I have decided that if the shows we listen to on the NPR  (National Public Radio, in case you didn't know) --- if those shows can have a Friday News Round-Up, that we can too.   It sounds very important, doesn't it?   And as you know, I am an Important Boy Bloginator PitBull Reporter Extra-Ordinary, so I need an important topic for my Friday Blogging.

So, let's start off by reminding everyone that today is Friday, the end of the working week and the start of a fun filled week-end.   It's always important to have Fun Filled Week-Ends.  

We are in the starting phase of a HUGE SNOWSTORM.    As you know, I was blogging about that just a couple of days ago, and we are watching the white stuff fall on our home right at this very minute.     It started this morning at 10 and now it is 1:30 and already my Mom's little Honda car is almost covered up entirely.    Supposedly we might get as much as 30 inches before this is all over.     I hope that Rusty and Scarlett who are very small, don't get lost in a drift.   I would have to rescue them, and whereas I know I can do it, I hope I don't have to.   What if I got stuck? Someone would then have to come and rescue me.  Yippers.

Second important news of the DAY.      The Today Show had Mr. Luke and da' boys - Hudson and Murphy, on it's program today.   It was very, very exciting to watch our friends on IMPORTANT NATIONAL TELEVISION.     We are hoping that this will bring a lot more attention to the wonderful work that Mr. Luke and Huds and Murph are doing to help in cancer research.

Mr. Luke looked mighty fine and Hudson got to sprawl out on the couch right in front of the camera's...... Murphy presented his "not so best side" to the camera most of the time, but we forgave him for being shy.

Here is what our Uncle Erich had to say about today's event.
The Today Show! OK, by now you must know that Luke, Hudson, and Murphy will be on The Today Show, Friday, February 5, 2010. Right now they're camped down the street from the studios in The Muse Hotel (http://www.themusehotel.com/ ), only a few blocks away, and will be walking, accompanied by `Mommy Ginger' to the studio in the morning. Ginger said she flew in from Memphis just to make sure everyone got to the studio on time, but I think she secretly wants to meet Matt and Meredith. Everyone's to be there by 7AM EST. When I spoke to Ginger tonight, she'd just finished brushing Murphy and the Concierge had dropped off 2 dog bowls and 2 (way too small) beds for The Boys in Luke's room. (Yeah, like Hudsy and Murph are going to sleep on the floor. HA!)

How exciting this all is.    I would like to be on the Today Show.   I wonder if Mr. Luke told them about me, Bob, and what a good PitBull Reporter I am.
I deserve some press too, I think.     

Unfortunately, the segment that was featuring Mr. Luke, got a bit cut off at the end, and Mr. Luke didn't get to talk about the NEW campaign which is to be called TWO MILLION DOGS: TWO MILES.     But here is what you can do.

Wake up your lazy (and possibly snowed in) Mouse Person and have him fly you to:   2 MILLION DOGS .   When you arrive you can Pledge A Dog   --------which is:    the rounding up of 2 million dogs to walk for cancer!  This is a nationwide effort to end cancer today by submitting your dog's name, a bit of information about you and a way to contact you.    THAT WAY, WHEN THE CAMPAIGN ROLLS OUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY, YOU WILL BE A PART OF IT.

Remember:  You heard it here on the Friday News Round-Up, From Bob.    We can do this, one paw at a time!

                                                                        



MORE NEWS BULLETINS:   Here are some important things that happened on February 5th through-out history.     

On this day...

