Tristan da Cunha

I've been reading about Tristan da Cunha, a small island off the west coast of Africa and for some reason, I feel really connected to the place. The landscape looks familiar or like a place I would like to visit and see. It would also be really interesting to observe the people; the dynamic of the small community. It's somewhere I would like to visit, but would take a lot of planning to get permission and to actually get there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_da_Cunha

Is recycling worth it?

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/how_your_house_works/4291566.html?page=1

Oh Canada... how you are moving backwards

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=a819af3c-1d2b-4d63-8421-1f52ce46a6a8

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=d3ff1593-fb00-43bd-969a-40e216d4b2b4&k=34354

after election readings

Nation Finally Shitty Enough To Make Social Progress

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/nation_finally_shitty_enough_to

Black Man Given Nation's Worst Job

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/black_man_given_nations

McKinnon Cartoon

Halifax Herald Editorial:

Creepy...

Is it just me, or is the idea behind the "Father-Daughter Purity Ball" this article, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1823930,00.html, totally creepy?

Van Kedisi

For those of you of whom don't already know; I am the proud mother of 2 little girls - my kitties Celeste and Ginger!

The existence of a breed of cat called the Van Kedisi, an all-white version of the Turkish Van (also known as the Turkish Swimming Cat), recently came to my attention.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Kedisi

I have reason to believe that my ridiculous white cat (Celeste) may be descended from this breed. Most notably, she is an all white cat with mismatched eyes. Like the cats described in this article, Celeste has a "lean, long-legged appearance". She is indeed "friendly and intelligent", "howls more than she meows" and I have previously noted that she seems to "take pleasure in breaking things". She is also deaf.

Another article, http://www.discoverturkey.tv/page.php?s=page&pid=836&seo=/Turkish+Van+Cats
also discusses this breed.

Like the cats in the article, Celeste does indeed have massive paws, with 6-7 toes on each foot and right out thumbs on her front paws. She is also an impressive jumper and she is very athletic. They also mention fetching, which is something Celeste has been known to do. As an aside, she used to have a toy that consisted of a stick, a string, and a mouse or something tied to the end of it. When she wanted to play, she would carry the toy in her mouth to you, even from a different room. Buy she would carry it by the fluffy part so that the stick would be dragging behind her. So I suppose the intelligence is a questionable trait.

They describe the cats as "people cats that want to be with people wherever they go" of which "many owners describe them as "dogs in a cat suit" because of their unusual personalities". This is spot on for Celeste. She will almost always be in the same room as you, even though she's not usually in your face. My previous roommate noted that Celeste seemed to follow you from room to room like a spy, but would pretend she wasn't following you, so whenever you looked over at her she would conveniently not be looking at you or doing something else.

Unlike the cats in both articles, she is not a large cat, she is a mere 7lbs. She also doesn't seem to have the same kind of fur as the cats described, her fur is much shorter and much more bristley. On top of that, I don't think she likes water, I've never seen her willingly immerse herself in it.

If I had to make a guess, perhaps she is related to this breed, but she is certainly not an expression of the breed. I don't have a clear picture of her history as I adopted her as a full-grown cat from the local (Halifax) SPCA. I've never understood why anyone would have given her up, but from the article and my own observation, I've suspected she might have been too much to handle for someone else. Particularly if they like to have things in order and have issues with things being broken. I love my cat to death, but I won't lie, she's a handful. I've watched her break glasses and mugs for what appeared to be entertainment.

Coping strategies for someone else with one of these cats:

• If you don't want something broken or moved, fill it with rocks. Just make it too heavy to get knocked over
• This type of cat will mess up your things of you leave them out. Try living a very minimilaist lifestyle and put away as many things as possible
• If you want peace and sleep at night, simply don't leave anything out and around that makes noise (particularly plastic bags on the floor)
• Invest in a bedroom door. You and your precious sleep go on one side of the door, your precious cat goes on the other side of the door if he or she wants to make noise at night
• Play with your cat. This type of cat sleeps hard, so if you play with him or her during the day, you can wear him or her out.
• Get your cat a companion. The cats will play with each other and keep each other company, which is especially good for this very social sort of cat.
  
• Be patient. Yes, it can be very annoying to come home and find all of your things on the floor or in hiataus. Or to watch your cat break one of your favourite mugs for entertainment. But remember all of the love and loyalty that you get in return. Every time I sit down, Celeste is on my lap. Every night she sleeps in my bed with me. When I am sad, she comes over to comfort me. If mugs are more important to you than this unconditional variety of love, don't even try owning this type of cat!