Ocelopotamus

News, culture, and politics. Not necessarily in that order.

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Waterboys + Decemberists = Fun

April 24th, 2007 · Culture, Music, Video

Speaking of Waterboys videos, here’s one I dearly love. It’s a fan-made clip of Mike Scott performing “Fisherman’s Blues” live with The Decemberists! The sound isn’t great but the joy comes through just fine. Here’s what the official Waterboys mailing list said about it:

Mike Scott made a guest appearance with top up and coming US band The Decemberists during the encore of their London show on Thursday February 8th at Shepherds Bush Empire. Mike was invited to play by the band’s singer Colin Meloy, a long-time Waterboys fan. They performed a rollicking Fisherman’s Blues, with Decemberists’ multi-instrumentalist Lisa playing the fiddle parts on viola.

 
Woo hoo hoo! Bonus: The Waterboys performing the whole song in April of 1986 (with much better sound quality!) Absolutely magical.

 
I also have to say, I think that’s The Waterboys at their sartorial height.

Bonus bonus, because it’s hard to stop: early video for “A Girl Called Johnny.” I never even knew they did a video for that, but how deeply fabulous.

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Happy Oceloversary!

April 24th, 2007 · Blogroll, Blogs, Meta

cakeDon’t worry, you don’t have to get me anything. But Ocelopotamus celebrated its one-month anniversary last week, and since I’m still figuring out the recipe for this place — what kinds of things I’m posting in what proportions, and what the readers most likely to visit a place called Ocelopotamus are actually interested in — I thought it might be a useful exercise to look back at the posts that have generated the most comments, links, and/or Technorati-Google traffic in these first few weeks. And so we hereby present the first edition of the Ocelopotamus Buzz Report.

Music

• Roddy Frame, Western Skies
It’s good to know that Mr. Frame does have some fans out there, since this post has gotten a lot of Google search traffic — although tellingly, most of it is from Europe.

• The Waterboys: Mike Scott in The Guardian, and new album Book of Lightning
There are also lots of people out there searching for Waterboys video links. Probably not so many looking to read about my experiences meeting Mike at concerts, but hey, that’s the value-add we deliver here at the OcPot.

• Honorable mention: The Best Kind of Madness
It hasn’t particularly gotten a lot of traffic or anything, but hey — new Madness single and video! In a better world this would have the masses flocking to our gates.

Culture

• Comedy and the Art of Dancing Backwards
Thanks to Dire Nerd posting a link to this on the Chicago Improv forum, my mini-essay on Kevin McDonald, Billie Piper, and the art of cooperation in comedy is the most-read post on Ocelopotamus.

• Ian McKellen Tackles King Lear
Who doesn’t love Ian McKellen? Nobody, that’s who.

• 300 Director Pushes Gay Panic Button
Another good traffic generator. It may be a box office hit, but boy do a lot of people hate that movie.

• Tolkien’s Children of Hurin: Break a Leg, Professor
Are there Tolkien fans on the Internet? That’s crazy talk.

• DVD: Shortbus and the Joy of Deleted Scenes
As we speak, the words “shortbus deleted scenes” are being typed into search engines all over Scandinavia.

• 30 Rock Is Finally Starting To
Got us on the blogroll over at the Will Arnett Research Project. Our first blogrolling by someone who doesn’t actually know us! Such a milestone.

Politics

• Last Week’s Three Best Video Kerfuffles
Video! Kerfuffles! Can’t fail. Only two of the three were political, though.

• The Invisible Front Runner in the Living Room
He’s so far ahead they think he’s behind.

• Mia Farrow on Darfur, Divestment, and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing
I cross-posted this one as a diary over at the Booman Tribune, because I think this is one of the most important issues of our time. It only got one comment there, probably because I’m a new poster there. (And besides, who the hell am I?) But it has gotten some search traffic here.

Catblogging

• More Adventures in Pet Food
• The Big Pet Food Recall, Continued

I’ve been regularly posting about the pet food recall since it started, and it’s the topic that’s provoked the most discussion here, as well as Google traffic — there are a lot of worried people out there searching for info on safer pet foods. Also, people like cat pictures! And I have cats. So I suspect catblogging will always be a key part of the Ocelopotamus experience.

Finally: I’d also like to issue ocelot-spotted shout-outs to Ocelopotamus’s most regular commenter Aaron, best traffic director Dan Telfer, and earliest blogrollers Earthgoat, Rubber Nun, and Underverse.

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Roundup: Forest for the Trees Edition

April 23rd, 2007 · Activism, Apple, Blogs, Business, Climate Change, Comedy, Culture, Food, Health, Heroes, Labor, LGBT, Music, Nature, News, Peace, Pet Food, Politics, Science, Tech, TV

forest

  • France heads for a runoff election between right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy and left-winger Ségolène Royal. The country’s future hangs in the balance, and a lot depends on where the defeated centrist candidate steers his followers.
  • Right wing blogs are now trying to push the idea that there was a massive conspiracy to hide WMDs in Iraq. Also, this just in: The moon landing was a fake! Did you know?
  • Melamine-tainted grain protein makes its way into the human food supply, via pork. Meanwhile, Royal Canin is the latest pet food brand to recall a number of varieties, in the US and elsewhere.
  • Sheryl Crow in toilet paper brawl with Sideshow Karl Rove. I think Sheryl is on the right track, but long before we start talking about limiting how many squares of toilet paper a person can use, we should be requiring that all toilet paper be made out of recycled fibers. It’s beyond ridiculous to be using virgin fiber for toilet paper, facial tissue, and so forth. We’re literally cutting down irreplaceable old-growth forests so people can wipe various parts of their bodies on them. In the process we lose precious biodiversity (including potential medical cures) and further damage the earth’s ability to handle greenhouse gases.
  • Just in case you didn’t see this clip last week: John McCain thinks the idea of bombing Iran is just hilarious.
  • Is there finally a conservative backlash against Dinesh D’Souza? (D’Souza, for those who may not know, is the guy who launched his career in college by printing the names of gay students who hadn’t come out to their families and friends yet. He’s pretty much just gotten nastier and crazier from there.)
  • 29-year-old Mexican labor organizer found tortured and murdered. “Many fear [the murder] was retribution for attempting to organize agricultural guest workers across borders.”
  • Evidence is growing for a link between pesticides and Parkinson’s Disease.
  • The FDA may be about to water down the standards for chocolate. Certain corporate concerns are arguing that people won’t be able to tell the difference between real chocolate and waxy crap. Me, I like Endangered Species dark chocolate with a cocoa content starting at about 70%.
  • Heroes is back from hiatus tonight. I have to remember to set the VCR. (Dan T., you didn’t hear that.) I can almost remember the cliffhanger before the break. Did anyone else think Mohinder’s confrontation with Sylar had a certain Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? quality, if you know what I mean?
  • I dare you to play this record: Lost in the 80s has the definitive post on EBN-OZN, complete with the videos for both “AEIOU” and “Bag Lady.”
  • Via WARP, some amusing outtakes from 30 Rock. Go ahead, have a little sippy sip.

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The Honey Bees in the Mine Shaft

April 23rd, 2007 · Food, Nature, News, Science, Tech

beesFor a while now I’ve been reading about the mysterious wide-scale disappearance of honey bee colonies, a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder, which has disturbing implications for a huge range of food crops. (According to Wikipedia, honey bees are responsible for pollinating about a third of all crop species in the U.S.)

Now there’s speculation that CCD may be caused by radiation from mobile phones and other high-tech devices.

It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world’s harvests fail …

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees’ navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up …

German research has long shown that bees’ behaviour changes near power lines.

Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a “hint” to a possible cause.

Dr George Carlo, who headed a massive study by the US government and mobile phone industry of hazards from mobiles in the Nineties, said: “I am convinced the possibility is real.”

As the article quoted above also notes, Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, “man would have only four years of life left.”

I grew up at a time when everyone was worried about killer bees heading our way. Now it turns out the most dangerous thing bees can do to us … is disappear.

