I couldn’t resist showing you this picture of Manu, a Canary-Winged brotogeris parrot. He displays a love for his toy and a total trust of his owner, Shelley! I like his soft, sleek feathers and alert eyes.
photo by Shelley Johnson
Monthly Archives: June 2007
Cat Declawing Outlawed
Cat declawing is now illegal in West Hollywood. An ordinance against it has been upheld by a state appeals court. Cat declawing was sited as a “cruel and unusual procedure”, and veterinarians in West Hollywood face possible criminal charges if they perform the surgery. West Hollywood is the only jurisdiction in California that has such a law – it’s a very interesting part of town with quite a diversity of extroverted people.
So the Cat Lady is safe there on so many levels.
Amazing Babies
I’ve mentioned before that my friend Luana is a breeder of Brotogeris parrots. She has had a bumper crop this year, babies of each type of broto – she’s had several baby Grey Cheeks (they are not for sale), Canary Wings and Orange Chins. I couldn’t resist posting this photo she sent of her three latest baby Orange Chins (they actually came from the same parents that my bird Gobi came from).
The dime shows how very tiny they are. Their mother Bitsy died shortly after laying the eggs, and father Itsy wouldn’t sit on them, so Luana was scrambling trying to get another bird to hatch them. When that didn’t work, she had to transfer them to an incubator. There were five eggs in the incubator, so far only these three have hatched. But considering what they have gone through already, they are miracles. They are so tiny that they are rather difficult to feed!!
My bird Gobi is an example of what they will look like when they are grown:
Book Meme
As my regular readers know, I just go bonkers over books. Not a day goes by that I don’t log a few chapters. I saw this meme somewhere and of course it appealed to me. Here are some details of my book addiction.
What’s Your Preference??
1. Novel or Novella? I like novels the best because I like to get intertwined in the complex interplay of the situations and character. It’s like visiting another world. Novellas usually present a story then end it quickly. I like the slow burn of wondering what will happen next, and what happened before that that caused the next event, etc.
2. Hardback or paperback? I like the mass market paperbacks (that is, the ones that just about fit in your back pocket). However, I find that the best books come in the more expensive paperback format (the ones that cost $12.oo and up). I read in bed a lot, lying on my side, so I like the smaller paperbacks because they are easier to hold.
3. Male authors or female authors? I don’t have a preference. I do find it fascinating when a man writes a book from a woman character’s point of view, and vice versa.
4. Fiction or non-fiction? Fiction is my favorite, I like the escape. However, lately I find myself reading memoirs also. Right now I’m reading “Rainbow’s End” which is a memoir written by a woman who grew up on a game farm in the former Rhodesia during the war there. True stories can be fascinating; however I find history books boring to the extreme. I also like metaphysical books. Some may consider them fiction (lol) – I do not.
5. Bestseller or obscure title? Both. Although I find a lot of offbeat obscure fiction with a spiritual (NOT religious), metaphysical or “ghostly” bent that don’t make the bestseller lists. I love a story that makes me think about life, regardless of the book’s popularity. I hate romance novels and avoid them at all costs.
6. Local bookstore or chain franchise? We don’t have many mom-and-pop shops left in my area. In fact, off the top of my head I can’t even think of one. This has really put a kink in my personal ambition to own my own bookstore someday – I don’t think the little stores can compete in my local marketing area. I usually find myself at Borders or Barnes and Noble (of which I am also a stockholder!). Lately I have taken advantage of book trading websites where I can get free books in perfect condition, and send others my read books, only incurring the cost of postage. I get wonderful books (bestsellers and obscure titles) from these websites and every single book I’ve ever received looked like it came straight off a bookstore’s shelf. The two sites I like best are http://www.bookmooch.com and http://www.frugalreader.com (sorry, for some reason I couldn’t get the links to work, so just cut and paste into your browser).
7. Read the book first or see the movie first? It depends. Usually I read the book first. I like to look up on the web who the actors are and which characters they play so I can have a picture of them in my head as I read. I don’t like going to the movies very much, so the timing of the film is not important; I usually wait for the DVD to come out.
8. How many books do you read in a week? A year? I average 1 to 3 books a week, and my personal best for number of books read in a year is 103. Can’t get enough of that printed stuff!!!
ilustrator unknown
I’m not tagging anybody today. Anyone who wants to play, please do! I’d be interested in hearing about your reading preferences!
Behind the Eight Ball
I have been tagged by Nicola at Life on the Edge for eight random facts or habits about myself.
