Coffee and Provocation

Greenland's Sirius Special Forces

Greenland is under the control of Denmark, which is is responsible for both its police patrol and its national defense. In order to protect the native sled dog population of Greenland, however, no snowmobiles are allowed in the north of Greenland, nor are imported sled dogs allowed -- a way of making sure that gasoline and degenerated dogs from the Kennel Club do not wreck the native canine gene pool which has been 5,000 years in the making.  The result is "Sirius," a special forces team that moves by native sled dog.  Photographer Fritz Hoffman has put together a photo exhibit of the dogs patrolling one of the largest and most rugged frozen wildernesses in the world.

Remember Stamps?  Remember Working Dogs?
The U.S. Postal Service is issuing four 65-cent postage stamps featuring “Dogs at Work".  The dogs shown are a tracking dog, a guide dog for the blind, a search and rescue dog, and a "therapy" dog (Seriously?  A therapy dog?).  For those of you who have not mailed a letter in 15 years, a 65-cent stamp is the postage for sending a first-class piece weighing between one and two ounces. 

Hollywood Terriers
Terriers are taking the limelight this year, with a cartoon Snowy (Milou) starring in the new TinTin movie, and Uggie the Jack Russell terrier, the star of "The Artist," apparenrly the most exciting prospect for an Oscar after his knock-out performance on stage at the Golden Globe awards.  Finally, Christopher Plummer gave a shout-out to the Jack Russell terrier Cosmo, his co-star in the film Beginners.

The Horror of Dogs on Chains
I hate to see a dog on a chain, though I have to say these two characters seem to be having a lot of fun.

Pet Connection Comes Back From the Dead
The old Pet Connection blog will be coming back at a new location and with just dogs at HonestDog.com.  Things should fire up around February 1st.

Pimp the Ride
For a small tour of American awesomeness in the motor home department check out this ride.

The Pretentiousness Scale
Calvin Trillin describes a new social index in this delightful little read.

Paula Deen Moves from Fat Pusher to Drug Pusher Who is Fat
Paula Deen, an overweight TV cook, is famous for pushing fat- and sugar-soaked food on her TV show.  Now it turns out she had had diabetes for three years and has only now decided to announce it after securing sponsorship from diabetes company Novo Nordisk.  And yes, she is still going to be pushing lard and sugar on her TV show -- now all you have to do is take drugs for the disease she is  encouraging you to get!  This is like someone promoting cigarettes who then gets paid by the chemo companies while forgetting to mention that your Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance dollars are supporting it all.

Two Awesome YouTube Video Remixes and Mashups
The first is Elvis and Duffy.  I always hated this Elvis tune, but with the addition of Duffy it becomes pretty good.  And how about this catchy little mashup of The Fresh Prince of Bel-air?

So Why Are the British So Pasty White?
I am told that no point in Great Britain is more than 75 miles from the sea.

Good Luck With That
The Federated Farmers of New Zealand are calling for sheep shearing to become an Olympic sport.  And I am sure that will happen -- right after I win the bronze for digging on the terriers. 
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