We really enjoy the NBC TV series called Grimm, so we've been reading some of the novels that use the characters. I (Rob) read one of them and really enjoyed it. Recently I read "The Chopping Block" by horror writer "John Passarella.
WHAT IS GRIMM ABOUT?
Detective Nick Burkhardt (actor David Giuntoli)
"Grimm" is a drama series inspired by the classic Grimm Brothers' Fairy
Tales. After Portland, Oregon homicide detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli)
discovers he's descended from a long ancestry
of "Grimms," not just chroniclers of fairy tales but hunters charged
with protecting humanity from supernatural creatures.
Soon Nick discovers that he can see the creatures, "wesen," who look
merely human to most people, and he must bear the responsibility of his
ancestors and deal with the mythology of the Brothers Grimm. As
Burkhardt tries to cope with the newfound dangers of his life without
alarming his fiancee and his partner, he becomes more knowledgeable
about the ancient rivalry -- with help from a peaceable clockmaker. (Of course, since Detective Burkhardt is incredibly handsome, it makes the show more appealing to us!)
(To learn more about the series: http://www.nbc.com/grimm)
HOW WAS THE BOOK: "The Chopping Block"? - After enjoying the first book "The Icy Touch" I gave this one a try. When I read the summary, I knew it would be a lot more violent than the TV show and the first novel, but writer John Passarella was overly graphic about chopping people up and writing about it in intricate detail - in three different chapters. UGH. The book is about a group of "Wesen" who decide to feast on people. YUCK. As someone who hates horror movies, this book was okay. I had to skip through some of the gruesome chapters. So, if you can deal with that, read it. The characterizations are true to the television show and it was a good story- just too graphically violent for my taste! - Rob
James Taylor sings, “In my mind, I’m going
to Carolina. Can’t you see the sunshine, can’t you feel the moon shine?”
Well, the town council of Woodland, North Carolina has made a decision
that could reasonably make us wonder if their love of a different
moonshine has impaired how they see the sunshine.
Apparently, the good people of Woodland, North Carolina have seen fire and rain,
and they now fear that the sunny days they thought would never end may
do just that, if they allow a solar farm to be built in their county.
According to today’s Huffington Post,
the Woodland town council has rejected a zoning permit for a solar farm
“after [2] residents voiced fears it would cause cancer, stop plants
from growing and suck up all the energy from the sun.”
These
solar panels may look harmless, but a couple in Woodland, North
Carolina warns that they kill plants, cause cancer, and deplete the
sun's energy supply
Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images
The plan, which was proposed by the apocalypse-inducing
Strata Solar Company, was to rezone a stretch of land off of US Highway
258 for the farm. On the surface, many Woodlanders probably thought this
was a good idea, since there seems to be global consensus that solar
power is one of the cleanest and most renewable energy alternatives to
oil and coal. Even the rest of North Carolina has succumbed to the
seductive pull of solar power, as the state ranks 4th
in the country in solar panel installments. Although the state’s
investment in solar power has created jobs and grown the economy,
according to Solar Power World, the solar bubble will eventually burst, leaving the state’s economy depressed and its landscape very dark.
At least, that was the warning of one courageous Woodland
couple, Bobby and Jane Mann. They showed up at the citizens council
meeting to warn their community of the disastrous consequences a solar
farm would have for their community.
First, Bobby shocked the council by informing them of the
underreported scientific fact that the sun’s energy was finite (blame
the liberal media). He explained that a solar farm would “suck up all
the energy from the sun and businesses would not come to Woodland.”
Although, Mr. Mann modestly implied with this statement that he only had
Carolina on his mind, his willingness to share this knowledge of the
sun’s limited energy reserves could potentially save not just Woodland,
but the world. Afterall, if one self-serving solar farm in Woodland,
North Carolina drained the sun of its energy, that would portend
environmental cataclysm for the rest of the world.
While Bobby focused on preventing Woodland from turning
into a year-round version of the bad 6 months of Alaska, Jane warned
that the solar farm would kill the area’s plants and spread cancer.A
retired science teacher, she offered expert testimony that the solar
farm could sabotage photosynthesis in the area. In lieu of actual
scientific evidence to support this claim, the local newspaper reported that Jane provided a narrative of how “she has observed areas near solar panels
where vegetation is brown and dead because it did not receive enough
sunlight.” How the panels were responsible for the dearth of sunlight in
these areas is unclear, but the council seemed convinced, nonetheless.
