Super Hero II

After some complaints about picture quality in the post about Captain Dreadlocks, i decided to add a couple of pix to clear up any questions.

This is a picture of the Captain freshly returned from her last grooming experience.  Note the highly visible facial features.  One can gaze into her eyes.........

And here is the same dog after partaking of the Magic Cloven Beef Hoof which transforms the mild mannered and soulful 'Roid into the indomitable Captain Dreadlocks, devoid of eye contact and unrecognizable beneath the flowing hair..........

Super hero

It isn't enough for Emma 'Roid to be Captain of the Canine Pirate Star Ship Nargle.  Oh,no!!!  This entreprenurial cock-a-poo has evolved a new identity for herself.

Formerly a sweet unassuming cuddly dog in need of a groomer's touch,

Emma has found the magic Cloven Beef Hoof

which transforms her into that powerful superhero even more feared by Klingon Kats than the Captain of the Nargle,

CAPTAIN DREADLOCKS

Easter 2011

It's very difficult being a Pirate Dog.  The lack of opposable thumbs forces us to plan and scheme to get Easter eggs colored and ready for the "big day."  Seriously, it's about a two week slog.  And the humans don't offer a lot of help and support, either.  Mostly we come up with diversions, like Pablo bringing in sticks and lizards, to keep them occupied and out of the kitchen.  One of the hardest tasks is getting the eggs out of their cartons without breakage-----try doing it without your thumbs before you laugh-----

And now, after all that hard work---two dozen ovals in red, green, blue, violet, and orange----

The freakin' Klingon Kats took them and hid them, probably in the bathroom near their litter box..........There will be payment!!!!!!!!!!!

Meanwhile, to all the rest of you,

Happy  Easter

from los perros piraticus

Of Mice and Sisters

So last Monday a field mouse invaded Dee and Melina's abode in Sacramento.  Dee went to soccer after screeching, panicking, calling the exterminator, and tasking the whippets and cats to deal with the furry grey invader...........yeah, right.  Cousin Mysty-fied was her usual self:

Thanks for all the help, Mysty!!!!  I don't recall ever seeing that dog in other than a prone position....The Lummox wasn't even around!!!!!!!!  Probably hiding in the bed.......Sight hounds indeed.  All they did was look at the scampering rodent---at least that's a good use of their singular talent........

So Sister Melina caught the beastie, outperforming two Whippets, a Sassy cat, traps, and exterminators.  She even got bit in the performance of her heroic duty!!!!!!!  (I won't comment on the "hello kitty" band-aid, I mean, really)........So Sister Melina, you are hereby awarded the Order of Anton Chico and inducted into the crew of the fearless Pirate Dogs.  Print out this ferocious picture and hang it on your 'fridge:  

And remember, the next time there is an emergency, call on a Chihuahua for results and let the Whippets take their nap.  Remember, a little "Weetz-itude" goes a long way!!!!!!!!

News Items

Watching those little snippets that scroll across the bottom of the tv screen on news channels. Every so often a few beg for more information.

Item----study shows that women with younger partners are more prone to heart disease. Does this mean that ABC's CougarTown will soon join Law and Order on the cancellation list???

Item----Army proposing recall of 44,000 helmets for failing to meet specifications. How long have men been at war, using head gear, and we still can't make them right??

Item---BP hopes latest efforts might stop oil leak in Gulf of Mexico. Should we expand drilling offshore when the best we can get for containment of a spill that's dumping the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez tragedy every week into the water from those responsible is HOPE??????

Times like these make being a pirate dog preferable to being a human.......

GCCB

Yes, we're on the green chile cheeseburger thing again. I know most readers will never come here and experience this sensation. So here's some propaganda from the NM Dept. of Tourism that will hopefully entice you. And if you make your base of operations Las Cruces, you'll have a place to stay!!!!!!

First, please watch this so you can understand:

Got your taste buds all atwitter??????? Don't tell me your mouth isn't watering........lying isn't very nice!!!!!! Especially to Pirate Dogs who will haunt your darkest nightmares if you treat them so.............Note the loser Bobby Flay in the video. Buckhorn has excellent GCCB but we still rate The Owl numero uno!!!!!! The atmosphere adds to the experience and The Owl, with Conrad Hilton's original bar, the business cards and dollar bills stuck to the walls and ceilings, is the ultimate environment for enjoying this unique treasure of the Land of Enchantment.

So click on this link for the only map of New Mexico you will ever need. You trust the Pirate Dogs, right??? They are waiting for you to come and join them in the trek to taste a green chile cheeseburger at each of the locations on the map---except for the Blake' s Lotta Burger locations. Those are pretty inconsistent, it being a fast food chain. But the two locations in San Antonio---MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

LOL

P.D.

THE MAP

Ok---it's one year for Obama, State of the Union time, all kinds of stuff----like the Massachusetts senate seat the Republicans just won that has been held since 1952 not only by Democrats, but by BROTHERS John and Ted Kennedy. So much for the forefathers diatribes about royalty............And the Pirate Dogs are observing all this and we will comment----over the week-end.

But right now----it's green chile cheeseburgers!!!!!!!!! The NM Dept. of Tourism has released the map for aficionados of this culinary treat. In the Clovis area, Taco Box made the cut and their version isn't bad, much better than say Mickey-D's, Wendy's, or Sonic. Peppers on the Plaza made it in La Mesilla. Bobcat Bite is on the map. Of course both the OWL and the Buckhorn are there. Who wants to accompany me and the Pirate Dogs in visiting as many as we can over maybe a long week-end this summer??

Merry Christmas

Dad's cousin sent him this, he shared it with us, and we thought we'd share it with all of you!!!! Please click on these words:

"Merry Christmas"

We love you all!!!!

from the Pirate Dogs

Anton Chico

Any self-respecting gathering of more than one chihuahua should have an Anton Chico. We don't---but hopefully the humans will add one soon!!!!

The story of Anton Chico is one that brings tears of pride to those of our proud canine race. It isn't enough that chihuahuas defeated Aztec slavers and those who sacrificed dogs to Quetzalcoatl. These valiant dogs moved north into New Mexico and secured the area near the Manzano mountains for the humans who followed them. Part of that was enabling the fortress of Don Salvador Tapia to colonize the area he named after the chihuahua who led him there---yes, Anton Chico was that dog. He led the people who repelled the Texans seeking to claim the land as part of their state which they believed should encompass the entire watershed of the Rio Grande. Were it not for this brave chihuahua, Albuquerque might be in Texas :-( Then what?????

So long live Anton Chico, noblest of the small dogs!!!! And this is the reason all families with multiple chihuahuas must get one named Anton (or Antonia--we are not misogynists) Chico!!!!

A true testament, written as inspired by the verbal history of chihuahuas by Bertequila, midshipman and chronicler of the Pirate Dogs.

T-Day '09

Dad drove past a sign on a church in Alamogordo that said "This Thanksgiving, try counting your blessings, not your calories." So---

mud house

lots of running room

'Roid, Weetz, Bertequila

cousin dogs

Klingon Kats

warm kiva fireplaces

a great place to live

my people all together here for the holiday

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!!!!!

Leny

First Mate of the Pirate Dogs

Making of a Birthday Card 2009

Our daughter's birthday is in September. This year, the Pirate Dogs decided to send their sister a card. O M G!!!!! The task would try the patience of the saints.

First, you assemble the crew:

Come here, 'Roid!!!

Then get them in position:

Please stay, guys!?!?!

Can't do a card without a message, right? Try that with a chewy chihuahua...

Bertequila, please.....

Now, Bertie, leave it alone.

Now, a few takes----------

Bertie's leaving and what's with Leny's expression??

Nice sitting but could you look any weirder???

