FUN WITH CATS ON THE INTERNET

O.K.  So most of you know by now that I love cats.  Well in a period of intensive scientific research web surfing while bored this afternoon, I found a few cat pictures from the web that I like.

Like this one.

Or this one.

Anyone who has ever had a Christmas tree and a kitten in the same room must be familiar with a scene like this.

There are some pictures that are sort of intellectual.

By the way, you'll notice the spelling isn't all it could be.  It's difficult for those furry little creatures to type correctly all the time.

So there's just a sample of what's available via the World Wide Web. 

But wait!  How about THIS fearsome prospect?

APPLES OF MY EYE

Stephen, of the Chubby Chatterbox, has been a great influence on me with his great story-telling and absolutely marvelous illustrations.  I've already got the story-telling down (though not as good as Stephen) so I decided to try my luck with the paintbrushes.  Here's my first attempt.

So what do you think?  

Still life with apples.  

Not too bad, is it?

I think I did well with the sheen of the fruit, and the light reflections.

Not to mention the thatch of the basket.

Stephen?

Can you give it a critique?

Oh, all right.

So I lied.

That's part of story-telling.

Here's the original, before it was dealt with in my PHOTO-editing software.

Yup, it's just a photograph.

Actually, I prefer one I took with a little less light on the subject.  It seems to bring out the deeper reds.

So, there's my "story" for today.

And apologies to Stephen, a REAL artist.

KITTY CO-EXISTENCE

For a change, the two feline members of our family were sharing the back of the couch without sparring or spitting.

SWMBO took the photos and walked around to get one face-on.

It was fairly dark in the room so a flash was called for, making the cats' eyes seem to be lit from within.  And Blackwell (in the rear here) really does have two eyes.  One of them is just hidden in this photo.

Both of the critters seem to be eyeing me in the kitchen and thinking "does this mean treats for me???"

FIRE IN THE SKY

And, without cropping, to give a sense of place.

Never fear.  It's only the setting sun reflecting from a cloud mass in the Western sky.

IT'S LYLE TIME

Tonight was the highlight of our year (half year, actually) back in the Phoenix metropolitan area.  We went to a concert at the beautiful Ikeda Theatre at the Mesa Arts Center.

The very modern theatre is a delight for the eyes, both inside and out.  Here's a view in the concert hall before the show.

The balconies along both sides are attractively constructed and gorgeously lit and the walls look like they've been constructed out of high-tech cardboard.  I'm sure they are great for the acoustics, which were incredible.

As for the concert, it was a wonderful evening of melody and lyrics performed by Lyle Lovett and His Large Band.  The musicianship was incredible.  Several members of the band were from the Phoenix area originally.  Others came from the great music venues of Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Nashville, Tennessee; and, of course, Texas.

We've been a fan of Lovett since we first heard his music when a fellow ex-pat brought us a tape when we were living in Guadalajara, Mexico, back in the 1980's.  Lyle performed several of our favorites including my all-time pick "If I Had a Boat".  And during the encores he did "North Dakota", which you may know is the state I hailed from many decades ago.

Signs and a public address announcement before the show warned that no photography was permitted in the concert hall.  However, as the show went on, I noticed more and more smart phones being used to take photographs and finally I chanced a shot with my camera.  It's not very good but it will give you an idea of the size of his Large Band.

Mr. Lovett, of course, is the pale-faced gent holding a guitar at the center of the photo.  Other accompanists included a pianist, a violinist/fiddler, a backup singer, a bassist, a drummer, a cellist, a mandoline/guitarist, a lead guitarist, and horns: tenor, alto and baritone saxophone and a trombone. Every one got their turn to solo and all were of the finest quality.

It was a great show and now I'm attempting to calm down so I can finally get some sleep.

Thanks, Lyle.

