Scientists from the National Human Genome Research Institute reported this week that they examined DNA from mothers in both families. Both carried a small defect on a single gene — a difference of just one “base” among the roughly 3 billion that form the language of the human genome.

But when the mothers passed this defect to male babies it was deadly.

“This was 100 percent lethal in these boys. Some were stillborn. Some died within a week or two of birth. The longest survivor died at 5 weeks of age,” said Leslie G. Biesecker, chief of the institute's genetic disease research branch and one of the authors of a new paper published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Using a similar method to read the genes of a young boy, scientists from the Medical College of Wisconsin were able to diagnose his disease and recommend treatment — a case first reported at a conference in March.

The researchers are using technologies that have come to market in the last year or so, dramatically increasing our ability to delve into the secrets of our own DNA. These products allow scientists to get answers faster by homing in on specific parts of the genome and washing away what they don't need. They can run more samples, faster and at a lower cost.

“It's really exciting because there are all these genetic diseases that have been around and studied for a very long time and not understood,” said Fred Ernani, a senior manager at Agilent Technologies Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif. Agilent supplied a sequencing system used by Biesecker's team, which works in a branch of the National Institutes of Health.

The new study joins a stream of papers in recent months that have demonstrated the value of sequencing our genes both for basic research and for diagnosing patients.

In Friday's issue of the journal Science, German scientists reported sequencing the genome of Neanderthals, our closest evolutionary relatives, and comparing the genetic profile with that of modern humans. Earlier this week scientists from the Netherlands reported in Nature Genetics that they used DNA sequencing to find the mutation that causes Schinzel-Giedion syndrome, a rare disorder that usually kills children before age 10.

Biesecker said his group had examined one of the families with TARP syndrome in 2002 and 2003 but had only been able to narrow down the list of genes that might be responsible. Fortunately the scientists kept DNA from the family.

“It was sitting in our refrigerator waiting for an opportunity, and the opportunity presented itself in this new technology,” Biesecker said.

His team used a technique similar to the one employed by the Medical College of Wisconsin researchers when they sequenced the boy's genes and diagnosed an exceedingly rare illness related to inflammatory bowel disease.

The Medical College scientists did not sequence the boy's entire genome, but opted for a less expensive and more targeted alternative. They examined only the exon, the part of each gene which contains the instructions for making different proteins. Proteins are crucial to almost every human action from breathing to thinking and many diseases result from a failure to make a protein correctly, or at all.

While our exons account for about 1 percent of the genome, they are believed responsible for 85 percent to 90 percent of the mutations that play a major role in diseases.

Howard J. Jacob, director of the Human and Molecular Genetics Center at the Medical College, called the new paper by Biesecker's team “an illustration of how the technology is evolving … It's an example of where sequencing combined with classic genetics is helping to identify rare disease areas.”

Like the Medical College team, Biesecker and his colleagues focused on the exons. However, they narrowed their search by examining only those from the X chromosome. While men have both an X and a Y chromosome, women have two X chromosomes. The families the NIH team examined were afflicted with TARP syndrome, one of a group of diseases specifically linked to the X chromosome.

Although women carry the mutation, they are not killed by it. A mother with the mutation has a 50 percent chance of passing it to her son. If she has a daughter, there is a 50 percent chance the girl will also be a carrier of the mutation.

Scientists do not know the precise role of the critical gene, RBM10, where this mutation occurs. But Biesecker said researchers examined its role in mice and believe it may have something to do with jaw and limb development. Boys with the disease have underdeveloped jaws and severe club feet.

Although the new papers from the NIH and from the group in the Netherlands both used exon sequencing, they differ in one important respect from the project undertaken by the Medical College of Wisconsin — the question of treatment. The Medical College researchers were able to use what they learned from sequencing the boy's genes to shape his treatment. As a result, doctors have recommended that he receive a bone marrow transplant.

So far, doctors have no such answer for children with TARP syndrome.

“Currently and for the foreseeable future we don't have any treatment technologies that allow us to undo physical birth defects that occur early in development,” Biesecker said.

However, he said sequencing the X chromosomes of the disease carriers was beneficial to the families and to researchers. In such diseases, even after lives have been lost, “there is an overwhelming human need to understand what happened,” Biesecker said. “We call it the diagnostic odyssey.”

The scientists in the Netherlands cited a similar benefit for their discovery of the mutation responsible for Schinzel-Giedion syndrome.

Sequencing of the TARP carriers also provided a research benefit to the NIH scientists, allowing them to examine the poorly understood RBM10 gene.

“It's opened the door to understanding a gene we knew next to nothing about,” Biesecker said.

Adam Carolla Complains About Technology

Moving on from electric cars, I prompt Adam to give his thoughts on the newest fad: 3D. The professional that he is, he takes the idea and expands it to talk about technology as a whole, and our collective insatiability.

Again, it's NSFW, so turn down the sound if your cubicle is next to Martha Stewart's.

Fans who are eager to see him do his show LIVE can buy tickets for his shows in the LA area, or check him out when he's on the road in May. He'll be in the Bay Area on May 20 at Cobb's, and the late show still has tickets available. You can order here.

You can also get daily Adam Carolla over at his podcast, which you can also subscribe to on iTunes.

Check back tomorrow for another dose of Adam complaining about tech. [Adam Carolla]

Send an email to Jason Chen, the author of this post, at jchen@gizmodo.com.

car stereo mp3 player

One of my favorite things about Philadelphia, aside from the acclaimed restaurants and traditional favorites, are all of the neighborhoods overflowing with undiscovered food gems. Far-off corners of the city with things like the “Pizzazz,” a pizza with American cheese and yellow peppers unknown to most people outside of the area.

So, flipping through the phone book, I was excited to find a listing for “Nicky And Pete's Famous Hot Dogs” on 64th Street, in a tiny, dwindling Italian neighborhood consisting of about four blocks in the middle of West Philadelphia, an area more known for Caribbean and soul food. How famous could it be? Was it even still there?

The other day I ventured up there, expecting a 75-year old lunch counter with a few old timers drinking 50-cent coffee and talking about plumbing, eating sad burgers and cheap hot dogs with greasy chili. But what I found was a brand-spanking-new hot dog stand, doing more than 13 different hot dog styles.

Nicky & Pete's is down the street from an Italian social club and next-door to an old-school cafe, complete with guys out front smoking cigars, drinking espresso and speaking in a Sicilian dialect, who seem to make up a good part of Nicky & Pete's business. They do the whole nine yards as far as Philly sandwiches go—hoagies, cheesesteaks, breaded chicken cutlet with longhots and sharp provolone, homemade meatballs. Sides of pepper shooters (cherry peppers stuffed with prosciutto-wrapped sharp provolone), crab fries, and wings.

But what really knocked me out is the serious hot dog menu. They're cooking them up Philly-style with Dietz & Watson dogs split and grilled, served on club rolls (the short, double-wide size is perfect for a split hot dog).

Nicky and Pete's Special: Cheez Whiz, onions, and special sauce.

They have the classic Philly pepper hash and even the famous “Philly surf and turf” fish cake and hot dog combo. Then there's the signature Nicky & Pete special with Cheez Whiz, onions, and “special sauce” that tasted like a cross between red onion sauce and mild chili (they also have a thicker standard “chili”).

They also have a Chicago Dog, Baltimore Dog with slaw and bacon, and even a Jersey Dog with peppers, onions, and potatoes. Not deep-fried, or on pizza bread—heresy to the North Jersey Italian hot dog purists, I'm sure—but it was damn good, and pretty rare on Philadelphia hot dog menus.

