catwalk

A catwalk is a raised platform joined to a stage which fashion models walk down to show off a fashion designer's new season clothes.

I've always wondered why no cat has ever graced these catwalks.

Maybe those tall pretty fashion models already act catty enough towards each other!

Football - round 18. Here are the full results for last night's woeful game.

WESTERN BULLDOGS: 4.6, 13.7, 14.10, 23.13 (151) defeated
BRISBANE LIONS: 3.5, 7.9, 12.12, 18.15 (123)

GOALS – Western Bulldogs: Robbins 5, Johnson 5, Grant 4, Giansiracusa 2, Eagleton 2, Hargrave, Hahn, Skipper, Minson, Ray Brisbane: Black 3, Rischitelli 2, Notting 2, White 2, McGrath 2, Lappin, Voss, Adcock, Corrie, Bradshaw, Charman, Sherman
BEST – Western Bulldogs: Johnson, Giansiracusa, Robbins, Harris, Hahn, Cross, Eagleton
Brisbane: Black, Lappin, Power, Notting, McGrath, White
INJURIES – Western Bulldogs: Murphy (elbow) Brisbane: Keating (back)
CHANGES – Brisbane: Akermanis (hamstring) out, replaced in selected side by Logan
UMPIRES - Allen, Nicholls, Pannell
CROWD - 29,200 at Telstra Dome

Only four more games left in the season before the finals. My team just needs to stay in the top eight to have a chance in the finals (we are seventh).

* Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out about things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

My human slept in today and I was fed breakfast late again. Still, it was as good a day as yesterday. I had long lap times with my human and we watched Monster's Ball and Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother) on video (DVDs are also videos), both excellent movies. We even had a long afternoon nap together.

keisercat@wildmail.com

high rise syndrome

2 month old kitten Rajah fell 15 floors from a high rise apartment in Alexandria, Maryland.

Thank goodness she is okay (the shrubbery landscaping saved him). You can read more about it from the Washington Examiner.

We cats do not always look before we leap. Our claws can cling on to tree bark and wooden fences, but not to brick and glass. Open windows (without strong security screens) are also another danger - sometimes we nap on the ledge and accidentally roll over in our sleep.

Falling on our feet from a great height is a myth. Please don't assume we can survive a fall.

LINK - ASPCA warning about high rise syndrome

Football - round 18. My team lost to the Western Bulldogs! Complete stats tomorrow. Woeful, simply woeful!

The game was telecast on free to air television, but is delayed (actually it is still on), but we can't wait for the results. My human showed me the website where we can watch it being played out as a series of red and blue dots, but we also connect to the live audio (radio) streaming of the match broadcast.

We are going to watch the rest of the game on tv now.

* Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out about things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

My human slept in today and I was fed breakfast late. I still had a good day. When he hung out the washing outside, I went outside to check out my yard. Merlin's human Kim, also dropped over briefly for a cup of tea.

We also caught up on Lost which we missed on Thursday night on account of visitors. The Sydney scenes were a lot better this time, although it is impossible to have a view of the Sydney Opera House from the park where Sayid and Essam were playing soccer.

My human and I had a wonderful afternoon nap before it was time for my dinner. Then we watched a very exciting episode of Dr Who. It looks like 'Captain' Jack (played by John Barrowman) will be a recurring character. We think he is cool.


John Barrowman as Captain Jack inside the TARDIS

I was tortured tonight. My human had a sirloin steak for dinner, and I had to endure the smell of it cooking. Oh such suffering! I was not given one tiny morsel at all!

keisercat@wildmail.com

Alexis de Tocqueville

Alexis de Tocqueville was a Frenchman who was born on this day in 1805 (and died on 16 April 1859).



Tocqueville wrote an excellent text called De la démocratie en Amérique.

I found Chapter 15 - Unlimited power of the majority in the United States, and its consequences very interesting, particularly what he wrote on 'tyranny of the majority'.

* I have reached another milestone, 5000 views! Thank you to all my readers, it makes my time worthwhile! Meow! Please remember to give me a treat.

**Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out about things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

Margaret left sometime in the early afternoon, and I have my room back! Well, all rooms in the house are technically mine; whoever believes in shutting a cat out of parts of a house is a fool.

My human was also home with me today, yeah! We had a nap in the afternoon which was wonderful. He made a huge amount of pork and veal wonton dumplings, and I sat on the kitchen floor waiting for a taste, but was not allowed any.

Anyway, Merlin's human Kim, and Nell and Declan came over in the evening and had the wontons for dinner in a soup. They also had a delicious apple and berry crumble which Nell made, with ice cream. Sadly, I was not permitted a taste either.

On the positive side, I very much enjoyed sharing myself on the laps of Kim, Nell and Declan. I love them visiting.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Mao, not meow!

Just when you thought we hadn't heard enough about one of history's biggest tyrants, comes another biography of Mao Zedong. Jung Chang, who wrote an excellent account of her family in Wild Swans which was a worldwide bestseller, has written another book, this time about Mao which will no doubt end up on the bestsellers list.

My human has bought this latest book, but I do not expect him to read it out to me.

Mao, iconised for so long by the Chinese Communist Party, and briefly, by the world, was really a bit of a tyrant (only a bit? - Keiser's human). He was a perfect example of manipulation and using the cult of personality to control people. Millions of people died in China during famines and the Cultural Revolution. Wild Swans had an excellent account of this period which also spawned a whole new genre of memoirs set during this period.

My human has Ross Terrill's other book (which he hadn't got around to reading after languishing on the bookshelf for many many years), and Li Zhisui's book (which he found rivetting reading, at the time).

Jung Chang and Jon Halliday - MAO: The Unknown Story (to be published in the US on 18 October 2005)

Ross Terrill - Mao: a Biography (Dr Terrill is an Australian academic and a noted Sinologist)

LI Zhisui - The Private Life of Chairman Mao (Dr Li was the physician of Mao)

If Jung Chang's new book on Mao is on your to read list (or to be read out to you by a human list), do check out the others too.

It is such a shame that this name Mao sounds so close to meow!

*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out about things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

I am gradually coming around to Margaret, even if I am not allowed on her lap. She gave me ham today. Yes ham!

