Nice but Quiet Day

It is Saturday, and we have spent the day at home, mostly resting. This is one of my favourite pass times. It is very nice. Sure, you could say it is too quiet, but why complain? The worst thing is that I have nothing more interesting than this to say in my blog, but there may very well be something better for the blog tomorrow.

Kaiserstuhl

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Did you know that there is a Place in Southwestern Germany called Kaiserstuhl? I learned of this today. I really like this name, just wanted you to know.

At Least there Are Talks

The foreign ministers of Japan and China has met in New York, by the UN General Assembly, and talked about the Senkaku Islands, Japanese islands claimed by China. The talks have been severe. Meanwhile, Chinese as well as Taiwanese ships have sailed on Japanese waters around the islands.

At least, there are talks. I would not want anything more aggressive than that. Both Japan and China has formidable military forces, but I do not think any party wants to risk a war. Hopefully, the Chinese will realise they should back down.

I have not read much about this in Swedish mass media. I wish there were more. I also wish Sweden would support the democracy and holder of the territory, Japan, in this issue.

Censorship Withdrawn

The books about Tintin and Snowy are put back again. There were too many protests against censoring them. This is good, reason prevailed.

Tintin and Snowy Censored

At a library in Stockholm, a person responsible for developing child culture, Behrang Miri, has decided to remove all the comic books with Tintin and his Foxterrier Snowy. The reason is that he believes the books to be racist, portraying Africans and Arabs the wrong way.

I do not care, it is censorship, no matter what the cause. I believe this makes Behrang Miri an enemy of culture and the freedom of expression. You should not surpress views you do not care, you should display them openly and confront them instead, telling the world why they are bad.

Darkness and Safety Reflectors

It is turning dark earlier each evening, and we will soon have morning walks in darkness as well. In the dark, pedestrians on the road are hard to see, especially for people riding fast in cars. It is cause for extra concern if you are black yourself, like I, my daughter Karstuhl, and other black and tan Shibas. Make sure you all wear safety reflectors in the dark hours, to make sure others can see you from afar. It is a cheap life insurance.

Surrealism

Hello, Karstuhl there!

Someting higher than life. In an evening of twilight, red as few, words are flying. Touching them is hard, though they are solid, as higher than life words are. A bitch is barking, gentle as she is behind the harsh sound. Fly me to the Moon and back! Anything is possible.

Minced Meat

Daniel made meat sauce tonight, but the big parcel of minced meat contained too much to go into the available pot. This was a mission for the four legged members of the family. We volunteered, and ate some. Then Daniel could make meat sauce with the rest of the minced meat. It turned out to be a very tasty meat sauce. We rejoiced at the important part we played in making it.

NHL Game

A new ice hockey computer game, NHL 13, has been released. The game is inspired by the 2012/13 NHL season. It is described as a good game in a Swedish news paper.

I would think, though, that when you load the game, all you should get is a blank screen with the word "lockout" superimposed across it. Of course, such a game would not sell, but it would reflect the true NHL season.

Keeping Calm

Hello, Karstuhl here! I read this rather entertaining piece about the modern human, who cannot sit around doing nothing. On an underground train, almost everyone was looking at his or her mobile phone. The writer had to remind herself of the wise words of Moominmama, who said: "I know anything can happen, at any time, this is why I can keep calm". These are wise words. Be aware, though, that dogs already live by them every day. There are a lot of things humans can learn from dogs, as well as from Moomin trolls.

Pie

Hello, Karstuhl here! We are helping Paula baking a pie tonight. Pie is often great food. Daniel is right, though, when he says it may depend on what you put in the pie. A pie can have so many ingredients. I like pies with meat and sausage best, while pies with vegetables are a waste. The pie that Paula bakes tonight is a sausage and cheese pie. This is great. I sure wish I can have some.

Wife?

A newly discovered ancient document from the fourth century is said to reveal that Jesus Christ was married. It is a short document and many are sceptic to the interpretation from the short text. It has been said for centuries that Jesus was a bachelor. I do not care much. As far as I have understood, Jewish men at the time of Jesus were supposed to be married, so he would have been more odd if he was not than if he was. Personally, I would rather like to see a newly discovered document revealing that Jesus Christ had a dog.

Aggressive Chinese

The Chinese have sent six boats to patrol Japanese territory, the Senkaku Islands. This is not to stop more illegal Chinese initiatives to land on the islands, but a way for them to claim the territory. Those imperialistic Communists should keep off. It is Japanese territory!

