Should have put this up earlier, but Carl Zimmer (NYT science columnist and the author of lots, including most recently She Has Her Mother’s Laugh) will be talking TONIGHT about Money for Nothing (virtually) at the MIT Museum.
It starts and 7:30, and details can be found here.
We’ll jabber for half an hour or so, and then the floor will be open. Love to see any and all jackals there.
And for tolerating such relentless self promotion, please enjoy a bonus Tikka-and-Champ pic:
Open thread: talk books, cats, and everything else.
Big R
I want to be very clear: please tell both Tikka and Champ that I love them.
Tom Levenson
@Big R: Will do. ;-)
They’ll send their feline feelings back atcha.
misterpuff
Levenson! You magnificent bastard! I read your book!
OK not yet but both (Money For Nothing & Newton and the Counterfeiter) are on their way to me from Amazon.
Looking forward to both!
On the wrong coast to attend though.
Tom Levenson
@misterpuff: Hehe….
My thanks.
la caterina
The Squee, it hurts!
misterpuff
@Tom Levenson: The kittehs are awesome.
Champ is such a cutie.
khead
I just love that pic.
Sab
Champ will never have Tikka ‘s supercilious gravitas. Does Tikka even know he has gravitas?
trollhattan
Catlet: “And then I’m gonna and then I’m gonna and after that I’m gonna….”
Cat: “Why, this thing? Why?”
LuciaMia
Champ does look a little like Tikka’s wind-up toy.
TaMara (HFG)
Oh, kittehs, balm for the soul.
I’ve had a fucking awful day, so I think I’m going to pull my guitar off the wall, tune it and just strum my blues away…
Yutsano
@Sab:
Tikka would have to care enough about petty human emotions to even begin to care about such silly notions as “gravitas”. The intruder, however, is barely worthy of his détene. Yet we observe such a state of affairs is beginning to form
SiubhanDuinne
Love the kittehs. What a great picture!
I’ve registered for the event, Tom (via the Museum’s FB link). Looking forward to the discussion. Thanks for alerting us!
Tom Levenson
@trollhattan: ‘Bout right.
Sab
@Yutsano: So true. Good move on Tikka’s part. Champ might be large someday. Best idea is to train the youngster in respectful admiration. My younger cats have never outgrown their respect for the ( formerly) big guys.
schrodingers_cat
Tikka has awesome socks! Congratulations on your book.
zhena gogolia
Tikka and Champ are priceless. I predict this will be a new lease on life for Tikka. Cats like to be around other cats.
Sab
@schrodingers_cat: Champs socks are quite tiny.
mrmoshpotato
@TaMara (HFG): Have something for you boys… or The greatest and best song in the world
J R in WV
@Sab:
Champ is quite tiny, so far. Love kittens, been such a long time since we had kittens, now we’re too old to adopt little cats, will need to adopt mature cats.
Darn it!
So cute~!!~
Gvg
@Sab: My dog as a child was smaller than my cats when we brought him home. All his life, he stepped aside for cats to go first. He had a very yes ma’m attitude about the older lady cats. However he also was forever searching for younger cats that would PLAY with him. He loved my sisters kittens later. He scared quite a few random cats by running up to them to see if they would play. Then he would be sad when they ran away.
HumboldtBlue
I’m wearing my sexy outfit!
WaterGirl
I knew they would be buds! Champ is so adorable. What a little imp.
HumboldtBlue
@zhena gogolia:
Mine doesn’t
WaterGirl
@Sab:
Isn’t it obvious? Tikka knows all.
geg6
Tikka is just so regal. But that Champ, OMG! What cuteness. Those teeny tiny little socks just kill me.
cain
I think this might be the first time that you’ve put a post without a classic painting!
John Revolta
Mini-meow
J R in WV
@cain:
The classic painting is of Champ and Tikka — wassamatter you?
satby
Lovely tribute to RBG while showing how essential to protecting our rights SCOTUS is from the Biden team.
And son of a lifelong friend at :17 in the video (the clean-shaven guy).
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@J R in WV: I foster moms and kittens for our local Animal Shelter. Good way to get your kitten on without having to adopt. Right now I have a feral mom (not a fan of humans) and her 4 boys who turned 4 weeks old on Saturday. They’ve hit 16 ounces each, so time for their first set of shots. When they hit 2 pounds they should be big and developed enough for adoption. I’m working on weaning right now and letting them run around in a safe room, but everyone still loves Mama (and nursing) at least once a day.
ETA Tikka and Champ picture is great.
HumboldtBlue
Fuck yeah! I got my question answered!
Miss Bianca
@John Revolta:
love it!
pat
Can we have weekly photos to update the relationship between these two adorable critters?
Pretty please???
Tom Levenson
@pat: ;-)
Laura Too
That was really cool! Thanks for the heads up. Can’t say I begin to understand it all but I love being introduced to new things.
SiubhanDuinne
I really enjoyed that, Tom! (But of course I kept hoping Tikka and Champ would decide to come join you.)
When you were talking about the scientific and actuarial innovations of 1692, I kept thinking “All that brilliant intellect happening in England, and on this side of the pond we were burning witches.” I know that has nothing to do with anything, but I’m interested in looking at slices of timelines — one narrow period of time — what different (or similar) things were happening around the globe?
Anyhow, thanks for a stimulating conversation.
SiubhanDuinne
@HumboldtBlue:
Which one was yours? Historical speculation (what would the world be like if the South Sea Bubble hadn’t happened)?
HumboldtBlue
@SiubhanDuinne:
No, the process question.
In our defense it wasn’t like they were home grown, they were the same folks who burned witches in the old country.
Miss Bianca
@SiubhanDuinne: Hey, they were burning plenty of witches in England and Europe, too. That energy *came* from England.
@HumboldtBlue: Or, y’know, what you said.
Elizabelle
Champ is still alive, so there is that.
Haven’t read thread, but curious if program will be available afterwards, for those of us who missed it.
SiubhanDuinne
@HumboldtBlue:
@Miss Bianca:
Oh, of course I know there were witch hunts and executions in Europe for several centuries. But here, the fervor seemed to be pretty much confined to 1692-93. It was the singularity of the time period I was commenting on, not the phenomenon itself.
oatler.
Oh if I catch that boy I’m gonna put him in house of detention.
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
Yes, it’s available now on FB. Go to the MIT Museum page, scroll down to videos, and there it is. It says two hours, but really it’s only one — and that one hour goes by very quickly.
SiubhanDuinne
@oatler.:
What boy? I thought I saw “cat” but I might have imagined it. Feline or human, I hope he’s safe.
Torrey
Fascinating conversation with Zimmer! Thank you for the heads-up.
HumboldtBlue
@SiubhanDuinne:
It does. I just went back and watched the first 30 minutes. So much reference to things of interest.
The Fat White Duchess
@HumboldtBlue: No witches were burned in the US. (At least not via judicial process; there may have been “accidental” burnings in the household.)
Darn it, I missed the talk. Didn’t see this post until Friday morning. Is a recording available?
(Hi, I’m new-ish. Lurking for a while, posted once, and before that relied on my spouse, who’s been a jackal for a while, to give me the daily highlights.)