Apparently, the following is a very famous You Tube video that never hit our radars. It's pretty damn cute, and the sequel is even better. What's super weird is that they have made merchandise around this cat playing the piano. Some people will stop at nothing to achieve kitty fame and fortune.
8.9.07
7.9.07
Running Related, Part II
Another running blogger/podcaster is a guy calling himself Steve Runner who hosts Phedippidations. Steve focuses on running tips and techniques, fueling, heart rate monitors, the technical side of running. To tell the truth, I find the phedippidation podcasts boring since they only ever talk about running, but he has another project on the go that is truly fantastic.
Steve Runner organises the Phedippidations World Wide Half Marathon and 5km and this year marks the second race in the annual series. The PWWHM tagline is Think Global - Run Local. Here's the deal, you sign up at www.worldwidehalf.com then run a half-marathon or 5km distance in your local area any day between October 6th and October 22nd and record your time at the site after your race. If there's no race locally within those dates, organise a run among your friends along a 13.1 mile or 5km route you've mapped out. I love the tie-in to sustainability issues, and the way the event tries to bring together runners all over the world to share their running experiences. It's totally free and you can pledge funds for a charity already listed or list a new charity that is dear to your heart. You can form virtual teams if you like, and PWWHM offers a virtual goody bag of discount offers and other stuff that entrants have donated or suggested.
As usual, I'll be running the Royal Victoria Half Marathon on Thanksgiving long weekend which falls within the date range of the World Wide Half. It's not truly local since we do have to take a ferry and a few buses to get there, but there's at least no flight involved and I'm already registered, so there you go. I registered for the PWWHM last week and, surprisingly, I'm the first Vancouver entrant. That really surprises me. So I'm going to promote it locally among the folks I know who run. Maybe we should start up a Vancouver team.
Another cool thing that PWWHM have organised around the virtual event is a website (The Extra Mile Podcast) where entrants can record a short, 2-minute podcast describing their training or their thoughts and feelings about the upcoming races. I'd like to try to record one of my own to submit; I'll let you know if/when that happens. You can hear the submissions on the blog or subscribe to the podcast through iTunes.
One more thing, did you know Rocco is running now? He's been following a Running Room program to train for a 10km distance and as it turns out, he really likes it and is quite good at it. At the Victoria weekend they also offer an 8km race. Rocco and Dora will be running the 8km. Yay! I'm sure if they wanted to they could track their 5km time on their own and enter their results at the World Wide Half site for the 5km distance. It's like accomplishing two races by running one, see? Clever.
In my opinion, a great initiative to support. Maybe next year we'll skip the RVM and organise a 13.1 mile and 5km group in our neighbourhood. I'd likely spend way, way too long designing a t-shirt though and the whole thesis thing would be thrown out the window. Huh, maybe this isn't such a great idea after all... Anyway, Think global - run local!
Steve Runner organises the Phedippidations World Wide Half Marathon and 5km and this year marks the second race in the annual series. The PWWHM tagline is Think Global - Run Local. Here's the deal, you sign up at www.worldwidehalf.com then run a half-marathon or 5km distance in your local area any day between October 6th and October 22nd and record your time at the site after your race. If there's no race locally within those dates, organise a run among your friends along a 13.1 mile or 5km route you've mapped out. I love the tie-in to sustainability issues, and the way the event tries to bring together runners all over the world to share their running experiences. It's totally free and you can pledge funds for a charity already listed or list a new charity that is dear to your heart. You can form virtual teams if you like, and PWWHM offers a virtual goody bag of discount offers and other stuff that entrants have donated or suggested.As usual, I'll be running the Royal Victoria Half Marathon on Thanksgiving long weekend which falls within the date range of the World Wide Half. It's not truly local since we do have to take a ferry and a few buses to get there, but there's at least no flight involved and I'm already registered, so there you go. I registered for the PWWHM last week and, surprisingly, I'm the first Vancouver entrant. That really surprises me. So I'm going to promote it locally among the folks I know who run. Maybe we should start up a Vancouver team.