Also on the menu is a New York Dog with kraut and mustard, South Beach with American cheese and tomatoes (the Pizzazz Dog?), Pete's Dog with pickles, and The Godfather, piled with pretty much every topping in the house. I'm sure if you requested, they could even whip you up a “South Philly Dog” (they have all the ingredients) but Nicky & Pete's dogs beat anything coming from Citizens Bank Park by leaps and bounds.

Jersey Dog: peppers, onions and potato.

Nicky & Pete's is pretty much a take-out only joint, although there is a steak shop-style stainless steel ledge with a few stools if you want to eat in. Everything is cooked to order with some serious care, and I'm betting the steaks and homemade meatball sandwiches are worth making another trip for. The prices are ridiculously low—the dogs are all $2.10, except for the Godfather ($2.70) and the combo ($3). The rest of the sandwiches all hover around $5, and a cheesesteak is only $3.75.

There's some other good stuff in the neighborhood (known as Overbrook) including the original location of Jim's Steaks and a pizza place that might be worth checking out, but I don't think I'll be able to go all the way up there without grabbing a few hot dogs to-go.

They've been in business for only eight months. The only downside? That it isn't closer to Center City. I'm not going to say it's officially my new favorite place in Philly, but the next time someone asks me where to go for hot dogs here, I'm sending them on a trip to 64th street.

Nicky & Pete's Famous Hot Dogs

349 N. 64th Street, Philadelphia PA 19139 (map)

Hawk Krall is a Philadelphia-based illustrator who has a serious thing for hot dogs. Dig his dog drawings? Many of the illustrations he has created for Hot Dog of the Week are available for sale: hawkkrall.net/prints/.

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My little Pomeranian, Mercutio, is my baby. Seriously, it's an unhealthy attachment. I just want to take him everywhere. Some places kick me out on the spot even if he's in a bag and other places like Fishs Eddy insist twice that I put Mercutio down so he could run around. Hmmm, run around in a dishware shop with stacks of breakables on the floor, thanks anyway.

Anyway, I think this attachment started with the first dog my boyfriend and I adopted, Bisou. We decided that we wanted an older dog since everyone adopts puppies — not to mention the senior citizen would be chill and already trained (score!). We were in love with a polite 10-year-old, five pound Pomeranian; unfortunately she had seizures and arthritis.

Instantly, I became a hovering mother. I read every book on pooch seizures and was determined to make her better. Her time with us was full and rich with happiness but a few months after adopting her, she passed away from an infected uterus, something that could have been prevented if she was spayed earlier on in life. But there is a happy ending, I promise.

During her time with us, Bisou and I (yes, together) researched all about how food affects dogs' health and what exactly is in dog food. Um, it's gross, like, really gross. Without her illnesses, I might not have thought twice about giving her low-grade commercial dog food. She made me a better mutter (mother+mutt=mutter).

So what's in it you ask? Let me start off by saying there are some good premium organic dog foods out there, just remember to check the labels. The good stuff like chicken, beef, and lamb, should all be the first ingredient and never followed by the word “by-product.” By-products are basically everything not fit for human consumption like organs, bones, eyes, brains, hoofs, etc.

Now, you may not think that's so bad — dogs are animals, and after all, eat organs. But what also goes into those by-products are the 4Ds, dead, dying, diseased, and disabled animals, as well as road kill, zoo animals, and, legally, euthanized cats and dogs. Your pooch could potentially be eating an animal part that has cancer, other diseases, or remnants of euthanasia chemicals that could be fatal long term. Would you eat that? I didn't think so. I won't even get started on preservatives and artificial colors and flavors.

With all the scary stuff in dog food, I started making my own organic food for Bisou and now for Mercutio. I want Mercutio to live a long, healthy life, sans cancerous meat and other spooky bits. It's easy once you get the hang of it but you have to research dog diets to make sure your pooch is getting all the nutrients he or she needs and consult with your vet.

In addition to dog food, I also bake my own dog treats using organic, human-grade ingredients like organic brown rice flour and wholesome organic fruits and veggies. Humans can actually eat them but it won't taste good to you since there isn't any add sugar or salt. All treats are wheat-free and sans preservatives and artificial colors and flavors. Plus, they come in super cute recycled paper coffee bags.

And since I probably scared you all, I'm offering 15 percent off Variety Packs this week. Your pup will get to try a nutritious treat in four fab flavors: peanut butter carob, sweet potato oatmeal, banana carob chip, and apple cinnamon oatmeal.

Visit Get Lick'd to get your 15% discount!

petsafe anti bark collar

Maxwell Hagmann

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Bark Buckle UP Has Tails Wagging for Top Dog: Ford Edge Named Pet Safe Vehicle of the Year

NEW YORK, April 1 /PRNewswire/ – Bark Buckle UP the recognized leader and experts for pet travel safety – awarded the Pet Safe Choice Vehicle Awards “TOP DOG” today at the 2010 New York International Auto Show. This year, Bark Buckle UP's founder Pet Safety Lady Christina Selter and her furry friends awarded “TOP DOG” Pet Safe Vehicle of Choice and announced the Pet Safe Hotel, Retailer, and Airline of choice. During the presentation, Greg Kleva, host of Martha Stewart radio show “It's a Dogs Life,” the Pet Safety Lady, and furry friends wearing the Doggie Seat Belt hopped in and out of cars and stole the show with their animal antics and demonstrations of dog and car travel safety.

This year's Pet Safe winners included the Ford Edge (Vehicle of the Year), BassPro Shops (Retailer of the Year), Sheraton Hotels (Hotel of the Year) and Southwest Airlines (Airline of the Year).

“Most people don't think about it, but in only a 35 mph accident with a 60-pound pet it becomes a 2,700-pound projectile. This will injure the pet, passengers, driver or the pet may escape the vehicle and cause a second accident or become agitated and bite the first responder that is on scene doing their job,” stated Selter.

The registered vehicles are evaluated on a variety of pet-related aspects, including how easily the vehicle accommodates animals and kennels of various sizes, ease of access to pet from within the vehicle, ease of pet entry and exit, ventilation for animals in the rear, as well as whether the vehicle has pet-friendly surfaces, adaptability for third party pet travel or safety gear. Ford received four out of the top ten honors for 2010 Pet Safe Vehicles of Choice List, including the Ford Transit Connect, Edge and Flex and the Lincoln MKT.

“With more than 340,000 vehicles sold since it was originally launched in late 2006, the Ford Edge has been meeting the needs of customers who demand style, technology, performance and capability in a compelling package,” said Brett Burin, Ford Edge Marketing Manager. “We look ahead with excitement this summer to the arrival of the new 2011 Edge, which adds even more revolutionary technology and class-leading performance. And with a suite of safety features, flexible seating and nearly 70 cubic feet of cargo space, the Ford Edge is perfect for those traveling with pets.”

Doggie Seat Belt is the newest As Seen On TV product to offer real solutions to problems without breaking the bank. “When the weather is nice, you see dog heads hanging out the window all of the time,” said Anand “Andy” Khubani, President and CEO of Ideavillage Products Corp. and distributor of the Doggie Seat Belt. “Since we all love our pets and enjoy taking them with us, Doggie Seat Belt was designed to be as easy and convenient as possible to buckle up our pets when they are in the car. This should help to decrease the chance of injury to a dog or passenger in the event of an accident.”

The 2010 Pet Safe Vehicle of Choice TOP DOG Ford Edge award was accepted by Burin.

