my adoring fans

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

30 November 2013 - Sometimes submission is the path that must be chosen.  My peeps are very tactile creatures, so I often find myself swept up and slung over a shoulder or cradled in an arm...just so they can stroke my head and coo jibberish.  Really!  I am middle-aged, and they talk to me as if I were a wee kit, some assembly required.  First impressions are that they are soft in the head, but we have lived together long enough that I know otherwise.  So I suppress the urge to struggle or to flee, and give them five minutes of my time.  But only that, and then I politely squirm, and they snap out of their reverie and put me down.  The things I tolerate for these peeps....

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Being nice takes less energy.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

feline of the day - Cherry Pop, a champion Persian who was the poster cat for the Broward County Humane Society

a hidden agenda

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

29 November 2013 - Today has felt all wrong:  even as the sun pushed above the horizon, there were other vibrations originating beyond the domicile that competed for legitimacy and dominance, that compelled one to rise and rush out... and then the peeps put a name to it:  Black Friday.  All I know is that I have had the overwhelming urge to hole up, to pull in my head, in hopes that the clamor would pass me by.  How to describe the cacophony of the outside world that torments my senses, its scratchy impatient blares catching at my ears and pummelling my ribs.  'Tis the season to be jolly, but must it be so loud and frenzied?

 

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Silence is golden, and as such

should be valued.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

cat of the day - Bimbo, the pet of Cypriot Archbishop Makarios during his 1950s exile in the Seychelles

what's eatin' you?

Me-ow-my-oh!

 

Me-usings and Me-emories

27 November 2013 - Here we are on the eve of overeating.  I am sure that there is a more dignified name to this national holiday, but from my observations, it mainly consists of peeps pulling out recipes last used a year ago and then their devouring the results.  I am a lucky member of my species in that I don't have to stalk my dinner nor wonder when the next meal will materialize, but that doesn't make me callous to those who are hungry...just glad that I am not one of them.  So it my intention tomorrow to eat mindfully, to pause mid-chew and ruminate on my good fortune.  I hope that you will join me.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Don't be so sure that you are entitled.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

film of the day - Wolverine, and the concierge cat at the Tokyo love hotel

being annal

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

26 November 2013 - Is it really true that dim deeps are not born paper-trained?  How embarrassing!  We cats on the other hand seek out the publications of the fourth estate, not to get our bum off the floor or to perch on higher ground, but instead to take the world's pulse.  What is happening out there?  Any cat-aclysms reported?  One can always find a cat-astrophe or two splashed on the front pages, for journalism makes its money with mawk and mayhem.  But I save the best for last:  the undoing of doofus Odie.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Information is empowering.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

 Catty Corner

cat of the day - Henrietta, the pet of NYT foreign correspondent Christopher Wren, made famous by the book The Cat Who Covered the World

fur de lance

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

25 November 2013 - Lest you conclude that I am a total push-over, here I am, delivering the coup de grace.  The blur only hints at my quickness and cunning, so allow me to supply the back story:  my morning za-zen was disturbed by a soft but distinct shuffling outside the door.  All senses on high alert, I spied a slight hesitant movement, pinpointing its exact location.  It was the creature's fatal mistake, as my lethal right hook stunned and delivered it to my fang-rimmed maw.  No more than five seconds elapsed, and then, breath quieting, I resumed my meditation on the purpose of life.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

 Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

It is worthwhile to refine

your first impressions.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

book of the day - Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver, "a parable of catastrophe and denial"

thanks a lot

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

24 November 2013 - I have sensed a rise in anxiety around my household, and I suspect, from similar experiences in the past, that my shorter peep is fretting about that pretend conifer that is lurking in the closet.  Once memories of summer have faded from memory, we begin the laborious shift into a season marked by artificial fireflies and hanging baubles.  The process doesn't seem to be enjoyed, possibly because there are several weeks of undeniable chaos, when I often wonder if I have wandered into the wrong house.  The most help that the taller peep and myself can offer is to keep from underfoot and to keep mum about the mess.  Meanwhile I intend to savor this brief lull before the turmoil.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

 Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Some things just have to be endured.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

feline of the day - Polar Bear, the white cat adopted by writer Cleveland Amory and featured in The Cat Who Came for Christmas

wreck loose

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

23 November 2013 - Wisdom is not an easy thing to acquire, so society reposits it in individuals who have removed themselves from the fray and who lead a contemplative life, often high atop a mountain.  This aerie not only provides perspective and separation to its resident, but offers a physical and spiritual trek for those who seek guidance from these ascetics.  If the answer does not reveal itself to the questioner in the struggle to reach the summit, then upon arrival the questioner will at least be in a receptive frame of mind, ego stripped away.  So what is it that you wish to ask me?

