———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 11, 2007 2:54 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: NY Times, “My Dog Days” – 6/11/07

The Monday, June 10, New York Times has an op-ed headed “My Dog Days” by novelist Arthur Phillips, which will warm the heart of all who have fallen in love with dogs. It opens:

“My little guy is growing up fast. He’s toilet-trained, he goes uncomplainingly to sleep and he no longer chews on his playmates’ faces until they bleed. He is 8 months old, and I know, years from now, that I will always remember this summer as the time he and I fell in love.

“Between this summer and next, this latest beagle — the third of my adult life — will age from zero to 1 (or zero to 7), on a fast track to reduce me to mourning sometime in my early 50s.”

I will not attempt to summarize it, as it so warmly written I could not do it justice. I urge you to go to www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/opinion/10phillips.html and enjoy it in full. The more hits the article gets the better, so that the Times learns how much its readers enjoy animal friendly pieces. Please also send appreciative letters to the editor. As animal advocates, however, it is our job also to remind readers that equally beloved and memorable companions come from shelters. Because beagles are the focus of the piece, some people may also wish to write about the horrifying fate of many beagles in our nation’s laboratories.

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 10, 2007 7:04 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Time Magazine on child bullfighters 6/11/07 edition

Time magazine hates children (particularly their childlike innocence).

Photo via Carlos Olivares

The “Postcard” section of the June 11 edition of Time magazine is headed, “Postcard: Mexico” and the highlight reads, “With no minimum age for matadors, the country has children as young as 10 picking up the sword. Can they save a dying sport? In the ring with the world’s youngest bullfighter.” Unfortunately it is pretty much a fluff piece on bullfighting. It is by Tim Padgett.

It opens with a failed attempt by Rafita, a ten year old, 80lb boy, to kill his first bull. We read, “Together with a handful of other child stars Rafita has reawakened interest in bullfighting when it looked headed for obscurity in Mexico.”

While the piece mostly discusses the excitement around the young bullfighters, we do read:

“The sport’s revival is not without controversy. The children have engendered an impassioned debate over whether bullfighting is a noble drama that preserves Mexican heritage or a barbaric spectacle that, in the words of animal-rights activist Eduardo Lamazón, ‘has no place in a society like ours that’s trying to modernize.’”

(More below the fold…)

FYI: This article was also the subject of a recent In Defense of Animals alert. See: IDA Writing Alert: It’s time to ban foie gras, the trifecta of misery.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 7, 2007 11:42 PM
Subject: DawnWatch 3: Terrific Philly Daily News column supporting foie gras ban — 6/7/07

Councilman Jack Kelly has introduced an anti foie gras bill in Philadelphia. Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky’s Thursday June 7 column is headed, “It’s time to ban foie gras, the trifecta of misery.” (Pg. 08)

Bykofsky tells us that while “a piddling 2 percent” of the population eat foie gras at least once a year, “Each year in the U.S., almost a half-million ducks are caged, tortured and slaughtered for their livers, deliberately diseased by the cruel hand of man.”

He writes:

“To create ‘fatty liver,’ tubes are jammed down the throats of helpless male ducks two or three times a day to force-feed them up to a total of four pounds of grain mush. The forced feedings go on for 12-15 days.”

We read:

“Sometimes necks are pierced, sometimes wings are broken. The grotesquely enlarged livers can make it hard for ducks to even walk, but cruelty is overlooked to satisfy the palates of those who’ll pay $30-45 a pound at retail for foie gras – the trifecta of misery: unnecessary, unhealthy, unkind.”

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 6, 2007 12:54 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: New York Times on turkey waste as fuel 6/6/07

Today’s (Wednesday June 6) New York Times has a front page story that will concern animal protectionists and environmentalists.

The story, by Susan Saulny, is headed, “From Turkey Waste, a New Fuel and a New Fight.”

It opens:

“For anyone curious about what thousands of tons of turkey litter looks like, piled high into an indoor olfactory-assaulting mountain of manure, this old railroad stop on the extreme edge of alternative energy production is the place to be.

“Thanks to the abundance of local droppings, Benson is home to a new $200 million power plant that burns turkey litter to produce electricity. For the last few weeks now, since before generating operations began in mid-May, turkey waste has poured in from nearby farms by the truckload, filling a fuel hall several stories high.

