Great haircut....

Great haircut...., originally uploaded by Star Cat.

I do the color, Sandy does the cutting. One of the best cuts I've ever received! It looks good messed up, looks good brushed. This is the hair I want for Ireland in November because I don't want to worry about styling products/items when I'm over there.

And we're marching to Georgia...

And we're marching to Georgia..., originally uploaded by Star Cat.

This year I have no REM concerts to attend...but I do have this remastered edition of Reckoning to buy-you take what you can get.

I will leave you with Pavement's song, Unseen Power of the Picket Fence. My friends from Georgia will appreciate this:

Unseen Power of the Picket Fence - Pavement

There's some bands I'd like to name-check
And one of them is R.E.M.
Classic songs with a long history
Southern boys just like you and me
R.E.M.

Flashback to 1983
"Chronic Town" was their first EP
Later on came "Reckoning"
Finster's art...
Titles to match "So. Central Rain"
"(Don't Go Back To) Rockville,"
"Harborcoat"
"Pretty Persuasion,"
You're born to be a "Camera"
"Time After Time"'s my least favorite song
"Time After Time" was my least favorite song

The singer, he had long hair
And the drummer, he knew restraint
And the bassman, he had all the right moves
And that guitar player was no saint

So let's go way back to the ancient times
When there were no fifty states
And on a hill, there stands Sherman
Sherman and his mates...

And they're marching through Georgia
(They're marching through Georgia)
They're marching through Georgia
(G-G-G-G-Georgia)
They're marching through Georgia
(They're marching through Georgia)
They're marching through Georgia
(G-G-G-G-Georgia)

For all you REM and Georgia freaks out there, you can download this song at

www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2009/06/25/rem-reckoning-reissue/

Another puppy mill shut down!

Another puppy mill shut down!, originally uploaded by Star Cat.

YAY!!!!!!!!

More than 200 dogs have a new "leash" on life thanks to the diligent efforts of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and The Humane Society of the United States, who came together to rescue the animals from horrific conditions at a Lehigh County puppy mill.

"These animals were subjected to years of constant confinement and denied loving human care and socialization. The Humane Society of the United States is grateful to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for enforcing the commonwealth's Dog Law and coming to the aid of man's best friend," said Sarah Speed, Pennsylvania state director for The HSUS.

The HSUS was called in by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement to assist with this case.

The Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement investigated the Almost Heaven kennels, and took permanent custody of all of the dogs due to the owner's failure to appeal his recent license delisting.

Custody of the animals will be transferred to The HSUS once the dogs leave the property. The HSUS is providing animal handling assistance and overseeing sheltering and transport of the rescued animals. Much-needed sheltering supplies were provided by PetSmart Charities®.

When rescuers arrived at Almost Heaven they found a disturbing scene. The dogs, mainly small breeds and designer mixes, were being housed in a variety of small pens, wire crates and kennels throughout the property.

Responders found typical puppy mill conditions; many of the dogs were suffering from skin and eye infections as well as other medical ailments. It is likely that many of these animals had never known life outside their cramped enclosures.

Rescuers are working to remove all of the animals and transport them to a nearby emergency shelter set up by The HSUS. Once at the shelter the dogs will be checked by a team of veterinarians and given any necessary immediate medical care. The HSUS and local volunteers will care for the animals while they recover at their temporary home.

The dogs will soon be transported to rescue groups and humane societies throughout the region, where they will be made available for adoption.

This operation is made possible in part from funding provided to The HSUS by the Kenneth and Lillian Wilde Estate, who created the Wilde Puppy Mill Task Force to rescue animals from abusive puppy mills.

The emergency shelter is located at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg. Representatives from The HSUS and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture will be available for interview at the emergency shelter after all of the dogs have been transported.

Please think of One Eyed Jack

Please think of One Eyed Jack, originally uploaded by Star Cat.

Our little shelter friend, One Eyed Jack, is going into kidney failure (he has had kidney issues his entire life)....they are worn out and letting him down. Oh...Jack. He is just not himself and it is so very sad how our bodies can let us down.

One Eyed Jack enjoys his life...every second of it. Feel better Jack...I want you to have more seconds of fun, sweet boy.

MaryAnn ~ rest in peace, little girl ~ 5-14-09

MaryAnn ~ rest in peace, little girl ~ 5-14-09, originally uploaded by Star Cat.

MaryAnn ~ rest in peace, little girl ~ 5-14-09
Bast
(William rose Benet)

She had green eyes, that excellent seer,
And little peaks to either ear.
She sat there, and I sat here.

She spoke of Egypt, and a white
Temple, against enormous night.

She smiled with clicking teeth and said
That the dead were never dead;

Said old emperors hung like bats
In barns at night, or ran like rats -
But empresses came back as cats!

Face Met Curb

Face Met Curb, originally uploaded by Star Cat.

Face Met Curb
I had a little accident today. I was walking during lunch, walked out of the bank and BAM. I tripped over my own feet and **SLAM** my face hit the curb. I kinda split my lip and got sidewalk rash on my palms. Goodlord, I had sneakers on! I was bleeding a bit...but thank goodness noone saw me do it! I walked back to work and said I had to go home and ice up da lip. No need for collagen now! And thank god...all the teeth still intact! That's the first thing I checked. Goodlord.

Oh...I love this news story...

Oh...I love this news story..., originally uploaded by Star Cat.

Walk

, originally uploaded by Star Cat.

