Order out of Chaos and Randomness?

The random photographs of our doodle cats daily doings brought to mind Ilya Prigogine and his famous research in 'dissipative structures', the idea of complex 'self-organizing' bodies' emerging out of randomness and chaos. Although few argue that something new (perhaps more complex) can emerge from this cycle of disorder/change/order, some would argue that the outcome may not necessarily be better/more intelligent/efficient unless it was guided by some external source of inspiration.

Well, this Mommie cat could not round up the cat boys for the usual reading/discussion/contemplation cycle, something which always leads to greater understanding and appreciation. The cool evenings are making them frisky and energetic. They run up trees, walls, jump around, sniff, a lot of cuteness is dissipating around us. I asked myself where all this randomness was taking them and me. I am certain it is not going towards something grand, if you know what I mean.

So without further philosophizing I present to you a few random shots...

This is a couple of nights ago when strong winds blew down a huge pine tree just down the street from us, our very own stomping grounds. The city crew chopped it down in a few hours!

Augustus the babe showing off the pillow case that I bought at the UN Celebration Day just last Sunday. It is from West Africa and the pictures then were used as language. So drawing zebras in the old days indicated that "Hey, the zebras are coming"!

This is Ollie babe after his morning walk and breakfast. He is ready for his day, sitting in the loft, watching shadows, listening to sounds, his books by his side, just in case.

This is Augustus last evening when he wanted to play hide and seek with me except that naughty boy is not closing his eyes.

This one is a hummingbird, my favorite bird of all, just mesmerizing!

And this is last evening, the same game of hide and seek, Ollie is hiding up on a high wall while Gustopher Jones (Augustus) was down below counting to ten on his little paws.


I told Ollie about chaos and order and he reminded me of Blazing Saddles:

Reverend Johnson: Order, order. Goddamnit, I said "order".
Howard Johnson: Y'know, Nietzsche says: "Out of chaos comes order."
Olson Johnson: Oh, blow it out your ass, Howard.

(Oops, Pardon their French)

Well, that's about all the randomness I can handle today. Cat boys are sending you random kisses with their sweet cat lips. I hope some of them land on your faces. Have a great weekend!

Ciao!

Strong winds last night

got Sherlock and his friend out investigating....

However, flying debris and falling branches were getting into mommie's eyes and so she returned to the condo quickly. Short excursion!

Ollie came back later and told mommie in Ollie words that the wind had blown him over (he asked for a fuzzy picture to show the wind in his fur, and so I obliged.)

Later at night Ollie was spending more time with mommie telling her all about his day, and Gustofer Jones was still out sniffing the fresh ionic air.

We read this...

"...knowledge is a veritable treasure for man, and a source of glory, of bounty, of joy, of exaltation, of cheer and gladness unto him. " (Baha'u'llah)

and we listened to this ...after which Ollie started nuzzling.

May these strong winds bring loads of kisses and love to your doorsteps...Happy Wednesday!

Ciao!

It was business as usual chez nous...

Augustus pretended that he was in a boat, lost at sea, looking this way and that...



while Ollie pretended he had fallen aboard and was trying to stay afloat on his back.



They asked me to share The Boccherini Song to go with their theatrical performance! (I marvel at their abilities, always.)

Mommy cat attended a luncheon at the United Nations Day Celebration in Pasadena, sponsored by UNA Pasadenaand held at my favorite building in Pasadena, The Western Justice Center.

Two spectacular individuals were specifically honored at this event, Judge Dorothy Nelson and Mr. Marvin Schachter. Cat mom has the privilege of knowing Judge Nelson; however, at her request, the UNA website does not have anything on her background. She did not feel it was appropriate to receive 'PR' while she is an active superior court judge. I was thinking what a lovely day it was as I looked up at the sky in the patio courtyard. 

There was also African music and dance, a global marketplace, booths from all sort of grass roots organizations playing their part in bettering the world around them. I wanted to make some connections, I needed to check things out. I ended up shopping too, God knows how much I like pretty things. I will try to share more on this as I get a chance to think about it, or at least show you what I got.

Cat boys and I hope that everyone had a beautiful weekend, of music, theatre, imaginings and love. They send you two big smooches with their little cat lips!

Ciao!

