weekend cat blogging

Weekend Cat Blogging #306

Luna inspects the equipment for the next show during a recent practice session:

UPDATE: Luna just posed more regally next to the Nord keyboard. I think it’s a better picture (what do you think?).

The Nord Stage continues to be the main workhorse for idiomatic music, such as the jazz, caberet, etc. that may work its way into the performance.  The iPad (barely visible here) will provide the experimental counterpoint.

And here is Luna with some of the “analog” instruments:

The prayer bowl will be part of the show tomorrow, but the toy piano and tablas probably will not.

Weekend Cat Blogging #306 is at Pam’s Sidewalk Shoes. Check out the great close-ups of all three cats.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted this Sunday by Pet and the Bengal Brats at Pet’s Garden Blog.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging #305

In the midst of all the other excitement going on, we at CatSynth are once again hosting Weekend Cat Blogging.  Honestly, we’d just like some extra time to rest, but we honor our commitments and are ready with our “WCB Street Sign” and this post.  And of course we look forward to seeing weekend feline friends old and new.

To participate, leave us a link to your cat-related post in the comments below.  You can also tweet us @catsynth with the hash tag #WCB.  We’ll add you to the round-up.  (Note that this week’s round-up will be a bit more sporadic and delayed given my focus on Open Studios this weekend and next week’s performance at the Marin Headlands, but it will be there.)

And so let us get on with the round-up.

It is usualy Jules who joins us from Judi’s Mind Over Matter, but this week it is Vincent who is featured.  It looks like he is enjoying some affection.

Arthur from Gattina’s My Cats and Funny Stories approves of a litterbox to have elegant surroundings.   As for us, we like the clean straight lines of the garden path.

It’s Caturday at Catsparella, which is when they feature a feline from one of there readers.  This weekend it is the aptly named Nosey Rosie, a cute tabby with an inquisitive nature.

There is some good news at The Chair Speaks, as Cinders is doing much better at recently being ill.  Here we see her resting in an airplane pose on newspaper and giving her thanks to all those who sent healing thoughts.

Speaking of newspapers, our friends at Animal Shelter Volunteer Life share the news that the well-informed newspaper-reading cat Conrad has been adopted.  They also list many other cats that have recently found their new homes.

Trees abound at Life From a Cat’s Perspective, where Samantha and Clementine interpret this week’s Photo Hunt theme of trees. They are also celebrating their 4th Blogoversary and we wish them well.

Over at Team Tabby, Moe says “This is what we do on Sunday“:

That sounds to us like a great way to spend a Sunday.

Naps are also good after a grooming session, as demonstrated by Luna and Zulu in their post :

They have the most amazing coloring.  It almost looks like one is an exact grayscale copy of the other.

Over at Pam’s Sidewalk Shoes, Coco reminds us to take time to smell the roses…err, tulips.  Something we at CatSynth need to keep in mind.

There are certainly times when we feel like this:

Check out the full size version from Kashim, Othello, Salome and Astrid at PaulChens FoodBlog?! for a cute image, even if “nobody’s home.”

At Whiskey Tango…Hello!, Allie and Chloe are showing off their better sides.  Readers can judge for themselves.

Finally, we have Meowza enjoying a nice day outside at Mind of Mog.

He stays happy and content via “canned kitty food, Temptations, mousies and lots of love.”

That concludes the round-up for this week.  Thanks to all who participated!

Weekend Cat Blogging #303: Red Stripe

Our busy schedule here at CatSynth continues unabated, with preparations for a second photo event in a couple of weeks and a new music project that requires quite a bit of practice.  Yesterday, instead of the usual Saturday morning Weekend Cat Blogging, I pulled off the cover of the Nord Stage keyboard to practice, and dropped the distinctive red dust cover (everything related to Nord keyboards is bright red) on the edge of Luna’s beanbag.  But that didn’t in anyway discourage her in anyway from curling up to take a nap – indeed, the dust cover almost looks like a brightly colored blanket.

It’s amazing how Luna can nap through just about any type of music.  This morning it was songs by the Cardiacs – a little different than our usual fare, but fun and challenging. You can get a taste for what this sounds like (and what Luna is putting up with) below:

Then again, it can’t be more challenging than some the very artificial experimental sounds that she hears living here.

Weekend Cat Blogging #303 is hosted by Kashim, Othello and Salome at PaulChens FoodBlog?!

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted today by Billy SweetFeets.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging: Video and photography

For Weekend Cat Blogging, we present another video of Luna looking out the window.  She is exciting about something she saw and is chattering away.  There is also a very cute expression about 30 seconds in.

Yes, I have quite a few videos of Luna chattering or “window-hunting.” It’s in part because it’s one of things that makes me want to record video rather than take still images. There is no time to edit this down, as I am busy preparing for the photo show next week. Here one can see one of the featured prints being prepared, as Luna shows her disdain for the whole process.

Weekend Cat Blogging #302 is being hosted by Samantha and Clementine at Life from a Cat’s Perspective.

Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at Pet’s Garden Blog.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging 301: A Sad Day

March 11 was a sad day.

It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our friend Mickey.

