Mancat Monday - Announcement

One this rather gloomy Mancat Monday, I have an important announcement to make.

My special kitty-loving doggie sister Dana's 4th birthday is tomorrow!

There is going to be a huge party for her here on my blog, and I hope that all of our kitty and doggie friends can come to wish her a happy birthday, and to have ham and niptinis! And, of course, there will be dancing! We all know how Dana likes to shake her booty.

There will also be a special unveiling that Dana is really excited about. She can't wait to tell Billy and Renna!

So - Don't Forget!
BIG BIRTHDAY BASH TOMORROW!

Thanks Zoolatry for the pawsome Dana artwork!

Friday Movie Review - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Today's review was suggested by the lovely house panther Diamond Emerald-Eyes. She wanted a compare/contrast review of the original "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and the latest Tim Burton version "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." There is so much to say about both that I have decided to split them up into two weeks. This week I am reviewing the original, starring Gene Wilder.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Directed By: Mel Stuart
Written By: Roald Dahl (screenplay & book)

First off kitties, I have to admit that this original version will always be my favorite. I have watched this film over and over again with my mommy - practically every time it comes on the television. Therefore my review will undoubtedly be just a teensy bit biased.

"Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" begins by introducing you to Charlie Bucket, a very sweet, very earnest, very poor little boy. Charlie is so sweet that he is almost too good to be true! He lives with his mommy and grandparents in a tumble-down shack, and has even taken a paper route to help his mommy support them all. For Charlie, the biggest treat he gets is a Wonka candy bar once a year, on his birthday. His Grandpa Joe tells him fantastic stories about the mysterious Willy Wonka and his Chocolate Factory.

One day an announcement is made that is super exciting for Charlie and Grandpa Joe! Willy Wonka has placed 5 golden tickets in his shipment of candy bars, and the 5 people who find the golden tickets will get the chance to tour the factory! Charlie knows he doesn't really stand a chance to win, but he is excited nonetheless. And then, fate takes a hand - Charlie finds a golden ticket!

Charlie and Grandpa Joe are thrilled! They get to meet the infamous Willy Wonka and tour his incredible factory! Charlie and Grandpa Joe show up outside the gates, accompanied by 4 other children and their parents. Right away everyone notices that there is something strange about Willy Wonka - he seems to be very eccentric and talks in riddles. Also, all of the other children seem to be incredibly spoiled.


Willy Wonka guides everyone through his incredible factory - complete with a whole lake of chocolate, edible grass, geese that lay golden chocolate eggs, and other incredible wonders. One of the most amazing wonders are the factory workers: little orange men called Oompa-Loompas! One by one the spoiled children fall to strange mishaps, which are then recapped in song and dance by the Oompa-Loompas. Finally, only Charlie and Grandpa Joe are left. Will Charlie claim the mysterious prize that Wonka promised?

"Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" is a very fun movie to watch. Not only is it colorful and musical, it is also typically Roald Dahl, with strange twists and turns and often macabre events. At times it can be hard to tell if Willy Wonka is a villain or a hero. Is he cruel or kind? Sometimes a kitty has to ask himself or herself that question. Gene Wilder is amazing as Willy Wonka, and Peter Ostrum is a wonderfully convincing Charlie Bucket.

While there are no kitties involved in this film, it is still a good one to watch. It can serve not only as entertainment, but it also shows what happens to bad and selfish little kittens! I would suggest that everyfurry watch it with their children or younger siblings. I give "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" two paws up and a happy chirp!

Wordless Wednesday - Neon Dana

OHMIGOSHOHMIGOSHOHMIGOSH! I'm PINK!!!!!!
Do you like it Billy?! HUH?! DO YOU?!?!?!
PLAYPLAYPLAYPLAYPLAY!

Tortie Tuesday -Toesies and Tails

Holly: When mommy first adopted us, my sister and I looked even more alike than we do now! So mommy had to find a way to tell us apart.

Ivy: My tail is much different from Holly's! It is mostly ginger and stripedy. It is also thinner than Holly's, and I usually carry it straight in the air. That means I'm a happy kitty! In this picture you can see the mostly ginger bit very well. Just look at those stripes! It is curled around my body because I am snuggled and napping.