Another cool thing that PWWHM have organised around the virtual event is a website (The Extra Mile Podcast) where entrants can record a short, 2-minute podcast describing their training or their thoughts and feelings about the upcoming races. I'd like to try to record one of my own to submit; I'll let you know if/when that happens. You can hear the submissions on the blog or subscribe to the podcast through iTunes.
One more thing, did you know Rocco is running now? He's been following a Running Room program to train for a 10km distance and as it turns out, he really likes it and is quite good at it. At the Victoria weekend they also offer an 8km race. Rocco and Dora will be running the 8km. Yay! I'm sure if they wanted to they could track their 5km time on their own and enter their results at the World Wide Half site for the 5km distance. It's like accomplishing two races by running one, see? Clever.
In my opinion, a great initiative to support. Maybe next year we'll skip the RVM and organise a 13.1 mile and 5km group in our neighbourhood. I'd likely spend way, way too long designing a t-shirt though and the whole thesis thing would be thrown out the window. Huh, maybe this isn't such a great idea after all... Anyway, Think global - run local!
2.9.07
Running Related, Part I
Against the advice of elite athletes and their supporters (Toni, I'm looking at you!), I do usually run with my iPod Shuffle. Of course, when I'm lucky enough to be running with warm blooded panting partners, I leave the Shuffle at home, but my long runs are getting up around the 20km mark these days and that's a long time to entertain yourself when I have to run alone. I used to check out audio books from the library and rip them to my iTunes to listen while pounding the pavement. That got tedious, especially since public media like library CDs get treated like shit and are often scratched and useless. I got with the times - I found podcasts.
Virtually anyone with a little internet knowhow can create and distribute a podcast, and the running community got on board fairly quickly. Now I subscribe to a few running podcasts from people like Nigel at Running From the Reaper and I get virtual company on my runs. You can hear the podcaster breathing and hear his or her feet striking the ground, and outside noises like birdsong and traffic often get confusing since it can be hard to tell if they are in your own environment or were previously recorded in the British countryside by Nigel. I really enjoy the running podcasts and they often are very informative about running tips and upcoming races or events; more often they are just good company though the 'conversation' is at the mercy of whatever the podcaster is thinking about that day. I also find that my pace adjusts to match the pace of the podcaster, which usually means I speed up a bit to match Nigel's pace.
I also subscribe to a few podcasts of radio shows, from CBC and from NPR. On CBC I like Quirks and Quarks, even though the summer has been a season of reruns of shows I listened to in January and February, and Ideas. On NPR I now subscribe to This American Life, a show devoted to the uncanny inanity of life in the northwest hemisphere and often featuring the hilarious David Sedaris, and Fresh Air, a more political and somewhat serious show that hosts interesting people covering a variety of topics, some topical and some random. This week, This American Life looked at romantic break ups. I really enjoyed the podcast so I thought I'd host it here for some of you to listen to while you're doing the dishes or flying to Ghana or cleaning up cat puke or even, dare I say it, running!
The MP3
The podcast features a girl who is trying to recover from a bad breakup. She claims the relationship was the most cheesy, corny relationship ever, even to the point that they listened to Phil Collins together and eventually both honestly began to appreciate the Genesis band mate's romantic croonings. So, somehow, the girl gets a hold of Phil Collins' contact info, and phones him! She tells him about the breakup and asks him about his heartbreaks, and decides to write a breakup song. Eventually she writes and records a song, and phones him back to play it for him. This segment was really quite hilarious. Who the hell phones Phil Collins? Anyway, the podcast also includes a child of divorced parents recorded twenty years ago and now, at the age of 29, a father who is currently divorcing his wife, and some other minor contributions. An interesting listen. I hope you appreciate it too. If you have any trouble listening to the MP3, you can search for This American Life on iTunes Podcasts. Shouldn't be hard to find.
