For Some Reason I Have a Feeling You May Need a Cat Picture Today
Posted on April 6, 2009 Posted by John Scalzi 58 Comments
So here you go:
Lopsided Cat, apparently having a thought, which I suspect was “Wow, if that spot on the desk was clear, I could sleep on it.” I say I suspect it, because once I did indeed clear that spot, that’s exactly what he did. Hey, I didn’t say Lopsided Cat was a deep thinker. Just a very cat-like one.
It’s a kitty!
You know John, with the day I’m having, a cat picture is exactly what I needed. Cheers and thanks.
Taking any spot you may have cleared for your own use is indeed a very catlike action. I have more than once nearly sat on cats because I stood up briefly and the apparent vacuum this created on the couch was instantly filled by a cat. I suspect that they don’t think in terms of if a spot were available they could sleep in it; it seems more like “Hey! A space! I bet I can fit into it! And if not, who cares!”
Loppy! For some reason this picture makes me unreasonably happy.
Sometimes I think that our cats’ priorities may make more sense than our own.
Other times, that’s just obviously true.
Oh great, another friggin’ cat. Like I’m not already up to my ass in them here as it is – now they’ve got cats on the internet, when the hell did that happen?
What?
Interesting expression on the cat’s face. It sort of suggests “Uh, oh. He’s not going to tape bacon to me again is he?”.
That expression seems to me to be more like “huh. He’s getting disemboweled by rabid wolves. I guess I’ll have to find someone else to feed me”.
Well, Jim, first the internet was buried under a superabundance of cheese. The 3WC brought in mice to eat the cheese, then cats to eat the mice. Now they’ll undoubtedly have to bring in something to take care of the cats. Most likely they’ll draft those, um, … whadyacallems … MFA candidates.
Currently taking bets for the Jim Wright v. Chang Who Is Not Chang showdown.
I randomly stumbled upon Baconcat earlier today and laughed heartily. Now I come back over to Whatever and BAM! another kitty cat all up in my grill. This just made my day!
My cat took over the mouse pad as a nap spot. My choices were move the mouse or get hand slept on. I am pleased to see that your cat has the Jedi mind trick down. Mine is not so subtle.
Annalee@10: No way. Chang is like a giant of a man (seriously, the guy is like nine feet tall) who does yoga and stuff. You gotta figure any cat who has a guy like that as its servant is not a cat to be messed with.
Was there light coming through the window onto the spot that you cleared?
Yes, but Chang is not Chang who is not Chang.
Lopsided Cat is a handsome fellow. He excites all my ‘I want a kitty’ feelings. I’m sure his sleeping cat-body added appreciably to the comfort of your office once he captured the clean spot.
Can you schedule a Kodi picture for those of us who are members of the Kodi Appreciation Society in the somewhat near-ish future?
Member,
Kodi Appreciation Society
He doesn’t look all that lopsided in the picture.
Your kitty! It has fur!
Yes, but Chang is not Chang who is not Chang.
I had to read that three times.
Jeff @# 9: I thought Xerox PARC brought in the mice.
Yes, but Chang is not Chang who is not Chang.
Not surprisingly, I am confused.
What base is Chang on?
… ALL YOUR BASE! For the “obsolescent meme resurrection award”, of course.
A very nice photo of Lopsided Cat, who is a very handsome fuzzy kitty. Except that his expression seems to be “You have failed me for the last time” to me.
Kitty!
Yes, but Chang is not Chang who is not Chang.
you could keep that one up all afternoon.
Nice Kitty.
This photo brings out the Lopsided more than any of the others I’ve seen.
“Is that a mouse in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”
I find that “you WILL clear the space so I may sleep” focused stare very familiar… and all of the world (well John anyway) makes it happen. Would that all problems could be solved and sleep obtained, with such focus.
Thanks for sharing Lopsided Cat with us.
And Chang who is not Chang has yet to comment on behalf of the Ghlaghghee Adoration Society or something like that.
So if Chang is not Chang who is not Chang, then is Chang who is not Chang also masquerading as Ghlaghghee on Twitter and the occasional commenter on Whatever by the same name?
By the way, this is the most convoluted comment membership I’ve ever paid attention to. Of course, Whatever has the distinction, in my world, of being the only blog that I regularly click into from my LJ feed to read the comments.
DG Lewis@20: Check. Updating the Wikipedia entry now.
It’s like Rodin’s The Thinker. But as a cat.
It’s really quite simple:
Chang is not Chang who is not Chang. And Chang who is not Chang is not Chang. Chang who is Chang is not Chang who is not Chang.
Got it?
