My sweet lady lioness

[sovay]

So I knew that musical instruments had been found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. I did not know they had ever been played in the modern era, much less broadcast by the BBC. (Thank you, strange_selkie!) I am fairly certain they were not used by the Eighteenth Dynasty to blow British Army bugle calls, but the sound is still striking and haunting.

The cats were in the dining room, circling the table and their new toys (a pair of plumily feathered mouse-fish, one spotted black-and-white, the other blue and electric lime green. The former looks like a sort of fluffy lionfish; it's been shedding all over the house as they bat it from end to end. The latter is plainly a denizen of tropical reefs, the peacock of the sea). At the first notes of the silver trumpet, they stopped what they were doing and gazed raptly at my computer. They paced. Then the bronze one sounded. Hestia laid back her ears and charged into the kitchen. She ran back and threw herself at derspatchel's office door, which she opened with the quick twist of her paws that is becoming simultaneously amazing to watch and really annoying.

The armies of Sekhmet are on the march.

Comments

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I suppose they recognized a tribute to their divine selves? And... um... then ... well maybe the bronze one (which the BBC announcer called the copper one) just didn't appeal as much. Only silver will do.

I applaud Hestia's door-opening skills! Jiji stands up and puts his paw on the doorknob and doesn't understand why it won't Do The Thing, since it does when we put *our* paws on it.

Your fish mice sound adorable.

[sovay]

And... um... then ... well maybe the bronze one (which the BBC announcer called the copper one) just didn't appeal as much.

Oh! I thought she was just building up momentum! She breached the door most successfully.

Jiji stands up and puts his paw on the doorknob and doesn't understand why it won't Do The Thing, since it does when we put *our* paws on it.

Aw. I'm not sure when they figured out how doors worked—Autolycus was opening my office door over the summer, but he doesn't employ it all that often, preferring to wail mournfully until I let him in. Hestia seems to have learned the trick of Rob's door just in the last week and she employs it constantly.

Your fish mice sound adorable.

I will take pictures! Assuming I can find where they disposed of the corpse of the black-and-white one. It keeps disappearing, while its feathers make ever more frequent appearances on floors, chairs, and fur.

[edit] If you have received multiple copies of this comment, please accept my apologies. LJ appears not to want to let me use any icons other than my default, which makes no sense. I have selected several different ones and it's still posting the usual Sovay.

[edit edit] OH NOW IT ALLOWS THE CHANGE.

[zdenka]

That's fascinating. I love the sound of them, especially the copper trumpet.

[sovay]

I love the sound of them, especially the copper trumpet.

Yes. They do not sound like contemporary Western trumpets, or even bugles. I am so glad they survived.

(derspatchel warns me that the Tumblr is a total time sink, which I believe. I looked over the first few pages and had to step back from the wonderful abyss.)

[edit] Well, this is an unpleasant LJ bug. I cannot respond to comments with any icon other than my default, only change it in edits after the fact. What the hell?

[spatch]

It is a complete timesink (albeit one with a bottom which arrives all too soon) but it is worth it to find things such as a piece of ancient Greek slingshot ammo with the equivalent of "Catch!" inscribed on it.


e: ...yeah, looks like I got my default icon though I chose a different one originally. Yay LJ!

[sovay]

e: ...yeah, looks like I got my default icon though I chose a different one originally. Yay LJ!

Right. Not just me. I shall file a support request.

[edited to display originally selected icon actually reflecting my mood]

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

...with the equivalent of "Catch!" inscribed on it.

:D

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I suspect that Tutankhamun rode not to hounds but to cats, when hunting crocodiles.

[sovay]

I suspect that Tutankhamun rode not to hounds but to cats, when hunting crocodiles.

Prrrrrrrt.

The image of a hunting cat has always been important in my family.

[edit] icon bug still not fixed

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

That is awesome in more ways than I can describe.

EDIT: Aaaaand it appears the bug applies to me, too!

[sovay]

That is awesome in more ways than I can describe.

It made me happy all round.

[edit] Yeah, me too, still. Argh.

