Zum dritten Mal findet heuer die Haustiermesse Wien statt – natürlich noch schöner spannender und interessanter.
Österreichs größtes Haustiereinkaufserlebnis am ersten Adventwochenende  mit vielen Shows, Wettbewerben und Sonderaktionen bei Futter und Zubehör.
Alles rund um Hund, Katze, Nager, Aquaristik und Terraristik.
Mehr als 100 Hunderassen sind zu sehen, ob bei Züchtern, Züchtervereinigungen oder bei der zweimal täglich stattfindenden Rassenpräsentation.
Dazu gibt es alles für den Hund zu sehen und zu kaufen.  Ob Ernährung oder Nahrungsergänzung, alle wichtigen Firmen und auch viele neue Produkte von noch weniger bekannten Firmen sind vertreten und beraten Sie und Ihren Hund fachmännisch.
Und das angebotene Hundezubehör lässt keine Wünsche übrig – von einfach zweckmäßig über ultrarobust  bis hin zum zu Superluxus – und nicht weniges davon gibt es sonst nie in Österreich zu kaufen, da wir  jedes Jahr versuchen, neue interessante Aussteller mit besonderen Produkten rund ums Tier zu finden.
Natürlich gibt es auch 2009 wieder die TICA Katzenausstellung vom Blue Danube Cat Club mit hunderten pelziger Schönheiten und einer großen Anzahl von Züchtern, die aus aller Welt angereist sind und Rede und Antwort stehen  bei allen Katzenfragen.
Falls Sie Interesse an einem Stubentiger haben können Sie sich bei der Haustiermesse den besten Überblick verschaffen, welche Rasse Ihnen am besten gefällt und zu Ihnen passt.
Und dazu vermutlich Österreichs größtes Angebot an Kratzbäumen von Ausstellern aus  Österreich, Deutschland und den Niederlanden zu Messesonderpreisen – gleich zum Mitnehmen – oder reservieren und am Abend nach der Messe bequem abzuholen.

Die Gratiszeitung Redaktion wird natürlich wieder vom Ereignis vor Ort berichten.

Oi! Had a bit of a problem with this one. I wanted to be inspired as I wrote this because it’s kind of a big scene.
~Earth below us, drifting forward…~

It was dusk. “I don’t see anything.” Kamisho said, squinting. The Striker ships had been completed, somehow.
Kizo was standing on the opposite end of the roof, holding his single hand against the moonlight. “Me neither.”
Chambo turned from the ship he was looking at. They had put them together so quickly, he was afraid they would just fall apart. “Good… we don’t want to run in contact with anything before we know how to fly these ships.”
“I don’t think we should send all of them up.” Narl added from the ground.
“Me neither,” Chambo agreed. “I think we’re only sending up two. Kishi and I are taking this one.”
“I call the other!” Kamisho yelled, crawling off the top of the roof onto the steps.
“We heard you the first time.” Kishi growled. “I still don’t know why we’re trusting you with it…”
“Nobody here has any experience flying ships.” He replied, smiling. “Might as well be me.”
Chambo turned back to Narl. Anaxandrea, Xof, and Kizo now standing around him. “We probably should go now. We don’t know how long the sky is going to be clear.” Narl nodded.
“We entered the ship’s ID codes into the telecenter. They are pre-programmed to autoaccept any transmissions from any of them.” Xof reported. The group walked around the corner of the ship port, heading inside to the control room.
Kishi climbed into the open hatch of the closer Striker, heading to the back. “Remember what we said, Kamisho?” Chambo called, lingering on the outside.
The white mrow rubbed his toes against the dirt, cold in the night air, and stretched his shoulders. “Of course! I’ll trail you.”
“Make sure you have the audio open.” He said, right before he clambered into the inside of the ship. Chambo turned his body sideways, squeezing past Kishi and around the chair. It was red, padded and curved to a Gowak’s spine. He put his left paw on the steering stick and leaned back into the chair. It was, indeed, comfortable. The cockpit’s was almost completely surrounded by the window. At the rim, where the strong transparent material met the floor of the Striker, the window was tinted a slight green. It was the lighting of the display, ready to be used, but not on. He shifted his weight, pulling his paws onto the ground in front of him. “Ready Kishi?” Chambo put his head on his shoulder.
She nodded. Kishi wanted to come along on the first flight, even though the ships could be easily managed by a single mrow. She leaned against the wall into the mechanical area. As Chambo turned around and pushed the steering stick down, engaging, the engine rumbled. The warmth of the Merr heated the fur on Kishi’s back.
Leaning, he reached his arm and pressed the transmission button, holding it down until it locked. A small light on the display began to flash. Narl could hear him now in the ship port. Another light flickered on. Kamisho had turned on his audio. Chambo spoke calmly and clearly as he could. “Flight in one…two…” He continued to press down on the steering stick, slowly depressing into flight mode. It clicked faintly. “Three.”
The flight-tube fell into position, lowering from rest. The Trinity Engine turned on full force. The metal heated signifanctly on the wall to the mechanical area, startling Kishi slightly. It was but a split second that the tube glowed a faded red before a large beam exploded from the back. It was almost like the beam of the guns… but thinner, transparent even. The beam didn’t explode against the rocks but instead pushed against the air. The Striker was pushed forward at a rapid pace. Chambo felt his bones almost completely shoved to the back of his body. He pulled back on the steering stick with both hands. The wings slid down from the top of the ship, propelling the energy upward. There was a rumbling click as the landing wheels folded back into the underside. Chambo and Kishi could both feel the weight of the ship dissipatate as they lost contact from the ground.
The sky turned from a dark blue, to a dark gray. Kishi pulled herself forward to get a better look out the window. Chambo kept his grip on the stick. They were on the outer ridges of the atmosphere now. The nose of the oblong Striker scraped against the air. The debris and specks of dirt heated, glowing red, and wrapped around the window. “Lost visual!” Chambo cried. He relaxed his hold, letting the stick lean into it’s natural position. The Trinity Engine reduced the power, slowing down. The burning around the window cooled down, clearing away. Chambo blinked his eyes. All around his was blackness, dark and expanding. He could see the flickering stars and Moon clearer than ever before. He felt very much like he had just leaped into the night sky, and in many ways he had.
“Everything okay?” A scratchy version of Xof’s voice came in over the speakers.
Chambo breathed out, relaxing his spine. “Yes,” He replied.
“I think you came up too fast.” Kishi added, walking back to the rear of the cabin.
“I think so too.”
“Did the pseudo-gravity come on?” Kamisho asked, still stationary on the ground.
Chambo turned, quickly eying the elevation monitor on the display. It read that they were out of any form of atmosphere. “Yes, working grand.”
“Should I start to engage?” Kamisho came back.
Narl talked now from the ground. “No. Chambo, Kishi, maneuver a little bit.”
“Aye.” Chambo pushed the steering stick slightly to the left. The Striker turned slowly and controlled. He pushed forward, increasing the power of the red laser emmited from the back. They speeded up.
“Trying turning it around.” Kishi spun her extended index finger. He nodded. With a gentle amount of weight, he pulled up and sideways at the stick. The ship began to roll. He felt himself awkwardy pulled to the side, and then the other ways, for a split second. Chambo let go. The pseudo-gravity evened out. Even though they were now upside down from their original point, the two felt fine. “I think everything is working.”
“Alright. Kamisho, ready to follow?” Narl said.
Kamisho smiled, the top of his cheeks pushing against his eyes. “Sure am.”
“Go for it.” Xof seemed to chuckle as she spoke.
Out of some habit, Kamisho flicked his tail and nodded though nobody could see it. He put his palms, one on top of each other, against the rounded top of the steering stick and shoved his weight down into them. The stick clicked into position. “Take off in one…two..three!” He called excitedly. The Trinity Engine murmured, and the flight-tube lowered. A short flash of pink beckoned the powerful beam behind him. Kamisho took weight off the machine. He wanted to be careful to try and go slower than Chambo had, and avoid the lift-off burn. The Striker rose over the ground, charging forward before tipping upwards into the sky. The ship rumbled as the wheels recoiled. Kamisho’s blue eyes widened, taking in the awe-inspiring visuals as he flew through different colors of sky. “Wow, it’s beautiful!”
KERPOW!… Kamisho could feel some sudden pressure release from under his feet.
“What was that?” Narl called in hastily over the speakers.
Something was loose now in the underside of the Striker. It loudly clanked around in the wires. Kamisho tightened his grip on the steering stick, trying to pull back the speed. “I don’t know!” His long white fur stood on end.
Xof leaned over Narl’s shoulders, pushing him slightly away from the display of the telecenter. Anaxandrea pushed herself closer, breath tight in her lungs. With a quick motion, Narl activated the outside security camera. He could see the Striker ship, awkwardly wobbling near the top of the screen.
“Kamisho! Pull back!” Xof cried with worry. They could hear another loud noise over the intercom. In a flash of electrical lights, a black, pixilated shape hurdled down from the Ship.
“The gun! The gun fell out!” Anax cried.
“It took the wheels with it.” Narl hissed. Front hands against the curve of the console, he pushed backward. Crouching low to the ground, almost on all fours, he ran out the control center. His feet pounded against the cold dry rocks looking up.
“Kamisho? Do you read? What’s happening?” Xof put her mouth close the microphone. There was no reply for a short while, and then two short clicks followed by crackling static fuzz. “Chambo! Something’s wrong!”
“We can see him.” Kishi clammered over the speakers. “His ship has crossed into space… but it’s decelerating.”
Anaxandrea squeeled, throat tightening. “Kamisho!”
“He’s going into Swalu Mode!” Chambo shouted quickly.
“Is he going to make a jump?” Xof yelled back. She felt around the control switches, urgently switching back to the read out of information.
Narl rushed back into the control room, claws clicking against the ground. “It looks like half of the wiring fell out!” He growled urgently.
“The ships making a jump!” Xof shouted at Narl, turning around.
In a flash of pink, the sky seemed to have it’s colors inverted and the stars drawn closer together. Kamisho’s ship was ingulfed in the reaction and was gone.
“We lost visual!” Chambo said in shock. “We lost visual- the Swalu Transporter activated.”
The three mrows on the ship port could feel their eyes wobbling in their sockets from shock.
“Your read on the ship should be able to tell us where he went!” Chambo continued. “Does it work?”
Anax snapped out of a stupor. “Where’d he go?”
“Chambo, be ready to follow for assistance!” Xof yelled.
“I don’t know—“ He began.
Narl clamped his teeth, gaining the attention of the others and silent. “We got a read out. The warp drained the Merr on the Trinity engine.”
Kishi gasped. “Where the hell did he go to take that much energy? It’s got to be farther than the solar system!” She was closer to the communicator now.
Narl scratched and pressed against some of the control buttons. “I don’t know, I’m trying to find where…” Xof shouldered him out of the way, pointing to something on the glowing screen.
“There.” Her finger rubbed against the coordinates.
Narl and Anax read them silently. “Those…those coordinates…” Narl murmured.
“What is it?” Chambo asked nervously.
“It’s Tica.” Xof spoke in a half-whisper. “Somehow… he, he warped to Tica…”
Narl turned sharply, ears down. “Where the Herald is from?”
Anax rubbed her hands around her horns, speaking quietly. “Andero carried the Herald here… carrying a message from the Sylphs.” She was thinking out loud, manners lost in her panic, of what her had told her. “They told us of the life of those passed…in the language of Sylphs. We could only understand a little. That those of good souls were lead to a paradise of water. The Herald brought us a map and a readout of this pardise…the planet, Tica…”
“It can’t be!” Xof yelled with her mouth wide open. “It’s too far! You can’t warp to Tica!”
Narl roared back, full-force. “His engines are gone!”

