11k in 2011- Alex and Me

I loved this book- it touched my personal interest yet was also very much an intelligent, scientific book.  It was very interesting, and as a former bird owner, very touching.  And the best part?


The author is coming to the downtown library tomorrow!  She'll sign books and answer questions (of which I have absolutely none...) and the zoo is going to provide some parrots to see!  I can't wait.


I'm still very very behind on my reading challenge.  But I'm catching up!  Yay

The back of the book:


"'You be good.  I love you.' were Alex's final words to his owner, research scientist Irene Pepperberg, before his premature death at age thirty-one on September 6, 2007.  An African Grey parrot, Alex had a brain the size of a shelled walnut, yet he could add, sound out words, understand concepts like bigger, smaller, more, fewer, and none, and he disproved the widely accepted idea that birds possess no potential for language or anything remotely comparable to human intelligence.  Alex and Me is the remarkable true account of an amazing, irascible parrot and his best friend who stayed together through thick and thin for thirty years- the astonishing, moving, and unforgettable story of a landmark scientific achievement and a beautiful relationship."


The Bibliography:


Pepperberg, Irene M.  Alex and Me.  New York: Harper-Collins Publishers, 2009.


You can find the book here, or at your local library (support the libraries!).


Total Pages: 226


Total Pages for 2011: 1,362


Remaining pages to read: 9,638

Happy Oktoberfest!!!!

So last weekend was Oktoberfest here in Zinzinnati!  It's one of the biggest in the country (supposedly) with the world's largest chicken dance (not the record I would prefer, but... to each his own).  One of the other things we have going on???  THE RUNNING OF THE WIENERS!!!!

We have 8 heats of 10 wiener dogs each- that's EIGHTY WIENER DOGS, folks!

At the end of the preliminaries, they held a final race of the winners from each heat.

This is why I love Zinzinnati!  Where else can you catch a glimpse of eighty dachsunds in hot dog costumes???

Finalist got an interview- Bark bark!

These owners were pretty intense, actually.

Lots used props to get the doggies to run!

I love this picture.  He's off the ground!

Some were in no hurry.  This poor feller was dead last.

That's Charlie- he was the winner 2 years in a row.  He set a record, I think.

Cookie here was another finalist.  He did NOT like the police officer on a horse.

AND the grand wiener is Gretta.  With the mustard costume.

Didn't matter to all- this guy was permitted to play with the forbidden toy- Tigger, there.