My human left for work early today and then came home again not long after. He then left again (something about a medical appointment) and returned. We had some lap time, and then he went for a walk to the pharmacy. Even with this in and out business, I do like my human being home with me.

There are a few (3 other) visitors tonight - mainly Margaret and Mary's old friends when they used to live in Canberra. They are here to catch up with them before leaving Sydney to go to China to live for a year or two (which will happen sometime next month).

I have been banished from sitting up at the dining area (on a chair)! And in MY house too! I just want to join in. Nevermind, I will just sit here working on my computer.

ADDENDUM - human company is too much to resist. I will sit behind my human on the dining room chair and try and be as inconspicuous as possible.

keisercat@wildmail.com

draft Declaration of Feline Rights

On 1 May 2005, I wrote about having a Declaration of Feline Rights.

Here is my draft for comment (by felines and humans alike).

PREAMBLE

Whereas humans and cats have co-existed for many millenia and shall continue to do so for mutual benefit until the end of time,

Whereas cats were once worshipped by humans in the advanced civilisation of ancient Egypt,

Whereas humans require cats to guide them in the pursuit of happiness and wellbeing,

Now therefore, humans where they have formed a domestic bond and co-habitation arrangement with cats agree upon the following:

Article 1
All cats in the care of humans have the right to life without pain and suffering, physically and psychologically;

Article 2
All cats in the care of humans have the right to fresh drinking water to be changed often;

Article 3
All cats in the care of humans have the right to be fed their preference of food on a daily basis within the economic means of the human, and within parameters conducive to physical health and growth;

Article 4
All cats in the care of humans have the right to have their fur brushed by the human if they so desire;

Article 5
All cats in the care of humans have the right to medical care to cure illnesses and injuries;

Article 6
All cats in the care of humans have the right to warmth and shelter;

Article 7
All cats in the care of humans have the right not to be de-clawed as claws are an essential part of a cat's anatomy for scratching, for protection, and for expression;

Article 8
All cats in the care of humans have the right to sit and lay on any item of furniture designed for that purpose;

Article 9
All cats in the care of humans have the right to lay on any human's lap if so desired;

Article 10
All cats in the care of humans have the right to not co-habitate a dwelling with a dog;

Article 11
All cats in the care of humans have the right to shed their fur as nature intended, including all over clothing and furniture; and

Article 12
All cats in the care of humans have the right to boss their humans about.

My human isn't sure about the last one. He thinks I may have missed some. If you think I have, send me a catmail or email.

*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out about things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

Margaret has taken over my day bed and room. Yet she chooses to go to great effort to ignore me! I just want a lap! She was home nearly all day and ignored me. I was so glad when my human came home. Mary came over tonight and the humans had slow baked salmon cutlets with mashed potato and sweet potato and blanched broccolini and asparagus. I just had a chicken wing despite the smell of salmon cooking!

My human finished reading to me the latest Harry Potter book last night (about a quarter after midnight). What a shocker! I just can't believe who JK Rowling had killed off. Oh, I am in such a shock!

keisercat@wildmail.com

525,600 minutes

Five hundred twenty five thousand, six hundred minutes are the minutes in a year. And feature in the song, Seasons of Love, in the stage musical RENT which has been made into a movie (opening 11 November 2005).

It is also one of the best songs in the musical, about living and measuring life in a year.

My human went to the Australian production of RENT in 1998 in Sydney and loved it, and should have gone to the San Francisco production while he was there, but didn't. He can't wait for the movie version. He puts on the broadway soundtrack from time to time, which I enjoy.

RENT was written (both music and lyrics) by Jonathan Larson. He died suddenly, aged 35 before opening night - dropped dead on the floor while making a cup of tea. RENT won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Sony Picture's RENT site

RENT - The Broadway Musical

Canberra's G-Strings production of RENT - in August 2005 (which I think my human and our friend Devi may go and see)

RENT is one of the best late 20th century musicals. Like West Side Story, My Fair Lady, The King and I, and The Sound of Music before it, the movie version deserves to be a hit!



*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out about things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

We had visitors tonight. Margaret and Mary, who live in Sydney came over for dinner. My human cooked a mushroom (with fresh and porcini), asparagus and chicken risotto. While my human was cooking I was in my chair and walked over the dining table towards them to sit on a lap and got into BIG trouble. I am not happy when non-cat people come and visit! Anyway, Margaret is staying over for a few days and she has taken over my day bed and room!

keisercat@wildmail.com

Puerto Rico - is it a country?

In 1898, on 25 July, Puerto Rico (then a Spanish colony) was invaded by the United States at Guánica. Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the US under the Treaty of Paris on 10 December which ended the Spanish-American War.

Today, Puerto Rico is a dependent territory of the US. They have their own flag and team at the Olympic Games. Puerto Ricans are, however, US citizens meaning that they travel on US passports. They are Americans.

They don't have full representation in the US Congress (by Luis Fortuño) who does not have voting rights. Puerto Ricans also are not counted in the US census. Puerto Ricans on the island don't pay federal income tax, but they do pay other federal taxes.

Wasn't there something about tea being dumped in Boston and a slogan "no taxation without representation"?

*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out about things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

My human stayed home with me today. It was wonderful. He was all dressed and ready to go to work with his lunch in his bag, but decided his headache wouldn't make him very productive at work, so he phoned work instead. Hooray for me! We napped together, then he read more Harry Potter to me, and napped, and more HP etc.

I had cooked chicken for dinner, but I would rather have a steak!

keisercat@wildmail.com

what was it like in the olden days?

My human and I have been watching Outback House where some people and a television production company recreated the life of a nineteenth century sheep farm in Australia. It is really cool, and the kids living at the 'Oxley Downs homestead' even have a cat.

We dislike so called reality shows on tv, which aren't really reality (which should be more like "fly on the wall" witnessing of things), but a sort of game show (which they are, as they have a winner and a prize). My human can tolerate it, but as a cat, I can't stand it.

Historical recreations, however, are another matter and very interesting to see how modern day people (and cats) cope with the situations of times past.

We very much liked UK Channel 4's The Edwardian Country House (rebroadcast by PBS as Manor House) which was really interesting. It was interesting to see how extreme the 'stratification' of society into classes (upper class, working class etc) used to operate in 1905.

