It’s the 99th Episode of CatSynth TV, and we have a special treat for all our readers and videos. It combines many of our interests: synthesizers, cats, experimental music and film, and highways.
Video shot along Highway 99 in California from Manteca through Stockton and heading towards Sacramento. Additional video and photography at CatSynth HQ in San Francisco.
Guest appearances by Sam Sam and Big Merp.
Original experimental synthesizer music by Amanda Chaudhary, based on melodies from “99 is not 100” by Moe! Staiano.
Synthesizers used:
Minimoog
Arturia MiniBrute 2S
Big Fish Audio John Cage Prepared Piano Sample Library (Kontakt)
This weekend we check in on our feline pal in Oakland, Marlon. We have dubbed him “Big Merp” for his large size and vocalizations that sound like “merp“.
This the face of a cat who has lived life hard, and just wants to chill out in his older years. Fortunately, he is getting that opportunity as he has been spending more and more time indoors. This included getting to stay indoors during the worst of the smoke from the wildfires to our north last month.
As we have mentioned before, it is clear he was a pet cat at one point in his life. He enjoys the comforts of indoors, attention from humans, and food. Lots of food. His friend Hissy is not so sure about the indoor life and is still wary of humans, but she does come around for food and to hang out with Big Merp.
The two of them clearly share a connection, even though they don’t always have the same outlook on life. We hope Hissy does learn to trust people a bit more in the future.
We close with a reminder to readers to be kind to the cats – and other animals – that share our neighborhoods and spaces with us.
California is on fire. To our south, the area northwest of Los Angeles that I remember fondly from past visits in on fire, including Malibu and Thousand Oaks. To our north, the devastating Camp Fire has laid waste to much of the town of Paradise, is threatening Chico, and is among the smokiest I have ever experienced. If anything the air quality in San Francisco is even worse than it was during last year’s wine-country fires, which were much closer.
We’re mostly hiding indoors during this time, at least as much as we can. Even just opening the patio door for a minute left my eyes watering and nose as if I was just breathing straight out of a charcoal grill. Yesterday, Sam Sam seemed quite distressed as the particulates seeped into HQ (mostly from the main hallway). Today is slightly better, and she is more like her normal goofy self, including showing off her scratch’n’roll.
But she still is finding places to hide – if I can smell the smoke, I can only imagine it’s much more intense for her. Yesterday, before I left for work, she jumped up on my chest and snuggled in, wanting me to stay and be close. I had to go, but came home as soon as I could after my in-office responsibilities were done.
We do also worry about our pal Marlon in Oakland, who spends much of his time outside.
The light from the smoky skies is stunningly beautiful. It’s amazing how such beauty can arise from something as awful as this.
But in all, we need to put our challenges in perspective. I can’t imagine the horror and pain people in the fire zones are going through, losing their homes, fearing for their loved ones, and of course their companion animals. The messages I see from people searching for their missing cats, or the heartbreak of not being able to rush home to rescue them, is painful and our hearts go out to them. Other animals, too, of course, as we hear about horses, dogs, and birds.
Both north and south zones have evacuation shelters for those who have small or large animals. In the north, Butte County has set up a line for those who either find and are searching for lost pets in coordination with North Valley Animal Disaster Group.
Reporting Lost Pets: Please contact the North Valley Animal Disaster Group at 530.895.0000 to report lost pets in evacuated areas. #CampFire@NVADG@BC_PubHealth
NVADG is active both in trying to locate and rescue lost pets, as well as running multiple shelters for those with animals. From their website:
NVADG is providing emergency animal sheltering and where and when allowed will evacuate and/or care for animals in evacuation areas. Animal shelters will be established at:
Small Animal Shelter: 2279 Del Oro Avenue, Oroville. Off Nelson near the County Center and Highway 70.
Small Animal Shelter 150 Airpark Dr, Chico at the Chico Airport Large Animals should be taken to the Rolling Hills Casino Equestrian Center off Highway 5 in Corning
If you want to donate to NVADG, please consider a cash donation. It gives us the flexibility we need and we will definitely need it! Donate on our website or send a check to NVADG, PO Box 441, Chico, CA 95927.
We certainly hope all the fires around our home state are brought under control soon, and the air returns to normal as well. Then the hard work of rebuilding begins…
Today we visit with our feline friends in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland. First up is Marlon, formerly known as “Fluffy.”
Despite living outdoors, he is healthy and well-fed, and clearly has a past that includes life as a pet cat. He loves people and didn’t need much convincing to spend time indoors. Indeed, he is living it up with his indoor time, getting food and scritches and soft blankets to relax on.
He is a big fellow but has a tiny voice that sounds more like “merp” than “meow”. I don’t yet have any video of his vocals, but you can see him thoroughly enjoying himself in this Instagram video with the music of John Schott playing in the background.
You can hear more of John Schott and his Actual Trio in this CatSynth TV video. In the meantime, let’s check in with Sophia, formerly known as “Hissy.”
As one can see in this photo, she is a beautiful cat, with Siamese-like markings and a graceful bearing. We think she might have once been a pet as well, but she is still extremely skittish around people. I mostly just get a glimpse of her from a distance and she runs off at any attempts to get closer. But she usually remains hidden nearby when Marlon is around. The two of them seem to have a special bond, despite their divergent attitudes towards humans.
We hope all our human and feline friends have a lovely weekend.
