Cats in Art: The Cat's Dancing Lesson

Continuing my Sunday tradition of Cats in Art.

Photo credit and text credit here.

Portraying a lively domestic scene, Dutch artist Jan Steen painted The Cat's Dancing Lesson. It's difficult to tell whether the cat is as amused by the experience as the humans around him. Although a few cats will do anything for attention, most of us would find this very undignified behavior.


[17th century, Jan Steen, The Cat's Dancing Lesson (detail), oil on panel]

As with my post last week, I interpret the cat as decidedly negative about the whole affair.

 

Running Thru the Tail of Halley’s Comet

Last Friday (21 Oct) I was up at 0-dark-thirty for a run so as to be back prior to assuming Mister Tristan duties (the human being, not the blog).

My destination for this 5-mile counter-clockwise loop from my house was Harshman Road, where I planned to run south from Marion. Harshman Road is about 2 miles long, and I was running SE, almost directly towards Orion, fairly high in the night sky.

Why run there, and then? Well, I love me some meteors. And since the Perseids back in August were a local bust due to cloud cover, I fell back on the Orionids as being the next one in time. Via Meteor Showers Online we learn:

The Orionid meteor shower is the second of two showers that occur each year as a result of Earth passing through dust released by Halley's Comet, with the first being the Eta Aquarids. The point from where the Orionid meteors appear to radiate is located within the constellation Orion.

The Orionids generally begin on October 15 and end on October 29, with maximum generally occurring during the morning hours of October 20-22. The Orionids are barely detectable on the beginning and ending dates, but observers in the Northern Hemisphere will see around 20 meteors per hour at maximum.

Well, my meteor count was 2. Or well, maybe 3 (this over about 20 minutes), it was hard to tell. My neck was getting a crick in it from looking up at such an angle.  In all cases it was the briefest flash, not even a streak. One blink and you miss it. Perhaps the bright moon had something to do with it, although it was low in the west and 90 degrees to my right shoulder as I ran south.

While the meteors did not live up to expectations, the run had other benefits. As I said, Orion was high in the southern sky, with its major stars Sirius and Betelgeuse bright and prominent. The "W" shape of Cassiopeia was brilliant in the NW sky. The warm, humid air was quite still, and a light ground fog lent an eerie appearance to the landscape.

After the end of the meteor quest at the southern end of Harshman Road, before returning home I ran thru the old Brown's Mill cemetery. It wasn't spooky, just more of a feeling of kinship with those who had gone before.

And so I quietly slipped back into the house, satisfied. 

Oh, and Halley's Comet--the real appearance--was here and I saw it in 1986, but won't be back until 2061, long after I'll have begun taking a long dirt nap.  So I'll have to content myself with running thru its tail every year, as long as I am able.

 

Shakespeare...and Ultrarunning

(image credit here)

From the site that I use as my homepage, REFDESK, on 7 Oct 2010, comes this nugget about William Shakespeare:

Countless excellent phrases, now commonly used, occur first in Shakespeare, including one fell swoop, vanish into thin air, play fast and loose, be in a pickle, foul play, tower of strength, flesh and blood, be cruel to be kind, and with bated breath. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

So, I thought, why not do a search and see what the Bard had to say about running?  I came up with 2 cool passages (from OpenSourceShakespeare, here).

From Henry VIII, the Duke of Norfolk warns:

Be advised;
Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot
That it do singe yourself: we may outrun,
By violent swiftness, that which we run at,
And lose by over-running.

Or better yet, from King Lear, where the king says:

Then there's life in't.  Nay, an you get it,
you shall get it by running.

Pretty smart guy, huh?  Gotta watch that over-running....

 

Math is Hard

Jill over at Brilliant at Breakfast (scroll down to Monday 18 Oct) had a great economics post that pretty clearly lays out the math of federal deficits and revenue.  She writes:

Paul Krugman pointed out yesterday that when you have a recession and people are out of work, government revenues drop vs. expenditures:

The Republicans would have you believe that if we "cut spending" and reduce tax revenue even further, the budget will be balanced. According to this graph, spending right now is about $5.3 trillion. Revenue is about $3.95 trillion. I wish someone would ask Republican candidates how they plan to cut over $1.3 trillion in spending. The Republican so-called "Pledge to America" pledges to cut spending back to 2008 levels, which still puts us at about $4.7 trillion. This pledge also comes with promises of FURTHER tax cuts, reducing revenue even more.

