Ramblings of the confused

Well, I just figured out something. One of my gripes with LJ, that I liked about Facebook was the fact that I didn't have to resize pictures, edit, etc. etc., save them to Photobucket, and THEN post them on LJ. So, by clicking "insert image", I don't have to do all that? Well, lah dee dah. And here I thought I knew everything.

(Edit: That took forEVAR. I think Photobucket might possibly be quicker, rawr. AND you have to click on them to make them bigger??)

So, anyway, this weekend nonspecific and I headed up to Asheville, NC for the Bele Chere Festival. I'd heard about it for years, but had never gone. I've got to say, it was fantastic. One of my issues with a lot of festivals is that, even though there's usually something that interests me there (oh, like food?) there's just usually not that much. I go to the Woolly Worm Festival to hang out with my family and see woolly worms racing, and I go to the Apple Festival in Erwin because, well, it's Erwin and I know everyone there.

But Bele Chere was totally different. For one thing, it was HUGE. An estimation of 300,000 to 350,000 people. Secondly, the booths, displays, shows and such were really kind of up my alley. For those who don't know about Asheville, for a southern city, it's really pretty progressive. Some might call it "hippie central" and there are certainly a lot of them there. Everywhere you walked, patchoulli and clove cigarettes permeated the air. But it's a NICE town. Very peaceful, artsy, music everywhere. And to have crammed that many people into one space, there were seriously no problems. Well, the fundevangelists were raising hell (literally) and condemning the homosecktsuals, at which point the crowd started chanting "love not hate!" which made me very happy. But 99% of the attractions were geared toward a much more, shall we say "open-minded" crowd.

On Friday night we saw Dar Williams (girl-with-guitar pop), whom I was not familiar with. She had a good voice, although I could barely see the stage for the crowd. Afterwards we mosied on over to Cracker, which was the act I really wanted to see. They sounded (and looked) great. Saturday morning, we got up and checked out Christabel and the Jons from Knoxville. There was a surprisingly large Tennessee faction there, checking out her jazzy '40s style pop. After that, we walked around, ate, checked out the booths, played some bongos and people-watched. I saw some dogs humping and there's a picture of my reaction (although sadly, no picture of the promiscuous dogs.) Even the dogs are gay in Asheville, as I'm pretty sure they were both boys. Later in the day, we checked out Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band, also from Knoxville. I'd heard of these guys for years and had always wondered if they were for real. I had no idea what kind of music they played, and thought they might be sort of a B-52s party band. Nooooo... They're funky funkadelic funk. Like straight-up funk and they rocked out. During the show, some kids brought over those really cool weighted hula hoops and I got up to hoop a bit to the music.
After the Booty Band, we headed over for the headliners, Old 97's, who also put on a rockin' good show. And there were more hula hoops to be had! So I hooped it up a bit more. And I had to give aceofkittens props for her taste in men. Rhett Miller from Old 97's is a fine, fine specimen of man.

On that note, here. Have some pictures.

Did you know I knew Spiderman?



( Moar. )

The other day, nonspecific (who saw him in person. Err..cat) said that Trouble looked like he could be part Bengal. Then when I posted my new pics of him, lostcrackerjack made the same comment. So, I started doing some research. It would appear that they might be right. I don't think he *is* purebred Bengal, but he definitely has some of the traits, tendencies and appearance. His markings are very clearly defined, moreso than those of a "regular" tabby. His fur is extremely soft, almost pelt-like, and it actually feels spongy in places, definitely different than any other kitty I've ever had. Up until now, Oreo was the softest kitty I'd ever had, and she feels like bunny fur. Trouble's fur is different, but exceptionally soft and lush, almost like a microfiber stuffed animal or something.

But what gave it away, was the meow. Apparently Bengals have a "chirp-like" meow, not like that of a regular cat. I always mock Trouble's voice, and say "when are you gonna get a real meow?" I thought it was just because he was a kitten and his voice hadn't matured yet, but he's seven months old now and still sounds like an excited squeaky toy. Bengals also tend to like water, and he is fascinated by everything that contains water...the sink, the toilet, the bathtub, his water dish. I posted the picture of him the other day dibbling his paws in the water dish. It's not uncommon for him to be wet up to his elbows (do cats have elbows?) from playing in some sort of water. And he loves to perch on the edge of the bathtub when I'm taking a bath and dunk his feet into the water. The flushing of the toilet absolutely enthralls him and he will come running from another room when he hears me flush.

They are also known for being exceptionally affectionate and loving of attention. Trouble literally has to be ON me if we're in the same room, most of the time. I thought General was an attention hog (I've often said that he thinks the sole purpose I ever sit down is to make him a lap), but I believe that Trouble is even more of a mommy's boy, if that's possible.

His markings made me curious, but after reading about Bengals, I think he just might have some Bengal ancestry. Like I said, I can't imagine he's purebred, or surely he wouldn't have wound up at the shelter (of course, you never know.) But he's a sweet kitty (most of the time), and it's just sort of interesting to think that he might be a "type" of cat, rather than a regular kittycat. Then again, Oreo is half Himalayan, has never set foot outdoors in her life, and looks like a total princess, yet she's the one who eats dirt and hair. I guess there's no accounting for background or breeding, huh?

And since everyone seemed to enjoy the pictures the other day, here...have a few (ok, a bunch) more.

I'm pretty sure he knows how adorable he is.


( Toil and Trouble. )