Cats Take To The Streets In Protest

Last night, an unprecedented incident in the history of mankind took place at Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. Cats came out in droves on the streets, wearing hats and carrying placards in protest of the 100-storey mega tower that would be built at the site near Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara.

"That's a sign that the End of the World is coming. Our cats normally reside in Kuching, a special city zoned for cats in Sarawak, a state in East Malaysia," a witness said. 


Seen running after her cats, trying to catch them and put them back into their carriers is FurLin, who told CNN (Cats News Network) that she doesn't know what came over her cats. She was having dinner at Healy Mac's, an Irish Restaurant in Bukit Bintang when her cats broke free from their carriers, donned their hats and ran off to join other cats that were similarly attired. 


"They just went nuts," she said, pointing to her cats in the pink straw hat and red cowboy hat. "Before they dashed off, they meowed that the RM5 billion ringgit would be better used to build a  Cat Village to house all the poor and homeless," chirped her husband, FurNut.


When approached, the cat in a pink straw hat said, "Look, the money could be used to help the poor and improve public hospitals and clinics". 


"Humans should improve their education system so that they are at least half as smart as we felines. The money could be used to improve the public transport system, and thus ease the massive traffic jams in the city. Instead, they are using the money to create even more traffic jam. This just proves what we knew all along --- humans are not fit to lead a country," the cat in a red cowboy hat added.


The protest is against the government's planned Warisan Merdeka project announced in the recent Budget 2011.


If you agree that RM5 billion could be better spent elsewhere, be it on education, hospitals and clinics, public transport, or to help out the poor, please join the protest in http://www.facebook.com/NoMegaTower. And please drop a line and say "hi" to the cats if you sympathise with them.  :P

Will The Real Simon Cowell Please Step Up

An hour after I posted 'Adam Lambert Live in Malaysia', I noticed visitors flocking in from URLs like twitter.com and adamtopia.proforums.org. And in less than twelve hours, there were more than 170 visits, and they're still coming in.


Curious, I looked up the two sites to see what brought them to the said blog post. While I've had a tweeter account created some time back, I've never logged in to tweet. I already have a Facebook account and I would need more than 24 hours in a day if I want to get any real work done or have a real life should I want to be 'active' in all those social networking channels. The only reason I created a tweeter account was to see what the hoo-hah was about.


Anyway, I couldn't find the cause for visitors from tweeter to visit. But I did find one thing. There are many 'real' Simon Cowells out there. There are quite a few users claiming to be the real Simon Cowell. But when you read their tweets, it's obvious they're not Simon Cowell. Goodness! I was so tempted to tweet for the first time, asking the real Simon Cowell to please step up.  And of course, there are just as many Adam Lamberts, too. Fortunately, I'm following Adam Lambert on Facebook, so I know which tweet account is really his, haha!


Then, I checked adamtopia.proforums. org. And there, I discovered what sent members flocking to the blog post. Someone by the username of 4evermumof4 had posted a link to the said post. Hmmm....I know there are a number of lurkers in my blog, but I didn't realise some of those lurkers are Adam Lambert fans. 


So, to the lurkers who are Adam Lambert fans, here's a big HELLO from one Adam Lambert fan to another!  :)

Adam Lambert Live in Malaysia

Last night hubby sai, "So, your dream came true". He was referring to my dream and wish that Adam Lambert would come to Malaysia and perform. Ever since Adam Lambert auditioned for the American Idol Season 8 competition with a rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody", I had hoped he would one day go on a world concert tour. (Simon Cowell, I have more foresight than you, LOL!!) He has such an amazing vocal range and is so energetic that all other contestants fell short. Very, very short.

A year later, my dream came true. I was one of the "over 10,000 fans that turned up at Bukit Jalil Indoor Stadium to be entertained by Adam, despite protests by PAS". *Source: The Star*


At eight-ish, a local artiste, with a name that sounds like Eggo, performed the first opening act. It was a rather dismal performance, as everyone had a certain expectation from the opening act with a main star like Adam Lambert. Hubby and I commented that the show organizer would have done a better job if they had invited Sin Huey to open the act, especially since she was there at the concert.

