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Printable View
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(sigh)
Belling the cat is a good morality fable; I had forgotten that it never did come up with a finished resolution - as media (cartoons for instance) of my/our era nearly always show the cat getting belled.
Stevie Smith evidently wrote several poems with cats in them, but I agree - I don't think she liked them at all. From a blog the Paris Review (in part):The Singing Cat by Stevie Smith... https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/bigr...ith-t1341.htmlQuote:
Cats in Colour (or, Color, if you have the Viking edition) was part of a series of picture volumes published by Batsford, a press dedicated to genteel subjects like horticulture. It was doubtless intended as a pleasant gift book for cat fanciers: pretty pictures of fluffy kitties such as one might find nowadays on a wall calendar. Why Stevie Smith was approached about writing the book’s texts is one of the great publishing mysteries of the twentieth century, but the result is nothing short of brilliance. The introduction alone is worthy of cult status.
Here, the “game,” though not to my mind entirely removed from a hidden tartiness, is the game that human beings have been playing with the animal world since the first dog owned a human master and the first cat settled down upon a human hearth. It is we who have made these little catsy-watsies so sweet, have dressed them and set them up, in their cultivated coats and many markings, and thrown our own human love upon them and with it our own egocentricity and ambition.
This barely concealed contempt—for humanity, for the cats themselves—is present throughout the book, although the captions themselves range from the whimsical to the surreal to the unambiguously bizarre. What Smith has created here is really a hyperliterate form of proto–LOL Cat, playing perversely with notions of animal agency, ownership, and human identity. And ultimately, she is benign: as she ends her introduction, “It is an amiable part of human nature, that we should love our animals; it is even better to love them to the point of folly, than not to love them at all.” https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/...4/05/lol-cats/
Google images (Mostly Stevie Smith, her line drawings, cats, etc)... https://www.google.com/search?q="ste...w=1205&bih=633
I liked Borges' poem. His use of the Ganges as remoteness is notable.
Loved the various writers take on their cats. I had a cat, Figaro, a gorgeous silky white female with black markings who loved to cuddle with me when I wrote poetry using my desktop computer (now rarely used); circa 2003. She was an indoor/outdoor kitty who wandered off one day and never returned (sigh).
If the photo shows up Figaro is the white with black kitty and Taffy-Doodles is the black with white kitty. Attachment 9900
Short story: Revisiting Edgar Allan Poe, The Black Cat, beginsMusic: Henry Mancini Something for Cat from "Breakfast at Tiffany's"... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eddjmpfyPWQQuote:
FOR the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not -- and very surely do I not dream. But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburthen my soul... https://poestories.com/read/blackcat
Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor
...........
Both are very cute, tailor. Are there any pics of Rosie and Bells?Quote:
Originally Posted by tailor STATELY
Rosie yes... I'll try to get some pix of Tinker Bell and post both... with maybe one of Odie if I can find one.
Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor
The Singing Cat- You´re right. This second poem makes the perverse light very plain in which the poet sees the relationship between humans and cats.
"The black cat" by Poe. I knew this story already but I don´t like it. Poe is one of the fathers of the short stories but I don´t like his short stories,they are all nightmares, specially this one.
If you want to read a story where there is humor added to some horror, there is Angela Carter´s "Puss in the Boots". I didn´t put the link here, because it´s rather large and it is in the collection, The Blood Chamber. The name of the cat is also Figaro, but it´s a male cat.
An old poem by Joana Baillie:https://www.bartleby.com/291/82.htmlQuote:
"The Cat and the Mouse
England
The cat and the mouse
Played in the malt-house.
The cat bit the mouse's tail off.
"Pray, puss, give me my tail."
"No," says the cat, "I'll not give you your tail, till you go to the cow, and fetch me some milk."
First she leapt, and then she ran,
Till she came to the cow, and thus began:
"Pray, cow, give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my own tail again."
"No," said the cow, I will give you no milk, till you go to the farmer and get me some hay."
First she leapt, and then she ran,
Till she came to the farmer, and thus began:
"Pray, farmer, give me hay, that I may give cow hay, that cow may give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my own tail again."
"No," says the farmer, I'll give you no hay, till you go to the butcher and fetch me some meat."
First she leapt, and then she ran,
Till she came to the butcher, and thus began:
"Pray, butcher, give me meat, that I may give farmer meat, that farmer may give me hay, that I may give cow hay, that cow may give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my own tail again."