2010 Pet Safe Retailer, Hotel and Airline
– BassPro Shops
– Sheraton Hotels
– Southwest Airlines

Statistics
– 35 mph accident with a 60-pound pet unrestrained becomes a 2,700-pound
projectile
– 98% of dogs do not travel properly restrained in a moving vehicle
– Driver distraction causes more accidents than any other issue
– 82% of pets travel on vacation with their owners
– Pet friendly lodging has increased 300% since 2005
– Over 70 million homes in America have a pet

About Christina Selter

“Pet Safety Lady” has been featured on more than 250 TV stations nationwide including National networks, as well as radio, print, and online venues. Recently featured in her first national TV commercial, produced several PSA's and the Pet Safety seminar that will be attended by the public FREE at more than 4000 locations in the U.S. and Canada summer 2010. Selter's first children's book, “Be Smart Ride Safe®,” will be published in 2010. Pet Safety Lady founder of Bark Buckle UP and the Bark Buckle UP Charity, works closely with first responders, auto manufacturers, airline, marine and other pet experts to help educate, inform, and protect America's pets. Pet Safety Lady travels the country teaching pet safety to the public and works with Police, Fire, National Guard, Coast Guard EMT, K9 units, FEMA dogs, animal services, pet rescues, and volunteers her time to help save pets lives. Her Bark 10-4 program has delivered more than 8,000 pet oxygen masks to Fire Chiefs in the U.S. and Canada. She has been featured with many Fire and Police Chiefs in the media educating the public on pet safety and has frequently been the host of first responder press conferences nationwide.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) , a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 198,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and, until its sale, Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit http://www.ford.com/www.ford.com.

About Ideavillage Products Corporation

Headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, Ideavillage Products Corporation has been bringing innovative products to market under the As Seen On TV banner since 1999. Dedicated to providing affordable quality products offering solutions to life's everyday problems, the As Seen On TV category has become one of today's most popular lines of consumer goods and includes Doggie Seat Belt, Smooth Away, HD Vision WrapArounds, MicroTouch Magic, and more. All products are available directly while select products are available at food, drug, and mass retail outlets nationwide. Ideavillage actively supports charitable organizations such as the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Cherish the Children Foundation, and more. For more information on the Doggie Seat Belt visit http://www.doggieseatbelt.com/http://www.doggieseatbelt.com.

Source: Bark Buckle UP

BARK ARK   A woman carries a dog to her house in a flooded yard in the town of Stolbtsy, Belarus, on March 26.  (Photo: Sergey Grits / AP via the Christian Science Monitor)

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Constance Maita

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Over three years ago on a beautiful spring day I picked up my puppy Bailey. He was merely five pounds of white fluff but one look and I was in love. I can't tell you the countless smiles he has brought me. In honor of Bailey being the bee's knees I wanted to share the things I love about my badass dog.

1. He is a snuggle bear. I swear Bailey is psychic. Anytime I'm down he puts his little paw on my arm and curls right up into my lap. Immediately, I feel better.
2. He is my protector. A pedi-cab driver wouldn't leave me alone so my brave pup not only made a barking ruckus but he ended with a killer finale…peeing on the harasser's shoe. (Classic!)
3. He is my trainer. I hate to work out and the only real exercise I get is B-dawg having me walk him every day in Central Park. He's a slave driver but I definitely have more definition in my calves now.
4. He is my matchmaker. If my furry man doesn't like the man I'm dating, I take it as a major indication that the new dude is not kosher.
5. He is my clock. Bailey likes his schedule. He runs into the bedroom at 11:30pm with his stuffed blue teddy bear ready for bed. Then, he is bright eyed and bushy-tailed by 7am. If I stray from the schedule too much, I get barked at.
6. He is an entertainer. Dog lover or not, two minutes with Bailey and you're the newest member of his fan club.
7. He is my baby training wheels. One day I want to have kids, and Bailey will always be my first love critter. I've had to clean up pee, poop, and vomit yet I still love him.
8. He is unconditional love. I've had friends and boyfriends come and go, but Bailey is a constant.

Ok kids, I've got to run; Bailey is bringing the blue teddy bear. It's bedtime. If you have a pup big or small, make sure to tell them how much you love them.

Hot Dog Of The Week: South Philly Dog

Posted by Hawk Krall, April 9, 2010 at 1:30 PM

With the start of baseball season, millions of fans are preparing to devour ridiculous amounts of hot dogs across the country. Many stadiums have signature hot dogs related to the regional tastes of their city, or even the stadium itself. Philadelphia is known as a cheesesteak and roast pork town, but Phillies games have always been one of the best places in the city to eat a hot dog—especially with “Dollar Dog Night” and the Philly Phanatic's air powered hot dog launcher.

For the 2010 season, Citizens Bank Park is getting into the signature hot dog game for the first time, and recently put three different Philly hot dogs up for a vote.

First up: the Olde Philadelphia Dog with Amish Pepper Hash, mustard, and a pickle on a poppy seed roll. Definitely my pick for our signature dog, with more than just a nod to Philadelphia's unique old-school pepper hash hot dogs, still available at Lenny's in the northeast and the Hot Dog Truck at 24th and Passyunk.

[Photographs: Kris Chau]

Next up is the Citizens Bank Park Summer Dog, with fresh cucumbers, pickled onions, and ancho chile mayo on a pretzel roll; sort of a cross between a soft pretzel, chicago dog, and banh mi.

Last is the South Philly Dog, with broccoli rabe, roasted long hot peppers and shaved sharp provolone on seeded Italian bread—basically a roast pork italian with the pork switched out for a weiner.

All of the variations up for vote are all-beef skinless Hatfield franks, split down the middle and grilled in a good amount of oil, almost approaching deep-fried territory. The split-and-grilled style is fairly common in older Philadelphia and Pennsylvania hot dog joints, and a good way to get some flavor and texture into an otherwise very mild frank.

Not a huge surprise, the South Philly Dog was the clear favorite, with 46 percent of the vote. The Summer Dog was probably too close to a Chicago Dog for most Philadelphians, and the only people that seem to care about or even remember hot dogs with pepper hash are people who were alive during the Depression (and a few food writers). I really wish the stadium would just keep all three on the menu for the rest of the season.

The Olde Philadelphia Dog (left) and Citizens Bank Park Summer Dog (right)

You might be thinking, where's the Cheesesteak and Whiz dog? where's the pork roll? The team of chefs and executives at Aramark (who oversee all the food at the stadium) did a good amount of research and development, sifting through hundreds of ideas and several tastings before whittling it down to three versions that would be practical to serve in large quantities and appeal to the masses.

The Philadelphia Inquirer recently ran a terrific article outlining the whole signature dog selection process. Some of the other concepts were hot dogs topped with mac and cheese, a hot dog jammed into a mini Italian hoagie, hot dog and scrapple on a pretzel roll, a cheesesteak and whiz dog, and a bacon and Yuengling lager-braised Kraut dog on a potato roll. That last one sounds great to me.

Do I think a broccoli-rabe and longhot topped hot dog craze is going to sweep the city? Probably not. I'd rather have those things on a roast pork sandwich, or even better, braised tripe and veal. But I give Aramark some points for putting a dog up for the vote that has some roots in Philly history, and for taking the extra step of serving the dogs grilled, a lot more work than just pulling them out of a steam bath.

Hawk Krall is a Philadelphia-based illustrator who has a serious thing for hot dogs. Dig his dog drawings? Many of the illustrations he has created for Hot Dog of the Week are available for sale: hawkkrall.net/prints/.

Hatfield Grill Cart

Citizens Bank Park Stadium, section 125, Philadelphia PA 19148 (map)
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Lekisha Moschetto

“Multi-Millionaire Hispanic pop star holds fundraiser for Democratic Party!”

“OK?  And dog bites man?  So where’s the story here?”

The fundraiser at the $10 million Biscayne Bay island estate of internationally-acclaimed and multiple Grammy-winning pop-star Gloria Estefan featured a $30,400 a couple “cocktail party” that helped raise $2.5 million for the Democratic Party!

