Daily Archives: March 5, 2011

12 posts

Stray Tracks of the Week (2/28-3/4/11)

*This is also posted on my personal blog, which features pictures of a hairy, mostly naked man this week.*

I listen to music constantly, and I’m constantly acquiring new things. So much, in fact, that serious evaluation on an album-by-album basis is impossible. To ensure my musical hoarding doesn’t amount to too much waste, I’ve elected to begin picking out choice tracks from my catch and reviewing them, here. I’m hoping to make this a weekly thing, every Thursday or Friday Saturday night, mods willin’.

*** This week saw the arrival of a few packages from Mimaroglu and Boomkat that I’d been expecting for some time, as well as the usual bumper crop of digital music. I’ve got an old track from 13 & God, new stuff from NWG (aka Niggas With Guitars), and a new compilation entry from Subeena.***

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13 & God – Von Gradleute (Hrvatski Remix) (from Men of Station / Soft Atlas on Anticon)

While researching a Keith Fullerton Whitman / Hrvatski split casette I invested in a few weeks ago, I came upon a happy discovery – a set of remixes that Whitman’s “breakcore” guise Hrvatski had created for the great Anticon supergroup 13 & God (a collaboration between “art rappers” Themselves and German art pop group The Notwist) – and I just had to have it. 13 & God was centrally important to my entry into indie music 6 or 7 years ago, when a friend of mine included their perfect pop song “Men Of Station” on a mixtape he sent me, and I fell in love. The prospect of Whitman (my favorite experimental composer) having his way with that song and others was too much to resist.

As a general rule, remixes (and album-length compendiums of them in particular) are a grab bag, as you’ll usually have so many different artists pulling the music in so many idiosyncratic directions that at best you’ll get a few remarkable edits among a number of inessential curiosities. The single format that the Men of Station / Soft Atlas release takes is a lot easier to handle, and it helps that it’s backloaded with the two Hrvatski remixes, one for each song. “Men of Station” was my favorite 13 & God effort, and much to my relief Whitman’s edit does not disappoint. The song’s central melodic motifs are wisely kept intact, and even augmented by swirling harp samples, as well as reverb and delay that are sorely lacking in the original, and Whitman’s frenetic jungle drum programming fits in better than it has any right to. I’m sort of perplexed it took me this long to figure out that this remix was out there – I can only imagine how ecstatic I would have been hearing this when I was first listening to 13 & God and Hrvatski.

Stream “Von Gradleute” on Soundcloud.

(I acquired “Men Of Station / Soft Atlas” on vinyl because I’m dumb like that, and if you’re dumb too KFW probably has a few more copies over at Mimaroglu, but normal people can find it on iTunes, along with the 13 & God full length. Their follow-up LP is due in the next few months, so that’s exciting.)

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Niggas With Guitars – Milky White (from Ethnic Frenzy on Digitalis Vinyl)

This was the other half of my 13 & God Mimaroglu shipment, one that I picked up on a whim based on chatter that I had heard from associate tape collectors I respected. I have no idea who these people are or why they felt like “Niggas With Guitars” would be a good name for their outfit, but their music is definitely interesting. The vinyl was so new when I got it that there was no indication of which side was which, so my naming convention might be way off.

“Milky White” (if that is indeed the name of the song) is either the second or fifth track on the 6-track album, and like all of NWG’s music that I’ve heard, it is quite disarming. It could, one imagines, fit nicely into some odder corner of the “chillwave” scene, steeped as it is in a certain sort of nostalgia – the lilting, gentle synth melodies and horn-like drones call to mind old nature film soundtracks or meditation music ripped from casette (fittingly, NWG kicked around the fringe music casette scene before landing this endorsement from the sterling Digitalis label). But more than anything else, it’s strongly reminiscent of the interlude music that Boards of Canada would insert between its more propulsive songs on their old albums. Lovely, if slight, music. Now if they could just do something about that name…

Listen to “Milky White” on Soundcloud.

(I purchased “Ethnic Frenzy” as soon as it hit Mimaroglu, and your best bet might be finding it there [it’s up there at the top] – if Discogs is to be believed, there are only 200 copies for the world, with the first run of 75 sold out at source. Better hurry!)