We also enjoyed the PBS Frontier House. We didn't like the rich family from California who spent all their time whining. In typical fashion of the type of people from that background, they made everything all about them.

Aside from those, there was also Australia's SBS The Colony which was a joint Irish-Australian production that we missed!

We also missed Channel 4's 1900 House (which doesn't have a website). We caught some, but not all of Channel 4's 1940s House. Rationing during the war was very interesting. And we also missed PBS's Colonial House which was not broadcast here, but looks really cool.

I think the tv production companies should do one of ancient Egypt and recreate the good times when we were worshipped!

*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out about things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

After all the excitement yesterday, it was a quieter day today. My human disappeared before midday and returned with Declan and Nell. They had gone to have dim sum/yum cha, which I am never invited to. I had fun sitting on Nell's lap and then Declan's, but it was a pity they didn't stay long. Declan was amazed when I started purring while on his lap. I adore Declan. He smells nice... for a human. And he likes stroking my fur.

I then had a very nice nap with my human on the couch (in typical fashion, this was during a football game on tv). Then he did chores.

Later, we watched Outback House (see above) while he ironed. My human also read some more of Harry Potter to me.

I've also gone off my chicken wings a bit. My human told me he was worried that perhaps my teeth can't crunch through the bones anymore, but I meowed/told him that I do get sick of them sometimes. I hope he gives me cooked chicken for dinner tomorrow night. What I really want is rump steak or lamb, but my human won't give that to me anymore because he has to clean the fur around my bottom the next day.

keisercat@wildmail.com

My middle name is Intrepid!

Back on 28 April 2005, I wrote about Mr Bigglesworth, a Sphynx who Dr Evil, the enemy of Austin Powers, claims is his cat. Ahem, Mr Bigglesworth owns Dr Evil.

If you visit the website (see below), you can find out what your spy name is.

I found out that mine is Intrepid. Keiser "Intrepid" Cat!

And this is the description of my spying prowess:

There isn't a situation you ever find uncomfortable as you are a chameleon and mold your identity around your surroundings. You stalk your prey without hesitation, mistake or second guesses and they can feel you on their heels.

Vital Gear
Includes non-descript clothing, sunglasses and various wireless devices.

I also entered my secret cat name that only us cats know, although it was difficult finding a transliteration using the Roman alphabet for some of the sounds we felines make, and it still came back with Intrepid!

MEOW! Yeah, baby! Groovy!

Why don't you find out what your spy name is and send me a catmail?

Find out your spy name - from Austin Powers

Football - round 17. My team beat the Bombers, which is also my human's other (Victorian) team. Here are the stats (late addendum):

BRISBANE: 5.3, 8.9, 11.11, 17.12 (114) defeated
ESSENDON: 1.7, 4.9, 10.13, 14.17 (101)

GOALS - Brisbane: Brown 5, Corrie 4, McGrath 2, Black, Sherman, Keating, Notting, McDonald, Lappin Essendon: Lucas 4, Lovett 3, Dyson 2, Bolton, Monfries, J Johnson, Lloyd, Welsh
BEST - Brisbane: Brown, Corrie, Drummond, Voss, Michael, Lappin Essendon: Lucas, Fletcher, J Johnson, Stanton, McVeigh, Peverill
INJURIES - Brisbane: Akermanis (back-related hamstring) Essendon: Johns (hamstring)
CHANGES - Essendon: Hird and Rioli replaced in selected team by Monfries and Hunt
UMPIRES: Chamberlain, Morris, Ellis
CROWD: 36,077 at the Gabba

*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out about things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

We had fog again this morning and it didn't lift until 10.45am, then my human hung out the washing, which gave me the opportunity to go out and chew on some grass. Then my human spent some time in the kitchen making borscht, Ukrainian style. I also had some lap time while he read Harry Potter out to me.

Merlin's humans Kim, Jordan and Liam came over in the afternoon, and then my human and Jordan went to see the new Fantastic Four movie. Jordan and my human loved it. I can't wait for that to come out on DVD, and then I can watch it too.

Afterwards the humans had the borscht for dinner, along with ciabatta bread.

Later, we watched Dr Who. That episode was quite scarey. And then Merlin's humans went home.

I think it is time for another instalment of Harry Potter now.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Happy Birthday Don Henley

Yesterday I mentioned that Don Henley's Boys of Summer was remade as cover versions recently.

Today, Don Henley turns 58. Hard to believe. Mr Henley was pretty much the voice of The Eagles in the seventies (the other was Glen Frey earlier on), and he was their drummer too. The Eagles had some excellent songs.

Mr Henley went solo after The Eagles broke up.



My human reckons that Henley's original version of Boys of Summer (released in 1984) is one of his most favourite songs of all time. He claims the guitar work and the drumming are way excellent. And the vocals and lyrics are too. Some of my human's other favourite songs include Bryan Adams' Heaven, Pat Benatar's Love is a Battlefield etc. He loves eighties pop/rock.

I like some of them too. But I like watching my human go into a trance-like state when he listens to his favourite songs.

www.donhenley.com

*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out about things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

It was -4 degrees Celsius this morning. When I used to have a water bowl outside on the deck, the water inside used to be frozen solid by the morning! I now just have my water inside near my dining area.

I am looking forward to the weekend with my human. I can feel the weekend coming on as my human is a bit more relaxed after work. And hearing more about Harry Potter.

keisercat@wildmail.com

recycling music

All kitties love music. Yes we are very refined, unlike those dogs.

If you think you've heard a tune before, the chances are, you have.

Lots of songs are remade into covers. The remade ones are commonly known as cover versions. Most of the time, the original is always the best. You might recognise these:

- Always on My Mind (Elvis Presley 1973, then Willie Nelson 1982, Petshop Boys 1988);
- American Pie (Don McLean 1971, then Madonna 2000);
- Boys of Summer (Don Henley 1984, then DJ Sammy 2003, The Ataris 2003);
- Cats in the Cradle (Harry Chapin 1974, then Ugly Kid Joe 1993);
- Heaven (Bryan Adams 1985, then DJ Sammy 2002);
- How Soon is Now? (The Smiths 1985, then Love Spit Love 1996 - the version on tv show Charmed, Snake River Conspiracy 2002, The Meatmen 2003, t.A.T.u. 2003);
- Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler 1983, then Nicki French 1995, oh and Ms Tyler did another version in French, a duet with Kareen Antonn called Si Demain which was number 1 in France and Belgium in early 2004).

