Sept 11, 2009 - today we lost Vito. Rather than dwell on the battle against declining health made by this stoic dog, I’d like to tell you how he affected so many people over the years:

We adopted Vito, a 145 lb. bullmastiff with a head the size of a basketball, at age 2½ . So fierce looking that people would cross the street rather than approach him, so fierce looking that delivery people would start up our front steps then stop when they saw him sitting inside the house behind the storm door.

But we found out in short order that Vito liked everyone. I mean everyone - people, dogs, cats, rabbits, squirrels. (In seven years we never heard him growl – not once). Over the years we learned he had a special affinity for people who are old/infirmed and children. He somehow comprehended people’s frailties, and when he was with an old person or a child he was always on perfect behavior, never knocking into an older person, and never objecting when a child would hang on him, or pull his ears, or stick their fingers in his nose or mouth.

Vito met hundreds of people over the years, because we took him to either the park, or Main Street, every day - - and he’d meet strangers. Dog lovers were fascinated with him and would want to say hi, and non-dog lovers and people who were afraid of dogs would often inquire (or we would ask them if they wanted to say hello). There were an enormous number of people who were skeptical or scared, who approached and petted Vito after being assured by us that it was safe, who learned that big fierce-looking dogs are not necessarily what they thought. I just can’t describe the feeling of watching Vito win them over.

And then there was the Therapy work. My Mother became terminally ill in late 2003, and it became very obvious that Vito understood her situation and wanted to comfort her. So obvious in fact that I decided to take him for the Therapy Dog Certification Exam as I thought he might be able to bring a little happiness and comfort to other terminally ill people.

So I read about the certification process and registered for the exam. Let me tell you, while the certification isn’t hard, it does require a dog that is extremely obedient - much more so than a normal housepet or companion dog, more like the obedience expected from trained K9 dogs. The reason of course is that these dogs are expected to go into sickrooms, hospitals and convalescent centers and not wreak havoc either intentionally or unintentionally. So I showed up, and here I was with a bunch of people and trainers who had obviously put their dogs through extensive training and were warming them up putting them through practice exercises. I, on the other hand, sat down next to Vito, looked him in the eyes and gently told him to just look and listen to me, and to stay calm. I don’t want to brag about how Vito’s behavior put to shame all the trained dogs, but it did. Somehow he knew it was important to pass this exam, and he performed flawlessly.

Which led to a year of visiting terminal patients and their families at the Barbara E. Cheung Hospice. Vito went twice a week – he would visit the nurses station, then go bed to bed (he would go into each room and check to see if anyone was in the beds) visiting patients. Truth is, most patients at the hospice were in their final days, and were heavily medicated. But occasionally he would have a tremendous impact on the family members, who were there on what was basically a “deathwatch”, and were tired, stressed, sad. I could tell when it was about to happen because I would see some family member, slumped in a chair, who would make eye contact with Vito, and their face would just light up (after all, the last thing anyone expects to see in a hospice is a big friendly bullmastiff). Which would usually lead to them getting down on the floor and spending a half hour patting Vito and talking about their dog or maybe dogs they used to have. And for that half hour or so they would be transported away from their deathwatch to a place where they were just happy to be with big Vito.

I could go on and on, but I won’t. Vito enriched the lives of hundreds of people. The loss to Rashmika and I, and the ones closest to us, is more than you can imagine.

There are several organizations which helped Vito and/or with which he was involved. If anyone would like to make a donation in memory of Vito those organizations are:

Rawhide Rescue - who rescued Vito and placed him with us.

University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School - who provided specialized health support for Vito.

Therapy Dogs International – who certified and insured Vito as a Therapy Dog.

Visiting Nurses Association of Central Jersey - who do amazing work supporting Hospice patients.

Humane Society of the United States – who fight every day for humane treatment of animals.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form – There is a lot of debate about whether METAtropolis was appropriate as a nominee for the category (seems a little strange that fans who claim to be so forward-looking can be so close minded).  If you are unaware, it’s an audiobook, nominated in a category traditionally populated by full-length feature films.  Let me tell you why METAtopolis has my vote:

It is just an outstanding piece of work  -  5 excellent stories by great authors, all which fit within the framework that John Scalzi and the other authors developed  -  beautifully read by 5 pros, led off by a dramatic performance by Michael Hogan.  The concept and the execution (content and production) are simply outstanding, and very different than what’s expected in this category.

This is the kind work that deserves a Hugo.  If you haven’t yet listened to METAtropolis (yes, I know, it’s 9 hours long), stop what you’re doing and start listening  -  it will be well worth your time.

Best Professional Artist – an unbelievably difficult category to vote on, for a couple reasons. 

First, there is no specific piece of work to vote on as there is in the literature categories – so as a voter you are left much more to your own resources than with many of the other categories.  Second, the talent nominated in this category is always just unbelievable  -  every year it is a choice from amongst nominees who are masters in the field, every one deserving a win. 

