Ozzo

We weren’t looking for another dog; we’d just lost one that Carlos had for years before I came into the picture, and we weren’t ready yet. But we had a friend who found a dog, brought him into her house, named him … something … I don't know. She loved him; her kids loved him; her big dog didn't.

So she asked us to dog sit for a week, and then all of the sudden, we had him; he was ours and we named him Ozzo, so of a take on the Spanish word for Bear because he looked like a Black Lab puppy, and we were excited to have a larger dog after having a Poodle before, and so we took him. Another rescued animal in the house. I sometimes wonder if we rescue animals or if they rescue us. I think it's a bit of both.

And we waited for him to grow. And he did. He got a wee bit longer, a touch taller, and a bit wider; but not a big dog. Apparently our newest family member was maybe Black Lab mixed with … wait for it … Dachshund. So, he wasn’t going to be a big dog, in fact he turned out to be even smaller than Dengosso, the dog we’d just lost. He was, to paraphrase Jack MacFarland from Will & Grace, a "pocket dog. Slip him in a briefcase, a manpurse, a shirt pocket, and you're good to go."

Pocket dog.

But oh what a dog; as sweet as could be and he could run like the wind and leap into the air for a stick or a Frisbee … both of which were bigger than Ozzo. We used to take him into the backyard when we moved to Camden and throw a stick and he’d tear across the lawn after it, scoop it up and come running back; a little dog, scarcely a foot long carrying a four-foot branch in his mouth and coming back so you’d throw it again .

A tiny little lab-wannabe who chased the cats, until the cats chased back,  and loved you like nobody's business. remember Tuxedo and Ozzo those first few days; Tuxedo hadn’t been with us too long then, but he sat atop Ozzo’s crate and would wait until the dog woke up and stepped out, and then Tuxedo would tap his head, as if to remind him that Tuxedo was in charge. He liked Tuxedo, but he loved Tallulah, and those two would curl up and sleep together in the sun.

The only time Tuxedo couldn’t wrangle Ozzo was when  the doorbell rang … on Frasier. TV doorbells make that tiny little motherf***er go nuts, barking and barking at the TV doorbell.

TV. Doorbells.

In Miami, his best friend was a neighbor’s Satin Bernard, and when they’d walk the dog we’d take Ozzo out front and he’d run at that dog, and jump on that dog; the Saint Bernard would lay in the ground and Ozzo would crawl onto him and sit there like a king, yet looking the size of something a Saint Bernard would leave on your lawn.

In Camden, where we rented a house before buying, a neighbor would walk by with their Great Dane, Lilly, and Ozzo would beg to go outside and ‘play’ with the giant; and they would wrestle on the front lawn, this ginormous gangly dog and out little Pocket Ozzo.

Pocket Dog.

A wild man who loved walks through the neighborhood and sneaking cat food when his Daddies weren’t watching; a loving little man who would follow you into the office and sleep by your feet while you worked at the computer; a crazy man who had never seen snow until we came to Camden, but loved running and digging into that cold icy stuff on the ground until his tiny feet grew cold and he demanded to be carried into the house.

A happy old man who loved going for rides in the car even if it was just to the recycling center to take trash and such; he loved standing on the seat with his head out the window, ears flapping as we drove; and he went nuts when I took him with me to pick Carlos us from work, or from band practice. As soon as he spotted Carlos he would go nuts running front seat to back and back again crying for Carlos to get into the car.

Me? He loved me screaming at him playfully, and he would run up and down the hall and into the living room circling the couch and take off again, trying to prove he was the Big Man of the house in the Pocket Dog body.

The past year or so his health declined; his eyes were going bad and his hearing wasn’t so good. He developed arthritis in his hips and we started taking him to the back yard through the garage because the stairs off the deck were difficult; there was less running and jumping and more sleeping and resting. Carlos and I talked about his life, and the quantity versus quality and spoke to the vet about that; it would be our decision and this week it was made for us. The last few days his arthritis was so bad he could barely stand, and if he sat he had trouble getting back up. Neither of us wanted to see him like that and so, again, for the third time in 18 months, we made that call.

Ozzo was with us for over twenty years of laughter and sticks and balls and running and jumping and snow falling. One of my favorite pictures of him was taken on a weekend trip to the mountains when he sat on a dust road and cast a long, Big Dog shadow.

That shadow will stay over us for a good long while.

RIP Little O, you’ve earned it.

I'm gonna take a few days off and just remember this Little Man. Back soon.

I Didn't Say It

John Fetterman, Pennsylvania Democratic Senator, mocking Fox News over a report about the loosening of Senate dress code by taking down Fox, the GOP and Bobo:

"I figure if I take up vaping and grabbing the hog during a live musical, they'll make me a folk hero."

