The kitty tree is complete

We spent today running around looking for wood and carpet to build a kitty tree. After a suggestion from the fellow at the hardware store, we decided PVC pipe and a cement umbrella stand would do just as well. We covered it in hessian and jute rope, with her favourite ribbon at the top- to tempt her up!

She's our super-cutie-honey-baby! We're so glad Honey has taken to her new scratching post!

Honey, I'm off to work~!

Sometimes I think it'd be nice to be able to say that every day. I'm only working a couple of days a week at the moment.

It really is nice to be able to play with Honey a little- while I do some study, or try and draw something...

Here's Honey trying to help me draw the above (not)chicken:
(Drawing happens from 1:53)



And now she's being wonderful and cute, drinking her water... Oooh, now she's climbing me! And now I've got a whole lot of little kitty kisses under my chin. She's fascinated by my typing. She's like a little, warm engine, resting on my tummy as I type.

She's so tiny and beautiful~!

I'm a tender-hearted soul, says My Love.

Ooooh, and now she's falling asleep~! She can barely keep her eyes open. They keep doing the slow close routine. I love the way she falls asleep with her arms spread in a big hug. Super cutie kitty!

Have an amazing day, everyone :)

Waaaaaay too cute.

The trouble with recommending anime to friends

***Edit*** Click HERE if you wanna skip the anime discussion and check out our beautiful new kitty cat!!

I have no trouble recommending things like Cowboy Bebop to anyone who'll listen. Or if I know what kind of person you are, I could find things to suit tastes: Crazy and funny? Excel Saga. Playful, cute and a little romantic? Ouran High School Host Club. Enjoyed some of Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli stuff, but want something else? Summer Wars. Weeps with joy at the sight of kittens and fluffy ducklings? Lovely Complex. Enjoys a dark story, with twist and turns? Durarara!!.

I have a problem with recommending anime at large. There's so much wrong with the majority of anime out there. I don't mean any more than the bulk of garbage we're bombarded with from Western studios, but for the uninitiated it'd be easy to be scared off.

I've just finished watching Durarara!! at the recommendation of My Love's workmate's daughter. It was fun. It was (mostly) respectful. It had some scary scenes and violence was treated flippantly, although deaths were few and far between. There was minimal sexualisation (although a particular character's breasts were brought to attention unnecessarily often) and the only time a character was dressed up in a skimpy outfit (in my memory) was when a husband and wife were sharing their sexuality. All good, wholesome stuff.

Now I've moved on to Star Driver. Already I've come across so many of the staples of anime that I no longer flinch at, but could make newcomers a might uncomfortable, and I'm only part way through episode four.

There's been partial nudity (of high schoolers), a character who uses her over-the-top sexuality to get her own way, characters in uniforms which are essentially bondage outfits, a schoolgirl day-dreaming of homosexual encounters between her classmates, a character known as the "Galactic Pretty Boy" who also pilots a giant robot, many characters with giant, colourful hair and a tiny fox whose job is to lick people and act cute. I'm sure I've glossed over other potentially disconcerting phenomena because I've been desensitised to the usual quirks of Japanese animation.

The odd thing is, the whole set-up doesn't seem so bad. When I put down all these things in writing, they sound odd. When I'm watching it- the whole thing seems normal. It's anime.

When did I get to this stage?

I find many Korean dramas to be very refreshing because of their good-natured, charming and sex-free plots. Why am I willing to put up with so much more from a Japanese cartoon? I dislike it when Western cartoons turn to filth and I balk at any American cartoon that tries to hyper-sexualise its characters. Does my brain compartmentalise these things and treat them so very differently?

One thing I find refreshing about many Japanese shows (like Ouran) is the way in which I've seen female sexual fantasies catered to where previously only male fantasies were addressed. Yes, we've had erotic literature for women for ages, but in a society where billboards, TV advertising, shop windows, magazines and bus shelters are very often covered with a merely partially-clothed woman, I find some odd comfort in a TV show about handsome young men swooning over a tom-boyish lass, while trying to cater to the fantasies of their female clients.

I suppose the same could be said for the concept of "host clubs" in Japan. We've had brothels since the dawn of time- why not a place where a woman can go to engage her erotic fantasies on a more intellectual level? I personally don't think brothels are a good idea and I believe God created us for certain kinds of relationship, even though we are tempted by immediate sexual gratification. Although, as I said, there's something oddly comforting about the existence of host clubs- and although I'm sure they fuel sexual desires, it's kind of nice that they don't (always) involve physical sex.

That got off topic. My original idea was a discussion on mainstream oddball occurrences in anime and why I found it very difficult to recommend anime at large.

Long story short: Watch anime. It has much to offer. But be very careful.

And start with Cowboy Bebop, for heaven's sake.

