We All Need a Dose of Nothingness Now and Then

H/T to Geoff of EcoRealty for posting this article on Facebook.

The author of the article reminds us that everyone needs a little "nothingness" now and then - a moment to just absorb what is around them without trying to put anything back. A time to empty the mind of anxieties and anger, remove thoughts of the future or the past and just enjoy the present for what it is.

I am hoping President Obama and his family are doing a little of that right now and he will come back refreshed and ready to take on the difficult problems of the world. But right now he should just enjoy the nothingness.

I'll end with the quote from Franz Kafka that the author of this article cites. I had never read it before (I didn't even know Kafka wrote poetry, shows how ignorant I am), and I loved it. It is called "Learn to be Quiet."

You do not need to leave your room.
Remain sitting at your table and listen.
Do not even listen, simply wait.
Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary.
The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice
It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.

A Cat's Eye View

Baxter here. As you can see from this picture, I've been entertaining myself tonight by getting into the Catnip. There was another one of those Debates that my Female Human likes to watch, but I've had enough of them for awhile so I didn't watch it myself. So I thought I'd have a little Diversion from Politics for a change and do a little 'Nip to relax.

Yes, I know I'm a day late. My Humans have been very busy with my Male Human's parents so they haven't been giving me the Opportunity I need to get on the Computer to Blog.

However, That Dog I am forced to live with has also been Inconvenienced, so it's not all bad. The Male Human has been away on a Business Trip and the Female Human has been visiting his Parents in the evening. This means That Dog hasn't gotten as much Attention as she generally demands. So she wants to play when the Female Human gets home and does lots of barking. I keep a low profile when this happens; I hate Noise. Another reason to delve into the Catnip.

Well, as you know, it's been another busy Week. Besides the Political news, there have been other Events of Note. For instance, Fidel Castro resigned as President of Cuba. He'd been Dictator for Life practically ever since my Humans can remember, starting in 1959. In fact, my Humans remember very distinctly when in 1962 he allowed Russia to put nuclear missiles on his Island only 90 miles from the shores of Florida. This was called the Cuban Missile Crisis and eventually - after the Humans truly feared a Nuclear War was going to happen - the Russians agreed to remove the Missiles and things calmed down again. The stupid thing is ever since then, no one who is a U.S. Citizen is allowed to go to Cuba. Not even now that Mr. Castro has Resigned. It seems kind of Silly to me.

However, I digress. It must be the Catnip. Of course, this was all Before My Time. I was only born in 2001, myself. I don't even remember the 9/11 Attack the Humans talk about that apparently started this War on Terror business.

Let's see, what else happened this week? Oh yes. There was a lunar eclipse last night! It was pretty Spectacular, I am told, although I didn't bother to try to look out the Window; I was busy Washing. My Female Human happened to come home just as it was at its Peak and saw it as she was getting out of her Car. She reported it made the Full Moon look like a tiny little sliver of a New Moon.

The Pentagon shot down that satellite I told you about a couple of weeks ago, with a Navy missile. Supposedly they got it right where they hoped to, and the Dangerous Fuel on board will burn up in the Atmosphere. There is Much Suspicion among the Humans that this wasn't really Necessary and that this was Only a Test to see if their anti-missile missiles actually Work. Star Wars Lives!

That's it for my News Roundup. I'll end with a LOL Cats that I can truly identify with. If I could lure That Dog down into the Basement, this could be ME!

Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!

Cruising the Internets

Today is the first day we haven't driven an hour each way to see DH's parents. They are now both ensconced in the same nursing home, my father-in-law for "rehabilitation" from his emergency operation and my mother-in-law still in respite care due to her Alzheimer's Disease. My father-in-law is very glad to be with her again, and since they now have each other, we decided to take a break and relax today.

So, I started meandering, in my eponymous way, among the Interwebs. Christopher had advised me that there is a "Cats 4 Obama" site that Baxter might be interested in joining. So I decided to do a little Googling and see if I could find it. I found a number of sites when I searched on "Cats for Obama" and some of them were quite interesting, so I thought I'd share them with you.

