Catstory 101: Tikki 1978-1996

Tikki in 1980

Tikki 1978 - 1996

Yes, that is correct, Tikki lived to 18 years old.   Tikki was a feral cat from the hills around Sheridan, Oregon.  She was loud, she was fierce, she took a long time to domesticate and tame to a level where she could be kept as a pet!  Although my mom went and got her after Sampson died, I like to believe that she was very much my cat and we were very close.   Tikki was named after the Kipling character Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, and she certainly lived up to the ferocity and combativeness of her namesake.

Being feral, Tikki was a high difficulty cat. She would scratch and bite and when she did, she meant it.  Seeing other cats through the window would send her into a boiling ear-shattering rage in which she would throw herself against the window to attack.  I once got in the way of one of these rages and was severely scratched.  After that attack though, Tikki glued herself to me as if to show she was sorry as she was in the middle of a berserker rage when it happened. 

Tikki was very loud.  One of her sobriquets (and she had many) was Tikki the Wawool, named after a catlike creature in a 1970s Star Trek comic.  The Wawool's yowling was so loud and bizarre that it would literally drive people insane.  Tikki's yowling was similar.   My sister's fiance was tasked with feeding Tikki when we were out on vacation one day.  He had to enter the lair of the beast, alone, unarmed, and leave food.  Somehow, he survived and escaped with his life.  It was his initiation test and to this day he still remembers the horror!

Actually, Tikki was a very loving and loyal cat, to me and my mother.  She would sleep in bed with me, usually at my feet and was very cuddly with those she adopted as her cat slaves.  But she never could hold back her attacks as she had never learned to 'play', anytime she fought a toy or a stuffed mouse, it was for real.  She's been the most aggressive cat I have ever seen while playing with cat toys.  She knew the proper attacks and would always do the 'neck snap' maneuver on any string or cat toy she could find the neck on.   Having been raised a feral, once her nails were out, she had to draw blood.  She was like a Klingon cat!

Tikki had a calico type coat with a huge prominent black spot on her back.  I could swear that the black spot got larger in the winter and smaller in the summer but I probably was just imagining it. 

I wasn't home when her end came.  I hear that she just got more and more frail, more and more sick until she finally died. She was buried under a tree in Forest Grove, Oregon on a farm my mother lived on.  Perhaps, on nights of the full moon, the yipping of the coyotes is answered by the loud warbling full-throated yowl of a cat who has no fear of anything, certainly not a pack of coyotes!

Catstory 101: Sampson 1968-1978

Sampson in 1978

Sampson the Cat: 1968 - 1978

Sampson and I grew up together!  Really, I was born in 1968 and Sampson joined the family in the same year.  I am not sure where he came from and I, sadly, have few memories of him.   I'm not even sure how he died.  One day I came home from school and found out that my mother had taken him to the vet.  He died soon after.   Apparently, he had had a heart attack and was being kept alive on drugs but my mother decided to let him go and they put him to sleep.

Sampson is in one of my earliest childhood memories though.  I was bathing in the tub and Sampson leaped in with me.  He was cat-knee deep in water and just froze.  I'll never forget the look on his face.  Something like "I can't believe I just did that..."  In one terrific move, he leaped back out of the tub and ran off, to dry himself and hide in embarrassment.  

Sampson was an outdoor cat for the first years of his life and another story I've been told about him is the day he leaped through the window with a bird in his mouth as a gift for my mother.  My mom has a phobia about birds (especially dead ones), so of course she screamed bloody murder.  Sampson, grabbing the bird, leaping back out through the window.

I don't remember much about his behavior or whether he meowed a lot.  But I can tell you one creepy thing.  After he died, I had a reoccurring dream in which I was playing chase with him in the upstairs of this old creepy house we lived in.  Running to catch him, arms outstretched, he'd vanish right before I could catch him.  

Urusei Yatsura vs. Ah My Goddess!

 

(I wrote this geeky article on an anime forum awhile back.  Reposting it here on my own blog just cuz...)

Hello fellow UY fans!  I've been an anime watcher for years and years and years but only started watching Urusei Yatsura during this last year.  It's amazing!  I've seen gifs/pics of the characters around and always wondered what all the fuss was about.  Now I know!  I also know where most the gags seen in later anime came from... and what certain really bad anime like Trouble Chocolate were trying to rip off.   

