Web Log for 4.11.24 with a Found Cat

Cats 

This is not Pastel's new friend, in the picture. This is an adoptable shelter cat in Johnson City, Tennnessee, with a similar coat. Pastel's new friend is a small, fluffy, pale orange tomkitten with amber eyes. I Googled "male models with long orange hair" for a name that's not in use by any humans we know, and came up with Borowiec. I've been calling the little fellow Borowiec. He's not answered to that name yet. Pastel is not the brightest star that ever shone and might not demand intelligence in a mate, but Borowiec looks as if he knows he's been given a name and that's not it. Does anyone know who he is and where he's from? Does he have FIV? Has he ever had a rabies shot? Has he ever answered to a name? He is staying around, warily, when nobody's interested in sex, so he may be a social cat; if so he's undoubtedly been loved and missed. If he's strayed from a nearby house or farm, will someone please let me know.

The shelter cat photographed is currently being called Francisco, which is probably not his name, either. He's not been a pet for some time, but seems to be learning to like being one--probably a stray whose mother was a pet. His web page: https://www.petfinder.com/cat/francisco-64119418/tn/johnson-city/operation-johnson-kitty-tn904/. He's certified in good health, fully vaccinated, and neutered, and will cost just $50.

Libertarians 

This and more inside jokes: danieljmitchell.wordpress.com . There is a more complex, nuanced version of this meme, if you go there and click.

Music 

PJMedia needs to edit these things; is that not the site that aired the interview in which Oliver Anthony admitted that he's no mountain man and never claimed to be? Is this Georgia writer in doubt about the people in the flatter, hotter, Swamp corner of Virginia being able to sing, too? They have soul, they have talent, some of them can grow Duck-Dynasty-worthy beards, though how anybody puts up with one surplus inch of hair anywhere in a Swamp summer is more than I can imagine...they have a just noticeably different accent and style. Anyway, I appreciate the update on what Anthony's doing these days.

https://pjmedia.com/chris-queen/2024/04/09/mountain-men-oliver-anthony-and-my-dad

Phenology 

Salamanders are laying eggs in North Carolina. You tell me, Gentle Readers. Are salamanders cute? I think they are.

https://roadsendnaturalist.com/2024/02/15/egg-citing/ 

Now about the eclipse, Ysabetwordsmith (Elizabeth Barrette) documented something I did not know: During a total eclipse, even when the light looks dim and the sun shows as a hollow halo around the moon if you look at it through appropriate glasses, the sun is still bright enough that (like the moon) it reflects as a round bright blur in water. She went to Ohio to see this, and was rewarded with sunshine during the eclipse there, while we in Virginia merely noticed that the rain clouds looked a shade darker than usual.

https://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/6658843.html

Politics

Was this piece written by a MAGA type? Au contraire. Oh, people...we want the same things, and we don't want the same things, and we've allowed one trivial issue--how much we dislike Donald Trump, personally--to turn us against one another. 

https://pilgrimdreams.com/2024/04/08/state-of-fear/

Some people don't want to be told to go to church, and some don't want to be told to stay home. Some people don't want to be told to live on farms, and some don't want to be told to move into town. We all stand to benefit from recognizing how much these viewpoints have in common, instead of letting ourselves be told to fear those who are more concerned about a different manifestation of tyranny than we are.