5 Interesting Links for 12-18-2015

Acceptance (Interesting People)

This is the story of one grandmother who understood all too well the dangers of being openly gay and yet who accepted her grandson with such force she brought acceptance to those around her. It’s poignant and yet pointed. Worth reading. (Via @SelwynKapit )
http://www.latimes.com/nation/great-reads/la-na-c1-ff-santa-fe-dressmaker-20150703-story.html#page=1

English (Language)

Excerpts from an illustrated comparison of words in British and American English provided by the U.S. State Department. (Via Facebook)
http://www.earthables.com/differences-between-british-and-american-english-1487206421.html

Cats (Life)

I recently got into a conversation with someone where I was scorned for my opposition to playing biting and pouncing-on-feet-under-covers games with kittens because those same games become behavior issues in adults. While I recognize they don’t always become a problem, how are you to know until it’s too late? I see these behaviors too often in cats abandoned at shelters not to be leery. Regardless, this article about another “fun” game humans play on (not with) their cats points out the problems with these choices and links to some good games to play with our furry friends. (Via www.livescience.com)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151117-cats-cucumbers-videos-behavior/

Ceratops (Paleontology)

A new species related to triceratops but from earlier offers insight into dinosaur diversity.
http://www.livescience.com/53039-new-jurassic-horned-dinosaur.html

Pep Talk (Writing)

As part of the National Novel Writing Month, the organizers ask working writers for pep talks. This one by Neil Gaiman has some lovely imagery and speaks a common the truth. Where your moment of doubt comes might not be in the same place, but there usually is one.
http://nanowrimo.org/pep-talks/neil-gaiman

An Innocent Secret Sharable

This entry was posted in Interesting Links, Interesting People, Kids and Cats, Language, Science, Writing. Bookmark the permalink.

5 Responses to 5 Interesting Links for 12-18-2015

  1. sprinkink says:

    Your comment about people playing games that can encourage behavior problems is one of the reasons I’m wary about adopting older cats. Cats are difficult to retrain. It’s easier to get them when they’re babies and teach them not to bite your hands, chase the toy not the feet, stay off the kitchen counters, etc.

    One of my pet peeves about humans and pets is that often the people adopting pets have all these ideas in their head about their soon to be acquired pets. When the pet turns out to be different, they get rid of or alter the pet rather than enjoying the animal for what it is. To illustrate my point, New York has legislation pending that I wish all states would adopt. They want to make it illegal to declaw cats. I think if people care that much about keeping their furniture perfect, cats aren’t the best choice of pet for them. But rather than choose a pet that suits them better or make sure the cat has appropriate alternatives, training them to use the alternative, they alter their pet. A friend once told me it was no big deal because the cat was indoor only. Keeping the cat indoors doesn’t change its nature. She’d trained her cat to walk on a leash, so she took it outside for walks. I think she should have had a dog.

    I feel equally strong about surgeries, etc. people do to make their pedigreed pets conform to stupid rules made up eons ago so they can win prizes in pet shows. To me, that’s even worse because you’re using an animal for your financial gain. And some of the things people do are totally cruel. Lopping off ears or tails. Breeding an animal so it looks a certain way, even if that destroys the animal’s overall health and longevity. Not only that, they get rid of animals that aren’t “perfect enough” to win.

    Can you tell you hit a nerve? But we’re looking forward to acquiring a couple of kitties once we have our house more kitty-proofed and ready for animals. It was funny how that came about, actually. Paul had said he never wanted pets again. Never say never. As we were house hunting, he started talking about getting cats again. YAY! I always wanted to get kitties if we ever had a stable home. We paid cash for this one so we’re not going anywhere. When we were trying to decide on whether to buy the house, he said he’d been trying to decide where to put the litter box. I admitted to wondering the same thing. Corner of the laundry room. 😉

    • Margaret McGaffey Fisk says:

      I wouldn’t have posted the link if it hadn’t hit a nerve for me. I have adopted many cats who come with clearly training issues, and I’ve “trained” those humans in my life about the consequences of such games with cats of any age. It’s hard to envision the results when you’re dealing with a tiny kitten, but when that cat grows into a 15-20 pound monster, you might not appreciate it smothering you in the night, for example.

      Glad you’re finally in a space to have cats. I went years without them when in school, but I’m happier with.

  2. sprinkink says:

    BTW-in case you didn’t know, SprinkInk is Linda Sprinkle. It used my WordPress account to post this time. 🙂

Share Your Thoughts

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.