Helveticat!

Happy April Fool's Day!

Now for something silly and adorable, and in the vein of my previous post about typography...

HELVETICAT!

http://www.swiss-miss.com/2013/04/helveticat.html

It's possibly the cutest typeface I've ever encountered. (I mean, cats!) It doesn't appear to be available for download, unfortunately. (I would be willing to pay for that. I would! My friends would get annoyed with me pretty quickly, but it would be worth it for the sheer joy of sending entire e-mails full of cat cartoons.)

A Day in the Life of a Squirrel: a Photoshoot

Another interesting piece on animals! This time, it's squirrels:

http://www.incrediblethings.com/pets/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-squirrel/

I'm amazed that the photographer managed to get the squirrels into human-like positions, especially since none of the squirrels appear to be specially trained. It's all a matter of clever set and nut placement, apparently! I never would have guessed that squirrels' faces, with their limited range of motion, could be so oddly expressive.

I'm reminded of the Redwall series, which I read religiously as a kid. (I still own every book in that series.) There were essentially two or three plotlines in the entire series, rehashed over and over with different lovable woodland critters, different riddles, and slight changes in scenery -- but as a child, I didn't really notice, and I devoured them all the same. The photo series calls to mind the cover art on those books, which all featured rodents and other small mammals in human-like poses, wearing clothes and brandishing weapons. One wonders if the art department ever considered using photographed rather than illustrated covers -- would they have looked too silly?

The New Yorker: Russia's Museum Cats

These curators of St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum have the right idea. Perhaps this is the wishful thinking of a person without a pet, but I would love to work in an office full of cats...

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/russias-museum-cats

Much as dogs were humanity's first security system, cats were our original pest control. In an environment full of delicate artwork, where thousands of visitors circulate every day (including, I'm sure, many children), it makes sense that instead of rat poison and traps, the museum staff are resorting to this age-old solution to rodent problems. And, of course, they're providing a loving and safe home to a veritable squadron of cats, many of whom previously lived in less-than-healthful circumstances in the museum's heating system.

The article doesn't mention that these cats (their predecessors, really) were first brought to the museum, which was then a palace, by decree of the Russian empress Elizabeth. They were specially imported from Kazan, a city whose cats were reputed to be the best mousers in Russia. These cats lived in the palace for many years, until the feline population was virtually decimated during World War II. About twenty years ago, a program was begun to care for the animals, and in recent years, in addition to maintaining its existing cats, the museum has even begun to adopt cats in need of a home.

The museum director is noted to have said that "they are the spirit of the place. The museum’s genius loci.” It's a curious but apt comparison; genii loci were ancient Roman guardians of specific locations (usually homes), whose goodwill was usually secured through piety and sacrificial offerings. These cats seem to have become such a part of the fabric of the museum that without them, the Hermitage Museum would be a different, less feeling place. But as long as they continue to be loved by staff and visitors as they are, the cats appear quite content to stay in their unusual abode.

Confused Cats Against Feminism, a Tumblr

I found this gem of a Tumblr some weeks ago, and am compelled to share it here:

http://confusedcatsagainstfeminism.tumblr.com/

I love adorable kitten pictures as much as the next person, but it's always more satisfying when the cuteness packs a more substantial message. And substantial messages can come in small, witty, and terrifyingly adorable packages!

Satire can be one of the most potent forms of protest and political speech. It calls attention to the absurdities of the opposing side in a manner that, unlike serious and straightforward activism, doesn't trigger immediate backlash. Rather, by provoking laughter, satire disarms.

So enjoy these cats, and while you're laughing at their grammatical and logical inadequacies, consider that an alarming number of people really do hold similarly illogical beliefs about women and feminism. Perhaps, with time, persistence, and a large enough army of kittens, we can persuade them that women deserve the same rights and protections as men currently enjoy.

A Mop Dog Bouncing Gloriously on the Beach

Summer is almost upon us, and I can't wait to head to the beach. But meanwhile, here is a creature who is even more excited about the beach than I am:

It's technically called a Komondor, but "mop dog" is much more descriptive...

That is all.

A Turkey-less Asian Thanksgiving

I read in the news that the President pardoned a pair of turkeys who would otherwise have landed on the White House dinner table tonight. Well, in an Asian household, we don't really eat turkey to begin with (my mom doesn't like the taste, and neither do all the other Chinese moms). Instead, this is what our Thanksgiving feast looked like:

Hotpot! It was delicious. Here's a picture of the pot itself:

The things floating in the soup are fishballs (the white ones), meatballs (the brown ones) and tofu cubes. The submerged orange things are pumpkin cubes.

I never quite appreciated being home for the holidays until I found myself eating dining hall turkey in college over Thanksgiving. It wasn't too bad, especially since I had friends whose folks lived too far away for them to celebrate Thanksgiving at home, but there's nothing quite like being home with the family. And having tasty hotpot.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Written Kitten!

This one's for the intersection of "people doing NaNoWriMo" and "people who like kitten pictures." (Then again, who doesn't like kitten pictures?)

There's a website that I've started using this month which rewards you for meeting your writing quotas with pictures of kittens:

http://writtenkitten.net

I've started thinking of my daily wordcount numbers in terms of kittens -- i.e. if I set it for one kitten picture every 200 words, then 1600 words translates to eight kittens. It's actually quite helpful!

You can also set it to show you pictures of things other than kittens. For example, puppies:

http://writtenkitten.net/?search=puppy

That is all. Happy writing!

