Monthly Archives: April 2025

Happy Caturday! (4.26.2025)

Posted by M - on
By Prince Ramses XII

This place soumds like the cat’s meow:

KattenKabinet

Founded in 1990 by Bob Meijer as an act of remembrance for his own departed cat, John Pierpont Morgan, the KattenKabinet (“Cat Cabinet”) is an art museum in Amsterdam devoted to works depicting cats. The museum collection includes paintings, drawings, sculptures and other works of art by Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Corneille, Sal Meijer, Théophile Steinlen, Ed van der Elsken and Jože Ciuha, among others.

Meijer and his family live in the upper floors of the building and own five cats who roam the museum and greet visitors.

KattenKabinet website
– where you can take a Virtual Tour of the museum

I would like to see anyone, prophet, king or God,
convince a thousand cats to do the same thing at the same time.
– Neil Gaiman

He earned the name “Scarface” when he lost an eye during a famous battle called “Pride of the Pride”. (He won the fight.)

Born in 2007, Scarface lived for 14 years, and at the time of his death in 2021 he was the oldest living lion in the Mara. Unlike most other male lions he died a natural death.

During his lifetime Scarface reportedly killed 400 hyenas and 130 male lions, drove crocodiles out of his territory, and is believed to be the only lion who killed adult hippos in one-on-one battles.

Unlike the Disney adaptation of Lion King, Scarface was the real lion king in the savannah.

All images remain the property of their original owners. All rights reserved.

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I delight in the simple things

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If your world was destroyed, would you try and have some fun?
– How to survive a War Zone

One of the first things said by the young narrator of that powerful documentary and his words have stayed with me. In spite of the on-going horrific genocide, the people of Gaza find JOY. They make room for it.

How about you? Do you make room for JOY?
(I have little use these days for people who don’t.)

I wrote about what I’m thankful for back on April 4th: Giving thanks on this, my Name Day. That list could’ve gone on for days…in fact, I’d still be writing it! LOL. It’s filled with things that delight me.

This afternoon we are having quite the little rainstorm. ♫♪ April showers bring May flowers. ♫♪ At least it’s not cold and the promise of more 70° weather is just around the corner. But as I was feeding The Boyz their dinner, that simple act filled me with delight. Why? Who the feck cares why.

Hence this Post.

    I have notes on my bulletin board:

  • Soak up as much of this World as you can.
  • If you just go with the Flow, no matter what weird things happen along the way, you always end up exactly where you belong.
  • Never give away your Words.
  • and “Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher”

They are there to remind me how I want to live my Life.

I ran across this today – it delighted me to no end:

94-Year-old Has No Health Issues
Thanks to Zumba Classes 3 Times a Week

I’ve never taken a Zumba class, but could relate. Aerobics (mëtal aerobix), organic food, and a positive outlook.

A sporty great-grandmother attends Zumba classes at age 94 three times a week—and her health has never been better.

Mary Marson says her long, healthy life is down to eating organic food and joining weekly classes of Zumba—an aerobic workout featuring Latin American dancing and music.

The nanogenarian who grew up in Jamaica says eating organic food alongside her active lifestyle has left her with zero health complaints apart from the occasional cold.

Attending the dance workouts at Wavelengths leisure centre in Deptford, southeast London, Mary has become a local legend, inspiring others to keep fit.

“I can do everything in the routine. I can even bend down and touch the floor!” said the senior.

“I love the music. It really gets me motivated

“I’ve always been a very positive person, which also helps keep me healthy. I just cannot feel ‘old’!

I have my window open so I can hear the rain outside. Yes, it pitter-pats on the roof but I delight in hearing the raindrops hit tree leaves and tumble down the rain gutters. Hair Nation Deep Cuts is playing from Tim’s room and Brandon is lounging on the bed behind me. I am surrounded by my loved ones. (Although, where the feck is Ramses?!? Ah, here he is. We communicate telepathically.) I will even take delight in emptying The Boyz’ cat box this evening – the simple reason being that I can.

I am delighted by the buds on Dot, the Datura, because I didn’t expect to see them this soon. That, and I cut her back dramatically earlier this month. I love that I can go out to the Concrete Jungle and snip off herbs to use when I cook. I may not have much room but the garden I tend is lush and gives me great JOY when I sit out there. Me and my cat…

Aaah, the rain is getting stronger and Hair Nation Deep Cuts has inspired me to engage in some aerobic activity of my own downstairs.

Half of the work you need to do, is really in showing up.
If you can make it to the gym: you will workout.
If you make it to the meeting: you will learn something.
If you put yourself fearlessly out there: you will reap the rewards.
What you believe is made obvious by how you live.
– Madison E. M. Garey

Are you listening?

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Once Upon A Time

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Once upon a time there actually existed a true democracy on earth: the pirate brotherhood.

Incongruous as it might appear; the cutthroats, who brutalized captives and who scoffed at the rules of society, were passionately democratic. They had a high regard for individual rights – and a burning hatred for the tyranny that had oppressed them in their days of “honest service.” – Raiders and Rebels

Pirates. Perhaps it is their love of individual freedom that’s so attractive.

April 23rd is World Book Day/Night. I am currently reading an engaging book about pirates: Raiders and Rebels by Frank Sherry. According to the Author’s Note:

The era covered in this narrative – roughly from 1690 through the 1720s – has sometimes been called “The Golden Era of Piracy.”

Familiar names are found within this book: Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, Anne Bonny and Calico Jack Rackham, Mary Read, Ben Hornigold, Israel Hands, and Charles Vane. Although I love reading about their exploits, what’s most fascinating is the geo-political turmoil that existed during that time. Not unlike today, alliances and allegiances between countries and governments changed with the wind – with the United States colonies pulling strings behind the scenes. Yes, technology may have changed significantly since then but the behavior of men has not.

Somehow I find that comforting because it’s all so predictable. THEY are predictable. Conventional. Commonplace. When you begin seeing THEM in this light, it makes them appear much, much smaller than how they would have you see THEM – and how they see themselves.

For me, I’ll take the Anti-Heroes over the Commonplace any day. Long live the Rebels (and Raiders). HUZZAH – and raise the black!

All images remain the property of their original owners. All rights reserved.

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