BASEBALL . . . AND OTHER THINGS

Once again today I went to a baseball game with my o-l-d buddy, Steve. Once again the Arizona Diamondbacks scored a walk-off victory.  This time in the bottom of the 14th inning.  That's three walk-offs in a row and a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, who did not appear pleased.  Steve, on the other hand, did appear pleased.

It's always nice when your buddy has a big smile on his face, even though this picture was taken before the victory.  I suspect even then, Steve knew about the joy to come.

I, on the other hand, grew weary after about 11 or 12 innings and said my goodbyes as Steve lingered on.

But as I got down to the main floor of the arena, I wondered if maybe I could inveigle my way into one of those MUCH-CLOSER-TO-THE-ACTION seats.  So I made my way to the lower floors.  I asked an usher if I could take one of the many empty seats.  He directed me to a row or two just below him.  I went down and took a seat.  

But then I began to notice all the empty seats far below where I sat.  I thought "why can't I take one of those."  I turned to look for "my" usher but he was distracted so I just stood and walked down many stairs until I was just 20 or so rows above the Diamondbacks dugout and there I took my seat.  Unchallenged.  Just another baseball fan.  The view was exemplary.

I turned and craned my neck several times to try and pick Steve out, way-way-way up in the "nosebleed" seats but I couldn't spot him.

So I turned my attention back to the game.

Well, there was that "Diamondback Girl" right in front of me.  Fancy that.  I sat through a couple of more innings but finally gave up, left the ballpark and headed for home.  On the way, I heard the victorious hit and run in the bottom of the 14th inning.  Great game.  Great team. 

Next time?  C'mon down, Steve.  I'll show you how.

BLAZING COLOR

In our living room, a ceiling fan whirls constantly in this overheated summer to provide some additional cooling to prevent the air conditioning from running constantly.  It is where SWMBO and I gather to watch television or movies.  It doesn't bother me but SWMBO says the downdrafted air dries her eyes out and irritates them.  So about a week ago she came home from a shopping trip with this.

Let me assure you this is not a traditional color of any garment, visor or cap for her to wear.  I noted that it was "hideous", or words to that effect.  She answered that she knew that but she only got that color to keep me from swiping it.

Well!

But to continue.  A few days later came a post from my California tennis-playing friend, Tom, about a new shirt he had acquired.  Stand back from your screen, folks.  Here it is.

Tom noted that the color was unlike his normal colors of white or blue and he talked in this post and in this one about a certain amount of derision the shirt prompted from his playing partners.

But Tom, never one to take criticism lying down, handled himself well, I thought.

Incidentally, that visor SWMBO brought home looks even more glowing when a picture was taken with the flash on.

So never fear, Tom.  If my wife is right, at least no one will steal your shirt.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Last night and the night before were the supposed height of the meteor showers.  SWMBO went out around 2 o'clock Sunday night and saw two.  Last night we both went out around the same time and saw two more.  I may have seen a third just as we were getting up to head back into the house to bed but it was so fast I couldn't be sure.

Suffice it to say that there is so much ground light emanating from the Phoenix metropolitan area that a meteor search is somewhat groundless (to coin a phrase).  I read on Facebook that a former colleague of mine who lives in Prescott, the area we moved to Phoenix from in March, went out with his family last night and saw perhaps a hundred.  Much less population there, therefore much less ground light.  I wish I'd have been there.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

I was out running around at mid-day yesterday and saw a sign for Tom's Barbecue.  Never one to miss some good Q I went in and had a brisket plate special with red beans and rice.  Excellent.  Tom's has five locations as well as operating a big pink food truck.  Don't know why I didn't get a picture of that.

Later I stopped in at the local NPR radio station, KJZZ, to visit an old friend, Al Macias, who is the managing editor there.  It was good to see him after all these years.  After a lengthy conversation about "the good old days" when we worked together at KPNX-TV in Phoenix, he gave me a tour of the station.  Quite plush and, as he noted, very quiet.  Not like our old noisy newsroom.  And everyone was so YOUNG!