1631 Rhode Island, founder, Roger Williams arrives in Boston from England
1663 Earthquake in Canada
1783 Sweden recognizes US independence
1816 Rossini's Opera "Barber of Seville" premieres in Rome
1817 1st US gas company incorporated, Baltimore (coal gas for street lights)
1825 Hannah Lord Montague of New York creates 1st detachable shirt collar
1861 1st moving picture peep show machine is patented by Samuel Goodale of Cincinnati
1881 Phoenix AZ incorporates
1901 Loop-the-loop centrifugal RR (roller coaster) patented by Ed Prescot
1921 Yankees purchase 20 acres in the Bronx for Yankee Stadium
1922 Reader's Digest magazine 1st published
1931 Maxine Dunlap becomes 1st US women to earn a glider pilot license
1937 1st Charlie Chaplin talkie, "Modern Times", is released
1940 Glenn Miller & his Orchestra record "Tuxedo Junction"
1942 "Woman of the Year", starring Hepburn & Tracy, opens at Radio City
1945 Big Racket becomes fastest race horse at 69.6 kph (440 yards/20.8 seconds)
1948 Dick Button becomes 1st US figure skating Olympics champion
1953 "Peter Pan" by Walt Disney opens at Roxy Theater, NYC
1967 "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" premieres on CBS (later ABC, NBC)
1969 US population reaches 200 million
1969 Vince Lombardi, becomes part owner, vice president, general manager & head coach of Redskins
1971 Apollo 14, 3rd US manned Moon expedition, lands near Fra Mauro; Alan Shepard & Edward Mitchell (Apollo 14) walk on Moon for 4 hours
1973 Comic strip "Hagar The Horrible" debuts
1974 Maximum speed on Autobahn reduced to 100 kph
1978 Fred Newman makes 88 consecutive basketball free throws blindfolded
1981 Largest Jell-O made (9,246 gallons of watermelon-flavor) in Brisbane
1987 Dow Jones average closes above 2,200 for 1st time
1989 Kareem Abdul-Jabar becomes 1st NBA player to score 38,000 points
1994 "Where On Earth Is Carmen San Diego" debuts on Fox TV

I think facts like this are an important part of The Friday News Round-UP.     What if someone came along and asked you an important question and you didn't know the answer?  For instance, I think knowing about the 9,246 gallons of Watermelon Jello is a critical fact.


AND IN CLOSING........ Here is my pick for Bob's Buddies Blog of the Week!

Have your Mouse Person take you straight away to visit my friend Holly, at A Life Aquatic    Here is a picture of Miss Holly in the snow.

                                        

Does it not look like Holly is floating on a cloud?   

Holly is living on a boat in Baltimore Harbor and her Blogging is very entertaining, so I have made her the first of my official Bob's Blogging Buddies.       I think you will like hearing what Miss Holly has to say.

So.

That is all the Important News I can think of for now.     I'm sure I have forgotten about a lot of other important stuff, but this is only my very first Friday News Round-Up and I have, no doubt, a lot to learn about rounding up.   

Love and LIcks,


Bob
.......... worried about being snowed under
................ proud of Luke, Hudson & Murphy
...................... pledged to 2 Million Dogs
............................... reporter of interesting facts and
............................................ friend of Holly

      

I got a very nice comment from my friend Moose.    You remember, Moose, don't you?    And his Mom, Phoebe?    Miss Phoebe (and Moose) are the wonderful creators of My Squeaky Ball and I have told you before that My Squaky Balls are my favorite toy ever in the entire known world.     Ever.     I could not sleep at night if I couldn't squeak my ball and annoy my Mom for at least 30 minutes every night.


                     Anyway.... this is what Moosie said about my WeatherBlogging.

I’m looking forward to hearing your forecast, Bob.  You can always revise it afterwards in your backcast. 

Here I am enjoying the blizzard… I was the only one who could leap around since Tara, Tipper, Pokey and Tiki are too short.

Your faithful friend (even though you tried to bite me),

Moose

                             


Moose is, as you might recall, a Great Dane, and just for the record, I did not try to bite him on the nose. I was only lifting his lip to see if he was hiding balls.   Geeze.
                                                             


So, as you can see...... Moose is very good at playing snow-plow.    I must remember that when next we need our road fixed.  HA.

Oh and guess what else?    Ms. Phoebe is going to be walkin' dogs and sittin' pets for our company, Everything & The Dog    She will still be knittin' her wonderful toys, and I guessing that her clients are going to be getting some perks from this relationship.     I wonder if she can drive to Leesburg and take care of me?   I could use some new balls.

Love,

Bob

      

I have a new job.  Another job, I should say.

I'm going to be the Mt. Gilead Weather-Dog and I'll let everyone know if it is going to snow.    Don't you think that's a great idea?  Since I am already the PitBull Boy Bloginator Reporter Extra Ordinary, I don't think it will be too much work to be a Weather-Dog.

So.   Here is my first back-cast   (forecasting is only one part of being a weather-dog, back-casting is equally important)     It snowed last night.   A lot.      This morning, WillowBee flipped Lilly Bug onto her back and used her as a snow plow in our back yard.  HA.    My sister said she was able to get a photo of Lilly, just before WillowBee ambushed her.


            

And guess what else?