"No," says the butcher, "I'll give you no meat, till you go the baker and fetch me some bread."
First she leapt, and then she ran,
Till she came to the baker, and thus began:
Pray, baker, give me bread, that I may give butcher bread, that butcher may give me meat, that I may give farmer meat, that farmer may give me hay, that I may give cow hay, that cow may give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my own tail again."
"Yes," says the baker, I'll give you some bread,
But if you eat my meal, I'll cut off your head.
Then the baker gave mouse bread, and mouse gave butcher bread, and butcher gave mouse meat, and mouse gave farmer meat, and farmer gave mouse hay, and mouse gave cow hay, and cow gave mouse milk, and mouse gave cat milk, and cat gave mouse her own tail again!"
Source: James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps: Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales: A Sequel to the Nursery Rhymes of England (London: John Russell Smith, 1849), pp. 33-34.
Footnote by Halliwell-Phillipps: This tale has been traced back fifty years, but it is probably considerably older.
Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 2034.
Didn´t succeed with uploading cat pics. You must tell me your trick.
Picture posting is hit or miss for me; Tony seems to have it down pat. Still working on my cat pix...
Joana Baillie's poem The Kitten is delightful; the ending quite tender.
A rather generic short short story: The Cat by Banjo Paterson; starts:Music: One of the more bizarre pieces of classical? music ever performed "purrformed" by a cat: John Cage's 4'33"... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpZekJDrbvc (side note: the kitty looks like my kitty Precious from many years ago, only Precious did not have any brown at all)Quote:
Most people think that the cat is an unintelligent animal, fond of ease, and caring little for anything but mice and milk. But a cat has really more character than most human beings, and gets a great deal more satisfaction out of life. Of all the animal kingdom, the cat has the most many-sided character...
https://americanliterature.com/autho...-story/the-cat
Poem: Black Cat - by Rainer Maria Rilke... https://www.poemhunter.com/poems/cat/
To the left of the page is a list of 50+ poems by many notable poets.
Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor
Picture posting has hitherto been a miss for me. Tony succeeds because he takes them from his site at flickr.
Starting with the Rock band The Cats, their songs have indeed, to my ear, a nostalgic meowy quality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkOy4T3jRIY
Enjoyed the generic story by Banjo Paterson. I am not fond of dark stories about cats, specially about black cats, because that increases the prejudice against them(here in Brazil it is still very strong), but here the cats have a special meaning and the story was written by a one time Litnetter, who got very involved with the site, the short time she was here. Do you remember Heartwing?
https://brokenwriterblog.wordpress.c...9/17/schifosa/
The kitty in that music performance looks very unconfortable. It keeps smelling the ground because maybe it was trained with tit bits.
A poem by Shelley: http://shelleysghost.bodleian.ox.ac....ess#Transcript
I enjoyed the Rilke poem and am still reading the other.
California news -https://people.com/pets/mountain-lion-crashed-california-couple-tv-night/
Attachment 9902........... Odie & Rosie on Woodstove
Attachment 9903........... Odie
Attachment 9904...........Tinker Bell
Attachment 9905...........Tinker Bell (again)
Attachment 9906...........Rosie as a kitten
Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor
A simpler time; I was still in High School when that song by The Cats came out (not that I recall it)... Nice vibrato from the lead singer though.
Heartwing rings a bell - ah, we crossed paths on the The LitNet Poetry Anthology – submit here thread back in '16... http://www.online-literature.com/for...mit-here/page2
Enjoyed Ms. Heartwing's short story; her ending:... as worthy as an O. Henry ending.Quote:
It’s been months now and I’m half crazed. To be honest, I hope to die.
(lol) Yes, the cat is quite extraneous in the "music" piece I posted and definitely had to be bribed to stay.
Shelley's poem: noteworthy for it being his earliest surviving poem... interesting.
Your news item is amusing. Lots of mountain lions in these thar hills; neighbors posting about them on facebook every day. I hear them on occasion, but have yet to see more than a paw print.
Music: Al Stewart - Year of the Cat... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRUmRNjv64Q
A short poem by Issa -
Arise from sleep, old cat,
and with great yawns and stretching
amble out for love
... and a Sad Cat Poem - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sad-cat-poem-_n_2590608
Short Story: "Cat Pictures Please" by NAOMI KRITZER — starts:Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),Quote:
I don’t want to be evil.
