Potential cat parents should note the following:

1. The kittens have been dewormed twice as per vet’s instructions. Mummy Cat has been dewormed once.
2. All of them are litter-trained and not particularly fussy about food. They were fed a variety of cat food and the occasional leftover fish and chopped up chicken meat, but no rice or other human foods.
3. These are indoor cats. If you want them to go outside sometimes, they need to be taught to stay within the house perimeter (so they don’t get run over or eaten by dogs).
4. Bring a pet carrier. Borrow one if you have to. A proper carrier - not a box or tub or bucket or person’s lap. Cage type pet carriers are fine.
5. Get your new kitty neutered a.s.a.p. There are already too many homeless cats out there.
6. Each new owner will get a cat care booklet and a vet card.
7. Kittens are free to adopt. Donations are appreciated and will go to the SSPCA.

Now read on to meet them kittehs!

FATTY - One of the Basement Cat twins (the one on the left). A male pure black cat. He got his name because when he was younger he was the fattest of all the kittens. He has since gotten longer and doesn’t look so fat. He’s very active and playful - he particularly likes stalking things. He’ll stop stalking you if you look at him and say “No”.

LOWFAT - The other Basement Cat twin (the one on the right). Male, mostly black. Initially we told him apart from Fatty by the fact that the end of his tail has a tendency to curl, but that was a bit hard when they were running around so we just referred to him as the “less fat one”, which is how he ended up being called Lowfat. He has a small white patch on his chest and - like Mad - he likes to climb and play with balls and bits of string.

COMOT - Comot is a female kitten with semi-tuxedo colouring and a bobtail. She got her name from the unfortunate “comot” on her upper lip, which makes her look like she has a Hitler moustache. She’s very affectionate once you get to know her and loves sitting in people’s laps (when she’s not in the mood to play, that is). She’s a real girly girl and likes being stroked. She hates getting into playfights with the twins.

 

MAD - Mad is a male tuxedo kitten. He got his name because once he knew how to walk he was really hard to control. He’s quite mellow now and comes to Comot’s rescue a lot. He likes climbing things. Little rubber balls and bits of string drive him loco.

MUMMY CAT - Mummy Cat is a grey tabby. She is about 1-2 years old. She’s very affectionate and likes being stroked. She is quite independent and doesn’t mind being left alone for a couple of hours (she’s also quite well behaved if you give her enough space to roam around). She has a small, thumb-sized patch of fur missing and a healed cut on her side - she had this ever since we rescued her and we have no idea how she got it. It doesn’t seem to hurt her anymore. She’s not very playful and would suit a house with no other cats. 

If you are interested, please contact Rin at azreen_zahira[AT]yahoo.com to arrange a visit. Oh, and we’re in Kuching. Local inquiries only. ;-)

See the original entry at:

Kittehs looking for good homes!

I found this at Book Castle. I’ve not read it yet, and I suspect I won’t for a while. But I simply have to show you what I found inside:

The inscription says (to the best of my ability to read that pretty handwriting):

Isabel Barr
Prize for Needle-work
Thom Mv Mumford
Lupton School
June 19.1914

This inscription is 94 years old. 1914!! The book was published in 1906. Do the maths, people!!

There are two other things left in the book that may yield clues to where it came from. The first is this card, announcing the services and Bible classes for the Evangelical Free Church:

So we know the book either came from BC or passed through there at some point. The last item doesn’t tell me much. It’s a bookmark that is torn at the bottom:

Here are a couple of colourplates inside the book, because they’re pretty:

I love finding things like this! I’m always curious about who owned an old book that eventually lands in my lap. To think this one made the trip from almost a century ago and is still in such a good condition! This is officially the oldest book in my collection now. Yes, I’m completely thrilled!

See the original entry at:

Book Sunday: Forgotten Tales of Long Ago

See the original entry at:

Build, this 23rd

Oh well, a girl can hope.

