Roundup of Tennessee Bloggers

A new regular weekly fixture at TennViews is worth sharing with all of you.

A weekly sampling from some of Tennessee's best and brightest bloggers:

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Huckabee stumbles, Clinton needs better friends

• Andy Axel: Fall Heron, plus Good little lapblogs

• BlountViews: Hometown poll not kind to Lamar Alexander

• Cup of Joe Powell: Christmas TV season preview, plus Joe has the incredible Sidewalk Politics video that's been making the rounds

• Enclave: Tennessee in another Top 20

• Fletch: Two men and a truck

• KnoxViews: KnoxViews 2007 Year in Review, plus W settles an old score, and Holiday shopping humor

• Lean Left: Weak-minded Huckabee

• Left of the Dial: Geek-o-rama, plus Bad boss

• Left Wing Cracker: TN Supremes should decide open meetings law

• NewsComa: No solar eclipse in government

• Pesky Fly: Impeach Hillary

• Progress Nashville: The blog business model and TV Guide, plus Missing Bill (no, not that one)

• Resonance: Expert advice on not getting shot in random mall shootings, plus "Serious" Primaries

• RoaneViews: 20,000 tons of nuclear waste

• Russ McBee: Carbon dioxide reduction not as expensive as we're being told, plus Candidates: Speak to the working people

• Sean Braisted: (at TennViews) The obstructionist Senate

• Sharon Cobb: Is Pelosi hurting Clinton?, plus I know what you did in nursery school

• Silence Isn't Golden: Mitch McConnell's unfortunate remarks, plus Regent Law School needs a better recruiter (this is hilarious, keeping in mind that Regent is the law school supplying the Neocon cabal with legal foot soldiers who come up with crap like it's ok to lie to Congress)

• Southern Beale: TN GOP bunker mentality

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: Harriet Miers knew

• TennViews, by Persimmon: Corridor K

• Whites Creek Journal: CIA: American heroes

• Women's Health News: Make your holiday donations count for women

New "Speed Racer" Trailer

The makers of "The Matrix" trilogy, the Wachowski Brothers, are offering a sneak peek at their newest movie, "Speed Racer", based on the old animated TV series from the 1960s.

It looks all neon and shiny and a little creepy. I am no fan of the old show, but this looks odd enough that I may watch it. I said "may".

Here's the trailer, courtesy of Cinematical, for the movie which opens in May of 2008:

Christmas and Television, 2007

A friend mentioned something in an email to me the other day about television and Christmas which prompted some thinking on my part -- he wrote:

"It's now Dec 5th & Charlie Brown, Rudolph, & the Grinch have all been on already. What are they gonna run Christmas Week, Deal or No Deal?

This is a Brave New World in entertainment, ya know. I tend to expect that along with the Special Christmas Edition of "Deal or No Deal" we will have:

- The Hannah Montana Christmas Spectacular, featuring The Bratz Nativity Chorale

- The David Beckham/Spice Girls Holiday Hour, with guest stars Fifty Cent as Frosty the Snowman and Kanye West as Tiny Tim

- "Ann Coulter's Wonderful Life", wherein Ann wishes she were never born and learns that without her, Godless Liberals roam the endless plains celebrating "Xmas" and saying "Season's Greetings" to each other. Bill O'Reilly co-stars as Clarence, her guardian angel.

(oh it's been worse - check out the 2003 TV-movie of Tori Spelling as a female Scrooge in "A Carol Christmas", featuring William Shatner as the Ghost of Christmas Past.)

Speaking of Christmas Past, TV Party always has loads of info on Christmas and television, like their entry of Christmas Specials from the 1960s and 1970s. Lots and lots of music and entertainment were offered, along with original animated shows and celebrity events. Your valuation will depend on your age.

This is a whole new kinda Christmas world we live in - these days you can order your own "Charlie Brown Pathetic Christmas Tree" from Urban Outfitters. Even pathetic trees are mass produced for your consumption.

Sidewalk Politics

A man who identifies himself as a pastor shot some video as he was protesting against illegal immigrants in Rhea County. His video page at YouTube says he was simply carrying a sign that read "Round Up Day For All Wetbacks." His other videos are rather intense as well.

The Rhea County Mayor Billy Ray Patton calmly tells the man he is a hatemonger, and asks him to leave. (Thanks to DeMarCaTionVille for posting this video.)

