Tarot Love

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Welcome to this edition of the Tarot Blog Hop. Today's topic is Love. And while there is a part of me that wants to talk about romantic card spreads--it is a really small part and easily beat up by the part of me that loves collecting Tarot cards and pictures of decks that I do not own yet.

One of the things that I really love about Tarot is the sheer amount of artistic creativity that has been poured into the Tarot over the last few decades. In part, this has happened because of technological advances--in fact with the advent of print-on-demand, I expect there to be an explosion of new artistic Tarot decks (some of which will only sell a handful of copies...and so it goes).

So let's take a look at some of the artwork that people have done Tarot-wise.

For the purposes of this post, I am resorting myself to the Sun card--I could have chosen any of the cards to feature today, but I recently saw a version of the Sun card that really made me want to talk about the Sun card. So here goes...

Vampire Tarot.

This version of the Sun card from the Vampire Tarot I find very interesting. Most Tarot decks portray the Sun card in a hopeful positive manner. Not this deck, this version is, well exactly how a vampire would look upon the sun, as a destructive force and quite life threatening.

Now, while the Vampire Tarot version of the Sun made have determined the choice of card today, don't blame that deck completely for my choosing of this Major Arcana for our tour today.

From the Secret Tarot.

The Secret Tarot is my current deck of choice to read with. And it has one of the most creepy Sun cards in it. Now, maybe I am just super-sensitive, but I want to say that there are a lot of creepy Sun cards out there--aka lots of naked children. Is it just me? Or are there a lot of creepy Sun cards out there? (Feel free to answer that one in the comment section.)

From the Sephiroth Tarot.

This one is not as creepy...unless you find naked angels creepy...which some people might. I do like this deck because it has a (faulty) cheat for remembering where the Major Arcana are located on the Tree of Life.

The artwork is quite nice on this version (Un Mei, I believe that it is from); plus there is a small lion cub--you must love lion cubs, especially if you are like me and work with Bast on a regular basis.

This card is from an Oracle deck--the Madame Endora, I think. I like it because of the mix of Egyptian and the art style. Therefore, while Oracle decks are not really Tarot decks (or that is the answer that I am using today), I am including this card in today's tour of Tarot artwork.

This card from the Adflatus deck (?) is a little busy, but cheerful. I am not completely comfortable with the lower half of the card, but it does have its own particular meaning as you probably can quickly grok.

The direction of the zodiac wheel in this version of the Sun card--from the Gilded Tarot--might disturb some people. Especially those people who like to argue about the placement of the zodiac in a Golden Dawn lodge.

It is a mouse-kangaroo...a mouroo...a kanouse...a whatever. I like it--it is whimsical.

Here is another whimsical Sun card. This one is from the rather expensive Hello Kitty Tarot deck. Should kids play with Tarot cards? Maybe, maybe not. But if you own a copy of this deck, the answer is a screaming Nnnnoooooo!!! (This is one of the most expensive decks that I have looked at in recent days.)

What version of the Sun card is my favorite? Oh, that is just a silly question, isn't it? My own version, of course.

After all, what type of artist would I be if I did not like my version the most of all? Of course, I may never finish my Monkey Tarot deck--but darn it, this version of the Sun card is my all time favorite Sun card.

So what version of the Sun card is your favorite?

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Happy Halloween! (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 31 Year 3)

Oh, hi there.

 Yes, I realize that it is really early for this post, and following right on the heels of my previous one, but it is do it now or forget it. (Why? Because the Tarot Blog Hop post goes live at eight in the morning.)

What Halloween is really about--candy!!!

 In my opinion, Halloween is all about the candy--which you have to share with the cats because...well, because you just have to share the candy with the cats. Not that the cats actually eat the candy; but it makes such a nice cat toy, they just must have some of it to play with.

My cookies as well as everything else I try to eat.

 And cookies, I could go for a few cookies. Of course, what is a cookie if it is not touched by a cat? I don't know either.

So beautiful Pumpkin Kitties.

 I just think that this is an awesome picture of two kittens in a pumpkin.

Yes, I am looking at you.

 I will admit that if a human looked like this, we would be scared for our lives.

Smile like the psycho that you are.

