task to place the wire was instead completed by this little dog in minutes.

[prosebacon63]

10 Mistakes Even Loving Pet Parents Make Way Too Often

Even the most well-intentioned pet parent makes mistakes every now and then in caring for their dog. Sometimes, we don’t even recognize a mistake for what it is! However, it’s important to know when something we’re doing (or not doing) might cause harm to furry family members. Common mistakes dog parents make often involve socialization and training, exercise, and diet.

1. You don’t do your homework before selecting a dog — Taking on the responsibility of caring for a dependent creature isn't something you should do on a whim. It's a decision that requires careful thought, planning and preparation.

Especially if you’re a first-time dog parent, you need to do some research to understand which breeds are best suited for your activity level and lifestyle. Before you decide on a dog, talk with knowledgeable shelter employees about what kind of pup best suits you, especially in terms of temperament.

Allow them to point you in a direction, and keep your brain engaged as well your heart so that you can make the best choice for both you and the dog you adopt.

2. You buy your dog from a pet store or online — When it comes to those adorable puppies being sold at your local mall, or on Craigslist, or out of the back of a truck in the grocery store parking lot, as cute as they are, and as much as you may think they need you, just say no. Don't help unethical backyard breeders and puppy mills stay in business.

If you have your heart set on purchasing a purebred pup, try to buy from a local, reputable breeder who is focused on reparative conformation. Make sure to check his or her background and references. Review the sales contract closely. If possible, it’s always best to visit a breeder's facility in person. You want to see for yourself the conditions in which your puppy was born and raised.

3. You wait too long to socialize your puppy — Socialization of puppies ideally occurs between the ages of 5 and 16 weeks when they are most open to investigating new environments and stimuli. Puppies not given a full range of socialization opportunities by about 10 weeks can develop fear of the unfamiliar.

Puppies who aren't properly socialized during their first 3 months are at dramatically increased risk for behavior problems like aggression, fear and avoidance. Sadly, dogs with problems stemming from lack of early socialization fill animal shelters and rescue facilities in every city and state across the country.

4. Your training efforts are inconsistent — In order to get the results you desire, it’s very important to be consistent in the words you use to train your dog. Repeat the same command for a particular behavior you desire, and make sure everyone in the family is following your lead.

For example, if your dog has a habit of jumping up on people, pick a one-word command like “Down” and stick with it. Don’t say “Down” some of the time, “Off” at other times, “No” now and then and “Bad Dog” when you’re truly frustrated.

Also be consistent in what you ask of your dog. If you don’t want her on the couch, be consistent about not letting her on the couch. Don’t allow her up there some of the time or even once in a while. It’s not mean to set reasonable boundaries for your dog, but it is mean to confuse her by constantly changing the rules she’s expected to live by.

5. You focus more on punishment than praise — Fortunately, most enlightened pet parents and trainers these days know that reward-based, positive reinforcement behavior training is the most effective and humane approach to training dogs. Studies show that dogs trained using punishment are no more obedient than those trained by other means, and, furthermore, they exhibit increased numbers of potentially problematic behaviors.

Successfully training your dog means setting her up for success by consistently rewarding desirable behaviors and reducing or eliminating opportunities for her to make mistakes. A good way to stay on track is to consider her mistakes your fault, not hers, and when they happen, simply reinforce your commitment to helping her succeed going forward.

6. You don’t realize your dog is bored — Most dogs have a very strong “work mentality.” Today’s dogs are unemployed because we don’t give them fun and engaging “jobs” to do. Boredom is especially a problem for dogs left alone for long periods of time. Bored dogs can develop annoying or destructive behaviors, for example, gnawing on furniture or chewing holes in carpet.

The very best hedge against boredom is lots and lots of exercise. Dogs who are well-exercised every day typically don’t get bored. My motto is “a tired dog is a good dog.” Daily walks are very important for your pet; other great activities include hiking, jogging, swimming and fetching a ball or playing Frisbee. Obedience training, nose work and interactive toys are excellent ways to keep your dog challenged and mentally sharp.