We are going to get snow again this week-end.    I have heard from good sources that this may be a big as the Big Storm of March, 1958.  Because I am a trained reporter and I wanted to know what happened in the past, I found this wonderful place to have your Mouse Person take you, so you can read all about Washington Area Winters: A Record

There is so much valuable information about Winter Storms that I hardly know where to begin.     So it might be best if you flew away and read all about it for yourself.  I like the opening paragraph, cause it tells you what our area's biggest storms are called.   They are evidently called "Nor'easters".       I think that sounds more scary than Storm of the Century, frankly.


Washington's biggest winter storms are the great "Nor'easters". They get their name from the powerful northeast winds they produce. In order for a nor'easter to give Washington a large amount of snow, there must first be a source of cold air. High pressure builds over New England. The high's arctic air mass spreads south into the Washington area. The dense, cold air tries to move west over the Appalachian Mountains, but it can not. It remains trapped on the east side funneling south over the coastal plain. East of the arctic air lies the warm water of the Gulf Stream. The contrast of the cold air sinking into the Carolinas and warm air off the Carolina Coast creates a breeding ground for storms. Combine the strong temperature contrast with other meteorological conditions such as the right position of the jet stream, and a storm's development can become "explosive" (a sudden, rapid intensification; a dramatic drop in the central pressure of the storm). Some meteorologists refer to this as a "bomb".


Yippers.  A BOMB!        

So just in case that the 2-legged weathermen are right, I suggest we all go to the Pet Store as soon as possible and stock up on kibble.     Just in case the WEATHER BOMB gets dropped on us, we want to be prepared.

Love and Licks,


Bob
......new job as a weather-dog

.................  sharing the Snow News from the Deck in the Yard, where it is safe.




                        

      

Oh my gosh, our friends Luke, Hudson and Murphy of 2Dogs 2000Miles  are now going to be FAMOUS.   Really.  Truly.    Here is what my Uncle Erich (the best Uncle on earth), just sent us about Luke and 'da boys.

Set your TiVo, pop in a video, get the DVR ready! On Friday, February 5th , because Luke, Hudson, and Murphy will be appearing, in the flesh and fur, right there on your TV on the "Today Show"!

Two weeks ago Jill Rappaport, TODAY Entertainment Correspondent, did a taped interview with Luke and The Boys. You may remember Jill from her wonderful story about her dog Jack who also had bone cancer: http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/04/23/1904991.aspx and http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/03/29/104471.aspx . I'm not sure how much of the taped interview will be used but Luke reports that he and The Boys will be appearing live on the show, this coming Friday! Stay tuned to hear Luke talk about some of their adventures and announce what's coming next for the Dynamic Trio.

Check your local listings for channel and time and don't miss The Boys! What a fantastic way to start the last leg of their journey to Boston and what lies ahead.

Bravo, Boys! Puppy Up!

We'll be watching.

Erich & His 4 Pack

PLEASE FEEL FREE to cross-post widely!

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Is this not just the most wonderful news in the entire world?  We already know all about the wonderful work that Luke and 'da boys are doing to help research the awful cancer bugs, but now a LOT more people will know about them.

We are so excited and the mouse in the TiVO box has been given his assignment.   

We will be watchin'

Love and LIcks,

Bob
Boy Bloginator
PitBull Reporter Extra Ordinary

                           




Here they are!   And looking very clean too!     Trust me, they aren't always this neat and tidy.  HA

      

This is incredible!   At least I think so.   

Our fine company Everything & The Dog  has a new client and guess what?   I think he might be one of my Long Lost Brothers.   

Look at Zeke!

          


This picture was sent to us by Zeke's Mom because my Omi (Grandmother) will be taking care of Zeke and his friends Kymani and Nikki.     I think this is Kymani who Zeke is presently asleep on top of.  My Omi came home to me after she had met Zeke and said that she had found my brother.

So I sent this picture of me to our nice, new client, and asked her if she thought I looked like her Zeke.    Voila!   Back came the proof positive.


                      


I'm wondering if the inside of Zeke's ears and his nose turn pink when he is finding out about something new?   LIke mine do.

Anyway!   WELCOME TO ZEKE AND HIS NEW FAMILY.     My Omi and my Uncle Rick will take good care of you and maybe someday we will meet each other.

