Catymology

After his big weekend editing the Carnival of the Cats, Aloysius has gone to a spa for some relaxation. He really loves to be brushed and readily shows off his furry tummy when he sees the brush.

Lisaviolet has invented a new game: Tummy Tuesday! Since Tuesday is Aloysius' day to simply be a cat, I guess that means that every Tuesday is Tummy Tuesday. If your cat wants to play, be sure to tag your post "Tummy Tuesday."

More cats, dogs, and other pets are on display at Modulator's Friday Ark #102. On Sunday, take a break with the 128th Carnival of the Cats at Watermark.

Tags: catymology cats Tummy Tuesday

Labels: Tummy Tuesday

Yo, cats and catted ones,

I'm weighing in again to let you all know about The Owner's Manual: #144 Best of Me Symphony:


That Gary Cruse is even more of a info-hound than Katz is. Look at all of the swell tidbits he's sniffed out to decorate this wild Carnival:

The vice called surrealism is the ... use of the narcotic image [which] forces you to revise the entire universe. --Aragon

Dada is a dog -- a compass -- neither new nor a nude Japanese girl.

You rock, Cruse!






P.S. Professor Katz is snoozing, which he sure deserves to do after working like a dog all weekend on the 127th Carnival of the Cats. He even slipped in one of my little posts. Thanks, Katz!

Watermark wants to show us a gallery of evil. Didn't we really need that?

Windypundit counters with three angelic shots of A Sleepy Day.

It’s seems I’m not the only poet here: Elisson at Blog d'Elisson riffs on Longfellow in The Kitties' Hour.

Nikita, The Bouncer of Sneakeasy's Joint displays his leonine locks.

Over at Newsgab, a pampered Persian named Sebiastian shows off his new bling.

Sometimes just waking up can be sublime, as Sashy proves at All Things Jennifer.

At Mensa Barbie’s house, a self-indulgent Butterscotch enjoys an interlude of Meowz-art, with caviar.

It’s Reigning Cats and Dogs at Author Chris Dolley's Page.

In response to my question “How DO you mew?”, Orloff and Pushkin Wonkitties speak up on Regional Meows.

Nicky at Melange communes with his own Rumbly Tumbly. That’s okay with Orloff, who also indulged in Tummy Tuesday.

Aunty Holly offers sage advice on how to cope with Party Animals.

Claudius at pages turned is a Startle Puss, but he still enjoys a good nap.

The Boyz at No Deep Thoughts turn out to be a Trio of Trouble. That’s what I call counter intelligence.

K T Cat struts her stuff at The Scratching Post.

It’s not quite Tiffany’s, but it’s still a feast when Composite Drawlings shares Breakfast at Furfur's.

sisu declares Isn't she lovely? And who could disagree? Not Ingmar Bergman or John Singer Sargent, or Anton Chekhov, all of whom relied on Lengthy sequences without dialogue. Or maybe they were just Making friends and influencing people.

Bubba at TacJammer discovers the pleasures of Rural Sprawl.

Not to be outdone, a city cat (and dog) at Chicago Boyz lounge together.

Over at Val's Bien a tropical paradise shelters one serene Tigger.

Spectra sums up the week at Cascade Exposures, and Jan adds some gorgeous art shots to her portfolio.

After a hard day’s work, Rocket is taking a break at keewee's corner. Look at that tummy!

At the House of (Mostly) Black Cats, Boni proves she’s not always serious.

Skittles, of Mountains and Memories, thinks humans are hilarious. Who had any doubts?

As some of you may know, a few months ago, we founded a church. The Church of Catymology celebrates the feline in us all. This week, I've received several entries that are going straight into the church bulletin. This is also where I've filed entries that don't have an actual image of a cat, but are too good to pass up. Charity begins at home.

As the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, Debra at ManxMnews offers a timely reminder about safety in 3 Cats and a Hurricane.

Today’s homily comes from Myke at Great Pet Stories: a story about Tricky, who gets around with the a little help from her friends.

Our prayers go out to Susan at Rickety Contrivances of Doing Good, who recounts the crossing of her beloved Belphebe and the intervention of a Pet Chaplain.

The not-so-terrible Tigger the Terror at Cat-n-Scratch sends a blessing to you.

When the Church of Catymology gets around to codifying its liturgy, we’re going to turn to Zeus, a master of feline understanding.

