Friday 20 March 2020

chain reaction

Via Pasa Bon!, we present a veritable Rube Goldberg montage of cats and dominos from Cat Navi Desk, an act, collective responsible for quite a few feline interventions well worth your time and attention. Find out more at the links above.

Wednesday 29 January 2020

une chatte connue pour avoir รฉtรฉ envoyรฉe dans l'espace et rรฉcupรฉrรฉe vivante

Via Mental Floss we learn that after nearly sixty years of languishing relative obscurity, thanks to a vigorous campaign, the contributions and the legacy of the first and only feline in space, Fรฉlicette, are finally being recognised and commemorated with a proper monument. Unveiled with fanfare last month and sharing an exhibition space in Pioneers’ Hall of the International Space University, l’Universitรฉ spatiale internationale (though one might hope for a more public and accessible memorial) in Strasbourg with a bust of Yuri Gagarin—the first human in space, the bronze of the cat on a plinth represents more of the untold story behind scientific advancement. Much more to explore at the links above.

Wednesday 13 November 2019

pavlovian response

Though sadly his predictions about being up to our necks in bugs did not come to pass and by losing the insects we are losing the song birds as well and we’d prefer this method of conditioning feline instincts, I think that it was a pretty noble notion on the part of inventor and erstwhile actor Desmond Slattery to save our avian friends from our domestic ambush by associating a poaching with a violent and memorable explosion through a treacherous decoy that did exactly that. Debuting his prototype in 1968, Slattery hoped that cats and birds would going forward coexist in harmony.

Monday 29 July 2019

jovan musk

Weird Universe informs that one fragrance, Calvin Klein’s Obsession, has the particular endorsement of individuals of the feline variety, having near aphrodisiac qualities. Cats are keen on this scent due to one of its signature ingredients that make up the bouquet, a chemical compound called civetone, a pheromone originally distilled from the scent glands of the African civet that can be re-created synthetically with the chemicals found in palm oil. The cologne has allure for both domestic and wild cats.

Friday 26 July 2019

hairball

Delightfully, we learn that from a candid picture of their cat regaled with its shed fur as a jaunty head-dress—the subjects might be humiliated but not distressed by it since it’s their own fur—has developed into a minor movement and phenomenon known as Nukege (็Œซ ๆŠœใ‘ๆฏ›, shed or dander) Hats. I’m sure it takes some practise and patience to get good at it—and a cooperative model—but the medium seems to be pretty pliable. See a whole gallery and learn more about the originators at the link above.

Friday 19 July 2019

jennyanydots

I think we are all this film review of the upcoming “live,” demented deep-dreaming nightmare adaptation of the musical Cats. So many questions that dare not seek answers.
The 1981 piece is based on a collection of epistolary poetry that T. S. Eliot (previously) composed to entertain his godchildren in the 1930s—presenting a sociological tract on a tribe of felines and their nomination of one of their members to ascend into a paradisaical afterlife and be reincarnated, and the new production, starring an ensemble cast of screen and stage luminaries projected onto cat-sized avatars, is seemingly riding the coattails of attempting to revive old properties with live-actors aided by digital graphics, dispensing the need for imagination and suspension of disbelief, illustrative of what happens when creative outlets are not constrained by a budget and no one has the courage of conviction to say when a project is going in the wrong direction.

Tuesday 4 June 2019

big wiggy bool

Revisiting an experiment from last year, AI Weirdness (previously) attempts to train a neural network to come up with cat names, ranging from the fussy and fancy to dark and foreboding. The new monikers (see also) were given to cats up for adoption at an animal rescue shelter in the Philadelphia area. Among our favourites were Beep Boop, He Glad, Elle Fury and Tom Glitter. Much more to explore at the links above.

Tuesday 14 May 2019

free to use & reuse

Via the always resourceful Kottke’s Quick Links, we are directed once again to the growing archives of the Library of Congress (previously), whose curatorial staff—like any of us—appreciates a good image of the feline variety (go here to read about proto-meme-maker and cat fancier Harry Whittier Frees) and expects the readership to put these cats back out into circulation. This is also a good gateway and point of departure for exploring the stacks and discovering more of the library’s collections.


