(Note: About 3:25 into the video, my sea lion friend disappears for a sec, but he’s back in like 30 seconds. And sorry about the lack of sound, but the zoo had music playing in the background and YT wasn’t happy with that. Pretty much the entire video is me saying “good boy!”)

Here’s the video I shot of my visit, with a much longer explanation below.

I’ve been going to this zoo for thirty years, and never realized this until now. The zoo is great, if you ever go to DC — definitely one of the best in the US. And it has this neat underground viewing area, a bit hidden, where you can watch the seals swimming underwater from behind a huge plexiglass. Until this week, I thought the sea lions simply swam by quickly and that was that. Well, apparently, if you get the right sea lion, he likes to play virtual fetch with a stick, just like a dog! I discovered this yesterday afternoon, and spent nearly two hours playing with this one sea lion. I decided to go back today to try to shoot some video of our play time, and that’s what you’re watching here. It was one of the most amazing zoo, and animal, experiences of my life.

We first saw the sea lion yesterday when one of the zoo visitors was running his finger along the plexiglass, and the sea lion was following it and then doing flips when the man swirled his finger. That was pretty cool, all by itself. But after a while, the sea lion stopped following our fingers, and instead kept, seemingly, pointing at a stick on the ground on our side of the plexiglass. We thought the sea lion thought the stick was a treat — and that he was expecting some kind of reward for twirling in the water for us. After a while, we picked up the stick and showed it to him, and the sea lion followed the hand with the stick, so that’s definitely what he wanted. But the sea lion didn’t think the stick was a treat, he thought it was a toy — and kept jabbing his nose at it, like he wanted us to do something with it. I don’t know what possessed us, but somehow someone got the idea to throw the stick, and what do you know, the sea lion chased it and then did a somersault every time he got to the stick. (Also amazing, it was really dark in there by closing time, and the seal still found the stick every time.)

So, apparently, the sea lion wanted to play fetch and, amazingly, somehow communicated that to us. This five-minute video is me going back to the zoo today to have a bit more playtime with that one sea lion. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. JOHN

The post Playing fetch with sea lions at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, DC (video) appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

We do a minimum of two episodes per week. Half are open to everyone, and half are subscriber-only. We’re asking for a minimum subscription of $5/month, which is standard for most podcasts.

You can check out the free episodes on iTunes, Patreon, SoundCloud, Google Play and many other services. And you can subscribe to our premium episodes on Patreon.

What would be a great help in addition to signing up for the premium episodes is also subscribing to the podcast on iTunes, and then rating/reviewing it. If we get enough subscriptions and ratings/reviews in the first few weeks, iTunes may feature us in their “New & Noteworthy” section, which would be a huge boost. We have 32 ratings as of this writing, so your additional rating would be HUGELY important and helpful. Thanks.

Now, if you know my politics, Cliff’s are no different. We are proud Democrats who are also proud progressives — we’re here to fight the right, but we never shy away from taking our party to task when needed. At UnPresidented we believe that whatever our differences on the left, the way to win on the issues we care about, from immigration to civil rights, health care and climate, is for all of us to come together and resist Donald Trump.

We already have at least 8 free episodes up, and one premium, so there’s ample for you to check out for free. Here’s a list of our first 9:

Thanks as always for your support. Progressivism activism is what I do for a living. So your donations matter — they literally finance my work. So thank you for your continued support. I really do appreciate it.

JOHN

The post Welcome to our new Resistance podcast appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

I am asking you today to support me over the next three months, from now until the election, in a campaign to utterly destroy Donald Trump’s candidacy, send Hillary Clinton to the White House, and help elect a progressive majority to Congress.

You can contribute with a credit card via this page, via the large convenient form below, or by sending a check made out to “John Aravosis” to my PO Box:

John Aravosis
PO Box 1532
Long Island City, NY 11101-9998

I am asking you to help me raise a minimum of $25,000 for the next three months. The more we raise, the more we can do — including creating hard-hitting pop-up Web sites and viral graphics, buying online ads, making my Facebook Live broadcasts more professional, and also bringing more people on board this campaign.

