Random Photo From Campus

Here's Dr. Tulip A. Cat, professor of applied chaos, discussing advanced mayhem theory with students in her office. Not long after this she demonstrated napkin tearing techniques and furniture assaulting.

As the Blogoshere Turns

It's been a good week in Lake Blogosphere.  I've bumped into a few things that I rather liked.

I found our Video O' the Week via Folderol.  It's on a baseball blog called Foul Territory and shows the Texas Rangers, my current favorite team (go Rangers, beat those Yankees!) celebrating their division championship.  While normally such locker room celebrations feature champagne showers, the Rangers had a special ginger ale-only celebration for outfielder Josh Hamilton, who is a recovering alcoholic.  That, my friends, is what we mean by the word "team."

Our Cat O' the Week is also a video.  Incurable Insomniac presents Cat vs. Printer -- The Translation (warning--NSFW language).

In the Picture O' the Week our Canadian correspondent Calvin gazes south from his Cave of Cool to remind us that the presidency of Barack Obama contains an element of positive change for America that is as beautiful as it is exciting.  And if you think I'm being hyperbolic, you obviously haven't been paying attention for the last couple of centuries.

Finally, the Post O' the Week is by Bill Peschel.  It's a true tale of a literary hoax involving Jean Shepherd (of A Christmas Story fame), Theodore Sturgeon, Frank Kelly Freas, Ian and Betty Ballantine, saucy bawds, and seventeenth century sex scandals.  How can you not love that?

As the Blogoshere Turns

A short spin of the Blogosphere this week as we focus on the Cats O' the Week. Jaquandor warns of of the impending danger of Laser Cats!

Yesterday my mother told me that my niece is going to play laser tag. I told her what that meant and spent the next five minutes assuring her that no one would lose their eyesight.

Cats would be awesome at laser tag.

Bionic Kitty

Happy Caturday, and it is a very happy Caturday for Oscar. He just became the first bionic cat. When I first heard about this I assumed that he had been given superpowers. Faster than a speeding bulldog, able to leap tall scratching posts in a single bound, that sort of thing. I was wrong.

Excuse me, I've got something in my eye.

The best headline of the year award goes to AP for Bionic British Cat Gets Faux Paws.

Sea Cats

Happy Caturday! Here's a lovely collection of pictures showing cats in the sea services, including this one of little Miss Hap being nursed by a Marine. Tip o' the hat to Folderol for the link.

Paula Poundstone's Cats Don't Do Anything

Here's a video of them not doing anything.
This morning my cat knocked over a trash can, pulled a book halfway off a shelf, and deftly placed a hairball under my desk chair. No video of that, sorry.

Our Civic Duty

I've got jury duty next week. Yes, it is a pain, but it is a civic responsibility. Jury duty is part of the democratic bulwark that holds back tyranny. I have no patience for anyone who tries to get out of it. That's why I'm ticked off at Sal Esposito from East Boston. He tried to squirm out of his duty but the jury commissioner was having none of it. Sal is going to have to show up at the courthouse like everybody else. As if being a cat was an excuse. Ridiculous. Cats make excellent jurors. They are well known for their impartiality. They are fully capable of sitting and doing nothing for hours at a time. They are good observers. And the fact that they are highly judgmental demonstrates that they are capable of judgment.

I for one say that it is about time that feline freeloaders like Sal contribute something to society.

Cat Flu

This morning's news brings us word that a cat in Iowa has been infected by the H1N1 virus. This is, of course, terribly serious, especially for the kitty, and a useful warning to infected cat owners. Still, I couldn't help but wonder what John Cleese was doing in Iowa. Apart from being a full-time stapling machine, of course.

Crouching Kitty, Hidden Dragon

Ursula K. Le Guin shows us the power of Cat T'ai Chi.