John Palmer at Eclectecon has a tale of redemption: How Much Is a Baby Squirrel Worth?

Rahel at Elms in the Yard spots a mysterious presence in the garden.

Mimi at The Poor Mouth has overcome illness and is looking very sleek.

In keeping with the doctrine of Catymology, Laurence has his priorities straight: cats precede humans. Treat Time!

How can anyone love an animal and then give them away? D at The Hidden Paw has the Catymologically correct answer.

Finally, we offer our prayers for Morrison, late of Coyote Mercury. James says: Goodbye, Little Man.

My colleague, Darcy Xenophon, has visited many countries already. Recently, he obtained his own personlized license plate.

At Far Cartouche, Sabaki trips out on the Impending Muscidaemantic Ritual.

Tiny Isabella from Acme Anvil Co. rides in a pocket; later, she settles down for a nap with her tiny human. Aww! But wait: from the same blogger, comes Cat Tao.

The highly postmodern Darcy X has his own twisted tale to tell. I never should have started giving that cat music lessons. But can anybody tell if he actually has a tail?

While Barry was out of town, Mister Gato was seen flirting outrageously with Carrie.

Bagherra at Stereophilia: Wes Phillips Blog practices mind control. And in the same vein, the dynamic duo at T.Bird on a Wire cook up a conspiracy.

Another mystery solved: Inspector Z is on the case—literally—at Music and Cats.

There’s a reason for everything, but Alex doesn't get it at Texas Oasis.

Blossom and Riley at Anchored by Grace venture out. Then, they appropriate their human’s Amazing Thrift Store Find!

At Middle-Fork one great picture tells Two Stories.

Lab Kat chimes in with a kitty duet.

Where the Dolphins Play: You say your cat can’t get down? Maybe he should take lessons from a cat that really rocks.

Omnibus Driver at Leslie's Omnibus misses her Traveling Companion.

A very disgruntled feline at Jelly Pizza protests: Jelly Pizza: Oh Frabjous Day!.

Two lucky cats at Farm Girl Fare enjoy their country retreat. And check out the heirloom vegetable garden!

A rare moment unfolds at anniemiz: three cats on The Slumberball.

Carlos lays it all on the table at Maggies meandering and shameless plugs.

Maddie and Ivy at StrangeRanger mentally prepare for the End of a season.

The Antique Whisk has a new computer gadget--Enoki- the peripheral; I hope he’s OS X compatible.

Mind of Mog has a housekeeping complaint: Slow Blogging, and is apparently seeking a home for a very cute Jezebel: Network Difficulties; and, he adds, at the last minute: Meowza Yowza. Stop the clock!

And to take us out, all the way from Russia, KisaMurMisa at Kotiki.ru presents Monster.

And that closes the book on this week's Carnival of the Cats. Next week, it'll be over at Watermark. How poetic! Send all entries to submissions (at) carnivalofthecats.com or use Ferdy's carnival submission form.

Footnotes:

1. Several of you seem to be wondering how to pronounce Aloysius. It's Al-oh-WISH-us, if you please. Or you can just call me Professor Katz.
2. The good linguists at Language Log have documented that the whole issue of cows mooing in regional dialects was “created out of nothing as a PR stunt” on behalf of a West Country cheese maker. Cheez!
3. 8/28/06: Apologies for an entry we missed: the dynamic duo at T.Bird on a Wire cook up a conspiracy.
   

As Darcy would say, we're outa here.

1. Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep. Indeed, it was.

2. Even though I have amassed three copies of The United Auto Workers Union Constitution, I keep getting confused about the difference between a “local” and a “unit.” Isn’t a unit something you belong to in the army? Why would a labor union want me to join the army?

3. Toni Morrison’s Jazz. I tried, but I was on vacation at a resort on the North Shore (of Lake Superior) and the lights went out.

4. Parlor Cats, a picture book by Cynthia Hare, et al, was just too frou-frou.

5. Reading Steve Erickson’s Arc d’X was like falling into a black hole and I was afraid that that was the point.

6. Orhan Pamuk’s My Name is Red: okay, I’m still working on this, but so far the fragmented points of view are confusing: one chapter is titled “I am a gold coin.”