Well, Hugh, if we’re honest about it, we have to admit that we don’t know that Chang who is not Chang is not Chang. We only have his/their word for it. It’s possible that Chang is Chang who is not Chang. In which case he should be Chang who is Chang who is Chang, not Chang who is Chang who is not Chang, or Chang who is not Chang who is not Chang.
I prefer to take him/them at his/their word. It’s less confusing that way.
But! Perhaps Chang who is not Chang is a different Chang than the Chang who is not Chang who is not Chang, and therefore of course must be Chang.
It sounds like you have been well trained in doing what was necessary to make your cat’s lives more enjoyable.
What a gorgeous kitty.
Annalee @ 10
If they ……did…..fight. At some point, I’m sure, there would be a mighty ka-chang!
Yay! Kitty whose fur I don’t have to clean up!
Jim, behave or I’ll start uploading feline images to your site.
Chang Who Is Not Chang, who might possibly be Chang, still has not commented.
I wonder if Chang is white on one side and black on the other, and if Not Chang is black on one side and white on the other.
I know one of them has a beard.
Randomized Michelle@38, you don’t scare me, I know where you live. Don’t make me send you a box of kittens, because I will.
O Great Scalzi, what a superb picture of Mighty Lopsided Cat illuminated by the Universal Perfect Radiance of the Beauteous Ghlaghghee.
Congratulations – you have managed to create a well-composed and in-focus image of Mighty He. Finally the constructive criticisms of the long-suffering Executive Committee have borne fruit. Now all you have to do – and it’s such a tiny step, one we presume you can do easily – is to create a similar image of Magnificent She. Come on, pull up your big boy pants and have a go.
The Official Ghlaghghee Fan Club
PS – The low-brow and uncultured nature of the Whatever readership has rarely been better displayed. I am Chang, who is not Chang. How is this not perfectly clear? This other person some foolish commenters have confused me with is best referred to as Previous Chang.
Your threats are nothing to me Jim. Be nice or I’ll send your wife more cookies.
Randomized Michelle, no please don’t send more cookies, please. Anything but that! Especially not those double chocolate ones.
(I would run and hide, but there is a giant gray cat who looks remarkably similar to the subject of this post sitting in my lap at the moment.)
I am Ghlaghghee. As much as it might be suspected by many, I am not Chang or any variation thereof.
I am Ghlaghghee. I’m a cat. Meow.
So, Chang, who is not Chang, is actually not Previous Chang, but Chang, who is not Chang, is still Chang.
I’ve seen that expression on my Ariel’s face. Usually it’s aimed at the laptop taking up what Ariel knows is her rightful place in my lap.
And if her stare was any more baleful, any more focused, any more powerful, the laptop would probably spontaneously combust. Which would be unfortunate for – well, for Ariel as well as for me – since the Amazing Exploding Computer would render my lap unsittable-innable.
I wondered how long it would take for us to hear from Chang, who is not Chang. That being said,
The members of the Kodi Appreciation Society wish to have more photos of our beloved “Ant-eater thing.”
Indulge us, O Great Scalzi. Even with your big boy pants on.
So Chang is now Previous Chang per Chang who is not Chang and not Ghlaghghee either.
And the Kodi Appreciation Society wants a picture of “Ant-eater thing.”
All I want to know is Socks or no socks?
At the moment: No socks.
What about Chang who will be Chang?
John, thank you. I indeed needed that.
Robinon, #3: Yes. I think you’ve captured precisely the way cats think about spaces. Mine certainly seem to think that way, at least. *looks down, makes sure the landing zone is clear before sitting again*
No one can possibly get a good idea of what the Whatever is like by merely reading a book containing a collection of the entries. One must also read the comment threads.
My cats don’t like clear spots – they actually prefer me to put down a book, school assignment, bills, freshly folded clothes, etc for them to lay on(and shed some fur)
Not a deep thinker? The philosophy of where and when to sleep is at the very heart of the cat soul.
Excellent picture! Caption:
Adorable, well-mannered … and completely focused.
Captain Button @51: The Chang who will be Chang – and the Chang who will be not-Chang – are within each of us. The more we seek them, the further afield we stray.
Haha, I don’t comment much, so I haven’t had the timestamp -on appended to my name before. I wonder if that could become a grammatical marker.
Jeff O @ 54, mine do that too, at least with books, magazines, and clothes. Mainly when they’ve been placed on the bed, which you would think would be much more comfortable sans book. But as soon as I put down a book on it, a cat wanders up and sits down, and if I’m doing a puzzle in a magazine while in bed that’s where the cat(s) wants to be. Maybe they just want me to write on them.
Mmm… every day is a good day for a cat picture.