Knights vs. Snail in Medieval England

A whimsical curiosity from the British Library's medieval manuscripts blog (the librarians post some fascinating stuff -- the rest of the blog is definitely worth a peek too):

http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2013/09/knight-v-snail.html

The motif of knights fighting giant snails is apparently quite common in medieval illuminated manuscripts, though nobody knows why, or what it was supposed to have signified. (There's even snail jousting! And monkeys!) Was it all just marginalia? Bored monks -- who were only human, after all -- having a bit of fun with their transcription? Did snails moonlight as agents of Satan when not making nuisances of themselves in the monastery vegetable patches? Even among the eminent scholars at the British Library, nobody knows.

While the world of medieval archivists puzzles over this mystery, the rest of us get some Easter eggs in our manuscripts. Happy Monday, everyone!

A Journal of the University Years

Here is a slightly fictionalized account of my evolution as an English major, illustrated entirely using armadillos:

The dark days of pre-med... ("Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore!'")

Upon overhearing my former classmates:

"And how much reading do you have?" (See, I remember exactly how much chemistry homework I used to get.) 

Or, in my case...
Everyone else: working on group projects in Gates (Stanford computer science building) until 2am
Me: holed up alone in dorm room, on the floor, open books spread out in concentric circles around me, writing papers

I look back at my blogging history from last year and cringe at the truth this armadillo speaks.

And then...

3am? That's cute. It was more along the lines of: peers blearily at the mess of paper (no longer neatly arranged in concentric circles), peers blearily at the small army of tea-stained mugs invading said papers, wades through the detritus of the all-nighter to find a printer as the first rays of sunlight illuminate the room.

But wait! Right before I hand it in...

Cue a second mad dash for the dorm printer, followed by a mad dash to my professor's office (possibly still in my pyjamas).

P.S. -- Don't deny that you laughed at the post title.

English Major Armadillo, or, Memes I Wish Would Catch On

I started reading this tumblr recently...

http://fyeahenglishmajorarmadillo.tumblr.com

I am so very amused. Now, should the question arise, I can tell non-bibliophiles that I am an armadillo (not this kind of armadillo, mind you). If not a separate species, certainly we're a tribe unto ourselves, at least on the internet(s). Exhibit A: Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog.

Someone please make one for history majors. How about History Major Kangaroo? Or History Major Hippopotamus (which has a nice alliterative ring to it)? (If there already is one, please do send it my way! One can never have too many nerdy web-humor sites bookmarked.)

Edit: There is one! It's called History Major Heraldic Beast, which is much cleverer than either kangaroo or hippopotamus.

Birds on Wires Make Unintentional Music

When artists talk about getting inspiration from nature, they usually don't mean it quite so literally...


Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Now, if only you could get the birds to sing this. That would be quite a feat.

If I Used Twitter

tonight's update would be:

My sister just said, "I am a compromising cow." Surprisingly, it made complete sense in context.

Bovine Compasses?

I was reading this what-if on xkcd yesterday, which, in the context of photosynthetic cows, noted that cattle have a natural tendency to align themselves north-south. Apparently there's even been research on the subject: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2008/08/22/0803650105.

Short of photosynthetic cows -- or even cows equipped with solar panels, as xkcd suggests -- I wonder what sorts of applications this bovine property might have. A cow would make a particularly large, unwieldy, and recalcitrant compass (and presumably you'd never know if it was actually facing north-south, or whether there was simply something tasty/interesting in the general direction of its head). A herd of cows, though -- that might be promising. Perhaps a cowboy, if stranded during a solar eclipse (or just a really cloudy day), could use his herd of cows to determine the direction in which they ought to be heading?

More Cute Pandas!

You thought you had already seen the cutest pandas ever, don't you? But you haven't seen this:

http://boingboing.net/2011/09/28/baby-pandas-need-a-nap-photo.html

Considering they're a severely endangered species, I certainly didn't expect to see so many in one place. As the comments suggest, there's a near-universal desire to climb in there with them and cuddle them.

From China (or Just Home), With Love

This is what my bed looks like this week:

You wouldn't be able to tell from the picture, but the bears, chicks, and leaves are actually embroidered felt patches. It's like I'm sleeping in a cocoon made of children's television shows and Sanrio-filled dreams. (I'm guessing that my mother bought the bedcovers/pillowcase in China.) Adorable, but makes me feel like I'm five again.

Escaping Baby Pandas!

Something cute and fluffy (literally!) to cheer you up after the hurricane:

Aren't they adorable?

io9: Blowfish-Man Film

This is somewhat disturbing, and so quintessentially Japanese:
http://io9.com/5914061/watch-a-man-turn-into-a-blowfish-in-one-horrifying-short?tag=trailer-frenzy

I'll admit, I watched that trailer about five times, with what I'm sure was an expression of horrified fascination on my face. The CGI is really something; it's in that zone between extremely realistic and "you know it's impossible even though your eyes tell you otherwise." It evokes the sort of feeling that Neil Gaiman's or China Miéville's writing does; the milieu is rather Lovecraftian.

Firefox and Windows Don't Mix

Courtesy of Brett:

I was amused.

io9: Why Are Monkeys' Faces All So Bizarrely Different?

Just a fun science-y piece I found:
http://io9.com/5875354/why-are-monkeys-faces-all-so-bizarrely-different?tag=biology

It makes me wonder about people who are ostentatious with regard to personal ornamentation (especially facial ornamentation). Are heavily bearded men less expressive? For that matter, is it possible that women's supposedly superior communication skills have something to do with our lack of facial hair? (Is this why Santa Claus's interpersonal communication is largely relegated to the iconic "Ho ho ho"?)

Also, that monkey's face is priceless. :)

High-Tech Cat Rescues

Just something funny I found on HistoricLol:

I wonder what the dog thinks?