Congressman Davis Plans Long Stay in Office

The straight-up fact is that when a person nabs the 1st District Congressional seat, it's pretty much theirs for as long as they wish to have it. Since 1963, only three Republicans have held the seat - Jimmy Quillen (1963-1997), Bill Jenkins (1997-2007) and current Congressman David Davis.

So it is no surprise to read in the Rogersville Review that he plans to run again, and that the seat is already locked up in his view:

"I haven’t made any official announcement yet, but I do plan to run for re-election,” Davis said.

The congressman said he is not aware of anyone “seriously” looking at mounting a challenge in the Republican primary, and he noted a Democrat has not been elected to serve the district since 1878.

“There is a possibility somebody might come out in the primary, but I have run in primaries before and I think I would be able to win again,” Davis said. “When you look at the history of the district, once you win the primary and are elected the voters tend to send you back if you do a good job of representing the values of East Tennessee."

However, I continue to hear rumblings from the upper East TN GOP that they wish to make Davis a one-term man. I'd expect a small battle in the primaries - though as Davis said, history is his ally.

Still, I wonder if no changes over a 100-year period indicate contentment or indifference.

The Economist Takes On Dollywood

England explores Dollywood in the latest issue of The Economist, which offers their own drawing (see image at right) to go with their report.

The story (link here) notes:

"People do not fly to Dollywood; they drive there in big cars full of squabbling children. East-coast accents, let alone foreign ones, are rare. The park is thus an excellent window on what people in this part of the American heartland like."

The Pigeon Forge Experience is certainly more vast than it was when I first went there way back in the 1960s. It really has not changed much in what it offered then - there is just a lot more of it.

Is it a true template of the American heartland?

(hat-tip to Hilbilly Savants)

Guest Dog Blog

Sophie, the official canine representative of yer Cup of Joe Powell returns in a recent photo, courtesy of The Editor. A black and white photo of a black and white dog on a black and white floor is a good thing.

The Public's Right to Know

Despite intentions of some in the state's government, proposed changes in the laws on doing business in public remain snarled and confusing to the public at large, and threaten to push more business and policy decisions into back rooms. School boards are also seeking exemptions to the public meeting laws.

It's one of those important situations wherein the ramifications of the changes may not be immediately apparent, but one day down the line the public will discover their input and oversight into governmental operations has been shut down.

Make no mistake -- citizens need to pay heed to this proposal now before it is too late.

Bloggers and newspapers in the state are keeping a close watch on this issue:

- A KNS editorial warns against weaker laws

- Other bloggers offer comment

- A discussion between online writers

Some fine news which I had missed is that Hamblen County government has now placed minutes of their county commission meetings online. Blogger Linda Noe has all the details on how to access the information and navigate through it. Kudos to the county for this effort to provide information!

Another good resource for tracking how well or how poorly Tennessee governmental bodies provide public records and access to information is available at the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government.

On Being Named A 'Must Read' Blog

A rather unexpected surprise arrived for this humble-but-lovable blog, from Michael Silence at the Knoxville News Sentinel this past week - he listed this blog among his favorites in his post of "If I Could Only Read Five Blogs."

Many thanks Michael, to include me among your choices.

And for new and regular readers here, I say hold on to your wits as I am gearing up for some very important posts in coming weeks and days dealing with some most important issues affecting every person in our state.

Also in the past week I have been contacted by several national groups who are organizers of something called "Influencer Marketing", a trendy buzz concept from traditional media marketing groups. One definition of the idea is mentioned here and says "In the context of Influencer Marketing, influence is less about argument and coercion to a particular point of view, and more about loose interactions between various parties in a community."

One of many aspects of the blogging and internet world I have discovered is that more than 'blog influencers' impact is the impact that readers have on local and national opinions.

Making info available is certainly valuable. How we use and share that information among our friends and peers is the true power, so people who read news and opinion remain the key to shaping debate on issues.

So my thanks to those who see value in this blog, and thanks for the work all of you do every day.

The Woeful Absent Blogger; or, Where Is Joe Anyway?

Greetings from your humble narrator/blogger. And yes, I am keenly aware that I have been rather absent over the last few weeks, as I work to direct the stage play of Frank Capra's classic American Christmas story "It's A Wonderful Life" for the Morristown Theatre Guild which opens this Friday at the new Family Life Center at First Presbyterian Church.

The time and energy the blogging world requires has all been taken over by the needs of the show, and this will likely be my last post until our opening weekend is done. I hope readers and visitors here will forgive my absence and if possible, attend one of the performances of the show which runs from Nov. 30th thru Dec. 16th.

Why not indulge your Christmas passions now and make your reservations by calling 423-586-9260!! See George Bailey attempt suicide on Christmas Eve! See an angel (without wings) named Clarence work to rescue him! See Bedford Falls! And don't forget little Zuzu Bailey, who has a flower which needs a drink!

In a few short days I will return to the more usual topics/outrages/wit/debates-political-and-cultural/and overall guide to the Web World here.

Before I close this post, there is an ad for the program for "It's A Wonderful Life" from a local music store which I thought you might enjoy as much as I did. Thanks for your consideration and readership.

Sunday Web Walking

The creators of Conservapedia said their web site was launched to balance the 'liberal bias' of the web site WikiPedia. So what do conservatives read the most on their site?

Most viewed pages

1. Main Page‎ [1,943,727]
2. Homosexuality‎ [1,681,179]
3. Homosexuality and Hepatitis‎ [518,319]
4. Homosexuality and Parasites‎ [452,896]
5. Homosexuality and Promiscuity‎ [422,475]
6. Gay Bowel Syndrome‎ [403,745]
7. Homosexual Couples and Domestic Violence‎ [374,341]
8. Homosexuality and Gonorrhea‎ [332,220]
9. Homosexuality and Anal Cancer‎ [294,700]
10. Homosexuality and Mental Health‎ [294,120]

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Want to know all the top buzz-words for 2007 in Japan? Of course you do.

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When Jellyfish attack! (how can they be dangerous when they are named after jelly??)

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Tennessee Jed, aka Santa's Little Helper, has some pictures of the hanging the holiday decorations over downtown Knoxville.

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You don't have to be crazy to smoke, but it helps ....

Camera Obscura: The Strangest, Weirdest Movie Ever Made?

I was reading some reference books the other day and read about a movie released in 1970 which I had never heard about, a movie that boasts a cast which includes Richard Pryor, Guy Lombardo, Colonel Sanders and Ultra Violet (just to name a few). From what I have been able to learn about it, it may well be one of the strangest and weirdest movies to ever tumble out of America, if only for the huge cast of celebrities who agreed to be in it.

The so-called plot of the movie, called "The Phynx", is centered on how the country of Albania is kidnapping the most famous American celebrities of the day (um, yeah, we'll get to that list in a minute), so a sort-of CIA operation is launched with their plan to create a rock and roll band and send them into Albania as a touring act to rescue the celebs. The band is called The Phynx - a sort of psychedelic spelling of the Finks (I guess).

The movie is a bit hard to describe since no video or DVD copies exist. Bootleg copies are out there, but I am fearful of what dark nether regions of the world one must go to to find one.

Anyway, a crazy communist Albanian general (Michael Ansara) kidnaps celebs to entertain the imprisoned King and his wife happy (played by George Tobias and Joan Blondell). A host of cameo appearances by other 'stars' train the Phynx members for their tactical action on Albania.

Here is a partial list of the 'stars' in this train wreck of a movie: Dick Clark, Ed Sullivan, Colonel Sanders (yes, the one from KFC), James Brown, Richard Pryor, Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan (Tarzan and Jane!), Huntz Hall and Leo Gorcy (from the old Bowery Boys movies), Harold "Oddjob" Sakata, Guy Lombardo, Xavier Cugat, Joe Louis, Rich Little, Busby Berkley, Ruby Keeler, Rudy Vallee, Edgar Bergen, Martha Raye, Butterfly McQueen (from Gone With The Wind!!), Ultra Violet, Rona Barrett, Andy Devine, Dorothy Lamour, Jay Silverheels and John Hart (Tonto and the Lone Ranger!!!), George Jessell, Clint Walker and even more odd choices.

There's even a shot in the movie (according to sources) of stock footage of Richard Nixon signing into law a day celebrating "Phynxgiving Day."

Yeah.

Unlike, say, an Ed Wood movie, which is bad and awful and made on a shoestring, this one was a big budget major studio release from Warner Bros.

Maybe the reasons it is not available on tape or DVD are good ones. Maybe the nation of Albania has all the copies and has them hidden in some vault.

Still, this sounds so bad it might just be good. Maybe.

Futurama Returns With New Movie

"Good news everyone!!"

Fine news for fans of the once-cancelled and now revived animated sci-fi comedy show "Futurama": the show is back next Tuesday with a direct-to-DVD movie called "Bender's Big Score."

This review says:

""Bender's Big Score" is an absolutely wonderful return for the series, as not only does the film deliver a clever (a late twist is not only unexpected, but rather sweet) and often hysterical time travel tale, but a film that will both please fans (who get some references to episodes, as well as the return of supporting players Nibbler, Zapp Branigan and Kiff) and hook in newcomers.

As much as I liked "Futurama" (although especially later seasons, as the show continued to get funnier in later years as it developed characters and built further upon the concept), I found "Bender's Big Score" exceeded my expectations, as despite the direct-to-DVD nature of the flick, it really feels like a full feature film and not an extended episode with a lot of filler. I'm looking forward to the next film (which will apparently come out early in 2008), and hopefully if these direct-to-DVD films are successful, Fox will consider bringing back the series.

Note - the film does end with a cliffhanger, and the commentary notes that there will be three more "Futurama" features."

Plus Al Gore and Evil Santa make appearances in this new feature.

I am estatic with nerdly joy.

Come See "It's A Wonderful Life"

Shameless plug number two here for the stage production of Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life", which I am directing for the Morristown Theatre Guild, which is in it's 73rd Season and prepping for Season 74.

To tackle a show which based on one of the most popular American movies of all time is a somewhat daunting task, yes. But this task is also a chance to work within the world of the superb craftsmenship of filmmaker Frank Capra. Also, it has offered me a chance to develop a stage show with a black-and-white stage design. Why do this classic in full modern color?

Of course, there will be some nifty Christmas colors onstage by the time the show ends, but on that I'll say no more. You'll need to buy a ticket to see what I mean! Info on how to get tickets and for showtimes are in the image on the right, which you can click to enlarge.

We have several more rehearsals to go, with a very talented cast (click here for a cast list and info on the Guild and obtaining tickets) and there will be many hours in coming days working to complete construction on the set for the show, none of which could be done without the aid of some most skillful volunteers. I would be at a huge loss without their hard work.

In the making of the original film, director Capra created a set for the town of Bedford Falls in two months and was one of the longest sets that had ever been made for an American movie. It covered four acres of the RKO's Encino Ranch. It included 75 stores and buildings, main street, factory district and a large residential and slum area. The Main Street was 300 yards long, three whole city blocks.

The set for this stage production will be just a wee bit smaller.

Look for some updates on this production in coming days.

And be sure to come see the show!!

Send the Open Government Committee Home!

The state's legislative committee reviewing/re-writing open government meeting laws needs to stop and close up shop, revoke all recommendations and go back home. After first deciding to allow for more elected officials to meet and make decisions on public policy in secret, they now offer exemptions of open meeting laws which only enhance perceptions of corruption.

Tom Humphrey's report in todays KNS on the recommendations provides a glimpse into how much business government wants to conduct away from public view:

- Meetings where purchase of property is being discussed.

- Meetings of school boards where the performance of a school superintendent is being discussed.

- Meetings of the board of government-owned hospitals when they are discussing "strategic planning" or "marketing strategies."

- Meetings dealing with the renting or leasing of property by government.

These officials just don't get it - the goal of open government is to serve the public, not hide the policy-makers from oversight.

Why the fearful concern over allowing the public to see how elected officials debate policy or make decisions? Are some afraid the public will see shoddy logic, poor planning, self-serving attitudes, histrionic grandstanding or other behavior which might influence voters?

Privacy Lost Redux

A follow-up to yesterday's post on the ideas of privacy --

Jack Lail had some sound opinions on the topic in the comments of that post and after talking with some other friends I simply felt I had not been as clear as I had wanted to be and also some fire was lacking in my writing style too. That's a problem I often find in the blog-writing, that sometimes I try and lay out ideas and issues in a straightforward manner, and often lose some of the punch of what I wish to say as I see the post is running long. So read that post linked above and come back to read the rest of this one.

The ideas of privacy are still rather new to society - it was something that appeared after architecture changed and we started having hallways and doors in our homes rather than large open doorless spaces. And around the time of the American Revolution, our Founders were keen to establish a home, a residence, as our own private place, where government should not enter without permission.

James Madison wrote:

"A popular government without popular information, or means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."

As noted in the previous post and in Lail's comments, blaming a loss of privacy on the rise of technology and it's many advances is a grave mistake. To assume we have lost a right to privacy due to the vast recordings of financial institutions and communications equipment is a terrible assumption to make.

Adding to this error is the concept that business and government have greater rights of privacy and secrecy than individuals. Also, ideas of 'privileged communications' within government seems to have been the leading edge of this faulty concept. Secrecy is often vital to national security, but a nation governed by secrets is not vital to democracy. It signals a decline instead.

The secrecy corrupts the process of government at local levels too -- residents in Jefferson County, for instance, are left wondering for the reasons the Board of Education fired director of schools Doug Moody. Even comments from the public were not allowed at the open public meeting of their business.

Blogger Linda Noe writes last week an account of a Morristown City Council meeting and hearing on a local business and related sewer problems which was conducted once the council adjourned a meeting, and then returned to session to inform the public of their decisions on the issue.

Making decisions away from public view isn't the way it should be, but the public is just told to accept it. And we tend to do just that.

Telecoms Lobby Again to Alter Laws

AT&T has a policy now in place to block online services if one says anything negative about them, and this just before they launched their new lobbying efforts to rewrite the state's laws regarding cable franchises.

They are hard at work to promote their proposed legislation again. It's a battle which I have mentioned previously here and here. More coverage here.

Remember the recent concerns too over internet taxation, with fears that cities and counties could lose tax revenues? What would by-passing the local franchise agreements eventually cost?

Privacy for Government, Not Individuals

A frustratingly brief news report caught my eye this weekend, with headlines claiming a government official said Americans need to redefine privacy, so that it excludes ideas of anonymity in favor of safety and security. Late yesterday and early today, more information behind this story - more context - arrived and a version of the news report was in the Knox News Sentinel today

Still, the reports lacked the context of the comments from intelligence officer, Donald Kerr, deputy director of the national intelligence office. And after some searching, I did find the full text of Kerr's comments, which were made Oct 23rd at the 2007 GEOINT Symposium, sponsored by the Geospacial Intelligence Foundation.

You can read the full text of his comments here, and they are worth the time to read.

He makes several factual points about how technology has eliminated much anonymity for people today, citing trendy villains like MySpace and Facebook, or the shock of Googling your own name. Bank, cell phone, credit card records too, he says, provide vast amounts of personal info.

And truly, most folks also use 'discount cards' at the grocery store, membership cards at other retail outlets as part of a dedicated effort by business for many years to create databases to define you through your spending habits. And we have all received those tri-folded pamphlets from our banks and other agencies labeled Privacy Policy printed in letters so small an ant couldn't read it without a magnifying glass, and which usually provide the details of policies which seem intent on sharing personal info, not protecting it.

Kerr also cites continuing problems within government agencies which do not share info with each other, despite clear signs such changes are beneficial.

But what garnered press reports were comments made in his opening statement, such as:

"We really need to realize what a loaded word security really is.

When I’m at work, and throughout my day, security is safety, as a barrier against physical or emotional harm. When I go home at night,
security is privacy, as an expectation of freedom from unnecessary burdens. In the intelligence community, we have an obligation to protect both safety and privacy, and over the course of GEOINT 2007, as we talk about the hows of new technologies and tradecraft, I’d like to take a step back right now and talk about the whys.

Safety and privacy – it’s common thinking that, in order to have more safety, you get less privacy. I don’t agree with that. I work from the assumption that you need to have both. When we try to make it an either/or proposition, we’re bound to fail. You can be perfectly safe in a prison; but you certainly aren’t free. And you can be perfectly free in an anarchist society; but you certainly aren’t safe."

snip

"Our job now is to engage in a productive debate, which focuses on privacy as a component of appropriate levels of security and public safety. This is work that the Office of the DNI has started to do, and must continue and make a high priority. This careful balance we need to strike, however, is nothing new. With the advent of telephones, we entered a new frontier that required careful balancing between safety and privacy. We faced this challenge again at the end of the ’70s in the aftermath of the Church-Pike Hearings. And now, in the era of new technologies, we have to work to continue to keep that balance, to earn that trust, and re-earn it every day through our actions. But we also have to be willing to reopen the laws and regulations that were based on technologies that existed 1978 and adjust them to the realities of 2007 and 2008."

It is certainly a complex issue here, and Kerr makes good points. But Kerr's failing, and that of many others, is to assume we no longer have privacy rights. Abdicating them is in fact vital to insuring acceptance that we have less and less privacy. Abdicating them in hopes of obtaining some magical national personal safety and security is likewise foolish.

A clear problem, however, is visible today as citizens casually accept the idea that government and corporations require more rights of privacy than individuals. It's become rather accepted that officials in government, locally and nationally, have the right to withhold information of all types in order to have "open discussion and debate of policy".

