Cutest cat in the world, Scottish Fold kitty Basil Farrow, is a TV star! The producers of Animal Planet / Discovery Channel’s “Cats 101″ TV show found his YouTube videos and fell in love… and scouted him to be in an episode. Since they had already made a Scottish Folds segment, Basil Farrow is featured four times in the Fat Cats clip.

I feel I must preface the video with a Fat Disclaimer! My cat, Basil Farrow, is not obese or even an unhealthy weight. He is a male Scottish Fold; his breed is short with a stocky build, fat cheeks, and thick fur. While he appears to be roly-poly, he is in fact within a healthy weight range (albeit on the higher end…) Rest assured that he visits his cat specialist regularly (no normal vets for my bear!). Basil Farrow only eats byproduct-free healthy cat food, catgrass, and plain organic fat free yogurt. And he exercises daily by running up and down the stairs, and playing with his mouse toy.

Ready to watch my Scottish Fold cat’s appearance in Cats 101 above and here? He’ll give you a big furry kiss if you subscribe to our YouTube channel! (Thank you to my First Mate, Naomi, for taping it.)

You can see more cute Scottish Fold kitty pictures on Basil’s blog, and please add him on Facebook (he loves to make new friends).

Wahhh I have a new friend! He’s a neighborhood black cat who comes to the window. We sit and stare at each other for over an hour.

Unlike me, he’s an outdoor cat. I wait and wait by the window for my friend… but one day, he stopped coming.

So sad… do you think he no longer visits because I have sideways-paws? (Official term – splayed feet!)

Thanks to everyone who tuned in to see this Scottish Fold cat on Discovery Channel! Mommy will upload my Cats 101 TV appearance ASAP; please subscribe to my channel so you won’t miss it.

Head bonks to Weasalgal, who wrote a charming love letter to my “cute, roly-poly, ginger/beige teddy bear” Basil Farrow. You can read it here.

Wahhh! I’m so proud of my Scottish Fold cat Basil Farrow — he was scouted by the producers of “Cats 101″ show! So you’ll be seeing him on the “Fat Cats” TV episode, airing on Animal Planet / Discovery Channel this fall or early next year. (Til then, you can watch his sideways-feet on my YouTube channel.)

Let’s celebrate… by doing another grand giveaway. Remember when CSN Stores sent him this designer cat scratcher/lounge chair? The manufacturer, Marmalade, loved the photos so much that they’ve donated a new, identical “Cheeky Chaise” for you to win.

HOW TO ENTER…
† It’s hard to keep Basil Farrow from getting bored! Please leave me a comment, with suggestion(s) on how to keep my Scottish Fold entertained (games, toys, tricks etc). Much appreciated!
† Please add La Carmina on Twitter, Facebook Group and/or Facebook Page. Include the URL or your name/username in your comment for verification.

The contest is open to all residents of USA, Canada and Europe. You may only enter once and must fulfill both requirements to be eligible. Contest ends Weds, June 30th at midnight Pacific Time.

Everyone deserves a cuteness break, right? I uploaded a new Scottish Fold video (above and here). He stands up on his hind legs, demands tummy rubs, chases a Sega Zhu Zhu robot hamster, lounges on his fancy chair… doesn’t he look like a stuffed teddy bear? I also talk about distinctive Scottish Fold behaviors, the two things that scare Basil, and “truths about cats” that don’t apply to him.

Thanks for entering the contest — good luck, everyone! I’m certain your kitties will adore the prize. You can also find the Marmalade cat scratcher and other items for pampering your pets on CSN Store’s website.

Do your cats land lightly on their feet? Or do they make a big PLOP like Basil does in the video?

Anddddd here’s the other scary-sweet print from my clothing collaboration with Akumu Ink! Once again Basil Farrow is the star. It comes in various sizes and ships internationally.