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Subeena – Miscalculate (from Super Volume 1 on Super Recordings)

I’ve waited for Italian producer Subeena to go “next level” popularity-wise for awhile now and it hasn’t happened, much to my chagrin. Of all the dubstep(ish) techno-leaning freshman producers to come out of the UK in the last few years, Subeena was by far my favorite, as her love of early Warp records sounds was something that I shared, and she spent some time in the Planet Mu roster, which I’ve always looked to for more forward-thinking trends in electronic music. Popularity’s kind of a relative thing in electronic circles but I’ve always felt like she didn’t get the sort of recognition her talent called for.

“Miscalculate”, which just popped up on her friend Raffertie’s Super Recordings compilation, doesn’t sound like it’s going to break that trend. Overall it takes after some of the more recent work she’s done for her own Opit label, which finds Subeena contributing vocals, and bringing a more rave-ish sensibility to the music. But I feel like this track in particular is a little too reminiscent of “Spectrum”, the b-side from her “Picture” single. Perhaps it’s just the fact that the track feels in general a little too much like a b-side (not that anyone should expect A-material to show up on label compilations, necessarily). The track is still fun enough, but in comparison to Subeena’s best work it doesn’t quite measure.

Saturday Scary Movie Open Thread

Hi gang and welcome to our second Saturday night scary movie screening. Tonight we are watching Francis Ford Coppola’s classic Dementia 13. It involves axe murdering, so I think you will like it. It also contains the line, “… you can tell she was an America girl, raised on promises.” Which makes both Tom Petty and Jonathan Demme more interesting. Note: the film is taken from the Internet Archive and all rights are reserved for the original copyright owners.

Important Message: We are moving servers again this weekend, probably Sunday night. We’ll do our best to keep the downtime to a minimum, but depending on your ISP you might have some issues. I’m letting you guys know now so you can check Twitter and Facebook for our status.

Another important message. This Sunday we will be having another writers work shop to brainstorm ideas and help each other develop stories. It will be a great chance to get feedback or come up with post ideas. The post will go up in the late afternoon or early evening depending on when The Grand Inquisitor decides to get out of bed.

Have a great night.

Is this the world’s best boxer?

Meet Nonito Donaire. He’s currently the WBO and WBC bantamweight world champion and is a rare fighter who’s won titles in three different weight classes. He may also be the greatest pound-for-pound fighter alive right now and you should root for him.

First of all, his name is fun to say (it’s pronounced doe-nye-ree). Also, he’s an American. Well, actually he was born in the Philippines but moved to the Bay Area as a kid and has lived there ever since. I suggest we can claim him as our own. After all, I can’t even remember the last great American to fight in the 118-pound weight class. (Yeah, seriously. This dude is 118 pounds and has a serious knockout punch.)

Here’s his KO of Fernando Montiel two weeks ago. I love it. Montiel looks like he’s about to wake up, Inception-style.

According to Ring Magazine, Donaire is now the third best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He’s behind only Pacquiao and Mayweather. I know, I thought Mayweather retired years ago, too. (Shrug.)

It now looks like the Filipino Flash (not the greatest nickname ever, but it’ll do) will fight Anselmo Moreno, the WBA bantweight champ sometime in May on HBO. The consensus is that this would be a very good fight.

Here’s a great video of Flash Donaire toying with former IBF Flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan.

So if you’re a casual fan, keep an eye on Flash Donaire. You can follow him on Twitter here.

Saturday Evening Open Thread

Good evening Crasstalk. Hope you had a nice Saturday and have something fun planned for tonight.

Have a great night.

Important Message: We are moving servers again this weekend, probably Sunday night. We’ll do our best to keep the downtime to a minimum, but depending on your ISP you might have some issues. I’m letting you guys know now so you can check Twitter and Facebook for our status.

Another important message. This Sunday we will be having another writers work shop to brainstorm ideas and help each other develop stories. It will be a great chance to get feedback or come up with post ideas. The post will go up in the late afternoon or early evening depending on when The Grand Inquisitor decides to get out of bed.

Found Footage Saturday (whoops)- The Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Show

Due to my personally bringing Crasstalk down last week. That’s right, I did it. Me. Muahahahahahaha!

Ahem.

Where was I?