The Purple Crayon reports that Socks the Cat (formerly owned by the Clintons) has endorsed Obama for President.

"Socks’ succinctly worded statement, “You choose Buddy, I’m choosing Barack... Meow!”, may allude to lingering resentment over the Clintons’ decision to move First Dog Buddy to Chappaqua, NY instead of Socks.

(Buddy was tragically struck and killed by a car in January of 2002 and thus is not expected to cast a delegate ballot during the nominating convention in Denver, Colorado this summer.)

How this endorsement will affect Senator Clinton’s standing with cat-lovers remains to be seen."

This link will bring you to a video of a lovely cat speaking in a meow-like high-pitched voice in support of Obama.

I found The Irregular Times, which is a progressive blog which also sells bumper stickers for Obama, and plenty of other pro-progressive merchandise. Here is an example of one of their bumper stickers I found amusing:

I also found another blog written by cats who, like Baxter, like to talk politics and discuss other subjects of feline interest: Cats Working. The linked entry, written by a white cat named Adele, explains why she would not support Hillary.

Last but not least, I found LOLCats4Obama, which seems to be early in its development but will hopefully grow!

I'm not sure I found the site Christopher recommended, but I had a good time looking!

A Cat's Eye View

Baxter here. Since I got off schedule last week, my Female Human said I could switch my Blogging Day to Wednesdays. So here I am.

I have some News from the World of Animals so I thought I would start out with the good news that a Beagle has finally won "Best in Show" at the Westminster Dog Show. Now, I am no Fan of Dogs, but this one seemed as if he was pretty cute.

In News of the Bizarre, the Associated Press reports that a car driven by an Alaska State Trooper was nearly hit by a falling moose while driving along a highway in Alaska. Apparently it fell from a Cliff to its Death. Who knew Moose would be so clumsy? I can imagine that being hit by an Animal of that Size would not be pretty. Hope he made someone a good Meal. (And they better have shared it with their Cat. I'm sure one of my Relatives would enjoy it).

In other News, I see that that Baseball Player, Roger Clemens, is testifying before Congress about his use of some kind of Illicit Drugs called Steroids. Now, I am not a big Fan of Roger Clemens in the first place, but as a Cat who has been known to partake of Prednisone, a Steroid, from time to time for my skin problems, I am Curious (as Cats tend to be) why this is a matter to be pursued by Congress? If these so-called Steroid things are illegal, why don't the Powers That Be just indict Mr. Clemens on criminal charges, to be handled by the courts? What does Congress have to do with this Problem? It would seem to me that Congress might have Better Things to do with their time. But I'm only a Cat so what do I know?

The Political Scene continues to be lively. After the Obama Human's sweep of the Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC primaries, he is gaining Momentum. Interestingly, the former manager of ex-President Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign just endorsed Obama for President. The Hillary Human must be getting Nervous as a Long-Tailed Cat in a Room Full of Rocking Chairs, as they say.

My Female Human has asked me to end this Post now as she needs the Computer. So long for now, and enjoy your Catnip this week. I'll be back next Wednesday for another Roundup of the News.

Hell is Other People

(Or as Jean-Paul Sartre originally said, "L'enfer, c'est les autres.")

Let me make one thing perfectly clear, as Richard Nixon was fond of saying. I know how to drive in the snow.

The thing is, no one else does.

We have had a very mild winter so far here in the wilds of suburban New Jersey. In fact, there was only one other storm that I recall, and it was before Christmas. But today the Gods of Winter decided we could not escape completely, and proceeded to dump snow followed by sleet and freezing rain on us.

In my usual fashion, I stayed late at work because the traffic is always worse earlier in the day when it snows. So I finally meandered out to discover a winter wonderland.

Unfortunately, because of the mild winter, I think people were even worse at driving in the snow than usual, from being out of practice. And my calculation was wrong: there were still plenty of them on the road. All driving badly.

My route home involves a rather poorly-planned interstate highway that goes up and down some major hills. This highway was not plowed. Nor was it salted. Traffic was bumper to bumper, crawling up and down the hills, with cars sliding back and forth and weaving in and out.

I took my place in the line and sluggishly moved along, wearing out my clutch as I repeatedly had to stop and then start again because people were driving so slowly. This is especially dangerous going uphill, since stopping results in getting stuck and spinning one's wheels. Luckily this did not actually happen to me and I managed to get off an exit and get onto the back roads - back roads that blessedly had no other cars on them.

From then on I was able to drive sensibly and consistently in the snow and made it home - an hour and fifteen minutes after I'd departed work. Usually it takes 20 minutes.

So in honor of my grueling trip home, here are some haikus, or haiku as I guess they are more properly called:

Snow and sleet falling
Many cars crawling uphill
Danger lurks ahead.

Don't stop here, idiot!
It only makes your wheels spin
Your car will get stuck.

Get your foot off your brake
While driving down the steep hill
You will only skid!

Get off of the road
If you don't know how to drive
You're holding me up.

Driving in the snow
Is not very hard to do
Following cars is.

A Cat's Eye View

Baxter here. I'm feeling a little cranky and out of sorts so I chose this picture for today's post. As you know, my Humans have been very Preoccupied, taking care of the Male Human's parents over the past three days. You know what That means. It means Yours Truly has been neglected. And you know how That makes Cats feel. Cranky. I had to hide under the spare Bed because there was a Female Human around that I don't know that well. Yeah, I know, she's been there before. But she never Stayed Overnight here. As a Cat, I really don't care for Guests. They disrupt my Routine. I could barely get up the nerve to go use my own Box; and twice I got shut in the Bedroom with the Female Human who was visiting.

Now things are getting back to Normal so, since my Female Human was too busy to let me Blog on my usual day, and she is too busy to Blog today, I thought I'd take up the Slack.

First of all, I'd like to comment on the fact that the Obama Human and the Clinton Human are continuing to have a Catfight over these Delegates in this Election year. There was a Big To-Do on Tuesday and many states had Primaries. The two aforementioned Humans split the votes pretty evenly - each won a fair number of states. This is probably the most exciting Election Year in recent History, my Female Human feels. It might not be decided until the Convention. Let us hope this does not lead to a repeat of 1968. That was before my glorious Cat Self was born, but apparently the Democratic Humans did not win the Election that year. The Democratic Humans need to be United.

In the meantime, the McCain Human seems to be winning out over the one my Humans call the Android, and the other one who apparently believes the "Flintstones" was a documentary and people and dinosaurs walked the earth together. Pish! Even Cats know that wasn't true!

If you want to read some more details, you can look here.

Elsewhere, there have been some really bad storms down South and a whole lot of Twisters destroyed property and killed some folks. And, although I personally do not go Outside, my Female Human informed me that it was nearly 70 degrees here in New Jersey today. I'm sure Some will say that this freakish Weather must be another sign of Global Warming.

I'd also like to report there is some Good News regarding the poisonous pet food that killed so many of my brothers and sisters in Catdom, and Dogs as well, in 2007. Two Chinese businesses and a U.S. distributor were indicted today for their part in the tainted pet food scandal. According to the article,

"The indictments allege that Suzhou Textiles, an export broker, mislabeled 800 metric tons of wheat gluten tainted with the toxic chemical melamine to avoid inspection in China. Xuzhou then did not properly declare the contaminated product it shipped to the U.S. as a material to be used in food, the indictment says.

It also says the shipment was falsely declared to the Chinese government in a way that would avoid a mandatory inspection of the company's plants.

According to the indictment, ChemNutra picked up the melamine-tainted product at a port of entry in Kansas City, then sold it to makers of various brands of pet foods. The indictment alleges that the melamine was added to make the gluten meet the required standard for protein content specified in the contract between Suzhou and ChemNutra."

Given what Grief was caused by this terrible situation, it is good to know that there will be Retribution for the deaths of beloved Pets.

That is about all the News I have today. My Humans have been working on figuring out where to put their Parents so they will be located close by. They have made progress and hope to have a Plan in place when the Male Human's Father gets out of the Hospital.

My Female Human would like to thank all of you who have left supportive messages for her Family. As a Cat, I too appreciate it, since the sooner things get back to Normal around here, the sooner I will get the Attention I so richly deserve.