Speech at the University of Capetown...Tiny Ripple of Hope

Last night Augustus asked me to read to him this, Robert Kennedy's speech made to the students of the University of Capetown on the Day of Affirmation, 6 June 1966. Why this is so a propos is that we will be attending a UN Day Celebration in Pasadena and we have been discussing the need for unity in the world, the entire world, among all, in order to achieve happiness. Augustus sat on the patio wall to listen,
and Ollie was listening too. I am sure his little cat brain is thinking whether his contributions to the cause of 'unity' will amount to anything. Should he even bother or not?
The speech was long so we did not chat about it, something that we will do in the next few days for sure, as long as the boys remain 'in form', so to speak. Cat parents know that the slightest shiny object may distract a kitty cat from whatever it is that he is doing at that moment.

Later that night we retired to the bedroom, Ollie considers our bed his.
And Gussy Gus likes to eat a few nums before he retires to his bedroom.
"Look, I am sleeping now."
Back to Robert Kennedy's speech- for those who think the task is great and our abilities limited, he said:

"Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all these acts will be written history of this generation...It is from numberless diverse acts of courage...that the human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

Wishing all a beautiful Friday and life filled with ripples of hope + of course many cat kisses!

Ciao!

Envisioning Unity...

The doodles and I read more on the theme of 'unity' before going to bed. Here's what Gussy Gus selected:

"Unification of the whole of mankind is the hall-mark of the stage which human society is now approaching. Unity of family, of tribe, of city-state, and nation have been successively attempted and fully established. World unity is the goal towards which a harassed humanity is striving. Nation-building has come to an end. The anarchy inherent in state sovereignty is moving towards a climax. A world, growing to maturity, must abandon this fetish, recognize the oneness and wholeness of human relationships, and establish once for all the machinery that can best incarnate this fundamental principle of its life.

"The well-being of mankind, its peace and security are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established."

"So powerful is the light of unity, that it can illuminate the whole earth. The one true God, He Who knoweth all things, Himself testifieth to the truth of these words... This goal excelleth every other goal, and this aspiration is the monarch of all aspirations."

"He Who is your Lord, the All-Merciful, cherisheth in His heart the desire of beholding the entire human race as one soul and one body. Haste ye to win your share of God's good grace and mercy in this Day that eclipseth all other created days."

I know you may think that the doodle cats do not understand these concepts but I noticed that they nodded their little heads in agreement when I was reading to them. Seeing that it was quite late we did not discuss our readings and went straight to bed time with a little help from Andrea!

Yes, here comes sleep.

Doodles wish all a happy Thursday...stand United in Love!

Ciao!

Augustus was smiling

and Ollie was wondering why? Isn't he the one who tells the jokes in this family?

I am sure the two of them will discuss this soon enough.

Just as I expected...
This gave me a chance to tell them about the upcoming United Nations Day Celebration, and UNITY being the ultimate goal of humanity in this global civilization. So we reviewed the following quotes-

“The world is but one country, and mankind its citizens.”

“Let not a man glory in that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind.”

“Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.”

“Bend your minds and wills to the education of the peoples and kindreds of the earth, that haply … all mankind may become the upholders of one order, and the inhabitants of one city…. Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the operation of one Will.”

“Beware lest the desires of the flesh and of a corrupt inclination provoke divisions among you. Be ye as the fingers of one hand, the members of one body.”

“All the saplings of the world have appeared from one Tree, and all the drops from one Ocean, and all beings owe their existence to one Being.”

“That one indeed is a man who today dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race.”

(Baha'u'llah)

The little boys could not agree more, they really could not understand how it could be any other way. More proud and in love with them I could not be.

Wishing all oneness all round and heaps of cat kisses...

Ciao!

Praying for their Safety Every Single Moment...

We live in a BIG city, however, our cat dudes are not City Cats and do not take to the indoors. This means daily stress for the cat parents and has made us very prayerful indeed. Just this past Sunday Augustus babe did not return home at his usual hour. We expect the boys to wonder back into the condo around 11 or noon.

We searched all over.

Broken hearted we tried to accept that he may have been lost or stolen, and Ollie tried to soothe his nerves with some cat snuff.

