Well, Marvel's done it again. Even though I'd been hoping otherwise, Tuesday came and the X-Men Origins movie came out only on Blu Ray and widescreen DVD, which guarantees I won't be getting it because I just can not tolerate widescreen and I'm not rich so can't afford a BluRay player just so they'd be obsolete in another year too. Anyway, just like the Iron Man movie last year, I guess I'll have to be satisfied with only having seen it at the theaters. Maybe I'll just not even bother going to see any more of their movies cuz what's the use of going when it'll only make me want the movie and they'll disappoint me again. I'm tired of it, and movies are just too expensive these days to be disappointed like that constantly.

I don't imagine this link is going to work the way it's supposed to, but here's to hoping... http://www.digitalcity.com/2009/09/10/wacky-and-outdated-u-s-laws/ I don't know how long the article will be up, but they have some rather odd laws included. For instance, in one state, it's illegal to get a fish drunk, in another it's illegal to get moose drunk. In Tennesee, it's illegal to carry a skunk into the state. In some, it's mandatory for people who plan to commit crimes to call either their intended victim 24 hours before doing so or the sherrif's dept. to give notice they're going to. Some of the other laws included here are just as bad, if not worse. Wait till ya see the one about ducks.

Anyway, I thought they'd help brighten peoples' day. The law I'm really not so sure is a smart one is the one Arizona intends to put into effect on September 29th allowing people who have permits to carry concealed weapons to bring said weapons into "drinking establishments". Now, hello, but who the heck let that one pass? Do people not realize that weapons + alcohol = a VERY BAD COMBINATION? I really have to question where the legislators' brains are on that one. The other laws just leave ya scratching your head and saying hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

http://www.asylum.com/2009/08/13/why-do-young-boys-abuse-animals/?icid=main%7chtmlws-main%7cdl4%7clink5%7chttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.asylum.com%2F2009%2F08%2F13%2Fwhy-do-young-boys-abuse-animals%2F

I read this article and I just can not understand the reasoning that went into this. When I was young, I used to hear stories about firecrackers and frogs...and I thought that was horribly cruel. This strikes me as so far beyond cruel, it's just completely mind-boggling. I don't get what people get out of tormenting an animal this way. The more I read about this kind of behaviour, the more I can't help but wonder if the same shouldn't be done to those who do this kind of thing to animals. People are supposed to know better. Especially by the time they're teenagers. I can't describe how angry this kind of thing makes me. I know doing the same to them won't help the animals any, but still, it makes part of me want to string the people responsible up for days, torture them, to the point where they can barely survive, and see how they like it. Yes, this is my ugly side coming out, because I care so much about animals, and it just sickens me that people treat them this way and think nothing of it. And again, there's the comment "It was just a moose". You want to get me really irate, come and say a comment like that to me about an animal. I swear I've known animals with far nicer personalities than a lot of people... When I crack your skull open and say, oh he was just an idiot, let's see how much you like it.
I apologize to those of you who are sensitive and care as much for animals as I do. I'm not trying to offend anyone, honestly... I just can't stomach abuse to animals. It's one of the easiest ways to make me snap. This isn't news to those of you who have read some of my other past blogs, just as you know that child abuse also drives me nuts. This wasn't supposed to be a rant, but that's how it's turning out, and unfortunately, a lot of you are thinking I'm getting repetitive when it comes to this. The problem with this kind of thing is, on the one hand, I hate giving the people who do this the attention they're so obviously craving, but on the other hand I feel obligated to speak out against stuff like this because of my love of animals, and I will keep doing so until behaviour of this kind is stopped, and punished severely. The animals certainly can't speak for themselves.

