When I was a lad I loved the comic strip Garfield. It used to be sort of funny. Nowadays it's just stupid. I don't think it's because I've grown up, I think the old ones are still funny. But the new stuff isn't funny. anyway, somebody had the idea to remove Garfield's namesake from a bunch of the strips, and suddenly it's not only hilarious again, it's thoughtful, sad, something like a Beckett play. You might have to read a few of them to get into it, but slowly you'll start to see the character of Jon quietly go insane. Interesting to think that the only difference is there's no cat for him to talk to. I talk to cats all the time. Would I talk as much if they weren't there. Yes. Yes, I would.

via freedanger

Labels: Funny to Me

This is Prince, formerly Rudy, formerly Rusty, formerly "Hey Gladys has ANOTHER kitten out there!" I'll try to request some newer pictures of him, since these (on the right) were taken a while ago. But I only recently learned how to extract photos from a cellphone. Rudy was a great little kitten, one of the three produced by Gladys that we took in. He was the most gregarious of the three brothers, the first one to let us pet him, the first to sit with us on the couch, and the trendsetter for all the kittens we took in over the summer. They say orange tabbies are naturally sweet (like raisins), and so far my experience has been right in line with this. While his brothers scurried off in fear, he would come up to us and eventually became pretty much like any other house cat.

He still had his feral elements: easily spooked, and as of adoption hand-over he didn't like being picked up. But he was well on his way to being a very nice cat otherwise. It may be hard to tell in the photos how he's changed because by the time he left he had gotten pretty big, and had attained a grown cat's proportions. So in photos it's hard to tell how big or small he really was. He'll always be remembered as one of my favorite fosters, he really helped the other cats learn to like humans and made our house full of cats not seem so much like the irrational activity it often feels like.

Labels: Before and After, Cats, kittens

That's the newest feral to fall into our clutches. I'm pleased that it's a female (I think), because that means getting her spayed will stop her from having any kittens, PLUS female cats are much less likely to spray. This is in some ways the biggest plus of this whole TNR thing, a reduction in cat musk. I don't know what evolutionary side street this noxious stuff came from, but in sufficient doses it's every bit as horrible as skunk odor. My neighbor had a cat mark his front door and he tried to remove it with an ammonia-based cleanser. Big mistake; the ammonia actually makes it worse!

Anyway, enough cats (for now). I put this photo up because I didn't take any pictures at the Market Hotel, where we saw Black Dice play last weekend. It's the newish venue above Mr. Kiwi's, below the Myrtle JMZ station.

What's good about it:

• 3 train stops from my house, meaning virtually no pesky walking in getting to and from venue.


• Fairly smart staff/residents, who keep an orderly line and know when to cut off entry so as to avoid a Shirtwaist Fire situation. There were maybe a couple too many reminders about not hanging out in front of the club, but when we left there were indeed a bunch of stupid people loitering right in front and drawing undue attention to the joint.


• Bar served Budweiser, which, I know, is a lame megabrewery, but Bud is easier to stomach than, say, Busch, which for some reason has become the only beer available at these places. I need to bring that flask, but it's nice to put a little more money back into the venue.


• They had a coat check! It looked like they were just throwing coats on the floor of the room, but points for trying. I am not at all certain the place has any real heating source of its own, the heat being provided by the 500+ people in attendance (Matrix-style). Since we can never leave a venue until the proprietors are meaningfully sweeping the floor over our feet, it was notably colder and a coat was warranted.

Not so hot:

• This is debatable, but the place is really big. That sounds like a good thing, and for most I'm sure it is. But for me it was a bit cavernous. The sound was actually pretty good, but I guess I just prefer tiny clubs (as long as they're not crowded). Maybe this is why so many bands I like never make it; if I like your band, you're probably playing a small club to few people. Oops.


• It's getting a lot of attention and has booked some larger shows: How long can it last before a) it attracts huge, lame crowds or b) it gets shut down?
  

Not so hot this weekend for the Ghengis Tron show: Queens-bound JMZ trains are not running between Myrtle and Broadway Junction. shuttle buses take their place on Bushwick Ave. Okay we could probably walk it and not die. And it's just the Queens-bound side, so getting there is no problem. But if the show runs late the likelihood of catching a bus is slim. Of course, shuttle buses can be surprisingly frequent, but I'm still dreading it. I guess we could take a car home, but that's even lamer to consider.

