Reporting the Roving Reporter

Anthony Woodside wrote a wonderful article about moi and my blog in today's edition of the Mooresville-Decatur Times (Wednesday, February 28, 2018, pp. A1-A7).  There's even my photo and everything!  Honestly, I'm quite excited about it.

Click Images to Bigify

Much of the article has Scowl-Face droning endlessly, as he is wont to do, about statistics and such like, but the bits about moi are really interesting.  I'm chuffed to be featured in a newspaper story, which is a bit of a twist, since I'm a feline roving reporter and usually do the reporting rather than be reported upon.  But it's pretty cool, to say the least.

There's also a nice article introducing CatPro to our patrons.

By the way, does my press hat make moi look fat?  Just wondering.

Because of this fine media coverage, I've decided (wait for it . . .) to retire from my retirement!  I'm going to once again be an active, full-fledged feline roving reporter for Mooresville Public Library.  Since I don't actually leave my house much anymore (I'm a senior kitty now and spend my time indoors), I'll have my minions (or my feline friends or "Flat" Caulis, all of whom you've met in my blog posts) do any roaming around that may be necessary to gather news stories about the library or whatever I'm reporting about.  I'll still dictate all the copy, however, and my minions will type it for moi.  My time is valuable, after all, and my minions have to be kept busy or they'll wander off into traffic.  We've already had several close calls with Scowl-Face at the intersection where our outdoor sign stands.  I just can't leave minions unsupervised!

As for my welcome back party, remember to stock-up on the canned tuna-in-oil, minions.  Just saying.

Your (Reactivated) Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S.  John Sebastian wrote "Welcome Back" (released as a single in 1976, reaching #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 pop charts in May), which was the theme song to the television series Welcome Back, Kotter (1975-1979).

A Cat, Of Course

When the Lady With the Red Hair was offering basket-weaving programs at my library, she once posed this query on Facebook:

Click Image to Bigify

The answer is obvious.  Just look in the lower left-paw corner of the photo.  Minions, make with the Photoshopping.

Mowgy!

That's Mister Meowy (I call him Mowgy) looking up at the sign.  Clearly, he knows what--or, rather, who--should go in the basket.  That's the perfect size for Harley Quinn, my "ace" (eye-roll) cub reporter, who longtime readers have met before.  She would love to sleep inside there!

Mowgy, too, would enjoy napping in that basket, but those would be rather tight quarters, indeed, for him.  There's an easy solution.  Time for the Lady With the Red Hair to weave some larger kitty baskets.  Let's get started.  We haven't got all day.  Naps don't take themselves, you know.

Your (Retired) Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

Vive La France!

I had my minions collect viewership statistics for my blog for the past month, and I discovered something quite interesting.  See if you can tell what it is.

My Most Popular Blog Posts (For This Past Month)

(Click Images to Bigify)

Blog Post Pageviews

Wait for it . . .

Pageviews by Countries

(For the Past Month)

Notice that there has been a huge spike in views from France.  Well, that makes sense, since I am, after all, a French feline.  My genealogy proves it.  Plus, my ancestor Hippolyte, founding feline of Mooresville, Indiana, was descended from cats who lived in the French settlements in colonial Indiana, particularly Fort Ouiatenon along the Wabash River near present day Lafayette (and West Lafayette), which is named after the famous French military strategist, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, who fought with the Continental Army and helped the American colonists win their independence from Great Britain.

So modern French folks are reading my blog, big-time!  That shows just how truly sophisticated my fellow country-humans are.  They recognize quality when they see it.

To all my loyal compatriots, let moi make this most heartfelt statement:

Merci, mes compatriotes français, félins et humains, pour votre soutien merveilleux et généreux de mon blog. C'est un témoignage de notre culture historique que nous pouvons rassembler sur mon blog pour rire et, espérons-le, obtenir du thon dans l'huile en conserve, parce que c'est l'heure du souper, après tout. Longue vie à la France! Soulevez notre drapeau pour célébrer notre liberté et notre héritage français!

For my English-speaking readers, Google makes the following translation:

Click Text Above to Bigify

The Lady With the Red Hair, who studied French in college (about the time of the French Revolution, I'd venture), says that my French above is pretty rough.  Well, we French felines are a rough-and-tugged bunch.  I mean, tough-and-rugged.  (Maybe my English isn't so sharp, either.)  Well, the point is, we French invented tough.

Anyway, I'm a cat, so I'm allowed a little linguistic leeway.  Cut moi some slack, I say.

Your (Retired) Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S. Here's a short instrumental version of the French national anthem, La Marseillaise.

Welcome, CatPro!

UPDATE (February 28, 2018):  Anthony Woodside wrote a very nice article about CatPro in today's edition of the Mooresville-Decatur Times.

Recently, my library's director of technical services, Lady RaDA, moved into a new job at another library.  So we've hired a new technical services librarian, whom I call CatPro, because she's a cataloging professional.  Plus, having cat in your name is way-cool.  (I believe her official title is technical services coordinator.)  Welcome!  I'd show you her photo, but Scowl-Face has been slacking on the job again and hasn't taken any of her yet.  But she's in this group picture from last Monday's staff in-service training.

MPL staff following CPR training

Library in-service (February 19, 2018)

(CatPro is in the second row, second from the right)

CatPro honed her cataloging chops at Lebanon Public Library, where she worked with Evergreen Indiana open-source ILS (integrated library system), just like my library uses.  She's scheduled to become a Master of the Know (i.e., a librarian holding an M.L.S.--Master of Library Science--degree) by the end of 2018.  That's an impressive accomplishment, let moi tell you.  Not everybody has the brains and talent to earn that degree--just ask Scowl-Face (eye-roll)--so you should already be impressed with CatPro's drive and initiative.

CatPro has settled in nicely at my library.  She has already developed her work strategies and is rifling through all our new items, getting them processed and cataloged quickly and efficiently.  I haven't had a chance to meow with her yet, but from what I'm told, she has made a seamless transition and is running on all cylinders.  That's outstanding in and of itself, because my library, given its relatively small staff size, piles an enormous amount of stuff to do onto every employee's plate.  Well done, CatPro!

Speaking of plates, mine is empty, so CatPro can do something truly useful.  Make with the canned tuna-in-oil already!  My din-dins don't serve themselves.

We're really glad to have you on board, CatPro.  Now get to work.

Your (Retired) Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

What Makes a Cat a Cat

What makes a cat . . . a cat?  That's the theme of a delightful new children's picture book.  Naturally, we have a book trailer.

MPL Book Trailer #419

I Am A Cat, by Galia Bernstein

Simon is a cute cat--what humans typically call a house cat.  (Like we're going to be stuck inside a house if we want to go out?  Still, it's probably less insulting than domesticated cat, which is obviously an oxymoron.)  Simon knows he is a feline, but his bigger cousins disagree.  The large wild felines each describe cats in their own terms, depending upon their specific physical attributes (fur color, fur length, spots, ability to run fast, etc.)  But Simon sees beyond superficial physical characteristics to see the commonality among all felines.  Finally, the big cats get the big picture.

This is a heartwarming book that shows young readers that we may look different, but we're all cats.  I think that works for people, too.

Evergreen Indiana patrons may checkout this book from our online Evergreen Indiana catalog.

Your (Retired) Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat