Happy Birthday, Blackie

Blackie turns three today. To celebrate his birthday, I got him a Doraemon cake and a packet of Shiloh and Lester salmon treat. 

The Doraemon cake. I'll have to scrape off the chocolate rice and chocolate topping before Blackie can eat it as chocolate is toxic to cats.

In the background is Blackie's favourite treat, the Shiloh & Lester salmon treat. It is real salmon, cut into small pieces and freeze-dried. And it's not cheap, at RM12 for 25g.

Where's the birthday boy? Ah, here he is, sound asleep. 

Singing a birthday song to Blackie. My mum has to hold Blackie on her lap as he got spooked by Doraemon. What???? Yes, he was really afraid of Doraemon!! Lols....!!!!

Blimey! I Could Be A Limey!!

Well, not me, precisely, but my master, Blackie the cat. I was at Pet Safari in Ikano recently when I stumbled upon a book on British Shorthair. I was surprised to see a picture resembling Blackie, and remembered that CazzyCazz once told me that Blackie looks like a British Shorthair. Coming home, I immediately googled for British Shorthair............

A British Shorthair

Photo source: http://aboutpedigreecats.com

Breed description

"British Shorthairs have very dense, plush coats that are often described as crisp or cracking, which refers to the way the coat breaks over the cat's body contours. Eyes are large, round and copper in colour. They have round heads with full, chubby cheeks and a body that is rounded and sturdy. British Shorthairs are large and muscular, and are described as having a cobby build. The breed has a broad chest, shoulders and hips with short legs, round paws and a plush but not fluffy tail. These are the characteristics listed in most governing bodies breeds standards to which show cats must conform."

Temperament

"They are not terribly demanding of attention, although they will let you know if they feel like playing.They are not hyperactive or "in your face" cats preferring to sit next to you or near you rather than on you. They will tend to supervise household activities either watching from a comfy perch or laying on the floor nearby.

British Shorthair cats have a tendency to follow people from room to room as they want to be with you and see what is going on. Some do not mind being cuddled but most prefer to keep four paws on the ground and have you pat them rather than pick them up."

Extracted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Shorthair

Where temperament goes, Blackie fits to a "T". My main complaint about Blackie has always been that he does not like to be picked up and carried on my shoulder. He always protests vocally when I do that. He is also not a lap cat, and does not sit for longer than 15 minutes on my lap. I have always envied my friends whose cats love to cuddle up with them on their laps.

And he is certainly very nosy, watching and supervising us in our daily activities. My mum calls him the Supervisor while my hubby calls him my shadow because he likes to follow me from room to room.

As for looks, well, armed with a camera, I started following Blackie from room to room instead of the other way round. He certainly wasn't pleased at the reversal of roles.

Blackie on his cat tree

Blackie in the kitchen

Blackie on my desk in the study

And now I've followed Blackie to the room, spying on him as he sleeps

Stalking Blackie.......he is looking petrified now

Blackie: Help! Someone please tell this misguided woman that I'm not a limey, I'm just an ordinary kucing kampung.

Memo Circulation........

Times are bad. The economic downturn is becoming more real by the day. Many companies are going to have to retrench staff when the crunch comes. Hubby forwarded me a memo circulation he received via email today....here's one company which has taken great efforts to prepare and make it as painless as possible for their staff who will be affected.

Memo to Staff:

Due to the current financial situation caused by the slowdown of the economy in US since last Christmas, Management has decided to implement a scheme to put workers of 40 years of age on early retirement.

This scheme will be known as RAPE (Retire Aged People Early).

Persons selected to be RAPEd can apply to management to be eligible for the SHAFT scheme (Special Help After Forced Termination).

Persons who have been RAPEd and SHAFTed will be reviewed under the SCREW scheme (Scheme Covering Retired Early Workers).

A person may be RAPEd once, SHAFTed twice and SCREWed as many times as Management deems appropriate. 

Persons who have been RAPEd can also get AIDS (Additional Income for Dependants or Spouse) or HERPES (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel Early Severance).

Obviously persons who have AIDS or HERPES will not be SHAFTed or SCREWed any further by management.

Persons staying on will receive as much SHIT (Special High Intensity Training) as possible.