7. You miss random opportunities to shape your dog’s behavior — There are typically many moments throughout each day when you can ask your dog to do something that will enhance his obedience skills, allow you to praise and reward him, and strengthen the bond you share with him.

For example, ask him to sit before opening the door to greet a visitor. While out walking, ask him to do a sit-stay when a neighbor or another dog approaches. When you’re preparing his meals, ask him to lie down and stay either in his bed or several feet away. Be sure to generously praise him each time he complies, and offer the occasional treat as reinforcement. When you focus on finding teachable moments for your dog each day, you’ll realize how much you’ve been missing!

8. You feed your dog processed pet food — Hands down, the single most important thing you can do for your dog’s overall health and well-being is to offer a homemade or commercially available nutritionally balanced, species-appropriate, fresh food diet, served raw or gently cooked.

Try to steer clear of kibble, canned food (unless it’s human-grade), artificial ingredients, preservatives, grains, starches, carbohydrates and cheap filler ingredients such as meals, corn, wheat, etc.

9. You allow your dog to get fat — Allowing your furry companion to become overweight is one of the worst things you can do to her. Excess fat will destroy her health from the inside out and shorten her already short lifespan. Just say no to too much food, dry food, processed treats and lack of exercise, starting with the very first hour of the first day you bring her home.

Don’t join the legions of pet parents who are doing all the wrong things in the name of “love.” Check here to understand what a dog at a healthy weight looks like and how to calculate the number of calories to feed each day.

10. You don’t take care of your dog’s teeth or nails — You should brush your dog’s teeth if not every day, then several times a week at a minimum. Most pets over the age of 3 have some degree of gum disease, and the situation only gets worse with time. Not only are dental and gum problems painful, they can trigger other health problems, and they can hurt your pocketbook as well.

You should also clip your pet's nails regularly. How often depends on how fast they grow and how much time he spends on surfaces that grind them down naturally. If you can't bear to do the clipping yourself, I encourage you to make a standing appointment with a groomer or veterinarian who will do it for you. Dogs too often develop serious paw and toe problems from nails that have grown too long.

Source: https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2019/02/11/common-mistakes-dog-parents-make.aspx

[anne1066-blog]

5th February 2019

Ok so I had a weekend off.  Sometimes you need one especially if you’re spilling your guts online.

So where were we ?  I was working at Mons and frankly I was strapped for cash.  Then we sold the house finally.  The money was a relief but of course I owed a massive amount of it before it was even in my account.  My uncle helped me buy the house.  My parents had helped me actually live on 2 days a week work while affording the rent of my house and you know, eating.  Until I had worked on the other cheesemaking business in Suffolk, I wasn’t actually earning enough to keep myself going.

Now I was earning a bit from hand to mouth but after selling the house I finally had a nest egg.  And so I continued to work at Mons but knowing it wasn’t a full time job.  Obviously Christmas (the money came through in December) was lucrative enough.  But in January and February it dwindled and I began to think what else I could do.

I had a few weeks away back in Marple to house-sit because my parents were away.  It was a chance to spend a bit of time back home again which is always relaxing and to spend a bit of time with my dog again.  I mentioned before that I hated being away from Percy the dog and yet it had been nearly a year since I’d been with him and properly looking after him.  There was a discipline to walking him twice a day that I missed.  I also missed his company.  Having a dog made a huge difference to my life.  I was lonely and sad when I got him and to be honest since I had been wanting a family since I was 28 and cancelled my wedding, looking after a dog who needs you for food and company and then gives you unconditional love in return, filled a bit of that hole.

Percy is a lovely, enthusiastic labrador dog who I bought in return for hours worked at Holker Dairy when I was making St James cheese.  I had been there for 8 months and as they breed dogs as well as making cheese, I had seen a few different litters born, be absolutely gorgeous and then of course go on to their forever homes as is the way.  Nicola who bred them would be happy to see them go once they were old enough.  The sheer amount of dog poo by that stage made the magic wear off significantly despite how adorable they were.  She made them sociable by having them in the house with her own children individually.  They were partially house trained already as a result and loved children, having spent time with her son and daughter and been cuddled and loved until they went to their ultimate home.

