After reading through the Best of the Cities issue, the best band to leave the twin cities in the past 12 months -- Har Mar Superstar (...and appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live after being introduced as "a man banned from the Minnesota State Fair"). Dude, and I was THERE! Oh, and the best public park (duh) -- Como Park.

Speaking of... The Como Zoo is also going to ask for donations this year. Good for them.

I fought the law, and the... wait. I won? So to recap, it appears that on my birthday on June the 23rd 1974, I crawled out of the maternity ward, hijacked a seriously high powered Honda saloon with an automated number plate changing mechanism, drove to Auckland at close to Mach 1, was over approaching the Bombay hills and unwittingly changed the automated number plate changing mechanism to show the same number as the car I would come to own almost 30 years later!! (The chance of selecting the same number plate is a mere 1 in 308,915,776 -- so quite conceivable).

It's Friday -- go play some trivia.

Want to know how to make Taco's taste just like Taco Bell? Waffles just like them make 'em over at the Waffle House? Well... you've got some serious problems. But here you go anyway -- Top Secret Recipes.

Funny Honda commercial. It must be love.

Lileks goes off on his list of worst songs. Inexplicably, he chooses "Midnight At The Oasis" as one of the worst. Whaaaa? C'mon, that's a great song! It's kept me company many a long night with the pup.

Another wacky weather week her in Minnesota. Yesterday it topped out at 91 degrees (yep), but today it's back to normal -- upper 50's most likely as the high. But still -- 91 in April. I'm kind of liking this whole global warming thing after all.

Speaking of... check out video of El Presidente wiping his glasses on some ladies shirt.

The City Pages has their new "Best of the Twin Cities" issue out.

The U of M is now hosting blogs for it's students. Need to know where the next kegger is? Check here first.

Go back in time and take a virtual tour of Disneyland via random family snapshots.

Or pop over to the future to check out Popular Science's Best of What's Next.

Plumbing the depths of reality TV. ABC's now ready to air Be My Baby, which pits five desperate couples against each other for the privilege of adopting a 16-year-old's baby. Wow. Once again, a half-second flash of Janet Jackson's nipple causes outrage, but having a televised contest to win a baby isn't.



This is a big orange moose.

Remember all of those funny video clips of Star Wars Kid from about a year ago. Now, there's a new version, ala Kill Bill.

The British Headline Newspaper Headline Gizmo.

E-bay auctions. Become a baseball player for a day with the Minnesota Saints. Or, bid on this guy's ex-wife's wedding gown (he models it himself).

Doh! Acclaimed Ramones documentary may not be released because the filmmakers didn't get the proper releases or rights to film footage. Too bad they spent the past 7 years working on it.

Even weirder. Johnny Rotten wants Justin Timberlake to play him in the Sex Pistols movie. Whaaaatttt? This is what Johnny Rotten looks like. Man, I think Johnny just wants to date Britney.

Interesting article about another notorious screenwriting hack -- F. Scott Fitzgerald. "He took screenwriting very seriously," he continued, "and it's heartbreaking to see how much effort he put into it." The new archive reveals, among other things, that Fitzgerald approached every screenplay as if it were a novel and often wrote long back stories for each of the characters before setting down a word of dialogue.

My DVD rental pick of the week -- Purple Noon. Sure, it's a French film from 1960, but don't let that throw you. It's an excellent thriller about double-crosses and murder and getting away with it. Matt Damon starred in the remake -- The Talented Mr. Ripley -- a couple of years ago, but that version doesn't hold a candle to the original. 5 out of 5 pronto pups for this one.

Mom, Maddy's chewing on my ear again!

Guess who we ran into at the puppy social hour yesterday? Maddy's SISTER! Like, her real biological, littermate sister! Meet Beatrice.

This is so cool I can't even tell you. When we went to puppy class on Saturday, Susan, our trainer, told us that she met the sis at last week's social hour (we were goofing off at the park that day). So, I brought my camera hoping to meet her, and we did.

And, sniff, sniff, get this. Beatrice was the other pup that won my heart when I went to pick out Maddy. Of the whole litter, only these two had the white blaze down the nose, and I found them both adorable. Maddy ultimately won me over, but now I get to see Beatrice again. And she's beautiful. I can't believe I got to see her again. Basset kismet at work.