***
UPDATE: In the comments, Chris Bell posted a link to this BoingBoing post, which notes that according to the debunkers at Snopes, the Einstein quote is probably bogus. Which makes sense — I have to admit I was a little surprised by it when I read it, which is what made it seem striking.

Colony Collapse Disorder, though: still real, still scary.

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Pale Blue Dot

April 22nd, 2007 · Climate Change, Culture, Poetry, Science, Video

A meditation for Earth Day from Carl Sagan.

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You’re a Good Man, Peter Parker

April 22nd, 2007 · Comics, Culture, Film, News, Theater

Spider-ManThe new Spider-Man movie opens in the U.S. on May 4th, but in the meantime, Peter Parker is already preparing to take on the scariest super-villains of all: Broadway critics.

I know this sounds like a late April Fool’s gag, but it’s a for-real story from the New York Daily News. Marvel Comics is developing a Broadway musical about Spider-Man, with music by — wait for it — Bono and The Edge.

Tony Award-winner director Julie Taymor is teaming up with U2’s Bono to bring Gotham’s superhero to the stage, Marvel announced.

U2 guitarist The Edge is also set to help Bono write a score for the world’s most famous arachnid.

“Marvel continues to look to every entertainment medium to support the enduring popularity of our superheroes, and we are thrilled with the talent on board,” said David Maisel, chairman of Marvel Studios.

Taymor is perhaps best known for directing the Broadway musical blockbuster “The Lion King,” and in 1998 she became the first Tony-award winning female director for a musical.

That squealing sound you’re hearing from down under? It’s Hugh Jackman picturing an X-Men musical with a tap-dancing part for Wolverine, sometime around 2011.

(h/t Norm Sloan.)

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Totally Different Head: Devo on Square Pegs!

April 21st, 2007 · Comedy, Culture, Music, New Wave, TV, Video

It’s been a tough week in the news, to put it mildly, so I feel like breaking out something special to brighten up the weekend. Like, how about the New Waviest episode of one of the New Waviest TV shows ever — the infamous Devo episode of Square Pegs!

DJ Kristine of Planet Earth Chicago has this in heavy rotation on the video monitors at Planet Claire, the weekly Friday night New Wave party at Holiday Club. But finding this show on YouTube is the first chance I’ve had to watch it with the sound turned up in more than twenty years, since I was roughly the same age as the show’s protagonists.

Despite its tragically short run, Square Pegs had so much going for it. A fresh visual style, sharp writing, likeable characters, and a talented cast that included Merritt Butrick a few years before his turn as Captain Kirk’s son in a couple of Star Trek movies. As Johnny Slash, forever peering over the tops of his shades and referring to Devo as his “ninth favorite band,” he was surely a role model to obsessive young New Wave record collectors everywhere. I know the show had only been on for about two episodes before people started yelling “Hey, Johnny Slash!” at me in the hallways of my high school. It was one of the few things they yelled at me I actually got a kick out of.

As for Sarah Jessica Parker, I think playing an outsider was good for her — she’s much more appealing as the geeky, vulnerable Patty Greene than the shallow, self-impressed, $400 shoe-loving Carrie Bradshaw.

Plus there was that fantabulous theme song by The Waitresses (available on their best-of compilation) — one of their two best numbers, a sassy outsiders’ anthem with a killer guitar riff punctuated by hyperactive sax squawks, and singer Patty Donahue pouting out snappy lines over the top of it all, like:

“I’d like it if they’d like us — but I don’t think they’d like us.”
“But they told me it was Senior Wig Day!”
“Suspended? Suspended from what?!”

… and of course the show’s thematic tag line:

“One size does not fit all.”

With all that, having Devo actually appear on the show was just the red plastic flowerpot on the cake.

Here’s part 1 of the episode:

And here are links to the other two parts:

Bonus: The Waitresses’ theme song I mentioned earlier isn’t heard in those clips, so here’s a separate clip from a different episode that uses a little of it in the opening credits. I seem to remember that more of it — including the funnier spoken lines — was usually heard in the end credits.

