I had to get a new phone (I’m too fatigued to even go into details), so I picked up a 5s today, and I think the camera might be better (and no, I have not read up to find out if the camera is actually better- see previous parenthetical):
Click to embiggen to check out if I am actually getting better at this photo shit.
And, also too, in before the haters. Yes. I know the chair is hideous looking. I am well aware. It is, however, a wonderfully constructed wingback that I do intend to reupholster one day. Additionally, it was Tunch’s favorite chair, and by favorite, I mean he loved to shred the shit out of it and then climb up and sleep on it, and since it used to be in my office, he spent a great deal of time there. In fact, I loved it when he was there because it meant he was not on my keyboard or attacking my hand.
At any rate, I moved it into the hallway one day after His Fatness died when I was doing a big clean on my office, and it was right after I got Steve, and he just took to the chair. He had been hesitant to leave his room after having his boys removed just a few days after coming into a new house, but he liked to sit underneath the seat in the hallway. Now he likes to lie on top of it and sleep for hours on end.
Making this even better, it’s seriously the first thing when you come into the house:
I remember watching a documentary a couple years ago on one of the pay channels about fashion designers, and one story they told was about how one of them (Lagerfeld, who knows?) had a large bed in the entrance to his house, where he would lie and as people entered, he would greet them. That’s what I think Steve is doing, in his own way.
At any rate, I know it is ugly and shredded and kind of an eyesore, but he likes it, so that is good enough for me. I’ll just have to have it reupholstered when he is away for a day or two- maybe when he gets his teeth cleaned in a couple years. We can work around these little things. And that is all I have to say about that.
pseudonymous in nc
Best photo yet, hands down. Don’t know whether it’s the 5S — which is well-regarded, especially for “phone” type snaps, but it’s caught Steve in his majestic plushness.
CaseyL
I, um… I like the chair. I think it’s cute.
I have a chair upholstered in flowers and butterflies, which I have brought with me with every move over the last 20+ years; and which visitors have pointed at and laughed, it’s so ugly.
So maybe I’m not the best judge of interior decor aesthetics.
But Steve is definitely magnificent in the chair. And in the photo! – the new camera must have a better flash, because the pic doesn’t look like it was taken during happy hour at a neighborhood tavern.
Karen in GA
I have the 5s as well. Pleasantly surprised by the camera — not at all bad for what it is. Of course, it’s my first smartphone, so consider the source.
Steve looks like a cross between my Smudge and my Phoebe. I love him.
sparrow
I have a very similar chair. Similarly ugly and bought to be “reupholstered someday” until I googled what that entailed, saw the damage being wrought by my cats, and said “eh, fuck it”. It is however still a supremely comfortable seat although it does look like it has been chewed by starving rats for about 10 years.
John O
Got a 5S about a week and a half ago, and the camera is a good deal better than it was in the 4.
And being a solitary lifelong bachelor with a beat up chair that my dog has adopted as his own, I totally get it and would never hate on it.
Also, too, that is one handsome cat.
khead
The first pic is swell.
Reupholster the chair.
pseudonymous in nc
Also, don’t think about upholstery with cats in your house, or if you do, think about upholstering in kevlar. We have given up on the idea of nice furniture and that’s fine. We also have a sacrificial sofa and chair (bought from the house’s previous owner) that has been shredded.
StringOnAStick
Steve bears a strong resemblance to the bobcat I followed for a few yards on Sunday on the bike trail behind our house. Both of them are gorgeous creatures.
? Martin
5S does indeed have a very good camera.
Sorry to hear that your old phone is stuck in a field unable to be towed. That’s rough shit.
And it’s nice that Steve allows you to visit in what is quite obviously his house.
max
At any rate, I know it is ugly and shredded and kind of an eyesore, but he likes it, so that is good enough for me.
I assume people are actually emailing and tweeting you about your chair?
I’ll just have to have it reupholstered when he is away for a day or two
There’s this thing, it is called ‘a throw’.
max
[‘You’re just trolling for people to make rude remarks about your furniture, is that it?’]
Mike in NC
We have two cats with claws that don’t do too much damage to the furniture since we have a few scratching posts situated around the house, and when we get chairs reupholstered we go to a decorator who has resistant fabric material to choose from. Has worked out very well for six years.
Jane2
Friends gave me a rattan chair/ottoman with peach upholstered cushions…destination: outside on patio in the spring. Both cats immediately fell in love with the chair, and it became a favourite sleeping spot. Now it has a prominent living room spot, and I just have to accept that kitty comfort triumphs eyesore every time.
And..great pic, John!
phoebes-in-santa fe
Cole, tell anyone who complains about that chair to fuck off. It’s a nice looking chair and everyone in YOUR house likes it. And the cat is magnificent!
Linnaeus
I love wingback chairs. A good friend of mine has one upholstered in burgundy leather and I always sit in it whenever I’m over at her apartment. In fact, others have remarked that the chair is “Linnaeus’ chair” (using my real name of course) and I have more than once told her that she should not be surprised to find the chair missing some day.
? Martin
Looks like Coburn is going to retire early. Highly unlikely to be a Dem pickup, but it’ll bleed off some GOP money and energy.
Looks like the tea party drove another one out.
pseudonymous in nc
That ‘since’ is doing a lot of work, given that cats are assholes that will scratch furniture regardless of the number of scratching posts, just as they will seek out a rug or a mat or a shoe when they need to puke in a house that’s otherwise entirely wipe-clean flooring.
Meg
I guess I am just lucky. My cat never damaged any furniture in my home.
She even let me trim her fingernails so they will do less damage to my sweatshirts.
Omnes Omnibus
The chair is fine.
pseudonymous in nc
@? Martin:
I could believe that the tea party causes prostate cancer, but in this case I’ll pass. Fortunately for him, he has good health insurance.
Ash Can
Yay, big ploofy kitty!
Mike in NC
@pseudonymous in nc: Yeah, we have off-white wall-to-wall carpeting and can’t wait to replace it with hardwood flooring. Longhaired cats that get hairballs are not a good match.
? Martin
@pseudonymous in nc: People that run that far up the political flagpole don’t give up easily. Coburn has been pissed off for a while at the gridlock. He’s taking the first good excuse to bail out.
mclaren
The way you feed your cats, Cole, we don’t need to click to embiggen him.
MomSense
@? Martin:
Wait is John’s car still in the field? Until John’s car mishap, I always assumed that the old cars I see sitting in people’s yards and fields belonged to the people who owned the yards and fields. Now I will never know for sure.
Keith P
It’s the Internet; it’s what people do. I’d recommend giving less of a shit (ditto for autoplaying videos. So it autoplays…a dozen people will give you shit for it, but you’ll never hear it to your face, so fuckit)
Allow me to fill in the details – you loaned your phone to one of your frat boys. While borrowing your unicycle (now your only mode of transportation), he swerved to avoid a chupacabra (or maybe a possum) and hit a hill, sending him flying into the air like Elliot from ET. Then he landed in a lake, drenching your (flip)phone, which is now dead and gone.
sparrow
@? Martin: Oh thank god. As an Oklahoman and a Scientist that man has been a pain in my behind for long enough. Good riddance.
Omnes Omnibus
@Keith P: Definitely a possum.
RareSanity
John,
Indeed you are getting better at this photo shit…
You are starting to pay attention to the light, the most important part of photography. The next step is not just recognizing the presence or absence of light, but how to use light…with a purpose…in your pictures.
? Martin
@sparrow: You do realize that another Senator will be elected from your state, and given the current environment, odds are he will be far worse.
Karen in GA
@pseudonymous in nc:
This is why God made Ikea. “IKEA. Because fuck it, we have cats.“
Anoniminous
Mr. Cole pretends to an out of touch curmudgeon from West Virginia but the fact is he’s a total Trendoid.
Omnes Omnibus
@? Martin: Vote-wise how could a new Senator be worse?
Villago Delenda Est
If you are wise, if you value your hairless ape life, Cole, DO NOTHING to Steve’s chair.
Just a little warning.
Gex
@Karen in GA: This. I long ago came to terms with the fact that I’d rather live with fuzzy, furniture destroying creatures and crappy furniture than to have really nice furniture and no critters. Almost everything in here is Ikea. The rest is Target.
Steeplejack
@Karen in GA:
Hilarious.
jonas
It’s really sweet how Steve has taken you in and lets you live in his house and everything! It’s like you’re part of the family now.
Villago Delenda Est
@? Martin:
Oh, really? When he’s a member of the party that is 100% responsible for it, by insisting that the word “compromise” means “unconditional surrender to our incredibly braindead ideology that is the foreshadowing of bloody revolution”?
