And nobody seems to like him,
They can tell what he wants to do,
And he never shows his feelings,
But the fool on the hill,
Sees the sun going down,
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning 'round.
(Fool on the hill/Beatles)

(Great Buddha of Kamakura HDR, Japan, 2008)

I'm supposed to be writing 3 papers due this week but I have a mental block the size of Mount Rushmore sitting in between my brain and my fingers. Throw in the humidity and you have the mental equivalent of a dustball too wet to roll but still nothing more than a puff of nothing. I'm stuck. 

I think I'm hiking up to the roof, hold up a lightning rod and wait for a bright idea to come.

And I wear my sunglasses at night
So I can, so I can
Keep track of the visions in my eyes
(Sunglasses at night/Corey Hart)

(Tokyo at night, 2008

I don't know what this is
but you got me good
just like you knew you would

I don't know what you do
but you do it well
I'm under your spell
(Mercy/Duffy)

(Ermieshan, Sichuan, China 2006)

If you are not partial for cats, no need to read further.

But if you are, you may want to pick up the new cat book "Dewey - the small town library cat who touched the world". Dewey Readmore Books was a stray cat who became a celebrity in Midwestern Americana, using all the feline powers cats have to offer (except for the one where they can spot dying patients like Oscar the cat).

I spend the last 24 hours reading through the book and probably spooked Mr Brown as I kept grabbing him for a cuddle every 10 minutes. I showed him the book cover and pointed at the picture of Dewey. He merely gave it an annoyed sniff and went back to sleep.

The cats always make it a point to annoy me with their sleeping antics. The cats, on the other hand, make it a point to annoy me when I am sleeping.

Usually the cats take turns sleeping with us the bedroom. More often the Chairman as he stays the longer. Mr Brown stays for an hour, gets bored, then sits besides the door waiting to be let out. If he notices that we are not giving him attention (because we are asleep), he jumps to the night stand and starts playing hockey with my keys, my watch, my phone or anything else that he can shove to the floor. If that doesn't work, he jumps to the bed, takes a bite at our toes, jumps back to the door in a flash and act as if nothing happened.

The Chairman, on the other hand, is more subtle but effective. He starts scratching on the bed, then squats as if about to pee. That cat sure knows how to get our attention.

I hear Manila has been having some serious rainy weather; not good if you are stuck in traffic somewhere in the metropolis; good if you are warm and toasty at home, sipping coffee, watching re-runs or reading a Stephen King novel. When I was still with my ex and living in this crummy hole in the wall (in the name of love, ha), there would also be lots of cooking (sinigang, always) and looking out for new leaks on the ceiling (and emptying the bucket where a leak has already appeared).

This can go on for days, as the rain in Manila can persist for days and not just for hours. The damp air spares nothing - soaked shoes, laundry that refuses to dry, cooled coffee, the heightened paper smell of a book. Wet weather always condenses everything to a comforting lethargy that settles in your bones like a vacation.

Forget snow. Why can we have typhoon season in Singapore once in a while?

I'm a great fan of BSG so I'm not too crazy about the resemblance.

Imagine McCain as a foul-mouth drunk and Palin seeking the mythical arrow of Apollo. (okay, maybe I can imagine Palin doing so, being the ultra conservative Christian she seems to be).

Can we get a Baltar in the picture so we can have a whipping boy to divert attention?

(picture via Viewer Discretion)

I want you the right way
I want you, but I want you to want me too,
Want me baby, just like I want you.
(I want you/Madonna)

Yes, I'm grounded
Got my wings clipped
I'm surrounded (by)
All this pavement
Guess I'll circle
While I'm waiting
For my fuse to dry
(Bigger than my body/John Mayer)














(Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, Midwest, New York, 2007)