I want to be helpful. But knowing the optimal way to be helpful can be very complicated. There are all these ethical flow charts—I guess the official technical jargon would be “moral codes”—one for each religion plus dozens more. I tried starting with those... http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_01_15/
tailor
AAAAAIIIIIII!A charming cat family you have/had there! And they are all very different from each other.Quote:
Originally Posted by tailor STATELY
Attachment 9908 Babalú
Sorry!Only succeeded in upload an image of my (former) black queen Babalú. Babalú disapeared after on year, I suspect someone stole her.
A bit of cat music Japanese Style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAIGb1lfpBw
Lolsnif! I don´t believe that you unearthtened The LitNet Poetry Anthology that was to be. Yes that was it. Heartwing registered at the forum, just when this discussions were going on. It´s a pity it didn´t work, but Heartwing still can be found and followed on her WordPress blog.
I saw this doc at the movies, splendid. And I think the Turks were also talking about freedom and good neighborhood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDzevFPOMjY
Loved the sad cat poem: "can you help me to be happy"Quote:
Guillaume Apollinaire | The Cat
In my house I want:
A reasonable woman,
A cat passing among the books,
And friends in every season,
Whom I cannot live without.
"Cat Pictures Please" - the most intelligent story about AI I ever read. That´s the future I think, only the AIs won´t necessarily be amiable.
The two cats- amoral tale https://shortstoriesshort.com/story/two-cats/moral tale
The poem cat- by Erica Jong
Just heard Year of the Cat, good Lyrics. Sorry for spreading and for not been able to take out the pictures with errors.
The poem cat- by Erica Jong
https://lyrics.lol/artist/42149-eric...9-the-poem-cat
(This link I can edit, the link above not)
Yes, I understand... the pictures I finally posted were time consuming; maybe having to do with size, etc,. Also noticed that links need to be managed in a different way ? I've come to start using the URL/URL coding rather than relying on LitNet picking them up in "raw" form. Anywho...
I'm so sorry about the loss/theft of your cat.
The photo of Babalú is wonderful (gorgeous cat)... I see some siamese in his/her facial features.
MitchiriNeko March: (lol) Quite whinsical.
Counter with "Postman Pat and His Black & White Cat" which I stumbled upon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiFNt8nGffA... it's a BBC show evidently.
... and a Petula Clark short song from a bygone age - The Cat in the Window (The Birds in the Sky)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN5TPjDL8Rk
Two Cats moral tale: https://shortstoriesshort.com/story/two-cats/... cute story. I believe there is a typo in the ending: I would substitute "share" for "shan't" -Kedi: The cat video short looks interesting... may look up the film later. Nice to see a peoples respecting feral cats in society. Your point about society is well taken... a lyric by Rush from their song "Tom Sawyer": "What you say about his company / Is what you say about society."... full lyrics: https://www.songfacts.com/lyrics/rush/tom-sawyer ... the entire song could be about cats (lol); (song video on same page).Quote:
The poor cats were very hungry. But their roti was gone. They said, “We will not fight again. If we find some more food, we shall shan’t equally.” And they both went away to look for a mouse to eat.
Loved Apollinaire's short poem and The Poem Cat by Erica Jong; my first time reading Erica's work:
A tiny poem I wrote 5-years ago:Quote:
... the poem will get hungry
and come
just like a cat
coming home
when you least
expect her.
Of Being: Cats and Dogs
Dogs are
Cats is
2/25/2014
Short Story: The Boy Who Drew Cats — starts:... I have to admit that the moral or message is deeper than my understanding.Quote:
A LONG, long time ago, in a small country-village in Japan, there lived a poor farmer and his wife, who were very good people. They had a number of children, and found it very hard to feed them all. The elder son was strong enough when only fourteen years old to help his father; and the little girls learned to help their; mother almost as soon as they could walk...
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/b...ydrewcats.html
Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor
I am quite sure you are right about the pictures, tailor, but I didn´t grasp how you use an URL/URL coding. In the German forum, which has a similar layout as Litnet, there is no Problem at all as long as the pics are in the required formatting. Congrats, you must have spent some time over it!
Thanks, tailor, Babalú disappeared in 1996. It seems some lives ago now. I never tought about Siamese, but some people likened her to Egyptian cats.
A good singer Petula Clark, makes me nostalgic her style of singing. Postman Clark is cute!
