Dad's a little slow

Yeah, so... Dad just now figured out that his digital camera has different settings for alternative shots (i.e., panoramic, close-up, in motion, etc.). So he fiddled around with them for a while.




What. An. Idiot.

Pugs in the Park 2008

Hello everydoggy! I officially have pictures from the Pugs in the Park in Denver, after a brief scare that Dad had lost the camera. I think Mom would have killed him had that been true. Just sayin'.

So, without further ado:

The setup was a big circle of tents and booths and whatnot, with a bunch of pugs and their humans milling around in the middle, but many more on the edge where it was cool and shady.


BTW, Mom was one number away from winning a raffle prize. ONE NUMBER!! Grrrrr....

I got to see Melissa, who runs Pugnotes! She is Emmitt's human. Unfortunately, Emmitt could not be there, and neither could Daisy and Oscar. Their humans, Jason and Leah were supposed to be there, and maybe they were, but there were so many pugs and people that Dad and Mom couldn't see them. Oh well, maybe next time!

There were tons of pugs available to either foster or rescue. Which made sense, since it was sponsored by Colorado Pug Rescue.



There was one girl fawn pug there that Dad fell in love with and wanted to bring home to foster. Mom, however, is the sensible one. She was really pretty, though.


There was a costume contest, which I did not participate in because I arrived late (thanks a lot, Mom and Dad). But there were plenty of other participants!



I could have won-- I have a killer Halloween costume this year. What's that? You want pictures of it? Well, I've got some, and YOU CAN'T SEE THEM YET!! Bwwwaaaaahahahahahaa!!! I'm holding off until Mom and Dad get theirs in, because our whole family is a themed ensemble. Yeah, it's that cool.

I got to meet lots of new friends



And check out the latest fashions.



Everyone I met was oohing and aahing over my coat-- they all thought it was the most gorgeous color they'd ever seen, that they hadn't seen a pug like that before, and all kinds of other warm fuzzy stuff. I just smiled and posed, because... well, they're right.

Oh, and Dad feels like he finally has closure on the snipping saga. As many people as complimented me on my color, more than a few of them also asked about my breeding status. When Dad explained that I was snipped recently, every single one of them complimented him on that fact and said that my quality of life would be so much better and that there were plenty of pugs who didn't have homes (lots of evidence present for that one!), and that he definitely made the right choice. I haven't seen Dad strut that much in a while, I can tell you that.

All in all, it was a very wonderful day, and filled with tons of excitement. I slept the whole way home, I can tell you that!

This season's lineup

OK, so the answers to the shows that I am psyched about seeing should be up in the right-hand column now. I asked for top 5, and I put in there the top 5 that are airing in the Fall, plus a few others that start up at midseason that I can't wait to see.

(1a). Battlestar Galactica
Because it's so frakkin' awesome. Time magazine named Season 2 The Best Thing on Television. The quote they led the article with was this: "Most of you think this entry has got to be a joke. The rest of you have actually watched the show." I think that says it all, don't you? Add in there a cliffhanger ending and this being the last season, and I'm there.

1. The Office
This is without a doubt the funniest show on television. Ricky Gervais (who wrote the original BBC show and who serves as exec producer on this version; you may remember him from the recent "Ghost Town") is a comic genius, and if you missed "Extras" on HBO, you missed a treasure. Too many American shows beat a concept into the ground with no real new development of concept or intriguing material, jumping the shark long before they actually go off-air (Simpsons, anyone?). The end of last season opened up so many promising new avenues that I am super-thrilled for this one coming up and optimistic about the show's long-term future.

(2a). Dollhouse
Honestly, this one gets on purely through strength of cast/crew. I am a Whedon-ite: I will watch him paint his bathroom puce while reciting the dictionary. The fact that it is on FOX, and that he has had to reshoot the pilot, is giving me nasty deja vu, but I'm a Browncoat and where Joss goes I follow.

(2b). Big Love
This is one of the most thought-provoking shows on TV, and it's on HBO so they don't have to pull punches like the major networks. Dad has had a long love affair with premium cable shows (i.e., Sopranos, Deadwood, Rome, etc.), so this fits pretty well. Plus, the concept is so intriguing and the way it has played out is so engrossing that I simply have to watch.

