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February 2005 Archive
27 February - Hone's Every-Day Book
Breughel's Concert of Cats from Hone's Every-Day Book
I'd love to have a copy of William Hone's Every-Day Book (1825-1826), but this excellent online version is a very nice substitute; awkward for bathroom reading, though. It's a sort of commonplace book, with very random thoughts and anecdotes, including some fine cat stories:
In cloisters, wherein people are immured in Roman catholic countries, to keep or make them of that religion, it is customary to announce the hours of meals by ringing a bell. In a cloister in France, a cat that was kept there was used never to receive any victuals till the bell rung, and she therefore never failed to be within hearing of it. One day, however, she happened to be shut up in a solitary apartment, and the bell rang in vain, as far as regarded her. Being some hours after liberated from her confinement, she ran, half famished, to the place where a plate of victuals used generally to be set for her, but found none this time. In the afternoon the bell was heard ringing at an unusual hour, and when the people of the cloister came to see what was the cause of it, they found the cat hanging upon the bell-rope, and setting it in motion as well as she was able, in order that she might have her dinner served up to her.
Oh, all right - one more:
Few who possess the faculty of hearing, and have heard the music of cats, would desire the continuance of their "sweet voices," yet a concert was exhibited at Paris, wherein cats were the performers. They were placed in rows, and a monkey beat time to them. According as he beat the time, so the cats mewed; and the historian of the fact relates, that the diversity of the tones which they emitted produced a very ludicrous effect. This exhibition was announced to the Parisian public by the title of Concert Miaulant.
Via the always interesting Ramage, who thinks that Hone would probably be a-blogging today.
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26 February - Propaganda Cherub Remix
Lisa's Chinese Chubby Cherubs, after Raphael
Inspired by the Chinese chubby babies mentioned below, Friend of The Museum Lisa Grossman has remixed a couple of chubbies with the famous putti from Raphael's Sistino Madonna. We have a special interest in them particular putti here, since The Museum holds one of the largest collections of 19th century parodies of the little winged buggers:
Fairbank's Cherubs, after Raphael
If the Curator will allow me to scan some other examples from the collection, I'll post 'em later - it's kind of hilarious.
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26 February - Cool New Theme Music
An old Friend of The Museum, Mark Taylor, has composed a rousing fanfare and remix (streaming Real Audio) of my opening for our new radio show. Totally rad! Thanks, Mark.
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25 February - On the Air
We're trying out yet another new feature - Janus Museum Radio - listen to a beautiful selection of musical selections via streaming Real Audio. Please let us know what you think of it. And, of course, we still have our regular musical selections.
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25 February - Incredibly Scary Viral Squid News
Capture of the rare Exocell
And in today's Horrible Squid news, this frightening paper describes the Calamari of the Damned - the fearsome Niarkrok Isortoq, or exocell - a heretofore unknown species of squid that consumes human brains, when it gets the chance. However, downloading the photo led to the Ubisoft site - it's a link of the viral sort for a new game, Cold Fear. Or... is it? I personally will make sure that any squid I come across in the future is thoroughly fried, first. Via We Make Money Not Art.
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25 February - Goodbye to a Circle Cat
Peaches (1984-2005)
The Curator, staff, interns, docents and Museum Cats of The Janus Museum were greatly saddened to learn of the death of Peaches, farm cat of the Washington Grove Pacer Farm, on Wednesday. Peaches was a genial presence around the Circle - he was the dean of The Circle Cats, and was always glad to greet Museum visitors and strollers. He would flop onto the gravel and show visitors his belly in the friendliest sort of way - we would, however, have to warn visitors not to scratch the displayed belly, though, since it was for show and not for touch. But Peaches did enjoy a pat on the head and a scratch under the chin, and he loved to just hang out in The Circle. He was 21 years old at his death, and even in his dignified old age he was still capable of staring down dogs and that brash young upstart, Socks. The Circle will not be the same without him.
So long, buddy. Here are several more snaps of Peaches...
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22 February - Bonus Catwalk Reportage
Yesterday being a holiday and being so balmy and all, we took an unusual Monday catwalk. Above, Leroy investigates a tree hollow while Natasha has a sit-down. Catwalks don't include a great deal of actual walking; it's mostly standing around while the cats check stuff out, ambush one another, climb a tree, etc. It's very pleasant, but it's not what you might call exercise. Except for the cats, of course.
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20 February - Catwalks Continue Despite Threatened Winter Storm Event
It wouldn't be Sunday without a brisk catwalk in the Janus Museum's Forest Preserve, even on a cold, gray Sunday under a winter storm event watch. Natasha (left) and Leroy look watchful but fluffy. Peake couldn't make it today.
