Just For Fun: Viktor Victorious

Mr. Viktor, my gray tabby boy, came into my life about a month after Martin the Gozerian died way too young. V was exactly what I needed in my life. He's boisterous and gregarious and goofy - definitely not to be ignored. More important than his good taste in music, as seen in the above (I like Paul's Boutique a lot, too), he's seriously the most happy-go-lucky cat I've ever known. (Except when it comes time for me to wash the bed linens. Then he gives me a face. See below.)

People with whom Viktor has made friends:

• Every repair person ever. He especially liked the guy in charge of maintenance at my apartment complex in Delaware.
• The guy who delivered and set up the futon I bought for my second bedroom here in New York. Viktor loved him so much that he sat in the guy's lap while my futon was being put together.
• Every friend of mine who has come to my apartment. 
• He may have never met you before, but trust me: Viktor loves you and is your friend, too.

If the rescue organization that brought him into my life is to be believed, Viktor has always been this way. Apparently when they found him, he was in the company of some much younger kittens. The rescue group assumed he was a she, and the mother of the kittens, because of how affectionate Viktor was with the littler kits.

Actually, the only creature I've ever seen him treat with anything less than full on, storybook, eternal love and devotion...? Is my other cat, Zephyr. But even with her, it's more like a kid brother pestering his big sister. (Before you ask, no - they aren't related. I know they look it a bit, but it seems tabby is just very common coloring among Delaware cats.)

And last, but not least, is the fact that he has very refined tastes in cinema. He is watching The Seventh Seal in that picture below - and he watched it very intently for almost the whole film. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about this striking film by the auteur, Ingmar Bergman, but there's no doubt that Viktor is a fan.

Here's to my odd little man - long may Viktor reign over my apartment and life.

Just For Fun: Martin and Zephyr

A little over a week ago on this blog, I shared some pictures of the newest feline members of the Olin household as a way to apologize for not having a real post on a Tuesday, but I want to introduce the felinity more properly, so...

Meet Martin Fivebones

I adopted Martin the same day I lost Holly to her kidney problems. I'd had The Princess for almost 16 years, so I was pretty distraught and did not want be without a cat. He was 9 months old when I got him, so that means that Martin is younger than I wanted (Holly was 2 when I got her, and that was perfect), which has presented some problems, but he's calming down already and will (I hope) be out of his kitten-ness soon.

He is ridiculously cute and a total goofball. Martin is also clumsier than any cat I've ever known and I sometimes actively worry about him injuring himself as he careens around my apartment playing Kitty Parkour games.

He is named for one of my favorite minor characters from Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman" series, Martin Tenbones. Tenbones is a creature of dreams who, out of loyalty to another minor character, crosses over into the waking world. I'd long thought I'd someday get a big fluffy real dog and name him after that big fluffy comic book dog, but then a tiny black cat with a tinier white ascot came into my life. My Martin isn't even half the size of the comic book Martin, but he's got enough personality to make up for the rest of the size difference. Thus "Martin Fivebones" was named.

Also known as:

• "Martin the Gozerian, Martin the Destructor" for his destructive tendencies (he is just out of his kittenhood, after all);
• "Blink Martindale" because he gives me blinkies to let me know he loves me;
• "Will You Please Stop Chewing on My Papers" for his propensity to chew on said papers, especially cross stitch patterns while I'm using them;
• "House Panther" for obvious reasons.

Meet Zephyr

Zephyr came into my life a month later. Martin was/is... shall we say "rambunctious"? And I have the scars to prove it. I'd known for a while that I wanted two cats this time around instead of just one, and multiple websites recommended a second cat of similar age as a remedy for the OMG ENERGY of a cat like Martin. I was a bit more circumspect in adopting Z because I had more specific needs than just "must have cat in apartment." This time I wanted a cat of similar age and similar energy who couldn't be an only cat. That's why I went looking for her through petfinder.com, so I could refine my search and put my librarian skillz to work.

When I first met her, she was a bit heavier than she is now. She came from a no-kill shelter that keeps the cats in individual cages most of the time, so she wasn't getting as much exercise as she is now. Despite that, the first time we set eyes on each other in person she was atop a 6+ foot tall stack of cages - like she'd just flown up there. Like it was nothing to her.