† CARMINA IN WONDERLAND HOODIE
Features Scotitsh Fold Basil Farrow as the Cheshire Cat, grinning and pouring La Carmina tea. In tribute to Alice and Gothloli fashion, she wears a lace headdress and lace-up rocking horse shoes. Each is hand-screened in gold ink on a black background. Silver razorblade Akumu Ink logo on the chest.
BUY MENS (S-XXL), $48.50
BUY WOMENS (XS-XXL), $48.50

† CARMINA IN WONDERLAND T-SHIRT
As designer Joey comments, “Take a look at how stylish you can be all the while retaining maximum comfort!” Each tee is hand-screened in gold ink on a black background. Optional La Carmina x Akumu Ink print on the back.
BUY MENS (S-XXXL), $21.99
BUY WOMENS (S-XXL), $21.99

As always, Basil Farrow willingly participated a photoshoot. This cat is too cute to be real. As soon as I put him on the table, he went up to his image on the t-shirt… and head-bonked himself!

Basil Farrow adores my new Juicy Couture owl ring, a gift from my mother. Whenever I show it to him, he sniffs it… and taps the face with his big, furry paw! (Perhaps Basil likes it because he looks like an owl?)

Save the date: Basil Farrow’s mommy is hosting a J-pop party on February 13, 2010 in Los Angeles! The infamous Yukiro and other familiar faces from this blog will be there… we hope to see you!

Celebrate the Lunar New Year on Saturday, February 13th at Kira Kira, a sparkling photo-sticker shop with all of the newest Purikura machines from Japan! Our special event will be hosted by Harajuku fashion and Cute Food blogger La Carmina. The DJs from Tune in Tokyo will also be there, spinning the best in J-Pop, J-Rock, and Global Dance Pop all night long.

There will also be prizes and giveaways sponsored by Hear Japan, Lime Crime, and Gloomth! (Photo of Carmina by Shichi; flyer by Greg.)

WHEN: Saturday, Feb 13th, 8PM – 12 AM. Free and all ages.
WHERE: Kira Kira is located at the Seasons Place shopping center in City of Industry (2nd floor, above Red Mango). There’s plenty of free parking.
RSVP on Facebook here.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Wahhh, Scottish Fold Basil Farrow is on a t-shirt! Introducing my new La Carmina x Akumu Ink fashion website, coded by yours truly. All of the t-shirts and hoodies are available now for you to order!

† BLACK LA CARMINA + BASIL PORTRAIT T-SHIRT †
Featuring your Harajuku-Goth fashion blogger/author and her Scottish Fold cat, Basil Farrow. His worried expression, heart-shaped nose and jutting fang are too cute for words! Gothic details include a skull/cake hat, eye stickers and a key necklace. Each is hand-screened in white ink on a black background. Optional La Carmina x Akumu Ink print on the back.

BUY MENS (S-XXXL), $21.99
BUY WOMENS (S-XXL), $21.99

For the girls, we have a lovely cranberry red. Each is hand-screened in white ink on a red background. Optional La Carmina x Akumu Ink print on the back.
BUY WOMENS (S-XXL), $21.99

My personal favorite: a purple V-neck that goes great with a black feathered boa. Each is hand-screened in white ink on a purple background. Optional La Carmina x Akumu Ink print on the back.

BUY MENS UNISEX (XXS-XL), $23.99
BUY WOMENS UNISEX (XXS-XL), $23.99

This one’s for the boys. It’s too big for me, but I’ll rope some cuties into modelling the shirts for me soon! Each is hand-screened in white ink on a grey background. Optional La Carmina x Akumu Ink print on the back.
BUY MENS (S-XXXL), $21.99

I can’t take off this hoodie — it’s so unbelievably comfortable and warm. Even Basil Farrow loves to sit on it! Each is hand-screened in white ink on a black background. Silver razorblade Akumu Ink logo on the chest.
BUY MENS (S-XXL), $48.50
BUY WOMENS (XS-XXL), $48.50
SEE MORE HERE

I’m so happy with the prints; they’re of the topmost quality — you won’t be disappointed! We’ve got a range of sizes and colors, and kept prices low. Please do support indie clothing company Akumu Ink — their range of J-horror/Goth/Steampunk shirts is outstanding, and we hope to keep putting out new designs for you.

