The Case of the Curious Cat
Friday night, fighting off a cold, I stayed home while my beloved went to a SF Jazz concert up in the City. At about 7:30, I heard a cat meowing in the front yard. Not an unusual occurance around our place, which seems to attract squads of roaming feral kitties. But the meowing kept going, and I became curious. So I turned on the porch light and opened the front door. There, at the bottom of the porch steps, was a cat with a beautiful black and grey coat and light greenish yellow eyes.

I opened the screen door, figuring out that such action would cause it to run away and meow in someone else's yard, the way it usually works, only to find the opposite effect. The cat took it as in invitation.

Without hesitation, she came up the stairs and walked right into the house. I was so stunned, I think I just stood there for a few seconds with the door open and by the time I turned to look into the living room, the cat had jumped up on the sofa and was calmly regarding me from my recently-occupied seat.

The cat, whom I christened Crasher (after "gate crasher") became my companion for the next 3 hours.

She was obviously not a stray -- not skittish at all, too clean, well fed, too accustomed to having her tummy rubbed. So was probably a neighbor's house cat that had gotten out. Not knowing what else to do, I gave it some tuna & a bowl of water, which she appreciated, and then I returned to the sofa and she settled into my lap.

She seemed very young, not long out of kitten stage, and was quite a bite-y cat. Liked to claw things too. But extremely friendkly, very curious, kinda dumb, and apparently not at all afraid of strangers, strange houses, or anything else unfamiliar.

At several points in the night I led her to the front door and opened it so she could leave, but she'd just look outside, and then turn and head for the sofa again. When my sweetie called during the intermission of the concert, he was very surprised to hear I'd been adopted for the evening. For althought we've often had as many as 5 cats in our yard at once, they've never let us get within 5 feet of them before they'd take off. None have ever shown any inclination towards being domesticated, and here was Crasher acting like The Man Who Came to Dinner.

Finally, my date came home and met the cat. And the next time I opened the front door, she left. Just like that. Without even a thank you for the tuna. I have no idea where she came from, or where she went after she left. But I must say that was one of the strangest cat encounters I've ever had.

Shining!
A hilarious example of what editing, some music, and a voiceover can do.

Hawaii is for the birds!
Sorry, no photos to share (I'm a film person, not a digital camera person). But for those who care, we had a wonderful week in Hawaii, and it was an especially good week for critter watching. Both my husband and I are huge animal lovers, so a large part of our trip was spent in birdwatching, turtle viewing, dolphin spotting, and other outdoor sports. We saw some wonderful animals, but I think my favorites of the birds were the francolins. They are partridge-like birds with large bodies and tiny heads, which makes them look very stupid. This appearance is seconded by their tendency to walk around in groups of 6 or 7 in an aimless sort of way, which is just hilarious to watch. I especially like the last guy who always has a "hey, wait for me!" moment and has to run to catch up with the rest of the crowd. They run surprisingly fast, which just makes it even funnier to watch. In fact they spend so much time walking around, I thought perhaps they couldn't fly -- or at least not very far. That myth went out the window the morning one of the local feral cats tried to pounce on one and that francolin took off like a supersonic jet.

Our morning viewing of the "francolin parade" was one of the daily highlights. My other favorite birds were the cute little Java Sparrows who took over the hotel bird feeder in bunches of dozens at a time.

One morning a pod of dolphins swam into the bay by our hotel and we spent about 30 minutes watching them do show-off acrobatics for the appreciative crowd. We also found a sheltered spot where the sea turtles go to sun themselves. Unfortunately getting there was like the Bataan death march and I ended up just this side of heat stroke from the hike. But it was worth it to see the turtles up close. They were so beautiful and peaceful that it was worth the nausea and general hideousness I felt for the rest of the afternoon. Thank heavens for large bottles of water, cold showers, and ice.

The one touristy thing we did was take a stargazing tour to the top of Mauna Kea where all the observatories are. It's 13,000 feet high, and damned cold. Thankfully they provide parkas and hot chocolate. (Go to Hawaii...wear a parka.) After watching the sun set from the summit, you come down a bit and they set up a telescope and you get to look at all sorts of cool things. The white smear of the Milky Way was clearly visible before the moon came up, and both Venus and Mars were hanging around...though avoiding each other. I'm glad I did it, but once was enough and the tour guide was truly annoying.

Other than that, we were lazy. We read a lot. We bought some great Hawaiian music. We drove to the other side of the island to see the house a friend of ours just bought (he's completely gone Hawaiian). We read some more. We had margaritas. We read. And then we read a bit.

All in all, a fine time. And no, I'm not glad to be back at work...

I'm rich!

My blog is worth $1,693.62.
How much is your blog worth?