There is so much more! And of course there is the use of a small portion of an original song tune. This is known as sampling. An artist might take a small part of a track and use it many times in a totally new song. Do these sound familiar?

- Ventura Highway (by America, being reused by Janet Jackson in Someone to Call My Lover);
- Every Breath You Take (The Police, being reused by Puff Daddy in I'll Be Missing You);
- Under Pressure (Queen, being reused by Vanilla Ice in Ice Ice Baby);
and the mother of them all:
- the orchestral version of The Last Time (Rolling Stones, being reused by The Verve in Bittersweet Symphony - the lawsuit of that one was unreal).

And of course, classical pieces which don't have copyright are always being tampered with:

- Un Bel Di from Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly used by Malcolm McLaren and the World Famous Supreme Team in Madame Butterfly (how original!);
- Flower Duet from Léo Delibes' opera Lakmé used by Malcolm McLaren and the World Famous Supreme Team in Operaa House!;
- Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No 2 used by Eric Carmen in All By Myself;
- Maurice Ravel's Bolero used by Rufus Wainwright in Oh What a World.

*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out about things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

Today is Thursday, and we're going to watch Lost now. I hope I get another chapter or two of Harry Potter tonight.

keisercat@wildmail.com

that's one small step...

Armstrong: I'm going to step off the LM now. (Long Pause)
(Armstrong steps down the ladder)
Armstrong: That's one small step for (a) man; one giant leap for mankind.
(He meant to say for "a" man, but forgot)
Armstrong: Yes, the surface is fine and powdery. I can kick it up loosely with my toe. It does adhere in fine layers, like powdered charcoal, to the sole and sides of my boots. I only go in a small fraction of an inch, maybe an eighth of an inch, but I can see the footprints of my boots and the treads in the fine, sandy particles....

And the rest is history!

You can find the rest here:
Apollo Lunar Surface Journal

This happened on 20 July in 1969 (36 years ago).

*Please do visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out about things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

I had two dinners tonight! I was fed at 5.30pm and then at 8.30pm. My human came home early (thankfully I was fed first) and then he went with Anaree, his friend from work who is Couscous' human (Couscous is a white and ginger tom and he's not on Catster yet). They went to mantra practice (in Sanskrit, which is the ancient language used in old Buddhist texts).

When he came home, I had another dinner! Last night my human didn't get much past chapter 1 of the new Harry Potter book. I think he is too slow! I want to find out how JK Rowling kills off Hermione. Just kidding! She wouldn't would she?

keisercat@wildmail.com

Cat Ballou

Cat Ballou wasn't a cat at all.

She was a character played by Jane Fonda in the 1965 movie of that name. A Western.

Cat is a shortened form of Catherine. In the movie, Cat Ballou seeks revenge after her father is murdered by the railroad magnate's gunman. She turns into an outlaw and enlists the help of Kid Shelleen (played by Lee Marvin).



*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out interesting things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

Last night we managed to watch Desperate Housewives and I had a nice long brush of my fur.

My human managed to get his copy of the latest Harry Potter book today and hopefully he will read the first chapter to me tonight.

keisercat@wildmail.com

catcalls

A catcall is a sound people make when they are expressing disapproval. Catcalls go paw in paw with boos and hisses, especially in a crowd.

The word may have originated long ago when audiences expressed their displeasure of stage performances by making noises like the sound of cats.

It think this is rather rude. What about dogcalls?


*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are good at finding out interesting things and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

I don't Mondays. Tell me why, I don't like Mondays...

I was left alone again during the day and it was cold. I better go, my human wants to use the computer again and polish off his application before hitting send. I hope I get a brush tonight anyway!

keisercat@wildmail.com

Belling the Cat

Aesop (or Æsop) was a slave of African descent who lived from about 620 to 560 BC in Ancient Greece. He was famous for his fables, now called Aesop's Fables which are usually stories about animals with a moral lesson. The more well known of these are The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and The Tortoise and the Hare. There was one fable about a cat (maybe more). As copyright expired a long long time ago, I can repeat the story here.

Belling the Cat

Long ago, the mice had a general council to consider what measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the Cat. Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got up and said he had a proposal to make, which he thought would meet the case.

"You will all agree," said he, "that our chief danger consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which the enemy approaches us. Now, if we could receive some signal of her approach, we could easily escape from her. I venture, therefore, to propose that a small bell be procured, and attached by a ribbon round the neck of the Cat. By this means we should always know when she was about, and could easily retire while she was in the neighbourhood."

This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse got up and said: "That is all very well, but who is to bell the Cat?" The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke.

Then the old mouse said, "It is easy to propose impossible remedies."

Not quite a nice story about a cat. To me, the moral of the story is that mice are stupid!

More fables by Aesop (eLook.org)

Football - round 16. My team lost, but they had a good run. Here are the stats (the margin was good considering that the Eagles are fairly much undefeated all season).

WEST COAST: 8.3, 10.7, 13.8, 17.9 (111) defeated
BRISBANE LIONS: 1.3, 4.8, 6.10, 13.10 (88)

GOALS – West Coast: Cousins 4, Chick 3, Lynch 3, Gardiner 2, Nicoski, Judd, Matera, Braun, McDougall Brisbane Lions: Bradshaw 4, Notting 3, Merrett 2, Corrie 2, Voss, McGrath
BEST – West Coast: Cousins, Judd, Fletcher, Wirrpunda, Lynch, Braun Brisbane Lions: Black, Power, Adcock, Johnson, Voss, Notting
INJURIES – West Coast: Jones (leg) Brisbane Lions: Charman (quad)
CHANGES – West Coast: Hansen (quad) replaced in selected side by Gardiner
REPORTS - Cox (West Coast) reported for striking by umpire Ryan in the third quarter, Charman (Brisbane Lions) reported for striking by umpire Woodcock in the third quarter
UMPIRES - McBurney, Ryan, Woodcock
CROWD - 41,524 at Subiaco Oval

*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are part of the Catster CKC Triumvirate. Finding out things and sharing it with us. (My earlier Finding things out was a split infinitive).

