"Don't they have Maine Coons out your neck of the woods? They run in the 25 lb range. Now those are cats as big as dogs! Hell, they're as big as burros."

So.. theoretically.. one could ride them, all He-Man like?

Edited by author 06-01-2004 09:09 PM
Okay, I've been gone for a bit (the tragedy of losing my wallet on Sat. became slightly less tragic with its semi-miraculous return today, albeit sans the $73 it originally contained--hmmm, does my friendship with young Zefiel [& the attendant perspective therein] make it even worse, or better, to know that was what, 657 pesos? ;), so this will be back-tracking a tad. But given the timeliness with which I send Bill's bday cards, I know y'all expect no less of me.

M3--you don't leave the house much, do you? Yes, I know you've already been suitably razzed enough about your lack of cat-size-perspective, but that doesn't stop me from throwing in my recently-purploined two cents...numero uno, I'm allergic to kitties as well, but that doesn't stop me from having two of my own, chiquita. Despite the constant sneezing and runny nose--oh man, do I scream "dream date," or what?--I feel their company and sheer entertainment value more than compensate in that regard, plus numero dos: my friend Beth's cat, Dakota--another pterodactyl, I mean polydactyl (oh, that joke never gets old, at least not for me)--is the smallest of her brood, and he's 25 lbs.

Translation: you need to get out more, hon. And maybe I can score some Zyrtec samples to send you...

And on that feline topic, I read with interest Scalzi's description of Ghlaghghee's naming process, and can only agree vehemently when it comes to giving your cat any kind of interesting/vaguely-foreign name, esp. when it comes to dealing with veterinary assistants. All of my cats have been named after hockey players (Ernst, there's a clue why I'd want to make that 3234.62 km journey to Langenburg!), but with my lil' torty Lemieuxmew--pronounced "Lay-mee-yoo-mee-yoo," pour tout de vous non-French-speakers--I'd invariably get calls from the vet-folks saying, "Uhm, yeah, it's time for Lay-MIX-MIX to come in..."

Damn Anglos. And damn library folk, saying my hour on the kompyuter is already up, though quickly--Bill, last week I laughed and thought of you when I saw some comedian on tv talking about Bush's bike accident and saying (in a precise approximation of Bush's obnoxious flat Texan tones), "That bicycle HATES FREEDOM!"

Edited by author 06-01-2004 11:06 PM
Note to everyone:
No, I am NOT posting to the New for a week. I may turn up here. Go about your business.
I need a vacation from this work before the one from the real work.

Damn Anglos.
Surely you mean "Maudite hhhhAnglais!"

....Mmmmm. Spicy, delicious Maudite... Almost as good as Trois Pistoles (which you'll just have to look around that website for-- unless you're Bill, who probably trips over crates of the stuff).
Enjoy the vacation, Bill.

I just got a piece of political activism spam! It's to do with the federal election which was just called here (and which will be concluded before the regularly scheduled voting down south), but I thought the collective might be interested in the names of the parties. Being out west, I can't vote for the Bloc Quebecois. Maudite!

http://www.ceasefire.ca/

"Marijuana Party"?
DUDE! I like totally always knew that the thing on the Canadian flag was NOT a maple leaf!!

Glad you're taking the time off, Billy-boy. Much as those of us here in "the collective"--assimilated or otherwise--might selfishly whine 'n moan as the lack of any new News, that willl be more than suitably offset by the knowledge that you're getting some much-deserved downtime, mon ami. Bonne vacances! :::consider yourself hugged & presented with an immense, spiritual Yoo-hoo::: <---maybe the rhetorical opposite of the "karmic bitch slap" my friend Deb spoke of?

And Ernst, I thought that political activism mail asked some very good questions (jeez, even the spam in Canada is superior to ours! Though that's admittedly a 'one-eyed man in the kingdom of the blind' sorta proposition), but like you, I can't vote for le Bloc Quebecois...or for that matter, neither can I cast a ballot for the Marijuana Party, nor any other, just because of that annoying little fact of my honorary Canadian citizenship (est. June 1996) not giving me the right to actually vote, or take advantage of the socialized medicine, or anything. Details!

So much for throwing in my non-Maudite-enhanced, only-semi-maudlin 'n tarnished two cents (btw Zef, with customs permitting, I'll be sending you an assortment of Coinage From Foreign Lands--it's a cheap world after all...) Still, that spam is a significant improvement over alla bleats from moveon.org that continually clog up my mailbox...

Maudite was my favorite Unibroue produit! Until I drank it to the point of not wanting it anymore. There's a lesson there, kids. Not sure what it is, but it's there.

