Dogged Blog

Xena for Boys

Because there is absolutely no limit to the lengths to which I will go to get people to pay me to write about Xena ... I convinced AfterElton.com that they NEEDED this important story on Xena for (Gay) Boys:

Take one warrior princess, one blond sidekick, one round flying thing and a lot of shirtless guys wielding swords, and what do you have?

A gay icon, of course.

See all my brilliance, and some great quotage from Travis, here.

Oh, and that photo on the right? The late Kevin Smith, playing Ares, God of War.

What if they cured cancer and nobody told you?

The University of Alberta thinks they're onto something really exciting in cancer treatment.

Like, a cure.

Like, a safe, cheap cure.

Sound good? Yes.

Unless you're, you know, a drug company or something. Because this good, safe, cheap cure, if it pans out, is unpatentable.

I've seen a lot of blogs mentioning this, and asking people to help spread the word, because it just might be true... and the University of Alberta is thinking maybe regular, non-drug-company people would consider helping fund this research.

So I poked around the science journals and the university website and decided there's actually something to this story. So, I'll be a good citizen journalist, or whatever they're calling bloggers this week, and tell you about it.

Investigators at the University of Alberta have recently reported that a drug previously used in humans for the treatment of rare disorders of metabolism is also able to cause tumor regression in a number of human cancers growing in animals. This drug, dichloroacetate (DCA), appears to suppress the growth of cancer cells without affecting normal cells, suggesting that it might not have the dramatic side effects of standard chemotherapies.

The University of Alberta  website has links to all the articles that have been written on DCA, more info on their own research, and a link where you can, if you think it's a worthwhile cause, send them some of your money. You'll find it here.

Rebel update

I'm so touched at all the concern for Rebel. I guess I (understandably) over-reacted, because his bloodwork was fine, and his urine culture came back with an overgrowth of a common fecal bacteria, susceptible to an inexpensive, usually-well-tolerated antibiotic.

Because Rebel had a surgical procedure called a scrotal urethrostomy, allowing him to pass the cystine stones caused by a genetic kidney defect he has, he is very susceptible to bladder infections. This is because the urinary opening created by this surgery forms what one vet kidney specialist I know called a "superhighway to the bladder for pathogens." It's just one of the lovely side effects of having a dog with this condition.

Anyway, the vet felt there was no reason to worry unless he still has symptoms after a couple of days on the antibiotics, and/or if the vomiting returns. If it doesn't, her assumption would be that it was unrelated.

Sadly, he did throw up his breakfast, and I am back in full blown paranoia. But it was chicken soup, and I think it was too hot, and he ate something else later with no problems, so I'm going to try to stave off said paranoia and relax. (Those of you who know me can all laugh now.)

I'll keep you posted! And again, my thanks!

Rebel's sick

Rebel, my 8-year-old Scottish Deerhound, has cystinuria, a genetic  kidney defect for which he had corrective surgery that leaves him prone to urinary tract infections. His condition also makes him at high risk for kidney disease. (This is the extreme nutshell verison of his medical history.)

He's been not quite right for a few days, although I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong. Finally it seemed he might have had a bladder infection, even though he's had those before and this wasn't really the same. But I took him to the vet yesterday, where they did tests, the results of which we'll get tomorrow. He really wasn't particularly sick, he was eating well and had lots of energy, even though he still didn't seem like himself.

Last night at around midnight he started throwing up. He threw up for several hours. I took him out three times (he won't go to the bathroom in the yard), so I'm a complete wreck today.

I'm glad it's Sunday so at least I don't have to work, but I'm just so upset.

Perhaps I misunderstood

So, every  now and then I have to use a site that doesn't like Firefox, and forces me to use IE. Blech.

msn.com is the homepage on IE, and I so rarely use it, I've never bothered to change it. Today, when I launched IE, there was a blurb about how to get your child to behave on airplanes. And they ask the question, "Should parents get the boot from flights when kids misbehave?"

Ummmm, is it just me or does that sound a bit drastic?