Leroy poses in stunning 3D - it's same spot as our previous effort. You take one shot, shift the camera a bit to the right and snap again. It's easy to do with Leroy, who's an introspective and contemplative sort of cat. But it's not possible with Natasha, who dashes about too quickly to shoot twice - I need one of these, I guess. Have a look at some more stereo photography on two Flickr groups - Anaglyphs - red-blue pictures like this one. And Stereophotography - stereo pairs.
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20 February - Farewell to Reynard
Philip Wallingford, Master of the Washington Grove Foxhounds. Painting by Adolphus Norbeck.
Fox-hunting ended in Britain yesterday, ending over three hundred years of rich tradition, literary metaphor, and indifferent art. Gad, sir - what would Jorrocks say? Here's the Act itself, and here's the latest on the enforcement of the ban and disobedience of the Act. Fact - I once thought about considering taking up fox-hunting, or riding to hounds, as we say. I had a horse, Foxfire - a jaded, cynical time-server of a horse whose chief amusement was riding towards low-hanging tree limbs and sweeping me out of the saddle. I was to join the Tappahominy Hounds in the fall, but in late summer I broke up with the young lady I had been hoping to impress. She got custody of the miserable nag, and all I had out of the affair were a very painful pair of second-hand riding boots and a mild concussion.
To commemorate the end of the unspeakables' pursuit of the uneatable, we've posted a couple of good old fox-hunting songs in our Musical Selections.
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18 February - Year of the Rooster, Pursued by Vampire
A Chinese vampire chases a giant chicken - the hilarious, though incomprehensible action never stops in Mr. Vampire 3 (1987; buy it here and help support The Janus Museum), starring the late master of the Taoist ghostbuster genre, Lam Ching-Ying. Last year we enjoyed his hopping ghost movie, The Musical Vampire (1990):
... which would make a spiffing double feature with The Living Corpse, Pakistan's first vampire movie. Many thanks to Friends of the Museum Mario and Barbara, for introducing us to the splendors of Asian Vampiric Cinema.
Thanks also to various Friends of the Museum for lately supporting the Museum's unspecified activities by shopping at Amazon via our handy links, like this one.
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16 February - Capitol Birding
Early morning at the Capitol Grounds, saw a great blue heron in the basin - photographed it - was not hassled by the authorities at all - very nice to do my snaps in peace, but just a little disappointing. Aren't I a suspicious character anymore?
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14 February - An Elderly Ducal Cat
Interesting, but no longer very cute - the mummy of a three hundred year old cat discovered in the foundations of Woburn Abbey, seat of the Dukes of Bedford, soon to be on display at the London Natural History Museum's exhibit of animal mummies. Via the always interesting Cronaca.
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14 February - Warning; Valentine Cuteness Ahead
Our intern Zoe came up with this ...er... cute... valentine of Cats Leroy and Natasha out in the Museum's forest preserve last summer. Much oohing and ahhhing in the offices over the extreme cuteness of it. Myself, I feel slightly queasy and fragile, though last night's braised lamb shanks may have something to do with it.
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13 February - Warrior Princess Meets Monkey God
I had never seen Xena - Warrior Princess before (no, really; I hadn't), but when I heard that there was an episode that takes place in India, and that Xena teams up with Hanuman (played by Jake McKinnon) to right wrongs, I had to see it. The episode is called The Way, and it caused a stink when originally aired in 1998 - devout Hindus objected to its depiction of Krishna, who also appears. Another objection was that Xena head bashes Hanuman. The episode is framed with disclaimers and a "visit your local library to read more about it" statement, right out of the old after school specials. Here's a more approving link about the show, along with a couple of Quicktime files of excerpts. Interesting that the villain of the piece is Indrajit, son of Ravana, demon king of Lanka, and that the action is said to take place after the events of the Ramayana - sheesh, everyone knows that Indrajit is killed by Lakshman in the Ramayana. But it was still pretty entertaining. Xena is a nice healthy young lady who wears a remarkably skimpy outfit. Not that I noticed.
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12 February - Catwalk on the Wild Side
Nice snap of Cat Natasha (left) and Gus Norbeck, the Museum's maintenance and security person, taken during today's catwalk in Wallingford Park. Sunny but brisk, much scampering and tree-climbing; no dogs spotted this time out, but glimpsed the town deer herd down the Allee. Then back to the carriage house to start the chili.
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12 February - Fire Sale
A "For Sale" sign on a firetruck still thrills me, though maybe not as much as when I was a ten year old. This nice International pumper parked near the Museum, formerly of the Cisco Fire Protection District, is available - if interested, call 301-921-3234. There also used to be an excellent Mack truck - dunno what happened to it.
