While the RPM challenge continues to dominate life here at CatSynth, there's always time for Weekend Cat Blogging. Indeed, Luna has been helping out quite a bit in the studio the past few days:
Take a break with us from the struggles of art to visit Kate, Bustopher and Harmon who are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging 90.
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A close friend of ours sent Luna this card for Valentine's day. Here we see her coming forward to inspect her new offering.
The card reads “For a Sweet Girl…”, and that she is!
Of course, for me and those who have come to know Luna in real life and online, her identity and gender are completely intertwined. I am curious if people would recognize her as a “sweet girl” if not for name and narrative, however. This speaks to the interesting idea of how we humans recognize gender in other animals, and thus in ourselves.
Anyhow, for more cute cats with less social/philisophical drivel, visit Weekend Cat Blogging #89, which is being hosted by…well, it looks like did not have an official host designated this weekend. But kitechnmage, Trubble and Drago have graciously offered to host this weekend. Looking at the URL, I was hoping to see “cats too L.A.”, but it's just “cats too lazy…” We at CatSynth wouldn't want to accused of conflating the two, though…
Luna strikes an elegant pose a la Bast for the big Weekend Cat Blogging 88 Roundup.
We're up bright and early – well, I guess it's about 10:30 and with the rain it isn't all the bright – to get started. Lying on the couch with both Luna and the laptop, we're an all black trio – and there's nothing like a purring cat to put the gloom of this past week into perspective. And between WCB and the RPM challenge, we've got a lot to keep us busy…
…so we better get started. If you want to join in, you can either leave a comment here, on the WCB call, or drop us a note.
First up, we have a blast from the past with Toonces the Driving Cat. This was one of those recurring skits that was funny because it was so obvious, with the same disaster happening over and over again. It's a “laugh at,” more than a “laugh with”.
Turns out Taboo at Jelly Pizza is a distant relative of Toonces. Let's just hope she stays on her royal thrown and doesn't get behind the wheel…
Kitikata-san is looking quite…um…furry this week. No, you're not fat. Cats look so soft on sweet spreading on the ground, though the camera can play tricks…
Our friends Upsie, Sundance and Sher send their regards from whatdidyoueat. Like us, they are experiencing some serious rain this weekend, but Upsie manages to stay dry while Sundance investigates a stuffed dog.
Kazon is the fearsome panther this week over at xenogere. Kazon and Luna have some similarities, don't they…
While we at CatSynth are whining about the cold California rain, our friends in the middle of the country have a real deep freeze. Over at Champaign Taste, Louis resorts to veggies and carbs in a desparate attempt to stay warm. That fettucine is looking really good, though. Maybe Louis and Lisa can save some for us…
Bustopher, Harmon, and Kate are also dealing with the extreme cold this weekend. I think Harmon has about as good a strategy as I can suggest…
Over at kross-eyed kitty, Mr. Mao and Ramona are enjoying a blissful sleep, last week's nightmare forgotten…
Kashim and Othello send warm wishes (and big hugs) our way from Austria, and also share with us their secret to extra soft fur.
Extreeeeeme closeup of a photogenic Fridolin can found at Rosa's Yummy Yums.
China Cat and Willow are two lucky cats who are keeping warm indoors from the midwest deep freeze. They also share with us a rather tempting recipe for Lucky Cat martinis. I might have to give that one a try one of these days…
Masak-masak presents a lovely marble stray cat who often comes by to visit. He is a neighbor and rival of the often-featured ginger stray cat, and the two have an uneasy truce. Hey, can't we all just get along?
To many of us, our cats are our babies. However, that does imply that they can grow up to be our disgruntled teenagers, as Puddy demonstrates in this exchange with his human Kate over a tablecloth. I have to admit, I'm with Puddy on this one, it's February, time to lose the Christmas decor!
Dragonheart just returned from Switzerland and has a great slideshow of his trip.
Coca and Mysri meet the new neighbor baby cat at Café Créole (from French Guyana). That new baby has lovely multi-color fur, reminds me a lot of the kittens we say last week playing with the Waldorf Pulse.
Ellen has five adorable foster kittens, all girls, at scamperdude. Those are some amazing cat photos. We hope all the girls find the permanent homes they deserve…
Ooo, another gatita named Luna!. Glad to have her joining us here.
Remember, it's never too late to join in Weekend Cat Blogging…well, at least until Monday. We'll keep posting more WCB fun throughout the weekend, and making improvements, perfectionists that we are. It doesn't look like we're going anywhere for a while…
Well, as the weather turned dark and stormy this week, so has life turned a bit darker, and a bit lonelier. It's been another rough week. But Luna is always here to bring some brightness and love into the dark places. Coming home to see her waiting and happy is one of the simple joys in life, one of the few things I can count on.
And on that note, Luna and I are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #88. Please send us a note or leave a comment on your happy, funny or otherwise amusing feline experiences, and we'll post them in the big round up this weekend while trying to stay dry and warm.
(PS – we love your trackbacks here at CatSynth, and we've made some changes to get those working better, so WCBers are encouraged to give it a try).
