Watermark

Mountain Ash

Carnival of the Cats #84 - Halloween Edition

Welcome to the Halloween Edition of the Carnival of the Cats -- this year ornamented with Halloweenish, cat-like photos from Flickr. And speaking of photos, if you would like your cat(s) to appear on the Carnival Of The Cats homepage banner, send some JPEG photos that are 200x150, 320x240 or 640x480 to laurence (at) isfullofcrap.com. Any additional notes about the cat would be helpful so he can add them to the cat's gallery caption.

And, Ferdy/Bruce are building a blogroll for catbloggers, so go check it out. I have one here, but must confess that I've not updated it in ages. You might also enjoy my CATS page, which I see is also out-of-date.

But on to this week's Carnival!
 

Uploaded by scottobear

TypePad Problems

Well, folks, you may notice a variety of issues here -- images come, and go; commenting comes, and goes; the weblog itself may come, and go.

I am also having posting problems, and am awaiting response from TypePad support. Since I am aware that they are having a series of difficulties, I don't expect to hear from them soon.

This week's Carnival of the Cats is due to appear here in about four hours -- keep your fingers crossed. I was nearly done with it when today's problems began.

Samhain Saturday Cat Blogging

This Monday is our national cat holiday:

 

This day, as is often the case with holidays, is a secularization of an ancient, sacred celebration:

Cats were -and still are- regarded as magickal creatures throughout the ages. The Egyptians revered the cat as an aspect of the goddess, Bast, and they mummified cats with all the ritual, pomp and circumstance that befitted such regal animals. Cats are depicted as drawing the heavenly chariots of various gods and goddesses in other cultural myths as well.

Possibly because of their decidedly nocturnal habits, felines have become associated with the night, stealth and mystery . . .

During the Inquisitions or "Burning Times' of the witchcraft trials and persecutions, cats were often tortured and killed along with the accused "witches." It was thought that witches could change into (shape-shift) cats or that cats could be possessed by evil spirits. The howl of a cat on the prowl has undoubtedly frightened more than one nocturnal traveler on a darkened footpath and the fact that cats seem to delight in sneaking up on folks hasn't helped their public relations image one bit either.

Satanic Panic and Black Cats, by Wren

OK, so I'm mixing things up a bit. Here is some history about Samhain:

Hallowe'en has its origins in the British Isles. While the modern tradition of trick or treat developed in the U. S., it too is based on folk customs brought to this country with Irish immigrants after 1840. Since ancient times in Ireland, Scotland, and England, October 31st has been celebrated as a feast for the dead, and also the day that marks the new year. Mexico observes a Day of the Dead on this day, as do other world cultures. In Scotland, the Gaelic word "Samhain" (pronounced "SAW-win" or "SAW-vane") means literally "summer's end."

Other names for this holiday include: All Hallows Eve ("hallow" means "sanctify"); Hallowtide; Hallowmass; Hallows; The Day of the Dead; All Soul's Night; All Saints' Day (both on November 1st).

For early Europeans, this time of the year marked the beginning of the cold, lean months to come; the flocks were brought in from the fields to live in sheds until spring. Some animals were slaughtered, and the meat preserved to provide food for winter. The last gathering of crops was known as "Harvest Home, " celebrated with fairs and festivals.

In addition to its agriculture significance, the ancient Celts also saw Samhain as a very spiritual time. Because October 31 lies exactly between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice, it is theorized that ancient peoples, with their reliance on astrology, thought it was a very potent time for magic and communion with spirits. The "veil between the worlds" of the living and the dead was said to be at its thinnest on this day; so the dead were invited to return to feast with their loved ones; welcomed in from the cold, much as the animals were brought inside. Ancient customs range from placing food out for dead ancestors, to performing rituals for communicating with those who had passed over.

You Call It Hallowe'en... We Call It Samhain, by Peg Aloi

The postcard at the top of this post is from VintagePostcards.com, which has a great variety of Halloween cat cards:

   

 

While you wait for Monday treats, here is some feline Halloween entertainment:

  Cat Origami

 Halloween     Cat       Humor        

 

CAT TOWN HALLOWEEN EGGS-TRAVAGANZA

Don't forget that tomorrow The Halloween Edition of  The Carnival of the Cats will be here at Watermark. Send in your entry via the Carnival Submission Form (my preference) or email to submissions (at) carnivalofthecats.com.

RELATED POSTS:

• Seasonal Scary Cats
  
• Happy Samhain
• Carnival of the Cats #136 - Halloween 2006 Edition
• OOoooooOOOOooooOOo!
• Carnival of the Cats #84 - Halloween 2005 Edition
• Halloween [Cat] Quizzes

 

Bringing the Cows Home

Friday Cat Blogging will occur later today, or possibly it will be Saturday Cat Blogging; today you get cows. And on Sunday, here at Watermark, will be The Halloween Edition of  The Carnival of the Cats! Send in your entry via the Carnival Submission Form (my preference) or email to submissions (at) carnivalofthecats.com.

Now from cousin Sue (PeeWee's person) we have cows, horses, and cousins (click images for larger view):

I love these photos; they say home.

For more critters to look at during news breaks this weekend, try:

Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Dogs
Carnival of the Cats

More Dream Oddness

Cross my heart -- this is what I woke from this morning:

The 1/8" tall man was jumping up & down and yelling & pointing. He had just found a very lively, tiny terrier and another miniature dog, and he wanted me to save them. I swore to myself then & there that I would do everything in my power to save this 1/8" man and his tiny dogs so he could tell his story of this Bush Administration experiment gone horribly wrong . . . 

As I woke, I saw this little man, jumping and waving, and heard the narration, just as transcribed.

It must be the drugs.

And now Harriett has withdrawn. What will I do with my November?

Snapshot 26 October 02005

It is a day of grey skies
and orange trees, strange
birds passing through.
Is this my life?

Ten years of mountain
weather and the leather
cord broke and the bell
fell from the gate,

copper bell and blue glass
beads scattered on stone.
This pain, what is pain?
It is just this

October moment, this
warbler with its tail up
in the air, looking for seeds
in the fenced garden.

TypePad Problems

From the SixApart Status Weblog:

10.25.2005

TypePad Service

The TypePad application is currently experiencing performance degradation. We are aware of the issue and are working hard to correct it as soon as possible.

& yes, this has been happening rather a lot lately.

Do You Like Your Job?

Given everything there is to think about this week, this may seem an odd one to choose, but -- I've noticed that a couple of my younger friends (30-ish) hate their jobs. In fact, they have hated all of their jobs, without exception, and I'm wondering what that's about. Is it a generational thing? Or just a coincidence that I happen to know these particular folks?

I have had a lot of jobs in my life -- grocery clerk, nurses' aide, waitress, data-entry clerk, secretary, executive secretary, therapist, program manager, agency director, psychiatric social worker -- and more. And I liked them all.

Of course, there's always something. An irritating coworker; an incompetent boss; an inadequate paycheck. And I was not an ideal employee by any means. I tended to be difficult. A boss once told me he wanted to fire me (I was always late) but he couldn't, since I was the best he had. Heh.

But still, I can't think of one job I didn't like. Even the ones I quit for one reason or another had redeeming qualities. Wonderful, funny coworkers; a boss I could learn from; good pay; challenging work. Something.

It occurs to me, I quit all of them, except the last. Maybe it has something to do with that? The confidence, and the economy to support the confidence, that there's another job around the corner? I always knew -- until I got sick -- that I could support myself; I could take care of myself; my skills were saleable.

It saddens me to see young people so unhappy, so miserable, so full of complaint. So I wonder, is this just the time, the generation? Is such unhappiness in the world, or in the individual? How would one go about changing it, when changing the job seems to have no effect?

Odd Dreams

My dreams are the center of my creativity. Even as a child, I treasured them. Now, at 57, I am well familiar with my own dream vocabulary. Though I am occasionally blessed with a dream that seems to carry some special significance, it is rare anymore for me to be completely surprised by some new dream imagery. I woke surprised this morning.

I must introduce this dream moment (only a small part of one of those complex, labyrinthine dreams that winds and twists and turns back on itself) by pointing out that I am one of those rare individuals who smoked marijuana a very few times in my youth, and didn't like it. So in this dream:

I am walking through a large, ancient house, and come upon an elaborate, dark room, filled with cats smoking hashish from glass bongs and hookas. The cats (and kittens!) are sprawled about on rugs and cushions, holding pipe stems between their paws, and looking extremely stoned. The pipes are beautiful, mouth-blown glass, lots of swirling colors. Everything is very exotic. Even the me in the dream is amazed.

Now, on writing this, it occurs to me that it may be a comment on my rather dazed response to the recent medication change. Maybe it means I'm about to come out of it?