Big Woof little woof

Will There Be Two Species of Dog?

Have you noticed that there seem to be nearly exclusively two sorts of dog owner? Those who want the wee lap dogs that would fit into a purse or nearly a pocket and those who want the nastiest fighting pit bull around.

I know some people want an Alsatian -- German Shepherd -- rather than a pit bull or pit bull cross and some want some other large breed dog... mastiff and greyhound come to mind ...but some of the intent is for a dog that can take care of itself in a fight and protect property and loved ones if not only just it's master. They still want a big sturdy dog.

The small dogs seem to be getting smaller. I know the "teacup" poodles have been around as a small sized toy poodle for a long while. It isn't an actual breed but the teacup poodles are the smallest of the toy litters bred with the smallest in order to get the smallest of poodles. People are discovering more and more of these toy breeds even though some like the Papillon have been around forever -- you can see them in medieval European paintings. I guess they are very popular because you get all the companionship of a dog in a small bundle you can take travelling with you or indoors even.

I can imagine the large strong dogs getting larger and stronger -- though perhaps more in the muscular range. My imagination does think to the monster of a black lab a friend has. It seems to have a bit of Great Dane in it, but it is pure bred Lab.

I can see the future, a lady riding out in the green belt and drawing her mount to a stream while holding a nearly hamster sized Cocker Spaniel in the crook of her arm. She'll slip off whispering a command in the large animal's ear as another lady approaches riding a fine chestnut mare holding her own teacup poodle. She gets off and allows her horse a drink.

"That's a fine dog you're riding. Staffordshire-Mastiff cross?"

"Why yes, they make great mounts."

Two small shapes dart out of the underbrush -- a dwarfed Tamworth pig and a Falabella pinto.

The woman with the large riding dog exclaims, "What wonderful animals!"

"Meet Donner and blitzen. They are great companions on a ride..."

Well I guess it is a bit far fetched that they'd breed dogs large enough to ride in any near future, but the pet pigs and horses -- small enough to have even in the house -- are here. Falabella are miniature horses.

Still I wonder if we will be left with the toy breeds and the large breeds and them become so separate as to become separate species? ... oh, and Jack Russell Terriers.

Later!
~ Darrell

127.

Blended Realms -- Not Just Pictures

Realms of the Imagination From Across the World Wide Web

You might think I have enough to chew on with this column and my other writing, but I have undertaken to collaborate on another web column. This one is "Blended Realms" which I suggested to my friend Mags Alden because she is constantly finding interesting art and artists on the Internet and wanting to share them. She also has an interest in writing and I have found has a pretty good eye for interesting artwork. Much tends to be Fantasy, Science Fiction, Space Art, or Surreal Artwork so after talking about it she came up with the title "Blended Realms".

We plan on regularly taking an image we find on the Internet and writing a short review of it and giving a bit of information on where you can find it and other work by that author. We might expand into biographical pieces as well, but for now we will just showcase individual pieces and say a little bit about them leaving you to follow the link to the site hosting the artist's works.

Mags and I noted that very often we have found that people on StumbleUpon will review a picture and it is only the picture. They will say "What a cool and beautiful picture!" -- but stripped of any identifying marks as to where it might have originated before it got into the collection it was found in or who the artist is -- it is impossible to find other examples of that artists works. We intend to make sure that we are including links to collections of an artists works and if we find a great piece without any indication I'll try to hunt down the artist. I have succeeded more than on a few occasions at that.

The Image to the right is the first one reviewed: Elements IV by Frank Melech, hosted on fotocommunity.

We will not be posting any images stripped of identity... except maybe if we get a large enough audience as a wanted poster in case others might be able to identify the artist for us.

I hope that if you have an interest in this sort of art -- or perhaps are curious -- that you will stop by Blended Realms.

Later!
~ Darrell

102.

Steam Punk -- Victorian Science Fiction

Steam Punk

Science Fiction Set in the Victorian Age

I am not sure what percentage of the population has ever heard of "Steam Punk" before. I had never heard the term before this year myself -- though I know of the genre. This is fiction set in the Victorian age of the sort that Jules Vern, H.G. Wells, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and their contemporaries wrote and others since then, especially recently have rediscovered and been writing in. It has become very popular in a number of circles. I am meaning in more than just reading the books.

You might know of "Sherlock Holmes" fan clubs, but there are groups that play Fantasy Role Playing Games -- FRPG -- set in the Victorian age and which are classified as Steam Punk if they include the pseudo science of the genre with time machines and digging machines and steam powered space ships and nuclear powered Victorian submarines and the like. The fairly recent movie "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" Staring Sean Connery fits into this genre.

One interesting effect is something that a few friends and I have been intrigued with off and on for decades. From the time of perhaps even before the first "microcomputers" we thought of the ideas of replacing plastic, painted steel and perhaps aluminium cases with those of polished wood and perhaps carved wood; polished brass; and polished and perhaps carved leather. The fittings would be at least made to look like they included ones with ivory, ebony, pearl, and similar materials. A friend who is a leather carver considered applying his considerable talent to making carved leather cases for PCs at a more recent date. Given tools and supplies I think I would like to try my hand at something like this...

Recently while researching a fantasy-science fiction book I am writing I came across this whole genre of Steam Punk and found that people are indeed doing such things. The things they come up with, some real world, some just in artwork can be pretty incredible. The image on the left is from Steam-Driven Dreams: The Wonderously Whimisical World of Steampunk on Wired.com. (image to left - image from Wired.com)

I think I would enjoy it as a hobby as much as I have enjoyed my involvement into Medieval Recreation with the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). There I have learned many skills and expressed many talents in many areas including metal work, wood work, ceramics, pottery, leather carving, costuming, research, fencing, heavy armoured tourney and war fighting and much more.

Considering I have enjoyed FRPG with things like Dungeons and Dragons as well, and have enjoyed Fantasy and Science Fiction and am interested in History in General even to the point of being Vice President of a Heritage Society I think that this whole Steam Punk -- Steampunk (?) -- thing is right up my alley. I just wish I had a workshop. I have a few computers I might want to dress out in Victorian gear, or perhaps Edwardian more like the image I have for my bio-shot for this article.

I really do have to get into the whole 3D modelling thing with the computer.

TTFN or in other words "Ta Ta For Now"!

Later!
~ Darrell

85.

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The Bio-picture of me attached at the top of this article is slightly modified from a self portrait photo of me taken at the Port Moody Station Museum in the Parlour of the 1908 CPR Train Station the museum resides within.