With some gentle encouragement from Advertlets, I went over for a look. The site is not too bad, employing the pop-up book presentation that popped a collage of artwork, photos and animation at you. It’s medieval meets modern - the castle from a bygone era surrounded by buildings with indoor plumbing.  

So the King realises that those horseless carriages create a different sort of poop on the streets of the Distant City of a Distant Land. He appoints a knight (you!) to look into the problem.

Oh look, it’s you inside a tin can that is inside another tin can. Off to save the day.

There is a witch somewhere, and a requisite dragon Guardian whom you will eventually encounter two pages later.

“Ha HAH!” says our valiant knight (you). “Out of my way, foul beast.”

Realising that Monsieur Guardian technically won’t need a can opener, you make your escape. But your horseless carriage is quickly running out of juice and cannot outrun a dragon who knows you’re after his bling.

So our slightly dented and lightly cooked knight (you) does make his escape and end up seeking help from a reclusive engineering genius. 

There is so much steampunk potential in the image above. But alas, fantasy barely makes a dent in mainstream today, so steampunk’s gonna have to wait. Check back in another 10 years. But back to the story.

The guy with the goggles and stuff does have a solution for you - Fuel Efficiency! You return to Monsieur Guardian for a rematch. This is where things start getting fun. It’s game time!

The objective of the game is to outrun Monsieur Guardian. Basic left-right controls, pick up Power Boost for speed, pick up the Toyota logos for extra points, and lose points for hitting rocks.

As far as addictive flash games go, this one helped me discover my uncanny accuracy in hitting every goddamn rock on the road when I’m in Power Boost mode. Oh, the rightmost lane is perfectly free of rocks and logos. You just have to watch out for the dragon. My best score so far is 4100, in one of the rare occasions where I don’t hit as many rocks.

But no matter how crappy your score, you outrun Monsieur Guardian and collect the booty…

…which is Eco-Friendliness! You install it into your tin can steed carry it home to the Distant City of a Distant Land! There is clean air and rejoicing! The King gives you his youngest daughter’s hand in marriage and you both ride off into the sunset!

I guess the moral of the story is that you can’t go wrong with a powerful, fuel efficient, eco-friendly Toyota. But hey, the prize attached to this Toyota Quest For the Fuel-Efficient Engine is pretty tasty too.

Onwards!

See the original entry at:

Toyota Quest For The Fuel Efficient Engine

Cathy’s Book
Sean Stewart, Jordan Weisman, Cathy Briggs (Illustrator)
Published by Running Press
Hard cover, 143 pages

Cathy’s Book is described as an ARG (Alternate Reality Game) book. This means that the story is fiction, but the websites mentioned are real and behave as though they are part of the story. The phone numbers work if you care to call (I presume Skype will work too). But as a standalone, the book works just fine.

The book is essentially the diary of 17-year old budding artist Cathy Vickers - full of sketches, doodles, photographs, a few name cards, and other little treasures that girls would keep. But in this case, her items and diary focuses on her ex-boyfriend Victor Chan, who abruptly dumped her the night before the story begins. 

Cathy doesn’t know why but is determined to find out. She does the obsessive ex thing - stalk him, and break into his house and steal things that she consider clues. Most of these items are included in the book, not as images printed directly on the page, but real items. Many of these clues suggests that Victor was not completely honest about who he is. 

The note on the back of the book (masquerading as a synopsis) tells us that Cathy had already gone missing and left the diary in the care of her best friend Emma. What happened to her? No one knows yet, but you can always pop online and share your theories with other fans.

The sequel, Cathy’s Key, was released earlier this year.

- originally published in Good English, The Borneo Post

I’ll buy hard cover if it came with interesting bits and bobs like Cathy’s Book! That side pocket is stuffed full of things - a ripped up photo, a takeout menu, name cards, and a few coloured sketches done by Cathy. It does a great job in pulling the reader in.

I found the paperback version where all of those things are printed into a few pages in the middle. Well, that’s rather anti-climatic if you’ve already seen this one!

See the original entry at:

Book Sunday: Cathy’s Book