WNTD

Today was World No Tobacco Day. I've never taken up the habit. I wouldn't be able to use my paws to start a lighter or light matches. Besides, my drug of choice is catnip.

That hasn't stopped some other kitties from taking up such a filthy habit.



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

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

I was feeling better today and even ate my breakfast of cooked corn fed chicken. Not only that, my human stayed with me practically all day, even if it was under vet advice to monitor my bowel movements! And clean my bottom!

I overheard my human talking to the vet on the phone at midday about my blood test results. It seems that the vet can't confirm my liver condition without a surgical biopsy which would involve going under anaesthetic, which is also very risky for a cat my age. The alternative was a biopsy using needles guided by ultrasound which still requires anaesthesia. The vet thinks it is likely that I have a tumour given the raised liver enzymes. Even if it is confirmed, I am still too old for chemotherapy. As long as I'm not in any pain and still eating, I should be okay for now.

I spent most of the day napping and my human put on some cool music for me:

- Angels and Airwaves - We Don't Need to Whisper


- Hard-Fi - Stars of CCTV


- The Vines - Vision Valley


I had some more cooked chicken for dinner, then Emily came over to visit. I was so excited to see her! She and my human cooked up fried rice for dinner. Tonight is also Prison Break night, with a double episode (it wasn't on last week). This means lots of lap time.

keisercat@wildmail.com

a real invisibility cloak

Scientists from Imperial College London and Duke University in the US, announced their discovery of a 'cloaking' device that could render whatever is placed inside it invisible.

The researchers propose to build a special material that wraps around an object and which would 'grab' light heading towards it and make it flow smoothly around the object rather than strike it. To an observer the light would appear to have behaved as if there was nothing there.

See - Scientists conjure true 'cloaking' device (media release from Imperial College London, 26 May 2006)

Geez, humans are so behind the eight-ball (whatever an eight-ball is, do you know Jeter Harris?). Cats have been going invisible since they started owning humans. Did you (the person) ever look everywhere for your owner (err, cat), only to find him or her standing right beside you all this time?

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

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

My human took me to the vet this morning, and then he left me there. I was locked in a cage in a room with two other cats (there was this fluffy huge cat called Mojo who was boarding and he had similar markings to me), and two dogs waiting for surgery.

Rob, the vet sedated me to take blood for tests, and X-rays and he did an enema. My human came and collected me in the late afternoon and he had a talk with Rob the vet.

It seems that I won't be allowed to eat raw chicken wings anymore as I am having trouble digesting the bones and they have been constipating me and it hurts when I try to poo. I'm still making a mess (leaking as a result of the enema) so the vet told my human to stay home with me tomorrow to keep an eye on my bowel movements.

The X-ray also showed an enlarged liver. The vet suspects I may have a tumour but the results of the blood test tomorrow will confirm or discount that. The vet said that I am too old for chemotherapy. My human is very worried about me and giving me lots of cuddles tonight. When I feel like eating again, I hope he makes me chicken soup (with no vegetables in it).

I hope I get better soon. If anything happens to me, who will take care of my human?

keisercat@wildmail.com

update

I've been feeling very unwell, so won't write much tonight. All I want to do is sleep. My tummy is really sore.

My human is taking me to the vet tomorrow morning.

Berlins neuer Hauptbahnhof

Europe's largest railway (train) station was opened on Friday, 26 May 2006 with first trains arriving and departing on Sunday, 28 May 2006. It is the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof (on the site of the former Lehrter Bahnhof)





It took eight years to build and will handle some 1,100 trains a day.

Berliner Morgenpost (vom 27.05.2006)

My human told me that one of the best things about travelling in Europe is going by train. He has caught the train from Munich to Berlin, and from Berlin to Prague. He reckons the best trips are those going through the mountains in Switzerland.

He also told me that there are some grand train stations in Europe and it is fun to check out the all the activity going on there. Not only that, in Autumn and Winter, there are always hawkers selling roasted chestnuts, even in Rome (where it is warmer).

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

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

Today was a cool day. I had some lap time with my human and he fell asleep for two hours around midday (he claimed he was still sore and tired after lifting things on Friday when Emily moved out).

We were watching the football game on TV when Martin (the back neighbour owned by the two great danes Barney and Sophie) came over for a quick visit in the early afternoon (he has another job interview next week). Then Neil came around to rummage through his boxes in the garage for things, though I did get to lie on his lap for a few minutes.

Then Merlin's humans Kim, Jordan and Liam came over. When Neil left, my human and Jordan went to the movie theatre to see X-Men: The Last Stand, which they very much enjoyed.


Angel - flying is a cool power. Flying with wings even cooler.


Mystique, Magneto, Pyro and some new mutant who can "multiply" himself

Then they stayed for dinner of Mongolian lamb and rice. I did have some time on Kim's lap before they left.

keisercat@wildmail.com

football - round 9

Football - round 9, my team thrashed Freo! Woohoo! Another big win!

BRISBANE LIONS 7.3 10.11 14.13 21.15 (141)
FREMANTLE 2.2 4.8 7.10 10.13 (73)
Goals: Brisbane: J Brown 7 D Bradshaw 3 S Black 2 A McGrath 2 J Akermanis J Brennan A Corrie M Moody M Rischitelli J Sherman M Voss. Fremantle: H Black 2 J Longmuir 2 P Medhurst 2 M Pavlich 2 P Hasleby G Polak.
Best: Brisbane: J Brown S Black M Michael J Charman T Notting J Sherman J Akermanis. Fremantle: P Bell H Black J Longmuir M Pavlich P Medhurst.
Injuries: Brisbane: A Corrie (knee) J Adcock (quad). Fremantle: L McPharlin (ankle) replaced in the selected side by P Medhurst, J Farmer (knee) replaced in the selected side by S McManus, S Thornton (shoulder).
Umpires: M Nicholls K Nicholls S McInerney.
Crowd: 27,999 at Gabba.


Daniel Bradshaw


Shermo and Browny - after a goal


Anthony Corrie following a knee injury


Daniel Bradshaw vs Antoni Grover


Aker


Jonathan Brown


Jonathan Brown marking during the fourth quarter


Michael Rischitelli


Jonathan Brown

reforming the UN

British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave a speech at Georgetown University (in Washington DC) on 26 May 2006 calling for reform of the United Nations.

Link - watch or read PM Blair's speech

Perhaps Mr Blair forgot that other people have been calling for UN reform for years. Even Australia's former Foreign Minister Gareth Evans (when he was in contention for the UN Secretary-General's job to succeed Boutros Boutros-Ghali) made a big deal about UN reform.

It's all talk.

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

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

I was napping on my dining chair this morning, after breakfast and cuddles and did not hear my human go outside to hang out the washing. Consequently, my time outside was limited to a few minutes. He should have invited me out before he started hanging out the clothes. How inconsiderate!

I had some lap time, before he went to the shops for supplies in the early afternoon, and when he returned he didn't stay very long and went out, so I continued my catnap.

He returned around my dinner time with Devi, who was amused by the new doorbell. He told me he went to visit her to check out her garden makeover. How rude, I was deprived of the regular afternoon nap together with my human.

Anyway, Devi stayed for dinner of Hokkien noodles with duck and bok choy. She even let me sit on her lap before dinner. Woohoo!

Tonight we are watching the delayed telecast of the football game between Essendon and Port Adelaide. The Bombers are well and truly on the way to getting the wooden spoon this season.


Kevin Sheedy, coach of Essendon Bombers - will somebody please suggest to him that retiring is an option

keisercat@wildmail.com

royals with no royal taste; and Jake

One would think that people of royalty would appreciate the fine things in life, like gourmet food.

The Danish royals, in particular HM Queen Margrethe II, and HRH Prince Henrik unfortunately do not have such a discerning palate.