Labels: Bands, Cat Fixin', Cats, Feral, Mass Transit, Shows, Venues

Hey does anybody attend their Block Association meetings? I finally did a couple weeks ago. Sorta.

When we moved in at the end of 2006 we received a flyer for the meeting, but we didn't make it. We didn't see another flyer until a month ago, so I decided I better make it to this one so I could find out the schedule. It was at 6PM, so Jeannie couldn't go. Plus it was that Tuesday a couple weeks ago that snowed all day. I was running around, picking up newly-fixed cats from BARC,I was tired and I had to shovel the sidewalk so nobody sued me. I was thinking of reasons not to go, but I went anyway.

The meeting was at the library at the end of the block, whose staff didn't seem to know anything about any meetings. But the Young Adult Coordinator checked her log book and confirmed that somebody booked a meeting room. She took me to the empty room, so I sat around trying to determine how long to stay before I could in good conscience, bail.

Eventually a guy showed up, he was the treasurer of the group. Nobody else showed up. But we talked for a while and he said he'd try to adjust the meeting to make them more appealing to the block (like moving the time to 7PM so people could actually make it). He had lots of ideas he wanted to act on, but of course the problem was money, and getting people to pitch in.

One idea included getting the city to erect barriers on our block during the days of summer, so the kids could play without fear of being mowed down by anything but gunfire. He brought up an initiative to get people to clean up after their dogs, which would be nice though I'm not sure how to enact it except to put up a bunch of scolding flyers.

When he started talking about dogs, it gave me leeway to starts my spiel on cats. I told him about our TNR efforts, and how the people we've worked with would trap ferals in people's backyards for free. He warmed to the idea, especially when I noted that a fixed cat won't spray that awful musk, or make yowly mating noises.

Additionally I pointed out the ASPCA would be coming to Saratoga park on the 28th to do their Free/Low-Cost Spay thing. He seemed vaguely aware of the Mobile Clinic, but didn't know its schedule. So I said I'd put up some flyers to alert people.

I only put a few homemade flyers (which I forgot to save so I don't have any electronic version, the ones here are general info flyers) up that explain the process, but I justified it because I wanted to focus attention on my own block. While I was hanging a flyer, a couple of women walking a little dog asked me about it. They too seemed to be familiar with it, but didn't know the details. I gave them a flyer and clarified that people on assistance got their pets fixed for free, which they didn't know. Not sure if they'll take their dog in, but I'm glad to get a little evidence that the flyers might help.

Now I just gotta find a way to get more people to show up to the meeting! Maybe I can get the newly-renovated Dunkin Donuts to cater the affair.

Labels: Bushwick, Cat Fixin', Mobile Spay Clinic, Neighbors

Labels: Adoption, Before and After, Cats, kittens

This one may not be as impressive, since the cat was more or less full grown when we first took her in. This is Gladys, who became the first stray to be taken in for the express purpose of spaying her and adopting her out. She showed up over the summer, with a litter of kittens somewhere on the block. She was super skittish at first, but quickly warmed up and started entering the house, mostly to play with cat toys and growl at the other cats. Once a resident, along with her 3 kittens, they doubled the number of cats in the house, which at the time felt overwhelming. Ha. When not threatened by the other cats (or her own kittens), she was an awesome cat, we had misgivings about adopting her out, but it was the correct move considering how many more cats would follow suit.

We got some interest in her on Craig's List, and had a woman come to see her. Gladys didn't 'show' well: She was being super lame, feeling that all the attention was suspect, and didn't really display her more endearing qualities. Lucky for us, the woman's friend had lots of cat experience and could see she was worthwhile, so Gladys ended up moving to a cat-free house in Gowanus. She's reportedly much happier, which seems evident from these photos. She loved sleeping on the bed, but because of all the other cats, she usually ended up having to beat a hasty retreat, growling all the way. Now she gets to hog the bed 24/7! It's funny to look at these pictures now, previously I thought of her as somewhat roly-poly, but here, if anything, she looks skinny. Maybe my perspective has changed since our cats are several pounds overweight now. Gotta start a Kitty Gym.