Fortunately, the second act was much better. Daniel Lee, the Malaysian Idol 2005 winner  did Bon Jovi reasonable justice with his rendition of "It's My Life". Mind you, that is not an easy song to sing, and most Asian singers don't have a powerhouse voice. That is why they mostly stick to melodies. So, what Daniel Lee was able to do is considered decent enough. 

After Daniel's performance, there was a long wait before Adam showed up on stage, in spite of screams and shouts from excited fans. I think he's a little hard of hearing, if he could fail to hear  the ruckus we fans stirred up, shouting his name again and again.  ;)

To give us something to do before we screamed ourselves hoarse, the Yellow Man / Yellow Duck released some balloons for the crowd to bat at. Yes, it's DIGI. 

At 9.20pm, the lights dimmed and the show finally began. And one thing became very clear throughout the 90 minutes. Adam Lambert is in the league of legends like Michael Jackson and Queen. Even though he's a beginner, his showmanship, his energy and most of all, his vocals, showed clearly that he is one big powerhouse. You see, the acid test is always the concert. 

A singer may sound good on TV, music videos or CDs but only a truly good singer can sound good in a live concert. In a live concert, you don't get the benefit of a sound engineer doing some sound editing to cover up your weakness!

Take for example, Inxs. JD Fortune sounded really good in the RockStar competition on TV, music videos and CDs, but when he sang in a live concert at Stadium Negara in 2006, he wasn't able to project a commanding presence. His voice lacked the range, or should I say the power that Adam Lambert has. Don't get me wrong. I love JD Fortune, too, but I have to be honest.

The last song (well, not counting the encore) was If I Had You. After introducing his dancers in the middle of the extended version, Adam got the crowd into a frenzy by getting them to sing along.

I am so glad that Adam decided to bring his show to Malaysia, and I hope he will come again in the not too distant future! He will be working on a new album in winter, after his tour is completed, and I can't wait for it!

Trying To Perfect My Screaming............

10 more days to go!!! Adam Lambert is going to be at Bukit Jalil stadium and I can't wait!!! In the meantime, I'm practising my screaming. I'll know I have achieved perfection when my mum, hubby and neighbours come out screaming at me to stop.

The seating plan and price - if you are a Digi customer, purchase 3 Adam Lambert caller tunes for RM6 to get a 25% discount off the ticket price. Send AL to 2016.

Cat Hygiene Taken To A Totally New Level - Part 3

N.B. Continued from Cat Hygiene 101 - Part 2 and Difference Between Cat Cleanliness and Cat Hygiene
---------------------------------------
Thanks to thefluffies I now have an idea what level of hygiene I should take my cats to --- they'll have to learn to eat with fork, chopsticks and spoon. And training Yin to wash her paws only at meal times, not each time after she buries her waste! 

Cat Hygiene 101 - Part 2

N.B. Continued from Difference Between Cat Cleanliness and Cat Hygiene
---------------------------


A cat is clean, but not exactly hygienic. That said, a cat can be forgiven for being less than hygienic. After all, we humans didn't start to concern ourselves with hygiene until the 19th century. And today, two centuries later, there are still a number of elderly folks who might think hygiene is over-rated.


Now, back to cats and hygiene, or the lack of it. In my earlier post I forgot to mention that Yin not only washes her paws after she buries her waste, but likes to dip her paws into the water bowls and splash the water around, producing a fountain effect. The result is a damp wall and wet floor. On some level I think she knows that is naughty as she always stops the minute I catch her in the act. 


To top it off, she also has a rather unusual way of drinking water --- she'd scoop up the water with her paw and drink from it. A friend said I should have given her a straw while another suggested that I give her a spoon.

