vol. 3
猫 、 人
Publisher/ catophilia Chief Editor/ Hime Wang Visual Director/ Randy Xing Contributors/ Char Feng, Cy, Junko Moroto, Hiten Utami, Kiyomoto, Minami Ayako, Randy Xing, Szu Shen, Victoria Chang.
Cover Story/ Cat and Human
catophilia@gmail.com www.facebook.com/thecatophilia www.pinkoi.com/store/catophilia
猫 空 間
C AT S PAC E
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Text/Photo/ Randy Xing
TAINAN 上上下下 UPDOWN 170 Address/ No. 4-5, Ln. 170, Beihua St., North Dist., Tainan City
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Tainan is a city of Taiwan with rich history and culture. The uniqueness of those old houses has brought this cultural city new freshness. “Updown 170 B&B� is also a place like that. The house was created by 2 young enthusiastic photographers where the good lighting first floor where was used as an exhibition room, and the other floors had simple and spacious bed rooms with 3 cats in the house. The tranquil atmosphere and wonderful temperature make everything perfect. The 3 cats they have so far are: Beans, Ponytails and Eyelashes. A quiet tranquil atmosphere becomes active when the 3 cats are playing while it goes quiet again when these little 3 cats are having a huddle. Updown 170 B&B, a fun place with cats when you visit this historical city.
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Text/Photo/ Randy Xing
TAIPEI D+ Hair Design Address/ No. 3, Aly. 13, Ln. 123, Sec. 3, Ren’ ai Rd., Da’ an Dist., Taipei City
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D + Hair Design
Living in the bustling area of Taipei East district, like city people, it’s never easy for cats in the city to survive. This place is opposite of the bustling city around. This hair salon survives alongside the city. “D + Hair Design”
D + Hair Design
salon has 4 cats: the only female cat is 10 years old called fishball, the senior male manager Curry, Mr. Five and Budar. They either laze around the garden outside the salon or huddle themselves on customers’ feet. Such enjoyment makes customers can’t help but ask the professional hair designers to slow down their work so that they can earn and enjoy a little bit more of good time. Here, you can not only have a fashion design hair but also a good mood.
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猫 音 楽
CAT MUS I C
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Text/ Randy Xing
Smog Knock Knock Label/Released/ Drag City 1999
Bill
Callahan 1999
Smog
90 Knock Knock
Smog
Cat Power Knock Knock Bill Callahan
Working under the band name Smog, Bill Callahan is a legendary figure in the field of lo-fi, alternative folk music. The uniquely apathy and self-indulgent character of his music helped him claim a seat in the prosperous scene of independent music in the 1990s. Released in 1999, the album "Knock Knock" is commonly regarded as the most accessible work of Smog. Allegedly, the cover of this album—an eerie wildcat standing against a flash of lightning—is a reference to Callahan’s past relationship with the talented Cat Power. Compared to his early works, “Knock Knock” not only has its share in Callahan’s usual indifferent, sarcastic attitude but also contains an additional layer of humor; the melody and arrangement of this album are also much more pleasing. For people who would like to learn about Bill Callahan’s music, this album would definitely be a good place to start. Bill Callahan
