Storm in a Tea Cup

This year's Christmas mug with characters from the Moomin Valley shows Moomin himself and his beloved Snork Maiden hugging each other. Not everyone agrees with this picture of Moomin as a straight person. Stefan Ingvarsson, translator and author, claims that Moomin's true love is Snufkin, Moomin would thus be homosexual. Professor Boel Westin, who wrote her doctor's thesis on the Moomin world of Tove Jansson, does not agree. She says that although there are characters in the Moomin Valley who are certainly homosexual, such as Too-Tikky, Moomin is not.

I do not believe Moomin is gay or bi, but I certainly agree that Too-Tikky is. Too-Tikky was inspired by the life partner of Tove Jansson, graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä. Boel Westin also says in the linked article that Tove Jansson was homosexual herself.

Regardless of what the truth may be, I believe this is a storm in a tea cup. The Moomin stories are good stories, no matter what. What difference would the sexual preference of certain carachters in the stories make?

A Dog in the Ski Track

Norwegian alpine skier Anne Marie Mueller nearly hit a dog, when competing in slalom in Aspen this weekend. Fortunately, neither the dog nor the skier were hurt. The dog was subsequently taken care of, but as far as I have read, it is unclear how it got out in the ski track. I would not have wanted to be in this dogs place.

New TV?

According to Dad, we should consider buying a new TV. He believes there is every reason to look closer at Pioneer's model Kuro. This is a TV with a flat screen where the manufacturer has developed the technique to show the deepest black colour ever seen on a TV, which would make for a really good image. Because of the technique, they have named the model for the Japanese word for black, which is kuro. Dad is black and tan himself, and Kuro is his name. The rest of us are not so sure it is necessary to buy a new TV because of this. Dad admits that it is the name that got his attention to start with, but he wants to stress the fact that if we would have a Pioneer Kuro, it would at least have a pretty name. I think we can all agree on that, at least.

The Snow Came and Went

The snow that we had at the start of this week is gone again. The temperatures are above the freezing point. It almost feels like early spring. I have heard birds sing and Daniel says he saw an insect fly by outside. Well, this is how winters use to start. The winter comes and presents itself sometime in November, with a couple of cold days, snow, and roads slippery with ice. Then it disappears just as fast as it came, not to return until weeks later. If I get pups by new year, their first experience of the outdoor life will probably be of a world covered in snow. We will have to see, though, last winter, there was not much snow at all. I hope for a better winter this year.

Bills

Humans always pay their bills by the end of the month. While they are happy to get their salary one day, they get sad that they have to use most of it to pay their bills the following days. At these times, I am especially glad I am a dog, not part of human economy. I may not have a salary, but I also do not have any bills to pay. Thus, I get no roller coaster ride between the happiness of the salary and the sadness of the bills to be paid. Instead, I can be happy most of the time, as, of course, I am.

Exam

Paula finished a home exam today. In the evening, she talked a lot about the exam and expressed her doubts that she had answered everything correctly. I told Paula I have no doubts she will pass the exam, though. I have no doubts whatsoever, she is such a good scholar. There are so many ways in which pet dogs can help their humans. This was one of these things, that I did today.

Need a Lunar Eclipse?

The Indian Lunar craft has experienced an unexpected rise in its internal temperature. When hit by rays directly from the Sun and reflected from the Lunar surface, it has reached temperatures up to 50 degrees C. I can well understand that it is hard for the equipment to function properly in such a high temperature. Who would not be tired in such a heat? Action has been taken to reduce the temperature, which has succeeded to some degree. However, this involves that all the equipment is not active. What this space craft needs right now is definitely an eclipse, to reduce the energy that hits it. It would fare better in a lunar eclipse. As Mum would put it: who would not like a Lunar Eclips?

Busy Monday

Most of the time, at least one of Paula or Daniel are at home. If they do leave us dogs at home by ourselves, it is just for a little while. Today, we were alone at home a little longer than usual. Not that there is anything wrong with that, we take pride in watching the house at these occasions. As most people know, dogs are the best burglary alarm there is. Nothing has ever happened during our watch, Paula and Daniel can be proud of us. Even though we do not mind watching the house, it is a job that has to be done. This means that the time that we are alone at home are a bit more busy than otherwise and we may be a little more tired than usual in the evening. Our happiness to see Paula and Daniel on their return home is still the same.

Murder Mystery Solved?

The Japanese murder mystery I wrote about last Thursday may be on the verge of being solved. Japanese police has arrested a man on weapons charges. The man turned himself in and has confessed to killing one of the former health ministry officials and his wife.

The police examines whether the attacks are related to the loss of millions of pension records. However, according to Japanese news media, the man said he had killed the former official because he was angry over the death of a pet, for which he held health officials responsible.

