Archive from August, 2010

It seems that I shall now revisit the topic of famous cats, thanks to the interest of one Marc-André Chambers. After some looking around, I found quite a few examples of famous cats, some fictional and some real. Many of them were famous only because they were owned by famous people. Even so, I have compiled a list of 10 interesting famous cats, starting with one who has been in the news recently.

Six years ago, Canadian comics artist Bryan Lee O'Malley brought us a silly yet endearing story. He introduced us to the world of Scott Pilgrim, full of quirky characters, indie/hipster cool and video game references out the wazoo. It started with a nostalgia-fueled cult following and somehow got mainstream enough to bring about a feature film adaptation by none other than Edgar Wright of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" fame. The question on the minds of many Scott Pilgrim fans is undoubtedly whether or not the film lives up to the humor and sincerity of the comics. O'Malley has stated that the film necessarily diverges to some extent from the original story, especially given that the last volume was not released until just last month. But, especially with the questionable casting of Michael Cera in the lead role, does the film still have the same feeling as the graphic novels, and - just as important - is it still accessible to a larger public that may not have read them?

I racked my brain trying to think of something to talk about relating to chess. I have not played chess in years, and while I appreciate the game and the amount of knowledge and strategy it requires, I am not all that interested in becoming a master at it. I thought about researching the history of the game and writing about that, but it all sounds rather boring to me. Around the 6th or 7yh century, an early form of the game had developed in non-Western countries such as India and Persia. A few centuries later, it made its way to Europe and, by the 19th century, had become altered into a different, Western form that more resembles what in modern times is known as chess. Like I said, boring, right? This is how it should have gone.