Yatsuno
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m trying to imagine a teabagger with the filibuster. Rafael don’t count as he goes off the path too much.
Steeplejack
@Cole:
Picture looks great. Chair looks fine.
I just got a new phone too. Retired the venerable Droid Incredible after almost four years and got a Motorola Moto X, which I will be activating tomorrow.
Omnes Omnibus
@Villago Delenda Est: Exactly. If the fucker had/has a fucking problem with fucking gridlock, he fucking is actually in a fucking position to fucking do fucking something a-fucking-bout it.*
*I remember Army-speak.
Villago Delenda Est
@Omnes Omnibus:
Just about everyone fondly remembers some NCO who could use that word in every conceivable part of a sentence.
Alas, I can’t remember one who was such an artist. Although my comm chief when I was an infantry battalion signal officer comes close. Especially when discussing the infantry.
Anoniminous
@Omnes Omnibus:
FIFY
Comrade Mary
OMG Steve’s a tabby! Why didn’t anyone ever tell me?
/ducks
Nice pic, John, and it really does pick up light well. You are a good person to give Steve the throne he deserves, too.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yatsuno: Others may toss out sound and fury, but Coburn still voted like an asshole. He may have talked a polite game, but he voted with the crazy people.
Jude
Love it.
Anya
OMG! That chair…wow.
Omnes Omnibus
@Villago Delenda Est:
Well, duh. I once got a new FDC chief when I was a Fire Direction Officer. We went to the field for an ARTEP and at the halfway point we got some feedback that we were not doing well (we had been the best FDC in the Brigade). I went and had a cup of coffee with the guy and, at the end of our talk, he said “Sir, just go take a walk. For about a half an hour.” So I did. My FDC kicked ass for the rest of the ARTEP.
? Martin
@Villago Delenda Est: Well, Coburn actually used to make some progress on things for his side, but I think he was realistic about what the GOP could actually do in the minority or with a Democratic president. Yeah, he wants the most extreme things, but he’ll setting for small things if that’s all he can get. Thanks to the Tea Party, he can’t even get the small things, because they demand all of it, and if you aren’t on board with all of it then you’re the enemy. He railed against the Cruz shutdown because it was pointless and baldly stupid – it didn’t achieve anything for the GOP other than to make them look like assholes (and that’s pretty much what Coburn said).
In short, the tea party made it so that Coburn couldn’t even do minor damage to the country.
Wag
About the chair–I like it. It has a certain dynastic regal ness to it that fits
I like Steve even more.
Anoniminous
@Omnes Omnibus:
In 2004 Coburn was caught on tape saying:
What happened to us is a crazy person was elected to the Senate. Twice. The last time with 70% of the vote.
Omnes Omnibus
@Anoniminous: Right. Replacing him with a Tea-person will not change anything.
? Martin
@Anoniminous: Well, consider that your other Senator was even crazier.
Anoniminous
@? Martin:
I assume you are referring to Domenici. He was a corrupt old-line politician totally owned by the New Mexico Old Fart Network but wasn’t noticeably crazy.
ETA: well, except for the last couple of months of his life due to brain degeneration.
EATA: If you are referring to Steve Pearce, he’s a my House Rep (sob) who ran but didn’t get Domenici’s seat.
Karen in GA
@Gex: We had real grown-up homeowner furniture for a while. The first day we had it, Phoebe put a nice slash in our loveseat. She loved scratching it, and we couldn’t find a way to stop her.
My husband and I had discussed having her declawed, with him saying that since I had saved her from a shelter the day they were going to euthanize her, I shouldn’t feel guilty about declawing — she was still lucky to have a home.
I finally ended up sitting one morning with the vet’s card in one hand and the phone in the other. And I decided I couldn’t maim an animal to protect an object.
Hubby, to his credit, understood, dropped the subject, and lived with slashed furniture for a few years — not easy for a neat freak who never got the appeal of cats. Phoebe and the other cats have their claws, and we have furniture from IKEA.
Snarlymon
FYI Although the camera is still 8MP, Apple improved the sensor by increasing its size, improved the camera optics, and used the A7 chips power to create new image processing software. I think you’ll see better low light photos and richer color.
Yatsuno
@? Martin: I think if I were to ever live in a red state, I would have to go mad. That would not be pretty.