I collected Percy at a little over the usual 10 weeks old.  Nicola had arranged for him to spend time in the house with her children so he could begin house training and be used to children.  I had friends with young kids so I definitely needed a dog who would be used to them.  I had considered a rescue dog like our much loved Ben the wonder dog who we acquired on my gap year before I left for university and who i adored from the word go.  When I took off for 2 months in Paris during said gap year I missed him more than my family! Dogs aren’t for everyone.  Some people find them too needy and attention seeking but I have always loved them and desperately wanted one in the house for as long as I could remember.  I read 101 Dalmations as a child and even had a porcelain pointer dog I called Pongo after one of the lead characters as a result.  Every time I saw I dog, I wanted to meet and stroke it. It was my ideal pet - some girls love horses, some love cats, I was always a dog person. 

My parents had both grown up with dogs.  When I was very little and we first lived with my grandma, she had a corgi called Megan.  Obviously Megan died when I was little and she decided not to get a dog again because she was less confident in how far she could walk.  Not fair on a dog really.  But we had friends who had lovely collies and maybe because of Megan, I was a dog magnet as a child.  I was taught not to just rush in and hug them which obviously was my childhood instinct but to respect their boundaries, let them sniff my hand and accept me and then stroke them tentatively and read how they reacted as to how much I lavished affection on them.

Ben the wonder dog was a prickly rescue dog.  He was exceptionally loving - we took him away with us on what was meant to be a reconnaissance trip because he flung himself at us, throwing himself into our arms and licking our ears.  He then threw up on me in the car.  I forgave him.  He also howled into the night for days.  We had to buy him sedatives in the end just to get him used to the house and to sleeping.  Somehow I slept through it  - despite my hopes, perhaps not a natural mum! My mother and sister were not so lucky.  He was a lovely dog but had his boundaries.  You could hug him only so far and then he made it plain he had had enough.  Not so Percy.  This was a dog that couldn’t get enough of his human companions.  Even now, he barks imperiously when you don’t wake up early enough.  He doesn’t need a walk - he just wants his company again.  When we lived together just the 3 of us, he would sleep on my bed or at the end of my bed.  When I return to Marple which is his home now and for the foreseeable future, the minute I sit in an armchair he asks to get onto my lap, something he hasn’t been the right size for since he was about 6 months old, but then sits looking happy, smug and promptly falls fast asleep.  He’s my doggy hot water bottle in cold weather and I love it.

[notjustadreamer-blog]

The story starts on a Tuesday evening in August. My girlfriend and I receive a text message from my dad asking if we want to go out drinking with him, my cousin, and some friends (don’t worry, it’s not weird. It happens all the time. Drinking with my dad is how we bond). We go out and we’re having a good time, hop a few bars and when everything was closed because it’s Tuesday and everything closes early on Tuesday’s, we call a cab to go back to my dad’s house (don’t drink and drive, kids).

First off, we stop in a liquor store and for some unknown reason send in my already drunk idiot of a cousin, Bob. Who took far too long on too hot of a day to pick out the beer he always gets and some hard cider for us. I ended up having to hunt him and our liquor down and drag him out of there (after he paid of course)

So once that fiasco gets done with and we end up at my dad’s neighbor’s house. Also not weird, his neighbor is like an uncle to me and a brother to my dad.

The night started off like any other drunk time with Dad and friends. We’re happily drinking and chatting and all around having a good time when a cat comes running up. She’s cute and friendly but skinny, looks sick, and possibly pregnant. Then I see that her tail is crooked… and that’s when I realize that I know this cat. This is my ex’s cat, Gizmo. Her tail has been like that since I first met her. She’s only a few years old and last I knew, my ex still had her. So how did she get so, well sickly?

Curious, and a little upset, I ask why she was outside. Turns out my dickhead of an ex-boyfriend moved and left her behind to starve and die. I was furious at him but I knew I had to do something to right his wrongs.

My girlfriend and I talked about it for a while. We lived in an apartment and already had one (or two) animals over the limit that the apartment set. But we couldn’t just let her die. So we took her home for the night and made an appointment the next day with a low-cost clinic in the neighborhood with what little money we had left. We were worried that she wasn’t eating or drinking much especially since she looked to be pregnant.

