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Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Guy Shares What It’s Like Taking Care Of A Blind Cat In Informative And Adorable Twitter Thread

Would you adopt a blind cat? Adopting an animal with special needs may sound like a lot of work, and there are definitely some things you need to keep in mind when adapting your household to a blind animal’s needs, but recently one cat owner on Twitter opened up about how amazing blind cats are in their ability to adapt and be playful, affectionate companions.

The Russian-language Twitter account catunderhood, which passes the controls to a different cat owner each week to let them tell their cat’s story, featured Volodymyr Stelmakh, who lives in Kyiv, Ukraine with his two cats Jim and Leia. It was Jim who attracted the most attention for one noticeable reason: he has no eyes! Stelmakh posted a comprehensive thread answering some of the most common questions about what life is like for a blind cat.

Jim wasn’t always the happy, healthy cat he is now. Stelmakh explains that Jim and several other cats were rescued from an apartment that had been abandoned after a fire. Jim’s eyes had already collapsed due to severe infection, so his eye sockets were surgically removed and he had a long recovery in the vet clinic where he was treated. By the time Stelmakh adopted him three months later, Jim came with some lingering health problems caused by the malnutrition he suffered when he was abandoned, as well as complications following the surgery, but with attentive care and nutrition, he made an inspirational recovery.

This cat owner wrote a thread about his blind cat

Stelmakh describes how when he brought Jim home, the blind cat didn’t realize he had a whole apartment’s worth of space around him after being kept in a kennel for months, and had to be coaxed to move by touching him and encouraging him to follow, talking to him all the while. It didn’t take much guidance before he was relying on his nose and whiskers to explore his entire living space.

Jim had to relearn how to navigate after losing his eyes

Вот вам пример того, как он залезает на диван. Оцените грациозность. Заодно можно услышать, как он тарахтит pic.twitter.com/7B8TZyyyI5

— catunderhood (@catunderhood) January 21, 2020

“Here’s an example of how he gets onto the sofa. Note the grace. You can also hear him purring,” reads this tweet showing how Jim hops onto the couch.

Jim is very bold when it comes to getting around the apartment now

Jim doesn’t require any special supplies as far as food bowls and litter boxes go. He accidentally dips his face in his water bowl, and he had some messy habits that forced his humans to get him a covered litter box, but those minor issues are hardly unique to blind cats.

As you can see, Jim is a pretty normal cat

Image credits: vstelmakh

Мне удалось снять, как Джим пьёт. Правда его, видимо, замучила жажда, потому он торопился, но видно, как он зачёрпывает и жуёт воду, и как всё течёт по бороде pic.twitter.com/HCUtd4fYxA

— catunderhood (@catunderhood) January 22, 2020

“I managed to film how Jim drinks. He must have been terribly thirsty, because he was in a hurry, but you can see how he laps up and ‘chews’ water, and how it all flows down his beard :D”

He doesn’t need eyes to be super cute, either

Image credits: vstelmakh

Best of all, Jim loves to play just like any cat! The thread includes several videos of Jim playing, and you can hardly even tell that he’s using sound rather than vision to bat a toy ball around and play tag with his kitty friend Leia.

Jim is still playful at age 6

Jim and Leia are great friends and playmates

Итак, долгожданная тема игр

3. Игры

Тут, к счастью, у меня побольше видео :) Вот вам одно из моих любимых. Джим – тот что побольше pic.twitter.com/LxMYN9lE00

— catunderhood (@catunderhood) January 21, 2020

“And now for the long-awaited topic of playing!

Fortunately, I have more videos :) Here’s one of my favorites. Jim is the bigger one”

Image credits: vstelmakh

Так, например, он ловит мячи pic.twitter.com/O0ANmW7a8d

— catunderhood (@catunderhood) January 21, 2020

“Here’s how he catches a ball, for example”

Cats have incredible senses of hearing, smell, and touch. They even use their whiskers to feel vibrations in the air and determine how close they are to objects. So it’s no surprise that even if a cat loses their sense of sight, they can quickly learn to use their other senses to compensate⁠. As Stelmakh points out, blind cats need to be able to memorize their living space, so you should avoid unnecessarily rearranging your furniture, and it should go without saying that blind cats need to be indoor cats for life. Judging by how spoiled Jim looks, that seems to be fine with him!

Having a blind cat is a rewarding experience

Image credits: vstelmakh

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Monday, February 3, 2020

Cassina unveils outdoor furniture designed as "an extension of the home"

Italian brand Cassina has presented its first complete collection of furniture for outdoor spaces, including a reissue of a classic Charlotte Perriand chair and a "love bed" by Patricia Urquiola.