Difference Between Cat Cleanliness And Cat Hygiene

Cats are notoriously finicky when it comes to cleanliness. They are obsessively clean. And if they're not, then it's time to take them to a 5vet, for that is one sure sign that something is not right, health-wise.

Yin Yin is no exception. In fact, she takes cleanliness to another level. After she buries her waste, she would proceed to the nearest water bowl and wash her two front paws, one at a time.

That's great, right? Well, not really. First, she doesn't agree with my view that she should dry her paws on the rug I place beneath the water bowl. She prefers to lick-dry.

Second, and perhaps most importantly, I haven't been able to train her to separate the drinking bowl from the paw-washing bowl. She does not discriminate and would wash her paws in whichever bowl she fancies at that point in time. 

And finally, her chief eunuch Blackie would come and empty her washing bowl for her, or at least, try to, by drinking it up!!!!!!!!!  He understands the word "dirty", I've taught him a few simple vocabulary from young, but he doesn't understand why "dirty" is not applied to the same water bowl all the time.

For now, I've drafted a simple "Cat Hygiene 101" lesson for both of them, with illustrations and examples. Hopefully, they'd be able to understand it! Any contribution (in the form of ideas) to the lesson would be greatly appreciated.  :)

Night by Elie Wiesel

Books. Some are hard to put down. Some make you laugh. Some make you cry. And then there are some that make you think very deeply. Night by Elie Wiesel falls into this last category.


Although the first edition of this book was published in September 1960, and Oprah Winfrey selected the book for her book club in January 2006, hubby and I only came to know of this book a week ago by chance.


We were in our room at Resorts World Hotel at Genting, watching Vision Four, an in-house video channel, and it was showing an old documentary of Elie Wiesel giving an acceptance speech for his Nobel Prize for this book.


The book is about the author's experience in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschtwitz and Buchenwald at the height of Holocaust and toward the end of the Second World War. He was sixteen years old when the US Army finally liberated Buchenwald.


What got me thinking deeply was that in the book, every human value, every moral was destroyed. Would anyone dream of abandoning their parent, whom they had clung to tenaciously  for the past one or three years to avoid being separated suddenly wished that the parent would die so that they would be free to have a better chance at survival? Or would a loving child jump on the father and beat him to death so as to grab that piece of bread crumb from him? Would a child who would retaliate against anyone who so much as laid a finger on his father lie quietly in a bunk above the same father and listened to him being beaten to death by the soldiers for fear of attracting the blows upon himself?


These are not the unfilial, rebellious children. But circumstances, or to be more exact, the horrors of the concentration camps have changed them. The human survival instinct kicked in. It became a "each man for himself, there is no fathers, no brothers here".


I kept asking myself, would I become like one of them, too, if I am in that situation? I don't know, since I haven't been through any suffering. I really hope I can rise above that selfish human instinct to survive, but I sure hope I don't live to experience it to get the answer.


The book was written in an easy-to-read narrative, and if I have a Book Club like Oprah Winfrey, I too would select it for my club and encourage everyone to read it. If nothing else, at least the reader will learn something: When there's a conflict, we must take sides. To remain silent is not being neutral. Being silent is condoning the actions of the oppressor and further victimising the oppressed. The world was silent, and in being silent, a monster (Hitler) came into being.

Introducing Maneki Neko

I came by this photo through honest means, but am 'stealing' it by posting it here. It's just too cute not to be shared. This is Maneki Neko....aint she cute?  ;)

Pantai Morib

Last Sunday hubby and I decided to take a 90 minutes' drive to Pantai Morib. There are two routes to Pantai Morib, although there may be others that I'm not aware of. One is via Klang while the other is via Banting. We took the latter as Klang is a more-travelled route for us, and would not have offered as much 'adventure'.

A seaside town in the Kuala Langat district, Pantai Morib's shoreline spans about 3km

Seagulls and their eggs nest....

