Another Giant Lego Man?

Last year, a giant Lego man appeared mysteriously on a beach in the Netherlands. Now, another giant Lego man has appeared mysteriously on a beach in England, near Brighton. A Dutch artist called Ego Leonard is thought to be behind this Lego man. I wonder if he has wilfully chosen a name that is close to the name Lego?

Calvin annoys me. I wish he would leave me alone. Did I really like the attention he gave me earlier this week?

Curious Law Upheld

On the 18th of September, I wrote in this blog about a curious South Korean law that says that only the visually impaired may work as masseurs. This law has now been upheld in the Constitutional court of South Korea. I still think it is a strange law.

Cold Weather

It was cold this morning, temperatures below the freezing point. Our Pharao Hound friend Primus had to wear his cloak. He does not like to get it on, but likes the heat that it preserves on cold days. I am glad Shiba Inus have thicker coats than he has, we never have to wear anything extra in the climate of central Sweden, where we live.

Indoors, Calvin shows warm feelings for me. I kind of like the attention that he gives me.

Another Case of Animal Cruelty

A woman (maybe in Gothenburg, since that is where a newspaper reported about it) left her dogs to starve to death in her flat. It says in the article that the woman was not at full psychological health, but I still do not really understand how this could happen. Poor dogs. As I wrote last Wednesday, there should be long sentences for crimes like this.

In Memoriam

This day one year ago, a dear friend of all of us passed away: Paula's grandfather Gunnar Nelvin. Paula and Daniel was at the grave today. They put a little gift from all of us by the tombstone and took a couple of minutes of remembrance.

We all miss Gunnar. Dad told us about last time he was at Paula's grandmothers, not long ago. Instinctively, he searched for Gunnar, before he realized Gunnar was not there anymore. Nevertheless, even though Gunnar is not with us on Earth anymore, he will always be with us in our hearts.

Real Life Consequences of Virtual Life

A Japanese woman murdered her husband, but it was all on-line. It was in a virtual game world and it was her virtual husband, who had suddenly divorced her. She is now charged with crime and may face a real life prison sentence and real life fines. This is not because of the murder as such, but because she allegedly accessed log-in details illegally of the man playing her husband, then killing his on-line character. I find it very interesting that what you do on-line, even in a wholly virtual game world, may echo in real life like this.

I have never heard of a similar case anywhere else in the world. My guess is that the outcome would be about the same in Sweden and other countries. As often in the world of computers, though, Japan is first.

Responses

I have had a couple of responses on my blog entry of the day before yesterday. Thank you for your support to my opinion! This case has lingered in my mind, I cannot shake it off. I feel so sorry for that Dachshund. As Kenneth wrote: why didn't anybody do anything sooner?

If I was a human, I would like to be a prosecutor specialized on animal cruelty cases. In many places in the USA, they have special animal cruelty police forces, why are there none of those in Sweden?

Indian Mission to the Moon

I have always been a little interested in the Moon, since my name is Lunar Eclips. When there are news about the Moon, I read about it. We can now read about a new mission to the Moon, India has launched an unmanned spacecraft that will go into orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft is not big enough to cause a lunar eclipse, of course, but it is still interesting to read about it.

Outrageously Short Sentence

A Dachshund owner left his Dachshund outdoors in December. The dog, who also suffered from malnutrition, eventually froze to death. The owner has now been sentenced to one month in prison for cruelty to animals.

While I consider the conviction a good thing, I believe the prison sentence is way too short. If the Dachshund would have been a human family member, the sentence would surely have been prison for life. I know that many humans do not believe that dogs have the same value as humans, but dogs are part of human life in a way that no other animal can ever be. The dog is the animal first domesticated by humans, we are who we are because of human breeding and the love between us and humans throughout the millenia. A human who is so cruel to his own dog that the dog dies, is - in my mind - as dangerous to society as any human killing another human. How can one month in prison be enough for that man?