Breaking news: We may have a little bundle of joy on the way, soon! Nope, not a baby. Well, not a baby human.

A kitten!

Picture (probably) coming soon... when we get back from kitten-inspecting!

***EDIT***

NEW KITTEN! SO CUTE~!

I miss you, Panda Baby

I was going to just leave the pic, but I think I must clarify: She's wearing a super-cute panda hat- those are pretend panda ears on a hat, NOT anime-style, Chun Li/Sailor Moon bun things.

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Divz!

As you might guess from the birdie today, I'm a little under the weather. And as you might guess from the heading, I want to wish a happy birthday to my dear Divz. But to do that I'd need a time machine. And these portals I've been playing with merely connect 2 points physically- they don't allow time travel.

I miss the kids at school, I miss the gym (no, really!) and I miss you, Divya!

Next time I'm in Melbourne we must do something wonderful!

Divz has been an amazing friend to me since we met in our first year of college. I miss her terribly, and I hope Rob knows how darned lucky he is- and how he doesn't deserve her! Kidding, Rob! You're great, too. Just... less great.

I kid! I kid!

(Speaking of kids, I really like Chell as a name for our daughter, should we be so blessed)

Anyway, Divz, I hope you had a wonderful day! Much love, always- Ev!

Ok. back to bed.

TSC

Can you guess what I've been playing?

I love you

Did you know?

And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down

It's not something I can relate to. There are people in my life who annoy me, sure. There are people whose views are in almost direct opposition to mine. There are people who are generally nasty.

But how does someone get it into their head that they can never be friends with another person again?

Can't they fake it? Is it revenge? Do I have to steal someone's girlfriend to understand?

I've been very blessed to have the continued friendship of a beautiful sister in Christ who many of you know. She's persevered. I'm very grateful for that. Now she's in a position I've known before, but never understood.

I trust things will get better.

But on the positive side:

This.



P.S. Just to clarify- She has a friend who has informed her that their friendship just wasn't meant to be. It all seems very high-school, but it feels anything BUT trivial. It sucks. A lot. Some people are funny.

P.P.S. Not like humourous, but curious. Odd. Strange.

P.P.P.S. Still... so... very... cold...

Write something, add bird

I'm sitting here, waiting for Bendigo to thaw. There's ice on the windows. I haven't experienced a winter like this in a while, and my body knows it. I've been hit for six by some kind of bug, leaving me sore everywhere. I actually miss the kids. Funny, huh? I'll be back soon, I hope.

I need to put word to post more often. I keep saying that. I figured the only way I could make it happen was if I actually did it.

As well as my lectures, I've also managed to catch up on some good anime watching. Revisiting Ouran, Ghost in the Shell, Samurai Champloo and Evangelion, while trying new things like Durarara!! and Summer Wars. I also managed to watch the live-action Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. That was a surprise. If the novel is the same as the 2010 movie, I don't think I'd want to read it. It didn't leave me as happy as the end credits music hinted I ought to be. It left me wondering if anything in the story actually mattered. It had all the makings of a Disney masterpiece, except if all the loose ends (which were clearly set up to come together to save the day) were left dangling, and some even cut off completely. It felt like they dangled the hope of reconciliation and salvation, but then decided that real life doesn't work that way. Real life can leave you isolated. Real life can leave you with an ache that comes from somewhere unknown. But you should still smile.

Why set up all the pieces so satisfactorily, just to have it dissolve into something entirely too reflective for Riisa Naka's bouncy demeanor?

I enjoyed her role immensely (she also plays the role of the lead from the anime movie, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, which has a decidedly different - and more satisfying - story) and liked the air of confidence she gave, which is something we don't often get to see in the right doses. Often a heroine will be super confident to the point of being bumbling, or will spend the whole movie making whimpering noises. Those funny Japanese writers!

Anyway, Riisa Naka did a great job.

I'm getting boring again. I can usually tell because I'm really interested in what I'm typing. It's a fairly decent indicator.

I'll get some more boring out of the way.

My wiring died! The circuit I ripped out of a PS3 controller (no-name brand, $6.95, including postage) is falling apart! My stick arrived, so once I install that in the stool, the majority of the work will be done. Hopefully me and Ad-man can fix my mess this coming weekend, while still finding time to explore Echuca. It will indeed be a most beautiful stick.


If you have a favourite foreign-language TV series or film, tell me about it! As a media-whore I get scared that I might be missing out on wonderful, but as yet un-translated IPs. Although I detest American remakes. Urgh!

Happy birthday! Merry Easter! All the rest!

The Lord is Risen! Alleluia!

Stick talk

Actually, I'll just shut up. This is an apology. I'm sorry, everyone. I've been doing things and neglecting this space.

Here're some pics that won't make up for it. But they kinda explain what I've been up to...