It's time to close out Friday Cat Blogging 7, and inaugurate Friday Cat Blogging 8. I do this every few months to speed loading of those graphics-heavy pages.
Did you know I have a page just for Cat WebRings?
And here are links to:
Every so often I consider not doing Friday Cat Blogging anymore, then I look at my search engine referrals and reconsider. Cats are very popular creatures.
In case you didn't know.
Watermark is hosting the Carnival of the Cats this week! The more, the merrier -- send your catblogging URL to submissions (at) carnivalofthecats.com or (our strong preference) use The Carnival Submission Form before 5:00 PM mountain time on Sunday.
This Labor Day weekend, let's honor our feline comrades, who keep our lives spider and rodent-free: the working cats:
www.flickr.com
More photos in working cats
There is a long history of working cats. The following excerpts are from Wikipedia: History of Cats:
The exact history of human interaction with cats is still somewhat vague. The earliest written records of attempts to domesticate cats date back to ancient Egypt, circa 4000 BC, where cats were employed to keep mice and rats away from grain stores in order to prevent food poisoning . . .
Vikings used cats as rat catchers and companions and are sometimes credited with the domestication of the Norwegian Forest Cat, or Skogkatt . . .
The human killing of cats in the Middle Ages has also been cited as one of the reasons for the spread of bubonic plague - the Black Death, which was spread by the increased rodent population caused by the death of so many cats . . .
The cat is highly respected in Islam because of tales that the prophet Muhammad approved its domestication by one of his companions. This companion was nicknamed "Abu Hurairah" or "Father of the little cat". In Islam, it is considered a commendable act to feed a cat milk. There are numerous stories about cats in Islam. One story tells of a cat that saved Muhammad from being bitten by a deadly snake. In another tale, when Muhammad was called to prayer he found his cat Muezza asleep on the sleeve of his robe; the prophet cut off the sleeve rather than disturb his cat. In a famous Hadeeth, a woman was doomed to Hell after she kept a cat till it starved to death . . .
So don't forget to give your cat its wages: milk, cream, sardines -- whatever its union demands.
There are several websites that honor our feline coworkers, including: Shopcat.com; Working Company Cats; The Adventures of Ripley, the Office Cat; and Shoelace, the Costume Shop Cat. There's even a WebRing for working cats: WWWCW (World Wide Working Cats on the Web).
There are also some interesting articles: Barn Cats; Working Cats; and a nice piece on our more modern working cat:
. . . Those of you who are reading this from home may have a cat supervising your computer efforts and you will understand the vital role that a cat can play in your daily activities.
Authors have long known about the value of cat assistants, but that information should be more widely disseminated.
A well-drilled office cat knows when to purr in approval and when to sit quietly when you are on a conference call. If you persist in staring at the monitor for too long, your concerned cat will generally interrupt you gently at first, then more aggressively. In extreme cases of monitor fixation, cats will walk on the keyboard and insist on being picked up, thus effectively breaking the trance that occurs when handling interminable emails . . .
To which Marjorie comments: I noticed that your cat has not forgotten an important traditional role from days of old... keeping an eye on the modern day mouse.
Finally, Moggies has a whole page of links about the ultimate working cats: Heroic Felines
These cats don't work. They're not on the dole, exactly; they're more like ... royalty.
To keep yourself entertained between now and the Carnival, go visit:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
Inspired by yesterday's post, a few evil kitty cats:
www.flickr.com
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These cats hate you:
www.flickr.com
|
And no wonder:
www.flickr.com
|
Don't be messin' with Spike, either:
For some no doubt kinder, gentler creatures, try:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
May you all have a lovely weekend. And if you're bored, just reload the page for new photos.
May you not be that bored.
Ooohh, the sillyweb has lots to offer on this topic! First, the ubiquitous blog quiz:
| You Are: 30% Dog, 70% Cat |
 You're both smart and in charge - with a good amount of attitude. However, you do have a very playful side that occasionally comes out! |
Then we have the flickrTagFight, which the cats are consistently winning:
Why Dogs are Better Pets Than Cats
Cats Vs. Dogs: Which is better?
Cats vs. Dogs: Behind Whom Should the Nation Throw Support?
At my house, we have a negotiated peace:
More cats, dogs, and other critters for your weekend viewing pleasure:
Friday Ark Centennial Edition!
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
The CATS/DOGS image at the top of this post was made with the Web2.0V2LogoCreatr and a bit of cut & paste. Here, for example, is a fridaycatblogging2.0V2LogoBeta:
Today, in honor of my friend Davi (Certified Yoga Instructor) a rerun of Feline Spirituality from July 2004 -- including pointers on doing yoga with your cat:
Last month we learned to dance with our cats; today we will explore the spiritual side of the cat-human relationship. Let's begin with a Cat Meditation from The Meditative Cat.
