Riding the information superhighway to a new home

Each weekend, American interstates and highways become an underground railroad for rescued pets.

They’re on "transports," in which volunteers take turns driving part of the way from point A to point B — usually from a shelter to an adoptive home. Sometimes those two points are many states and a few overnight stops away.

But before these lucky dogs (or cats) hit the road, they’ve already taken a ride on the information superhighway. They’ve probably been the subject of a blog or two, and they’ve most likely graced a message board or mailing list. They probably also have their own Web page at PetFinder.com or other rescue Web sites. (How many of us are this popular?)

In the face of today’s huge pet overpopulation problem, the more exposure a pet can get online, the better. And unlike Britney Spears, they don’t mind the attention.

Betty Dorsey of Knoxville, Tenn., said before the Internet, her rescue efforts to place adoptable dogs in new homes relied on word-of-mouth and local newspaper ads.

"It's definitely more efficient... you get so many more dogs adopted (online)," she said. "We've gotten calls from all over New England, as far west as California and even from overseas."

Of course, overseas transports would be pretty stressful on the animals, but it just goes to show the power of a cute picture and a short blurb on a Web page.

A springer spaniel named Freddie got Amelia Hudson of Baton Rouge interested in rescue in 1990 after she rescued the dog from a neglectful owner. That experience led her to other rescue work both for springers and other breeds. She now helps with transports whenever she can.

She credited the Internet with helping her improve her rescue operations, and since 2002 she has rescued 70 springers.

"I had difficulty finding what I considered to be acceptable adoptive families (for my dogs)," she said.

Then she got in contact with national group English Springer Rescue of America. ESRA had "stringent adoption standards" that included online applications, phone screenings, checks of veterinarian care histories and home visits. Now, instead of waiting for a local family, Hudson can network with people across the country that ensure that her dogs are going to good homes, no matter where they are.

And then the transports begin.

I found a transport list for Mia on Yahoo! group gulfcoast_rescue_n_transport. Mia is a 1-year-old pit bull that was taken off the streets in Houston. Because of her breed, authorities there threatened to put her down. But Mia’s finders wanted to get her back to their house near Tampa, Fla. They just needed a little help in doing that.

Because of traffic and other delays, Mia spent all day — from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. — on the road. But she is now in a safe, loving home. It's a wonderful feeling to know that just by driving her from Baton Rouge to Slidell, I made her new life possible. It took less than two hours of my time and about a half tank of gas.

This is low-committment animal rescue, but it is vital nonetheless. It's proof that anyone can get involved with some aspect of animal rescue, regardless of how little time or money is available.

Dorsey said that no matter what type of breed or pet, there's a rescue organization dedicated to it. And all of those organizations can be national with the help of the Internet. You can shop online with companies that donate a portion of their proceeds to rescue, you can donate money or supplies to shelters, you can transport animals or you can spend time volunteering at the local shelter. None of those things require you to take an animal into your home.

But if you do have that opportunity, search for a local shelter or rescue on PetFinder.com. They're always looking for people to foster dogs and cats before they are adopted.

So the next time you see a dog happily riding shotgun down the interstate, know that he or she could be riding to freedom and a new life. All they need are a few good volunteers.

Resources:
Dorsey's all-breed rescue can be found at www.grreatdogrescue.com
English Springer Rescue of American can be found at www.springerrescue.org.
Start your search at www.PetFinder.com or groups.yahoo.com.

Election issues.

What are some of the most important issues candidates need to address in the Sept. 30 election?

(There will be races for Hammond mayor, city council seats and Tangipahoa School Board in addition to races in Kentwood and Tickfaw.)

Lot requirements, recreation and traffic are just three hot issues. Are there more?

The rules of blogging...

Blogs are funny things.

They’re an interesting mix of observation, conversation, analysis, opinion, news and sometimes art.

The writer doesn’t have to be witty, nor does the topic have to be all that interesting for Internet controversy to start brewing.

Earlier this year I attended the Southeast Journalism Convention at Emory University in Decatur, Ga. Blogs, or “web logs,” were the hot topic of many sessions. I heard from college professors who analyzed the importance of blogs in modern news reporting and their pros and cons for the average web user.

Overwhelmingly, blogs were seen as a positive force. Yes, blogs were responsible for their fair share of publicizing rumor and urban legend. But they make it simple for anyone who knows how to surf the Internet to upload his or her own content. That fact alone has shifted the way
information gets to the public.