Their chef of 24 years, Takashi Kondo resigned in disgust over their preference for microwave dinners (and convenience foods) instead of his gourmet meals.

This sets a very bad example to the Danish people, that it is perfectly acceptable to indulge in highly processed foods high in fat and sugar.

Not only that, but Henrik is French (before he became a royal Dane) and owns a vineyard in France.

Some people just don't appreciate the opportunities they have.

See - Sydney Morning Herald

It is with sadness that I report on the passing of Jake, a ginger tom about whom I mentioned on 30 April. Jake finally got his peaceful rest yesterday morning after a painful illness. Jake was a nice and naughty cat who took good care of his humans. They will miss him dearly, and I will miss his messages on Dane when he visits me. Rest in peace, Jake.

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

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

I had another boring day at home today. Emily and my human came back earlier than usual after work, but I did not receive my dinner, no matter how nicely I asked! They spent some time out the back in the lock up garage moving boxes and furniture on to a ute (pick up truck). They were then gone for about an hour before finally returning to feed me.

My human told me that Emily has moved to another house where they have no cats. This makes me sad. I loved Emily's lap and cuddles. Sigh!

keisercat@wildmail.com

DON'T PANIC - it's Towel Day

Today was Towel Day.

To celebrate, adherents carry a towel with them all day. As I spent most of the day napping, I was lying on top of my towel, ready in case the need arose.

What is the use of a towel you ask?

A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

Still confused? More information from - Wikipedia


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

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

I woke up my human very early this morning, before 6.30am as he had forgotten to put the wheelie bin out on the kerb last night. Anyway, it was great as I was starving and wanted an early breakfast.

Afterwards, and after I had done my morning wee, I spotted a white dog in the front of our yard through the gap in the front gate from my deck. When my human did take the bin out, he saw that it was a dalmation puppy (well a big one) who was cold and scared.

My human tried to coax the dog to our backyard in order to trace her family, but the dog was too scared and hid in the bushes by the fence line. He even woke Emily up to help, but the dog ran off.

Hopefully, her family woke up soon and realising that they should have put a collar on the dog with identification, and kept the dog inside their house, they will look for her.

So that was the excitement for the day.

Tonight is lap and TV night.

keisercat@wildmail.com

the Brooklyn Bridge and Mount Everest

My friend Jeter Harris who is a very sweet kitty from New York suggested that I write about the Brooklyn Bridge (as it is the Bridge's birthday today), so I shall. You should check out Jeter's Catster diary. He writes phonetically and is fixated on vindaloo, but in a nice way. I like his "vindaloo... skip to my loo" hee hee hee...

Okay, the Brooklyn Bridge was opened for use on 24 May 1883 and still remains a prominent New York landmark. It is one of the most filmed bridges on TV and film.


Still spectacular after all these years

My human had hoped to cross the Brooklyn Bridge entering New York from the New Jersey Turnpike one time, but it was actually not on the route.

Now about Mount Everest. There was a mass climb to the summit of Mount Everest just recently. A British climber, David Sharp was left to die while over 40 people climbed past.

You'd think they had enough compassion to try and do what they could for Mr Sharp. Their higher priority was to reach the summit. I think it would be better to be remembered for trying to help a dying man, and possibly save his life than to be remembered for reaching the summit.

Sir Edmund Hilary was not impressed. Neither am I.

See - New Zealand Herald


Life is cheap on the way to the world's highest mountain

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

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

My human came back from work with Sue B, and fresh smaller raw chicken wings for me. After I had my wing for dinner I wanted to sit on her lap, but she wouldn't let me. So I sat on my own chair. Then Elizabeth (from Melbourne) arrived bearing gifts including a very special wine. She liked the new doorbell - which plays the Lions football club song when pressed (even if her own team is Geelong).

They had a drink and then went out for a special Peking duck dinner. Hmmphhh...

Emily came home late. She went to practice her golf swings with Saber's human Lyn. Then my human came home and Sue B and Elizabeth popped their head in the door. There was not a catty bag for me with duck. Another Hmmphhh...

keisercat@wildmail.com

blame the cat

There is a story in the media suggesting that newborn humans exposed to cats may have a higher risk of developing eczema.

