PBW: New Additions

My mom doesn't find cats so much as they seem to find us. The big one hiding up top is Cubby, who was about the size of a mouse when my mom rescued him from a window well near my dad's doctor's office, and who still acts like a mouse even though he's one of the largest cats we've ever had. The extremely cozy little black and white cat is of course Chirp, in all his inimitability. I don't name them; my mom does. I wanted to call Cubby Cerebus, but my mom wasn't feeling it. I expect he would have been a little tougher if he grew up with the name I wanted to use.

So about a week and a half ago, a new cat was spotted by our back door. My mom occasionally puts food out that our cats don't finish, and our neighbor's cats are more than happy to make sure it doesn't go to waste. We get the occasionally raccoon as well, which my dad is never happy about. At first we thought this new one was our neighbor's, but it had different markings and no collar. We also can't get within five feet of it yet. He'll hiss, then run around our hedge, doubling back for the dish of food. Despite insisting that she didn't want any more cats because they'd outlive her and starve, my mom has continued to feed this new cat, and every morning and every afternoon we can count on it to appear on our back step waiting patiently. At first she was going to call it “Sunday” for the day it appeared, then “Aunt Kate” after coming home from a wake for her friend's elderly aunt. I thought “Sundae” would be a good variation. Initially, we thought it was a girl but eventually saw otherwise. Now my mom is calling him “Sonny”. I don't know if he'll eventually move in or just be an outdoor beggar, but he's the first new addition featured in Photo Blog Wednesday this week.










On a completely different note, remember that Wal-mart Exclusive Transformers DVD I bought last Tuesday? The bonus prequel disk was well worth it, especially for one surprise voice actor I was extremely happy to hear. However, when I finally got around to watching the main movie disk Monday night, I discovered that it only contained the movie, a few audio options, and chapter selection. There were a few trailers, hidden as an “Easter Egg” after the credits. There were no featurettes, commentaries, or deleted scenes. It was extremely vanilla.

Rabid robot fan that I am, further research was needed. I sought the council of geeks greater than I. The tempting transforming Target version held a second disk and all the special features I was looking for. However, a lot of places sold out as it was an extremely rare limited edition. Feeling doomed, and ignoring the fact that I'll probably buy this movie again in a new format in a few years anyway, I set out in search of it after work on Tuesday.

I lucked out. There were maybe twenty left at the first store I visited, and I left feeling like a kid with a new toy. The thing turned out to be a lot sturdier than I expected, though I know it's the type of plastic that could wear out after a few months of moving the joints. I haven't even watched the disks yet. I've bought something I don't need but it's something that makes me happy. Is that the American dream?