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Seal was the second kittie to join my family. When I was in thrid grade my friend Cara’s cat had two kittens. Seal was so funny, she was this little gray thing and lo and behold, she wouldn’t walk right! She would drag her back legs around like she was a seal (thus the name). The Dr’s said nothing was wrong with her, and she eventually grew out of it…but it was pretty silly.
Seal was for sure a one of a kind. When she was a kitten she was tiny…but boy did she grow, and I mean grow big and fat. She got tons of excercise…she was just very rotund! I would have LOVED to squeeze her belly but for most of her life she really didn’t like to be pet, she got along fine with the other cats and dog but just wasn’t so into humans. We respected her space, and she enjoyed it. She lived a wonderfully happy life. When she got a little older she finally came around, she decided that maybe we were not so bad after all. She let us pet her and in the end, she even became a lap cat.
Seal passed on when she was around 10 years old. She was a good cat, spunky and hearty…she will be in my memory forever. Love you Seal!!
Seal Cat
I have been perusing the internet all day today while I pretend to work…thank god it is close to 4…which means it is close to 5…and then I can get the heck out of here!! It really sucks having NOTHING to do while you sit at your desk for 8 hours a day. You want to look like you are doing something though because most of your company has been laid off and you dont want to be next…though no one in the office is really doing much of anything so it doesntreally matter…but still, you dont want to be singled out. Anyway…so I was catching up on some reading of one of my favorite’s, Jack Grey. The man is hilarious. I laugh out loud every time I read one of his blogs, which probably doesnt contribute much to my “I’m working, really” disguise. So, I just wanted to share this story…its funny…if you don’t laugh you really do suck and shouldn’t be reading my blog anyway. Shoo.
Posted: 06:35 PM ET
Jack Gray
AC360° Associate Producer
I didn’t think anything could possibly make the pilot who brought that engineless jetliner in for a perfect landing on the Hudson River any cooler. That was until I learned his name is Chesley B. Sullenberger III.
Unless you’re Roland Burris and you’ve spent the past 24 hours focused on recording your Senate office voicemail and wondering where all those reporters went, you know that Captain Sullenberger – “Sully” to his friends and the citizens of South Boston – is our newest national hero. A genuine national hero who deserves his time in the limelight. Unlike some people. Joe the Plumber, I’m looking in your direction.
Anyway, Captain Sullenberger is the real deal. The Clint Eastwood of commercial aviation. I picture him up in the cockpit of that US Airways plane yesterday, realizing he’s lost both engines. He takes a drag off his Marlboro and growls, “not on my watch.”
He’s the kind of pilot who I imagine, while checking the sinking aircraft for any remaining passengers, stops to wrestle a crocodile.
The kind of pilot who I imagine climbs out onto the wing, reaches into that engine turbine, pulls out that goose carcass, looks it in the eye and says “I’ll see you in Hell.”
In fact I was so impressed by the way he brought that plane down that I might even splurge on US Airways for my next trip. You see, I tend to fly on those discount airlines that go in-and-out of business; the ones where the pilots have names like Captain Skippy and the safety videos are in Slovakian.
Meanwhile, amidst this drama in the skies, the peaceful transition of power is fast approaching. President-elect Obama is busy polishing his Inaugural Address and President Bush is busy filling his suitcase with those little bottles of White House shampoo.
President Bush, as you know, made his farewell address to the nation last night. He stuck mostly to the theme of keeping American safe. And, in a nod to the day’s events in New York, he urged citizens not to be deterred from flying. How did he put it? Oh yes, “we must not let the geese win.”
Frankly, this whole thing just screams Dick Cheney. His two biggest priorities are national security and killing birds.
In fact, the next time I take a flight I want Chesley B. Sullenberger III behind the controls and Cheney strapped to the nose of the plane with his elephant gun.
And a whiskey before takeoff.
just received this via email…perfect timing, i needed a good laugh. enjoy.
This is why women should not take men shopping against their will.
After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunately, my wife is like most women – she loved to browse.
Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Wal-Mart:
Dear Mrs. Samsel,
Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Samsel are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.
1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people’s carts when they weren’t looking.
2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in House wares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women’s restroom.
4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, ‘Code 3 in House wares. Get on it right away.’
5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put
a bag of M&M’s on layaway.
6. August 14: Moved a ‘CAUTION – WET FLOOR’ sign to a carpeted area.
7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he’d invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.
8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, ‘Why can’t you people just leave me alone?’
9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the anti-depressants were.
11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the ‘Mission Impossible’ theme.
12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his ‘Madonna look’ by using different sizes of funnels.
13. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled ‘PICK ME! PICK ME!’
14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed ‘OH NO! IT’S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!’
And last, but not least………
15.. October 23 : Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, ‘Hey! There’s no toilet paper in here!’
i often have this thought…being born and raised in beautiful soutwestern colorado…i miss it…all this concrete, it sucks…of course i’m gaining the experience of my life…but sometimes i just miss home, nature, and that surge of feelings you get there…these photos are not of my home, but of a place i’ve long considered making my home…kanab, utah. enjoy, they are beautiful.
photo by Terry Alderman
photo by Terry Alderman
photo by Terry Alderman
photo by Terry Alderman
photo by Terry Alderman
What an amazing event yesterday, the inauguration of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America. I don’t think I can say anything to improve upon his words and the visuals from yesterday, so here you go.
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers … our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
“Let it be told to the future world … that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it).”
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
I don’t get it…why would you actually want to look like an animal? What is the attraction of having some huge fox coat covering your entire body that it took 20 little bodies to make? I find it one of the most unattractive and utterly disgusting styles out there. Yes I am super opinionated (I know you are all saying, me? opinionated? NEVER 
) and of course, I am an animal rights activist, so I may be naturally inclined to think it is ugly. I think fur belongs where it came from. Are we that jealous of our fellow creatures that we feel we must become them? Or is it that unstoppable human mentality to dominate the world. I killed you so I must display my power, display my brutality. I mean come on, its not like we are in the dark ages anymore. People dont walk around with the decapitated heads of the kings they killed on a staff anymore, why participate in this charade of wearing another creatures body? The thing that almost makes it worse is that I see fur I immediately think “bitch” in my head, I glare at the person till I feel like they must be melting from the inside out from my ferocity, but now I never really know…is it real or not? Designers have become very good at imitating fur. I guess it is good for the animals in the long run but I still just dont get it. I do not want something that was once alive covering my body. Its just gross. BTW…I hate to be gruesome…but if you wear fur…take a look below and at this, maybe it’ll change your mind. This is nothing in the vast universe of brutality that exists to please these idiotic bastards who drive the fur trade.
u know who u r who will like this…
said girl to boy “so i was like, i mean come on, i must of filled an entire jug of milk by now!”
said boy to girl “was that before of after the chicken?”
Know anyone with FIV+ cats? Tuba could be the best friend!! Please pass along to those who may be interested! Tuba has been selected as KittyKind’s extra special cat of the month. Lets get him adopted!!
Beautiful Tuba!!
well, another year has come and gone! amazing, i’m not quite sure where the time goes, but all we can do is make the best of it. i’ve had a lovely holiday season this year, though i missed my family. none of us were able to travel this year. its hard, some are in california, some in colorado, and me and my brother are here in new york. but, we made the best of it. barely having to work over a two week time span was super, i relaxed, i painted, i read, i cleaned, i went to KittyKind a lot, and i hung out with wonderful friends. here are some super pics of the last two weeks of 2008.
it was christmas for the kitties too!! they loved their gifts
bucky, apollo, emma, picaso, mika
picaso in his new bed
bucky and emma
mika
bucky and picaso
the best gift ever...a onesie!!
the smart way to save on heating bills
new years eve, DC's, Hoboken, NJ
vinny and marissa
vinny, bucky, and me
sal
me, vinny, noelle
vinny and bucky
john
funny? i guess, you can see my tonsels!!
john and jay
