CATSYNTH

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Category: Cats

  • Catsynth pic: actual cat with Octave CAT… and Kitten in Emulator X

    Well, here's another cat sitting next to an Octave CAT – wonder why that comes up so much.

    Actually I am quite interested in the Octave CAT and Kitten synths, I'm trying (yet again) to bid on one on eBay.

    In the meantime, I have been trying several methods to emulate them, including building an Emulator X patch. The Kitten is definitely more feasible because it only has one oscillator and thus no FM – FM is nearly impossible to do on the Emulator platform. However, I did one out of MIDI controllers. So the end result is a “Kitten lite” that contains all the oscillator waveforms (Saw, Triangle and Square/PWM), the two independent sub-octave waveforms, square and sine LFOs, filter with realtime cutoff and Q and envelope mod, and of course ADSR envelope.

    While not a real Octave Kitten, it's a nice little playable instrument.





  • Feline Alzheimer's disease

    News of a studly on Alzheimer's disease for readers with ageing feline and human friends:

    Ageing cats can develop a feline form of Alzheimer's disease, a new study reveals. Scientists at the Universities of Edinburgh, St Andrews, Bristol and California have identified a key protein which can build up in the nerve cells of a cat's brain and cause mental deterioration.

    In humans with Alzheimer's disease, this protein creates 'tangles' inside the nerve cells which inhibit messages being processed by the brain. The team says that the presence of this protein in cats is proof that they too can develop this type of disease…

    …”As with humans, the life expectancy of cats is increasing and with this longer life runs the greater chance of developing dementia. Recent studies suggest that 28% of pet cats aged 11-14 years develop at least one old-age related behaviour problem and this increases to more than 50% for cats over the age of 15.”

    Perhaps one of the things that makes cats and other companion animals so endearing is that they go through many of the same life stages as humans, from kittenhood/childhood to old age. Having recently observed a 96-year-old relative and a neighbor's 20-year old cat who recently passed away, one can see similarities in both the strong and the sad qualities. The old cat liked to simply rest in her favorite spots in the neighbors garden, staring out into the world. Her physical state deteriorated very quickly towards the end, but I believe she crossed the rainbow bridge quietly and peacefully. My relative is still with us (saw her on my recent New York trip), though her health and mental state has deteriorated quite a bit as well. Again, I find myself thinking of the similarities between humans and cats in this stage of life – though just as with human infants in comparison to kittens, older cats seem to on the whole do a better job of staying independent than their elderly human counterparts.

    I wonder if any of the stem cell research on Alzheimer's in applicable to cats…



  • Meow Chow (WCB follow up)

    I mentioned in the most recent Weekend Cat Blogging that we got a book of recipes for both cats and humans for Luna's birthday: Meow Chow: Hearty Recipes for Happy Cats.

    I decided to try the crabcake recipe from the book because it seemed like something we both might enjoy – Luna's favorite human food to date seems to be turkey, but I'm a bit turkey'ed out myself. I bicycled down to the fish market on the Santa Cruz wharf for some fresh crab meat, and procured the other ingredients from various stores around town. The one substitution I made was matzoh meal instead of unsalted “saltine” crackers (isn't that an oxymoron). The preparation was pretty straightforward, mixing the batter, forming it into small patties and dropping them in the frying pan. Here is the final result:

    A little overdone perhaps, but I do like the crust and at least for my own consumption I wanted to make sure the inside was well cooked. Luna had one half of a crab cake for herself:

    She managed to eat most of it (which I cut into smaller pieces after this photo was taken), but I suppose it is quite filling for such a small cat.

    I'm guessing next time she might prefer the sardines in the silver tray.

    cat
    recipe
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    crabcakes

  • Weekend Cat Blogging #78: Luna's Birthday

    This weekend, D and her lazy co-hosts are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #78. This is also the weekend of Luna's birthday, which was officially on November 30 (last Thursday). She is two years old now – the ketzelas grow up so fast, don't they…

    Of course, what birthday would be complete without presents? Luna had plenty from her human friends (click on the pictures below to see larger images):

    Her favorite seems to be this little blue mousey, she's been playing with it all weekend:

    There's still more birthday fun in store. A friend gaves us a copy of the book Meow Chow: Hearty Recipes for Happy Cats.

    Doesn't the kitty on the cover look a lot like Luna?

    We're going to try the crab cakes this afternoon, if I manage to get my act together. I know a lot of WCB'ers are foodies, so please do check in again later to find out how the feline culinary adventure goes!