I have to post these rules: one, each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. Two, people who are tagged need to write their own blog entry about their eight things and post these rules. Three, at the end of your entry, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names/pseudonyms/blogs. Four, don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
1. My personal best reading record is 103 books read in one year.
2. I hate tropical tasting iced tea. One time I got a migraine right after drinking it and was put off forever.
3. I never get mad when other cars cut me off (unless it’s life threatening, then I can curse with the best of ’em).
4. I am very sensitive to perfumes and many chemicals, so I make my own cleaning solutions like they had in the old days. I use a lot of vinegar (an excellent disinfectant) and baking soda around the house for all kinds of cleaning jobs. I also use all biodegradable laundry products. Recently I discovered that a cup of vinegar in the wash cycle makes smelly synthetic athletic clothes smell very fresh and clean.
5. I never, ever drink coffee.
6. I love Ethiopian food. I had it in Las Vegas once and can’t find a local place to try.
7. I met one of my favorite friends in Australia via the internet. We actually got to meet when she came for a visit!!
8. I read a lot, but watch lots of TV also. My favorite shows are Desperate Housewives, House, Dexter, Rescue Me, The Closer, The L Word, Boston Legal, Big Ideas for a Small Planet, The Riches, Ugly Betty, The Dresden Files, Heroes and Grey’s Anatomy. And of course, the incomparable Two and a Half Men!!!
I tag Sebastien, Sharon, Tobeme, Manuel, Les Quinn (whom I will be amazed if he plays – but I know he’s got some interesting things to say), Diwakar, Lyndon, and Kat.
They Call Me Kitty
On my Wordless Wednesday last week, I posted a picture of a tiger diving into a pool to retrieve a tasty food morsel. A comment by Candace reminded me of the “Cat Lady”.
The “Cat Lady”, whose real name is Jocelyn Wildenstein, a wealthy socialite, began at the age of 50 to have multiple plastic surgeries. It’s been reported that she’s had a chin implant, cheek implants, and eye surgery to make her look cat-like) at her request – not a surgical mishap). She’s also had lip collagen enhancement and an extremely tight face lift. What a shame…she looked so pretty before.
It saddens me that whatever trials this woman has had in her life, they have led her to this. Although, perhaps I should not judge – if she’s happy with the way she looks, it is not up to me to dictate what she should do with her life or her face.
When interviewed by happywomanmagazine.com about why she had so many plastic surgeries she said:
“Some women have surgery to slow the march of time, some decide to go under the knife to correct a perceived flaw and some decide to do it when their husband is threatening to not only leave them for a 21 year old Russian model, but cut off their financial support and the only way they can think to save the marriage is to turn themselves into a replica of his favourite jungle animal.“
Postscript: A reader, Glenn Walker, commented below that happywomanmagazine.com is a satirical website. I did not know this when I wrote the post, and the site did not specifically say it was such a website (In hindsight, I suppose I should have guessed this, looking back at the flippant answers given in the “interview”). So even though the facts about Ms. Wildenstein as stated above were gleaned from different sites, the quote attributed to her is apparently not from Ms. Wildenstein. I apologize to my readers. These errors were not intentional, and were solely due to my ignorance of the satirical nature of the happywomanmagazine site. Thank you, Glenn, for pointing out the error.
Filed under Celebrities, Life
More Alternative Homes
When I was a kid, I liked nothing better than to climb up a big tree, find a comfy perch, and sit and listen to the birds. I lived in a fairly wooded area in New York and my next door neighbors actually had a small forest in their backyard. There was something about being safely up above everyone else, sharing space with creatures of the air and listening to the leaves rustle – seeing the patterns sunlight made as it shone on and through the leaves. My best friend and I (see my earlier post “Old Friends”) built and played in many a treehouse. I still dream about having one today, although the trees and palm trees in my California backyard are not amenable to a treehouse!
So when I saw these photos on a website, I was so excited, I had to share them with you. Can you imagine living in a home like this high above the ground? I think about how I would decorate such a home inside…then I think perhaps no decoration is needed, the sheer atmosphere of such a home would be enough. The only dilemma would be how to rig up a toilet system. I guess since gravity is on your side, you could just hook up some kind of pipe system that goes to a septic tank underground.
The treehomes below were designed by Dustin Felder; he calls them “O2 Sustainability Treehouses”. These designs do not harm the tree. All the materials are entirely recycled. They are made of translucent 1/16″ triangulated polypropylene panels, some of which open up to provide air circulation.
This last treehouse reminds me of a toy one of my birds has. It’s a small coconut with a hole in it and a small perch so he can get inside. I can’t remember where I found this photo so whoever the architect and photographer are, kudos to you. This one looks like it might be warmer than the treehouse above, but I suppose those with claustrophobia need not apply!
Filed under Architecture, Ecology, Life
Quantum Leaps 