It seems like the pet in question was a dog who died 34 years ago. Even though this is a long time ago, it must have been hard on this human, losing his dog. He also claims the Ministry of Health is responsible for the continued killing of many pets. I know how much dog owners love their pet dogs. The death of a pet dog may very well stir up more feelings than a loss of millions of pension records. It is not an excuse for committing murder, but it may be an understandable reason.

Ratification

The Swedish Parliament voted for ratification of the Lisbon Treaty the other night, after a long debate. The Treaty has to be ratified by all 27 member states of the European Union to take effect, but Ireland has said no after a referendum. Since one coutry's no is enough to make the Treaty fail, and one country has said no, I do not really know why the Swedish Parliament even bothered voting on the Treaty.

The Lisbon Treaty itself is obsolete, as far as I can understand (except that there is a rumour that the Irish government may hold a new referendum). However, there may be other political values behind this vote in favour of the Treaty. Sweden is not a member of the common currency, perhaps this vote went though Parliament to show other EU member states that Sweden do care about the EU and is a team player in the development of the Union. There may be further analyses of the vote in the news in the days to come, I may return to this topic in my blog if I have anything more to say about it.

At Home

For the first time this week, Paula was at home the whole day. She has been away more than usual this week and we have missed her much. Today, we all slept until late in the morning and then had a nice afternoon together. It was all right then, that Paula and Daniel left us dogs for a little while in the evening. We know that they always rather be at home with us, but then, they would not know how much they appreciate us, if they would never be away from us. A little later at night, they came home again and we watched a movie together. This was a good day in my life, though nothing special happened.

Murder Mystery

It is Thursday, and the weekly American TV series Criminal Minds is aired on Swedish TV. At the same time, we can read about a real murder mystery in Japan. A married couple, where the husband was a former vice-minister of health in Japan, was killed. Not much later, the wife of another former official of the ministry was stabbed. Both former officials had resigned following a scandal involving the loss of millions of pension records. In Criminal Minds, the FBI agent team solve most mysteries over a couple of days. I wish they could be in Japan to solve this mystery too.

Snow

Snow fell this afternoon. It was not much, it did not cover the lawn completely, but it did stay on the ground. Not enough to play in, though. I would like a decimetre of snow, at least.

On the other hand, I have noticed lately that I do not feel like playing as much as I used to do. Maybe this is because I am growing older; I am not sure. I like the playful me, but at the same time, the playful me does not really seem like me, as much as she used to do. Well, they say "people change". So do dogs.

An 80 Year Old Mouse

Mickey Mouse is 80 years old this year. That is some age for a mouse, but then, he is a fictional cartoon character too. I guess a fictional cartoon Shiba Inu could easily become 80 years old, too. Being that old as a real Shiba Inu would probably be quite boring, I am rather happy I will not be.

Extra Food

Sometimes, I feel like there is nothing special going on in my life, and there are no news worth commenting either in my blog. Today is almost such a day. I have to say, though, that I was pleasantly surprised that Daniel gave me a bigger ration of food than I usually gets. He told me that this was because I may be expecting puppies. If I expect puppies, I need extra food to give them energy and nutrition. Now I understand why Mum, always so fond of food, says she enjoys expecting puppies so much. She has told me it is because of the extra food, but I understand it much better when I actually get extra food. This was not very exciting, was it? Nevertheless, it turned an otherwise dull day into something special. Even the small positive things are worth mentioning.

Visitors

Mia came around this afternoon. She walked her, but she did not bring Kesshi. It was nice to see her anyway. We also had two visitors from another city, who will have a dog from us. These were also very nice people, and if they want a pup from me in the future, I believe they would take good care of it.

The humans talked about dogs for hours. Though dogs are, naturally, one of my favourite subjects, human talks about dogs can be pretty boring after a while. I was close by the whole time, but most of the time, I slept under the table where the five humans sat talking. I rather meet dogs than talk about them.

The Capital of Scandinavia?

Sometimes, the political leaders of Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, calls its city "the Capital of Scandinavia". It is the largest city in Scandiavia, but there is nothing that makes Stockholm the capital of Denmark or Norway. I believe Danes and Norwegians just laugh at this name, if they have heard about it. My Norwegian dad surely does. A few centuries ago, this slogan could have caused Denmark-Norway to declare war against Sweden. It is fortunate, at least, that we are all more peaceful now. Still, I think the slogan is stupid.

A Bit More International

Another international restaurant chain has opened a restaurant in our home city: Pizza Hut. This makes this city a bit more like big, international cities, which is good, because it make us feel like our city is not as far away from the centre of the world's attention. Paula and Daniel bought dinner there tonight for them and Mia, which they had at Mia's place. April and I got to come along, but we and Kesshi did not get any pizza. This was not nice, we love pizza as much as anybody else. I hope we get to taste next time around. Both Paula and Daniel think this pizza is very good, which is promising.

Is Lasse Sandberg Now a Ghost?

