Cat Convos: Introductions

Hiyu: Why do we have to introduce ourselves? Everyone already knows us.

Me: We have some new readers and long-term readers would also like to know a little bit about you.

Loki: I’ll go first. I want to get it over with.

Me: Okay, tell us your favorite things and one thing you really want to accomplish this year.

Loki: I like curling up in blankets and taking naps and I like stretching out in sunbeams and rainbow-beams and taking naps. I also like to hide in boxes.

Me: You really like sleeping, that’s quite true. What’s your goal for the year?

Loki: Doorknobs. I want to open doors on my own.

Me: Yes, I see you trying all the time.

Back Camera

Me: Thank you Loki

Kuri: I like to try everything my humans do. And napping. I like napping too.

Me: What’s your favorite things humans do?

Kuri: I like the way you scream when I jump in the bubbles baths and I like arts and crafts, especially with pipe cleaners.

Me: What’s your goal for the year?

Kuri: I want to read all your books and write a screenplay.

Me: A screenplay?

Kuri: Yeah, ever since I read Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, I’ve wanted to write just like you do.

Me: I don’t write screenplays.

Kuri: Maybe you should step out of your box and try.

Hiyu: My turn.

Hiyu: I like following people around just to see what they’re doing. I also like getting to the highest spots anywhere. I love running and jumping high.

Me: That’s quite true.

Hiyu: My goal is to keep the house safe. I do rounds every hour just to make sure.

Me: You do a great job.

Hiyu: I know.

Me: Favorite Books?

Kuri: Save the Cat and poetry books and game guides.

Loki: How to interpret dream books and hopefully someday I’ll find one about doorknobs. I’m still looking for my favorite.

Hiyu: High fantasy. I like books like Eve Forward’s Villains By Necessity. I like thrillers too and adventure stories.

Me: You guys are pretty cool cats.

Hiyu, Kuri and Loki: We know.

~lisa

 

Ted Talk Review

I love Ted Talks. http://www.ted.com/talks

They’re free, online and cover an incredibly wide range of subjects.

Among the picture perfect Teds, I recommend:

Thomas Peschak : Dive into an ocean photographer’s world http://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_peschak_dive_into_an_ocean_photographer_s_world

Mac Stone: Stunning photos of the endangered Everglades http://www.ted.com/talks/mac_stone_stunning_photos_of_the_endangered_everglades

Frans Lanting: The story of life in photographs http://www.ted.com/talks/frans_lanting_s_lyrical_nature_photos

Just fun for everyone:

James Veitch: This is what happens when you reply to spam http://www.ted.com/talks/james_veitch_this_is_what_happens_when_you_reply_to_spam_email

Social / Political

Melvin Russell: I love being a police officer, but we need reform (I am so impressed with this man) https://www.ted.com/talks/melvin_russell_i_love_being_a_police_officer_but_we_need_reform

Leana Wen: What your doctor won’t disclose http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Leana+Wen%3a+What+your+doctor+won%27t+disclose&view=detail&mid=55C032E8C3C6BD14542155C032E8C3C6BD145421&FORM=VIRE

Al Gore: The case for optimism on climate change http://www.ted.com/talks/al_gore_the_case_for_optimism_on_climate_change

Other Great Ted Talks:

David Gruber: Glow-in-the-dark sharks and other stunning sea creatures https://www.ted.com/talks/david_gruber_glow_in_the_dark_sharks_and_other_stunning_sea_creatures?language=en

Edith Widder: The weird wonderful world of bioluminescence http://www.ted.com/talks/edith_widder_the_weird_and_wonderful_world_of_bioluminescence

Carl Safina: What are animals thinking and feeling http://www.ted.com/talks/carl_safina_what_are_animals_thinking_and_feeling

Rachel Sussman: The world’s oldest living things http://www.ted.com/talks/rachel_sussman_the_world_s_oldest_living_things

Enjoy

~lisa

 

 

 

 

 

My Favorite Things

Loki and Kuri

I recently had the privilege of attending a showing of “The Sound of Music” at the amazingly beautiful 5^th Avenue Theater https://www.5thavenue.org/  in Seattle. True to form, I now have a song stuck in my head.