Tuesday 20 February 2018

corrugator

My Modern Met refers us to a line of attractive and reasonably-priced modular feline furniture, conceived by a couple of human architects attuned to the shelter and comfort of the cats that share their living space. Not only is the design from A Cat Thing expandable and adjustable to hold one’s companion’s attention for longer, it is also expendable should you or your cat grow bored and dismissive of the whole cardboard ensemble and prefer a cosy sock drawer or a laundry hamper (here’s an award-winning thesis on the accommodating nature of the feline form), the material is fully recyclable.

Monday 5 February 2018

feline fugue

Reflecting on the universal appeal of music, researchers at the University of Wisconsin wondered back in 2015 if a sliding set of parameters could be introduced to resonate with non-human animals for real human compositions. Adjusting tone, pitch and tempo, an audience of cats became visibly involved, as compared to works arranged for human ears, which elicited little to no notice. How do your companions, of any variety, react to this recording?  Learn more about the experiment and research at the link above.

Friday 26 January 2018

felis silvestris

Scheduled to be bringing a cat into our lives soon, our gratitude goes to the always brilliant Nag on the Lake for bringing us word of Baloo the feline who retrieves outstanding leaves for his human. We don’t wish to countermand Nature or the instincts of our future companion but I did harbour worries, living at the edge of a forest, about the detrimental effect that introducing a domestic hunter might have on local wildlife but seeing that a cat can curb and re-direct their energies towards being a leaf-peeper or even  a rock-hound is a pretty exciting prospect.

Sunday 22 October 2017

course ร  l'espace

Thanks to the dedication of one feline-fancier who wants to remedy a grave historical omission by raising interest and erect a monument in Paris, we learn the tale of brave Fรฉlicette, a stray cat, who unlike her more famous canine compatriot Laika the Space Dog, undertook in 1963 a flight of fifteen minutes and survived to relate her experience, safely returned to Earth in a parachute capsule.
Fรฉlicitte’s vitals and vocal reactions were recorded during the launch, flight, which included five minutes of zero-gravity, reflected that the experience was not a pleasant one for the traveller. Her contributions to rocketry helped with the development of a satellite launch platform that enabled the French to compete with the US and the USSR. Sadly instead of being allow to retire as an inspiration to others, Fรฉlicette was some months later euthanized so the distressing effects of space flight might be studied further. That in itself makes me think that the first and so far only space cat deserves some sort of memorial.

Saturday 14 October 2017

heat sink

A group of clever researchers have managed to create a pump and containment system out of ceramics—a material capable of withstanding very high temperatures but usually too brittle to take such stresses—that can handle a volume of white hot molten tin and this breakthrough is potentially revolutionary in the arena of renewable energy by allowing solar cells and wind farms the opportunity to off-load its surplus power in times of excess for when its needed.
Storing energy for later use—as sunshine and blustery days are often at cross-purposes and rarer yet correspond to our peak electrical demands—has attracted a raft of creative and novel means for saving power from batteries, to expanding the electrical grid with idle cars as active members, to the potential energy of gravity. All of these are brilliant schemes but a lot is lost in terms of efficiency—which is where the liquid tin (or metal of one’s choice comes in—tin is especially a good candidate because its liquid state lasts over a range of several hundred degrees kelvin before it boils away) because in the exchange of excess energy to keep the metal hot and later withdrawing on that deposit, because of the laws of thermodynamics, very little (relatively) is lost and higher storage temperatures yield higher storage capacity.

Saturday 16 September 2017

fluid dynamics or bonzai kittens

A French physicist wins the coveted Ig Noble prize with his thesis that felines exhibit both properties of being both solid and liquid states simultaneously.
It’s sort of like the superposition of Schrรถdinger’s Cat, studying the creatures’ remarkable limberness and ability to fill any space and assume the shape of its container. Prizes also come with an honorarium of ten trillion (Zimbabwean) dollars. Read more about the other laureates in different categories, including an unconscionable experiment that compared the brain waves of cheese-lovers and cheese-haters (also taking place in France) to see if the source of aversion could be pinpointed, at the link up top.