Occasionally, I smile like this...typically when the Jehovah Witnesses come to the door to try to save my pagan soul. Only one of my cats ever wants to talk to them...and I think it is because he thinks that he can convert them over to worshipping Bast.

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Justice (31-HP Day 31)

[Today, I am pulling a poem from my ebook Shakespeare's Monkey--this poem written about five or six years ago in a creative writing class--it was the first time that I realized that semi-poetic form was a good story telling form for me.]

You fool
Piss me off
Do me wrong
You have no idea
 
You laugh
Think you’re scot-free
And me powerless
You wish

Dead of night
Storm threatens
Lightning broods
My power gathers

Tombstone altar
Ancient book
Tattered robe
Yew wand

Harness and yoke
My anger
My rage
My power

Aim at your skull
Aim at your blood
Aim at your heart
Anger smashes

You think you’re safe
You idiot
You fool
You wish

Do me wrong
You will pay
A pound of flesh
An eye for an eye

Be careful
Look both ways
Black cat watching
Funeral waiting

What will it be
A bus crash
A sniper
A heart attack

The wheel spins
Your fate sealed
Your doom beckons
Your death engulfs you

You made a mistake
Wronged me
Bottom line
Don’t mess with a sorcerer

Need no costume (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 30 Year 3)

Please keep your cat inside this Halloween.

First, the public service reminder:

Please remember that there are some sick people out there who might hurt your cat if they catch it outside this Halloween. Keep your cat safe--keep them inside for Halloween.

And now onto today's Halloween kitties. Here we have several cats starring on real life horror movies, mainly as zombies or psychics who can see your impeding doom. There is also one that is pretending to be a road runner that I thought was simply too cute not to use.

Zombie Kitty needs a hug.

Meep! says the Road Runner Kitty.

I see an ax murderer.

Another Zombie Kitty.

Halloween Cat exercises.

Heart screams (31-HP Day 30)

[Warning--trigger: abuse]

You say you love me
You lie, my heart screams
You say you won't hurt me
Better stay two arm lengths away

What scarier?
An empty Wal-Mart?
A Wal-Mart full of people?
It is a toss up

A pan dropped on the floor
My heart races for an hour
Never been in combat
Must be crazy

Not abuse at all
Just a really bad kid
Fear, blood and pain
Perfectly normal childhood

Not allowed to complain
Continuous sacrifice
Everyone else more important
Must do as they wish

The tired greyness
Millstone around my neck
Locked in my own mind
Unable to speak

Must be crazy
Perfectly normal childhood
Just a really bad kid
After all, you would not lie

Must not talk about this
Perfect family
Not abuse at all
You lie, my heart screams

Target worships Khnum (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 29 Year 3)

Kitty makes a cute Khnum.

If you have been on Facebook lately, you have probably seen this picture. Target is using it in one of their sponsored posts (aka an ad) about the holiday costume contest that they are running this year--"Dress up you pet and embarrass them on the internet." I really love this picture--kitty is dressed up as Khnum. I have to love that--my wife is a potter (her pottery store is represented in the sidebar gadget to the right of this post).

Hollywood reboot (31-HP Day 29)

Paid good money
Stood in line forever
Made new friends
Just to be first to learn
How horrible it was

Eyes blinded
That train wreck
My favorite book ruined
Can't Hollywood read?
Boy, did it blow

What a waste
My precious time
Gone down the drain
Could have stayed home
Gone to bed on time

I tweet, I blog
I Facebook, I meme
Ranting and raving
Foaming at mouth
Minus a million stars

Never again
Will I trust
Stupid, dumb Hollywood
To treat a beloved book
With the proper respect

What? No kidding?
Someone special and nice
Just brought the movie rights
To my favorite story--Alien XYZ
I can't wait to see it!

Grumpy kitty bear (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 28 Year 3)

This is animal abuse, right?



This kitty looks so thrilled to be dressed up as a bear? a lion? an annoyed cat? Yes, it is that last one.