BTW saw one of the clowns trying for the Repub nom for governour. Wow is about all I can say. That and Joe Donnelly* will never make it to the big chair.
*I think that’s what his name was. I’m not sure now.
? Martin
@Anoniminous: Sorry, I thought you were referring to Oklahoma’s senators. I was referring to Inhofe.
Anne Laurie
John, that is a beautifully proportioned, amply sized, dignified-yet-graceful chair. Well suited for its ruler! And I for one like the chinoise toile, especially the little butterfly floating like a thought balloon over
MungoSteve’s head.Your photos are getting better, and I hope your week ends better than it began!
Anoniminous
@? Martin:
I was referring to Coburn. However, I live in New Mexico.
Thus confusion. No biggie
Jane2
@Yatsuno: Like winter, it builds character. Or, that’s what they keep telling us.
Omnes Omnibus
@Jane2: Winter gives opportunities for enjoyment. Having right wing legislative representation does not.
GregB
Here’s how nutty things are now. When Coburn was elected he was on the very far right fringe of everyone in the entire Congress and now he’s considered one of the more reasonable members that can work with the opposition.
Mj_Oregon
I love the chair, and Steve, and Steve posing on the chair. If that sight greeted me when I opened my front door, I would be content with my life. I love my kittehs, but I’ll be losing both of my indoor cats in the next few months, one from end-stage chronic pancreatitis and the other from end-stage renal disease. There won’t be another inside kitty for me this time around. We’ll do fostering during kitten season perhaps but no more cats inside. I’ve lived with the allergies long enough and will have the house professionally cleaned after they’re gone. Until then, I enjoy their company and spoil them with what delicious people food they’re allowed to have and am thankful I’ve had them in my life.
On another note – my next door neighbor, an 87-year-old widower, killed himself last night. His son and daughter-in-law found him this morning. He battled depression for years after his wife died of Alzheimer’s and found January to be especially hard as that was when she died. I guess another 10 day forecast of dense fog and mid-30’s, our third bout of god-awful inversions in the past six weeks, was just too much for him this year. And while I understand his desire to be free from pain both physical and emotional, I’m devastated for his children and their families. He was a lovely human being who had nursed his wife at home for years until it became an untenable situation for him – and her. So she died in a care facility and he wasn’t with her when she passed over. And so now he doesn’t hurt any more either but the family is in agony. I hate guns.
January is a cruel month. My mother, father and best friend all died in January of old age, emphysema and lung cancer respectively. I just put my head down and endure and note the incremental increase in daylight as the days pass. Soon, my seed catalogs assure me, spring will be here and I’ll be able to feel the sun on my face.
So, John, I hear you. I’ve had a shitty few days too.
JaneE
@Anoniminous: I think it was 1966 when I visited relatives in OK and the Tulsa paper had a big article on problems in the jails. Or maybe it was a youth detention center. I was actually shocked by the descriptions of lesbian rapes that were supposedly occurring. Apparently the obsession with lesbianism goes way back.
jheartney
The thing that struck me about the top photo was how completely Steve takes up the whole chair. Our two cats could comfortably curl up together in a chair that size with room to spare. I know, Maine Coon, but jeeze that is one big kitty.
The second photo needs one of those giant “SOON” captions.
opiejeanne
@Yatsuno: Tim Donnelly. He’s an ass.
Anoniminous
@JaneE:
There’s something really … odd … about Southern culture’s* attitude towards women and sex. I don’t pretend to fully understand and I (partially) grew-up in and (partially) absorbed it.
* Oklahoma was settled by Southerners
PurpleGirl
@Mj_Oregon: I’m sorry that you’ll be losing your two cats. Give them some scritches for me, please, and accept a virtual hug for yourself.
I thank you though for deciding to foster kittens in the alternative — shelters do need fosters at kitten season. (And, who knows, you may well have a foster failure or two.)
Joshua Norton
It’s a perfectly fine Queen Anne wing chair. All it needs is recovering and a little TLC. My mother bought a similar chair once at a yard sale with the intentions of “fixing it up”. Being of hardy New England Yankee stock she wasn’t about to pay full price for anything if she could find a cheaper way of getting it. When the upholsterer gave her an estimate of $300 to do it over she almost had a conniption fit. She practically accused him of blatant price gouging since she “only paid $25.00 for it”. All the guy could say was “Thank God they didn’t give it to you.”
