Pretty sure MK and Loki could convert the anticatted

I would be really surprised if I met a cat that converted me to the idea of ita having a pet cat. Great for all of you that love them, but so not my speed. I cannot imagine the idea of an animal I'd want living inside my house but outside a tank or cage.

Well, convert to "damned, they're endearing."

And then there is the reality beyond the cute: Loki with his toe nipping and blinds banging and shoving off and whining and MK with his face poking. And the barf and litterboxes and life dictated around a 12 hour shot schedule. So I get it. But borrowing them when they are being cute? You might soften, a little.

Well, convert to "damned, they're endearing."

Still really, really unlikely.

OK, so you shouldn't bunk at my place. Cause they'll inflict themselves on you.

I'm definitely a dog person who somehow has two cats. And I love them, but I think I've figured out I sort of just love *my* cats. Which I think is how S. feels about children vs. *our* children, actually.

Buzzfeed has great set of pictures of best protest signs from the Wisconsin demos. [link]

One of the people in those pictures (#28, I think?) was my neighbor across the street for many years . Rose is just the awesomest. She has to be in her 90s, maybe late 90s by now. She's been a dedicated progressive activist as long as I've known her (which is 30 years now) and such an inspiration. I was so excited to see her in that set.

So, for a variety of reasons (starting with googling "Jaycee Dugard" to make sure I was spelling her name correctly) I'm looking at Steven Stayner's Wikipedia entry.

And it's just the most horrible, shitty, complicated, messy story ever. It's like five L&O episodes mashed into one except none of the resolutions are satisfying.

To recap: Steven Stayner, third child of five, was kidnapped at age 7 and sexually abused until he was 14. At which point, his kidnapper, Charles Parnell, kidnaps a new young child, Timmy White as his new sexual victim. Steven, quite heroically, decides not to let Timmy suffer as he did. He escapes with Timmy turning themselves into the police.

Then it gets complicated.

First there's a miniseries titled "I Know My Name Is Steven" starring Parker Lewis (aka, Corin Nemec).

Then Steven's brother Cary commits kidnapping and murder in a fairly horrific case in Yosemite.

Then Steven himself, after marrying and having two children, dies tragically young in a motorcycle accident.

Then Tim White, who grew up, married and had kids and became a Sheriff in the Los Angeles County Sherrif's Department died of a pulmonary embolism at age 35.

I mean...that's a depressing and fucked up narrative.

But borrowing them when they are being cute?

Do they need food, cleaning up after, or attention? Also, are there bodily fluids or any sort of odour involved?

Pictures of cats can be very cute. Stories can be endearing. But I really like my distance.

Do you have a popper by any chance?

No, ma'am. I use a saucepan. I coat the bottom with a thin layer of high heat oil. I put in three kernels and apply high heat until they pop.

Then I add more popcorn and shake vigorously.

It all pops in a hurry.

I dump it into a bowl.

I put butter into the saucepan until it melts and pour it over the bowl of popcorn.

Then I pour half the popcorn back into the saucepan and salt both the popcorn in the pan and in the bowl.

Then I pour the saucepan popcorn back into the bowl and salt it some more.

Buttery and salty and popcorny. Ta da!