New Podcast: Charmer:Firmament live at Woodstockhausen 2003

Well, my latest experiment with sampled piano was a flop, and a close friend and fellow crazy experimental musician is currently in my thoughts, so it seems a good time to release one of my live performances from the Woodstockhausen 2003 festival. In this case, it is a live version of Charmer:Firmament, a piece for digital computer controlled live by a graphics tablet. A recorded version of this piece also appears on my CD Aquatic (you know, the one that none of you are buying).

As always, enjoy!





Weekend Cat Blogging #94 Roundup

Oy, we're having a hard time getting the roundup out this morning – technical problems. But here we are. Welcome to the big Weekend Cat Blogging #94 roundup!. It's a sleepy foggy morning here on the California coast, but we've got coffee and catnip and some classic 1960s/1970s tunes, and we're ready to go!

First up, we have Taboo trying to get some rest at Jelly Pizza. That seems like a good plan to us. Also, “a shout out to Vinnie and Sam and Mex and Kayla, lonely tonight as pack member Lola awaits possible surgery in the morning at the vet.” Get better soon, Lola!

Only 668 days left…

Over at whatdidyoueat, we got squirrels, courtesy of sher. Ths squirrels are quite cute, but Upsie reminds us they won't be cute forever. Don't worry, Upsie, we still love you!

Kashim and Othello deal with workmen around the house and stressed nerves, but that doesn't mean Othello doesn't have time for a little Olive Ciabatta. Yum!

Over at xenogere, Kazon is doing well today after an upset stomach earlier in the week. “He?s definitely acting like himself again,” and we think he's looking quite handsome, too.

Next we drop in the House of the (Mostly) Black Cats. Mini helps out mom with jewelry, while Boni gets into the nip stash and now looks pretty strung out on the carpet. Reminds me of some of those wild parties we used to have around here…if it was a little later in the day, who knows we might have to join in the fun w/ Boni and Mini…

Meanwhile, China Cat and Willow enjoy springtime in the porch. And who doesn't love springtime on the porch?

At masak-masak, it's all about the action as Fluffy gets ready to sharpen her claws on the palm tree. Yes, she gets her own palm tree. Things aren't quite as happy for the “boy cat [who] had to take his medicine.” We hope he gets better soon.

It's fun and games with Kate in the Kitchen and Busopher and Harmon. Can you see the cats in this picture? They look way too innocent in that photo, something must be going down…

A wonderfull photograph of Tess in the afternoon sun awaits at The Hidden Paw. Very well done!

A special exclusive this week as Cato meets the Great White Hope of Fatah al Felidae. I think this is one of those moments when we need to say “the opinions expressed here do not reflect the opinions of CatSynth.com, its staff or sponsors.” I have enough trouble at the airports as it is ;-).

We make a new friend this weekend: Nitro from meowers from missouri. Read as he defends himself on 13 points. From what, we can only imagine…

It's Toes Woes weekend at Artsy Catsy, where a very contrite-looking Rocky begs forgiveness for dislocating a toe of his human-artist Suzanne.

Of course, the pet-food poison scare continues to concern many of us. Chuysuli has written an open letter to the makers of some popular pet-food brands.

Tatts is looking really comfy over at the BeesHIVE. I love to see cats rolling around on the sidewalk like that when I'm out on one of my walks…

Over at Rosa's Yummy Yums, the photogenic Fridolin is emperor of his domain, at least of his cat tree…

At music and cats, there's no question of who was the alpha kitten. Now that the kitties are all grown up, though, it seems like Sergei is still the “alpha kitten.” Some things never change.

Bienvenue to a new friend from France! Moon plays chat et souris. Hey, we have both a Moon and a Luna this weekend.

It's a lazy Sunday over at Pet's Garden. Whoa, am I seeing triple? Or is just some of Boni's catnip for H(M)BC?

Laziness seems to be in abundance this Sunday, for humans and felines alike at kross-eyed kitty. We, too, know the joy of a shared nap together.

Baci gets to celebrate his very first spring over at fourfurrycats. And what better way to celebrate the arrive of spring than with some fine BBQ? That steak is looking pretty tasty… White wine doesn't quite pair with steak, but this label is still apropos.

The title says it all at Restaurant Widow: You can't look at this picture without being filled with joy. Go take a look, and you won't be able to deny it. Those are some amazing little blue eyes…

It's the battle of the fuzziest as wetseringhills. It's pretty much a toss-up, but I think Luna and I could give Barrett and Colin a good challenge in the fur department.

We'll keep posting to the roundup throughout the weekend (as long as we can get ourselves up off our comfy surfaces), so keep those posts coming!





Rat poison found in recalled pet food

There's a bit of a shadow over our WCB fun this weekend, as the pet food recall story continues to unfold. From today's Toronto Star:

Rat poison has been found in pet food that sparked a massive recall and sent a scare through tens of thousands of pet owners across North America, but scientists said Friday they still don't know how it got there.

The pet food is produced by Mississauga, Ont.-based Menu Foods and is blamed for the deaths of at least 16 cats and dogs.

Four-month-old Tosa, pictured above, is being treated for kidney problems. Her vet “suspects may have been caused by pet foods.” She seems like a sweet baby, we hope she gets better.

We also hope all our feline friends, including those who participate in WCB, remain safe and healthy.





Catsynth pics: Triple Threat

Via our friend matrix, we have a trio of recent photos of cats and synths.

First we have Scooter and Bob (Moog, that is.), originally from Maggie Osterberg at flickr:

Next, we have a big fluffy cat with an Anywhere modular, originally from sequencer.de:

And finally, and quite appropriately, the “Matrix Cat” laying claim to an Oberheim Matrix-6r. Originally from synx508, whose cats have appeared here before:

Thanks to matrix for collecting and posting these photos, and for putting up with a lot of cranky comments in response to them. In particular, “Matrix Cat” seems to have generated a lot of harsh comments about how cats and synthesizers should not mix. Lighten up, folks!

Fun with highways: Goethal's Bridge Crossing

We turn our focus once again to the New York metropolitan area. Countless motorists take I-278 over the Goethal's Bridge from “the armpit of NJ to the ampit of NY,” as at least one website so eloquently described it. The armpit of NJ is presumably Elizabeth, and the armpit of NY is of course Staten Island.

This isn't our first encounter with I-278 here at CatSynth. Its eastern terminus is the Bruckner Interchange, featured in a previous “fun with highways” article. Between the Goethal's crossing and the Bruckner Interchange, I-278 meanders it's way through all four “outer boroughs” of New York City. An interesting description of I-278 from Steve Alpert:

I-278 is a horrid excuse for an Interstate, patched onto a network of existing freeways including the Staten Island, Gowanus, BQE (Brooklyn-Queens), and Bruckner Expressways… and the Grand Central PARKWAY.

There is certain symmetry to I-278, connecting from I-95 in the Bronx to I-95 in New Jersey…except that it doesn't end there. It keeps going past the I-95/NJ Turnpike interchange into Elizabeth, eventually ending at an intersection with US 1 & 9. It seems like I-278 was destined to continue further into New Jersey, perhaps to meet with it's missing parent I-78, or even cross I-287 at some point. I-278/I-287 interchange, that would be trippy…