terrorist of sunset circle under house arrest

Lewis who has six toes on each foot has been attacking people visiting him including the Avon lady.

He is now under house arrest.

See
- Connecticut Post of 28 March 2006
- Connecticut Post of 30 March 2006


Lewis - urban terrorist

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

Today was a really exciting day. That black dog who came to visit exactly two weeks ago turned up again but in the backyard. He turned out to be from next door, so my human let him into MY deck.



Then at some stage, the dog (whose real name is Hagrid) insisted on coming inside. Hmmmpphhh..



Anyway, eventually the dog went home by himself through the hole in the fence when one of his persons got home (after he was let back outside again). He just wanted some company.

keisercat@wildmail.com

臺北101

臺北101 (or Taipei 101) is the tallest skyscraper building in the world (ground to roof). That record will be surpassed when a few other buildings under construction complete their structures.

It is quite a remarkable looking building.





Link - Wikipedia

Hmmm, the architects of each succeeding tallest building are always men.

Would a woman architect bother with something so phallic? Does size matter?

-------------------------------

We missed the total eclipse on this part of the world. If you missed it like us, you can see a video clip from ABC News (US)

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

It rained today and I was cold. My human left me for a few hours to go to a medical appointment and socks shopping in the city. I was so glad he came back and I insisted he sit on the couch so I could lie on his lap, and he complied.

I had a great afternoon napping on his lap. He put on Jason Mraz for me, which I very much enjoyed. My human was rather surprised how much I liked it (granted it wasn't Mozart or Bach).





Links
- Jason Mraz - the official site
- Amazon samplers for album MR. A-Z
- Amazon samplers for album Waiting for my Rocket to Come

In the evening, the humans of that white cat Kettles who lives a few streets away, Klaudia and Sally, came over for dinner of slow cooked pork, and red cabbage and asparagus. As they are also owned by a cat, they fussed and fawned over me. Oh, it was great! I even ended up having a bit of pork as well.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Sounds of Australia

Sun, surf and sand; the outback; and the birds - these are the sounds of Australia.

I get to listen to a lot of birds when I nap out on my deck. You can also listen to them too from this link - http://abc.net.au/archives/av/birds.htm (you need realplayer). Check out the magpie, the parrots, currawong, and the sulphur crested cockatoo.

Now, sun/surf/sand and the outback are another matter. The images and feelings are best evoked by Australian music.

Under the Milky Way by The Church
- Amazon samplers
(this was a theme song of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games)

Sounds of then (This is Australia) by Ganggajang
- samplers from the official site
(my human went to one of their concerts many many years ago when they were in their heyday)

Tenterfield Saddler by Peter Allen
- Amazon samplers
(this song was supposed to be in the musical The Boy from Oz but was not included in the Broadway production as it was lost on the American audience)

Down Under by Men at Work
- Amazon samplers
(an unofficial sporting anthem)

Beautiful People by Australian Crawl
- Amazon samplers
(even Australians could never work out what he was singing about, as James Reyne really mumbled)

Come Said the Boy by Mondo Rock
- samplers from official site
(State of the Heart is another good one)

Given that popular music is now universal and global, this unique Australian sound was more evident in the 1980s. They are now totally classics. Check it out.

They make any Australian living overseas very homesick.

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

Today was another good day, mind you, I didn't get my nap on the couch together with my human as he was doing chores and I sent him out to return the rented movies, and go to the markets for my raw chicken wings.

Devi came over after she finished work for dinner of slow cooked pork in apple cider vinegar and spices, with mash potato/sweet potato and green beans. As she was in her dark coloured work clothes, she did not allow me to sit on her lap. How rude!

keisercat@wildmail.com

Ankara and cats

In 1930 (28 March), the city Angora was renamed Ankara. Ankara is the capital city of modern day Turkey.

The (Turkish) Angora cat originated in the Ankara area and is a close cousin of the Turkish Van breed.

Angora cats love to have water baths with their humans, just like Turkish Van cats (how they derive such pleasure from torture is beyond my comprehension).

Angora cats are also very very bossy. I would not want to share MY house with one. Some humans owned by Angoras reckon they have a sense of humour (don't make me laugh).