In addition to Beatrice (as if that wasn't enough), there was ANOTHER 15-week old Basset pup named Todd (aka "Bonez") that also showed up. Three identically aged Basset puppies all playing tug-of-war together. They were the hit of the party. So, so, so amazingly cute I can't even tell you. Here's a couple of pics.


Matt & Beatrice.

Matt & Annie. Maddy's on the left, and Beatrice is on the right.

Maddy's in the center -- Beatrice on the left, and Bonez on the right.

Beatrice and Bonez will be there next week, too, so it should make our social hours that much more fun.

The Clash

Just found this -- London Booted. In February 2004 I posted a challenge on the Get Your Bootleg On forum to all-comers to take a track each from the seminal Clash LP London Calling (Rolling Stone's #8 Best Album of All Time) and bootleg it. That is, remix it, add to it, subtract from it - put your own tributary spin on it. Within hours all 19 tracks had new masters (and mistresses), each charged with the task of making that track their own.



Download the whole album. It's interesting if you like electronica DJ remixes. They even dubbed in Outkast to one of 'em.

In the first CD slot of my car, I have The Clash's Sandinista (disk 1) loaded pretty much always. This has got to be one of the most interesting projects ever created by ANY band. The year is 1980, and a brit punk band spends 3 weeks furiously recording a triple album. And it's not punk. It's... Well, here's a good description from Amazon...

For 36 tracks (the Clash originally released this as a three-record set for not much more than the price of one), the band tackles everything in sight, including waltz, gospel, disco, children's ditties, funk, reggae, dub, delicate instrumentals, psychedelic explorations--hell, they even play a Clash rocker or two. Though many have said there is a single great album hidden among the three here, it's the pure chutzpah of Sandinista that makes it such a particular pleasure and a brain drain at the same time. It's the document of a band that can do anything and tries to do everything. It's the glorious sound of failure. And if that ain't the Clash, what is?

My favorite track is The Magnicent Seven -- and I swear, even that it's almost 25 years after it was recorded -- it's still as crisp and relevant and rockin' as ANYTHING on the radio today. Here's another good review of why this is one of the weirdest and most daring albums ever made -- SANDINISTA.

Okay, enough about that.

An open letter to President Bush on his upcoming visit to Minnesota.

Courtesy of McSweeney's: Saddam's Interrogation Logs.

A couple of days ago I gave a big thumbs up to Zoetrope's All-Story California issue. Today, one of the stories -- Twin Study -- is published in its entirety over at Salon. You'll have to sign up for a free day pass to read the whole thing, but it's pretty good.

Today is the last day to buy-a-watt for Radio K -- the best radio station around. Listen to them online through iTunes Radio feature (under Public -> Radio K).

Well, the plumbing problems (hopefully) are now behind me. Had the plumber out yesterday and he fixed the valve, replaced the inner kit because he said it looked a "little problematic" (I didn't confess that *I* had installed it during an earlier plumbing fiasco), and then fixed a leaky washer on my outside faucet. So, all is good again. Until the inevitable next time when I turn into dork.



Uh oh. Ice Cream prices set to rise. Executive director Linda Udderback blames the rise on what she calls a "perfect storm." Prices for ice cream's essential ingredients — butter, milk, vanilla and chocolate — are on the rise.

Fortunately, Ben & Jerry's is offering their free scoop day on April 27th. And Baskin Robbins is offer their free scoop night on April 28th.

Blender magazine lists the 50 worst songs of all time. At the top of the list was "We Built This City," by Jefferson Starship.

Dude, that baby seal over there is like sooooo out of bounds. 'Tis not, you silly American twit. The polar bear is out of bounds, the baby seal is most definitely in. Two nuclear submarines, one British and one American, surfaced near the North Pole on Monday for an impromptu game of soccer, Britain's Royal Navy said.

Art imitates life, but soup imitates art. Campbell's soup has a set of Warhol-esque limited edition soup cans bearing his colorful renditions of the classic tomato soup label.

Finally, a voice of reason. 9 reasons why the arguments against Google's Gmail service are bogus.

By the way -- I'm now one of the official Beta testers for Gmail -- so I'll give a review later.

Bah! Double-Bah!

Well, once again, I seemed to have pissed off the God of Plumbing. What a freakin' nightmare last night.