Mum at Work

Mum got to go with Daniel to his work today. She did the same yesterday. While Mum says it is a bit boring at times at Daniel's work, it still gives her new, interesting experiences. I would like to see Daniel's work, too. April has been there, just like Mum, but not me.

Mum also got to go with Daniel to a political meeting this evening. There were not just political issues on the agenda at that meeting, but also talk to and about Mum. The meeting went on for a longer time than expected, probably because of Mum's participation. I guess it was a good thing I was not there instead, as cute as I am, the meeting probably would not have been finished until midnight.

Annoying

Calvin annoys me more and more. He claims I smell good, by which I guess he means that I smell better than I usually do. Nevertheless, I think he comes too close too often. It annoys me and I have to tell him off again and again. Who does he think he is?

Pancakes, but for What?

Daniel is making pancakes tonight. They are not for eating at once, though, but for lunch boxes to the upcoming week. This is strange and can even be considered mean. Strange, because why do you make such a tasty dish without wanting to eat at least some of it imediately after it is done? Mean, because there are a number of dogs smelling the pancakes, seeing Daniel making them, but who may not taste any.

Sometimes, I cannot really understand our humans. Why make food for tomorrow, when you can have it today? Is this wise? Joy and good taste is for the present, not for tomorrow, as I see it. Daniel tried to point out to me that even dogs' wild cousins, the wolves, save food for tomorrow, when they have killed big game. I agree, but this is when the wolves are fed up and cannot feel any hunger anymore, so Daniel's point is moot, if I may say so. I want pancake now, and I have room in my stomach to spare, so I should get some pancake now.

On the other hand, if I do get pancake tomorrow, this is much better than no pancake at all.

No Connection

I had written another blog entry than this, but could not access the web. When I returned, the text that I had written was gone. I settled with this short text instead. - Once this text was published, I realized the earlier text had, somehow, been published anyway. Occasionally, I do not understand computers.

Saturday, Nothing Special

We have had a day off today. Nothing in particular has happened. Paula and Daniel were at Paula's grandmother's, but all of us dogs stayed at home. It is nice to have a day like this once in a while, a day when there is nothing special going on. It is very relaxing.

Confirmation

I can now confirm the suspicions, I am in heat. It is the first step on the way, if I am going to get pups of my own this year. Stay tuned for more information further on.

In New York, Japan was elected member of the United Nations Security Council for two years. This is well deserved, especially since Japan is one of the biggest contributors of money to the UN.

Another Reason for Going On Line

Scientists say that it is good for the health of the brain to use the Internet. It activates the mind to read and search on the Internet, which is good against normal aging processes. If you search for stuff on the Internet, centres in your brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning are strengthened. This might help to counteract age-related physiological changes that cause the brain to slow down. Searching the web is more healthy than just reading on the web, just because it involves decision-making. So, when you have done your daily reading of my daily blog, do not hesitate to search the Internet for other information. What you find may be very interesting, and the search itself seem to be healthy for you.

Something Is Going on

There is something going on. Paula claims in her blog today that I show signs that I will soon be in heat. It is OK that she says so, even though, on some level, I would have wanted to be the first one to break the news. Well, news travel fast in the blogosphere, sometimes so fast that you do not have the time to break them yourself... Congratulations to Paula for being the first to tell.

Early Morning, Early Evening

We got up really early this morning, because Daniel wanted to walk us before going to a meeting in far away small town of Borlänge. The trip there takes more than two hours. He got home rather late, too. It is always tiring to get up early, so we will take an early evening tonight as well. This is why I do not write much today.

Crisis!

They say that there is a huge crisis on the financial markets. They say governments have to step in and help. They say the Euro countries' aid package of the last weekend helps, and that this make the stock markets rise today.