In light of Bobby’s argument, Jane’s theory makes sense. If
the solar farm deplete the sun's energy supply--and the town council
clearly has it on good authority that it will--then photosynthesis would
obviously cease in the area. Simply put, Woodland wouldn’t just become
very dark, but barren, as well, a pitch-black desert in northeastern
North Carolina. No, James Taylor, they wouldn’t see the sunshine in that
scenario, and to cope with this bleak wasteland they used to call
"home," many would likely need to consume much moonshine.
Jane’s concerns about the proposal did not just focus on
the plant-killing powers of solar panels. She also added that solar
panels cause cancer, citing the large number of cancer deaths in the
area. Apparently, the causal link between these deaths and preponderance
of solar panels in Woodland is so obvious that she felt no need to
support the claim with scientific evidence, either.
Ultimately, Mr. Mann put everything in perspective with his
doomsday forecast to the council. “You’re killing your town,” he
warned. “All the young people are gonna move out.”
Strata Solar Company representative Brent Niemann tried his
best to mitigate the damage the Mann’s courageous stand threatened to
cause his proposal. “The panels don’t draw additional sunlight,” he
feebly remarked. He also tried in vain to assure the council that the
panels do not cause cancer: “There are no toxic materials on site. This
is tried and true technology.”
However, Niemann’s words proved insufficient in the face of
the unimpeachable case the Manns presented to the council, and when
Mayor Kenneth Manual called for the vote, a 3-1 majority rejected the
rezoning proposal, thus protecting the land and its people from more
sun-draining, cancer-causing solar panels.
To say that this town was maybe saved by the Manns is a
glaring understatement. Thanks to their courageous stand against Big
Solar, the people of Woodland will continue to see the sunshine, and,
now, we all have Carolina on our minds, at least through the end of this
news cycle.
It's time again for wackos in the news. In this blog you'll read about a woman who "prayed a tornado to kill her neighbors," and how one politician figured out a way to return to the 1700s in order to block all gay marriages in Tennessee because of his "personal belief."
1) Texas Woman Claims She Used “God’s Authority” To Divert Tornado Towards Her Neighbors (December 28, 2015)
“We actually went outside and
started commanding the winds because God had given us authority over the
winds – the airways. And we just began to command this storm not to hit
our area. We spoke to the storm and said, ‘Go to unpopulated places.’
It did exactly what we said to do because God gave us the authority to
do that.” – Sabrina Lowe
of Rowlett, Texas, speaking to NPR. Hundreds of homes and businesses
were destroyed in Lowe’s hometown and eight people were killed in the
town next door. The tornado didn’t move because of anything Lowe did. But if she wants
credit for changing its path, she needs to bear responsibility for the
people who died as a result of her supposed actions.
(Source NPR)\Story: http://n.pr/1Vm5iBs
BIGOT- TN Rep. Rick Womick
2) The Extremists Go All Out and Propose Marriage Bill to Squash Gays- In Tennessee, the bigots have finally
figured out a way to keep gay people from marrying. A new bill proposed says: The state will
no longer issue marriage licenses, but instead recognize "common law"
marriages that were all that the state had prior to the Civil War. If
couples wish to marry, they will have to go to churches, which are
exempt from performing gay marriages. Nice one.
From the Mouth of Hate Embodied: "Tennessee should stop issuing marriage licenses in response to the
U.S. Supreme Court decision that made gay marriage legal," Tennessee state Rep.
Rick Womick said. "The state Constitution says that marriage is
between one man and one woman, and my personal belief is that God says
that marriage is between one man and one woman," said Womick, a
Republican who resides in Rutherford County's Rockvale community
southwest of Murfreesboro. "He created Adam and Eve. God didn’t create
Adam and Winston." **So, everyone in the state must live by "His personal belief" - Really makes you hate some people doesn't it? STORY:http://www.dnj.com/story/news/2015/12/26/womick-seeks-end-marriage-licenses/77918320/
Listen/Watch Podcast: Rob was a guest on the radio program: Jeff Richards: Paranormal - covering the topic- Do Animals Journey into the Afterlife?
Host Jeff Richards: Paranormal Radio show is based in Saskatchewan, Canada
***Jeff Richards: Paranormal broadcasts every Sunday night (7pm -10 pm CST) on CJME radio.
Here's the LINK to listen to the Podcast on YouTube with photos of dogs and cats from pet expos where Rob spoke about Pets and the Afterlife: https://youtu.be/rICctz-sgOE (Note: images run out 9 mins before end of show):
Our
friend Elvina recently sent us an email that revealed the history and
origin of a number of sayings that we grew up with. Of course, we didn't
know the origin of these sayings, so it's fun to find out how they came
to be. This is part 2 of 3: Riff-Raff; State Rooms; Sleep Tight; Showboating; Over a Barrel.