Let me begin at the beginning. Maddy and I were in the kitchen having a philosophical debate on Derrida and deconstructionism. I argued that by one's "being", and viewing the Other as another "being", our views and language digress into a puddle of words which transform meaning into non-meaning (that being, lack of meaning) over time. Maddy's position was more metaphorical -- thrashing a squeaky frog back and forth until it's head came tippling off. I acquieced and declared her the winner of the debate. And then...

Wheeeeeessshhhhh!

What the? What's that sound? As Maddy and I both looked quizzically at each other, and then to the partially dismembered frog, I quickly ascertained that the sound was coming from upstairs. So, up, up, I rushed. Nothing in the bedroom. The noise louder now. And then into the bathroom only to see... a full-on, fire-hydrant inpiring gush of water. The water valve by the base of the toilet burst -- not "leaked", mind you -- I mean completely SEVERED itself.

Now, being a calm and rational person, I stood there for about 3 seconds, taking careful consideration to recall every single swear word I had stored in my reptilian brain. Then, it was a dash to throw down every towel I owned (about a half inch of water was already covering the floor). I zoomed downstairs.

Shut off valve. Shut off valve. Where in the @!*^#! is the shut off valve? The big one over there. I turned it -- it was stuck, so I kept at it like it was a pickle jar and finally it gave.

Then I ran upstairs. Did it work? Ummm. Not really. Kind of, but not really. Hmmmm.

I ran downstairs again. (Mind you, each trip "downstairs" involves navigating down a flight of slippery wooden stairs, through a baby gate, a few spoken words to a puppy trying to follow me ("Not now, sweetheart, Daddy's got a crisis here..."), through the door to the basement, and then down another flight of stairs. For the remainder of this story, let's assume approximately 2.4 seconds for each trip).

Secondary shut-off valve. Hmmm. Think! How about this one? Turn, squeak, pickle jar. Run upstairs.

Dammit!

Back downstairs. Only this time (now my feet are soaking wet), I take a massive spill on the first flight of stairs. You know how when you skip a flat rock across the water, and it just kind of "bounces"? And the quality of the skip is judged by the number of bounces? Well, now replace that rock with my ass, and you'll know how I feel today. It was a hum-dinger skipper.

Anyway, back to the bat cave. Find another valve. Turn it, squeak, squeak, pickle jar. Run upstairs.

YES!!!! Victory is mine! Ha, ha! Finally! Time to relax. Just after I clean up these wet towels and mop up the small lake... 5 towels later and much hand-wringing into the bathtub, I was done. So I flopped each soaking wet towel over the shower curtain rod to let them drip-dry a bit and...

BANG! The curtain rod falls down from the weight of the heavy wet towels and smacks me on the noggin. I'm lying on the floor covered with wet towels and a shower curtain and a curtain rod.

I promptly went dowstairs, opened a beer, and bit the remaining head off of the squeaky frog.

Bah! So, how was your day?

Some things I've been watching/reading lately.

The Cave by Jose Saramago. Okay, I'll give this an A for its prose, but as a novel, it just didn't grab me. It felt like it was written by a cranky 80-year-old man, which, of course, it was. The most interesting thing, albeit distracting, was Saramago's use (or lack thereof) of punctuation. This book has no colons, semi-colons, or quotation marks. Paragraphs can stream on for pages as a time, as can sentences, and the only form of punctuation aside from an occasional period is the comma. Maybe it's art (he did win the Nobel prize), but not exactly my cup of tea. Plus, since I never read Plato's Republic, the central metaphor of "The Cave" pretty much zoomed over my head until I read some reviews of it. On the plus side, part of the story is told from the persective of a dog. I liked that, because, apparently, I'm very doggy. 3 out of 5 prontopups.

Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd by Robert Zacks. This book suffers one major problem -- that it's non-fiction. In the context of non-fiction, it relies on exhaustive listings of dates, ports of call, journal entries that are all like "ye olde this" and "ye olde that", cargo hold contents, values of cargo in the currency of the day (I can't seem to relate to the value of 40 pieces of 8), and other such academic piffle-paffle. He tries (unsuccessfully, most of the time) to spice up the action, but this is work better suited towards a fiction writer. The subject matter is fascinating (I'm a big pirate buff), but go watch Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean instead -- you'll thank me later. 2 prontopups.