In the early afternoon, at low tide, the water edge of the sea is about 500 or 600 meters away from the shore. Many visitors walked out to the water edge. Some came back with live snails and baby crabs in their palms while others collected seashells.

A visitor paying homage to Hitler? No, hail Hitler it is not. It's just hubby flying a kite. The kite is right behind and above his head!! LOL.


You see, Pantai Morib is windy enough to fly kites and many kite vendors sat under the casuarina trees selling kites. Hubby got one for RM3. He managed not to get it entangled in the tall trees, unlike some, and brought the kite home proudly as a souvenir. He plans to fly it from our balcony one day! *gasp*

The water ripples reflected under the setting sun as the tide returned to shore, at around 5:45pm.

People were seen rushing back to shore, while some were still caught in what had become the middle of the sea. 


We left at about 6:30pm, and had a lovely dinner at Banting.

Ikea Let Loose 100 Cats In A Store In England

I love all those cats in Ikea! Story source: http://gizmodo.com/5634257/ikea-let-loose-a-herd-of-100-cats-into-store-to-see-what-happens

Cats Cat-together (Cats Get Together)

Look what I found when I walked into my room just now.....a little cat-together. 

Are they having a conference? A debate? Or some private time? Whatever it is, it must be important for them to remove themselves from my presence to sneak into the bedroom to be by themselves. Should I feel hurt that I wasn't invited to join the party?

Sayang's Second Week @ His Home

It has been almost two weeks since Sayang moved to his new home with the Chongs. And he sure looks like he has put on some weight. His coat also appears to be thicker. (Thanks for the photo, Mrs Chong!)

Sayang very tired and sleepy after spending the whole afternoon with 10 teenagers yesterday

His favourite spot outside of his room, the dining chair.

Mrs Chong tells me that he has developed some cute little habits. When he wants some attention and affection from his family, he'd go up to them and drop on his side (yes, drop, not lie down) for them to stroke him. He'll be rather vocal until they stroke him.


He was shedding a lot while in Jimmy's & Angela's shop, and they have been giving him the evening primrose softgel pill. They showed Mrs Chong how to give this pill to Sayang. But what the Chongs discovered by chance is that they don't even have to 'force' open his mouth to drop in the pill. They discovered that if they just put the pill on the floor he'll eat it up! And he loves his hot baths! How I wish my two cats will co-operate like this! It'll make feeding them their pills & bathing them so much easier.


Also, another discovery is, Sayang's favourite food is not fish, but chicken fillet. Looks like I've been buying him the wrong food when he was a stray at Selayang, LOL.


He's definitely much happier, his family is very happy with him, and I'm happy, too.  :))


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related post: http://blackie007.blogspot.com/2010/08/sayang-in-his-new-home.html

Selamat Hari Raya Adilfitri

Wishing all my Muslim friends Selamat Hari Raya Adilfitri and have a safe trip if you are going to balik kampung. 

Is This Our 1Malaysia??!!

I was horrified to read the news that two Malaysian men of Chinese ethnic were attacked when they went to watch the Merdeka eve fireworks for simply having Chinese ethnicity. What is happening to our nation? The perpetrators are teenagers, why are they harbouring so much hatred for their fellow-countrymen? 


The news report : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/news/general/9834-two-beaten-up-in-merdeka-eve-racist-attack

The personal account of the victim in Facebook :  http://www.facebook.com/#!/note.php?note_id=432073840741&id=586500176

Bukit Merah A Must For Animal Lovers

Over the weekend we took a 3 days/2 nights trip to Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, an eco-tourism destination that fronts a 7000 acres of fresh water lake and houses the only conservational Orang Utan Island in Peninsula Malaysia. It also has an Eco Park with a platform enclosure where you can walk around and interact with the animals there.

Our room @ Laketown Hotel

Waterfront Chalet

Traffic was light on the highway, and we arrived at three-ish on Saturday. We had set out late, and compounded to that we had to make several stops along the way, caused by an iced coffee taken at an earlier rest stop not agreeing with my tummy.