In a nutshell, I am an activist for hire. Hire me.

I’m going to place the donation form below, for those who already know of my 25 year commitment to progressive advocacy, and don’t need any more convincing. But after the form, please keep reading, as I’ve written a long description of the work I’ve done over the years for progressive causes, and an explanation of why I think I’m uniquely qualified for this mission to take on Donald Trump.

And finally, a quick word about donations. First, they’re not tax-deductible, sorry. Second, you can make a one-time donation, or a recurring donation each month — meaning, you can give, say, $25 once or $25 per month. It’s up to you, just click the appropriate button.

Now, I will make one extraordinary request to those who can afford it. There are some people of means who every election donate the maximum to their candidate of choice. That means they give $2,700 during the primaries, and another $2,700 during the general election. I’d like to ask those people to consider maxing out to me as well. Hillary has already raised nearly $700 million this campaign. And that’s great. But think of what I can accomplish with a mere $25,000 — or, if people are really generous, $50,000. This election is exceptional, so I am making an exceptional request. Thank you. (And don’t forget to read the rest of this post, below the fundraising form.)

First, a word about polls

First, let’s have a word about the polls. I know some people might think, “hey, Hillary is so far ahead of Donald Trump in the polls, we’ve already won this!” I disagree. We’re still nearly three months from the election, and a lot can change between now and then — and historically, it has. Candidates who were doing great right after the convention, lost. And candidates who were written off after the convention, eventually won in November.

We simply cannot assume that we’re going to win in November. That’s a recipe for an upset victory for the other guy. We need to pull out all the stops to not only beat Donald Trump, but to utterly destroy his candidacy and everything it stands for. (It’s just as important to repudiate the hate and intolerance surrounding Trump’s candidacy, as the candidate himself.) We need to beat Trump so badly that a tsunami of support for Hillary Clinton sweeps a progressive majority into both houses of Congress. In fact, GOP control of the Senate is already looking in danger. If we play our cards right, we could get control of the White House, the Senate and the US House. But we can’t be complacent, or we could still lose this.

Please donate to my campaign.

I’ve been a uniquely effective progressive advocate for over 20 years

As many of you know, I created AMERICAblog in 2004 because I could no longer sit back and watch George Bush destroy our country. In less than a year, with the help of Jeff Gannon, AMERICAblog became one of the country’s most influential political blogs, called recommended reading by Mother Jones and the NYT.

By 2004 when AMERICAblog launched, I had already been a vocal LGBT rights advocate for over a decade. I began my LGBT rights advocacy in 1993, working with Senator Kennedy’s office fighting the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and then a year later helping them prepare the ENDA hearings. But I was itching to do more.

A few years later, in 1998, I created a Web site, Mathew Shepard Online Resources, credited with helping the Matthew Shepard story go viral, and with organizing over 70 candlelight vigils nationwide. My subsequent LGBT rights work earned me a place in the Out 100 and the Advocate 50 (rankings of the most influential LGBT people in America).

That was the beginning of a long string of successful progressive viral advocacy campaigns that I launched with little to no funding, simply relying on the charity of my friends and my innate ability to tap into the Internet to stir up trouble for the greater good.

Since that time, I have taken on and beaten everyone from big business to big politics. My successful advocacy targets have included America Online, Microsoft, Ford Motor Company, Merriam-Webster, Barilla Pasta, Mars Inc., BP, Dr. Laura, the Department of Defense, Jeff Gannon, George Bush and Dick Cheney, Barack Obama, and Russian President Putin.

Here’s a small sampling of the successful online advocacy campaigns I’ve worked on:

We made your cell phone more secure

It used to be legal in America for anyone to buy your cell phone records online. I took that story, that no one wanted to report on, and made it explode. The day my story published, three of the four national networks covered it. After months of outrage, Congress passed a bill making the practice illegal, and President Bush signed it into law. As a result, it is no longer legal in America for someone to buy your cell phone records online.