RIFF RAFF The
Mississippi River was the main way of traveling from north to south.
River-boats carried passengers and freight but they were expensive so
most people used rafts. Everything had the right of way over rafts which
were considered cheap. The steering oar on the rafts was called a
"riff" and this transposed into riff-raff, meaning low class.
SHIP STATE ROOMS Traveling
by steamboat was considered the height of comfort. Passenger cabins on
the boats were not numbered. Instead they were named after states. To
this day cabins on ships are called staterooms.
SLEEP TIGHT
Sleep tight came from pulling the bed ropes tight!
Early
beds were made with a wooden frame. Ropes were tied across the frame in
a criss-cross pattern. A straw mat-tress was then put on top of the
ropes. Over time the ropes stretched, causing the bed to sag. The owner
would then tighten the ropes to get a better night's sleep.
SHOWBOAT These
were floating theaters built on a barge that was pushed by a steamboat.
These played small town along the Mississippi River. Unlike the boat
shown in the movie "Showboat" these did not have an engine. They were
gaudy and attention grabbing which is why we say someone who is being
the life of the party is "showboating".
OVER A BARREL In
the days before CPR a drowning victim would be placed face down over a
barrel and the barrel would be rolled back and forth in a effort to
empty the lungs of water. It was rarely effective. If you are over a
barrel you are in deep trouble.
I had an enjoyable and interesting 1 hour interview on a well-known Canadian paranormal radio program on Dec. 20. You can now Listen and Watch the Podcast here: Host Jeff Richards: Paranormal Radio show of Saskatchewan, Canada interviews Rob Gutro: Do Animals Journey into the Afterlife?
Jeff Richards: Paranormal broadcasts every Sunday night (7pm -10 pm CST)
on www.cjme.com. Tune in for groundbreaking guests and paranormal talk
radio!
Here's the LINK to listen to the Podcast on YouTube with photos of dogs and cats from pet expos where Rob spoke about Pets and the Afterlife: https://youtu.be/rICctz-sgOE
DogCast Radio from the U.K. has some great and informative
programs for any dog parent (like us). So, here's the summary and link to the
most recent show for you to enjoy!
Episode 164 - Dogopedia
and Harry the Labradale
In this show you can hear about Battersea Dogs and Cats
Home's new book Dogopedia. The book includes such subjects as whether our dogs
feel guilt, if they know when we're coming home, and what makes a breed a
pedigree or a made up breed, and more. Chris Farley talks about life with her
clever and dexterous dog Harry. They have performed together in the Crufts
Factor, The London Pet Show and on BBC TV, but what's life like with such a
high achieving dog? Plus hear the story of the little girl who asked Santa to
bring her missing dog back.
If you grew up watching
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" on TV, you've actually seen an
incorrect version of the movie. Given the changing needs of commercials,
networks -- most recently CBS -- have shown the movie without all of
its scenes, leading to a few confusing moments -- particularly the
mysterious moment Yukon Cornelius licks his pickax.
"CBS and various powers that be do not care," television historian
Rick Goldschmidt, who has become an expert on the production company
behind "Rudolph, " Rankin/Bass, told The Huffington Post, adding,
"'Rudolph' has been treated shabbily."
Why did Yukon Cornelius lick his axe?
In an article for TVparty,
Goldschmidt wrote that he considers a moment called "The Peppermint
Mine Scene" to be "the most significant deleted scene." It comes right
after Rudolph guides Santa through the air to the Island of Misfit Toys.
Rudolph's parents, Donner and Mrs. Donner, Rudolph's girlfriend,
Clarice, and Cornelius are featured, while Donner says, "That's my
buck!" finally confirming Rudolph's dad is no longer ashamed, as
Goldschmidt points out.
But more illuminating is that the scene finally gives an answer as to
why Cornelius kept licking his pickax throughout the special. In this
deleted scene, Cornelius throws his ax in the air, lets it strike the
ground and then, after licking it as he has been wont to do, declares,
"Peppermint! What I've been searching for all my life! I've struck it
rich. I've got me a peppermint mine ... Wahoooo!"
Yukon Cornelius didn't have a bizarre talent of recognizing
the taste of gold or silver, he was licking his ax to see if it tasted
like peppermint.
"The 'Peppermint Mine Scene'
has not been on TV since 1964," Goldschmidt explained, while also
saying, "The special as it airs on CBS is not right." However, the
peppermint deleted scene is on DVD and Blu-ray."
