New York, New York

I'm in New York! In the first 24 hours, I've enjoyed having a bellyful of pizza and a poppy bagel the size of a loaf of bread. It's heaven. Not to mention talked to roxtarchicknits on the phone...heehee! If she weren't in midtown--a hot, long, steamy ride on the subway, with the potential for blackouts that might strand me underground for who knows how long--I'd probably be on my way to meet her right now. But I spent too many years in the city in the dead of summer to risk getting stuck on a train packed with a bunch of sweaty communters, as much as I'd love to meet her. There's always my next trip...

This evening I plan to go into Manhattan to shop for paper, meet a dear friend from Georgia, and hopefully gorge ourselves on some delectable Vietnamese food--yet one more thing I haven't been able to find in Michigan, not to mention that Mr. O'Kitten won't partake of the Asian cuisines or the seafood. (He's more the meat and potatoes and pizza type; he'll be back here in Queens eating my mother-in-law's eggplant parmagiana...but maybe they'll save me a little.)

Hopefully the cats aren't wrecking too much havoc back home while my mom is looking after them. I told them to be on their best behaviour, but with cats, you just never know.

I Heart NY

So Mr. O'Kitten and I are off to the Big Apple for a few days. Woo-hoo! My niece's christening is on Sunday, and we get to visit family, a few dear friends, and the city we miss. Not to mention eat real bagels and real pizza. Nothing against Michigan, but you can't get a real bagel or decent pizza here to save your life.

Here's what I'm talking about:

Are you drooling yet? I am.
We're at John's Pizzeria on Bleecker St., of course.
This pizza alone is worth the trip all the way to NY.

Don't even get me started on the bagels. And the lox. With cream cheese. And capers. Last time I flew back east I swear I could smell fresh bagels the whole way there.

While I'm in NY, I plan to make a little visit to Etsy Labs in Brooklyn. They're having a trunk show party on Friday evening. If any of y'all are planning to go, look for me, because I'm not going to know anybody. I'll be the one wearing the Obsidian Kitten shirt and looking like she doesn't know anybody.

My Top Five Pussycat Songs

Everybody Wants To Be a Cat


Chris’s Cat Mix CD (“Everybody Wants To Be a Cat”—well, d’oh) has been enjoying a lot of airplay here chez O’Kitten.

She included two versions of “Everybody Wants To Be a Cat”—one by Psapp and one by Michelle Shocked, who I absolutely adore.

Other favorite tracks include the previously featured “Señor Don Gato,” here performed by Kelly Hogan; The Weakerthans’ “Plea from a Cat Named Virtue” (you really should go listen to this song—I adore it—if you follow the link and click on the "audio & visual" buffalo herd you'll find it); a great bluegrass cover of “Cat Scratch Fever” by Hayseed Dixie; and “Mbube (The Lion Sleeps Tonight),” a most wonderful version of one of my favorite tunes by the inimitable Ladysmith Black Mambazo.


Here’s my own High Fidelity-esque top 5 list of favorite pussycat songs.

1. The Cure, "Love Cats"
2. The Presidents of the United States of America, "Kitty"
3. Adam Ant, "Puss N'Boots"


4. Lords of Acid, "Pussy" – though this is not exactly family-friendly listening, it is a very funny song.
5. Beastie Boys, "Cookie Puss" -- mostly I just like to say “Cookie
Puss.” Funnier still that Cookie Puss is also Cookie O'Puss in March, and that Cookie Puss isn’t even a cat, but a very disturbing-looking alien (or so Carvel says) from Planet Birthday.

Cookie Puss

Finally, best cat album: Cat Stevens' Teaser and the Firecat which I’ve loved since I was a small child. Partly because his name is Cat (what could be cooler?) and because Firecat is a cat whose picture is on the album cover.


If you've forgotten what's on this 1971 classic, here's the track list:
1. The Wind
2. Rubylove
3. If I Laugh
4. Changes IV
5. How Can I Tell You
6. Tuesday's Dead
7. Morning Has Broken
8. Bitterblue
9. Moonshadow
10. Peace Train

Both Peace Train and Morning Has Broken were #1 singles on the Billboard chart, Moonshadow reached #10, and the album hit #2.


Teaser and the Firecat is also a children’s book (in English, French, and Spanish, which is kind of neat) by Cat Stevens. It has beautiful illustrations. And a cat.