The warm weekend here in California continues, and that's enough to give anyone a happy tail!
Actually, Luna often has a happy tail. But it's still extra fun when she gets to take in the sights, sounds and smells of a warm “spring” day through an open window. In fact, we at CatSynth are having a serious case of spring fever and opening all the windows today. Trying to rid our abode of the stale and bitter airs of this exceptional winter. Begone with ye, cruel season of pain and dispair!
Scamper over to Rosa's Yummy Yums for more Weekend Cat Blogging with fellow black kitty Maruschka as well as Fridolin and Rosa.
We're up for hosting next week here at CatSynth, so we'll leave all the windows open for our feline friends…
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Crack open a window!
Report from the first day on the RPM challenge:
The idea that I can spend a month, or even a fraction thereof, doing nothing but working on this album is laughable at best. There will be many distractions in the coming days, just as there have been today. Nonetheless, I made a point to take some first steps this evening..
Based on the “arc” and narrative form I am defining for the album, I went in search of samples to use for the introduction and some beats to use for the first full section. The intro should be an old clip from a big band or jazz recording from the 1940s/1950s – I discovered a really good collection of public-domain big-band radio recordings on The Internet Archive, and quickly settled on my intro.
Next up is selecting some initial beats for the beat-based / techo part of the album. I selected several drum-beat samples, and imported them into Emulator X. Using the beat-analysis (aka “Twistaloop” features), I created several seven-beat loops.
The initial rhythmic section will employ a 7-beat meter and combine drum loops and Proteus patterns inside Emulator X, as well as 7-beat/14-beat Indian thekas for tabla. This will probably also be the first opportunity to use the DSI evolver in a compositional setting (as oppose to live improvisation).
That will probably be all I get done tonite, as I take some time to relax while writing this blog entry and getting some “kitty love” from Luna (she's snuggling in on my chest as I write this).
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Well, it's been a rather difficult weekend here, one of the worst in a long time, actually – regular readers know I prefer not to discuss details of my personal life, but things are bad enough that not even the whacky exploits of Burbed and other refuges in snarky humor have been able to help.
But we at CatSynth are troopers, and shall go ahead with Weekend Cat Blogging regardless. Here is a picture from about a year ago of Luna enjoying her perch on the barstool. She is of course elegant as always.
In all seriousness, Luna is a great comfort when things are difficult, she is a master of “kitty love” with purrs, head-butts, nose kisses and snugglies. Here is a candid shot of us enjoying a moment together on the couch, taken with the little built-in webcam on my new MacBook:
For something a little more festive, please visit this weekend's hosts Kate and Bustopher (and let's not forget Harmon who seems eager to take a nap). There's a great cat-and-human photo leading off the party.
We all need a safe place to hide from the world now and then. For Luna, one such place is under the bed, especially when the vaccuum or some houseguests make an unexpected appearance. We at CatSynth recently followed Luna under the bed and caught her on camera:
“What do you think you are doing down here?”
“Hmmm, what the heck is that?”
If you want to leave any advice, or join us hiding under the bed, leave us a comment. In the meantime, check out our friends at the Cat Blogosphere, who are hosting this weekend's roundup.
It's been a rather cold few days here in California. We woke up to near freezing temperaturs here on the central coast:
Luna and I share not only black fur and slim physique, but also an intense dislike of the cold, so we've been doing our best to keep warm. The heat has been running full blast, and Luna once again spends much time resting on the glass table above the heat:
Of course, readers of the forum have seen Luna pose in the same spot before on cold days. I love the way she dangles her paw over the edge in the photo, though.
Meanwhile, it's party time with Upsie and Sher, who are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #84. Another thing both Luna and I share is a fondness for fish, and that ahi tuna suhi is looking mighty tasty…
New year, new kitty photos:
Luna poses elegently on her “purr pad” on New Year's Day.
This weekend's round is being hosted by…well, actually, it's not quite clear who if anyone is scheduled to host this weekend.
So…we at CatSynth will take the initiative and present the Provisional Weekend Cat Blogging Roundup!
First off, we have the lovely white Skeeter, a recent and welcome arrival to kitikata-san's neighborhood. Pretty kitty, it's like someone used the “invert” command on Luna.
Bowser loves cuddles up at a cat in the kitchen. Who doesn't love to cuddle up? Also, Bowser is an uncle because…
…over at annesfood, Glinda just gave birth to four beautiful kittens! Check out the newborn pics, and congrats to Glinda and Anne.
More snuggliness at kitchenmage. We agree that there's nothing better when it's cold and rainy outside.
If it's action you're looking for instead of hibernation, check out the climbing antics of the Spice Cats over at Just Sharlene.
Meanwhile, Tigakat Cleo wakes up from her nap and is ready to socialize.
That looks like it for WCB83, the first of 2007.
We do have some volunteers and a new 2007 schedule (not counting this weekend) at the Cat Blogosphere. Thanks to our friends at the House of the (Mostly) Black Cats.