Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Adorableness rating: 11. Yes, these kittens go to 11.

Introducing the Fab Four: Gordon, Patrick, Dylan, and Petal



These four dangerously cute kittens are currently being fostered by my friend Prudence here in Baton Rouge.

I was lucky enough to meet Prudence last month while she was making her daily visit to her mother Susan, our very sweet downstairs neighbor. I discovered that Prudence and Susan have been caring for my two favorite neighborhood cats, Sebastian and Rosie. Back in early March, Rosie gave birth to four kittens on Susan's patio, and I got to know both Susan and Prudence while cooing over the new babies.

When the kittens were four weeks old, Prudence and I took them to the vet for their first check-up, where they got a clean bill of health from the doctor. After that we decided to move them inside to Susan's apartment, because the little boogers were getting brave and venturing out away from Rosie, and we didn't want them to get lost. We tried to coax Rosie inside too, but she wasn't having it. She's more comfortable living on the patio, having the freedom to come and go as she pleases.

Over the following weeks, Prudence, Susan and I did kitten duty around the clock, taking them outside in shifts so Rose could nurse them and (slowly) introducing them to solid food per the vet's recommendation. Two weeks ago, we took the babies to the vet again for their six-week check up and their first round of vaccinations. The doctor said it was okay to completely wean them off their mother's milk, so they started eating solid food full-time.

They are now eight weeks old and they are adorable little purry furry fluffballs who must be kissed and played with and loved and petted and cuddled. I love these little noodles so hard!

Tomorrow Prudence and I take Rosie to the vet to be spayed. As adorable as these little boos are, we don't want Rosie birthing any more fuzzy little "presents". She's a good mommy, but we've all agreed that it's time for her to retire.

After the spaying, I'm heading to Prudence's house for some kitten time. I need my kitten fix!

The aftermath of their wrestling match. Passed out kittehs!



Friday, April 26, 2013

Happy Birthday Roger Taylor!


"(Growing up in Birmingham) you could either escape through football or music. 
And I wasn't much good at football."

Funny guy. Great musician too. He's known for being the quiet, mysterious Duran who left the music biz in 1985 (just after DD's Live Aid performance) and sought refuge in the English countryside. A true introvert, I think his circuits were just completely fried after seven straight years of having to be "on" all the time, and I imagine the Duran Duran's 1984 tour was the whale that broke the camel's back, to turn a phrase. He was also a newlywed and wanted to spend time with his wife, Giovanna, which is another typically Roger Taylor-ish reason for craving anonymity. Speaking of Giovanna, one of the things I dug about Roger was his love of edgy women. Instead of the Platonic ideals pursued by his bandmates, he was taken by his future first wife's shaved head/purple mohawk (accounts differ) back when she was working the cloakroom at the Rum Runner, where Duran Duran got their start as the house band.

Although they split in 2004, these crazy kids were married for 20 years!
No small achievement in pop stardom.

Fun fact: Roger's son is tight with Andy Taylor's son, and they hung out a lot as kids. Now they're all grown up and they've started their own band together! How cool is that?

Roger, of course, did eventually come back to the DD fold. The first time was in 1995, when he was coaxed out of hiding to play drums on the track "Perfect Day" for DD's album of covers, entitled Thank You. Then Roger saw his shadow or something and disappeared yet again. 

You can watch the video here (EMI is pissy about embedding).

Roger rejoined Duran Duran for the second time in 2001, when all five original members reunited for a new album and tour. He's stuck with them ever since (knock on wood), perhaps deciding that the pop life isn't so bad after all. 


Roger Taylor turns 53 today. And he's aging quite nicely, I might add.