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

Oh my. That Tumblr is a rabbit hole down which I do not have time to fall right now. *marks for later*

I am very grateful that my resident Feline Overlords don't actually know how to use doorknobs. As it is, they've discovered that if they both throw themselves against a door (they have a combined weight of at least 30 pounds) sometimes it will open anyways, even if the Humans are not around to Do The Thing with our paws, and they make shameless use of this ability.

[sovay]

As it is, they've discovered that if they both throw themselves against a door (they have a combined weight of at least 30 pounds) sometimes it will open anyways, even if the Humans are not around to Do The Thing with our paws, and they make shameless use of this ability.

They don't bother with doorknobs. That sounds . . . dangerous.

[edit] correct icon

And I made my comment disappear

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

Though I think that was me. I am checking to see if I can post with a non-default icon while I reconstruct the original comment. If it's Crazy Harry instead of Count von Count, we'll know it worked.

Without further ado...

I am fairly certain they were not used by the Eighteenth Dynasty to blow British Army bugle calls, but the sound is still striking and haunting. ... And now I know exactly what to do with Phariza.

(On a related note, how do you make a pheromone? Make fun of his mummy.)

(Please don't kill me.)

I wonder, not for the first time, not even for the first time today, what those little beasts (in general) must think, or, in this case must hear in the difference between the silver and the bronze, and also, if you don't want to do a poem about cats and horns, I will, but I think you should do it.

Re: And I made my comment disappear

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

And because it is Crow the robot boy, that's the sign that I changed it successfully after the fact. I am trying to post with Crazy Harry again.

[sovay]

And because it is Crow the robot boy, that's the sign that I changed it successfully after the fact. I am trying to post with Crazy Harry again.

I have filed a support request, using this page as evidence along with comments at your latest post. I hope it will produce results. I can't imagine this is a deliberate or a desired alteration.

[edited to the correct Psholtii]

As Bonny M once said...

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

Re: And I made my comment disappear

[ratatosk.livejournal.com]

Abbie never seemed to mind me playing the horn around him. I also tried playing all sorts of recordings of music.

All I learned was that he really, really did not like _Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima_, which Rob said made him make a dash to hide under the bed.

I think further experiments in feline responses to music are needed.

Re: And I made my comment disappear

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

I've done some experiments with guinea pigs and music, but they tend to be slightly jumpier when they notice the music regardless. Cats are notoriously poor test subjects.

[sovay]

I've done some experiments with guinea pigs and music

. . . What were the results?

[sovay]

and also, if you don't want to do a poem about cats and horns, I will, but I think you should do it.

You really, really should. I mean, I'll see what I can, but I want to read yours.

(On a related note, how do you make a pheromone? Make fun of his mummy.)

Aaaaaaaaaagh.

[edit] icon

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

...and there's apparently a legend that anytime anyone blows one, there will be a war there within eight months?

[sovay]

...and there's apparently a legend that anytime anyone blows one, there will be a war there within eight months?

I am skeptical about that. By April 1939, it's not like World War II blew up suddenly out of nowhere. Also, even if the legend were true, I don't see why it would have worked for James Tappern. He wasn't Egyptian.

[edit] Okay, LJ-icon problem still not fixed! Correct icon now.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

O wow! No wonder the cats wigged out.

Of course, I sent that link straight to B., whose father saw those trumpets lying where they'd lain three thousand years.

And I love that there's a BBC program called "Ghost Music."

Nine

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Not her father but his younger brother in this one, but I love this set:



Nine

[sovay]

Of course, I sent that link straight to B., whose father saw those trumpets lying where they'd lain three thousand years.

Had she heard the broadcast?

[moon-custafer.livejournal.com]

I'm no musician, but it seemed to me the silver trumpet tended to run a bit flat compared to what Tappern was used to playing, and the copper one a bit sharp. Nevertheless I preferred the sound of the latter (my cat was in the room, but did not react to either).

[sovay]

Nevertheless I preferred the sound of the latter (my cat was in the room, but did not react to either).

Thank you for your data point!

I thought it was incredible that either instrument could be played after that length of time, never mind sound so interesting.