Aaaaaand scene!

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Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Thing 45 lapdog Mark Meadows, smacking down Florida GOP loon Matt Gaetz after he claimed they dated:

"I will give Matt credit [to] his part of the statement that we did have an amicable working relationship and we were good friends—at points [but] Matt Gaetz, in my opinion, is somebody that I personally do not hold in high regards in terms of trust, and I do not think that Matt Gaetz has the best track record for relationships. I will say for myself: I have never dated Matt Gaetz. I have much higher standards in men, and Matt, frankly, is a very unserious politician ... I don't really have much else to say to somebody that is more concerned about a soundbite than actually passing legislation."

So, basically she’s saying Matt Gaetz is a moron who is woefully out of his depth and nowhere near her league.

Sounds right; he’s one of those social media politicians who want clicks but have no real interest in doing their job.

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Vivek Ramaswamy, smarmy GOP presidential candidate, discussing transgender youth at this week’s debate:

“Transgenderism, especially in kids, is a mental health disorder… It is not compassionate to affirm a kid’s confusion. That is not compassion, that is cruelty.”

I wonder when this slimeball used car salesman asshat became an expert on transgender and why he disputes the American Psychiatric Association which says diverse gender expressions “are not indications of a mental disorder.”

Perhaps he’s just catering to bigoted MAGAt asshats ... or he’s just a lying fuck himself.

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Tim Scott, at that same GOP debate the other night, saying that welfare assistance was harder than slavery for Black Americans:

“Black families survived slavery! We survived poll taxes and literacy tests. We survived discrimination being woven into the laws of our country. What was hard to survive was Johnson’s Great Society, where they decided to put money—where they decided to take the Black father out of the household to get a check in the mail.”

Funny, sounds a little like Scott might actually be acknowledging systemic racism, something he says does not exist.

As for welfare being harder than slavery … I can’t.

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Tim Burchett, Tennessee’s GOP Representative, on Kevin McCarthy and his future as Speaker:

“I have my doubts right now because I’m seeing—we need leadership … We don’t need someone just to say we’ve got 218 votes or whatever that jumps on the train after it leaves the station. Speaker Pelosi, I don’t agree with her ever, hardly on anything, but she was pretty successful. And the way she did it was she put an issue out amongst her caucus. She met with them. She figured out what they wanted, and then they put it out on the floor and they passed it and they rallied around it. A lot of work goes into that but I’m not seeing that work right now. And it’s very disappointing to me.”

Cuz it’s all games, Tim; it’s all show for Matty and Marge and Bobo, and Kevin’s hanging onto his power by a thread, so they can’t get anything done. Your party doesn’t work; it stopped working a long time ago and in the last six years has become a group of traitorous jokes.

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Howard Stern, embracing being called “woke” by the wingnuts:

“I kind of take that as a compliment, that I’m ‘woke.’ To me, the opposite of woke is being asleep, and if woke means I can’t get behind [Inmate # P01135809], which is what I think it means, or that I support people who want to be transgender, or I’m for the vaccine—dude, call me woke as you f—ing want. I’m not for stupidity. I am woke, motherf—er. And I love it. I think that’s a compliment. These guys who I see on the internet who say they’re not woke, but they seem to be really angry, super against gay people—especially transgender. Am I for kids being able to read about anything in school? Yeah, I am. I don’t give a s— what kids read. Give me vaccines, man. I’m all for it. I like being woke.”

The opposite of woke is asleep, and the Republicans, many of them, in America, are asleep as to what they’re being told; they’re too fast asleep to even question the lies; they’re far too sleepy to see that what they’re being fed is hate.

Unless they all just hate, which might be true, too.

PS  A USA Today-Ipsos poll released in March found that 56% of Americans have a positive association with the term “woke,” understanding it to mean to “be informed, educated on, and aware of social injustices.”

I feel sad for the 44%.

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Bobservations

Carlos’ mother has taken to giving him recipes during their phone chats, and then he’ll tell me about them over dinner, but a lot of her recipes are lost in translation by the time Carlos starts to cook.

As we ate dinner one night, he told me of one of his mother’s recipes that included lima beans, pork, fresh corn and tomatillos, and so that's what he was serving; I looked down at my plate and said:

“This is that recipe?”

“Yes it is. I already had chicken out so I used that instead of pork. We didn’t have lima beans so I used rice. There was no corn or tomatillos so I used peppers and lemon juice.”

“You do know that this is not at all what your mother talked about, right?”:

“It’s similar.”