Management has always prided itself on the amount of SHIT it gives employees. Should you feel that you do not receive enough SHIT, please bring to the attention of your Supervisor. They have been trained to give you all the SHIT you can handle..

Sincerely,

The Management

Hehe....what were you guys thinking? A real memo? Lol.....!!!!

Movie Review: Quantum of Solace

I am such a procrastinator. Four days have passed since I saw the special screening of the latest James Bond thriller Quantum of Solace, courtesy of GoMobile, and I have yet to blog about it.

And like any regular human, I have forgotten most of what I wanted to write about. However, a couple of things stuck in my mind.

One, Quantum of Solace is so closely connected to Royale Casino that for those who missed Royale Casino, it might be a little hard to follow the storyline. 

The movie literally picked up the story from Royale Casino, where Bond captured Mr. White and stuffed him in his boot. So for those who didn't watch Royale Casino, it's advisable to watch that first. Otherwise, you would be wondering who Vesper, Mathis or Felix are.

Two, there're no Bond gadgets or toys. I hope the producers don't plan to do away with those toys. A Bond movie is not complete without them.

I'm Receiving Emails From Myself

There's something strange going on. Yesterday, I received 2 emails supposedly from myself. And this morning, another 5 more emails that were supposedly sent from my own email account arrived in my Inbox. 

Emails that I didn't send. (Why on earth would I send emails to myself?) These are blank emails, with the message "click here if you can't view the message". I didn't click, of course. The subject headlines are quite pornorgraphic, too. WTH???

We Love Rascists

Forgive me if I misunderstood and got it wrong, but this is the message that is being proclaimed far and wide in our beautiful land of Malaysia.

Ahmad Ismail, the suspended UMNO chief of Bukit Bendara, Penang, was given a warrior's welcome, befitting a national hero, when he turned up for the division's delegates' conference. Ladies and gentlemen, this is our hero, the guy who said publicly that all Chinese are squatters in this country and that we don't deserve any rights.

He was welcomed with cheers, a kompang (drums) troupe and silat performances. The emcee announced that the headdress, shawl and dagger were presented to Ahmad to show that he is a true Malay warrior. Read more in The Star.

The moral to be learned here is, if you want to be recognized as a hero, throw slanderous, racists remarks at one another. Better yet, stab each other with a dagger. This is progress. We have arrived. 

Thank you, Ahmad Ismail, for being such a racist, and causing a young, innocent female reporter to be arrested under ISA for reporting truthfully what you said! Nah!   

Are You A Democrat Or A Republican?

Come 20th January next year, we'll have a Democrat US President. We know the names of the parties, but do we know what they stand for or believe in? For me, I've always leaned towards the Democrats......hehe, like as if I could vote in any US elections. Anyway, let's take a look at a few salient points.

A Republican is a Conservative, while a Democrat is a Liberal. What does that mean? I think Ambrose Bierce summed it up succintly.....haha.

Conservative, n. - A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others. 
  -- Ambrose Bierce

But other than that, let's take a look at how a Democrat and a Republican approach certain issues.

• Abortion

- Democrats are for abortion. Unwanted pregnancies is seen like drug addiction or alcoholism, which needs government intervention.

- Republicans are against abortion unless it's their own daughters that got knocked up. Then they shipped her off to Switzerland.

• Wild Animals

- Democrats believe that all wild animals should be accorded all the rights of a human.

- Republicans believe that wild animals are put there for sport hunting, or the occassional fur coat. That was why Sarah Palin shot at the wild animals from the helicopter. She was looking for a free fur coat.

• Capital Punishment

- Democrats are compassionate and are opposed to capital punishment unless the victim is one of their own.

- Republicans believe in an eye for an eye. That was why Bush invaded Iraq after the World Trade Centre was hit by hijacked planes. It didn't matter who was the perpetrator, as long as someone got punished.

• Privacy

- Democrats believe in the sacred right of privacy. 

- Republicans do not see why you would want privacy if you haven't done anything wrong.

• Racial Issues

- Democrats believe that the minority races are disadvantaged and need government help

- Republicans are fond of the minority races as they make well-behaved house servants

So, which are you? A Democrat or a Republican? What about our government? I do believe that the ruling coaling, BN, is a Republican when it comes to racial issues. Oops, are they going to arrest me under ISA for this post?? 

I Got The Tickets!!!