Now that we are centered, it is time for yoga with our cats. These instructional videos from Yoga Kitty ("Clearing Past Karmas", "Electromagnetic Frequency" and "Self-Identification Meditation") present a practical, step by step guide for humans & their cats to activate their fullest potential, allowing man, woman, & feline to dwell in the ecstasy of physical, mental, & spiritual health:
After a few weeks of yoga practice with your cat, you may be ready for the next step: an exploration of Eastern Philosophy, Buddhism, and Spiritual Development with Dharma the Cat:
That's it for today. Go in peace, my siblings.
Oh, wait! This week's roundup (I'm sure it's all very peaceful...):
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
Much has been neglected lately, in this heat and odd mood of mine: dogs, cats, Watermark...
The blog suffers most, of course, as it can't bark or meow or beg outright. So, even later than late, this (last) week's roundup:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
Stay cool, my friends.
Original photo by Bonnie Pinkerton|Hockneyized with fd's flickr toy
This is the cat that has stolen my mother's heart. Somehow, though, she (my mother) has managed to tear herself away from her (Gracie, the cat) to come visit me. She (my mother) will be here this evening, just in time for a cooling spell -- I'm told we may get all the way down to the upper 80's.
You may have noticed that I am still on vacation, more or less. My quiet life has been a bit noisier than usual, and my energy has been otherwise spent. I'll be back to post more regularly soon, though.
In the meantime, you could visit:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
And here is more Gracie:
Photos by Bonnie Pinkerton
Yep, that about says it. At least we aren't dealing with tornados and power outages, so we may whimper and whine and stick out our tongues, but we really can't seriously complain.
So it's bit late, but here's the Friday roundup:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
Stay cool, all you fur persons and feather persons and other persons of all sorts.
There are Spike & Boo; and here's the Friday roundup:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
... and this is all I'm doing, all day:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
So, what are you doin'?
[I'm on vacation. This was originally posted Friday, 11 June 2004]
". . . women who practiced it were labelled as evil witches and burned at the stake along with their cats.Indeed, it seems very likely that it was women swishing their brooms in front of cats in order to excite them to dance so they could join them and attain "higher states and magic cures", that led to the absurd notion of witches riding aloft on broomsticks with their cats."
From The History of Feline Dance at Dancing With Cats.
This highly informative site also includes such gems as:
Feline Dance Classes: Do I need to attend dance classes before I try dancing with my cat? How do I find a cat dancing class? What should I look for in a cat dancing tutor?
Pre–Dance Exercises, including the most excellent simple purring technique
Finally, a new internet router and booster later, we are ready to celebrate!
Not that cats need an independence day -- they are quite independent without any flowery documents proclaiming so. Actually, cats have no objection to royalty, as long as they're it.
Continue reading "Carnival of the Cats #119 - Independence Edition" »
Immediately following the last post, my Internet connection went down entirely, and has been sporadic since. I am progressing, but in fits and starts. New equipment arrives tomorrow, and it may be tomorrow before I am able to finish the Carnival of the Cats post.
Please bear with us...
I keep reminding myself that this is not a serious thing. This is a frivolous thing. This is not something to fret about.
Right? Right??
My human is worse than a dog.
She slept in. She's groggy. The internet is slow. A bunch of folks did not use the handy cut & paste carnival submission forms. She's full of excuses. She begs your forgiveness.
Bottom line: the Carnival will be posted a bit late.
She apologizes.
Hey, have you heard...?
We're hosting the Carnival of the Cats this week!
To join the fun, send your catblogging URL to submissions (at) carnivalofthecats.com or (our strong preference) use The Carnival Submission Form before 5:00 PM mountain time on Sunday.
If you haven't enough to do this weekend, you might drop in on:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
I'm sure you have nothing else to do, right?
And, of course, these:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
Have a fun & quirky weekend!
Another unexpected treasure in the mail -- from GoddessDaughter (look at those stamps! That's Katherine Anne Porter.)
This gem is from MyCatHatesYou, which is just chock full of mean, nasty, dissipated and dislikeable felines. In fact, it claims to have the largest collection of sour-faced, indignant felines on the Internet, many of whom show their foul dispositions in this book. My favorite so far is a Torti (named Kevin?!) preparing to puree a Siamese Fighting Fish in a blender.
Now, I know something about bad cats:
Not only does he steal the dogs' teddy bears for this activity, but he really has no interest in them other than... well, you know.
What? You doubt me?! I have proof, but only if you think you can stand it. Those of you who have seen it before will no doubt want to skip it this time.