Speaking of cats that don't get along so great with other cats: 'Mona' the lovely little gray and white cat has finally been adopted! She will be picked up tonight and taken to her new home on the north side of Bushwick. I like it when the cats get to stay in the vicinity, I don't know why.

Labels: Before and After, Bushwick, Cats, Strays

Today's entry catches up with the cat formerly known as The Instigator. He was the most precocious one from Lucy's litter, the first to walk, talk, and annoy the humans. It was pretty amazing how quickly he picked up on pretty much everything ... except the litter box. That skill eluded him for a while, until we put some potting soil in the box, then some primordial instinct kicked in. Aside from that, he was very smart, getting into stuff, climbing up the bed, and teaching the other kittens how to wreak havoc. He's grown into a carbon copy of his mother (at least before she got big and fat), sharing her angular features and 'saddle' of color on his back. He also has dots on his nose like Lucy, which didn't develop until later on.

Francis, as he known now, had this move he used to always employ: "The King Kong." He would approach a toy or littermate, rear back on his hind legs, and raise his arms wide over his head, to give maximum damage to his opponent. It was over-dramatic and he usually paused so long in the air that by the time he hit, his target had moved. Anyway, it was one of several moves he did that we'd never seen a cat do before. Since then, however, we have noted The King Kong in Lucy, plus several others. So I guess he really does take after her. But at least he seems a bit more "in the moment" than Lucy, who still seems a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic.

Labels: Adoption, Before and After, Cats, kittens

So we finally got some real snow! I wonder how long it will last this time, the afternoon forecast is for "Wintry Mix" which always makes me think of "Winter Blend," the combo of cauliflower and broccoli sold in the Key Food frozen food section. So it never sounds as bad as it actually is.

This morning I got to take a barometer reading of how Bushwick is affected when Old Man Winter descend upon us. As you know, I've been trapping feral cats and getting them fixed at BARC through a new program. I was planning on bringing in a cat this morning, but had to give up because everybody was using up all the car services.

I've done this before, call up a car service around 8, jam up to BARC to drop off the cat(s), then hop on the L train to go to work. But every single number I called was either busy or giving me that interminable 'hold' recording ("Your call is very important to us"). I did get one answer from a poor soul who seems to have received the phone number of what I'm guessing is a now-defunct livery company ("why people call all the time this number?!')

What I can't figure out is, who's taking these cars? When it snows a lot, isn't mass transit still the preferred mode of travel? The streets weren't too bad, at least there wasn't much traffic when I headed out later, the cat back in its room to wait until tomorrow to go in. But what few cars were out were moving slow; I can't imagine anybody was getting anywhere faster this way.

So who is it taking up all the cars on these days? Is it people taking their kids to school? Somehow that seems to be the only possible justifiable reason, even though that too doesn't make a lot of sense. Don't people know that those cars are needed to cart stray cats around town?

I suppose I could just take the cat on the train, though the prospect of walking with my poorly-designed cat carrier from the Marcy station to BARC is fairly daunting. So maybe I'm just a wimp, but at least I won't annoy people on the train with a yowling space-taking-up box.

If I win the lottery, I'm buying BARC a helicopter just for pet transport.

Labels: Bad Stuff, BARC, Bushwick, Cars, Cat Fixin', Mass Transit, Weather

This handsome devil wasn't long in our household, or more accurately, when he was here he didn't spend much time in the limelight. We called him Shoehorn, an unflattering name, but again, we didn't want to get too attached to these guys! He was a total doll the whole time we had him, never made a fuss, just napped and played quietly. I actually don't know that he made a sound the whole time he was here! We got some update photos a while ago, and I wasn't even sure if was the same cat, he was so grown up. Frankly, I spent some time matching the fur patterns to be sure; indeed it was Shoehorn. He's called Lynx now, a much more appropriate name to illustrate his big, tufted ears. I'll have to tell his owner that we have since caught his BabyMomma (we call her Daisy now), who looks so much like her son it's like he's a clone.

Labels: Adoption, Before and After, Cats, kittens

I finally got around to compiling some of the photos sent to us by people who have adopted our cats. I don't have pictures for all of them yet, but I'll be posting these from time to time. It's so interesting to see what some of these cats end up looking like. Obviously, the younger they were when adopted, the greater the difference in the later photos. Today we feature two cats from Lucy's Famous Litter, the kittens Lucy had over the summer that launched us into the bizarre life we now lead.