Please enjoy the rest of your Week and any Catnip you may have.

A Cat's Eye View

Baxter here. I'd like to say how pleased I am to be back for my second week of blogging. We Cats are not used to getting the limelight like this, especially in this household, where That Dog gets so much attention.

Why, just yesterday I was trying to surreptitiously insinuate myself into the lap of one of my Humans, and That Dog saw me and chased me out of the room. The nerve! I went off in a huff and decided that they did not deserve My Attention.

Well, enough of my problems. It seems you all have plenty of your own. This Democratic thing is really starting to heat up, isn't it? Man, and they call US "Catty." Look at the Hillary-Obama sniping going on. I haven't seen that much animosity since I was living in that household that had 17 other cats in it. (I kept a low profile there, but boy, there were some catfights between some of the others).

I was reading a good article on the Internet from Time Magazine (in between e-mailing DCap's cat, George - we've become quite good chums).

The article asks the question, "Could Race Destroy the Democrats?" Now, this would be a Bad Thing to have happen, in my opinion.

After all, we Cats know that Cats are Cats - doesn't matter if you're black and white, tiger, or calico. But Humans for some reason haven't figured this out yet, and are very oversensitive any time something is said that might be considered Racially Motivated, as the Humans like to say. And, of course, much of what is said is in some kind of Code that Humans tend to speak in. No Human actually comes out and says "Don't vote for X because he or she is this or that." They just make some hint that is taken the wrong way - or perhaps the way they really meant it - and then all Hades breaks lose.

It's kind of like when a tomcat (no relation to the real Tomcat of course) sees another tomcat in the yard and makes one of those yowly noises. The other tomcat could just ignore him, but instead he makes a yowly noise of his own. Next thing you know, both Cats are crouching in their corners making those horrendous howly noises that sound like a police siren. (Naturally, being Neutered, I am above such behavior). Eventually they may even come to a physical confrontation and injure each other!

That seems to be about what is happening between the Hillary and Obama Humans. Here is how Time Magazine describes this Situation:

"Clinton charged that Obama was raising "false hopes" with his soaring rhetoric that emphasized ends over means. Obama skewered Clinton right back in New Hampshire, asking where the nation would be if both JFK — in making a manned mission to the moon a goal — or Martin Luther King Jr. — in his 1963 Lincoln Memorial speech — had instead shut down their visions and told America they were simply too hard to achieve. Delivered with humor and always to soaring applause, Obama's was a devastating rejoinder.

But then Clinton came back and, far less artfully, said that King's visions were great, but it took an experienced politician like Lyndon Johnson to get them enacted. At the very least, Clinton had equated the sometimes crass master of the legislative backroom with one of America's patron saints. (The real problem is that Clinton seemed to put LBJ on a pedestal higher than King's.) That was probably not her intention, but neither was this her best example in the deeds — not — words crusade she was on. In any case, at that point, things began to unravel."

Now things have gotten even worse. There's this other Human called Robert Johnson who is a Hillary supporter who made a Snotty Remark about the Obama Human's youthful activities - obviously referring to his admitted use of the Catnip in his youth - and Hillary did not chastise him; he later claimed to be referring to Obama's community activism. Even I, as a Cat, can see through THAT one!

Things seem to be going from bad to worse. As Time says:

"the Democratic race is sidetracked on a direction that leads, like a scene from one of those Back to the Future movies, off a cliff. Yesterday on Meet The Press, Clinton said at one point she did not think either she or Obama wanted to "inject race or gender in this campaign." By the time she said those words, it was already too late."

I'd like to tell them all to shape up. Can we have them both carted off to the local Animal Shelter and put in a cage together until they stop fighting? It might be the only solution to avert disaster!

Well, enough of this serious stuff. I know that on Mondays you expect a little more variety from Yours Truly, since I am a Cat of Many Talents. In fact, you might call me a Renaissance Cat. Not only am I enthralled by this Human Politics stuff, but I also appreciate movies and music.