More on the interview hate

I recently got a hot new digital voice recorder to use in interviews, to replace the OMG so outdated tape recorder I (rarely) used, prefering to rely on the old-fashioned method of making often-illegible marks on paper with a long tube filled with ink.

There's no question there are a lot of problems with note-taking. One, you can get it wrong without realizing it. Two, my handwriting is, at its best, a scrawl, and at worst, abstract art. If I didn't have the time to type up my own notes immediately after the interview, I typically couldn't even begin to decipher them later.

The other problem with taking notes, even though I'm wicked fast at it, is that while you're taking notes, you aren't looking at the person you're interviewing, and you're missing eye contact and body language that can inform your story. This is less important on a phone interview, but even there, I would sometimes find that I was still scrawling something down after they had finished talking, and not  formulating my follow up questions.

But there are problems with recording interviews, too. I hate having to listen to the whole freaking thing twice. I do the best I can to turn each interview into a scintillating article full of brilliant commentary, capturing the essence of the subject and shedding light on their cultural contributions, but DAMN some of these things are dull to listen to. Let alone listen to a second time.

The obvious cure is to do both, and use the recording as a backup for my own notes. The problem with that is, of course, then I lose the ability to really focus on the subject of the interview, and still almost always have to listen to the thing twice.

No, there really is only one true solution, and that's to become so highly paid as a writer that I can afford to have someone transcribe my recorded interviews for me. If you want to do that and are willing to work for gratitude and fame (such limited fame as I can offer, anyway), hey, let me know.

Yeah, I didn't think so.

Lawless at the Roxy

I reviewed Lucy Lawless' Roxy concert over at club.kingsnake.com... yes, I am spreading my Xena love everywhere I go.

Lawless at the Roxy

After Raven

A friend apologized for being out of touch recently. Her dog had just died of cancer. I told her I was sorry, and that I understood.

Because I do.

Raven died 16 months ago. It's hard to believe, because I still feel it,  a shitty ache in my heart, a huge obstruction in my throat, when I think of her. I still cry.

Since Raven died, my lovely old dogs Rosie and Scarlett both died. I've moved. My whole life has changed.

Sometimes I think my life changed because of Raven. Sometimes I think the day I lost my battle to save her that a big part of me gave up. As each animal has left my life since that day, I've added no new ones, shied away from offers of puppies, inquiries about breeding plans, curiousity about my future intentions. I've seen friends get puppies, win ribbons, plan litters. I've held young dogs in my lap and arms, and remembered the joy of a wiggly butt and wet nose.

It's just that it hurts too much.

I hate to say it. I hate to admit it even to myself, let alone to everyone else. I don't know if I can do this again.

Rebel, Raven's brother, sleeps on the floor next to my bed every night. He doesn't look a lot like her, but sometimes I look at him and it comforts me to know he's here.

Kyrie, my Borzoi, sleeps in Raven's spot next to me on the bed. She's affectionate and snuggly and I adore her.

But I feel a little corner of my heart got hard when I lost Raven. I'm scared that I don't love them like I loved her.

I'm scared that I can't.

Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor interview

I truly hoped to clear my work backlog over the weekend and get my life back to normal.

Snort.

Anyway, my interview with Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor is up on afterellen.com:

Xena: Warrior Princess may have aired its last episode six years ago, but you'd never have known it last weekend in Burbank, Calif., where hundreds of Xena fans — mostly lesbians — turned out for a standing room-only appearance by stars Lucy Lawless (Xena) and Renee O'Connor (Gabrielle) at the 12th Annual Xena Convention. We spoke with Lawless and O'Connor after their turn at the convention about their fans, their careers and the possibility of a Xena movie.

Full article, with photos by KT, here.

I should have the concert review posted by Tuesday (yes, it's late, bite me), and I also blogged about dogs... YES I DID!!!!!!!!!!... on PetConnection and will link to that later today. Plus something funny Gina blogged about at Dogma. Give me an hour or two.

I now return you to your regular eclectic mix of strange obsessions of Christie after this interlude in Xenaland.