Food in China

There was a documentary on present time China on TV this evening. There are more and more Chinese who are sceptical to the food industry in the country, we learned. I would have understood this, if it was about the horrible practice of making food for humans out of dogs, but it was not. It was just about your ordinary rumours on growth hormones and things like that in ordinary food. I was disappointed. If there is any single practice in China that needs to end as soon as possible, it is using dogs for food. Dogs are such an integrated part of society for most humans, that I would compare eating dogs to cannibalism. It just has to stop.

Food from Happy Animals

It is important that we who are on the top of the food chain, humans and dogs alike, treat our prey with respect. We rule them, we eat them, but the food is better if they are happy while they live.

In Sweden, we have good laws protecting animals. Unfortunately, many big buyers of food, such as cities with their schools, homes for the elderly etcetera, do not demand that their food is produced according to Swedish animal protection laws. This is bad! I believe we should take the cost for better food, and happier animals.

Internet Must Be Free!

Next week, there will be a summit in Dubai on the future of Internet. As a frequent blogger, I am interested of this, and I am concerned about the voices in favour of more regulations on Internet. Some countries, especially those where there is not much democracy, if any, are in favour of harder rules on the net. They want the governments to control what is done online. I do not want this to happen.

Free speech must be preserved online, just like everywhere else. Free speech is the basis of a decent society. Free speech is even more important than democratic elections - though they are also very important. Free speech is a right that belongs to everybody, including minors, foreigners, and dogs, all of whom have no right to vote.

Free speech is a guarantee that neither the government, nor anybody else, is the only one who may say its meaning. I guess this is why free speech is so scary for many dictators. If they are dictators, they deserve it. Use your freedom of speech and speak out in favour of freedom of speech on Internet!

Snow!

Hello, Peanut here! I had heard about it, but hardly seen or felt it. This evening, it came to us. Snow! It is just as fun to play in as thé older dogs had told me.

Winter Is Coming

Paula wished that snow would fall today. It sure would be better than the cold rain and wind, and a couple of degrees above the freezing point. It has felt cold and damp outside today. According to the meteorologists, though, winter temperatures will arrive this week. I would like to have some snow to play in.

Anticlimax

It started out as a great Formula 1 season, with seven different winners in the first seven races. Many contestants were up for the world championship title. Now it ended the same way last year and the year before that did: German driver Sebastian Vettel won in a Red Bull car. It was an exciting last race, and at times, it looked like Fernando Alonso would be able to win in his Ferrari, but he did not. It feels a little dull now, this anticlimax. I hope there will be another driver winning next year.

Veteran Winner

It was great fun to be back in the show ring. I do believe I overdid it, though. Just like actors can overdo their performance on the stage or silver screen, dogs can overdo our performances in the show ring. I did not get a great result. The great result today was Mum's Norwegian Veteran Winner's title. She can now put VNOW'12 next to her VWW '09 and VWW '11 titles. Still, Mum do even fewer appearances in the show rings these days than I do, who are away due to puppy litters. You can really say this was a Special Guest Appearance!

Show

We are going to a dog show tomorrow. I get to go! I am so happy! Now I have to continue all of my preparations.

The Last True Ninja?

Ninjas, the old Japanese stealth warriors, are quite often featured in popular culture. In real life, though, it seems like they will soon cease to exist. A 63 years old Japanese man claims to be the last true ninja, a ninja grand master, but want the knowledge to die with him. He believes there is no room for ninjas in modern society.

I guess this is all right. There are so many better and more peaceful things in Japanese culture that the world can have. If you do want to feel truly Japanese, do not play ninja, buy a Shiba pup instead and become a Shiba owner!

Beer Saving an Airline

The Scandinavian airline SAS has just been saved from bankruptcy. They make cuts in a lot of areas, such as salaries. However, they may have something to learn from Japan. The head of Japan Airlines, Kazuo Inamori, brought beer to his meetings with the employees. This made them open up to him and brought an informal air to the meetings. I doubt that a head of an airline in part owned by the governments of Sweden and Norway would dare to do the same, though. There are so many taboos surrounding beer and other alcoholic beverages in Scandinavia. I would like to see SAS make it, though. It is the best airline for traveling with dogs we know of.

Mac

We have always had computers with Windows as operating system. This is what I am used to. Now, Paula has purchased a Mac instead. I have yet to get used to some of the features, which feel odd to me.       It might be because I am not used to the Mac, that I believe it is not as good as our earlier computers. We will have to see if I change my mind, or if I will usually borrow Daniel's computer with Windows. I may return to this subject in future blog posts, so if you are interested, stay tuned!

"Pennybridge"

Hello, Peanut here! I heard of something called "Pennybridge" today. As I am still a pup, I had not heard of it before. My Mom and the other adults explained the word for me. It is a humourous translation of the name of our home city into English.

The name of our city, Örebro, means Gravel bridge, which derives from the oldest bridge across the Svartå river at a place where there was a lot of gravel. Ör is an old Nordic word for gravel, not commonly used today. This word can also be found in names such as the Swedish town Skanör and the Danish town Helsingör, both of which lie at the Sound, which in Swedish and Danish is called Öresund. Bro is the Swedish word for bridge. The e is perhaps just added for the purpose of pronounciation, but might be due to some kind of old grammar.

Meanwhile, the smallest monetary value in Sweden, so small it is not used in coins any more due to inflation, is called öre. Hundred öre has the amount of one Swedish crown (or krona, as it is called in Swedish). The smallest English coin is the penny, so Öre in Örebro has been swaped for Penny, hence the name Pennybridge.

Mom said she hopes most people know of the humour, that the Pennybridge name is not a real translation. One cannot be sure, though, she said.

I am now considering whether I will henceforth call our home city Gravelbridge. It might be fun.

Historic Poodle

Daniel's great grand parents had a Poodle. He told me so today, and said his father had shown him a photography of this Poodle this weekend. I cannot be disappointed it was not a Shiba, by that time, there were no Shibas in Europe. The first Shibas in Europe arrived here in the 1970's, a long time after that Poodle. I like Poodles, the Poodles I know are great friends, so I guess there could hardly have been a better dog for Daniel's great grandparents in those days.

Back into the USA

Formula 1 is back into the USA, after many years of absence. Mom is not interested, but she knows that Formula 1 is a big sport and says that it is, thus, self evident that it belongs in America as well.

Those of us who are interested enjoyed the race on TV.

Parliament Dissolved, Early Election

The Prime Minister has dissolved parliament and called for an early election next month. The polls are pointing towards a newly elected parliament with no clear winner.

No, I am not writing about Sweden, but about Japan. The PM is Yoshihiko Noda, and it does not look like either his party DPJ or the main opposition party LDP will gain a majority in parliament.

In an international context, the politics of Japan is much more important than that of Sweden. As a Shiba Inu, I am also extra interested in Japan. I hope the newly elected parliament will be able to give Japan a more stable political environment. This would be especially needed with the current bad economy. Nevertheless, I believe the Japanese will work everything out. They always have, before.

On the Sofa

Hello, Karstuhl here! There was nothing good on TV around six o'clock in the evening. This did not bother me, I used the TV sofa for a better purpose: sleeping on it. This was very nice. I can recommend this to anyone who is disappointed with what's on TV.

Ostkaka

Today is the day of the "ostkaka", a Swedish specialty. Directly translated to English, its name would be cheesecake, but it is something completely different from that American cake. Both taste great, but in different ways. We have had the Swedish ostkaka today. I like it a lot.

Somme

We saw this documentary on TV tonight about the battle of Somme during the First World War. It was a battle of huge casualties, and when it was over, no side in the war had gained anything essential. It is horrible that humans have so often used their intelligence and craftmanship to kill each other. The only soothing thing for me was that there were no talks about dogs being killed, even though I am sure a lot of dogs lost their beloved humans among all of those killed in the battle. Fortunately, a war like this seems unlikely in modern day Europe. We have to hope it stays that way.

Cloaking Devices

In science fiction, there has been invisibility. Now progress is made to make invisibility science. Scientists has made a cloaking device that makes a small item invisible to microwaves.

I guess a true cloaking device would be an asset for hunters. Shiba Inus would actually not need them, we are good hunters by nature, but if we had, we could be even better. It would be a little difficult, though, if prey would get cloaking devices. Dogs could always detect the prey with our noses and ears, but we also use our eyes when hunting. I hope prey will never get hold of cloaking devices.

Father's Day

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Today is father's day in Sweden. My father, who used to live with us, is currently residing in Spain, so I cannot celebrate him on site. Mommys father is not alive anymore, so she cannot celebrate him at all. My father may come back to us, her father will not. I still have a little understanding for her loss, now that my father is not living here. I wish my father has a great day in Spain, though.

Goose

Today is Martin's day in the Swedish calendar. It is an important day, because Martin was the name of Martin Luther, who reformed the church in the 16th century and whose teachings has a wide following in Sweden.

My Poodle friend Laila, who has lived in Scania, the southernmost province of Sweden, has taught me that they always eat goose on Martin's day in Scania. This seems interesting. I have never tasted goose, but it would be very interesting to do. I like the taste of the birds that I have eaten, like chicken. There are still species of birds that I have yet to taste, though. Maybe this time next year? I will try to remember to suggest this to Paula and Daniel.

Packing Meat

We have been given a great gift: two plastic bags full of moose meat pieces. Paula's father gave it to us. Daniel spent part of the evening in the kitchen, packing the meat in smaller bags to be able to fit it in the freezer. Even I could see it was too much meat for all of us dogs to eat at once.

I was envious of Mom and Auntie Linni, though. They accompanied Daniel in the kitchen, and whenever a little piece of meat fell on the floor, it was their task to clean the floor. They fulfilled this task very well. I would have done, too.

Dull Names for Newly Discovered Planets?

I read this nice article on the name of the newly discovered planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B. The planet is called Bb, because exoplanets are given designations of small letters attached to the name of the star they orbit.

The author of the article believes this is a dull name. Well, I can see why, but there are even duller names for some celestial bodies important to all of us. Just consider Earth, essentially the same name as earth, the material the ancient humans saw as the main material of the place where we live. Even worse is the name of my favourite celestial body: the Moon. This is the same name as the word moon. True, the word for other moons than the Moon is derived from the proper name of the Moon, but it still feels dull that the Moon is just called the Moon. Sometimes, it is called Luna, but this is out of the ordinary. If compared to the names Earth and Moon, I believe Bb is not dull at all.

Gustavus Adolphus Day

Today is the day when we commemorate the great King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden. He was killed in battle at Lützen on the 6th of November 1632, fighting for religious freedom.

Gustavus Adolphus is usually commemorated by eating Gustavus Adolphus cakes. We are not allowed to eat these at our home, though, because one of the main things of these cakes are chocolate silhouettes of the King. Humans always claim chocolate contains an ingredient that is poisonous for dogs. Oh, well, I guess we can say the Gustavus Adolphus day is a good day anyway. We did get to taste some meat sauce.

Election Tomorrow

Hello, Karstuhl here!

It is election day in the USA tomorrow. Among other politicians, they are going to chose the person who will be Head of State for the next four years, called President. This is because they have no Emperor (like Japan) or King (like Sweden).

Granny, who was born in the USA and lived there for many years, says she supports the Democrat. This is not just because her breeder supports the Democrat, but also because the Republican has been known for committing animal abuse. The Republican candidate has, reputedly, driven a long way by car with his dog in a crate tied outside of the car, on the roof. You cannot trust such a man with the mightiest job in the world, Granny says. I guess I have to agree. Even Daniel, who normally supports the more conservative candidate, says he does not like the Republican candidate in this election.

Oh well, I think it would be easier if they had an Emperor or a King instead.

Naïvete on the Internet?

A Swedish businessman writes in an article published today, that Swedes in general are naïve on the Internet. We believe that social media on the Internet that seem to be free, really are free. However, he writes, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. Everything we write and put on the Internet are controlled by the sites where we put it, not by ourselves.

I know this is so. I always think before I publish a blog entry. There are a lot of things going on in the lives of me, my family, and friends, that I do not write anything about. I would assume most people are as careful as I am. Perhaps not enough people are, so I think it is good that people are informed. Whether you are careful or not, I guess a warning may be in order. Consider yourself warned by this blog entry, dear Internet user!

I Found this Funny

Hello, Karstuhl here!

The American computer and telephone company Apple has fought a legal battle in Mexico over the last couple of years against Mexican company Ifone, claiming that this name is too similar to the Apple telephone trademark Iphone. Trouble for Apple is, the name Ifone was registered in 2003, four years before any Iphone had been launched on any market! A Mexican court of law has now decided that Apple is forbidden to use the name Iphone in Mexico, since it is too similar to Ifone. Funny, is it not?

Late Night

We had some visitors last night, Paula's parents and sister Mia. We had a very fun time. It was very late before Paula's parents went home, and Mia stayed the night in our guest room. I did not even have the time to write a blog entry before midnight, so there was no blog entry yesterday. Well, we had fun, so I do not mind that much.

A Talking Elephant

Hello, Karstuhl here!

There is an elephant in South Korea who have learned to talk like humans do. He can form five different words in Korean. According to scientists who have studied him, he cannot understand the meaning of these words, though.

I would also like to be able to say a few words, the way humans talk. I am a dog, so I would understand the meaning of the words I would use. Every human who knows dogs, knows that this is true. Some humans say elephants are very intelligent animals, but if they cannot learn the meaning of as few human words as five, how intelligent are they? Dogs must be much more intelligent.