A Parlour for a Plague

omg the power plays going on in this house.

THIS food bowl is full but I'm gonna eat out of YOUR food bowl because you're eatin' out of it. hiss hiss.

Oh yeah? Well then I'm gonna lie next to the water bowl and I'm not thirsty, but I bet you are. grrr grrr.

See Chai2, this is a top reason I like living alone. There were some horrible fights with Arthur my cat when I would slurp water from his bowl.

In other news, I learned how to use ZOOM today (for the most part)


I have been watching and reading about case numbers rising in the suburbs...long island, Jersey, Westchester and other counties to the north. The better off financially thought they'd outsmart the Covid-19outbreak.... Instead they brought it elsewhere with them.

Last night I watched "The Pianist" with Adrien Brody, based on the true experiences of Wladyslaw Szpilman and a new film "The Platform"

And we're complaining about not going out at will?

My two are getting closer again.

When Sebastian was so sick for so long it disturbed the balance of power and it’s taken him a while to re-establish himself.

I also bought some friendship pheromones, which are allegedly based on the hormones mum cats have for a while after kittening, when they are prepared to adopt pretty much anything. Interestingly they both really love the smell.

Both good tilms?

I just came in from a half the street chalk art afternoon.

The kids are spending lots of time drawing on the street and more adults are gradually joining them. Lots of fun!

I'd look to watch both Deb.

The Pianist is from 2002. Staring Adrien Brody, directed by Roman Polansky.
Setting is Warsaw, Poland between the years 1939 and 1945. The film is based on the autobiography of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jewish radio station pianist.
For me, it was gripping.

The Platform. 2019
I had it on my list, and was looking forward to watching. Then I heard an interview on the radio with the director, Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia so moved it up since it seemed to have developed overnight popularity.
Without giving any spoiler alerts, the premise is:
A vertical prison with one cell per level. Two people per cell. Only one food platform and two minutes per day for each cell to feed from up to down.

I kept getting interrupted while watching, so it took me 3 days to view it all. Since that was my experience, I can't say if that was a good or bad thing. Subjectively, it gave me a chance to consider what I had seen in that days time. I don't know if my total experience would have been different if I watched it straight through.
I will say that it's more complex than the basic description of the film above.

Cat Spokesperson:


22 lb bag of IAMS indoor cat, urinary health cat food? - $30
84 lbs of clumping, multi cat scoopable litter? - $40
Monthly treatment for 2 for the odd flea that gets in from outside? - $20

Opportunity to pee all over the one paper bag left on the kitchen floor? - Priceless.

What IS it that’s so attractive about doing that??????!!!!!


Praying it was empty or at least pee resistant!

Got back from my long walk a little while ago. At last half the folks out there (or more) don't get it (or don't care). I can walk most of the way in alleys, but sometimes I have to bob and weave among the morons.

When I was very close to home, I saw a couple kids, probably about 14 years old, walking together. It had very much the air of boyfriend (want-t9-be) and girlfriend (want-to-be). What are their parents thinking? I hope neither is infectious, or it could ravage two families.

Happy Rat Day Roger!

Of course it’s tomorrow where you are, but here’s to you from the future!

I got my own day? Fabulous.

No idea why. Bag was empty.
I guess maybe because paper bags have been in warehouses with all kinds of vauge stinky odors, maybe subjected to moisture, etc.

A long time ago, Otis marched into my office, which he seldom does. So unusual that I remember asking him what he thought he was doing there. No hesitation, he walks up to a shelf where I store product and packing supplies. Takes one sniff, whips around and does that tail quiver thing.

Ohhhh no. He hit a small section of whatever was on that bottom shelf, and I yelled "GET THE **** OUT OF THERE!!!"
He scampered off, delighted.

There were 2 boys outside my house today. One looked about 14, the other a little younger. I think they were probably brothers.
It must have been bulky trash day because they had found a wheeled office chair someone was throwing out.

The younger one also had a skateboard, and they were doing god knows what between pushing the chair, which wasn't cooperating, which had something to do with the skateboard impeding the way. Whatever, they seemed to have a plan.
I told them when we found a chair like that we'd take turns having someone launch us down the hill in it, and try not to go ass over tea kettle.

They both quickly looked down the street, which is at an incline, but not a hill by any means. They seemed disappointed.

Your day. Whatcha gonna do with it?

Eat cheese?

Mine scrabble on paper or plastic first then seem to go wild then the scrabbling seems to switch on the pee centre.

Sebastian just came in and began scrabbling on my quilt.....bad sign. Sometimes this means he’s going to piss

I've jumped on the *make bread* bandwagon. A month ago, the last time I was socializing, my girlfriend gave me enough yeast to make a few loaves of bread. Yeast isn't expensive, but no point spending 5 bucks if I couldn't make a loaf I liked, she reasoned.

Now, I can't find yeast anywhere (!), and I must see two articles a week on bread recipes and flour shortages, too.

Anyway, I've mixed a shaggy dough and it's in my oven, out of the way until tomorrow morning when I will bake it. Wish me luck!

I saw something about reclaiming yeast in artisinal beers. I suppose youd have to warm the beer and mix it with an amount of warm milk and sugar (and a pinch of salt)

My brother Joe broke his neck in a car accident in 1968. He recovered somewhat, but it was a C5 fracture, so he was never going to recover fully--he was in a wheelchair. We'd go out late at night, and find a steep hill in a residential neighborhood. Wheelchairs have two tubes that stick out the back so that one an step on them to raise the front of the chair to negotiate kerbs. Well, one of us would carefully get up on those, and lean over Joe, then we'd launch them down the hill.

Ah, youth . . .