Feline Friday: An Angel

Feline Friday was begun by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.

It's easy to participate.  Just post a picture of a cat, it's that simple.  It can be your cat, a cat picture you find online, a LOL cat, or even draw a picture of a cat if you like, and link up.

In the case of this cat, currently at the shelter, it's not so simple.  Her name is Angel, and she is one of the sweetest cats in the world.  She's not at all photogenic, though, and won't pose for anyone, even the photographer who takes our cats' pictures to post them online to put them for adoption.

Looking away.

Better, but you still don't quite have it.

Okay, so don't look!

She is seriously not photogenic, but she's a love.  She's also huge.

Angel was adopted from us when she was just a tiny kitten, barely 8 weeks and just spayed.  She was a normal size kitten.  She was overfed by the family that adopted her.  When she got to where she was truly seriously obese, they returned her because, and i am quoting them:  "She can't clean herself any more and it's gross."

Angel is on a diet and has lost a good bit of weight, although you can see she's still a big girl.  She is one of the cats not in a cage or room, so we can get her to move around the shelter as much as is possible.  She is up for adoption again, and this time, the family will be screened very carefully, as she will have to be on a strict feeding regimen for the rest of her life.

Her personality is like her name, so we hope someone takes her home soon.  She has a lot of love to give.

Today is:

Bounty Day -- Pitcairn Island (celebrates the burning of the HMS Bounty in 1790

Cold, Cold, Cold Day -- coldest temp ever recorded in the US, -79.8°F (-62.11°C), this day in 1971 at Prospect Creek Camp, Alaska

Cultural Caravan for Peace begins -- various locations in Morocco, Mali, Timbuctu, and on the Niger River, three music festivals are merging to becme one this year, working and traveling together to promote cultural diversity, peace, tolerance, and social cohesion; the first festival is the Taragalte Festival in Morocco, through Sunday

Day of Hathor -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Dinagyang -- Iloilo, Philippines (huge religious and cultural festival, this year's theme is "Bringing More Fun to the World"; through the weekend)

Eagles Etcetera Festival -- Bismark, AR, US (bald eagles in the wild, birds of prey demonstrations, and lots of outdoor fun; through Sunday)

Lenaia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (three day Dionysian festival to arouse the sleeping vegetation and bring spring; date approximate)

Measure Your Feet Day -- one can only ask...."Why!?!"

National Pie Day -- US, sponsored by the American Pie Council 

National Handwriting Day -- US, on the birth anniversary of John Hancock, to encourage the dying art of legible handwriting by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association 

National Rhubarb Pie Day

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti -- TR and WB, India (birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose)

Oregon Truffle Festival -- Eugene, OR, US (celebrating the high-end culinary delight that is the lowly truffle, with seminars, cooking demos, and more; through Sunday)

Porri Month begins -- Traditional Icelandic Calendar (the name means Middle of Winter, and personifies him as Old Man Winter; often the harshest month, so greet him kindly, to soften his heart and hasten spring)
     Bondadagur (Husband's Day) -- first day of Porri (various traditions honoring the man of the house; these days, women often give the men flowers)

Providence Boat Show -- Providence, RI, US (start of the boating season; through Sunday)

Ragwort Dance -- Fairy Calendar (Pixies only)

Slamdance -- Park City, UT, US (an independent film festival by and for film makers; through the 29th)

Snowplow Mailbox Hockey Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; plow drivers, see how far you can make those rural mailboxes go!

St. John the Almoner's Day (Patron of Knights Hospitaller; known for his generosity to the poor, "If we are able to enter the church day and night and implore God to hear our prayers, how careful we should be to hear and grant the petitions of our neighbor in need.")

Women in Medicine Day -- Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman awarded the degree of Medical Doctor in 1849


Anniversary Today:

The founding of Georgetown University, the first US Catholic college, 1789


Birthdays Today:

Tito Ortiz, 1975
Tiffani Thiessen, 1974
Mariska Hargitay, 1964
Gail O'Grady, 1963
Princess Caroline of Monaco, 1957
Antonio Villaraigosa, 1953
Pat Haden, 1953
Richard Dean Anderson, 1950
Rutger Hauer, 1944
Gil Gerard, 1943
Chita Rivera, 1933
Jeanne Moreau, 1928
Ernie Kovacs, 1919
John M. Browning, 1855
Edouard Manet, 1832
Stendhal(Marie-Henri Beyle), 1783
John Hancock, 1737
Joseph Hewes, 1730


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The A-Team"(TV), 1983
"Roots"(TV miniseries), 1977
"Barney Miller"(TV), 1975
"King Family Show"(TV), 1965
"After the Fall"(Miller's Play), 1964
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre(Film), 1948


Today in History:

Epoch (origin) of the Kali Yuga (Hindu Iron Age of the Gods), BC3102
In China, the war elephant corps of the Southern Han are soundly defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops, 971
The first printing of Ramban's Sha'ar ha-Gemul, 1490
The first printing of the Pentateuch, 1492
The second version of Book of Common Prayer becomes mandatory in England, 1552
What is probably the most deadly earthquake in history kills 830,000 in Shensi Province, China, 1556
Queen Elizabeth I opens the Royal Exchange in London, 1571
Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales, 1656
Joseph Pease, a Quaker, is admitted to Parliament on his affirmation, 1833
Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first female physician in the US, 1849
The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1855
Alesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Alesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless an one person dead, 1904
Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American US senator, 1907
Pianist Ignaz Paderewski becomes premier of the Polish government in exile, 1940
Duke Ellington plays at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time, 1943
The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 m (35,798 feet) in the Pacific Ocean, 1960
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, 1986
Final communication between Earth and Pioneer 10, 2003
Six Venezuelan cable television channels are taken off the air by the Venezuelan government after refusing to transmit government messages, 2010