Oops!

I forgot to include this pic in my post yesterday. I must still be getting over being abandoned. QQ

Anyway, my Mommy's Mommy is a very talented artist and she drew this picture (there's a bigger one below) to decorate the Children's Room at the library she works at. Normally I'm scared of dragons, but this seems like a nice dragon. Come to think of it, he looks a bit scared himself. Cool! I have something in common with a dragon! I wonder if he likes having his tummy rubbed too? It's time for my second afternoon nap! ttyl!

She Left Me!

Even the Monster left me! Well, maybe that's not such a bad thing.... But, still! Mommy left me! She did come back. Eventually. Doesn't matter. I was left all alone! Except for Dante and Spanky. But they don't scratch my ears and they're not Mommy! *pouts*

Deep breath. Start at the beginning.

The Monster's brother was getting married (Monster's have brothers?!?) and so he went back to Michigan where we used to live for the wedding. It was just us and Mommy. Yay! I got lots of cuddles and snuggles and sitting on the Monster's chair (I'm a brave kitty!). Then Mommy left for work and didn't come home for four whole days! Apparently, she had to leave right from work to catch her plane. But why didn't she take me with her? Oh right. I don't like things that go "whoosh" and Mommy says planes do that. Well, why couldn't she stay, then? Monsters' brothers' wedding can't be better than me, right? ;-(

Mommy says the wedding was lovely and the bride and the groom were very happy. Which is good I guess. My Mommy looked pretty awesome, too. That's a picture of her with the Monster's sister (Monster's have sisters too?!?). She looks nice. Definitely not scary like the Monster. Mommy says the Monster looked very handsome all dressed up for the wedding but I'm not going to post any pictures of him because I'm not that brave of a kitty. Mommy also got to see her family and sleep in her old room. Which is also nice but it would've been much nicer if I was there to frolic and get cat hair all over things and meow randomly. It sounds like her family is going to come visit us in California soon. Maybe we could work out a deal where they stay here and we send the Monster back there?

The Wedding Party

I am Most Certainly Not Domesticated

It has recently come to my attention that a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* claims that not only are cats lazy, they domesticated themselves. Rubbish!

Firstly, cats are not lazy. It is a testament to our brilliance and our skill that our actions look effortless. Furthermore, rushing hither and thither is not only unnecessarily tiring, it is rarely effective. Far better results are achieved from choosing tasks wisely and then taking one's time to complete them. Humans could stand to learn a thing or two from cats. Which brings me to my second point.

Secondly, cats did not domesticate themselves. I would argue that cats should not even be considered as a domesticated species. Horses, cows, chickens, and even dogs are domesticated animals. It is sheer foolishness to put felines in the same group with such creatures for reasons that should be obvious. But the real insult is that we would willing put ourselves in such company! According to the study, many thousands of years ago cats noticed that human settlements made excellent hunting grounds and so adapted themselves to living alongside humans. Given how messy humans are, it is no surprise that my forebears realized that this was too good of an opportunity to let pass. Certain physical adjustments were also likely necessary to hunt in an urban environment. Why large cats such as tigers and panthers are a wonder to behold and a testament too our species, they are a bit to big to hunt successfully in the tight places favored by rodents in man-made structures. This, however, does not constitute domestication but a well-planned, comprehensive strategy to take advantage of situation.

Quite frankly, if anyone has been domesticated it is the humans themselves. We have managed to create a partnership in which the humans provide us with food and shelter and in return we grace their homes with our presence. I enjoy hunting for my supper as much as the next cat, but when the weather is disagreeable I also enjoy watching the humans brave the elements to aquire my kibble while I sit warm and dry indoors. Perhaps the human scientists were also aware of this and their study is an attempt to obscure the true nature of the relationship and increase their own sense of worthiness.

*This link will take you to the New York Times' response to this study. My scientifically inclined readers will find a link the study itself there as well.

Long time, no see

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. I wanted to, but my person and TGWWGA didn't do anything interesting in, like, forever. Srsly! All my person did was sit at her desk and work. I did get to sleep on some of her students' essays which is exciting for me but probably not exciting for you all to read about. I'm not sure what TGWWGA did because I didn't really pay attention but it probably involved more of his dorky hobbies or something.

Anyway, since my person has finally gotten done with school, lots of stuff has been happening. Like her getting another job (with essays to sleep on!), her friend coming to visit, and everyone going sightseeing. I know, I know. They've been here for a year and they're finally exploring. *rolls eyes* At least you don't have to live with them.

There should be lots of updates with pictures and stuff soon. I think Spanky is even going to talk about news that's important to cats. Sounds pretty boring to me, but maybe if he tells you guys he won't tell me.

Joshua Tree

My feline companions and I originally wrote this article for publication in an online newsletter. The plan was to wait until it had been published there before posting it here as there is some overlap in the readership. Unfortunatly, the publication date of the article is now uncertain so we have decided to post it here.