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12 February - Climate Change Bouquet
Wow, they seem to come up earlier every year. Last year, the crocuses appeared on February 29; in 2003, it was March 14 - I'm sure it must that global warming thing. We'll continue to gather data; a generous grant to support our research would be nice, though.
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11 February - Art for the Masses
Kim Il Sung with Kim Chaek, manufacturer of domestic firearms
If you enjoy socialist realism as much as I do, you'll really like this excellent site of North Korean paintings of the Great Leader, Kim Il Sung, via Boing Boing. And also have a look at Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster site - don't miss the Chubby Baby pages - this one's my favorite. Oh, and look at some Soviet posters. And here are some more. And I'd really like is a Cultural Revolution porcelain, like this one. Or maybe this one.
And any discussion of this stuff requires a mention of Komar and Melamid...
By the way, Gus says that the weapon under consideration is probably the Russian PPSh-41 submachine gun.
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8 February - Mardi Gras in DC, Revisited; The Specter of a Magic Mardi Gras Kingdom
Happy crowds gather for the festivities near the Capitol, 2004
Not a very jolly Mardi Gras this year - once again, I had to miss the carnival ball of the Krewe of Janus in New Orleans. And professional obligations kept me from taking part in the fabulous Washington DC Mardi Gras festivities. Instead, let's take a walk down Memory Lane, SW, and look at last year's coverage. What fun we had!
And in further Mardi Gras news - this just in from a highly-placed Friend of the Museum - frightening; possibly a bit hard to accept:
It is reported that Disney Corporation is in negotiations with the city of New Orleans to buy the rights to the expression "New Orleans Mardi Gras" as a service mark; they would also acquire exclusive rights to the phrase "New Orleans French Quarter" in the deal.
In exchange for an undisclosed sum of money, thought to be "very substantial, in the ten-figure range," sources said, as well as for consultation and participation in flood control and other infrastructure improvements, the city would turn over operations of the annual Mardi Gras celebration to Disney. The French Quarter area itself would be gradually transformed into what's being conceptualized as an "urban reality theme park" through a process of outright purchasing, eminent domain seizures, and partnerships with other corporations and state and city agencies.
The ambitious plan, said to be potentially among the most lucrative business-government partnerships in history and an unprecedented windfall for Louisiana taxpayers, is rumored to have the backing of the Bush administration "at the highest levels," according to a source in city government speaking on condition of anonymity.
Mayor C. Ray Nagin, through a spokesperson, declined comment, as did Disney spokesman John Spelich.
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6 February - A Good Catwalk Spoiled
It was sunny and warmish yesterday, so we took a catwalk with the usual suspects - Cats Natasha, Leroy and Peake. Everyone was having a good time, bounding about, climbing trees and stuff, when Natasha and Peake went on the alert:
... and soon we heard the dread sound of dogs - unleashed dogs in the forest preserve. The cats vanished into the wilderness, and the dogs bounded up, howling and slobbery, but friendly. One was Willow, that beautiful but turbulent weimaraner. The other was a noisy jovial basset I didn't know. The owners soon showed up and leashed their hounds apologetically. We resumed our catwalk, but without cats. They emerged from their hidey holes soon enough, but the mood was disturbed, and we retired to the fellows' lounge for sherry and catnip. Really, what are the authorities doing about the scourge of unleashed dogs? I want a ballot initiative, or an amendment, or a class action suit, or something - our worried cats demand action, and tuna.
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5 February - Cat Movie Blogging
Yes, Catwoman got lousy reviews, and while it's no Lola Montes, nor yet Olivier's Henry V, nor yet even Sampoorna Ramayana, we found it pretty enjoyable - possibly because of the high cat content. Above, Midnight the Egyptian Mao prepares to breathe stunning cat-powers into Halle Berry, who still looks absolutely ravishing even though she's all drowned and muddy and stuff.
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5 February - Audio Mushing
Friend of the Museum Ed Janus of Voice Arts has filed a chilly-sounding audio report on dog sledding in Northern Wisconsin (streaming MP3 format) I like the way the doggies warble, but surely Yukon King never warbled so? I wish Ed had taken a camera with him.
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2 February
Fascinating reading at Wikipedia's Unusual Articles page, including an explanation of pataphysical situations and a very thorough essay on Japanese toilets. Via things magazine - and thanks for the spiffing review of this page, too.
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1 February - Giant Squid News
In today's Giant Squid News, the good ship Geronimo survives a terrifying encounter with ... a giant squid. Via Outside Online.
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1 February - Winter Event Sculpture News
Here's a charming snow squirrel from Sunday's Winter Storm event, sculpted by Anastasia Meshchanova of the Nevsky Vocal Ensemble, who once again demonstrates her elegant curtsey:
... while Dog Vinnie checks out a hole.
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