A Few Thoughts On Swine

This post is basically a response to the mass slaughter of pigs in Egypt.

VB was born in "Porkopolis" ("The nickname Porkopolis was coined around 1835, when Cincinnati was the country's chief hog packing center, and herds of pigs traveled the streets." - Wiki) VB remembers, as young child, watching pigs marching up the ramps for slaughter to become "The Weiner The World Awaited, " at the Kahn's packing company, on Central Avenue. (You may laugh at VB, and may have heard of Cincinnati, but check here to find out what growing up there was really like.)

VB's parents (just like every other Greek in America) owned three restaurants (at different times). The last one was in a predominately black area. It was the 60's, and every so often her parents would cook up some pigs feet. It was soul food, and the regular customers were from the neighborhood. Raw hooves would be piled up over the old-fashioned white ceramic freezer. Too bad VB didn't have a camera back then, but the sight of fresh, raw pigs feet piled high, remains embedded in her memories. Not only that, but a New Years Eve tradition with The Boss Man is to down pickled pigs feet, and his mom always had a roll of Goetta in the fridge. Let's face it, regardless of ethnic background, the majority of people in, and from Cincinnati, love pork products. That includes VB. Give her a pair of ham hocks and she will cook up some retro split pea or navy bean soup for you.


By now, most people have heard or read about the swine cull here in Egypt. It is an overkill reaction to the Swine Flu aka H1N1 Virus. Let's all remember, "It's the other white meat." Besides, most of the swine that VB has actually met, are human, and according to the dictionary, "an offensive word for a person who behaves in a cruel or disgusting way towards others." This definition would apply to those who made this decision, as well as those who own factory farms. These viruses are born in industrial environments. The small breeder is typically immune, and provides a service to the community. Plus, as we've seen in the past, (mad cow), small farmers are more capable of containing the disease, so it does not spread. Factory farms do not, nor do they produce the expensive specialty meats we crave. They basically produce mass market meat, at a price, which seems cheap at the grocers, but is subsidized through governments, with our tax dollars, but has a direct impact on the environment. Who are the real losers? The small family run farms - worldwide.

For those of you out there who can't get enough of the culling, or hate swine so much, you too can be a swinefighter!


Here's a few articles to chew on:
Swine Flu Ancestor Born on U.S. Factory Farms
"“Industrial farms are super-incubators for viruses,” said Bob Martin, former executive director of the Pew Commission on Industrial Animal Farm Production, and a long-time critic of the so-called “contained animal feeding operations.”"

A U.S. Hog Giant Transforms Eastern Europe
"European hog farming is being transformed by an agricultural powerhouse operating in far-flung outposts."

"Old customs and jobs are dying and the air itself is changing, however, transformed by an American newcomer, Smithfield Foods. Almost unnoticed by the rest of the Continent, the agribusiness giant has moved into Eastern Europe with the force of a factory engine, assembling networks of farms, breeding pigs on the fast track, and slaughtering them for every bit of meat and muscle that can be squeezed into a sausage."

Local Pastured Meats: Good for You, Good for the Planet
"...Pigs, unlike the “monovore” cows, are omnivores. Along with some corn and soy, they eat whatever they can scavenge in the pasture. In the summer, they hang out and in the shade and pose for pictures like the ones we saw. When Jen said she lets her pigs dig into the ground (instead of ringing their noses to prevent it), I couldn’t help thinking that her pigs are like the teenagers with the coolest, most laid-back parents in town. If you had seen how happy those piggies were in the photos, you would probably want to be one. Maybe."

New Virus, Old Tale: Animals Share Bugs With Us
"All of this is the latest iteration of a phenomenon dating to the dawn of mankind: zoonosis. A zoonotic disease is one that spreads from animals to humans, or vice versa. Bubonic plague came from a bacterium that infects rats and can spread via fleas to humans. HIV is a virus that passed into people from a monkey. Malaria, tuberculosis, rabies, yellow fever and typhoid fever are zoonotic.

And it's a two-way street, as seen recently when a Canadian farmworker infected with the new H1N1 swine flu apparently passed the disease to a herd of pigs. When it comes to influenza, the thoroughfare between Homo sapiens and Sus scrofa -- domesticated pigs -- is something of a superhighway.

From the perspective of an influenza virus, the receptors on the lungs of a human being -- the places where the little spiky knobs on the virus can attach themselves -- look very much like the receptors in a pig. A pig's anatomy is so similar in certain respects to a human being's that pig heart valves are routinely transplanted into human heart patients."

Do I really have to cook pork until it’s not pink in the middle? How much should I worry about trichinosis?

