guinnevere_b

09:34 pm: In Other News, Rover the Dog Is Making A Speedy Recovery...
Rover, as I mentioned in other posts, suffered a Vascular Episode on May 1, that left his rear legs weakened and with some numbness. We thought we might have to have him euthanized, because he was quite helpless at first, but he remained alert and interested in his surroundings (especially people-food). Last week he walked a couple steps under his own power when I released his hips after helping him to walk. Over the next few days he actually got to his feet by himself and walked a few steps on his own a few times.

He continues to make progress. On Thursday of this week we took him to the veterinary neurologist for a review of his condition, and he can now tell when his feet are placed on their knuckles, and he corrects it. Before, he not only could not stand, he also couldn't tell what position his rear feet were in. Just today he stood and walked a few feet, several times (usually when he anticipated a treat of cheese, heh!). Although he still tires easily, when his legs grow too tired to stand and walk, he drags himself by his front feet, pushes with his back feet, and scoots on his bottom. He can cover ground surprisingly fast that way! We're very hopeful that he'll make a nearly total recovery.

09:07 pm: Lovely Memorial Service
Yesterday evening we had a memorial service for my sister, Nancy Sue Hopson, who died in April of last year.

You might wonder why we waited so long, and the answer is simply that I was unable to face saying a final good-bye formally. In fact, I was dreading it so much for the past nearly thirteen months, I had periodic nightmares and bouts of gloom and crying, yet it wasn't at all painful once the moment arrived. It was bittersweet, because I do miss her, but I know she's not suffering anymore, and that's my comfort.

Dr. Richard Zeile, the pastor at my son's church, St.John's Lutheran Church in Taylor, Michigan, officiated and he did a splendid job. He is a kind and compassionate person who made the service personal because he had visited my sister several times during her final illness, both during her hospital stays and in the nursing home where she resided until her death, and he remembers her. Which is what a memorial service is all about, actually.

10:23 pm: Be Good to Your Pets... Please?
My little dog, Rover, actually got to his feet today under his own power and walked a half-dozen steps! Yesterday I let go his hips when I was helping him to walk out in the yard, and he walked about four steps on his own before he tired and sat down. I thought it was a fluke or maybe I was making too much of a little momentum, but today he got up by himself. (It was for the promise of some cheese my son only mentioned; that dog would do anything for cheese! Naturally he was rewarded liberally with praise, petting... and cheese. Heh!) I'm hoping he may just fully regain his ability to walk, perhaps sooner than expected!

In honor of that hope, I'm embedding an item that I found touching and very true:


see more dog and puppy pictures

02:30 pm: Rover the Dog is NOT (not!) Dead!
On Tuesday, May 1, Rover had an appointment to have his teeth cleaned, his nails trimmed, and his anal glands expressed (I know... Ewwwww, but why not take care of all the tasks he doesn't like, at one time, since he had to be under anesthesia anyway...). He had a clean bill of health, except for the fact that he has Type II Diabetes, but it's under control, mostly, and his liver enzymes were a little out of line, but still okay...

( Here's the Long Version )

12:36 pm: Happy Birthday to caffyolay!
...And many happy returns of the day!

11:48 am: Happy Birthday to ajat!
Many happy returns of the day.

12:13 pm: A Little Easter-related Memory
Seeing all the cute bunny pictures on the I Can Has Cheesburger? site reminded me of this little anecdote:

Underneath all the cyoot, bunnies have a territorial, managerial streak. As a child I was given an Easter bunny-baby which my parents let me keep, and he ended up living in the hen house, where he organized the chickens' lives for them: He slept in the nests, and chased them off them at night (that was correct; they were supposed to sleep on the perches), he herded them outside into the fenced enclosure at daybreak, and rounded them up at sunset to go back inside to sleep. Those were HIS chickens, and he kept them in line. Unfortunately, after a number of years he wandered outside the enclosure one day and met a marauding dog. *SIGH*

For a few days the chickens didn't know what to do. We'd find them huddling in the coop, waiting for the rabbit to take them out for some sunshine and exercise, and when we shooed them out they spent the day all right, but then waited at the door for the rabbit to herd them inside at sunset. Eventually they adjusted.

