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Category: Cats

  • Weekend Cat Blogging: Halloween and Black Cat Edition

    We at CatSynth are proud to again host the Hallowe’en Edition of Weekend Cat Blogging. We also want to take a moment to appreciate the chat noirs, the black cats.

    Every year one can read articles both celebrating black cats, and warning for their safety. From the Santa Barbara Independent:

    The superstition surrounding black cats cause them to be the target of pranks on Halloween. Therefore, people with black cats should be extra careful about keeping them safely inside on Halloween. The concern is serious enough that most humane societies avoid adopting out black cats during the Halloween season due to the risk of them being harmed.

    Superstitions and unfounded prejudice persist to this day – and not just at Sarah Palin rallies. Fortunately, stories of harm to cats on Halloween is relatively rare. But there is more concern for black cats being used as “Hallowe’en props”, only to be returned to the shelter or abandoned after the holiday. But black cats have a difficult time during the whole year, not just on Hallowe’en. From The Cat’s Meow by Kathy Covey:

    When you look at the fate of black cats in animal shelters, you’d surmise they were the most unlucky of creatures. Overlooked in favor of their orange neighbor, last of the litter chosen, passed over for the more visible white cat — they make up the largest segment of the Cat Adoption Team’s shelter population.

    But Covey then describes the virtues of black cats, and leaves us with this thought:

    So all of you who have and love black cats, consider yourself fortunate to be in the presence of such a genetic marvel, the black cat!

    So we at CatSynth would like to celebrate black cats this weekend. All cats are welcome to join, but if their is a chat noir in the house, we would ask you to feature him or her in your post. As always, you can leave a comment below, or contact us, and we’ll add you to the round-up over the course of the weekend.

    And so let us begin…


    Cece comes over trick-or-treating this morning at iInfidel. Looks like he wants in.


    Want to see something scary? Check out this baking disaster at Paulchens FoodBlog. Othello seems unperturbed, and is determined to relax this weekend.


    Welcome to Pam and Patchouli of Sidewalk Shoes, who are first time participants in Weekend Cat Blogging! Patchouli give us her fake "smile for the camera" smile for the occasion. Please do stop by to welcome them.


    Black cats can be very helpful, and Samantha helps recycle bags (that is, after first playing with them). See Samantha, and Tigger, and fall foliage at Life From a Cat's Perspective.


    Rosa's Yummy Yums features the lovely black cat Marushka and a tribute to cats from Jules Verne.


    Luna's fellow house panther Diamond Emerald-Eyes shares this "fangtastic graphic" with us. She also hosted Costumed Capers this past Thursday, a veritable feline masquerade. We think we spotted a few of our friends there.


    Over at Gattina's, Rosie attempts to be scary for Hallowe'en. But being scary requires some serious follow-through. Let's go see if Rosie succeeds, or just ends up being cute.


    The handsome black denizen of the The House of Chaos, Loup-Garou, joins us this weekend. He is suffering from stress, which was probably exacerbated by a trip to the vet. We hope that things calm down a bit.


    The story over that The House of the (Mostly) Black Cats is more comfy than scary, where Mini enjoys a unique way of sitting in a lap.


    It's time to turn back the clock in Stockholm at The World According to Pia. We are also reminded to "appreciate cats, no matter what colour, as well as other animals, as the most amazing, loveable, adorable, quirky beings they are." We at CatSynth couldn't agree more.


    We remain in Stockholm for a moment to visit with Klara at Anne's Food. Klara may be the opposite of a black cat, but she is still very cute.


    More cuteness, and more than a little mischief, can be found today at Cuisine Guylaine.

    Thanks to everyone who participated this week. We will continue to post entries through Monday morning.








  • Wordless Wednesday: Luna on the Patio

  • CatSynth Video: Yogi – The Knob Tweaking Cat

    From PeffTV at YouTube, via matrixsynth:

    “My cat loves to play with the Rotary control on the eventide H3000 harmonizer.”

    He would have fit in well at my performance last Thursday :)






  • Weekend Cat Blogging: Rest and Play

    Well, the shows are now behind us. And so before the busy work week starts up again, we at CatSynth take a moment to relax:

    and to play:

    Weekend Cat Blogging is hosted this week by Niko and Cloud of The Cats in Maryland.