Well, we took her to the vet and the vet that said she thinks she has something called Feline Infectious Peritonitis, or FIP, which is (as she told us) a highly contagious and deadly disease and she is sure that she is not pregnant and far too sick to be pregnant.

On the off chance that she may not have FIP, we were sent away with antibiotics and special food for her.

It was difficult getting her to take the antibiotics but we managed and she seemed to be getting better! We were happy but didn’t dare expose her to our cats until she got a clean bill of health.

Well during this time we received a letter from our apartment’s new managers stating that only 2 pets were allowed per apartment and that the fine for having another animal in the apartment – even for a short period of time – was 1,000 dollars. Yup. 1,000 dollars.

We had 5 pets. My dog and Maine-coon mix that was already on the lease. My roommate’s emotional support animal, which was another cat. A different cat that we had found on the side of the road as a kitten and taken in. And the possibly pregnant cat that we now have to take care of.

3,000 dollars was a lot. Even more, if she ended up being pregnant.

We hated what we had to do, but we decided to take her to a no-kill shelter because we couldn’t financially take care of her. So we went around to different shelters to see which one had an opening.  Keep in mind we had already grown rather attached to our drunken rescue and renamed her Zira, because she looked like the rough and tough lioness from Lion King II and had lived in an awful situation after being ostracized.

The only one that said they had an opening took one look at her and told us the same thing that vet did – she’s too sick to be pregnant, she’s going to die.

We were both devastated. We took her home because the shelter wouldn’t touch her and locked her in our bathroom safely away from our other cats. We called the vet back, thinking that we would be taking her in to be put down.

The day came and we took her down to the car, I was keeping it together but my girlfriend was not. Krystal had gotten far too attached to this little cat, but I knew in the back of my mind that she might not make it and kept that barrier there. Normally to make her smile I would gently “boop” her nose. Well, this time, I booped her nose in hope of a smile and I got a lip quiver then full on tears. Looking back is kind of funny but at the time I felt awful and just pulled her in close.

We arrive at the vet’s office, Krystal is still crying her eyes out and now I’m starting to tear up, too. We go back and we see a different vet this time. We explain everything to her and she doesn’t look too sure.

“She seems too active to be that sick,” she said – the first one to say anything positive about this experience at all. “I’m going to do that test for you to make sure,” she said, telling us not to worry about the cost of it as her vet tech took Zira out of the crate and into a back room.

We sat there for about 10 minutes, but it felt like 10 hours. Holding our breath, trying to keep it together.  We had a glimmer of hope but didn’t want to get our hopes too high.

Then, in comes our vet and her vet tech, both grinning.

“She’s perfectly healthy! Just skinny and very pregnant,” they told us.

That’s when I started crying – tears of relief as Krystal and I hugged and cheered. Until we realized that we still couldn’t keep her and that she was going to have babies very soon. As in the vet told us we had maybe a week if not sooner before babies. We panicked a bit but the happiness that this little kitty and her babies stood a chance outshined any worry we had. So off we went contacting shelters to see if any could help.

Well, some miracle work happened as we called around and found Heaven Can Wait – A foster group. They said that if we could house her, they would pay for all her and the babies’ medical expenses, food, litter, everything. And Krystal’s parents offered to house her for us until we moved in (the new manager’s at the apartment were jacking the prices up WAY too high for us to live there anymore).  So 3 days later we rushed to move into Krystal’s parents with our fur babies and a very pregnant Zira.

It was late in August when she had 7 tiny little baby kittens. 2 of them needed some help at first but all of them turned out to be healthy and are all now in homes of their own…

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So yeah, that’s how on a hot August night, we accidentally, drunkenly, saved 8 lives.

  Of course, we ended up keeping one of them (her name is Sarabi, if you were wondering). And Krystal’s parents kept Zira.

  How I Drunkenly Saved 8 Lives The story starts on a Tuesday evening in August. My girlfriend and I receive a text message from my dad asking if we want to go out drinking with him, my cousin, and some friends (don't worry, it's not weird.

