He Immediately Arose, Purred Loudly, Rubbed Against My Hand, And Appeared Delighted With My Notice

That Time We Celebrated Cats

What The Buzz: #BlackCatDay

Firstly, I must apologise for the late posting of this What The Buzz article but I have been muchos busy over the last few weeks with London Comic Con, moving house and other personal errands.  Moving house has proven to be something of an interruption for my social media as I have not reconnected my computer as yet!  So this blog post is a little late, but as they say, better late than never.

Amongst the other more pedestrian twitter trends this week I came across a little gem that was very close to my heart. On Tuesday 27th October 2015, it was Black Cat Day in the UK. 

This is a day promoted by the Cats Protection League (http://www.cats.org.uk/black-cats) and got trending on Twitter very quickly with people more than willing to share their pictures of their adorable moggies.

There has been lots of research into black cats and, in particular, their adoption rates.  It has long been noticed that black cats tend to take up to a third longer to adopt than more colourful kittens in rescue centres.  This to me seems completely bizarre as I have always adopted cats on the basis of their personalities/characters and not on what colour fur they have but clearly it is a trend for other adopters.

Whilst researching for this blog post, I came across some interesting superstitions and myths surrounding black cats.  Most people are aware of the superstition that a black cat crossing your path is bad luck but this tends to be a Continental superstition that has grown in popularity in the UK.  Historically, in Britain, a black cat has always signified luck and in fact many ships had black cats as pets in order to have good luck on the high seas.

Modern culture seems to have developed the idea that black cats are unlucky or the familiars of witches and that could potentially explain the lower adoption rates of these moggies.  But, as Groucho Marx once said, 'A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere'.  Insightful as ever.

This hashtag was very poignant for me as my family currently have two cats in our family (one of which is black and was a rescue cat - a little bit damaged but lovely) but up until two weeks ago there was a third.

Toby channelling his inner 'Toothless'

We recently had to say goodbye to our third moggy, Harry, as he had developed untreatable stomach cancer.  So it was, with heavy hearts and very damp eyes, we sent him to sleep.  Harry was only 6 and was the soppiest cat I have ever known - he would cuddle up with you whenever you sat down and wherever you were.  If you were in the house - he would find you! And there was no way you could say no to a Harry cuddle. 

Harry - such a tart

Definitely big on the cuddles

He would roll upside down and let you rub his spotty belly and just generally love being loved.  He was a very unconditional cat and loved everyone.  There was a special bond between Harry and I in particular which I attribute to me being his sole human for a few weeks when he was a kitten as the rest of the family were away on various holidays.  I don't know why but that seemed to have bonded us for life (however short that may have been).

I was serious about not saying no the a Harry cuddle.  Even if you were only sat down for 5 minutes.

So this blog post is especially important to me to say how much I appreciate my two other cats (Maggie and Toby) and also as a huge shout out to Harry who is still loved, still missed and still very dear.

#AllCatsAppreciationDay

&&Fin.

The Worst Thing A Kid Can Say About A Game Is That It's Too Easy

That Time We Discussed Video Games

What The Buzz: Life is Strange

'Life is Strange' is an episodic graphic adventure game developed by DontNod Entertainment and published by Square Enix.

The final episode (#5) is out tomorrow and has been highly anticipated throughout the gaming community.  I have watched several Let's Plays of this game and it is truly beautiful.  The graphics are fantastic and the actual plot of the story is amazingly gripping.  The dialogue is somewhat awkward in places and I don't know which teenagers they based it off but the flow of the game doesn't suffer too much for it.

The game focuses on the main character - Max Caulfield - a photography student at the local college in Arcadia Bay who quickly discovers that she is able to rewind time.  Some strange weather anomalies start occurring and Max foresees a huge tornado ripping through Arcadia Bay.  This together with disappearing girls, a suicidal student and reconnecting with an old friend form the basis of the game.  Max has lots of difficult decisions to make throughout and you normally have a handy 'do-over' button if you decide you don't like the outcome.

But, as Max learns only too well, sometimes you cannot change the course of fate...

The game is full of intrigue and twists enough to keep the player interested but the second episode is a little slow and sometimes the development feels too sluggish as you need to replay certain aspects of the game repeatedly in order to get the information required to progress.  But the graphics are good, the characters are interesting and the voice acting is great (and that is no mean feat given some of the dialogue).  I don't want to spoil too much of the game so I won't go into any more detail about the plot.

This is definitely a game that I would recommend people should play as watching other people can be ridiculously frustrating when you don't agree with their decisions or they miss big clues (Pewdiepie I am looking at you!!) but it runs almost like a film in some places and it really is immersive.

When I have finally moved into my new house and have my gaming PC set up again (sweet baby Jesus I cannot wait!) I will be buying a copy of the game and having a play through of my own - which will be posted on the J Squared YouTube (just fyi).  Hopefully you will tune in for that and no doubt provide lots of advice and criticisms on my poor decision making!