Derrida. This was a much lauded documentary on the life of one of the 20th century's greatest philosophers -- Jacques Derrida. If you think watchin a 70-something year old man butter his toast and talk like Yoda (in FRENCH, no less) sounds like a ripping good yarn, well, good luck to you. The movie got great reviews, but, in my humble opinion, it was boring, tedious, and pretentious. Once again, I have no background on Derrida or his work in deconstructionist theory, so I didn't "get" what was so profound about this man. Maybe I need to read some of his stuff. Then again, maybe not. Taking a cue from other French philosophers -- I surrender. 1 1/2 prontopups.

O Brothers, Where Art Thou? Given the fact that I normally love the Coen brothers work, I was sorely disappointed in Intolerable Cruelty. It was there most lackluster performance to date, as far as I'm concerned. Scriptwriting rule 101 -- you have to care about the characters. I mean, you can love 'em or hate 'em, but you have to feel something. The characters in this stinker were pitiable and shallow. 2 prontopups.

Zoetrope's All-Story magazine -- The California issue. Good summer reading for days up at the park. 4 1/2 prontopups.

HBO's new series Deadwood. Best villain I've seen in a loooong time. The evil saloon-keeper Al Swearengen is mean, mean, mean. And I like that. 4 prontopups.

Welcome to wacky Minnesota weather. A week ago Sunday (Easter), there were threats of a snowstorm hitting the area. Yesterday, a mere one week later, it was 88 degrees, followed by a thunderstorm with 75 MPH winds. For the record, that 88 degrees made it hotter here than in Cancun. On April 18th. In Minnesota. Ya.

The National Priorities Project will let you compare the relative cost of (oh, say this stupid Iraq war) with other programs that could have been funded with the same money. For example, taxpayers in Minnesota will pay $1.9 billion for $87 billion additional war spending. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided: 765,559 Children Receiving Health Care.

Dino's Gyros, just about 8 blocks from my house, has just built a new restaurant and outfitted it with 802.11g wireless (for free). Dino's also runs the biggest Gyro concession at the state fair, so maybe... I could be doing wireless access from INSIDE the state fair this year. Wait and see.

Get all techno and stuff with Windows system sounds.

Where will evolution lead us? Check out Human Descent for some ideas of what the future might hold.

Speaking of evolution: Swimmers ignore croc danger. Where? The aptly named Darwin Beach.



This image has nothing to do with anything.

I scream. You scream. Even freezers scream for ice cream. Ben & Jerry's to start using new eco-friendly "green" freezers. These new greener chillers use sound waves for cooling instead of environment-damaging chemical refrigerants linked to global warming. I'm guessing they'll play some Phish or Cherry Garcia. That usually gets me pretty cold.

Jesse Ventura pondering a presidential bid in 2008. I'm probably one of the few people left in this state that would actually get excited by this. I don't think he has any real chance of winning, but having an outspoken centrist candidate would really liven up the debates. I say go for it!

80's style Tarot Cards.

Rumsfeld looking forward to Secretary's Day.

And speaking of the 80's -- John Hughes, High School Guidance Counselor.

If you REALLY get bored today, try this -- the virtual fly swatter.

The writings on the stall. Most are crude and not terribly funny, but... there's some that got me to smile. On inside of stall door, at eye level of sitter: "How about a little toilet tennis (look left)" -- On left wall: "Look right" -- On right wall: "Look left".

More proof for those that don't believe in evolution. Boy chimps are lazier than girl chimps. Young female chimpanzees learn certain hunting and gathering skills from their mothers much faster than their male counterparts - who prefer to spend their time playing, researchers said on Wednesday.

The problem? Kindergarteners see bullying every 5 minutes. The solution? Parents need to stop watching Fox television.

You knew it had to happen. David Hasselhoff is coming back to the big screen in Knight Rider.

The kid and I spent about an hour and half up at Como Park yesterday. And, we got our picture taken with 3 young Japanese tourists. When I say "Maddy", it comes out in my mush-mouthed midwestern drawl. When they said "Mad-di" it was crisp and proper, like her name should be said. Mad-di-son.

California lawmaker tries to block Google mail. "We think it's an absolute invasion of privacy. It's like having a massive billboard in the middle of your home," Sen. Liz Figueroa, a Democrat from Fremont, California, told Reuters in a telephone interview. "We are asking them to rethink the whole product," she said.

