Not Really Dog Candy

Paula bought candy today. Some of it was shaped like dogs, and red and sweet. It was not dog candy, though. I did not fancy it. Somehow, it was like eating dogs. Cannibalism is nothing for me.

Princess

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Last Thursday, a new Swedish princess was born. Yesterday, we learned she will be called Leonore and will be Duchess of Gotland.

Last Monday, my own princess was born, my pup Soya. She is the most important being in my life now. I wonder of I can call her Duchess of something. That would be cool.

Ukranian Zoo

There has been a revolution in Ukraine, and President Yanukovych has been dethroned and has fled. He has loved a lofe in luxury in the generally poor country. One of the concerns now is what will happen to the property he left behind. Out of this property, I worry the most about the animals of his private zoo. Inanimate things is one thing, they can await new decisions, but domesticated animals need care. I hope they will be well provided for.

Gathered

Paula was away from home last weekend, Daniel was away last night. Tonight, they are both home. It always feels best when the whole family is gathered at home.

Ice Hockey Silver

The mens' ice hockey final in the Olympics was played today, the last day of the games. Canada was the better team, when facing Sweden. The end result for Sweden is, thus, two gold medals and a good amount of silver and bronze medals. The Norwegian cross conry skier Marit Björgen won three gold medals herself. This only goes to prove what I wrote by the start of the games, thar Norway is the best of Winter Olympic countries. I wonder what Sweden can do to be better.

Understanding Humans

A human scientist in Hungary has conducted MRI scans on dogs, realizing that we have areas in our brains that react to human sounds in the same way as primates do. This would suggest to this scientist that dogs really do understand human sounds and language. I guess he has never had a dog himself, otherwise he would know we do understand human languages, and many words. Well, it is nice that he makes the research, because the results may convince humans who do not have dogs.

Olympic Results

Sweden beat Finland in the ice hockey semi final in the Olympics today. We would have hoped Sweden would meet Mum's home country America in the final on Sunday (where April and Calvin are from, too), but in the other semi final, Canada won. Now we have to hope for the USA in the bronze game and Sweden in the final.

What was more important, though, was that the Swedish mens' curling team won bronze, thus not letting China get a medal in this sport. China is a dictatorship, and many people eat dogs there, so I really dislike that country.

Sweden has had a good harvest of medals so far. I would just want to have a few more gold medals. There are chances left, such as in ice hockey, but also in cross country skiing. We hope for the best.

Meat and Macaronies

We got good food today, with meat sauce and macaronies in it. Nevertheless, Karstuhl got even better food. This is just because she has a newborn pup to take care of. I understand why she gets more extra food than the rest of us, but I cannot help being a little jealous anyway. You cannot help having hunger for good food, it is only natural.

Suitable Weather

It is February, but over the last days, we have had temperatures well above the freezing point and most of the snow has melted. Today has been different, though. The temperature has been below the freezing point all day, and in the evening, snow started to fall. This should not be a surprise for anybody. We live in a country where February is usually a winter month. The Winter Olympic Games is shown on TV. It is only suitable that we have winter weather again.

Grand Mother

I have become grand mother of yet another dog. My daughter karstuhl gave birth to a baby bitch yesterday. It feels great to be called grand, I think. It will be interesting to get to know this little pup, once she is old enough to meet other abult dogs than her mother.

A New Pup

Hello, Karstuhl here!

I gave birth to a beautiful little black and tan girl this evening. It was not an easy delivery, but totally worth it. Now I know what I will devote all my time to for the upcoming weeks. I love her so much!

Another Gold

The Swedish ladies won the ski relay yesterday. Today, the Swedish men did the same. It was exciting to watch. I am disappointed with Norway, though, ending up without medals in any of these relays. Norway is my late Dad's home country, so it is one of the other countries I hope for in the Olympics. So is Mum's USA and Japan, home of our breed, but neither of those countries have anything to compete with in cross country skiing.

My Poodle friends were happy that France, home country of their breed, won bronze in the relay today. It was the first ever French cross country Olympic medal, so it was really something.

Ski Competition and Melody Competition

It was the Olympic Ladies' Relay in skiing today, and Sweden won its first gold medal. We were all happy about this.

In the evening, the third round of the Swedish qualifications to the Eurovision took place. Daniel voted for the song that came last. He is not that sorry, he feels confident in his own taste of music, nevertheless. I did not vote. There is still no songs about dogs, so I abstain.

Valentine's Day

It is Valentine's Day, a day when humans celebrate love. I recently got out of heat, so my male Shiba friends did not flirt with me, regardless of Valentine. We have different customs than humans. Paula and Daniel had a little celebration of their love, though.

World Record

A young Japanese figure skater set a new world record today in the Olympic games. You can trust the Japanese to do amazing feats. I am proud of my Japanese roots.

One Year Old!

Hello, Orange here!

Today is my first birthday. It is special in a way. At the same time, I imagined it to be more special than it has turned out to be. It is not that I am disappointed, far from it, but over all, it is a good, albeit rather normal day. We got more good food than usual, pasta upon my own request. Good food and treats always make for a great day. I feel happy.

Spring

Hello, Orange here!

I am soon one year old. Very soon, it is indeed tomorrow that is my birthday. The first times that I was outdoors as a little pup was in the spring. Now spring is coming back. I have learned that the seasons come back annually like this. While I enjoy the snow, it is nice with a little warmer outdoor temperatures and more hours of daylight. February must be a good month in this way, and not just because I was born this month. I wonder what my birthday will be like.

Sochi Stray Dogs Saved

A lot of my faith in Russian humanity is restored. The stray dogs of Sochi are safe. The earlier news that the city officials of the olympic venue city of Sochi would kill off a lot of stray dogs is no longer true. A Russian woman has built a makeshift dog shelter in the mountains above Sochi, where a lot of dogs have found temporary refuge. A Russian man, who is a billionaire, has put up the money needed, in large part thanks to a stray dog whom he adopted and loved when he was a child. Now they are searching for permanent homes to these dogs. I do hope a lot of Russian dog loving families are around and will adopt dogs from Sochi.

Why Norway Wins So Many Winter Olympic Medals

I read this interesting article about Norwegian winter sports and why Norway is such a great Winter Olympic nation. Norway has won more winter olympic gold medals than any other nation, despite its population of only five million people, about half of Sweden's population. Of course, my Dad was from Norway and could tell me a lot about this, but this article reinforced what he always told me. It makes me proud of my Norwegian background.

Tokyo' s New Mayor

Tokyo has a new mayor, Yoichi Masuzoe. He had the backing of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Liberal Democratic Party. An important difference between him and his main contenders was also that he is in favour of restarting the Japanese nuclear power plants, that has been idle since the 2011 tsunami and nuclear faliure at Fukushima. He has the same view as the PM and cabinet in this issue. I guess restarting the nuclear power plants can be a good idea. Lessons have been learned since 2011, it is unlikely any such accident may happen again. It is also good to counter the use of fossil fuel such as oil and natual gas. We will see what happens.

Olympic Games

The Olympic Winter Games have started in the Russian town Sochi. Sweden has got results already, a silver medal in ladies' skiathlon. Norway is leading the medal league, though. This should not be a surprise to anyone interested in winter sports. My late father, who was from Norway, must be happy in Heaven.

East Sea?

The legislators in the US State of Virginia has enacted a law requiring all school textbooks to state that the Sea of Japan has two names. This sea, between Japan and Korea, has always been called the Sea of Japan in English, but people of Korean descent in Virginia has claimed that the Korean name should also be included. They say the single reference to the name Sea of Japan make them feel hurt, because it is the Japanese name and Japan occupied Korea for some decades before and during the Second World War. The Korean name of this sea is, in translation to English, East Sea.

Well, in English, the sea between Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and Denmark is called the Baltic Sea. The Swedish, Danish, and German names are essentially the same, and would be East Sea, if translated into English. Perhaps people in Virginia of Swedish, Danish, and German descent should also whine about the name of a sea in school text books, claiming that the Baltic Sea should also be called East Sea?

I think the legislators in Virginia have made fools of themselves. You cannot, you should not try to, alter traditional names in your own language by legislation, neither for politically correct reasons, as in this case, nor for any other reasons that I can think of. I do not only say this because of my own Japanese roots as a Shiba Inu, I think this must be a general rule for any legislators.

I wonder what the rest of the English speaking world will do. The most probable thing is, they will not do anything. If the new alias for the Sea of Japan ever comes into general use, it will not be anytime soon.

Pangaea

It has been said that a long, long time ago, all of the continents of Earth were stuck together as a giant continent. This ancient continent is usually called pangaea. These days, we do not need a continent stickning together. Thanks to human inventions, humans and dogs can go anywhere in the world, even across the oceans, despite being land living animals. In a way, human civilisation has created its own Pangaea. As a dog, I am thankful for being part of it. It does give us great possibilities in life.

Composer Mamoru Samuragochi, a Fraud

The Japanese classical music composer Mamoru Samuragochi has admitted that he is a fraud. He has not written the music he has claimed to be his own since the mid 1990's. Mamoru Samuragochi has become known not just for his music, but also for being a composer despite having turned deaf. He has, thus, been called a Japanese Beethoven. Now he admits that he has had a ghost writer since 1996, even though the ghost writer did not write everything, at least not from the start. I think it is sad that a composer has felt the need to do this. A lot of people are angry with him, and I understand why. They feel cheated. It is as if you would hope a beautiful dog would win Best in Show, only to discover later this dog had a disqualifying fault that was hidden from the judges and audience. I hope this is an odd case, that most classical composers are actually the composers who they claim to be.

Claws

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We had our claws cut today. This is one downside with being civilised and living mostly indoors in a protected environment. Wolves never have to have their claws cut, because they use them in a way that makes them naturally short. It is not fun having the claws cut. The bright side, however, is getting a treat afterwards. Wolves never get treats.

Horrible News from Sochi

Stray dogs are killed in Sochi. This is terrible. Dogs should not be strays, but strays should not be killed, they should be taken care of. Can I watch the Olympic Games with peace in my mind, when I know this? I am not sure I can.

Old Songs

Paula is playing songs from older Swedish Song Contests. She says many of them are much better than the current songs. I was not around back then, so I cannot remember them from before. Maybe she is right. There are some nice songs, anyway. No songs is about dogs, though. I think song writers make mistakes when not making more songs about dogs. There are so many songs about love, why not the love from a dog?

Seattle!

It is Super Bowl Sunday. The contestants are Seattle and Denver. We do not know much about this sport, but since Mum is from Washington, as is Seattle, of course, we hope Seattle will win. Go, Seattle!

Coming Home

It has been a great weekend with Mia and Stefan, but still, there is no place like home. I came home this evening. It was nice seeing the pack again. Reaffirming my position was done in a few moments, then everything was back to normal. I like it at home.

Qualification Round for the Qualification Round

Today was the first night of the four "semi finals" of the Swedish Song Contest. This is actually the first out of four qualification rounds for the Swedish qualification round to the Eurovision Song Contest. It is, thus, a qualification round for the qualification round. As such, it is never surprising that some of the songs are bad. This night, none of the songs were great, though some were good. It remains to be seen which song will be my favourite in the Swedish qualification round.