Cats paint worldwide

. . . and thanks to the online Museum of NonPrimate Art, you can see some of the examples of fine paw work sent in by proud owners. How about the bold red and white on blue of Aviary Arsonist, or the sexy pink on black of Feather Fondue? For a complete feline artistic environment go here.

"What's this about cats painting?" you say. Frequently asked questions for just such an occasion here.

office life: bird edition

Yesterday I got to pet sit a client's bird.

As you can see from the photo, he was cute and perky, and not hurting for toys. I couldn't remember exactly what kind of bird he was - I thought "cockatoo," but no, that's the really big kind.

Aha - cockatiel.

I don't know anything about cockatiels except that they are affectionate little guys. This one was, too; he hung by his bars making little "lookit me" chirps at first, then started showing off all his mirrors and sticks and things, and then kissed his reflection for a while. It sort of made my heart hurt a bit with the cuteness, to tell you the truth.

His "daddy" told me that at home he's never caged, and spends most of the day sitting on big calcium pills that look like eggs to him. Male cockatiels have a nesting instinct, who knew?

Well, probably the folks at Cockatiel.com. Gorgeous pictures there. Mine is not, but it's another cellphonecam shot, so there you go. And here's another.

dogs then

For some reason I've been on a dog photo kick after being tickled by the recent post on dogs in politics. A trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art online provided me with lots of lovely pups to admire. I mean who can't love Thomas Eakins' casual, blurry photo of Jimmy with Dog, and who won't wonder what the man in this picture did to rate having his face scratched out of the negative while the dog is front and center? And how about the down-home elegance of this Walker Evans scene?

hamster vacuum

Seriously, have you seen how much a hamster can fit into its face?

"i am a cat."

"As yet I have no name. I've no idea where I was born. . ."

So begins the comic social masterpiece I am a Cat, by Natsume Soseki. Published in installations during 1905-06, it's a send-up of the dynamic cultural and social changes of Meiji-era Japan. At this time many Western ways, fashions and practices were coming into Japanese society thick and fast, with varying degrees of graceful adaptation according to various observers. Wikipedia overview here; a look at a Google Books limited preview here.

dogs in politics

My gracious. Yesterday, on a round of family responsibilities in Portland OR, the spouse and I found ourselves trying to get downtown: "No matter," said we, "we know just where we are going."
What we didn't know is, so did 75K other people. There was a political rally for Sen. Barack Obama, and it took us 20 minutes to go 20 feet. We made it to the family reunion eventually, but this morning I find myself thinking about politics and pets.

And found "Dogs in Politics."

Here's another interesting. detailed and long/serious post on Pet Power in Election 2008.

mean kitty

I just had to share this hysterical YouTube with you...doesn't Sparta look like Elizabeth?

guest curator redux: kelly cat!

Yeah! Staunch Museum patron Kelly Cat made with the great Mark Twain story.

I may have mentioned Twain's cat Bambino before, but I'm pretty sure I never got hold of the "Lost Cat" notice for him. Kelly Cat did. With a lovely photo yet!