One, it's a free opt-in service. Don't like those pesky ads? Well... don't sign up for an account then. Duh. Two, let ME decide if I want to have ads directed at me in exchange for 1 Gig of free e-mail space. Three, that massive billboard in the middle of your home is called a television. It essentially offers free programs to watch while frequently interrupting the program for something called a commercial, which is a form of advertising. It's a business model that's been around for years...

I will lay 100 to 1 odds that this stupid Democrat (see, I can play both sides) is taking money from either Microsoft or Yahoo or AOL. I, myself, would MUCH rather pay $20 to Microsoft to get 10 MB's of Hotmail and I'm sure my e-mail would be oh-so-much safer. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Want to get Bush out of the white house? Like cookies and pies? Well... check out Moveon.org's bake sale in your area.

What's on my iPod? I just got these songs yesterday from iTunes, and I'm ready for a funkified summer...

• Automatic - Prince
  
• Baby - Caetano Veloso & Gal Costa
  
• Blue (Da Ba Dee) Extended Remix - Eiffel 65
  
• D.M.S.R. - Prince
  
• Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? (DJ Halou Remix) - Rod Stewart
  
• Ghost Town (12" Version) - The Specials
  
• Got To Be Real - Cheryl Lynn
  
• Got To Give It Up (single) - Marvin Gaye
  
• Heaven - Los Lonely Boys
  
• If I Was Your Girlfriend - Prince
  
• Jump Into the Fire - Harry Nilsson
  
• Man with a Harmonica - Ennio Morricone
  
• Melodies of Love - Joe Sample
  
• Mustt Mustt (Lost in His Work) - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
  
• Never Say Never - Romeo Void
  
• Tropicalia - Caetano Veloso
  
• Wonderful! Wonderful! - Johnny Mathis
  
• Young Hearts Run Free - Candi Staton

Things I'm thinking about getting for Maddy -- This and This.

Maddy has her own Dogster friends network now. I know, I know. Shut up.

Nineteen and half pounds of slobbering goodness!

Took Maddy to the vet yesterday for our 3rd series of shots, and the kid is getting big. We also scheduled our next visit for a month out, at which time she'll get spayed, get an electronic ID implant, and get her last set of shots. It will also mean (sniff, sniff) that she'll have to spend the night away from Casa de Prontopup. I'm already a little anxious about it, but it's just one of those things you have to do...

Other than that, she's a healthy little monkey.

They added a couple new acts to the MN State Fair grandstand lineup. Los Tigres Del Norte will be a nice addition, but I'm still holding my breath for the rest of the acts to be announced. Shawn Colvin and Los Lobos are both playing free stages.

Everything I own. On Red. Ashley Revell, 32, a London man who said he liquidated all his possessions to fund his leap of faith, put $135,300 on red at the roulette table Sunday as a film crew videotaped his wager. And... he WINS!

Another brilliant portrait, this time of John Ashcroft. The small photos are all porn.

The next few days are going to be amazing here in Minnesota. We should be have a string of 70 degree plus days. Time for me to get out the flip-flops and margarita mix. Finally!

Easter rap.

WWJD? What would Jesus Drive?

Can you love your dog too much?

Oldie but goodie. Actual church bulletin notices. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

It's true. Guinness is good for you.

Portrait of Bush. The smaller photos are of U. S. service men and women who have died in Iraq.

Actual garment label.

And here's a video edit of the hilarious Mr. Bush doing the funny "where are those WMDs?" joke.

American Idol gives too much power to the people. Duh. And these are the same folks that voted for Bush, I presume.

I'll have a half-caf, double latte... with a beer chaser. Starbucks and Jim Beam to market new booze. Mmmm.

How the marshmallow chicks found Jesus.

Band name origins.

The stupidity of this is baffling. The record industry, finally starting to get some traction with legal song downloading -- now wants to raise the price per song to $1.25 - $2.99 PER SONG. Even though there is no production costs, manufacturing, or physical distribution needed. And they wonder why people aren't buying as much music as they used to.

And finally, kill your Friday afternoon's productivity by spending some quality time at Nostalgia Central.

Sorry about that, chief. Maxwell Smart testifies before congress on intelligence lapses.

McSweeney's daily reason to dispatch Bush.

And she wears lacy thongs... just like a woman. Bob Dylan appears in new Victoria Secret ads. Weird.