And here’s Johnny Slash’s band performing their song “I’m Tired.” (Although I think “Get Back to Me” from the end of the Devo episode beats this hands down.)

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In Chicago: Calvino, Poker, Handbags and More

April 20th, 2007 · Chicago, Culture, Fringe, Music, Neo-Futurists, Performance, The Partly Dave Show, Theater

BGBGThe trees are budding in Chicago this week, and the darling buds of the fringe performance scene are in full crazy spring bloom as well. There’s so much going on that if I’m not careful, I might use up all my item bullets, and then I wouldn’t have any for next week! Well, anyway, here are a few of the choicest blossoms …

  • Sean Benjamin’s new play Poker Night at the White House opens at the Neo-Futurarium this weekend. It’s about Warren G. Harding, and the cast includes Jay Torrence and Noelle Krimm. That’s really all you need to know, isn’t it?
  • The freakishly talented troupelet known as Boy Girl Boy Girl will be performing at the Uptown Writer’s Space (4802 N. Broadway, #200) this Sunday evening, April 22, at 7pm. Suggested donation is $5. This show will consist of performances inspired by Italo Calvino’s short story “The Distance of the Moon,” and will feature all four of BGBG’s founding members (Susan Karp, David Kodeski, Stephanie Shaw, and Edward Thomas-Herrera), as well as the BGBG Ladies’ Auxiliary (Rachel Claff and Diana Slickman). I can’t help pointing out that with this lineup, they should really be calling themselves Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl Girl, but that sort of thing is exactly the reason I don’t get invited to many parties anymore. (Hat tip to the Neo-Futurist blog, whence I stole the photo above. Which is missing Stephanie Shaw, by the by, in case you’re wondering why there are only five in it.)
  • Meanwhile, Theater Oobleck’s show The Strangerer is re-opening at Links Hall and will run there from April 20-May 12. Visit the Oobleck site for all the details. I wrote a mini-review of the show, which you can read here, at the end of its previous run a few weeks ago.
  • Hell in a Handbag productions has a wildly glamorous fundraiser this Tuesday night, April 24, to benefit their 2007-2008 season. It’ll be an evening of “food, drink, eyeliner, and entertainment Handbag style,” including songs from past, future, and imaginary shows.
  • Some of you might remember a way fabulous band called Analog Radio who played in the “Way of the Worrier” edition of The Partly Dave Show in March of 2004. Analog Radio are no more, but Dann Morr has a new band these days, and they’re every bit as catchy and tuneful as AR. They’re called Dann Morr & The New Fiction, and they’ll be playing at the Abbey Pub on Wednesday April 25 at 8pm. Hear some song samples on the band’s MySpace page.
  • Wednesday the 25th is also opening night for Vox Pandora, a new play by current Neo-Futurist Bilal Dardai. See the New Leaf Theatre site for more info on the show.
  • Local poet Richard Fox has a video installation up at the Hyde Park Art Center, as part of a show called “For Public Consumption.”
  • And finally, don’t you dare forget about the upcoming “Party Mix Edition” of The Partly Dave Show on May 2nd. Less than two weeks away now! All the details are in last week’s post.

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Theater: Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo

April 19th, 2007 · Culture, Foreign Policy, News, Peace, Performance, Theater

TigerIndian-American playwright Rajiv Joseph has a new play opening off Broadway this week. It’s called Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, and it tells the story of the “shock and awe” campaign in Baghdad as seen through the eyes of a “ratty old Bengal tiger caged in the bombed-out Baghdad zoo.”

Joseph told DNA he was moved to write Bengal Tiger which takes his audience into a Kafkaesque Iraq following two American soldiers, a talking tiger and an Iraqi translator after he read a news item.

“An Associated Press story reported how American bombs had blown apart the Baghdad Zoo in 2003. The animals escaped — the lions literally ran through the streets during a blazing gun battle and were shot and killed by US Marines,” said Joseph.