We caught BP lying during the Gulf spill

At the height of the BP oil spill, I exposed the fact that BP was lying on its Web site about its spill response, and the story went viral.

We caught the Obama administration preparing to defend DOMA

AMERICAblog broke the huge story that the Obama administration was planning to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court. Our two-year campaign on this issue resulted in President Obama changing his mind, and opposing DOMA in court.

We broke the story of Pres. Obama “evolving” on marriage equality

In an interview with AMERICAblog’s then-deputy Joe Sudbay, President Obama revealed that he was “evolving” on the issue of marriage equality. Sudbay’s interview was so impassioned that it struck a chord with the President; as was evidenced a few weeks later when Obama cornered Sudbay at the White House Holiday party and read him the riot act. When a blog can get the attention of the President of the United States, it is worth supporting.

What about ads, you might ask?

While we do run ads on AMERICAblog, they don’t raise much revenue, and haven’t since the economy crashed in 2008. Ad revenue covers less than 20% of my monthly expenses. Up until now, I’ve made up the difference through my online marketing consulting work. But there’s a fly in the ointment: When I consult, I don’t have time to blog or do much activism. That’s why I’m now asking for your help.

There’s also a third option: Working for an organization. And I tried that last year. I was fortunate enough to get a full-time staff job at the United Nations in New York City. As an international civil servant, I had more pay and benefits than I ever dreamed of. But the job came with a catch: I wasn’t permitted to blog, or tweet, or do anything else related to politics. And I found over my year at the UN that I not only missed politics, but I missed making a difference on issues that really mattered. That’s why I ultimately left the UN, and returned to blogging and politics.

Even if my income and retirement are both now less secure, I’m happier than I’ve been in years. I’m back to helping people, and hopefully making a difference for my country and the world — and that’s all that’s mattered. But advocacy and good deeds don’t pay the bills. That’s why I need your support.

Why support me in particular?

Part of what makes me such a uniquely effective advocate is that I’ve been working in national politics for over 25 years, and in online advocacy for over 20.

I actually coined the phrase “cyber-disobedience” in 1995, shortly after I began working at the Children’s Defense Fund (the nation’s premier child poverty fighting organization). As soon as I got to CDF, I immediately recognized the potential for using the Internet to build communities of like-minded individuals whose collective voice could influence government and business. I built a huge online child advocacy network at CDF, and then helped other progressive clients like Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, AFSCME, AIDS Action, and Amnesty USA strengthen their own Internet advocacy.

What also makes me an effective advocate is my experience: In addition to my background in politics, I’m also a lawyer and professional journalist. I have a joint law degree and masters in foreign service from Georgetown, and have worked as a stringer for the Economist, among other writing jobs. I’ve also worked in the US Senate, at the World Bank, and at the United Nations. I bring a lot of diverse experience to my advocacy work, and that’s one of the reasons I’m so good at what I do.

Here’s the thing about being an effective advocate. I’ve learned over the years that it’s not enough to care, and it’s not enough to be angry — though both are important. In order to be effective, you have to know how to work the system in order to make positive change. And I have proven time and again that I am one of the best at doing just that.

Won’t you please support my campaign to defeat Donald Trump?

Between now and November, I will work tirelessly to defeat Donald Trump, put Hillary Clinton in the White House, and help elect a progressive majority to the US Senate and US House. But I need your help to do it. The only way I can continue campaigning against Trump is with your support.

Over the years, your support has helped me do so much good already.

We raised over $300,000 for progressive candidates and causes over the years.

But we also raised $5,400 to help US troops buy body armor in Iraq.

And we raised thousands (I want to say it was $13,000) to support a single mom in the south who was fired from her organ-playing job at the church because they found out that after-hours she also played the piano at a gay cocktail lounge. You guys stepped up and we helped her out, in a big way.

And often our advocacy wasn’t about money at all. Sometimes it was about simply having someone there to fight for your right to visit your partner in the hospital.

