Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Ask the Bear how he wants his paws to look.   

When I was a kid, we had a blue budgie which was a decent talker.  We also had a miniature schnauzer.

Not only could the bird imitate the doorbell and the telephone well enough to make you come running into the room to answer the door or pick up the phone, only to find nobody there, he could actually call the dog!

The dog's name was "Tyrone" but his play name was "Ty-ty."  The bird would call "Ty-ty!  Ty-ty!" until the dog came running.  Then he would laugh and the dog would just stand there looking up at the bird.

The bird never learned to say, "Pretty Bird" or "Gimme' Cracker" as are the classic things to teach a bird but he sure could imitate sounds well enough to make us kids laugh like crazy!

Yeah, the birds would taunt the cats!       

You would never be able to shear a mink.  Mink have a nasty temper and sharp teeth.  They would shred you to pieces if you tried.  Even if you wore heavy gloves and a mask, you would never be able to hold one down long enough to shear it.

Like Joanne said, it would be too hard to make usable yarn for weaving out of mink hair.  The hairs are too short and stiff to card and spin into yarn.

You're better off using the whole pelt.  Recycling old fur coats is a fine way to make a Bear.  Just be sure that the pelts are not too old and stiff.  Mink coats do wear out.  Use good quality pelts if you want a good quality Bear. 

You might be able to get some scraps from a furrier.  Just about every furrier has a mink Teddy Bear or two in his shop.  You might even be able to strike a deal.  The furrier gives you some fur to work with, either at a discount or for free, and you promise to make a Bear that he can sell in his shop.

Secondarily, real fur pelts are somewhat trickier to work with than plush fabric.  If you are able to cultivate a relationship with a furrier both of you could benefit.  He gets Bears to sell in his shop and you get to learn how to sew real fur. 

Hey Janice, did you ever stop to think that the Bear in your avatar picture looks a lot like the "Teddy Bear 3000" who starred with Haley Joel Osmet in the Stephen Speilberg movie, "A.I."?

Great photography, as usual!  :thumbsup:
I like the way you always use natural light.  Reminiscent of Dogme-95 except better because it's with Bears! 

It's just like our parents told us when we were kids:  "If you want to have a pet you have to learn to take care of it.  If you're not going to take care of it, you can't have a pet."

It's such a lame excuse, too!  A guinea pig would be perfectly happy if kept in a cardboard box PROVIDED you kept it clean and gave him some nice bedding to keep warm in.  Surely you would only need to keep the guinea pig in his "temporary home" for a couple of days.

Just for argument's sake, let's just assume that the cage really is broken and the owner can't afford a new one.  It would not be very hard to find somebody to take care of it.  I'm sure there are a dozen people who would love to take care of a guinea pig.

Besides...  What's wrong with putting an ad in the newspaper?  "Guinea Pig:  Free to good home.  555-1234 Daytime.  Serious inquiries only."

I smell a scam.

Speak to your son in person.  Ask him a question that only he would know the answer to.
(Like what is the name of his first Teddy Bear.  )

Don't send anything until you are 100% sure you are talking to your son and you know why he needs the money and where, exactly, you will be sending it.

You won't be able to send any money until Monday, anyway.  Use the time to do your own detective work.

Maybe you could call the police (non-emergency) and ask their opinion.  Maybe they could even HELP you send the money if it is true.

The guy will do time!

He's already been in the slammer and he's already been arraigned on the charges.  They have the guy on video, stealing the dog and they have testimony that says he intended to kill the dog.

It looks like a slam dunk case!   

Some people do eat bear.  Don't care for it, myself.  Tried it.  Just don't like it.
I've tried many other kinds of meat from mutton/lamb to goat and small game.  They are all right.  Not my favorites, mind you.  I'd rather stick to beef, pork, poultry and fish.  They are easier to come by and easier to prepare.
I'd certainly rather people didn't shoot bears but, if it was for survival or self defense, do what you've got to do.

The bottom line is that I'm not happy about people shooting bears unnecessarily, either.

My main issue is that the guy has this raggedy, old bearskin rug that he thinks is worth $5,000 but it's probably not worth 1/10th of that.  It's a family heirloom and he feels pressured to get rid of it so he's trying to get some money for it.  He thinks it's valuable because of his family history.

What I think he should do is to find a museum and donate it.  That institution could write him a letter stating the value of the donation which he could then list as a charitable donation on his tax return.  He'd get satisfaction out of that and the bearskin would not go to waste.  Other people could learn from it.

Just to make myself clear (which I frequently do not  :redface: ) I am not directing my comment about karma at you or anybody, in particular.  However, I see many people on this website and others who feel upset when somebody singles out their eBay auction for some perceived infraction, whether it be real or imagined.  These things always turn into some moral battle about who is right and who is wrong.