Egypt hog slaughter will cost $54 million (Perhaps this $54 million would be better spent on the proper education and medical availability for people?)

Swine Flu: Don't Blame the Pig
"The swine flu outbreak that has sparked widespread fear — so much so that Egypt has ordered the slaughter of the country's 300,000 pigs, even though no cases have been reported there — is easy to pin on the eponymous animal from which it emerged, but the fact is, the current epidemic is little more than an accident of evolution. If pigs are to blame, so too are birds and humans...."

LIVING ON THE EDGE, WAITING FOR A SLAUGHTER "Public hysteria over swine flu has mostly been manifested as discrimination against the zebaleen. Local newspapers have published maps of zebaleen neighborhoods advising citizens to avoid these areas, and by extension their inhabitants. Women from El-Maya El-Haya have reported being refused entry onto public transport, and many city residents refuse to open the door for zebaleen, throwing their rubbish into the streets instead for fear of contracting swine flu."

11,591 PIGS SLAUGHTERED IN EGYPT "Up to press time 11,591 pigs were slaughtered. He emphasized, however, that the total number of pigs in Egypt which was erroneously reported as 300,000 is actually 156,000 only, none of which have tested positive for swine flu."

20 countries ban pork imports on flu fears
""Trading meat, whether processed or raw or frozen meat, should not be restricted because there is virtually no risk of transmission that way," the WHO's Peter Ben Embarek said."

"The other countries listed by the WHO as having imposed pork and meat restrictions are Thailand, Jordan, the Philippines, Ukraine, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Montenegro, Surinam, the United Arab Emirates and Belarus.

In Lebanon, the trade measure involves "destruction of any cargo en route from (flu) affected countries" and also orders the closure of all domestic pig farms, prohibits the slaughter of pigs, and calls for "blood testing of all pigs".

Egypt has ordered the slaughter of all its 300,000 to 400,000 pigs as a precaution against H1N1, a move the United Nations said was "a real mistake.""

Egypt persecutes Christian pig farmers in the name of swine flu
"Muslim majority country seeks reasons to kill off ’unreligious’ animals"

"This event comes a week after the Egyptian government ordered the slaughter of all the country’s 300,000 pigs even though no cases of swine flu have been reported in the country. Egyptian animal rights activist Amina Abaza deplored the slaughter of pigs and said "the decision to cull them was probably taken only because they belong to the Christians."

In defense of the farmers, the World Health Organization has said the move to slaughter every pig in the country was unnecessary because the virus is however being spread through humans.

Changed alibi

However, the rationale for killing all the pigs in the country has now taken a different cause. The Egyptian health authorities now say that the authorized killing of pigs is in a bid to campaign against unsanitary pig farming conditions, particularly in the Cairo slums where the garbage collectors live.

But the garbage collectors who engage in pig farming are all Christians, who make up the minority of the society, and with no other source of livelihood available to them, or assured them, observers have questioned the intent of the health authorities in Egypt, raising charges or religious persecution."

Egypt’s slaughter of pigs draws criticism as misguided
"International health officials say there is no reason to slaughter pigs because H1N1 cannot be passed from pigs to humans."

France-"Authorities estimate it will take up to six months to kill all the pigs in the country, according to AgencePresse, and have announced plans to buy new machinery from abroad for the specific purpose of increasing the slaughter capacity to 3,000 animals a day. Al Masry Al Youm reports that as of Monday, only 888 pigs had been killed and that Health Minister Hatem El Gebaly has announced the government has set aside 30 million Egyptian pounds to compensate farmers.

The move has received criticism from some unexpected quarters in Egypt, with the editor of the pro-government daily Rose El Yousef mocking it on the editorial page.

“Killing [the pigs] is not a solution, otherwise, we should kill the people, because the virus spreads through them,” he wrote. “The terrified members of Parliament should have concentrated on asking the government first about the preventive measures and ways of confronting the problem.”"


As Israel Ignores Swine Flu Reality, Global Risk
"After two potential cases of swine flu were discovered in Israel, and two Israelis who had just returned from Mexico with flu-like symptoms were quarantined, the Deputy Health Minister, Yakov Litzman, took the next logical step: he renamed the virus. "We will call it Mexican flu. We won't call it swine flu," Litzman declared. He chose to identify the virus with its alleged country of origin instead of pigs because pigs are not religiously permissible to eat, reports the Associated Press."

"Litzman's renaming of the new flu virus would just seem out of place and random if it had been in any other country, but in Israel--where pigs are raised on Arab lands and pork shops are firebombed out of certain neighborhoods--pork is highly politicized. Even the word for "pork" in Hebrew, chazir, is so reviled that it goes by many euphemisms: "white meat," "other meat," and "white steak.""