Does Canada replicate the Belgian boozing experience enough to make a nice raspberry Framboise? THAT'S what North America needs! A Framboise that isn't US$8 a bottle. Well, also dancing monkeys atop the stoplights to entertain us with their charming antics.

WOO! The local old-style Cinerama theater is going to show the original uncut, dubbed Godzilla! (And also Life of Brian and Shaolin Soccer! It's good to live in CT!)

Funny you should mention Life of Brian. They just had a run of it down here in Orlando at the Enzian (local artsy theatre). It's been re-released in the US as an "alternative" to Passion of The Christ. I thought that was pretty funny. Unfortunately I missed it while it was playing, I'd love to see it in a theatre again, but oh well.

I'm with you on the Framboise idea. There's a bar downtown that stocks the stuff and doesn't charge an arm and a leg for it, and we drink 'em dry every time we visit (they have a limited stock; my friends and I aren't total lushes. Most of the time. Anyways...). They've got a raspberry Lambic and a black cherry something else (never paid too much attention to the label). I don't know about the monkeys though. Someone will have to take care of them, and there's always the risk of flung feces all over the windscreen. I most certainly do not want to be cleaning *that* up, thank you very much.

"(btw Zef, with customs permitting, I'll be sending you an assortment of Coinage From Foreign Lands--it's a cheap world after all...)"

Woo! now i'll have to dig up my small box of coins.. and find a way to showcase all, then. thanks! and glad about the customs stuff.. i once lost a box of wuv to those evil, evil customs. (among other things, like a box of mints from thinkgeek.com)

Edited by author 06-03-2004 10:56 AM
I also hold that lambics and monkeys share an attribute, but in my case that is "things I don't want in my mouth." Thus, I haven't looked too deply into it. I suspect, tho', that Unibroue's Quelle Que Chose is as close as you'll get. I had a cranberry fake-lambic that was made in the US, but as it tasted like it had been in someone previously, I wouldn't recommend it even if I remembered the name. I've spoken with the brewer at our local favourite brew-pub, and he reveals that most breweries in North America view the Belgian yeasts as an infection (makes the beer taste not like Labatt's/Budwieser-- you know, GOOD), so unless they want to do ONLY Belgian styles (a la Unibroue) they won't do any.

Ah, Gojira... *sigh* Just have to pray for a DVD release of the dis-Burred version.

"I had a cranberry fake-lambic that was made in the US"

Sam Adams, prly. They're the Bud of Microbrews here--their product is frequntly crap, but they've got the name recognition. They're decent on their regular line; the lager, ale, etc. But any time they try to make a fancy seasonal brew, they suck.

Ever have their White Ale? It's like drinking a pine tree car air freshener.

"pine tree car air" is prly one of longest strings of unmodified nouns I've ever typed.

I'd remember Sam Adams-- their adverts leak up here via cable TV. Someone more obscure; maybe in their local market, people enjoy the great taste of bile (said it tasted like it had been in someone-- didn't say it made the whole trip...). It's Cran-gastric!

My Dad rented Gothica. It's actually pretty good. It's also one of those movies you can't describe without ruining the story.
I rented Queen of the Damned because I love Interview with the Vampire and I had my hopes up. It's not quite as bad as the Brat Queen makes it out to be (http://countylimerick.prohosting.com/rants/mw3recap.htm) but it's still pretty bad.

Edited by author 06-06-2004 01:27 AM
"Lemieuxmew" would have gone over HUGE in Pittsburgh. Obvious reasons. And it would have been pronounced correctly too, you betcha.

Yes I know I don't leave the house much, but even living across the street from a DAIRY for 10 years I didn't see many barn cats. My grandfather was a hunter, and cats were useless to him, he raised dogs for huntin'. So that was mom's mentality, and my dad's sister had two cats that wandered all over the counter tops, which even *I* think is gross, so he was put off cats.

Anyway. I dunno, I go out and I had friends, I just didn't run across any cats in my life. Nyah!

I did run across a roach named Maury on Friday night in my bathroom. He was shaving in front of the mirror and yelled at me to turn off the f-ing light already and turn down that damn TV. Seriously though, no cat would go up against him. I think he was too big for even the Big Roach Traps. *shudder* I left him alone to make his way out. Ironically enough, the second episode of Becker that night had a mention of a roach that he wouldn't tackle without backup. I felt his pain.

Battlefield Earth was meh. It was Fat John Travolta. It was Scientology written, funded and performed. L. Ron was never the best (or even mediocre) sci-fi writer, so the theme mallets were flailing about. Pass. You don't miss much.

And as for the rest of everyone's comments... you're going over my head again *sob* I didn't bring my French/English dictionary to LA dammit. And that's my best excuse I could come up with!