The moocat has just arisen from an 8-year nap. Not surprising, as cats spend 80% of their time sleeping. And mooocat has only been around nearly two decades (more on that in August!). For this nap-waking party, the moocat has chosen merely to display all the contents that have been shared here since August 2001, except travelogs, which are still being reviewed.

Here, on this one page, are the entire non-travelog contents of moocat.net, from September 2001 to the present day. Billions of people have benefited from the gentle mind-rides provided herein, albeit, indirectly.

And what's that ghostly American flag at the top of the left nav in the oldest articles? Moocat was born one month before 9/11, and when that horrific day came, I had to do something to Keep the Faith with my beloved native country. So I created the "show the flag" functionality. Still works, but not perfectly placed.

Note to past contributors: In preparing all the work on this site, I had to go through each one, looking for now-broken links (or working links that now point to an unintended page. In doing so, I had to remove a number of such links, and I replaced a few with close, relevant pages. If you'd like to change those, please contact me directly. Enjoy!

Sitting with Mama - An all-too matter-of-fact account of the author's experience of the last 7 hours of his mother's life.
David Saia, Mar. 2004

Maria - They all lived Cajun-style, in the same yard, so Maria's whole life was within a 40-arpent plot of land...
A sobering account of where, in a Cajun universe, the author's life could otherwise have gone.
[This essay first appeared in Lynn Landry's blog, Bad Mother, in slightly different form.]
Lynn Landry, Jan. 2005

Nine Crossings - On an unexpected life of long-term travel and the loss of loved ones in the home country.
David Saia, Oct. 2004

Mama and Her Figs - A Cajun memoir about one of the most delicious aspects of growing up on the bayou.
Lynn Landry

The Fallopian Chronicles, part IV - She said she'd let me push two more times and left. With the next push, she ran inside and said we had to do a C-section... I trusted her and that was that.
Lynn Landry, Aug. 2004

Why I Toast - I've come to understand that there are many dense layers underlying my passion for toast.
David Grayson, Aug. 2004

Why I Toast, II - I don't toast. I never did toast much -- never was what you'd call a bread person.
Suz Redfearn, July 2004

Why I Toast, III - Reverend Doughboy had no answer, and became so overwrought that he resigned his teaching post and spent his days wailing and rolling about in pig dung.
Maurice Martin, Sept. 2004

The Electric Scooter and the Fall of Dot-Com - Whatever happened to all that lovely hippie shit?
Ho Lin, Aug. 2004

The Fallopian Chronicles, part II - We went out for Italian food and a movie and had a solid discussion on the real possibility that we were never going to have kids.
llandry, Jan 2004

The Fallopian Chronicles, part III - All I could think of was, I'm going to have a son that will someday forgo good sense for idiotic thrills like surfing or skiing -- even with hepatitis threats.
llandry, Jan 2004

Strange Bedfellow - "There's poo in the bed," I whispered, shaking her shoulder in the dark.
sredfearn, Apr 2000

Almost Equal - "On my way out, a gay couple was sitting on the steps of City Hall, defeated.
eenriquez, Mar 2004

A Difficult Day - A chilling excerpt form the memoir of Kenya Prach, a Cambodian man who survived the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge, as told to David Grayson.
kprach, dgrayson

Phantom Lover: Ode to Leslie Cheung - A detailed tribute that pays homage to the fallen star with a plethora of photos and an extensive retelling of his film career.
hlin, Apr 2003

I Am Salad - That is, according to Taiwan's National Health Care System.
dsaia, Apr 2003

The Fallopian Chronicles, Part I - "Truthfully, I wanted to get pregnant by some happy accident and deal with things as they arose. Instead, I have to try and make something happen: I'm trying to control destiny. I've never been very good at this."
llandry, May 2003

Taiwanglish - "This is goods for those who wish to enjoy simple and rational lives waste basket and flower pot." If you were confused by that sentence, read on.
dsaia, Apr 2003