Goldschmidt, who has written a definitive book on the making of "Rudolph," is
frustrated that CBS doesn't put this scene, along with others, back
into the broadcast. Talking about the current iteration of the TV
broadcast, Goldschmidt said it's "like a grade school kid edited it,"
while additionally finding frustration in how the movie has been
time-compressed and the sound quality warbles on multiple songs.
In 1998, Goldschmidt teamed up with Arthur Rankin Jr. -- the original
producer -- and found additional lost footage, which the two
copyrighted. According to Goldschmidt, he notified Dreamworks -- the
current holder of the movie's distribution rights -- of this new
material, but hasn't had any luck with convincing them to do a full
restoration. "'Rudolph' is as iconic as 'The Wizard of Oz,' yet it gets
treated very poorly," he claimed.
If you want to learn more about how "Rudolph" came together, check out Goldschmidt's book, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Making of the Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic, or consider donating to the Indiegogo for his potential upcoming documentary on the legendary producers.
For the meantime, you can still watch "Rudolph," on CBS, even if it is a bit mangled.
"Bottom line, the special hasn't been treated properly and not sure why that is or who to blame," lamented Goldschmidt.
Tyler's Christmas wish came true - He finally appeared in lights - in the form of a gift from our friend and neighbor Peggy, who surprised us with light-up Christmas Dachshunds! Tyler said "the little one looks like me" and even posed for this picture in front of it! "The bigger one looks like Franklin," Tyler said, "because he weighs more than I do."
As the days get darker and colder in much of the northern
hemisphere, it’s easy to indulge in gloom. For the next few months,
you’ll be shivering. You’ll be battling foul weather. Thanks to daylight
saving time there will be no chance to see the sun after work.
The gloom leads to a common question: What can I do to cope with the dark and cold?
If you truly want to be happy during winter, though, this is the wrong approach to the season. Changing your mindset can do more than distracting yourself from the weather.
That’s the takeaway from research
done by Kari Leibowitz, currently a PhD student at Stanford University,
who spent August 2014 to June 2015 on a Fulbright scholarship in Tromsø
in northern Norway. Tromsø is so far north that from late November to
late January, the sun never climbs above the horizon. Leibowitz went to
study the residents’ overall mental health, because rates of seasonal
depression were lower than one might expect.
At first, she was asking "Why aren’t people here more depressed?" and
if there were lessons that could be taken elsewhere. But once she was
there, "I sort of realized that that was the wrong question to be
asking," she says. When she asked people "Why don’t you have seasonal
depression?" the answer was "Why would we?"
It turns out that in northern Norway, "people view winter as
something to be enjoyed, not something to be endured," says Leibowitz,
and that makes all the difference.
To be sure, there are some aspects of the near-polar culture that
might be hard to emulate elsewhere. Small Norwegian communities are
tightly knit, and strong social ties increase well-being everywhere.
That said, there are lessons that can help anyone think differently about cold weather.
First, Norwegians celebrate the things one can only do in winter.
"People couldn’t wait for the ski season to start," says Leibowitz.
Getting outside is a known mood booster, and so Norwegians keep going
outside, whatever is happening out there. Notes Leibowitz: "There’s a
saying that there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing."
Norwegians also have a word, koselig, that means a sense of
coziness. It’s like the best parts of Christmas, without all the stress.
People light candles, light fires, drink warm beverages, and sit under
fuzzy blankets. There’s a community aspect to it too; it’s not just an
excuse to sit on the couch watching Netflix. Leibowitz reports that
Tromsø had plenty of festivals and community activities creating the
sense that everyone was in it together.
And finally, people are enamored with the sheer beauty of the season.
Leibowitz grew up near the Jersey shore, and "I just took it as a fact
that everyone likes summer the best." But deep in the winter in Norway,
when the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon, multiple hours a day can
still look like sunrise and sunset, and against the snow, "the colors
are incredibly beautiful," she says. "The light is very soft and
indirect."
Most likely you can’t cross-country ski straight out of your house,
and while Norwegian sweaters may be catching on, restaurants and coffee
shops in more temperate climates don’t all feature the fireplaces and
candles common to the far north. Still, there are little things
non-Norwegians can do. "One of the things we do a lot of in the States
is we bond by complaining about the winter," says Leibowitz. "It’s hard
to have a positive wintertime mindset when we make small talk by being
negative about the winter."
This is easy enough to change; simply refuse to participate in the
Misery Olympics. Talk about how the cold gives you a chance to drink tea
or hot chocolate all day. Talk about ice skating, or building snowmen.
