Sea lions at Pier 39

San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf might be a bit touristy, but the sea lions are always a lot of fun to watch, and it's free!

As a cat who lives indoors, I have no opportunity to travel as my humans do. I'm not sure if I want to be stuck in a cage in cargo for such a long distance either and then be carried around everywhere on a leash like a dog.

I do love to surf the internet and go travelling that way. One of my favourite places to visit on my computer is San Francisco.

The sea lions are so cool. They are like sea dogs and almost bark like them. Woof woof!



You can see the sea lions for yourself from this webcam.
http://www.mapwest.com/web_cam/sealions/

Pier 39

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Today was a really strange day. My other (absent and temporarily resident in Papua New Guinea) human came home today, so I had a good long chat to him. He told me about his travels to the US and Canada, especially the sea lions in San Francisco. I should have asked him to go say hello to my friend Winnifred in Alameda!

My usual human also came home early today, so I was very happy. I had my dinner early as well. Chicken wings instead of the in between tin of tuna. Mind you, he bought it from the supermarket as the markets were closed today as he said he won't have time tomorrow to shop on account of work.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate (Ockham's Razor)

William of Ockham (circa. 1285-1349) was an English Franciscan friar and philosopher, from Ockham, a small village in Surrey, near East Horsley.

William wrote, in Latin, Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate, which translates literally into English as "Plurality should not be posited without necessity".

This became known as Ockham's Razor.

In its most simplest term, it means "the simplest explanation is usually the best".

I like it. Tell that to bureaucrats and academics!

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I miss the weekend. Another solitary day. But the evenings are good. Monday is extra special as it means Desperate Housewives and a nice long brushing of my beautiful fur.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Aussie Aussie Aussie meow meow meow!

Cats and their humans might remember the Australian chant during the Sydney Olympics, "Aussie Aussie Aussie... oi oi oi".

Well, I prefer my version, "Aussie Aussie Aussie... meow meow meow".

CNN SI report during the Sydney Olympics

Football - round 10 aarh, another loss (on home ground)! Here are the stats from last nights game.

BRISBANE LIONS: 2.6, 5.9, 8.11, 17.10 (112) defeated by
KANGAROOS: 6.1, 7.5, 12.7, 13.15 (93)
GOALS: Brisbane: Brown 5, Bradshaw 3, Scott, Johnson, Merrett, Keating, Drummond Kangaroos: Thompson 5, Corey Jones 4, Grant 3, Harvey 2, Makepeace, Rawlings, Wells
BEST: Brisbane: Brown, Drummond, Black, Johnson, Adcock, Leppitsch Kangaroos: Makepeace, Corey Jones, Wells, Sinclair, Thompson, Grant, Harvey
INJURIES: Brisbane: Michael (hamstring tightness)
CHANGES: Lappin replaced in selected side by Selwood, Rocca replaced in selected side by Picioane
REPORTS: Ash McGrath (Lions) for engaging in rough contact on Jess Sinclair (Kangaroos) in third quarter by field umpire Hayden Kennedy
UMPIRES: Kennedy, Morris, Jeffery
CROWD: TBC at The Gabba (someone forgot to count again).

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I had more visitors today. This morning, Lily and Jimmy's humans Jackie and Brian came to visit. I sat by the front window catching sunrays until I got too warm then lied under the coffee table. I later sat next to Brian. I have had a lot of excitement this weekend.

I also had another afternoon nap with my human on the couch today. I love the weekends!

keisercat@wildmail.com

Chrysler Building

Back in December, I wrote about Frank Lloyd Wright and his Guggenheim Museum and Falling Water. In January, I wrote about the Sydney Opera House.

Well, one of my favourite buildings is the Chrysler Building (in New York) which is 75 years old today.

It is a spectacular example of art deco architecture.

Wikipedia has a very good article on the Chrysler Building with links.



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Bella's human Michelle left today. This morning after breakfast, I visited her while she was still asleep and even I fell asleep on top of her!

I had a wonderful nap on the couch in the afternoon with my human before he decided he needed to do some of his chores with the vacuuming machine.