Turkey's Pork Shortage (And It's Not 'Cause of the Food Crisis Either)
""There are only 2,000 Greeks left in Istanbul," he grumbled. "None of us dares speak out." Curiously, all the other slaughter houses that once dealt with pork have been closed too. Lazari's reluctant to say what he suspects is happening.

"There are only 2,000 Greeks left in Istanbul," he grumbled. "None of us dares speak out.""



R.I.P. to all the poor innocents being blamed for H1N1 and slaughtered as a result. For all those little piggies, VB hopes you can all be "The Weiner The World Awaited, " and, if not perhaps you'd love to be an Oscar Meyer Weiner.

(Below): The homage to the Flying Pig in VB's hometown "Porkopolis", along the riverfront, Cincinnati, Ohio. Yes, we Cincinnatians worship swine.


And now links to some tasty pork articles and recipes:

The King of Parma Hams

Pork Knuckle, German Delight

Greek Pork From a Medieval Past (Video narration available if you don't want to read the article.)

In Greece, Slaughtering the Pig (Video narration available)

Grilling: Pork Souvlaki with Pita and Tzatziki

Polish Pork Primer

Bacon Today: "Daily Updates On The World Of Sweet, Sweet Bacon"

We’re All Meatheads Now
chefs of the Mario outside of Paris, is without a doubt a "There has been a lardy avalanche of pig prose of late—celebrations of all the edible glories of pig: its snout, ears, and tail; its blood, belly, and liver; and I suppose, if you have to be boring, its plain old meat (I wrote about the phenomenon in Slate). New York magazine food critic Adam Platt has recently dubbed carniphilicBatali/David Chang/Paul Bertolli variety “meatheads,” and emphasized that it is pig they worship above all other animals. Add one more to that list: Stéphane Reynaud, chef-owner of Villa 9 Troismeathead of the highest order.

Pigs' feet: the new superfood
"The latest anti-ageing food? Pigs' trotters. That's right, you heard it here first. In New York, the most talked-about new opening of the past couple of months has been a Japanese restaurant called Hakata Tonton, where 33 out of the 39 dishes contain pigs' feet."

One of VB's favorite recipes (and it's just as good with beef): Carolina Pulled-Pork Sandwiches


Since the pig culling in Egypt incited this post, let's visit Cairo. Earlier this year, Anthony Bourdain's Season 5 of No Reservations aired (in the States), with a segment on Egypt.

It's available on iTunes, but also on YouTube. Here is the first part of his Egypt segment, where he not only discusses food, but (on several occasions) traffic, which is great. (Um, no pigs are slaughtered or eaten during this Egypt centric episode.)


No Reservations - Egypt Part 1 of 5



If you watched the Anthony Bourdain visit Part 1 to Egypt, then you know why this photo is here.
(Below): A pigeon coop in The City of the Dead.

Funkengroovin - Another Trip To The Embassy

A few weeks ago, VB made another trip to the American Embassy. She needed a notarized statement that the copy of her passport, (which is required for an Egyptian driver's license) was true and accurate. So here's another Funkengroovin tour through town. Unfortunately, everything appears sun-washed (even after adjustments were made.) VB posted the news portion separately, just before this one. Scroll down the blog page to find it. (Below): A white Vanagon parked near the house, early in the morning.

(Below): Following a green Beetle.

(Below): As we drive along an overpass exit, a Beetle sits on the other side of the road.

(Below): Further on two carts (one donkey and one horse led) pass each other.

(Below): A white Bus sits in traffic, on the Nile Corniche.

(Below): Cairo traffic. Some might call it one hot mess.

(Below): A Beetle sits hidden.

(Below ): The bicycle bread delivery man. VB's driver says, it takes at least ten years of training to ride a bike and carry a table sized tray of bread on one's head. This is obviously a specialized job.

(Below): We pass this lot every time we go to the embassy, and VB always sees this Bus parked. Today she had a better view.

(Below): A bread salesman on foot.

(Below): A ginormous bus.

(Below): Drink sales stand. This "dude" walked in front of VB's photo.

(Below): Police on the job. Another broke down cop car?

(Below): VB has tried time and again to get a good shot of Big Farah's tent in Maadi, Gedida. It's on the main exit and entrance road for the highway, and typically it just flashes by.

(Below two photos): After the embassy visit we searched for a new restaurant, and found the following two Beetles. VB will have better photos in a future post.

Hollies_Stop Stop Stop

Funkengroovin News

VB's posting the news separately. A separate post with photos will be available shortly.

