Today's Word is Moi

Indiana librarians keep up with the latest developments in the Hoosier library world by reading the Indiana State Library's digital newsletter, Wednesday Word.  Guess who's featured in today's edition?

Moi

It's a very nice article celebrating our over half a million blog views.  Click here, then scroll down, to read it.

It's not commonly known, but the Lady With the Red Hair, one of my minions, wrote for Wednesday Word back in the late 1990s and early 2000s when she was head of the Indiana State Library Catalog Division.

There are many fine spokescritters (several felines, but also bunnies, birds, fish, and other friendly faces) in Hoosier libraries across the state.  We are highly effective public relations officers who can really draw in the crowds.  Here are just a few famous friends:

• Chance (and the late Tober), boss cat at Thorntown (Indiana) Public Library;
• Morgan the Library Bunny at Morgan County (Indiana) Public Library;
• Oliver the Library Cat at Clinton (Indiana) Public Library;
• Carnegie the Library Cat at Brazil (Indiana) Public Library;
• Westfield Washington Public Library (Indiana) has fish (I call them swimming dinners) as its spokescritters (following my suggestion blogged in 2011).

To find further library spokescritters around the country, take a peek at this blog post.

If your library doesn't have a spokescritter, we highly recommend adopting one.  Somebody's got to keep all those humans in line.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

A Big Red Slobberdog, For Sure

The library's float in the 2018 Old Settlers Parade featured everybody's favorite big red slobberdog.  Not my first choice, as it should have been a famous feline (such as moi?), but I guess Garfield was busy.

I see Clifford had his Evergreen Indiana library card at the ready.  That's one smart slobberdog!  You can't checkout all our books, movies, audiobooks, playaways, music CDs, and other great stuff without one.  (Well, technically, you can, if you have a statewide PLAC [Public Library Access Card] or a blue Evergreen Indiana card, but that's hair-splitting details I'll let our circulation staff explain.)

As always, click the photos to bigify.

BizMeister said that Clifford's tail was designed to wag in the wind, but there wasn't much breeze on this really hot, humid day, so we didn't get a chance to see it.

Teen Titan came up with a brilliant idea to use library bookcarts to showcase reading (with cute slobberdog puns) while having a central serving location for sweet treats.  It's a long-standing tradition for parade participants to toss candy or other goodies to the crowd, and, in the past, the tossing was primarily done from the float or the vehicle towing it.  The bookcarts made it much easier for Teen Titan and Lady RaDA to get the goodies out to the youngster folks watching along the parade route.

Float design was once again orchestrated by the Decorinator and BizMeister, whose ingenuity matched all previous outstanding library parade floats (the library has a well-earned reputation for excellent float design and execution).

The library float design and construction team once again outdid themselves with a terrific display.  We're including two photos, in case anyone blinked.

I'm still a tad bit peeved that no felines were featured with our float.

Hold On!

Nice save, Teen Titan and Lady RaDA!

Although they weren't part of the library float, there were some really big dudes standing nearby.

Hey, horseys!  Don't forget the poo-bags.  Just saying.

Minions, run down and take some photos of the library float in the parade.  I'll just curl-up beneath a nicely shaded tree in front of Paul Hadley Middle School.

Don't forget to visit the library to get your paws on a book (or other items).  And don't miss the Old Settlers Festival at Pioneer Park in Mooresville (today through Tuesday).  That's August 5-6-7, 2018 for those without calendars.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

An Angel Kitty Flies

My library has recently completed a book trailer featuring a wonderful children's picture book called Angel in Beijing, by Belle Yang (Sommerville, MA :  Candlewick Press, 2018).

Angel in Beijing, by Belle Yang

(MPL Book Trailer #447)

Through most of the book, the white cat is named "Kitty," but by the end, her name is Angel, because, as it turns out, she can actually fly (with the help of a huge kite).  I became quite distressed when the little girl couldn't find Kitty after she disappeared over some trees holding onto the kite's tail (Kitty, not the little girl).  But all ends well.  This book showcases the beauty of Beijing in delightful drawings, and the story shows how love and kindness are best when shared.

