Saturday, October 31, 2015

National Knock-Knock Jokes Day

Back by popular demand, it's the Kitten Komedian himself,
Faraday Richmannnnnnn!

Faraday: Thank you, thankyouverymuch.

And without further ado...

Knock-knock.
Who's there?
Fangs!
Fangs who?
Fangs for letting me in.
 Ahhhh, I crack myself up.

Knock-knock.
Who's there?
Fish!
Fish who?
Bless you.

I know, I know. Good one, huh?

This one's going out to Ashton and Waffles:
Knock-knock.
Who's there?
Duncan.
Duncan who?
 
Duncan your chickens
before they're hatched.

BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE!

Why did the chicken cross the road?
To get to your house.
Knock Knock.
Who's there?
 
THE CHICKEN.
 

Thank you, thank you, no applause, just bonito flakes....

***







Friday, October 30, 2015

Fun Finds at Hallmarket

A few weeks ago, some of the creative people I work with came together for an art fair. They call it Hallmarket (ha!) and it's in its fifth year. Amy from Sebastian the Sensitive Soul and I went to browse and buy.

I knew I had some very talented coworkers, but was surprised at how many of them show their love for cats and dogs through the art they had for sale.

Amy & I both bought several things and drooled over lots of other things. I asked some of them if there were ways non Kansas Citians could buy some of their cool stuff, and they said yes. So here is just a small sampling of what we saw, with the links for you to browse if you're so inclined.

I recently shot a video with Flora Chang. She's so sweet and makes amazing kids cards (among other things) for Hallmark. On her own, she makes tons of cat stuff, including these adorable cat buttons. She loves cats. Can you tell? Here are her links - she has a few stores: RedBubble and HappyDoodleLand on Etsy.

A retired Hallmarker makes these amazing cat beds out of gourds, but they need to be ordered a year in advance so they can grow just the right size gourd. She auctions them off for shelter donations.
She also makes these really cute gourd ornaments.

I don't have her contact info, but the gourd ornaments were only $7! I'll try to hunt her down and update this post soon. (yeah, that was kind of mean, teasing you like that...sorry...)





And a really, really good friend and the person who sits right next to me at work, Kristin Smith, makes out of this world art prints.

No, I mean, literally out of this world. Check out Space Kitten, below.
You can check out all of her fun work at Kristin Smith Creative.


Yep, I have one of these hanging in my office!
And for all you kitties out there who love watching Squirrel TV, do your squirrels do this?

Finally, Donna Van Hooser, another retired Hallmark artist, was there with her amazing mosaic pet portraits. They're simply gorgeous! Not cheap, but wow. If you're looking for a beautiful keepsake, this is worth considering. I know I will be.

You can contact her through her web site or her Flickr page, seen below. Isn't that amazing stuff? The top photos were of her booth at Hallmarket. I came so close to buying a mosaic pendant and am mad I didn't. That way, though, I've saved more to go toward the pet portrait!


Happy shopping!
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Thursday, October 29, 2015

National Hermit-Cat Day

Okay, yeah, so we might have made that up a little bit.
But can you blame us?


After all, it is National Cat Day.
And National Hermit Day.
And because Allie.


No hermits were harmed in the making of this post.

***



Wednesday, October 28, 2015

{52 Snapshots} Week 44: Scary



It's a big scary world out here, Mommy.

***
We're participating in the {52 Snapshots of Life} themed photo challenge, hosted by the Lazy Pit Bull Check out more photos at their site!


Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Hallmark: Cats Rule the Internet!

So our mom is furiously working on tons of holiday videos for Hallmark and this past weekend a lot of them were released. You'll begin seeing them soon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, among other places.

But we think 4 of them are especially worth watching because, well, cats.

And not just any cats, either. These videos star rescue kitties from Great Plains SPCA, fostered by our blogging friend over at As The World Purrs.

So if you don't mind, please click, watch & share -- and let's show Hallmark that the best videos are the ones starring, well, cats.







Oh yeah, and the momma was pretty excited about this gift wrap video she directed, so we told her she could share that one too.

When the composer first played the tune for her before filming, she kinda jumped up and down.
For realz.
(We're sooo glad we weren't there because we're sure it was embarrassing and stuff.)