Here's VB's favorite news item of the week. We are so fed up with VW dealership service in our area (and there's two of them), that now with no warranty, we just take our VWs up to Bob's in West Springfield. Awesome Daughter took her 2003 Jetta GLX to the dealership as the new engine light was on. They told her not only did she need a new catalytic converter costing $1200.00, but she also needed a new timing belt, and the cost for that would be $1600.00. Her car is a 2.8 VR6 and has a timing chain. At 80,000 miles a replacement should not be necessary, and as we suspected was verified from inspection by our independent service shop. Did the VW dealer think they could take advantage of a young woman, are they stupid (not knowing the difference between a timing chain and a belt) or are they just a bunch of crooks?! So we've had it with VW of America. None of our cars are in warranty, and that's fine with us. And, we will probably not buy a VW anytime in the near future.

Independents give better repair service, Consumer Reports survey says
"When it comes to service and repairs, car owners surveyed by Consumer Reports said they preferred taking their cars to independent repair shops rather than dealerships."

"Among individual brands, domestic dealerships fared quite well, with Buick, Saturn, Mercury, Cadillac and Lincoln all landing in the top 10 (Lexus was No. 1). At the bottom of the ranking were Mazda, Nissan, Jeep, Suzuki and — in last place — Volkswagen.

The full results of the survey will be in the June issue of Consumer Reports, which hits newsstands Tuesday, and at www.consumerreports.org."

VW NEWS:

Customized '68 Beetle: Chopped, Dropped and Topless

Things that go clunk! / Teens tell of love-hate relationship with clunkers


Ben & Jerry's Tries New Recipe for Store Design

"Streamlined, Ben & Jerry’s style: A flagship store (left) incorporates natural materials to create the unified funky farm vibe that's rolling out to new stores. To stay true to Ben & Jerry’s brand positioning, Tesser sought out repurposed materials for quirky fixtures, such as the milk crate and bottle light fixture/chandelier, the VW bus plasma screen and the ‘beaded curtain’ made of ice cream pint lids. By seeking out and using such things as post-recycled plastic, environmentally safe glue and replenishable wood species, the project jibes with the company’s social mission. The next challenge? Scaling costs back in order to remodel all 500 stores. "

VB has never seen this show, but there's a cool photo at the link.
Bus Gets Bumped

"Last night’s episode brought out the fight in the final four competitors of this season’s Bullrun. Team Avalanche, Corvette, VW and Shelby all stepped to the plate. In the beginning, Team Shelby jumped out of the gate with flying colors and came in first at the checkpoint in Scottsdale, AZ followed by Teams Avalanche, Corvette and VW."

Even though most of us may have missed it (it's in Australia), go to the link and check out the Kombi Konvoy video.
Nimbin MardiGrass 2009

"MardiGrass is basically a peaceful rally for cannabis law reform. Supporters for the legalisation of cannabis are fighting for it to be recognised as a substance that can be used medicinally, as a food source, an environmentally-friendly fibre or as a potential fuel source."

From Jalopnik: 1958 Volkswagen Bus Highboy for $6,500!

GENERAL AUTO RELATED NEWS

What Clunker Cash Might Buy

"Congress is considering two plans aimed at helping automakers and dealers to lift sales, cut emissions and reduce reliance on foreign oil."

Editor's Note: Earl S. MacPherson and His Invention

Clean Up Your Classic Car With Propane

VB doesn't think this (below) is so smart of an idea. Doesn't current mobile use interfere with driving already? Now we want to encourage it, with smarter GPS technology?! VB will stick with the Tomtom, and that's annoying enough when you have John Cleese telling you where to go.
Smarter GPS to Let Cellphones Point the Way

"The emerging generation of navigation devices have the ability to connect to the Internet and to one another, which may spell the end of similar dashtop devices."

Wheels: Classic Ad: 1984 VW GTI

"The original commercial for the 1984 VW Rabbit GTI features jumping cars and a version of the Ronny and Daytonas song "Little G.T.O.," altered for the ad and sung in German."

Wheels: Zipcar Licenses Car-Share System

"Zipcar, the car-sharing service that lets people rent by the hour, is now sharing its proprietary car-management technology with the public sector."

FOUR DEAD, TENS INJURED IN RING ROAD PILEUP

"CAIRO: At least four people died and more than 30 were injured Monday in a road accident involving more than 20 cars on the Ring Road in Katameya.

Some of those injured are still in intensive care.

The accident involved a collision between a truck full of steel rods and a public transportation bus, followed by a collision of more than 20 cars coming towards the accident site at high speed, according to local press reports.

“The cars were crushed. There wasn’t a single piece that wasn’t destroyed,” said Ahmed Saad, an eyewitness to the aftermath of the accident. “It was really sad. They were dragging corpses out of the cars. I don’t know why people drive at this crazy speed.”"