Mother, may I? (31-HP Day 28)

You come asking
Questioning and begging
Seeking an answer
Crossing my palm
With silver coins

Shuffle and flip
Pasteboard images
Messages and truth
Spirit communication
Divine wisdom

Your eyes blind
Your ears deaf
Ignoring reality
Your mind set
Could be home

Bits and pieces
Wrenched out
Of proper context
Only heard
Is what you want

Seeking agreement
Looking for a goat
Your course is set
Advice you need not
Permission sought

I see no good
Coming from this
Outside my fee
You are doomed
Spirits annoyed

Go forth
Do your worst
Blame the cards
Blame the reader
Anyone, but yourself

Stroller kitty (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 27 Year 3)

Candy for the little baby.

Here is a perfect costume for those lazy cats who want to go trick or treating, but are too lazy to walk door to door under their own power. Would consider giving this darling some kitty treats? Or would you risk the wraith of unhappy baby?

Send me a muse (HP-31 Day 27)

[Inspired by classical mythology]

Mighty Apollo, shining one
Send me your muses to inspire and enlighten me
To quicken my thoughts and guide my hand
As I pick up pen and paper, and keyboard too
To write and entertain, to convince and inform.

Calliope, bearer of the wax tablet
Guide my hand and steady my mind
When I bend my attention
To the writing of epics
And the woobly bits of science.

Euterpe, bearer of the double flute
Guide my hand and attune my ear
When I form lyric poetry
Forming the medicine of the mind
And distilling the magic of the soul.

Erato, bearer of the small lyre
Guide my hand and enflame my heart
When I inscribe erotic enchantments
Of flaming desires and heaving bosoms
Of love overcoming all obstacles.

Melpomene, wearer of the frowning mask
Guide my hand and humble my soul
When I record tragedies great and small
Birth, death, and the life between
All is sorrow, all is waste.

Thalia, wearer of the laughing mask
Guide my hand and quicken my tongue
When I become the jester among the grim
Precious stones, metals rare, exotic life
None are as valuable as a smile.

Polyhymnia, veiled thinker
Guide my hand and correct my soul
When I expound upon sublime mysteries
Heaven, hell, purgatory, all the manifold worlds
Reflect the truths of the human spirit.

Teripsichore, bearer of the large lyre
Guide my hand and expand my breath
When I write of songs and dancing
Gravity and motion, cause and effect
All things spring from the first point.

Clio, bearer of the ancient scroll
Guide my hand and sharpen my reason
When I trend upon the march of history
Of great men and the myth of progress
Coincidence and flawed minds drive us all.

Urania, bearer of the celestial globe
Guide my hand and extend my imagination
When I create stellar empires and alien civilizations
And myths of star ships crossing the abyss
The stars incline, they do not compel.

Oh mighty Apollo, shining one
Oh great muses, daughters of lightning
I call upon you to inspire and enlighten
For I am a writer, an artist, a creator
A child of the imagination with ink-stained hands.

Eaten by a pumpkin (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 26 Year 3)

A little help here please.

Poor kitty! And I am talking about the one in the pumpkin, not the one that I hear crying in the other room about her food bowl being empty. Yes, this poor Halloween kitty has been eaten by a pumpkin...which provides us a complete circle of life when you stop to think about it.

Pumpkins eat cats; cats eat squirrels; squirrels eat pumpkins.

See a complete circle of life, much like rock, paper, scissors. Ok, maybe I am just weird.

And here is a bonus picture of a squirrel eating a Jack O'Lantern.

Pumpkin eating squirrel.

Trade secrets (31-HP Day 26)

Coffee stained
Enciphered and encoded
Old and browned
Handwritten recipes

Weigh and measure
Pound and dollop
Pinch and handful
Exactness counts

Fresh berries
Crushed and mashed
Staining hands
Blue and purple

Fresh onions
Skinned and peeled
Tears forming
Yellows and tans

Cactus lobes
Smuggled in a box
Covered with beetles
A delicate red

Pound of ancient
Dried up mummy
Such a delicious
Shade of brown

Old ways remembered
An artist's craft
Original colors
All handmade

Drunk or death trap (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 25 Year 3)

Drunk kitty debates having a snack.