And other times it was about exposing bullies. We were at the forefront of exposing Vladimir Putin’s homophobia in Russia, highlighting the abhorrent state-sanctioned kidnappings of LGBT Russians, and working to get Russian assets banned from state pension funds in the US. And we, along with Dan Savage, Queer Nation NY and a few other friends, led the Russian vodka boycott that made Russia’s homophobic human rights abuses international news.

And sometimes our work is about education. We took the lead in educating Americans, and the world, about the Salvation Army’s ongoing homophobia.

And when few were paying attention, we led the battle to defend the rights of gay and trans people in Tennessee when Republicans in that state wanted to rescind their civil rights.

Won’t you help me take down Donald Trump

Between now and the election, with your support, I will give my all to make sure Donald Trump loses on November 8, and a progressive majority takes over the Congress.

Your support will make it possible for us to publish more of the hard-hitting reporting you’ve known us for over the years. And your support will help us promote the most damning stories using Facebook ads and other online advertising.

And as part of this campaign, I promise a much amplified social media presence over the next three months. Twitter has become an increasingly important way of crafting the political debate. And I’m fortunate enough to have some 80,000 Twitter followers between my various accounts, and they include a large number of influential followers in politics and the media. This gives me a unique ability to influence the debate. (One of my recent tweets criticizing Trump has been shared nearly 8,000 times.)

And finally, between now and November 8, I will do a Facebook Live broadcast every weekday (and sometimes on weekends, if there’s news), providing my daily analysis of the election. (You can watch some of my recent broadcasts here and here and here and here.)

One of the things that always made AMERICAblog great was that we brought to our work a deep understanding of politics. Unlike any other blog at the time, we had actually worked in Washington, DC for some of the most influential people in town. And that gave us an insight into not only the news of the day, but it also gave us a unique perspective on how to create change. I believe it’s one of the key reasons we’re so effective at what we do.

Over the past 25 years I have proven that I am good at what I do, and in fact, better than most. I am a committed progressive and LGBT advocate who is not only fearless in speaking truth to power, but who knows how to win. And I do.

Won’t you please support my work, support this campaign. Let’s make AMERICAblog great again, and teach Donald Trump and the Republicans a lesson they’re never going to forget.

I’m going to close with that wonderful Margaret Mead quote that we used a lot while working at the Children’s Defense Fund. It’s become a mainstay of my work, because after all these years, it’s still so true.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead.

You can donate to the campaign via the form above, or on this page. Thank you so much for your ongoing support, JOHN.

Follow me on Twitter & Facebook:
@aravosis

The post Please donate to my campaign to stop Donald Trump appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

Three decades in the nation’s capital is a long time for a Chicago boy who swore he’d get out of dodge long ago. My exit was a long time coming, but what finally pushed me into action was a perfect storm of success, necessity and luck.

Success

We’ve won. The civil rights of gays are now an inevitability in America.

Now, that doesn’t mean that eternal vigilance is no longer needed. It is.

It also doesn’t mean that the fight for civil rights is over. It’s not.

But the war is over, in the sense that the bad guys, and the issue overall, have passed a cultural tipping point from which they will, and can, never recover. We, our civil and human rights, are now an inevitability (in America, at least). And trans rights are finally breaking into the open to an unprecedented degree, which will someday lead to their inevitability as well.

We have achieved successes that few of us expected to see in our lifetime, let alone by as early as 2015. And to be sure, problems still exist. And there will continue to be setbacks, some quite serious. So I appreciate those who say it isn’t over. But from the standpoint of history — and social, cultural and political inevitability — it really is.

Necessity

Ever since the economy crashed in 2008, blogging has been a difficult business to keep afloat financially. I spent $50,000 of my own now-gone savings keeping AMERICAblog afloat over the past six years. You can only do that for so long.

The viability of blogs as a sustainable business model has been in question for a while. I gave it the college try for six years after the crash, but due to a variety of reasons it never came back sufficiently to be able put enough food on the table, and more importantly, ensure that there would be more than cat-food on the menu when I retire many years hence.