Yes!! I got the tickets to the Premiere Screening of Quantum of Solace. And so did my dear friend, CazzyCazz. 

We had given up hope, and I was just about to go shoot Nuffnang and Agent Botak when we both received the emails from Nuffnang at 5:17pm. We immediately sms each other to check our emails.....yes, our sms crossed paths...hehe.

Thanks, GoMobile, Nuffnang and Agent Botak. You didn't know how you missed deaths by just a few seconds... :D

Agent Double O Seven, here I come, dressed for the party....meow!  ;)

Michael Crichton Has Passed Away

I was driving home from the market this morning when hubby called to say that one of my favourite authors, Michael Crichton, has passed away at age 66 from throat cancer. It was a shock to me. And I must admit that I was most selfish in my initial reaction. The first thing I thought was, "Oh no, no more new books from Michael Crichton." 

A medical doctor by profession, Michael Crichton was a prolific writer and filmmaker. He was most well-known for 'Jurassic Park', 'The Lost World', 'The Andromeda Strain', 'Sphere', 'Congo', 'The Great Train Robbery', 'The Terminal Man', 'State of Fear', 'Prey', 'Disclosure', 'Timeline'.....the list goes on.

He was also the creator and executive producer of the NBC program "E.R.," which began its 15-year run in 1994 and was based on his early experience in medicine. He also co-wrote 'Twister'.

He said of himself: "I was the weird kid who wrote extra assignments the teacher didn't ask for."

And.....he was a giant. At 6 feet 9, and married five times, I bet he was the one his friends and family called when they needed light bulbs replaced. 

His demise is a loss to the industry and me, personally, as I would no longer be able to look forward to his next book. I'm going to miss him. My deepest condolence to his family.

GoMobile GoMobile Go

I just had my dinner, opened up my email, and lo and behold, there was an email from Nuffnang. They are giving away 25 pairs of tickets to bloggers to watch Quantum of Solace, courtesy of GoMobile, The Ultimate Mobile Lifestyle Event of the year. Yay!!

But before I indulge in day-dreaming about Daniel Craig, let me tell you a bit about GoMobile.

GoMobile 2008 is going to be the first, and biggest ever mobile lifestyle event in Malaysia. It will be held at PWTC from 21 - 23 November 2008. Don't be left out. Spread the word and stand a chance to win cool prizes. Go, go join the GoMobile Clique at http://www.gomobile.my/

Now, as you guys know, I am such a die-hard fan of James Bond that I even delude myself into believing that I once worked for Her Majesty the Queen of England until that gorgeous Daniel Craig usurped my place. 

Look at my blog, look at my identity. Who am I? My name is Bond, James Bond Kitty, but you may call me Blackie007.  

If you don't believe me,  just take a look below. I am getting ready to shoot Nuffnang and their Agent Botak if they don't give me a pair of tickets to a special screening of Quantum of Solace. 

Watchout! Nuffnang & Agent Botak!!

So, Nuffnang and Agent Botak, you are hereby held at gunpoint to issue me a pair of tickets. GIVE UP THE TICKETS NOW......lols!!!

SPCA World Animal Day

SPCA organized an event to celebrate World Animal Day at the KL Tower yesterday (2 Nov '08). It was a day for all animal lovers and their pets to get together. There were lots of dogs mingling around, sniffing one another's butt as they passed each other. 

Only two very brave cat owners brought their cats, clutched tightly and safely high up on their shoulders. No, I was not one of them. And neither was CazzyCazz. Yes, at last, I got to meet her. *happy*

You see, this time, we were smarter. We exchanged phone numbers and I emailed her a photo of me taken at last month's Petfinder Gathering. Otherwise, we would have have missed one another again.

She was the one who identified me and screamed my name out loud....lols...!! The reason I would not have recognized her? She was slimmer, younger and prettier than her photos in her blog! 

Okay, coming back to the World Animal Day event yesterday, there was a large turnout by the time hubby and I got there at two-ish in the afternoon. The car park at KL Tower was full and we had to park elsewhere and walked up the hill. 

Lucky for us, there was a free shuttle service with foreign tourists inside, waiting for two more passengers to fill up the van before they could drive up the hill. The driver saw us and asked us to hop in to make up the numbers. *happy*

SPCA had very kindly given Petfinder.my a booth at the event, and I headed straight for our booth. Hehe...speaking like as if I'm a Petfinder.my administrator. No, I'm just a member of their forum.  ;)

This is Petfinder's booth.