These two fellas used to be known simply as "Big Giant Head" and "Little Face," the two ginger toms of the bunch. When they were little they looked very different (as evidenced by their names), but as they grew it looks like they got to resemble each other a lot more (honestly I have trouble telling who's who in most of the new photos, except for maybe the one at the bottom.)


Now they're Santino (Sonny) and Fredo. Oddly, I do feel that Big Head does look a little like Sonny from The Godfather. But I feel Littleface more closesly resembles Johnny Ola. So they seem to be doing pretty well, huh? Stay tuned for more before & after cats!

Labels: Adoption, Before and After, Cats, kittens

After some 4 months, our last kittens have been adopted. Even though there's still a million cats here, it's noticeably quieter since they decamped for their new home in Cobble/Boerum Hill. The remaining cats don't exactly miss them, but they are acting differently, they seem to need more attention from us, where previously they had the kittens to distract them.

Roxy was the kitten who came the farthest. When she first came in, she was wild and freaked out by the indoors. She hid in the basement a lot of the time, and would dash out of the room any time a human came near. But after a while she realized we were no threat and started tolerating us. This eventually turned into actual affection, though it was almost always on her terms. IF she didn't feel like getting petted, zoom! She took off. But she became a lovely little cat, with a bit of that manic feral behavior.

Tumbleweed was our survivor. He didn't show up until a few weeks after Roxy (and their other brother Chester the Russian Blue). It was November, and he was scrawny and sick. We nursed him back to health; it was touch and go for a while. But he turned it around and before we knew it he went from being the runt to being the bigger than Roxy. At first we weren't even sure if he was from the same litter, but as he put on weight, his resemblance to his siblings was unmistakable, as was his rapport with the other kittens.

After a few false starts, we finally found a couple who wanted to take a pair of young cats. It's much more difficult to get people to take 2 cats at once, which is too bad since I think cats generally do better when they have pals around (that's the whole raison d'etre of this house!) We've previously only given one other pair away, two of Lucy's kittens. And in that case, the people hadn't planned on taking two, but were so charmed by them they ended up taking two so they wouldn't take three! But 2-month old kittens are a whole 'nother story compared to cats over 6 months.

Anyway, we have adopted out something like 11 cats so far, and have 4 more to go (one of which is more or less spoken for). If we're lucky we'll have them all out by the summer kitten season!

Labels: Adoption, Cats, Good Stuff, kittens, Pets

The other day I trudged uptown to the Bed Bath & Beyond way over past 1st Ave and 61st St. It's nice to have this big box store sort of nearby, but it's always a bit of a hike. I go by the Roosevelt Island tram, which is always fascinating in its total obsolescence (don't get me wrong, I hope they never dismantle it!) I also realized that the area I walk through also contains Scores, the 'gentlemen's club' once patronized by Howard Stern until his friend who worked there quit and now they go to a place called Ricky's.

I also go by Trump Plaza Apartments, a building unique in its design in that no matter the time period, it always looked dated and tacky, yet without style. I dunno, maybe it's the super-scripty calligraphy noting the name of the building all over the place. I walk though part of Sutton Place as well, eyeing actual brownstones and fancy stores I shall never patronize. I balked when I first found out I would have to work in midtown; now I'm pleased to be able to see all these parts of the city I would never set foot in otherwise.

Anyhow, I went to BB&B to buy a warm mist humidifier, because our house has been so dry this winter we are all suffering. I can't even pet the cats without creating sparks worthy of a Mr Wizard episode. Plus it's irritating my nasal passages (it's also possible the 10 cats currently in the house are adding to this). So I pick out a decent, basic model, thinking dimly that I should open the box to check it out before purchase.

"Aw, nah," I think to myself. "I don't wanna be one of those people who opens up boxes in the store." I don't know where this came from, but I had noticed a lot of the boxes had obviously been opened, including the one I ended up purchasing. Still my logic prevailed, I was above tampering with an item before I purchased it.

The box was just large enough to be cumbersome, one of those things that makes you conspicuous on the train. I managed to get it home with only a few scowls, and brought it up to our bedroom. I unpacked the humidifier, only to find a huge-ass crack in the plastic reservoir.

