Saling The World: Hajimete no MotorStorm 

Gamasutra’s weekly column, “Saling The World”, covers the top five sellers for every available platform in the United States, Japan, and Europe, providing an important update of sales patterns worldwide. This week’s charts, with data taken from December 14th, 2006, feature a flurry of activity in Japan as a rush of new releases compete for top sales. Data for “Saling The World” comes courtesy … Continued…

Germans take their dogs almost everywhere, and some claim the nation’s relationship to them is unique. At least, it seems to be the only place with a reality TV show set on finding the most talented, telegenic pup. Continued…

Leads, but still no arrest in pupnapping 

VINELAND — Several leads have surfaced in the case of an 8-week-old black and white spotted Dalmatian/pit bull puppy that went missing from the Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals shelter on North Delsea Drive Monday.
Source: www.nj.com

Eva Longoria engaged to Tony Parker 

“Desperate Housewives” star Eva Longoria has taken the next step with San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker. Go…

Walt Disney The Triumph of the American Imagination By Neal Gabler KNOPF; 851 Pages; $35 At 851 pages, including more than 160 pages of footnotes, Neal Gabler’s “Walt Disney: The Triumph of the… Go…

Christmas Candylane, the annual holiday celebration at Hersheypark in Hershey with a million twinkling lights and festive decorations adorning selected amusement rides. Also: Santa and his live reindeer, sing-alongs, the 50-foot Kissmas Tree, Sweet Treat Storytime and the theatrical presentation A Music Box Christmas. Tonight, 5 to 9; Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday, 5 to 9 … Go…

Cats, dogs and a cruel trade in fur 

THAT cuddly cat in a basket may look like a lovable toy for a child, but in the case of one picked up in a Shetland gift shop by MEP Struan Stevenson, a judicious DNA test proved that, in a particularly grotesque irony, the toy was actually made from…
Source: news.scotsman.com

Penguins Top James Bond Again In Turkey-Day Takedown 
“Happy Feet” topped “Casino Royale” for the second week in a row; however, both films made the all-time Thanksgiving-weekend top five.
Source: www.mtv.com

Picture-perfect greetings 
SALISBURY — Christmas photos and cards created on the computer are becoming an increasingly popular way to personalize holiday greetings. Families on the Delmarva Peninsula are part of the trend in a big way.
Source: www.delmarvanow.com

And the richest fictional character is… 
Santa Claus has lost the top slot on Forbes magazines’ list of the 15 richest fictional characters to defence contractor Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks.
Source: www.abc.net.au

Dog Behavior: Learn Why Dalmatian Puppyies Chew

The sense of taste is well developed even in newborn Dalmatian puppies. This has led to the marketing of several commercial substances designed to prevent destructive chewing by pups and mature Dalmatian dogs. If these are used regularly from the age at which conditioned responses are possible (3 weeks), investigative chewing may be minimized or prevented in later life, especially when teething becomes a stimulus for the problem. However, because the breeder would have to begin this type of regimen, and because most litters are raised under conditions that do not expose puppies to chewing taboos, correction is usually necessary.

Almost every owner recognizes that pups need to chew, if only to teethe properly. On the other hand, few appreciate that a dog’s mouth is somewhat similar to the human hand as an investigative tool, or that the healthy development of nervous and muscle tissue depends on hearty chewing exercise. The usual procedure is to give a pup numerous chewables, hoping these will be so attractive that electric cords, rugs, clothing and shoes will be saved from destruction - and the pet spared a possibly serious (or fatal) injury. However, furnishing many different kinds of things to chew may lead the pup to believe that everything is chewable.

Chewing appears to be an enjoyable experience for nearly all pups and many older dogs. So, the element of fun may also be part of chewing problems. The best approach to destructive chewing involves prevention and then guidance to chewable articles, such as a ball or bone. This helps the pup to discriminate between toys and inappropriate items. Practices that risk creating an orally oriented puppy include: playing tug-of-war, allowing personal belongings (socks, shoes) to be chewed, excessive attention to pup’s mouth during teething, and punishment for chewing taboos.