2. My name is Earl
Hilarious. Jason Lee has always been one of Dad's favorite actors, from his cult movie days (i.e., "Chasing Amy") on down to now. I don't know if he's a method actor or not, but I have rarely seen an actor "become the character" so much as he does in this show. Besides that, the supporting cast is fantastic. Mom and Dad both love this one.

3. Law and Order: SVU
Dad has a huge crush on Mariska Hargitay. Plus it's a police procedural. 'Nuff said.

4. How I Met Your Mother
Another Mom/Dad joint venture, this one reminds them a lot of their group of friends in college. Plus, it has NPH. If I have to explain who that is, I weep for you.

5. Scrubs
Actually, this is less of a "psyched for" vote and more of a "I liked the show on NBC so I'll watch it on ABC even though I am afraid they will make it go out with a collossal whimper or change the tone" vote. Still, the middle seasons (3, 4, 5) are some of the best comedy on TV, ever.

This is mostly my and Dad's list. Mom also likes Dancing with the Stars and Hell's Kitchen, plus they both really like the occasional edu-tainment show, like Mythbusters or Man vs. Wild. So everyone grab your popcorn, put off those important to-do items, and sit down for some quality programming. Or use DVR. Mom and Dad would probably go fetal and die without that.

Award for me!

Hey-o everydoggy! Both Winston and Clementine's mom and CoCo gave me the Kick Ass Blogger Award! Hooray for me!


And I do kick ass, as these pictures prove:



That is, at least when the opponent is a stuffie hedgehog. No more honkin' for you, Mister!

I will go ahead and pass it on to Khyra, Gus and Indy, Harry Pugalicious, Bajas, and Aunt Sandy, who are collectively the most frequent commentators on my blog who have not yet received the award. I'm like Poley and Rukia's mom: I LOVE getting comments, so I like passing on the love to my dawgs and peeps who do that kind of stuff.

Speaking of dawgs and peeps, if you like my blog don't forget to become a follower by using the links in the right-hand column appropriately labelled "My Dawgs and Peeps". C'mon-- be a follower! Everyone else is doing it!

In other news, on Sunday I get to go to the Pugs in the Park for Colorado Pug Rescue! Word has it that Emmitt and his mom Melissa will be there, as will Daisy and Oscar and their pawrents Jason and Leah! I AM SO FLIPPIN' EXCITED!!! Don't worry, Dad has learned his lesson from the Freaky Weekend incident, and will have a functional camera that will take pictures no matter what. Yay!


Finally, I am so pumped about the fall lineup of shows beginning now! I like contests, even ones that are just for bragging rights, so here's one for y'all:

Can you guess the top 5 shows that Mom and Dad are addicted to? I'll put a little blurb in the right-hand column with the answers at the end of today.

Birthday Weekend Update, part 3

OK, so it's come to this: the presents themselves, over a week after they were actually opened. It was a great way to start the day, though, since it began with... WRAPPING PAPER!!


Big Brother and I each gave Dad a card with our very own paw-prints




and we also each gave him a magnet for the cold box, which was shockingly devoid of anything doggy:



You might need to click on the pictures to enlarge them, but the captions are hilarious!

Dad is a nerd, and Mom indulges him, so he also got two Lord of the Rings chew-toys... I mean, action figures...



Can you believe that he didn't have this already? Sheesh, I have REALLY got to step up the cuteness factor:


Dad also got Broncos stuff for his car:


Mom kinda felt bad about the infamous Loofa Incident, and she was tired of him smelling up the house from not having anything to wash with anymore, so she got him a loofa in Broncos colors. To which I say, we'll see how long that lasts.


Finally, he also got a therapist mug, since he's working toward his Masters in counseling.


Tons of fantastic prezzies! I was just happy with the destruction. Wait, let's see it again:


Aaaaahh.... That's better.

Happy birthday to Dad! Tomorrow I'll get back to the regular pictures of me and all that jazz.

Birthday Weekend Update, part 2

Iiiiiiiit's Broncos time!