Sunday 23 July 2017

foreshortening or draw me like one of your french girls

We were having too much fun with Heloisa’s quite photo-realistic renderings of the felines in her life to not share this delightful discovery by friend of the blog Nag on the Lake. Indeed, one shouldn’t judge another’s sense of perspective and place before getting a look at the artist’s models. Check out more poorly drawn cats at the links a
bove.

Saturday 1 July 2017

LOLcats

Inevitable as it was, we’re still privileged and excited to report that Lewis & Quark’s creative neural network (previously here, here and here) has been assigned the task of naming cats and kittens.
A feline rescue shelter in Alabama reached out to robot’s proctors and asked if they might gin up some positive press and find these animals good homes. Some names come across as a little too alien or arch—like Lord Magian, Parihen the Thawk, Teaw Mos Tilypsronvynkor, Haldir of the Saleword Barga, but most are quite fitting, like Mag Jeggles, Mumcake, Mister Hinkles and Big Wiggy Bool. Go to the link up top to see a whole gallery of these very special cats up for adoption and learn more about cultivating one’s own learning algorithm.

Thursday 16 March 2017

savannahs and toygers and bengals oh my

Bred with the hopes of inspiring cat fanciers to care more for their domestic pets’ wild cousins, Nag on the Lake introduces us to this world of feline hybrids.
These experimental breeds, recognised by most of the professional cat credentialing associations, and who knew that there was one called the United Feline Organisation (UFO)—and included in most registries, contain widely varying amounts of wild blood, with the toy tiger’s stripes the result of careful husbandry of ordinary tabbies. The savannah, however, is a cross between a house cat and the sleek African serval and the Bengal is a generational mix of domestic familiars and Asian leopards. As striking as they are, we’d be happiest with a foundling or one whom chooses us. Visit the link for an informative video presentation and further information.

Friday 27 January 2017

cat-scratch fever

I am always enthralled with the panel-discussions on BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time whatever the topic, and this week’s episode on Parisitism was no exception and particularly enjoyed the sidebar about the curiously manipulative micro-organism called the Toxoplasma gondii, which punches way above its weight. Though it can infect any mammal, in most incidents the parasite infests its host by cloning itself and these incursions in turn are generally short-lived as the biological defences of the host can quickly adapt to wear down the infection.
Sexual reproduction—which accords the parasite the evolutionary advantage of diversity and subsequent generations propelling the better traits of the forebears—can also occur but only while dwelling in felines. I had heard of toxoplasmosis once before when the wife of a co-worker, apropos of nothing, shared with me the fact that she had been diagnosed with it at one point, but never knew of its prevalence nor the strange and circuitous path it takes to mate. Seemingly a disease of affluence, some half of the human population are estimated to have been exposed and carry the parasite though most cases are mild, asymptomatic and vary greatly according to culture. In order to get from the wilds into lions, tigers or house-cats and complete its lifestyle, T. gondii, picked up by rodents, has been seen to radically alter their instinctual behaviour. Uninfected rodents demonstrate a visceral aversion to the smell of cat urine out of self-preservation, but those infested will sacrifice themselves to their local mouser, like a Trojan horse. Studies are not terribly conclusive but research suggests that the parasite may induce some of the same neurologic disorders. No offense intended for cat-fanciers but this does make me wonder why so many self-identify with their affinity for either the canine or feline persuasion and if there’s not some underlying pathology.

Friday 16 September 2016

code of conduct

Pounced on by the marvelous Nag on the Lake, we are treated to another gala museum exhibition by our guides at Hyperallergic, this time of New York City’s mass-transit manners mascot of the 1960s, Etti-Cat. Posters by Jo Mary McCormick-Sakurai that regaled subway cars with this proto-meme admonished commuters to act their act age ~ please ~ and to be courteous to their fellow-travelers, surrendering seats to the elderly, stepping lively and refraining from littering and vandalism. This campaign did succeed in making people behave with more civility to one another and made the trip a bit more pleasant.

Tuesday 26 July 2016

rikki-tikki-tavi

Primarily referring to weasel or stoat society (from the Greek word for ferrets and minks), galeanthropy can also be used to define the mental delusion that one is becoming a cat, replete with feline mannerisms. Well, what do you know about that? I wonder if there’s a special term specifically for the way cats and kittens are anthropomorphised on the internet.