Gracie's New Year Resolutions

Meowie Christmas & A Purry New Year!

This image was sent to me in an email from my sister Paige, and it was just too cute not to post! (Kudos to whoever created it.) I'm wishing all the best to each and every one of my blog visitors during this holiday season and the new year to come. 2010! How did that get here so fast?? It seems to me that it was just turning into year 2000 a little while ago, with all that Y2K drama,  and now, whooosh, ten more years have rushed by. Does the time seem to have gone by fast for you as well?

A Drive...

I went for a drive through northern New Mexico a couple of months ago.  I went from flat, sage covered mesa land up towards San Antonio Mountain, near which I saw a handsome red horse standing down a lonesome dirt drive.  An extinct volcano about 9 miles south of the Colorado boarder, San Antonio Mountain rises to a height of 10,908 feet.  As I got closer to the mountain, the sky grew stormy, with more and more clouds gathering up above.

Zebbie's Secret Smile

The Kiss

This drawing was done in staff meeting last week. 

Abandon The Japanese Spam Comments!

  
I have comments on this blog moderated, so spam does not get posted.  In the past I haven't actually gotten many spammy comments, but enought to justify keeping the comment moderation in place.  In the last couple of weeks, however, I've gotten numerous comments left here, in Japanese (!) that are clearly spam.  It may even just be the same comment over and over again.  I don't know, because I do not speak Japanese.  I'm guessing that the vast majority of my readers also do not understand Japanese. 

I've translated the most recent spam, and given it below.  It sort of has that odd poorly translated tone that makes it sound like a spam fortune cookie...

"It is the guide of the sight where you can obtain secondary earnings with the association which one evening divides.Also you can challenge in part-time job feeling, because we adopt the free register system of relief, as for the one which has interest please view this site by all means."

   
To whoever keeps posting this comment (perhaps a Japanese bot, and not an actual human), I say this:  "Give it up.  I will not allow your spam to be posted.  Go away!"  According to the translator, in Japanese that would be: "それをあきらめなさい。  私によってはあなたのスパムが掲示されない注意しない。  立ち去りなさい!"  And when I take it one step further, and translate that Japanese back into English again, it comes out as this somehow more charming message:  "Abandon that.  Depending upon me your [supamu] does not note is not posted.  Depart! "

Storm Coming (another staff meeting doodle)

Post Thanksgiving Relaxation

My sister sent me this cute squirrel massage animation in an email today. It looks like just the thing for everyone who overexerted themselves by lifting all those Thanksgiving leftovers to their mouths!

Ahhhhhh....

Random Image

I liked the look of the stuff on my desk, as seen through the coils of a DSL wire that was lying there, and snapped this photo.  I'm not sure why it pleases me, but it does, and here it is so you can see it too.

'Cat Ladies' Documentary

I just watched a video clip from this documentary, and I find it absolutely fascinating, as I can so relate to these cat fixated women. While I only have 9 cats, I could be happy with many more. But I don't have enough space or $$ to care for more. All the same, given the importance of cats in my life, and the fact that I do prefer the company of cats to that of humans, I probably already fit into the definition of a 'crazy cat lady'...

Below is the description of this film, taken from the film's website. Click HERE to go to the website where you can learn more, watch a clip from the documentary, or order the DVD.

About the Film

Cat Ladies is a verité documentary that unravels the real story behind the oft ridiculed ‘crazy cat lady’.

Through intimate access with Diane, Margot, Sigi and Jenny, we create a sensitive and emotionally honest portrait of women whose lives and self-worth have become intractably linked to cats.

Some of these women have only a few cats; others share their small homes with hundreds. It’s not the number of cats that defines them as a ‘crazy cat lady’, but rather their attachment, or non-attachment, to human beings. They share backgrounds that usually include abuse, death, rejection and loneliness. Because of this they turn their natural instinct to love and nurture to an alternative society of felines, creating a world with their cats in which they feel reward and acceptance - a world where they ultimately have value.

The cat lady comes in three basic forms. There is the person who is obsessed by cats and has a unique personal relationship with her wards that goes far beyond the average human-pet bond. Then there are the ‘cat rescuers’, who are self-appointed protectors of abandoned cats. They start taking in cats later in life, often after a failed marriage, the loss of a job, death of a relative, or the estrangement of children. Someone or some incident turns them onto the plight of the unwanted cat and their homes gradually become sanctuaries. Finally there is the ‘cat hoarder’, perhaps the least understood of all. The hoarder collects cats to the detriment of their health and her own. She may have started with the best intentions, but some crisis or break with reality pushes her past the point of being able to cope.

It’s a murky world, secretive by nature and horribly misunderstood. Local authorities are ill-equipped and uneducated and cannot accurately deduce who is a destructive cat hoarder and who is an enthusiastic cat rescuer or an obsessed cat lover. City bylaws are arbitrary and very rarely acted upon. At best, a few cats might be removed from the home, but the women themselves almost never receive treatment or counseling. One thing we know for sure: the recidivism rate for hoarders is 100% when left untreated, which is almost always the case.


