Purrsday Night - Henry's checkup

Henry is proud of his weight, a nice normal 11.125 lbs. Not too fat, not thin. Just purrrrrfect. We took him to the vet because he has been coughing a little, and now he has been diagnosed with a mild case of asthma. MrB said half-jokingly "oh, I'll bet they have special little cat inhalers", and guess what... they do. We now have the AeroKat (shown in the little pic at right), but, knock on wood, have not yet had to use it. Henry has coughed a little occasionally, but so far nothing bad enough for an AeroKat session. This is all new to us, and apparently cat asthma is pretty rare and he doesn't fit the typical profile -- 1% of cats, mostly Siamese/Himalayan and youngsters. Henry is none of those, but he is 100% special so we are hoping that all goes well with him.

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Life From a Cat's Perspective - Cats - Catblogging -

Katie shows her unfluffy balls.

Katie Couric, speaking at the National Press Club meeting:

“Everyone in this room would agree that people in this country were misled in terms of the rationale of this war,” said Couric, adding that it is “pretty much accepted” that the war in Iraq was a mistake.

“I’ve never understood why [invading Iraq] was so high on the administration’s agenda when terrorism was going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan and that [Iraq] had no true connection with al Qaeda.”

Further, Couric said the Bush administration botched the war effort, calling it “accepted truths” that it erred by“disbanding the Iraq military, and leaving 100,000 Sunni men feeling marginalized and angry...[and] whether there were enough boots on the ground, the feeling that we’d be welcomed as liberators and didn’t need to focus as much on security.” She added “I’d feel totally comfortable saying any of that at some point, if required, on television.”

The former “Today” show anchor traced her discomfort with the administration’s march to war back to the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

“The whole culture of wearing flags on our lapel and saying ‘we’ when referring to the United States and, even the ‘shock and awe’ of the initial stages, it was just too jubilant and just a little uncomfortable. And I remember feeling, when I was anchoring the ‘Today’ show, this inevitable march towards war and kind of feeling like, ‘Will anybody put the brakes on this?’ And is this really being properly challenged by the right people? And I think, at the time, anyone who questioned the administration was considered unpatriotic and it was a very difficult position to be in.”

Let me say that I don't care what kind of hairdo a journalist/anchorperson has, I don't care what they are wearing, I don't care if they are young, old, fat or thin. I also don't care a rat's patoot about network ratings, and I don't particularly trust the news I'm being fed because of government, and especially corporate influences upon broadcast media. Not of it is truly fair, none of it is complete, and none of it is without some bias and spin. I have no respect for a journalist who won't demand answers to the hard questions. "And is this really being properly challenged by the right people?" Katie, you are the "right people" you were talking about.

It's nice to hear Katie expressing her own very frank opinion on this war and what's behind it, and have her comments "on the record". Keep it going. [LINK]

Found via Raw Story

Tags: Iraq - Couric

Another damned spider post

This is the new guy in the garden. It's called a "Green Lynx Spider". I hate it when a new spider shows up and I have to google it to see what it eats and how we should deal with it, because it's page after page of spider pics -- mostly closeups of the eyes and mouth parts -- looking like some horror movie. GAAAAAAA!!!!

This one does not make webs or bite humans. According to this page, "it often lies in wait for insects in the blooms or on the pads of prickly pear, for which its bright green color offers ideal camouflage. It pounces on its prey in a cat-like manner, which is the reason for the name 'lynx.' "

Unfortunately, (MrB, take note) it loves to eat moths, butterflies and bees. We'd rather keep those guys around, but we sure could use some mosquito-eaters.

Gary Primich

It was a very weird way to find out. I check my stats for keywords and such, and earlier this week a couple of people were searching for information about Gary Primich being dead. They found my blog because I have posted about him a few times. I looked through Google myself and turned up nothing, but today I have learned that he did pass away last Sunday, the 23rd. He was only 49. So far the cause of death has not been made public.

He was a fantastic blues harmonica player, and one of the only Chicago-styled blues guys in town (that I know about), it's a lot different from Texas blues or any other kind. I can't explain the difference to you, but if you are listening you can tell the difference for yourself. I don't know how many times we got to see him, most of the time it was at Jo's Coffee on First Thursday, sometimes at Momo's or elsewhere. The video above was shot at Jo's on First Thursday in March of this year. Gary will be missed, that's for sure.

The last jungle on the left.

Here it is right past the equinox and time for a report on the change of seasons in the yard. This wet summer we've had has made everything grow like crazy, and I DO mean crazy! We would never be allowed to live where they have a Neighborhood Association -- nor would we want to live where they have one. I was not brought up to respect silly rules like that. Witness the striped house in the picture. My mother painted it that way (in 1968) as a way of saying "in your face!!" to the neighbors, and it got worse too. A story or two for another post there. Sorry... I wandered off... showing my age too. Back to the present day...

