Pet Rock: The Pop Culture Blog

Just in time for your Fourth of July festivities, British researchers have announced they've discovered a rare original copy of the Declaration of Indepencence.

The "Dunlap print," so called because of the printer it came from, was found accidentally a few months ago, according to a spokeswoman at the National Archives. But researchers kept it under wraps until they could properly catalog it, which apparently they've done.

That's a pretty big deal, considering only about 200 copies were printed and that it was almost 250 years ago. The new find is in "good condition," says Edward Hampshire, colonial materials specialist with the National Archives, according to published reports. No one seems to know how the copy ended up in Great Britain.

The Dunlap prints, printed by John Dunlap of Philadelphia and distributed to important folks like, oh, George Washington, were the first copies made of the Declaration of Independence. They were then sent around the colonies to be read to the population in those pre-Youtube days.

The last Dunlap print found fetched $8.14 million at auction in 2000. -- Jessica Damiano

While shooting behind-the-scenes video at Westminster, I had the pleasure of meeting an, um, let's say interesting guy. Dexter Blanch, owner of Highly Favored Creations, has invented something he calls "historic and revolutionary." I call it a chastity belt for dogs!

Dexter was inspired to create his pet anti-breeding system while recovering from a gunshot wound inflicted by his Beagle during a hunting trip. He said he was trying to protect his female beagle from the advances of another dog. "I realized it took a lot of effort to keep the beagle separated from another dog. When I was recovering in the hospital bed, the idea just popped into my head to develop a pet chastity belt."

I think the doctor may have given him too much pain medication!

How it works: Just strap on the device over the female dog's nether region and let loose the hounds! There's a mesh covering for the dog's rear that allows them to carry out "natural bodily functions." Gross! Dexter claims his unique invention will prevent accidental and unwanted breeding. He offers a variety of colors and sizes too.

Seeing is believing, so watch this clip to see all the action ...

President George Bush has seen it all ... the war in Iraq, a sagging economy, and most recently, the bottom of a dirty shoe courtesy of one fed up journalist. This dude is a true American hero! Well, now you too can live the dream of showing Bush how much you care to send the very worst. Click here to throw a shoe at Bush!

-Click here to see photos of the shoe incident, and follow-up demonstrations in Iraq

DENVER - There's quite a huge glare on my computer screen right now as I type, so if there are any typos, I blame it entirely on poor visibility rather than poor spelling.

And that's the only complaint possible as I settle into my press seat in Section 131 of Invesco Field (the end zone at the open end of the stadium).

What does this have to do with our ongoing and somewhat random ranking of reasons to love America? Let me explain it matter-of-factly.

I'm sitting in a football stadium, witnessing the most historic political moment of my lifetime with my own eyes. No press box glass to send my view askew. No indoor air to keep me from fully embracing the true atmosphere of this moment. I'm a few first downs away from history.

And I've got power and an Internet connection at the same time. From a seat in a football stadium, I can witness the majesty of this moment and still connect to my servers back home to update our DNC coverage.

To be clear, this isn't about politics or partisan journalism or experience or change or attack ads or foreign policy or anything of that nature. This is about standing on the doorstep of American history that my grandchildren will read about in their social studies books, and documenting it at the same time from a laptop. What a world we live in these days. And that's what makes this the Reason No. 4 to love America.

And Stevie Wonder is going to perform live! Holla!

We get hit up with invites, promos and all sorts of things by PR (not Pet Rock) folks all the day. Part of the job, and certainly no complaints here.

It's my job to sift through all that stuff and figure out what is worth my time to blog about, your time to read about and all our time to actually experience whatever it is we're blogging and reading about.

Every now and again, we get an email that immediately screams out "Um, yeah, we're gonna have to do something about this STAT!"

And this one quickly elevated itself to No. 28 on our fly-by-night list of Reasons to Love America. It's National Underwear Day! And it's coming to Manhattan on Aug. 5, 2008.

That's correct, folks. It's a day to make mention of our unmentionables and to celebrate the advent of the clothing that goes above our skin and below our other clothes . . . usually. It was started by Freshpair in 2003 and has taken place in Times Square the previous five years. This year, it moves indoors.

Ordinarily, I would never condone the act of wearing such materials, but once I read "Runway shows - cocktails – celebrity appearances" I figured I could let it slide.

We need clarification on "celebrity appearances." Are we talking real celebrity people, or famous underwears of the past? This is an important distinction. As your pop culturist, it's my job to investigate this matter in person . . . and to accept nominations for my +1.

(Photo from Freshpair.com)

Olive Riley, who was dubbed the world's oldest blogger, died at the age of 108, according to the Associated Press. Her final days were spent at a nursing facility in Woy Woy, New South Wales, Australia where she continued to chronicle her life growing up in the Outback, raising kids, and working as a bartender and farm cook on a her blog, "The Life of Riley." Upon news of her death, her blog received a flurry of hits and experienced technical difficulties. You may view her temporary blog - http://worldsoldestblogger.blogspot.com/

Here's an excerpt of one of her final posts:

Hello again to all my friends.

You 21st century people live a different life than the one I lived as a youngster in the early 1900s. Take Washing Day, for instance. These days you just toss your dirty clothes into a washing machine, press a few switches, and it's done.

I remember scratching around to find a few pieces of wood to fire the copper for Mum. Sometimes I'd find a broken wooden fruit box that I'd split with a tommyhawk. Sometimes I'd gather some twigs and dead branches, and use them for firewood.

When the water in the copper began to boil, Mum would add a cupful of soap chips, and throw in a cube of Reckitt's Blue wrapped in a muslin bag to whiten the clothes. Then she put in all the dirty clothes, first rubbing out the stains with a bar of Sunlight soap. She used a corrugated washing board for that. ....

It's nice to see an older generation take hold of technology to share their own stories. Plus, Olive Riley showed everyone that you're never to old to blog! May she rest in peace.

Photo credit: http://www.allaboutolive.com.au/

Flipping through the Sunday circulars for good coupon deals (you know you do it, too), I came across Reason No. 37 to love America.

Americans have long been infatuated with humanizing their dogs. We're not judging here at all. In fact, my brother and I used to tie a "Hulk Rules" bandana around my dog's neck when we were kids. (Yes, it looked awesome!)

Rather, it's the idea of a dog in a polo shirt that had me rolling on and off the couch. I almost went out and bought a dog, just so I could then buy a doggie polo shirt for him. Seriously, look at the photo above one more time. I dare you not to laugh.

• See more photos of dogs at play

- La Monica

File this one under outrageous, ridiculous, ridiculous, outrageous and "Damn, I wish I thought of that first!" Cross-reference this one with "Yeah, it's of British origin, but I'm reading this in America, and we were once owned by the British, so it qualifies somehow under 'Reasons to Love America.'"

This woman, Tricia Walsh Smith, is taking to YouTube to post videos that will perhaps increase her chances at winning a nice settlement in her divorce case.

I now present you with Reason No. 6 to love America. Enjoy your day. Note: There may be a few words used in this video that you may not agree with.

-La Monica

Find me another country where this chronological order of events can occur:

1) A governor gets busted in a prostitution ring and is forced to resign.

2) The call girl in question becomes an overnight sensation and pop culture phenomenon.

3) Said woman is offered millions of dollars from various skin mags and similar media companies for her photos and/or promotional tour.

So far, this could happen anywhere, right? Here comes the quintessential sign that is wholly an American story.

4) "Girls Gone Wild," one of the aforementioned skin media companies, is in talks to land a $1 million deal with Ashley Alexandra Dupre when someone in a meeting possesses the necessary brainwaves to contrive this thought and blurt it out to the group: Did anyone think to check our archives to see if she's already gone wild?

Wow! Such depravity of mind. Such belief in their product and corporate mission. Admirable on many levels. Dirty on many levels. Only in America!

See more Reasons to love America.

- Mark La Monica

P.S. Do not interpret this as ridiculing Ashley. Plenty of other places have been and will continue to do such. Let them have their day. Pet Rock just salutes the ingenius thinking of that person in that meeting.

There exists in this country a person or persons who receive a paycheck to do the following job:

Putting tables, steel chairs, Kendo sticks, garbage cans, sledgehammers and ladders underneath the ring for potential use on WWE's Monday Night Raw and other pro wrestling shows.

If this person is derelict in his or her duties, you can only imagine the ramifications. What's pro wrestling without foreign objects and steel chairs?

Here's another question: In the occupation field on tax returns, what does this person write? Only in America!

More reasons to love America

- Mark La Monica

A snippet of a conversation at a CVS counter on Monday evening:

"Can I see your driver's license?"

"Um, sure, but for Co-Advil?"

"Yep."

"Are you serious?"

"Yep."

"That's fantastic. Do I even want to know why?"

"Kids were using it to make crystal meth."

"Ah, that's rich."

So let's review: There are "companies" that will deliver marijuana to your home but you need to show a legal form of ID to purchase an over-the-counter drug that's designed to make you healthier.

Is this the type of healthcare reform Obama and Clinton are talking about?

Only in America!

- Mark La Monica

More reasons to love America

On Tuesday, Starbucks - a beacon of corporate capitalism in America -- closed its doors for three hours for a little quality control (and free publicity).

Dunkin Donuts pounced on the chance to land new customers, make a buck and garner some free publicity -- go, capitalism, go! -- and offered 99-cent lattes, cappuccinos and espressos during that time.

Then, on Wednesday night, The Daily Show aired this clip with special correspondent Jason Jones. And here on Thursday afternoon, those who missed it on TV can watch it online. What a country we live in.

Reason No. 41 to love America:

Diablo Cody just scored the 2008 Oscar for best screenplay for "Juno." In what other country could a woman go from stripper to Academy Award winner in less than five years?

Here's a nice little profile of Diablo Cody, the ad agency exec turned stripper turned rookie screenwriter turned Academy freaking Award winner. Only in America!

- Mark La Monica