LINK - Wikipedia


nice tail!

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

Today was another quiet day. I sent my human out today to rent some more movies. He came back with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire which we watched. Fitch's cat isn't so bad. I even had a nap on the couch with my human.

keisercat@wildmail.com

clubbing baby seals

It's baby harp seal clubbing time again.

The reason for the hunt is purely economic - the lovely soft furry white baby pelts are 'harvested' for the fur fashion industry in Norway, Russia and China; while the blubber is sold for oil; and the poor hunters need the cash.

The 'harvest' is not a cull for ecological reasons, which wouldn't make any sense either when polar bears are starving and in danger of extinction. Relocating polar bears to balance the seal population might make sense.

The seals are not even being used for food, not even pet food.



*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

Nothing much to report today.

keisercat@wildmail.com

the STAR of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games is Ping the duck

At the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, many visitors to Melbourne were confused by the appearance of a boy (Sean Whitford) and his duck (and the poem #).

#
With a bit of luck a duck will come into your life
When you are at the peak of your great powers
And your achievement towers like a smoking chimney stack
There'll be a quack and right there at your feet
A little duck will stand
She will take you by the hand and lead you
Like a child with no defence
She will lead you into wisdom, joy and innocence
This little duck
I wish you luck


Sean Whitford with Ping the duck

Well, they also appeared at the closing ceremony (briefly) to wave goodbye.

The reference to the duck might have been too obscure.

But readers of The Age newspaper would recognise it as one of Leunig's characters. Michael Leunig is a cartoonist for the newspaper. The poem is also his.



And with political comment...


The only duck that we see in this house looks like this.


Or this.


Hmmm.... the weather is starting to cool down for autumn, I wonder when my human will next cook duck braised in red wine, porcini, pancetta and chestnuts?

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

Today was another quiet day. I napped on my mat on the deck for most of the day, even while my human was watching the The Ice Storm on DVD.

But we had a visitor. Woohoo! The great danes' human Martin, neighbours from the back, came over in the afternoon for some help on another job application and I sat up on his lap while he was typing on his lapdog computer. We hope he gets a job soon.

Hmmmm... duck...

keisercat@wildmail.com

soundtrack of the past week

I haven't written much about music lately, nor about what music my human has forced me to listen to, so I thought I'd write about the past week's music (most of which I've enjoyed).

Let Go by Nada Surf
- official site
- Amazon samplers (check out Blonde on Blonde)



Oh, Inverted World by The Shins
- official site
- Amazon samplers



Chutes Too Narrow by The Shins
- Amazon samplers



Hot Fuss The Killers
- official site (is amazing, 3-D graphics!)
- Amazon samplers



Highly Evolved by The Vines
- official site
- Amazon samplers



Winning Days by The Vines
- Amazon samplers



Is This It by The Strokes
- official site
- Amazon samplers



Innamoramento by Mylène Farmer
- official site
- Amazon samplers
(in French, try it if you love Enya)



Many thanks to my dear friend Camilla (see * below) for introducing us to The Shins and The Killers. She and her humans have such GOOD taste in music.

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

Today was a quiet day. I went outside for a few minutes when the washing was hung out. I spent most of the day napping on my nap on the deck, except when I was on my dining room chair or on my human's lap.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Miao Miao and Jack

Two items today. One about Miao Miao, and a sad one about Jack.

Miao Miao is actually Australia's greatest table tennis (ping pong) champion and a legend in that particular sport. I, too am also good at that sport, but I'm not allowed to play anymore because of my heart murmur and age.

I also like the sound of her name!

Link - Miao Miao biography from Table Tennis Australia



My dear kitty friend Jack passed away suddenly on Monday morning. He was a very young cat (3 years old). Jack and I have left plenty of messages for each other through his humans Jess and Mans (who visit me from time to time). Jess and Mans have been wonderful humans to Jack and he will be very much missed. Rest in peace Jack.


Jack (20 January 2003 - 20 March 2006)

One last thing, please check out my friend Milagrito's post about her neighbours. Cats and dogs and other animals are not toys. If people cannot understand that we are also family members, then they should not be entrusted any of us animals into their care.

