caturday

The definition from Caturday.ca:

"Caturday, held every Saturday, is a 4chan meme that involves the mass-posting of cats/kittens. Though the majority of of these images posted are cute and/or hilarious, there is the occassional 4chaner that will find it funny to spoil a caturday thread with pictures of Torturecat, Crushcat and the like (images of dead cats).
Some of these posts are started with common Caturday catch-phrases like "It's Caturday" and "Post some f***ing cats". "

So I'm not saying I get this community totally, and I wish the captions wouldn't be so crude so often, but Caturday postings can be hysterically funny. I'm guiltily hooked. Like the post of somebody's wrinklied-up Sphynx cat captioned: When 900 years you reach, look as good you will not, hm?

Go see - if you have a tough sense of humor. Don't say I didn't warn ya.

cheese wheels and the devil

Or the story of how Coco the Chihuahua happily sold her soul for what sounds like a BabyBel cheese.

"I am a bit fat, and shes got me on a diet. I weigh 9 pounds. Whats the big flippen deal? I like to eat and I have strong leg muscles to support my girth. Shes no Kate Moss herself. "

Beelzebub is going to have his hands full with this one. And probably every single pup who checks in at Bad Dog Chronicles. Click the Stories link to see the evil. Well, I take that back: sometimes you get a sad doggie writing in to report that he lost his mom, or a human being staying in original species character to wish they could have their bad dog again.

Bad dog or good, you can't help but love them.

a quick holiday post

I'm late for work so here's one of the cats relaxing. Go do likewise.

give peace and pits a chance

Your friendly curator is back after a lovely and exhausting family Christmas:
2 parents
3 brothers and 3 sisters in law
4 nieces-and-nephews and another 4 step-nieces-and-nephews on occasion
curator and spouse
AND
4 dogs.

Our dog Cash was pretty good, which surpised everybody, since he's been a spaz for so long he's got a bad rap.

Speaking of bad raps, what dogs get worse ones than pitbulls? Yes, it's true a pitbull gone bad is pretty bad (we spent one Christmas at the emergency vet after Cash ran afoul of one). But pitbulls suffer so from cruel and greedy owners/dogfight organizers, and from public ignorance about the possibilities of this bright and loyal breed.

Enter Bad Rap: Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls. A rescue organization for pits and pits only, they have done their homework to the nth degree. You have some preconceptions about pits, don't you? Check them out on the Monster Myths page. See the pros and cons of the breed. Did you know they're great with kids? I know because I've seen it myself. And you must see the Happy Endings for many, many pits, lots from Katrina.

Peace and joy to everyone, feathered furred or scaly!

holiday pet thoughts

Happy Holidays, Pet Museum patrons!

This is Baci, sitting in her favorite place, under the tree. She is happy. At least we think she is. She's not our brightest cat (though the sweetest), so we can't tell exactly.We feed her good food, keep her and her kitty-sisters clean and warm, give them toys, and love them all day every day.

But some pets are not pets this season. They are spending Christmas in a cage at a shelter, because no one wants them any more. Shelter people have one of the hardest jobs I can imagine. We can't help buy love, but we can help buy food for shelter animals. So show that your holiday thoughts include little furry souls by clicking at The Animal Rescue Site.

The Pet Museum's taking a break for Christmas, so I'll bring you more petly goodness next week! Best to you and to all your companion animals!

a skunk italian

The skunk: a delightful pet for the right owner.

Emanuela in Italy is one. Even if you don't read Italian - and I don't much, yet - you may easily see her love for her stripy pets at her website. If you'd like to try a translation, go to Babel Fish, and plug in the website's address and your languages to and from.

I'm not saying you'll get seamless prose, but you'll learn the following:

• Skunks are timid; when you bring yours home it helps if they have a softly blanketed place to hide.
• Skunks hold grudges, sort of. (See "I and mine moffetta".)
• Skunks dig kittens. They like cats too, but the cats aren't keen.
• They suffer from lack of soccer. But I think that's just a lousy translation.
• Skunks really are cute and so are your friends when they hold skunks (Foto).
• They like to play hide 'n' seek with you.

How cool is it to read about a European pet skunk? Hooray for Emanuela!

remorse, a horse

From Carl Sandburg's Smoke and Steel, 1922; courtesy of bartleby.com

Remorse

THE HORSE’S name was Remorse.
There were people said, “Gee, what a nag!”
And they were Edgar Allan Poe bugs and so
They called him Remorse.