She is named for a comic book character who I haven't read yet, but still made a lasting impression. I had been talking about Zephyr, or Faith Herbert, earlier that day. You see, Faith Herbert is a for real fat superhero. Since most female superheroes seem to have "ability to fit in ridiculously small costumes while twisting into ridiculously impossible positions" as one of their superpowers, this Zephyr piqued my interest: a fat chick who can fly. So when I met my slightly fat cat who seemed to fly, name choice was easy.

Also known as:

• "DigDug" because most nights when I go to bed and close my bedroom door, she seems to be trying to dig either through the bedroom door or down to China;
• "Puma Nose," because seriously, look at that nose! Just like a puma's.

They seem to get along most of the time these days, but the best way to describe their relationship is that of kid brother and older sister - he ALWAYS wants to play, but she sometimes gets fed up with him. I'll hear a noise that could easily be confused with a distant motorcycle, then I'll hear a hiss, and then I'll see Zephyr coming out from wherever she'd been hiding with Martin close on her heels.

I'm sure I'll be posting lots more pictures and videos of them, and if I ever learn to make gifs I'll post those, too. For now, I'm going to leave you with a video that to my eyes, captures their relationship perfectly. (Sorry for the background noise that's pretty much a foreground noise - my central air works wonderfully, but it is very loud.)

Not a Real Post (With Kitties)

I had a topic all lined up for today (based on a session I taught to the Delaware ILEAD group), but when I tried to retool it into a blog post, it didn't go so well.

After trying and trying and trying to moosh a blog post into shape, I'm giving up. #bloglife pic.twitter.com/7bkCaq9BOT

— Jessica Olin (@olinj) July 20, 2015

And as I looked around for another topic, I realized I didn't have anything that I could get done quickly, so instead I'm going to share a video and some pictures of my new-ish cats and beg your forgiveness. I'll be back with something more substantive next week.

Just For Fun: Old Lady Kitty

I'm a bit obsessed with my cat. Well, more than "a bit." But really, she's great cat and she's definitely obsession worthy. Her given name is Holly Golightly (yes, I was going through a heavy duty Audrey Hepburn phase when my cat came into my life), but I almost never call her. Instead, she is, variously,

• Holly
• Fuzz Face
• Fuzzy Butt
• Fuzzy Buttons
• Fussy Buttons
• Bossy Britches
• Feline Overlord
• Her Royal Highness
• HRH Princess Holly Butt, which, when I said that on Twitter, led to one of my favorite tweets of all time:

@olinj Of the royal lineage of the Catte-Butts of York-upon-Catnip? @actinginthelib
— Jazmin Idakaar, MLIS (@raamatuid) April 4, 2012

I figured it was high time I write about her here. Or at least show you some of my favorite pictures:

If there's even a teeny amount of lap available, she wants it.

Holly was a shelter cat, but I didn't pick her. No. She picked me. I was looking for an adult cat, and she fit the bill at 2 years old, so I chatted with her briefly. When I thought we were done, I bent down to chat with the cat in the cage below. That's when Holly made her move and swatted me on my shoulder. I stood up and she meowed while looking me in the eye. It was as if she was saying, "Can we please just go home already, silly furless ape?" That's the moment I fell in love.

My current apartment has a porch. She loves it.

She's moved around the country almost as much as I have. Holly has lived in 7 states so far. That's a lot of moving for a little (8.5 pounds) cat.

I know all cats do this, but it always tickles me when she sleeps like a pretzel.

And make no mistake: she is NOT my furchild. She is my furboss. I'm definitely not the one in charge here.

I am cat furniture.

The 16th anniversary of the moment when she picked me is at the end of this month. Yes, that makes her 18. (No, I'm not going to let her register to vote, even if she would vote for the same candidates I pick.) I'm glad I measured up to her standards back then, because it's for sure that I haven't measured up since. Here, my very first YouTube is video evidence of how disappointed she is in me:

First Thursday's Just For Fun: Celebrikitties

At some point in the not to distant past, I realized that I have little to no use for human celebrities on Twitter and/or Facebook. I do follow/like a few, but most of them don't know how to use social media (which is, admittedly, true of the broader population as well). They post too much or too little, are too personal or too impersonal, etc.

