Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Of Tigers and Cherubic Roman Gods

Disclaimer: Procrastination alert ahead... be careful before you tread ;)

An old friend once remarked to me that her parents would love to have me as their kid as I voluntarily dressed in red or pink occasionally, as red was always the chosen colour for festivals like Chinese New Year. I recalled her comment with a small smile as I typed the text message wishing her a Happy Chinese New Year on Sunday, wondering how 'red' her new clothes for the new year would be. She almost always picks maroon in varying shades instead of the bright red most people usually wear.

This year happens to be the year of the tiger, the animal that skulks quietly as it hunts for prey or the one that yawns lazily in the zoo. The picture above was taken in the tiger park at Tambun, near feeding time, which is probably why you can see them. Otherwise, they'd be probably hiding behind that fake contraption. A book I'm reading now, the QI Book of General Ignorance states that the country with the largest number of these gorgeous animals happen to be the United States of America, mostly from zoos and in some people's private collection. Seriously?

I've always had a fascination for tigers for some reason, ever since I was a kid, and was internally tormented at the fact that they were illegally hunted for their skin, or hurt when they ventured into human settlements despite the fact that them venturing into the human settlements are usually caused by us in the first place as they themselves have been deprived of roaming space, and as I recently heard, even caught for food! (Ugh!!) Solitary creatures need their space.

Sunday was also Valentines Day, a day celebrated for it's connection with 'love' and the cherubic roman god known as Cupid. And although things like love is supposed to be celebrated everyday (excuse me while I cringe as I write this), this day still gets all the glamour and all, and if you're in the situation where making any bookings or reservations would be a lost cause because you're flying solo, there's nothing better than to sit in front of your laptop or computer and shoot arrows to make lonely people less lonely. It's probably even good karma!

(You gotta click on the link - the picture is only for decoration)
http://www.miniclip.com/games/loves-arrow/en/

12 comments:

  1. Tigers are gorgeous (and fearsome!) creatures. I did wear a red jacket when I went out yesterday. As for the cherubs, I never got the whole shooting-with-arrows thing. Seems unkind.

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  2. Oh yeah they are... I'm currently watching a show on animal planet about tigers...

    As for the shooting, I assure you no people or cherubs were injured in the making of the game... Only we would probably have some problems with the wrist.

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  3. I've always wanted a Tiger as a pet but I'm afraid that one day I'd wake up without an arm or a foot ... LOL!

    And I really think Tigers make awesome pets. At least my neighbours wouldn't give me too much grief :D

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  4. I'm sorry i'm still trying to get over the fact that you VOLUNTARILY dressed in PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    On that note, may we see a picture of you in something pink this friday?? *wink*

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  5. I had touched a tiger and taken a photo with them at Tiger Temple,Thailand.But personally I think , a prison without cage is still a prison though it is much better than zoo .Anyway once in a while I still show off the photo :).Happy Tiger Year.

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  6. Nick: They're nice to look at, but I wouldn't bet on them being a pet. The cubs are awesomely cute though....

    Saby: But why? Pink is an almost ordinary colour...

    Jao: Hehehe... that was an awesome pic... I wonder if you were nervous being so near them. Happy year of the Tiger to you too! :)

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  7. Big cats scare the hell outta me

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  8. responding to your blogpost entry on February 12 titled "brain exercise"...is the correct answer 149? I know most people put 144 but i think it's 149.

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  9. omg. private collection? how could they rare this aggressive animal? aren't they endanger?

    i prefer siberian tiger :D

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  10. nursemyra: I don't blame ya... they are rather unpredicatable :)

    V: Hi... I tried working backwords to get your answer, but never managed to get it... instead I got 144 three times. How did you get 149?

    Faisal: That's what the book said... Siberians are lovely too.

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  11. I did nothing myself on this day.

    People here have tigers as part of a private collection? I did not know this and don't find that very safe.

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  12. It's definitely not safe... and not very nice for the animals too.

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