“An American soldier stationed inside the zoo to guard it felt sorry for a hungry caged Bengal tiger and tried to feed it. The tiger bit off his hand. The other soldier promptly shot and killed the tiger. That was the end of the article. I read this absurd story and was really touched and haunted by it,” added the 32-year-old playwright, who teaches writing at New York University.

As the show’s protagonist, the tiger speaks directly to the audience, telling them “how much his life sucks,” according to the playwright:

“At one point, the tiger talks about cruelty and how years ago, when he was living in the Sundarbans, he killed two children. He ate them and caused misery to the parents. But he insists it wasn’t cruel, it was lunch. Yet, now children are being killed in Baghdad for no reason half as good as lunch.”

A brilliant line, and all too true.

I’m hoping there will be a Chicago production of this eventually — I’d love to see it.

(h/t Norm Sloan)

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News Roundup: Back Alley Edition

April 19th, 2007 · Business, Chicago, Culture, Guns, Health, Internet, Labor, LGBT, Music, Nature, News, Pet Food, Politics, Science, Supreme Court

Supreme Court

  • Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling on abortion makes no exception for women whose health is in danger. This DKos diary, “5 out of 9 SCOTUS justices say my mom should be dead,” describes in vivid personal terms how a late-term abortion saved the life of the writer’s mother, and how this new ruling means that a mother can be forced to sacrifice her own life in order to protect a fetus that isn’t able to survive on its own.
  • Also from Daily Kos: A profile of Liviu Librescu, holocaust survivor, who died while blocking the Virginia tech gunman so students could flee, via this Meteor Blades diary. And in “I Live in Blacksburg,” a resident of the town points out the foolishness of arguing that more guns on campus would have helped the situation.
  • Did Chinese producers deliberately add melamine to wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate, in order to create the appearance of higher protein content? For the latest updates on everything related to the pet food recall, keep your eye on Itchmo— they’re really staying on top of the story.
  • Some good news, for a change: The aldermanic election results in Chicago are being called a win for Labor.
  • Jane Goodall drops by the ape house at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
  • Internet radio may have been dealt a death blow, thanks to a sharp rise in royalty fees that will result from a new decision by the Copyright Royalty Board.
  • Why Hilary Benn rejects the phrase “War on Terror.”
  • Unbelievable. Tommy Thompson complimented an audience of Jewish activists on their prowess at making money. Yes, he really did that. And then, when he got flak for it, he said all bewildered-like that he had only meant to highlight the “accomplishments” of the Jewish religion. Words fail me. Who exactly told this man he should go into politics?
  • Insurance companies are denying coverage to same-sex New Jersey couples who have formed civil unions. Via Towleroad.
  • Researchers at UCLA believe they may have discovered why eating soy and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli helps protect against cancer.

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Help Save Women & Children First Bookstore

April 19th, 2007 · Activism, Books, Business, Chicago, Culture, Feminism, LGBT, Media, News

Women & Children FirstWomen & Children First bookstore here in Andersonville is in danger of closing, possibly before the end of the summer, according to recent stories in the Chicago Tribune and the Windy City Times.

One factor hurting sales at W&CF is competition, of course. Borders Books & Music, for instance, has four locations—all within four miles of W&CF. The Internet is also a significant factor because it’s made book-shopping simple and cheaper, especially for those who know exactly what they want. “It’s extremely hard to compete with [ the Internet ] ,” Bubon said.

W&CF was one of the first Chicago-area bookstores to sell online, and it still does.

“We’re working as smartly and operating as smartly as, frankly, we know how to,” Christophersen said. “We have done everything we can think of to cut our operating costs, including my salary.”

Things have gotten so bad at W&CF that both confirm the store must now plan month-to-month, not long-term. And the possibility that W&CF might close before the end of the summer is very real, they confirmed.

“What it ultimately comes down to is: whether people in the community, and the city as a whole, decide it matters enough that we exist and then make their shopping decisions based on that,” Christophersen said. “We want people’s support, and we need it now. By that we mean, that they buy their books here.

Women & Children First is one of Chicago’s real treasures — one of our last remaining indie bookstores, proudly progressive and supportive of the LGBT community.