Margot
Margot's universe revolves round her three cats – Bongo, Fritz and Little One. She skips work to stay at home with them and has re-designed her entire apartment to accommodate them. But the love and connection she gets from her cats is also getting in the way of her developing any relationships with human beings - and it's only through tragedy that she can glimpse an alternative.


Jenny
In her mid 30s, Jenny appears to have it all – an attractive, fiercely independent sales agent with her own home that she just happens to share with 16 cats. It's not that she wouldn't want to find a partner or have children, but the experiences she endured as a child have prevented her from having healthy adult relationships. Jenny knows she's on the cusp of becoming "the Crazy Cat Lady". All it would take is a few more cats…


Diane

Diane is a vivacious former banker whose early and un-wanted retirement turned her to a life of saving cats from the streets. Now, she's sharing her home with 123 felines and when she's not feeding, cleaning and nursing them she's feeding and trapping feral cats in the wild. Diane wants to stop – but the thought of a cat starving or suffering breaks her heart. It's also ruining her health, sucking her bank account dry and alienating her from friends and family.


Sigi
Sigi is on a mission to save cats. Like Diane, she's turned her house over to hundreds of the furry creatures, but unlike Diane she's unapologetic about her choices. If women like her didn't take matters into their own hands, who else would? Sigi's mission isn't one that her neighbours are buying into – the acrid smell and noise is an intolerable toll on anyone living close by – but Sigi's been a fighter all her life and being on the margins only makes her more defiant.

Women like Margot, Jenny, Diane and Sigi are easily dismissed as "crazy cat ladies", but these women deal with the issues that all of us face to some degree – alienation, loss and loneliness in a society that devalues the "different".

Gamma Dreams

Just after I took the photo of Fieldsie in the post below, Gamma got into the basket and went to sleep, snuggled up against Fieldsie. In no time at all, she was dreaming her Gamma dreams...

Foxy Fieldsie

While playing around taking photos with aperture priority in low lighting, I got this sweet close up of Fieldsie as he was falling asleep... He looks a bit like a fox to me in this photo!

Cat Eating Off Chopsticks!

Some people might think this is just crazy, but I think it's crazy CUTE! I especially like it when the cat gets impatient and bats his paws at the chopsticks or the hand. And why is the cat called 'squirrel-like' in the video title? Because he is standing up? Or do sqirrels also enjoy eating off of chopsticks?

Handsome Henry

This was Henry, snoozing next to my computer last night. Henry is an exceptionally wonderful cat. I always feel happy when I see him. I suspect he may be some being of higher intelligence pretending to be a cat. I'm very glad he is part of my group of furry loves.

Beautiful Bella

Now and then I board other people's cats in my home. I always enjoy the chance to have more cats to play with and love. The cat shown below, a beautiful calico named Bella, was a delightful kitty guest. She has a wonderful personality and I really enjoyed getting to know her.




Bella is highly skilled at playing with this cat toy. If there was an Olympic competition for this game, she might take the gold medal.


And I was especially charmed by the pose she would take up in the window, with her legs stretched out behind her. Adorable!

Under The Storm Cloud

The image above was something I doodled during a staff meeting at work a few months ago... Due to my weird schedule, I often am not able to get enough sleep before having to go to staff meetings. I'm guessing this image was drawn on one of those low energy mornings.

I've Been Wondering...

Today I got the webcam I ordered, a Logitech Webcam Pro 9000. It's the first webcam I've ever had, and I'm already having lots of fun with it. It comes with software that lets you easily create silly videos like the one below:

Another Winter Moving In...

I noticed the exceptional light outside yesterday afternoon, so I grabbed my camera and stepped out into the cold and wet. Most of the leaves have already fallen from the trees on my street.

Looking up, I saw there were strange and wonderful storm clouds forming in the sky above me.





The hills behind the houses were already dusted with snow. They became more and more beautiful as the sun went down.

"Look, He's So Happy!"

The rare parrot featurned in this video, a kakapo, is a very friendly fellow. While normally an interspecies sex video would not be my cup of tea, I quite enjoyed watching this one! And as Stephen Fry says, while watching the amorous parrot in action, "Look, he's so happy!". Yes, indeed he is. Have a look for yourself:

I was an 'extra' again

I got to go down to Albquerque and be an extra for another episode on season 2 of the TV show Crash. Once again I really enjoyed the experience. This time they thought they might use my car in the scene as well. Since the show is supposed to be taking place in Los Angeles, they put a fake California license plate on my car, as shown below:

I drove through part of Albuquerque, from the staging area to the set where the scene was being filmed, with the fake license plate on my car. Ooops! That must have been illegal, I suppose! And then, while my car was parked where I was told to park it, it was given a parking ticket. Uh-oh... but, no worries, because the ticket was written out for the fake California plate, and I turned it over to the production company for them to take care of anyway. It was sort of fun to get a ticket and not care about it at all.

