The Opinionated Pussycat

Goblins: A 100 Word Cat Story Revisited in 166 Words

 

Almost three years ago, this month, on June 29, 2010, Nikita wrote the first 100 word cat story; Goblins.

It was read by the Godfather of the Cat Blogosphere, Laurence Simon, on the 219th edition of his 100 Word Story Podcast series. 

Hello, felinity assembled, Elvira Mistress of Felinity here, and I've got some news, and Nikita has a story to share.

The news is about that story, too.

A cool website for writing and sharing "micro fiction' was brought to our attention a couple of weeks ago. It is called...Postcard Shorts: Stories That Fit on a Postcard.

 

"We're looking for original material, about 250 words or so - as much as you could more or less fit on a postcard. Postcard shorts is open to all genres of flash fiction."

Nikita got to thinking and was inspired to revisit the first 100 word cat story he wrote (Be sure to read that story first. Trust me!) and submit it to the website...

Six Word Cat Story 1

Good evening, felinity assembled, are you ready for a little sassy fun on a Sunday evening?

I thought so! Hee, hee!

The human of our feline friend Katya Graymalkin, Marian Allen (A friend of Daddy's), has offered a creative writing challenge:

Write a story in six words, accompanied by a picture (If you have one). Post the story and picture on your blog then leave a link to it in the comments of this post.

 

She explains that some long dead human writer, named Ernest Hemmingway, most famous, Nikita told me, for his love of cats than anything else, it seems, thought up the genre, most likely after sniffing too much of the catnip he was giving his cats.

Anyway, I have taken up her challenge! Twice!

1. For Free: cat, female, unfixed, tom-hater.

2. In heat; willing tom wanted. NOW!

 

Well, felinity assembled? Any takers?

Post it on your blog and leave the link in the comments. :-D

We Love Our Catnip: A Jingle by Elvira Mistress of Felinity

 

We Love Our Catnip by Miss Elvira

We're happy little kitties, as high as high can be,
We all enjoy our catnip in 'nip 'nanas, 'nip blankies and 'nip tea,
Our humans say we're acting sillier every single week,
Because we love our catnip,
We all adore our catnip,
It give our senses quite the tweak.. :-D

(The blankies, seen here, while not 'nip blankies, did have some catnip sprinkled on them at the time of the photos)

 

With humble apologies to  Australia, hee, hee!

Urban Dictionary on Vegemite

Wikipedia on Vegemite

Official Website

****UPDATE - 8PM****

Nikita and I wish to thank Sweet Purrfections for posting the 2800th comment to this blog since its birth on New Year's Day 2010!

"Truffle loves her catnip but can get a little aggressive with it so she doesn't get it often.  Brulee just licks the catnip toys and then ignores them."

****END UPDATE****

The Blogs of Kiril Kundurazieff:

1. Mad Macedonian

2. The Opinionated Pussycat

3. SMFCB: A 365 Day Project

O is for Opinionated! We Take Aim at All Things Cat, Taking No Prisoners

Good evening, felinity assembled! Elvira Mistress of Felinity, here, to discuss one aspect of the new design that, upon further reflection, Nikita, Daddy Kiril, and I, love even more!

When things were in the planning stages, GloGirly sent us our first glimpse, and Daddy wrote her the following:

“I love the design! Am I wrong or does the circle design have some sort of significance, literary, or historical? The mustache and monocle are perfect, especially the monocle, as there were plenty of writers, especially in the 19th century, as far back as Tennyson , who wore them. We'll just ignore Karl Marx.”  :-D

Her reply?

“Regarding the circles...I don't think there's any specific literary reference. I just thought it looked cool and felt kind of literary. ha!”

So did we! We find it to be colorful, fun, and whimsical and, judging by the response from you, the reader, so far, so do you.

Coming in late? Go here.

Sassy lady cat that I am I want to now address this “Giant Double O” element in further detail,  for those who might feel as if someone is looking at this literary cat from the end of the barrel of his gun and is ready to shoot.

Looking at the image I see how someone might see it that way. GloGirly did not and neither did we, at first. However, there is another way to look at this, and Nikita and I choose to wholeheartedly embrace the impression of there being a target, but it is NOT our monocled friend who is in the crosshairs.

Good Mornin'! I'm Three Years Old!

So, how's your Monday morning?

I've got a little bit of a surprise to share and it's connected with a poem you may remember me posting at the end of January.

You may not remember it, though, as daddy did something as an early birthday present to me that required removing the poem from the blog.

Daddy did something he has never done before, not even for something written by him or Nikita...

He submitted my poem (under his name, of course) to an online magazine that publishes poems!

Now, how very cool is that?

Sad thing is we just got word the other day that it was not accepted because the editor thought it was aimed at human children and, as much as she liked the piece, she doesn't publish for that audience.

I was writing for an audience of cats, and the adult humans who live with them, but here's the thing about poetry; you may be intending one thing, but your reader will interpret your piece the way they see it.

Daddy says that's what makes writing and reading poetry so interesting and fun.

The fact she said she liked the piece makes me purr and, for that I thank her.

Let me share the piece with you:

The Tomcat Got Run Over By a Reindeer

Meowy Chrissymouse, Felinity Assembled!

Remember last year when you joined me in caroling?

How's your singing voice this year?

Today I wrote a new version of the same song! :-D

The Tomcat Got Run Over By a Reindeer by Elvira Mistress of
Felinity

With humble apologies, once again, to Dr. Elmo Shropshire (Recording!), &  Cledus T. Judd, not to mention poor Granma who got run over!

