Geeky Cat Miusings

Can i blog with cell? Si! But it is challenging. Going to book club and eat ice cream.

I lucked out on Friday…my friend got some free tickets to see the Wise Guys at the Just For Laughs Festival. It was hilarious — the line up of Italian comedians poked a lot of fun at Italians. All in good fun though. Excellent insight as to how an Italian would have effectively dealt with Osama Bin Laden. The street festival was pretty good too.

We popped in to a convenience store for some drinks. The owner was sitting behind the counter, his cigarette shelves were covered as is required by law in Ontario. But he had a cigarette behind his ear. I pointed out that he advertising cigarettes in his own sly way. My friend asked if she could sign the cigarette so that she could verify if the cigarette was strickly there for marketing purposes. He declined.

Saturday looked liked it was going to be a stormy day but the cold front cleared the skies in time for the BBQ. I finally got a chance to meet the lady who has five ferrets. She recently adopted her last ferret and had a ferret shower to welcome her to the clan. I must say I learned a lot from her.

Sunday was a great day to take in the Beaches Jazz Festival. I spent the afternoon sitting in Kew Gardens listening to Brandi Disterheft, Anne Lindsay, and Lady Son y Articulo Veinte. I didn’t remember the name but I recognized Brandi when I saw her — I saw her playing with the Richard Whiteman Trio earlier this year — she is good.

It was a great weekend to be out and about. I enjoyed walking around the beaches though I was somewhat lost without good signage. I love stopping for Dufflet pastries and exotic tea blends. I missed applying sunscreen to a few areas on my back so I’m slightly burned, but not too bad. There has to be a better way to apply sunscreen to the back, don’t you think?

I wish every weekend had food, music, and laughter in hearty doses!

When you look at the photo above are you thinking to yourself, “Sweet Kitty, why is she posting a picture of her dirty litter box?”

First of all, it is not my kitty box…. I found it on the web. And it is not dirty…not at all; it is edible and apparently delicious too. This is a photo Kitty Litter Cake and what appears to the untrained eye as poo in the litter box is actually tootsie rolls.

It is an interesting idea and some people have commented that it is great for Halloween and it is a yummy dessert. The receipe is even posted on epicurious.

I am curious to know if you would care to try Kitty Litter Cake, or would you give it a pass? Personally, I think I would give it a pass. I may even have to remove the photo from my blog before we all permently lose our appetites. But I post here for now for all of us to share in all kitty-related things.

Yesterday I took the bus home and I kind of noticed that the drive was a bit erratic. The bus driver was hitting the brakes pretty hard and a woman who was standing slightly lost her balance. It wasn’t blatantly bad driving, but you notice it. I was pretty focused on my book and just saw this in the corner of my eye. The woman beside me nudged me and asked, “he sleeping?” I looked at the driver and indeed his eyes were stuggling to stay open. They would flutter close and then he would pull them open. Fortunately we were close to the subway and were getting off, but that was scary.

A couple of months ago I bought a new Sony Ericsson Z750a cellphone. About a month after that I received a text message from Fido that they would give me 3 months of free video on demand and free radio on demand. Sounds very cool so I try it on my phone but the message on my cellphone says it does not support this feature. I reply to the text message that I cannot use the system, even though realize that they will never get back to me with this communication system. So a few days later I call up their customer service and ask them if they can help sort up the problem. The customer support person was not aware of the promotional offer and claims that Fido is giving me free video messaging for three months. I let it go at that.

Weeks later I get a phone call from Fido saying how happy they are to have me as a customer and if I have any questions or concerns. Of course I have questions!!! I decide to limit it to two questions so as to not scare the guy off.

First question I ask I thought would be easy: How do I stop the screen saver from coming on every 5 seconds? It is difficult to read the news when the screen goes dark to save energy. My workaround is to push the down button every 5 seconds but I’m sure their must be a setting on the phone to set an acceptable timeout period. Unfortunately, his answer was that I would need to go to the Fido retailer. Not a good answer from Mr. Fido Rep. “Hello, from which company are you calling?” I want to shout.

But I’m so mild mannered that I smoothly move on to the next question…. the one we all want to know the answer to…How do I access the Video on Demand that they have so thoughtfully provided me unlimited access to in order to get me hooked. The guy had to go talk to the tech support for this and he would come back and ask me if I could continue to hold. I patiently waited. After waiting 50 wasted minutes on the phone (in total) I was informed that my cellphone does not support this feature! Nobody can explain to me why the phone is advertised as having this feature and it has the navigation buttons for this feature. But somehow this feature is not supported on my fabulous 3G phone.

I don’t get it.