Right, we were down last Friday, so my planned post about this didn’t go up then. Anyway, we’re still in the realm of cable access with a staple of Los Angeles community access television for years (it ended in 2008). It will be one of the weirdest things you’ve ever seen. Opinions are divided about whether or not it’s genuine or some sort of very dedicated performance art. The man behind it, David Nkrumah Liebe Unger Hart, is quite a story unto himself and a well known L.A. personality who may or may not be pretty nuts. There are terrible puppets, awful songs, women going in long, untranslated speeches in German and, of course, Jesus. I present… the Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Show!

There are many clips on YouTube, so I’ll just post a couple and you can find more for yourselves. I would give more commentary, but really, they just speak for themselves.


No One Here Gets Out Alive – Part One

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The most awkward and painful discussions health professionals have is the conversation about end of life care.  Working in Geriatrics, I often have this conversation with family members or even friends of patients who are not able to make their own decisions.  Even in the best of circumstances, when the patient’s wishes are generally known, it is a difficult call to make.  In the absence of any idea of what that person may have wanted, it can be heart-wrenching.  In America, which is an especially ‘death denying’ culture, most people don’t want to think about, never mind plan for, their own death.  But without clear Advanced Directives and and a Health Care Proxy you can trust, you risk having your final days be everything you never wanted – including a protracted, bitter battle amongst family members, a la Terri Schiavo.

The first thing you must do is admit that you will die.  And it may not happen the way you would like or when you expect.  You may become incapacitated for a period of time before death and be unable to direct your care or make decisions.  This may happen from an accident or a heart attack or stroke.  You may also develop dementia or another neurological condition that impairs your cognition.  Any of these situations may happen at any time, so even if you think you are too young to think about this – you’re not.

Secondly, you must find a Health Care Proxy.  A Health Care Proxy (HCP) is a person you appoint to make decisions about your care on your behalf.  It is, in most cases, extremely simple to do this.  Your doctor or hospital will have forms or you can find the forms on the internet. You simply fill out the forms, have them signed and witnessed and give copies to your HCP and your alternate, your health care provider, attorney and/or any one else who will be available to provide these forms to your medical providers if you become ill.  There are also online registries, which for a fee, will archive your HCP paperwork or Living Will. Generally speaking, without an HCP, most hospitals and facilities will default decision making to your next of kin.  However, that can easily get sticky and complicated should there be disagreement among family members or if long term relationships are not recognized by the laws of the state in which you become ill and seek care. It is not unheard of for facilities to seek to have a legal guardian appointed, should the family situation become unstable.  Then you may end up with a stranger making decisions for you.

I will note here as well, that you do not have to appoint your legal next of kin as HCP.  If you are not appointing your spouse, I would recommend that you have that discussion with them and involve an attorney in drawing up the papers.

Choosing an HCP should be done with care.  You want to pick someone who will follow your wishes.  It is important to note that your HCP does not have to abide by your wishes.  The HCP you choose should understand and accept your wishes regarding end of life care and promise to act accordingly – even if your medical providers or other family/friends do not agree and pressure them to act otherwise.  Also make sure you are using the appropriate paperwork for the state in which you reside or frequent. State requirements for HCP and Advanced Directives do vary.  If you travel frequently, a trip to an estate attorney may be in order to obtain a durable power of attorney for healthcare decisions that will be iron clad wherever you roam.

Which brings us to Advanced Directives.  I will go into great detail about all the decisions you will need to make in my next post.  As a general overview, Advanced Directives are your written wishes about what kind of care you would want if you were unable to make your own decisions.  The more specific, the better.  Simply saying ‘no heroic measures’ is way too open to interpretation.  In my next post, I will review the options and share with you my own Advanced Directives document.

The problem with Advanced Directives, however, is that they do not carry the force of law.  It is simply a statement that you make regarding your philosophy of care for yourself.  I have unfortunately seen clearly written and properly notarized Advanced Directives ignored, because the HCP or legal guardian had different ideas.  But don’t let that stop you from writing them!  The more information that is out there about what you want, the better.  And all the more reason to pick your HCP with care and discuss your wishes with them

You don’t need an attorney to fill out paperwork for an HCP, however if your situation is complicated (e.g., not appointing your spouse, same sex couple in most states, long term unmarried couples) you may want to consult an estate attorney.  It’s also a good idea to appoint someone to be responsible for your finances as well and draw up a will while you’re there.

My next post will explore the decisions you need to make – DNRs, feeding tubes, etc.  Also, please let me know if there is any other information  you would like to know.