Who do I follow, then? Well, a lot of librarians mostly, but there's a growing number of celebrity cats in my feeds. Here are some of my favorites:

Sockington

Who is Sockington? First, how do you not know that? Second, he was one of the first big internet celebrikitties. He has 1.4 Million followers on Twitter. What does he tweet about? Exactly what you'd expect cats to tweet about... which is hilarious if you're a crazy cat lady or gent. Plus he's had a song written about him:

Henri, le Chat Noir

Poor Henri. He rocketed to fame more recently, due to the efforts of the "thieving filmmaker," but Henri continues to feel completely misunderstood. He is also plagued by ennui. Don't believe me? Hear it in Henri's own words:



Colonel Meow

The Colonel demands your obedience, your kitty treats, and your scotch - but only if it's the good scotch. None of that cheap crap for the Colonel.



So how about you? What kind of celebrikitties and celebridogs do you follow/like?

First Thursday's Just For Fun: Crazy for Cross-Stitch

Because I am not enough of a walking/talking librarian stereotype, I have recently picked up a new hobby: crafting. More specifically, counted cross-stitch. I actually learned how to do cross-stitch when I was a teenager, but hadn't done more with the skill until fairly recently. But now? Now I've become obsessed. Here are my favorites of the projects I've completed:

This hummingbird was my gateway drug to an addiction that is only soothed with a trip to a craft store to purchase Aida cloth and embroidery thread:

Pretty, right?

I worked really hard to make the background of the next one look like a partly cloudy sky, so I'm extremely pleased with how it turned out.

This quote is from the sixth of the volumes that collected Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman" comics.

And this is the project I just finished. I don't remember where I first encountered this line from Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler), but it tickled me so much that it quickly became a favorite. When I started this down the road to xstitch addiction, I knew I had to do something with this quote.

Sounds advice, especially considering the expression the Persian in the middle is wearing.

I just finished that last one, but I'm already planning my next project. It's more along the lines of what I did with the Neil Gaiman quote, but this time it's inspired by and features a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke.

So what about you? Are you a crafter? If so, what's your poison?

First Thursday's Just For Fun: I Can Haz Silly Aminal Videos Nao?

Okay. I admit it. I have a fairly intense obsession with silly animal videos. Since I know I'm not alone, I thought I'd take this month's Just For Fun post as an opportunity to share some of my all time and recent favorites.

Here's a polite party crasher:

And some D A N G E R O U S kittens (make sure to have your volume turned up for best results):

A beatboxing cat:

A selfish & curmudgeonly porcupine:

And finally, a video that makes me wonder if anyone has ever seen Tom Waits and Cookie Monster in the same place at the same time. I know Cookie Monster isn't technically an animal, but this video fits in my mind:

Now it's your turn: share one (or more) of your favorite silly online videos in the comments.

First Friday's Just For Fun: Old Children's Books

Old Check Out Cards

I remember the first time I was allowed into the archives at the public library near where I grew up. I didn't actually get to touch anything, but I remember the scent. I'm sure you know the one I'm talking about - the slightly sweet, almost bready scent of really old books. I love that scent. And I love old books.

I'm especially fond of old children's books about cats, so, since it's the first Friday of the month, here are some of my favorites:

Jenny and the Cat Club

Jenny and the Cat Club by Esther Averill. The protagonist of this book is a little black cat, Jenny Linsky, who wants to join the cat club that meets behind her house, but to be a member you have to have a special talent. Jenny eventually teaches herself to ice skate. When she performs this feat for the members of the cat club, she does so while wearing a lovely red scarf that her owner, the sea captain, knitted for her. Yes, she gets to join the club.

Averill wrote many Jenny Linsky books, and I own most of them. Some of them are original runs, most are reprints. In all, the drawings are charming, as is the writing. Jenny and the Cat Club is so much fun.

Ophelia the Cat

Ophelia the Cat by J. I. Rodale. This is a particularly weird one. All the cats are anthropomorphized. The cat for whom the book is named is a very chic, urban girl cat. She has to go out into the world and learn the facts of feline life. As beautiful as it is strange.

Mee-Yow

Mee-Yow by Lee Priestly. This is the book that started my obsession for old children's books about cats. Mee-Yow, as you can see from the cover, is a Siamese kitten. During the course of the story, Mee-Yow spots a stray kitten outside and starts making a ruckus that is so loud that even the police come to investigate. At the end of the story, the stray is adopted into the family and named Mee-Too. Corny word play and hokey pictures? Yes, please.




Am I a librarian because I love old books or do I love old books because I'm a librarian? The world may never know.

How about you? What kinds of books do you collect?