“The power plant is a novelty on the prairie, the first in the country to burn animal litter (manure mixed with farm-animal bedding like wood chips). And it sits at the intersection of two national obsessions: an appetite for lean meat and a demand for alternative fuels.

“But it has also put Benson, a town of 3,376 some three hours west of Minneapolis, on the map in another way: as a target of environmental advocates who question the earth-friendliness of the operation.

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 5, 2007 1:19 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: People Magazine on Dog Discrimination, against big black dogs 6/11/07 edition

The current, June 11, edition of People Magazine, has a great story by Jill Smolowe headed, “Dog Discrimination?” and sub-headed, “When it comes to finding owners, big black pooches often face a tougher time than canines of other colors. Tamara Delany hopes to change that.” (Pg 93.)

It focuses on Delany’s attempts to find a home for a dog known in the rescue world as a BBD: a big black dog. We learn that such dogs have “two strikes,” being over 50lbs and black. An animal shelter worker quoted says, “The black dog is definitely more at risk of going to death row than a yellow or tan dog.”

We read:

“Delany, 43, has made it her mission to champion BBDs. A lifelong animal lover who at age 3 convinced her father to stop hunting, she first stumbled on the grim BBD phenomenon in 2003….”

She decided “These dogs need a Web site.’” It is www.blackpearldogs.com/

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 3, 2007 8:51 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: NY Times book reviews on pet grief and Doris Day’s animal rights – 6/3/07

The Sunday, June 3, New York Times Book Review has two reviews of interest to animal advocates. Critically acclaimed indie musician and animal rights activist Nellie McKay has written a review of a Doris Day biography and has focused on Day’s animal advocacy. The Book Review section also includes a review of “Dog Years, a Memoir” by Mark Doty, in which he explores his grief at the loss of his pets.

McKay’s article on Tom Santopietro’s “Considering Doris Day” is headed “Eternal Sunshine.” (p 50)

McKay discusses the Doris Day phenomena, then writes:

“Her pictures feature meat diets, carriage rides, careers in the cattle industry; they depict chicken-truck accidents as hilarious. In ‘Do Not Disturb,’ she saves a fox but sports a fur. Day is an inexhaustible animal advocate today, but these plotlines dismay because, as Tom Santopietro notes in ‘Considering Doris Day,’ ‘she functioned as a role model through whom thousands of women worldwide lived vicariously.’ Day herself has mentioned projects she refused or changes she insisted on: she declined the role of Mrs. Robinson in ‘The Graduate’ (finding it exploitative) and had vulgarities removed from ‘Lover Come Back.’ She demanded proper care and feeding of the animals involved in the Alfred Hitchcock film ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much,’ which was shot partly in Morocco.

“What Day refuses to tolerate is relevant because while her performances were a product of their era, sales of her albums seem to double or triple with each passing year, and DVDs of her movies are increasingly popular. She may not have pursued a political image, but her effect is more intimate, and more powerful, than that of many politicians. A testament to this power is that the organizations founded in her name have attracted more than 180,000 members, continuing to draw attention to the issue of animal rights, which has been called the most progressive cause of our time.

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 31, 2007 11:29 AM
Subject: DawnWatch: NY Times on Coke and Pepsi animal testing ban 5/31/07

Today’s New York Times, (Thursday, May 31) announces another step forward. An article by Brenda Goodman in the Business Section (pg C3) is headed “Coca-Cola And PepsiCo Agree to Curb Animal Tests” and opens with:

“Under pressure from animal rights advocates, two soft drink giants, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, have agreed to stop directly financing research that uses animals to test or develop their products, except where such testing is required by law.

“Researchers at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sought the assurances after discovering studies financed by the companies that used animals like rats and chimpanzees to test taste perception and, in some cases, to bolster support for promotional health claims.”

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 30, 2007 2:47 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: UK govt agency says Go vegan to help climate — 30 May, 2007

Groundbreaking news from the UK! The Daily Telegraph, 30 May, 2007, includes an article by Charles Clover headed, “Go vegan to help climate, says Government agency.” (p7)

It opens:

“It would help tackle the problem of climate change if people ate less meat, according to a Government agency.

