We’re All Still Here…No-One Has Gone Away…

Hey now – it’s Gregorian year 2013…we all survived the dreaded ending of the world, which was supposed to happen on 21st December, 2012. I suspect there’s some fundie Christian preachers still wiping the egg from their faces. Not only them, quite a few New Agers and counter-culture luminaries, too. Like Daniel Pinchbeck, who even wrote a book all about the coming transformation. To be honest, I’m a little gutted. I was hoping that maybe humanity would transform and get a bit smarter – could be a delayed effect, though. Maybe the intelligence level will rise in the next two years.

Ah well, I suppose it’s good the world didn’t end – it means more time for books to read and music to listen to!

Our new-ish feline arrival, Magic, is doing well and settling into life at Ooze Towers quite well, now that his brother and sister have (mostly) stopped hissing and growling at him. He’s even ventured outside and has explored a couple of the neighbouring gardens (hopefully not leaving any…er…surprises in them). He’s a happy-go-lucky little character, though he wasn’t thrilled about going to the vets’ and getting his shots. According to Pixie, he was a trooper and didn’t freak out at all.

What else can I tell ya? Kate Bush accepted a CBE from ‘her majesty’. Aaaaaargh. That really did my head in. After years of fighting the EMI bosses to do things her own way, releasing quality records despite public indifference and generally being the definition of the word ‘integrity’, she accepts an ‘honour’ bestowed by a family of parasites who are alleged to be our ‘betters’. Why, Kate, why? I suppose, being an artist, she can cofound her fans, much like Dylan and Lou Reed. It takes her down a smidge in my estimation – but I can’t help it – I still love her.

David Bowie‘s back with a new single, in case you’ve been trapped under a rock for the past few days. The song’s O.K. – sorta melancholy and harking back to his late 70s/Eno collaboration albums. I’m not convinced it’s all that the Bowie-maniacs in the press are making it out to be – but it’s cool the dude is still alive and cranking out tunes. Some American record exec guy had the gall and temerity to try and give (unsolicited, mind) advice to the Thin White Duke…and has become a laughing-stock amongst the UK Twitter muso-hipster community. I dunno – while he may have mis-fired with the “Do It Like The Mumfords” comment – some of it seemed fairly spot-on, particularly about the choice of tune for the single. Anyway, it’s not like Bowie’s going to listen to Lefsetz or me or anyone else. He’s 66 and probably past caring what anyone thinks. More power to him, says me.

I am to start working on a new episode of my podcast, The Kaleidophonic Stroboscope, soon – so I’ll have that posted when it’s done. I bet you can’t wait!! (heh heh…)

December Will Be Magic Again

Caveat: If you don’t wish to read about pets…and cats in particular….look away…..NOW!

Pixie and I adopted three kittens three years ago. The litter belonged to a co-worker’s relative’s cat. The mother cat was naughty and got out of the house one night, met up with a tom….and well, you know the rest. There were five in the litter: three boys and two girls. Another co-worker took in two. We were originally only going to take in two as well – but one of the boys had hind legs that sort-of stuck out at angles, possibly due to being cramped in the womb. Our other co-worker was worried about vet bills and declined to take him. I thought it would be a shame to separate him from the litter, so I convinced Pixie to take him as well. We called him “Orson”, as he was the third boy, or ‘third man’, if you will.

The other boy was called “Gryphon”, after the groovy 1970s British medieval/prog-folk group – and the girl we called “Parsley”, after Howard Moon‘s hippie transformation in the Mighty Boosh episode, “Call Of The Yeti“. Sadly, Gryphon was killed by a car when he was a year old. Orson really missed him, as they used to play wrestle and explore the car park behind our house together.

We talked about adopting another male cat for Orson for ages, but couldn’t really decide on when to do so. In the last month, we’ve started looking and even made a trip to the Blue Cross centre in Burford, to see if they had any suitable cats. Our main dilemma was that we needed one of a similar age to ours and one that can live with other cats. It turns out that our description is very tough to find, as a lot of cats need to be the only one in the house. We also found many pairs for adoption, who needed to be kept together.

In a cool synchro-mesh, Pixie received a message from our co-worker who had adopted the other boy and girl from ‘our’ litter. She had adopted a couple of dogs a while back and relations between the dogs and cats in their house were getting strained. She wanted to know if we could take “Magic”, the boy, in permanently. Misty, the other girl in the litter, was tragically killed by a car as well. After a family meeting and lots of thought, we said O.K.

He arrived last weekend and has been getting used to the house and Orson’s hissing and growling (to show his ‘top cat’ status in the house), as well as Parsley’s hissing (she doesn’t like anyone). We kitted out the spare room for him, complete with litter tray, food and water dishes and scratching post. Slowly, and I mean very slowly – he’s bonding with the others. They’re able to sit and sleep on opposite ends of the sofa and Magic’s even been sneaking food from Orson and Parsley’s dishes without much repercussion. He’s not been outside yet – we’re waiting until his vaccinations are up to date. It’s been really brilliant having three cats in the house again…with their personalities.

Since the ‘jolly season’, is fast upon us – here’s a festive tune, combined with a tribute to our new family member (ooooh, aren’t I the clever one):