The tune is created entirely of sounds sampled and recorded by the musician from gift wrap. Our mom's team then recreated each sound for the camera. So everything you see - that's the sound it actually makes in the tune! (and her hands are in there a lot, too!)

'Toon Tuesdays



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_____
Toon Tuesdays feature animal (and sometimes human) humor created by the peeps over at Shoebox Greetings (a tiny little division of Hallmark) - where our mom works, too!


Did Someone Say Blogoversary?


Our Aunt Connietells us today is ours. Who knew? *glares at mom*

So in honor of our blogoversary that someone so obviously forgot...
Stay tuned for a special Film-Fest post today at noon, Central.
HINT: It features CATS!

Monday, October 26, 2015

A Little Book Humor...








Faraday: I fail to see what's so funny.
That's one good-looking kitty.
Almost as adorbs as me.

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Sunday, October 25, 2015

Is your cat a Simon's Cat? #bookreviews

You know those great Simon's Cat animated videos we love watching on Facebook & YouTube?
The ones featuring -- well, Simon's cat?

Check it out: who knew even famous 'toons have to suffer the indignity of the PTU?!*

the new Simon's Cat, Off to the Vet publishes Thiusday 10/29
*PTU = Prisoner Transport Unit (aka cat carrier, in Kittenese)
Not that any of us can identify with that cover.... Nope, not at all.

So what's your best "Simon's Cat" antic?

Here are our submissions.

Tell us about yours. Better yet, send us a pic of your favorite kitty caught red-pawed and we'll compile the photos into a Celebrity Lookalike Post! [send to tonkstail (at) gmail (dot) com]



And if you're looking for a gift for a cat loving friend, check out Simon's Cat: Off to the Vet"  available at bookstores and online this Thursday, 10/29.

Filled with classic Simon's Cat humor, it might be just what the doctor ordered. ( ← don't shoot us for the bad pun! Our mom totally typed that.)
_____________
We enjoyed reading our advance copy and thank Akashic Books for sending us the book to review. We were not compensated in any way other than a copy of the book. All opinions are our own.

***








We're totally entering both of these pics in the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the kitties over at The Cat on my Head.

Head on over and see all the other great entries!







Saturday, October 24, 2015

Saturday Photohunt: When Pictures Speak Volumes

Maxwell: Hey, Allie...


Allie: *turns to Maxie* Hmm? Wha--?

 

Maxwell: Uh, should I run now?
Allie: Yes, Maxie.
That would be a Good Idea.


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For more Saturday Photohunters, visit today's host at the Whistlestop Photohunt!
 






Friday, October 23, 2015

Fangs on Friday

Maxwell shows off his nommy face - and those adorable lower fangs.


With a little bit of red eye going on ~ and we're not talking camera reflections.
Dood, seriously. Did you hit the nip too hard last night?

Ignoring you Momma. Concentrating here on Important Stuffs. GIMME!




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Thursday, October 22, 2015

National Nut Day with #NuzzleSmartCollar #ad


This post is sponsored by The Nuzzle Smart GPS Collar and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the Nuzzle™ Indiegogo Crowd Funding Campaign, but A Tonk's Tail only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Nuzzle is not responsible for the content of this article.  
________________________________ 

Did you know today is National Nut Day?
We kid you not.

Summer and her human are always asking us where we find these crazy days. Remember National Knit in Public Day? We're not sure Maxwell's reputation will ever recover from that one....

All we kitties can say is our mom must have some mad Google skills. No, mommy, that is NOT a compliment.

Fine kids. But I'm still celebrating. And with all due respect to the peanut, almond, cashew and other nut companies, I'm not talking today about that kind of nut.
   
No.

I give you Exhibit A.

Maxwell does his best Mr. Bean impression. #goofycat
"Who you calling nut? Looked in the mirror lately?"
We have four nuts in the family, three of the feline kind and one of the two-legged variety. I, of course, exclude myself.

Allie would like for me to exclude her, but she's the one who likes to go traipsing off with Marty when he tinkers on the car or putters in the garden. (no one show him this, okay? I think he might take issue with the word putter. I'm sure he'd say real men do not putter. Or maybe it's physicists. I forget.)

What in the world, you may ask, does this have to do with Nuzzle, and what the heck is Nuzzle anyway? Other than that thing Maxie does with me when he's not channeling Mister Bean.