Looks like Bertequila's leaving again

Gee, guys, would you sort of look like you're having fun??

Finally, they get down to business............

Happy Birthday to our sister Dee!!!!

Course they only do it for the rewards.......NOT!!!!!!

Good job, guys!!!

Chihuahuas love to get on their hind legs--makes 'em feel tall like big dogs..

And all that was done so we could be late with this:

The Pirate Dogs love you and we're sorry this was so late!!!!!!!

LOL

(Notice the absence of any felines---the Klingon Kats know to make themselves scarce when this crew is being made to perform....)

'Tude

Leny spends a fair bit of time blogging and inspiring posts. The Captain and the Midshipman also get their share. Which leaves Crow's-Nest Weetzie with a fair amount of "Weets-itude."

Weets gets under the covers in the bed and growls ferociously at any creature that contacts her. The snarling and gnashing are reminiscent of scenes from Dante's Inferno. When she takes up her position on the back of a sofa (highest point--hence her nick-name Crow's-Nest) it takes a braver soul than her dad or mom to remove her.

But Weets is the glue banding the Pirate Dogs together. She warns of danger and the need to take action---roaring into the backyard, barking and growling and nipping Leny's jowls to spur the First Mate to action against some perceived invasion, like the woman who walks by every evening with her Airedale. Or those dastardly neighbors with the well-groomed and ribbon-bedecked Pomeranian.

Yes, though she's one of the chihuahuas 2 in the crew, it's Weets-itude that drives the adventures of the Pirate Dogs.

A "Sharper" P.o.V.

Things have been frantically slow this summer. It seemed that for a while several times a day we Pirate Dogs were bundled into the car and shuttled off to Bucksnort and the cousins because some stranger wanted to see our house. (Very unusual odors awaited and excited us whenever we returned home.) It was so frequent that our beloved CSS Nargle was moved over there!! That made it very difficult to improve our phaser marksmanship on the Klingon Kats....

But there have been no offers on the house despite the showing activity. Our mom is frustrated and gets exceedingly grumpy with each episode of frantic picking-up and hauling us off to Auntie's. I was listening to our parents talking the other night about some guy who's supposed to be a fighter pilot that loves the house and wants us moved in three weeks---but the bozo hasn't made an offer and needs his daddy to see it first!!!! If he'd made an offer when he first saw it, we'd be moving out by now. Of course Mom got all excited and now there's boxes in the dining room full of stuff we don't use much---- They said he looked again Friday with his daddy and now the Realtors won't call and tell us what's up!!! Seem the real estate market here only operates Monday thru Friday. What a way to do business......

Then there's the midshipman----Seems Bertequila has sensitive underarms. He got some rash on his left arm and kept licking and niggling to make it worse. When Mom tried to assuage his suffering with aloe the dweeb licked it off. So Mom raided the stuffed animal collection and (would you believe???) found a sweater on a stuffed penguin that fit the midshipman!!!! With his garment on, Bert can't lick the area and the meds stay on the sore spot. So now Bert's arm is healing. That sweater is getting a little tacky though. Hope Mom knits him a new one soon. That chihuahua isn't olfactorially pleasant at the best of times........

But I got my dad all weekend so life's good and the bone turks are flowing.

Leny the Sharprador

First Mate of the CSS Nargle

AAAAAHHH!!!!

Today is one of the best days in Clovis. Even though we were marooned at Bucksnort's with our cousins Seymour and Esmerelda, the olfactory pleasures we experienced when our parents picked us up were so wonderful. That delectable smell when we bundled into the car--like something roasted but not burned; something spicy and maybe wonderfully hot....And when we entered the house, it was all but overpowering, in a deliciously sensual way-----They had been to the Farmer's Market and gotten our supply of green chiles!!!!!!!!! If you've never smelt the delightful aroma of fresh roasted green chiles, we can only pity you. You haven't even made it up to a dog's life.......