Checkout the book from our Evergreen Indiana catalog to read to your young human(s).  If you don't have a library card, you could always buy a copy from your favorite bookseller.  We felines (and slobberdogs) will enjoy the readaloud, too.  But don't read to kittens--they're too scatterbrained to pay proper attention.  If you know Harley Quinn, my "cub" kitty reporter, you'll know what I mean.

The Lady With the Red Hair Tries to Read to Harley Quinn

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

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.

Not For the Bibliophobic

Our technical services director, Lady RaDA, has just mentioned on Facebook this bizarre little pop-up book that came across her desk, which we presume is not recommended for those suffering from bibliophobia.

The Pop-up Book of Phobias (1999), created and written by Gary Greenberg, illustrated by Balvis Rubess, with pop-ups by Matthew Reinhart, is listed in our Evergreen Indiana catalog as missing. Apparently, it has been found by Lady RaDA.  Better her than moi, I'd venture.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Don't let the Lady With the Red Hair see this next one.  Or Indiana Jones, for that matter.

The one below looks a bit like the giant spider in that sci-fi film that Mystery Science Theater 3000 riffed (The Giant Spider Invasion).

I'm really getting creeped-out now.

Okay, I'm outta here!

This must be a grown-up parody of children's pop-up books, I'm hoping. Maybe adult humans will get some laughs.  But for us felines, it's just too freaky.  We like things in our environment to look normal, as we cats see things.  That's why it scares some of my housemates when Scowl-Face wears a hat--or just enters a room, actually.

Let moi know if you think of a way to un-see all this.  Thanks.

Your (Retired) Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S.  We close with "Phobia," by the Kinks, from the album Phobia (1993).

Redheads Should Celebrate, For Sure

Today (November 5) is National Love Your Red Hair Day.  You can look it up.  Here, too.  The Lady With the Red Hair, who is head of Technical Services at Greenwood (Indiana) Public Library, and volunteers (and offers craft programs) at my Library, should definitely celebrate.  So should Tober, Boss Kitty at Thorntown (Indiana) Public Library.  As always, click the photos to bigify.

The Lady With the Red Hair with Tober,

Boss Cat at Thorntown (Indiana) Public Library

(on Tober Finding Day, October 19, 2012)

Miss Susan, Communications Director for

Mooresville (Indiana) Consolidated School Corporation

(I call her "The Talk of the Town")

I, of course, have black hair (humans call it fur), but I know many feline red-hairs.  "Fur" instance, there's Tober (see above), as well as Biscuit, one of my home pals, and Oliver, children's catbrarian at Clinton (Indiana) Public Library.  Don't forget Porter C. Bibliocat at Anna Porter Public Library in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Biscuit, commander of Feline Enforcers XIV (right),
with Harley Quinn, MPL feline "cub" reporter

Tober made the cover of the 2014 Baker & Taylor cat calendar

Oliver, Children's Catbrarian at Clinton (Indiana) Public Library

Porter C. Bibliocat

Advertisers recognize the selling power of redheads, especially when combined.

Two is better than one

Naturally, this excludes unnatural kitty redhairs, such as this faux-red-furred feline.

You're not fooling anybody, I hope you know

How should redheads celebrate today?  For the humans, chocolate is always good.  For us felines, some kitty treats or my personal favorite, canned tuna-in-oil, unless your V-E-T has restricted your diet to exclude tuna products.

Then there are the big celebrations where redheads congregate and have great fun.

Courtesy of Ginger Parrot website

Courtesy of Cosmopolitan (Hearst Magazines UK) website

Maybe your favorite library should put up a book display featuring redheads, including, of course, Clifford the Big Red Slobberdog, created by Norman Bridwell, who grew up in Kokomo, Indiana.

Natural or artificial color?

If that's not Clifford's natural hair color, I certainly won't be telling him.  Who needs a gigantic slobberdog angry at moi?

Enjoy your day, redheads!  You rock!

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat