Nils from Sweden Asks:

"Hello Firefly, in your December 30th post on your year end review you spoke briefly about 4Chan.  Are you a member of the site and are you willing to openly discuss the site and your views about why people should or shouldn't use it?" 

Hi Nils,

Well now aren't you are just jumping right in there both feet.  No tip toe testing those waters for you!  I did indeed mention 4Chan, and to my surprise there are many whom still know nothing about the site.  For starters I am old enough and well net travelled enough that 4Chan while controversial to many, doesn't even have me gasping with "Oh. My. Gods." or "What will they think of next...those stupid kids."  Way back in the day my message boards had a lot less glitz and far more function.  If you knew your way around a \me say's hello!  Oh m(IRC) you were the granddaddy of em all weren't you?

So we have onions.  Layers and layers of information just out there for viewing pleasure and fact finding.  From the Dark Web, to the Deep Web there came a bubble that managed to work it's way up to the surface; shocking and thrilling net users alike.  4Chan was thus born.

In the simplest of terms, 4chan is a simple image-based bulletin board where anyone can post comments and share images anonymously. Now as for my being a 'member' well that's even easier to answer.  I cannot be a member, as 4Chan doesn't have any members. Users never need to make an account or pick a username — even a pseudonymous one.  That is precisely what draws so many in.  We are in an age where everything is so closely monitored, put under scrutiny, and judged that many flock to the darker corners and in finding them can do some pretty silly things. 

I am a firm believer in personal accountability, so no I will not denounce 4Chan or speak ill of it's creator.  What I will say is that so long as there are those whom wish to silence, bully, and attempt to limit internet access there will be those whom fight against such tyranny.  Like anything in life there are times to just jump and have faith, 4Chan, the deep web, and the dark web are not the places for faith.  They are places that require vigilance, common sense, an ability to fact check, a good VPN, an excellent firewall, and yes personal accountability. 

Shock value seems to go a long way with the foolish.  Like any website, message board, search engine, or IRC there is always that X in the top right corner.  If it doesn't feel right, doesn't sound right, doesn't look right.  Don't be a part of it.  The truest test to anyone's character is what they will do and say when no one is looking or there are little to no consequences to be had.  You must decide who you will be.

As for me.  Well I live my life rather shamelessly, but yes I do have a really good VPN, and excellent firewall, and a Tor.  A girl does like to be prepared.

Expect Us.

We are legion.We do not forgive.  We do not forget. 

Jordan, from Brazil asks:

I've been lurking around your blog for a long time now.  I like your humor, it reminds me of my cousins.  I also like reading about your rescue work and how you are even now dealing with a aggressive dog in your house.  I feel like I would be too scared to have a dog like yours.  Does she scare you?  Do you ever think you will do something else and not rescue anymore?  Does she make it hard to go out or to have a party at your house?  I have so many questions bubbling up in my mind to ask you, but I will maybe write to you again for those.  My last question to you is, what drives you to keep going?

Hello there Jordan,

I have to say your email was quite possibly one of the more in depth ones in regards to my rescue work.  First I want to thank you for taking the time to email and ask.  I am open to all questions and will happily do my best to answer them.  Especially in this case where it's about my soul mates; the dogs!  Anytime I can expand knowledge regarding rescue, and better the lives of those often forgotten.

I can understand your fear in regards to Mako and dogs like her.  I cannot say that I have ever been afraid of her.  I am fully aware of what she is capable of, and I've seen her go full on stupid.  It's a sobering experience and one that reminds me of my responsibility of not only her safety but everyone around her; animals and humans alike.  I'm no superhuman, so yes I have the all those great and terrible emotions that all other humans possess; I however cannot allow those emotions to be shown within my home.  Like all animals, rescues especially feed off of our emotions.  With that being said, it is very critical that we maintain a calm demeanour in our home so that our animals remain as calm as they can be.

As far as ever hangin up my leashes.  No, is the simple answer.  As I age, I am 43 now; I may have to scale back on how many animals I take on, and I may need to reexamine the size and temperament of the animals I also take on.  In the end, rescue is about better the life of an animal who requires a second chance.  As such it is important that I be in the proper position to better their lives and not cause them more harm.  This would be why I do not have parties or large groups of people over in my home.  Mako is particular in who she warms to and trusts.  She can seem very interested in someone who comes over which can lead her to being in an over active frame of mind which can pose large problems.  Until I have temperment tested her with someone and know that she is sound, she remains muzzled around anyone new in our home.  Yes, having rescues; Mako in particular with her social issues does make it difficult to go out and do spur of the moment things.  I have to plan ahead for everything and ensure that my being gone is not going to adversely affect her.

So what drives me to keep going?  My absolute love of animals.  My greatest desire is to 'Save Them All'  For all of the times in my life when the chips where down and I needed that sympathetic ear, or someone to simply love me just as I am without judgement or hesitation; it was a dog.  And honouring that kind of loyalty, devotion, and unconditional love should never look like the image below.

Vick has not served his time.  His actions are unforgivable.  They are the actions of a monster whom has no right being allowed out into society let alone given a key to any city.  Dallas, Texas should be ashamed!  Where Vick is concerned, he'll never get it.  When we speak out we are speaking to all those surrounding him and cheering him on as though he's a hero?  

Michael Vick  IS A MONSTER

So yes I am driven to do far better, and show these amazing creatures that life does not have to hurt.  Love, is gentle and kind, and it never asks you to do harm for profit.  But I do believe that Francis said it best when he said:

"Our north star was kindness, kindness to animals, kindness to each other.  There is an artificial distance put between ourselves and these animals.  We pride ourselves and give ourselves a special place because we make all of these things, and we talk and we write.  But when you get to know the animals and see the richness of their lives and the depth of their feelings and their intelligence.  The grounding that they give us, the link that they give us to nature.  

Its not that they are distant at all, these are our brother and sister creatures.  The lives of all of these animals have intrinsic value… they’re not ours to dispose of or to discard. There is no small life or insignificant life that doesn’t matter.  If Best Friends stands for anything it's the testament to following that dream and doing what you know to be the right thing to do.  You may not change the world, but you'll have a good time trying."

Best Friends' philosophy, as expressed by cofounder Francis Battista

If I can even encourage just one person to sit down and watch The Champions, a documentary film by Darcy Dennett, which can be viewed on Netflix or downloaded via the link above; I'm glad.  It will help you understand why we do what we do, but more over why it is so important to do what we do.  The stigma and false information that surrounds dogs whom need a second chance is like a loaded gun aimed at some amazing animals.  It's is unjust and it needs to end.  It among a few other reasons is my driving force for speaking out against PETA.  They are not ethical in their treatment of animals and in many cases are just as bad as the abusers that animals are rescued from.  BAD RAP crew, Best Friends, New York Bully Crew, Rebecca Corry, 6 legs Foundation and other's are far more worthy of attention and praise; just to name a few
.

Part of my pack enjoying some playtime and working on socialization. 

Christopher Asks:

What do you believe that not many other people do? (i.e., what are some of your unpopular opinions?)

Oh bless your heart, most of my opinions seem to be pretty unpopular most days.  I'm not one to shy away from a verbal volleying of ideas, and when it's with someone who can share with me their viewpoints without either of us slandering the other I'm so happy.  But hey this is the internet and more often than not people either run screaming, or just think I'm a fat lesbian.  At least that seems to be the popular go to slam.  So my go to hot button opinions seem to be:

*Animals are better than people.  Harambe's death was avoidable and yes I would have been ok if the kid didn't make it sad as that is.  I'm reminded of a young girls death, many many years ago at the Met.  She was on a school trip and chose to slide down the large marble railings there from something like the 2nd or 3rd level.  She didn't make it of course.  People were crying and asking why and talking about the wasted life of one so young..... I was shaking my head and thinking, "natural selection works."  At some point we've got to realize culling the herd isn't as bad as it seems.  Yeah that tends to piss people off.

*I am a liberal whom thinks gun control is both good and bad.  I always carry a knife.

*I'm Pro Choice (not pro abortion, most days)


*Zoo's should be set up in a manner that the animals run free and the humans are in cages should they wish to go.

*Marriage is laughable. I am in awe of those whom make it last and work, but I don't believe marriage is good for me.

*P0rn isn't evil.

*Men whom have ass fetishes and lurve anal, 95% of the time are shitty lovers. (pun not actually intended butt humorous to me now)

*All men are not created equal, nor are all women.  Different is good and individuality should be celebrated.

*Fashion policing (ie: pull up your pants or you can't shop here) is so damn stupid!

*Animated TV or movies are more fun to watch than real people TV or movies.

*Washing your hair every day is a silly thing to do. Plus it's bad for your hair.

*Dressing up for a partner is stupid.

*Men and women can be just friends.

*Any and all testing done on animals for human benefit is wrong.  Yes even for medical advancement.

Of course there are many other unpopular opinions that I hold but those are the ones that popped into my head first.  As always these are just my thoughts, now go have a few of your own.

Milk Carton

On occasion I receive some odd requests. Pictures, dates, personal information of a questionable nature. Some guy even email to ask for my worn socks. Overall I laugh and hit the delete button wondering just how many poor fools fall for that shit. But none have been so persistent as this spam trafficer. Once again I have to wonder if anyone has actually fallen for this ridiculousness.

Unlike quite a few of my other would be trafficking freaks, this twatwaffle wants me to pay for my own kidnapping travel! How absurd is that? I mean sure I have some great shots that would look stunning on the side of a milk carton, or do they use those 4 litre jobbies for adults taken into some kind of human sex trafficking? I do so wish we could round up these morons who pretend to be military personnel, complete with stolen pictures; and spamming jackasses. Oh the joy of getting them all in one room and torturing them for day...maybe weeks or months on end with the Sound of Music soundtrack while having them watch those disgusting medical youtube videos all damn day long. Either that or they could listen to sound bites from Trump until their brains leaked out their ears.

In any case as you can be certain I am happily still standing tall upon Canadian soil and dancing a merry free jig.

<snip>
Wealthbliss
Enjoy/get\take plenty:many:most:majority of the things you need/want\desire by travelling:coming to Nigeria\Africa ALL ALONE together with ONLY me any moment:time from now on.The abundance:excess of whatever/everything you are looking:searching:craving for are all expecting\awaiting ONLY you ALL ALONE together with ONLY me in Nigeria/Africa at the present.You are paying\responsible/accountable for your own transport\travelling fare:expenses and feeding[both to/coming and fro\going].Write all your phone numbers and E-mail address{es} ONLY IF you AGREE/ACCEPT and you are ready[prepared] to start travelling:coming to enjoy Nigeria/Africa ONLY you ALL ALONE together with ONLY me.{DO NOT answer\reply/respond\text/e-mail IF you are NOT travelling:visiting:coming:exploring:touring}.
</snip>

Mailbag and Musing

I could just shave off all my hair again and embrace being bald. My hair never does what I want it to and  do think that this might teach it a valuable lesson. Plus I look freaking HOT bald. No seriously I do. I have this perfect shaped head and the eyes to pull it all off.



Hey Jade can you share 5 things with us that we might not know about you?
Ciao bella, Tito

1. I eat dessert first whenever possible.
2. I have an obsession with pure ground vanilla beans.
3. I can't stand Jennifer Aniston.  Not as an actor or as a human.
4. I will openly invite anyone to spend time with me, just not in my home.
5. I really love it in films when the man touches the woman's face as he kisses her; actually, almost anytime a man touches a woman's face in communicating need or desire.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Mailbag

Hey Firefly,

Just wanted to say that I really enjoy reading your blog. I hope you don't mind my asking, however you have mentioned your "hellhound's" a few times, have you always had pets like these and how long have you been working with dogs in need of help?

Thanks,

  Shane

Hello Shane,

Dogs. My life has always been filled with dogs.  From shortly after my birth to present day. Dog's and their well being have always been my life. I have rescued as far back as I can remember, it became more...driven when living in the US.  I saw how quickly and easily animals were discarded and it broke my heart. I worked recovery after a few dog fighting rings had been raided and that was the nail in the coffin for me. I never wanted to feel so fucking helpless ever again.  From that day forward I became a rather loud voice for change and for compassion coupled with education.  I will always have dogs, but I have a menagerie of other animals too. 




Hey Jade,

Gotta say I totally dig your style. You joke a bit about being single and dating. Are you currently single? And would you every date someone you met online? What do you look for in a man?

Hope to hear from you.

Dom


Hola! Dom,

Well thank you.  I joke a lot about my single and unchanging status. It is after all rather funny. I have dated men and women I met online although we joke and claim we met in jail. (I have never been arrested) Now your last question is a long and winding a road as there could ever be. What I look for in a partner is someone genuine. Someone whom loves animals and can handle my advocacy of them. In short don't be an asshole, or at the very least be an asshole I can get on with. In a man, I seek someone dominant, who can support me emotionally and mentally yet not hesitate to call me out on my shit. Someone with backbone, and a heart of gold.  Simple stuff right?

Effective Communication

From the mailbag:

Shannon K asks:
What qualities do you think are found in a "best friend"?

For me it's a little more than the atypical "nice person" adjectives. Sure I'm a fan of honesty, but I am also a fan of compassion and kindness and the three are not always mutually exclusive. Being a good listener, but also having a strong voice and personal ideals, someone who inspires me to do my best, someone emotionally honest with themselves as they are with me. Someone who's passionate, and has a sense of humor.

              Someone like me, only better,


Derrek A asks:
"If money were no object and you could do, go or be anything you wanted, .... what would you do first and why?"

If money were no object. Oh what a world that would be. I'm rather practical when it comes to questions like this, however the first thing I would do would be to call my ex Jim. He and I would work out the logistics in having all of our kids and chosen family in one place for a weekend of laughter and reconnecting. After that all of our children would be in school that was completely paid for.

My next call would be to Tieg and as it happens to follow with that line of call Arash, Bronwen, Jose, Zana, Jim, Alison, Gill and Renata. Tieg and I have a mutual love of animals, dogs in particular. It would be our dream to have a massive piece of land that housed not only a sanctuary, but a rehabilitation center, and agility training course. Money being no object would also dictate that I could afford to ensure we all had the best training course around with Tieg as lead. The space would rival that of a local sanctuary, with log cabin house for each Tieg and I, along with housing for those workers that wished to live on site.

Tieg would of course have to have a wood working shop, and Arash would have a cabin for his creative advertising business that we would of course be his first of many clients. I would want those I trust deeply and know love dogs so Bronwen, Jose, and Renata would all be asked to be team leads in some capacity. Alison, Zana, Mattea and I would most likely be the ones I turn to for boots on the ground and going out on calls. Gill I would have as a holistic practitioner aiding in holistic care, and as our office lead as she has an attention to detail that really makes all the difference.

Jim I would ask to sign on as part of an outreach program for at risk youth as this is something within his brilliant skillset and work that into our program. Ideally I would like to see Jim and Renata team up together. Renata is a genius with both kids and dogs yes, but she like Gill has a gift for natural living. If I could have her extend the outreach program to a community garden type thing...Where we could be self sustaining in our primary foods with the ability to cultivate any and all excess with an outreach program to give back to our community.

 I'm a firm believer that if we can enforce the general care children and young adults have for animals and their fellow man, combining that with education and a desire to help something or some else we can effect great change within our world.

Effective communication is a complicated concept. Like Gandhi once said, "If the assface fits, wear it....Assface." -EL

Dancing Backwards in Platform Sneakers

From today's mailbag:
Evan asks: "I've been lurking in the shadows of your blog for quite some time now. I followed a link of yours here from that other site ;)  I know that you have quite a few tattoos and piercings.  Are there any tattoo's or piercings you regret getting, and do you have; or would you ever get a couples tattoo?"
Hello Evan,

   Welcome and thanks for the follow over.  Now as for my varied tattoo's and piercings. As you know I have many. I at one time had many more piercings, alas practicality required me to remove a few.  My tattoo's all mean something to me. None were done on a whim, although I have had some covered up with new/better done pieces. With that being said I don't actually regret any of my tattoo's or piercings. Each one was right for me in the moment and time I had them done.  My nose piercing which I no longer have is one I'd like to have redone but I've held off doing. I loved it, but apparently in my sleep  kept pulling the damn thing out and there are only so many times one can search the bedding and carpet for the missing stud before accepting it's a lost cause.

   Now as for couples tattoos. Well now that a mixed bag. I long to have a partner I can get the cutesy "couples tattoo" with, alas I've apparently not met the one I can do so with. I think that it's really a personal choice kind of thing. My only advice to anyone thinking of doing so s this: Don't do the name thing. I really can't stress this enough. Find an image, create an image that means something to you both and go with that. Even the best marriages and relationships can unrecoverable times. I certainly can't nor will I speak for others, but having to see an ex's name on my partner isn't a turn on. Plus I don't find it personal enough. I really like something far more symbolic and well thought out. That being said I do have a tattoo I got so very long ago that is representative of a relationship I had and meant and still means a great deal to me. No one looking at it would have any idea it's representative of another person, it only means something to he and I.

Choose something as unique to you as a snowflake is to the world.

I hope this helps :)

Snowflakes