The Pirate Dogs---'Roid, Leny, Weetz, and Bertequila

Some Music Thoughts

I'll be right up front about this---The Pirate Dogs love the version of "Jingle Bells" done by those barking, howling dogs. And it is a bone of contention in our house that I refuse to download a copy of it. Of course, we don't have "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" either.

Now the wife is a librarian and decided to improve the storage and cataloguing of the cd collection. She decided to eliminate all those plastic jewel cases and get everything in order by artist. So the Pirate Dogs and I went sifting thru them to find material for the Ipod.

One song we definitely agreed on was John Lennon's "Hey Bulldog" from Yellow Submarine "Sheepdog/Standing in the rain/Bullfrog/Doing it again/Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles/What makes you think you're something special when you smile.."

But there was much discussion over female singer songwriters. After much listening to songs and debate, with Weetz growling a lot at Bertequila, here's something of a consensus:

Tori Amos--We love the EP Crucify. There's a great cover of Led Zeppelin's "Thank You"but the perros really love "I feel stupid /and contagious/here we are now/entertain us/So mulatto/an albino/a mosquito/malabito/or denial..." the Cobain classic "Smells Like Teen Spirit." And the Strange Little Girls cd is nothing if not that.....especially the intro to "Happiness is a Warm Gun."

Laura Nyro--Now the Pirate Dogs don't recognize her but they sure know the hits: "And When I Die" made famous by Blood Sweat & Tears; "Wedding Bell Blues"--The Fifth Dimension smash chart topper; "Eli's Coming" from 3 Dog Night. Maybe I'm very partial because my name's Bill???

Lucinda Williams----name a better album than Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. I love her voice, her emotion, her riffs, and her lyrics---"you can't depend on anything really/there's no promises there's no point/ there's no good there's no bad in this dirty little joint/no dope smoking no beer sold after 12 o'clock/ Rosedale Mississippi magic city juke joint/ Mr Johnson sings in a corner by the bar/ sold his soul to the devil so he could play guitar/ 2 kool 2 be 4-gotten hey hey.."

But since you asked, or rather we asked, the best album by a female songwriter is Carole King's Tapestry. She's backed by James Taylor and his band. Already an established hit maker as part of the Goffin-King team that wrote hits for the girl groups of the '50's and early '60's, this was her debut as a solo act. And it's a must have for anyone who appreciates the music of the era post-Beatles. "My life has been a tapestry/ of rich and royal hues/ an everlasting vision of an ever changing view/... / Now my tapestry's unraveling/He's come to take me back." Written for an entire generation................

Feeling Like Lord Voldemort

Horcruxes----splitting the soul and storing the pieces in special places. Now according to Dumbledore and wizarding lore, this occurs with each killing by the creator of the horcrux---very dark magic. But is that the only way???????? Can't the soul be split by natural forces, like loving and longing??

Dad feels his spiritual place is Pecos, specifically the ruins of the ancient (did you know people settled there as early as 800AD???) pueblo, in the kiva-- Horcrux #1.

I've been with him on a pilgrimage to The Owl Bar and Cafe, home of the BEST Green Chile Cheeseburger in the world (and the green chile cheese fries too!!!)---#2.

Of course there's the Sacramento Valley where the kids and grand-kids reside----#3.

I know we Pirate Dogs are #4:

Now according to the books, the most powerful magic would be to have 7 horcruxes. We'll see what Dad does for the other 3.

Leny

Abuse

We Pirate Dogs were absolutely abused on Saturday. We were dispatched into the Nargle at 7:30AM and not released until 6:30PM. Good thing we were able to use the trans-warp drive and test the new phasers at any Klingon Kat that wandered into our sights. We had water and there were no "accidents".

When we were released, the alleged humans were all on about something called Pecos. Seems our dad really likes it there and they were all atwitter about some set-up with 2 houses with mountain views. I guess they would like to move there with Auntie Bucksnort and our cousins, Esmerelda and Seymour.