….. “OK,…. and?”

Obama’s hostess at the posh event, Gloria Estefan, is Cuban-American!

…… “OK…and?”

The Fundraiser has raised a ruckus in South Florida of such proportions that even the Associated Press and Reuters are reporting the details!

……….. “Hunnnh?…. But why?  Isn’t such behavior perfectly typical—indeed, almost obligatory—for folks in her line of work?”

OK, a little background might help. Exit polls show that Cuban-Americans voted against Obama by the highest margins—and by far—of any U.S. ethnic group, including “anglos.” We’re going on almost 50 years of their exile but not all the King’s Horses nor all the King’s Men have been able to bring Cuban-Americans around to follow the lead of the majority in their adopted country and register Democratic. Even with the third generation registering to vote, a measly 13 per cent of these incurably obtuse and unenlightened people register with America’s majority political party. This is the most diminutive Democratic registration of any ethnic group in the U.S. And 72% of these obviously incurable reactionaries are registered with America’s minority party (Republican).  This is the highest for any ethnic group in the U.S.

“Wow!  I didn’t know that…Now, why is that?”

In brief:  What we hear from Democrats sounds too much like a lite version of what we (or our parents and grandparents) fought against and suffered from in Cuba.

Even worse, the legacy of being used, swindled and cast away like an empty wrapper or otherwise “mislead” by snickering Democrats weighs heavily on Cuban-Americans. .

“If we have to get rid of these men, it is much better to dump them in Cuba than in the United States, especially if that is where they want to go.” That was JFK finally rationalizing his (tardy) go-ahead for the Bay of Pigs invasion. (49 years ago this very week, btw.)  Not what you’d call a “Churchillian” send-off  for a fight against Stalinists who jailed political prisoners at a higher rate than Stalin himself, murdered more political prisoners than Hitler’s regime pre-ware, and  who the following year threatened the U.S. with Nuclear obliteration. Gloria Estefan’s father was among those “dumped” by JFK, by the way.  For details of the entire Bay of Pigs swinishness and betrayal see here.

More disappointing for many is that “Our Gloria” had traditionally comported herself above and apart from the typical hypocrisy and grandstanding of the celebrity herd.  Note how many in the Cuban-American community traditionally referred to her: “our Gloria.” If you know any Spanish you’ll notice the term can refer to her personally as well as translate into “our glory.” Many of her millions of fans identified with her penniless-refugee-from Castroism-to riches Cinderella story, which spoke to (and for) many in that community, and grabbed them by their hearts.

The media reports “rage” among Cuban-Americans for the Estefan’s “betrayal.” But it’s really more of a hurt at their error. Val Prieto of Babalu blog is among the harshest critics of the Estefan fundraiser. But as he explained it recently to the Associated Press:

“They represented our community with much dignity and class throughout their entire career. But now I’m disappointed…It just leaves a real bad taste in my mouth and in among a lot of the people in the community.”

Contributing to the glory, Gloria’s late father was a military hero. As-mentioned, he volunteered for the Bay of Pigs invasion, and was wounded during the desperate battle against overwhelming Soviet firepower. A few years later he volunteered for two tours of duty in Viet-Nam and was wounded again. He died a lingering death (Agent Orange was suspected) while nursed by his loving and devoted daughter.

Imagine how the typical leftist celebrity Diva might have parlayed that tragedy into some America-bashing! 

Gloria Estefan would have none of that. Instead she again caused her fan’s hearts to swell, and many eyes to dampen. “My whole family paid a heavy price for freedom,” she explained. “My father fought for those freedoms both in Cuba and in Viet-Nam..I’m not about to let anyone stomp on his ideals..How can I forget what Communism did to my country and my family?”

Well, in the view of many, that’s precisely what she’s forgotten, as evidenced by the fundraiser. After all, the Democrat she hosted and funded weren’t exactly Harry Truman or Scoop Jackson. Bill Ayres, Van Jones, Frank Marshall Davis, Jeremiah Wright, etc.—the list of Obama’s Castrophile “acquaintances” is awfully long.  No one questions the Estefan family’s right to host a U.S. President, for goodness sakes, or begrudges their pride in doing so. Many simply question whether, in light of the Democratic record with regards to Castro, and their currently Socialist (by any dictionary definition of the term) domestic agenda, helping raise $2.5 million for them makes sense for someone with her background.

In his book Spirit of Enterprise George Gilder titled a chapter, The Cuban Miracle. “No other immigrant group so quickly and successfully transformed a city, while achieving such multifarious business breakthroughs as the fugitives from Castro’s regime who made Miami their home after 1960.”

Will a flurry of entrepreneurism like the one that propelled the Estefans and so many of their fellow refugees to prosperity be possible under the enterprise-stifling conditions Obama and the Democrats are installing at breakneck speed? Many doubt it. We greatly admire your climb to the top, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, and wish it upon many others. But your fundraiser is helping those who traditionally pull up the ladder after themselves.

Dear readers: When I first began to write this column, I received many questions about behavioral issues. The two most pressing issues for dog owners were anxiety and aggression. For cat owners, aggression and inappropriate urination were the two most common. I do not think these issues have gone away. I still see people on a regular basis that have to deal with behavioral issues in their pets.

Interdog aggression involves dogs that fight other dogs. Causes include dominance issues and anxiety issues. Dominance aggression means that the dogs are fighting to establish their position in the pack. This type of aggression can be helped by neutering the pet. Anxiety based aggression usually originates with one dog that feels threatened by other dogs. His level of anxiety is inappropriate for the situation. Because he is so fearful, he attacks the other dog, thinking that he will make the first move before the other dog can attack him. The other dog, minding his own business and in no way planning on fighting to begin with, has to fight out of self defense. So the first dog has created the very situation that he feared just by acting on that fear.

As you can see, anxiety is very real in the minds of some dogs. Just as the anxiety issues that lead to aggression are deep seated, anxiety can also be expressed in relation to thunder storms. Some dogs are so afraid of thunderstorms that in their efforts to escape they do damage to their surroundings and their selves. Because they are fearful that the storm will do damage, they create the very damage that they are afraid will occur. This anxiety can be directed toward separation from the owner, known as ‘separation anxiety’.

When these behaviors become self destructive, behavioral therapy should be pursued. I believe the first step should be to contact your veterinarian and get a recommendation for an animal behaviourist. These people have a love for animals and their behavior. They study to know how to deal with situations such as these. Sometimes after assessing the situation, they may suggest medication to help modify the behavior. If this is the case, your veterinarian can prescribe behavioral drugs to aid in the control of the behavior.

We love our pets because they interact with us, but that very trait makes them susceptible to social issues. Be aware that help is available. Fear and aggression can be addressed. Next week I will discuss feline behavioral issues.

Dear Readers: Tricia wrote in to let us know that the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society is having a yard sale on Saturday, April 3. We all know how much work a yard sale can be. If you would like to help them out with donations, you can drop them off at PAWS on Lovejoy Road, or they can be dropped off at the Northwest Florida Fairgrounds Monday through Thursday between 9:00am and 3:00pm. All funds raised from this event will go directly to providing nutrition, shelter and healthcare for the animals.

E-mail Dr. Dara Johns at JohnsDVM@aol.com. Write to Pet Peeves, P.O. Box 469, Niceville, FL 32588. She is a Niceville veterinarian.

dog shock collars

Anti Bark Collar

Friday, April 23, 2010

Re: Ho-Hum   [John Hood]

Jonah, still licking his chops to advance his Canines Uber Alles thesis, has passed along a touching story about a dog leading rescuers to a dangerous fire.