Hilfy
That is a beautiful little wing-back chair, the chinoiserie print is a fine foil for Steve’s winter floofiness. So what if it’s a little worn, He looks perfectly happy.
Redhand
Wonderful cat pic. Loved the note about the keyboard. My wife’s cat stretches out his orange tabby carcass on her desk in front of and parallel to the keyboard so that she MUST take notice of him while working.
sm*t cl*de
I know it is ugly and shredded and kind of an eyesore
Ah, that explains the reluctance to waste lumens illuminating it.
sm*t cl*de
deciding to foster kittens in the alternative — shelters do need fosters at kitten season.
I cannot over-praise the kitten-fostering strategy. The local SPCA decided to make me their Cat Whisperer, to deal with the trapped feral-kitten hissy spitty ones and bring them around. The theory seems to be that since I am only partially socialised myself, I can provide a half-way house towards bringing them to full socialisation.
Anyway — you get to look after the kittehs during the period of Peak Cuteness; someone else receives a (hopefully) well-adjusted kitteh; kittehs receive a forever family. WIN-WIN.
Luci
I think that chair is actually pretty good. You should all see the one in my living room that the cats have been at for years now. It’s really NOT good. Oh well… and, the pictures are getting better, and Steve is a wonderful animal. So, it’s all good!
kc
@pseudonymous in nc:
Yeah, I’ve got a great, tall scratching post that the cats LOVE. They use the hell out of it.
Doesn’t stop them from scratching the furniture, though, the bastards.
Nice Steve pic!
HeartlandLiberal
For starters, go into the phone and see what the resolution settings for pictures is. Make it higher. I selected to view the image, downloaded it, and examined the details properties, and if you are shooting at a resolution 228×150, you are doomed to have poor images. That is acceptable as a thumbnail. Not as a pic for publishing on the InnnerTubes.
Ideally shoot in the highest res available on the camera. Then save and edit to a lower resolution to publish, but make that resolution as least twice the 228 of this snap.
jayboat
@HeartlandLiberal:
Good advice. Seems like there is some lack of detail on his fur, maybe due to low resolution?
That cat is a walking photo op. I hope that John’s interest in improving his photo skillz continues.
The next step is a bit of post-processing, because most phone pix need a bit of touch up.
I don’t use my phone cam very often, but photoshop express helps clean things up when I do.
Again, just my opinion- but the color is off in that shot and it could use a little crop to make it mo perfect.
A bit of tonal correction shows the chair to be blue.
brantl
I was going to say that cat looks fuzzy, but then…..
Steeplejack
@HeartlandLiberal:
Uh, if you click the picture in the post to get the embiggened version, you will find that it is of substantial size—2,961 by 1,947 pixels.
Morganti
John, The way to take pictures with the 5S is to hold the “trigger” down and snap about 2 dozen pictures in succession, you can then take a look at all of them and pick the one where it’s perfect.
The 5S can shoot 10 full-res shots per second up to 100 seconds without missing (barring running out of space of course). You can then pick the 2 or 3 that look the best, and pitch the rest.
Here’s a good explainer from CNET
http://bit.ly/18QnIUS
Trinity
That’s some cat.
Alabama Blue Dot
I had an entire couch in that pattern. In my defense, I inherited it from my mother-in-law.
Elizabeth
You are decorating with love, which makes your home utterly beautiful and perfect in every way. There is not one thing that needs to be changed until love requires it.
Sue (Garnet's foster mom) and one of MARC's directors
I think fits Steve very well!!!
StringOnAStick
I noticed that the neighbor’s furniture destruction team don’t like the 2 pieces that are upholstered in microfiber, but the fancy cotton pieces they bought are tasty for clawing.
Our own rescue kitty came pre-trained to not touch furniture, but is hell on her scratching post. I suspect a squirt bottle was involved, given her response to me simply having one in my hand….
am
I like the picture. I would have tried to center it, so both armrests showed about equally. That’s more of a framing thing.
But then again, I like the chair, too, so what the heck do I know…
koalaholik
I, too, have a wingback chair that is to be reupholstered “someday”. In the meantime, it is in perfect position for racing furrballs to zoom from the bedroom, throiugh the living room, into the den up the back of the chair to stop, gaze out the window and then zoom back the way they came. Once in awhile they even sleep in it.