Diluting the Bucket List

Diluting the Bucket List Diluting the Bucket List Diluting the Bucket List By Maeve Maddox The idiom â€Å"to kick the bucket,† meaning â€Å"to die,† has been used in English since the eighteenth century. The term â€Å"bucket list† makes its earliest appearance on the Ngram Viewer in 1962, forty-five years before it was popularized by the movie The Bucket List (2007). A â€Å"bucket list† is a list of things that a person hopes to experience or achieve before dying. In the movie, a character played by Morgan Freeman is diagnosed with lung cancer and makes such a list. Less than a decade has passed since the movie popularized the term, and already it has dwindled into a mere synonym for â€Å"to-do list.† A â€Å"to-do list† is a list of tasks that need to be completed during a period of time. A typical daily to-do list might look like this: 1. cut grass 2. pick up cleaning 3. take cat to vet 4. play basketball 5. renew library book An advertising campaign called â€Å"Summer Bucket List† alerted me to the fact that the term â€Å"bucket list† is being used as a synonym for â€Å"to-do list.† The ads show people drinking beer and engaging in ordinary summer activities. The â€Å"bucket list† in the context of the ads is simply a list of outdoor activities to be fitted into one’s schedule before the end of summer. The same day I saw one of the â€Å"summer bucket list† ads, I watched a rerun of Bones (television crime series) and heard two characters discuss goals to be achieved before the age of thirty as â€Å"a bucket list.† I suppose this use could be argued as being metaphoric: â€Å"life after thirty equals death.† Here are some examples in which â€Å"bucket list† seems to be overkill: But dont let high school pass you by- be sure to make the most of your last days before college by creating your own senior year bucket list full of things you want to do or accomplish by graduation day. - Huffington Post. Back when my hubby and I first got married almost 7 years ago, we had some fairly standard items on our â€Å"before baby† bucket list.  - Maternity advice blog. To help you take these last months [of college] by storm, we’ve compiled the ultimate bucket list of things you’ve been meaning to do since freshman year. - MTV site. Write yourself a marriage bucket list to ensure that you and your spouse’s first year together is one full of fun, love and laughter!- Wedding advice site. It was inevitable that â€Å"bucket list† would morph into â€Å"list of things to be done before a particular event- not necessarily dying- takes place.† To me, the use of â€Å"bucket list† in such contexts sounds creepy, especially when the terminal event is something joyous, like the birth of a baby. Related post: â€Å"Pushing Up Daisies† and Other Euphemisms for Death Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Dialogue Dos and Don'ts5 Brainstorming Strategies for Writers40 Idioms with First

Preventing Pet Theft for Cruel Purposes

Preventing Pet Theft for Cruel Purposes Organized pet thieves steal cats and dogs for two main purposes- to use as bait in dogfighting and to sell to laboratories through B dealers. Because pet theft is illegal, it is difficult to estimate the number of animals involved, but it is believed to be in the tens of thousands annually. How Are Cats and Dogs Stolen? Cats and dogs can be stolen from front yards, backyards, cars, streets, or sidewalks when the guardian goes into a store and leaves the dog tied up outside. Another popular way to steal cats and dogs is to answer free to a good home ads. The thief answers the ad, pretending to want to adopt the animal. Later, the animal is sold to a laboratory or used as bait in dogfighting. To prevent pet theft and for other reasons, it is important to always charge an adoption fee and to never give an animal away to a stranger for free. Even though the animal was given away for free, obtaining the animal in this way, under false pretenses, can be considered theft by deception which is a crime. B Dealers - Selling Animals to Laboratories B Dealers are animal dealers licensed under the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C.  §2131) to sell dogs and cats commercially, including to laboratories. The regulations adopted under the AWA can be found at 9 C.F.R. 1.1, where Class B Licensee is defined as a dealer whose business includes the purchase and/or resale of any animal. This term includes brokers, and operators of an auction sale, as such individuals negotiate or arrange for the purchase, sale, or transport of animals in commerce. Class A Licensees are breeders, while Class C Licensees are exhibitors. B dealers are random source dealers who do not breed animals themselves. To prevent fraud and pet theft, B dealers are allowed to obtain dogs and cats only from other licensed dealers and from animal pounds or shelters. Under 9 C.F.R.  § 2.132, B dealers are not allowed to obtained animals by use of false pretenses, misrepresentation, or deception. B dealers are required to maintain accurate and complete records, including records on [h]ow, where from whom, and when the dog or cat was obtained. B dealers often work with bunchers who do the actual stealing in a pet theft ring. Despite federal regulations and record-keeping requirements, pet theft rings regularly steal animals in various ways and resell them to laboratories. Records are easily falsified, and animals are often transported across state lines to minimize the chances of someone finding their stolen pet. The American Anti-Vivisection Society lists B dealers and their Animal Welfare Act violations. In one notorious case, B dealer C.C. Baird lost his license and was fined $262,700, as a result of an investigation by Last Chance for Animals. LCA is the leading organization in the U.S. raising awareness about B dealers. The USDA maintains a list of licensed B dealers, organized by state. Keep in mind that not all B dealers sell stolen animals to laboratories, and most sell animals as part of the legal animal trade. Bait Animals for Dogfighting Cats, dogs and  even rabbits can be stolen and used as bait in dogfighting. In a dogfight, two dogs are put together in an enclosure and fight to the death or until one can no longer continue. Audience members bet on the outcome, and thousands of dollars can change hands at a single dogfight. Dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states but is thriving among both professional dogfighters and thrill-seeking teenagers. The bait animals are used to test or train a dog to be as vicious and aggressive as possible. What You Can Do The Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2011, H.R. 2256, would prohibit B dealers from selling animals for use in research. LCA urges everyone to contact their federal legislators, in support of the bill. You can look up your representative on the House of Representatives website, while your senators can be found on the official Senate website. Find out more about the bill from the LCA website. To prevent pet theft, microchip your animals and never leave your animal unattended outside. This is common sense protection not only from pet theft but also from predators, exposure, and other threats. You can learn more about pet theft and B dealers from Last Chance for Animals, including more ways to fight pet theft by B dealers. Pet Theft and Animal Rights From an animal rights standpoint, pet theft is a tragedy, but using any animal for dogfighting or for vivisection violates the animals rights, regardless of whether the animal was stolen or used to be a pet.