Bully for the dog and his owner. But with regard to the dogs vs. cats issue, I find myself wrestling with epistemic closure. Dogs are good obedient servants. Cats are discerning peers. Dogs slavishly slobber. Cats masterfully preen. Dogs scavenge through the innards of dead antelope. Cats kill the antelope.

Basically, dogs drool, cats rule. There's room enough for all in the hierarchy of human cohabitants, so long as everyone remembers it's a hierarchy. Admittedly, my boys love their two dogs Snickers and Reeses. But they knew better than to try to elevate those two knuckleheads to the feline caste.

04/23 03:33 PMShare

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Christian Paviol

Depending on whether or not you're heading to movie theaters this weekend, you might learn a little something or two about “How To Train Your Dragon.” In all likelihood, you're not going to encounter too many fire-breathing winged beasts in your life — I would hope not, anyway — but in case you do, DreamWorks' latest 3-D animated feature should teach you a couple of tricks on how to tame such a mythical creature.

But if you have plans that prevent you from heading to the local cinema in the near future, never fear — there are plenty of other films that have already laid out a few lessons on how to train your pet dragon, or at least how to avoid getting killed by one!

After the jump, check out some of the lessons we've learned from other cinematic dragons.

Cover Up Your Underbelly: Although the vast majority of dragons are capable of massive amounts of destruction, that's not to say they're without their weaknesses. Take Smaug in the forthcoming “The Hobbit,” for example — powerful though he may be, the lack of gold plating on one portion of his belly proved to be his undoing. When training your dragon, it's important to identify any weakness that could be exploited by a potential opponent.

Don't Assume Too Much: It's easy to look at a dragon and find yourself terrified at the creature's ferocious appearance, but don't be so quick to judge a book by its cover — or, in this case, a dragon by its scales. Draco, the Sean Connery-voiced dragon at the center of “Dragonheart,” is certainly sarcastic and has a bit of a mean streak, but if treated with respect and appreciation, he can become an invaluable ally.

Don't Stare A Gift Dragon In The Mouth: As a trainer, it's important to know your limitations against a dragon — for instance, leaping at a dragon while clutching a battle axe in your hand is most likely going to lead to you being swallowed whole, like Matthew McConaughey's character in “Reign of Fire.” It's best to deal with these creatures diplomatically, since violence isn't going to get you anywhere aside from a dragon's digestive tract.

Establish A Friendship: Beyond diplomacy, appreciation and respect, there's a lot to be said for loving your dragon. In “Pete's Dragon,” Pete and Elliott the Dragon have an excellent relationship due to the young orphan's affinity for the cartoon creature. By solidifying a loving relationship between yourself and your dragon, you'll find yourself not only with a partner in crime, but with a true friend.

Get Lucky: In life, education and ability aren't always enough — often, you need some luck on your side in order to achieve your dreams. So if you're ever at a point where you can actually select your very own dragon, you would be wise to find a luckdragon like Falkor from “The Neverending Story.” While he's not as strong and menacing as some other fictional dragons, he's impossibly lucky, and that's an invaluable skill to have on your side.

What other lessons have you learned from movie dragons? Tell us in the comments on on Twitter!

You only have to look in that box titled “AMERICAblog Reader Pets” in the upper right hand corner of this site to see how much we all love their pets. We've received hundreds and hundreds of pet photos — and they keep coming. Last week, John — finally — joined the rank of pet owners. So, all the animal lovers should read this article from today's New York Times about dogs who have come to the aid of vets dealing with PTSD:

The dogs to whom they credit their improved health are not just pets. Rather, they are psychiatric service dogs specially trained to help traumatized veterans leave the battlefield behind as they reintegrate into society.

Because of stories like these, the federal government, not usually at the forefront of alternative medical treatments, is spending several million dollars to study whether scientific research supports anecdotal reports that the dogs might speed recovery from the psychological wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In dozens of interviews, veterans and their therapists reported drastic reductions in P.T.S.D. symptoms and in reliance on medication after receiving a service dog.

The article is really worth a read. And, hat tip to Senator Al Franken:

Under a bill written by Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, veterans with P.T.S.D. will get service dogs as part of a pilot program run by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Training a psychiatric service dog and pairing it with a client costs more than $20,000. The government already helps provide dogs to soldiers who lost their sight or were severely wounded in combat, but had never considered placing dogs for emotional damage.

remote electric dog collar

Stacie Degner

Did you miss Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s superb Ghost Stories at The Lyric Hammersmith? Your second chance is coming, as the show is transferring to the West End this July and is booking now for dates into November. I’d recommend buying your tickets for the Duke of York season right now. Note how there’s no show listed for Halloween? I bet they’re planning something special.

Alongside the full-scale festival, there’s something altogether more humble gearing up for a little run around Cannes: it’s the Cannes in a Van fest, in which films get screened… well, from out of the back of a van. This “four-wheeled film festival” is now in its fourth year and publishing a daily blog. Here’s their promo video:

That was cut to promote a documentary about the scheme back in 2008, but it does give some idea of what they’re up to.

Ray Winstone is to star in the “British caper/thriller” The Hot Potato. Screen Daily will tell you more… if you’re a subscriber. They are also reporting on Acts of God, a UK-to-France road movie with Ed Hogg and Robert Sheehan, but that’s also locked behind their paywall.

Bill Forsyth has given a retrospective interview to WNYC (though, apparently, not an WNYC in the US). He’s still one of the best filmmakers we ever produced so any interview with him is essential listening for me.

My home viewing for the week has been Dumbo, the Walt Disney classic about a little Elephant with big, big ears. It’s now available in a DVD and Blu-ray double pack, region coded B and C. Which means, essentially, that the US is going to have to wait, the way they did for Monsters Inc.

This Dumbo release has been out for a couple of weeks now but only just popped through my letter box. At least that’s one good thing that came to he who waited.

I’ve always loved Dumbo, and always found it somehow different to its Disney peers. As I grew older and began to understand more and more about animation and cinema, a few key reasons why it had such a different tone started to become clear. For one thing, it’s very brief, and resolves very, very rapidly; for another, it’s atypically bright and colourful throughout, whereas most Disney films span a far wider and more subtly graduated series of colour schemes; and finally, the animation itself is in a looser, more free and maybe even impressionistic style than any of the Disney features. There’s a lot of ways in which Dumbo looks more like one of the early Silly Symphony shorts, with their rubbery anatomies and almost entirely graphic style of design work, than say, Lady and the Tramp or Jungle Book, and most definitely Pinocchio. Of course, this is not to say that this style has not been executed with great artistry and flair.

The disc’s picture quality is, as you’d imagine, quite impressive indeed. I took a good hard look at the integrity of the lines and they looked great, with no obvious artefacting or DNR damage. Of course, I didn’t have an old copy to compare this new release with, but I can at least tell you that it stands on its own terms. This goes also for the colour tones and levels, which seembrilliantly balanced and well-tuned, though I can’t pledge personally that they’re in anyway true to the original 1941 cinema presentation. Is this the Dumbo that Walt and co. wanted us to see? I can’t say, but I’m pretty sure that if Walt came to it cold, sat down and screened it, he’d think it looked wonderful.

The key special feature on the disc is a Cine-Explore commentary which sees Pete Docter, Andreas Deja and journalist and Disney historian Paula Sigman pop up as a picture-in-picture track. Their contributions are regularly punctuated by archive audio and video, most notably some comments by Ward Kimball who appears in some hugely charming film clips. I’m a commentary track addict, and these Cine-Explore options are like catnip to me. Essential viewing, I’d say.