Some Dalmatian puppies are more oral than others. When this is coupled with an excitable or extremely inhibited nervous type, minor stress produces tension that tends to be released orally (rather than vocally or physically). Some of the causes for excessive tension in pups are: emotional departures and homecomings by the owner, excessive attention to the pup, social isolation, barrier frustration, delay of feeding, and boredom.

When 2 or more pups live together, chewing may result from competition for articles. Also, pups play games. When these involve articles of some value, the owner often attributes such chewing to spite or revenge. “Sparky’s mad at me for leaving him alone, and he’s getting even.” This is seldom the case. Usually one or more of the aforementioned conditions are involved. As diligently as one might try to be a model Dalmatian puppy owner, it is obvious that few people can avoid all of the causes for chewing.

Tree festival nets thousands 

Twenty decorated holiday trees and a host of silent auction items brought nearly $9,000 in donations to the Community Crisis Center on the first of two nights of bidding in the annual Festival of Trees.
Source: www.miaminewsrecord.com

Jonathan Takiff | Some hot new games for older systems 
YOU MAY HAVE to jump through fire or fight off rivals to claim a Nintendo Wii or (harder still) a Sony PlayStation 3 at a retail outlet this season.
Source: www.philly.com

Champlin students to analyze Mars photos 
Come Tuesday, 85 eighth-grade astronomy students in Champlin will hope for encouraging signals from far, far away. That’s when NASA will order its Odyssey orbiter to photograph five targets the students at Jackson Middle School have chosen on the surface of Mars. “They’re really getting excited,” said astronomy teacher Carla-Rae Smith. So excited that eighth-grader Carly Reiter last week found …
Source: www.startribune.com

Dalmatian Behavior: How Your Dalmatian’s Hunger May Result In Problematic Behavior

Many Dalmatians switch themselves to once-a-day feedings between 6 months and 1 1/2 years of age by turning up their noses at either the morning or evening meal. Most people interpret this behavior as a clue that the pet needs only one meal a day. What is probably happening, though, is that the dog no longer needs rapid growth nutrients and is entering the maintenance stage. In many dogs, maintenance requires a little more than one-half of growth needs.

So the owner naively starts feeding once a day, which leaves the dog with an empty stomach for most of its waking hours. This results in “hunger tension,” a phenomenon not hard to imagine when nature’s fuel gauge reads ‘empty’ for more than 12-14 hours a day.

dogs digest food in their stomachs longer than humans, probably because canine saliva has no discernible digestive enzyme function. dogs, as carnivores, are designed by nature to rip, tear and gulp, so it makes sense that their gastric juices require more time to sufficiently break down food before it enters the small intestine. It is not hard to imagine the consequences of cutting an accustomed two feedings down to one per day. Some dogs adapt to the change, though many owners give their once-a-day eaters tidbits around the time of their former feeding. dogs often develop oral behavior problems, such as pica, chewing, stealing food or begging at the table.

The reason some animals require only one, and others two meals a day is mainly due to the rate at which they metabolize their food. Other elements of the environment can bear on the situation as well. The amount of exercise a dog undertakes spontaneously, or is stimulated to undertake, affects food intake; even the temperature. For these reasons, two meals a day are recommended in problem cases. This requires feeding half the once-a-day ration twice daily.

Coming Up With A Feeding Schedule

Feeding schedules can play a significant role in problem behavior. If these are too near to the regular departure or arrival times of the owners, any change in the schedule because of unexpected delays or early departures can upset the routine - and the Dalmatian. This is especially true when feedings are given immediately after the owner’s arrival at home in the afternoon or evening. If the owner is late, the dog has double-trouble. The emotional ritual of the greeting is frustrated and the gastric schedule of the animal is violated.

Therefore, even though this practice may not appear clearly to be part of the problem, it is worthwhile to schedule feedings at least an hour before the owner’s departure and an hour after homecoming on regular workdays. The same schedule is used on weekends, at least until the problem is cleared up. This affects the social schedules of some owners, but it can help to solve problems.