Town Meeting November 2005

[janetcatbird]

Well, I hope everyone had a nice Halloween. Did the moppets make out like bandits? Any cute costumes?

The dorm was pretty tame. A few people set bowls of candy just outside their doors so you could grab as you passed by--yay Double Bubble! I took a break to watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" but spent most of the night farting around--er, working on an essay. At least Thursday night we had a Halloween dance in the common room, very cool. I could not get hold of a costume so I slapped on heavy two-bit whore makeup (Cleopatra eyes, Mimi eyeshadow, sparkly blush and bright fuschia lipstick)--no miniskirts or anything so we decided I was an off-duty hooker.

[E. McCoy]

I was home Halloween evening watching reruns of LOCI on USA....I have no life! Though I am planning on getting a Cat this week...need some company in this apartment. I'm thinking of naming the little man, yup you guessed it Goren!! (my geekiness knows no bounds!!)

[Metella]

Better than snowball.

What about "Detective"? that could be a conversation starter & then when you tell them what detective - it would allow you a great excuse to talk about Goren.

[janetcatbird]

Welcome to the board, E. McCoy! I have two cats of my own--back home, they're not allowed in the dorms--and it took us a while to name them, we waited to see their personalities. The older one is Cleo (Cleopatra, but we never call her that) because of the very distinct eye lines. The other one is a black and white whose full name is Emma Atilla Peel, but most of the family has forgotten it. "Emma Peel" because my brother and I were going through an "Avengers" phase when we got her, and this cat kept doing all sorts of jumps and flips like in Diana Rigg's fight scenes. "Atilla" came from my History-Channel-obsessed brother because she kept attacking anything and everything that moved--not mean, just playful kitten going after feet, bags, ribbons, hair, etc. Of course now she's all fat and bloated and schizoid, but Emma is a sweet, pathetic big baby.

Can you tell I miss my kitties at school? I have to make do with stuffed animals, and they don't keep me company while studying. But back to your cat, E. McCoy, do you have one picked out yet? Animal shelters are great places.

--Catbird

[E. McCoy]

I'm actually going to a Petsmart adoption this Sat. I have to bring my niece with me since it will sort of be her cat too. I watch her for my sister Mon.-Fri. in the mornings. So they really need to get along. I'm hoping the cat chooses me actually and I think in the long run you find that they indeed do.

I had a little tiger cat a while ago his name was Sherlock. My other cat was called Murphy. I know I'm getting a male cat, they seem to have the best temperment, as far as I've seen.

You can see why I'd like to name him Goren, but Detective would be cool too. Anyone have any other name suggestions along these lines? Always takes me forever to name my cats. But if I have a few names to go in with I'm sure one of them will fit.

[noc]

"Holmes" and then you can get another cat named Watson.

If you do decide on a female cat, try a tabby with a red hue and call her "Eames". The only problem with Eames is that neither you nor your cat will recognize the name when it is mispronounced by the vet's staff.

I know what you mean about names. All of my dogs' names are derived from a wonderful dog from my childhood.

[E. McCoy]

I already had a cat named Holmes, Sherlock's brother. We called him Joey Holmes, my mother couldn't bring herself to just calling him Holmes...lol. I think I may go with either Detective or Goren. I'm sure it will come to me when I see the little guy who will indeed pick me.

[noc]

This belongs under literature, but I'm a big fan of Sharyn McCrumb, if you like funny mysteries and tongue in cheek sci fi stuff. The PMS Outlaws, I Should Have Killed Him when I met him, and Zombies of the Gene Pool are my favorites.

A great source of unusual pet names, too.

[janetcatbird]

If you want the super-smart detective theme, how about Mycroft? (Sherlock Holmes' brother.) Also, other sleuth options are Hercule Poirot, Morse, Cadfael, Columbo, Friday, Briscoe, etc. I always try to think of exotic names, just something different from Tabby. Egyptian pharohs and queens, especially. I really liked "Perelandra", from C.S. Lewis, but my parents refused. Arthurian tales have potential, but I think the Camelot names would go better for dogs or horses.

My Dad--who teases to show affection--always wanted to call our cats "Lunch" or "Stupid" and things of that nature. (The one that completely cracked us up, trying to decide on a name for Emma, was when he suggested "Hemorrhoid" for being a pain in the butt.) He's just playing, we catch him rubbing the cats the whole time he's insulting them and give him endless grief about it. I think it goes back to his first job as a vet's assistant when he was in high school--he was the one who got stuck cleaning otu cages or wearing the lead vest to hold a hysterical cat going through X-rays. He still has scars from that.

But usually I've had to exercise my naming techniques on stuffed animals: a white tiger named Shiegra ("Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" by L. Frank Baum), a pouty white cat named Tsarmina (the evil cat empress in "Mossflower", one of Brian Jacques' Redwall books), and a big fat black blob of a cat with his tongue sticking out, after several years I recently settled on "Bubba" as being appropriate. Shiegra is at home, she's old and I didn't want her getting smushed in the dorm. But Bubba and Tsarmina stay on my bed, along with Opus and Snoopy. They make the room homey, especially without any real pets here. (Grover, Pinky and the Brain are on my computer desk.) Besides, my bed is by the window and they're very convenient for blocking the draft. But at home my cats get jealous, so I learned very young that if I wanted to cuddle with Cleo then I had to move the stuffed ones to the floor.

--Catbird

[Patcat]

My current felines are named "Dot" (for Dorothy L. Sayers, Dorothy Parker, and the female lead in Stephen Sondheim's SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE) and "Maggie" (who was found at church on Easter Weekend and named for Mary Magdalene since she was first at the tomb). My late lamented and deeply loved cat was "Pete" named for Lord Peter Wimsey and a character in a Fred Astaire film. Some friends of mine had two brother cats, both grey with white bellies, who were named Sherlock and Mycroft. Sherlock was slender, quick and had to investigate everything and then reported back to Mycroft, who was rotund and quiet.

Patcat

[Metella]

Hi all you new posters - I read all your new comments - didn't have much to add; but just wanted to let you know I had read your posts and I am glad you went back to post comments even on older threads - a nice way for us to get to know you.

[BegToDiffer]

I know its early, but in case I get busy, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Today my back hurts, so I am thankful for hot showers.

Now I'm wondering what each of you are thankful for???

[Metella]

I am thankful when my dogs stand on me in the morning (while I am still in bed) like regal K-9's - standing on me offering their bellies to be properly scratched .... thankful because it is so damn CUTE and I have been through much tribulation with them and we now have a safe home.

[E. McCoy]

I am thankful for my family and friends, and the few hours of sleep I get before work at night after watching my 2 year old niece. Oh and I'm thankful for Sunday nights w/ LOCI

[NikkiGreen]

Lest we forget.

Thank you to all of the Veterans.