[tlcrescuepa]

New Post has been published on To Love a Canine Rescue

New Post has been published on https://tlcrescuepa.com/week-end-update-tis-the-season/

Week-End Update: Tis The Season

The holiday season is now in full force and the pups are starting to get in the spirit, excited that the first of 3 chances to get their pic taken with Santa to help TLC will be next Saturday at Canine Creature Comforts! We know they’ll be asking the big guy to help them find a furever home in time for the holidays and we’re, of course, planning to do everything in our power to make that possible.

Speaking of holiday wishes, our girl Demetria’s dreams came true this week. Also adopted were Ada, Annie, Arleen, Eeny, Maddie, Porkie, Tinkerbell & Xavier!

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Ada

Demetria

Annie

Maddie

Arleen

Tinkerbell

Xavier

  We have some pupdates to share:

Remi FKA Athena

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“Remi (aka Athena) is doing great.  I love her so very much.  Thank you for saving her for me!!!!!”

  Ricky FKA Valentino (Guess’s pup)

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“Things are going so great with our boy Ricky. He really is the perfect fit for our family. He loves EVERYONE and every dog he meets! He’s always happy and his tail constantly wags. He loves his weekly puppy play dates and his almost daily walk or jog. He has been neutered and has grown to a healthy 70 lbs. He truly is a joy and loved by all who meet him. He has become the neighborhood greeter as people walk by our fenced in yard. He will surely not be our guard dog 🙂  Thanks for checking in and I hope to bring him to an event one of these days to show him off to you guys!”

  Parker FKA Ichabod

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“We changed Ichabod’s name to Parker, and yes, he is settling in. He’s very smart and a quick learner, but he’s also very good at being a puppy and testing his boundaries. He’s seen the vet once already and will go back in a couple of weeks for follow-ups. He’s got a bunch of different parasites, but the vet said that’s not surprising considering the conditions down in SC.  

Parker has a large fenced in property and he’s slowing starting to explore more and more of it. And we have a park right next door for daily walks.  

We would like to have our 8 year old daughter take some training classes with Parker, once he’s healthy enough to be in a crowd.”

[editor’s note: one of the reasons we encourage adopters to take their dog to their vet, & bring a fecal sample, within 2 weeks of adoption is because, even though we do have a de-worming protocol, a pup may need a few rounds of treatment before they’re completely clear. We’re glad to hear that Parker’s making good progress with his treatment]

  Dublin FKA Rizzo

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“We have decided to change Rizzo’s name to Dublin, and took her to the vet at the beginning of this week.  All of the microchip information is correct. If we have any training issues I’ll let you know or will call the trainers. The only current issue we have is that she is fighting off a UTI, but she will hopefully be over it in the next few days. “

  June FKA Ariel

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“We are super thankful she has gone from being a hw+, in tact pup who wouldn’t bark or play with toys to today when she is hw-, is spayed, gets regular exercise, is comfortable enough to bark (but only when she decides she really needs to), and loves to play with her humans and toys. She has come a long way and she is doing great. Thanks to everyone at TLC for everything throughout her treatment and spay and for ultimately making our family complete!  

June FKA Ariel’s girl Aryah FKA Rajah

June had 5 puppies that came up with her so if anyone knows how they are doing it would be cool to find out! ”

[editor’s note: We sent an email out to the adopters of the rest of the litter to see if they’d like to keep in touch and already got a pic from Arya FKA Rajah]

  Tito FKA Thor (father to Anna Lee’s litter)

Tito FKA Thor

Captioned as “Saturdays with mom!! #dogsnamedtito”  Tito enjoyed his puppacino at a local Starbucks

        Chichi

Chichi

“He’s doing great. He wants to play all the time lol. He’s constantly cracking me up!”

        Daisy FKA Carrie

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“Daisy (fka Carrie) had her third agility trial last month, and there was a professional photographer there, he caught some great action shots! As you can see, she is doing well and is happy as could be. Agility has turned into her thing, she has even earned her first official title. While she is every bit the sweetheart she always was the timid, quiet little girl is no more. She is so confident and really came out of her shell. It’s so amazing to see the transformation and how happy she is. I am so glad TLC Rescue brought us together, she is such an amazing pup!”

