Luna

Weekend Cat Blogging #267

Between the Outsound Festival and other things going on here at CatSynth, we barely had time to squeeze in Weekend Cat Blogging.

I returned home briefly last night between various events to rest for a moment and of course to spend a few minutes Luna. With camera already in hand and made a few photos of Luna near our favorite glass-and-metal table. It caught a bit of blue in the reflection, and inspired me to make this image with everything but the blue reduced to grayscale:

Later that evening, I encountered some feline themed art:

This is a moment from a 3D film/video by Kerry Laitala that was screened last night at SOMArts. I did not see the kitten featured on the exhibition website, though. I will have a review of the full event at SOMArts soon.

Aside from brief excursions in photography and visual art, the last few days have been dominated by music.  For each of the groups I am working with, wehave compositions that we print on paper and then read during rehearsals and performances. It is a lot of work.

But is sheet music tasty?

On the subject of tasty treats, our friends Kashim, Othello, Salome and Astrid are hosting special edition of WCB dedicated to Sher, who passed away unexpectedly two years ago. In addition to being a dedicated and supportive member of Weekend Cat Blogging, she was also a food blogger who published many recipes which I have used over the last few years. We will go back to the archives and try some more as soon as things calm down a bit and we have time for luxuries like well-prepared home-cooked meals.

Weekend Cat Blogging #267: In honor of Sher is hosted by Kashim, Othello, Salome and Astrid at PaulChens Foodblog?!.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up today at When Cats Attack!.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator

Work completed: Flora Davis, For Luna

The piece I had commissioned from artist Flora Davis was completed in late June:

The metal surfaces of each box are glued and covered in a protective layer, and the sides are finished with a metallic paint.

The piece now also has a title: For Luna. It seems appropriate, as both Davis and I have cats named Luna. And of course it is a nice tribute.

You can see previous articles documenting the progress here and here.

It was exciting to see it complete and take it home. The final step will be to display the artwork. Combined with the companion cat painting Zeus, the five boxes can be arranged in any number of ways. Here are but a few examples:

I have yet to settle on a final arrangement.

Weekend Cat Blogging #266 and Photo Hunt: Free

For Weekend Cat Blogging #266, we present some photos of Luna relaxing in the dining area.

A contrast of colors, texture and shape.

This is also perhaps one of our weaker attempts to fit the Photo Hunt theme this weekend, which is free. Relaxing in a favorite spot is a fine way to spend free time.

Weekend Cat Blogging #266 is being hosted by LB and Breadchick at The Sour Dough. It also marks the approximate 5th anniversary since WCB was started by a group of mostly food bloggers who set aside a day on the weekend to blog about cats.

The Photo Hunt is hosted as always by tnchick. This week’s theme is free.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted by Nikita Cat.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging #265: Health and Creativity

The themes of this month here at CatSynth are health and creativity, and we reflect on those themes for Weekend Cat Blogging.

We have started a recent phase in our beginning yoga practice centered on opening up creativity, prosperity and opportunity.  It is of course also good exercise and helpful for health and well being.  Luna enjoys joining in, too:

Photography continues to be a central form of creative expression, even as I need to balance it with music, especially with several more shows coming up this month.  Luna obliged me earlier this week by posing in front of one of the patio sculptures on a warm afternoon:

I got several great photos from this session, one of them appeared earlier this week during Wordless Wednesday.  Here is a small version, but readers are encouraged to check out the larger version in the WW post.

Weekend Cat Blogging #265 will be hosted by Jules and Vincent. Because of the Independence Day holiday here in the U.S., the roundup will be up on July 5.

The Carnival of the Cats, will be up tomorrow, July 4, at Mind of Mog.

Nikita Cat will be hosting the monthly Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos on July 4 as well.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging #263

Last weekend was exceptionally warm here, and we opened the whole doorway between the patio and the main room. Luna enjoyed some time outside in the morning before the stones got too hot:

She does like to play hunt with insects she comes across:

Having both patio doors open gave me different views on familiar objects inside. For example, we have seen Luna pose next to the glass table many times, but from this new angle one could see the reflections from the colored lamp. Little spots of color against the black, silver and glass.

We will be looking forward to enjoying a quiet Father’s Day tomorrow…

Weekend Cat Blogging #263 will be hosted by Othello at Paulchens Foodblog?!

The Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at When Cats Attack!

And the Friday Ark reaches a milestone today with #300!.

Weekend Cat Blogging: 5th Anniversaries

This past Thursday we celebrated Luna’s adoption anniversary (aka “Gotcha Day”).  For Weekend Cat Blogging we present some photos from our celebration that evening.

Of course, there was yummy food.  In this case, Sardines, inspired in part by a (human) recipe I had heard on the radio few days earlier and still want to try out.  Luna devoured her feline fish treats with aplomb:

There were some cards from friends.  And of course, new toys.  I was particularly fond of this toy, which seemed apropos of this year:

Luna was not quite as interested (though I did see her kick it around briefly):

On the other hand, she took right away to this black mouse toy and spent quite a bit of time kicking it around, even getting it stuck on a shelf and pawing diligently to get it out.

And after a spell of vigorous play, it was time to relax:

Not only is this Luna’s fifth adoption anniversary, but it is also the 5th Anniversary of Weekend Cat Blogging. It was started by group of primarily food bloggers who set aside a post on the weekend for their cats. We found it back in 2006 as I was first starting this site. This special edition is being hosted by LB and breadchick at The Sour Dough.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at Nikita’s Meowings of an Opinionated Pussycat. And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Wicks Looper – Luna Mod

From rarebeasts on flickr, the latest incarnation of the Wicks Looper:

“This is the new Wicks Looper. It’s name Luna Mod, comes from my cat, Luna who is always hanging around when I make these things.”

I of course cannot resist reposting a synthesizer with a “Luna Mod” :). We have actually seen this other cat named Luna (along with the Wicks Looper) in this previous post.

Check out this video of the Luna Mod with a red mini Kaos Pad.

Luna’s 5th Adoption Anniversary

Today marks five years since I first brought Luna home from the Santa Cruz County animal shelter.  Time certainly does pass quickly.  We celebrate this anniversary (otherwise known as Luna’s “Gotcha Day”) with a look back at photographs from our five years together.

Here she is back in 2005.

and then in 2006

and finally in 2007.

That series of photos ends after we moved to San Francisco in 2008, but there is no shortage of images of Luna basking in sunlight.  Here she is in 2008 (outdoors):

and 2009:

and finally this year:

(There are so many photos it can be hard to choose just one representative.)

Our friends at the Cat Blogosphere made an announcement today along with this nice banner:

Please join us in wishing Luna a “Happy 5th Gotcha Day!”

Weekend Cat Blogging #261

We at CatSynth are happy to be hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #261.  It’s a delightful weekend here, one to step outside and enjoy.  And we hope we have a lot of cats come join us.

In order to participate, please leave a comment below, or contact us, and we’ll be happy to add you over the course of the weekend.

And without further ado, let us get started with the round-up:

First up, Nikita Cat provides definitive proof that cat lovers are not brainless. Thanks to MRI technology, see how Nikita performs a “cat scan” on his dad’s brain.

Next we have Parker caught in mid-yawn, or is that a roar? In any case, it sounds like Parker is looking forward to a nice weekend with some outside time on the deck (similar to Luna’s excursions on the patio).

Seeing double?  No, this is “whiz-kitts” Daniel and Mikey, a pair a litter-mates in and old photo (as one can tell from the CRT monitor, anyone remember those?).  They are part of the family at Kittens ‘n Things.

Samantha and Clementine are getting along better, but still have their differences, as can be seen in this Smilebox slide show they have put together to share this weekend, complete with captions of their antics and background music.

We are delighted to have Jules from Judi’s Mind Over Matter join us this weekend.  “Jules and Luna have something special in common,” as can be seen in these pictures.  Black cats and white blinds are also a good visual combination, as we have shown in some previous photos.

More of our fellow black cats are joining us this weekend, including Maruschka from Rosa’s Yummy Yums. Her eyes almost look orange in this photo, as does the rug on which she lies.  They leave us with an apropos quote from the band Danzig: “Big black witch cat.  Yes, you cast a real strong spell…”

Finally, Spot (aka “Harry Spotter”) and Fiona are happy to be reunited with their family after their mom and dad’s trip to China.  And it looks like they have a new human member of the family!

That concludes the round-up for this weekend.  Thanks to everyone who participated!  (And if we did miss your entry, please let us know and we would be happy to add it retroactively.)