There’s also a couple of featurettes – one carried over from the old DVD, another exclusive to the new release. It was nice hearing John Canemaker, Eric Goldberg and other animation luminaries placing Dumbo into context and highlighting a wealth of information about its production and release, though there was a great deal of cross-over between what they were discussing and the material included in the Cine-Explore thread. The solution would be to assume all viewers would screen both, whereas here the editorial policy seems to be set by thinking that viewers would plump for just one or the other.

One special feature I’m not at all interested in is the so-called Disney View, which adds lightly-animated side panels to the 4:3 image to fill out a 16:9 TV set. Frankly, if you’re put off by “black bars” then you need to pull your socks up and snap out of it, not compromise the artistic integrity of the film by fiddling with its format. I’m sure the side panels are as sensitively handled as they could be, but they are still fundamentally a bad idea. If nothing else they indulge the great many people with absurd prejudices towards aspect ratios that don’t “fill” their TV sets.

All in all, Dumbo is a hearty recommend though, of course, I’d say the same thing about a VHS copy if that was the only way to see this odd, beautifully crafted little wonder.

Of big screen release the one I want to talk about is Crying With Laughter. I’ve got a video interview with the star and director of the film coming soon – essentially once some frustrating technical issues are ironed out – but in the mean time, I at least want to send you out to see the movie. It starts screening today in select cinemas across the UK, and will slowly move across the land in the next month or so.

For the first five minutes or so, the more cynical viewer will probably expect Crying With Laughter to spin out as some slice-of-life shakicam drama about a misanthropic stand-up comedian. Slowly, though, threads start to become apparent, and then almost as slowly, they start to be woven together. As the tapestry suddenly becomes clear, you’ll realise: what you’re watching is a thriller.

Hal Hartley called his film Amateur a “thriller with one flat tire”. Crying With Laughter is a thriller in which the car sits dormant for a while, engine running but just waiting. And then, eventually, the pedal goes down and the film starts to make a new kind of sense as it hits the highroad.

Once Crying With Laughter goes up a gear, you actually get a refreshed appreciation for the earlier scenes. Obviously it’s not ideal that the first act seems a little short on engaging hooks, but to its credit, there’s a lot of groundwork being done, and it is all essential stuff. In a perfectly balanced scenario, you’d get something like Tarantino’s Jackie Brown. This is more like Jackie Brown standing on one leg and occaisonally hopping to not fall over – but it doesn’t fall over.

Very often, the secret weapon in a very, very low budget film – and Crying With Laughter cost considerably less than you would guess, I think – is the lead actor. In this case that’s Stephen McCole. He co-created the role of Joey Frisk with director Justin Moltnikov through a series of workshops, and it’s tempting to assume he’s poured a lot of himself into the role it’s so comfortable a skin on him. The plot of the film is all about Frisk and his changes, the lessons he learns and the risks he takes – as well as the stupid things he does, the memories he’s struggling with, the past he’s crashed and burned. It’s also about the way one simple flaw in his character becomes a great crack, and how others take advantage of this. A tragedy about a comedian, basically.

Ultimately, the film leaves some loose ends for the audience to tidy up themselves and more than one question of plausibility. Nonetheless, there’s enough of what works to encourage.

Molotnikov and McCole are collaborating again on another feature, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see their ongoing collaborations cement Crying With Laughter as a cult “I knew them when” bragging item.

The official Crying With Laughter site will tell you when the film is going to be in your neighbourhood, and also when you’ll be able to see McCole do some real, live stand up comedy.

• Allison Robert (@AllisonRobert): Probably just hanging around with the guildies, and the usual ICC-10 heroic on Sunday night. And I keep saying I'll level my shaman's jewelcrafting, but it's just such a pain in the ass …
• Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey): Working on the Lich King, writing and dealing with Sudden Surprise Invasion of Relatives — thankfully, they're cooking so I don't have to worry about it! Favorite pet, well, I don't have any pets anymore at the moment, but I love my sister's dog Scurvy. He's a little Shih Tzu with an attitude, and she enjoys giving him mohawks. Bright yellow mohawks. Man that dog is awesome.
• Amy Schley (@wowlawbringer): Leveling exam notes, maybe running a few more heroics to get an awesome set of heirloom gear for an Alliance pally I want to start to tour post-Cata Kalimdor. Also, I should be at the meet and greet on Patent. I may even *gasp* get some house and yard work done.
• Basil Berntsen (@outdps): I'll be taking my hunter into a BG marathon this weekend. Attached is a picture of my favorite pet.
• Chase Christian (@madsushi): I found a decent StarCraft 2 partner for 2v2 so I'll be playing quite a bit of that this weekend, hoping that we can make a push for Platinum. Also doing more mercenary work in Ulduar, a lot of rich benefactors on my realm still need their Rusted Proto-Drakes.
• Dan O'Halloran: In addition to the usual LotRO run through of Sword Halls and WoW heroic PUGs, I'll be squeezing in some DDO as well as more time with the new iPhone MMO Pocket Legends. Pic attached is unhappy dog who has discovered a fence he can't chew through … yet.
• Daniel Whitcomb (@danielwhitcomb): I'm heading out of town next weekend to party with some friends, so this weekend will primarily be spent getting as much work as possible done ahead of time. But I fully plan to spend some time in game to enjoy my new sparklepony. Yes, I purchased one and I am proud of it. I will love him and hug him and squeeze him and name him George. For real-world pets, this is Diamond. I had to leave her behind in Sacramento when I moved to Washington, but she is still my favorite Puppy. Yes she is. Yes she is! Who's a good puppy?
• Elizabeth Harper (@faience): New Doctor Who this weekend! And maybe other stuff, too.
• Elizabeth Wachowski (@leeatwaterlives): I've gotten sucked back into the maw that is Fallout 3, so I'll probably be playing that. Otherwise … eh, maybe Final Fantasy 13, although it's failed to capture my attention so far. Or something with zombies. I like killing zombies.
• Gregg Reece: Well, I don't have any pets, but I do have some epic cuteness at my house. Otherwise, I'm hoping to get the crib assembled and move the little one from the bassinet to it. I think I'm going to hit the Wii Fit a bit over the weekend and I'll be raiding ICC and other miscellaneous things. I may even play my druid a little bit and try to get him up to somewhere near 80 before Cataclysm comes out.
• Joe Perez (@Lodurzj): Following our kill and confirmation kill of Sindragosa (25) my guild is gearing up to take on the Lich King (25). Also going to spend some time with Shatter which is fun and all kinds of addicting, and hopefully get some more SC2 time in. This is Luna, my WoW-playing cat. Whenever I play, she sits in my lap. If I'm not paying attention she'll bat at the spacebar to make my character jump! While her sisters are huge, she is the runt and has decided that I'm her human.
• Kelly Aarons (@Cadistra): The usual combo of WoW, Torchlight, and Zeno Clash. Also will be working like mad to get a slew of other things done. Finally gave in and am shelving Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, and am now finally going onto Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box. The pic is of mah new kitteh, Alfrado. He is lovely, except when he decides that putting a claw in my nostril is a good way to wake me up.
• Lisa Poisso (@emused): AFK all weekend for several birthday celebrations, including the baking of this Delicious Chocolate Cake. Most people wouldn't call this cake a pet. I think I just might.
• Matt Low (@matticus): Watchin' me some playoff hockey! Some more alt ICC is on the schedule as well. Also have to fight the exam boss at 830 AM on a Sunday. Seriously, who the heck schedules an 8:30 exam on a Sunday?
• Mathew McCurley (@gomatgo): More ICC hardmodes and some quality time with friends. Uncharacteristically tired this week. Happily reading all the horse-outrage this week.
• Michael Sacco (@mikesacco): Seeing my friend's college's production of Clue, which uses the stage adaptation I wrote. Playing Pokemon HeartGold. Trying desperately not to hate Final Fantasy XIII. [Editor's note: Mike breaks us away from the standard kitten and puppy pics.]
• Rich Maloy (@stoneybaby): I'll be in my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA for my grandmother's 90th birthday. I'll be golfing with the Maloy boys at some point in the 'burgh. Unfortunately I'll miss 2 raid nights with our fledgling guild, but I think they'll be just fine without me as they go for hard modes and our 2nd LK25 kill.
• Robin Torres (@cosmiclaurel): I'll be going to the Zoo on Saturday and Gurubashi Beatdown II on Sunday. Both of my cats are my favorite pet, but pictures of the two of them just like a mound of black fur with four eyes. So here is Thor, doing his cat yoga. This is the bearskin-rug pose.
• Tyler Caraway (@Murmurs): Not doing too much in the game world this weekend. Mostly I'll be trolling around for a date. Anyone available? I lack a pet currently. I've been trying to get a new husky, but that requires me building a fence and I suck at building things.
• Zach Yonzon (@Battlemasters): Playing the daddy game where I just obtained the Change 50 Nappies and Bathe a Newborn With One Forearm achievements. Will not be logging on to WoW because everyone will be flying around in their sparkly ponies and I won't be. Because, as you know, tiny new babies tend to nomnom all your sparklepony moneys.