See - BBC News

Thankfully, more sensible experts acknowledge that there is a lot of contradictory data.

I think certain researchers are cat-haters and biased in their research. They want to blame us cats. What a load of crock!

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

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

It was very cold last night and today. I was rudely woken up at 5am by my human who made me go under the covers to keep him warm. Then he had the tenacity to go to work later and let me freeze in an empty house with the heater turned off.

Thankfully Emily came home a bit earlier and turned the heater on. Then she went for a walk and my human came home, also a bit earlier and he gave me my dinner. Then Emily came back and both she and my human left me to go to a book launch at the Asia Bookroom (a specialist book shop) of Christopher Kremmer's Inhaling the Mahatma.


Emily with the author who signed her book

Also thankfully, they returned under two hours later so I could have my laps back.

keisercat@wildmail.com

iron ore price goes up

The commodities boom has been good for the Australian economy.

Iron ore prices have just gone up 19 per cent. Australia exports a lot of iron, especially to China.

The Chinese are not happy and do not want to pay so much (after all, the price of iron went up 71.5 per cent last year).

Given China imports 40 per cent of the world's iron exports, they think it is a buyer's market.

Australian and Brazilian producers supply a lot of iron, and given the global demand for iron and steel, think that it is a seller's market.

It would be very interesting to see what happens next.

Links
- International Herald Tribune
- People's Daily

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

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

Even though I spent some time with Emily when she went to bed last night, just before midnight, I forgave my human and went to snuggle up with him instead.

The only good thing about Monday is the evening and night time when I get laps and cuddles during Desperate Housewives and Commander in Chief.

The humans had a nice dinner tonight of roasted grain fed Bundawarrah free range pork belly with potato gratin and broccoli. I begged for some pork (it smelt so good) but my human refused. How rude!


I now have to put my toys back in the basket after I play with them.

keisercat@wildmail.com

1983 - nuclear war averted

Most people know about the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, which nearly resulted in a nuclear war between the USA and the USSR.

Not many people know about the 1983 incident when a computer glitch almost started a nuclear war.

It was Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Yefgrafovich Petrov (Станислав Евграфович Петров) who on 26 September 1983 who using his better judgement decided that the computer warning of an incoming missile at the Serpukhov-15 bunker (near Moscow) was a computer error.



If he had thought it was a real nuclear attack, the Soviets would have launched nuclear missiles against the US, which would have retaliated with even more. The Cold War doctrine at the time was based on Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) which was supposedly to deter the use of nuclear weapons. If one side launched an attack, the other would retaliate with greater force. Hence, neither side would survive.

Consequently, Petrov saved the world that early morning.

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

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

My human was out a bit today. Thankfully I had Emily's lap except when she went out for brunch.

My human went to visit Merlin's humans Kim, Jordan and Liam at the house they had recently moved to, but Merlin spent all the time under a bed. All cats do this when they move house. While my human was there, Jimmy and Lily's humans Brian and Jackie arrived for a visit.

When my human came home, he was so excited with his new Brisbane Lions door chime, which was an early birthday present from Brian, Jackie, Kim, Jordan and Liam, that he promptly demonstrated it to me and Emily. They also gave him a voucher for DVDs and CDs.

We had a bit of a cuddle, and then he was off again to visit Kettles' humans Klaudia and Sally, along with Sally's brother Martin for a wonderful Raclette dinner, while I spent quality time with Emily.


Kettles in a very undignified and unladylike pose


What a big belly!


Tiggles who thankfully moved to the family farm... otherwise my human would be fussing and fawning him too!

Of course, my human spent some time massaging, patting and stroking Kettles. Pfftttt... I think I am going to punish him and sleep in Emily's bed tonight.

keisercat@wildmail.com

football - round 8

Football - round 8 and we are winners! Brown and Bradshaw were amazing. Hopefully our winning streak will continue.