“A leaked email to a vegetarian campaign group from an Environment Agency official expresses sympathy with the environmental benefits of a vegan diet, which bans dairy products and fish.

“The agency also says the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is considering recommending eating less meat as one of the ‘key environmental behaviour changes” needed to save the planet.

“It says that this change would have to be introduced ‘gently’ because of ‘the risk of alienating the public’.

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 30, 2007 2:11 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Gretchen Wyler obituaries 5/28 – 5/30/07

The Wednesday, May 30 New York Times and London Independent both have obituaries honoring the incomparable Gretchen Wyler, founder of the Genesis Awards (see tinyurl.com/2db48s) and beloved mentor to many of us. The Los Angeles Times obit ran on Monday. I will paste the beautiful Independent write-up in full below, and also the Los Angeles Times obituary, which focused the most on her animal protection work. And I will provide a link to the New York Times piece, which includes a delightful photo.

Here is the Independent piece:

The Independent (London)
Wednesday, May 30, 2007

GRETCHEN WYLER; Overnight star on Broadway

Tom Vallance

The musical star Gretchen Wyler achieved overnight success in 1955 when she was promoted from understudy to featured player shortly before the Cole Porter musical Silk Stockings opened on Broadway, going on to stop the show. She subsequently played star parts in other musicals, but generally as a replacement for performers such as Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera, who first created the roles. “I don’t really admit to this,” she said, “but other people say, ‘Poor Gretchen, it never really happened.’”

The daughter of a petroleum engineer, she was born Gretchen Patricia Winneche in Bartlesville, Oklahoma in 1932, and had her first dancing lesson at the age of three. She made her theatrical début in 1950 as part of the ballet ensemble with the St Louis Municipal Opera company. Later the same year she moved to New York where she was cast in the chorus of Frank Loesser’s Where’s Charley?, a musical version of Charley’s Aunt starring Ray Bolger. “I was the baby in that show,” she said, and I loved Ray Bolger – I used to stand in the wings every night and watch him. He even gave me my name. He said if I was going to stay in the theatre – and I was – I needed to have a name for the marquee. “What do you think about Gretchen Wyler?” I couldn’t believe it. The great Ray Bolger giving me a name.

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 29, 2007 3:09 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Huge Chicago Tribune spread on animal advocacy, and Newsday on faux meats 5/27/- 5/29/07

Over Memorial Day Weekend, the Chicago Tribune ran a wonderful story on the cover of its magazine section, Sunday May 27, headed, “Ruffling feathers; Once Viewed as Crazies, Animal Rights Activists Say Their Message is Starting to Get Through.”

Proving the point, New York Newsday, one of the countries most widely distributed papers, has a great story on fake meats, on Tuesday, May 29.

The Chicago Tribune magazine cover story, by Mick Dumke, is huge — over 4,000 words long — with loads of great photos.

It opens telling us that PETA protests KFC, using leaflets informing people “the chain’s suppliers abuse chickens–routinely breaking their legs, cutting off their beaks and scalding them alive before they’re slaughtered for food.” We learn that protesters get some snide comments, but mostly support. We read of a protester handing out leaflets to three kids who came running to her:

“Pollock happily set them up–they’re the future of the animal rights movement, she says–and the mother, stuffing the leaflet in her purse, thanked her.”

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 28, 2007 10:29 AM
Subject: DawnWatch: Gourmet Magazine on chicken slaughter methods — June 2007 edition

(I preface the alert below with the sad news that Gretchen Wyler, founder of the Genesis Awards, and a beloved friend and mentor to many of us, passed away on Sunday morning, May 27. An official statement from her family will come soon. Throughout her life, Gretchen led the battle to awaken the media to the plight of animals. It therefore seems fitting to send out news of her passing with the extraordinary news that Gourmet Magazine this month features the plight of chickens used for food. Gretchen made an immeasurable difference in her life, and she left us knowing that we have reached some sort of tipping point, and that real change is on the horizon.)

—————————

The good news roll began in April, when Gourmet Magazine announced that it would start to include a monthly column in Gourmet Every Day featuring vegetarian main courses. The letter from the editor (Ruth Reichl) that month told us:

“Livestock grazing and feed production now use 30 percent of the surface of the planet, and that takes a toll on the environment. Eating so much meat takes a toll on us as well: Most health professionals agree that we would be better off if we consumed less meat and more vegetables.”