Smog
90 1999
Knock Knock
Smog
Cat Power Knock
Knock Bill Callahan
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Text/ Randy Xing
山本精一 なぞなぞ Label/Released/ MIDI Creative 2003
ROVO
2003
Seiichi Yamamoto / NAZONAZO A gifted Japanese musician and the heart and soul of several bands such as Rashinban and ROVO, Seiichi Yamamoto issued his solo album “NAZONAZO” in 2003, an album that could be described as his masterpiece in gibberish style of music. Just like the feeble lines that form the cat on its cover, this album also projects a general sense of lethargic drooping. Yamamoto performed the songs recorded in this album with an acoustic guitar, while aloofly articulating the equivocal lyrics or voicing trifling complaints; the brisk melody is accented with occasional changes in tune and pace. Yamamoto does not deliberately intend to project such negative sentiments with his music; rather, his music simply attempts to record the unadorned thought and feelings at the moment of the recording. However, just when you think you have finally got a glimpse of the mystic world of Seiichi Yamamoto, there emerge even more puzzling, ambiguous things. To be honest, I can’t even be sure whether the creature on his album cover is actually a cat or not! ROVO 2003
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Text/ Char Feng
Chapterhouse Whirlpool Label/Released/ Cherry Red 1991
Chapterhouse My
90 Bloody
shoegaze Valentine
Whirlpool Ride
Chapter-
house
shoegaze
Chapterhouse is a shoegaze band of the 1990s with “Whirlpool” being their debut album. Many musical bands at that time were struggling to compete with more established ones such as My Bloody Valentine and Ride; Chapterhouse was among one of the struggling bands and only released two albums before the band was dissolved. Their music has a certain dreamy and fantastic quality; it would envelop you like the hazy, boundless, dreamlike fog. Their incorporation of dance rhythms with the howling sounds of guitar was a bold experiment then. The cat that curls up on the cover not only resonates with the title of the album—“Whirlpool”—but also creates a symbolic linkage between shoegazing music and the feline personality. Who knows? Perhaps the cat and shoegaze music can make an excellent pair! Chapterhouse
90
shoegaze
Whirlpool
My Bloody Valentine
Ride
Chapterhouse
shoegaze
shoegaze
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Photo/ Catophilia
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Photo/ Catophilia
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Photo/ Catophilia
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designer•cat lover INTERVIEW
Q A
愛猫ジーナは、アヤコさんにとってどんな存在ですか？ かけがえのない家族です。暖かくて、癒される存在です。
Q A Q For Miss Ayako, what does Jiina mean to you? A She is one-‐of-‐a-‐kind, just like my family, warm and soothes my heart.
Q A
Minami Ayako 南 アヤコ
Jiina ジーナ
Illistrator Creative Planner Vocal of ”Bambridge”
scottish fold girl
猫と暮らすことで、生活や仕事に何か影響はありましたか？ 日々いろいろな出来事がありますが、嬉しい時も落ち込んだりした時もいつも変わら ずに傍にいてくれるのがジーナで、心の支えになっています。仕事では猫のイラスト を描く際にとても参考になります。やはり写真よりも本物を見るのが一番ですから。
Q A Q /Ɛ ƚŚĞƌĞ ĂŶLJ ĚŝīĞƌĞŶĐĞ ŝŶ LJŽƵƌ ĚĂŝůLJ ůŝĨĞ ĂŶĚ ǁŽƌŬ ǁŚĞŶ ůŝǀŝŶŐ ǁŝƚŚ Ă ĐĂƚ͍ A dŚĞƌĞ ĂƌĞ ŵĂŶLJ ƚŚŝŶŐƐ ŚĂƉƉĞŶŝŶŐ ĞǀĞƌLJ ĚĂLJ͕ ǁŚŝůĞ ŶŽ ŵĂƩĞƌ ǁŚĂƚ͕ ŚĂƉƉŝŶĞƐƐ Žƌ
