Povey Prattle

My dog's given name is "Penny"  -  probably because her coat is the colour of a copper Penny. For a reason that is rooted in my weird sense of humour I changed the spelling to "Penne" (but I  pronounce it as "penny"). That 's just the beginning. For Penne soon becomes "Penne-poo", which in turn becomes "Poopster" , or "Poops",  or even "Poo-poo". I sometimes call her "Miss Tail Wagger" -  for I believe that her tail contains the secret of perpetual motion. Sometimes she is "Miss Nosey".   As we walk in the neighbourhood should a car door open or close; should we overhear a conversation across the pond; should some person close his/her front door; should some person be walking twenty, thirty or forty yards behind us -  should any of this things happen, then Penne has to stop and look.  She likes to know what is going on. Once in a while she is "Miss Fish Face" -  don...

1. You may remember that I discovered that a plastic hanger had been embedded in the lawn just outside my condo.  It was all very mysterious. 2. Today I discovered why.  It was a marker for the planting of a new tree. 3. I purchased some stuff at Sam's Club and brought them home in a "half-box"..  Junior cat Adelaide thinks that it is her new bed. 4.  My cats get a teaspoon full of canned food each morning and evening as a "treat". Senior cat Ada gobbles her treat down as if food was going out of style, and within minutes she throws it up.  So now I spread her teaspoonful out on a big plate so that she has to  slow down and "work for it". Here is her treat on an anti-gobble plate.

1. President Obama's rhetoric sometimes exceeds practical wisdom. His statement that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would be a "red line" is an example.  It was a fairly arbitrary "line" given the massive slaughters in Syria sans chemical weapons. 2.  His back-tracking in saying that the red line has been set by "the world" is disingenuous . 3. I cannot fathom whether Obama's referral to the U.S. Congress re the possible American attack on various targets in Syria is smart , or cynical . If it is smart it will (a) smoke out Republican hypocrisy, and (b) create a valuable precedent for future Presidents. If it is cynical it will reveal a President who does not have full confidence in his own wisdom and authority. 4. The President's action has certainly loosed a "fox in the henhouses" of both Republicans ( who use any and all means to give Obama a bloody nose ) and Democrats ( who wrestle with their liberal conscienc...

President Obama (with Senator John "the Maverick" McCain breathing down his neck) is seeking Congressional approval for some ill defined American intervention in Syria.  The President will probably get what he wants. However the President and his lackeys at the State Department (Kerry) and Defence Department (Hagel) have yet to convince me of the reasons and aims  for such an intervention. The best they can offer is to punish the Syrian regime for its use of chemical weapons. But they have not uttered a word as to their plans should Syrian President Assad shrug off this punishment, or if the Russians increase their support for Assad. Nor have they explicated about which of the "rebel" factions they will support post-military actions. ================================================================ I am chiefly bothered at the hypocrisy of the Obama administration in claiming to have a moral high ground viz-a-viz Syria and the use of chemical weapons   ...

By TONI WHITT, SARA KENNEDY and CHARLES SCHELLE   — Staff writers CHUNGJU, SOUTH KOREA -- In an unanimous decision Sunday night the FISA board awarded Manatee-Sarasota counties the World Rowing Championship in 2017. Emotions were running high among the local contingent, who applauded the leaders who have been working to bring the championship here for more than three years when there were at one time nine cities contending. Paul Blackketter, who led the effort, said a community partnership made everything come together. "It's such an honor, we're all so touched," said Randy Benderson, president of Benderson Development. "The team worked together over endless hours. Paul has done an amazing job. To go from a total of nine contenders three years ago: we're sort of pinching ourselves. We can't believe it. It's very emotional." Winning the bid means more than a high profile on a world stage. It also means pumping millions of tourism doll...

I tripped over my feet last evening and landed on the floor, directly onto my coccyx,  (that is not a typo). I'm pretty certain that nothing is broken cos I can walk without pain.  But the process of sitting down, or rising from a seated position feels a bit awkward, and bending down is rather difficult. I have diagnosed myself as having a bruised tailbone area. "The name coccyx is derived from the Greek word for cuckoo due to its beak like appearance" (Wikipedia) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This hanger was planted outside my back door sometime during last night.  I find it to be a little odd and a wee bit disconcerting. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Penne gets a dog biscuit after she has eaten her meals  -  it's a "treat", a "sort of...