Celebrity Sighting: In the . . . Fur

I boarded an American Airlines flight from LA to Miami last Wednesday and happened upon a "celebrity" lounging in first class.

This is Nikki, the Target dog. Not in a carrier under the seat. Nor in a crate in the cargo hold. This gal was chilling in her own first class seat along with her handler (I believe it was David McMillan, owner of Worldwide Movie Animals) and her own make-up artist who expertly applies the red Target make-up.

I missed the chance to snap a photo of her on the plane, but managed to catch up with her in baggage claim along with many other delighted fans.

Quit Monkeying Around

Given that I work on the UCLA campus, I've been loosely following the recent string of news stories regarding the battle between animal rights activists and researchers on campus who use animals to research conditions such as schizophrenia and methamphetamine addiction. Fire bombing researchers' cars and sending personal threats of bodily harm are among some of the actions that have been taken by a group known as the North American Animal Liberation, and that have resulted in a two-sided mass demonstration scheduled for this Wednesday between those for and against the research.

I am not a fan of extremist tactics (for the most part), nor do I think destroying personal property or threatening personal violence ever really sinks into the thick head of your average neuroscientist who views all things (human or otherwise) sans PhD or M.D. as simple tools to further their own lives and careers . . ahem, pardon the bias. I tend to prefer the Morgan Spurlock approach to that of Michael Moore, and the philosophy of Best Friends Animal Society to that of PETA.

HOWEVER . . . extreme measures do play their part, and an important one at that. If it wasn't for the inroads made by the extreme ends of the spectrum, the middle ground on either side of whatever moral line is being drawn would seem far less palatable, and ultimately less attainable. I also respect the fact that, regardless of how much I may disagree with certain aspects of PETA's work, at the end of the day they are still the ones responsible for swaying multimillion dollar designers like Calvin Klein and Donna Karen to stop using fur in their fashion lines and they're the reason that a high school kid such as myself was able to connect the dots with the way my dissection rabbit looked in 11th grade anatomy class and the evidence of the torture inflicted on said rabbit in order to get him or her to look that way. It's full disclosure and it left an impression.

But aside from the differing perspectives and tactics and who's right or wrong, I gotta say that I was sort of dumbfounded by the arrogance and unsupported logic displayed in the following argument offered by one of the neuroscientists at the center of this work. Larry Gordon of the LA Times writes of Dr. David Jentsch:

"At a North Carolina facility shared with Wake Forest University, Jentsch works
with a colony of more than 450 vervet monkeys in what he described as
noncoercive and painless memory tests, DNA samples and scans. He said 10 or
fewer of the animals are put to death by injection each year, so that
researchers can conduct postmortem exams. At a UCLA lab, he administers
methamphetamine to about two dozen monkeys and then withdraws them from it;
about half a dozen are killed each year for postmortems. He contended that the
animals suffer no pain from the work."The pain in addiction is when you lose
your relationships, lose your children, lose your job, when your health goes
down. Animals don't suffer those things," he said. "They suffer none of the
psychosocial pain that is what addiction is all about."

Is it me or did he actually just ground his entire argument in the context of the human experience rather than that of the monkey experience? Animals don't suffer those things, sir, because they're not human and don't define their lives via their job with a large pharmaceutical company or the number of privileged kids they have in private school. But to say that they don't suffer simply because those very human, superficial elements are absent strikes me as bordering on the absurd. It's also kind of important to remember that your lab rat's experience is not defined by or limited to the specific focus of your study.

The fact that, as an educational researcher, I'm sitting in the back of the classroom only concerned with how little Jimmy & Co. are solving an algebra problem, doesn't negate the fact that they may have been sent to school hungry and without breakfast that morning or the kid sitting behind them may be assaulting them in the hallway after class. Just because I ain't studying it, doesn't mean it ain't there.

And by the way, I'm thinking that the whole "lose your relationships, lose your children" aspect was a very large part of being torn from their natural environment and put in a cage in a lab. I'm also pretty sure that losing their lives (i.e. "about a half dozen are killed each year for postmortems") still registers on that whole "suffering" scale thing. Ya think?

"Best Friends" in all shapes, sizes and ages

Yesterday afternoon I attended a Best Friends Animal Society members meeting at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. Being a relatively new member, I was primarily just interested in getting more connected with the group and their goals, and getting a feel for the other volunteers and members in attendance . . . and of course I wanted to catch an in-person glimpse of Georgia, the Vicktory dog, who still makes me tear up on sight.

Interestingly, despite the opportunity to listen to some of the founders and staff talk about how they got started and some of the amazing stories coming out of the sanctuary lately, my favorite part of the day was the Q&A session at the end of the meeting, and two member comments in particular from that session.

The first came from this stereotypical sweet, little, old lady, who looked like she was maybe 70 or 80 years of age, who stood up to proudly assert to the audience that she had adopted three rescue pitbulls from an LA county animal shelter over the last few years and that they are the sweetest companions she's ever known . . . not to mention well-behaved at the dog park that she takes them to every day.

The second came from the opposite end of the age spectrum: A soft-spoken 10-year old girl stood up to ask John Garcia, the dog trainer, what his favorite dog to work with was, and then her grandmother stood up to tell the audience that her granddaughter asked her friends to donate to Best Friends in lieu of gifts for her recent birthday party.

I tip my hat to these ladies for so effectively disposing of certain stereotypes that I often still struggle with--delicate old women afraid of monster dogs and selfish little kids who just want their iPods--and hope to one day see these type of gals on the front page of a major magazine or newspaper, proudly demonstrating what real dog owners and their happy furry friends look like.