Is it a drunk kitty dressed as a lamp shade? (I think that it is a lamp shade...if it is not a lamp shade, I have no clue what it is actually supposed to be.) Or a lamp shade death trap for birdie? Or both? I hope that the photographer rescued the bird--though one has to wonder why you would not rescue the bird from the impeding cat of doom, rather than take a picture...then again, I have known a couple of birds that were quite good at defending themselves (to the point where you wondered if you might have to take the cat to the vet to stitch up their nose).

Lucky penny #1 (31-HP Day 25)

Go ahead and share the lucky penny.

Here is a lucky penny
Pass it on and on
If you don't,
Imps will invade
Your underwear drawer

Here is a lucky email
Forward it to five more
Multiplied by five squared
If you don't,
No more puppies

Here is a lucky elephant
Pass it on to a friend
Never mind your back
And just duct tape the hernia
After all, it is a lucky elephant

[This poem is part of my ebook, Grandma' Broom and Other Witchy Poems available on Amazon.]

Another death at my house (31-HP Day 24 & 31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 23)

A picture of Merlin from the Presidential election.

Apologies to both those who have been following the 31 Halloween Poems and/or year three of 31 Days of Halloween Kitties, but I am a little off today. Last night, one of my cats, Merlin passed away in his sleep. He had been ill for awhile, and try as we might he wasn't getting any better despite getting medicine from the vet.

This afternoon, me and my wife buried him out in the yard near a stand of catnip--he was the biggest catnip fiend in the house. So this is the fifth cat that is buried out in the yard (the seventh that has died here since we brought the house eleven years ago). The cat ghosts here outnumber the human ghosts.

Speaking of human ghosts, today I learned of an expensive (twelve dollars for a basic search) website to see if someone had died in your house. It is only for the United States; and no, I did not attempt a search...because twelve bucks for a basic search seems a little pricey to me (and I am not sure how reliable it would be--after all, I know that there are still a lot of records that have not been digitalized...thanks to my time in the UCD history department and researching stuff at the Western History collection at the Denver Public Library).

So hopefully, I am back on my game tomorrow, and will return you to back to the regularly scheduled programs of poems and cat pictures. And if not, I know that you will understand.

Select models (31-HP Day 23)

All types of models
We have today
Slim to husky
Wide range of colors
Basic blacks,
Whites and greys
And more exotic reds

Some select models
Are self-sufficient
Needing only kitchen
And bathroom privileges
Perfect for workers
Gone for endless hours
Operate best in twos

Some select models
Are mischievous
Impish souls
Tricking all in the house
Quality checking
Softness of beds
And toilet paper

Some select models
Are fabulous
Super-models
And show stoppers
A little extra cost
A lot of extra care
Beauty has a price

Some select models
Are coddlers
Who will greet you
After a long day
Insisting relaxation
And heart-felt kisses
Reduce stress levels

What model is this?
No way to tell
Until you get home
Cats much like women
Rely on appearance
To lure you in
Later surprising you
With their secrets

Witch apprentice (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 22 Year 3)

Is your cat your witch apprentice?

Sometimes I think that my cats are taking notes while I am doing rituals. Like yesterday, during my daily performance of the Lesser rituals and the Middle Pillar, the two youngest cats (they are both three years old--and brothers) just sat there and watched me. I am positive that they were taking notes, and judging me on my performance. Now, there are some that might say that they are learning magic from me, and therefore are apprentices. My personal view is that they are probably Secret Chiefs (as my regular readers know).

Joy-ride (31-HP Day 22)

It will be fun!
Live a little!
Don't be a muggle!

Not fun
Could die
Muggles not bad

Everyone does it!
Need to see London!
Perfectly safe!

See no one else
More like barf over London
Almost hit a jet

Nice broom!
Antique?
You're a natural!

Discontinued Pam-Am 93
Fire hazard
Hanging upside down

Ain't this fun?
Look muggles!
Let's buzz them!

It is horrible
Let's get caught
They had cameras

Don't worry!
Muggles easily confused!
What's instant-gram?

We're so grounded
Viral photos
All over the news

Oh dear!
They look upset!
It is his fault!

Please ground me
I barfed a whole lot
All over London

Witchcraft starter kit (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 21 Year 3)

Just add a cat and you are a witch!