Very short personality quiz.

Minnesota professor creates a bicycle with square wheels. Just in time for pothole season.

And the rest of the world finally catches on to Diablo Cody (warning: adult content). I've been reading her blog almost since the beginning. It's WAY more interesting than reading about my dog every day.



But, since you asked. Our Basset day (Monday) was kind of a bust. I was expecting to see the whole store crawling with Bassets. Alas, not so. We only met 2 other hounds -- Dottie and Lumpers -- both solid squatty bodies as the trainer likes to call them. There was also a Basset/Springer Spaniel mix (which I called a "Basinger") that looked more like a freaky sheep than a dog. It had a basset torso and head, stuck on spindly taller legs and with a thick fur coat. Odd fella. He was probably bred in the Netherlands.

Maddy also got her first Salon treatment -- shampoo, massage, nail trimming, ear cleaning, etc. So, how long did she stay clean? About 4 minutes. Right after picking her up, we stepped outside the store to "do our business", and she walks right under some bicycles, getting bike grease on her coat. Pffft!

Basset Hound Day at the local Petsmart

Yes, Maddy and I are making yet another trip to the pet store today, because it's their first Basset Hound Day. We're going up this evening to meet other Bassets, so it should be a fun time (provided that none of them pee on my leg).

There's a new fad of designer mutts out there. I was wondering what you'd get if you crossed the American Basset with a labrador? An Ambassador?

Or, how about this for taking on those pesky terrorists? The X-15 Cruise Basselope?

Maddy and I went up to the Petsmart Puppy Social Hour again yesterday. As soon as we got there, I set Maddy down and took a set near the edge of the pen area. A friendly little Schnauzer came over to say hello, so I bent over and started petting the little guy. "Nice pup... Oooohhh, who's da nicest little pup here... Yes... You are... Aren't ya little guy..."

Then I realized the puppy was rather non-responsive, owing in large part to the fact that his leg was lifted up. He walked away, and there I sat -- gobsmacked -- looking at my wet, pee-stained leg and shoe...

Always an adventure, man.

Charlie Kaufman's PO'd at George Clooney. Good!

This is broken.

Things to do when you're bored.

Hall of technical documentation weirdness.

Bush Sucks.

Funny E-bay listing -- RYOBI ROUTER TABLE - WORTHLESS JUNK NR!

Google's getting into the free e-mail business with a whopping 1 GB of free storage. Go Gmail!

I'm putting this on Maddy's Christmas list -- the PetSpa! (thanks Keith)

This is the future of advertising, and I for one like it. Watch AMEX's new series of ads featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Superman. Good stuff, AMEX. Keep it up!

The poetry of Donald Rumsfeld.

Glass Box
You know, it's the old glass box at the—
At the gas station,
Where you're using those little things
Trying to pick up the prize,
And you can't find it.
It's—

And it's all these arms are going down in there,
And so you keep dropping it
And picking it up again and moving it,
But—

Some of you are probably too young to remember those—
Those glass boxes,
But—

But they used to have them
At all the gas stations
When I was a kid.

—Dec. 6, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing

The Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival kicks off today. I'm going to try to take in a few things. I especially want to see the conversation with Barrie Osborne. He was executive producer for the Lord of the Rings trilogy AND The Matrix, among other things. I'll just bet he's not doing too bad financially. Call it a hunch.

Happy April Fools Day! Have fun at work.

O Squirrel, Where Art Thou? Olde-tymey rodent revival.

Casino link in child's game. The story isn't that interesting, but here's my favorite quote: "I was gobsmacked that a kids' computer game handed out on cereal packets has a link to an online casino," Mr Xenophon said. That's the new word of the day: Gobsmacked. Try to use it at least once today.

It's not easy being green. I'm good to the finish, 'cuz I eats me spinach... I'm Popeye the green tree frog...

Woof! Study finds people pick dogs that resemble them.

So what kind of person likes the pop-eyed, pointy-eared, pug-nosed Frenchie?

``Actually, they're quite trendy and good-looking,'' Cavaciuti said, adding that they tend to strut on the streets of New York City's tony Upper East Side.

Hound people are a different story.

``You can spot them a mile away,'' she said. ``They're very doggy.''

What the ???... What does that mean? Very doggy? Pffft.