Holly: Of course my toesies are different from Ivy's! In this picture you can clearly see my extra toesies. Grandpapa calls me "six toes." He isn't very original, is he? But I know he says it with love. (Don't tell the others, but I think I'm his favorite grandkitty.) You can also see my speckeldy back foot. Mommy loves my speckles!

Ivy: As a bonus picture, here is our handsome ginger cousin Rudy! You can see his tummy and toesies! And he has a stripedy tail like me!

Holly: Tybalt is going to be mad about this, Ivy . . . you know he feels that Rudy has hogged his blog enough already!

Ivy: That's why I did it!!! Hee hee hee . . .

Mancat Monday - Upset and Meme

I am one upset kitty.

Ann and Maggy and Zoey helped me out with my Hawaiian outfit for Gree and Othello's wedding reception. I was so excited! I looked wonderful!

And then mommy couldn't get blogger to cooperate with posting my gorgeous self.

I was so disappointed. My precious Sammie-pie wouldn't see me in my finery, and Gree and Othello wouldn't know that I was there for them! Believe me kitties, I may not have been there in picture, but I was definitely there in spirit!

So, belatedly, here I am, all dressed up for Gree and Othello's big day!


Also, the wonderful kitties Chica and Pumuckl tagged me for a meme!

Rules for the meme:

1. Be honest
2. Tag other people
3. Have fun!

What is your name?

Prince Tybalt

If you could change your name, what would it be?

KING Tybalt - I'm a grown mancat now, after all.

What is your pet's name?

Fishie swam under the rainbow bridge, so I don't have a pet now . . . unless my pink mousie counts? Pink mousie's name is Pink Mousie.

What is your brother or sister's name?

I have my kitty sisters, the tortie twins: Holly and Ivy. I also have my doggie brother Loki and my doggie sister Dana.

If you could change their name, what would it be?

The twins would be TROUBLE1 and TROUBLE2! Dana would be HYPER and Loki would be GRUMPY.

I tag:

Cody (when he has time)
JB (My almost-twin!)
Sweets (My new friend!)

Friday Movie Review - That Darn Cat

This week's reader's request movie review is from Camie's Kitties! They wanted me to review Disney's "That Darn Cat." Thanks, guys! This is a totally PAWSOME movie!

That Darn Cat (1965)
Directed By: Robert Stevenson
Written By: Gordon Gordon
Mildred Gordon

It takes a Siamese secret agent to unravel the PURR-fect crime!

The star of this movie is an apple-head Siamese named D.C. - short for "Darn Cat," which was given to him by the dadbean of the house. The parent beans are gone on a long vacation, just leaving D.C. in charge of the two girlbeans - Patti (Hayley Mills) and Ingrid (Dorothy Provine). D.C. is a fearless explorer and hunter, and nightly goes out to raid neighboring homes and fish markets for yummy goodies. One night while he is out on his nightly patrol, he follows a man to an apartment in order to steal the fresh fish he has just bought - only to find out that he has stumbled upon two bank robbers and their kidnapped hostage! The hostage is a brave lady who works as a teller at the bank the two men robbed. She gives D.C. skritches and then scratches a message on the back of her watch, placing it around D.C.'s neck. She just knows that D.C. is a smart and brave mancat, and that he will bring her help!

D.C. leaves the apartment and returns home. Luckily, Patti is wise in the ways of kitties and notices straight away that D.C.'s collar has been replaced by a lady's watch. Taking it off, she also notices that a message was scratched on the back . . . it looks like someone was trying to write "Help." (Patti is one smart girlbean!) Her sister Ingrid tells her she is imagining things, but Patti puts the news report of the kidnapped teller together with D.C.'s watch, and she just knows that D.C. is the clue to finding the bank robbers and the nice lady! Patti decides to take the matter to the FBI, and luckily they are desperate enough to believe that D.C. may be a lead. Agent Zeke Kelso (Dean Jones) is sent to monitor D.C. in an effort to follow him back to the robbers. As you would imagine, it is super hard for clumsy beans to trail a smart and limber kitty! To top it off, Zeke is allergic to kitties. You can just tell by the look in D.C.'s eyes that he knows this and takes delight in Zeke's constant sneezing.

Will D.C. lead the FBI to the bad men? Can D.C. save the nice ladybean? WILL D.C. EVER GET A FRESH FISHIE?!?!