But you know, there just is something about bad cats; they're like bad men -- there is something compellingly attractive about them. For example, these Hitler Cats (via Woot!) and this ginger cat who treed a bear (via Lady Crumpet's Armoire.) Said cat has posted in the gothamist comments, btw. Ginger cats are the worst, I tell ya.
Do you know a bad cat? Tell us!
More cuteness, less badness:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
Calvin & Hobbes swiped from How to Save the World,
who swiped it from, well, you know... Click for larger image.
Today we have some old favorites, and some new finds:
Scare the Cat
Cat vs. Hammer
CitiKitty
Cat Bathing as a Martial ArtVia web zen
Cat Wash
Baby animals
Animal world mapVia Look At This
And, of course, the usual roundup:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
It's raining here in western Montana; how is it with you?
This is my mother's cat, Gracie:
Photo by Bonnie Pinkerton ~ click for larger image
As you can see, she is quite a serious reader; and she has chosen some excellent reading for you today.
She recommends two posts from Prairie Mary: Cute Cats and Cats are not for Pussies. 3 Quarks Daily offers Frederica Krueger, Killing Machine, and we have a sad, moving post from molly: Of Best Friends.
All of these posts were chosen for the high quality of the writing -- which means, they require some reading -- more than just a look and a chuckle.
But for a large selection of the latter, you might try:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
Gracie and I wish you a pleasant June weekend.
Six Habits of Effective Bloggers:
You think I'm kidding?
Sometimes managing #1 is a challenge; #2 is then a requirement. Without #3, this blog would no doubt have stayed in dim obscurity -- this is not how I imagined making The New York Times.
If your topic is narrow, you are likely to have a ready-made audience; all that is needed is to bring your blog to its attention -- assuming, of course, that you provide good content. If you are not blogging for business, or around some specific topic or hobby, then how will a potential reader find you? Well, one way is that they may stumble across you while looking for something else; cats, for instance.
Why would you be blogging, if not for work, or money, or politics, or some other specificity?
Maybe because blogging (that ugly, guttural word) is, itself, an art form. Or can be. Then blogging is simply a tool, or a medium -- like clay, or language. So one must learn to use this tool -- to sail this craft -- just as another artist must learn the qualities of canvas and paint and color, or whatever means of expression s/he uses.
That means some tedium; learning at least a bit of code, so that one can display that cat picture in the most appealing manner -- floated, or centered, or wrapped in text, as the case may be. It means learning how (and whether) to do a blogroll, and how to ping the services that send you readers, and how to market whatever art it is that you are making. And let's not pretend that marketing doesn't matter. If you didn't care whether anyone looked, you wouldn't put it online.
Somewhere around #4 & #5, you add your blog to yet another directory, and spend some time reading another blog -related blog, to see if there is something new to learn. And you learn it. Because if blogging is your art form, then you must keep exploring the techniques, the possibilities.
It's a different thing than using a blog to display some other kind of art -- paintings, or photographs, or poems. Then the blog is simply a gallery, or an online page. Many are, and quite good ones at that. But I mean something different -- something I don't even know yet. Something I am discovering as I go.
The most important thing -- whether you are blogging for art, or blogging for business -- is the missing #6 on the list. It's idling.
Idling meaning, doing something, reading something, imagining something, apparently unrelated to blogging. Doing nothing. Meandering, physically or otherwise. While wandering about, one is likely to stub one's toe on an idea, or an image, or a link that sparks yet another, and another -- and then here you are, at the keyboard, blogging.
It's a challenge, that balance -- to take the time, the silence and solitude, to find something fresh; and to take the time, the noise and community, to stay connected and current. To write; to post.
But then, you can always take a break and go look at other people's cats:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
Do be sure to visit Eatstuff's Weekend Cat Blogging this week, which has some very fun shots of a possum; and I and the Bird at Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding is absolutely amazing.
Endment has expressed some gentle skepticism about whether these:
and these:
...are really the same creatures. What can I say? The clothes make the dog.
They were called adorable! by a stranger on the riverpath again this morning.
Then there's Spike, who has never been referred to as adorable:
Handsome, bullying, beautiful, aggressive, demanding, intrusive, and rude, yes; but never adorable.
Boo, on the other hand, has one major descriptive, and that is ...
... sweet.
For other critters of various appearance and temperament, visit:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
At our house, we are all retreating to the shade. You?
APPY MOTHER'S DAY!
Photo by Bonnie Pinkerton ~ click for larger image
This Special Edition of the 112th Carnival of the Cats is brought to you in honor of Gracie, my mother's cat and devoted companion. My mom has been catless for years, sadly -- and now Gracie has come to boss her around and keep her purr company. Pretty comfortable looking cat, isn't she?
Mom is trying to decide if she can bear to leave Gracie, and come to see me. What would you do?
While you think that over, on with the Carnival:
They certainly look guilty:
Remember to send your catblogging URL to submissions (at) carnivalofthecats.com or (our strong preference) use The Carnival Submission Form before 5:00 PM mountain time on Sunday.
If you haven't enough to do this weekend, you might drop in on:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
Newspaper Generator via ProBlogger
[This post is being totally weird, and I don't know if it's TypePad or Flickr that is acting up -- but I have to walk away for awhile. I'll come back later to try to fix it.]
And, um, I kinda messed this up -- I accidentally put yet another banner up, without realizing it was active -- so I don't know what banner people voted on.
Sorry.
Tomorrow I'll post all the options, and we'll start again.
You would be mistaken to think that only humans engage in online social networking. Cats, contrary to common wisdom, are very social animals:
Are cats really as unsociable as we think? Studies over the last thirty years suggest that cats develop complex and fluid matriarchal hierarchies and that they have preferred buddies
For years, 'experts' have told cat owners that domestic cats are solitary creatures who dislike the company of other cats. No doubt cat owners have viewed the communal sleep heap on the armchair with puzzlement, wondering whether it is the cats or the experts who have their facts wrong . . .Only in the last few decades have domestic cats been recognised as social animals (at least by scientists). Previously they were seen as little more than multicoloured, tame versions of their solitary African wildcat ancestors. While the ancestors of our domestic cats may have been solitary hunters in the forests of Europe and Africa, domestic cats frequently live in harmonious groups; playing, sleeping and even hunting together. Many form close attachments to other cats and even to other domestic animals.
This opinion is shared by other experts, including Janet and Steven Alger, authors of Cat Culture: The Social World of a Cat Shelter:
. . . the anti-social cat is a myth; cats form close bonds with humans and with each other. In the potentially chaotic environment of a shelter that houses dozens of uncaged cats, they reveal a sense of self and build a culture—a shared set of rules, roles, and expectations that organizes their world and assimilates newcomers.
This explains why Spike insisted on joining The Gorgeous Gingers, even though he already belongs to Catster, and has lots and lots of friends.
Of course, it's true that he is quite gorgeous:
Boo and Spike both have joined Attack of the Tabbies, a blog for Tabbies and Torbies who have decided that being big and wild is not preferable to having a warm bed and being lovable. Spike is certainly fierce enough to fit into this group, but Boo is more on the loveable side:
She is actually quite shy, but does belong to Catster as well, where she has even more friends than Spike.
If you know of some creatures in need of socializing, you might send them to:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
EDITED TO ADD: This was posted before I realized that today is National Hairball Awareness Day. (Warning: a disgusting popup, on a hairball article, yet.):
An occasion for cat owners to get all choked up about
By Jeff Gammage
There's nothing quite like the sound of a hacking cat.
Nothing so distinctive, so dissonant, so, well, disgusting. Because if you're a cat owner, you know what comes next. . .
"Usually you find them in the morning, with your bare feet" . . .
Thanks, Laurence.
Spike being nice to Boo:
This is not an everyday occurrence. In fact, I have this notice taped to the back door:
That's a Spike warning. He's sweet, but he's a bully. An affectionate bully. Right this minute there are howls and screeches coming from upstairs; that's Spike chasing Boo, demanding to be loved. We've all encountered creatures like this, of one sort or another, haven't we?
For more creatures, bullies and otherwise, try:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
May you have a lovely spring (or autumn) weekend.
From Creating Passionate Users, we have the cutting-edge, high-tech, Hello Kitty Psycho-Analysis:
This poem-a-day thing is tiring. She has no energy left for ME! This is unnacceptable. Why couldn't I have chosen a regular-type human, instead of a poet, of all things. I don't know what I was thinking. It's very annoying.
If you have time for critters this weekend, you can find them here:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
APPY
PRING
This is the Catster Montana Cats angel, courtesy of Miss Muppet, with the assistance of wingman Uncle Brent. Cousin Sue's Montana cat PeeWee (AKA Bibs) recently discovered that, angelic or not, she doesn't actually have wings:
Photos by Sue Pinkerton ~ click images to embiggen
Yep, she fell out of the tree. You can see that she has decided to hold fast to ground for awhile.
More winged and wingless creatures:
Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Circus of the Spineless
Weekend Cat Blogging
Have a springy weekend, and may your roof not leak.
Hmmm. Oddly, the only Interesting photos on flickr today are cats:
Which gives me an opportunity to close out Friday Cat Blogging 6, and begin Friday Cat Blogging 7. For those who think cats cats & only cats is just fine, here are my other Friday Cat Blogging links:
CATS ~ webrings, communities, & etc; and Cat Links ~ websites & blogs.
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