Mom and Dad left early that morning so they could eat brunch at their aunt's house with cousins in Denver. I was stuck here at home with Big Brother, BUT-- and this is big-- they let me roam free outside the cage all day long. Wow! They gave me a rawhide to chew, dumped the toy box so I could have my pick-- oh man. It was pawesome! Their friends came over to check on us a few times during the day, which was great, because I love seeing new people!

At the end of it all, Dad showed me some pictures he took, so I'll share them with you all!

This was the view from the main gate of Invesco field. I love the way those horses are so majestic, jumping over the water. Maybe I can meet a horse someday...


Umm... not this one, though.


Mom and Dad got their picture taken by the Jumbovision, which has... what's that? How in the world did a horse get up there?


And the view of the field from where they were sitting:


If that looks high up, well, you're right:


Woah. Gotta look away before I get vertigo.

Dad was like a kid in a candy store explaining it to me; I shudder to think what he was like when he was really there. He got really excited about a bunch of people's names around the stadium, something about grew up watching them... I don't know, I was chewing on something at the time.


Also, apparently they like to put horses on the field. I think they should have put a pug out there, personally. But I think the horse has a better chance of scoring than I would-- just a little bit bigger.



Actually, nevermind-- those players don't look all that big and tough.


I could take 'em. One guy I would NOT want to mess with is this guy:


He threw several people out of the stadium, Dad says. So would you want to get into a fight with a dude who is so strong and cold-blooded he can toss people to their deaths from all that way up? I thought not.

Dad got pretty excited about the pregame festivities, especially the cheerleaders


And the drum corps, called Stampede


They also brought out this big blanket, which I can only assume is for catching the people Mr. Alcohol Control throws out of the stadium.


Speaking of things I would not want to mess with, check this out!




Woah. That is one seriously cool team. They don't mess around-- they bring a fire-breathing horse to play their games. Go Broncos!

Sorry, Harry Pugalicious, Dad didn't get any pictures of Reggie Bush-- he was too busy screaming his lungs out during the game. Apparently it was a really close one!

Long story... well, long... is that Mom and Dad had a great time (for a human, I guess), while I got to have a great time being a good boy at home and chewing on tons of toys. Yipee!

Tomorrow: the presents!

Birthday Weekend Update, part 1

Hello everyone! I promised I would provide pictures and updates for the weekend, so here goes!

On Friday Mom and Dad left me behind and went to see Avenue Q at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. They LOVED it I guess, because they came in the door singing the songs. Obviously they couldn't take any pictures while they were there-- Dad said there was a camera-Nazi-lady at the door basically frisking everyone. But I got pictures of the program! Warning to everyone who might have kids (or bosses) in the room-- I'll be clean, but I can't speak for the show itself!




These are all from the DCPA program, and to hear Dad tell of it, they're not lying-- It's certainly NOT your grandmother's puppet show!

The rest of the pictures are from the promotional material for the national show. Here is the cast of characters:


And here is Stephanie D'Abruzzo with Lucy T. Slut and Kate Monster:


That's right-- she apparently had two furry creatures surgically grafted to her hands, and acts during the show as both characters. What kind of freak show is this?

By the way, Dad likes to watch the TV show Scrubs a lot, and I swear I recognize that lady from an episode where everyone in the hospital sings like they're in a musical.

Here is John Tartaglia with Nicky and Princeton. Seriously, Dad says it's pretty neat to see them make foam rubber do emotions and pretty much anything else they want.


This is Trekkie Monster. Remember Cookie Monster and how he was always so obsessed with cookies? Well, Trekkie Monster is obsessed with... well, something a little more adult.


These are the Bad Idea Bears, which are one of the funniest parts of the show according to Dad. They show up and always provide comic relief along with the worst advice imaginable. If you aren't squeamish, enlarge the picture to read some of their snippets.


And what's that? Are those puppets in bed? Why? I'll just let that one speak for itself, since Dad would only say he'll tell me when I'm older.


One thing is for sure-- my humans are wierd. I mean, it's great they like the arts and support local and all, but this show seems kinda bizarre. Oh well. I guess it can't be too bad, since it won the Tony for best Musical in 2004. It even beat out Wicked! Maybe it's a biped thing.

In any case, Mom and Dad had a great time. Tomorrow: the Bronco game!