Nuzzle is a new smart collar that provides GPS tracking without the monthly fees. They're currently seeking people who might be interested in what their product will offer and are launching their Indiegogo campaign today at this link here, where you can preorder your own.


What's different about this collar vs. one currently out on the market? Nuzzle is the ONLY smart pet GPS product that will not require a monthly fee. They're taking on the costs of the cellular data plan so you don’t have to. Nuzzle also provides a spare removable battery (the black part, seen above) so your pet's collar never has to come off, and it's never left uncharged.

As far as what National Nut Day has to do with Nuzzle?

I would feel far more comfortable with "Marty & Allie's Outdoor Adventures" if I knew that, should Allie somehow slip away from Marty, he could easily find her on his phone because she's wearing a collar like this. Because some nuts need a little extra coverage.

Yes, you heard right. There is a Nuzzle app you can download that will show you exactly where your pet is.

I also like that it's a GPS product vs. a bluetooth one - which we've tried before. Bluetooth = total fail, by the way. All it has is a proximity warning that would go off while she was standing right there. 

So I attached it to Marty's keys.
Seriously.
Because he's always losing them. Always. aaaaaaalwayyyyys.


I do think this would be perfect for dogs, and any cat who might tolerate a collar with a bit of extra weight from the GPS tracking device. Here's a photo of what the device will most likely look like, to scale, on a dog and cat:


Honestly, it's about the size of the collar-cam I once attached to Allie's collar, so some kitties might not mind it at all.

And until we get our harness fails ironed out...
Faraday asks Maxie to LET HIM IN.

Faraday: Let me IN Maxie.
Maxwell: Dood, wait. you want IN??? I want OUT.
Faraday: Take a good look, Maxie. This harness is not working!

And do NOT call me a nut, Mommy. 
(well if the harness fits...)

total #harnessfail
Open that DOOR!
I'd feel a LOT more comfortable if my cats were GPS trackable. Not that they go out unsupervised. But even indoor cats might someday need to be found. You see, tragedy can strike anywhere, at any time: fire, flood, tornado.

October is National Fire Prevention Month and if you've never read the story about fellow blogger Sebastian whose family lost everything they owned in one tragic night, you should.

Because it could happen to you. And in that specific situation, although Sebastian was saved, some pets in neighboring apartments escaped. Some were found, some were not. This tracker could have saved a lot of heartache.

Here's what Nuzzle features:
• Geo-fencing: you'll be able to create a virtual fence on the Nuzzle app on your phone.
  When your pet leaves this fence, you’ll be alerted automatically.
• Impact detection: Nuzzle will notify you if the collar has been hit hard.
  Your pet may playing rough, but he may have gotten into an accident.
• Waterproof: the collar can survive a rainy day and some puddle play.
   Don’t submerge it for hours of course ;)
• Temperature monitoring: the collar will be able to detect temperature.
   If your pet is outside too long in the cold, you’ll know.
• Detachable tracker portion: the Nuzzle tracker can be detached and reattached to your personal collars and harnesses.
   (or to your husband's keys? One can hope.)



Allie: Oh Father!  I found your keys!

I'm not even asking why Allie can find them and he can't. Nope, not going there.

***
For more information on Nuzzle and their Indiegogo campaign, they can be found on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.





Do you see what I see?



Faraday asks Maxie to LET HIM IN.

total #harnessfail

Wardrobe malfunction, anyone?
***



Wednesday, October 21, 2015

One Word Wednesday: Sweet



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Tuesday, October 20, 2015

'Toon Tuesdays



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_____
Toon Tuesdays feature animal (and sometimes human) humor created by the peeps over at Shoebox Greetings (a tiny little division of Hallmark) - where our mom works, too!




Monday, October 19, 2015

We have a winner!

Random.org has spoken, and the winner of the Hallmark Halloween card giveaway is...


  
Goldie!

Our mom could not stop laughing when she saw who the randomizer chose.
Wanna know why?

Here was Goldie's comment:

Allie protests this ~ mightily. She still hasn't recovered from that comment!

Thanks, Goldie, for giving  us all a great giggle. And please email us your snail mail info at tonkstail(at) gmail (dot)com.

Oh, and Allie insisted that the majority rule should be observed:



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