Pug Spock Tribute

I'm still without a computer, tech 

Services at my husband's job are trying to fix it,  so I'm writing this post using the I-phone blogger app which is far from ideal, but considering what a geek I am I wanted to share our pug photo tribute to the legendary Leonard Nimoy who played Mr Spock.  Here are Tubby, Weasley, and Fry in their various Spock shirts and sweaters 

As goofy as it sounds I really think hours spent watching Star Trek, particularly as a child, have made me a better person   Someone who appreciates diversity and has hope for the future of humanity. Leonard Nimoy was as committed to the betterment of the universe as the fictional Spock as this quote demonstrates:

I apologize for not getting around to your blogs hopefully I'll have a computer soon. 

Broken Computer

Our computer has broken so we won't be around for a week or so, plus mom has vacation.  We just wanted to right a note to explain why we might not be able to get around to your blogs.

Futurama Valentine Shirts from Cafe Press

As you know if you are a reader of this blog we are big fans of geekery here.  Our newest family member Fry (or Philip J. Fry)

is named after the sweet, but lazy, 25 year old delivery boy who gets frozen in the year 2000 and thawed in the year 3000 on the television show sci-fi comedy cartoon Futurama.  

See the resemblance, I think our Fry needs a red jacket.



In case you are unfamiliar with Futurama it is a really funny send up of science fiction shows, like my beloved Star Trek. Futurama, is also a great show to watch on Valentine's day because it has a lot of episodes dealing with the holiday and romance in general in a very funny way.   My favorite Futurama Valentine's episode Love and a Rocket has Fry searching for the perfect candy heart to give his crush.  

Other episodes have a slightly more sardonic take on the holiday, as any search of Futurama memes will demonstrate:

Anyway I had a cafe press coupon I received as a promotional offer from an earlier purchase and I had decided to use it to make Fry and Weasley Valentine's shirts, it seemed given Fry's name that Futurama themed shirts would be perfect.  I use the design our own shirt component on the Cafe Press website and by using quotes from the show and some free clip art made the shirts (I apologize for the hideous pictures of me below holding Fry and Weasley was the only way to ensure the shirts could be seen).

Fry's shirt reads: "This concept of "Wuv" confuses and infuriates us."   A reference to the candy hearts episode.   Weasley's reads: "It's All So Complicated with the Flowers, and the Romance, and the Lies Upon Lies."  A reference to Dr. Zoidberg's line in Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love.

Suffice it to say but you have to be a Futurama fan to appreciate these shirts, which is why I love them, and the pugs don't seem to mind wearing them at all.

You can use the cafe press site to many any kind of pet, or human, shirt you would like.  They have a wide range of styles and you can design your own around you favorite sports teams, books, films, or TV shows.  Its a fun way to personalize your own, or your dogs, wardrobe.  Now we are ready for our Valentine's day Futurama episode binge!

NJ Super Expo

Every year for the past 7 years, since we moved to NJ, we have attended the NJ pet expo.  This year was rather sad because it was our first year going without Norbert, he really liked going to the pet expo and getting treat samples.   We brought all four pugs, Bob isn't much for crowds.  Fry had to be carried because just before we got to the expo he had his last puppy shot

and isn't supposed to be mixing much with strange  dogs for another week.  It was about an half hour drive from the vet to the expo

When we got to the expo it was so crowded it was pretty much impossible to take any pictures.

It may have been that I was missing Norbert but I was pretty disappointed with the expo this year.  The products weren't really anything special.  We did see a pug painted in hearts which was pretty unsusual:

and there was a tropical birds display that I couldn't get a good picture of.   I also got Fry's picture taken by a professional pet photographer for a good price, twenty dollars, much less then the usual fee and I can order prints in a week so that may have made the trip worth while.  We only bought one thing, soft baked cheddar treats, but they do seem to be a hit, our older pugs  seemprefer softer treats and these treats are nice and soft and made in the USA.   The company K9 Granola Factory  has a nice range of USA made treats available on their website.

Pet expo may not have been that great this year, but it seemed to tire the pugs out:

Silent Film Sunday-Le Roman De Max from 1912

This cute little film from 1912, its English language title was Affinity, tells the story of a man and a lady who go on vacation and stay at the same hotel on the Riveria.  Assigned rooms next door to each other they leave their shoes on the matt and the shoes fall in love and conspire to pull them together.

Friday's With Fred-Fred the Analyst

In the following clip from 1938's Care Free, Ginger Roger's wears the most gorgeous Valentine's dress (I had a copy made I wrote about here) while telling her Psychiatrist, Fred, about a very strange dream she had:

Wordless Wednesday-Fry in Cozy Jammies

How do you make a pug puppy even cuter add flannel PJs from pug possessed:

Pin's and Pinafores-A Valentine's Day Vintage Outfit Post Two Ways

Valentine's day may be a much maligned holiday, which I do understand, even if I myself kind of enjoy it.   I'd personally never want to brave a restaurant on Valentine's Eve, and I'm not too interested in flowers or candy.  No, what sets my heart aflutter is a Valentine's appropriate vintage outfit.  By which I of course mean something red, or pink, preferably with hearts involved.  Last year I made my Valentine's outfit wishes come true with a copy of one of my dream dresses, the heart and arrow dress Ginger Roger's wore in 1938's Care Free, you can see it here.  

I love my Care Free dress but this year I began thinking I wanted a more casual vintage inspired Valentine's outfit.  I thought a 1940s style pinafore would be a good idea.  Warm and idea for layering pinafores are a great practical winter clothing item.   I went to the vintage pinafore expert, Deborah of TheBlackPinafore on Etsy, and told her my idea.  My inspiration was the pinafore set worn by Betty Garett in the 1949 film Neptune's Daughter. 

I asked Deborah to make me a similar vest topped pinafore in a darker red with a blouse and collar tie to match.  She did an amazing job and I couldn't be happier with the results.  

It's exactly the kind of vintage outfit I most enjoy wearing, comfortable and practical and it will work equally well in winter or spring. 

I paired my pinafore set with a blue wool beret (you can get them on Amazon for ten dollars or less), red 1960s nylon gloves,  and a 1940s celluloid novelty brooch.

I was also pleased to see that the pinafore goes great with my 1940s style  horseshoe and arrow sweater from Vintage and Cool Knitting by Regiane Trainotti and my Merriweather lucky horse shoe pin:

These two vintage style Valentine's outfits will definitely have me feeling the love this year.  Happy early Valentines!

Where No Pug Has Gone Before

We got a lot of presents for Christmas this year, all of them lovely, but the best by far were are Star Trek uniform jammies from pug possessed and our Captain's Chair Star Trek bed.   Now, even if we weren't a family of trekkies we would all love this bed, sadly the price has gone way up since we bought ours.   It has perfect dog bed design, particularly for a pug.  First of all it has arms (complete with control panel detail) that are ideal for use as a chin rest, pug owners know how important a good chin rest is.  Second its quite large, even the small size can accommodate three pugs squeezed together, or one all spread out.  Lastly it has a removable bottom pad that can be easily washed.  We truly love this bed.  Within a week of having it, it was the most popular bed in the house, with both canine and feline occupants.  Only Bob, who has never sat on a dog bed in his life as he prefers the human couch, has yet to try the Star Trek bed, but we think he may be weakening, after all it is a very comfortable bed.