Bundle up and go for a walk outside, knowing that you’ll likely feel
warmer and happier after a few minutes. Better yet, go with a friend.
Social plans are a great reason to haul yourself out from under the
covers.
But overall, mindset research is increasingly finding that it doesn’t take much
to shift one’s thinking. "It doesn’t have to be this huge complicated
thing," says Leibowitz. "You can just consciously try to have a positive
wintertime mindset and that might be enough to induce it."
Our friend Elvina recently sent us an email that revealed the history and origin of a number of sayings that we grew up with. Of course, we didn't know the origin of these sayings, so it's fun to find out how they came to be. This is part 1 of 3.
A SHOT OF WHISKEY'
In
the old west a .45 cartridge for a six-gun cost 12 cents, so did a
glass of whiskey. If a cowhand was low on cash he would often give the
bartender a cartridge in exchange for a drink. This became known as a
"shot" of whiskey.
THE WHOLE NINE YARDS American
fighter planes in WW2 had machine guns that were fed by a belt of
cartridges. The average plane held belts that were 27 feet (9 yards)
long. If the pilot used up all his ammo he was said to have given it the
whole nine yards.
BUYING THE FARM This
is synonymous with dying. During WW1 soldiers were given life insurance
policies worth $5,000. This was about the price of an average farm so
if you died you "bought the farm" for your survivors.
IRON CLAD CONTRACT This came about from the ironclad ships of the Civil War. It meant something so strong it could not be broken.
PASSING THE BUCK / THE BUCK STOPS HERE Most
men in the early west carried a jack knife made by the Buck knife
company. When playing poker it as common to place one of these Buck
knives in front of the dealer so that everyone knew who he was. When it
was time for a new dealer the deck of cards and the knife were given to
the new dealer. If this person didn't want to deal he would "pass the
buck" to the next player. If that player accepted then "the buck stopped
there".
Recently, the Huffington Post published an article about this interesting study called the Dog Aging Project, dedicated to help our canine kids live longer.
The goal of the Dog Aging Project
at the University of Washington is to increase the healthy life span of
dogs by targeting the aging process directly. The good news that the Dog Aging Project is
conducting a trial of the anti-organ transplant rejection drug
rapamycin, also known as sirolimus, on 32 middle-aged dogs, trying to
determine if we can add a few more good healthy years to our pets'
lives.
ABOUT THE DOG AGING PROJECT: The University of Washington’s Healthy Aging and Longevity Research Institute (HALo)
is dedicated to promoting healthy aging in people and their companion
animals. The Dog Aging Project is led by Dr. Daniel Promislow and Dr.
Matt Kaeberlein.
ABOUT THE NEW MEDICATION: In low doses, rapamycin appears to slow the aging process, and studies on mice showed it can increase their lifespan.
“If rapamycin has a similar effect in dogs – and it’s important to
keep in mind we don’t know this yet – then a typical large dog could
live two to three years longer, and a smaller dog might live four years
longer," researcher Daniel Promislow told The Telegraph. He owns a nine-year-old Chow mix named Frisbee, according to the Dog Aging Project's website, so he certainly has a vested interest here.
The researchers want to see how rapamycin affects the dogs’ heart
function, immune system, activity level, weight and cognition --
meaning, we presume, will Fido still ignore you when you call his name.
After the initial three-to-six-month trial period, the dogs will be
monitored to measure any significant improvements to their healthy aging
and lifespan.
If the results are successful, it’s quite possible that the benefits
may extend to cats as well – and possibly even "other" species, notes ScienceAlert.
The animal kingdom's rule of thumb is that larger creatures live
longer, which makes sense since they have fewer predators with a size
advantage. But our companion pets are an exception to the rule and
researchers have never quite understood why. Cats live an average of 15
years, compared with about 12 years for dogs, despite generally being
smaller. And small dogs can live twice as long as large ones.
A recent theory from the UK
had an interesting take on why cats outlive dogs: Cats are simply more
aloof. Could stress be a factor in our pets' longevity as well?
I'm a simple guy who enjoys the simple things in life, especially our dogs. I volunteer for dog rescues, enjoy exercising, blogging, politics, helping friends and neighbors, participating in ghost investigations, coffee, weather, superheroes, comic books, mystery novels, traveling, 70s and 80s music, classic country music,writing books on ghosts and spirits, cooking simply and keeping in shape. You'll find tidbits of all of these things on this blog and more. EMAIL me at Rgutro@gmail.com - Rob