Luck

I decided after doing last year’s taxes that something had to change. I love blogging and writing and politics, but I really do feel as if I accomplished what I set out to over 20 years ago that I joined Sen Kennedy’s office as a fellow hell-bent on finding a way to set my people free.

I stayed in DC, a town I never particularly liked, for three decades because I felt this was the best location for me to affect the most positive change. I turned down several high paying jobs over the years at, for example, the Fed and Booz-Allen, because I wanted to do good, not just do well. And I feel, in retrospect, that after 25 years working in Washington that good/goal was accomplished.

So, I decided last year to set myself a new challenge — shifting my domestic advocacy more globally, and going back to my roots in international affairs.

I came to Washington in 1985 to study law and foreign service at Georgetown. Having been raised the child of Greek immigrants (mom and my grandparents on both sides are from Greece, dad was born in Chicago), I was always into languages and foreign cultures (I studied four foreign languages simultaneously in college). I even took, and passed, the US Foreign Service exam in 1989 (the required test for becoming an American diplomat). I’d wanted to become a diplomat since I was in high school, but on receiving my acceptance letter I told the State Department “no” because I knew I was gay, and I knew that (at the time) gays weren’t permitted to serve our country. It was my one dream, and it was gone.

Then a funny thing happened a quarter of a century later. I applied for a job with the United Nations headquarters in New York City, and I got it. It seems the early reports of the death of my dream had been grossly exaggerated.

So last week, I picked up and moved to New York. I’ve been offered an amazing position at the UN where I’ll be using the Internet to help people all over the world. It’s the proverbial offer you can’t refuse.

New Beginnings

Sasha’s new waterfront dog park, with view of the UN, officially makes her an uptown girl.

I’m excited about the new job, rather nervous about the move to NY, surprisingly ambivalent about leaving DC (though I’ll miss my friends), and all the while missing my dog who has taken up temporary residence at mom’s. (I actually caught myself talking to the dog recently and referring to my parents as her yiayia and papou — Greek for grandma and grandpa!)

So that’s my story.

At age 51, I’m reinventing myself yet again, and beginning my boldest adventure yet. I really do believe that we live life best when we are challenged; and I’m looking forward to the challenge that now lies ahead.

AMERICAblog will continue under the editorial leadership of our very own Jon Green, and the business leadership of my nephew Anthony Katsivalis, who has long worked in the field of online marketing. Jon and Anthony will continue to manage and nurture AMERICAblog, and I hope you’ll join them for the adventure.

Thank you all for all of your support over the years. We set out to change the course of politics in America and the world. And I really believe that in our own small way we did. I can’t think of leaving on a better note than that.

The post Why I’m leaving blogging appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

One-time donation:

Recurring monthly donation:

Donations are not tax-deductible.

Please support AMERICAblog this holiday

If you like our 10+ years of progressive activism, and hard-hitting reporting, then please support our work.

Unfortunately, the blog no longer fully pays the bills (it no longer even pays my mortgage), so I’ve started part-time consulting again, in order to bring in extra income. But I’m committed to keeping AMERICAblog afloat, have been recruiting new writers, and would appreciate your help.

This year’s donations will go towards helping me finally buy a new laptop computer. My current one is over 6 years old (I do try to be frugal). I’ve done all I can to keep it going, and it’s been going pretty well since late 2008 — I’ve upgraded the hard drive to the limit, maxed out the ram, and refused to upgrade the operating system for two+ years (so it doesn’t slow down any further). But the old boy is finally nearing the end of his useful life as a reliable work computer. So that is what I will do with your donations this holiday season.

As always, thank you so much for your continued support. May you all have a wonderful holiday, and a very happy and prosperous new year.

John, Sasha and the Gang.

“Daddy promised I can take off the stupid Santa outfit if enough people give.”

The post Please support AMERICAblog this holiday appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

One of the best Christmas songs, in a sci-fi, robots take over the world kinda of way.

Follow @aravosis
(I’m told that in order to better see my Facebook posts in your feed, you need to “follow” me.)

