rain in calsifer’s firepit

Just a regular geeky hag who’s into animal welfare.

And oh yes, I’ve developed an unhealthy interest in writing… fan-fiction that is. But I’m not about to proclaim the loation of my paltry stash.

As for my interest in animal welfare, I don’t know exactly when it started really, but my sister, btmao, does stuff like stray cat feeding and cat rescue and rehoming… I’m the foot-soldier in her army of two.

Also, I share this wish with her: “I wish people will respect and treat animals as equals capable of feeling joy, sadness and pain, respect and stop destroying our environment. People must learn to understand that humans do not own this planet.”

I’m basically a book geek who enjoys wise-cracks and is a closet writer, I’m also a tree-hugger who likes loud music, and have a penchant for taking photos of nature and stray cats. My sister and I have 6 cats, all street-cats who decided to adopt us. Plus my sister runs what can only be termed a mini syndicate – she feeds strays. Of course, we also do the occassional cat rescue – just to liven up life in this oppressive concrete jungle. All these are documented on our blog, which I’m the sole writer, the Tipped Ear Clan.

Where diet is concerned, I am not categorically against eating meat — it is a personal choice after all and I respect that.

Also through all that is said for and against meat-eating, the same quandary of a meat-eating animal lover can be posed to a vegetarian tree-lover. Rather, it is the process by which meat get to the table that really gets my goat (pun half-intended) ; from inhumane methods of breeding and raising livestock to the manner in which they are slaughtered and the totally deplorable ways the ‘leftovers’ are ‘utilized’. Is it any wonder that in the last THIRTY years, we’ve had pandemic scares from BSE, Ebola, to SARS, and now Bird Flu? Really, even putting altruism aside for the sceptics of animal welfare and rights, everything comes back at us ultimately because we’re eating it – that’s really some food for thought. So: be kind to animals and to the environment because at the end of things, it is compassion to ourselves too.

calsifer the name

I am calsifer, hear me… spit and sputter! calsifer? Yes indeed, it/he is a key character in one of my all-time favourite books – Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones. I love his snide cynical nature, though admittedly, I am more a Sophie with all the bad traits of the spineless, gutless Howl, with slight traces of the loveable fire-demon, than a pure full-fledged Calcifer. Oh, I didn’t misspell calsifer btw, but apparently, I’m not the only Calcifer fan online, so i modified the spelling in order to have a little stake on a corner of the dear old fire demon’s infamy. The important thing is, I still get away with a bastardisation that has the same pronunciation! Smart me!

Cat-minioning – my bosses, the Tipped Ears

Cat-minioning is a major part of my life, so much so I’ve got a separate blog about it, the Tipped Ear Clan. In fact, it’s taken over my life.

Nitty Gritty

Some things rile me up, some things wind me down. I guess the links on th e side bar paints a pretty obvious picture.

The truth is, Humanity’s Cruelty boils my blood. But I’m not all rant. So here’s the low-down of my happy tripping.

My piques

• Music
• Animal Rights
• Animal Welfare
• Environment
• Reading
• Photography
• Writing
• Geeking out
• Hiking
• Movies

Favorite Music

• Rock
• metal
• blues
• Pearl Jam
• Skid Row
• Soundgarden
• X Japan
• Candlebox
• Siam Shade
• Big Sugar
• Radiohead
• Tang Dynasty
• Beyond

Favorite Books

• Tailchaser’s Song by Tad Williams
• The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien
• The Darkangel Trilogy by Meredith Ann Peirce
• Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• The Galactic Center series by Gregory Benford
• The Amber series by Roger Zelazny
• Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
• The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper
• The Dragon and the George by Gordon R dickson
• Star Dog by A.M. Lightner

Favorite Authors

• Susan Cooper
• Neil Gaiman
• Douglas Adams
• Dianna Wynne Jones
• David Foster Wallace

Favorite Movies

• The Matrix
• SW: Stars Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, The Return of the Jedi
• The Lord of the Rings
• Galaxy Quest
• Robin Hood: Men in Tights