Secrets of the Modern Repo Man

"Modern repo men try to avoid nasty conflicts with high-tech tools. They search for their targets in the dark of night with gear that scans license plates. Tow trucks have also been upgraded. Now, agents can haul tightly parked cars without ever leaving the cab of the tow truck. Some dealers can even track and disable a car from afar, making it easy to bring back to the lot.

If you're late on your payments, here are a few high-tech tools that might bring a repo man to your car:" (Read on for advice.)

But, here's the one piece VB thinks she may need to check into. Not that she's late on payments. She just doesn't like this spying software shit. She's got a 2005 Mini Cooper S, and even though she keeps up with her payments, the question remains: "What else does this software do?" Perhaps she will take her Mini somewhere unaffiliated with BMW and have it checked. It took her over a year to get the title to the 2003 VW Jetta she paid off! Is VB paranoid - um, slightly. Who killed JFK!?

"SmartTrack. Rocky Mountain Tracking is among the many sellers of GPS tracking devices that pitch them to auto dealers, offering what the company calls "no-fuss car repossession." The $200 device slips unobtrusively under a dash and uses GPS satellites to pinpoint its location. Dealers need only pay a few dollars more to get the location data if and when a borrower defaults on a loan. For $100 or so more, dealers can install a model that can also disable the car's ignition."

(Below): Your complimentary Cairo traffic photo, which should be labeled, "Don't try this at home, or anywhere else for that matter." Amazing!

Cathouse Update - A Death In The Family

To start off, Little Boy got into two fights with the gold and white cat below. This was the afternoon fight. He was all wound up from his morning joust.


(Below): Here Ramses looks on, and it seems to be a pretty hair raising experience for him too.


(Below): A close-up of Ramses.

(Below two photos): Later in the afternoon the whole fam-damily shows up. VB thinks this photo directly below is so typical of dysfunctional families. Mean Mama looks on as juvie, Little Boy aka Scarface eats, and somehow through those extra eyes in the back of his head, senses his bitch Mama watching him with disapproval.


(Below): The ass sniffing begins. For some strange reason, every member (Mean Mama and her kids) are all gathered on the porch for a feeding. This is unusual.

(Below): That evening Doggie and VB had quite an experience. Sure, Mean Mama's daughter would be protective of her newborn baby, but on this night she was aggressive. Like a snarling dog, creeping forward, with the threat to pounce, she followed and harassed us during our walk in the yard. (Reminder, it's VB's fucking yard bitch!)

Well, the next day she was on the front porch all morning snoozing, seeking comfort from her older brother, Little Boy aka Scarface (from another litter). It was after that we realized her little kitten baby must have passed away. She looked sad, and Scarface was very comforting.



(Below): Yesterday morning. Back to kitty play. She was too young to have a child to begin with. She is still so small, and looks like a kitten herself. So, for that past several days she's been getting back into the kitten groove - playing in the yard, keeping company with her brothers, and just being a cat. That won't be for long. She will go back into season, and we will go through another round.

The Art of Weaving

Last year, VB was wearing her favorite J. Crew linen jacket, (she's a "dedicated follower of fashion") out to dinner. Doggie was just a pup, with incisor like claws. Springer Spaniels like to, well, spring, and jump. She did so, and in the blink of an eye, VB's jacket had a massive (to VB's eye) tear. Actually, if VB were to stick a pin there, no one would notice, except that it was lower down on the jacket. It sat for a year. In the meantime, VB tried to mend it herself, but here's only so much VB can do - she's not Superwoman. Finally, in February, VB found a weaver. He's located on Road 153, just off of Road 7, in Maadi, directly below the bridge towards the Nile. VB had just had the jacket dry cleaned too. And wondered if the dry cleaner put spot remover on the rip, since it looked lighter in color. (Below): A close-up of the torn jacket after dry cleaning.

(Below): A view of what you might see had VB been wearing it (i.e. more realistic.)

Most weavers we have had in the past, including Wizard Weavers of Hyde Park, in Cincinnati, Ohio have a modus operandi. They remove a piece of the same cloth, from the inside of the jacket. Normally it's a site that won't be detectable. They then weave this into the damaged area, and viola! They also charge about $50.00 (well that was back in the early 1980's) for one piece. Now, the weaver off of Road 7 doesn't have a western (English) business card. He's tucked into a hole in the wall, basement area, next to a huge framing business on the corner of Road 153. VB went there and figured, "what the hell," it can't look any worse than it does already. Well, this guy, wove together the broken threads on the jacket, without removing anything else. VB kept looking, all over, for a piece of linen that had been removed from inside the jacket. Not one teeny weeny little piece! (Below): The woven product. Yes, the spot is lighter, but that's not his fault. Again, VB thinks the dry cleaners did this. Still his weaving skills - simply amazing!

