some photos from my phone

the idea of getting my latest phone
(which i got a while ago now)
was to get a cheap one that had a mildly good camera
so I could take spontaneous photos
when something caught my eye.

it is a sony cyber shot phone,
but the camera is not that great, really.
should have got an iphone, after all.

but i found these on it today.

from top

1, linen press and mr kitly sleeping
together on the shop floor

2, 3, confetti system at third drawer down
(ages ago now, but was ace)

4, mr kitly enjoying his new window ledge
that julian put in for the cats
(the tree log is ostensibly for them
to use as scratching post.
so far mr kitly likes it as a pillow)

5, mr kitly and linen press in window

6, 7, super cute kiddie at chaska and
gaston's birthday party (also ages ago now)

8, 9, balloons on bed at same party

cats in windows and anthropomorphism

dennisnyugen

personally, i blame garfield.  i still know they're cats, but geez, i am sure they daydream, nod off, scheme, and ponder just like us. now i feel like sitting in a sunny window watching the world go by. (and i wonder have you been keeping an eye on maru? he has a new house now.)

blackcat

a saucerful

diogo

jendubin

jon a ross

ryokicat

fofurasfelinas

aswiebe

arny

alipyon

まるです。

お風呂場で遊んでいますよ。
I am playing in the bathroom.

this is so great. the life of maru. he loves boxes. and sitting in the bath. best of course for people who are 100% cat people. but the commentary by the blogger is so very wonderful, i think this can get everyone in. it is also maybe a nice way to practice japanese - the comments are written in japanese, then translated delightfully into english. can be a nice way to learn idiomatic expressions or practice reading kanji and things...

i found maru via sheepnest.

update: a big thanks to kate from love you big, this is a very hilarious clip of maru dealing with a big box.
update #2: and hiki's favourite is also brilliant. too good to be true.

一番小さな箱に入っていますよ。
I am in the smallest box!

お味はいかがですか？
Hey Maru! How about the taste?

紐に逃げられましたよ。
I miss it!

セクシーポーズで猫草を食べてますよ。
I eat cat grass with a cool pose.

穴からこんにちは。
Hello from the hole.

cats on blogs

has anyone else noticed that people who write blogs are by far majority neko-ha (cat-preferring) as opposed to inu-ha (dog preferring). (i heard the term neko-ha when living in japan but can't find it anywhere in the dictionaries i have...perhaps my memory fails, or perhaps it is some kind of kansai-ben or just slang my friends used? i would be interested if anyone knows?)

anyway, cats are great. of course, i have my own little furry four legged sentient being who wanders around my house doing as he pleases. his name is linen press and he is a tonkinese (a blend between burmese and siamese). he snores, sleeps in, comes home smelling of someone else's fire during the winter and is partial to shoelaces and string.

these are some indulgent pictures of the press, and also some of the fantastic cat house that is built by hebel house - a cookie-cutter japanese house developer equivalent to one word, delfin over here in australia. but i am pretty sure delfin would not go the distance and make a model entirely devoted to cats. which is yet another reason why japan is wonderful. see more pictures via this site devoted to the modern cat.

i am also interested in the variations japanese language has on the word 'cat' and its various connotations and evocations. see an interesting list via Jim Breen online dictionary (search 猫). 

i particularly like 猫かぶり(nekokaburi): feigned innocence or naivete, beguiling innocence, wolf in sheep's clothing

above pictures of the neko house by hebel

a man we saw in the middle of shinjuku tokyo who takes  his cats with him on bicycle

linen press doing what he does best

cafe series - efish

photo courtesy of yocca, flickr photogrpaher

efish cafe is on the banks of the kamogawa (kamo river) in kyoto. it is a cafe with a definite charm and beautiful interior. their website is also one of my favourites of japanese web design.

if ever you are in kyoto, to sit by the huge plate glass windows that open onto the flowing kamo river, drinking their delicious chai and enjoying a cottage cheese, avocado and kewpie mayonnaise sandwich (minus the tuna for vegetarian option) on that oh so tasty super thick japanese white bread is a little bit of heaven. they also have beautiful artifacts on sale, from delicate yakimono to ironware and vintage books. efish collaborate with shinproducts in the supply for many of these wares.

photo courtesy of yocca

my photo of efish

a delicate yakimono pourer bought last trip to efish

an ironware (testsu) sugar pot bought at efish whilst living in kyoto a few years ago

noro the cat

now this is something great (for we cat lovers). la hortensia azul is a blog by an online japanese shop that does wedding bits and pieces. noro the cat joined the staff from la hortensia azul in 2001 and since then, noro has become a very well-travelled cat. he has a diary on the blog that documents his journeys all over japan and the world and they have recently released a book of noro's trip around europe. you can see more excellent pictures of noro abroad via the blog, and the book is available via keibunsha books.