
 |
|
February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Dec. 9, 2005
/ 8 Kislev, 5766
The Bark Stops Here
By
Gene Weingarten
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Do you have a dog? Me, too. Did you ever wish you could know what your dog was thinking? Nah, me neither. We dog owners think of our dogs as intelligent, perceptive, loving, intuitive creatures, but we suspect that if we could find out what they were thinking, it would come as a profound disappointment. ("Me want eat.")
The fact is, we get so fond of our dogs that we from time to time lose sight of the fact that our dogs are, when you get right down to it, dogs. Many years ago, my family and I were walking along the bridle path in Rock Creek Park with our then-dog, a Labrador retriever named Clementine. The two kids were walking ahead with Clem, and my wife and I were behind them on the trail. As we watched dog and kids frolicking, we discussed how much a part of the family Clementine was: that she was a personable presence in our home whose breadth of emotions rivaled those of humans; whose sense of responsibility made her not only a loving pet but practically a third child, an older sibling, a trusted companion. Just then we turned a corner and saw Clementine, up ahead, wolfing down an enormous loaf of horse poo.
This is why I had mixed emotions when I read an ad for a new Japanese product called "Bow-Lingual." Bow-Lingual purports to be a dog translator. You affix a wireless microphone to your dog's collar, and when he barks, a translation appears on a handheld display. The device was supposedly designed by experts in dog psychology. It costs $120.
Now, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking: Even an idiot like me wouldn't shell out good money for something like that. And you'd be right, except for two important words you didn't figure in: "expense" and "account."
So here I am fastening the Bow-Lingual mike onto the collar of my current dog, Harry S Truman. I have a plan.
Harry is a yellow Lab. He is almost 12 years old, and under ordinary circumstances he displays all of the exuberance and energy of a baked potato. But once a day, roughly at 3 p.m., Harry becomes a dynamo. He lives for this moment: the arrival of the mailman.
Like all dogs, Harry hates the mailman part of a feral response dating to prehistoric times, when domesticated wolves were routinely harassed by unionized postal workers. And so, whenever the mailman arrives, Harry greets him with barks and snarls. As the mailman feeds the mail through the slot, Harry grabs each letter and flings it over his shoulder, so as to get at the mail monster and chew him into little blue pieces.
(I think it further infuriates Harry that the mail monster is often laughing uproariously at this moment.) The result of this confrontation is that virtually every piece of mail I receive has tooth marks in it, often in really annoying places: ("Pay to the order of Gene W(puncture here)rten...)
I'm convinced that Harry keeps up this house-protective vigil because, in dog logic, it is quite successful. In Harry's life, the mailman has come to the house 3,400 times, and every single time after Harry's snarling, slavering intervention, the mailman has gone away. What goes through Harry's mind during these encounters? I asked the Bow-Lingual. This is how it interpreted his remarks:
"%*!$%!"
I admit I was impressed. Alas, I tried it the next day, too. Same mailman, same spit-flying, mail-flying hissy fit. This time the Bow-Lingual translated it thus:
"Show me the love."
This was when I began to suspect that the Bow-Lingual had about the same uncanny accuracy as your average Magic 8-Ball. Many other experiments followed, with disappointingly haphazard results. When I play the harmonica, for example, Harry always howls a reaction my family claims requires no translation. The Bow-Lingual at first identified the howl as:
"Something's bothering me," which drew great laughter from the family. But the second time I tried it, it said Harry was saying: "I'm the boss here," which either was an allusion to Springsteen, which was doubtful, or a disappointing non sequitur. That is when I decided to take Bow-Lingual off the dog and try it elsewhere. The results were no more satisfying. For example, when I put it on the toilet and flushed, the Bow-Lingual reported that the toilet was saying, "I'm jealous."
I was regarding this whole experiment to be a total flop when I decided to give it one more shot. I found a recording of Howard Dean's suicidal "I Have a Scream" speech, and activated the Bow-Lingual just for the "Yeaagghhhhh!"
It translated:
"I might bite!"
So, in all fairness, I have to say the jury's still out.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Gene Weingarten writes the Below the Beltway humor column for The Washington Post. To comment, please click here.
Archives
© 2005 WPWG
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Tony Blankley
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Jimmy Margulies
Rick McKee
Michael Ramirez
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters

Mr. Know-It-All
Dr. Peter Gott
GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|