My Cat is Turning Into a Duck

Yesterday our cat, Cookie, came back into the house after having been out terrorizing the neighborhood strays. If you lived in Taipei you would know that for Cookie this is a full time job demanding a great deal of her attention. Last year was easier for her because there was one huge stray tomcat in the area that controlled the entire block with a vengeance. That cat was really tough! One night it was outside our bedroom window yowling loudly for ages. Even though I opend the window and yelled back at it and made lots of (what I thought) “scary to a cat” noises this thing just [...] . . . → Read More: My Cat is Turning Into a Duck

The Chinese Year of the Rabbit Or The Year Of Unintended Consequences

On February 3rd we began the Year of the Rabbit, the New Year in the Chinese lunar calendar, saying bye-bye to the Year of the Rat. If you are born in the Year of the Rabbit you’re gracious, kind, sensitive, soft-spoken, amiable, elegant, reserved, cautious, artistic, thorough, tender, self-assured, shy, astute, compassionate, lucky, flexible, moody, detached, superficial, self-indulgent, opportunistic, and stubborn. But not necessarily in that order. What does this new year mean to non-Asians? Depends on your viewpoint. One thing it means, if you’re an Aussie, is unintended consequences. When I was a child, learning about my great . . . → Read More: The Chinese Year of the Rabbit Or The Year Of Unintended Consequences

April Fool’s Day Came And Went…

We missed it. Damn! Well, there’s always next year… There have been some classic pranks pulled on this day in the past but for sheer style I don’t think this offering from the BBC in 1957 can be beaten. Apparently, afterwards they were besieged with calls from people who really wanted to know where to get the seeds or cuttings so they could do their own. Reminds me of when I was a little sprog and my father used to come home every third weekend with a sack full of oysters. I asked him where they came from and . . . → Read More: April Fool’s Day Came And Went…