PORT ADELAIDE: 4.6, 6.9, 7.13, 10.18 (78)
BRISBANE: 5.3, 9.8, 18.11, 22.15 (147)
GOALS – Port Adelaide: Mahoney 3, Ebert 2, Thurstans, Lonie, Tredrea, Deluca, Salopek
Brisbane: Brown 7, Bradshaw 6, McGrath 3, Power 2, Patfull, Notting, Sherman, Corrie
BEST – Port Adelaide: Salopek, Symes, C. Cornes, Ebert, Lade
Brisbane: Power, Bradshaw, Brown, B.Scott, Brennan, Akermanis, Moody, Notting, McGrath, Corrie
INJURIES - Port Adelaide: P.Burgoyne (hamstring), C.Cornes (cut eye, blurred vision), Kingsley (hamstring)
CHANGES – Brisbane: Leppitsch (calf) replaced in selected side by Patfull
REPORTS - nil
UMPIRES - Meredith, Wenn, Ellis
CROWD - 21,970 at AAMI Stadium


Jason Roe


Jonathan Brown vs Darryl Wakelin


Aker and Brown


Aker vs Warren Tredea


Mal Michael vs Warren Tredea


Beau McDonald up against Fabian Deluca


Joel Patfull


Joel Patfull


After the victory, comes the club song

the bee's knee

Some people use the phrase "the bee's knees " to mean the height of excellence.

What is so good about the knees of bees?

Do bees have knees anyway?

Well, I had to look it up. My human raised this with me as he had asked at his office and nobody knew where the phrase came from.

The phrase was made up in the 1920s in the US when it was popular to make up silly and nonsensical phrases like "the snake's hip", or "the eel's ankel" etc to mean excellent. Why couldn't they just say excellent in the first place?!

Well, bees sort of have a knee, where the pollen baskets are located - alluding to concentrated goodness.


Next time someone mentions "the bee's knees" show them a picture

I think "the cat's cuddle" is a more apt phrase to use to mean excellent.

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

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

Emily and my human were in and out nearly all day, bringing back food, newspapers, videos etc.

I still had lots of lap time.

In the evening, Susan came over to visit me so I laid on her lap. Then the humans had tomato and basil bruscetta, then a pumpkin, asparagus and chicken risotto (with gorgonzola cheese). My human and Susan left as they went to the theatre to see William Yang's Shadows who is a photographer talking about his experiences along with his photos. My human later told me it was really interesting and enjoyable.

In the meantime, I started watching Thumbsucker with Emily. I like cuddling up to Emily.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Prodi wants his Italian soldiers back

New Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi wants Italian soldiers withdrawn from Iraq.

Three years ago when the French disagreed with American policy on Iraq the silliness of freedom fries ensued, along with the wasteful disposal of decent French champagne.

How will 'patriotic' Americans react to the news of the Italian withdrawal? Take it as a personal affront?

Perhaps boycott Italian eateries, especially of pizza; boycott cheeses like mozarella and parmesan; consign their Armani, Prada and Versace etc designer clothes to the garbage?

Hmmmm....

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

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

Tonight we are watching the semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest on TV.


Monaco - with all that money in Monte Carlo, you'd think they'd give them decent clothes.


Albania - not a bad song. Did you know they too have bagpipes?


Slovenia - he's 20, has a beard and possibly indulging in some fantasy


Andorra - I think they were in a big hurry and so were only partly dressed.

keisercat@wildmail.com

on Dracula and other vampires

Bram Stoker's Dracula was published 109 years ago in 1897. Contrary to popular belief, it was not the first novel about a vampire, just the most popular.

The first story about a vampire was actually published in 1819 called The Vampyre and written by John William Polidori (not Lord Byron).

Since then, vampires have been a popular theme in literature, TV and films. There have even been musicals.

My human has a decent collection of vampire-themed books and DVDs (films and TV series).


Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one of the best TV series

I'm thankful that he sleeps at night and goes to work during the day. If it was the other way around, I would be worried. And besides, vampires' laps are not warm at all, they'd be more interested in blood than having cuddles with cats or dogs.

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

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

My human went back to work today so I was home alone today. Dang!

I have made up for it with lots of lap time tonight. We watched a really exciting episode of Smallville tonight where Clark Kent and Lionel Luthor swapped bodies. Can you imagine an evil villain like Lionel Luthor having all those super powers?

I had cooked chicken for dinner again. I wasn't interested in the beef vindaloo the humans were having.

keisercat@wildmail.com

guerilla gardening

I was listening to the podcast of NPR's story of the day - and there was a cool story about guerilla gardeners.

These guerillas gardeners are like covert military operatives who go out in the dark of night to transform boring public areas in London into places with colourful plants.


St Georges's Circus, SE1, London

Links
- you can listen to the NPR story
- Guerilla Gardening website

Cats are also guerilla gardeners, if we were let out at night, we'd be fertilising garden beds!

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

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

I watched Underworld Evolution with my human last night while Emily was doing other things. It was really cool as my human kept on cuddling me and saying, "I'm scared Keiser". What a wuss! No wonder he watches horror movies.

My human stayed home with me today as the tissue around his eye had swelled up more and it was making him feel unwell. We spent a bit of time on the couch which made him fall asleep and nap with me! We also watched a silly movie called Waiting (if you eat out, be nice to your waiter... you never know what they might do to the food).

I had cooked chicken for dinner tonight. Woohoo! I left room for steak which I smelt my human cooking, but I was denied my favourite. How rude!

keisercat@wildmail.com

无产阶级文化大革命

Forty years ago, the 无产阶级文化大革命 (Wúchǎn Jiējí Wénhuà Dà Gémìng), or the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution started in the People's Republic of China.

It was one of the worst human-made disasters in human history.

To wrestle power back from the Communist Party, the party chairman, Mao Zedong created a counter-revolutionary movement against the party itself which was a violent and chaotic struggle resulting in the death, injury and/or imprisonment of millions.

Basically, Mao Zedong was really a dictator who wanted to retain control.

Just about everybody has read Wild Swans which gives a personal account of this period in Chinese history.

More information from - Wikipedia


"Shatter the old world / Establish a new world"
(so much cultural heritage was destroyed... thankfully the Kuomingtang smuggled a lot of artifacts across to Taiwan)

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

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

Nothing to report today. I did have a nice cuddle last night with Emily while we watched Desperate Housewives, and Commander in Chief.

Tonight, I am on my human's lap as he gave me a raw chicken wing for dinner. It was smaller and I noticed he had cut it off a whole (but very small) chicken. I wonder what he will do with the rest of the chicken?

keisercat@wildmail.com

the Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War was a most interesting war (note that I am not condoning war in general or any other acts of violence between humans... cat fights are another matter).

The Seven Years' War started in 1756 (250 years ago) when Great Britain declared war on France on 15 May, which became a global war between Great Britain, Prussia and Hanover on one side, and France, Austria, Saxony, Russia and Sweden on the other. It ended seven years later (duh!).

The war was fought in Europe and in the colonies around the world.

Britain emerged as the greatest colonial power in the world, at the expense of France.



Imagine what would have happened if France had won? Canada would be French (or rather, New France) and the English colonies in north America might have been ceded to France.

And we'd all be speaking French (assuming that they would have also colonised Australia) and eating much better food.

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

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

I don't like Mondays. Why can't the weekend be every day? I am making up for being left alone during the day by having lots of cuddles tonight.

keisercat@wildmail.com

American government collecting phone records of its people

The media has reported that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been collecting details of people's phone calls, of whom they call but not the details of the conversation.

See - USA TODAY article

Frankly, I don't think this goes far enough in protecting American citizens, Green Card holders and illegal aliens from terrorism.

The details of these phone conversations ought to be recorded and analysed.

Where is J Edgar Hoover when you need him?