Maybe wasting gas and time going round and round searching for a parking spot will be a thing of the past when Smart Parking gives drivers a heads up on free parking spots. Or at least that is the hope of the city of San Francisco when it converts 6,000 of its 24,000 metered parking spaces into “smart” spots. These special parking spots are being fitted with sensors that will allow drivers to find available spaces over a city-wide wi-fi network. The network will show available spots on drivers’ cell phones and on dynamic street sign displays. I am a bit worried about this “smart” plan. First of all, drivers shouldn’t be talking on cellphone, let alone looking at them when driving. I see lots of accident potential here. Secondly, when there is a high demand for parking spaces there’ll be many cars rushing to the one free spot, increasing the road rage potential because these drivers are expecting a free spot because their cellphone told them there was a free spot. Compare that to the current system where there are several cars scattered around the parking lot, hoping to find a free spot.

I think a “smart car” of the future is one that can be folded up and stored in my purse.

I saw an amazing twelve shows at the Fringe this year. Here are my Fringe notes:

Every Girl Wants A Skirt Like Frida’s - A good story about taking possession of one’s own life. Show’s words of advice: Be yourself and never grow a uni-brow, even if it is fashionable.

Wild About Harry - a very good show — lots of good music interpreted and danced by some interesting characters. I thought it was cool that I sat beside the two of the actors from this show when I saw Gameshow in another theatre. I’m sorry I didn’t compliment them on their great show when I had the chance. Show’s words of advice: Jeepers Creepers, You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby.

Freedom 85 - I loved it. I was fascinated about how two actors could play so many different characters in a play and the way an actress transformed her posture and voice as she seamlessly played both the mother and the son. Show’s words of advice: Freedom is awesome, especially when you don’t commute or have babies.

Gameshow - The Musical — Is my favourite show at the Fringe this year. Everyone is bored silly in a town in northern Ontario. When a gameshow comes to town, there is a lot of scheming to win the game since everyone wants to get a girl and get out of town. It has been selected to play at the Diesel Playhouse http://www.dieselplayhouse.com/
Show’s words of advice: Be very suspicious of gameshow hosts - even if they seem nice and benevolent when they advocate spaying and neutering your pets.

Follow Your Bliss - Funny show about bridesmaids sabotaging their friend’s wedding because they are in love with the bride and groom. Show’s words of advice: pick your bridesmaids very, very carefully.

A Girl Called Ralph - good but you might be hit by flying bread. Audience may reconsider eating at their parent’s house after viewing. Many Italian children were told they were having chicken for dinner, but later found out it was a really cuddly rabbit or a fluffy tailed squirrel and ended up doubting everything their parents ever told them. Show’s words of advice: Don’t trust parents, teachers, doctors, cashiers, brothers, or people with a uni-brow.

Babes in Danger - Kind of boring. Only a few interesting points but at least they allow you to bring drinks into the venue! The show included a very weird movie about using babies to save the sharks. Show’s words of advice: Babies are dangerous. Lock them up!

You Mean Now? - Is very interesting. It examines our obsession with time and the impact one moment has on our awareness. I loved the juxtaposition of a fly’s life against a human’s life. If you had a 24 hour lifespan, what would you do with your precious time? Show’s words of advice: Watch out for hazards or you won’t get to enjoy your brief time on earth.

The Barbecue King - Funny!!!! “In this thrilla-by-the-grilla a stressed out cottager battles his nemesis in a winner-take-all cooking competition.” I loved the teenager’s coming out song — she told her parents that she always knew that she was different from the rest….cause she is vegetarian. Show’s words of advice: Memorize and then eat your secret recipe — because there are spies everywhere.

Lupe Undone - This was at the Honest Ed’s Loading Dock. It is very good though a bit smelly from the nearby garbage. Warning — it includes audience participation. Lupe pulled a guy from the audience to dance with her on her bed. She invited three girls to drink pina coladas with her and partake in girl talk as part of the show. She was playing the part of David Mirvish’s mistress, so the area was kind of appropriate. Show’s words of advice: Always have food and drinks handy. Even if you can’t get the man, there is always someone else to wine and dine.

Between Commutes — It took the drudgery of getting to work, doing office work, shuffling papers, and getting a papercut and turned it all to high Shakespearean drama. Very funny. Show’s words of advice: Quit work and never commute again.

Mr. Fox — A one man show about being a mascot for a radio station. Show’s words of advice: Forget a career. Go live in the woods.

Did you know that the Fringe Festival is running? The Fringe is an affordable and accessible avenue for independent artists to showcase their work. There are about 140 different shows running in 29 venues and the playlist includes something for every taste. Most of the shows run about one hour or so making it easy to see many shows in one evening. There are a lot of great shows to be seen, and what is especially nice is that all the seats are good…no matter where you sit, you will always be able to see the actor’s face and their expressions. Exploring the different venues is part of the charm of the Fringe and I’ll be going to see some plays this year in places I have never been before and some places I never expected to see a play eg., Honest Ed’s Loading Dock.