I give this movie two paws up and a happy chirp. Not only does it star a handsome meezer, but it also is full of comedy, adventure, and suspense! D.C. is a brave and cunning mancat, and serves as a wonderful inspiration to mancats everywhere. D.C. is proof that we kitties can accomplish anything!

Thursday Thirteen - Kitty Love

I am sure you all remember my new cousin Rudy, and his habit of making love eyes at my mommy.

Well, seeing Rudy twist my mommy around his little paw made me think of all the ways my sisters and I do the same. Mommy THINKS she is in charge in our family, but the truth is we kitties are the ones calling the shots. And I have to admit it is because we, like Rudy and his love eyes here, are gifted at pulling mommy's heartstrings.

So, thanks to Rudy Love-Eyes, we came up with our Thursday Thirteen: Kitty Love!

How We Show Our Kitty Love and/or Melt Mommy's Heart
(Ivy's list should be 'How I Scare Mommy and Make Her Mad')

1. Drape myself over mommy's head while she is sleeping and purr. (Tybalt)
   
2. Curl up next to mommy or on top of mommy or (best yet!) get mommy to hold me while she is sleeping. (Tybalt)
   
3. Pat mommy's face gently with my paw. (Holly)
4. Give mommy kisses. On the lips. Cuz that's how beans do it. (Tybalt, Holly, and Ivy)
5. Whap things off tables so mommy will know our house is too cluttered. (Ivy)
6. Pretend to try and escape so mommy will panic and remember how much she loves me. (Ivy)
7. Hold toys with my extra toesies and bunnykick. (Holly)
8. Bite mommy's nose. (Tybalt)
9. Hold mommy with my extra toesies and lick lick lick. (Holly)
10. Walk all over mommy trying to decide what the best place on her to cuddle would be, settle down, only to get right back up and walk on her again to look for another spot. (Ivy)
11. Knead mommy with my paws and purrrrrrrrr. (Tybalt, Holly, and Ivy)
12. Look cute. (Tybalt, Holly, and Ivy)
13. Escort mommy downstairs when she leaves in the morning, and wait for her at the door when it is time for her to come home. (Tybalt, Holly, and Ivy)
    

Wordless Wednesday - Neon Tybalt

Tufty Toesie Tuesday

My mommy loves my tufty toesies. She gives them massages and kisses them a lot.

This picture is a little blurry, but you can see the tufties better.

Mancat Monday - Meet Rudy

Many of you may remember my cousin Vesper, who lives with Grandmama and Grandpapa and Uncle Sean next door. If you didn't get to read her story, you can click here.


Here is Vesper, after six months of love and spoiling. Her coat is all shiny and her tummy is round. She chirps and trills and chases Uncle Sean down the hall, because he is her boy. She is still tiny, but she is fiesty!

This Saturday Grandmama and my mommy went to visit Aunt Rachel again. For those of you who remember, that is who Vesper used to adopt Uncle Sean. Well, another kitty used the same method. A ginger and white mancat was hanging around Aunt Rachel's house, just like Vesper was. He needed a stable and loving home. Grandmama took one look at his face, and knew he was meant to be with her. And Parker, guess what she named him? RUDY!!!!

Here's Rudy.

Unlike Vesper, Rudy knew how to play right away.


You can tell he likes my mommy - just look at that face he is giving her! Ever since Rudy came home, mommy ALWAYS smells like him. He gives her lots of loving. I'm not sure I like that about him. I know my mommy is wonderful, but she is MY mommy. Stop giving her love eyes, Rudy! (Sometimes Mommy calls him 'Rudolph Valentino.')


Here is my other cousin, Sebastian. He lived with my mommy before she bought her house and she still lived with Grandmama and Grandpapa and Uncle Sean. Before we adopted our mommy, Sebastian would come over to our house and visit mommy. He can't do that anymore, because the Terrible Tortie Twins are mean to him, and he has to be mean right back. Sebastian doesn't like Rudy much right now. He growls and puffs up at him. To be fair, Vesper doesn't like Rudy much either. She hisses and growls and tells him to stay away from her food. Grandmama thinks they will mellow out soon and accept him, though. There hasn't been any actual fighting or big ugliness, so that is a good sign.

Well, that is my new cousin Rudy! Boy, he sure knows how to pick a family, doesn't he?