In this case, you would be RIGHT to report the guy because it is an infraction of the rules.  It's a fairly serious one, in my book because there is a strong black market for bear products in China and other Asian countries.  They think bear claws, teeth and organs have magical powers.  There are international laws to prevent the black market killing of bears and other animals.  Reporting this prohibited item helps uphold laws.

(Like I said, I think the guy should donate the thing to a museum.)

I wasn't getting down on you or anybody else.  I was just suggesting that creating a fuss, regardless of who is fussing, rarely has a happy outcome for all involved.

I don't think the guy is being purposely dishonest but it's not worth the price he's asking for it.

As he says in his description, it is "many, many" years old.  Plus it was stored wrong.  He admits it.  On top of that he says it has been repaired.  This means it has suffered damage.  I can guarantee the hide is dried out and falling apart.
At one time, that was a very expensive bear skin rug.  Now it is a moth eaten piece of junk.  The guy has an inflated sense of its value just because it is a family heirloom.

I wouldn't give $5.00 for it.

Personally, I don't have a problem with hunting but I don't care for sport hunting.  In days gone-by, it was an acceptable thing to do but, today, it is not.  As far as I am concerned, if you shoot an animal you should eat it.  Few people today have a taste for bear meat.  I don't really care for it, myself. On those grounds, I just would never shoot a bear unless it was for defense.  If that day ever comes, I would make sure that nothing goes to waste.  I would find somebody who would use the meat.  The skin, I would have tanned and make it into something useful or donate it to a museum.

Hunting is okay with me.  Deer, small game or birds all make good hunting and good food.  As long as the take is eaten or used for something useful, I'm all right with it.  Deer hide makes fine leather.  Rabbit pelts would make a nice hat or pair of mittens to keep you warm.

On the other side of the coin, I am NOT in favor of sport hunting!  Not only do I think it's a waste of resources but I don't see any point in it.  People who hunt for sport really aren't thinking.

I agree with you that this listing should not be allowed.
Many kinds of wildlife items are not allowed on eBay.  Bear products are specifically not allowed.  (I checked the rules to be sure.)
So, it does concern me that the guy is trying to sell a prohibited product on eBay by skirting the rules.  He's selling a substandard product to boot.

However, I do not agree with getting so upset about it.
Let me ask...  How many of you have posted here when somebody else made trouble for your eBay auction?  Ask yourself if it is right for you to make trouble for other people based on your personal beliefs.

You don't like it when people make trouble for you.  Why should you make trouble for other people.  It just spreads bad karma.

Now, I'll concede that this guy should get reported for breaking the rules but I don't think it's right to get your fur in a bunch just because somebody shot a bear, probably 30 or 40 years ago.

What?!  Bears in boxes?!   

No, Bears belong on the sofa!  In front of the TV.  Give them the remote control and a plate full of chocolate cookies!

Boxes!  Indeed!   

Personally, I would donate to the police dept. in Claire's name.  Aside from other reasons, donations to the police dept. could be tax deductible whereas donations to a person who is not registered as a 501(c)(x) organization are probably not.

Bears like to help children in need but they also like getting a little recognition at tax time. 

You're taking a Bear with you?  Right?   

Even if the Bear can't run with him, you must take a Bear along with you to watch!  You absolutely must!   

Then, after you have all the important stuff, make sure you pack a camera!  We want to see a picture!

And figure out a way to get a Bear into at least one picture!        

A plethora of Pandas! 

Word synergisms are almost always good names for companies.

They are unique and easy to trademark unless somebody else is using it.
They can be easy to remember unless it's so obscure that people don't understand it.  Then, again, if you think about a name like "Kodak", it's easy to remember and it's very distinctive.

As far as domain names go, "sarchie.com" is already taken, apparently by somebody who has a dog named "Sarchie."

"sarchiebears.com" is open.
"sarchie.net", "sarchie.com.au" and similar are all open.

If you make a decision, go ahead and register the domain.  You don't have to put up a site right away.  You can "park" the domain for a small fee.  (Sometimes even for free.)  If you change your mind, you can just let the domain expire.  It will be money spent but you will have prevented anybody else from scooping that name from you while you are deciding.  This is what they call "cybersquatting."  ;)

Cybersquatting can be illegal but as long as you don't try to make unfair profit or use it as a tactic to smear the good name of another you will be in the clear.  In Australia, you have to have an Australian Business Number before you are allowed to register a ".com.au" address.  Fortunately, almost anybody can register for an ABN if they are over 16 years old.

Y'Know!...  I keep telling people...

Stop kissing pigs or else you could catch swine flu!
But, do people listen?  Noooooo!

(Laughter is the best medicine. )

The site is nice.  It is clean, easy to navigate and very no-nonsense.
Clearly a template but that's just fine because the other things outweigh.

The only thing I could suggest for improvement is the picture of the Bear at the top of the pages.  It's a little close-up.  It's hard to tell if he's a Bear or some other kind of animal.  If the visitor knows he's coming to a Teddy Bear website, the picture will be recognized but a naive visitor might not understand that he's looking at a Bear until he reads or looks around for a minute.