At about three o'clock, the fastest pair of dog and owner eating contest began. It was organized by Andy, the founder of Petfinder.

The plates are ready. I think it's needless for me to say which plate is for who, right?

And so, on the count of three, humans and their four-legged furry companions dug in. The russet-coloured dog opened its big mouth and whalloped the whole chunk of dog food in one bite. It really wants to win. Either that, or it was very hungry.....lols..!!!

Most of the dogs have finished their food while their owners are still chomping down on their buns. Some cheated by getting their dogs to help them finish their buns....hehe. A couple of the dogs believed that sharing is caring, so after they finished their food, they helped the dogs next to them finish theirs, too.  

This dog, however, refused to eat the gruel. It thumped its nose at the food.  The poor owner kept trying to persuade it to eat without success. It reminded me of my Blackie, a picky eater. 

This little dog next to it saw, and having finished its food, came and offered its help. 

And the first prize goes to the fastest eating pair..........

And the second prize-winner.......

After the contest, Groovy, the dancing dog got on the stage for a dance with its owner. It was hilarious, as it could even dance backwards!! *Lol...*

There were a few more interesting sights, but unfortunately, the batteries in my camera ran out.....sob! sob!

Anyway, I got some goodies from the event. While chatting with a chihuahua owner, a Purina staff overheard me saying that a chihuahua is probably the only dog I could keep, living in an apartment, but my cat would eat the chihuahua. When she heard that, she offered me a free can of Fancy Feast for Blackie to try. I think she was trying to save all chihuahua's lives. Thanks, Purina. ;)

It started to rain as we walked down the hill to our car. An SPCA volunteer was selling umbrellas so I got one from him.

I Can Read It, Can You?

Hubby forwarded this email to me yesterday........

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too. 
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe can. 

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it. 

ONLY FORWARD IF YOU CAN READ THIS

Tsunami Swept Through My Home Today

After postponing Blackie's bath for three days due to my not feeling well, I felt sufficiently recovered today  to embark on a cat-howling adventure. Blackie hates baths with a vengeance and to bathe him is akin to bathing a growling, snapping tiger.

He will run round and round you, hissing, growling, snapping and before you know it, you are entangled in the shower cable. 

But the worst is that today, he learned how to pry open my shower screen doors. He ran out dripping water all over my bathroom floor, and I had to run out and grabbed him back inside the shower cubicle. This went on until I clutched him to my body and rinsed him and me as well.

It would take an extremely sharp eye to tell who was giving whom a bath. Both Blackie and I were as drenched as each other. The end result was, my bathroom and master bedroom looked like a tsunami had just swept through it. *smacking my forehead in disbelief at what both of us had achieved when a tsunami couldn't*

Next time I might just as well take my shower at the same time. Saves water that way....lols...!!!

MPH Warehouse Sales

On Sunday afternoon, after a short nap, hubby and I went to Section 13 in PJ where the MPH Warehouse Sales was held. Despite my not feeling well, I dragged myself to the sales hoping to get some good buys. Books are expensive here, and it's not everyday that MPH holds a sale.

It was difficult to find a parking space, and we ended up parking about 500m away. The sun was blazing hot, and hubby suffered sunburnt on his thighs. We knew it was going to be hot and stuffy inside the warehouse, so we had dressed light - shorts and T-shirts.

There was a large crowd by the time we arrived at the warehouse. At one glance, it looks promising, with so many books around. But on closer look, most of the books are old and I've read them before. Also, this time round, there were more children's and teenagers' books than books for adults. 

I finally bought three books: The Accident Man by Tom Cain, True Evil by Greg Iles and Someone To Watch Over Me by Judith McNaught. Quite disappointing as I was hoping to be able to buy at least 6 months' supply before the next sale. I'm quite a voracious reader and can finish a 500+ pages novel in just a few days.

I guess this time I have to ration myself and read only a chapter a day.  :D

Light At The End of The Tunnel.....?

After having slept nearly the whole day and night....(err, not due to laziness but I was not well, had fever and bad flu plus sore throat)....I woke up this morning still feeling lousy and groggy as a result of those prescriptions the doctor gave me. 

