This morning, I acquired the new Silverlake lens and film pack for the Hipstamatic iPhone app and tried it out on Luna. After a few attempts, I got this particularly nice portrait.
I like that even through the filter, Luna’s green eyes stand out.
She was also quite talkative, and I captured a short iPhone video where you can hear her sweet little voice:
The Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at the Tuxedo Gang Hideout.
And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.
This week’s Photo Hunt theme is easy. We have tons of monochrome photos, from art photos to snapshots and everything in between. Here is a snapshot of Luna taken this morning with a black-and-white film preset on the iPhone Hipstamatic app:
This photo, with Luna walking among the chrome pillars around CatSynth HQ, could have easily worked for last week’s theme as well.
Looking back, I have definitely moved between periods of color and black-and-white in my photography. 2010 was probably the most monochromatic year for me. Here is a monochromatic close-up portrait of Luna I used for a Weekend Cat Blogging back in 2010.
We should do some more portraits like that again this year.
My video from last week’s performance came out quite dark, and ended up being a de-facto monochromatic piece with a purple tint. I encourage visitors to check it out in yesterday’s gig report.
The Saturday Photo Hunt is up. This week’s theme is Monochrome.
The Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at Mind of Mog.
And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.
For today’s Photo Hunt theme of Upper, we dug back into the archives for this photo of Luna on the upper ledge at CatSynth HQ:
Fortunately, she doesn’t walk up there too often (at least not when I’m around to witness it.)
We have embarked on a major clean-up of the upper level of CatSynth HQ. Compared to previous cleaning projects, this may be most extensive and ruthless in several years. Here, Luna sits in her favorite upper-level perch as various bits of detritus pile up before meeting the final destiny.
I was able to get a lot done last weekend (and Luna was of course on hand to supervise), but there is still a long way to go. This is as much a project of renewal as it is cleaning. Making way for the new…
The Saturday Photo Hunt is up. This week’s theme is UPPER.
The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted tomorrow by the Florida Furrkids.
And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.
We at CatSynth were inspired by our friends at Animal Shelter Volunteer Life and all the wonderful photos of the shelter cats at PAWS in Connecticut and made a donation late last year. We ended up sponsoring a cat named Toni.
It turns out Toni was featured on Animal Shelter Volunteer Life back in November, but we didn’t make the connection. But I was reminded about Toni this past week when I received a note from PAWS saying the she was adopted! This is of course the best news for a shelter cat, and for us to know that the sponsorship is no longer needed because she found a home.
As we have mentioned many times on this site, Luna was also adopted from a shelter. Please consider adopting a shelter cat or rescue cat in your community if you are looking for a new companion.
Carnival of the Cats will be hosted tomorrow by Socks & Scylla.
And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.
We have another exceptionally cute Instagram of Luna this week:
This is another instance of our morning ritual where I put on my shoes – indicating that I am probably about to leave – and Luna comes running over and rolls around on the rug. She clearly wants me to stay and play with her, but the best I can do is promise to come back later. This leads to a roundabout entry in this week’s Photo Hunt, where the theme is Promise.
The Saturday Photo Hunt is up, with the theme of Promise.
The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted this Sunday by Nikita and Elvira.
And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.
Earlier this week, we had rehearsals at CatSynth HQ for my Thursday-night performance as the poetry-and-music duo “Pitta of the Mind.” And Luna was on hand to supervise and support.
Her annoyed expression has more to do with the camera flash than anything else. She was very curious and hung out with us during the rehearsal, which was great to see as she is usually quite shy. And of course, she is quite used to the strange sounds from the iPad and modular synth.
The show itself was great, and will be the topic of a separate post in the near future.
The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted this Sunday by Samantha, Clementine and Maverick.
And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.
I took this Instagram of Luna napping on her beanbag chair in the studio area the other day. What could be more peaceful than a cat curled up in a favorite spot for a nap.
The image also brought to mind this week’s Photo Hunt theme of Haven at multiple levels. CatSynth HQ is itself a haven that protects us from the outside world. But within the overall expanse, the studio area provides another level of enclosure or refuge. And sinking into her beanbag chair, Luna finds a haven within a haven.
The theme also brings to mind the town of New Haven, Connecticut, where I attended Yale many years ago. I don’t have any photos of my own from that time, though I did do a Fun with Highways post about the town back in 2007.
The Saturday Photo Hunt is up. This week’s theme is Haven.
The Carnival of the Cats will be up on Sunday at iInfidel.
And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.
Late last year, I was heading to an opening at Southern Exposure in the Mission when I passed by this cat on the street:
The cat seemed familiar, and indeed it turns out we had encountered one another on the same street back in 2009! You can see some photos in this Weekend Cat Blogging article. It was great to see a cat here in the city with a long-term stable living situation, and the confidence to greet passers by on the street (albeit with laser eyes fully armed).
This neighborhood is mixture of residential buildings and converted factories and warehouses, not much greenery. Similar to the area around CatSynth HQ, actually. But there are lots of little cracks and places for a savvy cat to explore.
Oh, and the art opening was a mixed bag. There were some very interesting pieces, some others less so.
The Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at Mind of Mog.
And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.
It’s a new year, and Luna is ready to play.
She always seems particularly eager for attention when I am about to leave home, which point she launches into a rather effective guilt trip. But this week she has been getting quite a bit of extra attention, between the New Years vacation and my feeling under the weather the last few days. It has actually been a good time to catch up on cats and electronic music.
The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted tomorrow by Nikita and Elvira at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat.
And the Friday Ark is postponed until next week…
Weekend Cat Blogging is coming to an end as a public event with today’s edition, so we are going back to the first time Luna participated, back in August 2006.
Luna is much younger here, a skinny adolescent. This was also our first post to receive comments. It is sad to see Weekend Cat Blogging end officially, as it has been an important part of rhythm and structure of CatSynth, and a major way we met many of our regular friends. But times change. We will keep in touch with everyone though individual blogs as well as Facebook and Twitter. And we will continue to have our own “Weekend Cat Blogging” posts featuring Luna, and our annual wild-cats post near Earth Day.
Weekend Cat Blogging #394 is hosted by Jules and Vincent at Judi’s Mind Over Matter.
The Carnival of the Cats will be continuing into new year, and this week’s edition will be hosted at the Tuxedo Gang Hideout.
And the Friday Ark is at the modulator