In fact, last night my Humans were watching an excellent film, La Vie En Rose, which just became available on their "On Demand" cable service. They had seen this movie in an actual Movie Theater when it first came out, as the whole Family (even The Dog) loves Edith Piaf music; also Billie Holiday. Those two ladies sure do have great voices. So when my Humans were watching the movie, I was trying my best to get into the room with them but as I mentioned earlier, That Dog chased me out. I had to sit outside the room and watch from the Doorway.

One of the things I learned about Edith Piaf is that despite her great success as a singer, she had an extremely unhappy personal life! It made my birth out in the street look like a picnic! At least I was taken in by a kind person (even if they did have 17 cats). I got 3 squares and a warm place to sleep.

Edith, on the other hand, got raised in total poverty by street performers who kept dumping her off on other people. The best home she had as a kid was with a bunch of what the Humans call "prostitutes." And that home she got taken away from. Everyone she really loved either left or died. No wonder she got into the Catnip.

The Female Human who plays Edith is fantastic. She really brings her to life. This movie is Highly Recommended by Yours Truly.

In other news, I saw on MSNBC.com that there was an incident where some Male Human was trying to shoot Puppies - yes, shoot them! - because he didn't want to go to the trouble to find homes for them.

Well, three of them didn't make it, but when he got to the fourth one, he got what was coming to him. Yep, the Puppy pulled the trigger and shot the guy in the hand! Good for him, I say. The remaining four Puppies were taken to Animal Control to be adopted out to Good Homes. The Human went to the hospital to be treated for his Gunshot wound and will likely be arrested for Animal Cruelty.

Now, you have to understand, that as a Cat, I don't ordinarily care for Dogs very much. But these were Puppies, and some Ladies of my acquaintance have been known to nurse Puppies just like their own Kittens. And anyway, we Animals are all on the same side when it comes down to it. Cruelty to any of us is Cruelty to all of us.

To end my second Post on a lighter note, I'd like to close with a picture from LOLCats, which pretty much sums up my feelings when we got The Dog that we have now, after two blissful months without any Dog in the house.

Speaking of pictures, how do you like my Cat's Eye View up at the top? I am very proud of it. My Male Human took that picture awhile back and I think it is Intimidating. I like being Intimidating. It really works for me.

Have a great week, Bloggers, and enjoy some Catnip - but be sure to enjoy it Responsibly!

A Cat's Eye View

Hello, Baxter here. I understand from my Female Human that my first effort at blogging was warmly received, and that my fans are now clamoring for additional words of wisdom from yours truly. Well, that isn't very surprising, I guess; it is to be expected once the wisdom of a Cat has been disseminated to the masses.

So from now on I'm going to be posting here on Mondays to round up some news stories I think are important, and, of course, including my very own, extremely pertinent, commentary on them.

First of all, you will be surprised to know that Cats actually follow what you people call "Politics." Why, you may ask?

Well, what is more important to a Cat than having food in the dish, a warm box to use, and plenty of heat in the house? That's right, nothing! Nothing is more important than that. And whether or not my Humans have jobs and are happy matters a lot to me, because otherwise the cat food might run out, or the heat may have to be turned down.

From what I understand from what my Humans say when I'm lying around on their laps with one ear turned to their conversation, there has been a major Doofus in the office they call "President" for seven years now, and as a result the economy isn't doing so well. The price of that stuff that heats the house has gone way up and my Humans keep talking about turning down the Thermostat.

I don't know a lot about this type of thing, but when my Female Human gets cold she goes and pushes a button on this thing on the wall and it gets warmer again. I don't want them pushing the button to make it colder.

So as a Cat, I would like to point out that it is Time for a Change.

And speaking of change, this Human called Obama seems to be doing quite well in some other place called New Hampshire. My Female Human is excited about this, apparently, so I will probably be supporting this fellow myself. He says he's all about Change, and that makes him OK by me.

I shall now move on to other subjects.

I was shocked, shocked, I tell you, by the following story:

"Man kills, cooks and possibly eats girlfriend, police say"

"TYLER, Texas (AP) -- A man killed his girlfriend, then filleted and cooked parts of her body before calling police to tell them what he was doing, authorities said Sunday

...When authorities arrived at the home, they found Shearer's mutilated body, one ear boiling in a pot of water on the stove and a fork sticking out of some human flesh sitting on a plate on the kitchen table."