No matter how hard the current crisis of the world economy is, it cannot be worse than the crisis facing me and my fellow dogs today. Daniel found out that some of the meatballs in the refridgerator were too old and had gone bad, so he threw them in the garbage! This is an outrage! How can you let meatballs grow too old, when you have dogs in the house? This is a crisis.

Swiss Roll Again

We were all so enthusiastic when Daniel made a Swiss roll the other day, that we have urged, pleaded, begged him to do it again. Tonight, he did. It was just as good this time around. Unfortunately, Paula and Daniel did not want us to eat the whole Swiss roll tonight. Every dog in our family tried to tell them that we could handle it, that it would be good for our stomachs and overall health. This led to nothing. A large part of the Swiss roll was tucked away in the refridgerator for later use. Maybe Paula and Daniel cannot cope with eating a whole Swiss roll in one night, but in my perfect world, that would not stop them from giving it to the dogs. Well, it is better to get some Swiss roll than none.

Car Accident

Some people say that "he who is loved by God, dies young". They mean that God makes sure that the person comes to Heaven quickly. I believe that this saying cannot be applied to everyone who dies young.

In Austria, notorious racist politician Jörg Haider died in a car accident today, aged 58. This is a young age for a European man to die in. Apparently, he was alone in the car and it was a single car accident. So far, nobody knows the reason for the accident. Loved by some, hated by many more, for his anti-imigration and anti-EU policies, Jörg Haider was a man who divided people. I cannot believe a man who has his kind of ideas would be so loved by God that he dies young. God is supposed to love every creature of His creation, but sure this love is not equally high for everyone, is it?

By the way, our computer is working properly today. We do not know why, but it does.

Wonders of Modern Technology

Our computer at home is broken, so I have to use other means to make my daily blog entries. Fortunately, modern technology makes it possible to blog from a mobile telephone. I have written this blog entry on Daniel's phone. It is the first time I do this, and it is not quite as easy as typing on the keyboard that I am used to. It is, however, easier than I feared it would be. Ah, the wonders of modern technology! Where would we be without it?

Still broken

The computer is still broken. Its a good thing though that I've so much to do. I nearly have time to sit down and write.

It is a lot of work with keeping April and the small boys under controll. It's amazing to see that even though April is only 6 month younger than me, she acts so childish.

Broken Computer

Our computer was not functioning properly today, so Paula had to reboot it and reinstall a lot of programs. I hate it when computers break down. We may have to turn the computer in to the shop again to get it fixed. It does work right now, but who knows when it will suddenly break down again? Sometimes, I feel like computers function on a random basis, as if they are constructed not to be fully functional all the time. The logical side of me cannot believe this is true, but the sensitive side of me can. Well, I manage to write a blog post today, that amounts to something, at least.

Japanese Nobel Laureates

The Nobel Prize in physics is shared between two Japanese and an American of Japanese decent. This is nice for someone like me, who is half American of fully Japanese decent. The prize is given to these men because of their work on some of the smallest particles known to man, quarks, the building blocks from which protons and neutrons in atoms are built. I do not understand the work as such, nor do I understand how this work matters in the everyday life. On the other hand, as far as I can understand, neither do most humans. Advanced research like this may matter more to everyday life generations (at least dog generations) from now, but people who know say that it is important. I have no reason to doubt that.

Paula Has Got a New Blog

Paula has created a new blog which is very interesting. She follows my example and has the blog on blogger. I have added a link to this blog to my link list.

Paula's blog is written in Swedish. If you cannot read this language, you may still get something out of following the link to the blog, because Paula has published some photographs there. I have to add, though, that I do not know who of the black and tan pups on the picture posted by the first blog entry is me and who my brother Kiko. It is hard to tell from the angle shown.

It will be interesting to read this blog, but I guess it will take a while before Paula has made more than nine hundred blog posts, as I have.

Dog on Top in Box Office

A new family film from Hollywood, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, has sailed up to the top notch of the North American box office. The film is about a pampered dog from luxurious Beverly Hills in California, who gets lost in Mexico. I can understand how a film about a dog gets a big audience, I would like to see it myself. It would be better if the main character was a Shiba Inu, of course, but you cannot get everything the way you want it.