But for a long time my mother insisted on telling me he had run away with a wild rabbit doe because he "fell in love."

That's the rabbit equivalent of "Rex went to live on a big farm where he can roam the fields," I suppose.

What?! Not every cute story has a happy ending, you know.

01:39 am: Retraction! Retraction! Retraction!
As a matter of fact, fandom gossips like... like a very gossipy thing. And what I got when it came to the status of the online Star Trek episode called The Child, and what I passed along, was gossip.

CBS and Paramount have been nothing but supportive of Star Trek: Phase II according to the video of James Cawley speaking at Fed Con 2010 in Germany a couple years ago. The story about the big shots being poopy and possessive is apparently untrue. They gave permission for the Trekkies to play as long as the Phase II group doesn't make any money. The only people who were paid to appear in the episodes were the Actors Equity members like Walter Koenig, Barbara Luna, Malachi Throne, and William Windom, who got union wages (otherwise the union gets a little exercised about their working for free), and everybody else who is involved donates time, labor and money to the project. There is also a PayPal link for any viewers who feel like donating.

The link to view the episode for free is a little obscure, but it is below.

http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/?page_id=845&postTabs=2

The convention video where James Cawley talked at length about the project is to be found via a link at the end of the episode.

While I doubt very much that any of the minions personnel from CBS/Paramount will ever read my LJ, I'd still like to express my apologies for having jumped the gun and spread what is basically a lie. It's true that I despise the way they generally treat fans, but in this instance they weren't being monsters. They have agreed to share their toys, and I'm grateful for the chance to see my Star Trek again.

01:23 am: ZOMG! It's Better Than A Fanzine! It's Real Live Star Trek!


Star Trek Phase II

I don't know how this fannish endeavor escaped my notice, but now that the idiots people at CBS have exposed once more their cupidity (and other qualities that end in "-pidity"), the videos have been brought to my attention, and I'm so happy! It's Star Trek! Not-for-profit, authentic-looking, lovingly reproduced Star Trek created by fans with talented actors and crews, including some of the original regulars and guest stars from the original show. (No sooner had I grown used to a blue-eyed Spock with chiseled features, than the actor portraying him was no longer available and I had to get used to another actor playing Spock with a different nuance. They're both good portrayals... but not the same. The actor playing Kirk is even convincing! ...Y'know, once I got used to his portrayal being not so much Shatner.)

The issue is that CBS knew this was going on, and made no demur... until a script that CBS had bought, but never saw the lights of production, was okayed by the author to be adapted for the new internet show. Then their lawyers apparently had a fit and demanded that the internet show keep its mitts off the corporation's property! The author had sold it to CBS, and they didn't intend to give it back.

There's a "coming attractions" trailer on the site, at the end of the previous episode, and it's very enticing but I guess it's all we're ever going to get. CBS keeps forgetting that Where Fandom Spits, Nothing Grows. They'd do well to remember that.

Anyway, the information and the episode videos are at the following sites:


http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/

http://digitalnewage.com/dnapartners/stp2/default.asp?epi=IHW


Only one of the videos represented any difficulty to view, and that was due to bandwidth demands, I think. While lots of people were trying to watch the video, the bits of it took forever to load, because they were lengthy (other episodes loaded in much smaller increments). One segment was more than thirty minutes long. It loaded fine once the demand calmed down. The episode was called World Enough And Time, and it was one of the most touching stories in the group. Which explains the high demand.

Anyway, I love it and hope that loyal fans of classic Star Trek will give it a look-see. It's worth it. (I know this entry is ill-written and confusing, but it's late at night and I don't want to wait until morning to proof-read. Please everyone bear with me.)

05:43 pm: Happy Birthday to subversa!
Have many happy returns of the day!