After we checked-in, we had a late lunch at Cafe Le Lac. Hubby ordered a beef sandwich while I had Mee Goreng. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the food is rather good, especially since our complimentary breakfast for the next two mornings would be at the cafe. And the chef didn't fail to deliver for the next two days. You see, it has been my experience that aside from KL, Penang and JB, chefs at resorts or hotels in other parts of Malaysia do not possess too much culinary skills.  

(I forgot to take photos of the buffet breakfast)

That said, despite the culinary skills of the chef, a couple of guests chose to eat nothing but nasi lemak for each and every meal. They must have bought the resort's promotional package.


At the Orang Utan Island, we discovered hubby's long-lost cousins, Uncle Mike, Adam, Sonia and a baby in the Infant Care Unit. Do you see the family resemblance?  :D

Uncle Mike (Adam and Sonia were up in the trees)

Baby orang utan in a diaper and hugging a bolster in the Infant Care Unit

The Eco Park is probably one of the most enjoyable part of our visit. While exploring the reptile park, I bumped into an iguana on the loose. Needless to say, I was both horrified and delighted at the sight of such a beautifully ugly creature, which took into its head to advance on me even as I backed away.... 

I also learnt something else.....parrots are intelligent, great in sports like football, basketball, bowling and cycling while otters make excellent trash collectors. Below are a couple of my favourite parrot tricks.

You might want to check out the links below:
For a fictitious promotional package  >>> Tongue-in-cheek promotion
For room rates and other info >>> http://www.bukitmerahresort.com.my/

Nasi Lemak Fest @ Bukit Merah Laketown Resort

Calling all Nasi Lemak fans. To cater to some Malaysians who want to eat the same thing, namely Nasi Lemak, for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the hotel is now introducing a special Nasi Lemak Promotion Package.


For only RM480 nett for 3D/2N, you get the ubiquitous nasi lemak for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And if you'd like nasi lemak for tea too, just add another RM18 per pax. Still haven't had enough of nasi lemak? Don't worry, there's always supper......more nasi lemak....


Money back guarantee - we guarantee every meal will be identical.....


Disclaimer: This is a purely tongue-in-cheek, satiric post resulting from my observation of  a couple of guests who only ate nasi lemak throughout the three days I was at the resort. It has  nothing to do with Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, and is not a post from the hotel. To view the rates or promotion of the resort, please visit >>> http://www.bukitmerahresort.com.my/

Message From Najib......

Najib's message to Malaysians for this Merdeka:  "Just in case you forgot what I look like."  :D

@ Bukit Bintang Plaza

HAPPY MERDEKA, EVERYBODY!!  :)

Sayang In His New Home

After having recuperated nicely from his castration, Sayang was welcomed into his new home yesterday. He took to it like a duck to water. He has been busy rubbing his scent on everything to mark them as his. And his new family was not excluded in this little branding act! This is one territorial little boy who knows what he wants.....he didn't wait for a week or two to get used to his surroundings, but claimed the home and the humans in it as belonging to him right on the first day!  :D  


In short, he's adjusting very well. He's very manja and friendly with his new family, loves to sit on their laps and even trusts them to let them touch his tummy.


Mrs Chong made him a really comfy cat bed and scratch post (see photos below).......from scratch! As my hubby said when I showed him the photos, Sayang is "hoe miah" now (he has a good life now). 

Sayang loves the new bed Mrs Chong made for him. He looks really happy here. ♥

I am so happy for Sayang, and am very thankful to the Chong family for opening their heart and home to him. He used to look so sad, but now, he has a happier expression. He knows it's a different world for him now. 

Thank you so much, Mrs Chong and family. May God bless you for your kindness and generosity. 

