a public service announcement from figaro

I am helping spread this message around - some of you may know of kids (or adults) who want a new animal friend for Christmas or the New Year. The cats' owner has a Philippine mobile but it doesn't say where the kittens can be picked up, so do call them. I do hope he/she considers bringing the kittens to the shelter as a last resort - which is closer to a good home than the streets. I wish my human could take them but she says her lifestyle only permits her to take care of one cat. That of course, is me.

"My partner and I foster kittens, and we usually do a good job of it. I have a batch of four kittens now. Unfortunately, I contracted an illness that has left me weak for weeks. I'm still not well, and my partner does not do chores or cat care very well. The doctor also says I should get rid of my cats, but I can't bear to part with them just yet. Yes, this happens to me a lot, but I just can't stand to see kittens so young nobody wants to take care of them. My four now-roughly-two month old foster kittens urgently need a new home. They're healthy, eating solid food and kitten milk replacement formula, and are playful and happy. I really don't want to put them into a shelter when they've known a good home for most of their lives.

Please help save the kittens from a shelter and give them a home for the new year. For pics, please visit http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v474/FireChild/kittens_foster2008/. You can contact either of us if you should want to take them. Paki-kalat naman please ang email na ito. I need to get rid of them within the week, and if I don't do it, my family will. Contact:

Fire - fire.sia@gmail.com
Mym - 0917 8166762 dark.beloved@gmail.com"

If you can at least help pass this on, the owners would appreciate it and so would I. Thanks and holiday cheer to all cat- and humankind!

Figaro: "My eternal Christmas wish is for every stray kitten in
this world to find a cozy and loving home like I have."

Gurrreeeetings!

For you - whom I wasn't able to greet last week, who might not get my text tomorrow, and whom I've already hugged and kissed or texted or emailed but I'd still like to wish over and over again...


Postscript: In the background as I was doing this, RJ UR 105.9 was playing Pinoy Rock & Roll and local jazz arrangements Christmas songs. I'm impressed at the repertoire, they've been playing this set for the past couple of hours at least.

and yet another cat book

Don't you just hate it when for every other Christmas gift you buy, you see something so perfect for yourself? Just when I thought I was done doing that and am safe from doing so while shopping for that last remaining present at the children's section - I find this.

My Nine Lives by Clio
by Marjorie Priceman (synopsis and reviews here.)

What a treasure for a steal!

• Excellent rare addition to the cat lover's book collection;
• Beautiful illustrations;
• Thick, glossy pages;
• Neat concept - the book is supposedly a cat's account of its nine lives, dating back to 3000 B.C. and placing it in important events in history. My favorite "life" that I really cracked up over was how the cat was the major mover in the birth of jazz music in New Orleans (makes perfect sense actually!);
• As a children's book, it does not only teach a bit of world history, but also tidbits on time-telling, the alphabet, art, music, even astronomy. The entire book was in the cat's point of view but an appendix explains the historical facts behind the cat's "entries". It even has a disclaimer on some logical inconsistencies (used on purpose in the name of poetic license);
• Adults can very well learn a thing or two on some historical trivia.

Here's a sample of what's inside. Obviously, this book won me over with a Figaro lookalike in it (see bottom right). So as far as Christmas shopping goes , I've decided that the best recipient of this book... is me. I bought my niece something else. ;)


Rating: ****

waiting for the phone to ring

While people these days would buy the latest iPhone or whatever new thingamajig available, I get a kick out of... this retro Model 2500 telephone.

Been meaning to get one of these from my suking communications equipment warehouse (where I used to get these US-made cordless phones for a bargain) so when my former boss wanted to have coffee near that place today, I grabbed the chance to drop by. I was actually on the lookout for a more avante-garde shaped and mod-colored phone (my uncle got a non-working unit similar to this Ericofon from this store before), but there was none. It saddened me a little that the place now carries less items on display since the last time I went there. I thought I was leaving emptyhanded until I saw this one on the almost hidden back shelf.

And yes, it works, folks! I read that in the olden days, telephone companies were responsible for the handset maintenance that's why they designed these old models to be practically maintenance-free. The lady at the shop told me they also carry the rotary version, but those can't make outgoing calls, pity. (Though if the price is right, I might just go back there to get it anyways, who knows what price it would fetch in the future right).

I like the sturdy base that doesn't get pulled with the handset when I pick up the phone from bed - and my little niece won't be able to easily throw it around either. And that classic ringtone! I tested it a few times just to hear it ring and Figaro freaked out hahaha. He even spat and almost scratched me when I put him near the phone. He always liked to hang out on my nightstand so hours later, he began to inch his way beside it, when he decided the phone was safe. Not! The prankster that his owner was let the phone ring, making him jump out of his skin and as far away from the phone as possible.

So I asked my friends to call me here instead should they feel the itch to text. Literally, I'd like to hear this phone ring. In the keeping with having this vintage phone, wouldn't it be also nice to have one of those old-fashioned telebabad toll-free conversations for a change? ;)

***

Speaking of vintage, we discovered this new store called Vint at the A. Venue Mall along Makati Ave. (near Kalayaan Ave.). Great stuff ranging from antique suitcases, electric fans, TVs, radios, clocks, telephones, bicycles and books. It has a more museum-like feel that say, Vintage Pop or Evangelista and the prices are far less accessible but everything's here and properly displayed - it's worth visiting for the experience.

notes from the other side

One of my blog entries posted on Multiply has been the butt of spam comments lately. To date, six different bogus users posted the same comment - if you could call it a comment - because it's almost twice as long as most of my blog entries.

I've deleted the comments but there are still traces of them shown as "comment deleted at the request of the thread owner." And who wouldn't delete them - not only were they long and totally irrelevant, but they're actually - ads for an erectile dysfunction drug! Talk about unsightly, eh? Errrrrr, that Pablo Banila phenomenon that plagued Multiply and other sites was much more creative and amusing. Apparently, these spammers haven't heard of target market definition just yet.

I've already reported these incidents to Multiply and attempted to block the users. But since these are different user accounts, I don't think I will see the end of it whatever I do. I guess I just have to go on deleting every time it appears and thank high heavens that they only target that particular entry, one that's not so important to me (knock on wood).

I've also posted on the user support group a suggestion on comment moderation, or at least word verification to prevent spam comments like these. Was a bit irked by some of the counter-suggestions of setting blog posts as private or disabling comments if I don't want these things to happen. I know all about private posts, all of my pictures are limited to people I personally know. Comment moderation, some say, defeats the purpose of having an open discussion. Okay, point taken. I enabled comments because comments from anybody are indeed welcome. Still, no matter how public the posts are, they should still be entitled to protection from totally irrelevant ones by letting the site owner screen the comments before they get published. It's being done by the other blogsites such as this anyway, so I hope Multiply can follow suit.