Here's a picture from the land the houses are on:

We're sure there'll be more said about this from our parents.

From the log of the CSS Nargle, Sirius date 61409, Midshipman Bertiquila recording.

(Note---Sirius is the "dog star." How else would we measure our dates???? Capt. 'Roid)

Evolution

One thing about the Pirate Dogs is that they constantly grow and evolve. This week the newest, Bertie, went to the vet. The good doctor figures he's about 3-1/2 months old and has some rat terrier mixed in with the chihuahua. Well didn't that just spark a firestorm.

Now the easy solution would be to name him "Ratso", but that's Auntie Bucksnort's grandson's nickname. What to do, what to do.................The solution is, shall we say, quoting Mr. Spock in "The Wrath of Khan", unique...........

Bertie as Dustin because he's "Ratso":




















Leny as Jon playing "Joe Buck":





















Now, this casting is due to the size of the dogs relative to the characters. Bertie would be more suited by temperament to the Joe Buck role---being a male puppy he's ready to hump anything that crosses his path!!!!

But it's the Brenda Vaccaro role of Shirley that causes the controversy. Weets really wants this part but possibly Emma has the look??? What do you think?

And for those of you who haven't figured out where this is all going, would you believe.....

Midnight CowDogs

???????????????????????????????????????????????????

Holy Mackerel

If you watch The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC you know about her "holy mackerel" stories.  These are a couple of items that got me this week:

What would you think about driving a Sichuan Tengzhong to work??  I wonder if they'll make them for the military as well?  Supposedly they will still be made in the USA but I wonder for how long....

Oh, sorry, you don't know what a Sichuan Tengzhong is???  That's the company GM sold the Hummer to!!!!!!  Wouldn't it be nice if you got a year supply of Sichuan dumplings with every purchase.........

The "grasshopper" has been squashed.  Those of my generation should immediately recognize of whom I speak.  For other readers, he starred opposite Uma in Kill Bill.  David Carradine was found hung in his hotel room in Bangkok.  Such a tragic and sad end to the actor who probably did more to popularize the Shaolin disciplines and Eastern martial arts than anyone not named Bruce Lee.

The Pirate Dogs have rechristened the Nargle  "K-9 Hum "and painted it black in memoriam.

 

New Pirate Dog; Old Argument

Let's do the old argument first----There was a piece on BBC World News America this evening in which a gentleman from Oklahoma said the government was going to spend us to death and should just give the money directly to the people.  We've heard this since Paulson and W. started the TARP last year.  So, let's do the math---Let's say the government allocated $1-trillion to just be handed out to each person in the US.  That should really help us all out, right????  Well, $1-trillion divided by the population of the US, which according to the US Census Bureau population clock at about 6:00PM MDT on 5/14 stood at 306,429,317, is $3263.40 per person.  That'll go a long way to ending the downturn, won't it???  And I'm sure it would more than replace the income of those who lose their jobs as companies and local governments go bankrupt or default on payments.   

Now for the news-----We have adopted a new Pirate Dog.  Bertie, aka Roberto Fernando el toro perro, is a rescue from the local oxymoronic kill shelter.  I had wanted a chihuahua since moving here and this is as close as we have gotten, without paying a breeder.  El toro may have a little rat terrier mixed with the chihuahua but he's sooooo tiny he makes Weets look big.

In this picture he's lying in the hall next to a chip stick that's about as long as he is!!

He makes the percentage of male household members 30%.  The Captain has been slow to accept him, and Weets still hasn't. 

But the Captain is pretty mellow all the same as long as this newest crew member follows orders.

 The newcomer has bonded with First Mate Leny.  They even share chip turks and chip stix.  He's still a little too small to spend a lot of time in the Nargle however.

It's only been since Monday that Bertie joined us and he's already hassling Klingon Kats and learning the routines of life as a Pirate Dog!!!