Virtually anyone with a little internet knowhow can create and distribute a podcast, and the running community got on board fairly quickly. Now I subscribe to a few running podcasts from people like Nigel at Running From the Reaper and I get virtual company on my runs. You can hear the podcaster breathing and hear his or her feet striking the ground, and outside noises like birdsong and traffic often get confusing since it can be hard to tell if they are in your own environment or were previously recorded in the British countryside by Nigel. I really enjoy the running podcasts and they often are very informative about running tips and upcoming races or events; more often they are just good company though the 'conversation' is at the mercy of whatever the podcaster is thinking about that day. I also find that my pace adjusts to match the pace of the podcaster, which usually means I speed up a bit to match Nigel's pace.
I also subscribe to a few podcasts of radio shows, from CBC and from NPR. On CBC I like Quirks and Quarks, even though the summer has been a season of reruns of shows I listened to in January and February, and Ideas. On NPR I now subscribe to This American Life, a show devoted to the uncanny inanity of life in the northwest hemisphere and often featuring the hilarious David Sedaris, and Fresh Air, a more political and somewhat serious show that hosts interesting people covering a variety of topics, some topical and some random. This week, This American Life looked at romantic break ups. I really enjoyed the podcast so I thought I'd host it here for some of you to listen to while you're doing the dishes or flying to Ghana or cleaning up cat puke or even, dare I say it, running!
The MP3
The podcast features a girl who is trying to recover from a bad breakup. She claims the relationship was the most cheesy, corny relationship ever, even to the point that they listened to Phil Collins together and eventually both honestly began to appreciate the Genesis band mate's romantic croonings. So, somehow, the girl gets a hold of Phil Collins' contact info, and phones him! She tells him about the breakup and asks him about his heartbreaks, and decides to write a breakup song. Eventually she writes and records a song, and phones him back to play it for him. This segment was really quite hilarious. Who the hell phones Phil Collins? Anyway, the podcast also includes a child of divorced parents recorded twenty years ago and now, at the age of 29, a father who is currently divorcing his wife, and some other minor contributions. An interesting listen. I hope you appreciate it too. If you have any trouble listening to the MP3, you can search for This American Life on iTunes Podcasts. Shouldn't be hard to find.
27.8.07
Start spreadin' the news!
New Yawk, New Yawk!
It's on! We've started planning and purchasing for our autumn vacation. This year we really haven't travelled anywhere, mostly because it's been one hell of a year for school work, work work, parent parties, sick cats, and other expenses. [Mom, the parent party was GREAT - don't read this the wrong way!] Well, we're rewarding ourselves for getting through my comp exams and tough work for Rocco with a two week adventure.
First, we'll bus to Seattle and hang out with Rocco's cousin for a night. Then we'll fly to Charleston, South Carolina, to attend an Irish-Brazilian wedding in the Sow-th. Can you dream up a wedding that sounds like more fun? The groom is an Irish friend of Rocco's so we'll see some great friends who are coming over for the wedding as well. I pledge to drink a mint julep on a veranda at least once! From Charleston we fly to NYC.
Yep, New York City! I've never been and have always, always wanted to experience it. It looks like we'll spend maybe five nights in the city and I do have some idea of what to do and see but I need tips too! The Guggenheim, the Met, Broadway, Schlotzky's Deli, maybe the statue of liberty, what else???
From New York we'll go to Toronto to stay with some of Rocco's TO friends who he hasn't seen in far too long. I haven't been back to TO since he moved West so I'm really looking forward to visiting the city again and the few friends I know who haven't moved away. Also, the last weekend of our two week trip I'll be in a conference in Toronto, delivering that paper on gooey sustainability (the gross, wobbly bits of environmental behaviour that we have to come to grips with) that required the book on fecal matter through the ages. This conference is exactly the kind of scholarship I love and want to pursue, and it promises to be fantastic. Plus they gave me a $200 bursary for travel expenses - a drop in the bucket of the larger trip but every little bit helps! After the conference, and after numerous meals and other fun times with Rocco's friends, we'll finally head back to Vancouver.
YAY! I would leave today except that there's much to do before we go and the sun is finally shining in Vancouver so I'll soak it up while I can. Please, please send me ideas and tips for New York. I don't want to come home and have people ask me, "You mean you didn't see ______? That's like skipping New York altogether!" Sex and the City references, music, dance, theatre, food, it's all acceptable and desired so, c'mon, cough it up!