Swedish cartoonist and children's book illustrator Lasse Sandberg has passed away. Among other characters, he created the friendly little ghost Godfrey, who is called Laban in the original Swedish books. Godfrey was the ghost who did not want to scare people. I wonder if Lasse Sandberg is a ghost now himself. If so, I believe he would be a friendly ghost himself.

Lost Bomb

The BBC has told a story about an American nuclear bomb lost in the ice in Greenland since 1968. This may very well be an environmental hazard, as said in the article to which I have a link. However, as far as I know about nuclear weapons, they need to be re-armed about once every two years to be functional. This means that even though a terrorist would now get hold of this weapon, it would not be functional. Parts of it may be corroded, as well. I am not afraid that anybody who should not have a nuclear bomb would get hold of this one and threaten to use it.

New Layout

We have a new layout on the kennel web site. I think it is very nice looking, but I should let it speak for itself. Follow the link and have a look!

Father's Day

Today is father's day in Sweden. I have celebrated my father. In the evening, I also went with Paula and Daniel to Paula's father. Daniel had talked to his father by telephone.

Next year, there may very well be cause for some young ones to celebrate Calvin on this day.

Conservative Victory

Conservative John McCain did not win the presidential election in the USA, but conservative John Key won the parliament election in New Zealand. New Zealand is a much smaller country than the USA, therefore less significant in the world at large, but it is not insignificant.

Critics have said that John Key lacks experience, since he has only been MP for six years. Six years are not that short time, is it? He has been working with other things, in New Zealand, Singapore, and London before. As far as I know, John Key has no dog. I would say this is worthy of more critizism than his relatively short time in Parliament.

An Interesting Day - for Calvin

Calvin had an interesting day today. He got to go with Daniel to work in the morning, because he had a veterinarian's appointment in the middle of the day. When going home from the vet, Calvin got to see Movitz, Grus' little puppy friend, and Ylva. This is also something I am jealous of. Calvin did not care much, he just wanted to go home to rest after the treatment at the vet.

It is not that I am jealous of going to the vet, but I am jealous of going with Daniel to work. April and Mum has also been with Daniel to work. Even though Calvin had to go to the vet, he cannot say he did not have an interesting day.

Kuro II

My Dad is called Kuro. Paula and Daniel will get another black and tan Shiba Inu male soon, directly from Japan, whose name is also Kuro. We call him Kuro II. Dad will always be the first for all of us, perhaps especially so for me, his first-born daughter.

However, it will be interesting to meet this second Kuro. Rumour has it, he looks stunningly good. Not that looks is the most important, for me as a dog, smell is more important, but looks are not unimportant.

Tudor

Paula will see the British TV series Tudor tonight. It is about the royal family and politics centuries ago in England. Perhaps I will see it as well, I have not decided yet. Rumour has it, it is rather good, but I never saw the first season this spring. I do not know if it is worth starting to see it at the beginning of the second season, maybe I just have to watch the first episode to determine that...

Lunar Orbit

Chandrayaan 1, the Indian Lunar probe, is about to go into orbit around the Moon. Once in orbit, it will map the surface of the Moon for about two years. There are already maps of the whole Moon, but I guess new maps can be more detailed and thus better. I wonder what it would be like to go to the Moon, using such maps. No dog has ever been to the Moon (I do not count Milou in the Belgian comic strip Tintin). I doubt I will ever go there myself, even though my shadow on the Moon surface would be a realization of my name: Lunar Eclips. Oh well, you cannot go everywhere in life.

Black, but no Tan

Yesterday, Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain became the first black Formula 1 world champion. Tomorrow, Barack Obama may be elected the first black President of the USA. I do not care about their colour. If they were black and tan, maybe I would, but there are no black and tan humans. I think Lewis Hamilton seems to be a nice fellow and the Brits are happy for their first world champion since Damon Hill in 1996.

When it comes to the US election, Daniel told me that Mum's breeders told him this spring, when he visited them, that they would vote for John McCain rather than Barack Obama. Daniel believes McCain would be a better president than Obama. For those who are interested in the election, tomorrow will be an exciting day. I am not interested. If any of the competitors would have a Shiba Inu, like Governor Christine Gregoire of Washington State, I would recommend everyone to vote for that candidate. Now, I do no such recommendations. We will have to see what happens.

Everyone Is at Home

Paula, Auntie Linni, and April came back late this afternoon. April had made a good appearance in the dog show, though the result was not great, but they had a good time with Kiko and his family afterwards. Soon after arriving home, Paula and Daniel went away on their own to have dinner at Mia's place. I did not get to come this time either. However, late at night, everyone is at home again. It will be a more comfortable night this way.

Feeling Blue

I feel a little down today. It is cold and rather dark outside, winter is on its way, but yet no snow to play in. Calvin is still annoying. Paula took April and Auntie Linni on a road trip to Växjö in southern parts of Sweden. They were going to a dog show where April will be shown and they are going to meet my brother Kiko, but I was not allowed to come. This makes me more sad. Maybe I will be happier tomorrow, when they return home.