But like any normal day, the first thing I did on waking up was to read the news.

And.....I felt much better right away. Instead of the usual political crap, the government is actually doing something to help ease the burden of the public. Petrol prices will be reduced by 15 cents, and hypermarket chains like Tesco, Carrefour, Giant and Mydin will reduce prices of canned and fresh food, including instant noodles by as early as next week.

This is good news indeed. I had braced myself for more price increases, but instead, prices are heading south. 

However, that said, looking at the percentage of the price reduction (15% - 30%), prices of those goods will just be back to what they were 6 months ago. We will not be seeing prices of last year. 

Oh well, at least it's better than prices continually sprillaling up through the roof. 

Yay! Now I can afford to buy more books at the MPH Warehouse Sale later today. But first, I have to go back to bed as the medicine I took just now is making me drowsy again. *nodding off*

Jennifer Hudson's Mother & Brother Killed

The mother and brother of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson, was found shot dead at the family's home in Chicago. Police said the murders appeared to be a result of domestic dispute. Jennifer is reported to be flying home to Chicago from Florida. 

Read more here.

Poor Jennifer. Hers is a tight-knit family. In American Idol, she attributed her being there to her mother. She said that had it not been for her mother, she would not have joined the American Idol.

My deepest condolence to Jennifer on her bereavement. 

Spaghetti Chilli Con Carne

The last time I cooked spaghetti chilli con carne was when I lived in England. Yes, that long ago. So, for some reason, last night I suddenly decided to cook chilli con carne for dinner. 

My hubby's comment was, "Are you sure you know how to cook Chilli Con Carne?" You see, despite our having been married for five years, I've never cooked the dish for him before.

Now, let me jot down the ingredients before I forget....yeah, hubby and mummy loved it, so I have to cook this again in the future.

Ingredients:

1 canned tomato, (cube the tomatoes) 

1 canned Tesco chilli beans (red kidney beans)

MInced beef

1 yellow onion, minced

3 or 4 cloves or garlic, minced

4 fresh tomatoes, cubed

1 red capsicum, or red pepper

Seasonings:

2 teaspoons Cajun Spice 

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon chilli flakes 

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon sherry (or chinese rice wine if you don't have sherry)

2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

salt to taste

Chilli con carne goes well with spaghetti or rice. We ate it with spaghetti last night, and today, I ate the leftovers with plain, white rice. Yum-yum... :)~~~

My Cat Talks..!!!

Last Sunday, I was watching a news program in BBCNews when the host got me sitting up straight on the sofa....talking pets. Yes, your pets can talk, you just need to know how.

Don't believe me? Click here and see Blackie talk! Then, come back here and tell me what you think.....hope you understand him, though.....LOLs..!!!!

Is Hollywood Running Out of Ideas?

Has anyone noticed that Hollywood's motto is Waste Not, Want Not? It has been recycling ideas for their movies.

Well, it has been doing that for a long time, under the guise of "movie adaptation from a book/comic", remaking old movies or remaking Asian movies into Western movies. But these days, it has gone a step further. It is going into the video/computer games arena, too.

Just look at some of the movies that have graced our silver screen.....Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, House of The Dead, etc., etc. And now, the lastest one to be shown on our local cinemas this weekend ---- Max Payne.

Well, maybe Hollywood thinks Max Payne fans did not have enough of Max Payne I, II and III on the computer, and would like to see the character on the big screen? Hmmm... I'll have to ask my hubby as he likes to play Max Payne.

Although, to be honest, I must say I would not mind having a Resident Evil 5.....I just love Alice, the protagonist.  Maybe Hollywood is just delivering what the movie audience wants after all?

We Are Optimistically Pessimistic...

Today I learned a new oxymoron phrase from MySinChew....."optimistically pessimistic". I love oxymoron words and phrases, by the way.  

The article is a rehash of what most of us already know....that our government is in denial, insisting that our economy is strong enough to weather the storm.

Since I've already spoken my mind in the previous post titled "Will the Global Financial Tsunami Hit Us", I won't touch on it anymore.

I only want to add that while the public is optimistically pessimistic, the government is rhetorically optimistic and taking a rather cavalier attitude towards the whole issue. Ok, enough said. I rest my case.