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

I slept on my other (day) bed for most of the day as the blinds were up and I could catch sun rays. My human disappeared for a few hours (something about his former boss visiting from Melbourne and going out for dim sum - or as it is better known in Australia, yum cha).

Anyway, he got back later and we also had a little nap together in the afternoon (also during a football game). And I better go now and let my human use the computer to finish off his job application. Meow!

keisercat@wildmail.com

fast food for dogs.... slow food for cats...

Staying on the theme of food and diets, our cat friends who are forced to endure living with a dog (or l'horreur! more than one dog) will know that these creatures gobble up their food. Woof it down.

Also, they show no discerning taste as to what they put into their mouths!

It is a bit like fast food. They eat it quickly and don't think about what is in it. A dog with a big raw beef bone, however, is a most noble creature. And it gets the dog occupied for hours.

Cats on the other paw, lovely and civilised creatures that we are, enjoy our food slow. On occasion, I will gobble up ham (but it is a treat).

Take my raw chicken wings for example. It takes me time to work my teeth and crunch up the bones. I am usually fed dinner at 6pm (breakfast is around 7.30am), and after about 10-15 minutes I will leave my dinner. There is no need to stuff my face. It goes back into the refridgerator (my human is paranoid about salmonella).

When I am ready for another bite, I sit at my meal spot, and my bowl appears again. This can be 8pm, 9pm or even 10pm. Sort of like Camilla's second dinner (she is such a Hobbit, whatever that means!)

Humans can be a lot like dogs and cats. Some want the convenience of fast food, or reheating frozen packaged meals. Others will put in the time to cook from scratch and love to have food simmering or slowly cooking in the oven. I think I prefer the latter. Great food for those who are prepared to wait and put in the effort.

There is even a slow food movement by humans.
"Founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986, Slow Food is an international association that promotes food and wine culture, but also defends food and agricultural biodiversity worldwide.

It opposes the standardisation of taste, defends the need for consumer information, protects cultural identities tied to food and gastronomic traditions, safeguards foods and cultivation and processing techniques inherited from tradition and defend domestic and wild animal and vegetable species."

Slow Food

I can relate to that. How about slow life? Sleep all day, eat, sleep all night, eat, sleep... hey sounds like the life of a cat!

Football - round 16 (in progress), my team is playing the West Coast Eagles who are on top of the ladder (they have only lost one game so far) and my team is not doing so well. Results tomorrow.

*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are part of the Catster CKC Triumvirate. Finding things out and sharing with us. Camilla has wonderful news on her 15 July diary entry about the new pope's adoration of cats. Great stuff Camilla!

**My fish has turned purple. Many thanks Camilla for making that happen! It is even more special than red. Don't forget to keep giving me treats to keep it purple.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

The sky was blue and the sun was out this morning. My human didn't sleep in much today even though it is Saturday. I managed to go outside while he hung out some washing and I chewed on some grass and had a smell around.

He's also been hogging the computer for most of the day, though we did have a half hour nap during a football game (he set the alarm on his phone so he didn't nap for too long).

Later, Merlin's human, Kim came over (she was supposed to come over yesterday but was unwell), and they had coq au vin for dinner in celebration of Bastille Day (which was on Thursday). Later they watched Dr Who and then Kim left.

I better hop off now as my human wants to use the computer to apply for a work promotion.

keisercat@wildmail.com

soda (soft drink) can make you fat

According to the Washington Post, consumer activists and food manufacturers are arguing about the issue of warning labels on soft drinks.

I think this should do it:
This cup of supersized soda can make you really fat. It contains half a pound of sugar, which you don't need, unless you plan on running a marathon to burn up all the calories. Why don't you have a glass of water instead? If you want to drink something sweet, how about some natural fruit juice?

Debate Pops Open Over Soda Warnings reported in the Washington Post

*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are part of the Catster CKC Triumvirate. Finding things out and sharing it with us.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

I'm cold! All I want to do is lay on my human's lap. I hope I get lots of lap time over the weekend. The next installment of Harry Potter is being deferred until Monday. My human insists that he has important things to do over the weekend!

keisercat@wildmail.com

babies being born polluted

According to a new report about to be released by the Environmental Working Group, babies in the US are being born with deadly chemicals in their bodies.

See Reuters report

Environmental Working Group

Do something about it! Ask your members of Congress to pass laws to protect the environment! And while you are at it, pressure them on the Kyoto Protocol!

And happy Bastille Day to all our French friends!

*Please do visit Cooper and Camilla who are the other two members of the Catster CKC Triumvirate.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

I greeted my human at the door when he got home tonight. Oh, he was so excited!

keisercat@wildmail.com

poor kitties in Fairfax County

Today I read sad news about our poor cousins in a house on Ludgate Drive in Fairfax County (in a neighbourhood behind George Washington's Mount Vernon plantation).

An old lady, Mrs Ruth Knueven, 82 years old, who lives there had 306 cats. After neighbours complained of the smell, police went to visit and discovered 273 of the cats. 86 of them were already dead. They were removed. On another later visit, another 32 (plus another dead) were discovered and also removed.

Of the 219 still alive, all of them were euthanized except for eight because they were undomesticated and sick. The authorities couldn't risk them infecting the other animals at the county shelter.

The lady was charged with three misdemeanor counts of failing to care for her pets.

This lady did not love cats. If a person loves cats, they would care for them and do anything for them, as most of my feline friends on Catster would know.

No, this lady collected them. She needs psychiatric help. It is an obsessive compulsive behaviour of sorts. A real cat lover knows that we cats are territorial and love our spaces. We will only share our space with a limited number of adopted brothers and sisters.

If you know of any neighbours with too many cats, ask your human to investigate, for the sake of our feline cousins.

Stories like this make us thankful that we adopted the right human(s) who are loving and caring.

211 Cats From Home In Fairfax Euthanized from Washington Post

Fairfax County Animal Shelter

In other news (good news), my friend Camilla mentioned that a baby panda has been born at Washington Zoo. This is amazing news. You can read more about this in Camilla's diary entry of 12 July.

In 1999, my human visited Hsing Hsing, who was sick then. The news of Hsing Hsing's death not long after upset my human. I hope he goes to visit the new pandas there, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, soon as they are only on loan from China for a very short time. We hope that the cub survives the next couple of months which is a critical time.

*Please do visit Cooper and Camilla who are the other two members of the Catster CKC Triumvirate.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

Today was another cold day. I am making up for the cold day by sitting on my human as often as I can. I love it when he rubs his chin on the top of my head.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Catweazle

No, Catweazle is not an illness that causes us cats to wheeze. If that happens to you, you should ask your human to take you to the vet.

Catweazle was a magician in an early 1970's television series (there were two) produced in the UK and which were also broadcast in Australia. They had many re-runs on Australian television until about 20 years ago. Way before I was born in my litter.

Catweazle was from the eleventh century, and he was a pretty bad magician and his spells usually failed. In the first series, Catweazle was being chased by Norman (invading) soldiers and he recited a spell to make him fly in order to escape them, but ended up in the future. He was fascinated by the twentieth century with its electrickery and telling bones (telephones). And spent the entire time trying to get home. He had a cool familiar called Touchwood (a toad).

The second series was about Catweazle's search for a treasure and something about flying as well, by trying to find the 13th sign of the zodiac. In both series, Catweazle befriended a local boy who always seemed a lot more sensible than him.

My human told me that he loved Catweazle when he was a child. In much the same way as he enjoyed the Goodies, then. Catweazle was way cool (or is that kewl?).


Catweazle

Catweazle - a comprehensive fansite by Davo

*Please do visit Cooper and Camilla who are the other two members of the Catster CKC Triumvirate.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

I was so cold today. The inside of the house went down to 13 degrees Celsius during the day, only slightly warmer than the 8 degrees C outside. I was even colder last night and spent longer than usual under the covers, just before bed, and also around 2am. I am so glad I have my fur. A poor sphynx would be freezing.

Anyway, I had my big brush last night during the rest of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. We totally agree with Camilla, the film was a disappointment compared to the book. My human told me that they would have been better off having a mini-series so that much more of the story could have been included. Still, Kevin Spacey and John Cusack were rather good.

My human reckons that Snow Falling on Cedars, another brilliant book had a better film adaptation. He also thinks that Simon Winchester's Surgeon of Crowthorn also a brillant book, deserves a film adaptation, but needs to be narrated.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Towser the (distillery) cat

Towser was a tabby who lived in a distillery in Scotland called Glenturret which is home to the Famous Grouse whiskey label.

She born on 21 April 1963 and lived at the distillery until she died on 20 March 1987. She got to be nearly 24 years old!

Towser wasn't famous because she got to be an old cat, but because of her mousing prowess. She held a Guinness World Record for catching the most mice, which is 28,899 mice. She also caught rats, rabbits and pheasants, but these weren't counted.

Towser had many fans all over the world who sent her presents which included caviar and smoked salmon.

Today, a statue (erected in 1997) of Towser stands on the distillery grounds to honour her. I expect many whiskey drinkers also worship her!


Statue of Towser

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

Today wasn't so bad for a Monday. I managed to go outside in the morning to chew on some grass while my human hung out some washing (finally another clear day). When he finished, he went back onto my deck, and I ran after him (he usually chases me back in). Well, I would not want to be locked outside all day in the cold!

When he came home from work, we played with some of my plastic rings. I know how to get him to play with me - by running around skittishly.

Anyway, Desperate Housewives isn't on tonight, as the unreliable network that broadcasts it has replaced it with the latest series of 24 which we are going to boycott.

Instead we are going to watch the rest of the movie adaptation of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. We were watching parts of it yesterday (I did get more lap time). My human loved the book when it first came out. He said it was a brilliant character study. I can't wait for him to read it aloud to me.

I daresay, I expect to be brushed now too.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Carmina Burana

I haven't written about classical music for a little while, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to celebrate Carl Orff's birthday (10 July 1895 to 29 March 1982) .



Most cats and humans will be familiar with Orff's Carmina Burana. You can find music samplers here.

You can also read more about it from Wikipedia which has excellent links to the Latin texts.

Official site - Carl Orff Stiftung

*Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are the other two members of the Catster CKC Triumvirate.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

I didn't get much lap today! As the sun finally came out after over a week of wet weather (and it has been wet nearly every weekend for weeks), my human aired the house and did some spring, err winter cleaning. Earlier in the week he came home from work and told me the house smelt "catty". I was mortified by this remark.

Well, excuse me! I am constantly bathing myself, and I bury my sh*t outside. Anyway, it was good that he let some fresh air inside, and deodorised the fabric of the furniture, cleaned the floors including mopping, and changed the bedding.

I hope this got rid of some of the "humany" smell! Humans stink too sometimes! I guess it could be worse, there could be a dirty stinky dog in the house.

keisercat@wildmail.com

OK, cats, we rumble

Back on 6 December 2004, I wrote about adapting the musical West Side Story and calling it Cat Side Story.

Of course I was being silly. In the original version, we cats still get a mention!

At the start, after the first altercation between the Jets and the Sharks, Riff says, "OK, cats, we rumble...".

When the Jets start singing the Jet Song, it goes, "When you're a Jet you're the top cat in town".

Pretty cool hey?

Anyway, West Side Story was a stage musical which first opened on Broadway in 1957, then a movie version was released in 1962 (it won ten Academy Awards). The movie is still a classic. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein who was a brilliant composer. Some of the later modern musicals still don't measure up to his standard.


The Sharks getting ready for a catfight, err rumble, with the Jets

Who else but Bernstein could come up with a quintet (this is the later song Tonight sung by Maria, Tony, Anita, the Jets and the Sharks before the rumble) that uses a 'technique' more commonly found in opera to simulate a group conversation? Of course this is well complemented with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

West Side Story

*I hope my feline friends living in the US who are in the path of Hurricane Dennis are okay. Dennis the menace!

**Please visit Cooper and Camilla who are the other two members of the Catster CKC Triumvirate. Such extensive research and well written analyses and opinions deserve to be read.

ADDENDUM

Football - round 14 - my team thrashed the Magpies!

BRISBANE LIONS: 3.7, 8.12, 13.15, 19.19 (133) defeated
COLLINGWOOD: 0.3, 0.7, 3.9, 7.13 (55)

GOALS – Brisbane Lions: McGrath 3, Merrett 3, Akermanis 2, Lappin 2, Voss, Charman, Corrie, Drummond, Johnson, Black, Notting, Scott, Bradshaw Collingwood: Buckley 2, Licuria, Rowe, Burns, Davis, Caracella
BEST – Brisbane Lions: Power, Lappin, Johnson, Black, Merrett Collingwood: Licuria, Burns, Clement, Holland
INJURIES – Collingwood: T.Cloke (ribs), C.Cloke (shoulder), Rusling (shoulder) ouch!
CHANGES – Brisbane Lions: Leppitsch (back) replaced in selected side by White
UMPIRES - Jeffery, McInerney, Pannell
CROWD - 37,224 at the Gabba

The game was broadcast on tv, but clashed with Dr Who, but my human forgot it was on, so we missed the rest of a great game.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

Today was another cold day (the temperature peaked at 8 degrees Celsius) and I was glad to have my human all day (with the heater on of course).

In the afternoon, Merlin's humans Kim, Jordan and Liam came over and they played a few games of Star Wars Trivial Pursuit with DVD. I laid on my human's lap during most of the game. It seemed to be a very hard game and Jordan won two games, before Kim and my human combined efforts and won the last game (with hints of course). That Jordan sure is smart on Star Wars.

They then had pea and ham soup for dinner before going home.

Later, I got to watch Dr Who with my human.

He then put on the DVD of West Side Story for me, and I'm having a little intermission to do my diary. I think I will go back to it now.

keisercat@wildmail.com

live8, third world debt, foreign aid

My friend Camilla (one third of our Catster CKC Triumvirate) mentioned in her diary about giving more thought to foreign aid.

Here is a link to the article she cited. Too Much of a Good Thing: Choking on Aid Money in Africa by Erich Wiedemann and Thilo Thielke for Der Spiegel. It is worth spending time to read.

The issue is that some of the "poorest" countries rely on foreign aid and loans (hence the debt). In the meantime, the regimes of those countries divert a lot of their funds into wars or the pockets of corrupt leaders.

Waiving debt may not necessarily be the solution, if other concerns are not addressed.

A very interesting and thought provoking book by Patrick West is Conspicuous Compassion.

"Patrick West argues that wearing coloured ribbons, strapping red noses onto the front of your car, signing internet petitions, and carrying banners saying 'Not In My Name' are part of a culture of ostentatious caring which is about feeling good, not doing good. The three Cs of modern life - compassion, caring and crying in public - show not how altruistic we have become, but how selfish.

Sometimes these gestures actually do harm. People who wear ribbons may think they have done their bit, without actually contributing to the charity concerned. Writing off third world debt will make more funds available to dictators who want to buy arms. Internet petitions are often inaccurate. Celebrity endorsements of good causes are sometimes characterised by both ignorance and credulity."

Definitely worth reading and thinking about, even if one does not necessarily agree with all that he writes.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

It was such a cold day today. The temperature went down to 14 degrees Celsius inside my house. I do not know why my human can't leave the heater on for me during the day when he is at work. I am making up for being cold by insisting on lying on his lap all the time.

I had my usual chicken wing for dinner. In the meantime, my human taste-tested his braised rabbit and gave it the paws up.

keisercat@wildmail.com

London

I know that many of my feline friends join me in saying that our thoughts are with all the cats in London and their humans.

My human was pleased to learn that his cousin is safe and well. He hopes that his various friends, former colleagues and acquaintances are also safe and well.

More coverage on the London bombings can be found at BBC News.

My human told me his favourite lines on the London Underground are the District and Circle lines, then the Jubilee one (which has nice new stations).

*Thank you very much for the treats which helped to turn my blue fish back to red again. Especially Scooter. The picture of Scooter (see her page) on top of a very high wall is amazing! And deserves lots of treats and rosettes!

**Please also visit the other two members of the Catster CKC Triumvirate - Cooper (from Madison, Wisconsin) and Camilla Mikerron (from Tallahassee, Florida and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania).

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

I was glad to get my human back this evening. I was cold last night being by myself. Tonight, I watched him reorganise the freezer compartment of the refridgerator, but there was nothing for me to eat. All these nice smells, even though they were cold, but I have good olfactory sense. He had containers of stuff and had to make room for more containers of stuff.

Then he spent some time testing a new recipe for braised rabbit in sangiovese red wine with french shallots, porcini and field mushroom, and pancetta. Which I hope turns out better than his last attempt at cooking poor little Thumper. I expect some of it will end up in the freezer along with the other stuff.

keisercat@wildmail.com

70th birthday wishes to His Holiness the Dalai Lama

His Holiness The Dalai Lama

Today is the 70th birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

I know that many of my feline friends wish His Holiness (and pray for) a long life:
In the land encircled by snow mountains,
You are the source of all happiness and good;
All-powerful Chenrezig, Tenzin Gyatso,
Please remain until samsara ends.

His Holiness The Dalai Lama - official pages from the Tibetan Government in Exile

*Please also visit the other two members of the Catster CKC Triumvirate - Cooper (from Madison, Wisconsin) and Camilla Mikerron (from Tallahassee, Florida and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania). If you think I write some interesting things, you should also check out their diaries too. Cooper is exquisitely charming, and Camilla is oh so lovely.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

From cooked chicken yesterday, back to wings today. At least they are super fresh.

My human left me just after the Dr Who rerun. He told me he was going to the Tibetan Cultural Night to celebrate the 70th birthday of HH the Dalai Lama. This reminded me of my topic for today's diary entry.

Oh, I think I hear the door. I better finish this, and then go and remind him to take the trash out tonight for the morning collection. Guten Nacht!

keisercat@wildmail.com

Centre national d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou

My regular readers and feline friends know that I just love interesting buildings.

A really cool looking one is the Centre Pompidou in Paris.


Centre Pompidou

Centre Pompidou

The Centre was named after Georges Pompidou (born 5 July 1911, died 2 April 1974) who was President of France, and wanted "to create an original cultural institution in the heart of Paris focused on modern and contemporary creation where the visual arts would rub shoulders with theater, music, cinema, books and the spoken word…"

The building was designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers (from an architectural competition). It was first open to the public in 1977. It is one of the most popular buildings in France with some 6-7 million visitors per year.

What is really unique about the building is that many structures are located externally, such as the escalators and colour coded pipes for electricity, water etc.