Oh, an update! Rocco had the brilliant idea that Savannah, Georgia, is very accessible from Charleston, SC, so we might spend a couple nights there before going to New York City. If you're going South, might as well be the true South!
It's on! We've started planning and purchasing for our autumn vacation. This year we really haven't travelled anywhere, mostly because it's been one hell of a year for school work, work work, parent parties, sick cats, and other expenses. [Mom, the parent party was GREAT - don't read this the wrong way!] Well, we're rewarding ourselves for getting through my comp exams and tough work for Rocco with a two week adventure.
First, we'll bus to Seattle and hang out with Rocco's cousin for a night. Then we'll fly to Charleston, South Carolina, to attend an Irish-Brazilian wedding in the Sow-th. Can you dream up a wedding that sounds like more fun? The groom is an Irish friend of Rocco's so we'll see some great friends who are coming over for the wedding as well. I pledge to drink a mint julep on a veranda at least once! From Charleston we fly to NYC.
Yep, New York City! I've never been and have always, always wanted to experience it. It looks like we'll spend maybe five nights in the city and I do have some idea of what to do and see but I need tips too! The Guggenheim, the Met, Broadway, Schlotzky's Deli, maybe the statue of liberty, what else???From New York we'll go to Toronto to stay with some of Rocco's TO friends who he hasn't seen in far too long. I haven't been back to TO since he moved West so I'm really looking forward to visiting the city again and the few friends I know who haven't moved away. Also, the last weekend of our two week trip I'll be in a conference in Toronto, delivering that paper on gooey sustainability (the gross, wobbly bits of environmental behaviour that we have to come to grips with) that required the book on fecal matter through the ages. This conference is exactly the kind of scholarship I love and want to pursue, and it promises to be fantastic. Plus they gave me a $200 bursary for travel expenses - a drop in the bucket of the larger trip but every little bit helps! After the conference, and after numerous meals and other fun times with Rocco's friends, we'll finally head back to Vancouver.
YAY! I would leave today except that there's much to do before we go and the sun is finally shining in Vancouver so I'll soak it up while I can. Please, please send me ideas and tips for New York. I don't want to come home and have people ask me, "You mean you didn't see ______? That's like skipping New York altogether!" Sex and the City references, music, dance, theatre, food, it's all acceptable and desired so, c'mon, cough it up!
Oh, an update! Rocco had the brilliant idea that Savannah, Georgia, is very accessible from Charleston, SC, so we might spend a couple nights there before going to New York City. If you're going South, might as well be the true South!
12.8.07
Successful integration!
With minimal fuss and fighting, Sophie and Franklin (?) finally met face to face today and are already sharing nap space! We introduced them through a small gap in the door for about an hour, then gave that up and allowed them into the room together. They've been separated for about four days and have had lots of time to smell each other and hiss under doors, etc. They chased each other around for a couple hours but no blood was shed and Sophie even seemed to be holding back a little, content to chase but not to kill. Seriously, we are amazed and delighted! I think they should still spend the night separated just in case, but otherwise, a successful integration!By the way, no need to point it out, we do recognize that we now have a cat who disappears on our sofa and a cat who disappears on the grey carpet. I'm not sure what that says about us...
10.8.07
snuggle muffin
Disclaimer: The subject of this blog post is crafted solely to antagonize Miranda and is not intended to represent my usual manner of address for things cute and cuddly.
Second disclaimer: the cat does have eyeballs, he's just quick on the squint when the flash goes off. We'll attempt to get a face shot with open eyes soon.
9.8.07
Our new cat
We picked up a little grey feller from Forgotten Felines last night. He's lovely, playful, impish, cuddly, and still relatively young, about 7 months. He needs naming! Help! For the next few days we are keeping him separate from Sophie, though she definitely knows he's there. Within an hour of his arrival she puked all over the living room to show her disgust with the situation. I'm sure she'll come around, in time.
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