Childhood's End - A native Florida gal's memoir of her long-time feud with her childhood nemesis, and how the story ends.
sredfearn, Oct 2002

Psychic Friends - While hubbie's away, she held her first-ever slumber party, with just the (adult) girls. The psychic-for-hire was just the dash of added fun Martha Stewart would never have thought of.
sredfearn, Mar 2002

Life in the Time of SARS - My experience of living through the time of SARS in one of the hardest-hit countries.
dsaia, May 2003

Waiting for the Goddess - Awaiting news of a cancer diagnosis
dsaia, Sept 2002

Roswell My Eye: A UFO Hoax - "To say there were flaws in the finished product would be generous. The Mylar was torn in places. The fishing line was perfectly visible. One friend remarked that the ship from Plan Nine from Outer Space could take this thing out with one hit...."
bfleming, May 2002

(I Can't Get No) Catisfaction - "My wife yells at the cats, I yell at her to ask her if she is yelling at me, she yells at me to be quiet so she can yell at the cats. The cats yell for any number of reasons...."
bvassar, Nov 2002

My Laramie Project - In which I unearth the disturbingly profound truth... that I'm a lousy investigative reporter.
dsaia, Jan. 2, 2002

Stopping on the Street for Coltrane: A Real Latter Day Saint - The guy in front of me had to sit in a very strange position so he could play his trombone and not sock the guy in front of him in the head. At the altar was a drummer, pianist, bassist, and bongo drummer, and this church was ROCKIN.
Lynn Landry, May 2002

Whither Moocat? - Now it can be told: the truth, the whole truth, and then some...
dsaia, May 2002

Happy Palindrome! - Two-thousand two is, in fact, the first 4-digit palindromic year since 1991... which calendar wins as the oldest possible one to use?
dsaia, Jan. 23, 2002

Happy Tiger, Everyone - An appreciation of Oakland's Chinatown
dsaia, Oct. 28, 2001

Tourist for a Day - Local girl makes like a tourist in her own town, for one interesting afternoon
Lynn Landry, Feb. 1, 1998

Geography as Destiny - On not being there...
dsaia, Oct. 7, 2001

"Bastards" and "Sons-of-a-Bitch" - "there's this interesting trend I've noticed... That is, using the words "bastard" and "son-of-a-bitch" is now considered not only civil, but almost a patriotic act..."
dsaia, Sept. 26, 2001

Watching the Pentagon Burn - a first-hand report of the terrible recent events in Arlington, VA, by a noted playwright and Arlington resident.
Maurice P. Martin, Sept. 11, 2001

Communing with Mama - an earlier wandering on the experience of being unemployed.
dsaia, Aug. 25, 1997

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Videos

Mainland Murmurs (1:41) A trailer for a fictional movie, this short video captures a few glimpses of life in Nanjing and Shanghai that the CCP would prefer you didn't see.
Phillip Salzman, Oct. 2006

Next to Heaven Episode #8 (1:01), Episode #16 (2:24) Two selections from the Arlington Virginia-based videographer's current experimental project, Next to Heaven.
Rob Parrish, Nov. 2006

Crosswords Brunch (15:48) Follow me on a lazy Sunday in October 2005 as I wander from my apartment through my noisy Taipei neighborhood and into a local comfort zone for some (sort of) Western-style food and a nice English-language crossword puzzle.
David Saia, Oct. 2005

Fall 2006

Stranded at Zhongxioa/Dunhwa (1:38) Taken while I was stranded at a busy intersection in Taipei late on a Saturday night.
David Saia, Aug. 2003

Ai-Guo Making Sandwiches (7:29) Taken while I was an English teacher working out of a school in Shu Lin, a poorer outer suburb of taipei. I used to get my evening meal from this sandwich seller who set up his mobile booth near the train station. As you'll see, he's a very nice guy, and my Chinese was very elementary then.
David Saia, July 2003

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Poetry

Fall 2006

Milk, David Saia
A first attempt at the impossible task of coping with the death of one's mother.