My human also told me that the area near the Centre Pompidou, after you escape the crowds, is really pleasant.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

Finally I had some sun coming into the house with one blind up. It was another cold day today, but the glorious sun made up for it.

Last night after I wrote my diary entry, I watched Desperate Housewives with my human who also gave me a long brush of my fur.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Cats eating dogs on 4th of July!

Yep. You read right there. Cats eating dogs on 4th of July!

I hope our American felines are having a nice long weekend this 4th of July, and that the fireworks don't terrify too many of you.

It is also an occasion for cats to take revenge and eat dogs.

If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em!

Yep, I am talking about hot dogs.

Hot dogs for cool cats!

Although I do feel sorry for dachshund who end up in wiener frankfurter sausages though! But they aren't called sausage dogs for nothing.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.... enough to make a cat laugh!

*Please remember to give me a treat.

**It seems wierd though, after the Live 8 concerts, to have heard filthy rich people talking about poverty. These are people who waste incredible amounts of money. Yet at the same time, they are encouraging us all to think about poverty.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

There was fog again this morning, but it turned out to be a glorious sunny day. A pity the blinds were down all day. I love catching sun rays, especially in winter, and when I am on my own during the day.

keisercat@wildmail.com

a kitty that has 5200 humans!

Most of us have at least one human. Some cats have two or more, while other cats have several feline brothers or sisters to share their human(s).

There is one kitty that has more than 5200 humans! That is like wow!

However, this kitty is not a cat.

The USS Kitty Hawk (CV63) which is usually based in Yokosuka, Japan is visiting Sydney for some R&R following exercises in the north-eastern coast of Australia.



The ship is named after the town Kitty Hawk in North Carolina. The Wright brothers (Orville and Wilbur) spent some time there before their first test flight of an aeroplane.

USS Kitty Hawk sails into Sydney - nineMSN news

*Don't forget to add your human's name to the Live 8 list - www.live8live.com/list/

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

We had fog this morning which didn't lift until about 2pm so there wasn't much sun, and I missed my chance to go outside again.

Apart from a nap with my human in the afternoon (I tricked him again), I didn't do much today.

keisercat@wildmail.com

feline thespians in the UK

I was excited to learn about auditions for feline thespians (actors) for the upcoming play Framed by Martin Sterling at the Theatre Royal in Norwich, UK.

I wonder how many (meow) lines there are that have to be learnt and what the stage directions are.

The play is a mystery/suspense thriller.

Audtions are being held for talented cats on Friday, 8 July at 11.30am at the theatre.

Framed will be playing at the Theatre Royal, on Theatre Street, from Monday, 18 July to Saturday, 23 July at 7.30pm. There are 2.30pm matinees on Wednesday, 20 July and Saturday, 23 July.

I hope our talented feline friend gets paid!

Norwich Evening News 24 - Purr-fect role for Norwich cat

Football - round 14. My team wins... again! By a huge margin!

MELBOURNE: 3.6, 8.9, 11.12, 13.14 (92) defeated by
BRISBANE: 7.2, 10.5, 18.8, 25.16 (166)

GOALS – Melbourne: Robertson, Green 4, Neitz 2, Holland, McLean, Yze Brisbane: Bradshaw 9, Akermanis 5, Corrie 3, McGrath, Merrett 2, Brown, Sherman, Lappin, Selwood
BEST – Melbourne: Green, Robertson, Sylvia, Johnstone Brisbane: Akermanis, Bradshaw, Corrie, Johnson, Voss, Michael, MacDonald
UMPIRES: Vozzo, Davis, Rowe
CROWD: 31,259 at the Gabba

Nine goals by Daniel Bradshaw was a Lions' record!

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

I had an interesting day today. My human didn't sleep in so late today (unlike last Saturday). The sun was out, but I missed my chance to go outside when the washing was hung out, then it rained, and then the sun came out again.

My human put Coldplay's new album X&Y on, again, but I got up off the couch. I'm not sure if I like it yet, but my human does.


Coldplay - X&Y CD cover

He later put on Bach Cello Suites for me which was lovely.


Pablo Casals' Bach Cello Suites CD cover

I sat on the arm of the couch and meowed at him until he got the hint, so he sat down on the couch and I hopped on his lap. He said to me "15 minutes" then closed his eyes. 45 minutes later he woke up and said to me "you tricked me", then he got up.

*giggle* hee hee hee. I know how to get my own way... and have him wrapped around my little paw!

Later this evening Declan and Nell came over to watch Dr Who and then had dinner of homemade pea and ham soup. I spent a lot of time on Declan's lap.

I love pea and ham soup dinner nights. It means I get some ham before it gets turned into soup with plant material (dried split peas, carrots and celery).

keisercat@wildmail.com

an amazing new building - Dupain Building

Regular readers to my page will know that I love interesting buildings such as Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum and the house Falling Water, Jørn Utzon's Sydney Opera House, and William Van Alen's Chrysler Building.

There is soon to be a new building in Sydney called the Dupain Building.

Max Dupain was one of Australia's most famous and celebrated photographers. He took black and white photographs of iconic Australian images. One of the most famous of these is Sunbaker a print of which hangs in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.


Max Dupain's Sunbaker

Another of his works is Bondi which was taken in 1939. Bondi is one of the world's most famous beaches. Young British backpackers visiting Australia consider a visit to Bondi de rigueur as part of their Australian experience.

The photograph of Bondi shows a couple standing at the beach.


Max Dupain's Bondi

This picture will soon turn into one of Sydney's biggest art installations turning into the facade of the new Dupain Building in King Street. It is being built by ARM, and will stand 48 metres high and 51 metres wide.


Artist impression of Dupain Building

Dupain Building
Dupain Commercial

The building (under construction) was also featured in the June edition of Wallpaper magazine which is one of my human's favourites.

**I was going to mention that today, 1 July is the start of Australia's financial (or fiscal) year which means it will be time soon to lodge income tax returns. Today was also the day that the Australian government has full control of the Senate which means that they are able to make drastic changes. The first of these will be industrial relations laws.

........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........

Today, I was fortunate to have the radio changed to ABC Radio National, so listened to some interesting things as I napped. I should mention that the last two mornings I got ham!!!

keisercat@wildmail.com