The June issue of Gourmet goes a step further, focusing not just on the environmental and human health effects of our meat-laden diets, but also on the animals. On the cover we read, “Investigative Report: A Chicken’s Life.” The story inside, starting on page 94, is headed, “A View to Kill” and sub-headed, “Americans eat almost 9 billion chickens a year, which requires megafarms and giant processing plants. Is there a better way for the birds to meet their end?”

Daniel Zwerdling opens his report by telling us that he was refused entry into chicken supply farms and slaughterhouses as he researched the story. He suggests that the “entire food industry is being kicked and shoved towards transforming the way it treats animals — and chicken executives are making a last ditch effort to resist.”

Unfortunately Zwerdling overestimates progress in other areas. He describes sow confinement pens “so tiny that the animals can’t even turn around” and writes, “In January, executives at America’s top hog producer, Smithfield Foods, stunned competitors by vowing to phase out all their confinement pens across the country. Their sows can now amble around.” That suggests an awfully quick phase-out. In fact, it will be 10-20 years before Smithfield hogs will be able to amble around — unless we pass more state ballot initiatives like the one that banned sow gestation crates in Arizona in 2006.

Yet Zwerdling has reason to write, “These are astonishing developments — especially when you consider that only ten years ago industry leaders shrugged off the animal-welfare movement as the province of kooks.”

(More below the fold…)

For more, see Green Is the New Red and this summary at GreenScare.org. The second link contains info on court dates and contact info for prisoner support.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 24, 2007 3:39 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: “My Brother The Terrorist” — Los Angeles Times 5/24/07

Novelist Caroline Paul comes from a family committed to activism. Her Baywatch-famous sister Alexandra was in “Who Killed the Electric Car,” hosts a TV talk-show on environmentalism, and comes out in support of numerous animal causes. In today’s (Thursday May 24) Los Angeles Times op-ed piece headed, “My brother, the ‘terrorist’” we learn that their brother, Jonathon “is considered one of the biggest domestic terrorists in the country.” Paul gives us some warm personal details about his past, and then writes, “most important, he has devoted his life to stopping animals’ suffering. To this end, he has broken the law. He crept into animal laboratories to free dogs. He dismantled corrals to release wild mustangs. He impersonated a fur buyer to film the treatment of minks. He put himself between whales and whalers despite warnings that his boat would be impounded and that he would be jailed. And nearly 10 years ago, he burned down a horse slaughterhouse in Redmond, Ore. It is for this final act that the U.S. government considers him among the ranks of Osama bin Laden, Eric Rudolph and Ramzi Ahmed Yousef.”

She continues:

“My brother, Jonathan Paul, has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Ore., to burning the Cavel West Slaughterhouse. He will find out on June 5 whether the judge considers his actions deserving of the ‘terrorism enhancement’ to his sentence sought by the government.”

Paul does not take arson lightly. She writes, “I was a San Francisco firefighter for 13 years. I was angry and dismayed that my brother chose arson as a route to stop animal suffering. But ‘a classic case of terrorism’?”

(More below the fold…)

If you’re interested in reading more veg*n responses to the insipid “Death by Veganism” missive, do check out…

May 23, 2007 Vegan Outreach e-Newsletter:: An Irresponsible Attack

The Veg Blog» Blog Archive » Standing on a Shaky Planck

isachandra: Meat Eating Parents Starve Baby!

FYI, you can always keep up to date with my reading list via delicious: del.icio.us/easyvegan. You know, just in case I don’t already pass along enough reading material.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 24, 2007 3:39 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Responses to “Death by Veganism” — 5/21-5/23/07

Most of us have heard about the sad case of Crown Shakur, a baby born three months premature, whose parents starved him to death on a diet of only soy milk and apple juice. Unfortunately, we have also heard that his parents are vegan, as that has been announced in every headline about the case. If the boy had starved on cows’ milk and apple juice (as a premature baby might, if not given human breast milk or formula) I doubt the headlines would have announced “Omnivores convicted of Manslaughter.”