Love and LIcks,

Bob
Boy Blogging PitBull Extra Ordinary
.......... and staying inside today cause it is snowing

      

We are supposed to get some snow this week-end, but I am thinking it will be nothing compared to the Blizzard of 2009 which we had on December 19th.      I never really got the chance to talk about that Blizzard at the time because I suppose my Mom had some lousy excuse or another as to why I couldn't borrow her thumbs to do some Blogging.      Probably she was hiding under the blankies while WillowBee, Lilly Bug and I were all out playing in the snow.

So anyway, I thought it might be fun for you to see HOW MUCH SNOW we got in December here in Leesburg, Virginia.    Of course, I fully realize this is NADA compared to some states like Montana and Wyoming or maybe even Vermont where my friend, Tracie Hotchner lives.      But it was a LOT for us Virginia people.

                                  So here are some pictures for you to see us playing IN THE BLIZZARD.

this is me and Willow playing chase!

                   

Then we saw those pesky squirrels................  quick head turn into their direction


          

Willow ran to get Lilly cause we were having so much fun (except, see ---- my nose is starting to glow!)

                


Lilly Bug, being a BullDog, has quite short legs and so at first, she was sticking right by the house, but after a little bit, she couldn't stand it any longer and decided to join us.

         


I think the toy might have gotten the worst of this game of "gimme"



   And finally, Mom called and said we had all better come inside.   I think my nose was glowing like Rudolph by this time and my paws were very frosty.    But it was a fun, fun day.

So we are hoping for some more snow to play in this week-end, but judging by the weatherman a little bit ago, it might not materialize.      People here in Virginia get very panicky when they think there will be some snowing going on.     It's impossible to buy milk, eggs, bread or water at the grocery stores and of course the stores and even the banks are closing.    Mom said that if the banks and the stores and the schools in Montana closed every time it snowed that the economy would go South pretty quick.     


I'll keep you posted about the weather!

Love and Licks,

Blogging Bob, Boy PitBull Reporter of the Weather

      

One of our wonderful Everything & The Dog  clients, sent me this list and I think it's pretty darn funny.       Let's hear from everyone to see if we can make the list longer!

Love and Licks,

Bob
Boy PitBull Blogger Extra Ordinary



The following new combination dog breeds are now recognized by the AKC:

Collie + Lhasa Apso
Collapso, a dog that folds up for easy transport

Spitz + Chow Chow
Spitz-Chow, a dog that throws up a lot

Pointer + Setter
Poinsetter, a traditional Christmas pet

Malamute + Pointer
Moot Point, owned by....oh, well, it doesn't matter anyway

Great Pyrenees + Dachshund
Pyradachs, a puzzling breed

Pekingnese + Lhasa Apso
Peekasso, an abstract dog

Irish Water Spaniel + English Springer Spaniel
Irish Springer, a dog fresh and clean as a whistle

Labrador Retriever + Curly Coated Retriever
Lab Coat Retriever, the choice of research scientists

Newfoundland + Basset Hound
Newfound Asset Hound, a dog for financial advisors

Terrier + Bulldog
Terribull, a dog that makes awful mistakes

Bloodhound + Labrador
Blabador, a dog that barks incessantly

Collie + Malamute
Commute, a dog that travels to work

Deerhound + Terrier
Derriere, a dog that's true to the end

Bull Terrier + Shitzu
Bull..... Oh, never mind

 

      

Can you just imagine waking up to this face in the morning?
HA!

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words!

Love and Licks,

Bob
-------- Big Brother to Lily of The Valley
.....................glad she doesn't sleep with me!


                                

      

So remember I told you how awfully sad we were when our Quaker Parrot, Honey Bird, flew away to The Rainbow Bridge?   It was so quiet in our office space without her happy little voice and we miss her still.

But guess what?   Now we have two new additions to our family and they are named Max and Marvin and they are parakeets.  We LOVE them already.
                      

Here they are!  Making an All-Star Debut on my Blogging Business.    Marvin is yellow, and Max has more green.     They make so much chatter, it is very soothing, and you can barely see our George (who is a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo) in the background.   George is very, very happy to have some new friends in the cage next to him.


 

Here is another photo and you can see Max (green guy) a little better.    George is still back there - supervising.

We have to thank one of our wonderful  Everything & The Dog  pet-sitters, who is named Alayna.    Alayna will be selling her home, and she thought it would be sad for Max and Marvin to have people coming and going all the time, and she asked us if we could adopt them.      In a NEW YORK MINUTE, my Mom says.     And so.    Mr. Pat, my bro-in-law, power washed Honey's old cage and after a good job of cleaning, we moved the M&M's into their new home.