And I have a personal interest in supporting them, as they’re the only bookstore in Chicago that has consistently had my book What the Sea Means on their shelves since it was released in 2002. Not to mention the numerous times that I’ve been invited to perform in their annual LGBT Pride Month reading series.

Other bookstores may talk about supporting local writers, but Women & Children First really does it.

Anyway — if you’re in Chicago and haven’t been there in a while, please stop by the store (5233 N. Clark Street) and buy an armload of books.

And if you’re outside Chicago and want to help support this great bookselling institution, consider buying something from their online store. Here’s the link (or just click on the store’s logo at the top of this post):

Women and Children First Books online

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Illinois Legislators Mock Transgendered People

April 19th, 2007 · Human Rights, LGBT, News, Politics

This is appalling. I’m ashamed of my state right now.

Several Illinois lawmakers mocked sex changes and the idea of debating the subject Tuesday before rejecting a measure that would have made it easier to get a new birth certificate after switching genders.

One representative compared sex changes to voodoo and joked that he had thought about getting one so he wouldn’t have to shave. Another suggested the House could be debating more important matters.

The man presiding over the debate spoke in a falsetto as he called for a vote, although he ended up supporting the measure.

Bless Sara Feigenholtz for trying to advance the bill, and for calling BS on the smug little bigot boys making fun of it.

“I didn’t think it was good-natured at all,” said Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago. “I think a lot of my colleagues demonstrated some serious insensitivity to a very complex issue. I thought it was very unprofessional.”

The legislation failed 32-78.

And this guy definitely wins the Illinois State jackass of the week award:

The legislation came up shortly after a debate about neutering deer to control their population. Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, joked that the state might start issuing sex-change documents to deer.

He complained about spending time on the issue when bigger problems, such as electricity prices, remain unresolved.

“How do you possibly — possibly — bring this forward when there’s so much this body needs to be considering?” Rose asked Feigenholtz.

That’s right. Rep. Chapin Rose just can’t imagine why the state legislature should spend a minute of its precious time on the problems faced by transgendered people. It doesn’t matter that they work and pay taxes to pay his salary, just like everyone else in the state. To him they’re just not important.

Dear karma gods … in his next incarnation, please sentence Rep. Chapin Rose to a lifetime of ridicule and mockery for characteristics outside his control. A nice long lifetime like that.

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Pet Food Recall Update — Natural Balance Info

April 17th, 2007 · Business, Cats, Factory Farming, Food, Health, Journal, Kiwi, Mr. Blue, News, Pet Food

Mr. Blue and KiwiI’m getting a lot of Google traffic today from people who are searching for information about the recall of Natural Balance’s pet food, specifically the venison varieties.

So, if you’re one of those folks, here’s a link to the Natural Balance site and here’s what it currently says:

NOTICE:
We are receiving consumer complaints regarding the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods. We do not know what is wrong with the food at this time, but we have heard that animals are vomiting and experiencing kidney problems. Although the problems seem to be focused on one particular lot, as a precautionary measure, we are pulling all dates of Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food from the shelves.

Please discontinue feeding all Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Food.
We are working closely with the FDA.
We will update this website today, as more information comes available.
NO OTHER NATURAL BALANCE PRODUCTS ARE AFFECTED.

Here’s a blog I found with some additional info and discussion.

Just as a side note: I can’t figure out why on earth this company puts venison of all things in their pet food. What, are they sending out bow-hunters to slay deer and drag them back to the pet food factory? Or are they actually factory-farming deer somewhere? It just seems kind of weird.

As for my feline family, Kiwi and Mr. Blue have almost completed their transition over to the Newman’s Own organic cat food (which is based on organic and free-range chicken rather than, say, Bambi’s mother), and it’s been a big success — my cats really love the stuff.

For canned food, we tried the “Chicken & Brown Rice Formula” first, which both cats like just as well as any of the Science Diet varieties they were eating previously.