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Playing dumb is habit-forming.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

feline of the day - Henri, le chat noir,

internet's existential cat

a cat above

Me-ow-my-oh!

 

Me-usings and Me-emories

22 November 2013 - We cats have been the subject of art since Amenhotep's times.  Recall the classic Egyptian Bast statue seated on a pedestal, that emanates our poise and grace.  Dali, Warhol, Matisse, Picasso, Klee, and Klimt, to name just a few, were all inspired to capture the essence of their pets in creative works.  Unlike bulls in china shops, we can conduct ourselves with dignity among the fragile and ephemeral, recognizing our place among things admired and desired.  I speak only the truth to say that we are the artist's mews.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

If you can't be inspiring, be inspired.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

 Catty Corner

feline of the day - Mike, the British Museum guard cat from 1909 to 1929, whose service warranted two Time magazine articles and an Evening Standard obituary

a pounce of prevention

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

21 November 2013 - Mostly I am a buttoned-down sort of guy, but occasionally the rough-and-ready has to find expression.  No, I am not wrapping myself up, in the picture to the right, not settling in for a long winter's nap.  I have been attacked, plain and simple, by something only glimpsed beneath this bath mat.  It was a sobering moment, as I struggled to free myself from its suffocating clutches.  But the fight-or-flight instinct fills the body with what it needs to survive, and I was able to trounce the assailant... although I am still keeping an eye on that sinister rug.

 

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Keep practicing your sprint:  you never know when you'll need it.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

feline of the day - Rusik, a Russian sniffer cat who died in 2003 while on duty, detecting illegal sturgeon trafficking

showered with love

Me-ow-my-oh!

 

 

Me-usings and Me-emories

20 November 2013 - "My name is Calvin, and I am a shower singer."  But who can resist using this personal sound booth, with acoustics that make one a contender on American Idol?  What fun to stretch the vocal cords, knowing that the imagined audience will not boo or throw old brogans, in fact might actually toss roses onto the stage and yell "bravo, molto bello".  If truthful we all would admit to indulging in occasional bathtime karaoke:  soap up and sing out.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Let your voice be heard.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

cat of the day - Kitty Purry, a Maine coon belonging to singer Katy Perry

you for me, and me for you

Me-ow-my-oh!

 

Me-usings and Me-emories

19 November 2013 - I can be a very mellow fellow:  just pat my cranium and I am yours.  Wouldn't it be a marvel if we were all so easy to please?  Arguments could be ended by chucking chins; unhappiness, by rubbing noses.  But the other side of this scenario is that there is someone who wants you to be a big ol' puddy cat.  There must be a hand that does the stroking, and not out of any sense of obligation...because one can detect condescension.  No, I like to think that there is mutual benefit, even a symbiosis.   "Oooh, a little more to the left, please."

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Don't scratch the hand that

scratches the head.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

cat of the day - All Ball, Koko the gorilla's first pet

funky fugue

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

18 November 2013 - The use of "cat" (sometimes spelled with a 'k') to refer to a jazz musician goes back to the 1920s, with the earliest written use dated 1931.  There are various explanations:  the late nights of the gigs, the less than reputable venues, the disdain for the profession.  I suspect that it was invented to draw parallels between our utter with-it-ness and the genre's embodiment of cool.  We have never needed a peep's permission or respect, and those talents who stretched time signatures and flexed tonality were playing well outside the sandbox.  Bach's contrapuntal compositions are a marvel, but in a shout-down, give me a sax caterwaul any day.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Occasionally tooting your own horn is good for the instrument.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

feline of the day - Ketzel, the NYC tuxedo cat who in 1977 won the Paris New Music Review’s One-Minute Competition

"Why can't we all just get along?"

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

17 November 2013 - I don't seem to have escaped my species' "natural" anxiety level.  The simile "as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs", although awkward in its wordiness, does suggest that we are tightly wound.  My discomfort of late is due to the loss of my yard to an ill-mannered bully.  Now I must be on my guard, constantly glancing over my shoulder, tensed for the snap of a twig.  What once was a carefree stroll through nature has become a psychological assault that could turn physical at any second.  I remain hopeful that a ceasefire can be negotiated, because otherwise I will have to contract Guido as my personal mediator.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Diplomacy is worth the effort.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

film of the day - Elysium, the story of a polarized world where the haves live above it all in an orbiting space station