Beaches, books, and bliss
That will be the next week. My sweetie and I are off to Hawaii. I shall read until my eyes are crossed, relax, and generally get the taste of the Silicon Valley out of my mouth. See you on the flipside!

Hilarious!
Beware, this short film will have you laughing out loud. It's a parody about how the warning levels for the Department of Homeland Security were designed. Truly funny.

Foxy art

Belgian artist Francis Alys has a short "film" demonstrating the omnipresence of surveillance cameras. His demonstration? He brought a wild fox into Britain's National Portrait Gallery and used the security cameras to film it wandering through the empty galleries. "It spent more time in the Tudor room for some reason, possibly because it's darker, but I'm not sure I could confirm if there is a specific taste for one period or another."

The fox, named Bandit, is actually quite cute and it's amusing to watch him wander around. You can view the whole film here.

Books?
Along with my rant about how you can judge a book by its cover, I should have included a plea for book suggestions. I'm open to either fiction or non-fiction (depending upon subject), but I insist that it be a "thumping good read." I'm tired of wishy-washy characters, predictable plots, and just-plain-bad writing. I want something that keeps me up too late, turning pages and frantic to find out what comes next. With a week's worth of "doing nothing" vacation coming up, I need to replenish my to be read shelf.

Any suggestions?

You Can Judge a Book By Its Cover
The old saying, "you can't judge a book by its cover," is no longer true. I'm not meaning in the figurative sense as in you can't judge people by how they look. I mean the literal definition of basing an opinion of a book on the cover of that book.

I think the saying may have been true, back when covers were all either brown, black, or red leather with words embossed on it. I mean really, how much can you tell by that? Yes, all books used to look alike, and you couldn't judge by how they looked. But boy, you sure can now.

Ever notice how many contemporary books feature variations of photographs or drawings of shoes, feet, or legs? If you haven't paid attention, do so. Next time you're in a bookstore, wander over to the "new paperback fiction" section and you'll be amazed at the foot fetish that seems to have gripped American book designers. Mind you, I blame the advent of so-called "Chick Lit," a publishing craze that needs to die, right now. All these books look, and read, exactly the same. Late 20 or early 30-something women, either never been married or freshly divorced/dumped, wants to change her life/job/city of residence so she takes up yoga/becomes an assistant to a movie star/moves to Milan and hijinks ensues....usually after several hundred changes of clothing. Yawn.

I can and I do judge these books by their covers. I do not want to read any book that features feet or legs on the cover. Nor do I want to read a book that pictures a pencil-skinny woman looking longingly through any shop window, sitting in any cafe or restaurant, or wearing a little black dress and looking in a mirror. I judge those books by their covers. In most cases the plots are as shallow, uninteresting, and preditable as the cover art.

The phrase should have died out with the invention of the "bodice ripper." If you see a cover, any cover, featuring a long-haired, bare chested man grasping a blond vixen who cannot seem to keep her clothes from falling off and you know what you're going to get inside. You don't even need to open the book to know.

Am I too judgemental? Hell yeah, and damned proud of it. Do you have any idea how much money I save by not being books about feet?

Why???
Why hire a writer when what you want is a grammarian? They don't need me, or anyone else who has a skill with words. No. All they really need is someone who can put commas in the middle of their dull marketing crap.

Why preach creativity, and then shoot down anything even remotely creative? Why bother to do anything word-based if the words involved are boring and not something anyone actually wants to read? When did "different" become "inappropriate?"

People, if you don't want me, fire me. If you're not going to use me, get rid of me. But for god's sake, don't hire me with the promise of creativity and then tie my hands behind my back because you're afraid of rocking the damned boat.

I've been looking for a new job since my second week at this one, and I can't find anything. So....anybody in the San Francisco Bay Area in need of a writer/editor? I have lots of experience, great ideas that no one seems to want, I'm a kick-ass manager (ask anyone who used to report to me), I've met every deadline that's ever been handed to me, and I'm tired of wasting my time where I am.

Darwin in action?
In a New York Times article about those in Galveston who refuse to evacuate in the face of Rita, comes some of the most freakishly sterotypical "redneck" comments ever.

One guy says he'll fend off looters with his Marine Corps knife and then states, "I'm going to go rat hunting when this is over." Apparently in the past, storm surges have forced rats out of their nests in the sea wall.

Another man tried to leave but his car broke down. He took it as a sign from God. "On Thursday, Mr. Shumake and his nephew, Russell Cavender, 17, walked along the sea wall holding an American flag and another flag saying, "We Support Our Troops." Mr. Shumake, a stout man with a bushy goatee and a ponytail, said: "The Lord doesn't want us going. He wants me carrying this flag."'

Yeah, that's right, the Lord wants you carrying that flag. Um...exactly why would the Lord want you carrying that flag? So the dozen other yahoos who aren't leaving town and feel secure in the knowledge that you support the troops? Yeah, that's God's plan all right.