Infinity, David Grayson
Would you prefer a universe with an end?

Emailing the Dead, David Saia
Round things roll, houses tumble like dice... fathers, and then mothers, die.

Winter 2005

Broken Water, Michelle Daugherty
God, but you'll love this poem!

Sand Shark, Kim Cochran
Who says the Horsemen of the Apocalypse won't be riding in SUVs?

Grandma Said, Kim Cochran
A hay-scent scarecrow reverie from the American Midwest

Summer 2004

Golden Days, Rodger Kamenetz
A new poem from the celebrated author of The Lowercase Jew, Nympholepsy, Terra Infirma, and The Jew in the Lotus.

Americat, Keith Ekiss
A gentle parody from a gentle poet of increasing reknown.

Moe Howard Considers the Death of His Brother, Curly, Jim Henley
I gave him the idea; he made it loverly.

Spring 2004

Flashpoems: Driving I-10, I-25, I-40, I-70, Luis Urrea
In-transit Interstate poems from the author of Devil's Highway.

Fall 2003

Minyan, David Grayson
The Moocat is pleased to curl up and gaze as poet David Grayson wafts around the antechamber of Kabbalistic Judaism.

The Inside Scoop, David Grayson
On the nature of divinity...

Nativity, Li-Young Lee
Incredibly delighted to be able to present two poems from the mysterious, allusive, uniquely voiced work of this highly acclaimed and exciting new poet.

I Ask My Mother To Sing, Li-Young Lee

The Absence of Colours, in the World of Colours, Rati Saxena

Spring 2003

Island Logic, Susan Borie Chambers
Susan Borie Chambers' work has appeared in Fourteen Hills, New York Quarterly, The Greensboro Review and The Laurel Review. She lives in Davis, CA.

Peepshow Kleenex, Susan Borie Chambers

Spring 2002

Allen Ginsberg Forgives Ezra Pound on Behalf of the Jews, Rodger Kamenetz
The acclaimed writer and noted religious scholar (author of The Missing Jew, Terra Infirma, and his most recent, highly acclaimed book, The Jew in the Lotus) on coming to terms with our poetic fathers.

Lacing Your Shoes: Haiku and the Everyday , David Grayson, Dec 2001
On the seemingly ephemeral essence of the art of Haiku, by a widely published practicioner.

Four Haiku, David Grayson

Smoking Haiku, Lynn Landry

Winter 2002

Geary & Jones, Monday, 8:23 a.m., dsaia, Dec 2001

The Keeper, dsaia, Dec 2001

december 13, 2001, dsaia, Dec 2001
A poem written on my 40th birthday, while feeling particulary isolated.

Memento Mori, Bruce Fleming, Nov 2001

November 2001

Football's Birthday, Julie Allan, Nov 2001

The Edward Gorey Museum, Julie Allan

Arrival, Don Gordon, Aug 2001

Victim o' Soikumstance, dsaia, Dec 1989
"He had to shave his head for the act... he felt he had no longer any appeal for the fair sex."
       —Moe Howard, on the death of his youngest brother, Jerome (a.k.a. 'Curly')

October 2001

The Origin of Teeth and Bones, Michael Stone Johnson, 1990

Questions for Understanding Martins Ferry, Ohio, dsaia, Apr 2001
With fond apologies to both James Wright and to the Poetry Society of Fu Jen University in Taiwan

This Is Just To Tell You, dsaia, Oct 1984
With fond apologies to W.C. Williams

Not-Cat (and what-not), dsaia, May 1988

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Comedy

Fall 2006

English-hua
Fair is fair. My bad Chinese is at least as funny as anybody's bad English!
David Saia, Aug. 2006

Winter 2005

Dave for Pope
My first pre-Papal Bull from the bully pulpit.
David Saia, Feb. 2005