Here is one of the Summer Solstice pics and the post on it for comparison.
Fast forward to Now, and here are our Autumn colors. Orange has taken over the yellow, here is the new predominate flower. We don't know what it's called. It's something they were giving away over at The Natural Gardener. Click all to enlarge.
The front yard is always very tame compared to the back. It's a wonderful place if you are a bird... or a bee... or a spider (our orb weavers, aka zipper spiders, have both disappeared. I wonder where they will turn up next?)

You would be advised to stay on the path if you can find it!!! ...duck your head, and for pity's sake, watch out for pointy plants, snakes, geckos, spiders... and you'll need mosquito repellent!!

Knit Pick!

GREAT little ensemble over at Revolutionary Knitting! Go over and see more of and read about the Larry Craig Sweater!! I DA HO. R U DA HO 2?

Tags: Larry Craig - knitting
Link: More radical knitting at Steal This Sweater.

Hey Vern!

?

If Autumn is the season heralded by the Autumnal Equinox... then why isn't the season associated with the Vernal Equinox called "Vern"?

hmmmm?

Happy Autumnal Equinox this weekend, all you Pagans, Heathens, Treehuggers, and other Earth Lovers.

Melon Cat

Too busy and hectic here this week to come up with a proper Catblog, so here's a video with a Summer theme -- a kitten eating a melon. I used to have a cat who would eat as much canteloupe as you'd give her.



Found on Cute Overload.

Throw away the key with the Constitution

Yes, I know. I'm disappointed too, just one damned thing after another. The hard reality is that there aren't enough non-Bushits to change anything. I am just trying to wait this stuff out (see the countdown clock on the sidebar) and always hoping for good news. I'm counting 6 Republicans and 1 Independent voting YEA... 1 Republican "unclear". Even McCain is a NO.
Click on the graphic to see how your Senators voted. Phone numbers provided, although my Senators are both red, and I'm sure that calls from those flaky dirty hippie Austinites are a source of endless amusement to Hutchenson and Box-turtle Cornyn.

News link.

Found via POAC.

Blogger Play

Have you checked out "Blogger Play"? It's a never-ending slideshow of images that are being uploaded to blogs. You can click on any image as it goes by (or click the back button if you miss it) and see the blog posting it and see the context.

http://play.blogger.com/

It is addictive. You have been warned!!

My Sweet Buccaneer

I be aft from th' the steamin' yo ho ho weekend an' buried up t' me neck in tasks. No sign 'o daylight or calm seas. Jus' barely enough time t' remind ya sea dogs an' land lubbers that 'tis "Talk Like a Pirate Day", ya horn swogglin' scabrous dogs!

Bloody links:
Pirate palooza
Need a leg up? Pirate Speak

ACL Day 3

Today, still recovering from humid heat, I wasn't physically prepared to endure another long day in the blazing heat so I talked MrB into getting there later in the day, and that's how it went. I mainly wanted to see the Decemberists, and the rest of the festival was optional. We watched Amos Lee from the same stage right before, but the Decemberists' fans were more hardcore than I was, so I was unable to get closer than second level back -- so when MrB bailed, I compromised and settled for a spot in front of the sound board. This band is very popular and get lots of airplay in Austin. Are they as popular in your town too? It was our first time to see them, although they've played here a few times. We loved this show and can't wait to see the band again in a better venue. Check them out.

Another ACL Festival done come and gone.

Decemberists review, Statesman blog
Day 3, AustinIST
Day 3, Drublood

Tags: Music - Austin - Texas - Decemberists - ACL

ACL Day 2

This day was another humid scorcher, and I wasn't able to endure a whole day of it. Also, there was no one on the schedule that I simply had to see, so it was mostly spent seeking shade, coolness, and other relief. We really only saw one band which was around 1 PM, and that was Mario Matteoli. We are fans of his now. He used to be with The Weary Boys, a bluegrass outfit who just broke up. His music is not bluegrass at all, I guess you could include it in that catch-all genre of "roots music" if you had to, anyway, he rocked our socks off. Good songwriting, singing, 2 good guitars, slide trombone, keyboards...

We got tired of trudging around in the sun, so we walked down to Chuy's -- which was packed of course -- and ended up sharing a small table with a nice Austin couple. Turned out that the man was my pharmacist!! What are the odds of that? He said he didn't want me to get a bad impression of my pharmacist when off duty, but frankly, I am more concerned that the next time I am instructed to get the pharmacist's counseling with a new prescription, that it's not one of those "apply to infested area" type prescriptions!! LOL!! Anyway, they made a good music recommendation for the afternoon in Ocote Soul Sounds. The band sounded great, but this was our view of them. They played in that white tent in the background. Note the guy sitting in the tree. Anyway, it's a good choice of a band to see in a proper music venue sometime. We came home to our lonesome kitties after that, and here I am blogging and looking through my pics.

Tags: Music - Austin - Texas - Texas Music - ACL