At first I thought I somehow cracked it in transit. But then I realized, that's why it was still on the shelf even though it had been opened. Somebody smarter than I had the foresight to make sure the damn thing wasn't all smashed up before they lugged it halfway across New York. Alas.

So today I had to drag it back. It actually worked out well, because at my initial purchase I had forgotten I had a coupon good for 20% any item (it was actually addressed to Matt but he has no need of the girly gear sold at such stores). So I returned the cracked one, and bought the replacement (I checked it out this time first) and saved ten bucks. I just hope this thing does the trick. I already feel like an old lady, now I'm an old lady with a humidifier.

Oh yes, and 10 cats.

Labels: Health, Job, Midtown, Office, Shopping, The City

In an effort to prove I do sometimes leave the house for things other than work and feral cats, here's some photos from Matt & Sylvia's party the other night. they live in Greenpoint, and managed to find a place that doesn't yet appear to be played out in the Williamsburg way. And yet, it can boast stuff like nearby bars, bodegas on literally every corner, plus it's on the far side of town from the bulk of the oil spill.

My neighborhood still shuts down too early, and the bodegas that are open 24 hours are not exactly the type of places you want to spend lots of time. Then again, you don't actually get to go in, you boss some schmoe around behind three inches of bulletproof lucite.

The only real drawback to the neighborhood is you're pretty much stuck with the G train. And let's face it, it won't wash. I don't blame the train, I blame the MTA for being fully 5 years behind the times. Every single neighborhood that is serviced by the G has become real estate gold (more or less). Look at this list of areas the G runs through, tell me it doesn't read like the last several editions of NY Magazine's "Next Hottest Neighborhood Our Cool Interns Say are Hot Hot Hot":

Red Hook, Carrol Gardens, Boerum Hill, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Long Island City. The G connects to the F, A/C, L (Brooklyn), and the E, 7, and V trains in Queens. Not bad, right? So why does the train still suck so much?

I know they're extending the run further into Brooklyn, but that sounds to me like it will take just that much longer for the train to get anywhere. It's pretty impressive that it's been able to handle these ever-more-populous neighborhoods with its dinky 4-car load. I dunno, maybe the folks who live in these neighborhoods learn a kind of zen-like patience I can't begin to imagine. I mean, I used to live off the Classon station for years and somehow survived it, but now that I live on a train line that keeps a pretty tight schedule, it drives me nuts when I find myself standing around that bizarrely run-down Broadway station.

Labels: Friends, Funny to Me, Gentrification, Mass Transit, Parties

I can't wait for this week to be over! so much annoying stuff going on with my job; I think some of my coworkers spend all day, every day attending meetings. They do nothing else, just go from meeting to meeting, all the time. This is my theory, anyway. They don't mind meetings that stretch on for hours, they never need to take a breath, they just keep on talking. And god help you if they get near a video projector. Anyway, that answered a lot of questions to me as to why it takes so long to do stuff around here: everybody is in meetings all the time. Or conference calls. It's unbelievable.

Meanwhile, the TNR train keeps on truckin'. Our 7 ferals are back on the street, and seems to be no worse for the wear. Some, like Grumpus, even seem friendlier than they were pre-surgery. Last night, Grumpus was eating by the window, I reached out and petted him. He didn't even flinch! Makes me think he may not be a real feral, which is sort of sad. But he's got food and he's got shelter (storage tub!), so he's doing all right.

Traps are being set again, to catch whoever we can in advance of Saturday's TNR action. BARC is again hosting the Snip Truck, and can take a lot of cats, so we're gonna try to catch the few remaining stragglers fixed. This will be run much like the Mobile Spay Unit Days, if you have a non-feral cat, you can get it clipped for $25. The cats have to be there by 9am Saturday, no food after midnight Friday. They truck will be there, so let's fill it up. I suspect 15-odd cats we've altered so far may not in fact be all the unfixed stray cats in Brooklyn.

Ironically, I find all this cat-trapping, carting around, and urine-cleaning to be less stressful than my day job, even though I get to sit in front of computer, hardly moving all day. Except when I'm running from one meeting to the next.

email me jimmy at jimmylegs.com if you need more info about fixing your ferals or house pets. I think they do dogs, too.

Labels: BARC, Cat Fixin', Cats, Feral, Mobile Spay Clinic, Strays, The Yard