Other than that, it looks good. 

Yeah!    Just go to a site that sells domain names like www.godaddy.com and pretend like you're going to start a new website but don't actually go through with it.

If you are using Mac OS X, there is a built-in way you can search for domains.
Go to your "Terminal" application.  (Find it in:  Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > Terminal.)
You'll get a window where you can type in commands.  It will say something like this:

Last login: Thu Dec 17 10:11:04 on ttys000
us-bears-mac-pro:~ usbears$

Type in the command "host" followed by a space.  Then type the name of the domain you want to look up and press "Return".
If there is a domain by that name it will say so.  If you were looking for "mydomain.com" it might go like this:

us-bears-mac-pro:~ usbears$ host mydomain.com
mydomain.com has address 64.14.143.57
mydomain.com has address 66.150.120.131
mydomain.com mail is handled by 0 mx.mailix.net.
mydomain.com mail is handled by 5 amx.mailix.net.

If you get an answer like that, it means somebody else has already taken that name.

But, if you get an answer like this:

us-bears-mac-pro:~ usbears$ host unuseddomain.com
Host unuseddomain.com not found: 3(NXDOMAIN)

This means the domain name is probably not taken already.

I can search a dozen variations on a possible domain name in the same time it takes to go to a registrar like Go Daddy and search for one or two.  (Typing commands is way faster than using a mouse to click on a web page.)

P.S. - Just remember to quit your "Terminal" application when you are done.  It's not good to leave the Terminal open if you are not using it.

**********

If the guy would have put his first name in there and made it, for example, "John McDonald's Sandwich Shop," I bet he would have been in the clear.

I'd say that the first thing to do is an internet search.  Google your idea.  Look on Yahoo and others too.  If you find it there, that's pretty much the end of it.

You can also always add your name to the title.  "Happy Bears by Susie" or "Susie's Happy Bears" are possibilities.

After that, I don't know what to suggest because it depends on how large you intend to grow your business.
If it's just going to be among friends and select collectors, just a quick internet search should suffice.  If it's an internet business, I'd do a more in-depth search.  If you are planning on an international trade name, you might need a trademark lawyer's help.

That's my best guess.

We rotate the tires on a car to help them last longer.  We wear different pairs of shoes in rotation to help them last.  Men wear different suits and ties so they last longer.  Besides, it would be boring if people wore the same clothes every day.  Why would dishes be any different?

Mason's bear art is whimsical, yes, but it is fairly rustic in design.  Even though the bears are skiing, boating, eating dinner and all sorts of things, they are still fairly "manly" images.  There's no "foo-foo" in them at all.

If it doesn't break your budget, there's no reason why you couldn't have some bear dishes for special occasions.

Right???   

Remember, rotating your dishes helps them last longer because no one dish or set of dishes is subject to wear and tear all the time.  :)

We have four sets of dishes we use in rotation.
Pfaltzgraff "French Quarter" for summer and spring.
Pfaltzgraff "Snow Bear" for winter.
Noritake "Royal Hunt" for Thanksgiving dinner and some special occasions.
Finally, we have a set of J.G. Meakin "Sol" that we use for fancy occasions but we don't know the pattern name.  The records for a lot of Meakin patterns were lost when the company was sold to Wedgwood.

For holidays or special occasions there's nothing wrong with having Bears on your china. 
Besides, when you have a house that is literally full of Bears and you DON'T have Bears on, at least, some of your dishes, people will think something is wrong! 

Our household china is Pfaltzgraff "Snow Bear."
http://www.pfaltzgraff.com/snow-bear-pl … lt,pd.html

Right after Thanksgiving, we switch out our "summer" dishes for the "winter" dishes with the Bears on them.

These are really neat! 

But there are bears taking a boat ride.  There are bears eating dinner.  There are bears shooting pool.  So, please tell me...  Where is the picture of bears playing cards?    

Silliness aside, if they weren't so far out of my price range I'd buy one of them as a Christmas present for Melanie and the Bears. 

We know Paddington was recently turned on to Marmite.  That's part of the reason we asked the question.
We just can't imagine Pooh would be a Bear who would fancy Marmite.  We kind of figured he'd take one sniff and say, "Oh, bother..."

Yes, Paddington is a Marmite fan but we have a hard time imagining that Teddy Bears as a species would be much interested in the stuff.  However, it could be about a Bear's upbringing.  If he grew up where Marmite or Vegemite was popular, I can see where there would be more Bears that like it.

Most of the Bears in this den think that Vegemite is just the Australian national prank.  They keep a jar of the stuff in the back of their cupboards just in case some unsuspecting American comes to visit.  Then they get it out and see if they can get him to eat it.  We figure there has been many a laugh shared over a jar of Vegemite.