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

My human left me this morning for a few hours to meet with his boss from work and then get food from the markets for dinner.

Later on, Nell and Declan came over for dinner of roast lamb with roast potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut pumpkin, sweetcorn on the cob, and blanched green beans. I enjoyed lying on both their laps!

I was very spoilt for food today. Aside from my breakfast of chicken roll (my human knows it is highly processed, but then so are many commercial varieties of 'pet' food, but I am addicted to the taste)...

I also had ham off the bone for an afternoon snack, then my raw chicken wing for dinner, followed by a small piece of roast lamb. And it isn't even my birthday!

keisercat@wildmail.com

censorship? South Park, Tom Cruise and scientology

Following the publication in Europe of the Mohommed cartoons in a newspaper, some sectors in the US defended freedom of speech.

Something as trivial as a South Park satire on Scientology and Tom Cruise, and this same sector is strangely silent.


"Don't make fun of me... I'm a religious prophet*" (*fanatic)

See
- Washington Post article
- NPR

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

Today was another mostly quiet day. I sent my human out for two hours to collect the mail and procure my raw chicken wings from the markets.

Later on, a strange lady whom I had never met before came over with her toddler to drop off a DVD - mind you she is Tamsin's human and Tamsin is a very independent cat. Then Jack's human Malgosia came over for a cup of tea and I lied on her lap for a bit making sure to leave messages on her for Jack the dog.

keisercat@wildmail.com

World Water Day

Today was World Water Day.

The theme for this year was 'Water and Culture'.
The theme 'Water and Culture' of WWD 2006 draws attention to the fact that there are as many ways of viewing, using, and celebrating water as there are cultural traditions across the world. Sacred, water is at the heart of many religions and is used in different rites and ceremonies. Fascinating and ephemeral, water has been represented in art for centuries - in music, painting, writing, cinema - and it is an essential factor in many scientific endeavours as well. Each region of the world has a different way of holding water sacred, but each recognizes its value, and its central place in human lives. Cultural traditions, indigenous practices, and societal values determine how people perceive and manage water in the world's different regions.

One excellent cultural work was Handel's Water Music which is one of my favourites.

One not so good cultural work was the film, Water World with Kevin Costner and his career never fully recovered after that.

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

Yesterday was a really exciting day. After I wrote my entry/post last night, Jake's human Dane came over (Jake is a 14 year old ginger Tom) for dinner. I also got to sit on his lap a bit. Afterwards, they messed around with my computer (as I allow my human to use it for his iTunes library) before leaving for a few hours.

Then they returned and messed around with my computer some more. My human reported to me that they went to the theatre and watched a great one-person performance called Page 8. As they stayed behind for drinks as guests (for opening night), my human also had a chat with the very talented performer, David Page and his brother Stephen Page (the director). My human likes mixing with the arty types.

Anyway, being out last night tired out my human and we didn't do much today except nap on the couch and watch really really scarey movies like SAW, SAW II and Wolf Creek. The worst monsters are not supernatural but evil humans. For a bit of light relief, we also watched Alien Vs. Predator. I think he needs to watch more of The Goodies instead.

keisercat@wildmail.com

the passing of Humphrey and another visitor

My friend Bogdan mentioned to me the passing of Humphrey the cat, former resident of 10 Downing Street.



I was going to write something about Humphrey (who should have been knighted Sir Humphrey (fans of Yes Minister will understand).

But my dear friend Camilla has already written a wonderful post about Humphrey. You can read it here - Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office dies.

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

My house is turning into a half way house for lost dogs and cats, or as my friend Camilla describes it, a stop on the Underground Railroad for Animals.

My human was walking to the shops this morning when he returned without supplies, but with a CAT instead. He took the cat, Sharn straight to my back deck so I didn't know he was here at first, but I did smell Sharn on my human's hand.

My human told me that all he did was to say hello to such a 'beautiful and friendly' cat on his way to the shops but then Sharn started following him. As my human was worried that Sharn would get lost or worst, get hit by a car, he carried him back. Hmmphhh..