Not even the most radical Republican plans, such as eliminating the Department of Education, will make a dent in that gap. Only dramatic cutbacks in military spending (which we never hear about, not even in the context of trying to find the billions that went missing in Iraq) AND the elimination of Social Security and Medicare (which ARE part of the Republican agenda) will.
 

Economics is a difficult subject, but I try valiantly to dig deep enough to understand it.  I do know this: repeating the phrase "tax cuts" and "reduce spending" won't cut it--such statements MUST be accompanied by specifics, not platitudes. 

The reduction in spending absolutely MUST must look hard at the Defense budget.  I've previously posted here about how the U.S. spends its military dollars; I'll include the 4 most shocking points again below:

US military spending accounts for 48 percent, or almost half, of the world’s total military spending.

US military spending is more than the next 46 highest spending countries in the world combined

US military spending is 5.8 times more than China, 10.2 times more than Russia, and 98.6 times more than Iran.

US military spending is almost 55 times the spending on the six “rogue” states (Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria) whose spending amounts to around $13 billion, maximum.

Do you think that maybe, just maybe, we could beat some those swords into plowshares and provide health care and quality education to all Americans, plus take care of our crumbling infrastructure?

 

Bittersweet

Photos by Gary.  Trellis is 6' high.

Close-up of a fruit cluster, approx 4" long.

Several years ago we planted a couple American Bittersweet vines (Celastrus scandens). I just love the name…it evokes a sort of wistfulness that goes hand-in-hand with the outpouring of beautiful orange fruit just as the first traces of winter begin to loom on the horizon.

From HowStuffWorks on 24 Oct 2010 we learn the following facts:

American bittersweet, a climbing shrub, is native to North America east of the Rocky Mountains. It is an extremely rampant grower and care should be taken not to let it escape into desirable trees or shrubs.

Description of American bittersweet: This woody shrub climbs by twining around its support and is so efficient that it frequently strangles the trees it grows on. It can grow to whatever height its host attains. The stems are woody. Its deep green, glossy leaves are ovate and pointed, turning yellow before dropping in the fall. The male and female flowers, inconspicuous, appear on separate plants. If pollinated, female flowers bear striking orange berries in the fall, lasting through much of the winter.

Growing American bittersweet: This plant will thrive in nearly any soil that is not constantly wet. It requires full sun or partial shade to get started. Make sure to plant at least one male per group of three females to ensure pollination. Prune severely in early spring to stimulate flowering and also cut off unwanted suckers.

Uses for American bittersweet: American bittersweet is often used to cover unsightly fences and rock piles. It can be trained up arbors, trellises, and even mature trees, but should never be allowed to climb young trees or shrubs because the vine's twisting woody stems can cut off their sap as they grow. The seeds, although poisonous to humans, seem to do no harm to the birds that eat them in winter. The fruit-bearing branches are often harvested for dried winter decorations.

American bittersweet related species: The Loesener bittersweet (Celastrus Loeseneri or, more correctly, C. Rosthornianus) is similar, but less hardy and not as attractive. Asian bittersweet (C. Orbiculatus) is an invasive weed and should not be planted.

There are both male and female plants, with a pair required to set fruit. Not knowing whether there was another specimen of the opposite sex in pollination range, we elected to plant one of each sex in at the same spot. I built a simple trellis out of 4x4 treated posts, and affixed a decorative metal fencing piece inside the arches.

Don’t be scared off by the dire warnings above. It’s a pretty plant with beautiful fruit, just don’t plant it where it can vine over onto something else.

"Profiling HURT"

I reviewed the Barry Walton production, "Profiling HURT" on 21 Oct here.  My bottom line: two big thumbs up--a well done production, a must-own for anyone who is contemplating doing HURT or who otherwise has an interest in the race.

