Big Day Today

Hi, Internet! It's been a busy day. Nonnie and I went out for a walk this morning, which included a visit to her favorite shop (we got some stuff for Emmie's new addition -- see below). Then I went out for a 2-mile run, which is notable because it was actually cool enough to run outside -- the high today was only supposed to get into the mid-80s! (Yeah, I'm also surprised to find myself typing "mid-80s" and "cool" in a related way!)

After a quick bite of lunch, I closed down the kitchen and set up shop for soap making. It was my first try at it, and because of the caustic nature of the process, it must be done with care and without anyone else around. And I managed to finish without any chemical burns or damage to the kitchen! (I don't yet know how the soap came out, as it will have to cure for a while, but I'll post an update once this batch is done.)

And from there, I popped over to Emmie's to meet the newest member of the family! That's right! The 10K brood has expanded to include a one-pound kitten named Greta! She's had a rough couple of days (here's her backstory, written by novelist Cherie Priest, who has recently returned to Chattanooga), so she was feeling more sleepy than sociable. But she did pose for a quick photo before falling asleep -- say hello to Greta, everyone!

Are you trying to muscle me?

I've mentioned our neighbor's feline, Boris, a couple of times before. He's a handsome guy (click on the following links for some photos) and patrols the neighborhood vigilantly -- he's a very social beast and enjoys making his rounds.

He's also a pretty tough cat (even though he does seem to have a bit of a fear of heights) who is bold and stubborn when it comes to his fellow creatures. I regularly find evidence in my yard that he's something of a fowler -- but nothing like what I encountered recently in the shade garden that sits between my house and my car.

Do you think this means Boris wants us to give his adopted family's crooning godson a role in a movie?

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Friday Creature

Well, there's not much to say this evening except that my heart aches for so many people in Japan. The earth is definitely ramping up some volatility and hopefully we humans will do something to mitigate our contributions to the problem sooner rather than later.

But in the meantime, as much as is possible, have a great weekend, everyone! The Friday Ark is steady as always, and many critters can be found there. My contribution this week will be a cat (or two) that I think you've seen before (and will probably see again). In this image, I feel the weight of a suspicious eye.

Friday Creature

Welcome to the weekend! Is anyone else out there ready for spring? This has definitely been the winter-y-est winter we've had since I moved to the South! And elsewhere, the amounts of snow and depths of cold are staggering! We're coming up on Goundhog Day this week and I can only hope that Wednesday proves to be a gloomy day, so that we can stick a fork in this frigid season sooner rather than later.

Still no Ark at The Modulator this week, but next Friday will see its triumphant return! In the meantime, here is a lovely cat enjoying some family time. Have a great one, everyone! Be safe, warm, well and content!

Friday Creature

Whoo, yay! It's Friday! If you're reading this, you made it -- well done!! Glad to have you along for another Friday Creature! I need to take a break from the birds this week, so instead, I bring you this feline from last Christmas (other creatures are queueing up on the Ark all weekend!) -- have a great one, folks! May it be a safe, happy and restorative time for you!

Friday Creature

Happy New Year, everyone!!! This is a xmas morning cat, contemplating the latest toy to be added to the arsenal.

Enjoy the long holiday weekend, folks! Stay safe, warm and happy! (And don't miss the first Ark of 2010!)

Friday Creature

Here are the two cats I've featured recently, only now they're together and facing a mysterious other. There's so much intrigue there, I had to add a little soundtrack. Stay tuned, as next week, the shadowy figure will be revealed! Can you handle the drama?

Have a great weekend, everyone! We'll be in transition here, as Emmie moves back to campus and we brace ourselves for the first day of classes on Monday (how this could be allowed to happen before Labor Day is a completely mystery to me!). Summer, we hardly knew ye! Of course, the creatures of the ark are steady as always...

Get sound effects & royalty free music at AudioMicro.

Friday Creature

As part of the continuing series of creatures from my summer vacation, here is a housemate to the extremely gregarious cat I posted last time. This feline, though, is a bit standoffish, like a more typical cat, so we didn't see her as often.

Happy August, everyone! It's that transitional month between the pure summer joy and heat of July to the cool, breezy relief and busyness of September. Even while we're trying to cram that last bit of holiday fun into our days, we're also looking forward to autumn and the return to routine. And through it all, there are always and ever the creatures of the ark! Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Friday Creature

More of the creatures from my summer vacation... this one is a very active and friendly cat who just wore herself out. Fortunately, she found a nice patch of sun to nap in.

Be sure to check out the other creatures on the ark and have a wonderful weekend!

Overdue things you may have missed

I meant to run through these things over the weekend, but that ended up being too busy and fun-filled, and before I knew it, it was Monday! Ack!

• Are there cancer vaccines on the horizon?

• If you're into gymnasts or stunts, you'll dig this guy.

• Why are so few Christians vegetarian?

• Oh, dear Dog, Tennessee has distinguished itself yet again. I've been living here for almost 20 years, and I'm still waiting for us to get a bit of national press for something that isn't humiliating...

• Here's a no-brainer: kids need to move around more. In other breaking news, crunchberries are not really fruit.

• Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year results!

• I don't know if I can go through life without experiencing a Kogi Taco.

• A lovely collection of iconic portraits.

• Bill O'Reilly: ignoramus or liar?

• Buy beer, not porn.

• Awww. A rat and his cat!

And finally, what looks like the Topic of the Week, health care. Here are a few links, and then come commentary from Bill Maher:

• Wow. In today's America, Sixty percent of bankruptcies are due to medical bills. That is a staggering number. Is there still anyone left out there who doesn't believe we need health care reform, and fast?

• Here's another sobering tidbit: People are now not filling prescriptions to save money.