Joshua Tree National Park

Spanky: As it is my understanding that our previous article about a national park was well received by our readers, my fellow felines and I have decided to write another installment.

Edmund: What did he say?

Dante: He said that people liked our article.

Edmund: They did?!? Yay! *frolics*

Spanky: Ahem. As I was saying, for this article we’ve decided to write about a park near our new home. I am, of course, referring to Joshua Tree National Park located in Southern California.

Edmund: Except there weren’t any trees there! Why is it called Joshua Tree National Park if there aren’t any trees?

Spanky: Excellent question, my young friend. Allow me to explain. The Joshua Tree is a giant member of the lily family more commonly known as a yucca. As you can see from the picture, it resembles a kind of spindly cactus. Mormon settlers named the tree after the prophet Joshua because its limbs seem to reach upward in prayer.

Edmund: So, not a tree?

Dante: Nope. More like a spiky plant thing.

Spanky: The park contains portions of two deserts—the Sonoran and the Mojave—as well as The Little San Bernardino Mountains.

Dante: Only humans would think it was a good idea to go walk around some place with no water and that’s covered with plants that grow their own weapons.

Spanky: As we’ve discussed before, such trips hold much educational value.

Dante: Right. Value.

Spanky: Moving on. The park also contains numerous rock outcroppings that appear to have been piled up by absent-minded giants.

Edmund: There are giants in Southern California?!

Spanky: No, my dear boy. I was speaking metaphorically.

Dante: He doesn’t know what a metaphor is.

Edmund: Is it cat food?

Spanky: No, it’s not cat food. It’s just a…. never mind what it is. There aren’t any giants in Southern California or anywhere else.

Edmund: Yay! *frolics*

Spanky: The rock formations were created by the weathering of large deposits of metamorphic rock, granite and gneiss (pronounced “nice”) to be precise. This process is still ongoing as water works it way into minute fractures in the outcroppings slowly eroding its surroundings.

Edmund: You’re sure they’re not giants’ toys?

Spanky: Completely certain.

Dante: If you are not crazy enough to want to go walk around in a desert, here is a link to the park’s website.

Spanky: How considerate of you, Dante.

Dante: Whatever.

Spanky: Humph! When I was a kitten, I was expected to thank people when they complimented me.

Edmund: Guys! She said she won’t let us do this again if you two fight!

Spanky: Very well, then. I hope everyone has enjoyed learning about Joshua Tree National Park. We look forward to presenting for you all again.

The Return of the Dorky King

I know I blog about my people's dorkiness a lot, but that's because they keep doing dorky stuff! This is a picture of Edmund with TGWWGA's World of Warcraft character as an action figure. Apparently my person's family bought this for him as a gift! Why?!?! Does he really need to be anymore dorky? *sighs* Anyway, he was ridiculously excited about it. It's kind of cool. I guess. In a totally-still-dorky way.

My person isn't any better. Remember how relieved I was when she dropped that speculative fiction class? Well, now she's gone and enrolled in an actual science-fiction class. This is not an improvement. Not only is she reading SF novels, she's reading what other people have written about SF and going to optional lectures at school about SF. I don't know which is worse: the SF part or the optional school part. This is worse when they stayed inside and watched Battlestar Galactica. It's like all of her dork hobbies are feeding off each other or something.

I think I'm going to go take a nice long nap. Maybe things will be better when I wake up.

I Am All Worn Out

Oh wow! It's been awhile since I posted We've been super-busy the last few weeks. First, Mommy had to finish her classes for the quarter. There were books and papers everywhere! My favorite thing to do is sleep on student essays. Mommy is trying to teach me to sleep on only the good essays to make her grading go faster. But if it goes faster, what will I sleep on?

While I was helping Mommy hold down her books, the Monster's dad came to visit us. Two monsters! At the same time! O.o I hid under the bed. The only time I got to eat any dinner was when they all went out. Lucky for me, they went to lots of different places. I think they told Spanky about what they did but I'm not sure because I was back underneath the bed. The Monster's Dad tried to get me to come out so he could scratch my ears, but I was too smart to fall for that. Sneaky Monster's Dad....

After the Monster's Dad left, I spent lots of time following Mommy around and frolicking. Then her new quarter started and another, more different Monster came to stay with us. Dante checked him out and said that the new Monster is thinking about coming to school here and needed a place to stay while he looked at Mommy's school. Since this was only a temporary Monster, I decided I should be brave and go investigate him. First, I stood in the doorway (so I could run away quickly). Then, I stood next to the door. Then, I ran back and stood in the doorway again. Then, I hid behind Mommy. Then I stood under the desk. I had almost reached the new Monster when I remembered that Monsters are tricky! So I ran and hid under the bed. But I was still a very brave kitty!

Also, we have ants. I think they're fun to watch but Mommy does seem to be having as much fun as me. :/