Then I brought home some of the Newman’s Own “Turkey and Vegetable Formula” and that’s pretty much their favorite thing ever. Four paws way up. In fact it’s the most canned food I’ve ever been able to get Mr. Blue to eat, notorious kibble fiend that he is. He’s nuts about it!

Their dry food mix, which I’ve been transitioning slowly, is up to about 2/3 Newman’s Own, and they’ve taken to it just fine — Mr. Blue gobbles it right up, and Kiwi digs it too.

Simon and Molly, the feline companions of Planet Earth Chicago DJs Dave & Kristine, are also reported to be happy converts to Newman’s Own.

Here in Chicago, all of the Whole Foods stores I know of either already carry Newman’s Own or are in the process of ordering it. I get mine at the Lakeview store on Ashland, and they’ve consistently had it in stock since I started the switch.

So … if you’re considering fleeing from the clutches of Iams (whose cruel animal experiments Morrissey has a word or two on the subject of), or Science Diet, or Natural Balance, or any of the other recalled brands, Ocelopotamus officially recommends Newman’s Own.

Previously on Ocelopotamus:

***
UPDATE: It turns out that the rice protein concentrate used in some Natural Balance foods has been confirmed to be contaminated with melamine. Natural Balance has expanded their recall to include the following foods: Venison and Brown Rice Treats for Dogs (New today), Venison and Brown Rice Canned Formula for Dogs (New today), Venison and Brown Rice Dry Food for Dogs (Reported Sunday), and Venison and Green Pea Dry Food for Cats (Reported Sunday). More info here, at a blog called Itchmo. Also, there’s a USA Today story here.

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Tolkien’s Children of Hurin: Break a Leg, Professor

April 17th, 2007 · Books, Culture, Fantasy, Journal, Lit, Mythology, News, Peoria

Children of HurinIt appears that Christopher Tolkien has one more book to produce out of his father’s magic hat, although this one will almost certainly be the last. The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien goes on sale today, three decades after his death:

Tolkien’s son and literary executor Christopher, now in his eighties, constructed “The Children of Hurin” from his father’s manuscripts, and said he tried to do so “without any editorial invention”.

Already told in fragmentary form in “The Silmarillion”, which appeared in 1977, the new book is darker than “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”, for which Tolkien is best known.

Asked if it was fair to assume “The Children of Hurin” would be the last “new” Tolkien work to be published, he replied:

“I think it is a reasonable assumption. There are other tales in ‘Silmarillion’ that could stand alone in this manner, but none of them have attached to them this amount of developed text.”

I suspect that like The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, The Children of Hurin will be a book for those of us who are already Tolkien fans, and have read and cherished The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings more than once — and not really something that will win over new fans except to whatever extent it creates publicity for the books as a set.

Although I loved The Silmarillion, as did all the members of my grade school chess team (yes: I’m not saying I was any good at chess, but I was on the team), I’ve known plenty of people who found it unreadable.

Of course, the majority of those cases were people who tried to read it before reading the four primary books. Sometimes this was because they’d heard that it precedes the other books in chronological terms, and while that’s true, it’s misleading. You have to read The Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy first because they supply the warmth, charm, and humanity necessary to make you fall in love with Middle-Earth, and then want to know more about those great, ancient tales that are hinted at in the story, and supply its dizzying sense of scale.

It’s only after you’ve gone on those journeys with Bilbo and Frodo and Sam a time or two that you’ll have the requisite curiosity about the deeper layers of their world that’s necessary to propel you through the grander but more distant mythological style of The Silmarillion.

The Silmarillion came out in paperback in the spring of 1979, the spring I got my leg broken on the wrestling mat in PE class (a story I’ve told elsewhere). In fact, the paperback edition was released the very week I arrived at the hospital, and I remember my mom presenting me with a copy of it almost as soon as I was conscious following the operation to set my leg. Unbeknownst to her, my peers on the chess team had also scraped together various quarters and fifty-cent pieces to buy me a copy as a get-well present — but when they found out my mom had already filled that niche, the second copy was quickly re-appropriated by whichever member of the collective had done the actual purchasing.

[Read more →]

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