  • Thoughts on animal-abuse tragedy in Tampa…and police shooting in New York

    At about the same time I found that last article on cats from Lebanon in Ohio, I came across this horrific story of animal cruelty from Tampa. One of the victims is in the photo to the right. The details of this case are pretty bad, and many of this forum's cat-loving readers would do best not to read the original articles. As for me, once I find out about something like this I feel compelled to “bear witness” painful as it may be, read follow-up reports and hope that some sort of justice or good comes out of it.
    Indeed, one of my main motivations for posting is to expose the sick excuse for a human who allegedly committed these acts of cruelty. Apparently, he just doesn't like cats and was mad that they would sometimes climb onto his car. As a cat lover, it is hard to comprehend the level of anger/hatred he must have felt towards them, but even so there is no excuse for his cruel executions of these helpless creatures :(. He has confessed to the killings, and has been charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty, carrying a maximum five-year sentence. I will respect the justice system and not pass sentence on him myself, though many participants in a local online forum have their own creative punishments in mind. It is somewhat satisfying to see a unified front of anger and revulsion, with not one person coming to his defense.

    Apparently, this guy took shots at a police helicopter not so long before this incident. That's pretty serious, one wonders why he wasn't already in jail. Indeed, why didn't he end up riddled with bullets? Certainly, that would have saved the cats whose lives seem more worthwhile. But it also raises some interesting questions in light of the recent police shooting in New York – I was actually still in New York for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend when it happened. The cases are of course quite different, but nonetheless I think they are worth comparing. In one situation we have 50 shots fired at three unarmed men who apparently struck an undercover police van – one of the men was killed, on the day of his wedding. In the other case, we have a man very openly taking shots at a police helicopter, and not only escaping the incident unhurt but free to kill three cats days later. Is it just the different locations and circumstances? Is it that black men are invariably more likely to be treated as threats and shot than sick white trash with a known record of cruelty and violience?

    I intend to follow both of these cases to see what happens…






  • Another update on "cats in war": fiesty war cats in Geauga

    Another update on “cats in war”: several of the most “anti-social” cats that were airlifted to the U.S. from Lebanon have found a new home in a suburb of Cleveland.






  • Weekend Cat Blogging #77: Happy Turkey Day with Luna

    Happy thanksgiving to all our feline and ailurophile friends, including everyone at the House of (Mostly) Black Cats, who are hosting this holiday weekend's cat blogging.

    My office had it's “thanksgiving party” last Friday, and I made sure to bring home some fresh turkey for Luna. As you can see, she quite enjoyed her treat.

    You can see video of Luna's thanksgiving and read her own blog entry over at her Catster page.








  • Worthless Kitty Musings: Brakhage and Bast

    I have been viewing on and off a collection of short films by Stan Brakhage. Brakhage was a very prolific and influential maker of short experimental films. Most of his films have little or no narrative, and in many cases are made from images created directly on the film (i.e., not filmed with a camera), as in the case of thethe frame from Resurrectus Est shown to the right. Most of the films are also silent, leaving the viewer to focus exclusively on the images.

    One of the films that intruiged me was Cats Cradle, originally done in 1964. Basically, it consists of a series of clips of a black cat interspersed with separate closeups of a man and a woman (apparently there were two couples in the film, but was not able to see this as I was watching). The cuts are frequent and the lighting/tinting is an amazing shade of red/magenta. It really is hard to describe, though you can find a better attempt here. An interesting suggestion is that the film can be seen as the “cat's perspective” on the couple.

    The film definitely has a sexual feel to it, though there are no explicitly sexual images (discounting the fact that juxtaposing images of a woman and a man usually adds some sense of sexuality). How does the cat fit into that overall sense? Juvenile word-associations aside, cats have a history of association with (female) sexuality and fertility, most notably through the Egyptian goddess Bast. Bast is definitely a goddess for my personal pantheon, and I've been looking for an excuse to use her in a post on this forum. Bast has quite a resume, as the protector of cats, women and children, also associated with perfume, fertility, love, music and dance. It is interesting to consider Cat's Cradle in the context of Bast, even as a tribute of sorts, although I have no basis to assume Brakhage had such an association in mind. Though looking through his filmography, i think he was fond of cats.






  • Weekend Cat Blogging #76 Roundup

    Well, it seems like we have a bit of a theme going here this weekend:

    At this moment, I'm lying on the couch w/ a purring Luna and a purring iBook resting on top. Life is good.

    But I guess it's time to get up off our furry butts and start the Weekend Cat Blogging #76 Roundup. If you would like to be included, please leave a comment here or contact me.

