So far, Charlie Sheen's meltdown is more entertaining than Mel Gibson's but less entertaining than Britney Spears's. Probably based on how scary each is.
I have to share one of life's little victories from yesterday. At the shelter where we volunteeer, I've been working to re-socialize a tabby named Franklin (scroll down for his write-up). Franklin had to have several eye surgeries to correct an eyelid problem, and his vision appears to have been affected. The other cats started picking him, and he developed a very bad case of fear-aggression. When we started volunteering, he spent all his time on top of a cat tower in the far corner of the senior (quiet) room, and he'd become hostile whenever anyone went near him.
I've been working with Franklin for several months with some success. He stopped attacking anyone who came near him, and he hissed less. Yesterday, he spent the afternoon on a different cat tower in the middle of the room. I went over and, as usual, placed my hand on the tower in front of him. After a bit, his chin started dropping. He then put his paw over my fingers and rested his chin on that paw. A few minutes later, he started sniffing the sleeve of my shirt. By the end of the day, he even let me skritch that paw a little. Very gentle and very brief, but he even let me initiate contact!
I thought there was a very sweet, loving cat under that hostile facade. Looks like I may be right.