Cats

Midnight Monday: Heat

As mentioned yesterday, it got quite warm here at CatSynth HQ. And while the heat energizes me, it was probably a bit too much for Luna:

It's interesting how Luna likes to keep a paw near the metal cables when she rests in her favorite spot.

Opening some windows and running our ceiling fans cooled things down nicely, and the ketzela was soon up and about.

This morning is a bit breezier, and it's supposed to much cooler – but the air has that “summer” feel and aroma to it. Of course, the “real” summer around here is fog cover, so we should enjoy the sunshine and heat while we can.

Check out more black cats for Midnight Monday at House Panthers. Today, they are featuring Madness from Random Drift.

Let's crack open all the windows!

Weekend Cat Blogging and more: A beautiful and sad weekend

It's been a weekend of contradictions, of warmth and fun and rest and work and excitement and fear and sadness.

We lost a friend and former colleague this past week. But we also got to see friends we haven't seen in quite a while. We are still saddened and worried at frightened for our feline friends caught in a terrible fire (UPDATE: we just heard that they are alive!). But we continue to settle into our own home, and things are taking shape.

And it's been warm and sunny hear at CatSynth HQ, perhaps the best weekend since we moved to the city. And there is so much to do, both fun and work, but at the same time we just want to lie around, and enjoy a little of what's important.

We have watched our friends, locally and online, deal with much sadness and tragedy over the past few months. For us, there is an exciting but anxious new life beginning.

Sometimes it's hard to write. But here we are.

A special edition of Weekend Cat Blogging will be jointly hosted by A Byootaful Life, HotMBC and Kashim and Othello at the Cat Blogopshere.

Kashim and Othello are pulling double-duty, actually, as they are also hosting Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted today by Mr. Tigger at M-Cats Club.

And of course the Friday Ark is at modulator.

First Thursday San Francisco

A number of downtown galleries in San Francisco stay open late on the first Thursday of the month, an event I have known about for a while (and even attended occasionally before moving to the city). Here are a few of notable items from the most recent “First Thursday”:

Now that I have large walls, I am actually looking for large abstract pieces, like the works of Ricardo Mazal at Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery. Several of these would have worked quite well. Unfortunately, these “monumental paintings” come with “monumental prices.” I’m not one to put down all high-priced art automatically, but I do sometimes find the pricing of art to be a bit of a mystery.

Sometimes abstract is “too abstract,” even for unapologetic modernists. Such were the large monochromatic and gradient works of Ruth Pastine. These could actually work quite well, on large bare white walls, but they would get lost in an environment with other activity and texture. Such stark paintings need space to themselves.

More down-to-earth are the offerings of the Hang Gallery, from which I have acquired some artworks in the past. This months show at the Annex, called “Give and Take”, was one of the better ones I have seen in the while. It featured more traditionally abstract paintings (Hang often seems to feature contemporary mixed-media works in the Annex), such as the work of Phillip Hua. Although not as large as some of the others featured in this article, I could definitely see one of Hua’s paintings hanging in CatSynth HQ. His work is an interesting mixture of abstraction and “industrial grit”, with moments that seem recognizable.

One “recognizable” image was Back Up by Carolyn Meyer, also at Hang. I’m pretty sure this is yet another view of the I-80 freeway through my neighborhood, as I have describes in previous articles such as the recent March “walking tour” and our highway underpass photographs. But what does it mean to see a similar scene so “painted”? It’s something entirely different from the photos, or real life.

And of course, we could not go without mentioning this delightful feline-themed work Spell by Ulrike Palmbach at the Stephen Wirtz Gallery:

It always comes back to cats here at CatSynth, doesn’t it?

This article was included in the April 9 Carnival of Cities.

Carnival of the Cats #212

Luna and I welcome everyone to Carnival of the Cats #212!

We had quite a turn-out this weekend.

First up is “Kaua'i Kitty”, a charming cat who follows tour groups at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii. The garden looks like a great place to visit, if and when I finally make it to Hawaii. And having a resident cat is always an added bonus – we love to meet cats when visiting new places. Check out Kaua'i Kitty at Rickety Contrivances of Doing Good.