Before blogs, newspaper editors and publishers set the agenda and spread information. Now regular people can do the same thing.

But the other interesting thing about blogs are their ability to record real-time feedback from readers, who can mostly choose to remain anonymous. Sure, letters to the editor are a great way to voice your opinion, but anything you say has to be tempered by the fact that your
name is attached to it.

People get mighty brave under the guise of anonymity. I’ve read some pretty nasty things posted on blogs, and even directed toward me personally, that would never have been said to my face. But that’s the price you pay when you put your thoughts on the digital page.

My recent posts about Britney Spears on hammondstar.blogspot.com have garnered a few snide remarks. Personally, I think it’s everyone’s right to have an opinion on Spears, but a few of my readers think otherwise. I’ve gotten responses that range from, “Who the hell cares about Britney?” to “Who gives a flying flip about Britney?” So I might have been mistaken when I thought readers would care about her. If not for the blog, I might never have gotten those responses.

And there’s been a tiny bit of controversy as of late over something I want to clear up. Someone answered my “should Britney move back to Kentwood?” question with a command to become more “informed” about what our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are going through for the promise of a free education.

My columns are entertainment-related and are not about war, death and international diplomacy for a reason. The Daily Star (and for that matter, numerous Internet news sites) does a great job of reporting on those serious issues. Just because I don’t write about “serious” topics does not mean I don’t care about them.

On that same note, please keep in mind that The Daily Star does not upload everything to its website. So please do not think that just because something is not on the website that we have not included it in the paper.

So with that said, I want to invite you to enter the blogosphere. From time to time I’ll be posting some “real news” opinion questions for readers to answer. I’ve already posted a few. There’s one about about lot sizes in Tangipahoa that I wish more people would respond to since zoning is such a vital topic in our expanding parish.

And of course, there’ll be celebrity, entertainment and blogger news from me.

If you're interested in the wider blogosphere...

Try technorati.com. This site is like an index of independent blogs. There are photo and video blogs as well as blogs on just about any topic.

Have fun surfing! :)

Blogging the news from Hollyweird

I knew it was only a matter of time before I wrote a blog about a blog.

Indeed there are many enlightening, artistic and educational blogs out there in the so-called "blogosphere." Web surfers can take advantage of the opinions and insights of intellectuals and swap stories with people who share their hobbies. Public discourse is now a clickable comment away.

But I'm not here to talk about those blogs. I'm here to talk about what's really important — Hollywood gossip. And Internet bloggers have this topic covered even more thoroughly than the war in Iraq or the North Korean missile crisis.

My two favorite spots for all the weird news fit to upload are perezhilton.com and dlisted.com. (A word to parents — these sites sometimes fall on the raunchy side. And that's almost a necessity in order to report about people like Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton.)

Perez Hilton (AKA Miamian Mario Lavandeira) averages 700,000 readers on his site each day. His blog rose in popularity after he published some of the first paparazzi pictures of lovebirds Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt together. Like most other celebrity blogs, most of Hilton's information comes from weekly magazines (and he somehow manages to get the scoop before they even hit grocery store shelves).

Recent topics include the birth of actor Russell Crowe's second baby boy, a fire at Ozzy Osbourne's mansion and speculation that "Scrubs" star Zach Braff could be dating newly-single singer Jessica Simpson. Not to mention Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' mysterious baby girl Suri, who's now nearly three months old and has apparently never left Cruise's home.

There's the familiar obsession with naming celebrity couples (do Bennifer, Brangelina and TomKat ring any bells?). Hilton's readers' latest suggestion is "Minnillo BlahNick" for Simpson's ex Nick Lachey and MTV VJ Vanessa Minnillo.

Hilton also attempts (sometimes unsuccessfully) to start language trends.

His last buzzword, "peppered," roughly meaning "really cool" was quickly taunted by readers.

He's buddies with his namesake, Paris, and he also hangs out with troubled young actress Lindsay Lohan. And even though the former journalist claims everything on his site is true, his recent omission of Paris' hit-and-run accident shows where his loyalties lie. (With the money, of course.)

If you've ever wondered who that strange chubby guy was commentating on VH1 or E!, it was probably Hilton.

