KitKat Opening the Door (Planet of the Cats Pt 1)

Cats are going to take over the world one day, I'm telling you! There's quite a bit of videos circulating Youtube of other cats opening doors which is impressive - it's like they all instinctively know how to do it or they are just really observant and figure it out from watching us (and reporting their findings back to their mothership). It seems that cats don't like closed doors very much - their curiosity tells them they should be able to know what's behind the door and they want to explore every room.

The first time I discovered KitKat knew how to open doors was maybe a year ago when I was sleeping and it was almost morning. I was still half asleep and I heard him meowing at the door and being noisy. I tried ignoring it to sleep some more but then I felt his presence next to my face and opened my eyes to find that he has learned how to open my door and has come to wake me up to feed him! He's been opening doors ever since then and from that day on, I made it my personal goal to film it on camera. I filmed the first part of the video a year ago and just yesterday I was finally able to film the second perspective from outside of the door. It was tricky because he never opens the door if he knows we are watching him so when I had a feeling he was going for it, I quickly got out my GoPro and tripod and then quickly went back into my room to wait. It took a couple tries but I finally got it!

Band Spotlight: FIDLAR

I've finally figured out the theme for this blog: music and cats - the two things I'm most permanently passionate about out of my long list of ever-changing interests and hobbies

To start off, here's a post about a band I recently found out about from WayHome's 2016 lineup

FIDLAR (short for "Fuck It Dog, Life's a Risk") is a skate punk/garage punk band from LA and I would describe their style as energetic/catchy/noisy music that you can stomp your feet to and sing (yell) along with.

Below are two songs by them - their music videos are pretty cool and creative too!


I want those creepy tiny hands


Reminiscent of Blink-182's "All the Small Things" video - Can you name all the music videos this one parodies?

The Naked And Famous at The Mod Club

I had such a fun time at the Naked And Famous show on Friday night at The Mod Club! I've never seen them live before and have never been to this venue before so I was excited for both. The Naked And Famous are pretty up there as one of my top bands... I was an instant fan when I first heard "Girls Like You" and treated it as my anthem for a good chunk of my first year of uni. They were on my "concert bucket list" but I was unfortunately unable to see them in 2011 when they came to Toronto - but now I can finally say I've had the privilege of seeing them live! I'm just obsessed with the way they blend somber lyrics with upbeat & dance-able music. And the harmonization, don't get me started on the harmonization - Alisa & Thom harmonize beautifully and every time they sing together, I fall in love. Watch my highlights video below and you'll see what I mean!


I spliced together some of my favourite songs from the show into one video :). They also performed two brand new unreleased songs! One of those songs is called Higher and is featured in this video (at the 11:26 mark) and I'm currently obsessed with it. I can't wait for their new album and I'm super STOKED for them to release new material if it's going to be anything like "Higher"!

The Mod Club is a nice cozy little venue located in Little Italy. It has a capacity of around 620 people - I'm a fan of small venues because they feel more intimate and allow you to get a closer view of the band. The doors opened at 7:30 and we got there around 7 and were able to sit on some stools along the side, with a great view of the stage (we wanted to stand but have the option of sitting... but I ended up sitting anyway because I'm a short person and had a better view sitting than I did standing). There's also an elevated lounge area and a balcony as an option.

Games to play with your cat: Peek-a-boo on the couch

KitKat loves to play this peek-a-boo game where I hide behind my couch's arm rest and he'll pounce up to try and scare me - it's such fun! I put together a little video to show this in action. The other day he added to this and smacked me on the head (without claws) as he jumped up! He also loves playing hide-and-seek where we run around and hide from each other and then when we're found, we run to another location to hide - although I don't have that on camera as the footage would be too shaky... Cats never fail to amuse me with their wit!

Mr Brightside / Miss Atomic Bomb

In 2004, The Killers released this music video for Mr Brightside - and I fell in love, both with the song and the story


In 2012, they released a sequel, a follow-up to Mr Brightside called Miss Atomic Bomb and it's a continuation to this story of lost love


BEAUTIFUL :')

The Killers are one of my all-time favourite bands and I've always wanted to see them perform live... I am SUPER excited that they're headlining WayHome this year! It's been my dream to go to a camping music festival ever since I watched that "Road Worrier" episode of Daria (p.s. Daria & Trent 4ever bahaha) and I feel like WayHome is THE festival to go to for indie/alternative music junkies!

nts: try to blog at least once a month so i don't abandon ship on this blog! That's all for now - see you next month!