P/s: Thanks for letting me have the photos.  :)

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related post: http://blackie007.blogspot.com/2010/09/sayangs-second-week-his-home.html

Yeah...Leave My Food Alone!!

Yeah.....we don't like to share our food..... :D


This video is specially dedicated to my cousin, who was born in the year of the dog, and who is a cat-allergic dog person..... :D

Warning: Malicious software hidden in celebrity pages

Friends, this is important. Please read:


Creators of malicious software use celebrities as lures, baiting fans and followers to click on and download seemingly innocuous content containing programs designed to steal passwords and other private information for profit, said Dave Marcus, director of security research at McAfee Labs.


Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/showbiz/article/study-ranks-cameron-diaz-most-dangerous-web-celeb/

Inspiring Armless Pianist

The motto of my secondary school is "Aut Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam" which means  "If there's a will, there's a way" and this tag line on our school badge has never been more on the forefront of my mind than today.


I was moved by the video below..........Liu Wei is a talented, and inspiring young man, who didn't let his disabilities drag him down (he lost his arms when he was 10).

Updated: WE ARE MALAYSIANS!!!!!

A school principal's responsibility is to instil  good values and she sets that by example. This school principal has chosen to instil hatred of other races in her school.
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/17/nation/6869117&sec=nation


Updated: Her actual words were: "Chinese students are not needed here and can return to China or Foon Yew schools. For the Indian students, the prayer string tied around their neck and wrist makes them look like dogs because only dogs are tied like that."  


~ source: http://malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/special-reports/33842-school-head-under-probe-over-racist-remarks
Her photo is down in the comments section.


Those who are racists should consider this:


1) We are Malaysian citizens.


2) We are NOT Chinese citizens to be asked to return to China.


3) China is NOT our country, and is NOT a place we love or born in.


4) Our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were born in Malaysia.


WE ARE MALAYSIANS!!!! It's Malaysia we will protect if there's a war!!!

The Obama Diaries - Fact or Fiction?

According to the author, Laura Ingraham, she saw a thick manila envelope lying on the bonnet of her car at the basement parking of Watergate Complex. As she picked it up, a mysterious stranger "hidden in the shadows of a stairwell called out in a deep baritone voice, "Just read it. You'll know what to do." She shouted back, "Who are you? What is this?!" The mystery man stood silent for a few seconds before vanishing......"(page 9)

When she opened the envelope at the W hotel about a hundred yards from the White House (she claimed she didn't drive home as she was afraid to), she discovered that the enveloped contained the handwritten diaries of President Barrack Obama, Michelle Obama, her mother Marian Robinson, Vice President Joe Biden, Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, and others who are involved in the Obama's Presidency campaign.


And so she decided that the rest of America deserves to know what their President, the First Lady, The First Grandmother, the Vice-President and the entire campaign team had written in their diaries. 


My first thought was, isn't that rather convenient? The busiest people in the world actually has the time to write a diary and they ended up in her hands? I also thought that the part about the mystery man in the shadows booming out to her to read it and that she'll know what to do with it sounds a little bit like a bad script out of a B-grade movie.


Anyway, I decided to continue reading. And I think those "diaries" are not authentic. Why? Well, besides the suspicions I expressed in the paragraph before this, Barrack Obama has worked very hard in the campaign. It just didn't make any sense that he would trivialize his own inauguration. But most of all, it is the language used in the "diaries". The language use is that of a gossip monger passing on a juicy, slanderous gossip to another. To me, the style of writing is not the type one would use when writing a personal diary. 


Based on the above, I think the diaries are either planted, or Laura Ingraham cooked up the whole thing on her own as a publicity stunt at best, or worst, as a hatred campaign against Obama. 


She certainly comes across as very anti non-Americans, and considers being American as an exceptional and special race, and that America has a right to dictate to the rest of the world. But this is just my personal opinion. I'm curious to know what others think. 