The recent instability in Honduras is causing some TravelPod bloggers and their friends and families back home to worry. One unexpectedly became trapped in the middle of a military curfew. Hess found it difficult to leave the country because none of the buses would take her. She is now safe in Nicaragua:

Hess and James safe in Nicaragua

We woke early, packed had the complimentary breakfast, asked the front desk to get us a taxi to take us to the Tica bus station.  At this we were met with blank and confused looks.
“I don’t think the bus will be running?”   This stopped us in our tracks.

“What?” we collectively asked.

“Er, the bus it won’t be going. The ex-president returned yesterday.” The bewildered man replied

“Yes we know he returned, why can’t we leave?”

“There is a military lockdown, there is a curfew.” He tried to explain

A curfew during the day?  Baffled we looked at each other, none of us had contemplated that the curfew would continue into the day.

“Please would you call the Tica bus to see if they are leaving?” we pleaded.

None of us could afford to spend another night in the hotel.  He called and confirmed that no they were not leaving.  We sat down and tried to think of what we were going to do.  I was all for trying to find the action, which he overhead and promptly warned us not to leave the hotel.

We got back to the room and called the British Embassy in Guatemala and were advised not to leave our hotel, that they were monitoring the situation and it could become volatile at any moment.  In fact the military had moved into the disperse Zelaya’s supporters who had defied the curfew outside the Brazilian embassy.  Tegucigalpa resembled a ghost town, there were no cars, few people on the street and all shops were shut.  We slowly came to the realization we would not be leaving on the Tuesday and just hoped that on Wednesday we would be able to get out.  6 pm rolled on and the curfew was extended to 6 am. – Hess

I wanted to share my cats’ show results for their first TICA cat show this weekend. We went to the Prairie State Cat Club “Fall Harvest” Show

First in case anyone is not familiar with TICA, (I just learned a lot of this myself) the household pets are give points for best of color, 1st-3rd of division, and then 5-10 are chosen for finals depending on how many are entered. There are ‘Specialty’ rings and ‘Allbreed’ rings. In the “Specialty” rings the judges award finals for longhairs and finals for shorthairs separately. In the “Allbreed” rings the shorthairs and longhairs are combined and each judge picks the top cats out of both shorthairs and longhairs into one final.

Blaze is a brown mackerel tabby/white and Harley is a brown ticked torbie and white so they are both in the tabby and white division. There were three cats in the tabby and white division at this show so it was Blaze, Harley, and one other cat in their division. In this show there were less than 20 household pet adults total, so each judge awarded finals for their top 5 cats. There were 12 shorthair HHPs the first day and 7 longhair (so 19 total for the All Breed rings). The second day all the rings were Allbreed and there were 16 HHPs for most of the rings. There were 5 rings each day.

Here are my cats’ results-

Blaze (Sat.)

1. 3rd of Division
2. 3rd of Division
3. 2nd of Division
4. 3rd of Division
5. 3rd of Division; special award

In the last ring Blaze got the “James C. Becknell Memorial Award” which is awarded to a household pet with the best a “moustache” or “beard.” Blaze was the closest to one at the show.
This was Blaze’s first time going to a show and he was scared, so he didn’t do very well. He did not hiss or even put his ears back at all, he just kept to the back of the judging cages and kept his tail between his legs. I was considering not bringing him the second day but I decided to go and see if he improved. I was hoping he’d be ok for showing because although he is a little more shy than some of my other cats, as soon as he sees a toy he usually perks up and he is my most playful cat. At home he will play with a string toy (like Da Bird) until he is panting and even then he doesn’t want to stop! I’d hoped that when the judges got a toy out he would play but he was too scared to play at the show.

Blaze (Sun.)

1. Best of Division; 3rd Best Allbreed HHP Adult final
2. 3rd of Division
3. 3rd of Division
4. 3rd of Division
5. 2nd of Division

Today Blaze was still scared but he seemed to be a little bit more comfortable but was still scared. He got one final in the first ring of the day– 3rd in an Allbreed ring (3rd out of 16 household pets) is pretty good! All together he added up 595 points and one final. They need 300 points and one final to get the title “Master” (HHP equivalent to Champion) so Blaze has enough for that title. I’m not sure yet if I am going to show him again. I will probably try taking him out some places and see if he gets a little less scared.

Harley (Sat.)

1. Best of Division; Best Specialty SH HHP Adult final
2. Best of Division; Best Specialty SH HHP Adult final
3. 3rd of Division
4. Best of Division; 3rd Best Specialty SH HHP Adult final
5. 2nd of Division; 4th Best Allbreed HHP Adult final

Harley did really great. I thought she would behave fine because she’s been to one show before and did really well. It was a household pet show last March at the Chicagoland Pet Expo, it was only for household pets. She actually got Best in Show at that one. This weekend was her first TICA show though. Harley was at the front of the cage for most of the rings and trying to get the judge’s attention (“Hey, play with me!”) I also think her ticked torbie coloring helped her to stand out, and her petite size.
Harley got enough points/finals just on Saturday to earn the title “Master” which requires 300 points and one final.

Harley (Sun.)

1. 3rd of Division
2. Best of Division; 2nd Best Allbreed HHP Adult final
3. Best of Division; 4th Best Allbreed HHP Adult final
4. Best of Division; 2nd Best Allbreed HHP Adult final
5. Best of Division; Best Allbreed HHP Adult final!

I was very happy/surprised when she got a 1st place Allbreed for the last ring of the day! Harley finaled in 8 out of 10 rings for the weekend and she got 1825 points total. This is enough for the title “Grand Master” which requires 1000 points with 6 finals under 4 different judges. She only needs 175 more points to get the next title, Double Grand Master but she also needs to get one final as a “Grand Master” for that one so I have to send in her title confirmation form now.
We had a fun show, I was kinda nervous the first day since I had not been to a show since March and I’d only been to one TICA show before with my other cats Church and Harley and they did not do very well.. All the exhibitors were really nice and several helped me with figuring out points and things. I got to meet a forum member too, darlili! I also met some breeders whose websites I’d seen online, got an invitation to come play with some Japanese Bobtails at a cattery I’d been looking into previously, petted a Savannah for the first time and got to hold a lovely (available) snow Bengal kitten. The breeder was showing her to me and had to go get another cat from a ring so she asked me to hold her…the kitten started purring immediately. Oh yeah, I also got to feel a Japanese’s Bobtail’s tail. I asked an owner what their tails are actually like (can’t really tell by looking due to the fur) and he said to go ahead and feel his cat’s tail.

I took a video of Harley getting her Best Allbreed and of Blaze in a judging ring on Sunday (to see his behavior), but I can’t get them to upload to Youtube so I’m trying Catster…
Here’s the link to the videos:
Harley’s: http://www.catster.com/video/book?i=815676
Blaze’s: http://www.catster.com/video/book?i=1001353

Here are some photos from the show:

Harley in a ring-

A judging ring

Harley and Blaze’s benching cage at the end of today (Harley is staring because I was waving a toy). If you look closely you can see Blaze hiding behind the litterbox on the left side of the cage.

Harley showing off her awards

Gia, Siris dejlige perserkat

Paula: Siri, kan du fortælle os lidt om dig selv?

Siri: Ja, jeg er en voksen singlekvinde over de berømte 30, og jeg har 2 katte. Der er en hel del fordomme om ”skøre kattekvinder”, og jeg kan kun sige, at de fleste, der har kæledyr, går vel op i at passe dyret godt. Nogle af os melder os så ind i interesse/hobbyklubber, og det er der god mulighed for, når man har kat. Det er jo hyggeligt at møde nye mennesker med samme interesser som en selv. Jeg bor selv midt i København, og bruger flittigt byens kulturtilbud, går ud at danse, i teatret, og på udstillinger. Så er det sjovt at være medlem af en forening for f eks dans eller andre hobbies, såsom ens kæledyr. Jeg har et godt job, og har aldrig haft lyst til at stifte familie. Til gengæld har jeg en god vennekreds, og via de katte, jeg fik for hhv 2 og 3 år siden, har jeg fået endnu flere venner. Det kan anbefales at melde sig i klub, når man får kat

Paula: På Kattegale.dk siger du, at du er gået fra at være kattehader til absolut tilbedende perser-slave. Hvordan skete denne forvandling?