A bit of rock for cats:https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=kxELjU3f7Z4
and here is Maru:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uDuls5TyNE
I´m not sure I noticed the typo in the story Two Cats-These texts sometimes go through so many hands...
Loved your tiny poem: "Cats certainly is", any cat will agree with that.
A rather sad poem:https://www.poemhunter.com/poems/cat/page-2/9703035/
The Boy Who Drew Cats-The tiny place where the boy slept suggested to me a modest beginning, as he was in a crossroads as to his future. He didn´t fall prey to ambition and eventually made his way. Anyway this is only the roaming of my imagination.
This story does little honor to the cat: https://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/jftl/jftl12.htm
Cat Psychology:http://www.bbc.com/future/story/2018...ut-a-cats-purr
An Acoustic Feast (Cashmere Cat)
harp; samba?rubber chicken!electronica... etje ne sais quoi !!
9/24/2019
• Maru: LOL... simply precious.
• Like a Cheshire Cat: Yes, time does march on: "But now I’m left, a poor sad old feline, / Couldn’t even attract a porcupine."
• re: The Boy Who Drew Cats: I think you're spot on.
• re: The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog: Poor doggy; I know he became happy at Seth's home :)
Some cat poems by Francesco Marciuliano; narrated by Phil Lowe... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFLVuSLWMZc
... and only because having a cat on a keyboard was brought up in a poem (in the previous video by Francesco) - another poem I penned:
Regarding Cats & Earwax
While pondering earwax
and its fondness by cats
I recalled that one could
check one's keyboard
with a UV lamp
for signs of feline mist
4/16/2011
The Monkey and the Cat... an Aesop's fable, starts:My favorite Carl Sandburg poem:Quote:
Once upon a time a Cat and a Monkey lived as pets in the same house. They were great friends and were constantly in all sorts of mischief together. What they seemed to think of more than anything else was to get something to eat, and it did not matter much to them how they got it... http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/milowinter/61.htm
Fog
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
Music: Phenomenal Cat by The Kinks... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rOjt2h1Gr8
Just because: Grumpy Cat! (RIP)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnotF-QN3v8
From your psychology citation (the other link)"Your Cat is Controlling You!": http://www.bbc.com/future/story/2014...trol-our-minds
Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor
Lol!Nice poem inspired by Cashmere cat! Some more eletronics:https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=biZknQ-JuG4
re:Like a Cheshire Cat:cryin:
To a cat:https://www.poemhunter.com/poems/cat/page-1/15298/
re:re: The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog: Poor doggy; I know he became happy at Seth's home. Yes, not a very favorable portrait of a cat.
Simply loved the poems by Marciulano. Very well presented. There are more of him in the net, but I think these are the best.
http://edelweiss-assets.abovethetree...%20This_2G.pdf
"I recalled that one could
check one's keyboard
with a UV lamp
for signs of feline mist" "Feline mist" Lol! I think cats would aprove the elegant expression.
The Monkey and the Cat...This time the disadvantage was with the cat.
Puss in the Boots by Angela Carter- Finally found the text. A bit long but very worth reading:
https://genius.com/Angela-carter-pus...oots-annotated
Just bookmarked uplifting Phenomenal Cat tohear it sometimes.
Well, here is a human cat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=kzYwz1_Imk8.
Absolutely loved old Grump. But is he riding on a toy or is it that room cleaning robot?
Colonel Meow (RIP):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYHcnpfkxqY
I just noticed we are building quite an Encyclopedia about all things cat. If you feel it is expanding too much or if you want to change the theme, just tell me.
Electronica: Deadmau5 ! Love his work.
To a Cat... Loved it. The poem had me at word #1. A new favorite to add to the multitude: A lightsome poem not overwhelmed by its rhyme scheme - with a deftness added in L2 of each stanza.
abovethetreeline: A wonderful find! Francesco's poetry cracks me up:
"...I gaze into your two kind eyes
And wonder, “Who is that?”"... (lol)
Thank you for the text: Puss in the Boots by Angela Carter - I couldn't find it myself... Will give it a read soon.
Re: Phenomenal Cat by The Kinks - When I think of The Kinks this song does not come to mind at all... I do not think I have ever heard it before... quite a departure from their mainstream rock.
Ah, Sir Elton John... one of his best IMHO.
