cat

Code 46 / "With All Her Heart"

Our friend jellypizza posted this wonderful video of Taboo from 1997, peeking out from inside a drawer.


I haven't embedded the video, but I do encourage readers to go see it (you can click on the photo or the “related link” below). In a way, it is also a posthumous “CatSynth Video” for Taboo, featuring the very ambiet/electronic/synthetic track “Mother” from the soundtrack of the award-winning film Code 46. (The soundtrack is also available at iTunes .) I really thought it added something to the video, giving what was already a very sweet moment a unique quality. Of course, one would expect music from a soundtrack to work well with video, but it's still interesting how well it worked given the stark contrast to the actual film.

I had not heard of Code 46 before JellyPizza's recommendation, but did get a chance to see it last week. The ambient music is a backdrop to a tale in the near future where technology is more advanced but still very recognizeable. In the film, the world seems to be separated into a very high-tech “inside” world that includes major developed cities (e.g., in Asia, Europe, North America, etc.) and “outside.” People carry genetic IDs and bio-tech permits to travel. Additionally, the goverment or governments of the “inside” have genetically driven limits on who can and cannot have children together. This is all meant to sound very sinister, I'm sure, but I think the folks in this near-future world might have a point on the reproduction/population issue. And the world painted by the visuals and the music seems very inviting, both futuristic and very familiar at the same time. There is also an interesting take on fusion among “inside” languages (e.g., English, Chinese, Spanish).

Check out the soundtrack or the movie if you have a chance, and then re-watch Taboo's video.

Chaos Festival: "Aquatic" Luna

We couldn't let this week's theme for the Bad Kitty Cat Chaos Festival (hosted by Kashim and Othello) go unanswered. The theme is “water or rain.” Did somebody say “Aquatic”?

Indeed, the CD does have an underlying water theme, and can be very relaxing to listen to, according to many who have either purchased or downloaded it. Although several of the order pieces had an aquatic sound to them (e.g., “Proportional Fish”), the idea to use it as a unifying element was largely inspired by living here by the ocean…

Of course, all this talk about water makes us at CatSynth quite thirsty:






Weekend Cat Blogging #118 and more: Luna in Late Summer, Strays and Project Purr

We begin our Weekend Cat Blogging with Luna, in a photo taken last weekend:

Late summer (August and September) has a particularly quality of light I have always enjoyed, both clear and melancholy. I am particularly fond of this photo of Luna, not only does the light work great on her, but also the texture/geometry of the shadows from the blinds adds a stark, modernist touch.

Plus, the way Luna's expression complements the fish? Priceless.

I continue to see cats quite often in this one triangular vacant lot, not too far CatSynth HQ. Here is a grey cat I saw the other day :

I often see them stalking and hunting in the grass in this lot, which is bounded by a shopping center, a residential street and train tracks. The tracks have a nice walking path alongside, which I often use.

We previously featured a stray cat spending time in this lot in June.

In that same article from June, we mentioned the semi-annual rummage sale held by Project Purr, a local “cat rescue organization dedicated to FERAL cats and kittens.” The end-of-summer edition of their sale is this weekend. This time, we at CatSynth were prepared and donated some useless junk “quality household goods” for the sale. And bought some books. While I am primarily looking to reduce the amount of stuff here at CatSynth HQ, there is always room for more books.

Don't forget to check out all the other cats, domestic and outdoor, at What Did you Eat, where our friends Sher and Upsie are hosting.

The Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is being hosted by the “catboys” Kashim and Othello. Seems like they have been busy of late.

Carnival of the Cats is at Mind of Mog, and of course Friday Ark #155 is hosted by the modulator.





Niki featured on catsynth and matrixsynth

Remember this picture submitted last week?

Well, according the site cleverCLAIRE (from San Francisco), the cat's name is Niki. You can see more Niki photos here.

Even without being able to read Chinese, one can easily get the gist of the post, though I did run it through babelfish just to get a better idea. It seems like they got a kick of Doktor Future's ailurophobic comments over at matrixsynth.

CatSynth pic: Mimì with Synton Syrinx

It's been a little while since we've seen Mimì. But she's back, in a pair of photos submitted by our friend polynominal:

The blue synth is a prototype of a Dutch “Synton Syrinx”, which you can read more about here.

Polynominal has quite a studio of vintage synthesizers and other gear, and he has some new photos, including several of Mimì, on his recently updated website. The site is definitely worth a visit, and check out some of the new musical samples.

Caption-the-Cat Contest #2: Gonzo

Gonzo has made a few appearances recently, and we thought this early photo would be great for our next Caption-the-Cat contest:

SImilar to our original caption-the-cat contest, all you have to do is leave a comment with your captions, whether in LolCat dialect or not. There is no prize per se, but we will post some of them over future weeks.

Have fun!

Taboo (1989-2007)

It is with heavy heart that we at CatSynth say good-bye to another friend in less than a week:

Taboo, from jellypizza, passed away yesterday. She was 18 years old, and while that made her vulnerable to all the ailments that affect all creatures in old age (including cats and humans), it also means she had a long life, with a loving family and friends. We send our thoughts and condolences to our friend whaleshaman .

Ironically, we were visitng jellypizza today because we are planning to tag them for the “thinking bloggers award.” We're still planning to go ahead with that.