CATSYNTH

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Tag: cat

  • Weekend Cat Blogging #89: V-day with Luna

    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…






  • Catsynth pic: Onyx sings into MicroKorg

    From get_the_hams_in at flikr:

    Onyx the cat likes singing. This time he's using the vocoder in the MicroKorg.

    I'd love to hear what he came up with from the vocoder…





  • Nora, The Piano-Playing Cat

    This wonderful video features Nora, the piano-playing cat. Not a synthesizer, but it is a keyboard instrument.

    In addition to the simple cuteness of a cat playing piano, I actually found myself listening to music itself. Clearly a lot of major and minor seconds, mostly because they are easy to reach with a single paw, but there is also the strong repeating rhythm. And she seems remarkably consistent over multiple brief “performances.”

    I recommend listening to Nora's music without observing the video, as I am now, and you will hear an interesting minimal atonal piece that stands on its own. Many detractors of atonal and free-rhythm music often argue that “their five-year old could do that” or even that their pet could do that, but perhaps the fact that it captures childlike and cat-like innocence is part of the charm such music.

  • Weekend Cat Blogging #88 Round-up!

    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…






  • Weekend Cat Blogging #88

    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).





  • CatSynth pic: synth studio, with cat

    Another from our friend Knox Bronson at SunPopBlue:

    This is a rather abstract representation of his “almost all-analogue synth studio.” Mars kitty can be seen in the bubble at the lower right (and in the enlarged clip to the right). The overall composition suggests a blend of the CatSynth banner with my Music of the (Blue) Spheres graphic artwork.

    The original photo is from 2002, and Mars has since passed away. You can also see a close-up video at the original SunPopBlue posting.






  • Hercules Revisited

    This morning we revisit our favorite fat cat in the news.

    Local TV in Porland, Oregon, paid a visit to Hercules at home, and found both the generously proportioned cat and his human friend Geoff Ernest doing well. Lots of pictures, like the one to the right. Not surprisingly, they have been approached for promotions, such as Purina's diet cat food…

    In addition to happy and heartwarming photo-ops, the follow-up news coverage included this opinion in The Oregonion about the importance of spaying/neutering pets:

    Let's consider the other side of this heartwarming story: that of a nice cat, who because he was not neutered and was let outdoors, acted with predictable behaviors of fighting, mating and becoming a stray.

    The heartache of Hercules' ailing person thinking “he was dead” would have been prevented had Hercules been taken care of as a beloved pet by being neutered and preferably kept indoors. How many unwanted kittens were produced because of this one stray tomcat's life on the streets?

    Although Hercules' story had a happy ending, it easily could have ended much worse. I can't imagine what it be like to come home and find Luna potentially “lost forever.” That's why she enjoys her warm spring afternoons safely indoors…




  • CatSynth pic: Freddie chilling on the Serge

    Submitted by Knox Bronson at SunPopBlue:

    Bronson has collaborated with Gustvo Lanzas (who provided the recent video of Apu the “Acid Cat”) on an interesting improvisation featuring the Serge (and an E-MU SP-1200!) called Where The Bees Are. Check out the free mp3.

    And there is still more fun with Freddie at SunPopBlue. Check out his video Sleep (An Homage to Andy Warhol):

    Ah, wasn't it only a day or so ago that we were again reminiscing about New York in the 1970s?






  • Weekend Cat Blogging #87: Let's crack open a window!

    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…






    Crack open a window!

  • CatSynth pic: Teodor Revolution

    This photo comes to us from altermark at flickr. To quote: “Definitely a cat on synth picture for once!”

    Teodor is a lovely siberian cat, and the synth upon which he stands is a Future Retro Revolution. The Revolution is a very visually attractive instrument – I have seen it at NAMM several times. I don't really have a sense for it as a musical instrument, however. How does a Revolution compare to my Evolver, for example? The Evolver has four oscillators (plus a “fifth” via feedback that I often use), multiple filter options, and other timbral features, while the sequencer is somewhat awkward to use. It seems at first glance, the Revolution flips the balance between synthesizer and sequencer in favor of sequencing, which does have its place.

    Perhaps you can judge for yourself by listening to the audio examples. Certainly, we recently saw that Apu enjoys the “acid sounds” from the Revolution.