Today, we can joke about this--just have a black cat and you are a witch. But that has not always been a joke, it seems (based on the reading I have done) that owning a cat during the Middle Ages was enough to get you labeled as a witch. Sad, it was. Nowadays, owning a cat, or a dozen, will generally just mean that you are a crazy cat lady/man who posts a lot of cats pictures on Facebook.

Cthulhu oh gee (31-HP Day 21)

I am Cthulhu
Oh gee, I am
Large and green
Crushing buildings
Sinking boats
Stomping humans
Long before
That other guy

Oh gee, I am
Sleeping beneath
The wide Pacific.
Radioactive breath
I need not.
Broadcast madness
Fill the asylums
In my sleep

Throw planes at me
I eat them
Tanks make nice shoes
Atomic weapons
Make me laugh
I am an Elder God
An Old One
Not some young upstart

Cthulhu I am
The original bad
You are insignificant
For I am
Cthulhu oh gee
The original Godzilla
Accept no substitutes
Not even in Japan

Cats disguised as household items (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 20 Year 3)

Yes, random necessities can kill you.  

You are being watched. Your psychopath of a cat has disguised itself as one of the things in your house. Perhaps as you toilet paper, perhaps as your paper towels, perhaps as your favorite sweater. And your cat waits, knowing that sooner or later, you have to use the basic necessities and then, gottacha!!!

Beware that the toilet paper and paper towels are plotting against you.

But don't worry--karma is a funny gal. Occasionally, the feared psychocat gets what they deserve and their carefully planned trap gets them instead. Laugh at the cat trapped in the paper bag while you can, for cats have nine lives and know where you sleep.

Occasionally the paper bag wins.

Today's miracle index (31-HP Day 20)

Chances of rapture occurring
Same as Ragnarok today
Chances of raining bacon
One in egg-zillion

Hell becoming colder
Than a witch's tit
About the same
As Nifelhelm warming up
To a tepid cup of tea

Politicians getting along
And doing their jobs
What exactly are politicians
Supposed to be doing anyways?

Odds of raining frogs
And seas of boiling blood
Equal to California sinking
And Atlantis rising upwards

Jewish messiah knocking
At thy door unlikely
As is the odd chance
That an UFO will land
And find intelligent life

As for me finishing
That damn overdue article
And sending it to the editor
The chances of that
Are equally dim today

Colonel Meow (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 19 Year 3)

Colonel Meow is a scary looking cat.

I like Colonel Meow. Not only is he a distinguished looking cat...ok, slightly scary looking cat--he is also a world famous rescue. Yes, Colonel Meow started off as a rescue. His human, Anne Marie Avey, adopted him from a Seattle Washington chapter of the Himalayan and Persian Society in 2011. I have seen some of the shelter pictures of Colonel Meow, and he was in bad shape when he arrived. Since being rescued he has gone onto internet fame, and even been in a cell-phone commercial. And best of all, you can be one of his minions on Face book.

My funny voice (31-HP Day 19)

[Please note that after twelve years of speech therapy, I still have problems pronouncing certain words correctly.]

Speak funny
You say I do
Mocking how I talk

Am I retarded?
Brain damaged?
Unworthy of being heard?

My voice an excuse
And ready target
For your abuse

Shame should make
Me quiet as a mouse
Sorry to disappoint

I roar and thunder
An opinionated troll
With a standing soapbox

Ignore my voice
I use my pen
Full of poison ink

My voice enables
I am the jester
And the howling lunatic

I stand in
The center of attention
Hogging the spotlight

Yes, I speak funny
So did my grandparents
Their mouths full of Yiddish

[And for those of my readers, who have never heard my speaking voice, I present the following video.]

What scary tales do cats tell one another (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 18 Year 3)

Kitties tell scary Halloween stories to one another.

Occasionally, I wonder what type of stories that cats would tell to one another. I imagine their stories are very different than ours. For instance, take the idea of the rapture--that magical moment when all the good Christians are taken up directly into heaven...leaving their cats behind. From a cat's viewpoint, this is a major disaster (and not desired at all)--for this is a significant drop in the number of people capable of operating the can opener--some cats could starve to death if the rapture actually occurred. By this token, one can understand why some Christians believe that all cats are Satanists (not true, they are children of Bast, an Ancient Egyptian goddess...therefore, they are New Agers at worst), and why cats insist on pooping in their shoes.

