Nora The Piano CatWow! My very first video has now had over 20 million viewings. Burnell’s usually on top of all this, but this time it was CATcerto composer, Mindaugas Piecaitis, who notified me that I’d hit the 20 million mark. Thanks, Mi. Would you like a personal assitant job? I may have an opening. 🙂
My newest calendar for 2011 features the seventeen winning poems from the 2010 Nora Purr-etry Contest. It also has all-new images of me. And check this out: the poems were written by my fans from around the world – as far away as South Africa and Australia. The photographs are by my personal assistant and chief photo guy, Burnell.
The calendar is available from my online store at: http://www.cafepress.com/ravenswingshop.493221550
Note: Authors of the seventeen winning entries each receive a 2011 Nora Purr-etry Calendar as part of their prize package.
If you live in or near Chicago (that’s meow kind of town), then don’t miss the October 3rd, 2010 Chicago premiere of CATcerto by composer/conductor Mindaugas Piecaitis. David L. Crane directs.
And of course I am the guest soloist via pre-recorded video.
Check out this article in the Southtown Star: http://bit.ly/dbcM8Z
Oh my! Someone set up a virtual Catfight on the web and they have me up against the Roomba cat. Personally, I abhor violence (except when Max gets a little too close for comfort). Anyway, I really need your vote. So, please go to the page linked below, scroll down to #3 and cast your vote for moi. Time is of the essenc…e, so please don’t hesitate. At the moment, Roomba cat is winning.
http://www.urlesque.com/2010/08/06/catfight-round-1-new-school-cats/
Dear friends and fans,
I know I have inspired many of you to pursue your musical dreams, but there are so many ways to be sublimely creative. What about poetry? All you need is a pencil and a piece of paper (or your handy laptop computer) to begin your creative journey! So I am hoping you will consider entering my Nora The Piano Cat Poetry Contest. The rules are really quite simple:
1) Write a poem about me or inspired by me. It can be long or short, rhyming or not. It can even be a haiku.
2) Email the poem to me at norapoetry@verizon.net no later than midnight, October 1, 2010. You can enter as often as you like.
3)> Be sure to include your age, name, and a contact email. If you are under eighteen years old, please include the name of your parent or legal guardian, and their contact email (with their permission of course). Email addresses are only used to contact the winners in each age group. You will NOT be placed on any mailing lists and your contact information will not be shared with anyone else, ever, for any reason.
My personal assistants, Betsy and Burnell, and I will read every single glorious poem and choose our absolute top three favorites in the following age categories:
1) Up to 8 years old. (Kids)
2) 9 to 12 years old. (Tweens)
3) 13 to 18 years old. (Teens)
4) 19 and up. (Everyone else)
All twelve winners will receive very special Nora Prizes. We will also give a special prize to the person submitting the best Nora or Nora-inspired haiku.
In addition to the prizes awarded to the winners in each category, the winning poems will also be included in my “Inspired by Nora” 2012 calendar. Winners will each receive a copy.
Submission of a poem signifies your acceptance of the above rules, and allows either me or my personal assistants, Betsy and Burnell, to print, reprint and otherwise distribute the poem for promotional purposes, including the creation of the 2012 “Inspired by Nora” calendar.
Don’t delay. Send your Nora-inspired poems to norapoetry@verizon.net by midnight, October 1, 2010. Winners will be notified by October 31, 2010.
Download the “Purr-etry Contest” flyer in PDF format by clicking HERE. Share it with your friends. Viewing or printing PDFs requires Adobe Reader, which is a free download from Adobe.com
Well, I’m sure you’ve all heard of Moxie & Company. How about Laura Becker? She’s my Licensing & Opportunities agent. Anyway, just this last week was the International Licensing Expo in Las Vegas. I didn’t go, but B & B stopped in and visited for a while. I heard that everybody was there: Disney, Hasbro, Marvel Comics, Star Trek, etc. And right in the middle was me, Nora The Piano Cat. Moxie & Company also represents Nancy Drew and Ziggy, among others. B & B even got to meet Ziggy’s creator, Tom Wilson. That must have been cool!
Sviesa, a publisher of textbooks for school children in Lithuania (remember CATcerto and composer Mindaugas Piecaitis – he’s from Lithuania), is using a photograph of yours truly in an upcoming book on music titled The Labyrinth of Music. It’s intended for students in the 5th form in secondary school. So, I would love to hear from any of my student fans in Lithuania. Let me know when the book is published, and be sure to let me know how you like the photo.
(From The Sun Chronicle by Rose Gates) If you are a cat lover with a computer you have surely heard of Nora, the piano playing cat from Pennsylvania. The gray tabby’s YouTube video has been viewed over 20 million times! Sure, you say, any cat can walk across the keys of a piano and produce a few notes. However, once you see Nora at the piano, you have to agree that her musical ability is impressive. She sits intently at the piano bench and uses both of her paws to play. She appears to be enjoying herself immensely and choosing the keys with deliberation.
(read more…)
You may contact Rose Gates at UsedCatSalesman@aol.com
Something wonderful is about to happen. The Yamaha Music School of Boston will be distributing copies of my book, Nora The Piano Cat’s Guide to Becoming a Good Musician, to four and five-year-old students. I’m very excited about hearing from the students once they receive the books, and Yamaha has said there will even be photos of some of the children that I will be able to share with you all. I’ll definitely keep you posted.
The book (pictured to the right) features a photograph of yours truly on the cover by artist/photographer Burnell Yow!. Burnell is also one of my personal assistants. It is, indeed, very helpful to surround oneself with talented folks, don’t you think?
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Nora The Piano Cat’s Guide to Becoming a Good Musician is available from Amazon.com.
The Dutch version of National Geographic Junior magazine for February of 2010 just ran a photo of me with a bit of text. Since I don’t speak the language (nor do either of my, otherwise quite talented, personal assistants), I’m putting the call out to any of my Dutch fans for a translation, or even just a brief synopsis.
The image and text is below, and here’s a link to the online version: http://www.natgeojunior.nl/Home.aspx