Randy the Red-Nosed Pussycat

Good morning, Felinity Assembled!

You know, even the reindeer who pull the sleigh for Santa get sick once in a while.

Ever wonder what would happen if one particular reindeer couldn't perform this year? :-D

Randy the Red-Nosed Pussycat by Mr. Nikita, with apologies to Robert May, Johnny Marks, and Gene Autry (1949 recording!)

You know Bill and Bucky
And Felix and Garfield,
Heathcliff and Hobbes.
And Penelope and the Pink Panther,
Snagglepuss and Stimpy,
Sylvester, Tigger and Tom,
But do you recall
The most famous pussycat of all?

Randy, the red-nosed pussycat
had a very shiny nose.
And when the shelter humans saw him,
they were amazed at how it glows. 
 
All of the other felines
used to growl and make all sorts of noise.
They never even let poor Randy
play with any of the feline toys.

Then one chilly Chrissymouse Eve
Santa came to say:
"Randy with your bright light,
Rudy's sick, will you guide my sleigh tonight?"

Then all the felines loved him
as they howled out in glee,
Randy the red-nosed pussycat,
you just made history!

‘Twas the Night Before Catmas…

‘Twas the Night Before Catmas…

By Nikita, with apologies to Clement C. Moore

‘Twas the night before Catmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, except for the mouse;
The stockings it knocked from their perch and tossed everywhere,
That the cats might catch him he didn't give a care;
Elvira was nestled all comfy in the tower,
While visions of feather toys danced in her head 10 times an hour.
And Daddy Kiril had just settled down for a nice long nap,
While I was busy in the litter box taking a crap,
When out in the yard there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the loo to see what was the matter.
Like any curious cat I ran to the window in a mad dash;
Completely ignoring the mouse carrying pilfered canned hash.
What to my wondering eyes should I see out there?
But a tiny sleigh and 8 tiny cats, no lie, I swear!
The little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it had to be St. Nick.
Quick on their paws, tails in the air, those felines came,
And he whistled, and shouted and called them by name;
Now Meowza, Now Sweet Praline! Now Fat Eric! and Whicky Wuudler!
On Hakuna! On Napoleon! On Tom, you old man, and Maximus, too!
To the front of the porch! To the top of the wall!
Now move your tails! Move your tails! Move your tails, all!
As dry catnip that before the blowing of a fan goes floof,
When they meet with an obstacle mount to living room roof;
So up to the housetop the pussycats pitty pattered,
With the sleigh full of toys and treats,
And something for Daddy to show that he mattered.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof a noise,
Meowing and purring, as they safely landed with poise.
As I turned my head, listening to this sound,
Down the chimney, St. Nicholas came with a bound!
He was dressed for success from his head to his foot,
His clothes unsullied by the ashes and soot;
A bundle of stuff he had in a pack,
And he smiled at me, leaned over and scratched my back.
His eyes, my how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His mouth opened so wide,
The beard on his chin, his mirth it couldn't hide;
Unlike some humans his scent wasn't unpleasant, and smelly,
And as I rolled on my back he rubbed my belly!
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I purred, and purred, in spite of myself;
A hearty chin scritch, and a wink of an eye,
Gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He reached for his sack, and got straight to his work,
Setting gifts under the tree; then turned with a jerk,
And waving his hand, then straightening his clothes,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He leaped onto his sleigh, to his team gave a yell,
And away they all flew like a bat out of hell!

But I heard him speak, in felinese, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Catmas to all, and to all a good night!"

 

We love our Daddy Kiril, that we do! - Nikita and Elvira

Purrs & Purrayers for Daddy Kiril: Eye Yi Yi! Didn't See This Coming

Here's a Story...

Good evening Felinity Assembled, Elvira Mistress of Felinity, here, and I want to help lighten the mood, and at the same time, on behalf of Nikita, and Daddy Kiril, say thank you to everyone for the  continued purrs and purrayers, and donations.

We are trying to keep things as normal as we can through this crisis, and one piece of that normalcy will be still participating in secret paws this year, with more than 50 other cats.

Before Daddy Kiril's eye problems we had been assigned our secret paw, and had sent Daddy out to get the gifts for them.

At some point, next week, we will be mailing the package out. :-D

--------------

Would you believe it was August when Nikita last did a poem, and March since my last one?

We sorry! :-D

The other day I saw Daddy watching a Brady Bunch clip on you tube, and I was inspired to look up the lyrics to the theme song. :-D

 

Here's a Story...By Elvira Mistress of Felinity

 

Here's a story,
of a sassy lady,
Who was living with two very handsome guys.
One of them was human,
The other was a cat like her.

Here's a story,
of a man named Daddy Kiril,
Who was living in the state where he had grown.
He and two cats, together.
In Santa Ana, Ca. all alone.

'Till one day when the man had an idea,
After two years, and much thought, he had a hunch,
That his creative and personal life needed change.
That's the way these three ended up
In Texas, Houston, Texas.

That's the way this creative writer
Ended up in Texas, Houston, Texas.

A Bedtime Story

Good afternoon, Felinity Assembled! ElviraMistress of Felinity, here, and boy do I have an interesting story to share with you today.

It's one that can best be told only in pictures, at the moment, because Daddy Kiril has yet to explain things over on his blog (It has something to do with thanking an inspirational writers books for a job well done, and the 3 of us moving on, creatively, toward the future, with hope and confidence.).

 So, here goes. :-D