The catless Declan and Nell came over for a roast dinner (roast lamb, pototoes, pumpkin and corn) and blanched broccolini) and then watched Dr Who. I had a good time sleeping on Nell's lap. Even though I had a chicken wing for dinner, I managed to wrangle a piece of roast lamb as well.

Today was quite cold, 13 C, but the sun was out and there was a slight breeze, so the washing managed to dry.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Catwoman

I've previously written about comic book superheroes (and villains).

One obvious character that I haven't written about yet is Catwoman.

No, she is not a half cat/half human, though that would be a very interesting combination reminiscent of the Egyptian goddess Bastet (more about that another time).

Catwoman was a a foe of Batman to begin with but she became a romantic interest and often teamed up with him to fight bigger threats. She also disliked killing.

Catwoman was portrayed by Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt in the camp 1960s television series. Today is also the 70th birthday of Lee Meriwether.

On the big screen, Michelle Pfeiffer played a good version of Catwoman in Batman Returns.



Catwoman's alter ego is Selina Kyle.

In the film Catwoman with Halle Berry, her alter ego was Patience Phillips and did not follow the original storyline. Thankfully this film flopped. What were they thinking?

DC Comics, Catwoman

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I spent most of the day on the couch listening to the radio. Something exciting happened this evening, Bella's human Michelle (who now lives in Melbourne) came to visit and she must be staying over as she has made a mess of my day bed.

After I had my chicken wing and they had duck confit with baby potatoes and broccolini, I sprawled myself on Michelle's lap to keep her warm.

I'm going to sit with her and watch Blade Trinity now.

keisercat@wildmail.com

bye bye Voyager

The Voyager 1 spacecraft was launched back in 20 August 1977, way before I was born.

It has now just about reached interstellar space.

NPR report

NASA Voyager site



Voyager 1 has a nuclear battery which will last another 15 years. Unfortunately, it is unlikely to enter another solar system such as Alpha Centauri C. Perhaps it will bump into an alien invasion force!

It is time humans develop warp drive capability or learn to harness the benefits of worm holes.

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The dogs next door started up yet again in the early hours of the morning. I spent most of the day on the couch. It was so cold. But I did get some ham again this morning. I had another wing for dinner while my human had a nice smelling porterhouse steak. I feel so left out...

keisercat@wildmail.com

you want freedom fries with that?

Back in early 2003 when the French decided they would disagree with the US on the invasion/liberation (take your pick) of Iraq, Walter Jones and Bob Ney campaigned to get the House cafeteria to rename their fries to "freedom fries".


Reps. Walter Jones, left, and Bob Ney announce the name changes on House menus at a news conference on 11 March 2003

CNN news report at that time

What followed was the silliest reaction to a serious issue. C'mon... freedom toast? freedom onion soup? pouring decent French champagne down the sink?

If any of my kitty friends in the USA know if this silliness is continuing, or is finally over, please be sure to send me a catmail!

As we all now know, the "smoking gun" never existed...

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I spent a part of the morning on my deck checking out the birds outside. Now that it is winter, quite a few of them fly down from the surrounding mountains. My human and I think the magpies are really cool.



And we also get crimson rosellas who often visit as we give them birdseed.



I had a fresh chicken wing for dinner tonight (not 6 days old by Monday!). I think my human had a very nice piece of fresh fish fillet for dinner. I smelt it cooking, but did not end up getting a taste... maybe I will go on a hunger strike.

The two stupid cocker spaniels next door (one called Jess) have started up again. Their human must work on early morning shift. They started barking before 6am this morning waking up the neighbourhood. Stupid dogs!

keisercat@wildmail.com

whales - my soapbox

All kitties love fish. And chicken, and lamb, and beef, and pork (all farmed and domesticated animals bred for consumption).

But we don't eat whales. There is no reason to eat whales. Or hunt them.

There are reports that Japan wants to increase their "scientific" catch. See news report:
BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4574451.stm

If you disagree with whaling, you may wish to ask your human to write to the Japanese Government.

Japanese Embassy in Washington DC
Japanese Embassy in Canberra

I could engage in a debate about cultural rights blah blah blah. But that doesn't help the poor highly intelligent creatures who are going to be dead.

If the Japanese want to keep eating whales, I think it is time that Australian humans start eating koalas.

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I napped on the dining chair most of the day listening to the radio. Last night I was so cold I snuggled up close to my human all night. I love and I hate winter at the same time!

keisercat@wildmail.com

cat- vs dog- words

Where I live there is a stupid commercial advertisement on tv about a hardware store that puts out a dogalogue (not a catalogue) with two silly 3D clay animated dogs.



This made me think about some other words which start with cat- and are very negative words. Like:

• cataclysm - violent event, political or social upheaval;
  
• catacomb - subterranean cemetary (not a comb to brush us cats, alas);
  
• catastrophe - sudden or widespread or noteworthy disaster;
  
• cataplexy - sudden temporary paralysis due to fright.

I think us cats should start a campaign and write to dictionary companies like Oxford, Mirriam Webster and Macquarie (the Australian one) to change these words to prefix with dog-. The replacement words would be:

• dogaclysm - but it sounds like a case of worms, hee hee hee;
  
• dogacomb - now it sounds like a flea comb for mutts;
  
• dogastrophe - sounds more like a doggy bowel condition;
  
• dogaplexy - sounds like a confused stupid mutt!

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Monday meant that I was home alone again during the day, sigh... However, this morning I did get a treat, some ham and a nibble of vegemite on toast.

Monday also means Desperate Housewives and I get a nice long brushing of my fur.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Hallo Kiev!

Two months I wrote about the the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Eurovision Song Contest is a very famous song competition which is broadcast throughout Europe and in Australia (but not the USA).

This year, the Eurovision was held at the Sports Palace (Palats Sportu) in Kiev, in the Ukraine. The fun part is not the entries from each country (though that is often entertaining), but in the tallying of votes in both English and French.

"Hallo Kiev, here are the results from the tele-voting by Cyprus. United Kingdom, one point, Royaume-Uni, un point pwarnt... Greece, twelve points, La Grèce, douze points pwarnt". And so on.

Well, the final is on tv tonight here, although the results have already been broadcast in Europe. It is on from 7.30pm until 11.00pm which is way past my bedtime. But you can check the results from the website - we all know who the winner is as the tv news on all the networks had a story on it. But my human and I will watch some of it.

Eurovision Song Contest official site



Will the winner this year go on to become really famous like ABBA in 1974?

Football - round 9 my team loses again (only just) at home! Here are the stats from the game last night.

BRISBANE: 6.5, 8.5, 10.9, 12.11 (83) defeated by
RICHMOND: 4.5, 7.9, 9.13, 12.15 (87)
(the four sets of numbers above are quarterly progressive totals with the final score in brackets)

GOALS – BRISBANE: McGrath 5, Corrie, Voss 2, Akermanis, Black, Bradshaw
RICHMOND: Brown 4, Richardson 3, Simmonds 2, Schulz, Pettifer, Krakouer
(each goal is awarded 6 points, a "behind" when the ball passes through the shorter posts to the left and right of the main goal posts, or if it hits the posts, is awarded 1 point)

BEST – BRISBANE: Voss, Akermanis, Michael, Black, Brown, Merrett
RICHMOND: Brown, Richardson, Coughlan, Gaspar, Tuck, Kellaway
(these are usually the most effective players. Michael Voss is the captain of my team)

INJURIES – BRISBANE: Nil
RICHMOND: Nil
CHANGES – BRISBANE: Nil
RICHMOND: Schulz for Stafford (ankle) in selected side
REPORTS - Nil
UMPIRES - Donlon, Rowe, Head
CROWD - at the Gabba (someone forgot to count)

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Today was a really lazy day. My human spent some time with me on the couch. The best Sunday activity!

My human walked to the shops in the afternoon for supplies (I am sure I detected ham in the bag). He put his hand to my nose when he came back and I smelt a HORSE! It appears there is a 3 foot (1 metre, or waist high) pony who lives a few streets between my house and the shops. My human told me a young girl was taking said pony for a walk and he asked her about him. The pony's name is Buck, and my human patted him. I hope he does not get any strange ideas about having a pony in my backyard!

keisercat@wildmail.com

Who is a Whovian then?

On March 13, I wrote about Dr Who. I mentioned that Dr Who fans are worse than Trekkies (Star Trek followers). They call themselves Whovians!

Tonight I watched the first episode of the new series on tv with my human who could not contain himself with excitement! What is great is that we are only under two months behind the UK which screened this episode on the BBC on March 26.

My human reckons the new Doctor is pretty cool and has a much more fun personality than some of the earlier ones. And his new sidekick Rose can kick butt!



So Saturday nights will now become a ritual. Hmmm... I guess Battlestar Galactica has finished. In the meantime, he is still getting his fix of reruns from Monday to Thursday. We are up to the last two episodes in the Key to Time series (The Armageddon Factor) next Monday and Tuesday.



Official site Dr Who.

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This morning I managed to go outside and run around skittishly on the dead brown lawn while my human hung out the washing. Later I spent some time napping on the couch. We had a good day today. In between some of his chores, we watched Blade Trinity on DVD.

I also played with my lid rings. I even managed to do a hula hoop action with my paw!

keisercat@wildmail.com

Muezza the cat

According to the Hadith, which is an official collection of the sayings of Islam's great Prophet, Mohammed, he is said to have condemned the practice of selling cats and spoke of a vision in which he saw a woman being attacked and disfigured by her cat in hell after she starved her cat to death.

"You neither fed it nor watered when you locked it up," God told her, "nor did you set it free to eat the insects of the earth."

I'm not sure about her cat being called it though .

Mohammed's favourite cat was called Muezza. She was curled up one day on his robe sleeve when the call to prayer was sounded. Mohammed had to leave, but instead of waking Muezza, he cut off his sleeve and sneaked out quietly. When he returned, Muezza woke and bowed to him in thanks. In return, Muezza was guaranteed a place in heaven.

I make no judgement about the Islam religion and will never hope to understand all the problems caused by religion or the interpretation of religion. But it is nice for cats to be recognised in such a way.

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I caught lots of sunrays today, and managed to grab some lap time on my human who was in and out today. Merlin's human Kim also dropped by but did not stay as usual for dinner, but I did get some lap time with her.

Tonight I also had a great time with my human watching the season finale of Battlestar Galactica which he had taped on Wednesday night (it is on too late for him to stay up and watch). Talk about cliffhanger. Will the humans of the twelve worlds of Kobol ever find Earth? Why do they not have any cats?

keisercat@wildmail.com

pussyfoot

According to the dictionary, pussyfoot means to
1 : to tread or move warily or stealthily
2 : to refrain from committing oneself

I am a pussy and I do not have FEET. I have PAWS. And they are very nice and furry, padded on the bottom and with retractable CLAWS. And I don't like people touching them.

Pussyfoot is such a stupid word!

Another example of wrongful attribution of attributes to us felines.

But then, pussypaw also sounds ridiculous as well.

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After breakfast this morning I went straight to my day bed and went to sleep as I wasn't feeling well. I was feeling better by the time my human got home and it was my dinner time.

I watched Lost on tv with my human tonight (episode 13). We are both still very confused! My human says that it is impossible to get that angle of the Sydney Opera House from Boone's hotel room, and that while there is a hotel that close to it, it would be very noisy because of the restaurants and bars downstairs, and it would have a balcony.

keisercat@wildmail.com

cat dancing (humans dancing with cats)

The Museum of Non Primate Art has a section on (humans) Dancing With Cats.



This is the silliest thing I have ever heard of.

I would much prefer to nap, eat or play rather than look like an idiot! As for painting, don't get me started...

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My human was home a little earlier today, just on twilight. What a cool word, twilight.

Anyway, I have chicken wings again, and they are a better size this time (they have been a bit too big over the last few months).

And I have a NEW toy. It is the round bit that is at the bottom of a jar plastic lid. It is like a big O shape. It came off a big jar of Vegemite. I love to eat Vegemite on toast, but I am only allowed small amounts as it is very salty.

I love playing with this new toy as I can pick it up with my claws, and I can carry it in my mouth, not like those ping pong balls.

I don't know why my human never gave me one of those before to play with.

keisercat@wildmail.com

cats love Enya

I don't just listen to classical music, or brushing music (like Burt Bacharach stuff etc) and the other pop stuff my human imposes on me.

I also like easy listening/relaxing music by artists like Enya. Memory of Trees, Orinoco Flow, Shepherd Moons, etc are very nice relaxing pieces. I am just about certain that all cats love Enya. Especially the cat that lives with Enya (but that is just a rumour you can spread if you want, as I don't know for sure if a cat owns her).

www.enya.com

samplers from amazon.com



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Today was a very cold day, but it will still get colder in the coming months. I curled up into a ball for most of the day until my human got home from work. Then he cooked up a pork chop for me (it must have been on sale at the supermarket) for dinner, while he had lamb.

He told me it was drizzling with rain as he walked home in the cold and the dark...

We're going to watch a documentary about Wal-Mart and China (and job losses in the US) now - a rebroadcast of PBS Frontline: Is Wal Mart Good for America.



keisercat@wildmail.com

a cat hero!

I get upset when us cats are depicted as villains or portrayed as the 'mascots' of villains.

Not so long ago, we were considered to be heroes.

The story of Puss in Boots is just one story. It is a true story, honestly.

Puss in Boots helped his human to get rid of an ogre and become a prince.

And in those days, humans could understand us cats talk.

Now, people think that it is just a fairy tale.

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The weather is cooling down and the nights are cold. I napped on the couch listening to ABC Classic FM. Tonight I did get a long brush during Desperate Housewives.

keisercat@wildmail.com

cat city

There may not be a real Cat Empire (but the name of a music band, which I wrote about a few days ago), but there is a real Cat City.

It is called Kuching, which is a Malay word for cat city. Kuching is the capital of Sarawak which is a state of Malaysia (in southeast Asia) located on the island of Borneo.

There are statues of cats all over the city, and even a museum about cats.



The people who live in Kuching may not worship us as people once did in ancient Egypt, but it is nice to know that we are considered lucky, and there are reminders of us everywhere.

http://www.sarawaktourism.com/kuching.html

football - round 8 - my team wins. Here are the vital stats:

Brisbane Lions: 2.0, 7.1, 10.3, 11.6 (72) defeated
Adelaide Crows: 1.2, 1.5, 5.11, 8.15 (63)
Goals, Lions: McGrath 3, Sherman 2, C Scott 2, Black, Brown, Moody, Merrett. Crows: Thompson 3, Ricciuto 2, Welsh 2, Jericho.

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Today was a strange day. I seem to be back to one human again. I hope I get lots of visitors soon. I had a nap on my day bed today catching sunrays. Oh, and I haven't heard anything about being cast in the new Wonder Woman movie yet.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Dante: La Divina Commedia

Buon giorno i miei gatti del collega!

Dante was a poet born in Florence who lived between 1265 and 1321. He wrote some wonderful stuff. As good as Homer's Iliad and Voltaire's Zadig. Well, maybe a little more complex.



His greatest work was La divina commedia (Divine Comedy).

In this 'story', Dante is lost in a dark wood, threatened by beasts and trying to find salvation. Eventually, he is rescued by Virgil. That is only the start of the 'story'.


Dante and Virgil in Hell painted by William-Adolphe Bouguereau in 1850 (oil on canvas)- Dante and the poet Virgil are standing in the background. In front of them are two inhabitants from Hell (the 'damned' are often portrayed as naked during the painter's day, and for centuries before that).

The passage below is from Inferno: Canto I from La divina commedia.

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura
ché la diritta via era smarrita.
Ahi quanto a dir qual era è cosa dura
esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte
che nel pensier rinova la paura!
Tant'è amara che poco è più morte;
ma per trattar del ben ch'i' vi trovai,
dirò de l'altre cose ch'i' v'ho scorte.
Io non so ben ridir com'i' v'intrai,
tant'era pien di sonno a quel punto
che la verace via abbandonai.