sadness, she will always be there staying by my side, like my soul mate. Also, because of her, it makes it easier for me when it comes to drawing a cat. And just as expected, compared with pictures, surely a real cat is the best model.
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Q A
アヤコさんの最近の活動について教えてください。 猫ではなくうさぎの話になってしまうのですが（笑）私は猫と同じくらいうさぎ も好きでよく描くのですが、今年から日本の原宿と自由が丘にあるうさぎカフェ Ra.a.g.f（ラフ）さんとコラボレーションTシャツの販売がスタートしました。鏡の 前でうさぎがにっこり笑っているイラストで「笑う門には福来る」"Fortune comes in by a merry gate"というメッセージを込めました。そのうさぎを主人公に した電子絵巻を私のOfficial Websiteで連載中です。それから、クラシカル＆ヒー リングバンドBambirdge（バンブリッジ）では「四人の俳句からなる四季の組曲 」を制作中で、作曲とイメージイラストを担当しています。2013年の秋から itunes、Official Website等で配信していす。楽曲、イメージイラスト共に幻想的で 今までにない魅力的な作品になりそうです、楽しみにしていてください♪
Q A
Q WůĞĂƐĞ ƐŚĂƌĞ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ LJŽƵƌ ƌĞĐĞŶƚ ĂĐƟǀŝƟĞƐ͘ A ^Ž ůĞƚ ƵƐ ĐŚĂŶŐĞ ƚŽƉŝĐ ƚŽ ƌĂďďŝƚƐ͘ / ůŽǀĞ ĚƌĂǁŝŶŐ ďŽƚŚ ĐĂƚƐ ĂŶĚ ƌĂďďŝƚƐ͘
dŚŝƐ LJĞĂƌ͕ ƚŚĞ ĐŽīĞĞ ƐŚŽƉ ͞ZĂ͘Ă͘Ő͘Ĩ͟ ŝŶ ,ĂƌĂũƵŬƵ ĂŶĚ :ŝLJƵŐĂŽLJĂ ĂŶĚ / ƉƌŽĚƵĐĞĚ dͲƐŚŝƌƚƐ ƚŽŐĞƚŚĞƌ͘ DŽƌĞŽǀĞƌ͕ ƚŚĞ ŽŶůŝŶĞ ƐŬĞƚЌŬ ͞&ŽƌƚƵŶĞ ĐŽŵĞƐ ŝŶ ďLJ ŵĂƌƌLJ ŐĂƚĞ͟ ŝƐ ƉƵďůŝƐŚŝŶŐ Ă ƐĞƌŝĞƐ ŽĨ ƐƚŽƌŝĞƐ ĐĂůůĞĚ ͞ ƐƚŽƌLJ ŽĨ ůŝƩůĞ ďƵŶŶLJ͟ ŽŶ ŵLJ͕ DŝŶĂŵŝ LJĂŬŽ͛Ɛ͕ ŽĸĐŝĂů ǁĞďƐŝƚĞ͘ dŚĞ ƚǁŽ ƐŵŝůĞLJ ůŝƩůĞ ďƵŶŶLJ ƌĂďďŝƚƐ ŝŶ ĨƌŽŶƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŵŝƌƌŽƌ ĂƐ ƐŚŽǁŶ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŐƌĂƉŚ ĂƌĞ ƚŚĞ ŵĂŝŶ ĐŚĂƌĂĐƚĞƌƐ͘ ĞƐŝĚĞƐ͕ / Ăŵ ĂůƐŽ ǁŽƌŬŝŶŐ ǁŝƚŚ ůĂƐƐŝĐĂů ,ĞĂůŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ͟ ĂŵďƌŝĚŐĞ͘͟ 'ĞƫŶŐ ŝŶǀŽůǀĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐ ŽĨ ĐŽŵƉŽƐŝƟŽŶ ĂŶĚ ǀŝƐŝŽŶ ŝůůƵƐƚƌĂƟŽŶƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞŝƌ ŶĞǁ ƉŝĞĐĞ ĐĂůůĞĚ ͞dŚĞ ĞdžƚĞŶƐŝŽŶ ŽĨ ĨŽƵƌ ƉĞŽƉůĞ͛Ɛ :ĂƉĂŶĞƐĞ WŽĞŵ͗ dŚĞ ƐƵŝƚĞ ŽĨ ĨŽƵƌ ƐĞĂƐŽŶƐ͘͟ dŚŝƐ ŚĂƐ ďĞĞŶ ƉƵďůŝƐŚĞĚ ŽŶ ŝdƵŶĞƐ ĂŶĚ ŵLJ ǁĞďƐŝƚĞ ĂƐ ǁĞůů͘ / ďĞůŝĞǀĞ ƚŚŝƐ ŝƐ ŽƵƌ ƉĞƌĨĞĐƚ ĐŽŵďŝŶĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ǀŝƐŝŽŶ Ăƌƚ ĂŶĚ ŵƵƐŝĐ͘
ĂŵďŝƌĚŐĞ
ŽŶůŝŶĞ ƐŬĞƚЌŬ ͞ ƐƚŽƌLJ ŽĨ ůŝƩůĞ ďƵŶŶLJ͟ ŵŝŶĂŵŝĂLJĂŬŽ͘ƉĞƟƚ͘ĐĐ
ůĂƐƐŝĐĂů ,ĞĂůŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ
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It’s Just Like Herding Cats Text/ Szu Shen
I recently learned a very interesting and astute“cat expression” from a friend: it’s just like herding cats. Since the action of herding is usually associated with meek, amiable animals such as cows and sheep, the attempt to herd a group of aloof, independent cats seems rather challenging and perhaps even, as some would insist, impossible. Indeed, this expression is used to describe situations where the task at hand is so unruly and difficult that it’s simply beyond one’s control. Also, when this expression is used to describe someone else’s situation, there’s an additional hint of disapproval as the expression’s underlying subtext̶for example, it could be interpreted as either“Well, good luck with
that!” or
even
something
harsher
like “No,
I
don’t think
he/she/they/you would be able to make this work.” While this expression certainly has its flaw in overgeneralizing conventional views of cats as detached and noncompliant animals without any ability to cooperate with fellow felines, I think this expression certainly speaks to part of the reasons why cat people would become enslaved by such a difficult animal. Yes, cats usually don’t cooperate; yes, they can be a bit indifferent sometimes; and yes, they like to be left alone. But that’s just how we like our cats to be̶do you have a problem with that?