I am still surprised that many Torontonians have not been or even heard of the Fringe. They have been putting on shows in the city for 20 years now and I look forward to joining them every year.

I have had my new cell phone for a month now and I still think it is such a fabulous gadget. I had two hours to kill before the July 4^th dinner celebrations last night so I sat down in a cafe over looking Yonge St., which looks totally different than the Younge Street in Halifax, and caught up on the news on my cell phone. I was planning to go to the Fringe Festival on Saturday and couldn’t stop thinking about buying the tickets. You know how sometimes something you need to do just sticks in you head until you get it done? I realized I could look up the telephone number with my phone and just call them. I love the way you can just select a number from the search engine - there is no need to type in the numbers. So I called and bought my tickets. Once that was done, the thought was no longer nagging me and I could just concentrate on my book. Then, as I was deep into the book, my phone beeps. I think it is a text message but when I looked it was a reminder of my dinner date. How cool is that!

If you are foodie you might be wondering what I had for dinner. I had Alize’s Summerlicious menu — $25 for dinner:
Chilled carrot and Honey Bisque topped with mint sour cream
Alize Ravioli Famosi filled with spinach, ricotta, mascarpone in a tarragon rose sauce
Apple crumble cake

I should have taken photos to remember it by. It was very good.

I hope everyone had a fabulous long weekend. It is great to have Monday and Tuesday off to celebrate Canada Day AND to get paid to have fun!

My neighbours were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and asked me to join in on their celebrations. They had lots of food but since they didn’t speak a lot of English and I don’t speak any Portguese, I was glad to be called away to visit Port Hope and see The Buddy Holly Story at the Capitol Theatre. Buddy was such a great song writer and singer. It is just tragic that the world lost this star when he was only 22. I heard the song American Pie many times on the old 45 when I was young — and I think I still have it — I guess one of my older sisters was a fan. I didn’t know that the Don McLean song was in part about the death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper in a 1959 plane crash. It is quite interesting to learn about a song’s background: what was the motivation, the environment, the mood. It changes the way you feel about a song. I found American Pie engrossing before but many of the lyrics are open to interpretation and so it remains mysterious.

I spent Sunday and Monday floating around Toronto with friends taking in a bit of the Gay Pride Parade, watching movies, going to cafes, missing the jazz festival because of timing, and just walking and soaking up the sun.

Tuesday was a funny day. My friends decided to spend Canada Day shopping in the US. It is unpatriotic but it just happened to be a good day to do so. I missed my opportunity to go last year and so I really wanted to go since I have never been to Buffalo, mostly for the experience rather than needing to do any shopping, since my closet has more clothes than some of the boutiques I visited on Queen Street. And so, on my day off I wake up at 5 in the morning to get ready and go to my friend’s place because we wanted to have an early start to miss traffic. We exchanged cell phone numbers and discussed the route and did some general preparation. My friend still had my tupperware from Passover and really wanted to return it to me, so she put it in the car so that I can take it with me when she drops me off.

When we stopped at the gas station, my driver said that she forgot her registration papers, so we went back to her place and we told the others that we will meet them near the US Canada bridge. Along the way we decided that it would be better if we didn’t go to the US (I’m shortening the story here) and went shopping at Vaughan Mills instead. So while I was shopping in Vaughan my lucky tupperware was out in Buffalo. Does anyone else out there have tupperware that has a more exciting life than you do?

Truthfully, Tuesday was just fabulous. After the shortened shopping trip where I probably saved myself a tonne of money I went downtown and did some people watching. There were some folks doing some Celtic dancing and an artist drawing on the sidewalk. Then I got to do some of my own drawing. This is a first for me: I stopped at Tan Cafe for some refreshments. It is a really charming place and they use Fair Trade Coffee. I used their washroom for obvious reasons and there was writing and drawing all over the walls! The walls are blackboard and they provide patrons with chalk so that they can do whatever you want on the walls. It is interesting that you don’t see any of the typical graffitti that covers typical washroom stall walls here.

There is no need to bring a book when you visit this washroom. One of my favourite quotes is “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”

When I finally emerge from the stall, I request something exotic from the very friendly cafe owner: a cappucino and avocado iced drink and a cashew cookie. She suggests I sit in the back patio and promises that if I fall asleep she can wake me up in a half hour if I need it. I smile and wonder how could I fall asleep, I had a Red Bull earlier (I found it medicinal tasting). When I opened the back door I understand how I could fall asleep. There were two hammocks hanging between posts and there was no one there! I lay in one just swinging around and totally chilling out with my avoccino (I think that is what she called it) and my book. I spent a couple of hours there enjoying the relaxed atmosphere, looking up at the dwarf statues and the clouds, and ordering more exotic drinks like steamed milk with almond flavouring. Those were the happiest hours of my weekend and I didn’t even miss my tupperware.