Now tell us — what are you playing this weekend? (Pet inclusion is, of course, optional.)

Tags: distracted-by-puppies, facebookfeed, kitten, kittens, puppies, puppy, weekend, weekend-gaming, what-are-you-playing, wow.com, wrup

Filed under: WoW.com Business

bark control collars for dogs

Terence Ramage

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Last night the remaining nine contestants on American Idol stumbled through the catalogue of Elvis Presley, failing for the most part to make any of the King’s tunes their own. Season-eight runner-up Adam Lambert blessedly livened things up as a guest mentor, and he was actually a great tie-in to the week's theme since Elvis also wore mascara offstage and the networks won’t show Lambert doing certain things below the hips. Glambert kept the episode afloat by actually giving some honest feedback, saying this season has great singers but a lot of them need to “wake up … let’s put on a show.” (And after weeks of the judges wondering what the problem is with Andrew, it was a relief to have someone flat out tell him his singing was boring.)

The mentoring segments were filmed in Las Vegas, which added absolutely nothing to the episode but did allow Ryan to utter questionable lines like, “Let’s see what happened to Katie in Sin City … ” And to make up for all the gay jokes in his wheelhouse that he would have liked to have been making last season (there was mid-season speculation, but Lambert didn’t publicly come out until after the season wrapped), Ryan made sure to tell Adam, “My tongue is not nearly as talented as yours … you know what I mean, with singing! With singing!” Adam gracefully responded with one of those “please shut up” smiles you make when your mom tells your significant other about your potty-training travails.

The performances:

Crystal Bowersox continues to impress and show growth. For the first time this season, she actually made a left-field song choice, singing an obscure (in Elvis terms) gospel-blues tune called “Saved.” Naturally, she nailed the vocals and arrangement, and her stage persona was more energetic, sassy, and comfortable than ever before. She’s one of the few contestants this season truly using the show as training for a real career later on. Simon said good things about her, but it was incredibly distracting watching Glee’s Jane Lynch in the background and wondering what she would say if she were at the judges’ table.

Andrew Garcia’s lounge-lizard re-conception of “Hound Dog” was the kind of thing that should have fallen into the “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” category. Even more miserable than his languid singing was his lifeless performance, where he doddered around stage like an old man and dragged the mic with him like it was his IV stand. With two people going home tonight, it’s really time to bid him adieu. Ellen was the only judge who liked it, and explained to Ryan that she liked it because she liked it.

After weeks of excruciating Sanjaya-esque performances, Tim Urban surprisingly delivered one of the night’s most satisfying songs. Instead of sullying “Can’t Help Falling In Love” with his usual goofy bombast, he gently picked at his acoustic guitar and offered a restrained, understated take on the oft-covered tune that was actually a bit beautiful. Ellen likened him to tequila (because she regrets him the next morning?) but seemed to mean it as a compliment, and Simon indulged in an unforgivable cliché by saying Tim “went from zero to hero in two weeks.” Is Simon now writing eighties movie trailers on the side?

Lee DeWyze continued his bid to be named Bowersox's runner-up with a bluesy, growling version of “A Little Less Conversation.” He’s finally loosened up onstage to the point where he successfully inhabits each song. Kara still wanted him to smile more and hop around the stage on a pogo stick, but Simon reminded her that “it’s about nailing the song and that was on the money.” Watch it below.

Decked out in his Back to the Future Part II-version-of-the-future finest, Aaron Kelly took on “Blue Suede Shoes.” Lambert advised the 17-year-old to put some aggression into his performance, but Aaron just looked scared and hid under a nearby couch. His performance was solid but not memorable — the main problem was the hopelessly outdated backing blues music. Kara applauded him for moving out of his comfort zone, but Simon felt it was too old-fashioned. Jane Lynch sagely nodded along in the background.

Siobhan Magnus gave us the soft and screechy sides of her musical persona this week, and the resulting version of “Suspicious Minds” was enjoyable though not exactly relevant, much like her Billy Idol meets Bride of Frankenstein hairstyle. Lambert looked like he loved her performance more than the others, which makes sense: Her voice is lovely, powerful, and idiosyncratic in a way not unlike his own. Randy confusingly likened it to the Supremes, while Kara couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Siobhan is one girl with two different singing styles. Simon told her she’s lost sight of who she is, but Siobhan wasted no time putting them back in their places. “Even I can’t pinpoint who or what I am, but I’ve always taken pride in that … I don’t think it’s necessary to be labeled.” Shine on, you crazy diamond.

After his near-elimination last week, Michael Lynche sang “In the Ghetto” on Siobhan’s advice. Even though the arrangement was slow and bare-bones, it still came across as cheesy and a bit lame. Mike definitely should have taken Adam’s advice to ignore the judges and embrace his theatrical side — at least then he’d be entertaining instead of forgettable. The judges all give him terse praise, probably because they’re not quite ready to admit he may not have been worth the save.

Katie Stevens made an interesting song choice with “Baby What Do You Want Me to Do,” but she came nowhere near pouring her frustration with the judges into her singing, which was her stated aim. Adam correctly said “she needs to sell it more,” but all the non-Simon judges liked her grrr-face façade of anger. Simon told her it was boring and she shouted back at him, “What do you want me to do?” Get voted off the show soon, Katie. Is that so much to ask?

Casey James closed the night with an acceptably old-school blues take on “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” It was good MOR white blues, but that’s kind of like saying The Biggest Loser is good for immediately forgettable melodrama. Still, his vocals were fine and, as Ellen pointed out, he did look “comfortable surrounded by a sea of women.” But perhaps she just said that because she likes to watch the muscles in Kara's neck tense up.

Odds and sods moments:

Siobhan opined that Elvis is so compelling to her because he came from practically nothing and became one of the most successful performers ever. Never one to pass up an opportunity to make things trite, Ryan declared, “Yep, rags to riches.”

Katie Stevens explained anger to us: “It’s like UGH! Not aaahhhh.”

In the long-running Fox tradition of attempting to sabotage people by implying they’re terrorists, Seacrest introduced Tim Urban as “Turban.”

Seacrest joked that Brian Dunkleman would return next week for Idol Gives Back. No one in the audience seemed to recall who that was, which means his joke failed, but Seacrest still wins, since his former Idol co-host isn’t remembered well enough to function as a punchline.

Reminding us of the importance of voting, Ryan shouted, “You don’t want to lose your favorite, because that would suck!” at a frail old lady.