Hours later, Augustus wonders back meow meowing looking all exhausted and ragged. He ran up to his bedroom and was sacked.

Ollie kept a close eye on his big brother.

I too stuck around and snapped a few pictures and asked myself if I wanted to do this blog anymore. Oh well, a stressful Sunday afternoon came to a happy end.
I came across this prayer...

O God! Thou knowest that the people are encircled with pain and calamities and are environed with hardships and trouble. Every trial doth attack man and every dire adversity doth assail him like unto the assault of a serpent. There is no shelter and asylum for him except under the wing of Thy protection, preservation, guard and custody.
O Thou the Merciful One! O my Lord! Make Thy protection my armory, Thy preservation my shield, humbleness before the door of Thy Oneness my guard, and Thy custody and defense my fortress and my abode. Preserve me from the suggestions of myself and desire, and guard me from every sickness, trial, difficulty and ordeal.
Verily, Thou art the Protector, the Guardian, the Preserver, the Sufficer, and verily, Thou art the Merciful of the Most Merciful!
Now if I could only teach the dudes to say this prayer...

Wishing all a safe and beautiful day embellished with cat kisses,

Ciao!

They close their eyes

and listen to Crossing the Border. I am astonished, as always, with their precious cat musical ears and with alfredo rodriguez whom I heard play live just this past Wednesday night. O My! Simply Divine!

May yours be a musical Friday followed by muchas cat kisses!

Ciao!

Rain and Soft Fur Do Not Mix...

Rain has found its way to Southern CA, and as always, its arrival is a mixed blessing- we need the rain but we like it to come incrementally. Cat boys actually do like rain, oh the smell, oh, who spilled all this water, and other such feelings of astonishment... but raindrops do not agree with their fine fur. This is Tuesday night in the courtyard...
Augustus indicating that he is going to go out regardless...

and Ollie checking out the scenery from a more protected corner.

Both returned rather early, a couple of hours later, demanding and meowing for the rain to stop. I reminded them that they could always pray (since we have been missing our daily routine). I shared with them this Native American saying, seeing that Ollie thinks he is an American Indian sometimes (Chief Puffy Pants)

"Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way."
~ Native American saying

but he was very quick and shared with me this...

"But really, when you come right down to it, there are only four basic prayers. Gimme! Thanks! Oops! and Wow!”
from ~Rabbi Gellman, The New York Times

Sometimes Ollie thinks that he is a child of Israel (but he really is not).

Wishing all clear skies and every other good thing, and a good serving of cat nuzzles...

Ciao!

Sacked...

Weekends usually end up like this because the cat boys send hours playing outdoors,







and we cannot be any happier because this is the only time we get to relax without worries.

A very late Monday post just so Augustus and Ollie could send you little cat kisses for a happy Tuesday.

Ciao!

Beta Trianguli Australis

set off on its grand journey at about the same time that Sylvester (aka my sweatheart) was born. We celebrated this special day with a cozy dinner at The Athenaeum, which is the faculty club at Caltech. The 'Ath', as they call it, is a beautiful building with a lot of history of scientific if not general significance, and that could be the topic of another blog day.
Today I only have a few snapshots of yesterday evening.
I pass by these gardens everyday, or try to at least, always hoping that one Jacarunda tree has decided to present a few flowers (out of its normal season) or that the Lincoln roses have produced new buds and flowers. These roses are truly flowers fit for heavens, their color, forms and scent are all out of this world. Ahhh!


This is a shot of our two water glasses after dinner table was cleared, well almost cleared. I was trying to see what my iphone camera could do in the semi dark dining room. The interior of this dining hall must be seen; it has beautiful ceilings with paintings, fabric covered walls, woodwork, artwork, and many other adornments.

The picture of Caltech's Triumvirate hangs in this dining hall. The people in that photo, all grand scientists, are from left to right, Noyes, Millikan, and Hale, aka Larry, Moe and Curly! (tee hee)

Back at home, the cat boys had bought some flowers for Dada; however, Ollie found the roses tasty and the rose water was delicious too.





As you might expect the vase tipped over and Ollie ate one of the roses. The vase is now safely in the sink. August was no where to be found as he has some enemies to fight last night.

Wishing all, all things celestial and beautiful...and cat kisses too!

Ciao!