I noticed a report today on TennViews about a military contractor in Tennessee who is part of an investigation of trading sex for government contracts in Iraq. Most telling in the press reports of this story is how the military and government claimed the right to privacy:

"The Air Force, through Capt. Ashley Norris of Hill AFB in Utah, said that because of privacy rules, it couldn't say when a service member had received a nonjudicial punishment, which can include a reprimand, house arrest, confinement to a military base, or a dock in pay.

The Justice Department said it would not discuss why it did not prosecute Remington."

It seems the more we abandon the ideas of individual privacy, the more we provide those rights to large bureaucracy.

Camera Obscura - P2 Opens Today; 'Old Men' Arrives; Cap'n Pike Returns to Star Trek

Even though we haven't arrived at the Thanksgiving holiday yet, some moviemakers have crafted a special gift for your Christmas stalking .... (a joke worthy of the Crypt Keeper, thank you very much).

The movie P2 opens in theatres today, a savage little thriller from the makers and writers of the movies "High Tension" and the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes." The story goes like so: working late in the office on Christmas Eve (never a good idea), an ambitious executive (Rachel Nichols) gets trapped in her office's parking garage when her car won't start and a security guard (Wes Bentley) offers her some food and shelter .... but he's not the good kind of security guard. He's rather insane and rather mean. Fortunately, the lady exec is not as helpless as one might think and this movie is off and running.

Here's a trailer from this thriller:



I love the shots of her searching in darkness with only the light of her cell phone to guide her.

Bentley has turned in some great performances, such as the villainous son o' satan in "Ghost Rider" and the geek who videotapes plastic bags swirling in the breeze in "American Beauty."

I've also enjoyed the work of writers Alexandre Aja and Franck Khalfoun in their previous thrillers, which offer intense and seemingly hopeless situations and usually have the audiences howling instructions at the screen.

Thanks go to the folks at M80 and Summit Entertainment for providing some valuable info on the movie and you can check out the Official P2 Movie Website to learn more.

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The brilliant filmmaking team of our time, the Coen brothers, have dug deep into a novel by one of America's greatest writers, Cormac McCarthy, for "No Country For Old Men." The result is pure gold, and very likely Oscar gold too.

While it opens today in only limited release, I advise you to seek this one out when it is released, though do not expect a comedy from the Coen's here. This is both a crime classic from McCarthy and the Coens and yet still a fascinating story layered with multiple meanings.

Strong actors were needed to make this movie work, and Josh Brolin, who has been bringing some top notch characters to screen in recent years, has a revealing interview with Cinematical, explaining how he helped with script to bring the character of Vietnam vet Llewelyn Moss to life. Check out the podcast here.

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Oddball, geeky and nerd news of the week: Rob Zombie decides to remake the 1980s shlock horror film, "C.H.U.D." I'll bet cast money no one ever bothers to remake the sequel to that minor B movie, "Bud The C.H.U.D." Heck, I'll bet cash money that I'm one of the three people on the planet who even saw that one.

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Second-most notable geeky nerd news of the week: Captain Pike returns for the new Star Trek movie.

Can You Help Find This Pup?

My good friend and blogger Juliepatchouli writes with some very disturbing news that after recently relocating to a new home in the Strawberry Plains area, her wee Pomeranian pup has disappeared, and she would truly appreciate any help in locating the critter, shown in the picture on the left.

Here are the details about his last known location, and please folks, if any of you see him or have some other information, please add it to the comments on this post. A lost pup, traveling in and around major roads is a most fearful thing, especially for an indoor and very small dog like this"

"He's been missing since Friday night 11/2 from the Ashley Oaks Subdivsion, which is off 11E in Strawberry Plains, 3 miles inside the Jefferson County line. He's been shaved recently and has a green halter on him. He has no ID on him! I could kick myself for that, just haven't gotten around to that having just moved, but that is no excuse!!

He's a 3 year old male neutered pom with that golden fox like appearance.

I've sent in a picture to the Jeff county humane society and taken fliers to the vets around here, and to the neighborhoods, and posted them at stores and stop signs. I've been to the Knox shelter too. It got so cold last night, that really is so scary.

He was spotted not to far from Highway 139 (Douglas Dam Road) around a pasture area on Sunday afternoon. We have looked all through that area. There is a BIG trailer park around there and we are going door to door there in the afternoons."

Late this summer, I too had a beloved pet disappear from the home and the absence was pure old Hell on my wits and on poor lost Sophie too.

So help Julie if you can, and send some good thoughts her way!

UPDATE: Sadly, there has been neither a sign or a hint of the lost pup, as of today (Friday). I do appreciate the concerns (as does juliepatchouli) and the search will continue.