He speaks English and just says, "Whatever you wish." The charge was only 40 LE, and he had it finished within a week.


From an Internet site called Without A Trace:

""Clothing is very expensive," Ehrlich explains. "It’s easier to fix than replace." The most common clothing injuries are small moth holes, cigarette burns and rips, most resulting from clumsiness. Repairing these in expensive, high-quality suits is well worth the $50 or so cost of reweaving. "It’s saving them a whole new garment," says Ehrlich.
The method of repair usually depends upon the type of problem. Without a Trace specializes in three types of reweaving: inweaving, French weaving and reknitting. Inweaving is necessary with larger tears and works best with patterns. A patch of fabric, cut from the pocket or hem of the piece, is frayed along the edges and hand woven into the fabric.
Smaller holes are repaired using the French weave, also known as the invisible weave. The weaver takes strands of threads from hidden areas of the garment, then interweaves these threads together over the hole - as Ehrlich says, "recreating the fabric."
Reknitting is the process used in repairing sweaters. As in the French weave, the knitter uses yarns from other parts of the garment to repair holes and pulls."

And from The Washington Post, Reweavers Take a Delicate Approach to Fabric Repair:

"The work is time-consuming. Using high-powered microscopes so they can see even the finest individual threads, reweavers work by hand with special needles. "You have to weave one thread at a time to get the invisible look," explains Susan Kim, owner of Beverly Cleaners in Alexandria.
In this "French weave" process, the reweaver takes matching fabric from another area of the damaged item, picks it apart thread by thread, then weaves across the hole so it is no longer detectable." "Reweaving professionals suggest that you decide how much the item to repair is worth -- and consider carefully whether you wouldn't be better off buying something new. Repairs for small holes (up to a half-inch) range from $20 to $50. Larger reweaving projects can run $70 to $100. Most jobs require at least a week, and complicated projects can take much longer."

Funkengroovin - Antibiotics Please

VB has been ill lately (like for three weeks now). She thinks she picked up a bug from a tour guide at one of the sites she visited with Number One Son. It started as a cough, then head congestion, constant sinus headaches, ears popping, eye infection, ears not popping, blah, blah, blah. Finally The Boss Man said, "I'm taking you out to get some antibiotics!" VB's not big on antibiotics, as she thinks they are abused by certain people, and feels it makes you stronger if you can fight off the disease yourself. Well, The Boss Man had had enough, especially when it appeared as if VB was loosing her hearing (he hates having to repeat himself, or put a show on pause because VB asks, "What did he say?") VB does feel better now, though.

(Below): To start it all off, the electricity went out again for the umpteenth time. April must be lights out month in Cairo. For some odd reason, the electricity seems to go out more often and for longer periods in April, than any other month. There's no air conditioners running, it's not like it's mid-summer, and there's no reason for it whatsoever. Whole blocks go out. The lights flicker and you think, ahh. But no, you see block after block getting their lights turned back on except for yours, and it's a real pisser!

First we hopped down to Road 9 for wires and such from Radio Shack. We spotted some newfangled (T5?) Vanagon.


(Below): Doggie begs, "Pleease! I promise I won't jump on anyone!"


(Below): At the phone shop near the main Maadi Metro station we spied a green Beetle hidden below the bridge. No, the phone shop does not sell medicine. The Boss Man just got an unlocked iPhone (you read that right - "unlocked") imported from Italy, via Dubai, and he needed some new accessories.


(Below): A variation. (Was VB playing with her shutter speed again? Probably.)


(Below): On the way to a pharmacy that's open on Fridays. Further along Road 9, an orange Beetle. (Yes, that man is wearing a jacket with fur trim, and it's in the 70's (F) here.)


(Below): Jealous of the canines a couple of streets down, these cats decided to stage their own Cat On A Car Sit - In. And it's so convenient too - right next to a dumpster.


(Below): A nice older Beetle (older than we normally see around here), pulls alongside.


(Below): And then passes us up.


(Below): Doggie waiting in the car.


(Below): As we walk to the pharmacy, in Maadi Gedida, an old Ural sidecar motorcycle comes along. We used to see these around Baku, Azerbaijan regularly. We've spotted some here in Cairo too, but never got close enough for pictures. Neither of these two men speaks a word of English. And, BTW, VB was playing with the shutter speed again, so the enlargements have speckled particles that show up, here and there.