Siri: Jeg har fortalt hele historien på den suveræne hjemmeside for nyhedsgruppen www.dk-fritid-dyr-kat.dk, og sat det ind nedenfor – det er hele beretningen:-) ”Tilbedende perser-slave” *GG* Katteejere har nogle gange en særlig slang os imellem, og en af de faste vittigheder er, at katte har ikke ejere, de har opvartende ”slaver” Katte kan charmere dig til snart sagt alt, som de vil have. Og jeg er faldet helt for racen Perser/Exotic. Når jeg var ”katte-hader”, var det, fordi de katte, jeg havde mødt hos bekendte, var halvvilde baggårdskatte, de havde taget ind, og de var meget lunefulde. Da jeg mødte en velsocialiseret kat første gang, var jeg ved at gå bagover! Den var akkurat så hyggelig (og lærenem!) som en hund, og meget nemmere at have. Jeg var omvendt efter få besøg, og så en dag gik det op for mig, at jeg skulle have en kat…..

Leise!

Paula: Hvad er det du bedre kan lide ved Perserkatte over andre racer?

Siri: Jeg valgte racen ud fra Felis Danicas bøger, fordi der stod, at det er den aller-roligste af alle racekatte. Som nybegynder og katte-uerfaren tænkte jeg, at det var bedst at starte med en rolig kat. Og når man er på arbejdsmarkedet, kan det være en fordel, at katten har et stort søvnbehov, den vil da føle sig alene i kortere tid. Med tiden fandt jeg ud af, at det er ligeså nemt at have 2 katte som 1, og det er til større glæde for både ejer og kattene. De er så sjove, når de leger sammen, man får alle tiders gode, sunde grin! Og det spændende er, at venskabet med en kat hele tiden udvikler sig, det er ikke bare dertil og så ikke mere. Kattens personlighed folder sig mere og mere ud, jo længere, man har den.

Selv har jeg nu 1 Perser-hunkastrat, og en Exotic (”korthåret perser”) hankastrat, dvs samme slags kat som Garfield. Tegneren Jim Davis havde en rød Exotic, og ud fra den skabte han figuren Garfield. Virkelighedens Garfield’er spiser dog ikke lasagne, men gerne råt, hakket oksekød

Paula: Hvilke andre katteracer fascinerer dig, og hvorfor?

Siri: Briten er jeg betaget af, de er rolige og runde som Exotics – f eks kender jeg en ”Maxi-Garfield”. Men de er tunge og meget muskuløse, stærke katte, for meget for mig at bære rundt på, f eks til den årlige dyrlæge-helbredstjek og vaccination, som alle katte bør få. Så er man på forkant, hvis katten skulle have en alvorlig sygdom i opløbet, som måske let kan kureres i tide.

Maine coon racen finder jeg også flot, men igen: Det kan være store katte, og personligt vil jeg ikke byde så stor en kat at bo i 1-værelses lejlighed. Jeg kender dog folk, der fint opdrætter Maine Coons og Norske Skovkatte i (større) lejligheder. Det er vigtigt, at katten kan komme til at klatre og kradse, og der findes skam enkle og diskrete kradsetræer, også gulv-til-loft.

Hellig Birma og Ragdolls er også meget smukke! Især de brunmaskede falder jeg for, med smukke, dybblå øjne. Hellig Birma vil gerne ud at lege i indhegnet have, se f eks www.netkatten.dk – mens Ragdolls siges at være mere rolige, f eks har de åbenbart ikke lyst til at klatre højt op eller hoppe op i vindueskarmen etc. De kan dog ”snakke” en del, på meget forskellig vis, højt eller mere sagte. Se f eks www.ragdollys-cat-link.dk

Leisi slap af

Paula: Hvor mange katte har du?

Siri:  2, som sagt. Det er minimum, for så har de hinanden, når man er på arbejde eller ude. Og det er så nemt med katte: De skal ikke luftes som en hund skal, de bruger deres kattebakke, og de spiser gerne godt tørfoder. Jeg køber kvalitetsfoder i 10-kgs sække eller mere hos dyrehandleren, gerne på tilbud Det giver en rimelig kg-pris, og langt bedre helbred og trivsel for katten, når den får kvalitetsmad. Helt som med os mennesker Man kan sagtens supplere kattens tørkost med råt kød, bare ikke svinekød (nu er jeg super-forsigtig, jeg ved det, men hellere være sikker). Men billigt vådfoder fra supermarkedet er ikke lødig fuldkost til en kat. De skal bare have et godt tørfoder, og noget godt klumpende kattegrus i bakken, og de vil gerne leges med og kæles for. Det er nemt at have kat, også 2, bare de er velsocialiserede fra et godt hjem eller opdræt, eller evt. Kattens Værn.

Paula: Har du også andre dyr?

Siri: Nej. Strengt taget kunne der godt stå en islandshest på min altan (muret altan), men jeg tror ikke, at naboerne eller varmemesteren ville elske den ide

Siris dejlig perserkat

Paula: Hvor har du købt dine katte fra?

Siri: Fra www.vildkat.dk ! Det er alle tiders supergode site: Du kan vælge en voksen kat, så du ved, hvad du får mht personlighed, men der formidles også killinger via sitet.

Paula: Hvordan var oplevelsen, den første gang du var på en katteudstilling?

Siri: Lidt blandet: Mange opdrættere virker ligeglade med publikum, men nu, hvor jeg selv har udstillet, ved jeg godt, at man simpelthen har travlt. Jeg prøver dog at gøre noget ud af kontakten til publikum, og har f eks små info-standere ovenpå katteburet. Katten sover for det meste i sin hule, når den ikke lige er oppe hos dommeren. Men udstillinger er alle tiders mulighed for gode indkøb: Der er mange stande med alskens katteting, legetøj og mere praktiske ting, og de store foder-firmaer har tit gode tilbud med. De er også gode til at vejlede om det rigtige foder til den enkelte kat, og der er ingen købetvang. Tværtimod kan man ofte få gratis prøver med hjem, så man kan se, om katten kan lide foderet, før man køber en stor sæk. Tit har specialklubberne for forskellige racer info-stande på udstillingerne, så man kan få sig en snak om den rigtige kat for dig Modsat af, hvad mange tror, så kan man også udstille huskatte. Der er altid meldt huskatte til udstillingerne, det er bare at melde sig ind i en klub, hvis man har en sød og smuk huskat, så kan man udstille den, og måske vinde præmier i form af foder etc.

Fordomme om katte

Paula: Hvad er nogle af fordommene om katte i Danmark?

• At racekatte (og specielt persere) skulle være over-avlede og usunde. Helt forkert! Racekatte fra ordentlige opdrættere er passet og plejet med godt foder, vaccinationer etc, og det er kun sunde dyr, der indgår i opdræt. Hvis man er seriøs opdrætter, elsker man ”sin” race, og vil selvfølgelig ikke ønske at sætte usunde dyr i verden. Og da slet ikke sælge usunde dyr, der ville give racen et dårligt ry. At der så findes brådne kar og dårlige katte-avlere, det er noget andet, og det vender jeg tilbage til.
• At persere skulle have diverse defekter pga deres flade snuder. Helt forkert! Det er en gammel omgang skandale-journalistik fra engang i 80erne, det var noget vrøvl dengang, og det er det også nu. Dem, der ikke tror på det, skal bare besøge en seriøs perser-opdrætter, så skal I se sunde, glade, aktive persere, der sørme kan selv, for fulde gardiner Jeg formidler gerne kontakt til gode perser-opdrættere rundt om i DK.
• At katte ikke kan lide hinandens selskab. Helt forkert! De hygger sig og leger, hvis de er vant til andre katte. Man kan også godt sætte 2 voksne katte sammen, det kræver blot lidt forholdsregler. Se f eks artikler om det på www.dk-fritid-dyr-kat.dk
• At katte har behov for at være ude og jage. Helt forkert! Hvis katten er født som inde-kat, eller bliver det som killing, så har den det fint inden døre. Og det er meget, meget utrygt og usikkert for en kat at løbe ude pga biltrafikken. Der er meget høje tal på trafikdræbte katte!
• At det er synd at neutralisere (sterilisere/kastrere) katten. Tværtimod får den ”ro i sjælen” mht de kønshormoner, der stresser hankatten til hele tiden at søge hunner, og det er heller ikke godt for en hunkat at gå i løbetid igen og igen. Det er heller ikke specielt sundt for en hunkat at få enten 1 eller mange kuld killinger. En hunkat udvikler ingen moderinstinkter, før den bliver drægtig, og der er så mange, mange huskatte, der mangler hjem, at det er synd at bringe flere til verden. Der er ingen grund til at lade sin kat få et kuld killinger ”fordi den skal have lov at opleve at blive mor”. For de hormoner, der aktiverer hunkattens yngelpleje-instinkter, de produceres først under selve drægtighedsperioden. Så den ide handler da mere om menneskets følelser end om kattens ve og vel. Ren fordom. Alle katte har bedst af at blive neutraliseret tidligt, så har de langt bedre chancer for et sundt liv.
• Endnu en fordom: At katte og hunde er fødte dødsfjender. Helt forkert! Hvis hunde og katte lærer hinanden at kende fra små af, så går det fint. Jeg kender mange, der har både hunde og katte, som trives og er perlevenner.
• At katte er upersonlige og ligeglade med mennesker og ikke knytter sig til dem. Helt forkert! Tværtimod. Velsocialiserede katte fra gode hjem er super-selskabelige, og med deres helt egen individuelle personlighed. Det er noget af det, der gør, at det er skønt at have kat.
• At katte er mere knyttet til et sted end til deres ejer. Det holder ikke. Man skal for alt i verden ikke efterlade katten ved huset, hvis man flytter, for den kan IKKE klare sig selv.
• Og i fortsættelse af det: En kat kan ikke selv ernære sig i naturen som vildtlevende. Det er ialtfald et meget pauvert liv, som ingen kat bør lide. Har man først givet sig til at fodre en kat, så har man ansvaret for den, og vil man ikke fodre flere killinger, så skal man få katten neutraliseret. Jo før, jo bedre.
• At katte ikke kan lære noget. Helt forkert! Man kan sagtens lære dem alt muligt, det er bare på en anden måde end med hunde. En anden metode, fordi det er en anden slags dyr. Men princippet med belønning og ros for god adfærd, og at ignorere dårlig adfærd, den gælder også for katte. Man kan ikke straffe en kat for forkert adfærd, men man kan belønne væk fra den. Nogle katteejere har skam også lært deres katte diverse tricks ved hjælp af klikker-træning. No problem! Jo, man kan godt lære katte noget. Sagtens. Mine 2 har f eks lært, at hvis hårboller afleveres på bademåtten, så er de (og lugten) meget hurtigt væk. Da katte har en suverænt god lugtesans, er renlighed vigtigt for dem. De ved også godt, hvor de skal sætte sig, hvis de ønsker kæl eller leg. Man kommer længst med kærlighed og tålmodighed