Friday Movie Review - The Corpse Bride

This Friday kicks off our extra special "Reader's Request" summer movie reviews! For our first week, we are doing "The Corpse Bride," as suggested by Jack and Persephone!

The Corpse Bride (2005)
Directed By: Tim Burton
Written By: Tim Burton

In Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride," a young man named Victor Van Dort is engaged to Victoria Everglot, in order to enrich the Everglots and raise the Van Dorts prestige in society. Victor is reluctant to enter an arranged marriage, but when he meets Victoria and finds that she is as quiet and shy as he is, he begins to persuade himself that it might work. However, during the wedding rehearsal, Victor is clumsy and causes an embarrassing spectacle. Rather than face everyone afterwards, he runs off into the snow-covered woods outside town.


On his own in the forest, Victor begins to practice his marriage vows, even slipping the wedding band on what he believes to be a twig. He soon realizes his mistake when a lovely, if very much dead, young lady rises from the ground and claims to be his bride! Emily, the revived corpse, kidnaps Victor and takes him back with her to the land of the dead. There Emily keeps insisting that Victor is her husband, while Victor keeps desperately trying to find a way back to the land of the living, and his fiancée Victoria.


The land of the dead is a much livelier place than a kitty would expect. The highlight of Victor's visit is when Emily reunites him with his doggie that crossed the Bridge, Scraps. It is wonderful to see the two friends reunited! It warms a furry's heart. However, even with Scraps by his side, Victor continues to try to get back to the land of the living, and eventually tricks Emily into helping him return. After Emily realizes his deception, she is both heart-broken and vengeful. Will Victor decide that he truly belongs with Emily in the land of the dead, or will he try to overcome his insecurities and marry Victoria and remain in the land of the living?
I give Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride" two paws up, and a tail poof for being musical, animated, spooky fun!

Thankful Thursday - Timmy the Squirrel

Mommy was home sick yesterday.
Now, mommy being sick isn't something to be thankful for. But mommy being HOME is definitely something to be thankful for! Just think, if she had been at work instead of home, our front door would have been closed, and we would have missed out on this:

Just look at me and the tortie twins bonding! Timmy the Squirrel was at it again, treating our front porch like his personal playground. He's so arrogant! And rude! He can SEE us sitting right there, lo0king our fiercest and most feline, and he STILL comes RIGHT UP TO THE DOOR and taunts us!

I actually heard mommy say something about how cute Timmy is.

Now, I ask you, is this cute?

Tortie Tuesday - Tattlin' on Tybalt

Ivy: Tybalt isn't the only one trying to nap through the heat. I was curled up next to mommy on the couch when she decided I was too cute, so she had to get up and find the flashy box. I suppose I am too cute! Just look at me! (Hee hee)Holly: Mommy thought the same about me. I was at her feet, napping on top of her flip flops. I LOVE shoes! Mommy's flip flops smelled so good that I rolled around on them before I finally fell asleep with this smile on my face.
Now for the tattle-tail part of our Tortie Tuesday post.

Last Thursday and Friday mommy got a new roof. She has needed one ever since she moved in, and she finally managed to get one this year. (Mommy edit: Thank you tax refund and economic stimulus checks!)

Anyway, Thursday morning bright and early some strange men came with loud machines and started tromping around on our roof. They were very, very loud and they were there ALL DAY. I was okay with it. I just watched out of the windows to make sure they were doing their job correctly.

Ivy: BUT TYBALT!!!! He was a scaredy-cat! He ran and hid ALL DAY LONG. When mommy got home Thursday night she called him and called him, but the loud men were still on the roof so Tybalt wouldn't come out. Mommy finally laid down on the bedroom floor and looked under the bed, and there Tybalt was! He scooted over to the edge and talked to her, but he wouldn't come out to see her. He was too scared!

Holly: Later on after the noisy men left he came out on his own to find mommy in the living room. And what did she do? She picked him up and kissed him and called him a brave boy! Mommy is a LIAR!

Ivy: We just laughed at him.

Holly: And then the next day the loud men came again and got back up on the roof. And mommy got a kind of panicky call from Almost Dad because he couldn't find Tybalt! He looked under the chairs and under the bed, and no Tybalt. He was scared he had gotten out somehow. But then he saw Tybalt at the foot of the stairs down to the basement. He had wedged himself between the bottom stair and the basement door!

