Salvation for Michael Vick’s Dogs – “The Lost Dogs” by Jim Gorant
November 3, 2010
I’ve written before about the dogs of Bad Newz Kennels run by Michael Vick and must draw your attention to the excellent new book by Jim Gorant, The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick’s Dogs and their Tale of Rescue and Redemption. Gorant is the reporter who wrote the Sports Illustrated cover story (December 29, 2008) about this case and so was ideally positioned to do the extensive follow up in this book. That cover story generated more letters and emails than any other SI story that year, a measure of the outrage and controversy surrounding this case. A very few saw the attention paid here as disproportionate, or in the extreme, racist. I find it hard to sympathize with those views.
Of course, when a third of the world goes to bed hungry at night you can make the case that the sympathy and attention these dogs received is the luxury of the haves as opposed to the have-nots. Our indifference to human suffering can be appalling, but the fact that we cannot solve every problem should not prevent us from tackling the ones we can solve. And it’s hard not to see these pit bull and pit bull mixes as the unwilling, unfortunate victims of a callous blood sport.
That football itself is a brutal, violent game that generously rewarded Michael Vick for his skill says something else about what we value in our culture. But, as far as I’m aware, we don’t electrocute, hang, drown or shoot unsuccessful NFL players. (We do permit some of them to suffer massive head traumas that leave them with cognitive problems like memory loss, confusion, speech impediments, early onset Alzheimer’s, nausea, depression, blurred vision, headaches, the inability to concentrate and other neurological problems. However, 1.) Your average NFL player is not nearly as cute an adorable as your average American Staffordshire Terrier and 2.) They make a choice about their profession that pit bulls clearly do not).
The uplifting part of this story is that of 51 dogs recovered 47 have received second chances for a better life, the overwhelming majority of these dogs are now in loving homes as treasured companion animals. A few were too damaged to make the transition to pets and have been placed in animal sanctuaries. But when you consider that initially both PETA and the Humane Society called for all of these dogs to be destroyed, the recovery detailed in The Lost Dogs is simply amazing.
The capacity of a dog to accept kind treatment from the same species that brutalized them should be a lesson to us all about forgiveness and the capacity to change.
You’ll get the entire story of the investigation and subsequent trial of Michael Vick and the efforts of prosecutors, rescue groups and individuals who rose to the challenge presented by these damaged dogs. There are many heroes and a few villains (Gerald Poindexter, commonwealth attorney for Surry County in Virginia is certainly a candidate for that title).
One outstanding rescue group you’ll read about is BADRAP, Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls. For some compelling images of the Vick dogs, go here on their site.
Anyone who cares about dogs should read this book. It’s a gripping story and Jim Gorant has done an excellent job in bringing the entire cast, canine and human, to life in these pages. You will get to know some of the Vick dogs quite well and, if you possess any compassion whatsoever, their journey from abuse to safety will haunt you long after you finish reading. The dog owners among you will probably also want to hug your own dogs, tightly.
Interesting Facts about Hallowe’en
October 6, 2010
from HalloweenExpress.com
‘What the Font’ helps you Identify Fonts
October 1, 2010
Have you ever seen a font on a menu or sign or in a magazine and wondered what it is? Perhaps because you think it would be perfect for a job you’re working on? Or perhaps because you’re a designer who’s simply font-mad like me?
Now there’s a new online service in beta from MyFonts.com called What the Font that allows you to upload an image file (up to 2 MB) and will attempt to match and identify the typeface.
Snap an image with your iPhone or other mobile device, prep it according to the site’s requirements, and upload it. If there’s no match in their database, there’s also a forum where you can post your type sample and see if anyone there can give you the name.
Apple Computer History by OnlineSchools.org
September 30, 2010
Here’s a neat chart that details the highlights of Apple’s history from the good folks at OnlineSchools.org. Click on image for larger size.
Everything You Know is Wrong: Ancient Sculpture was Colorful
September 30, 2010
We all know that Nero did not fiddle while Rome burned – the fiddle wasn’t invented for another 1,500 years for one. Two, although he was generally considered one of the worst administrators among Roman emperors, he was tireless in his efforts to help his subjects after the disastrous fire in 64 A.D.
Nero was vacationing in Anzio away from the summer heat of Rome when he was first informed of the great fire. When he arrived the conflagration was so wide spread the horses he and his guards rode refused to enter the city.
“Speckled with soot, the emperor’s famous bronze hair appeared black; in the thick smoke he was virtually unrecognizable. Nero dashed from street to street, assisting the injured, offering aid, and even entering a burning building to help rescue a family. A man who did not recognize the emperor was so grateful for his help that he offered him a reward of gold coins. Nero declined the reward and revealed his identity to the startled man.” – William Weir, History’s Greatest Lies
We also all know that ancient Greek and Roman statues were white, if marble or bronze colored, if made of bronze. Well, we are all wrong. ColourLovers reveals here that researchers like Vinzenz Brinkmann now believe that mineral and organic pigments were used to paint bright colors on statues and bas-reliefs.
An exhibition in support of these findings, ‘Gods in Color: Painted Sculpture of Classical Antiquity’ features more than 20 full-size color reconstructions of Greek and Roman works, alongside 35 original statues and reliefs. is running at Harvard University’s Arthur M. Sackler Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
I was right! Everything I knew was wrong!
The Interwebs are Running Out of IP Addresses
September 30, 2010
“The Internet will soon be sailing in very rough seas, as it’s about to run out of addresses, needing to be gutted and reconfigured for continued growth in the second half of the 2010s and beyond. Originally, the idea was that this upgrade would happen quietly in the background, but over the past few years, it has become clear that the change from the current Internet Protocol version 4, which is quickly running out of addresses, to the new version 6 will be quite a messy affair.”
Iljitsch van Beijnum from Ars Technica explains why this is a problem and how solving it will be a protracted, messy affair here.
40 Extremely Useful Photoshop PSD Templates from Graphic Mania
September 30, 2010
Photoshop PSD templates for business cards, DVD labels and cases, web sites, task bar buttons, film strips, desk top wall papers, Android icons, folder icons, iPhone 4G art and much more collected by Rafiq Elmansy of Graphic Mania. Find them all here. Thanks, Rafiq!
More Free Paper Textures for Downloading from Save/Delete
September 30, 2010
A collection of 10 sites that provide free paper textures for both personal and professional use from the good folks at Save/Delete. Thanks, guys! Go here for the links.
You Need these T-Shirts. Trust Me. SNORGtees
September 30, 2010
I know the growth of the Interwebs has had the unfortunate result of proliferating T-shirt vendors like Mars flies in a Klein bottle. But here’s one that you should check out. Clever designs that are actually funny – and today we need all the good T-shirt humor this country can muster! Go here for SNORGtees.
10 Useful Mac OSX Apps from Smash!ng Apps
September 30, 2010
OK, you know the drill: the cool cats and kittens at one of our favorite sites Smash!ng Apps have compiled yet another great list of useful OSX apps for the Mac faithful. Go get ’em here. Now move along, nothing to see here. . .