I have lived with several Zen masters, all of them cats.
Well, actually I've never lived with a cat, but I couldn't help but think of that quotation by Eckhart Tolle when I read this NYT story about all the online shrines to cats (versus those to dogs), including cat blogging. One hypothesis: "Maybe the difference is that dogs are public, everyone's business. They go on subways and they go in parks. They are always caught in flagrante defecato. Cats stay home. They are private, nobody's business. To watch them in their homes is a privilege. They are perfect for the Web, the medium of voyeurs." A corollary: "Those cats [in The Infinite Cat Project] are like so many bloggers sitting at home staring into their computer screens and watching other bloggers blog other bloggers. Cats, who live indoors and love to prowl, are the soul of the blogosphere. Dogs would never blog." Looks like the NYT is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to stories about blogging.
- Clancy's blog
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dogs do too blog
http://samugliestdog.typepad.com/blog/
as do hedgehogs
http://hedgieblog.blogspot.com/
Cats for you?
So when are you going to adopt a cat, Clancy? :-)
By the way -- speaking of stories on blogging -- have you seen these links? (via MeFi.)
MikeThese too
From CourtTV.com: Suspected kidnapper in Idaho kept blog detailing 'demons' That's from today.
Remember this one from a while back? Victim's E-journal led to slay suspect. Simon Ng and his sister were murdered, and the most recent entry on his Xanga identified the killer. So sad.
never lived with a cat?
I was shocked (shocked!) to learn, given the name of your blog, that you've never lived with a cat! It's easy to find a cat to adopt, you know: www.petfinder.com. And summer is the best time: it's kitten season, and the shelters are overflowing.
links & cats
I guess I should've figured you'd be way out in front of everybody else when it comes to blog-related linkage. You know, if you manage to get MLA interviewers who know your topic, you're gonna come across as, like, telepathic or omniscient or something; knowing what they know before they know it.
And Donna's right -- what better time of year to help those shelters out and adopt a pair of kittens?
Mike
About those cats...
If I ever were to get a cat, it would of course be from a rescue place like the ones you guys linked. Right now, though, it's just not in my budget. My apartment complex charges $30/month pet rent, then I'd have to buy food and litter. Plus, in Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day, Joan Bolker advises against getting a pet or moving to a new place (or making any other big changes) while working on a dissertation, so I'm thinking of that as well.
mostly teasing
I figure you know I was mostly just doing a little teasing about the cat thing. To add to the blog sources -- I was driving around this afternoon and flipping radio stations and heard this story on Talk of the Nation that I thought might be of interest. But I bet your time-traveling blog-related RSS-from-the-future feed picked it up, like, three days ago. ;-)
Mike
Me too
Because Joan Bolker is right: don't add stress to your life. While cats are good for bringing blood pressure down, they do represent a change and responsibility.
I just was surprised. I always assumed you had a cat or two. That's what I get for assuming.