    The Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is hosted by Diamond Emerald Eyes – you can’t go wrong with an event hosted by a black cat with emerald eyes.

    The Carnival of the Cats goes up today at Life from a Cats Perspective.

    And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

    Don’t forget, the Hallowe’en Edition of Weekend Cat Blogging will be hosted right here at CatSynth!







  • Preparing for performances next week.

    With two performances coming up, next Thursday and Saturday, we at CatSynth are very busy preparing. Actually, it’s more crisis management. Luna’s serene appearance belies the fact that we at CatSynth are dealing with serious equipment failures. First, the Mr Echo pedal has been having its problems. It was mostly an issue with the power jack, which I was able to repair. But after an evening of fantastic practice and experimentation, it stopped working again. This time the power appears to be fine, but now there is no sound.

    In the middle of all of this, our MacBook had a serious hard drive failure – or least that what it appears to be. One moment, we’re happily web browsing, the next a spinning pinwheel of death (SWOD), and after a forced reboot it simply will not come up.

    I am of course doing my best to continue preparing for the show. I am shifting the focus to other pieces of equipment, and using the old PC laptop. Although now the PC, which is old and slow under the best circumstances, appears to also have some hard-drive issues.

    Oh yeah, and I hear the entire world was having some financial difficulties last week.

    It’s a good thing Luna is here for comfort and stability, We will also try and visit Weekend Cat Blogging with Salome and Astrid. And the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos with Sammy and Miles Meezer. And the Carnival of the Cats at My Big Fat Orange Cat.

    Meanwhile, I’m on my way to a local music store, and probably the Apple Store as well, for a little help.

    UPDATE: As of Monday evening, the pedal is working again. But the MacBook is out for repair.













  • Wordless Wednesday: Watching Barack


    [click to enlarge]


  • CatSynth pic: Two cats and Machinedrum

    Another photo submitted by Mokira:

    You can see Mokira’s previous submission, which also features the Elektron Machinedrum and the tudexo cat, here.

    Check out more Cats on Tuesday.



  • Cat-Guitar pic with Luna

    Cables have an annoying tendency to multiply. Luna seems oblivious to them.

    Something that a few of our friends (including Mr Echo) might appreciate: the red pedal in front is an SIB Mr Echo.

    I am planning to use analog effects pedals in my upcoming performances this month. And I am using some extended-techniques on the guitar as sound material (I don’t plan to play it live).



  • Weekend Cat Blogging: Triste

    There is often a bit of sadness and melancholy in the air. Sad news from friends, anxious news in the world. And the first showers of the season add to the effect.

    And that happens to be the theme of this week’s Photo Hunt, and the subject of our Weekend Cat Blogging.

    It’s a good time to cheer up with a walk, even in the rain.

    Weekend Cat Blogging is being hosted by the Cats in Maryland. It is their first time hosting, so please give them a warm welcome.

    The Carnival of the Cats will be up on Sunday at the Catboys Realm with Kashim, Othello and Salome.

    And of course the the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

    We at CatSynth are sending thoughts this weekend to our friend Breadchick of the Sour Dough. We also sending thoughts for Janice of the Criz Cats.



  • Domestic Violence Awareness Month

    Domestic Violence Awareness badge

    October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Our friend Diamond Emerald Eyes has made the graphic above to help spread awareness about domestic violence as it affects both humans and animals. Diamond’s own story crosses domestic violence (fortunately, she hid under the bed and was safe), but has a happy ending. Not so for Norman, the orange tabby who was killed by bit actor Joseph Petcka. Petcka is currently on trial for his incredibly cruel act.

    We’re in the middle of a nasty election season, and as such there is always talk about “family values” – this time it’s often from supporters of Proposition 8 here in California. Our request is that when people encounter those who claim to be “defending marriage and family”, challenge them to condemn domestic violence, and to punish those who hurt their partners, children or animals. Even if it means ending a marriage. An abusive marriage or an abusive family is not one worth defending, and any tradition that would excuse violence in the name of “protecting a family” is not a tradition worth preserving.

    We hope all our human and animal friends will continue to have safe and loving homes.

    You can read more at the National Coalition against Domestic Violence website, and here in San Francisco more information is available at Domestic Violence Consortium. The Humane Society has information about pets domestic violence.