The Whatever Digest, 9/26/18
Posted on September 26, 2018 Posted by John Scalzi 31 Comments
My Internet is still mostly down, and I went through all of yesterday not knowing what was going on in the world. It was refreshing! Of course, some things still made it through. I understand our President was laughed at, at the UN. That’s all I got. Maybe I’ll skip today’s news too.
***
I mentioned yesterday that one of the things I did in NYC was meet up with a Twitter pal, and was delighted they were lovely in real life. Now the Twitter pal has tweeted about it, so I suppose I can say who it was:
You may have heard of her. She’s written a few books.
And as I noted previously, she’s pretty great. We had a very good conversation about topics of mutual interest and otherwise just hung about and enjoyed each other’s company. We’ve known each other online for a couple of years so it was nice to close the loop and have a moment to say hello in the offline world, and discover we like each other out here, too.
You may have noticed that I said nothing about it, other than a vague comment about meeting a Twitter pal, up until this moment. That’s because while it’s no big deal when I tell people where I am and what I’m doing, it’s different with people who have literally created a substantial portion of the popular culture of the entire planet. A little discretion was in order. It’s a reminder that I don’t talk about everything here. I just give the appearance of doing so.
In any event, a fine time.
***
Someone knocked over a vase on the kitchen table yesterday, and while we can’t say with 100% certainty who it was, we did get a partial photo ID:
Yes, that’s Smudge, the adorable little jerk. He also, and don’t ask how, knocked a bit of plaster off the ceiling. Basically, he’s a troublemaker. I’ve got my eye on him. The problem is I have other things to do, too. And he knows when you’re not watching.
***
And that’s all I have because I haven’t checked the news and also because life here in Bradford, Ohio is kind of delightfully boring at the moment? And the big highlight of my yesterday was lying on the couch watching movies while a cat slept, purring, on my chest? That’s okay, yes?
I’m wondering if we parents will ever purchase “sharp edged furniture” again after rounding all our corners for so long.
Limiting exposure to the Daily Barrage of political nonsense and oversensationalism on the ‘net is a great way to recenter your life and begin to think clearly again. I spend an hour or two every morning reading credible objective news reportage to find out what’s happening in the world, avoid anything that speaks directly from the filth in our government, and get weather reports from the US Weather Service. I credit this habit with preserving my blood pressure and keeping my mental faculties objective and not emotionally obsessed. It also lets me think and see when I’m out riding my bicycle and making my photographs, people seem friendlier, and I laugh more than I whine. :D
Uh…. plaster off the ceiling? Is your cat levitating?
Lying on the couch watching movies sounds like a great time.
But I’ll take my dog, thanks. Less sharp claws and teeth.
Clear attempt at framing Smudge.
Plaster off your ceiling? Let me guess, those cool “cat shelves” finally showed their downside?
That’s kind of awesome. Was she as cool as we all think?
Meeting Rowling: Awesome. I recently started the Comoran Strike series, unaware that she wrote it (yeah, yeah, let’s just say my internet has been spotty for the last . . .decade . . .) Good stuff.
Which movie did the cat sleep through? And is that a statement on the quality of the movie or the exhaustion of the cat, unfairly charged with destruction, based only on circumstantial evidence?
Smudge damaged the *ceiling*? That is Grade-A cat mischief.
I admire Ms. Rowling for doing some good things with her (well-deserved) wealth.
Omg you met JK Rowling. What a cool thing to happen! I’m all aflutter for you! I’m not surprised by Smudge’s antics. Flowers… in a vase… on a table unattended? It was like you were ASKING for him to knock them over? He was only doing what you asked! Lol.
Very, very cool. And you look very neat and cleaned up yourself.
Limited to phone internet today. Internet is out at home. They will be by at 5 to fix. Phone internet don’t work well at home due to metal roof. What to do. What to do
Very Cool
The political scene is almost all smoke and mirrors, anyway. The big stuff happens behind closed doors, just like any other kind of criminal acts.
Congrats for meeting Ms. Rowling, that is awesome, even more that she too seemed pleased by it.
Smudge: “What? It wasn’t me! I was just in the neighborhood, that’s all!”
Let me guess. Smudge was licking spilled vase water off the floor, because of course that’s infinitely superior to whatever’s in the designated cat water bowls.
I agree, that is a clear attempt to frame Smudge.
As someone who is pretty hard into Harry Potter *and* has been indulding your audiobooks lately: I’m not sure who of you both I envy more!
In case you hadn’t heard, lilies are extremely toxic to cats (see https://www.petmd.com/cat/emergency/poisoning-toxicity/e_ct_lily_poisoning). If any of your cats is prone to eating plants, you’ll probably want to choose floral arrangements that don’t include lilies in the future.
Oh, Smudge! My cats while kittens loved flowers in vases as something to knock over onto the wooden tables. Now they just sleep (they’re 15 and ancient in cat years).
Speaking of Rowling and the “glittering prizes” I recall her episode of “Who Do You Think You Are?” where she was much more impressed that her grandfather had received the Croix de Guerre in the Great War than her own French Legion of Honor.
Showed the picture to daugther saying “See who Scalzi met up with in New York!” (daugther’s a big fan of JK).
The reply was “Who’s Scalzi?”
(ok… I continued with “The guy who wrote ‘Old man’s war'” (which she’s read), and she replied “Ah, ok!”)
It’s just now occurring to me for the first time that “Smudge” would be an excellent name for a creature in the Harry Potter universe.
That is all.
Reason #4,827 this is one of the only websites where I still read the comments: more people are commenting about Smudge than about JK Rowling. (Upon reflection, I think those two photos may encapsulate the yin and yang of your life better than any other pair of pictures possibly could.)
So, should we keep an eye out for 2020’s “Old Man’s Hogwarts”?
Then again, there aren’t any wet paw prints seen in the picture. So it could be that Smudge is actually keeping an eagle eye on the real non-Smudge culprit.
Meanwhile, still haven’t gotten the dust off the bottom of my jaw. It dropped onto the floor after your mention of coffee with JK Rowling.
Steve Halter and Jazzlet are right! This is yet another example of speciesism! Anything goes wrong, blame the nearest cat. The vase clearly knocked itself over.
That Rowling person looks and sounds familiar. No doubt she was thrilled to meet you.
My cat NEVER knocks anything over. However, we do have a lot of extremely localized earthquakes.
“Adorable little jerk.” “Troublemaker.”
Yup, Smudge is living up to his name. Says the staffperson for Smudgely McDammitcat.
Lying on the couch watching movies while a cat sleeps, purring, on one’s chest is a perfect state of bliss and a worthy way to live. I miss my kitties…
Sleeping in front of the TV sounds as nice as hanging with JK Rowling, no offence to JK