Now, that is just disgusting. It's not as if she were a mouse or something. That I could understand. But this is like me trying to eat another Cat. It's just not the thing to do. In my younger days, I may have had a fight or two with another Cat but I would never really harm one. And certainly I would not demean myself to eat one. My Female Human says that since it happened in Texas, this person is going to "fry." I'm not sure what she means by that but it doesn't sound as if his future is very bright.

Another interesting bit of news comes from this article. Apparently scientists have ascertained that Monkeys pay for Sex. The male monkeys groom the female of their choice first in order to receive her sexual favors. Now, personally, I have not experienced Sex. As I mentioned previously, I was "fixed" when I was a young cat and had never had the opportunity to make an intimate acquaintance with the lady of my choice. But I do know we Cats do not do That Sort of Thing. We Males just grab the lady by the scruff of the neck and proceed from there. I know, because I used to watch some of the local couples in the neighborhood before the Nice Person brought me into the house.

The interesting thing is, my Female Human says that Humans sometimes do this as well. Perhaps there is more of a connection between Monkeys and Humans than some people want to admit (Thank you, Crooks & Liars, for that link).

Now, what about this "Writer's Strike" the Humans keep talking about? I understand that when my Humans are watching that stupid box they keep in their bedroom late at night (when I'm patiently waiting for the Dog to fall asleep so I can get up on the bed) that they watch some shows called "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." But because of this "Writer's Strike" they haven't been doing that lately and are getting very cranky about it.

But apparently tonight that is going to change, and the shows will be back on the air. Lord knows what they will be able to tell my Humans if they aren't supposed to write anything, but my Female Human says it will still be a vast improvement over the reruns of the past few months.

Of course, as a Cat, I don't see any reason to have Writers. We Cats are very good at improv and can always find the right words to say, so I really don't see what the fuss is about.

Now, to finish off my post, I'd like to talk a bit about my poor distant cousin, Tatiana, the tiger who was shot at the San Francisco Zoo after mauling a young Male Human to death. It is true she killed the Human but there are rumors that the young Humans were taunting her.

Now, everyone knows we Cats can jump. My Humans used to have a Cat who could jump from onto the top of the refrigerator from the kitchen counter with no difficulty whatsoever. In perusing the pictures of the moat and wall at the Zoo, it is obvious that any self-respecting Cat of that size could make the leap if she were goaded into it by young Humans without any Sense.

Now, apparently, it has come out that these Humans had been into the Catnip (or as they call it, pot and booze), and the surviving ones are not cooperating properly with the Authorities. So, it seems it was not all Tatiana's fault that this happened; however, it is important that the Zoo fix the height of that wall so that other Tigers don't end up meeting the same fate as poor Tatiana did.

That is it from where I sit today. I'll be gathering more news tidbits for next week's post on this thing called a "Blog." My Human is pleased not to have to blog on Mondays, as it is a hard day for her to get moving.

May your week be full of expensive food, Catnip and lots of naps.

Scene at a Lebanese Restaurant in New Jersey

Characters:

Mauigirl, three friends, and a Lebanese waitress.

Dialogue (as interpreted by Mauigirl).

Waitress to Friend #1: Would you like tea?

Friend #1: "Yes, please, with milk."

Waitress leaves. A few minutes later, she returns.

Waitress: "I'm very sorry, there is no milk. Do you still want tea?"

Friend #1: "No, thank you, not without the milk."

Waitress: "We have camel milk."

Friend #1: "No, that's OK, thanks anyway."

Mauigirl to Friend #1: "Maybe you should've tried it. How bad could it be? Of course, that's easy for me to say, I've never had camel milk!"

Friend #1: "You've never had chamomile tea?!"

Mauigirl: "Chamomile?! I thought she said CAMEL MILK!"

Hysterical laughter by other characters. (I was wrong, obviously).

Friend #2: "Will that be one hump or two?!"

More hysterical laughter by all four characters.

Hey, it was a LEBANESE restaurant. I thought they might import it or something. Aren't there camels in Lebanon?