Papa Loves Mambo
Can't a guy have a hobby or two once the Mambo’s over?
Max Burbank, Aug. 2004

MS-GOV
Announcing the next Big Push from the E-vil E-mpire.
David Saia, Feb. 2005

Spring 2003

The Louisiana Cajuns: A Special Radio X Historical Docudrama
The whole story of our forebears, much abridged.
Maurice Martin and David Saia, 1985

Krawkawkaw Gives a Little
Cajun mythology explained for you, pure and simple.
Maurice Martin, 1989

November 2001

Meet Dr. Klaww
In which we first meet the dire and insipid physician
dsaia, 11/26/1996

Letters to Dr. Klaww
More Helpful Hints From the World's Most Unhelpful Advice Columnist
dsaia, 12/9/1996

Letter from the Hall of Justice
Could it be that Dr. Klaww has faked his credentials??
dsaia, 12/10/1996

An Invitation to be Keynote Speaker
"The Institute for the Differently Handed would be honored if you would be our keynote speaker at our upcoming annual convention."
dsaia, 12/12/1996

More KLAWWrespondence
Back by Inexplicable Demand!
dsaia, 12/18/1996

The Inglorious Quests of Prince Gajandra and His Faithful Manservant, Jutu (October 2001)

Gajandra Meets the Scatoman
In which we first happen upon our hero, in perhaps his smelliest adventure ever!
mdeguptahareshyo, 10/24/1997

Gajandra and the Curse of the Six Monkeys
In which the prophet/prince relieves the people (and himself) of the painful onslaught of empirical investigation.
mdeguptahareshyo, 12/6/1997

Gajandra and the Eating Lesson
In which Jutu tells the ailing Gajandra a story to lift his spirits...
mdeguptahareshyo, 1/5/1998

A Moment of Self-Doubt
In which the young hero muses as to the worth of it all...
mdeguptahareshyo, 1/22/1998

Gajandra and the Great Rumble
In which Gajandra attempts to save his Kingdom from financial ruin with the help of a gay little frog...
mdeguptahareshyo, 1/30/1998

Gajandra and the Problem with Sa-Noor
In which the heir to the throne conquers a nasty personal problem
mdeguptahareshyo, 5/1998

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Art

Fall 2006


Abstract Works by Mohamed Tahdaini
Fourteen abstract works by an emerging artist.
Mohamed Tahdaini

Portraits by John Guillory
A tantalizing sampler of eight portraits by the Baton Rouge-based painter and filmmaker John Guillory.

Winter 2005

From the Berkeley Pier
Black-and-white and color photographs taken at the pier on San Francisco Bay in Berkeley, California.
Lynn Landry

Digi-Art From Bruce Dene
A Seattle graphic artist has offered these photos from an as-yet undisplayed show called Cocoder.
Bruce Fleming

Death of The Bayou
These photographs of the remains of The Bayou bar were taken shortly after the famous LSU watering hole burnt to the ground in 2002.
Carolyn Schwarzhoff

Summer 2004

Photography: Taiwan Food Vendors
A photographic study of Taiwan's "wet markets," in color.
John Freeman, Summer 2003

Fall 2003

Photographs by John Freeman
A photographic study of Taiwan in black and white.
John Freeman, Summer 2003

Drawings by Robin Liu
Dark pen and ink cartoons from a very talented native Taiwanese fellow now studying art in Australia.
Robin Liu

Summer 2002

Hector
Two strips from the Denver-based cartoonist cooperative.
Melissa Stander

Dave's Corner
A sampling of strips from the short-lived single-panel strip run in Louisiana State University's The Daily Reveille back in 1984.
David Saia, Fall 1984

Winter 2001

 
Zuni Katchinas, June 2001, 9" x 12", acrylics and metalics on board, by painter Sylvester Hustito (a.k.a. Sobe), who was born and raised on the Zuni Pueblo reservation near Santa Fe, New Mexico

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