When he was a gelding
He flashed his heels to other ponies
And threw dust in the noses of other ponies
And won his first race and his second
And another and another and hardly ever
Came under the wire behind the other runners.

And so, Remorse, who is gone, was the hero of a play
By Henry Blossom, who is now gone.

What is there to a monicker? Call me anything.
A nut, a cheese, something that the cat brought in.
Nick me with any old name.
Class me up for a fish, a gorilla, a slant head, an egg, a ham.
Only … slam me across the ears sometimes … and hunt for a white star
In my forehead and twist the bang of my forelock around it.
Make a wish for me. Maybe I will light out like a streak of wind.

cat anatomy: the musical

It'a another Joel Veitch / Rathergood.com masterpiece, in which he, Mrs. Veitch, and their cat present a delightful multimedia tribute to how many parts the cat has. Or doesn't.

His cat's got knees.

(Note: large file, don't even try it with dial-up, sorry.)

Don't forget now, young anatomists! Skin's what keeps the insides in!

my house is your house. and yours, and yours, and...

Bob Walker and Frances Mooney have:

• each other
• a 1950's tract house in Southern California, 1500 sq ft
• hordes of cats

How to keep the furry darlings from being underfoot? Keep them overhead. (They like being there anyhow; it means they can always keep an eye on you.) Since 1987 Bob and Frances have been stringing kitty catwalks and other delightfully themed accoutrements through what they call The Cats' House. This lavish, detailed trip through the remaking of their house to suit both major resident species will brighten a winter day and make you eyeball your walls for untapped cat-storage opportunities. You can see more in their second book Cats Into Everything. They were also in Chris Smith's documentary Home Movie, about unusual residences and the people within them.

EDIT: Two days ago a wonderful link filled with pix of their house was working, and now I'm alerted it goes to some nasty ad page that has nothing to do with the house.

Yuk. But you may get an idea from the Amazon book link here -- The Cats' House book.

guinea pig, 1773

A Guinea-pig Song.
By Anonymous, 1773

There was a little guinea-pig,
Who, being little, was not big;
He always walked upon his feet,
And never fasted when he eat.

When from a place he run away,
He never at the place did stay;
And while he run, as I am told,
He ne'er stood still for young or old.

He often squeaked, and sometimes violent,
And when he squeaked he ne'er was silent.
Though ne'er instructed by a cat,
He knew a mouse was not a rat.

One day, as I am certified,
He took a whim and fairly died;
And as I am told by men of sense,
He ne'er has been living since.

-- from The Oxford Book of Children's Verse, Opie, Peter and Iona, editors. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1973.

sugar glider

Don't you just love the name?

Sugar glider. Mmm. Wait. A what?

The sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) is a member of the opossum family, native to Australia and Tasmania. It volplanes -- glides -- through means of loose skin along either side of its body. It can do this for up to 100 meters.

They may have been named for their liking for sweet food: nectar, sap, the occasional bug to provide contrast. They're sociable, and ought to have another sugar glider around to talk to.

They are more challenging a pet, because more wild. They need certain things in their environments and food. So you guessed it: there are some folks out there who are breeding and shipping them carelessly hither and yon. You can visit the Sugar Glider Resource Center and in short order understand why they are not happy about that.

A Pet Museum first: a recommendation for a pet NOT to have! But that's fair enough. Sugar gliders are happy at home, sailing about from tasty gum tree to tasty gum tree. Enjoy the coolness of there even being sugar gliders in the first place, and go adopt one of the kitties they have at Petsmart.

"i will not poop uncontrollably in front of strangers"

This is a line item in the lengthy Bad Rat Pledge, brought to you by the enthusiasts at The Dapper Rat. It sounds like a good general rule of thumb for all mammals, as do these:

• Diving down my human's shirt and scratching them with my nails just to hear them squeal is not an acceptable game.
• I will not throw bedding out of my cage at the cat.
• I must remember that human skin simply does not have the traction required for vertical climbs.
• I will not pee in my dry food mix.

More a jolly odyssey through the ins and out of daily life with rats than a "how to" rat guide, The Dapper Rat is filled with gems such as the rat song parodies page. There you may find for your singalong pleasure "Neutering Rhapsody," based on Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.