Anyway, my human phoned our local vet who managed to track down Sharn's human (who are interstate) whose neighbour came to rescue him (just as well Sharn also sees the same vet as me). I did get to see him through the glass, but Sharn was not terribly friendly with his hissing and growling (I guess he was in unfamiliar territory and felt threatened by me - an old lady cat!). Mind you, my human did spend enough time with him on my deck patting and cuddling him.

The lady neighbour was so pleased to see Sharn as she is being temporary human and she said that Sharn had wandered a bit too far from home, down the street and across the road.





keisercat@wildmail.com

the real enemy

Lots of people fear that Muslims and Middle Easterners are terrorists, or that they don't belong or fit into our society.

The real enemy is fear borne out of ignorance. This is how people and countries actually create their own enemies.

An interesting news report -
'Stereotypes no substitute for understanding' by Kevin Dunn in the Sydney Morning Herald of 20 March 2006

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

Today was a slow day. My human and I spent most of the day on the couch. When I sent him out to purchase the newspaper (for the TV guide), I found out that he had been chatting to another dog along the way, this time a German Shepherd. How rude! I am so over smelling a dog on his hand!

We watched a real scarey movie today. My human was so jumpy watching it that it must be really scarey. It was Boogeyman.

BOO!

keisercat@wildmail.com

Commonwealth Games Melbourne and another doggy visitor

The Commonwealth Games have been on (held in Melbourne this year) but we have not bothered to watch any of it on TV.

The schedule is unknown, so you don't know what is being broadcast in advance.

Not only that, it is a very one sided competition with most medals being won by Australia.

Canada and the UK (though it is split into England, Scotland and Wales unlike the Olympics) have a far larger population than Australia, so you'd think they could provide some decent competition.

Sport is much more enjoyable to watch when the competition is more balanced and fair! We do support our fellow Australian competitors, but our government spends far too much money on 'elite' sport.

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

Today was another exciting day! Declan and Nell were in the neighbourhood so they dropped by and I got to lie on their laps while they had a cup of tea and watched Catweazle and The Goodies. This seems to be a theme with visitors lately!

Then Nina's human Gareth (who is Hugh's brother, Nina is a Russian Blue) came over to mow the lawn. Then Nina's other human Deborah (who is Gareth's mother) came over and I sat on her lap.

Later on, I had a long nap on the couch with my human.

After I had my dinner, he left me for a few hours. When he returned, he came back with the humans of the great danes from over the back fence, Martin and Lil. Not only that, but that HUGE dog Sophie also came over. When she came through the front door, we sniffed each other's noses up close. I wasn't even scared of her at all. Then the humans went out to my deck. Hmmpphhh!

It seems that my human had gone to have dinner with those dogs' humans and my human patted them a lot. Aargh! But I have him all to myself again now again.


Sophie at her house (she is the one who came over to visit tonight)


Barney at his house

keisercat@wildmail.com

big bang

A big bang would make a helluva loud noise.

Imagine the noise that might have occurred at the 'birth' of the universe during the 'Big Bang'. Not that there was anyone around to listen to it. Anyway, sound can't travel through a vacuum.

Evidence from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite now suggests that 13.7 billion years ago, the universe took one trillionth of a second to suddenly expand from submicroscopic to astronomical size in far less than a wink of the eye.



How cool.

LINKS
- NASA press release
- WMAP mission results
- National Geographic
- Science Daily

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

After all the excitement from yesterday, today was a quieter day. My human phoned the pound this morning to check up on the dog, and he was reunited with his human, thanks to being micro-chipped.

Nothing to report today except that I went outside when the washing was being hung out to dry, and I smelled the messages the dog left on the quince bush. I also had a wonderful nap on the couch with my human.

I forgot to mention yesterday, that when I sent my human on a supermarket shopping expedition, he returned with a present for me. It spells out house rule number 1.


How true!


Me napping earlier tonight

keisercat@wildmail.com

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh! and a visitor

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh! is Gaelic for St Patrick's Day blessing to you.

Pionta Guinness, le do thoil.

You can read all about St Patrick here.

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

What a day! This black Staffordshire cross dog came over to visit (with no human) and decided to have a sleep outside the front door. Actually, my human saw him through the window and asked him what on earth he was doing, and the dog came over to the door. I had a look at him and I was not scared at all.

