THE MOST CRASS MARKETING EVER

INSENSITIVE PET CARE CLINIC OPENED PAINFUL WOUND

The picture here is of our beloved Puchy.

We shared custody of her with a Little Havana neighbor living hand to mouth.

When she took sick, we ran up well more than $1,000 in vet bills trying to save this little mixed breed bundle of joy.

Sadly, at about age 10, our angel dog crossed the rainbow bridge.

The veterinarian outfit we took her to, one with several outlets in Greater Miami, did a terrible job of caring for her.

She wasn't a beloved family member to them, she was a profit center.  

Even when we knew she had to be euthanized, the clinic's sales people were marketing to us -- guilting us into buying a clay pressing of her dying paw and a deluxe post cremation kit.

That day in 2009, I decided I wouldn't do business with that group of charlatans if they were the last veterinary clinic left standing in South Florida.

So imagine my shock when from out of nowhere yesterday, I received a "Happy Birthday Puchy" text from this piece of crap outfit.

Of course, the well wishes were a thinly-veiled come-on, wrapped around a link that went to their online pet appointment scheduling application.

Even if Puchy were alive, she'd be nearly 20 years old.  I don't think the average dog lives that long, so it's crass and careless to send out birthday wishes to an old pet anyway.

But this craphole of pretend pet care went beyond.

When it was pouring dollars into a new marketing campaign, it couldn't even have the decency to check its own records.

Five minutes of matching my cell number to the pet I brought in would confirm that this outfit put our beloved Puchy down in less than a week after it commenced  care of our furry family member.

I try not to be vulgar in my blog posts, but Knowles Animal Clinics -- 

I send you to hell.

I love my Puchy.

She brought joy to our lives for a good half dozen years.

We're truly not sure how old she is, because our indigent friend took her in off the street when she was full grown.

I guess when we registered her for care, we had to give a birth date so we made one up.

Somebody took that data, damn near a decade old, and turned it into the most shameful, greedy sales pitch text I've ever heard of.

If you are in Greater Miami, I urge you to go to Miami-Dade Animal Services.   They have a brand new facility and some of the most caring people -- from vets to entry level staff -- on the planet.

Boycott Knowles.  They are all about profit margin, not pet care.

I truly hope this goes viral.

Is there anything more underhanded than playing on a pet owner's emotions to try to ring the cash register a few more times?

Thanks for nothing Knowles, you opened a wound of grief I thought was long healed.

Thanks to your obsession with the almighty dollar and nothing else, I am shedding tears for my long-departed Angel Dog...when I could be spending my time caring for our 6 rescue animals.

ART IMITATES LIFE

A DAILY OCCURRENCE IN ISTANBUL

Istanbul is one of my favorite cities on earth.

I've spent well more than a month total in my visits.

I can give directions to visitors, if stopped an of dozens of neighborhoods.

But I also can, rather intentionally, get "lost" wandering the back streets of Fener, Balat, Zeyrek, Hocapasa or Beyoglu.

Author Orhan Pamuk and many of his characters love walking the backstreets of Beyoglu.

I was heading from Istiklal Caddessi downhill toward Cihangir.

I was not sure if I was on the right track to the antique district.

So I pulled out my smart phone and started looking at google maps and feeding in the name of a museum and shop in the general area I wanted to arrive at.

Confident that I was on the right path, I shut down the phone.

I pulled out a bottle of water and looked up at the street art.

Looks like a traveler of a different era was doing the exact thing I was.

YOU SCREAM, I SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM...

...FOR DONDURMA

Dondurma, a Turkish style of ice cream, typically includes milk, sugar, salep and mastic.

The last two ingredients give it a thick, almost chewy quality.

It holds together like taffy.

Dondurma vendors always wear colorful vests and must be adept at picking up a few pounds of the treat and manipulating it with a long paddle stick.

ULU CAMI (GRAND MOSQUE)

BURSA, TURKEY

Ulu Cami is the largest mosque in Bursa and a landmark of early Ottoman architecture which used many elements from the Seljuk architecture.

Ordered by Sultan Bayezid I, the mosque was designed and built by architect Ali Neccar in 1396–1399.

It is a large rectangular building, with twenty domes arranged in four rows of five that are supported by twelve columns.

Supposedly the twenty domes were built instead of the twenty separate mosques which Sultan Bayezid I had promised for winning the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396.

The mosque has two minarets.

There is also a fountain (sadirvan) inside the mosque where worshipers can perform ritual ablutions before prayer; the dome over the şadırvan is capped by a skylight which creates a soft light below, playing an important role in the illumination of the large building.

The horizontally spacious and dimly lit interior is designed to feel peaceful and contemplative.

The subdivisions of space formed by multiple domes and pillars create a sense of privacy and even intimacy. -- Wikipedia

140,000 READERS AND GROWING

 

TODAY, WE CELEBRATE MORE THAN 140,000 UNIQUE VISITORS TO THIS BLOG

While that is a total, cumulative readership, vs. daily readership...in gross numbers, it is within a few thousand of the daily circulation of the Miami Herald.

We have ranted for a better built environment, especially for people with disabilities.

We have shared more than 1,000 fine art images of Istanbul, New Orleans and dozens of other favorite destinations.

We have shared news of great urban design by firms we are proud to be affiliated with.

In more than 95 percent of the posts, the writing and photography is original -- as in we took the images and wrote the words.

When it is not, we give full credit to the original source.

Today, we share a picture from Bursa, Turkey.

About an hour before dusk, observant Muslims were lining up at bakeries to buy special loaves for Ramazan.

We were invited to share in this breaking of fast, simply when we were sitting in a park just after dark.

The fellowship was divine.

We are not very religious, certainly not of the Muslim faith.

And our kind, informal hosts knew this.

But they simply wanted to share in the holy month.

This is what travel is about.

This is what mankind is about.

Why our president or any other insane elected officials would falsely and maliciously associate Islamists with terrorists is beyond comprehension.

Today, we celebrate peace-loving, mankind loving people around the globe.

A few weeks per year, we are blessed to make these new friends.

VIEW OF BURSA, TURKEY

FROM EFEHAN HOTEL

The Efehan is more or less a standard business hotel, not specifically aimed at tourists but quite comfortable.

If you need a place to stay in the central bazaar area near the Ulu Camii (Great Mosque), which is about 5 minutes away.

The Green Mosque is about 10 minutes away in the other direction.

Finding a decent restaurant nearby is easy enough as well, though most businesses in the area don't stay open very late.

The rooms were large and comfortable, and from the upper floors (including the breakfast salon.)

There are great views westwards over Bursa's bazaar district and towards the Hisar/Citadel.

--Trip Advisor

MARKET DAY IN BURSA, TURKEY

RAMAZAN FASTING

Bursa's market district is full of covered hans.

There are shops for silk, homewares, clothing, mattresses, toys, antiques -- you name it.

There also are great food markets.

But when were were there, it was Ramazan.

So it was not polite to gobble down market food in front of observant Muslims.