So, if you have read the book, please share your opinion with me. I'd love to discuss it, even if you disagree with me. In fact, especially if you disagree with me. I'd like to know why you disagree and see it from a different perspective. And if you haven't read the book, but would like to, please let me know, and I'll email you a copy.  :)

A Wrestle Between A Sheepdog and A Maine Coon Cat

This is a must watch if you like cats and dogs.............

A New Home For My Beloved Sayang

As I sit here staring at the screen and photos of Sayang, I do not know whether to smile or cry. The family that wanted to adopt Sayang last month is still very interested in him. Mrs Chong, the mother, even left her house and mobile number with Angela so that I could talk to her. Yes, they are that serious. There are any number of gorgeous and adorable cats, not to mention cute and playful kittens available for adoption and yet, they wanted Sayang and wanted to speak to me about adopting him. They said they would only consider another cat if I turn them down after speaking to them.


I had to make a decision. Should I consider rehoming Sayang? I'd never see him again if I do. 


On the other hand, Sayang is obviously a people-cat. He wants to be around people, and would rather curl up on a person's lap than eat his food if it means being by himself. When I tried to put him back into his 'nest' so that he could eat, he stubbornly clung to my shoulder. And that was almost 4pm and he hadn't had his lunch yet. One could see he was very hungry, standing up on my lap and trying to reach for the human food on the table, and yet, he'd rather stay hungry than be put down in his 'nest' to eat.


After getting some info on the family from Angela, I asked her to call Mrs Chong to come and see me at the shop. Mrs Chong arrived with her daughter shortly after the call.


To cut a long story short, I agreed to give Sayang to Mrs Chong and her family. Sayang will be neutered next week, and then handed over to them. Mrs Chong said I could visit Sayang anytime I like, but I doubt I will impose myself on them.


My only wish is that they will take very good care of Sayang, love him unconditionally, and update me with photos once in a while. My consolation is that Sayang will have a loving home that he can run around happily in instead of being in a confined space. I hope I did the right thing for Sayang.

Under The Dome by Stephen King

I just finished reading this book last night. It was released in the US in November last year, and I only managed to lay my hands on a copy of the ebook last week. 


Under The Dome is definitely one of the better stories written by Stephen King. Don't get me wrong, he has written quite a few can't-put-it-down books, and I am a die-hard fan of his. But this book is really something else. It's not King's usual scare-you-shitless book, although I love to be scared silly (must be something seriously wrong with me). Rather, it is more like Carrie or Misery, a book on human characters and what they're capable of. If you have read Carrie/Misery or seen the movies, you would know what I mean. 


The story opens on a beautiful fall day in Chester's Mill, a small town in Maine, with a population of 1152 when inexplicably, the town is cut off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crashed into it, animals are cut into half, cars imploded upon impact, people with electronic devices like pacemaker exploded when they got too near it, while families who went on errands in neighbouring towns are unable to return home.


That said, 90% of the story is not about blood and gore. Instead, it focuses on the townfolks, on how they react and change in the face of 'catastrophe'. 


I couldn't stop talking about the book to my hubby. I was sure it would be made into a TV movie, and this morning, the minute I woke up, I troll the net to see if there is any plans to make a movie out of it. And....I wasn't surprised to find that Steven Spielberg has already bought rights to Under The Dome to make it into a mini-series. Below is the trailer. 


P/s: Those who know me personally and would like to 'borrow' this ebook, please let me know. You know how to reach me.  :)

In A Dilemma

First, before I begin, my cats and I would like to say a very, very BIG thank you to Maneki Neko for a most intriguing toy --- the pipe cleaners. They simply love it the minute I gave it to them. The 'fur' was nearly torn to shreds, as they bit into it. It is currently 'missing' as Yin has removed it to the place where she hides her treasure trove. I have yet to discover where it is. But when I do, I am sure that is also where I would find the missing socks and ribbons.


Now, I am in a little dilemma. I can't decide which hat I should get for Yin, the one with the flowers or the cowboy hat. Or, should I just buy both, so that each will have their own hats, too?