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う ち の こ も こ う 待 っ て く れ る の か な
Photo/ Kiyomoto
“W i l l my furkid wait for m e t oo?”
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Photo/ Catophilia
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Cat lovers in Taiwan or Japan seem to all equipped up with the visits to cat cafes, with the cuddling pictures on blogs and satisfied smiles across all photos. Reading the blogs, I used to decide to save money and open the first cat café in Manchester/England/Europe (that’ s right there’ s no such a thing in this side of the continent), until the Press told me somebody eyed on the same thing. A thing about cat café is they always come with names that you pause for a second and go ahhhhh I see. There was a café named‘Friends of Mr Cats’in Taipei. A good old day I was flattered with a text from a friend telling where to meet:‘Friends of Mr Cats, 15:00 tomorrow.’I thought he was referring me the name! What a smart idea. Apart from it of course good café, interesting owner and the adorable felines are other must haves.
Text/ Victoria Chang
Are these factors not apply to Europe? They love cats and have higher percentage of cat-owned households than Taiwan, why is there no cat café opened yet? No sorry, they are not up for cute names and chatty owners as the characteristic one in the Japanese Drama Manhattan Lover Story ‒ it only works in Asia. However what really kills the business is the complicated Health & Safety Regulations, let alone the training and certifying on employees if you’ re to open food serving business with animals involved. Oh Lord, deepest appreciation to the delay in Lady Dinah’ s Cat Emporium of London, and good luck for the fundraising to Margaux in Le Café des Chats in Paris. A friend has made a longer comment on the business idea than a mere eyebrow raise and murmur of a word interesting:‘Why do you want other cats if you already have one home? So we can do a women café as well?’ Guess who said it? Un Francais. 22
Factory/ Logo of Factory Records
Vicky’s Cat Walk in Manchester
C a t E m p o r iu m Le C afé d e s Ch a ts
L a d y D in ah
Margaux
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Vicky’s Cat Walk in Manchester
台湾や日本で、猫好きの人はきっとネコカフェへ行ったことがあるのでしょう。ブ ログに載っている幸せそうな猫との写真を見ると、イギリスでヨーロッパ初のネコ カフェを開こうと思うくらい憧れていました。でもマスコミの報道を見たあと、考え が変わりました。
ほとんどの猫カフェは「あ！なるほと」と思われるインパクトのある名前が付いて います。この前、帰国したとき、台湾の友人から食事を誘われました： 「猫さんの友 たち、明日午後３時で」。一瞬、自分のことを「猫さんの友」と呼んでくれると思って 嬉しかったが、やはり違ったのです。いいお名前ですね！もちろん名前だけでなく、 おいしいコーヒーも、優しい店長も、かわいい猫たちも揃っていました。
では、なぜアジアより猫を飼う人口が多いヨーロッパではネコカフェ が見えていないですか？残念ながら、アジア人の考えはヨーロッパ で通用できないようです。かわいいものは子供っぽいものだと考え るヨーロッパ人は日本ドラマのマンハッタンラブストーリーの個性 的な店長のような人物に興味がないでしょう。飲食業で動物を飼う （ 何だか冷たい表現方）こと自体も大問題です。健康と安全を守るた め、衛生規則を厳しくしたうえ、店員に色々なレッスンや免許研修な どを受けさせられます。ここでロンドンのCat
Emporium-Lady
DinahとパリのLe Café des Chats- Margauxに敬意を持って、 募金活動が順調に行きますよう心より祈っています。
マンチェスターで友達にネコカフェの夢を語る時、皆は「面白そう！」 とコメントしてくれました。 しかし、その中に一人が「家にはもう猫が いるのに、なぜわざわざ猫カフェへ遊びに行くの？その必要があっ たら、私たちも『女カフェ』を開こうと！」と話した。その人はどの国の 人が分かりますか？そう、 フランス人です。
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Cat/ August, boy
Photo/ Victoria Chang
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