Here I was, convinced that the animal dancing for Chinese New Year was a dragon. Well, no, it is a lion, although visually is almost the same thing, especially viewed from the front.
Here's the cat and a friend, donning the lion costume and preparing to dance the year in.
Happy Chinese New Year!
The Unknown Woman is a painting by the Russian painter Ivan Kramskoy created in 1883
The unknown cat, however, is a drawing done by me in 2024.
Spot twelve differences.
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Pour voir plus loin, il faut monter plus haut
To see further, you have to climb higher
That's all
This October I definitely won't be able to make a pic per day, not even close. But something the Inktober prompt is just too good to miss, so: meet "le crapaud", ie the toad.
The text is "Assis ou debout, le crapaud est toujours le même".
Which means "Sitting or standing, the toad is always the same", and it is a Tanzanian proverb, apparently
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| Cadet Rousselle a trois maisons, Qui n'ont ni poutres, ni chevrons, C'est pour loger les hirondelles |
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| Si quelqu'un te frappe la joue gauche, prends des leçons de karaté // If someone hits you on the left cheek, take karate lessons -- Quino |
Here is the cat, practicing his karate moves in front of a mirror. Looking good, no?
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| Un pessimiste est un chat qui dit la vérité prématurément // A pessimist is a cat who tells the truth prematurely -- Edmond Rostand |
Nuff said, really.
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| La censure est la formule ratée de la critique // Censorship is the failed form of criticism -- Miss.Tic |
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| Je ne cherche pas à connaître les réponses, je cherche à comprendre les questions // I don't seek to know the answers, I seek to understand the questions -- Confucius |
I don't know about you, but to me the phrase above is about university exams. You know, you get your selection of questions, and then a fog descends on your brain and you can't, for the life of you, understand what are they all about.
I am reasonably sure Confucius meant something else, something less practical, as he was wont to do. But I am no Confucius.
Unless I am badly mistaken, the diagram on the wall is showing the dreaded Krebs cycle. If so, the cat and his classmates must be doing a biochemistry exam. No wonder he is just sitting there, staring at the questions.
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| Celui qui trompe trouvera toujours ceux qui se laissent tromper // Those who deceive will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived — Machiavelli |
Machiavelli was a clever guy.
Here is kitsune seducing the cat, for the reasons better known to herself. Maybe she just likes him, or maybe not. The mind of kitsune (狐) is unknowable.
The cat looks quite love-stricken already, I think.
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| Le doute est le commencement de la sagesse // Doubt is the beginning of wisdom |
On citation-celebre.leparisien.fr website they ascribe the quote to Aristotle, but once you start looking for the confirmation, you find that it was also said by Pierre Abélard, René Descartes and probably few other wise people. So, a bit of a question mark there. Personally, I have no doubts about the idea expressed by the quote, which, in turn, must be an oxymoron.
The cat, being a simple creature, occasionally has his doubts, too. On this occasion he doubts if he should take red velvet or cherry mousse cake first.
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| Il n'est pas prudent d'écarter de ses calculs un dragon vivant, quand on est près de lui // It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations if you live near him |
The quote comes from The Hobbit.
You might think the cat is being impertinent, sitting on the top of a sleeping dragon to admire sunset. But he is not. Firstly, they are friends with the dragon. Secondly, nobody, not even dragons, can resist his feline charm. We all suspect that cats rule the world. Cats themselves just know it.