Well, my human checked his tag, and the phone number on it was from a different state so he phoned the ranger, then invited the dog to come round the back gate until the ranger came. The dog was very fit with a glossy coat so he was well looked after, so hopefully his human will phone up the pound to collect him.

This is the second lost dog who has come over now. They seem to be attracted to our house.



After the dog left with the ranger, we stumbled on to episode 8 of Kitchen Confidential. Typically, good shows are relegated to off-peak viewing times. My human and I enjoyed the story about the rabbits, however, the show was nothing like Anthony Bourdain's book of the same name, but a cool fictional quirky comedy nevertheless. What a shame Fox cancelled it!

Merlin's human Kim came over tonight for a dinner of slow cooked pork shoulder (in cumin, coriander and fennel seeds with red wine vinegar - cooked over 7 hours) served with mashed potato and sweet potato, and blanched brussel sprouts and green beans. It should really be corned beef and cabbage as it is St Patrick's Day!

I had a bit of time on Kim's lap while the humans watched two episodes of Catweazle. While I am typing this, they are watching The Goodies - we do anything, anytime.



keisercat@wildmail.com

new pic

Taken about 3 weeks ago. In the kitchen.

US, China, google, freedom, censorship etc

After all excitement of the visit by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh who have departed Australia for Singapore, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is now visiting to attend trilateral talks (US-Australia-Japan).

China seems to be the hot topic of the moment. Ms Rice has made statements about China's military spending, which is an item of discussion at the trilateral talks. But it seems that everybody is beating a path to China' door. The Duke of York who is also the UK Special Representative for International Trade and Investment will visit Beijing later this month, as will Russian President Putin.

The thing about China is that the internet censors politically sensitive information from local users. Google now operates a Chinese language search engine - www.google.cn - which apparently tells users that certain pages are censored. Certainly a lot better than Yahoo which supposedly handed over certain data to the Chinese government.

Now how is the Chinese government different to the US Bush government which has subpoenaed Google to hand over search details? Google is not responsible for what people including children search for on the internet. Adults should take responsibility for themselves and their children.

For a country that is supposed to support individual rights, the government is certainly making a big effort to emulate the tone of nanny states like Singapore.

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

I was so confused this morning when my human woke up early and then left me. Thankfully he returned still in the morning. My human told me he went to see the doctor and she told him to stay home and not return to work until 3 April. Woohoo, good for me!

When he came home, we had a long nap on the couch together, before watching a couple of German movies.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Ides of March

Today...
Ides of March, 44 BC, Et tu, Brute?
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

Today...

Watched kiss kIss bAng banG. Way excellent.



Human, out, returned - chicken wings, food for dinner etc

Visitors - Jimmy and Lily's humans, Brian and Jackie, left to check out new hardware store nearby; dinner of steak, carrots and brussel sprouts (B), salad of poached salmon, boiled eggs, lettuce, capsicum, cucumber, Spanish/red onion, beans with olive oil/balsamic dressing (J and my human). Lap time x3.

My dinner - raw chicken wing, and some salmon.

Tonight - big thunderstorm. Cool.

Human and I - tired, nap time. Goodnight!

keisercat@wildmail.com

Mystikats - half girl half kat!

The thing about watching daytime TV is the children's programming in the mid-afternoon. During Totally Wild, there was a commercial for these strange dolls.

Normally, I wouldn't take any notice as us kitty cats prefer soft toys and balls.

These dolls resemble girls with cat ears and tails which I found rather bizarre. Not only that, these characters own pet cats. Can you believe it, they OWN cats? I would have thought it was the other way around (as is the case in my household and in many others across the world).



Anyway, the four characters (who happen to be half girl, half 'kat') also have special powers. Hello? They've already done that in Charmed.



LINK - Mystikats

Holy Bastet, by all means buy these dolls, but be sure to burn them at the stake. Such HERESY!

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

My human was home again with me today. He told me that he will be home all week until he sees the doctor later this week. Again, he spent a lot of time on the couch and we even had a wonderful nap together.