We’re already starting to receive pics of alumni ready for the holidays! Send us your pics to share!

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Susie Q seasons greetings

Taco and Holley seasons greetings

[tlcrescuepa]

New Post has been published on To Love a Canine Rescue

New Post has been published on https://tlcrescuepa.com/week-end-update-the-dogs-days-of-summer/

Week-End Update: The Dogs Days Of Summer

We’re well into the dog days of Summer now and the heat is sapping everyone’s energy, which means the pups are enjoying a lot of nap time dreaming of their happily ever afters. For those of you following the saga of Susie Q, she’s also doing a bit of napping while she recuperates from her emergency surgery but she’s happily being nursed back to health by her loving foster family and is recovering nicely.

Some of our pups were lucky enough to take the next step on their life’s journey and celebrate their very own “gotcha” days with their furever families.  Jo’s new family noticed the huge grin on her face and that she had the sweet & friendly temperament to match and knew she had to be part of their family. Also adopted this week were: Benny, Champ, Chloe, Cole, Jacob, Jana, Jianna (now Minnie), Opal, Pickles & Rosco!

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Benny

Champ

Chloe

Cole

Jacob

Jana

Jianna now Minnie

Opal

Pickles

Rosco

Jo

  We also received some nice updates to share with you:

Buddy FKA Tiko

Buddy FKA Tiko

“We can’t believe it’s been 2 years since we adopted Buddy (fka Tiko). We adore his goofy self!”

        River FKA Corrie & Luna FKA Maddie

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“It’s been almost 2 years since I adopted River (fka Corrie) & 1.5 years since I adopted Luna (fka Maddie) and both have since gained a (human) brother!  We welcomed Oliver in April, and despite my concerns with jealousy, especially with Luna since she’s a momma’s girl, they have adapted so well.  River especially is a big fan and has taken on the roll of protector. 

Thank you again for both of them, I couldn’t imagine my family without them. “

Hannah

Hannah

“Hanna is doing so well. Thank you for what you do. She saved me.”

          Daisy

“Daisy is settling in rather well. She loves her yard, and becoming very attached to everyone.  Slight problems with my cats, but I’m looking for a trainer to hopefully help. She went to the vet on Monday, everything looks good so far.”

Leonard aka Leo

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“Hi there!  

He is THE best dog ever. Doing SO well with potty training! Only 1 accident since we got him Saturday. He has met so many members of our family and is taking it like a champ!  

We did decide to keep Leonard as his “official” name but we are calling him Leo!  

We are working on training him and have a vet appointment for Monday! We also got pet insurance! Totally spoiled already!  

Here are a few pictures from his first weekend with us!!!!  

Thank so much for helping us get to our baby!”

  Tuck FKA Davidson

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“Tuck has been doing amazing.  He has gone from the 14lb pup that we adopted in January to a 61lb (as of Wednesday last week) pup who still considers himself small enough to sit on our laps.  😊  He will be taking his first long road trip with us to the Outter Banks in just 2 weeks for a family vacation!  I have attached some recent photos that you can share.  “ 

  Rachel

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“Rachel is doing wonderful and has quickly fit into our family.  We couldn’t have asked for a better companion.  Wanted to share that we had her DNA profile done and the biggest surprise she is almost 25% Russell terrier!  She also has hound,curly coated lab and chow.  Sharing some photos. Have a great day.”

  Ruger FKA Ruben

Ruger FKA Ruben

“Ruger is doing so great his first week with us. The vet said he is in perfect health and was very well behaved. He’s making lots of new doggie friends, and loves to sniff anyone new. He hangs out, cuddles, and sleeps through the night. We almost can’t believe how well behaved he is. Thank you to everyone that has loved him along the way, we are so grateful!”

      Ellie

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“Ellie is doing very well! (attached see photos)

My wife & I are very happy with Ellie! She doesn’t bark, jump on our furniture, grab food off the table nor does she ever mess in our home – she is well behaved!

When she came home to us she was only 36lbs, but with plenty of good high quality dog food, (4Health) & lots of love & care Ellie is now 46lbs plus.”