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT: I'm just going to go ahead and talk openly about events in two episodes of anime (Ah My Goddess "Everyone has a Destiny" and UY #157 "I love Darling's Sincerity") so if you think you want to watch either some day and haven't, and don't want any spoilers whatsoever, turn back now!  

Anyway, I was watching "I love Darling's Sincerity" (ep #157) and it struck me as very similar to the Ah My Goddess anime episode "Ah! Everyone Has a Destiny!"  No, I'm not saying they ripped off UY but the stories are very similar.  In AMG, Keiichi Morisoto comes across a "shinentai" of a young girl, a ghost reminant, who wanted to date his grandfather but couldn't because she died before he could come back to her.    Keiichi makes it up to her by being nice to her and taking her for a motorbike ride.  

In UY 157, a similar thing happens when a sickly girl spies Ataru Moroboshi from her hospital window every day and falls for him (not knowing he's the biggest lecher this side of... anywhere!)  "Darling's Sincerity" is one of those rare episodes of UY which are done "straight" and its very poignant and sad.  Still has some humor in it, as when Nozomi (the ill girl) keeps asking her mother who this strange boy she likes is, and the mother keeps ignoring her because she knows all about Ataru!

The similarities in the shows made me compare the two.  I often think deeply on things, usually trivial things that have little or no bearing to anything in real life... :-)  I was thinking of how simular it was that Ataru and Keiichi approached the situation.   Now, for anyone unfamiliar with Keiichi Morisato of AMG fame, he's a total goodie.  He's the epitome of the Lawful Good, goodie-two-shoe, clean-cut, never a bad word or bad thought character that you'll ever come across.  You could not get more opposite of Ataru in almost any way.  Keiichi is so saintly that half the time i watch him, I can't stand the perfect little jerk! lol.

This made me think of C.S. Lewis, one of my favorite authors.  In one of his books, he wrote on how he considered it "better" or more moral when someone who has lots of problems does their best to be good and righteous (or honorable or nice or whatever you think of as "good") than when someone who already is like that behaves that way.  Even if the flawed person fails, CS Lewis considers their effort as more praiseworthy than the goodie who just is that way automatically. 

Considering this, this is why I made that subject line the way I did.  In "Everyone has a Destiny", of course Keiichi is going to be nice to the ghost girl.  He can be no other way.  Of course he's going to be kind, considerate, still worried how it will effect Belldandy... etc.  Its just how he is, he could run the whole episode on autopilot.  There's no _effort_ on his behalf to do the right thing (something I think CS Lewis would point out as the difference).  There's no effort for Keiichi to be the knight in shining armor and see this poor girl's spirit to the afterlife.

Meanwhile, Our Ataru has a few more challenges.  And he's given more challenges than Keiichi as well!  Nozomi's a ghost, which takes him a moment to get over, but he's okay with that.  She's kind of cute and he can live with it.  But it turns out she knitted him a scarf and mittens... and a woolen hat.  He.. um... after Sakura smacks him around some and reminds him of how he's doing a good thing for this poor girl's spirit, he can wear them, even in the hottest part of summer. 

Then Nozomi pulls out a sweater... she died at Christmas time.  By this time, you're pretty sure Ataru is just going to either throw in the towel or have to be poked the whole way by Sakura.  However, Ataru puts the sweater on, even when it turns out its not finished!  Then he happily plays along with the whole situation!  He gets into it so much that he even begins to flip Lum's jealousy meter and the lightning begins to build.   At another point, Sakura asks him if he's hot in all that winter gear and Ataru hisses to her that, of course, he's dying, but he's making a very bold face on it.  The day goes on, they go for rides and watch fireworks.  In the end, Nozomi's spirit moves on, happy, able to go on.  Ataru walks off in melancholy, keeping the sweater and accessories on even after Sakura reminds him he can take them off now.

That is why Ataru wins over Keiichi Morisato in my book.  Keiichi never really had an obstacle while Ataru really did.  Also, Ataru is one of us.  He's a young man, he's a person.  He lusts after as many girls as he possibly can.  He doesn't want to be inconvenienced.  He doesn't want to wear hot clothes in summer.  He doesn't necessarily want to drop everything to help some ghost girl that just happened to get a crush on him.  But he does.  He does the right thing and, in the end, I think he's glad that he did. 