(via One Good Move)

Friday Creature

I'm calling this one "Standoff!" A couple of weeks ago, you got to meet Boris, the Russian Blue who lives across the street, when he got stuck in a tree. Well, this past week, Nonnie got to meet Boris, and as it turns out, Boris has some balls of steel on him.

There's a low fence that runs between our yard and the carport, to keep Nonnie from getting out into the road when we're pulling cars in and out of the gated fence that runs around the perimeter of our yard. Ordinarily, Nonnie has to stay on the yard side of the fence. But when she noticed that Boris was poking around our yard, she became very frantic -- running, jumping barking and causing all kinds of a stir. Other cats have come into our yard and gotten similar treatment, but they have always fled with all due haste. Boris just sat there in the carport and looked at Nonnie as if to say, "you bore me."

It didn't take long for me to get tired of the drama, so I figured I could get Boris to leave, thereby calming the dog down, if I just let Nonnie into the carport so she could chase the cat away. As I opened the gate, Nonnie quickly slipped through it, lunged at Boris -- and then the unexpected happened: Boris stood his ground. He was not going anywhere. He drew himself up, puffed out his fur, flung out his claws and hissed his loudest at Nonnie. And that abruptly stopped Nonnie's assault.

From that point on, they circled each other, neither willing to concede any ground and, after a few more lunges, neither willing to fight. I took some pictures for a few minutes but didn't want to let things go on too long, lest they get out of hand, so I finally separated the two so that I could chase Boris away. He hasn't been back so far, but Nonnie's been keeping a very vigilant eye out, lest he should return.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone (and a happy Norwegian Constitution Day and my mother's birthday on Sunday)! There are, as always, creatures!

Friday Creature

There was quite the street drama here in the neighborhood last week when Boris, the Russian Blue who lives across the street, got stuck on the lowest branch of a very, very tall tree.

He spent the night up there and by morning, everyone in the vicinity could hear that he was very unhappy with his options for getting down. After giving over part of the afternoon in an effort to coax and/or prod him down, our heroic neighbor finally climbed up quite a long ladder to retrieve the cat, who was, by then, beside himself. Afterward, Boris did his best to pretend it had been some other cat up there making all that noise all morning...

Happy Friday, Mayday, Beltaine and International Workers' Day, everyone! The creatures are, as always, boarding the ark all weekend. Have a great one (if you haven't read it yet, check out my 2005 post about one of Chattanooga's most bizarre May Day traditions)!

Friday Creature

G-Dog and I spent our holiday last weekend with friends, holed up in a cabin in Blue Ridge, GA. When we ventured out to explore the town, I ran into this enormous cat (the photo doesn't really show his size, but check out his huge feet!). He wasn't interested in any kind of interaction, but I did manage to snap this picture while he was trying to get away.

Have a great weekend! As always, the Modulator's Ark has your full spectrum of critters!

Halloween Links

Check out these pet costumes!	Yes We Carve.
The innocent victims.	Creepy (and true) Urban Legends.
Scariest TV Shows.	Halloween Music!
One of the scariest things ever.	Online Halloween Fun.
Rate This Pumpkin.	Halloween Science.
This is what happens when you don't weed the kittens!	Treats: the Best and the Worst.
Five Things You Didn't Know.	Horrifying Sounds of Halloween.
Best Horror Movies.	Vintage Horror Movie Posters.
Free Online Horror Movies.	Candy Code!
Happy Howl-a-ween Puppies.	20 Most Awesome Pumpkin Carvings.
5 Candies You Hated Getting Every Halloween.	Old-school Costumes.
Best Ghost Stories.	Cool Carvings.
Halloween Public Service Announcement (here too).	Mech Walker Costume.
Dress Up.

Friday Creature

Well, here we are, back on the cusp of another weekend! And of course, we can't get there without first paying our respects to the Friday Ark! Have a fun, safe and relaxing weekend, everyone! Here's a monochrome cat to take you in!

Christian

I know there is a lot of juicy political news out there this week (the short version: McCain is an idiot; Obama is a rock star), but I haven't been engaged in it as much as I usually am. I've been working on some summer projects and generally not in a processing/writing/ranting sort of mood. But while I'm working on the house and dealing with some server issues, here's a great story you might enjoy:

(more here)

Friday Creature

Since I'm posting this from western New York (after two long days in the car) and don't want to miss out on family gathering fun, I'll just let the cats of Turkey speak for themselves.

Have a great weekend (You know the drill!)!

Friday Creature

I met this incredible cat with amazing brown eyes when we went to visit an artist last week, just a few days after Christmas. The artist was brilliant and talked quietly about his work while letting us peak through the many pieces in his studio. We very much enjoyed our visit and while we were there, this cat fell in love with one of my ankles and would not leave it alone or let go (this second photo is by Emmie):

I hope and trust the new year is working out for everyone. Be healthy, warm and at peace as we all find out what 2008 has in store for us. And when you have a chance, go check out the first ark of 2008! Have a great weekend!

Links from the Tubes

The phone records of DC Madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey have recently emerged from the darkness, and everyone from Larry Flint to bloggers and reporters are having fun combing through the list. David Vitter (Republican Senator from Louisiana and great friend of Republican president wannabe Rudy Giuliani) is the latest holier-than-thou hypocrite to be caught with his pants down. Who will be next? Maybe you'll be the one to find him out! Check your favorite politician's phone numbers here!

Still planning your upcoming summer vacation? Have you lined up a trip from Point A to Point B and are now wondering how much longer it would take to add Point C to the mix? Via soundstripe comes the news that Google Maps has a new feature that will help you out!

And finally, maybe you've visited Cats in Sinks before (especially if you've ever gone trolling through my blogroll), but have you ever seen the likes of this beast?