I await the release of his cookbook …

This Tuxedo Memory is from May  2011

“Caturday

There are places in our house where cats are allowed to be … on the bed .... on the couch in the sunroom ... on the couch in the living room ... on a kitchen table chair. There are not allowed on living room chairs ... or dining room chairs ... or counters.

Tuxedo, however, because he's so delicious, gets away with murder. He is allowed on the bathroom counter because he enjoys a sip of water from the faucet and he's allowed on one of the living room chairs if he's in my lap. And now, apparently, he has granted himself access to a dining room chair. There he is, peeking at me when I asked if he was hungry.

And here is, doing his Gargoyle impression from atop a living room chair. He doesn't use his front paws to hold on because he's been declawed … DO NOT DO THAT… so he looks like he's just hanging around.

He just looks so darned cute, that I looked the other way and ignored his infractions. luckily for us both, his Latino Daddy wasn't home.”

Yes, we had rules for the cats but how can anyone have resisted that punim?

Florida Department of Education [DOE] spokesperson idiot Caily Myers swears that “Florida does not ban books” but she can't explain the 300 books that were removed from Florida schools last year. Many of those books included LGBTQ+ content, like This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson, Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera, The Family Book by Todd Parr … and most recently  Christian, the Hugging Lion which contains not one single mention of sexuality, but conservative say it gives off gay vibes. Caily says:

“The list comprises information provided by each school district of the books they removed based on objections from a parent or resident of the county using their district’s process.”

Yes, in Florida if one single bigot is butt-hurt about a book it can be banned; oops, not banned, just removed from the school’s bookshelves never to be seen again.

Fuck you, Florida.

Hot Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård was recently spotted enjoying his time at a gay bar in Stockholm, where he went on a kissing spree…

Skarsgård enjoyed dancing at Club Backdoor—goddess do I love the names of gay clubs—where many fans recognized him and he was not bothered by the attention. In fact, he took photos with many fans, and even gave out kisses.

Skarsgård is a longtime LGBTQ+ ally and has used his platform to raise awareness for LGBTQ+ rights and issues, as well as be involved in charity events within the community.

Um, Alexander, we don’t have a gay club here in Camden, but if you’re in town, I have a cheek ready for a smooch.

Kennedy McDowell was already out as a gay man when Colorado State recruited him for their football team. The defensive end from Frisco, Texas, was featured as a gay football player in Frisco Style magazine, draped in a rainbow Pride flag, ahead of his senior high school season last October.

In fact, McDowell has been out since eighth grade and when it came time for some official team photos he once again draped the rainbow flag around his shoulders to express his pride in being an out gay man.

And there has been no outrage; maybe the times are a’changing?

This is model Tyson Dayley and while he is not technically a baker, he offers up some nice cakes; who’s interested?

Last week students at Oak Park High School in Kansas City elected Tristan Young, a transgender student, their homecoming queen. And that sent Libs of TikTok’s asshat Chaya Raichik searching for parents who were pissy about the student’s choice and she found two who ranted in emails:

“I’m appalled by NKC Schools’ [North Kansas City School District] continued support of the LGBT agenda. They not only indoctrinate children, but they are placing certain student populations over others.”

“As a woman, it breaks my heart to see these girls get passed over and a man stealing what is rightfully theirs. I’m broken-hearted because I know the students voted for him.”

The students voted for her because she was their choice and they aren’t bigots.

I have long had a crush on Peter Scanavino, ever since he first appeared on Law & Order: SVU;  he just floats my boat, but this isn’t about me, because you know how I feel: Would You Hit It?

Architecture Wednesday: 1930s Bungalow

Nestled in the popular Montrose neighborhood, where urban mixes with the artistic spirit and mixes with The Gays, is a house captures the essence of classic charm while embracing the modern. With a dedication to honoring the history of 1930s architecture, the current owner has finished a thoughtful and extensive renovation, resulting in a gorgeous home that blends the old and the new.

The windows are vintage windows, as is the hardware; the study, a dark lime-washed, subdued space, boasts a wood -burning fireplace with marble mantel. The galley-style kitchen is a mix of culinary arts and avant-garde design with its black walnut cabinets and marble surfaces. Antique doors open to a large pantry and laundry room.

Each bedroom is a sanctuary, adorned with vintage doors, antique hardware while the primary bedroom boasts a custom king bed with integrated storage and bookcases with designer lighting fixtures; in the primary bath the vanity is a converted French buffet with copper sink. The bright family room, with a pair of antique doors housing the television,  opens to the backyard, perfect for entertaining.

It seems to have the best of old and new, elegant and historic and this two-bedroom, two-bath home can be yours for just 850K.

A steal, I say, and, yes, I know, it’s Texas, but it’s in a Blue part of Texas.

Dwell

Meme Dump