Hakuna enjoys sunbathing at Blog d'Ellison. Sunshine brings out the best in cats and cat photography, so do have a look at the full-size versions.

Wild World reminds us of the dangers and cruelty of snares. Please not that some of these photos are disturbing, and disheartening. They also have a petition to ban snares that you can sign.

The Poor Mouth presents Oscar, a handsome stray cat they took in in 1989. There is a photo of Oscar from 2002, the same year he passed away. It sounds like he had a good life, but he is missed.

Laurence has a message for the cat-bloggers to say “no” to the Chronicle's cat-blogging collective. But do continue to support the efforts of independent cat-bloggers through events like the Carnval of Cats.

At Texas Oasis, the doctor pronounces Henry to be totally cute. We have to agree.

Watermark shares an old poem “God is Watching Us”, which features the observations of a cat. Appropriately, a black cat peers out the window.

Mycah is caught doing something odd with a bag full of ice cubes. Watch the video at TacJammer.

At manx mnews, Abby has one thing on her mind. Feed me!

More feline dialog with Rudy, who drives a hard bargain for access to the cube at Perfectly Parker.

Chica and Pumuckl remind us that cats are good studies of human behavior, and can adapt some of our quirks as well.

They have a feline divining rod over at The Scratching Post. It's great for finding sources of water, so long as you know how to turn on the tap.

Human and cat share the joy of reading a book together at This is Cyprus.

Maus likes to stay well informed at composite drawlings. And she has so many sources of information, including windows, books and magazines.

Cubby and Mouse are bookends at This That and the Other Thing. “Ain't we just too cute for words?” Cubby also examines a glass for this week's photo hunt, and the boys have a little wrestling match.

Turns out that Shadow dispenses tech tips. Find out more at The Junk Drawer. “My cat wants a job in tech support. She's off to a good start!”

Andrée of meeyauw shares a lectionary reading from the LOLCat Bible for the Third Sunday of Easter. As always, there is the presence of Ceiling Cat.

JB remembers the Taffy, who passed away in 2006. Taffy was a beautiful cat, as well as easy-going and tolerant.

Rosie ventures outside the window, at Gattina's “My Cats and Funny Stories. But she is still very cautious and doesn't stay out for long.

Thanks to the miracles of modern technology, a photo of napping turns into a dynamic action shot at sisu. Meanwhile Tiny interprets the instructions of a model ship.

Aloysius ventures out into the spring, after dodging a little bit of snow. But the sunshine was worth it, especially if one has a well-trained human who will shovel a path.

A very regal portrait hangs at Snow and Forest. Do take a closer look.

More fun out in the sun: An Almost-Double Dactyl for Her Ladyship at Elms in the Yard.

Audace and Ruce play hide and seek with a rolled up area rug. Who can resist such fun?

Missy Blue Eyes shares 13 things she is thankful for. She also introduces a new canine friend.

Boni needs to straighten out her valentine (from Edsel) at the House of the (Mostly) Black Cats.

Check out Isis, the Sunday Guest Star at Chey's Place.

Meanwhile, Puddy master the art of the guilt trip at A Byootaful life. Better not let Luna see these photos of Puddy, or she'll adopt the exact same look.

Diamond Emerald Eyes demonstrates a Saturday Morning Stampede. “Anyone up for a good game of Thundering Herd of Elephants?”

Ming of Mog features another photo of Cece because “he?s just such a good looking kittycat.” More Cece on the wall, and still more at iInfidel. Meanwhile Meowza enjoys some flowers. And it looks like the “Moggies” are moving to a new blog.

It's starting to feel like spring and China Cat enjoys sitting out in the sunshine. Willow also enjoys the sunshine, and you can even see them together.

StrangeRanger presents another hungry cat with a baseball bat, while Ivy wonders what all the fuss is about.

Samantha and Mr. Tigger are celebrating their 1st Blogoversary! Congratulations, and looking forward to another year with our friends at Life from a Cat's Perspective.

Finally, we are sending good thoughts to our friend Pet Campbell at Pet's Garden Blog for a speedy recovery.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of the Cats. Thanks to everyone for participating and reading.

And now, we rest.