Category: Cats

Merry catsmas

~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 23 Comments
Norman Rockwell it ain't, but it's all ours.

OK, so this started out as a family holiday photo, but the cats proved reluctant to accept direction.

“What’s my motivation for this scene?” inquired Turkish, raking my left hand with his claws as I set the camera’s self-timer with my right.

“No paparazzi!” screeched Mia. “I’m in the witness protection program!”

“Why do we have all these cats?” wondered Herself.

“I suppose I can always dick around with this lame-o shot in Photoshop,” I mused. And so I could.

Happy holidays from the O’Gradys: Herself (left); Turkish (a.k.a. Turkenstein, The Turkinator, Mighty Whitey the Blue-eyed Bully of Bibleburg, Big Pussy, et al.); Miss Mia Sopaipilla; and Your Humble Narrator (the fat old bald dude at right).

Damn the (snow)man!

~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 7 Comments
There's a new Chairman Meow in town.
There's a new Chairman Meow in town.

Miss Mia Sopaipilla has clearly been overexposed to Islamic socialism, Christ-free “holiday” seasons and the liberal media.

This morning, after brazenly toasting her po-po on our DSL modem she stalked into the living room and ruthlessly deposed The Man — the snowman, that is, the one that this time of year sits atop the subwoofer to our home theater system.

Oh, the humanity. Snowmanity. Sean Hannity. Whatever.

Paging Dr. Thompson

~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 9 Comments
Oh, the weather outside is frightful. Just ask Turkenstein, who prefers a spot on my drawing board to a squat in the snow.
Oh, the weather outside is frightful. Just ask Turkenstein, who prefers a spot on my drawing board to a squat in the snow.

The Brakeman, a.k.a. Dr. Demento, Dr. Doom and Dr. Christopher T. Thompson, is up for sentencing today in the Mandeville Canyon road-rage case, if I recall correctly. VeloNews.com, which covered the trial from gavel to gavel, should have a story up tout de suite with my doppelgänger Patrick Brady on the case.

I don’t know about you, but I’m very interested to see what the judge lays on him. He has 10 years coming, and I’d like to see him serve every second of it.

Meanwhile, nobody will be mistaking Bibleburg for Southern California anytime soon. It was 8 degrees when I arose, and we are anticipating a “high” of 15. The Turk’ has asked to go outside exactly once, and after about five minutes of frigid freedom he’s parked on a sunny spot on my drawing board.

• Late update: Dr. Frankendick’s sentencing has been postponed to next year. The BikingInLA website reports that the continuance was due to — wait for it — a swine-flu-triggered lockdown at the slammer holding the good Herr Doktor. And to think they said irony was dead.

Happy Thanksgiving (hold the turkey, please)

~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 7 Comments
Miss Mia Sopaipilla's no turkey — when it's chilly, she likes to toast her po-po on the DSL modem.
Miss Mia Sopaipilla's no turkey — when it's chilly, she likes to toast her po-po on the DSL modem.

Thanksgiving is always a tad offbeat around the DogHaus. Turkey is rarely on the menu, though as an omnivore I have nothing against consuming them. As Freewheeling Franklin once said during an argument between Phineas and Fat Freddy, “Naw, it’s okay to eat turkeys. That’s just God’s way of punishing them for being so stupid.”

I’m just naturally contrary, I suppose. If everyone else is going that way, well, I’m going this way. Nothing personal. It just looks less crowded over there.

So today Herself and I, joined by the Sis and Bro’-in Law, will enjoy chicken cacciatore over fettuccine with sides of arugula with roasted red pepper, green beans in a soy-sesame seed-garlic sauce, and ciabatta with dipping oil. Raspberry cobbler for dessert.

And wine, of course. Not Italian (there he goes again).  We have a French white (Domaine du Tariquet 2008), a Spanish rosé (Protocolo 2007) and a couple of French reds (Domaine des Rozets Coteaux du Tricastin 2007 and Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2009).

Here’s hoping you and yours have lots to be thankful for today. Miss Mia Sopaipilla certainly does. For starters, she’s thankful to have a fine Motorola DSL modem to sit upon on chilly November mornings.

Hot pussy

~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 6 Comments
The Turk' loves him some sunshine.
The Turk' loves him some sunshine.

Winter laid a bit of the nasty on us yesterday, but it lasted about as long as a horny Republican with a boy toy in a cheap motel. Today the temps hit the 50s and I got out for a quick ’cross spin through Palmer Park, trying very hard not to kill myself on the deteriorating single-track.

I’ve had a number of “Wild Kingdom” moments on rides lately. On Sunday, I interrupted a long-tailed weasel’s pursuit of a rabbit just north of Criterium Bike Shop; today, I saw a couple smallish mule deer tiptoeing through the trees east of the Goose Gossage ballparks.

And when I got home there was a white tiger lounging in the backyard. Turkish was in a particularly sour mood yesterday, as his notion of a good time does not involve being outdoors in subfreezing temps and stiff winds. But today he was a new cat, taking full advantage of the late-October sunshine.