This year I want to point you toward the work of John Picacio  -  there is a very lot I could say about his work, but the most convincing argument comes from the work itself (see: John Picacio’s 2008 published work).  Review John’s work and I think you’ll agree – this is the work of a grandmaster, the kind of work that honors our genres.

Best Semiprozine – there is a lot of excitement around this category, not because of the nominees but because of the possibility that the category may be discontinued after this year.  I’m told the reason is because Locus has won so many times that a foregone conclusion is that as long as the category exists, Locus will win.

But I think the Hugo should go to a magazine which publishes literature.  And I think Weird Tales has done an outstanding job of bringing us some of the best new authors, and the best established authors, in the last year (see – Year In Review).  From Peter Atwood, whose Weird Tales story “All In” is nominated for a Prix Aurora Award, to Michael Moorcock’s all new Elric novella  -  Weird Tales hit a home run bringing us great stories from great storytellers.  And isn’t that what the Hugos are all about?

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This is the small print that says the opinions above are mine and mine alone.  These opinions may be biased – perhaps by many factors, not the least being my attention to Science Fiction and Fantasy, on screen, in print, and in the spoken word, for over 50 years.
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When I was a kid, and even a young adult, I had certain expectations of what would happen in the world.  This year I’m going to be 60 . . .and I’m thinking about those expectations, and realize some have happened, in some cases way beyond my imagination. . . and some have not, and may not.

Are you surprised or disappointed by “the future”?

( Click here for what I thought, back in the 50’s and 60’s: )

• I am told the NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) declared the test a failure, as no satellite was put in orbit.
• I am also told that since the "satellite" story was just a big lie, and the real goal was to test the missile (which did launch correctly, and separated, and the second stage fired correctly), NORAD's position is just ridiculous  -  as this was a successful missile test.
• And now I'm hearing that this means North Korea can hit all of Europe or North America with a missile; and presumably with a nuclear warhead.
• And further, that given their relationship with Iran, it puts this capability within Iran's reach

• The Cuban Missile Crises - and President Kennedy's response was to deploy the US Navy to blockade Cuba, and examine the contents of every incoming ship.
• The Russian Invasion of Afghanistan - and President Carter's response was to "condemn" the actions of the Russians and to boycott the Moscow Olympics.

After I posted a bunch of car and bike pix on Facebook, my friend Dennis Z. made a very nice comment that I am "the coolest dude on wheels", which of course is not true, but got me thinking - who is the coolest dude on wheels?

I need your help to decide; please answer the poll below.  IF YOU'RE NOT A REGISTERED LIVE JOURNAL USER, JUST GO TO THE "LEAVE A COMMENT" LINK AT THE BOTTOM, TELL ME WHO YOU'D VOTE FOR, AND I'LL TALLY YOUR VOTE.
Poll #1373987 The Coolest?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

Who is the coolest dude on wheels?

• Best Semiprozine  -  Weird Tales, edited by Stephen H. Segal and Ann VanderMeer  (see Year in Review and eligible works published in WT)

• Best Graphic Story  -  "In the Cage", published in Mushishi volume 4

• Best Novel  -  "The Alchemy of Stone" by Ekaterina Sedia

I love carving the bird, but not so much for culinary reasons.  Years ago, my cousins Dave & Miriam Witten gave Rashmika and I the carving tools you see on our table. 

Dave, who was actually my Mom’s eldest first cousin, was a Captain in the elite Army Ranger battalion, Merrill’s Marauders.  (This was the only Army Ranger battalion active in WWII, and has the rare distinction that every soldier in the battalion was awarded a Bronze Star).  The unit was assigned to “deep penetration”, their mission being to engage enemy troops in Burma.

Dave brought home the carving tools, and the beautiful peacock handled serving tools, from India.  When he and Miriam moved to Washington, DC (in, I think, 1991) they made a gift of these to Rashmika and I.  Whenever we use them I think of Dave and Miriam, two of the sweetest, most cultured people I ever knew.

And a side note, Dave is the first person I ever knew who ever told me he was going to be cremated.  This was clearly not the norm for Jewish people, and certainly not for people of Dave’s generation.  (As I recall, Dave was the oldest of the cousins and was actually about the age of my Grandmother, born around 1910.)  So I asked him about it, about not having a headstone, and I’ll always remember what he said  -  not a quote, but it was something like  -  I’ll be happy knowing people think of me kindly sometimes.  Rashmika and I think fondly of Dave and Miriam - the music, the bread - and were enriched and influenced by them.

Then of course there’s the other Thanksgiving tradition, the Absinthe.  OK, I’ll admit it’s not exactly an established tradition  -  what with Absinthe being banned in the U.S. for 92 years, and just being legalized again in 2007.  But Rashmika, David and I are going to establish this as a family tradition, starting today  -  we’ll let you know how it goes.