As mentioned earlier this week, he fell very ill and passed away on Friday. He (through his mom) first visited us in late 2007, and they have been regulars on our site ever since, as likely to comment on experimental music shows and photography as Luna’s feline antics. And in turn, we enjoyed getting to know them better through their site. Our thoughts go out to Mom Nancy and the rest of the family today.

We have been closely following the tragic events in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami. Images such as these are heartbreaking, and our thoughts are with the people of Japan right now. While every year brings multiple huge disasters, when it happens somewhere you have visited or affects people you know, it hits harder.

Our friends at Cats of Wildcat Woods have compiled a list of relief organizations. The Red Cross is always a good place to start, and now you can donate via text messages.

There is no information currently on Tashirojima, or “Cat Island”, which is off the eastern coast of Japan in Miyagi Prefecture, near epicenter of the earthquake and tsunami, but the fear is that the island was lost.

Weekend Cat Blogging #301 is hosted by Pam at Sidewalk Shoes.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at Two Little Cavaliers.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging #300: Return to Normal

Luna looks on at the jumble of furniture, on which the dotara is sitting post performance.  I actually like the geometric formation of the tables pushed together during the construction, and the contrast of the curved musical instrument.

The big concert is now over and done. It mostly went quite beautifully, except for one technical flaw that disrupted the final piece (more on this in a later post).  The construction is also now done.  So we are looking forward to life at home returning to normal.

We now have the time and opportunity to put the apartment back together, and do those mundane but necessarily things that make up normal life. Oh, and to relax and enjoy a little down time.  At least until the next big creative project begins.  I think we will be starting on Tuesday.

Weekend Cat Blogging #300 is hosted by Mog and Meowza at Mind of Mog. Like us, they seem a bit dazed.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted tomorrow by Nikita and Elivra at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging #299

Weekend Cat Blogging #299 will be hosted here at CatSynth.  It’s like hosting #300, but one less. This comes in the midst of a busy weekend, including a performance tomorrow night and preparations for a big concert one week from now, but with some proper rest we should be ready to handle everything.

As usual, to participate please leave a comment on this post with a link to your contribution, or you can tweet us @catsynth with hashtag #WCB.  (Note that we won’t get to the round-up until Sunday due to the performances and other commitments.)

And now let us get on with the round-up.

Cats love boxes.  It’s a well-comfirmed fact.  But if one needs even more evidence, check out this cute cat-in-a-box picture courtesy of Pam’s Sidewalk Shoes.

It looks like there is a campaign underway at Mom’s Sunday Cafe concerning someone’s desire for a new yellow truck with gray interior…or perhaps just an interesting color fashion statement:

Jules is a very patient model for his mom’s experiments with Photoshop at Judi’s Mind of Matter.  I do like the direction the image is going, pushing the contrast to an extreme, where only Jules and the wall sockets are visible.

Luna and Zulu T Katt share a photo of Zulu enjoying a drink in the faucet.  It’s interesting how some cats seem to enjoy running water while others do not – nowhere near the universal appeal of boxes.

We will continue with the round-up later this afternoon.

The Cats of Wildcat Woods have taken a more subtle approach to Photo Hunt: Mostly Black.  The tabbies and tortoiseshells including Woody, Chica and Joey all have black as part of their markings.  They are also looking for a home for mostly black cat Avon.  Please click on her Petfinder link to find out more info.

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At Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat, Elvira is enjoying her three two play cubes.

It looks like the last two have suffered from some rather enthusiastic clawing. She looks so innocent in that picture, though.

Finally, Tsunami is The Mighty Hunter Create with Joy:

We recognized Tsunami’s photo from this past Wordless Wednesday.

That concludes the Weekend Cat Blogging roundup for now. Thanks for being patient, and for the supporting words on the music events this week (last night’s performance in Oakland went quite well).

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Silhouette

This week’s Photo Hunt theme is silhouette, which is something that often happens with photos of Luna by chance if not by intention.

It is often a product of Luna’s black fur that the lighting extremes at CatSynth HQ.  But it can lead to interesting results.  I like the contrast of Luna’s black silhouette to the bright chrome and glass reflections in this next photo:

This was taken back on New Years Day.

Weekend Cat Blogging #298 will be hosted by Samantha and Clementine at Life from a Cat’s Perspective.

PhotoHunt 253 is hosted as always by tnchick. This week’s theme is Silhouette.

Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at When Cats Attack!.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging #297: Construction again

The on-again off-again construction at CatSynth HQ is finally on again for real. That meant Luna had to go back to boarding for a couple of days, but I brought her back home the weekend. Here we see her inspecting the state of the work:

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Hopefully it will be done early next week. The whole process has been a bit stressful for both of us. I hope letting Luna enjoy some time at home over the weekend is indeed better for her, and I’m not adding to her stress or exposing her to much fallout from the construction work. It’s certainly far less than what we went through in late 2008, so hopefully it’s OK.

Weekend Cat Blogging #297 is being hosted by Oliver and Noli at The Accidental English Teacher. This is their first time hosting!

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted by Nikita at Meowsing of an Opinionated Pussycat. This is definitely not his first time hosting.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator, back from hiatus.