Eventually, he dragged himself up and walked to the shops to return a video. But he came back with Night Watch (Ночной Дозор) which is a Russian horror movie. Cool!



Back to nursing duties and a scarey movie.

keisercat@wildmail.com

where is Ram Bomjon? water shortages in the UK

Back in November 2005, I wrote about Ram Bomjon, a 15 year old Nepalese boy who had been meditating continuously for six months. I was also scathing of the reporting, particularly by US media outlets.



Well, it now seems that Ram Bomjon has disappeared. Perhaps he just wanted to go somewhere really quiet to meditate.

See - ' Nepal's pilgrims pray for return of 'Buddha boy' ' By Thomas Bell in Ratanpuri (Filed: 13/03/2006) in UK Daily Telegraph

-----------

In other news, there is a ban on the use of garden hoses (hose pipes) in parts of the UK due to a "drought" in the south east. For a country that receives much more regular rainfall than the temperate parts of Australia and where the people do NOT take showers everyday (perhaps a weekly bath, unlike Australia where a daily or twice-daily shower is a birth-right) it all seems rather strange.

See
- BBC News
- UK Met Office

Given that water is such an important necessity, why was the storage and supply of water privatised in the first place? Why have more reservoirs not been built? Why have the old clay pipes not been replaced to save the one-third of water which is lost in transport?

Private companies profitting from the supply of such an essential need like water is just as bad as private companies profitting from the provision of essential health care. Perhaps the role of government should be privatised next. Companies could bid for the supply of 'government' and the voters can determine the winning bid. Who needs politicians? Private industry is much more "efficient" are they not?

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

My human wasn't at work again today as he is ill and I very much enjoyed him staying with me. He did spend most of the time on the couch napping intermittently.

keisercat@wildmail.com

royal bouquets

This morning I was lying on the floor with my chin on my paw while my human was watching Sunday Sunrise a news program.

There was a live picture showing the arrival in Canberra (where I live) of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on a British Airways flight.

I heard Chris and Lisa (who are the show's hosts) on Sunday Sunrise waiting for the door of the plane to open and wondering what the Queen would be wearing. After all, protocol demanded that nobody meeting the Queen was allowed to wear any clothes that would clash with hers.

When she did step off the plane on to the tarmac she was met by a few hundred well-wishers (not thousands which would have been the case some twenty years ago - frankly, most people have better things to do).

Anyway, my dozing and listening was rudely interrupted by my human asking me why people give the Queen so many bunches of flowers (I think he meant bouquets or posies). My human did have a point.


The first bouquet is an official gesture

The Queen must be sick of receiving flowers. What is she going to do with them all anyway? Hello? It's not like she is in hospital or at home, or just given an operatic performance on stage.



What will she do with all the other bunches?

My human suggested that well-wishers ought to be more thoughtful. After all, the Queen is nearly 80 years old (which she will be on 21 April 2006).

Surely she would have preferred being greeted with a Gin and Tonic, though she probably got that onboard before arrival.

What about a box of chocolates or a pot of jam?

Something much more practical would have been a pair of sunglasses. She never seems to wear them. At her age, she really should protect her eyes from ultra violet damage.

I think a pair of Ray-Bans would have made a great gift. Mind you, the lenses would need to be prescription (but her royal household can arrange it).


HM Queen Elizabeth II would look pretty cool in a pair of Ray-Bans (and they would protect her eyes from the glare of the harsh sun in Australia)

So if you are reading this (in Australia) and going to greet the Queen, please be sure NOT to give her flowers but a pair of sunglasses.

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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

It was a warm day today. I spent some of this time outside on the deck. I did not even notice that my human had left me for two hours until he came back and told me that he had gone to work to make sure that a particular project was squared off.

When he came back, the back fence neighbour great Danes' human Martin came over for some feedback from my human on his job application. I jumped up on his lap to deposit my fur all over him to upset the dogs (and he was a good patter). I also hopped on the table and lied on it for a short time (ha, and I wasn't even yelled at). Anyway, Martin seemed pretty happy with the help.

Later on, I went back outside. When I came inside I found my human ASLEEP on the couch. And he had FORGOTTEN to invite me! So I meowed and meowed until I woke him up. That will teach him!

keisercat@wildmail.com

terrific is scarey

Horrific comes from the Latin horrificus : horrre, to tremble + -ficus, -fic.