Then there's DListed, which is put together by New Yorker Michael K. What DListed lacks in "culture" (if you can call a pink layout and digital graffiti on paparazzi photos "culture"), it makes up in sarcasm. Michael K offers the "news" along with his no-holds-barred commentary. It's usually scathing.
DListed also features celebrity birthdays and news on films currently in production. (I learned that July 6 was both President George W. Bush and the Dalai Lama's big day, so maybe these blogs aren't totally useless.)

Michael K's nickname for Paris Hilton is "Parasite." And while he doesn't have any ties to real celebrities, I think his distance from Hollywood makes him a true celebrity observer. He's just like any one of us looking in from the outside, just with better sources. And while that might cost him a few of Hilton's sought-after "world exclusives," I think it makes him more credible.

As credible as a gossip monger can be, that is.

These days the definition of "real news" is expanding, thanks to 24/7 cable news networks, blogs and the public's apparent need to be entertained. Hilton and Michael K are only two of the hundreds of bloggers out there, and with a few clicks, anyone can join their ranks.

These men have made entire careers out of being shameless and adept at finding, stealing or creating information. It also helps that they're not afraid of being sued, but that's another blog altogether.

So go ahead and enjoy the fluffy stuff. With all the depressing things going on in the world and especially southeast Louisiana, I think we all deserve to be entertained by the news every now and then. The great thing about celebrity news is that entertainment is exactly what it's supposed to be.

Renee Allemand should not be held responsible if you actually end up liking Paris Hilton's singing voice. She gets calls at 254-7817 and e-mails at webmaster@hammondstar.com.

Britney Spears fights fire with fire

How do you get a celebrity-hungry public to stop caring about you? For Britney Spears, the best way is to pose nude in a national fashion magazine.

Since Spears’ June 15 interview with Matt Lauer on NBC’s “Dateline,” columnists around the world have weighed in on Spears’ finer points. There was her straw-like hair, her malfunctioning fake eyelash, her see-through maternity top and her horrid denim miniskirt. It’s easy to make fun of her; that’s been established.

It’s been reported that neither of Spears’ publicists (or stylists) were present before or during the interview, and we saw the results. The Kentwood native called herself “country” in what might be construed as an insult to this area.

Being “country” doesn’t give someone a pass to endanger his or her baby by ignoring child safety seat laws. But even if she doesn’t adhere to that reasoning, she’s got to realize that traveling on a rural road in Kentwood is worlds different than zooming around on a Los Angeles freeway.

She’s under a lot of scrutiny, and she’s right — any normal person probably wouldn’t have had to deal with a negative public backlash over supposed baby blunders. But then again, normal people don’t have nude spreads in magazines.

According to a poll conducted by US Weekly, 87 percent of respondents said they had actually lost respect for Spears since her much-hyped interview.

So Spears apparently went into image makeoverdrive. The cover of Harper’s Bazaar shows a black-haired, airbrushed and beaming Spears wearing nothing but an exquisite jeweled necklace. The images are a far cry from the interview, which saw Spears breaking down in tears and begging to be left alone.

But poor Britney is pleading into deaf ears. As long as gossip magazines continue to thrive on pictures and rumors, the paparazzi will never leave her alone. There’s simply too much money to be made.

And now, with the nude photos and another set of pictures she sold to OK! magazine, Spears is fueling the very fire that consumes her. If she wants to be out of magazines, why on earth would she consent to appear in them?

It was the same situation after her 2004 marriage to wannabe-rapper Kevin Federline. She wanted to be left alone, but somehow found it within herself to air “Chaotic,” a reality show mostly composed of Spears walking around with a camcorder during the early weeks of her canceled Onyx Hotel Tour.

There’s got to be a point where Spears just throws up her hands in this battle. Rumors and lies, if that’s what they are, will catch up to those who spread them. The American public, as celebrity-crazed as it is, isn’t stupid.

Spears apparently just gave up her faith in Kabbalah, but I think a belief in karma would suit her better.

In her attempt at damage-control, Spears is only damaging herself more. Forget image, forget record sales, forget celebrity ... if leading a low-key life is what will make her happy, then she should go for it and never look back.

Or maybe her all-encompassing celebrity status will keep her from achieving that.

Either way, Spears needs to start dousing her life’s flames. Inviting more media attention isn’t the way to do it.

Renee Allemand receives e-mail at webmaster@hammondstar.com and voice mail at 254-7817.