The worst headline, garnering the most attention and thereby heading up the most emailed story of the day, was the “Death by Veganism.” That phrase headlined food author Nina Planck’s rant on the Monday, May 21, New York Times editorial page. The page editors, not the author, are responsible for op-ed headlines, and Planck’s article, while including some misleading statements against the vegan diet, did not quite match the headline. The article wasn’t 100% bad (only 95%) — it did include some important points about B12 and Omega 3s. But contrary to Planck’s claims, some of the world’s most renowned doctors (including the late Dr Benjamin Spock in the last edition of his book before his death) recommend vegan diets for children as far superior to standard diets.

I did not rush to send Planck’s article out on DawnWatch as I knew it was being responded to widely and competently from within the vegetarian community. Today, along with the article, I can share six letters that appeared yesterday in response to it, four of them commenting positively on vegan diets. Below them I will share a particularly strong column from a non-vegan food writer who was appalled by Planck’s piece.

First, a brief overview and link to Monday’s “Death by Veganism” New York Times op-ed:

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 17, 2007 10:34 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: NY Times piece on joy of living with chickens 5/17/07

It is a great week in the media for species that generally need some public relations assistance. On Monday I was delighted to share Nicolas Dodman’s discussion, on NPR’s Fresh Air, of his pet rats. In today’s (Thursday May 17) New York Times, Christine Pittel, in an article headed, “All Cooped Up In a Manhattan Co-op” (pg F6) discusses the joys of raising hens.

We read that a friend named Tiziana gave Pittel and her daughter Isabella two baby chicks to raise. They soon learn about chickens:

“In no time at all, their fuzz was replaced by pinfeathers and Chirp, the more adventurous of the pair, was nonchalantly surveying the scene from the rim of the box.

“Who knew chickens could fly? (You can see how little time I’ve spent in barnyards.)”

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 15, 2007 3:11 PM
Subject: DawnWatch tip: ABC — “Boston Legal” lawyer defends against a duck eviction — 5/15/07

According to today’s (Tuesday, May 15) New York Times, in one of the sub-plots on tonight’s episode of Boston Legal, “Jerry (Christian Clemenson) defends a woman who is being evicted for living with a duck that she claims helps ease her anxiety.”

Boston Legal airs on ABC at 10pm.

I have no idea how the episode will go, but Boston Legal has an exceedingly animal friendly history. (See tinyurl.com/2q2xka and www.dawnwatch.com/2-05_Animal_Media_Alerts.htm#BOSTON.)

If you watch tonight’s episode and like what you see, please make sure to send thanks via ABC at abc.go.com/site/contactus.html.

I send thanks to Marjorie Loeb for the heads up on this episode.

Yours and the animals’,
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited — leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

To discontinue DawnWatch alerts go to www.DawnWatch.com/nothanks.php

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts dawnwatch boston legal animal friendly duck pet companion animal therapy animal

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 14, 2007 9:58 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: USA Today on Bob Barker’s animal rights activism 5/14/07

The front page of the Life Section (1D) of the Monday, May 14 edition of USA Today — the most widely distributed newspaper in the US — has a story about Bob Barker. The piece, by William Keck, is headed, “The time is right for Barker; ‘Price Is Right’ host retiring after 50 years in TV game.”

The tender article tells us tales from Barker’s decades as the host of The Price is Right, and also about his marriage. Then a section headed, “For the love of dogs” discusses his animal rights activism. We read about the rabbits who scamper around the upstairs of his house, and the ducks who live in his swimming pool, “who seem to know this home offers sanctuary.”

We read:

“‘The ducks have been coming for years,’ he says, opening the doors to an immaculate green lawn with the Hollywood Hills in the background. ‘Last year, one went behind the shrubbery, built a nest and had 13 babies. Those babies learned to swim, forage in the yard, and we watched them learn to fly. My housekeeper and I would cut food for them and prepare a little buffet. It was a wonderful experience to watch them grow up and fly away one or two at a time.’”

(More below the fold…)

By the by, I read The Dog Who Loved Too Much and Dogs Behaving Badly back when I adopted my first born, Ralphie, and both are excellent – I can’t recommend them enough!

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 14, 2007 9:00 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Terri Gross guests on NPR cover animal cruelty, puppies, and pet rats — 5/14/07

Today, Monday May 14, NPR’s Fresh Air with Terri Gross had two terrific interviews with animal experts. You can listen to them on line here or tinyurl.com/25w4tk.