Oh boy.   Are they happy.     Chitter, Chatter, all day long and WE LOVE THEM.  (well....... Scarlett loves them a little over much, cause she really thinks she needs to kiss them...... but somehow, we didn't think Rat Terrior kisses would be a good idea).

So everyone, say Hi to Max and Marvin.

Love,


Bob
------ Big Brother to Two New Friends

      

So guess what?   Wednesday, January 20th was my THIRD HAPPY BIRTHDAY.    Yippers, can you believe that  I am three years old?

Not only was Wednesday my real birthday, but Mom has been letting me celebrate all week (and maybe all month) by wearing THE BIRTHDAY COLLAR.         We sort of pass it around between me, Lily and  WillowBee.... (she hasn't had a birthday yet).    Rusty and Scarlett have to get their own collars, cause they are too tiny for mine.    But like a good PitBull, I am sharing!

                                   

I don't think you can see it very well, but it has birthday cakes and presents on it and I love it.  It makes me feel happy.  My collar came from Up Country  and we LOVE their collars cause they last so long and they wash really nice, if someone gets slobber or something worse on them.    Like when I roll on dead frogs, then my Mom has to wash my collar sometimes.


And you know what else?   I got a special cake?   Oh, just even thinking about that makes me drool. 

                                        Me, lickin' my chops!  HA


And guess what else?    Last week-end, my original Mom, who is named Philisity, came out to visit me and see how I have grown.     She said she was very happy with the way I "turned out", although she said I would have had a bigger head and chest if my you know what's hadn't been removed at an early age.     But I like my head.
And everyone says I am beautiful, so I like my chest too.

Momma Phil brought her other half, who is named Dan and is very tall, her baby two-leg, and her dog named Legion.   Here is a picture of Legion (who is called Chi-Chi for short)

                                  

Maybe Legion doesn't look to big to you in this picture, but let me tell you, he scared the pants off of me.  He is what is called a South African Boerboel.      So that you can learn something (because even though I am having Birthday Week, I am still the PitBull Boy Bloginator Extra Ordinary, and you know I like to go see my friends on Wikipedia, when I have questions or need to share facts).

So Wikipedia says this about Legion's breeding.

The Boerboel is a large working molosser breed of dog from South Africa. The word "boerboel" derives from "boer", the Afrikaans/Dutch word for "farmer"; boerboel thus translates as either "farmer's dog" or "Boer's dog" in Afrikaans/Dutch. There is a lengthy history of breeding the boerboel in South Africa, where the dog was bred with the purpose of guarding the homestead. While it is uncertain from which breeds the dog originated, it is postulated that the dog derived from interbreeding of indigenous African species with breeds brought from Dutch, French and British settlers. The dog is a heavy mastiff breed with characteristic sand colouration with a black mask, and a height that varies from 64-70 centimetres for males, and 59-65 for females. This dog is the most protective dog breed that is not aggressive. They are obedient and intelligent, and have strong territorial instincts, particularly in domestic situations. By nature, the Boerboel is confident and dominant in its environment, but requires human companionship.



So in case you are wondering about the weight  range of these dogs, they vary from 100 to 200 pounds.  And oh boy, you know I'm not really comfortable about dogs who are that much bigger than me.      It can be scary.    But as in all of Miss Philisity's dogs, Legion has perfect manners (just so long as you wouldn't be trying to break into her home, cause I don't think that would be a smart idea)

And guess what?   Legion and WillowBee are in love.    You should have seen them racing around our fenced yard.   They were having the most wonderful time, and I think that's why Legion looks a little tired in his picture above..

If you would like some more information about Mr. Legion's breeding, you can go to Wikipedia talks about Boerboel's  and you could learn a lot.   But if  you are thinking of getting one, I suggest that you contact my old Mom and get her to train it, cause that is the most important thing of all when we have big dogs.

So that's it for my Birthday Week.  I got lots of kisses, a present of a new Squeaky Ball, and a visit from my old Mom and a special dinner in my honor.     What more could a Blogging PitBull ask for?       I'm pretty darn lucky, if you ask me.

Love and Licks,

BOB
......... Birthday Boy
................ not very big, but beautiful