From Wiki: "According to official accounts, after lengthy discussion, the BMW R 71 motorcycle was found to most closely match the Red Army's requirements. Five units were covertly purchased through some Swedish intermediaries. Soviet engineers in Moscow dismantled the five BMWs, reverse engineering the BMW design in every detail and making molds and dies to produce their own engines and gearboxes in Moscow. Early in 1941, the first prototypes of the M-72 motorcycle were shown to Stalin who made the decision to enter mass production."

"Initially, the "URAL" was built for the military only. In the late 1950s, the KMZ plant in the Ukraine took over the task of supplying the military and the Irbit Motorcycle Works (IMZ) began to concentrate on making bikes for domestic consumers. In the late 1950s the full production of the plant was turned over to non-military production. In 1957 the M-72 production lines were sold to the Peoples Republic of China."


(Below): A rear view.


(Below): The engine. From Wiki: "URAL motorcycles are equipped with four-stroke, air-cooled, flat-twin engines, a four speed gear box with reverse gear, shaft drive, two disc dry clutch, spring shock absorbers, and drum brakes." ( Its a two cylinder boxer engine, similar to a VW.)

"The motorcycles are mainly sold to the internal Russian market. They have also been exported to Australia, Britain, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Greece, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Germany, Egypt, Iran, South Africa, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and the United States. The total number of sales since the factory was founded has been over 3.2 million. IMZ-Ural is the only Russian manufacturer of large capacity motorcycles and one of few manufacturers of sidecar motorcycles in the world."


(Below): Pouring milk into tin containers. They deliver fresh milk.


(Below two photos): After VB got her needed Z-Pac, we head on over to the newly opened Subway for sandwiches, and walk by this blue Beetle.




(Below): Upon leaving, we drive by a parked white Beetle.


The Subways were great, and since VB ordered 2 foot-longs, she overdosed on them (it took one and a half days though). But, she had been longing for a hero sandwich ever since the Quiznos on Road 9 closed. So both the medicine and food were just what she needed.


The Cars- Live Aid 1985 - "Just What I Needed"

Cathouse Update - Non-related Cats

Lastly, but certainly not least, are all the cats that are "unrelated". They are the ones who show up only for food, or sex. They don't "hang out" here as much as some of the others. Most live within two blocks from our house, emanating in all directions.

(Below): A male with sad eyes. We've seen replicas of him here and there in the neighborhood. There's another one, very similar, who's tongue is always hanging out from his mouth.


(Below): White Cat In A Hat - he looks like he has a cap on his head. He's a variation of all the long haired, hairy white cats, like The Blue Eyed Sex Maniac.


(Below): Another gold and white male.


(Below): Black Cat has just started visiting recently. Not Mean Mama's son. This one has a white marking on his chest, and Mean Mama's was all black.

(Below): The Blue Eyed Sex Maniac, who is no longer around, but reproductions seem to be popping up everywhere! VB is sure you will see resemblances among several new cats, and a few VB hasn't even photographed yet. This dude got around!


From cat vs. cat
"A frightened cat's first choice will be to avoid potential conflict altogether and escape. If he can't escape, or feels backed into a corner, a cat may resort to aggression. First he will display a defensive body posture: an arched back with his hair standing on end at first and then a crouch with ears rotated back and flattened against the head. His pupils will be dilated and he will probably growl, hiss, and perhaps spit. He may even be caught in two positions at once. His upper body and front feet may face forward, ready to do battle if necessary, but his hindquarters may face sideways, ready to help him bolt at the first opportunity for escape. He will stay in the defensive posture until escape becomes possible or the opponent retreats."

(Below): A review of sorts. The Blue Eyed Sex Maniac going after Johnny Come Lately (the gray cat.)


(Below): Johnny Come Lately this year, before his full blown eye infection. We're beginning to think he's deaf and possibly going blind. Doggie has "bumped" into him several times, when he should have clearly seen her. VB has to tap him with the cane on his rear for him to realize she's been banging the damn thing on the floor, and he isn't responding (mostly when he's howling at another Tom). Not sure what's up with him, but it's not good.



(Below): Scaredy Cat. The two photos below this one are of his female posse. They are a colony. They rub against each other and eat together. VB has seen him scratched up, and he's an awfully scruffy, scared as shit looking fellow, but he apparently has his charms. As The Boss Man would say, "God bless him."



(Below): Son Of Scaredy Cat (up a tree no less.)


(Below): A very sweet gray and white female who feeds here daily.


(Below): The ear cut female we thought was neutered. W-R-O-N-G! She's had several litters, but never brings them around for us to see.


(Below): Bad Ass Cat's Bro. (We haven't seen Bad Ass Cat lately.)