Early Morning

We got up much earlier than usual today, because Daniel was leaving early on a business trip. It was dark on the morning Walk, but this is no problem, since there are Street lights. We are used to morning walks in the dark from the winter months anyway. After the walk, we could go back to sleep. It was worse for Daniel, who had to leave. This goes with the job he has chosen, though, and he did not complain. We heard thé journey went well.

Violent Protests

Demonstrators in China are protesting against Japanese control of Japanese territory, the Senkaku Islands. They believe the islands are Chinese, when China has, in fact, no control over the territory and has not had so for very long, if ever.

I do not mind the protests as such. I am in favour of free speech. It can also be positive that the dictatorial Chinese government allow demonstrations, for once. The bad thing is that some of the protests have resulted in violence against Japanese property. A factory belonging to Panasonic was set on fire in Qingdao, and a dealership for Toyota was looted, and these are just some of the violence that has occured.

The Chinese police has to stop such violence, no matter what the Chinese government believe in the matter of the Senkaku Islands. Violence is never an expression of free speech. Then again, with the regime they have, there is small wonder the Chinese demonstrators do not really know what free speech is.

Wonderful Birthday

I have had a fantastic birthday today. After dinner, I wanted us all just to rest for a while. Sice it is my birthday, even Paula and Daniel followed my advice. They both fell asleep and slept for a little while. I really liked this. It was a great way to celebrate.

Silly Excuse for a Dog

The US military has presented its latest toy: a robotic dog. So far, it can do just a little of all the things that a real dog can do, which makes it a silly excuse for a dog.

Still, I suppose the robotic dog will be evolved and later editions will be better. This does not scare me. Up until about a hundred years ago, the horse was the main tool for human travel and a lot of other things, but they have now been replaced by cars, tractors, lorries, and other motor vehicles. Nevertheless, there are more horses in Sweden now than there was a hundred years ago. If robotic dogs would replace real dogs in more capacities, there will certainly still be room for more real dogs.

Lasagne

This time, it was my turn to go with Paula and Daniel to Paula's sister Mia. Some of the dogs have been in her present flat before, but I had not. As always, it was nice to meet Mia. It was nice to see her flat, too. What was even better than seeing the flat, though, was the dinner. Paula made her wonderful, home made lasagne, and I got some. There are few things that taste better. It was a very pleasant evening.

World Cup Qualification

Tonight is the first round of the European qualification games for the FIFA World Cup of football 2014. Sweden plays against Kazakhstan. We believe Germany will win the qualification group that Sweden is in, but we think Sweden has a good chance of becoming second and of being qualified to the tournament.

I also hope Norway will be qualified, my Dad's home country and the home of my daughter Anzu. April feels the same, because her son Biki lives there. April also has hopes for the Netherlands, where her younger son Botan lives. Whatever happens, it will be exciting.

Update on the Senkaku Islands

A little while ago, I wrote about the Japanese Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. I wrote about this on the 15th of August this year. These islands are part of Japan, but privately owned by a Japanese man. The Japanese government are now planning on buying these islands.

China and Taiwan claim these islands. China also state that a purchase by the Japanese government is illegal and invalid. This is a strange thing to say, since the islands are Japanese territory, hence going by Japanese law. The Japanese government also, truthfully, says that the purchase does not change the status of the islands under international law.

I cannot understand why the Chinese are upset. Even though they claim the islands, the situation is not changed because the ownership is transferred under Japanese law. Japanese territory is no more or less Japanese territory, because the government or anybody else owns the real estate. On the other hand, who has ever blamed any communistic government for understanding the concept of ownership of real estate?

Coming Home

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Daddy came home yesterday night. I met him today. He said he has missed being home, though he enjoyed a stay at another breeder on the Swedish west coast. He did not give me many details on what he had done there, though. I do not care, the main thing for me is that Daddy is home again. I always enjoy his company.

Spectator

For once, I was a spectator at a dog show. This was a different experience. Daniel worked as a ring steward, and I was not entered in the show, so I sat by ringside watching the spectacle.

Why are there so many dogs who do not rise and shine, when they go into the ring? They would surely do better in the results. It is as if they do not think it is fun in the show ring. Well, I know my friend April has never enjoyed going into the show ring, so this is not odd, but I have never understood it. I love going into the show ring. If I could, I believe I would be a great show ring coach for many dogs.