The post Merry Christmas, from Chiron Beta Prime appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

A monkey in India frantically bites and then dunks in water a fellow monkey who has fallen unconscious after touching some high-tension electrical wires over the local train system.

The second money eventually comes around.

It’s just amazing to see how much human, self-aware, animals can be.

The post Monkey desperately revives fellow unconscious monkey (video) appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

The kids found a kitten a few days before. The parents were going to turn it over to a no-kill center, but at the last minute changed their minds. The video shows the kids being surprised by the reappearance of the kitten.

You need to watch the entire thing.

The post Kids surprised by gift of kitten (video) appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

A drone was checking out some kanagaroos in Australia, until the kangaroo — baby kanga in tow — finally got supremely ticked off and took the drone out.

It’s a pretty amazing video. See it below.

The post PO’d kangaroo takes down drone (seriously) appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

I taught hit sit, lay down, and give me your paw all in a matter of minutes, really. It was bizarre how quickly she learned. (She’s a Yorkie-Bichon mix.)

But after those three, in the first few months, it was slow going for a good 4+ years.

The thing is, with a small dog, it’s not easy teaching them some of the tricks. For example, “roll over.” They tell you to sort of take a treat and move it over the dog’s head, then “help” the dog roll over with your hand.

Heh. Fat chance.

I don’t know about a big dog, but a small dog just kind of looks at you like you’re crazy when your hand is gently trying to “help” him turn over.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

So, after four years of trying to teach Sasha to “roll over,” I’m pretty happy with where we ended up, only this past week.

Now, officially, this isn’t quite “roll over.” But she’s consistent with it, and does it every time. And you know, after 4 years, I’ll take it.

(Of course, I don’t plan on showing you the outtakes. First time around, Sasha kind of did all her tricks at once, without me asking her, hoping it would lead to a treat. It did not.)

Enjoy. (And watch closely, has a whole tongue-thing going on towards the end of the maneuver.)

The post Sasha learns to “roll over”…. ish appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

But I was dusting off some of Sasha’s things to bring back to Chicago at Thanksgiving, and I found her Sasha Claus Christmas outfit I got on supersale after the holiday’s last year.

Sasha is not one for hats. Still, she was a trooper for her “I hate you, dad” Christmas photo op.

Just me, or is there a bit of a Miles Standish thing going on there?

She looks like she’s getting ready to pull the Grinch’s sleigh in this one.

My favorite:

The face that launched 1,000 ships. Or that may smother me in my sleep tonight.

I think I have a better appreciation now for why parents constantly embarrass their kids.

The post Sasha Claus appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

Jeb is a needy little sheep.

Adorable.

The post I give you: Jeb the needy sheep appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

That’s the epiphany I had this evening on my umpteenth visit to New York (though my first in over four years): This city is insanely expensive.

Now, I know we’ve all heard about the cost of buying a place in NYC. (Want a one bedroom? For you, very special price of only $1 million.) But I never fully realized how much it costs just to live day-to-day here.

I’m staying at my friend Kevin’s place in Chelsea. He’s out of town until tomorrow, so I went downstairs to the Gristedes grocery store (supposedly not nearly as expensive as the local Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods), and holy cow.

Gallon of milk: $5.50
Half dozen eggs: $1.99
Brownie mix: $3.50 to $5.00

And I thought DC was expensive. (A gallon of milk in DC costs me around $3.90; while mom pays $1.75 – $2.25 back in Chicago. And the “good” brownie mix is like $2.25.)

In other news, Sasha (my 10 pound Yorkie-Bichon) was none-too-thrilled at my departure. She’s in the able hands of her Uncle Damian, who, unbeknownst to him, is about to be visited in bed around 2am by a cute little black button nose that’s going to demand he pet her a few moments, then arrange her blanket for her just so.

But she’ll survive. I’m only here until Tuesday, then back to the land of “only” $4 milk.

Let’s hope Damian survives 48 hours of insistent and utter adorableness.

The post NYC is like a huge movie theater with ridiculously expensive candy appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

A woman’s Dachshund-Chihuaha mix, Trixxie, is tied up outside and attacked by a coyote, that then tries to carry the little dog away for breakfast.