7. Larousse Gastronomique. It’s an encyclopedia, so maybe that doesn’t count.

8. Gravity’s Rainbow grossed me out with it’s s**t-eating scene.

9. Writing for the Corporate Market made me remember why I became a freelancer—to escape bureaucracy.

10. The Bible. Lost my religion.

11. Great Expectations: the book review was due before I finished, so I improvised.

12. Jacques Derrida, Of Grammatology: I dropped out of grad school and got a job before I finished it.

13. Pure Drivel, by Steve Martin, made me laugh till I fell over.

"Most vulnerable are writers who work in short, choppy sentences," said a spokesperson for Times Roman, who continued, "We are trying to remedy the situation and have suggested alternatives, like umlauts, since we have plenty of umlauts--and, in fact, have more umlauts than we could possibly use in a lifetime!”

Then my nephew stole the book from me and wouldn’t give it back.

Tags: catymology books Thursday Thirteen

Does how you mew depend on where you live? Here at Catymology Central, everyone's buzzing rolling over laughing about this story we heard on BBC NEWS | UK | Cows also 'have regional accents':

Cows have regional accents like humans, language specialists have suggested.

They decided to examine the issue after dairy farmers noticed their cows had slightly different moos, depending on which herd they came from.

John Wells, Professor of Phonetics at the University of London, said regional twangs had been seen before in birds.

The farmers in Somerset who noticed the phenomenon said it may have been the result of the close bond between them and their animals.

Farmer Lloyd Green, from Glastonbury, said: "I spend a lot of time with my ones and they definitely moo with a Somerset drawl."

Interesting, no? Do Boston cats say "Meow-er?" Do Chicago cats go "Mow?" How do they meow in Singapore, Sydney, Brussels, Nassau, and Dusseldorf? What about Dublin, Toronto, and Ankara? Since blogging cats live all over the world, I'm asking all you cats and catted ones to send me examples of how your mew, meow, or murr is influenced by where--and with whom--you dwell.

Leave a comment-- or post your opinion on your catblog and send it in to this Sunday's Carnival of the Cats, which, conveniently, will be right here at Catymology. Send all entries to submissions (at) carnivalofthecats.com or use Ferdy's carnival submission form. And don't forget the Friday Ark at the Modulator.

Purrs!

Update: The good linguists at Language Log have documented that the whole issue of cows mooing in regional dialects was “created out of nothing as a PR stunt” on behalf of a West Country cheese maker. It was fun while it lasted!

catymology cats language

Yo, cats and catted ones,

Ever since I found Dada, I've been running into cats everywhere, real cats, virtual cats, images of cats. Here's one I found on my human's desk.

Also, I've been taking lessons from Professor Katz, starting with music. I don't know meow mix about music, but I do like to listen. Check out this MP3 from the postmodern jazz/funk group, Mr. Egg Germ: Dansons la Gigue Remix. Katz explained that before it got mixed up, it was an original composition by singer/composer Patricia Barber, and the lyrics are a poem by Paul Verlaine. The mixup will beam you to a whole new place--or maybe three or four at once: Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Greenwich Village.

I'm outta here!

The Scratching Post: This Week in the Theocracy

So his tail is fluffy? Thanks for noticing!

It's not hard at all to get a picture of Professor Katz letting his hair down, as it were, by rolling around on the patio. What's hard is to capture a clear image of his fabulous, furry tummy. This one's the best I've done.

Rest up, Professor Katz, because this coming Sunday you're hosting the Carnival of the Cats.

Lisaviolet has invented a new game: Tummy Tuesday! Since Tuesday is Aloysius' day to simply be a cat, I guess that means that every Tuesday is Tummy Tuesday. If your cat wants to play, be sure to tag your post "Tummy Tuesday."

Tags: catymology cats Tummy Tuesday

Labels: Tummy Tuesday

As Darcy reported earlier, it's been raining all day.

I've been whiling away the time by buttering up to my human.

And anything else within range.



Is she ever going to let me out?
























If it's still raining on Friday, or even if the sun shines, slink on over to the Friday Ark at Modulator. Then, on Sunday, it's the Carnival of the Cats at Red Peonies. And don't forget, next week, August 27, Carnival of the Cats comes to Catymology.

Tags: catymology cats

Yo, cats and catted ones! Yeowl!

