Monthly Archives: August 2014

Nature

Injured Gull Caught, Delivered to Wildlife Rescue

Good deed of the day accomplished. While we were checking out lighting stores in Richmond BC, Yumi spotted a seagull that appeared to have a broken wing. We observed it for a few minutes, and it was definitely dragging its right wing, and when approached, stayed on the ground.

I called the Wildlife Rescue Association in Burnaby, and described the situation. They said it would be great if we could get it into a box and bring it in.

I grabbed a pair of work gloves and an old towel from the trunk of the car, and kept an eye on it, making sure it didn’t stray onto busy Bridgeport Rd. while Yumi went in search of a box. Yumi was back in a few minutes and after a short chase and trapping pincer movement, it scooted into the box and we had it secured.

We drove directly to the WRA, getting there in about half an hour, and deposited the patient. We kept the box covered with the towel to keep it dark and relatively quiet, and the gull made the trip with little noise.

Hope it makes it.

We were so focused on the rescue that I forgot to take any photos!

UPDATE: Aug. 20. I’m sad to report that I contacted the WRA today to check on the gull, and it had to be euthanized. Apparently the humerus was beyond repair. Sad to hear, but at least it didn’t have a potentially long, suffering death.

Japan, Society

Lauren Was Before My Time, But She Evokes Memories in My Life

Lauren and Boggie. That’s what most of us remember. But recollections of them together are framed by where we saw them on the big screen. And that brings back memories. . .

I think the first place I saw this movie aside from small-screen TV may have been an old theater In Takadanobaba, Tokyo.

Back in the 1980s Takadanobaba was a haven for students, local and foreign. Cheap dorms, cheap cafes, cheap bars and a dingy, cheap movie theater that ran amazing series of foreign films. The theater is likely long gone by now.

Oh, gosh, my mind is tickling at the answer, but it’s not quite there.

“Waseda Shochiku”? Something like that. Anyway…

I’d walk by the theater every few weeks and sign up for series of Bunuel and other Euro masters. Saw a lot of stuff in many languages that I didn’t understand, but the lighting, the photography, the acting remains in my mind to this day.

it was a perfect place to watch Sam play it again.

Hot damn, a Google search says it’s still alive? Hard to comprehend, but wonderful.

 

Books, Editing, Writing

Ya Gotta Know When to Put the Novel Down

OK, I’m wimping out.

I’m about three quarters of the way through a novel, and it’s 9:30 pm.

I figure one or two characters that I like are going to get killed in the next chapter or two, so that the hero can righteously explode into revenge, and I don’t want to have all that on my mind just before bed.

It’s a struggle.  Can I put it down? I hate putting novels down, if I’m into them.

But I also hate trying to fall asleep emotionally roiled.

Tonight I’m figuratively staring at the sinister muzzle of the 9mm S&W pistol pointed at me, and am complying with the order: “Put the book down, and step away.”

I will finish it tomorrow in the bright light of day.

Editing, Society, Technology, Writing

Tales from Spam Folder Subject Lines

Occasionally I like to skim through the subject lines in my email spam folder, and construct silly stories from them. It’s like being a kid and playing with those spiral-bound books in which you could individually flip sections to rewrite stories, often with funny results.

Here’s a mashup from my spam folder today:

“Explore Russian Dating Online” it’s OK because there is a “Frenzy Over Herpes Cure (Latest Discovery)” If things go bad, “Do THIS When a Gun is Pointed at Your Head” and if things go really bad “Many Threw Their Glasses Away After Seeing This”

🙂

Pets

Choco the Cat Gets Annual Checkup – Declared ‘Senior Citizen’

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Choco the Cat had her annual checkup and vaccination today. Here I’ve just scooped her up and am heading for her carrier. She knows what’s coming and gives me a clingy “Daddy don’t put me in there” wriggle.

Choco the cat on way to vet

 

Choco was a Burnaby, BC, SPCA adult female rescue when we got her on August 12, 2005. Wow, that means it’s exactly nine years to the day since she stole our hearts : -). At the time, they thought she was about three  years old, so she’s around 12 now, putting her at the human equivalent of around 64-65.

So the vet greeted her with a cheerful “she’s a senior citizen now!”

She’s still a wonderfully bouncy, active cat, though. Drinks lots of water, eats well, and in nine years of annual checkups, her weight has never varied by more than 1/2 a pound from around 7.5 pounds.

She looks bigger, but most of it is incredibly soft  fur that she’s always kept impeccably clean and smelling wonderful. She’s had only one bath in her life with us, the day we brought her home from the pound, because in her initial stress she’d soiled herself.

She’s an indoor cat, only goes out on a harness for short stints of eating grass. She’s always been a bit afraid of the outdoors, and has never wanted to explore too far. We’ve always spent lots of time playing with her, so she can happily burn energy.

There are lots of photos of Choco and other pets on my old blog in the pets category.

 

Music, Photography

Great Day at Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival 2014

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Burnaby Blues and Roots 1014
The main stage viewed from the Shadbolt Centre with Deer Lake in the background.

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A side view of the main stage from the shade. It was hot!

Gorgeous, hot, sunny day at Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival 2014. I saw the three acts I was most interested in — Miss Quincy and the Showdown, The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer, and Imelda May.

Miss Quincy
Miss Quincy and the Showdown. I vote for main stage next year for these powerful gals!

Technology

Win 7 Box Hit with Malware — Adding AVG to Protection

My main Windows 7 work computer was hit with malware last night. Too tired to deal with it then, I shut it down and went to bed. Today I installed the free version of AVG and it immediately began finding problems that Microsoft Security Essentials had missed. I am now having AVG run a complete scan of the entire computer and all its drives.

Based on the fact that AVG is finding malware that MSE didn’t, I’ll likely cough up for the paid version of AVG.