Sød Leise

Paula: Tror du de fleste avlere i Danmark er gode til at teste deres dyr for genetiske sygdomme der er typiske for racerne, og ikke avle på dem, der har fået en diagnose?

Siri: Her skal man nok selv være på vagt og have de kritiske briller på. De seriøse opdrættere skriver på deres hjemmesider, om de tester, og for hvilke sygdomme. Hvis der ikke står info om dette, kan man spørge, men der er brådne kar i den branche også. Desuden er det vigtigt at vide, at som oftest vil en seriøs opdrætter netop bruge ordet opdræt. Der er god grund til at være meget på vagt overfor ”katte-avlere”. Det kan være det, der i katteverdenen kaldes BYB’er (forkortelse for Back-Yard Breeders) eller ”killinge-fabrikker”. Dér skal man IKKE købe kat: Kattene holdes i bure, ofte under skrækkelige forhold: For lidt plads, udsatte for vind og vejr – det svarer til burhønse-hold, bare med katte i stedet, og det er helt, helt uacceptabelt. Se dig godt for, når du køber kat, og se altid, hvor kattene bor til daglig. Er det inde i stuen hos opdrætteren, eller er der bure i baghaven, som du ikke må se….. *GYS*

Seriøse opdrættere kan du finde via de store klubber såsom Racekatten, Katteklubben etc. En seriøs opdrætter vil altid være organiseret i en af de 4 hovedklubber (Fife-klubber), eller tilsvarende i TICA (ny katte-organisation i DK). Et godt site at finde både killinger og voksne katte er også www.killingelisten.dk

Gia, er du træt efter en lang dag?

Min historie om at få kat:

Jeg havde i lang tid gået og tænkt over at få et kæledyr. Jeg er vokset op i et opdræt af heste (dansk varmblod) og hunde (boxere) – så havde vi også kaniner, høns, staldkatte, og en nabo med 300 svin (stank og fluer en masse – æv!).
Men jeg vil personligt ikke byde en hund at bo i byen, hvor den ikke kan løbe og lege som på markerne og i haven, som det var hjemme hos mine forældre.
Så tænkte jeg på fugl eller dværghamster. Men begge skal ud af buret ofte, og så er der enten klatter øverst på reolen og alle bøgerne, eller under, og det ville være besværligt at holde rent.
Hvad med fisk/akvarie så. De er smukke og beroligende, men man kan ikke ae dem, og da jeg undersøgte det med akvarium og diverse dimser, så var det både for dyrt og for bøvlet for mig..

Leise, hjerterkongen!

Så læser jeg en nyhed, en skrækkelig en: Folk tager på ferie – og efterlader katten f eks på en P-plads!! Endda i en papkasse ved skraldespanden! Jeg blev rasende, det er jo horribelt, det er et levende væsen! Mig fluks ind på Kattens Værns hjemmeside og maile om en aftale mht at besøge nærmeste internat – det kunne jo være, at der var en kat, der gerne ville være hos mig (bemærk, katten vælger sin ejer – så får man det hyggeligst). Det blev en hyggelig eftermiddag, hvor Nicola på KV Frb gav mig masser af gode råd og viden om katte.
Jeg havde jo tyret et par bøger om katte: ‘Katten’ og ‘Kat i lejlighed’, vist begge af Katrin Behrend, dem kan jeg anbefale! Korte og fulde af god information. Mest for at finde ud af, om det overhovedet var realistisk for mig at holde kat. Det var det!
Og jeg havde ingen forventninger til nogen særlig selskabelighed fra kattens side – staldkattene på landet var halvvilde og bestemt ikke særlig venskabelige. Jeg tænkte, at katten ville ligge og se elegant og lidt arrogant ud, og bare være sin egen. Evt, at når man så vågner kl 03 midt på svarte natten og synes, at der er noget, der pusler – jamen, så ER der noget, der pusler!
Kan jeg høre nogen grine? Ikke selskabelig eller venskabelig? HA HA HA!  Jeg blev klogere….. og meget glad for mine kærlige katte.
Nicola fortalte mig om www.vildkat.dk , formidling fra hjem til hjem af voksne katte, der behøver nyt hjem. Og jeg skylder hende evig tak! Hende og Dorthe ”vildkat”, der har lavet sitet.
For efter at have læst et par af Felis Danicas bøger om forskellige katteracer, blev jeg jo klar over, at det godt kunne være en perser, der var den rigtige kat for mig….. Rolig, kærlig, selskabelig – og imponerende!
Sådan en havde jeg set for år tilbage i Prag, en stor, rød tank af en kat, en fremadskridende majestæt af en kat, der nærmest kom tromlende i al sin værdige rundhed! Sikket syn!

Hvad er nyheden i avisen?

Der var faktisk et par persere på vildkat.dk lige da. Men den ene var en fertil han på sit 5. hjem, og jeg var helt grøn – jeg turde ikke. Den anden – ja, jeg spurgte om de ting, som bøgerne rådede til (og Nicola, forresten), og fik ikke rigtig svar på noget. Så e-mailede jeg Dorthe, der har sitet, og spurgte om råd. Hun svarede ‘Skynd dig ind på siden, der er lige kommet en perser på med alt i orden’ – og mente også, at jeg som helt nybegynder ikke skulle binde an med noget, jeg ikke var klar til.
Den dejlige perser med alt i orden, det var min kommende kat, min elskede, pragtfulde, sjove Perser-pige!
Beskeden ser hun ud i sort og brunt – en sorttabby (dvs plettet/stribet) hunkat, med smukke kobberfarvede øjne. Jeg e-mailede ejerne, der var forfærdeligt kede af, at de måtte af med katten, men deres spæde datter havde fået astmatisk bronchitis og katteallergi. Men vi fandt hurtigt ud af, at deres perser kunne få det godt hos mig.

Leise, en rød Exotic

De kom en juli eftermiddag, og katten holdt tryg og sikker sit indtog: Hun lagde ud med at snuse hver en krog igennem, rigtig grundigt og systematisk! Hun lyste af at være en psykisk sund og stærk kat, hende turde jeg godt lade flytte ind, og det er bare gået godt!
Hun havde lidt pelsproblemer og brød sig ikke om at blive redt, da hun kom, men efter barbering af de knottede partier (mave og hofter) hos Janni (hunde- og katte- ”frisørsalon” på Godthåbsvej 109 A, Frederiksberg), så lærte hun med tiden at blive redt. Med godbidder (RC Persian – mums!) og kæl kan man lære en kat mange ting, og nu går det fint. Det er bare skønt at se sådan en sød kat blive mere og mere tryg og glad ved pleje og pasning.
Så fik jeg nyt arbejde, meget og sent, og hun følte sig alene, helt tydeligt.
Jeg prøvede at finde en legekammerat til hende, og først flyttede stakkels lille tynde Belle ind, i foråret 2007. Det gik desværre ikke: Hun var blevet jagtet af to hunde i sit gamle hjem, og trængte bare til menneske-selskab som ene-kat. Det fandt jeg så til hende, og nu stor-trives hun, stor og flot Ragdoll-pige er hun blevet, og slet ikke mager og jamrende som før. Hun har også en stærk psyke, den fine pige!
Så flyttede Leise ind! Han er en rød Exotic (ligesom i tegneserien om Garfield), og han var  bare en succes. Efter et par forsigtige uger fik han stille og roligt charmet sig ind på min pigekat, de hygger og leger stadig mere og mere. Han kommer fra katte-opdrættet www.amalias.dk, og hedder på stamtavlen Lion af Amalias. Men han har nærmest ingen stemme, så han har fået kælenavnet Leise. Jeg fandt også ham på www.vildkat.dk, han var ”pensioneret” som opdrættets hankat.