Yin with the flower hat

Yin with the cowboy hat

And now, I asked Blackie to help me pick which is a better hat for Yin................

Looks like Blackie approves of the hat with flowers......

But..........wait...........

He also likes the cowboy hat

Since he's not of much help, I decided to put the hats on him to see how the Chief Eunuch looks in hats.

Blackie with the cowboy hat

Blackie with the flower hat

And....I still cannot decide......

Second Day of 'Tweety' Bird In Our Home

Today, the cats are less fearful of the toy bird I bought them yesterday, although Blackie still keeps a safe distance from it. Yin has become very bold, to the extent that she wanted to pick up the cage and carry the bird to only-she-knows-where. She has grown into this mischievous little "critter", picking up items like socks, ribbons, hair bands and small soft toys between her teeth and relocating them to another place to play with.


The first minute in the first video showed Blackie removing himself to a safer distance when Yin touched the cage and activated the bird. Yin stayed behind to check it out. 


The second video showed Blackie returning to the room (you could just make out his legs) but still keeping a safe distance while Yin tried to pick up the cage between her teeth.

Bought A Bird For My Cats To Play With

Buying a bird for my cats to play with has been on my mind for some time now. After much weighing and due consideration given to the torture and stress the poor bird is likely to suffer at the hands, or in this case, paws of my cats, I have finally decided to go ahead and purchased a.........toy bird for my cats.


Since they had shown an inclination to play with birds (one of their favourite toys is a wave  made of feathers that flies like a bird and makes a flapping sound), I anticipated lots of fun and enjoyment for both Chief Eunuch Blackie Bond (promotion to Chief bestowed by Maneki Neko) and his Empress Dowager Lady Faye Yin. However......that was not so.


I was not prepared that my cats, in particular the Chief Eunuch, would be fearful of a toy bird. When triggered by sensors of sound and motion, the bird shakes its head, flaps its wings and chirps. Blackie couldn't find enough land to flee away from the chirping, wing-flapping and head-shaking toy, while Yin just froze and turned away from the offending bird. She always does that to anything that she doesn't like.....it's the sign of the Imperial Disapproval......by turning away from the bird it is supposed to humbly and quietly remove itself from her imperial presence, but unfortunately for her, the bird did not understand the imperial protocol.


So, until they learn that the bird is at their command, that they could get the bird to shake its head or chirp by just touching the cage or meowing, there won't be any funny videos to post. Only some photos.

Blackie fleeing the second the bird started to shake its head and chirped

Staying far away from the offending bird

The head-shaking and chirping bird

Updates on Blackie and Yin

And now, some updates on Blackie and Yin. They insisted that they should be featured here before I post anything else, especially Mr. 007. He is most insistent that this little corner belongs to him, not Sayang and certainly not my life, not that I deserve to have one. 


So, without further ado, may I present.......

Blackie Bond, photo taken on July 10, 2010.

And his Empress Dowager, the Lady Faye Yin, photo taken on 20 July 2010.

Updates on Sayang The One-Eyed Cat

As the title suggests, this post is just that.....updates on Sayang. I've been really busy with this-and-that  that there is really no time for me to update my blog or follow-up on any of my friends' blogs. Life has been one crazy spin after another.


Anyway, for 'fans' of Sayang a.k.a. Selayang, he's doing pretty well. He's vaccinated, but came under the attack of flu. Perhaps his immune system was not strong enough, considering that he was only recently taken off the streets. He's slowly recovering from it, though.


And he's a real good boy. A real adorable, affectionate, neat little cat. He doesn't mess up his place like some naughty cats do. He didn't even complain when I clipped his claws. He did not struggle or squirm. All claws on four paws were trimmed in record time.  Kerusi who was there was amazed at how quick the chore was performed.  :)

Photo taken last Wednesday, 14 July 2010

Photo taken two days ago, on 20 July 2010