In the end they didn't even use my car. Instead I was used as a pedestrian, walking across the street, way in the background of the scene that was being shot, and then again walking right by one of the main characters as she was standing by her car waiting for someone. Part of what was being filmed that day involved a scene with a group of 'drug addicts' in a room in the second story of a building. The camera, mounted on a crane, was filming through the window. I was fascinated watching how the camera was expertly maneuvered, going up to the second story window, filming the 'drug addicts', then swooping away from the building and down, as it shifted angles to film a character exiting from the building and getting into a car on the street. There were many takes done to get it just right. I hope Crash goes into a third season so I'll have the opportunity to be an extra on the show again next year. Shooting for Season 2 is just about over now.

Shiny Bits In My Driveway

This morning I was standing at the end of my driveway, enjoying the sun and the crisp fall air. As I turned to go back towards my house, I noticed multi-colored shiny spots in the dirt and gravel in one area. Looking more closely, I saw it was many small bits of broken glass. I bent down and picked up a bunch of them, wondering how they had come to be there. I still have no idea where they came from, but I began to appreciate their beauty as I picked them up. They could have been diamonds, emeralds, and other gems. They made a pretty photo, too:

Beautiful Fieldsie Snoozing

"Picture" "Quiet" "Rolling!"

I haven't posted in a while. Why? Time seems to have sped up, and run away from me, that's why! Lame excuse, but that's all I've got...

I did something last week that was quite out of the ordinary for me- I went down to Albuquerque and was an 'extra' in a scene of a TV show! The show is Crash, which is on Starz network and stars Dennis Hopper & Eric Roberts, among others. The second season of this show begins airing this week, and the scene that I am in will be part of episode 10. Crash takes place in Los Angeles, but they actually film it in Albuquerque, New Mexico, because that is less expensive.

I really enjoyed watching the whole process, even though my own involvement was mostly just waiting around. The actual time doing the scene, and filming 4 or 5 takes with slight variations, only took about 30-40 minutes, as far as I recall. The scene I was in was a crowd scene, with about 75 people staning around in a street. We were supposed to be there because we'd been inspired by an idea to help the homeless, and we were volunteering to help.

I was fascinated watching the scene get set up, with all the people and equipment involved. I think what I enjoyed most was that everyone seemed happy to be there, doing what they were doing. It was also just fun being part of a large group of people creating something together.

I'm going down again next week to be an extra in another scene, this time it will be outside a shopping mall, where they need a bunch of people to be pedestrians, and to be driving or parking their cars. I'm looking forward to it.

Honesty

click on image to view larger

Self Portrait On This GOOD Day

Today is an excellent day, the first day of a new era in my life, moving forward into a future which feels both mysterious and very attractive! Here is a self portrait taken as this energy was moving through me earlier today. I honor myself, and you, my blog visitor. All is well.

I post this to remember that which I might forget. I post this to prop open the doorway which I am passing through, so I may later look back and know how it was I came forth, from what was into what will be...

That Darn Squirrel...

You've probably seen that now famous photo with the squirrel who popped up in front of a camera just as it was taking a photo of a couple of hikers. Well, now squirrels everywhere are doing it (or else that one squirrel is really getting around). For the last few days, every single photo I've taken has that darn squirrel in it. I submit just a couple of examples for you, the self portrait above, and a photo of Boo out on the back porch below:

He's Baaaaaack....

I've written about Simba, my neighbor's cat, in other posts. I wouldn't mind him coming into my house if he didn't pee on things. But he does pee, so he is not a welcome visitor. And he seems to be getting bolder. A couple of days ago, while sitting at my computer, I looked over into the kitchen and saw Simba sitting on the kitchen counter by the sink!

I started talking to him, while reaching for my camera, and he jumped down from the counter and casually began making his way to the open front door. I snapped a few photos as he exited. They all came out blurry. Apparently I'm not able to talk and take photos at the same time- it's slightly more challenging than walking and chewing bubble gum at the same time. We all have our limits, I suppose.

But one of the photos I took reveals new information about Simba. Look at it below and then tell me what you think- could Simba be possessed by a demon? Maybe Simba is actually a sweet, good kitty, and it is the demon that is making him pee all over my house?

While Simba was exiting from my kitchen, he walked right by one of my cats, LaLa. She totally ignored him. I found that a little disturbing, as it might indicate that he is here a lot more than I realized, and my cats have just accepted it. If that keeps up, I may wake up one day and find him in bed with me! The other possibility is that Simba isn't actually here at all, and I'm just hallucinating him. That would also explain why LaLa ignored him. But, can hallucinations be photographed?

LaLa Plant

A couple of days ago, just around dusk, I stepped outside for something, and found little LaLa lying in one of the planter pots I have sitting right outside my front door. I've never seen her do that before. I was utterly charmed, so I thought I should take some photos and show you how cute she looked.