Tonight Adam Lambert returns to perform, and perhaps we will finally be rid of the oppressive mediocrity that is Andrew Garcia’s singing. And with the save gone, hopefully Siobhan or Casey won’t fall into the bottom two and be forced to shuffle off their Idol coil.

Are you trying to find a landlord who will not only welcome Fido with open paws, but understand the pooch's need to use the backyard as a potty? Are you someone whose home-buying priority isn't good schools but rather proximity to a dog park or 24-hour vet clinic? If you had your druthers, would you forgo a home with built-in bookshelves in favor of one with a built-in cat platform-climbing tree?

Moving, whether it be down the street or from coast-to-coast, is stressful. So call it a clever marketing tool or the answer to a pet-owner's prayers, but the Pet Realty Network is here to help. The brainchild of British-born Rhona Sutter, the Pet Realty Network charges real estate agents $30 a year to showcase an unlimited number of pet-friendly properties. They can also upload their bios and photos. The fee for developers is $50 a year. The site, free to visitors, provides a wealth of pet moving tips. Sutter is also a Realtor.

Karen Numme, an agent with Keller-Williams in the trendy Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, joined the network earlier this year. Numme is a doggie stage mom whose five-pound Yorkshire Terrier named Shumi just completed a national campaign for Target. Numme, who shares space on her business card with Shumi, says the Pet Realty Network has been a tremendous resource for her thus far.

“I'm a pet person and know quite a bit, but they have information on the site that has helped me to help my clients. It's great!,” she said. There are links to local pet sitters, pet boarding facilities, dog walkers, and other pet-friendly businesses.

Sutter, who started the site almost three years ago, said it has more than 200 members now. Based in Naples, Florida, she said she plans on launching a sister site in the next few weeks that focuses exclusively on pet-friendly rental units. She also runs pethealthalert.com, created after a series of hurricanes underscored the need for emergency pet information.

The Pet Realty Network also runs an online store with pet gifts suitable as closing presents from agents to home buyers — things like a “this belongs to me” blanket personalized with a pet's name, that sells for about $30 or a Mutt Pack Traveler, a see-through traveling case that retails for about $40. Other items include leash holders and T-shirts with horse, dog and cat themes.

So, clever marketing or a real service? Probably a little of both, but I'd give the lady high marks for an easy-to-use and cleverly written web site, dedicated to Kash, the Golden Retriever who is listed as the former Director of Barketing.

Estimates are that more than 10 million families moved with pets last year, Sutter said, and focusing on buyers with pets just helps agents distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack, so to speak. I'll raise a paw to that one.

dog waste bags dispenser

Vanita Keets

Mayor Bloomberg said judges need to crack down on those arrested for the Easter “Wilding” riot in Times Square. “We are not going to tolerate behavior like that, and I think — if the district attorney really prosecutes — that will send a message,” he said on his weekly radio show. Even though 350 cops were assigned to monitor the yearly Easter Night gang initiation, four people were shot and 33 were arrested.

Bloomberg said that although the police planned for violence, the initiation brawl between Bloods, Crips and other gangs didn't happen as it had in previous years. “What was different this year is [the gangs] didn't go to the auto show, leave about 7 p.m. and march to Times Square. They showed up around 9:30 directly in Times Square. Don't ask me why.” Though previously those arrested for minor crimes could avoid jail time if they stayed out of trouble for six months, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance instructed his staff not to take plea bargains from any of those arrested. Bloomberg commended Vance for that decision, saying, “We've got to make sure it's a big deal. That's the only deterrent that is really going to work . . . You've got to make sure you change the mindset of people.”

Times Square has been flooded with cops ever since the brawl. One Hot Dog vendor told the Post, “There is always police out here and it's even better that they have more security now. The more, the merrier.” However, the NYPD is being forced to downsize due to recent budget cuts, leaving many to worry whether the Easter mayhem was a sign of more crime to come. Maribel Garcia of the Upper West Side told WCBS, “I think it's bad because you have to get protected. We have to be protected.” Another man said, “Look, it is what it is. The budget and the economy in New York is bad. You got to make cuts. I'd rather it be there than teachers or something like that. It's not good, but you're stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

caz…are you serious??? he owns a pitbull and thats the reason why sandra has taken off? oh yeah, it has nothing to do with the fact that he has been cheating on her for years and having sex with other people and severely, and publicly humiliated her. omg, some people on here (and other message boards) are so stupid it literally scares me for the future of this country and the world we live in. i swear to god.

i own a pure bred pitbull, we adopted her from someone when she was 8months old and she is the sweetest, most loving, adorable, smiliest, lickiest, tail waggingest dog i have EVER had. i have several close family friends who also have pitbulls and have had them for years, and not a single one of them has EVER had an issue of aggression towards people or other dogs. yes, it is something that they were bred to do when trained to fight. um, HELLO, most people out there are not training their dog to fight. now considering that i own a pitbull and am educated about the breed, i would not bring another dog into my house to live. one is enough to begin with and not only that i wouldnt want to take the chance of them getting into a fight if i wasn’t there because of the damage that could be done.

i live in an building with about 10 other condos in it and there are 5 other dogs that live in the building…we have the only pitbull…. of the 5 dogs, one of them (a COLLIE) lunged at my daughter while it was on a leash with it’s owner simply because we were walkign down the sidewalk that it was on-and trust me, i will never forget that Collie doing that. the other big dog, a Black Lab, barks his head off aggressively any time my children and i come with about 25ft of it if it happens to be outside. another neighbor upstairs has some kind of littler furry dog that i jokingly refer to as “The Guard Dog” because i can’t even get out of my car in the parking lot without hearing it bark at me from its patio and don’t even think about trying to walk down the sidewalk to your house if it’s outside using the bathroom. i joke because i like it’s owner as my neighbor,but there hasn’t been a single dog in our building that my children or I for that matter have once been able to walk up to and pet..however MY DOG, you know, the crazed insane “predator” as you called it, is happy and friendly and likes to walk up to and lick and be friendly with everyone. every child at our park can come over and play with my dog (while i have her securely on a leash!) and so far every child loves her and she loves them. My best friend had an Australian Cattle Dog who literally went beserk one day and pinned her daugher to the bed and grazed her cheek with her teeth… i have another friend who was attacked by a German Shepard and is SCARRED FOR LIFE on her arms and legs from the brutal attack. the only reason she is alive is because her mother ran out and hit the dog with a baseball bat. I was bitten by a Toy Poodle when i was a kid because my bus stop was in front of my neighbors house andthe neighbor had it chained up out there for some reason and she bit me while i tried to pet her. I had a Black Lab that used to try to attack every African American male she saw, literally chased them up on top of cars…it was crazy and there was noreason for it whatsoever, but he did it! My cousin has 2 little tiny dogs (i don’t know what kind) that are so mean and nasty that she has to lock them in the laundry room any time ANYONE ELSE comes over and she has to keep up and gate inthe house to keep them away from her 2yr old daughter so her daughter doesn’t get attacked and bitten. Now, i have this big sweet sill dog and she has not ever shown one second of aggression towards people OR one second of dog on dog aggression, she lived with 2 Chihuahuah’s before i got her and they would nip her ears and get all crazy, and she let them and continued to play. Long story short, she really is the sweetest most loveable dog i have ever known and is great with other people..children especially, and other animals. I love her to death and will defend the breed til the end of time, but i am also a responsible pet owner…i keep her on a leash at all times in public places, we do not take her to dog parks but have more intimate and controlled “doggie dates” which are basically the same as play dates that i arrange for my kids. i never leave her alone and unattended with anyone, because any kind of pet can hurt, bite, or attack a child or person… ANY kind of animal can do it.

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