Grumpy Cat on a real robo-vacuum. He'll be missed :(
Colonel Meow's Diaries: A Rise to Power... (lol) his looks reminds me (for some unfathomable reason) of those monkeys in Japan that sit in the hotsprings in Jigokudani Monkey Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FzrsIOnIpo
.
.
.
:) You're prolly right... Just a few more then I will yield to sanity:
A short story “The Cat in the Mourning Hat” and review; begins:Why do cats like boxes?... https://www.inverse.com/article/3825...rce=newsletterQuote:
A man had a little cat he loved dearly. He fed her at his table every day, on a diet of fish and rice... https://celebratingcats.com/lucinda-...airy-tale-cats
Perhaps some nano stories ?
Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor
A different kind of music (the talking bit is very short):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL8GfZ0B4HU
Enjoyed the apes with their private swimming pool. Now, what you would think of having this fellow in your garden?Quote:
Long may you love your pensioner mouse,
Though one of a tribe that torment the house:
Nor dislike for her cruel sport the cat
Deadly foe both of mouse and rat;
Remember she follows the law of her kind,
And Instinct is neither wayward nor blind.
Then think of her beautiful gliding form,
Her tread that would scarcely crush a worm,
And her soothing song by the winter fire,
Soft as the dying throb of the lyre.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poe...sed-to-a-child
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpK1lZJmbJY
LoL! Tino loved cardboard boxes, but he despised those out of unscratchable cardboard. By the way , who invented the cat first person conjugation?Quote:
But boxes aren’t just for little kitties to enjoy. Big cats in wildlife reserves have also been known to enjoy sitting in boxes, bringing “if I fits, I sits” to a new level.
Liked “The Cat in the Mourning Hat”. This time the cat comes out well.
https://www.hillspet.com/cat-care/be...-tail-language
Now really! Nano stories in this thread!:wink5: Where did you get that idea!
Two cool cats with some very soulfull music.
Enjoyed the poem; especially:The panda cub is adorable. :)Quote:
... Then think of her beautiful gliding form,
Her tread that would scarcely crush a worm,
And her soothing song by the winter fire,
Soft as the dying throb of the lyre.
... But likings come, and pass away;
’Tis love that remains till our latest day:
Our heavenward guide is holy love,
And will be our bliss with saints above.
re: "who invented the cat first person conjugation?"... lol, a whimsy I believe on my part; googling other possibilities gave me hours of fun but no real answers (other than an i iz cat reference at https://www.iizcat.com/)
And lastly... more whimsy for those tense moments (including a nano story sneaked in at the end!)... https://thegrammarcat.com/tag/past-tense/ - with more helpful informative "stuff" on the side links (recht).
And my own nano attempt:
I fell in love with Figaro at first sight; a mewing ball of fluff castaway under our home. I retrieved her by getting her to cling to a broom head and drew her near. She became my constant companion as I crafted poetry on my old desktop... ofttimes whispurring suggestions.
10/2/2019
Lastly, some music - a genre I explore on occasion when the mood suits me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hxv...KCn7S4&index=5
Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor
A bit more about cat first Person:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolcat
and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBG6agP2gKk
Loved the tense moments + nano story, very helpful in an English class.
Cute nano story about Figaro. Seems now we are going seriously into nano stories.
It would be good perhaps to establish a chalenge. A very usual one, 99 words,no more, nor less(title not included) so here is my attempt:
Babalú
When we found Babalú, she was 70% scabies and only 30% cat. The boy of the neighbors offered her some food, she raised her tired little head and ate. Even with scabies she was charismatic, people fell instantly in love with her. She received food and milk and a cardboard for sleeping. After medication, she developed into a beautiful silken black cat. When I invited her home, she inspected fastidiously every corner of the house. During three days, she forgot about the garden.
We had a good time together. Then, one day, she vanished for ever.
Thanks for the music, reminds me of my yoga days.
Lolcat... of course.
Babalú: Enjoyed the story, So sad, like Figaro, just disappeared one day.
99 words, hmmmm, I'll see what I can come up with.
Any other LitNetters up for the challenge ?
Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor
Maybe it would be a good time, tailor, to open a new nano stories thread. As the proposed contest didn´t work this one served for a long time as a nano stories laboratory for Yes/no and me and whoever wanted to post a story. More recently, starting during the spam attack, we posted about cats, but all that may be a bit confusing for other posters.
ok
...
It could also be a thematic thread for poems and nano stories. Maybe that would be more attractive.