Most of the ghosts that I hear in the house are actually just the cats.

Bully time (31-HP Day 18)

[This poem was inspired by something I read by Wil Wheaton. Warning: Triggers--abuse and bullying--or maybe it is just me...because I am writing about my own bully.]

Your eyes lit up
First time you saw me
Short, thin, talking funny
A perfect target for abuse

I disliked you
I hated you
I loathed you
You were the perfect bully

I knew not your pain
I knew not your past
No clue about your home
How could I?
No friend, you were

New in town, I was
Unhappy at home
Miserable in school
With you as the cherry on top

Name calling
Mocking my voice and strangeness
Shower room pranks
You were the perfect bully

You remember this fondly
As you think I should too
Not with rage
And anger bubbling
Venom in my veins

Wish you harm, I do
Wish you restraint
And unhappiness
When I remember the past

Yet I must thank you
Others have tried
To control and bully me
To bend me to their will

But they are not you
And I have grown
Confident in my abilities
To endure abuse and threats
For I learned this at your hands

[Needless to say, bullying is wrong, even if it made me stronger.]

Kitty being stalked by monster (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 17 Year 3)

Hide, the monster is coming to get you.

Here is a picture that tells a story. Poor kitty hiding from a monster, obviously one of the qlippoth, while its master does nothing to help (seriously, put down the camera and save your cat!). Of course, this is the way my cats used to react to my god-daughter when she used to visit--one of the nicknames for my god-daughter was monster.

(In all fairness, I should probably refer to her as my ex-god-daughter...long story, mostly boring, all you need to know is that I am completely and wholly at fault--which is also the reason that I am now a former elected GD officer, who will never serve in an elected office ever again.)

For more cats dressed up in costumes (monster costumes, that is), check out this post by the Bloggess (her poor kitty).

Results not typical (31-HP Day 17)

A full head of hair
In just seven days
Be at your ideal weight
In just ten days

Never suffer road rage
Ever again
Be a sexual magnet
With just one pill

We have what you need
For a small princely sum
Ointments, tonics, pills,
Creams and treatments

It is a modern day miracle
The latest advance in science
Endorsed by doctors
Celebrities and athletes alike

As seen on TV
Magazines and the internet
Would commercials lie to you?
Trust us, we're honest

Never mind the constant
Peeing and falling off
Of your favorite body parts
And the rare sudden blindness

It is what you want
Your greatest desire
Never mind the expense
And unseemly  side-effects

Step right up and buy it now
Hand us your coin
And take your snake-oil
Ignoring the fine print

Results not typical
Paid celebrity endorsement
Side-effects may kill you
No FDA approval

The ferals I have watched over (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 16 Year 3)

It is National Feral Cat Day.

Today is National Feral Cat Day...or as I like to point out to people, just another day in the life of a colony caretaker.

I did not wake up one morning and say, "Gee, I want a bunch of cats to be both happy to see me and fearful of my presence at the same time." But that is what happened when my wife and I brought our house.

Now, I was technically a rescuer before that point. I had taken in Talisman (Little Miss Dynamite) along with her brother Lucifer (Morning Star) a few years before. Lucifer was a rough cat; his previous owner was a biker who used to wrestle with him as if he was a big dog. There were several occasions that Lucifer clawed me across the face, and a lot of people thought he should be put to sleep due to his violent reactions to simple play. I exercised a lot of patience and retraining techniques--over the years I had him, he mellowed out. Talisman would have been abandoned if I would not have agreed to take her along with her brother...turns out that she was pregnant, so that would have been...well, a lot more feral cats if I had not stepped in.

The colony my wife and I inherited consisted of a male and female cat, and periodic litter of kittens. Sandy and Blackie never completely trusted me. Blackie ended up being put to sleep because he was diseased. But Sandy lived for several years on our property after we got her fixed, along with one of her daughters. Sandy eventually died of injuries (she would not let anyone get close enough to take her to the vet), and her daughter was displaced by a shift in the leadership of the colony (Sandy was the original top cat in it).