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

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

I had the usual Sunday today. My human spent most of the day on the couch with me. We even had a quick catnap together.

keisercat@wildmail.com

pear shaped

There is an English (as in UK) expression that is used in Australia - "pear shaped" (technically, the words should be hyphenated, "pear-shaped").

People say that something (like an activity or a project) has gone pear-shaped when it starts to not go to plan.

The thing is, most people have no idea what they mean by something going "pear-shaped". It's just an expression.

I asked my human and he told me that he would never use that expression as it doesn't make sense any way - he told me that nashi pears are round.

So I consulted the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) and the definition is:
3. colloq. (chiefly Brit., orig. R.A.F. slang). to go (also turn) pear-shaped: to go (badly) wrong, to go awry.

1983 J. ETHELL & A. PRICE Air War South Atlantic 158 There were two bangs very close together. The whole aircraft shook and things went ‘pear-shaped’ very quickly after that. The controls ceased to work, the nose started to go down. 1989 Air Forces Monthly Feb. 53/2 When a disadvantaged fighter manages to manoeuvre back into a neutral position, it is a sign to the attacker that things are already going pear-shaped. 1995 FourFourTwo Sept. 108/1 The day itself was one of those prize-winningly crappy days when everything went pear shaped. 1999 J. CASSIDY Street Life 118 Next we travelled to Bournemouth and it was there that things began to turn rather pear-shaped.

Hmmm... it doesn't quite make sense. Not even ABC NewsRadio's Word Watch could come up with a better explanation.

If you don't know why you say it, DON'T.

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

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

I had a great day today. I went outside a few times when my human hung out the washing in the morning, and again in the afternoon when Emily hung hers out. This morning, I also listened to a great CD by Film School called Film School (click for Amazon samplers). Post-punk new wave (aka Alternative) is popular in my house.



Marley, a black poodle/bicon frise puppy was supposed to visit today, but his human's parents took him away with them on an interstate trip. His human Michael did drop by later this afternoon very briefly to give me a cuddle. I was so looking forward to terrorising a dog that is smaller than me.

I had a nap with my human this afternoon. Woohoo! The humans had corned beef with cabbage and mash (potato, sweet potato and carrot) for dinner, and I even had some beef (but only after I had eaten my raw chicken wing).

While my human was keeping an eye on the footy score, I helped Emily watch Walk on Water, that brilliant Israeli film about which I have already mentioned in a previous post.

keisercat@wildmail.com

football - round 7

Football - round 7, victorious WOOHOO!

HAWTHORN: 0.0, 4.1, 6.7, 9.12 (66)
BRISBANE LIONS: 4.1, 9.8, 14.9, 16.10 (106)

GOALS – Hawthorn: Williams 5, Miller, Dixon, Brown, Vandenberg Brisbane Lions: Brown 8, Brennan 3, McGrath 2, Moody, Clark, Bradshaw
BEST – Hawthorn: Mitchell, Sewell, Brown, Vandenberg, Roughead Brisbane Lions: Brown, Black, Brennan, Charman, Selwood, Rischitelli, Copeland, Power
INJURIES – Hawthorn: Nil
Brisbane Lions: Harding (concussion), J.Macdonald (medial ligament - knee), McGrath (wrist)
UMPIRES - Wenn, Rosebury, Donlon
CROWD - 12,315 at Carrara Stadium

Our team played an away game at Carrara which was the home of our predecessor team, Brisbane Bears (the first QLD team in the national league) before it merged with the Fitzroy Lions (a Victorian team).

Jonathan Brown was amazing, booting EIGHT goals. Not that we saw of course, as the game was not televised (not even delayed) - hmmpphhh. Again we watched blue and red dots on the internet. Actually my human kept an eye on the score while I was watching a film with Emily.


Vossy


Jonathan Brown


Brown vs Brent Guerra


Jonathan Brown


Brown vs Joel Smith

Aker got into trouble last Sunday and was relegated to the reserve grade, which we won as well.