    At Jelly Pizza, a routine checkup for Taboo becomes anything but after she makes a snack out of a skink. So far so good, but hope she remains OK. Also, a reminder that googling for cat dangers and diseases can by very scary.

    Cuteness alert! Chris Dolley presents Kai searching for Tribbles in all the wrong places. That last photo of Kai, Xena and a “tribble” is great!

    It can be difficult for a cat to find good recipes in primate cookbooks, but over at burékaboy we have chez chaton culinaire. Luna's birthday is coming up soon and I was looking for somegood dinner options…

    Ostara reports that it has been a gray and rainy week in Toronto, but that is good excuse for Sam to join us in our comfy napping. He also dreams of mailing himself to a warmer climate – it's pretty nice here in California right now.

    Nothing is more exciting to a house cat than a forrrrbiiiiden roooooom. Over at Music and Cats, the McKittens get to explore the newly remodeled kitchen. Maybe they can try out some of those recipies from chez chaton culinaire?

    The House of (Mostly) Black Cats treats us to one of those “separated at birth?” posts featuring Gree and Sophia. That a purrty good likeness, almost as good as that one I posted with the pope and the emperor from Star Wars…

    Upsie is having a bad weekend because sher is sick with a fever and spending more time with two feral kitties learning to trust humans. Cheer up, Upsie. We at CatSynth recommend a nice nap!

    Triple threat from thefoodpornographer: Pixel poses in her summer office, Billy Lee gets busted on the forbidden couch, and Pixel pops her head out of a box.

    From Lali, Miss Prout sleeps with her friend Petit Tigré. Très mignon, indeed!

    Kate in the Kitchen presents Animal Capers, the winter edition. Bustopher seems to enjoy being out in the cold, something that we at CatSynth have trouble understanding. We'll stay nice and warm inside, thank you. Also, a reminder that squirrels need food during the winter, too.

    The comfy-resting-place theme continues. At A Cat in the Kitchen, Yoshi sits in his favorite spot, the “now broken” tumble dryer.

    Tiggy the Tiny Tiger worries about mom Sarah going off to Japan. Don't worry, Tiggy, your Mom loves you, and Luna seemed to have a good time with the cat sitter last week, and probably will next week, too, when I go back to New York for the thanksgiving holiday weekend.

    At Restaurant Window, we have some great pictures of the recently adopted Marble. Love those friendly tiger-kitty faces.

    While most of us are enjoying a nice afternoon nap, over at The Westering Hills Colin hunts the laser pointer. There is a cute video of him making that clicking/squeaking sound that seems to be associated with hunting/stalking. Luna does the same thing when she hunts bugs or tracks critters through the window.

    Looks like we've got a couple of “food-obsessed voyeurs” over at Rosa's Yummy Yums. But at least they are able to forget food long enough to join us for a weekend nap.

    At xenogere, Vazra plans a great escape, albeit through a space not quite large enough for his head.

    Sad news from Bonnie and the Charlottesville SPCA that their big, beautiful, and beloved Maine Coon cat, Hans, has passed over The Rainbow Bridge. Our sympathies go out to his friends who loved him deeply.

    Voting is now open for the Skeezix the Cat's Tales of Devoshun Kontest. But it's not too late to enter!

    Speaking of tales of devotion, Mao Nichols finds out that his mom likes him best after reading her entry. Unfortunately, he is inelegible as a member of Skeezix's household. Grrr on those pesky ethics rules.

    More contest fun – Rocky the Gutter Cat is slumming for votes as a finalist in the World's Coolest Cat contest. Looks like the competition is pretty stiff – I think some of the New Orleans “cool cats” should have entered, too.

    We have a birthday girl this weekend! Glinda turns two years old, and you can see her over at annesfood, along with some baby photos with her littermates. Looks like Glinda is celebrating her birthday the way we are, with a nap.

    Over at I Got Two Shoes, Kamikaze has his laser eyes ready to zap. Hmmm, if this is what passes for “contemplative,” I'd hate to run into him in an angry mood…

    Pia lightens the mood with a a basket of kittens. No one can resist a basket of kittens. No one.

    Well, that will do it for this weekend. Thanks to all those who participated. Time for a nap…






  • Weekend Cat Blogging #76

    Well, it's been a tiring week here since my return – both Luna and I really just want to curl up and rest. But we at CatSynth are dedicated to doing Weekend Cat Blogging #76. Thanks to those who already sent in their links. You either leave a comment with your link on this entry, or send me a message.

    Also, if you haven't had a chance, please check out last week's post featuring an article on the cats of New Orleans.