Be sure and stop by the tour de force called the Grotto: The Great Rodent Residence of Tasteful Transcendental Opulence.

and they get to keep their feet!

"All that's very well, but you'll never come across a fortune-telling rabbit in the bazaar—street space is too precious. I therefore left the bazaar and set out on foot toward the epicenter of Sultanahmet: the space between the Hajia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. "

This is a snippet from Kevin Dolgin's McSweeneys piece on Fortune-Telling Rabbits: Istanbul. A rabbit named Boncuk does eventually tell Kevin his fortune, but Kevin braves some disapproval and has a lollipop first. A small jewel of an adventure-let.

Lest you think "This is McSweeney's so it can't be true, just like that book Your Disgusting Head," here is somebody else's photo of bunnies divining the future. Told ya.

dog, artist

I need to keep up with my art news.

It seems that for several years now a major hot young talent has been the toast of many places and publications. She's had fourteen solo exhibitions in the US and Europe -- lots more group ones. She works in lithograph using a variety of scratch and pressure techniques, producing work of vitality and subtle gesture.

Her name is Tillamook. Tillamook Cheddar. She is a Jack Russell terrier.

are you a dog?

Huey Lewis is one, as is Kato Kalin.

Their hobbies are listed as "Making love; team sports; hiking; biking".

Supposedly they make good waiters.

They are very attracted to mice, sheep, and cottontails. . . until the chase is over, and they move on to stronger creatures that are more fun.

They are members of the Dog Personality, from The Animal In You personality series.

Get in touch with your inner animal by taking the test. Your friendly curator is a Bat. Hey, it's dark out. . . gotta go.

furze-pig

Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle is one.

They aren't native to the Americas, or to Australia, and they aren't porcupines of any kind.

If you see a big one yelling, "Dinsdale!" you're either in an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, or you seriously need to get some sleep.

Surely you have guessed by now we speak of the hedgehog. Don't let their small size fool you. This bristly little creature has been the subject of stories for hundreds, even thousands of years. Here is a tidbit from Hedgehog Central's Myth and Legend page:

"Even the Romans had hedgehog myths. Here in North America, where we have no indigenous species of hedgehog, we celebrate “Groundhog Day”. Did you know that the hedgehog was originally the forecaster of spring for the Romans? “If during hibernation, he (the hedgehog) looks out of his den on 2nd February and and sees his shadow it means there is a clear moon and six more weeks of winter so he returns to his burrow.” To this day, groundhogs “Punxsutawney Phil” and “Wiarton Willie” battle it out to see who is the better weather forecaster, but little do they or their handlers know that the original prognosticator of spring was a hedgehog!"

The Chinese call it ci-wei, "needle animal," and the Hindi aik parkar ka jangli chuha, "a spikey sort of mouse". There's 14 species, but the one in the pet stores is the African White-Bellied.

Go discover the hedgehog.

PS: A sonic hedgehog is not just a video character, it's actually a variety of mammalian protein that signals development of digits and limbs -- to totally, grossly oversimplify. Complicated version here.

charlie mingus's other cool talent

Charles Mingus (1922-79) was a great American jazz composer and bassist. He grew up in Watts, California; he received two Guggenheim Foundation grants. His life was as complex and encompassing as his work, you will see.

He also managed to toilet train his cat, developing a tongue-in-cheek but pretty sensible program to that purpose. Pretty sympathetic for a guy whose autobiography was called Beneath the Underdog!

"all the queen's horses"

I never realized that the British horse was an integral part of that nation's history since Roman times. But that was because I didn't go to "All the Queen's Horses: The Role of the Horse in British History," an exhibit that took place at Lexington, Kentucky's Kentucky Horse Park in 2003.

Luckily, they created a web-exhibit for us to enjoy, and chock full of info it is, too. For example, I always thought the Celts were strictly foot soldiers, but now I know that in 55 BC they used cavalry and chariots to oppose Caesar's invasion. I also know that the first wild ponies in Britain originated in North America, but walked across the joined landmasses of America, Asia and Europe to their new home. And I know that the English Thoroughbred horse was established through three individual horses: the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Arabian. Most of that is from Horse History, one of the learning units this web exhibit offers.

Here's the exhibit's home page. Some artifacts and paintings are here. Teacher's guides and cool activities are here.