Four of the indoor cats that I own are kittens from feral mothers (two from Sandy, two from another feral mother who just showed up one day). Both Devil Kitty, the first that we rescued from the colony (or rather my wife rescued her), and three legged Princess Kitty are daughters from Sandy. And three years ago, we added to more cats to the pride from another feral mother (who just showed up one day with kittens in tow).

So for me, every day I live with the results of people just abandoning unfixed cats and letting them fend for themselves. Every day is Feral Cat Day in my universe.

Pirate Kitty is the son of a feral cat.

My sweet voice (31-HP Day 16)

Deep in my brain
The earworms squirm
A never ending loop
I must let the lyrics out
"Please don't."

My voice rough
At first wobble
But it soon warms up
I sing, I sing
"Shut up! Just shut up!"

Angels cry
When I sing
My beautiful voice
Ringing though the cosmos
"You are killing angels."

Dogs join in
A chorus of kindred spirits
United in harmony
Singing across the land
"You are scaring the cats."

My voice so sweet
Maybe I should audition
Become a big star
Make big bucks
"I love you--please shut up!"

Sing I do
*Whack! Whack! Whack!*
Hey, I was singing--
"Exactly." *Whack!*
Ok, ok, I will shut up

Psycho Cats (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 15 Year 3)

Next time on Ghost Hunters...uh, this looks like a crime about to happen.

There is this internet rumor...which also occasionally appears in print also...that cats are psycho and might be plotting to kill you and all your loved one. Now, let's look at the photographic evidence. First picture might be a ghost kitty...or maybe a psycho cat.

Psycho Cat gets eight sequels.

Moving on to our second piece of evidence...this looks like hearsay. Surely, kitty did not go all psycho on doggy and say that death would not stop them.

Someday the cat will succeed in killing someone.

Our third and final piece of evidence today--ok, yes, it does look little strange, but maybe the cat was in the wrong place at the wrong time and just stumbled across a dead body.

These pictures prove nothing!

And if you are reading this, please call the cops because my cats are holding me hostage.

Growing up poor 1 (31-HP Day 15)

Trailer park
Mixed neighborhood
Condemned houses
Father blackballed from job
Forced into business
Cheated by partner
All lost, all gone
No escape from poverty

One heater only
Three boys one room
Five girls other room
My mattress on the floor
A few scattered toys
Books read a dozen times
Canning stored in crawlspace
Vegetable garden in the yard

Food stamps
Government cheese
School breakfasts
Kindness of strangers
Gaunt and shy
Too short for my age
Bad teeth
Bad headaches

Harsh truths
Learned too soon
Always worried
Always hungry
No Santa Claus
No Easter Bunny
Sacrificing self
For the good of others

Then you wonder
Why I sympathize
Why I fight
Why I associate
With the downtrodden
You forget where I came from
I am one of the poor
Still in the back of my mind

Ewok teddy bear cat (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 14 Year 3)

It is an ewok, teddy bear cat.

I think that this is a cat. Or maybe an ewok. Or maybe a teddy bear. Or maybe Big Foot's lovechild. Honestly, I am not really sure what it is. But I am betting that it is just a rather strange looking cat...and if I am wrong, and it is an evil alien in disguise, just run screaming down the street and I am sure that I will get the message also.

Plans and lessons (31-HP Day 14)

Dear Brother of the Art,

Question of redemption

Read the trestle board
Dance the cards and stars
Adam Primus
So Above, So Below
Build the Tree within
Climb up from the Kingdom
Upwards to the Crown
Rung by rung
Step by step
Day by day
Hour by hour
Gather Mercury, Sulphur
And Salt
Grind and distill
Until the Great Work
Is completed
Strive to be
More than Human

Sincerely, an Adept

Of the Rosy Cross

Super Kitty will save you (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 13 Year 3)

Super Kitty is here to save the day.

Have you ever wondered exactly what type of superheroes cats would be? They would hardly be the type of hero that Superman and Batman are. No, they would be more like Super Sleeper, and the Amazing Tripper, and the Mighty Escape Artist. And they would not rescue everyone...in fact, outside of their chosen humans, I am not sure that a single person would ever be rescued by a cat.

There will be some people who might argue with cats being willing to rescue their owners. But for record, my cats rescue me whenever I am feeling down and depressed...hey, my cats are superheroes!

