Category: Fourre-tout

A little bit of everything

Happiness is a purring cat

Stress!
Who has not experienced emotional strain once in a while? It is one of the curses of modern life and it can lend on you like a ton of bricks.

But if you ever feel despondent, dispirited, don’t go to a shrink. Get adopted by a cat. It is warmer, softer, cheaper than a psychologist, and non-judgmental.

Sigmund Freud himself agreed:
“Time spent with cats is never wasted.”

There is nothing more soothing than reaching in the gloom of night for a purring little ball of fur.
Don’t worry, it says, I am here. You can rub my belly if your heart aches. It has magic properties known to get rid of disturbing bugaboos.
You can pet me as long as you want. There is no extra charge.

Photo on 12-19-14 at 2.29 PM #2Cats seldom speak (they can, but they don’t want to) but they are able to convey what they want very easily.
They communicate with their entire body: mouth, ears, eyes, body, tail.
You will have to be pretty dense not to understand what they are saying.
And if you pretend that you that you don’t, they will turn around and walk away haughtily with their tail held high in the air; everybody knows that it is the highest form of contempt.
I am not wasting my precious time with such a dunce, the tail says.

In ancient Egypt (much more enlightened than Modern Egypt) cats were considered sacred. They were worshiped, and after death some (like high ranking humans) were even mummified.
Killing a cat, even accidentally was then punishable by death. As it should be.

Cats are the most sophisticated creatures that ever saw the light of day.
They are lovers, fighters, dreamers, philosophers and gourmets.
They are wise and consider very carefully what their next move will be.
They are not impetuous. They are deep thinkers and only act after careful consideration.

Among the famous cat lovers: Sir Winston Churchill (his cat Jock even attended wartime Cabinet meetings. He was trusted to never speak about what he heard and he never did).
Alexandre Dumas, Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway, Victor Hugo, Robert E. Lee, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, John Lennon (he and his first wife Cynthia had up to ten cats), Queen Victoria, Sir Walter Scott, Mark Twain and Aleksei Efronov.

When cats speak, people listen.
A famous cat said:
“Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.”
Napoleon Bonaparte

To sum it up, instead of getting your head and body massaged by a total stranger, strip into a “full monty” and get a good kneading from your cat.

You will feel better, I promise you.

Alain

Schadenfreude

« Le malheur des uns fait le bonheur des autres. »
The misfortunes of some delight others.

*************

 IMG_2297Last week in my neighborhood (be still my heart) the price of gas dipped below $3.00 per gallon.
This is the first time since December 2010 that gasoline has been so cheap.

It seems (eh eh eh) that there is a worldwide oil glut. Thanks to the increased American oil production there is too much black gold on the market. Glory be!

The big oil producers (Russia, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran) are not amused.

They critically depend on oil revenues, and when the price of oil falls below $80.00 per barrel they start to squirm.
Governments’ diminished revenues usually translate into cost of living increases, and this usually means trouble at home.
All these countries must keep their often-restive populations relatively quiet, and they do this with the carrot and stick method.
But when their buying power starts to erode significantly people don’t see the carrot anymore. They become fixated with the stick and no government likes that.

Comrade Putin is particularly unhappy. This is an unexpected blow to his ambitions.
Russia is highly dependent on the price of oil and if Vladimir cannot keep his compatriots well disposed toward him, the walls of the Kremlin might not be high enough to keep him on Mother Russia’s throne.
He might (like Marie-Antoinette) tell his people to eat cake, but I don’t think that it is a good idea.

Many western countries are turning a blind eye to human right abuses in other countries in order to continue getting a steady supply of oil.
This could change if oil becomes less relevant.
In politics, friendship is based on self-interest. If you don’t need your friends’ goods anymore, the “friendship” can go sour pretty quickly.

The mutual dependency of Saudi Arabia and America in particular will decrease and change the politics of that region.
Let’s not forget that Wahhabism does not sit well with Americans (or the rest of the civilized world).
If the importance of black gold starts ebbing, so will the strategic alliance between those odd bedfellows.
And feminists will cheer.

The downside of this damn business is that the stock market is taking a big hit.
People holding shares in oil companies are dumping them as quickly as possible.
And as usual, it is the little guy that foots the bill.

But for the time being, let’s rejoice and take advantage of the oil bonanza.
We might never see it again.

Oil is now so cheap that instead of bathing in camel milk as I usually do, I might start soaking in crude.

Alain

http://youtu.be/WXozuaz5NFw

Princess Kate

I did it!

After 2 years without a pet we just adopted a kitty: Princess Kate. That was the name that was on her cage at the adoption center and we decided to keep it.
She looks very regal indeed.

She is a baby, just 5 months old, but she is very poised in spite of her young age.
She is not shy and accepts human beings readily.

The good people at the adoption center told me to first keep her in a small room to gradually let her get used to her surroundings, but I had other ideas.
I wanted Kate to get the lay of the land right away, so I let her wander whether she pleased.

IMG_2254She duly inspected every room, climbed into the bathtub, jumped on my computer station, walked on the keyboard and finally settled in the basket that I had prepared for her in my office. She took to it like a fish to water.
She sniffed the lining, massaged it for a while and without any further ado went for a snooze.
She now looks like she always belonged here.

When it comes to animals, I rely on my own sensory appendages.
I let the beasts come to me instead of me going to them.
It might take a while, but it usually works.

When I was in the army, I started to talk to a new guy who was bunking next to me.
So what do you do in the civilian life? I asked.
I am a car thief, he said.
I said OK, and continued the conversation without blinking an eye.
That was not the reaction he expected from me. He looked a little piqued and asked: does that bother you?
Why should it? My car is not parked in front of the barracks.

He smiled and started to open up. I didn’t have to probe. He spilled all his beans spontaneously.
Jean-Baptiste and I became very good friends.

That’s the way I see it.
If the animal wants your company or attention, he will let you know.
If he is not so inclined, leave him alone.
I have the keys to the “garde-manger” and he usually knows it.

Stay tuned for the further adventures of Princess Kate.

Alain