The NHL may be making a comeback

Despite spending my adolescent years obsessed with hockey, I really haven't watched much at all or followed the NHL in almost 10 years.

HOWEVER, this laugh-out-loud Bruins ad might inspire me to consider a fanatic comeback. Clearly the Boston organization got their hands on an advertising genius.

Fido and Fluffy: Saving them from the Economic Crunch

The LA Times is running a series called On The Edge, covering the stories of people across the country struggling with the economic downturn.

Today's piece discussed pet food banks that are springing up in different areas to help support struggling pet owners by saving them from choosing between feeding themselves or feeding their furry family members.

In the article, was the following snippet about an out-of-work construction manager named Eric Gateley:

Eric Gateley and Bella, a 2-year-old boxer, waited quietly until a
volunteer called out his name. Gateley, 40, lost his job as a construction
manager in June and has been living in a motel with his wife and 9-year-old son
since January. Relatives in Texas have been sending money to help them cover the
bills.He has been trying to make his son believe that their motel stay is an
adventure. They swim in the motel's pool. They get McDonald's and curl up in
front of the TV on the weekends for movie marathons."My wife and I, we have to
put on a front for our son," Gateley said.

There's a certain relief in coming for free dog food. "With Bella," Gateley
said, nodding to the caramel-colored dog at his feet, "I don't have to fake
it."

I found this last comment of Gateley's quite profound. Not because Bella lacks the capacity to know that something is wrong--no doubt she does and probably has for a while--but rather because that is infact what a dog's love of her owner is--unconditional.

Four-legged Medical Care

Another good piece by Carrie Pollare on the pooches. This time a story about Diva, a therapy dog trained to detect blood sugar levels in her 12-year old companion with diabetes.

You really have to be out of sync with the world to read these kinds of accounts and still not understand why there are those who refer to themselves as "dog people".

Do We Have to Call It "Brown" Fat?

I've been catching bits and pieces of an ongoing NPR story this week about some recent research on what scientists refer to as "brown fat". More of the details can be found in this CNNHealth article.

Essentially, this type of fat is brown adipose tissue most commonly found in infants and small children, as well as animals, that helps burn calories by activating in colder temperatures to keep the body warm. (Imagine the workout trend that this will set off--perhaps a Groovin' to the 80s Pilates class out in the gym parking lot in the dead of winter? The possibilities are endless.)

However, what I think would be really cool, is if we could possibly come up with a better label than "brown fat." I mean, come on. Nobody wants brown anything.

Maybe something like awesome fat or super fat or . . . perhaps, Anti-fat!

Fostering a Meatball

Sunburst Foundation Canine Rescue in North Carolina is looking for a foster home, or adoptive home, for this goofy shelter puppy who they describe as "a total love muffin."

His name? . . . . Meatball.

If I were in a position to take a 3rd dog right now, I'd make the coast-to-coast drive to get this little guy in a heartbeat!

What a pig!

I was just looking at the Best Friends Adoptables page for the 500th time today, and oh my god, look at this pig! His name is Metro and apparently he is looking for a home.

Now this is my kinda pet! My aunt and uncle used to have a big pig who looked a lot like this guy, named CD (short for "Christmas Dinner" in jest, but really for "Carl Douglas" since he was definitely part of the family).

Oink oink.

Aerobic Origins

Interesting article on Dr. Cooper's 1968 book, Aerobics, and the 40 year history and development of aerobic trends.

It notes:

In the book he argues that aerobic exercise is the best way to condition the body -- better than (then-popular) calisthenics, weight lifting or better anaerobic exercise such as sprints and drills. He wrote that aerobic exercise like jogging or swimming, done frequently and with enough duration, "improves the overall condition of the body especially its most important parts, the lungs, the heart, the blood vessels, the body tissue, building a bulwark against many forms of illness and disease."

What troubles me about a quote like this is what will most likely be (and probably has been) the average reader's "take-away"--that aerobic exercise is better for you than weight lifting and anaerobic work like "sprints and drills." However, the key here is "done frequently and with enough duration" + "overall condition of the body" such as "lungs . .heart . . tissue" etc.

In other words, aerobics (or any other of its myriad offspring noted in the article, like yoga ballet or karaoke spinning) really only has the noted effect when maintained for long enough blocks of time and frequently enough. So, that once a week Sizzlin' Salsa Jazz class that you go to in the middle of an otherwise sedentary life at the office ain't gonna cut it health wise, although it may be doing wonders for personal enjoyment and mental well-being, which are certainly important too. And, believe it or not, that once a week Sunday morning marathon training run isn't going to do all that much for you either, that is, other than get you ready to run a marathon!

The reality is that occasional and brief aerobic activity is a bit of an oxymoron when we're talking about the physical benefits, and at the end of the day, if what you're really interested in--even more so than overall health--is scoring that Angelina Jolie body in all of it's slim, muscular perfection, then weight-lifting and anaerobic activity . . like sprinting . . is precisely what you need to do.

Everything is contextual, and tied to goals and purpose. If you want to get lean and mean, and Hollywood starlet sculpted (and you're not already an athlete), go learn how to lift weights and start cranking up the quick, high octane workouts like interval running or cycling. If you want to start progressively improving your general health and well-being and eventually lose a little weight, start hitting the yoga dance classes or the elliptical machine for 40-60 min several times a week.

Of course, more than anything, if you really want to lose weight and improve your overall health, you better take a look at your diet. ;)