In the meantime, I hope you join me in watching and supporting other gamers playing this amazing game after the final episode is released tomorrow (20th October 2015).

Oh, and also have a #fantasticMonday.

&&Fin.

If I Create From The Heart, Nearly Everything Works

That Time We Uploaded Our First Video

So.  Yeah.

That just happened.

Our first video has now been uploaded to the great wide interwebz via YouTube.

You can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hcx7AWdxSM and we decided to do the Sister Tag in order to introduce ourselves.

It's a bit long and the quality is poor but yay! I'm so excited!!

Once I have moved house and have my gaming computer set up, I will be recording some game plays so hopefully they will be fun.  But in the meantime, we will be filming some of Comic Con and that will be up in the next few weeks.

If any of you do watch, please leave a comment and if you have any suggestions please let us know :D

Be there and be squared!

Peace.

&&Fin.

We Do Not Seize Happiness But, Rather, It Seizes Us

That Time We Discussed What Happiness Means

What The Buzz: #MakeMondayBetterin3Words

Monday.  Potentially the most dreaded day of the week.

Unless of course you work in retail and have been slogging over the 'traditional weekend' until your day off.

But for the majority of us Monday is the worst day of the week.

The weekend is over, back to work or school, and it generally marks the passing of another week.  Ah, one step closer to the sweet release of death...

Ahem.

Since people are generally so miserable (on any day ending in 'y' really) it makes me happy that Twitter has such a positive trending topic.  It got me thinking about what happiness means to different people.  And I realised that mine is really very simple.

Happiness to me is very easy to come by.  I am a naturally happy person with happy people in my life, in a good job, am able to enjoy many (too many) hobbies and am really very privileged.  I know this and this is nothing new to me but it is worth reminding ourselves every now and then just how lucky we are to live the lives that we do.

Most people will have something in their lives to be happy about, something that makes their day a little bit easier and that should be celebrated.

So huzzah! Well done Twitter for reminding us that sometimes we really only need 3 words to make it seem that little bit brighter.

Here are a few of my favourites;

Netflix and chill #MakeMondayBetterIn3Words

— IYYASSS (@DN_Fckg_Care) October 12, 2015

#MakeMondayBetterIn3Words "order chinese food"

— alvira❁ (@motherdelhi) October 12, 2015

Joffrey's still dead. #MakeMondayBetterIn3Words

— Daenerys Targaryen (@Daenerys) October 12, 2015

#MakeMondayBetterIn3Words Someone Loves You

— Trevor Donovan (@TrevDon) October 12, 2015

Choose happiness today #MakeMondayBetterIn3Words pic.twitter.com/jQ3FwmJ3lO

— Theresa Caputo (@Theresacaputo) October 12, 2015

Or my Mother's addition when I asked her what would #MakeMondayBetterIn3Words: #call it Sunday

&&Fin.

...Because Nerds Like Us Are Allowed To Be Unironically Enthusiastic About Stuff

That Time I Was Super Excited for Comic-Con

MCM London Comic Con is fast approaching (23rd - 25th October 2015) and I am ridiculously excited.

Like can't-sleep-can't-focus-jump-up-and-down-pee-your-pants excited.

This will be my second time at Comic Con and my second attempt at cosplay.  When I went to MCM in May earlier this year, I had the best experience.  I cosplayed as a Weeping Angel with my friend joining me as the Doctor(!11). We knew our costumes were a bit rubbish, home made and last minute but we were determined to have a fantastic day.

We were gobsmacked at the reaction we received.

At one point we could barely move four or five feet without somebody requesting a photograph.  We were stunned and so humbled by the reaction.  And what was even more amazing was how lovely everyone was.

I don't care what anyone says; the nerd/geek community is the best.

Everyone was so warm and friendly and welcoming.  We got lots of hugs and chatted to all sorts of different people! I think I could have spent all day in the corridor talking to different people.

But, as it was our first time (snicker), we wanted to see as much of Comic Con as possible.

This was somewhat hampered by my entirely impractical and ridiculously over sized wings.  (These things were a monstrosity in all honesty.  They were too large by far and I don't know why I thought they would make for easy movement around a crowded expo hall).

In any event, it quickly became apparent that I (and my friend) were undeniably out of our depth.

We were both comfortable in our nerdom and so were fairly confident we would be able to establish which stalls and booths were dedicated to which fandom.  Comic Con proved us very, very wrong.

The stands and stalls and various talks/panels were all related to things that I had no idea about.  There were a few mainstream fandoms I could see skulking around but there was infinitely more that I had never even heard of.  It was incredible and I loved every second of it.  It fuelled a desire to go and find out what these fandoms were, who was involved and what medium they played out on.