It is wonderful isn't it?

I love Italian, even medieval Italian. I especially love Italian in opera.

football - my team is still playing Adelaide Crows at the moment (but not broadcast on free to air television), but they seem to be winning. I will have the results up tomorrow.

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I had a wonderful relaxing day and managed to go outside to chew on some grass while the washing was hung out.

I also had a great nap on the couch with my human while the football was on, though none of our teams were playing.

Merlin's human Kim came over for dinner and they had slow cooked lamb shanks with mashed potato/sweet potato/jerusalem artichoke, and steamed asparagus/beans. I had three laps tonight which was great fun. I didn't get any lamb, but was happy to have lots of human company.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Wonder Cat!

More on my theme on superheroes (I previously wrote about Marvel vs DC, and Fantastic Four), there are reports that the new Wonder Woman movie may be filmed in Australia.

superherohype.com news report.

I think this updated "Queen of the Amazon" should have a cat this time to help her fight crime. Wonder Cat can help Wonder Woman to scratch villains.

I volunteer to be the cat actor (I have sharp claws). Joel Silver (producer) can contact me on my email address, and my human can assist in the negotiation of my contract.

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Friday was a good day. My other human spent some time with me in the afternoon... although after 4.30pm nobody was home and I had to wait until 10.00pm before I was fed. Not happy and cold... But the heater is now, and I can sit on a lap.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Happy birthday Burt Bacharach!

Today is the 77th birthday of Burt Bacharach!

My human and I love Burt Bacharach. He is one of the greatest (human) song writers of all time. He wrote wonderful songs like

• Alfie
  
• Walk On By
  
• Wishin' and Hopin'
  
• Always Something There to Remind Me
  
• A House is Not a Home
  
• What the World Needs Now Is Love
  
• What's New Pussycat?
  
• This Guy's in Love With You
  
• I Say a Little Prayer For You
  
• The Look of Love
  
• Do You Know the Way to San Jose?
  
• Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
  
• I'll Never Fall in Love Again

and much much more. What's New Pussycat? wasn't really about a cat but such a nice song name!

They are wonderful songs to be brushed to. We both love Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick.


In concert in Atlanta, May 2002

http://www.bacharachonline.com

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Thursday! Still on the dining room chair during the day...

My other human was back today, but I am still a little confused. But it is nice to have two laps again.

keisercat@wildmail.com

fishy cat!

I was thinking today about catfish and how a cat could be a fish, until my human explained that catfish is a type of fish with long whiskers.

But then, if there are mermaids and mermen (people with a fish tail), then what about mercats?

Of course as mermaids don't exist, neither do mercats.

On the other paw, there are aquatic mammals like seals which have pups and they do behave like dogs (even if they eat fish). They are like sea dogs (not merdogs).

There must be an ocean dwelling creature that is like us cats. I can't think of one.

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Yeah yeah, another day on the couch. Back to chicken wings for dinner tonight.

keisercat@wildmail.com

book burning!

One of the most offensive acts took place in 1933 (10 May).



Nazi youth groups burned around 20,000 books from the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft and Humboldt University; including works by Thomas Mann, Erich Maria Remarque, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx and H.G. Wells. Student groups throughout Germany also carried out their own book burnings on that day and in the following weeks.



There is now a memorial/plaque at the site of the book burning (in Bebelplatz, Berlin).


where books are burned, in the end people will burn - Heinrich Heine, 1820

My human visited this site some years ago and he told me it made him very sad.

Wikipedia also has an excellent article on book burning.

I love books, especially when my human reads to me and I rub my chin against the cover of the book. It is my decision alone on what I tell my human to read to me. Censorship is one of the most insidious actions of a totalitarian regime, which even today is carried out in democracies (even the USA).

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I napped and listened to ABC Classic FM today. I thought Tuesday was red meat day, but all I got for dinner was Fancy Feast tinned tuna. I did, however, have another great game of ping pong ball with my human.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Pussy willow

The Pussy Willow is a small tree whose scientific name is Salix discolor and part of the Salicaceae (Willow) family.

You can read more about that here.

How this tree got its name is even more interesting.

It comes from a Polish legend. One day, in early spring a mother cat and her kittens explored the forest along the river. A butterfly flew past them over the water. The kittens leaped into the air to try to catch the butterfly, but fell into the fast flowing river.

The mother cat cried while her young kittens struggled to swim ashore fearing that her kittens soon would drown.

Along the bank of the river grew a wise willow with branches bending all the way to the water. The willow saw the kittens and reached down to the kittens.

Each kitten grabbed a branch and were pulled to shore by the willow. The willow was honoured for its rescue by the tiny fur-like buds (catkins) that sprout each spring as the rivers start to run.

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This morning I sat up on the window ledge near my dining chair and looked out and watched my human walk to work. I kept a look out for "Walter" the cat but he was nowhere to be seen.

After I had some of my dinner tonight, I played ping pong ball with my human. I think cats are smarter than people sometimes. I sat in one spot and he threw the ball at me and I batted it with my paws. He was just like a dog fetching the ball for me! Woof!

keisercat@wildmail.com

Happy birthday Enrique

Today is Enrique Iglesias' 30th birthday. He is the son of Julio Iglesias. And a mighty fine singer, possibly better than Ricky Martin. My human loves the songs Hero and Escape from the album Escape.



http://www.enriqueiglesias.com/

Football round 7 - my team loses. Sigh! Here are the stats.

BRISBANE: 1.3, 5.8, 9.13, 12.15 (87) defeated by
WESTERN BULLDOGS: 3.3, 9.9, 10.16 15.20 (110)
GOALS – BRISBANE: Brown 5, Moody, Notting 2, McGrath, Pike, McLaren
WESTERN BULLDOGS: Murphy, Johnson 3, Giansiracusa, Hahn 2, Hargrave, Morgan, Robbins, Gilbee, Eagleton
BEST – BRISBANE: Brown, Voss, Power, Akermanis, Michael, McGrath,
WESTERN BULLDOGS: West, Murphy, Grant, Johnson, Gilbee, Smith, Minson
UMPIRES: Fraser, Ryan, Allen
CROWD: 31,139 at the Gabba

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My human slept in again this morning. Must be the winter setting in very soon. But it doesn't stop me from getting hungry at my usual breakfast time!

My human told me that he saw "Walter" the cat run off when he put the wheelie bins in. He was hiding in the bushes where the bins belong. "Walter" is a fluffy black cat with a white belly. We hadn't seen him for many many months. Many cats have disappeared from the neighbourhood. "Milly" who lived two houses up the street hasn't been seen for a long time. She used to visit and upset Fatty. Of course we don't know if "Walter" or "Milly" are their real names used by humans. But I do know what their cat names are and I am not telling.

Today I mostly napped, at times on my human's lap. I listened to the entire Bach Brandenburg Concertos which was excellent. He also put on Debussy's La Mer, but I didn't really like it.

Mary who usually lives in Sydney but commutes weekly to work in Canberra dropped in this afternoon. It was great, she let me sit on her lap too.

Oh, I must mention the silly little greeny yellow birds that have been coming into my deck through the lattice now that the leaves of the Virginia creeper have fallen off. I must work harder to try and scare them away as when they come in, they poop on my deck. They do not have the decency to do it in the mulch and bury it.

keisercat@wildmail.com

The world is a brighter place

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) reported on 5 May 2005 that the world is a brighter place. More sunlight is reaching the Earth. This may be due to improved pollution control.

However, increased sunlight and consequently, heat may see an increase in the effects of global warming due to greenhouse gases.

See PNNL media release Earth lightens up.

For my feline friends with white fur and/or pink noses and pink ears, this is even more reason to try and stay out of the sun as much as possible.

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My human slept in this morning. I did not get breakfast until 10.30am! I thought he was getting up as he went to the bathroom. But then he went back to bed! I played and attacked his feet but he ignored me, so I went back to napping.