Ivy: I don't know if Tybalt is a Master of Disguise like he claims, but he certainly has his disappearing act down! When Grandmama came over later in the day, she couldn't find him anywhere either. And Grandpapa came over and had to ask if mommy still had Tybalt, because he didn't see him anywhere. But when mommy came home, he came right out to see her - but of course, the noisy men were gone by then.

Holly: So that is our tattle - Tybalt is a fraidy cat!!!!!!

Ivy: HAHAHAHAHA, TYBALT! FRAIDY CAT! FRAIDY CAT!

Tybalt: Ivy, aren't you forgetting who the kitty was that was so upset by the loud men that they had a sick tummy, and all over mommy's kitchen rug? Hmmmmm?

Ivy: . . . . . . hush Tybalt. You know I'm sensitive.

Holly: I guess I'm the only brave kitty here!

Mancat Monday - Heatwave

This is what I did all weekend.
Do I look peeved? I should. It is TOO HOT.
Too hot to watch birdies. Too hot to snuggle. Too hot to play.
It isn't even officially summer yet, and we've already been in the upper 90s here in north Georgia.
What is up with that?
The air conditioner has been running non-stop. I think I saw mommy get a little teary-eyed when she thought of the upcoming bill.
We may get a break tomorrow - it may just be in the upper 80s.
Hmph.
I'm off to nap under tha fan again. Want to join me, Sammie-pie?

Friday Movie Review - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

As everykitty knows, my mommy left me ALL ALONE last Friday and went off to have fun with Grandmama. What made it even worse was that she went to see a movie without me - and not just ANY movie! She went to see "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

I still can't believe it. She KNEW how excited I was about the new Indy movie! I even dressed up like him for the Indiana Jones look-alike contest. I wore that hat for days!

Well, seeing as how mommy once again let me down, I took matters into my own paws. I donned my "Igor Kittenovsky, Russian Foreign Exchange Student" disguise and once more infiltrated the movie theatre. This time I added some gummy bears to my popcorn and Dr Pepper concession order - I felt I deserved an extra treat for the earlier mommy abandonment. (Gummy bears are just as much fun to bat around as popcorn - and if you whap them just right, they bounce!)
I settled myself into the back of the darkened theatre with my goodies and awaited the infamous "Indy" theme music. Mommy has been humming it for weeks now, and I couldn't wait to hear the real thing.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Written By: David Koepp (Screenplay)

George Lucas (Story)

Let me just say here kitties, for a bean as ancient as he is, Harrison Ford looks pretty good. I can now see the resemblance that so many of you remarked upon during the look-alike contest. He wouldn't make a bad mancat.

And Shia LaBeouf (Mutt) made a pretty good sidekick, for a wannabe 50s greaser. I liked how attached he was to his motorcycle. I felt bad for him when he had to leave it behind for the rest of the adventure. How would I feel if I had to leave my pink mousie behind? I'd be stricken!


Instead of fighting Nazis in this picture, Indy is facing off against the soviet russians. I felt a little conspicuous in my russian disguise after I found that out. Maybe I should have disguised myself as Harrison Ford instead? I might have gotten in for free!
There was a lot of scenes with Indy and Mutt in dirty, dark places with a lot of dead beans. I know this is what my mommy calls her "dream job." I don't understand my mommy sometimes.
I don't want to give a lot away, because that would spoil it for those kitties who haven't seen this movie yet. But I did want to let all of you know that it was worth all of the trouble I took to see it. I give "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" two paws up, and a whip crack!

Thursday Thirteen - Favorite Pictures

Here are thirteen of our favorite pictures so far this year. Enjoy the memories!

1. Loki in the snow

2. Holly getting skritches from mommy
3. Tybalt posing for Valentine's Day
4. Tybalt playing with his toys from his Samantha
5. Holly checking out Fishie

6. Ivy checking out Fishie

7. Dana playing with a kitty toy after the scary storm
8. The Tortie Twins playing with the Cat Dancer

9. Ivy on the Nip Lounger

10. Tybalt's glamorous close-up

11. Tybalt's Spring Is Sprung photo shoot

12. Tybalt enjoying an early spring day

13. Tortie Twins ATTACK!