sonnet's Profile

This is a tough one! A $15 bottle that the wine guy tells me is terrific and that I can afford and my host will appreciate and that will actually be used, done up in a pathetic mylar bag with that cheap curling ribbon...or a $60-$200 gadget that will end up in a drawer once the novelty has worn off but makes me seem all creative and hip (as long as I don't wrap it in a mylar bag). Help - I don't want my gift to suck!

Hi to the 1% and those struggling with the terror of appearing conventional!

Do I keep my dogs (and cats) off the sofa? Hell, no. They are a huge part of what makes this a home and not a furniture showroom.

Uh, more waiting room than living room. Sometimes a MCM fetish can get plain silly.

londonverve: thank you, I did see KO's special comment. I've been eternally gratefully for continuing to track the facts MSM ignores.

At home in the Village, about 2 miles away. My partner had left for work a bit early and I was still in the midst of my morning routine when he rushed back into the apartment. First reports were, of course, that a small private plane had crashed into one of the Towers. It seemed unfortunate, but minor. I hadn’t been outside yet, and grasped nothing. TV was still carefully speculating. I remember that ½ hour or so as a kind of somnolent bliss. By the time I made it onto the street, where the Trade Centers rose behind the Washington Square arch, we’d been hit again and there was no more doubt.

Most coverage always mentions what a beautiful day it was. If you were here, you know that the perfect temperature, the over-saturated cerulean sky, the neon greens and late summer blossoms, the faint sounds and complete soundlessness felt utterly surreal, out of any context. We heard birds, and wind in trees. People were gathering, but quiet. Only a young woman with a stroller cried. When I went over to her, and she just sobbed “All those people,” and kept walking. Later, we stood at a corner offering bottles of water, blankets, quarters for the phone to the long march of blanched, ash-covered survivors heading north. But there were few takers. A car, radio on and all doors open became the street boom box. The stench, the missing posters, and the rage were still days away. The next morning I wanted a flag.

This American tragedy has been cynically co-opted as a political brand for far too long. How the very people who failed, on every conceivable level, to avoid or ameliorate it claim to “own” the issue of national security is beyond me. Bin Laden and Al-zawahiri? Still out there, likely being readied as an October Surprise for voters. I love my country, and the men and women who struggled and died helping it – on September 11th and since. But I am ashamed of the last 7 blundering, manipulative, venal and bloody years.

You're right, eightdouble. Hopefully, the AT community will come to see factory farming as an important green issue. Here's where most eggs we buy come from: http://www.cok.net/camp/inv/cff/photos/general.php
Europe is way ahead of us on this. Long live the Greenmarket!

Oops. So sorry, I read more carefully and linked to the***Small Black Female Dog FOUND*** (mission district)
She is the cutest thing! Thank G-d she's safe, but it must have been nearly impossible to part with her. My offer stands! If she loves you, love her back.

Please! Make absolutely sure it's a no-kill shelter, otherwise this pup is looking at a grim, short life. In some places, as little as 5 days. If that's the case, convince your friend to do the best thing: get her back and search around for a local rescue group, foster home or at the very least, a no-kill facility. They're out there. It'll take a little time and effort to find her the best temporary home. Life in a cage is bitter, but save her life.

So, Applesauce is friendly, sweet, well-behaved and healthy? She wandered into their lives at a time they both thought about owning? Hmmm.

I agree with others that first-time ownership is a daunting proposition. It can be bewildering and scary, especially with young puppies. But this sweetie seems like she knows the ropes. Dogs are resilient; it's usually people who make trouble. All the information & advice one needs is available at the library or online. You DO need to have at least enough $ for food (not costly) & basic vet care (there are clinics that work with you.) You need to walk her, or have her walked, a couple, few times a day. A nylon collar & leash, soft brush, a water & food bowl, not much else. Most of all, you need patience and loving hearts.

When are we every really ready for anything? Sometimes that perfect moment never arrives. My first pet came from the mean city streets. Initial fears of doing everything right, and worries about financing her care, dissipated with time. I've been repaid with pure joy a thousand times over.

Whatever your friend does, it's clear she's most interested in the best for Applesauce. And that's what it's all about.

Quality is atrocious, as is customer service. Charming and fanciful as their stuff looks, Brocade Home is a chimera. It's all set dressing; designed, styled, lit and photographed to look real. When it arrives (if, when & occasionally broken) the construction and fabrics are incredibly shoddy. No wonder the store exists only in cyberspace. RH is the parent company and appeals should be directed to them, since the Brocade seems to be run by blase teens.