(Below): A sweet kitty that showed up recently. She is pregnant, and appears to be approachable, although VB hasn't tried, yet. She was in tight with the black nosed female (now one month disappeared), who was tight with Big Love Momma. She's pretty much on her own these days. Here early in the morning, she hides on our back porch, and lets VB know she's hungry.


(Below): We've decided to call him Ramses. He showed up exactly a week before Number One Son's visit in March. VB spotted him on a walk about a week before that (This is how it always happens. VB goes for a walk. Stops. Takes a few photos of a cat or cats. Next thing you know, they're on the porch.) He rubs up against you, rubs all over you - your shoes, your pants, the screen door. He wants to be petted, all over - back, behind the ears, under his chin.... He loves small balls and we constantly have to go into the garden as he whacks them off the porch. VB has had to buy new ones for him too. He's a sort of nerdy. He will quietly walk up behind other cats, hoovering over them, breathing down their necks, while they eat or lounge, and just stare at them inquisitively. When they realize it, they jump out of their skin, but there's never any fighting. It's almost as if they think he's a freak. Sometimes this behavior borders on a form of intimidation. He's young, but tall. Oh, and Doggie climbs right into his face, and has almost sat on him, with no reaction on his part. That's another aspect that makes VB think he's a lost (or thrown away) pet. All he does is eat, sleep, play soccer, and preen himself. He rarely leaves the garden, but is so anal, he will hop over the fence, into the next yard, when nature calls. VB has gone around the hood with a photo, but no one seems to recognize him. This coming week he gets put into a crate, and taken to the vet, who most of the cat folks here use. Perhaps he might recognize him. If not, he will be neutered. BTW, two birds (or their remains) have been found in the yard since he arrived. He's apparently very good at stalking, too.


(Below): Newcomer, just recently. Another male.



From an article: Feline Social Behaviour
"Because cats are asocial, there is no hierarchy and fights are therefore common. The results of these conflicts are often not predictable. As a result, communication is important between cats to avoid interaction with each other, thereby reducing the number of fights.

The feline social system is actually quite flexible, ranging from solitary individuals to large colonies. At which end of the spectrum a cat will sit depends highly on the resources in the area, including food, shelter, and breeding females available. Cats that hunt for their food often live alone because of the small portions of their prey (for example, mice). However, those that have a constant source of food, such as those that are fed by humans, often live in groups.

In general, a solitary cat has a home range consisting of favorite spots and regularly traveled paths. Home ranges may overlap between neighbouring cats. On the other hand, an individual’s territory is usually smaller than the home range (or often the same size in the case of house cats), and this is an area that is actively defended."


An interesting insight into ferals and the question, "What the hell do these cats do all day?"
The Day in a Feral Cat's Life


Last, but certainly not least - Who's Your Daddy (below). Here he sits next to the food station at a neighbor's house, two blocks over. He still stops by now and then, giving all the other cats the shivers. He came by with a limp last fall, and is back to his old self now.


As VB was finishing this, after one fight in the morning, and just after walking Doggie, we heard caterwauling from the front porch. We were just out in the front yard, and me thinks, "WTF! There weren't any cats out there!" As you can see, it's Little Boy with the gold and white cat pictured earlier. This is not good. If you blow up the photo, you can see loose white hair on the gold and white's coat. The fur went flying before VB could even get her camera lid off. They both practically knocked each other off the porch, hanging off the rails, and then started over again.

This was the second fight between Little Boy and this specific cat this day, and as the one went over the fence, Little Boy followed. You could hear the screeching and yowling as the fight continued up the street. Later we heard more shrieking. Little Boy had cornered another cat who is literally clawing the wrought iron rails at the topmost section near the ceiling. Little Boy is aggravated, and VB has seen this before. He will often sit at the screen door, and sniff at Doggie on the other side. On this day, he jumped up and attacked the screen door, hissing. Doggie just took a couple of steps back, stared, and looked up at VB as if asking, "What the fuck crawled up his ass and died?!" The same exact thought going through VB's mind.

And, who sits below and watches it all? Ramses. Looks like it's a hair raising experience for him too.



After all three fights, (and who knows how many after later in the day) Little Boy showed up this morning looking unscathed. Still in a pissy mood, he proceeded to get cocky with another cat he chased out of the yard. Ramses was on the porch watching; Son Of Scaredy Cat was on the big padded pot in the yard; the little female kitten (pregnant) poked her head out of the back porch nervously; and Johnny Come Lately was laying on an air conditioner oblivious to it all. Subject of this hissy fit must have run off before VB could spot him.

VB would love to put a small camera on Little Boy's head to see where he goes, who he sees, and how bad he acts when he's not in the yard.