It’s a frigid nine degrees out right now — down to one degree with wind chill — the storm arrived earlier than expected, and we’re already getting buried.
The exact numbers change depending on the forecaster, but the National Weather Service predicts eight to 14 inches for the New York City area.
That’s actually not bad compared to some places that will be in the heart of the storm when it passes, and it’s actually warmer than yesterday, if you can believe it.
Buddy, however, is having none of it.
He’s alternating between sitting on the radiator to soak up heat and staring at the accumulating snow through the sliding glass doors, occasionally turning to meow at me in protest as if I control the weather.
“I don’t like this, human!” he seems to be telling me. “Fix it! I want lots of warm, sunshine, leaves on the trees, and crickets!”
Meanwhile, my brother and his cat, Twix, are kickin’ it in 80 degree weather in Italy.
We hope our fellow ‘Mericans are safe at home with plenty of supplies for the next two days, that your feline masters are inside and warm, and that you avoid power outages. This storm is supposed to touch 40 states, which is remarkable, and it’s expected to dump snow on places that rarely see it.
If you’re looking for something to read, here’s a story about the recent string of movies that have featured cats as protagonists or significant characters. It notes that while CGI makes it easier to digitally include felines — and the surprise hit Flow famously featured a digitally animated cat — directors like Michael Sarnoski (A Quiet Place: Day One) have opted for real kitties, favoring their expressiveness and cuteness.
It mentions Bring Her Back, which was an exceptional and disturbing horror film in its own right. It’s also the only one on the list in which the cat doesn’t survive, so heads up on that. (Horror fans will note Bring Her Back was made by the same writer/director team that debuted with the exceptional Talk To Me. Those guys know horror.)
If you ever wondered what happened to Ser Pounce from Game of Thrones, the story also details how the showrunners cut the kitty’s role for being a “diva” on set. Poor King Tommen.
While you’re snowed in and bored, check out this short video of a “red Burmese,” which is a ginger cat without stripes except for faint lines on the back of his front legs. Maybe cats like this aren’t as rare as they seem, but I can’t recall seeing an orange cat who wasn’t a tabby:
And finally, Ursula K. Le Guin is best known as a prolific science fiction writer who published for more than half a century, winning Hugos, Nebulas and every other award in the genre, but you don’t need to be a science fiction fan to appreciate Ursula K. Le Guin’s Book of Cats.
The posthumous collection includes Le Guin’s observations about our feline friends, meditations on what human society can learn from them, and lots of stories about the cats in her life.
You can check out a review here if you’d like to know more, and read community reviews on Goodreads here.
That’s all for now. I may blog intermittently throughout the storm if we really get buried here. We’re prepared to hunker down, with a full cupboard of yums for Bud and the excellent Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 beckoning me with its strange adventures. Bud is also more attached to me than usual as he tries to soak up as much heat as he can.
In the meantime, stay safe and stay warm!
Pain In The Bud 
Or cat puzzles!! Le Guin. I know that name very well. I think she wrote ghost stories, too. I will have to check my Irish book of Ghost Stories. Great book. No blood or gore.
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She wrote a lot of science fiction but might be best known for Earthsea, which is fantasy in a different mold than Tolkien or his derivatives.
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Yowie, sorry you guys are snowed in! We were predicted to get an ice storm even where I live, but that changed to only being at freezing and under for several days/nights ahead. Ursula K. LeGuin was one of my sci-fi faves! Though I now usually prefer narratives (and concerns) that either could, or did, actually happen. (See William Shatner’s famous statement after actually going into space.) I sure want that cat book by Ursula K. LeGuin! It has to wait though as we are in financial crisis due to both being ill. Haven’t seen Flow yet for that reason.Our Orange Cat had a light frosting of orange over his white fur. Can’t recall if he had tabby marks on his head …
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Yeah, people have certainly had some interesting reactions to space, from Buzz Aldrin’s decidedly un-poetic take, to the overview effect of Shatner, Sally Ride and, supposedly, Yuri Gagarin. (Not sure I trust what the CCCP claimed he said afterward and I prefer the smiling, pre-flight image of Gagarin saying simply “Let’s go!” over any supposed politically tinged statement they attributed to him.)
At the same time, I think Le Guin is one of those writers who shows science fiction can be a powerful tool for metaphor and making observations about humanity. It doesn’t have to be the annoying ontological physicalism of a Neil Degrasse Tyson or some of the less imaginative writers out there.
For example, Kim Stanley Robinson’s “Aurora” is about the monumental effort of colonists on a generation ship en route to a new world, all the things they had to do to keep a ship functional for more than a century, to keep people alive, fed, disease-free and sane in a closed system with no chance of resupply or help from any external source.
And then they get to their destination, however many light years away (it’s been a while since I’ve read it), only to realize a planet that seemed a perfect candidate for humans and animals was actually deadly to us due to microorganisms and other unforeseen hazards.
Things come to a head, and the ship’s fragile society collapses, when the passengers can’t agree on whether to return home or push on.
Ultimately, the message of that book is that we have one home, one nurturing place that is perfect for us, one idyllic garden world we were shaped to live on via millions of years of evolution, and we’d damn well better appreciate it and protect it.
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I understand Texas is experiencing power outtages. Stay warm and dry.
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Yeah they’re definitely in the category if unprepared and unsure how to deal with weather like this because it’s so rare for them.
In the meantime, you get to kick back in sunny California and eat popcorn while watching the rest of us fools freeze lol.
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Here in Michigan, we are only seeing the edge of the storm. I don’t blame Buddy in the least. Snow storms bring terrible cat TV. Twix looks like a beautiful kitty.
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You guys usually get it worse than we do, so this time must be a relief.
Apparently Twix is coming inside regularly now and staying there, napping under one of the beds and zooming around before going back out. I think it’s part of the long dance of establishing the absolute trust a stray needs before deciding these are definitely her humans.
Also, he tells me she screeches for more food now, so somehow Buddy must have rubbed off on her via fleeting appearances on FaceTime or something.
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To find out if a movie contains troubling matter such as hurting or death of an animal, check out a site called “Does the Dog Die?” It’s a Trigger warnings database for movies, TV, books, video games, etc. Because I don’t even like sad movies.
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So sorry you are both snowed in, hope that you are warming safe, will be thinking of both of you.
Hope Buddy has enough turkey treats………
If it’s any consolation for you, I am in the south west of France and it’s foggy and 1 degree Celsius.
Anyone would think. I’m in the UK again!
Puspus has not gone out for days !
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