Horror, Horrify and Horrible are similarly related words.

Fantastic comes from the Middle English fantastik, imagined; from Old French fantastique; from Late Latin phantasticus, imaginary; and from Greek phantastikos, able to create mental images, from phantazesthai, to appear.

Fantasy is a similarly related word.

Terrific comes from the Latin terrificus : terrre, to frighten + -ficus, -fic.

Terror and Terrify are similarly related words.

When on Earth did the word terrific come to mean great or excellent?

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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I had a great day today. Sooty and Spike's human Tim came over in the afternoon with lots of music for my human to check out. They also spent the afternoon watching episodes of Catweazle and Family Guy before having steak and mash potato for dinner. Again, I miss out on the beef, but I did enjoy the laps.

keisercat@wildmail.com

US ports, UAE and private ownership

There has been much angst in the US about a a company from the United Arab Emirates owning ports in the US.

The question is, if ports are of such strategic importance, why are they not in government control in the first place?

See - 'Happy Now?' from Washington Post of 10 March 2006

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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My human was home with me today as he was ill again. It was good as he rested on the couch and spent most of the time napping and watching Catweazle. Barney and Sophie (two great Dane dogs who are back neighbours) let their human Martin come over briefly around midday as Martin wanted to discuss jobs in the government agency in which my human works.

Later on, Jack's human Malgosia (Jack is another dog) came over for a quick visit which was nice as I was able to thank her for the presents she has given me. I enjoyed lying on her lap.

Then after that, Nina's human Deborah (Nina is a Russian Blue cat) came over for a visit. I lied on her lap too. Then Nina's other human Oscar came over to take Deborah home, but I didn't lie on his lap.

I love visitors. I hope more come.

keisercat@wildmail.com

new pic

Picture taken last month. Play with spiders and you end up with web (and leaves) stuck to your face.

vale Harry Seidler

Harry Seidler who was Australia's most renown architect died this morning.


Harry Seidler AC OBE (25 June 1923 - 9 March 2006)

Royal Australian Institute of Architects president, Bob Nation, said that "Harry was probably one of the most important and influential architects in the history of Australian architecture. (He was) respected and admired by most, but not everyone agreed with his architectural position."

Like Frank Lloyd Wright, Harry Seidler has left an architectural legacy in Australia. Seidler brought Australian architecture into the modern age.

LINK - Harry Seidler and Associates | ARCHITECTS & PLANNERS
(there are photos of some of his best works)


Rose House


Australia Square (office building)


Cove Apartments

Just so there is no confusion, the Sydney Opera House was designed by Jørn Utzon who is Danish.

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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I got a special treat tonight. Not just my raw chicken wing which I gobbled up in one go, but I also had half a raw quail. It was cool to be presented with a little bird already de-feathered and gutted. I'll have to go and catch a mouse as a present for my human now...

keisercat@wildmail.com

IWD

Today was International Women's Day.

This special day still exists because there are still a lot of sexist misogynist males in the world.

LINK - www.internationalwomensday.com

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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Not much to report today. I'm back on to raw chicken wings for dinner. Had one already and I am still HUNGRY!

keisercat@wildmail.com

I have a big fat bum and broke the toilet

No, not really. But those toilets designed for humans (why they don't use a litter tray or go outside is beyond me) particularly in Australia, were only supposed to withstand a weight of 45kg (which would preclude most adults except for those gravely ill).

The Australian standard has finally been revised to 150kg.

Hmmm... that is very much on the safe side. But better than the risk of a broken toilet.

See - 'Does my bum look big on this?' from Daily Telegraph of 7 March 2006
(oh do check out the article as my dear human friend Nikki is quoted in it. She used to come over and visit me from time to time. Even Hooch the dog came over to stay once for a whole week)



*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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I had a lot of lap time last night while we watched Numb3rs and Supernatural on TV.

My human came home early this afternoon from work and we even had a nap together on the couch until that rude knock on the front door by the Red Cross person seeking donations.

keisercat@wildmail.com