A shopkeeper who is staying put had this to say about dealing with potential looters: ""I checked with the Sheriff's Department to see if I could use my gun, and they said if I do, make sure he's dead." Ohhhkay.....

I don't know whether to laugh or be very, very scared. Maybe a little of both.

Got a few hours to kill?
Exploring the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery can easily take days, and you still probably wouldn't get enough time to thoroughly examine all the wonders therein. From Illuminated manuscripts to historic photographs, from sheet music to paperback book covers, from maps and blueprints to woodcuts and drawings....the collection is vast, gorgeous, fascinating and, best of all, free for us to look at. It's great stuff, folks.

Simon Wiesenthal
One of my personal heroes has died at the age of 96. There are so few people who actually practice what they preach, and who dedicate their lives to justice, regardless of the cost. Simon Wiesenthal was one of the few. How can you not admire somone who looses over 80 family members in the Holocaust, and who himself suffered in the concentration camps, and then says "I seek justice, not revenge?" He was a man of integrity, courage, and dedication....and those are such rare qualities. What an amazing man. I wish I could be one of those few...

While I was being a lazy slug...
My wonderful husband was at the Monterey Jazz Festival last weekend. Part 1 of his review is now up on All About Jazz.

Malian blues
Check out Kongo Magni by Malian singer, songwriter, guitarist Boubacar Traore. Great stuff. He's got a passionate, lived-in, felt the pain kind of voice, perfect for the blues and he's accompanied by a small combo including accordion, harmonica, balafon, and traditional percussion. It's honest, rich, and oh, so good.

Sounds like recovery
The fine folks at CD Baby (an online store for independent musicians) have come up with a great way to support hurricane relief. Thousands (no kidding) of their artists have volunteered to donate 100% of the proceeds from the sale of their music to the Red Cross.

If you don't know CD Baby, you should. They allow independent artists to market their music and receive a fair profit from the sales. Plus those of us who like to buy music benefit from actual audio samples that last longer than a sneeze. There are some great artists there, from a variety of genres. Come on....you'll get great music, they'll get new fans, and the Red Cross gets the money it needs to help save peoples' lives. Everybody wins.

NYT Columnist Blasts Bush
Three cheers and an amen for Bob Herbert on the President's apalling callousness, cluelessness, and general incompetence in the wake of Katrina.

Not an issue of color?
Yeah, right. Perhaps the initial neglect to provide buses or other ways for the poor to get out of town was based on economic status rather than color. It just so happens that the majority of the poor in New Orleans happen to be black. But I firmly believe the lack of resources to help those stranded at the Superdome and the Convention Center was based on color. I believe that if CNN was showing footage of cute little blond children with blue eyes and curly hair, crying from hunger and fear as they waited for help, that the government would have been there within 24-hours with food, medicine, and a plan to get them to safety. If thousands of middle-class white people had been stranded without resources, I think we would have gotten help sooner.

And what's with the white vs. black photos of "looters?" If a black person steals it's looting, but if a white person steals it's "finding food for his family?"

I think the Bush administration has a hell of a lot to answer for in this case. (Whose brilliant idea was it to cut funding to FEMA so we can fight terrorists? We've had a hell of a lot more natural disasters than terror attacks since 9/11.) I think disaster relief/management in general in the US needs a major overhaul. Why wait until after the storm to tell people where to gather? Why no provision for those who lack the resources to get themselves out of town? What should have happend is announcement for everyone who wanted to evacuate to get to the Superdome, and then bus them to safety before the storm. Certainly that would have been easier, cheaper, and far less traumatic for all concerned that to just say "get out" and leave the poor to fend for themselves.

I am angry, sickened, and completely ashamed of America at this point. And all I can do is give more money. That's pretty much all you can do too. If you haven't yet opened your wallet, do so now. The Red Cross seems to be the most likely place to donate, but there are hundreds of organizations rushing to aid those who have lost everything. You know you can afford it...and you know that you can afford more than you've given already. Do it.

Give
That's all, just give. If the horrific stories out of the south don't move you to open your wallet, you have no soul. The Network for Good has a list of charities that are working to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Everything from the Red Cross and Second Harvest to Noah's Wish and the North Shore Animal League which are looking out for displaced pets and wildlife. Please help.

I Need Some Good News!
Hurricanes killing hundreds and rendering thousands homeless. Looting. Hundreds dead in riots. A war that won't end. Gas prices going even higher. Housing prices continuing to rise.

Please, I need some good news. I need something to make me laugh, or at least make me smile. Something to reaffirm my faith in mankind. Something to wipe images of destruction out of my brain.

Doesn't anybody have any good news? Please, I'm begging you here.