Tassimo - Making Coffee the (Not So) Easy Way

Daniel and I stay in a camping cabin in Höganäs, Scania, Sweden, tonight. Daniel will work as a ring steward at a dog show tomorrow, while I came along to oversee the delivery of my pup Issi this evening.

There is a coffee making machine of a new kind in our cabin: a Bosch Tassimo. The instruction manual says it is REALLY easy to use. We got some coffee capsules for Free in the reception, so we decided to try the machine.

These are the instructions (with a picture of the machine):
1. Place the T DISC here.
2. Press the button and let the system take care of the rest.
3. Enjoy your drink.

Of course, it was far from that easy. At first, we decided we would play along, so we just put a capsule in its place. It took us a little time to figure out how to put it the correct way, since the manual did not say you were supposed to turn it upside down.

Then we pressed the button. Nothing happened.

We did discover that the electric cord was not attatched to the outlet in the wall, and this is something you cannot blame the manual for. Then we discovered that you were supposed to fill the machine with water. This is something that could have easily gone into the manual.

We added water and pressed the button. A couple of seconds went by, while drink filled the cup. Then it was time to taste. It was hot at first, but both Daniel and I enjoyed the Gevalia Latte Macchiato. It is just a shame that the authors of the manuals believe the machine to be much easier than it is. It is not just about pressing one button.

Frozen Minced Meat

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula took a piece of minced meat out of the freezer tonight. It is frozen and inedible now, of course, but it will thaw through the night. I wonder whether I will get some of it to eat. I sure hope so.

A Piece of Cake

Daniel looked through one of the inner regions of a lower shelf in the fridge today, and discovered a piece of a cake that he had not known was there. The piece of cake was now too old, so he had to throw it away. He was devastated, he loves cake, but what can you do? I and the other dogs think it is worse on the rare occasions when meatballs have grown too old and has to be thrown away.

Daniel also has himself to blame. Paula and Daniel are in charge of the fridge, which means they decide what goes in and what comes out of it. This also means that they only have themselves to blame if something they like gets too old, while the fourlegged members of the family can blame them if there is something that we like that gets too old. We are not responsible.

Most of the time, the contents in the fridge is fresh and we rarely have to throw anything away. When things like this piece of cake turns up, I still would wish our humans would have a little better knowledge of the contents of the fridge. It is not that important, though, just a piece of cake.

Selling Art to China

The Chinese economy is doing very well. Decades ago, China was a victim of long wars, which damaged and destroyed a lot of antiquities in the country. Still, European love for Chinese goods throughout many centuries have resulted in many Chinese antiquities ending up here, for example in Sweden. The wealthy part of the Chinese society are now out hunting for these antiquities.

I can understand the urge to buy pieces abroad of what you consider your own heritage. Still, I would never want to sell to any Chinese. China is a dictatorship and they treat dogs very badly. I have no good feelings for China at all. If I would have any Chinese antiquities, I would not sell them to Chinese, no matter what the price. I would not think it would be worth it.

Long Wait

Diplomatic mail is often a secure way of forwarding messages, given the respect that foreign countries always have in the name of diplomacy. If the dipolmatic mail travels on an airplane that crashes, it is a completely different matter. A bag of Indian diplomatic mail has been found now in the French Alps, about fourtysix years after a plane crashed just there. I wonder if, for once, the contents of the diplomatic mail will be made public. After all, this diplomatic mail bag has already made it to international news, and it is difficult to see that anything in it would still be secret. We have to wait and see.

Wolves Loses Defence

Wolves are the wild cousins of all dogs. We are the same species, and I feel akin to them. I do not want humans to hunt and kill wolves, no more than I want humans to hunt and kill dogs.

In the US state Wyoming, wolves are no longer a protected species. The federal authorities have removed them from that protection. There are some rules on their protection, a minimum number of wolves and breeding couples must be spared and some areas are off limits for hunts. I do not think this is enough. Humans should realise that wolves are the wild cousins of their own best friends, beautiful and wonderful animals. All wolves deserve to be defended. I hope the US federal authorities reverse their decision.

Gonsa Left Us

Hello, Issi here!

My brother Gonsa left us for his new family and new home today. We have met his family before, they are very nice people. Two of them came to fetch him this morning. I miss him, but wish him all the luck. It has come to my understanding that he will travel for hours to get to his new home, but that I will travel for about as long time in a similar direction. We will end up in the same remote area of the country. I call it remote now, but I guess that once we are settled with our families there, we will not see it as remote. I hope to meet Gonsa many times again.