Hankatte har ikke godt af at være fertile hele deres liv, de er meget tynde som fertile, da det dræner dem for kræfter at være på konstant udkig efter misser Men jeg valgte ham, fordi han er af samme race, så der er større chance for god kommunikation kattene imellem, og fordi han var/er en erfaren herre med forstand på hunkatte med nykker

Under alt dette har jeg fået hjælp og råd i nyhedsgruppen (som jeg har nævnt et par gange), det har været helt uvurderligt!

Det var historien om, hvordan jeg blev omvendt fra kattehader (pga de lunefulde, kradsende halvvilde katte, jeg havde mødt) til Perser-fan pga mine 2 dejlige, kærlige ”pelsbolde”. De lyser op i min hverdag, og vi nyder hinandens selskab. Mine venner falder også komplet for dem. Jeg kan kun anbefale det – få dig 2 persere/exotics, det er bare lykken!

Turma da Namilaca jovem

Quadro 1 – Chaleria / Copo

Quadro 2 – Olá sou a chaleira!

Quadro 3 – Olá sou o copo!

Quadro 4 – Olá sou a mesa.

Quadro 5 – Olá sou a Lara.

Quadro 6 – Olá sou o quadro.

Qualdro 7 – Entã a Lara falou: Sou a Lara. Oi sou a chaleira.

Quadro 8 – Oi sou o copo. Oi sou a mesa. Oi sou a Lara. Oi sou o Quadro.

Quadro 9 – Olá, quem gosta da turma da Namilaca levanta a mão!

FIM

FIM

FIM

Turma da Namilaca

Quadro 1 – A Namilaca está assoviando. O Celinho está distraído com o rato, fingindo que está assoviando também.

Quadro 2 – Namilaca: – Oi Lara! Ãh! Lara: – Qua bonitinho o rato. Rato: – uixi uixi

Quadro 3 – Namilaca: – Fofo né? Ele fes cocô! Lara correndo de nojo: – E E E E E E

Quadro 4 – Namilaca: – Ele vem do esgoto! Celinho: – Aaaaaah! Lara: – Aaaaaah!

Quadro 5 – Namilaca: – Gente! A Laura é cientista, vamos ver se ela pode chamar de Tica! Lara: – Legal!

Quadro 6 – Laura: -Claro! namilaca: – Ahã!

Quadro 7 – Banho do rato com IPE (Champu)  Lamilaca: – Isso Tica!

Quadro 8 – A Tica dormindo na cama de casal da Namilaca.

Quadro 9 – A Tica nadando na piscina.

Quadro 10 – A tica se apaixonou pela Barbie.

Quado 11 – Namilaca: – Chega de água, Tica!!!

Quadro 12 – O rato falou: -Acabou. Fim.

Am nächsten Morgen erreichte mich der erste Schock nach einem sparsamen aber leckeren Frühstück direkt als ich das Hotel verließ und ausrutschte: Glatteis. Entlang der Hauptstraßen ließ es sich aber aushalten, sodass ich meinen Zug nach Szeged, mit bayrischen Brezeln („bavarski perec“) einer örtlichen Bäckerei versorgt, wie geplant erreichte. Der Bahnhof in Subotica wirkt als ob dort seit den Habsburger Zeiten nichts mehr verändert wurde. Die Beschriftungen stimmen nicht, die Bediensteten sind langsam und unfreundlich und selbst die Gitter, die früher die einzelnen Klassen der Züge schon auf dem Bahnsteig trennten, wurden nicht entfernt. Von außen sieht das Gebäude aber trotzdem ganz schön aus, obwohl der alte Glanz eines prächtigen und modernen Bahnhofs doch stark verblasst ist. Für den Zug ist der Name Zug wohl deutlich übertrieben, die Bezeichnung Schienenbus passt deutlich besser. Er besteht aus einem alten Wagen, der mit ca. 15 km/h im Schnitt die 25 km nach Szeged zurücklegt und dafür inklusive Grenzkontrollen ungefähr zwei Stunden braucht. An der Strenge der Grenzkontrollen merkte ich, dass die Strecke wohl häufig von Schmugglern benutzt wird, was bei einem Preis von 2,70€ pro Fahrt auch nicht weiter verwunderlich ist. Zuerst beschwerte sich der serbische Grenzbeamte, weil ich vergaß meine Anmeldekarte vorzuzeigen, dann rückten die ungarischen Zöllner mit Schraubenzieher und Brecheisen an, die sie dann aber glücklicherweise doch nicht verwendeten. Wie ich feststellen musste, hatte nämlich tatsächlich eine Frau irgendwelche Waren geschmuggelt und nach der Kontrolle befreite sie sie mit einem Schraubenzieher aus ihrem Versteck. In Szeged merkte ich als erstes, dass der Bahnhof ähnlich lange nicht mehr renoviert worden war wie der Suboticer. Zum Glück lag meine Pension in der Nähe des Bahnhofs und war leicht zu finden.

Szeged hat eine sehr schöne Innenstadt. Mittelpunkt ist der große Dom mit einem noch größeren Domvorplatz. Im Sommer finden dort viele Konzerte und andere Veranstaltungen statt. Viele Gebäude in der Innenstadt sind wie in Subotica vom Sezessionsstil geprägt. Die Innenstadt ist auch sehr gut renoviert, aber sobald man sie verlässt, lässt die Qualität der Bausubstanz deutlich nach. Neben dem Dom gehören das Rathaus, weitere Kirchen, ein Heilbad sowie die Synagoge zu den Highlights der Stadt. Die riesige Synagoge habe ich besichtigt und war von der Größe sowie der Gestaltung des Innenraums beeindruckt.

Nachdem ich eine recht lange Zeit in der Innenstadt verbracht hatte, lief ich noch ein bisschen an der Tisza (serbisch: Tica), dem größten Fluss der Stadt, entlang, die in Serbien in die Donau mündet. Der Fluss war, ähnlich wie die Donau in Serbien, zum Teil von Eisschollen bedeckt. Die Uferpromenade mit einem Park war sehr schön, aber im Januar noch nicht sehr einladend. Direkt am Ufer steht auch das alte Schloss, das heute ein Museum ist. Dieses besichtigte ich später am Tag. Vom größten Teil der Ausstellung war ich aber relativ enttäuscht, da sie recht lieblos wirkte. Ich hatte ein bisschen das Gefühl, sie hätten einfach alles gesammelt, was ihnen in die Hände fiel und dann ausgestellt ohne auf einen besonders guten Zusammenhang zu achten. Die einzigen Teile, die mir ganz gut gefielen, waren ein Bereich mit ungarischen Gemälden und ein Teil über Umweltschutz. Daran sieht man auch die Vielfalt der Ausstellungsstücke.

Bevor ich allerdings das Museum besuchte, traf ich mich noch mit einem Freund von meinem Bruder, der im Moment in Szeged studiert. Er zeigte mir die Stadt ein bisschen und wir aßen zusammen Mittag. Während dieser Führung stellte ich fest, dass ein großer Teil der Innenstadt zur Universität gehört. Insbesondere die medizinische Fakultät hat riesige Ausmaße.

Zum Abschluss meines Stadtrundgangs schaute ich mir noch ein Kloster an, das nicht weit von der Innenstadt entfernt liegt. Es war allerdings bereits geschlossen, sodass ich nur die Außenmauern sehen konnte. Ich beschloss den Tag mit einer sehr guten und nicht teuren Steinofen-Pizza in einem italienischen Restaurant in der Nähe meiner Pension.

Insgesamt habe ich den Eindruck, dass die Stadt vor allem von ihren Kirchen und der Universität geprägt ist. Die Menschen fand ich weniger gastfreundlich als ich es aus Serbien gewohnt bin und auch die Englischkenntnisse der Menschen sind nicht wesentlich besser. Es fällt auf, dass die Stadt westlich-amerikanischer geprägt ist als serbische Städte, obwohl sie nur 15 km von der Grenze entfernt ist. Dies sieht man vor allem an der Vielzahl der Filialen von McDonalds, BurgerKing und co., die es in serbischen Städten nicht gibt. Außerdem gibt es wesentlich mehr Hotels und Pensionen als in serbischen Städten, was daran liegen könnte, dass es mehr Touristen gibt, aber auch daran, dass es viele ausländische Studenten gibt, die am Anfang noch keine eigene Wohnung besitzen.

Se analizan en el texto algunos de los discursos teóricos fundamentales que han reflexionado acerca de estas relaciones sociales del arte, es decir, se ha examinado la reflexión teórica y filosófica respecto a las prácticas artísticas con el objeto de llegar a comprender cómo ésta ha sido una reflexión en torno a la autonomía de lo artístico que ha estado modelando ideológicamente las prácticas para determinarlas en el interior de relaciones sociales concretas.

Esta reconstrucción del modo de producción artístico occidental, desde Marsilio Ficino en la Florencia del siglo XV hasta Rosalind Krauss en los años ochenta del siglo XX, pasando por Karl Philipp Moritz e Immanuel Kant en la Ilustración alemana, así como la relación entre arte y trabajo productivo en Karl Marx y William Morris, expone el modo de producción de las artes a través de los discursos que lo han pensado y configurado históricamente, ilustrando estos discursos a través de las prácticas concretas, a la vez que examinando críticamente la reflexión teórica en cuanto ideología del modo de producción.

A este respecto, las nociones que en este ensayo se han analizado como parte de la práctica ideológico-constitutiva del modo de producción artístico han sido: la de la «poiesis» en relación al conocimiento de Dios, la de la «libertad» como paradigma de todo sujeto que es dueño de su «industria», la del trabajo productivo en relación a la dialéctica entre «producción» y «praxis», y la de la «propiedad» intelectual como forma de apropiación.

Source: http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=79370

When I had one day woken up in Antigua, Guatemala and realized that Kevin and Willie’s flight from New York had left that morning bound for Costa Rica, I realized that it was time to get the hustle on and get my ass down there to meet them.  So, after wrapping up my remaining affairs in the small colonial Guatemalan town filled with drunken 20-something tourists, I headed to Guatemala City to board a TICA bus in sheer excitement at finally seeing my dear friends after several long months on the road.  As my bicycle bumped along the cobble-stoned streets, my equipment incessantly popping right off my rig, the sun shone innocently and it looked like wonderful weather for the brief, albeit initially steep uphill, ride to the city.  I had gotten a late start, and as I trudged ever higher through the dense forests that rimmed the edge of the valley surrounding Antigua, I wondered if I would indeed hold true to the rendez-vous time that I had Alvaro that I would be arriving, or if indeed I would, as usual, be arriving fashionably late.  Well, at that time, I couldn’t have had any idea of what the near future held for me.

    I spun my pedals cheerily as I idled along up the curvy mountainside road in low gear, eagerly anticipating the beauty and mystique of a new and exotic country as well as the companionship of my people.  But as I finally began to see the crest of the hilltop in the near distance, after only an hour or so of riding, I also noticed the rising winds and darkening sky on the horizon.  As the road from Antigua joined with the main highway through the highlands, bustling traffic began to pick up on the road and I raced forward with the speeding vehicles now that the path ahead had transformed into a smooth rise and fall, following along the top of the mountain ridge.  As I rode, I wondered how much longer the weather would hold out, but then up ahead I saw the tree cover fall away and the pale, hazy sky open up above an endless vista into a huge valley far, far off in the distance below.  The highway suddenly took a dip and began a smooth, steady descent towards the lowlands.  I flew down the slope at a maniacal speed, the adrenaline racing through my veins as I kept suit with ever growing evening rush hour traffic pouring down the mountainside towards the city.  For once in Latin America fate seemed to have known that I was coming and paved a wide, tasteful shoulder, and as I arced speedily yet gracefully through the gentle curves ever lower, a roaring explosion of thunder crashed behind me.  I glanced nervously over my left shoulder and saw the entire upper mountainside obscured in brooding black clouds, rolling impatiently after me.  

    The race was on.  I knew that although in some parts of the world these types of storms pass quickly and violently, here in Central America this could be the harkening of a murderous, thrashing squall that might rage for hours on end, long into the dark of night.  A blinding, strobe-like flash illuminated the dramatic panorama that wrapped around me – the sallow grey sky of inevitability stretching out over the valley to my right and the threateningly inky mountainside drawing ever nearer on my right.  And then, with another shuddering crack, as though two trucks had slammed into each other at high speed behind me, the rains began.  Massive, juicy droplets pelted down against my skin, splattering like tiny water-balloons as they exploded on the roadside all around.  The world was quickly transformed and now that the cloud cover had enveloped me, a veil of darkness draped over the road ahead.  Cars sloshed by, wipers furiously whipping back and forth.  I knew that I had to get off this road, the rain had become sharp and painful, I could barely see through the torrent as it fired ceaselessly at my eyes, and the traffic alongside me continued to bounce along treacherously in the rising waters.  As I neared a trough at the bottom of the hill, I spotted a slightly overhanging corrugated steel roof alongside a glass walled building and veered off of the highway in its direction.  A moment later I hopped off the bike, pushed it up against the wall and pressed myself backwards, nearer to the building, to avoid the wind-blown rain which was still spattering against the foundation in endless diagonal sheets.  I huddled there for a few minuted before noticing that a woman inside the windows was waving her arms at me, signaling for me to come inside and seek shelter from the storm.

    Once I had managed to shove my loaded bicycle up the chunky front step and through the door, it was immediately apparent that the luxury of conversation was not an option.  The deafening sound of raindrops pummeling against the corrugated steel roof  high above reverberated throughout the wide open office of what appeared to be an auto wreckage shop.  I joined the employees, two men and the woman who had invited me inside, as we stood trapped inside the apocalyptic din, staring blankly in awe at the tumultuous downpour and thrashing  trees through the wide glass walls.  Yet this lasted for only a few more minutes before the course of the storm radically shifted.  Suddenly a sound like thousands of rocks being fired against steel sounded above us and outside the window the world went white.  Marbles of hail poured down from the heavens, crashing against the scene on the highway before us, almost instantly shutting the world down and jolting the endless line of traffic to a halt.  The roaring pounding was almost unbearable as it shattered on the roof in a chaotic frenzy.  Endless minutes passed and the pellets of ice began to pile up on the ground before us.  But then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the hail disappeared and was instantly replaced by cascading raindrops once again.  By this point I had sat down and gotten myself comfortable, it didn’t look like this would be over any time soon. The next hour dragged by and although I had hoped to call Alvaro, I knew that it was completely impossible in all this noise.  And then the rain decided to come inside.

    At first it was just a long, thin finger of moisture snaking along the concrete floor, but moments later it had widened and began to migrate outward.  I lifted my feet onto the chair beside me as the water level began to rise.  One of the employees had found a broom and was desperately trying to sweep the flood away, but to no avail I wondered just how much longer this would go on as I stared at the shining pool rising below me. But finally the storm outside began to wane and slowly drew from its previous fury to a smug drizzle.  The highway timidly grew to life again, dragging along painfully slowly and igniting a distant memory of the misery of being stuck in city traffic.  Yet I knew nothing of traffic now, and as I was impatient to forge into the Central American metropolis, I gestured a thank you to my hosts and returned to the dripping world outside.

    Now, with my raincoat tightly zipped and a renewed vigor, I steered back onto the roadside.  Zipping by the idling vehicles, I made my way along the highway, soon spotting the first signs for city exits.  I knew that I was not far now, and with a vague notion of the city layout before me, I weaved rapidly through the crawling traffic – now I was back on my turf.  The nostalgia of racing through the city streets of New York, Boston, Atlanta – it all raced back to me and I couldn’t help but smile wryly as I knew all of the motorist glared at me from behind the next car’s taillights.  Mentally I was counting down the streets from the huge plaques above the road and as I neared Alvaro’s side of the city I finally spotted it, the Obelisko (I think you can figure out the translation on that one).  The roadways here were a chaotic knot of underpasses and median islands, but I knew that somehow I had to join the traffic on the other side of the obelisk which curved off to my left.  I followed down the busy four lane roadway until I finally reached a left hand u-turn gap in the median and whipped around, backtracking towards my destination.  Once past the obelisk yet again, I followed around and then took my turn, conveniently pulling up on the street outside of what appeared to be a mall – exactly where Alvaro had instructed me to meet him.  I headed for the awning alongside the building’s exterior, propped my bike up against a bench and tried dialing Alvaro’s number.  When I finally got through I relayed my location (in front of the Hooters – yes, sadly they have Hooters here too) and he told me that he should be there in about forty minutes.  

    So there I was, after several months of the wilderness and small villages of Guatemala and Southern Mexico, wearing the same three outfits day in and day out, and now standing outside of a mall with forty minutes to kill.  So what do you think I wanted to do?  Well, sadly that little bubble of hope was quickly popped when I remember that I had a bicycle loaded with everything I owned sitting on the sidewalk outside – and in Guatemala City nonetheless.  But the Guess store did have a big window that faced right out to the sidewalk…  Alright, so I decided to indulge myself, although I do think that the salespeople probably found it a bit odd that I milled about in the same corner of the store the entire time, suspiciously glancing out the window every few moments.  But even within these confines, after busting my ass though the endless mountains of Guatemala, I knew I deserved some kind of reward.   And so, moments later I was exiting the store, the proud owner of a precioso new tank top, and continuing to wait for Alvaro.

    But hours passed and still no sign of my Guatemalan friend.  By this point I was growing more and more fearful of the ominously lingering dark clouds and knew that it wouldn’t be long before the storm regained strength and stranded me here with my unwieldy two wheeled beast for the night.  I tried calling Alvaro, but after hopelessly ringing on and on for several minutes I remembered that I had his work number, and judging by the time he was certain to be out of there by now. Since Alvaro had given me his address, I decided that the best plan now would be to head for the house and just hope to rendez-vous there.  So, mounting the bicycle yet again, I began wallowing through the still bumper to bumper traffic to cross town.  Fortunately I had mapped my route well and was able to consistently squeeze through the tight lanes of traffic, and with only fifteen minutes I was already on the street where the house should be.  I pulled up onto the sidewalk and out of the way of passing car to have a look at the house numbers, but it appeared that there were none.  Hmm, this could be a predicament.  I  stood there and stared about, but only for a brief moment, as suddenly someone was calling out to me.  It was Alvaro’s mother, my savior!  I had finally arrived – thank goodness for the latin american family!

    A warm and inviting lady, Alvaro’s Mom welcomed me then led me inside and directed me up to the room where I would be staying.  She told me that Alvaro’s cell phone was not working at the moment and that apparently he had gotten stuck in the rain and didn’t have a car – and its virtually impossible to get a cab in Central America when its raining like this.  She also told me that another friend of Alvaro’s was staying at the house and that we could hang out until her son returned.  So I headed upstairs to get settled in and met Brendon, a traveler from Australia who had just come from a journey around the world, passing through the United States, most of Europe, and Asia.  Knackered from my day’s wild and unprecedented course of event, I was more than happy to plop down on the other bed and pass the time away in friendly conversation with my new friend.  

    After an hour of chatting, Alvaro’s mother called us downstairs, informing us that she had prepared some cheese quesadillas to tide us over until the missing link returned from the rainstorm.  When we arrived downstairs my heart went out to the poor woman.  As I had expected, the rains had struck up again with a vengeance, and so forceful was the downpour that the kitchen was flooding.  The matron of the house stood by the kitchen door sweeping vigorously in an attempt to keep the water from spilling out into the living room and motioned towards the steaming plate which was sitting on the countertop, insisting that we go ahead and eat.  We headed for the dining room with our quesadillas but along the way got distracted by the sound of horns outside and after setting the plate down decided to go investigate.  Opening the front door and heading out the the huge gate at the front of the house, we peeked outside and saw that hundreds of headlights trailed off towards the city, reflecting in the wavering water which was brimming up to their doors.  Yes, apparently I had arrived at the right time, because the three foot deep water certainly wouldn’t have been any fun to ride through.  After thoroughly observing the scene before us, we decided that we’d had enough rain and headed back inside for some queso.  

    As we sat at the dinner table eating, we heard the front door open, and around the corner came Alvaro.  He was completely soaked, literally dripping from his work clothes and excused himself while he went upstairs to dry off and change.  When he returned, dinner was ready and we all sat down together, Alvaro furnishing a bottle of Belizean rum which he had brought back from his recent trip to the Caribbean coast.  Although I was thoroughly enjoying the conversation, shortly after dinner I felt that I could barely keep my eyes open anymore after all of the day’s excitement and said goodnight to the guys before heading upstairs and falling onto the waiting mattress.  The following day I was up early, thanking my host for his hospitality and saying my farewells, then heading off towards the TICA bus terminal way on the other side of the city.  I knew that it wouldn’t be long before I saw my dear friend’s Kevin and Willie in Costa Rica, and I could hardly wait.  The only thing that separated us now were the mountains of Central America and two short days.

I’ll make this post short and sweet! I just want to congratulate all of the # 1 winners for The International Cat Association’s 2007-2008 show season which ended on April 30 2008.

Drum roll please…………………………………..

IW SGC MTNest Midnight Cowboy

The Best Championship Cat is MTNest Midnight Cowboy, a black Maine Coon bred and owned by Judy and David Bernbaum. Handsome boy, huh?

The Best Kitten is Kelloggs Love Echoes On, a black silver classic tabby American Shorthair bred and owned by Heinrich and Carly Kellogg/ C Schofield.

IW Kelloggs Love Echoes On

The Best Alter is IW SGCA HMS Prescott of Chaucer, a blue-and-white British Shorthair bred by Harley DeVilbiss and owned by Jeane and Stephanie Camarena.

IW SGCA HMS Prescott of Chaucer

The Best Household Pet is LA SGM Believe in Magic of Luvpurrs, a red ticked tabby/white owned by Vanadis Crawford and Chris Unangst.

LA IW SGM Believe in Magic of Luvpurrs

The Best Household Pet Kitten is Drops O Jupiter of Cristal Cat, a white kitten owned by Crystal D. Jager.

IW Drops of Jupiter of CristalCat

Congratulations to all of TICA’s 2007-2008 International Winners. Every since winner was worth mentioning, but that would mean a very long blog because that would be 100 winners! Wow!

The new 2008-2009 show season started on May 1 2008 and will end on April 30 2009. Check back later and find out who is in the lead for these five divisions!

Single men really do love cats!

Okay, so it’s about time that those single men finally confessed they’re big cat lovers! It’s no surprise to me. I know plenty of single men….and married men!….who are cat lovers.

Yeah, I’m involved in the cat fancy, but I’ve known many men before I started showing cats. My brother-in-law and nephew (his son) are HUGE cat lovers! My brother-in-law was a former college football player; someone you’d never expect to be a cat lover.

And now that I’m in the cat fancy, there are many men who I know that love cats! But finally these guys are “coming out of the (cat) closet”.

This week an article in The New York Times declared these newly found cat lovers something “new and exciting”. But in all reality, they’ve been out there!

In fact, there are many men who retired from “macho” careers that now breed and show cats. I won’t go into that right now….that’s a blog for another time! We’ll let them out of the “cat closet” later.

And you know what…..PURRsonals.com which is the only social networking and matchmaking site for single cat lovers says that they have more men as members than women! Okay gals….you have a whole pot of single cat lovers out there just waiting for you! Join that site and get going. You know, you could help some of those “new” single male cat lovers “come out of the cat closet”!

Tah!

Deb

QGC Rum Tum Timmy

My “initiation” to the cat fancy was showing my household pet, Rum Tum Timmy  (aka Tim). He’s a gorgeous, bunny-fuzz coated blue (most likely he can claim Maine Coon and Russian Blue in his genes!) with HUGE green eyes.

I had shown horses and worked with my Schipperkes (agility, Canine Good Citizen) so as a cat-lover-from-birth, I decided to give the cat fancy a shot. It didn’t take long to realize I was in love: in fact, it was the second day of the two-day TICA (The International Cat Association) show in Fort Worth eight years ago that sealed the deal.

Since then I’ve shown Havanas (i.e. also called Havana Browns in the Cat Fanciers Association), but have always had a household pet under my wing at the shows too. Cocoa Pebbles (aka Beaner) has been the road companion for numerous show cats and just last year won her Regional Winner title in TICA.

Okay, enough about me. What I wanted to say is Cornell University’s newsletter CatWatch recently featured an article on showing Household pets. It’s so much fun to show household pets! It’s a great way to learn the ropes of showing a cat…..help adopt and show off a gorgeous cat!!….let juniors become accomplished exhibitors without buying a pedigreed cat….

Many judges started out showing household pets. And many judges still show household pets!

TICA not only registers household pets, but the cats and kittens can earn the same titles, and regional and international awards as the pedigreed cats.

If you want to learn more….or have a gorgeous cat or kitten that you know loves people and is a “ham”…then go to www.tica.org and see if you can find a show near you. Go visit it, and watch the household pet judging. And talk to the owners at the show!

It’s so much fun.

So who ever thought that one of the fast-growing social networking sites would be dedicated to animals and their owners?

Well, Zootoo.com is exactly that. And it’s out of the welfare of all animals that it was created. As its tagline says “bringing pet lovers together to help pets and each other”.  Zootoo’s mission is: At Zootoo, every click helps a pet and every pet lover has a voice. Zootoo embraces all animals and the people who care for them every day.

zootoo logo

What’s neat about Zootoo.com is you can help raise funds for your favorite rescue group or animal shelter! Now, how many sites are dedicated to that?

There’s so many features as a registered user — photo wars, video uploads, Q&A postings, event lists, and on and on — that you can dedicate the entire site to not only your pets, but helping pets locally or worldwide.

With all of the registered users–which runs from pet owners to service providers, manufacturers to various associations–Zootoo.com keeps creeping (no, RUNNING) up in search engine rankings thanks to its traffic. According to Alexa.com, Zootoo.com’s It’s traffic is growing so quickly, that The International Cat Association, American Kennel Club, and the local SPCA and Humane Societies have joined the ranks of Zootoo.com.

Okay, so have I. You can watch as I build my own pages on the site. And please vote for my pets in the Pet Wars. By earning points I can help out Little Orphan Angels (my favorite non-profit rescue group located in North Texas).

You know, there’s just so much to talk about … I think I’ll end this post. Just visit my page, and then the rest of Zootoo.com. Share it with your friends. And I’ll keep you  updated on what is going on.

Just remember, Zootoo.com is about:

 Share…and learn about all things pet

Connect…with other pet lovers like you

Help…pets and animal shelters

I just hired a maid. I didn’t mean to. Wasn’t looking for one. But apparently, I’ve now got one, twice a week for two hours each day for a total of $10 per week.

I just hope I haven’t opened the door to another scam or something more sinister.

The transaction began in the morning, as a woman passed our home on the way to the pulperia, a tiny convenience store located directly next door to our house.

Behind bars

At the time we moved in, having a store next door seemed like a blessing because we are without a car and forever forgetting to pick up everything we need on our weekly run to one of the bigger groceries in the neighbourhood.

Given that my life seems always lived in hindsight and with regret, it’s no surprise that the idea doesn’t seem like such a good one now.

Not only is the street busy with a constant stream of people walking past, but we are also on display most of the time. And as gringos, we are a visible target for criminals.

The pulperia

We have been reminded of this by several people who live on the street. One neighbour, a Tica who speaks fluent English and spent many years in the U.S., told us to trust no one and never speak to a soul on the street. She said gangsters last week followed an American expat from the bank at 10 a.m. and robbed him.

The fear of crime in Costa Rica is extraordinary but I’m still uncertain whether it is warranted or just an unhealthy state of paranoia.

Either way, I ingored the neighbour’s advice and said hello to the woman passing this morning, who stopped to admire my children, uttering the same words we’ve heard over and over ever since we arrived.

“Que linda (how beautiful),” she grinned, bringing her palms to her cheeks.

The next thing I knew I was agreeing to the possibility of her working for us as a maid. My Spanish is still bad, but from our conversation I gleaned as much.

Then this evening, she showed up at our gate with her daughter and two grandchildren in tow, wanting to further discuss working for us.

The Canadian in me took over and suddenly I had agreed to have her come in twice a week to clean the house, which frankly doesn’t need doing because my fear of a return of the roaches means the place gets scrubbed top to bottom every day — sometimes twice.

During our conversation, most of which I didn’t understand, the two women boldly peppered me with questions about how much we pay in rent, how much money we earn in Canada and the cost of living there.

Fortunately, not all of my common sense had left me and I either refused to answer or pretended I didn’t understand what they were asking.

The encounter went from strange to bizarre when they asked how many pairs of shoes I had and what size my feet are. Despite my lack of Spanish, I finally figured out that they wanted me to “lend” my running shoes to the little girl because she had none to wear to school tomorrow for a special day that requires tennis shoes. Huh?

The poor little thing. She looked so embarrassed as I explained to her mother and grandmother that I had only one pair and needed them tomorrow. This was half true — they are the only pair of running shoes I have but there’s no way I plan to go for a morning run while the kids are at school and leave this woman in the house alone. And I’m pretty sure if those shoes had gone with them they wouldn’t have found their way back.