To get to the McAllister cemetery and African American cemetery, we had to go through an underpass...it was dark, spooky and right up my alley. As I'm walking through it... all I can think of is the following movies:

Cloverfield (subway walk)
Rec + (because that's just a good zombie move)
Independence Day (when Vivaca Fox is walking thru the Lincoln Tunnel and saves her dog (oh, and her son)

I also thought of the following books:

Swan Swan
The Stand (Stephen King stole directly from Swan Song)

Yeah...all I think about is zombie attacks. What?--say like guy in Role Models.

Who else can combine history and horror? Um, me! But wait...I think that may be ironic.

Oh..and I love this photo. That's Duane to the far right..so cool!

Fort Hunter Barn

Fort Hunter Barn, originally uploaded by Star Cat.

Duane and I went to a lecture last night at the Fort Hunter Barn. It was twilight and the light was just amazing. The lecture? Lincoln's visits to Harrisburg and the plot to kill him in Baltimore as told by the journals of Charles Rawn. Who is Charles Rawn? A Harrisburg attorney whose history is fascinating! I wish the lecturer would have just concentrated on Charles Rawn's legal career. Charles C. Rawn was one of two lawyers hired by Blacks and sympathetic whites to defend those accused of being fugitive slaves during the days of the federal Fugitive Slave Act. Rawn and Mordecai McKinney frequently rushed to the defense of hapless men, women and children brought before the federal slave commissioner, Richard McAllister, whose office was in Harrisburg. All too often, though, their efforts were in vain, as the federal law stifled the rights of Blacks accused of being fugitives, and Commissioner McAllister, sympathetic to slaveholders, remanded most of the fugitives back to slavery.

Attorney Rawn is buried in Harrisburg Cemetery so this weekend I'm going to pay my respects.

I seriously, I have so many photos of this barn...I promise I'll stop. (after this Saturday as Duane and I attend this: Journey to a Hidden African American Cemetery
Explore a significant historic site on an intimate tour blending history, music and poetry. The program focuses on the African Americans associated with Fort Hunter since the 1700s. The tour will include a 1 mile walk (some uneven forest land).
When: Saturday, April 18, 2 pm-4 pm
Where: Centennial Barn
Admission: Free

One last barn photo! (because it will probably be a pretty day.

The Shelter is Having a Party!

The Shelter is Having a Party!, originally uploaded by Star Cat.

We are celebrating all of our Senior Shelter Friends! On Sunday, April 19th, the Helen O. Krause Animal Foundation is having a Celebration Open House from 1pm to 4pm. Join us to pay tribute to our furry elders! There will be fun, tours and cake! Who doesn't like cake!
Our shelter is located in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. If you live in the South Central Pennsylvania area and would like to come, contact me and I will give you directions! The shelter is located by Northern High School.
www.helenkrause.org

Above that's Dante, Mary Ann (who is 20 this year!) and Klinger.

Judas? I think he needs forgiven.

Judas? I think he needs forgiven., originally uploaded by Star Cat.

If you get offended easily when questioning Christianity...please don't read this:

First of all..here is a Good Friday joke for you. (I know, bad...I know.)

Was Judas the Fall Guy? No, Lee Majors was.

Secondly...Duane, that is the bread we are eating for dinner tonight.

I'm a Christian, but I always like to question the ideals of religion. (I consider myself 1/4 Buddhist) I have always felt very badly for Judas. I mean, you needed Judas! Jesus knew it. I know the arguments about free will and all that. So what if Judas said, you know what? He's my bud, I'm not gonna turn him in. Does God rally up another fallguy? This was always part of the plan, free will had nothing to do with it. They were all in on it. So to speak.

Any way you look at it, the subject of Judas, whether you believe that Jesus was the Son of God or not, is a fascinating subject.

E.J. Dionne Jr. ["A New Twist on Judas," op- ed, April 14] said, "It can be argued that by betraying Jesus, Judas set salvation in motion." He also said that reconsidering Judas "might be consistent with the [Easter] season's message of salvation and redemption." Those ideas may be in keeping with our culture's "feel-good" approach to life, but they hardly are in tune with the Bible.

From the UK Independent...which is a GREAT article by the way:

Scholars have, however, been questioning his role, and asking why the Church for centuries laid such stress on it. That role has actually always been ambiguous, if only because the Gospels insist that Jesus knew that one of his apostles would betray him, "that the scriptures might be fulfilled" . If so, then Judas may be seen almost as a scapegoat, the man forced by destiny to play this part. One may ask why it was necessary that one of the apostles should betray him since Christ's arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection could, one assume, have taken place without any act of treachery. Was Judas, one wonders, necessary to the authors of the Gospels principally for dramatic effect?

and since I've been listening to it on my IPod all day, Judas and Jesus excerpt form The Last Supper, Jesus Christ Superstar:

Judas
Cut out the dramatics! You know very well who -
Jesus
Why don't you go do it?
Judas
You want me to do it!
Jesus
Hurry they are waiting
Judas
If you knew why I do it . . .
Jesus
I don't care why you do it!
Judas
To think I admired you
For now I despise you
Jesus
You liar - you Judas
Judas
You wanted me to do it!
What if I just stayed here
And ruined your ambition?
Christ you deserve it!

Jesus
Hurry you fool, hurry and go,
Save me your speeches
I don't want to know - Go! Go!

Spring Awaits

This is my first blog post ever! I've finally succumbed. I'm still playing around...so for your pleasure, a blooming spring tree! Wheee!