Ataru had to work at doing the "right thing," its not really an automatic part of his nature.   That's why my applause is for Ataru and not Keiichi in this situation.  He had to rise above himself to do it, challenge himself to be better.  

Heil You-Know-Who!

Looks like Rodger Debris' Hitler from "The Producers" but he's not...

Recently I was able to watch this German movie (with subtitles.)  Controversial, its one of the first time that a movie made in Germany and in the German language has portrayed Hitler and the Nazis.  This is very controversial stuff in Germany where swastikas and even talking about The Third Reich is literally illegal.

The movie is supposedly a comedy, but European comedy is not like American comedy.  Don't expect a happy ending.  Well, not that you would with a movie about Hitler, but even for the Jewish "speech therapist", there's no happy ending even though this was supposed to be a lighthearted romp.

The movie has also been compared to "The King's Speech" (which I have also seen) in that Hitler is a broken mess and Goebbels sends for a famous actor to teach him to give a great speech during the final dark days of the war.  The actor turns out to be a Jew who's languishing in a concentration camp. 

Okay, the movie is no "Producers."  The main problem is that the movie doesn't really know what it wants to be.  The Jewish family and their subplot are played straight.  They are taken from a concentration camp... a real concentration camp with tortures and threats.  The Jewish characters are all played straight, this is not a Mel Brooks world of thumb-to-nose silliness.   The Nazis are nasty and evil, just as they should be, but not the "bwahahaha" type of villainy where they rub their hands together but the nasty racist "torture you to death in hideous ways rather than look at you" way that most of the inner elite of the Nazi party truly were.

I think that was one of the worst problems with the movie, for me.  I know European tastes are vastly different than standard American tastes, especially in comedy.  But this isn't even a "dark comedy", its just a twisted drama with a couple of attempts at cheap laughs thrown in. 

The subject matter is very limiting as well.  We know that Hitler was ultimate evil, so its just not possible to have character development (although he gets it anyway) or some sort of "realization" or heel-face turn.  There's not even come-uppance as the end of the movie doesn't end with him blowing his brains out.  It ends with someone else getting their brains blown out.  No, the Jewish family doesn't get away on a stolen U-Boat or steal a plane and escape to Switzerland.  No happy endings in European comedies, remember?

There's a couple of other very disturbing moments in the film as well.  Hitler himself is portrayed as a neurotic mess.  But he's a mess because of his abusive father and sucky childhood.  Hitler cries.  He wets the bed, not because he's crazy, but because his father beat him so much.  He whimpers.  

Oh, and he confides in his Jewish instructor that he never really wanted to exterminate the Jews, that was Himmler's idea.  Hitler just wanted to send them away to Madagascar or somewhere to live with the penguins.   This line in itself might not be too bad, but its one of the opening lines of holocaust deniers and neo-nazis like David Icke and others.  I'm even suprised they got away with putting the line in the movie.  Maybe no one noticed.

Other scenes may have been amusing to the German audience, but are old jokes to US and British audiences.  There's the obligatory "Heil Hitler" scene at the beginning where one guy says "Heil Hitler" and the others have to say it too.  On and on, repeating, until they finally run out of 'heils' and calm down... then someone runs up and says 'heil hiter' again sending them all off again.  This joke couldn't have been shown in German cinema until recently but US and British audiences have seen it since Hogan's Heros and Monty Python and its old.  Fingernails on chalkboard old.

To give the movie its due, the acting is very very good though.  The doomed and anguished Jewish actor is played superbly with pathos.   Hitler is played so well that you might forget who this is that you are meant to be feeling sorry for.  Goebbels, while not humorous at all, is played with such sickeningly accurate evil that this actor should have got an award for it.  

Fantasy Nation Building: The Nation of Avalis

Avalis

Head of Government: Briave Curma

Head of State: Emed Erer

Government Type: Social Conservatism.

Government Ideology: Social Conservatism.

            Avalis did not have an easy passage into the early modern era.  The industrial and social revolutions of the last century, as well as the Wars of Revolution on the continent, deeply divided Avalisian society.  The monarchy was overthrown and the nobility abolished.  There was sporadic, low-level, but never ending violence throughout the country for many decades.  Much of the violence was internecine, personal, dividing families, and pitting communities against each other.  Out of this chaos, two major political parties arose.  Both parties believing that government should be strongly involved in social and economic matters but with radically different approaches in their beliefs.