Cartoon from jakejacob.blogspot.com.

 

UPDATE:  I fixed the linkies.

 

‘Goodbye, Mr. Chips’ – A 72 Year Old Movie Review

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‘Goodbye, Mr. Chips’ (1939) Robert Donat, Greer Garson
D. Sam Wood

The Oscars ended last Sunday and in doing so, brought the month of Smarch to a close. Smarch is that 31 day month (with lousy weather) between February and March. While February is famous for St. Groundhog’s Day, when thousands of lovers emerge from their winter burrows to see if they are going to have 6 more weeks of sex; and March is famous for killing Caesar, Smarch is famous for 31 days of Oscar on Turner Classic Movies.

This event is greeted with much rejoicing in the Baconcat household. Both Mr. and Mrs. Baconcat are rabid fans of the classics. Every Smarch the DVR quickly fills up with oft-quoted and much beloved favorites like Casablanca, The African Queen and The Lion in Winter.

BACONCATS!
Mr. and Mrs. Baconcat take a break from solving hilarious crimes to eat 35 eggs.

Most of these films count as a fond trip down memory lane for us, but just occasionally there will appear a classic (Oscar worthy no less!) in the list that we haven’t seen. These moments of newness are precious things. They are special one-time only events like the birth of a first child or a Male-Male-Female threesome.

This year TCM’s crop produced a doozie for us: Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) based on the novel by James Hilton. Not only was this a film neither of us had seen, but it was a bona-fide Oscar powerhouse, not one of those ‘Oscar’ films TCM tends to barf up as space filler with dubious Oscar claims like a solitary  nomination for best film editing (I’m looking at you On The Beach). No, here was a film that was nominated for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Actress in a Leading role, and a film that won Robert Donat the Best Actor statue over a field that included Jimmy Stewart (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), Sir Laurence Olivier (Wuthering Heights), Mickey Rooney (Babes in Arms) and Clark Gable (Gone With The Motherfucking Wind). To top it off it had the delicious and fun Greer Garson as second billing.

The plot is pretty simple: Via flashbacks it tells the story of Mr. Chipping’s (‘Chips’) life as a teacher at the prestigious English Brookfield Institute. From his first arrival at age 22 to his death, the movie chronicles his struggles, loves and losses within the walls of the venerable institution. Over the years he teaches the kids, who grow up and their kids come to Brookfield and so on for several generations. It was for this portraying of a Mr. Chips in the spring, summer and autumn of his life that won Robert Donat the academy award. And there is where my problem with the film began.

In the film Donat portrays Chips at four periods of his life: 22, mid 40’s, mid 60’s and mid 80’s. He does fine with Chips as a young man, and also with Chips at 40 (since he was roughly the same age) but Donat’s idea of acting old is putting on a mark twain mustache, mussing his hair and shuffling around muttering the same phrases over and over again in a high-pitched codger voice. He’s one flatulence joke away from being an Eddie Murphy character. Unfortunately, most of the movie is from this period.

Chips are called 'Crisps' in England, except for this dude.
Robert Donat at the exact moment he realized a mustache would make him look older.

Ahoy!  Spoilers be ahead matey.

As I watched, I kept thinking ‘When is Greer Garson gonna show up’? The answer is not until a third of the way through the film (and a third of the way up a mountaintop). She then proceeds to marry Mr. Chips, make him trim his mustache and teaches him that children will like him more (and come over to his house unescorted) if he bribes them with cake. Then, she dies during childbirth. It was at this point that I turned to Mrs. Baconcat and asked:

“When did she have time to get pregnant?”
“Perhaps it was the one time they kissed?” She replied. “That’s how Victorians got pregnant you know.”

So that’s it for Greer Garson. The excellent and underused Paul Heinreid has more screen time than her. But this fits a disturbing theme I noticed about the movie: this is a sausage fest. There’s a creepily high level of man on boy spanking and caning. There are also heartfelt, tender handshakes and prolonged eye-gazing amongst the men. Plus lots of butch men in uniforms.

What unkempt hair! How old he is!
Mark Twain once famously said: “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco watching ‘Goodbye, Mr. Chips’.