The Cassina Perspective Goes Outdoor includes a comprehensive offering of furniture, lighting, rugs and accessories intended to extend the company's design approach to outdoor products.

Cassina unveiled additions to its existing collection, with archive designs by Le Corbusier and Perriand joining new products by Rodolfo Dordoni, Philippe Starck and Patricia Urquiola.

Perriand's Doron Hotel armchair was designed in 1947 for a winter sports resort in the French Alps. The new outdoor version was developed by Cassina in close collaboration with her daughter Pernette Perriand Barsac.

According to Barbara Lehmann, head of the Cassina's historical archives, the company decided to develop both indoor and outdoor versions of the chair as its design is suited to use in either context.

"The use of thick wood elements with a somewhat rough appearance underlines its natural relationship with nature and the outdoors," Lehmann told Dezeen.

Perriand loved to spend time in the mountains and was fascinated by the relationship between humans and nature. Her passion for natural materials informed the rounded forms of the tactile, teak wood frame of the chair.

Lehmaan added that the treatment of the wood directly references the context the chair was created for.

"As the model was designed for a mountain environment, its aim was to enhance the sensuality of wood and convey the idea of solidity and stability," she pointed out.

Also new to the Cassina outdoor collection is Patricia Urquiola's Trampoline furniture, described by the company as "a love bed with a strong personality that becomes the hero of any outdoor space".

Its designer told Dezeen that she wanted to create a flexible product that can be used in multiple ways and doesn't impose a way of sitting on the user.

"You can be by yourself and sit or lie in different ways, whilst having the tools you need around you," said Urquiola.

"Or you can share it with your friends, your loved ones, your children. It's a sort of nest, open like an island or with a fixed canopy that transforms it into a sort of cabin."

The product, which can accommodate several users at once, was inspired by trampolines Urquiola spotted outside houses during a trip to Greenland.

In particular, its circular shape and the way the base and optional canopy are attached to the metal frame using ropes is reminiscent of how trampolines are made.

A set of three large cushions upholstered in water-repellent fabric forms the backrest. Other cushions can be added to create a playful and comfortable environment for lounging.

Both Urquiola and Lehmann told Dezeen that a recent evolution in the way people value outdoor space has prompted Cassina's decision to expand its outdoor furniture offering.

"I think that the desire for quality outdoor furniture is getting stronger because the outdoors is seen as an extension of the home," said Lehmann.

"Today, it's not just about the performance of the furniture, which is fundamental, but also the aesthetics, the comfort and the idea of creating a complete setting with a warm atmosphere."

Urquiola, who has held the role of art director at Cassina since 2015, added that the collection she helped to shape seeks to enhance the connection people feel with nature when using the products.

"We try to be in contact with nature or the outdoors as much as we can," she explained. "Outdoors, in a veranda space, we aim at recreating the feeling of nature."

"Therefore, at Cassina we are trying to answer this demand whilst remaining faithful to our principles of offering a diverse vision from different designers, focusing on research and quality rather than a styled solution."

The Cassina Perspective Goes Outdoor also includes a sofa, armchair and coffee table by Philippe Starck.

It utilises primitive forms in sandblasted teak along with a handwoven rope backrest to give it an aesthetic that the designer described as "something between daily DIY and [Marcel] Duchamp’s Ready Made".

Rodolfo Dordoni's Sail Out modular sofa recalls inflatable canvas mattresses that can be combined in endless configurations, while his Dine Out chair and armchair are made from solid teak with armrests and backrests wrapped in polypropylene rope.

In addition to the seating designs, Urquiola has created a circular table with an aluminium base and a top in recycled waste plastic.

A table designed by Charlotte Perriand using teak and Carrara marble is also included in the collection.

As Cassina's art director, one of the tasks Urquiola undertook was updating its headquarters in Meda, introducing a wall of plants and a cylindrical meeting space clad in metal panelling.

The first collection she oversaw in 2016 built upon what she described as the "experimental attitude" seen throughout the brand's history.

The post Cassina unveils outdoor furniture designed as "an extension of the home" appeared first on Dezeen.

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Shocking Pumpkin Pie Analogy Shows How $98 Trillion Is Divided Between USA’s Wealth Brackets

Inequality in the US is the worst it’s ever been, but it looks like people are still unaware of just how bad it really is. However, it’s understandable. The human brain has a hard time putting billions and trillions into perspective. We need comprehensive references to fully grasp such high numbers. Luckily, CBS This Morning decided to this for us. A couple of days ago, they aired a segment that illustrated American inequality by using slices of pie. And it went viral.

The creative approach. presented by the show’s co-host Tony Dokoupil, allowed people to visualize how Americans are sharing the $98 trillion of wealth they possess.