Politics:

            The Free Unionist Movement (FUM) are social liberals who seek to find a balance between individual liberty and social justice.   Going further than classical market liberals, the FUM also believes the legitimate role of the government includes addressing economic and social issues such as poverty, health care and education.  Up to 49% of the population support the FUM (called FUMblies by their opponents) and the party is able to use its power to force through many policies.   At present, the FUM is led by Eovix Markyl, who has made no secret that he seeks to be the next Head of Government (with a FUM Head of State as well).

            The Unified Loyalist Movement (ULM) is the social conservative movement of Avalis.  Many of the early ULM members were royalists who had to change their stripes after the fall of the Avalisian monarchy.  Most of the membership of the ULM is also members of the Church of Avalis, which espouses very traditional social and political beliefs.  The ULM looks back to the last century and wants to keep ancient religious and cultural beliefs as government policy and law.   They are led by Eorin Bude, a church leader, and controlled 35% of the vote in the last elections.  In these last elections, the ULM leveraged support from minor parties and coalitions, as well as appealing to the piously religious among the population, and won.  Briave Curma and Emed Erer are both members of the ULM, as well as practicing members of the Church of Avalis. 

            The friction of a majority of the FUM in the Elective Legislature (the main governing body) with almost half the population in support, and ULM heads of state and government (as well as most of the ministers) is the source of the majority of the political struggles in Avalis today.

            The only other party of note in Avalis is the Progressive Loyalist Party (PLP).  They are social democrats.  They call for a universal welfare state and collective bargaining schemes but yet still support a capitalist economy.  Strong socialist underpinnings among the PLP have kept it from gaining more ground in a country strongly divided between a religious right (The ULM) and a liberal but yet capitalist left (The FUM).  The PLP only garnered 9% of the vote in the last election and are led by the Cotta Grila, leader of the Transport Seaport United (TSU) union.

Fantasy Nation Building: The Country of Thulland

Thulland

Head of Government: King Helgi Stindrison II

Head of State: Froro Horkison

Government Type: Constitutional Monarchy

Government Ideology:  Social Democracy

Politics:

            Since entering the Modern Era, Thulland survived the revolutions of the last century by transforming into a Constitutional Monarcy under King Helgi I.   Under King Helgi II, Thulland now has numerous political parties although only three have widespread power and representation in the National Assembly.

            The Northern Democratic League (NDL) has a national support of around 43% and has a sizeable presence in the National Assembly.  The Head of State, Froro Horkison is a member of the NDL.  The NDL subscribes to a social democratic viewpoint emphasizing universal welfare and collective bargaining schemes within the framework of a capitalist economy.   The current leader of the NDL is Rithe Altirdotr, the daughter of a trade unionist who has so far not chosen to run for Head of State and run things “behind the scenes” as head of the party.

            The Traditional State Coalition (TSC) is a social conservative party.  Although only with a following of 21% of the population during the last elections, the TSC sees itself as the counterbalance to the NDL.  They are lead by Allyg Jalmison, a member of the nobility and distant relative to King Helgi II.  The TSC seeks to preserve traditional beliefs, attitudes and philosophy from the old times before the fall of the monarchies.  The TSC considers itself the “moral compass” of Thulland although most of its “moral” beliefs are rightest and even reactionary.  

            The Moderate Citizens Movement (MCM) are classical market liberals and seek to keep government out of the burgeoning new industries and economy at the beginning of the modern era.  While small, only about 16% of the populations, the MCM’s membership includes powerful businessmen, merchants, and moneymakers.  They are often at loggerheads with the NDL, however, due to their lack of support for trade unions.  The MCM fully supports rule of law and democracy and, at present, seeks to work with the two major parties to further its aims of keeping economic freedom.  The MCM is lead by Feste Algurson, a rich industrialist from Horvaskali, where, it is said, he owns most of the city.

Early Lum

Lum (of the 1980s Japanese anime/manga Urusei Yatsura) was a lot more nasty and “oni-like” in the early part of the original manga.  Here she’s stalking her old rival Shinobu back in the days when she was still a threat to her and Ataru.   I just love this pic of Lum though, great pose, love that kick-ass look on her face :-)