Dog Fetish

This is Twinkle. This is my dog. She's half Askal (mongrel) and half Ridgeback.

Twinkle was dropped off one hot afternoon. She was given for "adoption" by a dear friend in 1999.

Her name has always been Twinkle. I followed suit rather than changing it for the sake of changing. Besides, the name fits - not the "hypothetical integer factorization device" as defined by Wiki. It simply means spark of happiness.

Yes, there were incidents of un-happiness like Twinkle's slipping and running away from the house when the gate was open or stealing a hot chicken leg at the food table or shreddingthe fabric of the sofa until the foam came out.

But they were overcome by Twinkle's adapting to how everything runs in the house. She lets me know when its time for peeing and pooing. She used to fetch me by sniffing my ear, whispering dog-style, licking my face and finally hooking my elbow with her teeth to wake me up for meals. She laid beside the sofa when its video night with her butt facing the television always raising her head when it was time to change discs. She kept schedule for patrolling the interior of the house for mice and rodents. It was always after she had finished doing the exterior for cats. She liked to welcome the mailman, bread or peanut vendor everyday. And there was always a ready smile and a wagging tail for each of the men.

She loved poking inside grocery bags. She was a regular barbeque eater, never the stick just the barbeque. She knew the music for the You Got Mail soundtrack. Twinkle danced on the fast songs and slept deeply on the slow ones. She liked to eat Pedigree biscuits but only if I cupped my palm and didn't place the treats on a plate. She loved ice cubes. She came to the kitchen whenever an ice tray was being popped for drinks. I gave her an ice cube everytime and Twinkle took her refreshment to the sofa.

I miss Twinkle. I pass by pet stores and feel sorry for the dogs in their cages. I watch dogs roam the street wondering if they have owners. It'll take time before I get another pet.

Why Twinkle isn't here? I have loads of posts on this dog alone. This post ain't all folks :)

why i love the night … and why silence is being murdered.

I love the night for its stillness and complete noiselessness। Everyone is asleep. I can only work in a silent environment, that’s why I love the night especially after the clock strikes twelve. Tonight I walked the web to write।
Why silence is being murdered?
What defines noise? Noise is relative. For example, a person can lis ten to music as loud as he can and he doesn’t consider it noise. It ONLY becomes noise when it invades another person’s space.
In Wikipedia, there is such a term as “Personal space, an updated form of Edward T. Hall's 1966 proxemics, is the region surrounding each person, or that area which a person considers their domain or territory.[1] Often if entered by another being without this being desired, it makes them feel uncomfortable. The amount of space a being (person, plant, animal) needs falls into two categories, immediate individual physical space (determined by imagined boundaries), and the space an individual considers theirs to live in (often called habitat).”
My personal space is being intruded by karaoke as regularly as neighbors itch to belt out their signature song. Residents consider a karaoke player (the big box type like slot machines) as a major necessity like a refrigerator. It’s great for occasional merry-making, not so for residents who want to rest and get a night’s sleep before waking up another busy day at work. I learned that calling the local police station will not get your complaint going but make the police irate and shout at you until you know that its time to call the barangay tanod (local patrol) as the police “suggested”. So I contacted the barangay tanod who merely got my name and contact number and logged them with the nature of the complaint. At the end, the barangay tanod said they are patrolling their route and have NOT gotten any similar complaints and did NOT hear any karaoke singing as loud as cows belting within the vicinity I mentioned. Have the patrols joined the singing or what?
I am glad the Philippine government has website and a space dedicated to opinions and suggestions. I just read that someone had written to ask if there are any laws that aid citizens in keeping the peace in their neighborhood. Thankfully, someone answered there are P.D. 856 Chapter XIX Sec. 85 on Nuisances and P.D. 1152 Sec. 5 Community Noise Standards. I checked these Presidential Decrees and they are old laws and I don’t know if they are still laws. Regretfully, I do not know if they are being enforced or if any noise pollution laws are being enacted and enforced.
In New York USA, the Department of Environmental Protection have a Noise Code dated 1998 with provisions, noise quality criteria and standards, allowable sound levels, enforcement including citizen’s complaint, and penalties. I do not know why lawmakers are active in controversial Senate hearings or they don’t think that my money as a taxpayer is not worth a damn if I go deaf or not --- this country where I am residing and I am a citizen.
Apart from the karaoke, there are fastfood chains that play music NOT pipe in BUT as high as their acoustics could take. When did restaurants (not music lounges) become concert venues? Who needs top-10 hit music at 7am while you’re bent on eating hotcakes and drinking coffee for breakfast with peace? Or why is the service crew shouting at you to repeat your order and why is your throat aching from shouting back that you only want a burger not fries for a meal? Aren’t there regulations for appropriate commercial music within appropriate sound levels?
I think that certain manufacturers of portable music players have opted to put a noise reduction level to regulate volume when playing their units. I think that all of us have own level of tolerance when sound becomes noise. The motto of Noise Pollution Clearinghouse is "Good neighbors keep their noise to themselves." Isn’t it time we all did?