I have taken every opportunity that I can to sit on his lap today. There is nothing like a warm lap for an old cat like me. Except for maybe ham...

keisercat@wildmail.com

Why cats need claws!

Some humans think it is okay to de-claw a cat. This is really cruel. How about amputating their own fingers and toes?

I need my claws to scratch myself, and to defend myself in the event that such a situation arises. My vet did not even suggest clipping my claws, and said they should be kept sharpened. Even indoors. I have scratching posts so I never scratch the furniture.

A few years ago Gary Loewenthal wrote Why Cats Need Claws in the The Whole Cat Journal, September 2002. You can read it by clicking on the link.

When I hear about a cat with no claws it makes me very upset.

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Today was a bit more exciting. Merlin's human, Kim came over for dinner and they had baked chicken which had been marinaded in Lee Kum Kee Char Siu marinade served with rice and broccolini. Poor Kim had one of her wisdom tooth out yesterday so it was still a bit sore. I would have been grateful for her chicken!

Afterwards they watched Moonstruck on DVD, which my human loves, especially all the references to La Bohème.

keisercat@wildmail.com

The Cat Empire

In a galaxy far far away...

Only kidding! There is no Cat Empire, ruled by a Cat-Emperor or Cat-Empress.

The Cat Empire is a human music group, from Melbourne, Australia. They describe their music as "where reggae meets Hip-Hop, where jazz is played with dirty hands, where a Cuban line meets an Aussie rule, where nothing seems in place but sounds like one place played in an earthy chord".

The band started with a trio back in 1999 and now there are six members.



You can read more about them on their site www.thecatempire.com and hear samples of their music.

You can also hear soundbites from their albums
The Cat Empire
Two Shoes

The Two Shoes album is number 2 on the Australian pop music ARIA charts.

I haven't decided if they are my cup of tea, err my big bowl of water. But I do like the name of the band!

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Thursday... how long before the weekend when my human gets to stay home all day with me?

Today was another dull day.

keisercat@wildmail.com

The Cat's Eye Nebula

A little while ago, I wrote about some of my favourite pictures from outer space. Recently, I made an interesting discovery! There is a formation that is named after us (a body part anyway!), called the Cat's Eye Nebula.

It is three thousand light-years away and is a dying star throwing off shells of glowing gas. It is also one of the most complex planetary nebulae known.

According to NASA "the features seen in the Cat's Eye are so complex that astronomers suspect the bright central object may actually be a binary star system".



Maybe they can name a fluffy looking system after me!

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Today was another ho hum day, again. I have taken to spending my days on the dining room chair. I did have a chicken wing for dinner again.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Doogal the Burmese cat uses a human toilet!

The Sydney Morning Herald reported today (3 May 2005) about a Burmese kitten called Doogal who lives in Sydney and uses a human toilet.

Doogal adopted her human Mrs Jo Lapidge in January this year, but Mrs Lapidge didn't like the smell of the litter tray. When she saw a cat use a toilet in the movie, Meet the Fockers, she decided to invent something that would get Doogal to move from the litter tray to a toilet.

You can read more about it here, Kitty's sitting pretty (may need to register).



I have a cat door that lets me go outside whenever I want and I do my business amongst the mulch at the bottom of my deck. That way I help to fertilise the Virginia creeper growing around the lattice of my enclosed deck.

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We had fog this morning and it was very cold. I lazed on my dining room chair waiting for the sun to appear. I had tinned tuna and some bits of leftover steak. Tonight I had poached pork fillet for dinner.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Declaration of Feline Rights

I am thinking that we should have a Declaration of Feline Rights. I am sure Peter Singer, that great ethicist and the 'father' of animal rights will agree. If you are a cat, and you have suggestions for the wording, please send me a catmail.

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Today was Sunday, also the first day of May. It was also very cold this morning.

I did nothing all day. I helped my human watch the episodes of Battlestar Galactica and Lost that he had taped. Later I also helped him watch Star Wars II Attack of the Clones on DVD.

This morning I had some lamb for breakfast. It was really nice.

keisercat@wildmail.com