Activist/actress Mia Farrow was in town to give speeches… and of course, she made time in her busy schedule to see her furry grandson! Mommy smuggled me (Basil Farrow) into her hotel room (fortunately, he didn’t “maoo” in the elevator). As you can see, I was relaxed and happy to see my wonderful grandma.

CUTE YUMMY TIME BOOK SIGNINGS!!!!
Three tour dates announced so far in NYC, Philly and DC. Mommy hopes to see you there — she’d love to stay afterward to hang out with you! More US dates to be announced soon.

NYC
Sunday, October 11: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
The Broadway Panhandler, 65 East 8th Street, New York, NY 10003

PHILLY
Saturday, October 17: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Fante’s Kitchen Wares, 1006 South 9th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147

WASHINGTON, DC
Saturday, October 24: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Hill’s Kitchen, 713 D Street SE, Washington, DC 20003

So far, Cute Yummy Time has been getting an awesome reaction. Popular bento blogger Bento Lunch gave my cookbook a 100% positive review. Shannon writes: “…the food is absolutely darling. Called “kawaii” and pronounced like Hawaii, the food is all presented as adorable animals. Even better, none of the animal shapings call for anything extremely complicated [...] All of the recipes seem to be reasonable in terms of time & ingredients and many of them appear to be rather kid friendly but still healthy (lots of homemade breads & pastas, wheats instead of whites and plenty of veggies). Personally, I love how easy her tips are for making the food cuter. There were so many hints we’re going to try and add into our bentos since they aren’t time consuming.”

I loved seeing the animal ham/cheese crackers and quesadilla she made, inspired by my recipes. Best of all, the book gets her daughter’s stamp of approval! “Faith also loved the little story that runs through each page of the author and Basil the cat’s adventures in Kawaii-land.”

Ai-yah! The Ming Pao, a leading Chinese-language newspaper, did a super cute feature on Cutie Food. The article includes two of mommy’s recipes from my cookbook Cute Yummy Time (brown rice penguin onigiri and panda tofu soba). And I make an appearance too!

Below is a scan (click to enlarge) and translation. Funny: they translated mommy’s name, La Carmina, as 田中裕美 (Yumi Tanaka) — I wonder why! And Basil is called a 摺 耳 貓 (jip yee mao) — fold-eared cat! Cute Yummy Time is now available for pre-order here and will be found in all major bookstores after October 6.

Local primary students are limited to eating sandwiches and pizza in the cafeteria, so they might as well take a box lunch to school. Don’t think this is an old school thing to do. In Japan, bento culture is not just about the food, but the picture. Hello Kitty, Snoopy, and other Japanese anime characters can all be made into a cute bento box lunch. This trend has spread to Vancouver, and local people are making their own bentos. There’s even a recipe book — Cute Yummy Time can encourage your mom to express her creativity. It’s written by author La Carmina.

Our lovely bento teacher who doesn’t want to be a lawyer
Local lady La Carmina graduated from Yale Law School but didn’t want to be a lawyer because she loves to design and write. Lately, she is focusing on making cute bento boxes, in addition to freelance writing and blogging. She loved cute culture since she was young, and has been designing cute bentos for the past two years. Carmina designs them in different character styles, but they all look cute and use healthy ingredients. Her new book, Cute Yummy Time, introduces 70 cute food recipes that she made herself. You can buy it in all major bookstores on October 6th, or online through her blog, http://www.lacarmina.com/blog

Photo caption: Blogger La Carmina loves cute culture. Her cat is a rare breed (Scottish Fold). Do you think he’s cute?

A-wahhh! Mommy and I are in the newspaper today! Even if she wears full Gothic makeup, I steal the show with that signature “Farrow pout”… Big thanks to The Vancouver Province for interviewing us about what we like to do on our Sundays. The text of the article is online and pasted below.

† † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † †
What do B.C. people like to do with their Sundays?
BY LENA SIN, THE PROVINCE | AUGUST 16, 2009

La Carmina enjoys spending time with her cat Basil Farrow, who’s popular on her blog. Photograph by: Wayne Leidenfrost , The Province

La Carmina is the prolific blogger and author of all things morbid and cute. Her immensely popular blog, www.lacarmina.com/blog, draws an audience as fascinated with Japan’s gothic lolita subculture as she is.

Based in Vancouver, La Carmina (aka Carmen Yuen) graduated summa cum laude from Columbia University before entering Yale law school. But alas, forbidden from showing up at law firms in glitter and neon wigs, La Carmina decided to invest her creative energies on her blog and gothic fashion line after graduation. The 24-year-old’s latest book, Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants, has just been released and her cookbook, Cute Yummy Time, comes out in the fall. We drop in on La Carmina’s fantastical little world:

So where can we find you on Sundays?
If I’m in Tokyo, it means that I’m crawling back home after a party. In Tokyo, the subways stop running between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. and Saturday’s the day to go out. My friends and I are part of this gothic subculture there, so we’re always out at the gothic parties which usually happen on Saturday night. Fortunately, or unfortunately, it means that the parties rage all night long and by the time it’s dawn, you’re crawling out of these clubs looking like a mess.

What do you do after that?
Go home and crash! But that’s if I’m in Tokyo. If I’m in Vancouver, I’m spending time with my cat. I have a really amazing, amazing cat. He’s a Scottish Fold. I don’t know if you’ve seen my blog but he’s all over it. Basil Farrow gets a lot of attention because he’s not a normal cat. He loves to be carried and picked up and cuddled. So on Sundays we often go on car rides, little excursions together. I like taking him to the park because he can see the birds. Again, he’s not a normal cat! He’ll jump into the car and get into the back seat and look out the window just like a dog.

Is he a dog inside a cat’s body?
He’s a cross between a dog and a little kid — and a bear because he looks just like a little bear.

Can you tell me about your latest book on wacky theme restaurants?
I’m always travelling back and forth between here, Hong Kong and Japan. A few years ago, I became aware of a wacky dining experience out there — theme restaurants. There’d be a giant theme throughout the restaurant, perhaps like a haunted jail where they lock you up and monsters attack you. Or it could be a hidden cave inhabited by ninjas who perform magic tricks and serve you food. And cat cafes! This is cute, there are cat cafes where you can go because not everyone in Japan can have a pet because the apartments are so tiny. So they’d get their fix by going to a cafe and hanging out with 20 other cats.

That sounds really neat!
So I visited a few and loved them and wrote about them on my blog. It just so happened a publisher in New York City saw my blog post and thought it fit perfectly with the books that they make, which is all about wacky pop culture. So they sent me to Tokyo on the coolest mission ever: Take pictures at over 30 theme restaurants. I mean, I was waited upon by monkeys, had people screaming at me, attacking me. It was amazing!

You made a pretty big leap from Yale law graduate to blogger and author. Any advice to those craving to make a similarly big career change?
It is very, very difficult but never tell yourself it can wait. I think the sooner you do it, the better. It can be scary not knowing where your money is coming from . . . but at least be willing to take that first step if you can. I think a lot of people get stuck in the thinking.

Ah-maooo! The lovely vintage/indie fashion blog All Chic posted a photo of me in my dapper top hat! Kisses!

Wahhh! A 10 year old girl named Ada drew the beautiful photo of a kitty who looks like me! Her mommy writes:

This is a painting of Poco Smitten, a Scottish Fold that Ada Graham-Lowengard (the artist) has been dreaming of and wanting to care for for many months, and which her mother is trying so hard to find in time for her 10th birthday on Wed, July 7. It’s not exactly you, Basil, but it is one of your tribe! The URL for her dream drawings and cat drawings is: http://www.echonyc.com/~jhhl/Ada/

Maoo maooo! A breeder in New Hampshire sent Ada the following photo – and it was love at first sight! Poco Smitten says, “When I reach the age of 10 weeks old, I will be Ada’s Scottish Fold!” Congrats and happy birthday!