All of a sudden, the neighbor’s Rottweiler comes out of nowhere, attacks the coyote, and saves the little dog.

The post Rottweiler rescues little dog from coyote’s mouth (video) appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

Gruener founded the Modisa Wildlife Project in Botswana, a few years back. They basically capture lions that are threatening local farms, and save them from the farmers who would otherwise kill them.

Here’s the video of Gruener greeting Sirga (or vice-versa), followed by some wonderful photos from his Facebook page.

Gruener has a great Facebook page up with lots of photos of various animals. Here are a few:

The lion was playing with him in this shot.

I’ll take one of each.

The post Excited lion jumps into arms of man who raised her (video) appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

This time, it’s Jedi Kittens.

The second video is probably the best.

And 3 isn’t bad either.

The post Jedi Kittens (video) appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

This young woman was living and working in Slovenia, and hadn’t been home in two years. When she finally got home, the family’s pet schnauzer went nuts. So nuts in fact, that the dog fainted.

The folks who took the video say the dog went to the vet right after and got a clean bill of health. It simply fainted from the excitement.

So cute.

The post Dog faints on seeing owner after 2 years away (video) appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

I’m always amazed to see how they take a really scared stray and are able to slowly win it over by just sitting with it and working very slowly.

Before:

After:

The end of the video is pretty great — the thing is just insanely happy with his new family.

The post Puppy rescue! (video) appeared first on AMERICAblog News.

My love-hate relationship with members of the feline race is well-known in these parts.

Don’t get me wrong, I do love animals. But I have a simple rule about pets, and it’s the same I have for people — I stop loving them when they try to kill me.

And even then, I still show mercy.

The time my nephew’s demon-cat got awfully close to becoming a permanent part of the freezer.

I’m currently staying in Paris with two cats. One old and lovable, who throws up a lot. And the second, young and precocious (and in heat), who has a thing for jumping up on your shoulders, unannounced, when she’s not screaming her lungs out at 4am in search of a mate.

Nephew’s demon-cat decided that Sasha would not enter mom’s kitchen. Sasha complied, looking to me for help.

But what particularly caught my eye with the story below, about the people who had to call 911 to rescue them from their cat that had trapped them in their bedroom, was that the same thing happened to me.

No I didn’t call 911 when my nephew’s demon-cat decided I was never to leave my mom’s bathroom again, but I did call upon friends on Facebook and Twitter, who suggested I was being silly, and told me to simply walk on by, she’d be fine.

The time demon-cat trapped me in my mom’s bathroom.

That’s when she ripped into my leg and drew blood.

So I’m sympathetic to the women in the story below. Hell hath no fury like a cat who doesn’t like Mondays.

The reporting in the video is pretty hysterical.

PS It’s a holiday here in France, and I’m busy cleaning the apartment, preparing to move somewhere else. So this may or may not be my last post today.  Enjoy.

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I’d stumbled on this park before, it’s called the Square du Temple, and it’s just lovely.

Huge gorgeous trees, kids playing, even a little pond in the middle — just great.

What we didn’t expect to find in the park were two rather happy roosters.

There they were, just clucking away in the flowerbeds.

I kept looking around, expecting to see someone claiming the birds. And finally another woman walked by and explained.

It seems the first bird appeared about a month ago.  A man from the countryside had come to town and dropped it off.  Reason unknown.  Then, a few days ago, a second man came by and dropped off his rooster as well. So now there were two.

I think we have a budding tradition.

It’s unclear how the birds will handle the winter. Paris winters are usually a bit better, or sometimes a bit worse, than the typical Washington, DC winter. And in addition to the cold, which I’ve read the birds can handle pretty well, there’s the question of what they’ll eat in the winter.  But I suspect if the city lets them hang out that long, someone will come by and throw them bird food (or whatever chickens eat).

It will be interesting to see if the city in fact lets them stay.

Here’s a quick video I shot of the roosters, with a quick cameo by Régis.

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