Rain

There was heavy rainfall all morning today. Neither of us was keen on taking a long walk, so we never took any morning walk today, but just went out in the yard and back. We had had 15 mm of rain by noon, which is quite a lot for just one day. On days like this, it is sweet just to stay indoors in the warm, dry, and comfortable rooms of our home.

When we did not take our ordinary morning walk, it may be that we missed out on something. We may never have seen something that we would have seen, had we taken the morning walk, but who really cares? There are never that exciting things to be seen in our neighbourhood, anyway. This is a good thing. I am interested in exciting world news, but it is good to know that when there are upheavals in the world, our neighbourhood still basicly stays the same. Since it always does, one morning walk more or less does not matter that much. We do not need it to be updated on the world events, anyway.

Auntie Linni's Birthday

Today is Auntie Linni's seventh birthday. We each got a pork tail to celebrate. Daniel made pancakes, and Linni was lucky enough on her birthday to get a whole pancake to eat. I felt a bit envious at this, but it was Linni's birthday, not mine. You have to accept that somebody else gets special treatment, when it is her birthday. The pork tail made it a good day for all of us, anyway; so good, that I wish we had somebody's birthday to celebrate every day. You may wonder whether I would not grow tired of pork tails, but I seriously doubt I ever would.

Happy birthday, Linni!

Swiss Roll

We had nothing to eat for dessert tonight, and it is a Friday night. Daniel made a Swiss roll. This is a great cake, because it only needs 4-5 minutes in the oven. It is almost done now, so I have to hurry to finish this blog entry and be sure to get some.

Shoe

We were at Mia's, Emil's, and Kesshi's home tonight, Paula, Daniel, April and I. I had my claws cut there. This is something I have never enjoyed. On the contrary, I almost hate it. Unfortunately, I wriggled too much from my disgust of the claw cutting that Paula happened to cut one claw a bit too short. A little blood emerged. To stop my blood from staining the floor, I got to borrow a dog shoe from Kesshi to wear. This was uncomfortable at first, but I soon got the hang of it and became almost as good at walking with the shoe as without. Well, this was a new experience, and I learned how to walk with a shoe on one paw. The night was great in every other aspect, since we were among friends and had good food to eat. All in all, I think it was a rather good evening.

Social Aid for Walking a Dog

An old lady in a suburb of Stockholm applied to the social services for social aid to walk her dog on days when she could not walk the dog herself. The lady was alone, unhealthy, and the dog was all the family she had. The social services denied the old lady social aid for this purpose. She appealed to the County Administrative Court of Stockholm County, which upheld the negative decision. However, the woman did not settle with that. She appealed to the Administrative Court of Appeals of Stockholm, and won. The court says she has right to social aid for walking her dog on the days when her health makes it impossible for her to do so herself.

In the judgment, the Administrative Court of Appeals agrees with the County Administrative Court that the keeping of pets is something you cannot normally get social aid for. On the other hand, each case has to be determined upon its own merits in accordance to the law. The old lady is 73 years old, has no other family than the dog and few other contacts with other humans. The dog is her primary company and motivates her to fight her illness, among other things through the walks they take together. The lady's illness, however, causes her not to be able to walk the dog every day. The Court concludes that, while the lady's need for help varies from day to day, her need for aid to walk the dog cannot be fulfilled in any other way than for her to get aid from the social services.

I fully agree with the Administrative Court of Appeals. While I believe that no human should ever buy a dog, without being able to afford it or take care of it, on rare occasions like this, granting social aid for the benefit of human and dog is definitely the right thing to do. The judgment also underscores how important a dog can be for the health of his or her human.

Thus, today, just like yesterday, I had good news to write about in the middle of the economic turmoil. There are always good news around, for those of us who can see them.