testing blogjet
08 Saturday Sep 2007
Posted in blogging
08 Saturday Sep 2007
Posted in blogging
07 Friday Sep 2007
Posted in books & writing, culture
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So like, what’s the criteria?
Earlier today I was having a bit of a debate about the merits of The Catcher in The Rye over at Ration Reality and it got me thinking about how we personally judge the books we read. And also how we justify our opinions if someone else disagrees with them.
You see, I started thinking that it requires more of a reason – or at least a debatable reason – to explain why you dislike a book, especially if you really hate it, than if you simply like and enjoy a book. Like me and The Da Vinci Code, for example. I mean, I know I could write a seriously critical review of that piece of shit without resorting to simply bad-mouthing it and saying it sucks. 😉
But it seems much more difficult to explain why you like a book and get that sense of it across to others … especially if they hold negative opinions about it. I’m not sure how you can debate that.
What are your thoughts on this?
07 Friday Sep 2007
Posted in animals & pets, miscellany, musings, weird
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Is there actually such a thing?
When I first moved to Spain in 1992 the last thing on my mind was getting a cat, since my living situation at the time was rather precarious and anyhow, I hadn’t had a cat since I was 18. But it turned out that some friends I’d recently met were wanting to get rid of their 2-year-old siamese girl because they were about to have a baby and – very stupidly – thought Lua might get jealous. So I ended up adopting Lua and she was the weirdest and crankiest thing on 4 paws that you’d ever want to meet. But we grew to love each other – a lot! And when she died of cancer in September 2004 I was totally heartbroken.
Meanwhile, I’d kept one of her four kittens that she had while we were still living in Salamanca – Sunny! And later, when I moved to Sevilla, I took in a street cat that I ended up calling Azar, which means ‘luck’ or ‘happenstance’ in Spanish.
Here is the whole story in case anyone is interested.
So for many years I had three cats living with me – now I just have the two boys. Ex-streetcat Azar has turned out to be a total weirdo, but very lovable in his weirdness. He is, in fact, the only cat I’ve ever met that has a sense of humour – he truly enjoys playing tricks on us humans and then sits back with a ‘who me?’ innocent look on his face. Sunny, on the other hand, is a total dog. He has a real doggy personality – he’s always waiting by the door when I come home, he greets all visitors and tries to make them feel welcome. At the other end of the spectrum is Azar who ‘pretends’ he is afraid of everyone so they’ll pay extra attention to him.
So I’m just wondering… has anyone ever had a ‘normal cat’? I’m not even sure what this would mean. I guess one that doesn’t play tricks on you or act like a dog, for starters . . .
07 Friday Sep 2007
Posted in food & drink, health & happiness, life stuff, weird

Doctor reports 1st consumer case of microwave popcorn lung
Microwave popcorn lung??? Good heavens. I wondered if I should cancel my standing request for Orville’s , but in fact I prefer the plain flavour (as opposed to ‘butter’ flavoured) and although I’m quite hooked on popcorn I certainly don’t eat two bags a day, nor do I sniff in the fumes like the guy in the article.
I imagine that eating anything to that excess would cause health problems, but apparently factory workers have been suffering from ‘popcorn lung’ – a potentially fatal disease – for years due to constant contact with diacetyl. Yet it took this one consumer to be diagnosed before Big Food did anything about it. Hmmm… perhaps I should consider boycotting ConAgra products altogether.
~ first seen at Wandering Coyote’s ~
~ fab pic from Sid in the City ~

06 Thursday Sep 2007
Posted in art, food & drink, fun stuff, quizzes
You Are Sauvignon Blanc |
Engaging and energetic, you have a lot to offer the world – most of it they’ve never seen anywhere else! You are the type of person who carves your own path in life… and you invite everyone else to come along. The only thing predictable about you is that you could have anything up your sleeve. You’re all about sampling all of life’s experiences. Both the savory and unsavory ones. Deep down you are: Laid back and young at heart Your partying style: Anything goes… seriously! |
Swiped from SG V who usually swipes quizzes from me (that are usually swiped from somewhere else), but who didn’t happen to like yesterday’s ‘How Creative Are You?’ quiz so he found this one instead, which I have to say I also like better … but I still think those coloured pencils are rather cute, don’t you?
And yes, this is soooooo me! 🙂