Meet DeKooning!

Well, we got another cat. A kitten actually. His name is DeKooning and we adopted him from Pet Central Station, where we got our other cat, Mooney. He's an affectionate little bugger, running around like a crazy cat and always crying when we leave. He's got cute little white feet and tufts coming out of his ears. Before he came to live with us, he was a farm cat down in Kalona, Iowa. I'll try to post more pics when we get them, but in the meantime, what a happy little boy this is.

Register launching new site

Online entertainment editor Kyle Munson of the The Des Moines Register gave students at the University of Iowa last week a sneak peak at the beta site of the new Register Site. It's the next in a series of non-too-early changes the DMR is making to try to ensure their print product doesn't die and the paper has some kind of position in the emerging convergence media society. I'm not impressed ... yet. The content still seems the same. Worse yet, taking a cue from Facebook and other social networking sites, the DMR is asking visitors to the site to create their own content and upload it in various multimedia sections. I'm guessing this doesn't bode well for reporters.

Savannah Cats!

Adam and I spent the weekend in Chicago attending a cat show in the suburb Franklin Park. We met four show cat Savannahs and countless kittens, including one that boxed with a tassel toy for about fifteen minutes. Savannahs are the most dog-like of cats -- they play fetch, they go for walks, they like to play in the water. Most don't weigh much more than regular cats, but what they lack in girth they make up for in length. This cat, owned by Donna Lawver, didn't place in the competition but I liked it for its emerald eyes and fantastic posing style. I'll post the article if and when it gets published.

I'd rather wear out than rust out!

Today I tagged along with Paul Ingram, the Midwest's most famous bookseller, to a reading by Mildred Armstrong Kalish of her memoir, Little Heathens. Millie's amazing. She's sharp as a tack, and has this great storytelling voice. She read to a group of about a dozen residents at Legacy Pointe, an assisted living facility in Iowa City. The room was filled to capacity -- mostly because of all the posh walkers everyone brought with them. Here's more about her book.

We make our own best parodies

I met this couple from St. Louis while working on a story about the American Gothic house in Eldon, IA for Iowa ArtScene. They had forgotten their camera and wanted to pose for a parody a la the Grant Wood classic, so I took some digital shots of them and sent them via email. Dorothy was so surprised that she sent me a thank you gift -- thank you cards (I think the irony might have been unintended). But the big surprise was yet to come. She and her husband, who is from Wales, ended up on the cover of the latest ArtScene. You can read the story by clicking on the cover.

Good Pig

Weeeeee! Who let this suburban, farm-deprived hipster hold me!

The Best State Fair in the State!

We held a baby pig. We pointed and guffawed at the world's largest boar. We cut in line to see the (underwhelming) butter cow. But most importantly, we shared our first deep-fried Snickers bar. Some say going to the Iowa State Fair is one of those experiences you just have to have. I agree. It is a beautiful celebration of life, this kind of strange old-timey carnival that is half harvest festival and half amusement park. We braved the heat and crowds last Sunday to see it, and although we didn't run into any presidential hopefuls, we did do a lot of people watching. At the end of the day, we took the skyline ride across the fair in an homage to my mom, whose favorite ride at Hershey Park was the one meant for perpetual observing. By the way, that pig I am holding hated me. He squealed so loud he had to be put back in the pen with the sow.