The first interview is with Veterinary Forensics Pioneer Melinda Merck. The website promotional blurb says:

“Melinda Merck literally wrote the book on investigating animal cruelty — a crime that’s increasingly understood to be linked to domestic violence. Merck is co-author of Forensic Investigation of Animal Cruelty: A Guide for Veterinarians and Law Enforcement, and in June she will publish a textbook, Veterinary Forensics: Animal Cruelty Investigations. (A warning: Parts of this interview are disturbing).”

“Disturbing” is a euphemism in this case. Merck describes in nauseating detail a crime in which two teenagers broke into a community center, tied up and roasted a live puppy to death in the oven, and forced children to watch the puppy bake. The interview with Merck was hard to listen to, but it no doubt brought home to the NPR audience the importance of animal cruelty being taken with the utmost seriousness and charged as a felony.

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 10, 2007 7:02 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Entourage race horse rescue — Sunday, 5/6/07

Photo via ajstarks

I get to tell you about yet another animal friendly episode on a hot show! This past Sunday, May 6 (the day after the Kentucky Derby) the HBO series Entourage provided — in its usual funny and hip style — a glimpse at the dark side of horse racing and the animal-soft side of Vince’s brother Drama.

If you have HBO on demand, stop reading now and go watch! The episode is loads of fun. Then come back to this email so that you can click the link below to send your thanks to the show.

For those who have never watched Entourage: It is produced by Mark Wahlberg and about a hot young movie star named Vince Chase, and his entourage — his actor brother named Drama, his manager Eric, and their buddy Turtle, all of whom have been inseparable for years.

And for those who missed Sunday’s episode and can’t just wait for this one on DVD — because you need to send your thank you note to HBO today, here is a little recap:

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 9, 2007 7:54 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Please encourage House to keep the new vegan character 5/8/07

Last night, Tuesday May 8, the Fox hit series “House” introduced a potential new character, a vegan nutritionist named Honey. We meet her when she comes into the clinic with her boyfriend of six months, who tells House that they are both vegan because Honey has taught him how healthy a vegan diet is. But when House examines the boyfriend’s stool, he tells them that he knows the man has been cheating. Honey thinks House means with another woman, and she doesn’t seem too concerned. Then she understands that he has been “eating flesh” and she is mortified that he has lied to her about that. But she doesn’t seem kooky — she is pretty and witty. House has clearly taken a shining to her, and we learn later in the show that he got her phone number. Actually, he got it on a job application. Suddenly he is thinking of hiring a nutritionist.

In the last scene of the episode, House meets Honey in a bar. She suggests that he hasn’t really called the meeting because he wants to offer her a job. But we don’t get an answer — that is left open. There is fun flirtatious banter between them, then the show ends.

The episode is recapped in full at www.fox.com/house/recaps/322.htm. In the photo gallery on that page, photos 4, 5 and 6 are of Honey. You will see why the writers have given her that name and why House is enchanted.

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: May 9, 2007 3:47 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: “Committed” press and book tour — DC tonight 5/9/07

I am bummed I am not in DC this evening (Wednesday, May 9) because PETA vice president Dan Mathews has a reading there of “Committed: A Rabble-Rouser’s Memoir.” It is at 6:30pm at Borders Books-Downtown (18th & L Sts. NW, 202-466-4999).

If you are a lucky DC person, you can make it over after work. If you already have plans, I recommend you have your friend meet you there. I was at a reading of Dan’s book in Virginia last weekend, and it was a blast. I would happily go to another.

I sent a note out when “Committed” was released a few weeks ago and referred people to the People Magazine and USA Today articles about it. (The USA Today piece is still on line at www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2007-04-11-committed_N.htm.)

I have since read the book while I traveled, and embarrassed myself repeatedly by throwing back my head and cackling loudly on crowded airplanes. I was not only amused, however, I was inspired and reinvigorated by Dan’s raunchy and glamorous tales of his fight for animal rights.

When Matthew Scully published his beautiful book “Dominion: The Power of Man, The Suffering of Animals and The Call to Mercy” a few years ago, I recommended it highly as a gift for any conservative or religious family members. “Committed” is not for that crowd. Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee’s endorsement does a nice job of summing up some of the target market. Lee writes, “If you read only one book this year (like me), this is it.”

(More below the fold…)