The rest of the film is basically Chips learning that though his wife was fun and all, he really, really loves the boys of the school and he is meant to instruct them. And then the movie ends, except it doesn’t. Like a successive level of baddies in a Bond film that must be killed before you can get to the final credits, Chips goes through level after level of events that would qualify for most filmgoers as end-worthy: First, he retires. Then he comes back to be headmaster for the duration of WWI. Then he retires again in 1918. Then he wakes up in 1933 and has a talk with a young student named Colley (the 4th such Colley kid to come through the halls of Brookfield), and then, FINALLY, he dies in bed.

But even his death isn’t the end. First, we have the death itself which ends with him fading out whilst mumbling a very NAMBLA-esque ramble about how he had ‘thousands and thousands of boys’, and then if that wasn’t enough, we get to experience his last fleeting memory which is literally a parade of young boys capped off by young master Colley in more eyeliner than a Bollywood star pulling off a ‘cheesecake’ turn and bidding Mr. Chips adieu.

Even this was not the end, because they remade this film three more times. I think in an alternate universe I am still watching this film.

I kinda want the hat.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips! Don’t worry, Colley is in good hands

-Baconcat

Crasstalk Classic: How to Survive a Hangover

Good morning/afternoon. Last night we revisited the most awesome post in Crasstalk history. I suspect many of you played along with the home version of The Crasstalk Drinking Game (patent pending,) so we are giving you the next logical step in Classic Crasstalk. This is the key to your overindulgent salvation. Follow it step by step and you will win at alcohol abuse. Enjoy.

 

Well, it is that time of year again. Even those of us who don’t regularly indulge usually toss a couple back, and for those of us who do it can often end like this:

No matter how good our intentions, New Year’s Eve is an invitation to taunt the liquor gods, and that means paying the price the next day. In the spirit of kindness, I am posting my time honored method of easing the hangover pain so that the first day of your new year won’t be utterly painful.

I know that there are many so called “natural” and vitamin remedies that are supposed to help a hangover, but they are all bullshit. Hippies don’t know shit about drinking, put down the crystal and let a professional help you.

For this method you will need the following:

36 oz. of water

2 anti-inflammatory tablets of your choice (I like Alleve).

2 pieces of bread

2 grams of decent weed

One comfy pillow and blanket

A cable TV hookup or a Netflix account

Phone number to a good pizza place or really good leftovers that are easy to reheat

2 cans of Coca-Cola (absolutely no substitutions on this)

The Night Before

It goes without saying that you can avoid this by not drinking excessively in the first place, but that is for little  girls and  it is a long time until the MLK weekend, so fuck it. I can also tell you to stick to one type of liquor, but you inevitably will mix bourbon with champagne and will end up doing a shot of absinthe that someone brought back from a holiday in Europe. Again, fuck it. You should drink some water before you go to bed, but if given the chance to get some nasty from whomever you wind up with, skip the water and go for the sweet loving. Rest easy knowing that you will survive the consequences of your foolish behavior. Again …

The Day of Battle

Step #1: Try not to sleep more than a couple hours later than your usually waking time because that makes your body confused and you’ve already pissed it off enough. If you are sleep deprived you can nap later.

Step #2: Shower, or at least wash your face. You smell awful.

Step #3: Drink one of the Cokes. It should be ice cold. Drink it slow.

Step #4: After 15 minutes, toast the bread and eat it (use butter if your stomach isn’t too upset). Drink 12 oz. of water with it.

Step #5: Wait about 20 minutes. Smoke some weed. If you smoke cigarettes you should have one at this point. I know, I know, you are going to quit, but today is not the day. Leave that shit for next week.

Step #6: Now is the time to take a tylenol or whatever. Your stomach will appreciate that you waited.

Step #7: Watch a couple of hours of TV while snuggled in your blankey on the couch. I recommend Law and Order, Futurama, the Twilight Zone, or Star Trek. All of these will probably be on marathons tomorrow or you can get them on Netflix. Avoid porn, horror movies (this is not the time to finally see Hostel), anything really sad (alcohol is a depressant). If you must watch sports you are going to have to choke down a couple of cans of mid-priced domestic beer to make watching your favorite team blow another great season palatable.

Step #8: Take a nice nap. Try to keep it under an hour so you won’t fuck up your sleep schedule and turn into a vampire.

Step #9: Take the second anti-inflammatory with 12 more oz. of water. Return to the couch for more movies (maybe there is something good on Lifetime).