It's raining outside, which doesn't bother me--me being a virtual kind of cat--but it sure does annoy the heck out of Katz. He's on his thingpoddy again, and guess what he caught this time: Another Random Web Page--a.k.a. The Indifference Engine. Go there if you're into torturing yourself, or send the link to your resident rodent, and let 'em twist and turn. Also good for annoying humans who fall down on their cat-worshipping practices.


Keep your fur dry, will ya?

Lisaviolet has invented a new game: Tummy Tuesday! Since Tuesday is Aloysius' day to simply be a cat, I guess that means that every Tuesday is Tummy Tuesday.

If your cat wants to play, be sure to tag your post "Tummy Tuesday."

Tags: catymology cats Tummy Tuesday

Labels: Tummy Tuesday

Look for a pile of admirable tails at Modulator's Friday Ark. And this Sunday, scoot on over to Ellison's blog for the Carnival of the Cats.

P.S. What's a cat to do when some dumb website amanuensis signed up for calls him a flappy bird? Maybe it's predictable--after all, the site seems to be maintained by a bear. I don't know why they can't have a category for fabulous felines.

The COTV ain't dead yet. It's getting on with this from Humantide: Carnival Of The Vanities - Froth Edition:

"If a Meerkat bit your 9 year old - what would you do? Darcy Xenophon presents Catymology decries cruelty to meerkats posted at Catymology, where she criticizes the zoo for killing the Meerkat that was simply pursuing it's feline imperative in biting the tasty pink morsel being offered through the fence. "

What can I say? First, I ain't a female. And second, as Katz found out for me, meerkats ain't cats. They're cute, furry mongeese. Or mongooses. Whatever, they're cute.

But whatever your gender or species I.D., be sure to check out the Carnival.

Yo, cats and catted ones,

I am put out beyond all get out by a story about how five innnocent meerkats got put down. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

A family of five Minnesota Zoo meerkats destroyed after a girl was bitten did not have rabies after all, a zoo official said Friday.

The 9-year-old girl, who has not been identified, was bitten Wednesday when she reached her hand into the animals' exhibit.

The meerkats -- two mates and their three offspring born this spring -- had been vaccinated for rabies but were killed because the girl's parents didn't want her to have to undergo a series of rabies shots, said zoo collections manager Tony Fisher.

This is an outrage. I ask you, how can a 9-year-old human be so stupid as to stick her hand into a pen full of wild animals, and how can her so-called parents be so stupid as to let her do it? What were they, downloading ringtones from Ghana or something? Checking their Blackberries for spam about cheap internet mortgage offers? Or were they trying to get their knock-off Rolexes working--you know, the ones they got after answering this spammer's ad:

"All of our watches are guaranteed to be able to swim while wearing them"

Ahem. Where was I? I may not be the most intellectual cat in the blogoverse--that would be Professor Katz--but I'm darn sure Katz will join me in saying these humans are just perverse. And how is this little girl going to live with herself when she's old enough to understand that she was responsible for this stupid murder?

Meerkats are a kind of mongoose, and it turns out that they're probably smarter than a lot of humans. Wild meerkats live in Africa's Kalihari Desert. According to Wikipedia, meerkats have a highly evolved social organization. The live in tribes--known as "gangs." They've been seen caring for the babies of other meerkats in their gang, feeding and grooming them, and each other. Some say they even have games, sort of like the human Olympics.

Meerkats even have a place in African folklore:

According to African popular belief (mainly in the Zambian/Zimbabwean region), the meerkat is also known as the sun angel, as it protects villages from the moon devil or the werewolf which attack stray cattle or lone tribesmen.

My dear cats and catted ones, I hope you'll all join me and Katz in expressing your disgust at the wanton destruction of innocent meerkats.

As occasionally required by my office of Poet Laureate in the Feline Theocracy, I offer this poem.

Sail on over to these catted Carnivals: Friday Ark at Modulator; Sunday, August 6: Carnival of the Cats at TBIFOC.

Tags: catymology cats poetry

Labels: poetry

Eteraz » Carnival of Vanities # 202

Party People! Welcome to the Carnival of Vanities # 202. How appropriate that the House of Narcissism and Self-Adulation (my blog) should host such an Iblisean project. [Iblis is the Muslim devil who is notoriously arrogant. He and I are related].

Time for some self-indulgence!

Self indulgence indeed! That's what cats--real or fictional--are all about.