KitKat Has His Own Couch!

When I first adopted KitKat, I bought a cat bed from the pet store but he never used it - I only saw him lie in it maybe two times max. So a little while ago, I decided to look for a cat-sized couch, thinking this would get more use out of him. Luxury pet furniture was too expensive though so I decided to buy a children's flip-out couch instead! He now loves this thing and I always see him using it to relax, play and sleep... it's a cat-approved purchase!


day 1: "wat is dis peculiar thing?"




"Im a lyon"


"Zzz"


*yawn*


*lick lick lck*


"Sthap watchin me wen Im cleanin mah butth0le"

Death From Above 1979 - Crystal Ball, Acoustic Performance!

I'm in love with this acoustic performance of Crystal Ball by Death From Above 1979... something about punk bands doing stripped down versions of their songs just brings a whole new dimension to their music. As much as I love the original, this acoustic version is so raw and emotional.

Original version:

Song of the Day: Vanic X K.Flay - The Cops

I am currently obsessed with this song and have been playing it on loop all day at work - check it out and obsess with me! Free download from Vanic here: https://djvanic.toneden.io/spotlight/vanic-x-kflay-cops



LYRICS:
I don’t know if you see me the way I see you
But you held my neck and you said some shit
So I’ve been hoping you do
Spill all your secrets in confidence
Well I’m filing that as evidence
To stall the burn and calm my nerves after I’ve had a few
You’re turning my insides you’re making me sick
But you’re such a god damned pro never really know if you’re faking it
You’re turning my insides you’re making me wish
That I was a better girl, with a steady hand that you wanted to be with

But even if the cops come calling
Said even if the cops come calling
I’ll never talk
Even if you wreck me, even if you waste the youth I’ve got
Baby if the cops come calling
I’ll never talk

When it’s easy for you then there’s always room for me
But when you got some plans, a place to be
I’m a throw out ad in a magazine
You could do wrong you could do wrong like hundred times
But I’ll always search the scene for ways to rationalize
You’re making my will weak, you fuck with my head
Say you wanted me but you never wanted me, you wanted my hunger instead
You’re making my will weak, this pit in my chest
Told me all about her then you swallowed those words and snuck in my bed

(source: http://genius.com/Kflay-the-cops-lyrics)

Cats Can Do Tricks Too!

Who said tricks were only for dogs?? Here's KitKat doing 3 tricks (the only tricks he knows haaa), sit, high five, and paw shake. I used clicker training to teach him to do this and it was surprisingly a lot faster than I thought it would be! He picked up pretty quickly and it only took a few sessions/days for him to master these tricks. Not bragging or anything but KitKat's pretty much an evil genius (he taught himself to open doors too just from observing me). If you have a cat (or any pet for that matter - I've seen bunnies respond well to clicker training too) and want to train them to do tricks, you should definitely try out clicker training!

Reasons why clicker training is so effective:
-animal associates the distinctive "click" sound with the behaviour & is prepared for the reward
-less confusion since the click sound isn't something the animal hears all the time, unlike your voice
-allows you to click right as the animal is doing the appropriate behaviour

Tips for clicker training:
-the shorter the sessions the better - animals have short attention spans yo
-cats are infamous for doing their own thing and not caring too much about pleasing their owners/peasants - make sure the reward is something your cat really likes and you'll be more likely to succeed
-if your pet loses interest during a training session, stop and try again another time/day

Here's an old video of him when he was first learning how to high five:


Useful Links
-CLICKER TRAINING (CAT) TUTORIAL
-Clicker training for cats
-Clicker Training for Cats by Karen Pryor
-Clicker Training for Clever Cats: Learning Can Be Fun! by Martina Braun

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

This is a video of some footage from a trip to Ripley's Aquarium - from a month ago but I'm such a procrastinator!

Shot using a GoPro HERO4 Silver - I'm really loving this camera for vlogging! It's really versatile