Step #10: Drink the last Coke and smoke some more weed. At this point you should be ok to eat some real food. Try cheese pizza, chicken soup, or pasta with a red sauce. Avoid carbonara, salad, Indian food, anything too spicy. Don’t make your stomach even angrier.

Step #11: Return to the couch and slowly drink 12 more oz. of water. See what Benson and Stabler are up to. Check in on CT and make fun of everyone else for a having a hangover.

Step #12: By this point you should be able to go on with your day, but if you can stay on the couch do it. Avoid phone calls from family, annoying internet arguments, or anything else unpleasant. This is the first day of the New Year, you have 364 more days to be irritated.

Step #13: Profit! You win at drinking. Now don’t do that again!!!

Have a wonderful New Year!

Why Are Immortals Always So Miserable?

Immortality, which seems like it might be something of a blessing, is often portrayed in books and movies as an abject curse.

 

 

 

 

From Tuck Everlasting‘s accidentally immortal family, unhappily traipsing through time…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

to Wild Seed‘s crazily intense power-play between two African immortals: Doro, a shape-shifting, seemingly evil male and Anyanwu, the quietly wise woman who tragically loves him through the eons…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

to Oscar Wilde’s brilliant cautionary classic of unchecked immortal hubris that leads to self-destruction…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

to the spellbinding tale of a gorgeous immortal couple implausibly tainted by decidedly mortal problems…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

to the story of sword-wielding immortals who must duel each other to the death, because only one of them can be immortal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The exception to the “miserable immortals” rule is this book.

 

 

 


 

 

It is a joyous, sexy romp through the ages with deposed King Alobar and his lady love, Kudra, master of dance and perfumes.  Together (along with the goat-god Pan) they travel the world in search of the guardian of a flask containing a mysterious beet-extract elixir which holds the secret to their continued everlasting life.

Tom Robbins has crafted the only story of immortality that I’ve ever encountered that has a delightful end (and the beginning and middle are equally wonderful). These immortals laugh, play, and make highly erotic, gymnastic, deeply passionate love.

To  me, that sounds like a much better way to spend eternity.

 

Here are a couple ditties about immortality:

“Immortality” by Pearl Jam

 

“Eternal Life” by Jeff Buckley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU97rdGYbBI&feature=related

Following are links for those interested in the books and movies mentioned above:

Tuck Everlasting

Wild Seed

The Picture of Dorian Gray (book review)

The Fountain

The Highlander

Jitterbug Perfume

The Spirit of Animals

“May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind quickly be freed from their pain. May those frightened cease to be afraid, and may those bound be free. May the powerless find power, and may people befriend all life. May those of all species who find themselves lost, the young, the aged, the unprotected, be guarded by beneficent celestials, and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.”

—Buddhist Prayer for Peace

 

I received an email from a dear friend this week informing me that six weeks ago, she had to have her precious 9-year-old Silky terrier – a joyful little girl named named Mattie – euthanized, due to multiple health problems. Although it had been years since I’d seen Mattie, I wept for half an hour straight. They were tears that hadn’t come that forcefully since I had to have my rescued Schnauzer Lucky euthanized at the age of 2, also due to multiple, unresolvable health problems, last August.

 

When I finally thought I had composed myself enough to call my friend Bobbie, I found that I was reduced to tears again at the sound of her voice. Then she cried, as she recounted the excruciatingly difficult journey of losing her beloved and devoted pet child. Through the tears and commiserating, I came to an insight that has stayed with me: the only reason I can think of that precious animals should have such short lifetimes is so that we may be able to love more of them: to provide uniquely loving homes for the animals who are meant to be our companions. In my case, I have a passion for supporting animal rescue, since so many are unwanted, but no matter where an animal comes from, the important thing is that he or she is adored and cared for throughout whatever time it has on this earth.

 

So I invite each of you who are present or past pet-parents to join with me in a timeless prayer for the spirit of animals, in memory of all beloved animals who are no longer physically present with us. Rest in peace, precious Mattie (12/20/01-1/10/11).

 

“Hear our humble prayer, o God, for our friends the animals who are suffering; for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry…. We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity, and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion and gentle hands and kindly words. Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals and so to share the blessings of the merciful.”

– Albert Schweitzer


(pic of Mattie courtesy my friend Bobbie’s Facebook page)