Almost two years ago exactly, I blogged here about my first time seeing the pint-sized powerhouse that is Pat Benatar, and this past Saturday night, I got to see her for the second time in my life. This time, however, things were a bit different. First of all, instead of finding out about the concert a month or so after the tickets had gone on sale, I found out about it almost two weeks before they went on sale, so I was able to be there just as they did and get myself a fantastic ticket, second row center stage. Pat would be right in front of me most of the show. The ticket was a little more expensive than last time, but that was fine with me. I've never had tickets so close before, and ten dollars extra to be that close was well worth it. The second difference, this time, was that I wouldn't have to rely on public transportation to get there and back. I was able to arrange a ride with some neighbors who were going (and who, unbeknownst to me, went last time as well -- if I'd known, I could have saved the 15 + hours of waiting, but oh well... live and learn) though they weren't able to get their tickets at the same time I did. Still, this would be a huge difference from the last time, and an enormous help. Third, this time, Blondie was opening up for Pat, instead of the no-name act she had last time. Since I happen to like Blondie too, I thought this would be a very cool arrangement, though I couldn't help but wonder... the two have very different musical styles, so I wasn't sure how it was going to go. The fact that the ticket prices were still low for two relatively big names surprised me, but I wasn't complaining The fourth difference was that, though neither the website nor the ticket mentioned it, there was also a third group on the bill, a group I'd heard of but never heard anything from: The Donnas. They had been mentioned on Pat's website as being with them for other dates, but not this one, so it was a surprise, and a pleasant one, as it would turn out. They were just walking on stage as I got to my seat, so it was pretty good timing. Unfortunately, as I said, I'm not familiar with their music, so I couldn't understand much of what was said in the songs, but they sounded good enough from what I could hear to seriously consider getting their latest cd at least. The singer balanced the music with talking to the crowd very nicely, unlike some I've seen in the past, and three of the four ladies seemed to be energetic and really enjoying themselves. The only one who didn't move much was the bass player. I don't know their names, unfortunately, but that will also hopefully change if I get their cd. It was a shame their set came to an end seemingly only about fifteen minutes later. When Blondie came out about twenty minutes later, I was not impressed. I can't be sure, but when they came out, they all looked so stoned, I couldn't help but wonder who would be the first to trip over something or fall down. Luckily no one did. I only have The Best of Blondie, so unfortunately, a lot of what they played, I wasn't familiar with either. Of the few I know, they played "Atomic", "Call Me", "One Way or Another", "The Tide is High", "Hanging on the Telephone", "Heart of Glass", and, though I hoped they WOULDN'T play it, "Rapture" (I never HAVE liked that "song"). The last song they played was actually Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop til You Get Enough" which surprised me. I had wondered if either Pat of Debbie would make mention of Michael, but nothing was said about him. Finally, though, it was time for Pat to come out. She was supposed to be on from 9:10 to 10:25, according to one of the staffmembers there, and she came out I'd say within two minutes of her scheduled time. The first thing that struck me was how short she is, but as she has proven time and time and time again, that does nothing to lessen the power of her voice, and she proved it once again Saturday night, rocking her way through classics like "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", "Love is a Battlefield", "You Better Run," and "Shadows of the Night". They started the night the same way they did two years ago with "All Fired Up", and essentially stuck to a shortened version of the playlist they used then. Once again, she introduced "Invincible" by saying it was from "the worst film ever made", and again, I had to disagree. There are so many films that have come out that are a lot worse than "The Legend of Billie Jean", but I digress. Keeping with tradition, she also performed "Hell is for Children" once again, as she always does... she says it's keeping a promise she made years ago in New York that they'd perform it at every concert they did until every child everywhere was safe. Once again, she had me very close to crying with that song. It's still one of the most powerful songs she has. The sad thing is, I don't think they'll ever be able to stop playing it. I'm not going to list all the other songs she played, because this is running long enough as it is, but I have to say, unlike last time, I didn't leave this concert thinking something was missing. Yeah, it probably would have been better if The Donnas had gotten another twenty minutes maybe, and Pat had gotten the remaining time, totally eliminating Blondie from the set, but Pat herself seemed to be more energetic than she was last time, moving around more than I remember her doing last time. Something else that made it even better than last time was the return of her long-time drummer Myron Grombacher, who wasn't behind the drums last time I saw her. With him back, a large part of the old band is back together, and it felt more right than it did. I would say all things considered this time, I'd have to give the night an A- this time... 8 stars out of 10, only because of the disappointing showing that Blondie made. Otherwise, it would have been perfect.

Earlier this year, back in February, I blogged about a pitiful little koala that, through the compassion of a volunteer firefighter named David Tree, had been saved from the horrible wildfires in Australia. The people who worked at the animal clinic she was brought to named the injured creature Sam, and said that, with a lot of help and time, her badly burned paws would heal and she would be ok in about seven months or so.
Sadly, the first thing I saw when I signed online this morning, was that this little koala had been killed. The article said "euthanized", but as far as I'm concerned, that's just a euphemism for the more unpleasant truth. Supposedly, the poor thing had a number of cysts inside her body that had spread so much that there was no hope of operating to remove them. As I think about that, I can't help but wonder why her condition was allowed to get that bad. She'd been at this clinic, under the care of veterinarians, for half a year. Didn't they know earlier that she had these cysts? I wouldn't want the animal to suffer needlessly, but I can't help but wonder if the staff at the clinic were aware of the problem (and in six months, I can't believe that she hadn't undergone a thorough exam at least once) why was it allowed to advance far enough to be life-threatening, as they claim it was? All the pain of the burned paws, all the time spent healing from those burns, all for nothing. Then I read some comments from others who'd read the article. The callousness of some of them just made me sick. One said "it was just a stupid koala, not a person." I have blogged in the past about how I feel regarding animals and pain -- I am sure they feel pain just as strongly as we do. Maybe not in the same manner, but I'm sure they do, and to them it would hurt just as much as if we went through what they did. I tried to comment back on that board, but it wouldn't let me, saying i had to type in that crazy twisted text in the box, but the text never showed, no matter how many times I refreshed. I tried to remind that poster, and whoever else was echoing similar lines, that we humans are animals as well, that just because we think ourselves "civilized" doesn't mean we're right. I wasn't happy the koala had been killed after all it had gone through, but this person's attitude was making me almost just as mad.
Unfortunately, the koala's death wasn't the only heartbreaking story I saw recently. I don't remember exactly when it was, but there was also a dolphin that had been rescued, sick, injured and very close to dying, by a team from an acquarium in Florida. After seven long months of treatment and rehabilitation, the staff caring for the young male dolphin decided he was ready to be released back into the ocean. He was thus equipped with a sattelite transmitter so his movements and location could be tracked, and then he was set free off the coast of Florida. After some initial hesitation, the young dolphin headed out. It seemed all had gone beautifully. Sadly, though, within a few hours of his release, he was attacked by sharks once again, not once but twice, the second attack injuring him so badly he couldn't be saved. Once again, all that pain he'd gone through, all the time taken to heal... Some might say it's Nature's way, that maybe there was something wrong with him that no one knew about... But that still doesn't ease the loss of any life. I know there are likely thousands of animals like them about which you never hear, but those we do hear about... we can't let their deaths mean nothing.