Feeling badly that the family — who supposedly lost its patriarch in a violent crime – can’t afford to buy a pair of running shoes for a little one, I got suckered into hiring a maid I don’t really need and whose employment will require me to be at home for two hours that I could be otherwise out of the house doing something else.

How do I get myself into these fixes?

More importantly, how do I get myself out?

This is what it looks like:

Wake up with a headache and cranky after a night of bad dreams. Out of coffee. No Starbucks or even a poor equivalent despite having a coffee plantation for a backyard.

After years of being married to a Catholic, decide for the first time ever to attend a Sunday mass only to discover it’s combined with two funerals.

San Rafael cathedral, circa-1861

In search of a sweet for morning pick-me-up (remember, no coffee shops), inside of pastry showcase in bakery is swarming with bees.

Head to the farmers market where angry Tica woman slaps my hand as I reach for a bag of tomatoes that apparently she’s already spoken for. Vegetable shopping is serious business.

Wander over to playground to supervise the little ones in time to see a boy of about age 10 whip out his peter and have pee next to the slide.

Go home and put away groceries only to realize that fresh garlic carries a tag that says, ‘Product of China.’

Late afternoon torrential downpour causes sewer backup in bathroom, resulting in an inch of stinky brown overflow. No mop.

Internet outage occurs moments into a VOIP call home.

Resume reading Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose.

Page 226: “The words This, too, will pass are pointers toward reality.”

I just posted about PURRsonals.com and one thing that I totally forgot about was the fabulous free ebook that I received as a download when I registered!

Making Your Cat’s Summer A Fun and Safe Time discusses how to make your cat’s summer fun and safe, but really, the information is good all year round (especially if you live somewhere tropical and it’s basically summer every day of the year!).

I found the list of dangerous plants helpful because so many times when you find a list online it won’t include all of the plants! And then information on how to keep your garden safe for your cat by using natural pesticides, etc. You can use them in your home too.

I’d recommend it highly! Good source of information, and it’s FREE!

Just register at PURRsonals.com

~Deb

…and not worry about that “nightmare date” that is allergic to cats, or wrinkles their nose at the supposed “stink of a cat pan”.

As Sonny Crane, founder of PURRsonals.com says,  “PURRsonals.com allows singles who understand the unique bond between an owner and their cat, to meet and build relationships. Cats are finicky about their owners…and cat owners are finicky, just like their cats, about the people who they date. PURRsonals.com takes the ‘finicky-ness’ out of dating.”

Sonny and his wife, Joan, are  cat owners so they understand the strong commitment and bond cat lovers share with their feline friends. He couldn’t have said it any better than this: “Cat lovers appreciate the importance in finding another cat lover as a friend–or as that “special someone” in their life–who will understand their unique relationship of love and caring with their cat. PURRsonals.com lets them do that.”

I joined PURRsonals.com not only to make friends (sorry guys! I’m married!) but now I can go to one site and read the latest cat news, watch today’s TV news clips (and other feeds off YouTube and other sites!) and enjoy Kitty Literate’s blog. Now I don’t have to do endless searches or read multiple RSS feeds or blog/news alerts.

And for you single cat lovers, I hear there’s a live event being planned in the New York area! I’m trying really hard to get PURRsonals.com to have one down here in North Texas. I’d love to meet anyone–single or married–as a fellow cat lover and friend.

Hmmm…think about this: a cat coffee cafe? Move other dogs! Cats are going to be taking over the single world!

Forgot to tell you: it’s free! So, move overt Match.com, Animal Attraction and those other dating sites! PURRsonals.com will be ruling the world of matching up single cat lovers. Purrfect, huh?

~Deb

When I brought my first Havana Brown home, I knew this breed was different than any cat that was in life. High intelligent, Havana Browns are very “doglike”. In fact I found an old book published in the 1950’s that called the Havana Brown the “puppy dog of the cat fancy”.

How true! I quickly learned that my kitten – Hershey – wanted to do more than toss catnip mice up in the air. He would watch my every move and look me right in the eyes, and upon my verbal command would come, sit, stretch and “strut” (walk with a swagger and swoosh his tail). As he grew up we moved to “volley ball” practice (I’d toss one of  his fuzzy balls and he’d bat it back) and then jumping from table to table and running across them upon my hand and verbal commands.

We were doing it all for fun. Then I heard about the International Cat Agility Tournaments (ICAT). Held at The International Cat Associaation (TICA) shows, I registered Hershey as one of the first cats with the organization (I think he’s number 35 or something like that). Organized in 2003, since then ICAT contests are held around the world and cats earn titles.

Since then, Hershey – who is now a (little) plump five-year-old – has been filmed for various cable shows (and soon a show on national TV) about cat agility. He’s such a prima donna that he really loves being in front of the camera. He’ll strut and swagger, and then do what he loves to do: speed through the tunnel, jump through the hoop and over the bars we go! With each round he gets more excited and jumps higher, and runs faster.

I’ve tried agility with my other cats, and while Tim is just too fat to do it, my two girls can fly over the jumps like gazelles. But will they do it in front of a camera? Heck no! Like any woman, we want to make sure we look our best when being filmed and I think they don’t get to do that by flying through tunnels or over jumps. Oh well!

Hershey’s next big adventure is at TICA’s 2008 Annual Cat Show in Arlington Texas. Not only will there be over 300 cats from around the world competing in 12 rings of judging, but I lay odds many of those cats and kittens will be jumping through hoops! You can’t resist doing it!

Cat agility is not only good for your cat – it helps keep them physically trim and mentally stimulated and happy – but it also provides a time for you and your cat to be together and have fun! Isn’t that what it’s all about?

If you’ve never seen a cat agility contest, check out TICA’s show schedule and see if there’s a show near you with ICAT on site. And if there isn’t you can still do agility at home with your cat! You don’t need any fancy equipment: run them across the bed with a teaser  (or try your hands or a clicker!)…over the back of the sofa…under tables….or jumping over a kitchen or ladderback chair on its side. Your cat will love it..and love you for it!

Happy Hurdles!

~Deb

ya tenemos el primer aporte, un mae me mando fotos de una guila tica que esta muy rica. Sin mucha hablada les dejo las fotos para que las disfruten (son solo dos, pero algo es algo)

PD: le nuble un toque la carilla por aquello, pero si alguien quiere verla bien pidame las fotos y si son de los primeros que me las piden se las doy si nublar

I want to welcome you to Purrfect World which will focus on what is good for cats. Okay…we’ll let a few dogs and horses be introduced during our discussions too.

Purrfect World is written in memory of Bud whose gorgeous brown face, and green, green eyes graces this page! Bud was my, well, buddy….and at a very young age died as a result of eating some of the tainted kitten food off the Menu Food recall. I still mourn for him, and it will be a very long time before I can ever not hurt. He’ll always be in my heart and mind, and will live on in Purrfect World.

Purrfect World will explore what is purrfect for cats (yes, yes, dogs and horses too!) and their owners. Nutrition. Travel. Understanding them. Good books to read. Classes to take. People to meet. Fab web sites to visit!

With Bud watching over my shoulder, I’ll make sure that he’s proud of what I can share with everyone who reads this blog.

So, until next time…..hope things are purrfect!

~Deb

Amigos!!
El lunes presenta 2 libros un amigo poeta, despues tocamos Fabi y yo con Tica , comienza a las 7 pm en el Centro Cultural Bar La Noche de Barranco, vengan con quien quieran es gratis….abajo mas info
saludos
chrs

Lectura y presentación de los libros de poesía:

Himnos

y

Los desmoronamientos sinfónicos

Lunes, 16 de junio:

Presentación y Lectura de Miguel Ildefonso. Música ruidista del lap top performer Christian Galarreta, junto con Tica.

7:30 p.m.

En: La Noche de Barranco. Bolognesi 307.

Miércoles, 18 junio:

Lectura de poemas de Himnos y Los desmoronamientos sinfónicos.

8 p.m.

En: Patagonia. Bolívar 164. Miraflores.

Jueves, 19 junio:

Conversatorio y lectura poética.

7:30 p.m.

En: Antares Artes & Letras. Paseo de La República. 5664. Miraflores.

Entrada Libre

“En Himnos el lenguaje es parte de esa metáfora quemada por la vida, es aquella luz que deviene de lo cotidiano de una fruta, de una falda sencilla, de una calle o un cielo oscurecido. (…) Miguel Ildefonso logra derrumbar los encabalgamientos de lo conversacional, el muro desabrido de lo coloquial, y afina así, a manera de concierto urbano, un tipo de poesía que trae una novedad por su ensimismamiento en los objetos, las calles, los sueños y las cosas infinitas del alma”.

Miguel Ángel Zapata. Poeta y Crítico Literario.

“Acaso el poeta más importante de la llamada generación del 90, vuelve a la lírica con el poemario Los desmoronamientos sinfónicos”.

Javier Agreda. Diario La República.

“Los desmoronamientos sinfónicos significa una bocanada de aire puro, una saludable vuelta de tuerca en la poesía de Miguel Ildefonso. Más que una variante de sus poemarios anteriores, es una conseguida reinterpretación de la realidad que ya antes había examinado desde un prisma distinto”.

José Carlos Yrigoyen. El Dominical de El Comercio.

“En su reciente poemario, titulado Los desmoronamientos sinfónicos (2008), Miguel Ildefonso (Lima, 1970) acomete una reinvención de la herencia dejada por los fundadores. Es muy sintomático que utilice, además, el formato del poema en prosa –casi una marca de fábrica de la Modernidad–. A lo largo del libro, las voces que enuncian el discurso se desplazan, a manera de un viaje, por una geografía turbulenta…”.

José Güich Rodríguez. Diario Correo.