Fickle (31-HP Day 13)

Meow! says Miss Clio.

Meow. Pay attention to me.
Meow. Pet me now.
Meow. Quit touching me.
Meow. Feed me now.
Meow. Not this food.
Meow. I lay here.
Meow. I lay here instead.
Meow. Too hot.
Meow. Too cold.
Meow. What? Me? Fickle?!

Cute little devil (31 Days of Halloween Kiities Day 12 Year 3)

Devil Cat shows true colors this Halloween.

Now back to the parade of cats wearing Halloween costumes. Here is a cute little cat wearing a red devil costume...though I am not sure why there is extra fur around the horns. I am not daring enough to try to get my own devil cat to wear a Halloween costume; she would so rip my arm off.

Here is my own Devil Kitty--wearing a box.

Rant--helping the poor is in your best interest (UBC--day 12)

Apologizes to all who have been following the Halloween (witchy) poetry series. But this morning, I was reading a post by one of the other bloggers doing the Ultimate Blog Challenge and I feel a rant coming on; therefore, it is probably best that I just get up on my soapbox and address the issue that I am raging about today.

(For those who are curious to read the post in question, it is "Rant--stop hating on the poor for not being 'poor enough'" that you can read here.)

Dear people who think that the poor are not poor enough to deserve help,

Let me appeal not to your human decency, which I presume that you do not have, but rather to your enlightened self-interest. There are good reasons that you want to make sure that the poor have roofs over their heads, warm clothes, working fridges, cable TV, computer games, internet access, and phone service. Quite simply, it is in your best interest to make sure that the poor have these things.

Why? Because you do not want to die.

No, I am not talking about an armed uprising. Your life will be endangered long before the poor take up guns to take away your belongings. Why? Because we live in the same areas that you do.

And more importantly, we occasionally handle your food.

Stop and think about it. The poor need clean water, safe and healthy living conditions, including warm clothes and working fridges, simply because without them, the poor are a pandemic just waiting to happen. And don't think that your money and holiness will protect you from a raging disease that starts and spreads among the poorer citizens (and non-citizens) of your nation. It just takes one bad contact and the disease will leap to those who have money.

A pandemic can wipe a large hunk of the population out. I can hear you say, "Good, less poor people." Just keep thinking that--because poor people will not be the only ones to die in such an event.

The 1918 Spanish Flu killed off fifty million people (3% of the world's population at the time). And it must readily killed off the healthy people, not the typical kids, elderly, and infirm that a typical outbreak kills off. Half of the deaths were adults between the ages of twenty and forty years old. And it did not care about your social and economic class either.

And the potential for a pandemic to develop in the poor populations of the civilized world increases once you start to take away basic survival items, such as working fridges.

Plus mistreating the poor will inconvenience you long before that. For instance, internet service--are you aware that many fast food restaurants are now only accepting online applications? No applications from the poor, especially those who need the aid (such as food stamps to supplement their dirt-poor wages), and you will have no one to serve you your Big Mac. Or bag your groceries. Or...well, the list goes on and on.

So just remember that if you get your way, and cut off aid to anyone who does not appear poor enough to deserve aid, that you will reap the benefits by gaining the health hazards of a third world nation (go to India and tour the poorer areas if you think that you might want to do it anyways).

Oh, and just remember that we live in an equal opportunity county. Just like everyone can work hard, or simply get lucky, and become rich, every person who is not living in poverty can become poor (stock market crashes, etc.).

Blessed be.

[And for anyone curious, I grew up poor, and have never made more than nineteen thousand a year--twenty years in restaurants making minimum wage or close thereof--hence my membership in the ranks of the poor...which is why this issue annoys the hell out of me, and why I am so well aware that poor people are touching your food.]

Raptor kitty (31 Days of Halloween Kitties Day 11 Year 3)

Raptor kitty does not need a costume.

The greatest asset you can have is a playful imagination, or at least that what I tell people while I am pretending to be a spiritual and productive guru. And here we have a fabulous kitty demonstrating the fact that you do not need a costume to improvise a character. "Roar! I be mighty dino-raptor! Now give me your sandwich!"