In any event, I had a fantastic time at Comic Con in May and am now thoroughly excited to be attending again in a few short weeks.  I am hoping to take my new camera with me and film some of the day so keep your eyes peeled for that montage that will be appearing soon!

And just for your information...my Jareth the Goblin King cosplay is coming along nicely. ;) - pics will follow.

Oh.  Will they follow.

&&Fin.

Teachers Can Change Lives With Just The Right Mix of Chalk And Challenges

That Time We Celebrated World Teacher Day

What The Buzz: #WorldTeachersDay

It has been estimated that we meet between 10,000 – 80,000 people in our lifetimes.  (Obviously, if you are a somewhat anti-social blogger, slaving over articles each week, that number is likely to be at the smaller end of the scale).  I will openly admit that I am not good with names and have the memory of a sieve so I have very limited space to remember individuals.  This was never more true than when I went to a business meeting and greeted the host with a polite ‘nice to meet you’ at the same time he gave me a warm smile and said ‘lovely to see you again’.

There were not many warm smiles after that social faux pas.

But, despite the odds (and my limited brain power), there are some people in your life that you just don’t forget.  Favourite teachers are some of those people.

I’ll admit that I had a fairly pleasant overall experience at school so perhaps it is easier for me to find positives than those that didn’t.  But some of the teachers I had shaped the adult that I became and I would like to take the time, on World Teachers Day, to say thank you.

 

Teachers these days appear to have a, frankly, impossible task and I do not envy them one bit.

 

If they are not getting abuse hurled at them from jumped up 12 year olds, they are getting abuse from parents who don’t understand how perfect little Timmy could have done anything to warrant a detention and, in any event, he has a judo competition that he cannot miss so no, he will not be attending the punishment and no, they won’t take any action themselves.

And then parents wonder why their perfect little brat grows up into a rude adolescent with no respect for authority including (or perhaps especially) their own parents’.

I am a firm believer that teachers should be there to teach – how to write, how to express yourself, the facts and figures, lateral thinking, how to work in a team, communication and even a little bit about self-confidence.  But parents should be responsible for the rest – manners, respect, discipline and all those other things that develop children into well rounded adults.

 

So this is for all the teachers that go above and beyond their job description.  This is for my teachers that taught me to push myself further than I thought possible. For my teachers who made me fall in love with writing and reading and solving puzzles.  For the teachers that praised me when I did well and were disappointed when I didn’t try my hardest.

 

Thank you.  And happy World Teachers Day.

 

&& Fin.

Talk Well of The Absent Whenever You Have The Opportunity

That Time I Got Way Too Attached To My Wing Mirror Spider

I am the proud owner of a classic 1999 Honda Accord.  The current market value of this car is £130 and it does not always start on the first attempt.

I have also bumped into several pillars whilst driving around implausibly small car parks so the red paintwork bears some battle scars.

Despite all this, I love my car.

And recently I had a fellow Honda enthusiast aboard. His name was Freddie. And he was my wing mirror spider.

Freddie was something of a beast and so I will admit that, initially, our friendship was born out of fear of removing his web and facing his wrath rather than enjoying his presence.  However, that was quickly rectified as I found he made my car journeys more enjoyable. 

There was never a dull car ride with Freddie on board - the first such adventure involved Freddie evicting my previous wing mirror spider in no uncertain terms after a battle to the death was acted out at the traffic lights.  Freddie was not a particularly graceful or merciful winner but it is life and death in the Honda ghetto.

Freddie travelled with me from the South coast all the way to Leicester and we became firm friends after I promised not to destroy his web if he could survive the journey. (I had hoped that travelling on the motorway at 70mph might have done my dirty work for me but alas, it was not to be.)

Freddie was made of harder stuff than I initially gave him credit for.

Not only did Freddie traverse the dangers of the M1 with me, he survived through the growing Autumnal chill, his web was broken after a particularly windy evening and he managed to swing on to the car door before quickly retreating to the safety of the wing mirror.  He became a travelling companion and it is only with a little embarrassment that I confess to talking to him during our rides to and from work.  He was a source of amusement as he started the journey clinging onto the wing mirror only to bravely scuttle out onto his web, suspended between wing mirror and car door, as we began to pick up speed.

More than once I shouted over the pulsating music as he bounced around in the delicate looking strands: "FREDDIE, YOU NUTTER!!"

Until, one fateful evening, I am sad to report that Freddie took one risk too many.

Travelling up the M3 after a particularly hellish day at work, I watched as Freddie's web flailed, the whole construction waving wildly in the breeze. When, suddenly, the web, and Freddie with it, were lost forever.

I remember blinking owlishly for several moments; convinced that Freddie would reappear on the car door.  Sadly, my wing mirror remained vacant and I realised that Freddie would not be returning this day or any other.  This had been his last ride.

Freddie, wherever you are, (spider Hell probably after your vicious attack on the previous tenant of my wing mirror), you are sorely missed.

#neverforget

&& Fin.