Besides “My Favorite Things” the other song stuck in my head is from “The King and I”. “Getting to Know You” resounds every time I think about all the amazing blogs and fabulous writing I’ve been discovering in Blogging 101.

Now back to “My Favorite Things”.

Musicals are squarely in the middle of my list of favorite things, but today’s post is going to be a tribute to many things at the very top of the list. (See bottom of this post for the lyrics stuck in my head)

Writing, Reading and Family are at the top of the list, but I’ll return to those in a later post.

Bengals and Bubble Baths

Thanks to Kuri, The King of Tales, these two subjects will always be inextricably linked.

I read before I brought my kittens home that Bengals tend to like water. Cute, right? I’ve had cats all my life and it hadn’t occurred to me that the water bottle spray to discourage unwelcome behavior might not work. The three Bengals just give me a look like “Interesting, why did you do that?” and “Can you do that again?”

There’s nothing like relaxing from a long day in a lavender-scented bubble bath. Kuri agrees.

In our house a closed door is a closed door. People knock. Kuri, who is always curious, opens the door. Hiyu and Loki will follow. Kuri jumps up on the side of the doorway and surveys the situation. As the other two watch, he makes his decision. He jumps into the water, sits on my feet and gives me a look that says “Now what?”

For me “now what?” translates for me rising quickly out of the bath and firmly telling the inquisitive cat who is sitting in water up to his chin, that “No, I don’t share.”

For Kuri this is not a one-time-thing. If I forget to lock the door, I end up sharing my bath with a cat.

TED TALKS http://www.ted.com/ They’re free, they’re great, they’re thought-provoking and they’re inspiring. You can also get TED as a free app on your phone. Ted Talks also help create my reading lists (great ideas), museum lists, and research questions. There is an amazing array of dynamic speakers in almost every category imaginable. (See end of post for a small sampling

Jamila Lysicott: 3 ways to speak English

Other linguistics and lexicography experts: Erin McKean, John McWhorter & Anne Curzan.

Science: Ed Young, Robert Full, Vijay Kumar, Jedidah Isler, Garrett Lisi

Art: Aparna Rao, Margaret Wertheim

Other Favorites: Susan Cain, Amy Cuddy, David McCandles, Tim Harford, Melvin Russell

~lisa

Jamila Lysicott http://www.ted.com/talks/jamila_lyiscott_3_ways_to_speak_english

http://jamilalyiscott.com/

Susan Cain: http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts http://www.quietrev.com/

Susan Cain’s bestselling book. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

Erin McKean http://erinmckean.com/

Aparna Rao http://www.ted.com/speakers/aparna_rao http://www.ted.com/talks/aparna_rao_high_tech_art_with_a_sense_of_humor

http://www.ted.com/talks/aparna_rao_art_that_craves_your_attention

With thanks to AZLyrics http://www.azlyrics.com/

From “The Sound of Music”

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite things.”

 With thanks to LyricsMode http://www.lyricsmode.com/

From “The King and I”

“Getting to know you, Getting to know all about you. Getting to like you, Getting to hope you like me. Getting to know you, Putting it my way, But nicely, You are precisely, My cup of tea. Getting to know you, Getting to know all about you. Getting to like you, Getting to hope you like me. Getting to know you, Putting it my way, But nicely, You are precisely, My cup of tea. Getting to know you, Getting to feel free and easy When I am with you, Getting to know what to say Haven’t you noticed Suddenly I’m bright and breezy? Because of all the beautiful and new Things I’m learning about you Day by day. Getting to know you, Getting to feel free and easy When I am with you, Getting to know what to say Haven’t you noticed Suddenly I’m bright and breezy? Because of all the beautiful and new Things I’m learning about you Day.. By… Day.”