  Peaches FKA Jana

“Ms Peaches is a ball of fire in the back yard lol rests well and eats good too so far Abby has taught her how to climb stairs already just today and we are taking group leash walks Thank you for the reminders. All good things to get done quickly is my goal. All the best from us all”

  Marley FKA Jazz

“Jazz ( we changed her name to Marley) is doing great!!! She is a real sweet heart.  We are in love!

  Willow FKA Willa (aka Winnie)

Willow FKA Willa (aka Winnie)

“We have decided to call her Willow and she seems to respond well to it.  She is a dream!  So loving and such a good dog.  We have our first vet appointment on Thursday.   We are so lucky to have found each other.”

        Lexi FKA Gina

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“I am just sending an update on Lexi (formerly Gina).  She has settled into our lives perfectly.  She is a happy little girl with a calm, sweet disposition and also a very fast learner.  Our old girl Bella and her have become inseparable.  Lexi was crated at night for the first 4 weeks but she now sleeps on a dog bed next to Bella in our room.  She is completely trust worthy when left alone also. 

I hired a dog behaviorist (Cherisse from The Zen Dog Den in Lititz, PA) to help her overcome her fear of the car and I am happy to say we accomplished that in addition to perfecting her walking manners. She is a great student!  She loves fetching a ball and will drop it at your feet on command.  She is a perfect dog inside the home but she still has fears outside when she hears strange noises.  She gets scared and runs to our porch, which is her safe spot.  Although each day she gets more & more confident.  She loves dog toys and doesn’t chew them at all.  Her favorite pastime is chasing butterflies!

We also did a DNA test on her and the results are in – 50% Lab and the other 50% is equally Collie, Sheltie, Golden Retriever and Great Dane!  That is a crazy mix for a 48 lb. dog.  I would love to reach out to the family that adopted her sister, Tina, if they are willing, to see how she is doing.  You can give them my email if they are interested.  The Great Dane in her DNA might explain why her sister, Tina was so much taller, with long legs, than Lexi.  I think Lexi really missed Tina and quickly attached herself to Bella instead.

I have attached some pictures of her with Bella and also our “grand dog” Gunner, who comes to visit a lot.

We are so fortunate to have Lexi join our family!  Thank you to your organization for rescuing all the dogs that need help.”

  Bentley FKA Weston

Bentley FKA Weston

“Weston who we adopted last year is fabulous.  We have changed his name to Bentley Charles Weston.

He’s grown to be a big boy. 70 lbs and full on energy. “

        Oscar FKA Phil

Oscar FKA Phil

“Everything is going great with Oscar.  He thinks he’s a kid and has to be right in there with the kids when they are playing or swimming. He loves his brother Otis so much, they are the best of friends!”

        Bailey

“Bailey is doing great! She is such a fast learner! We are going to the vet this friday afternoon. She had a couple accidents her first day and we were getting to know each other but she is my buddy now. Only 1 accident since the first day and it happened while I was napping so no biggie. She is great on and off the leash and obeys “sit” and “come” very well. She helps me put on my socks and shoes in the morning and now rings the doggy bells on the door when she wants to go outside. She is EXTREMELY playful and fun with other dogs and people. She is awesome!”

  Abita FKA Tanya

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“Our past year with Abita has been full of so much joy. I’m sure every dog parent thinks their dog is ‘the best’, and we certainly do as well. She is as ‘conversational’ as ever, and she continuously surprises us with a new howl/bark/whine/yip sound for some particular experience. Did you know that a dog could have a sound specific to playing with waves at the beach? Neither did we 🙂

Abita has been through three rounds of training classes, and is now a certified ACA Good Citizen! We of course are very proud dog parents. She will also become a ‘big sister’ when she gets a human baby sister come November 1st-ish. She has done quite well with the young babies of a few of our friends, and we are planning out how to make the transition for her as positive as possible. (We will definitely be reaching our for advice if/when we run into any issues!)

Here are a few recent pictures of her – she has grown quite a bit since we got her! A lean 55 lb now – looking back she was much smaller when we got her back at 43lb!

Hope all is well at TLC, and thanks again for putting Abita into our lives!”