Pet Monologues

Cat furniture is typically “catty”, you know the carpeted kind with ramps and boxes. Reminds you of the ape house furniture at the zoo. It does little for that home decor statement if you are into that sort of thing. Here is a pleasant, and good looking solution for the visually inspired.

Kittypods are made of industrial-grade corrugated cardboard, laminated in contours of high-end modern decor. Their earthy hues, texture, and curvy, curious shapes make them equally at home amid rustic or contemporary surroundings.

They are pricey at $250 to $350, but are built to last. And cats love them according to their designer, Elizabeth Paige Smith, a life-long cat lover. Cats love the texture of the cardboard because it’s great for scratching, and they love the shapes, which are great for stretching and hiding both in
and under.

via kittypod.com

Trash bag polar bears that inflate and then deflate with the passing of subterranean subway trains. The artist, Joshua Allen Harris has not commented that this is a global warming statement, but that’s what many conclude. They do clutter up the street a bit. Fun concept!

Parts of Endangered Species Act may soon be extinct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration wants federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects might harm endangered animals and plants.

New regulations, which don’t require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by The Associated Press. Read the rest of this entry »

A good story to start your week. These big cats really enjoy hugging,
don’t they?

Came across this very disturbing story visiting the NPR site and then went to the photographer’s site for photos, which are even more disturbing. This is a story about a gorilla named Senkwekwe who was murdered,
executed actually.

Here is a portion of NPR writeup…Last July, Brent Stirton took a photograph that shocked the world when it was published in Newsweek — a picture of a dead 500-pound male gorilla named Senkwekwe, one of six endangered mountain gorillas who had been murdered, execution-style, in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In the photo, Senkwekwe is strapped on his back, on a litter made of saplings. More than a dozen African men are carrying him — gently, respectfully — out of the jungle that was supposed to be his sanctuary.

When Stirton took that photo, one pressing question was still unanswered: Who would do such a thing, and why?

Stirton recently got a chance to investigate the answer. He was the first photojournalist allowed back into the part of Virunga where the mountain gorillas live — a section now controlled by a militia. Read the rest of this entry »

Another sustainable product. Make that pet product. Make that dog product. Here’s why it’s a good idea. In the US, our dogs produce enough waste to fill an 800-foot-tall football field every year - not the most glamorous image. And scooping all that poop into petroleum-based plastic bags not only leaches toxic chemicals as the whole package slowly breaks down (for thousands of years) in a landfill, but preserves what needn’t be preserved.

Leaving scat on the ground isn’t an eco-friendly option either, as 20-30% of all pollutants in waterways can be attributed to canine waste.

Solution: use a biodegradable bag. The Business Bags from Spike are made from corn, and the company recently worked with a domestic company to devise an entirely homegrown product. One of our ecofabulous ladies can attest that they decompose in the promised 45 days. Keep in mind; not much biodegrades in a landfill. Business Bags are a simple, great option for people with municipal composting. For the rest of you, check DIY composting here.

For the political poop visit dogs 4 democrats featuring the “Mission Accomplished” bag.

via ecofabulous

This post celebrates World Animal Day and Bless the Animals. Follow the links to learn more about PM’s initiative which started on October 4.

The first squirrel ads may have appeared in 2001 for Geico, a Berkshire Hathaway-owned insurance company based in Washington, D.C. The tagline for the Geico commercials reads: “Fifteen minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance.”

The Geico Gecko character was created by the Martin Agency, a Richmond, Virginia based ad firm. The latest Gecko animation is supplied by Framestore, a New York-based company.

TRIVIA NOTE: A follow-up of very funny 30-second Geico ads appeared in 2001. The series of three spots were called “Squirrel”, “Car Pool” and “Wuxia.” The “Squirrel spot (written by Joe Lawson and Raymond McKinney and art directed by Tye Harper) shows a couple of squirrels playing chicken on a country road that causes a car to swerve off the road and crash. Thrilled with their results, the giggling squirrels give each other a high-five for surviving the ordeal. Read the rest of this entry »

from our post the polar bear makes endangered list

from our post wisconsin bird feeder

PM joined this group on February 28, 2008. At that time we signed on as #593. We were quite surprised at the number of responses that have come in, the new acquaintances made that are very supportive of our interest in how all of us relate to animals, the environment, the creative influence animals bring into our lives.

You can visit our original post. If you wish to get acquainted follow the instructions below and share your passion with others. The blogosphere is a unique opportunity to network and make new friends, to support your beliefs. Woof! PM tags Robby’s a side of cartoons, please the cartoonist who also can be found on Pet Monologues

*Start Copy Here*
You do not have to be tagged to play along. This game is simple and so are the rules.
1. Copy from *Start Copy Here* through *End Copy Here*
2. Add your site(s) to the list. Just be sure to post at each site you add.
3. Tag or don’t tag, your choice, however, the more tags you create the bigger the list will grow.
4. Let me know your blog’ name and url by leaving me a comment HERE. I will add you to the master list. (If you would like the scroll box code, leave me your email address and I will email it to you.)
5. Come back and copy the master list back to your site, often. This process will allow late-comers to get as much link benefit as the first ones in. Read the rest of this entry »

The polar bear is finally getting a break and maybe global warming worries have made it possible: The government has declared it a threatened species in need of increased protection. But another round of legal battles surrounding the majestic animal may be just beginning.

The Interior Department put the bear under the protective umbrella of the Endangered Species Act on Wednesday, concluding what biologists have been saying for years—the bear is on the way to extinction because of the rapid disappearance of the Arctic sea ice upon which it depends.

Scientists predict sea ice melting will continue and even accelerate because of global warming.

“This in my judgment makes the polar bear a threatened species, one likely to become in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future,” said Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, punctuating his point with an array of slides, charts and maps showing the changing ice flows of the Arctic.

But Kempthorne also said that he did not view the increased protection of the bear afforded by the Endangered Species Act as a back door to regulate greenhouse gases coming from power plants, automobiles and industrial sources. Read the rest of this entry »

To put a face to the name of the person you are blogging with, here is my screenshot of a post I am developing about, yep you guessed it, piggies.

These piggie images are 800px wide, about the average “source” image size. They will be displayed at 400px. If this blog was a two-column layout, the images might have been displayed at 600px. To put the screenshot in perspective I am using a 24 inch Cinema Display and all those icons along the right side are SOME of the applications I use. One dreads upgrades.

I have several analytical helpers to tell me who visits PM. Info includes, pages visited, referrers, search key words, country, computer software, size of screen, incoming links, outgoing links, with many many options I don’t use yet. You get the idea.

It comes as a surprise, from my traffic at least, the Internet Explorer browser is used less than 10% with Firefox in the 80% range. If you are developing ( coding ) sites, that is good news if you know what I mean. 1/2 of my visitors are unique. 60% from the USA, I am in Chicago. 15% from direct links, 45% from other sites, 40% from searches. Stumbleupon visitors are my biggest repeat referrers.

Oh, and if you have anything on piggies, please let PM know.

Well, that’s enough about me. Put a face to your name and let’s hear a little more about you. To do that here are easy to follow instructions to contact the same folks plus new friends. Read the rest of this entry »