At the time I did not have ordering information for anyone who wished to order a copy.  The site to purchase a copy is here (http://www.profilinghurt.com/). Then click on the link to DVDs.

The disclaimer: Nothing in it for me.  I was asked by Barry to review this 34-minute video (it also has lots of extras and bonus features) of the HURT (Hawaiian Ultra Running Team) 100 Mile race in Honolulu, HI (URL here). He provided me a review copy, owing to the fact that I have this blog. I have not received any consideration, financial or otherwise, for reviewing this documentary, and my comments are strictly my own opinion.

That said...I would love to run this race.  Here are a couple more shots to tantalize you (all image credits Barry Walton):

Tales From The Perimeter: A Bit of Politics

Perimeter meaning the 6 mile patrol road inside the fence of the military installation on which I work, where some half a dozen of us comprise a pool of running “talent” and strive to show up for a noontime run a couple times a week if we can escape our desks. We share a lot and these guys are one of the core pillars of my sanity. See also here for a previous post.

Never missing an opportunity to bust a running partner, here's an email string sent among our group the morning prior to a run last week.  Political differences aside, we would go to the mat for any of our group. We've shared--literally--blood, sweat, and tears and I feel as close to these guys as to virtually anyone in my life.

You should know that CW is a retired Marine and is very conservative; I am the exact opposite, the classic liberal/progressive.  KK is in the middle.  PH is a warm-hearted, lovable oaf.

Anyway, on to the story:

From: KK
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 1:40 PM
To: xxxxx
Cc: xxxxx
Subject: Running

OK guys, CW is starting to get a complex, because no one else will run with him. I've been running (stuck) with him the last three (miserable) running days. I can't stand his (liberal) views and need someone more (conservative) like Gary to balance him out.

Let's show our support to CW and his ego by not punishing him (or me) by having him running with me.

KK

-----Next Message-----

From: Gary
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 16:06
To: xxxxx
Cc: xxxxx
Subject: RE: Running

KK,

You're right, even Ray Charles could see that CW is such a flaming liberal that he puts Nancy Pelosi to shame. Come hell or high water, I will relieve the pressure on you on Friday, and hope for 2 laps. I will speak eloquently about:

--My passion for preserving tax cuts for millionaires (because that trickle-down sh*t REALLY does work)

--Why we need to kick Iran's *ss militarily right NOW

--Why man-made climate change is about as real as William Shatner's hair

--How "don't ask, don't tell" makes our armed forces stronger

Regards/Gary

-----Next Message-----

From: PH
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 9:05 AM
To: xxxxx
CC: xxxxx
Subject: RE: Running

It's NOT REAL??? Please don't tell me that ;-(

Guys, I'm going to attend bible study today....so I will not be running. Please keep xxxxx in your prayers as she is taking her day long medical boards today. I'm also praying for xxxxx'x mother and her speedy recovery!

I may come to work for 1/2 day tomorrow and if so, I will run with you guys. Consider that a warning.

Warm Regards
PH

I love my running buddies, that's the only way to say it.  They have kept me sane when things were unraveling.  Hoping that you, too, have some people like this in your life.

 

Cats in Art: Laughing Children with a Cat

Continuing my Sunday tradition of Cats in Art.

Photo credit here, “Laughing Children with a Cat”

This is a vey interesting painting.  It is early (1600s) and was done by a woman, Judith Leyster.

From Britannica online: 

Judith Leyster, (baptized July 28, 1609, Haarlem, Neth.—buried Feb. 10, 1660, Heemstede, near Amsterdam), Dutch painter, one of the few female artists of the era to have emerged from obscurity. Among her known works are portraits, genre paintings, and still lifes.

Leyster was the daughter of a brewer. She began to paint while still quite young, and by age 24 she had become a member of the Haarlem painters’ guild. Her subject matter embraced a greater range than was typical of Dutch painters of the era, and she was one of the first to exploit the domestic genre scene.

I love the expression on the cat's face.  It clearly is not having nearly as much fun as the kids are.