I love this guy so much. We had our nightly chill session where he sits with his butt on the arm of the chair and his paws on my chest and I pet him and tell him how amazing he is and he purrs in my ear and shoots me a look that says “You know it, bitch.” Then I decided I would share with you. Here he is posing for you:
Then he really turned up the glam and gave us a profile shot:
That magnificent motherfucker.
MoeLarryAndJesus
Looks like a bull mastiff wearing a cat mask.
Celebrity Bowling
You give them a name and they own you.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
Í don’t know what I’d do without pets. I don’t know how people can live without them. Smedley is a daily joy to have around. He found three baby bats outside in the back yard this evening. He was out there barking at them. I freaked out, since I didn’t think they were in a nest on the ground, but I found a bat rescue society near Harrisonburg, and they had a volunteer who lives only about five miles away, so I took the bats over there this evening. She said they’re red bats, and most likely, they fell off the mother while she was flying, and she couldn’t find them again. She said they’ll overwinter with her, and when they’re big enough to make it on their own next year, they’ll let them go.
gammyjill
Was it George Patton who called someone a “magnificent bastard”? I’ve always liked that phrase and will apply it to Steve, that magnificent bastard.
rikyrah
Steve IS beautiful.
He still scared me.
That second picture should go in the BJ Calendar?
MobiusKlein
My katten Grendel was dedicated to falling asleep in my lap, her head nestled in my palm.
Hard to keep it up, and take a pic too.
Yet I persevered.
M4
And he still manages to look fabulous even with that haircut.
ruemara
He is definitely a cat of substance.
Yutsano
Proper authoritahs shall be alerted.
frosty
If I liked cats, and if cats didn’t make me sneeze, well Steve would certainly do.
Origuy
ICYMI, John Scalzi’s memories of Harlan Ellison
SectionH
OMG I love Steve. I mean I “love” Larry the Cat (#10 Downing cat) and I really love Maru, but your critters are just the best, except for mine of course. Or maybe I should just say, lots of us have great critters, but you show us yours so well, and that’s a bond a lot of us have.
Mary G
My cat Chenielle is on my hip and my cat Shiloh pressed up against my back as I lie in bed. They do it year round, though it’s hot as hell in summer.
SectionH
@Origuy: TY, I hadn’t seen it. I’ve been mostly giafiated for a few years now. Sigh. That was a pretty fucking great thing Scalzi wrote.
OK, story that was told around MWC fandom (and I think East Coast too) fandom for decades. Harlan at a con, gets in elevator with fans including attractive young woman. He eyes her, then says, “What would you say to a little fuck tonight?” She looks back at him and says, “Hello, little fuck.”
A good friend of ours was a housemate of Harlan’s in the 50’s – no really. He never mentioned a complaint about actual day to day life, but said that Harlan did srsly outrageous stupid stunts at early cons, and said the stories from early Midwestcons were all true enough.
Otoh, the man could write. And in spite of his open lechery, or pretending to be Isaac, he was the man who lived in a tent during Iggy because although he was a major GoH at Iggy in 1978, AZ had just refused to pass the ERA, and he was backing a boycott of AZ. He wouldn’t let the comcom down because he’d already accepted, but he wasn’t gonna spend money in AZ either. I wasn’t there (Mr S was) but I gather it wasn’t exactly cool weather during the convention.
RIP doesn’t fit. He wrote some brilliant stuff.
sfinny
I love this post. Steve is absolutely majestic. My guest cat for the last two months may be going home soon, and I must admit that I may be looking for a Maine Coon adoption thereafter.
SectionH
@SectionH: fuck edit timeouts. This needs saying: Harlan wrote things that resonate. That’s what’s important, not my fannish gossip.
Mnemosyne
@SectionH:
He was a mentor and good friend to Octavia Butler and encouraged her on the difficult path of being an African-American woman writing in the white boys’ club of science fiction.
He also publicly groped his co-presenter during an awards show in 2006.
To say that Ellison contained multitudes and contradictions seems to understate it by at least half.
For those who haven’t see the documentary about him, Dreams With Sharp Teeth, it’s pretty interesting, and not at all a whitewash of how difficult and assholish he could be.
catbirdman
Thirty years back I had a cat named “Steve.” There were three red stickers on his manila folder at the vet’s. Steve was bestowed upon me by my friend, Chad, who was moving and couldn’t keep him. When I took him to the vet’s, I noticed the three red stickers, and they said that was for the absolute meanest pets, for which all precautions were taken. When they went to give him his shot, a vet and two assistants were present. They carefully wrapped him in a blanket and then the vet went in for the shot. I stood back. In the blink of an eye, all three were staggering toward the walls. He had literally cut all of them in a frenzy too quick to really take in. All I remember is the three of them reeling. It was like a Tarantino movie, but edited. It was glorious. I’m glad to see your Steve’s hair growing back. He is truly magnificent, and I’m glad you have each other.
M4
The Onion with a laugh: ‘Politics Was Never This Toxic In The 2010s,’ Says Future American While Watching Candidates Battle In 2048 Debate Pits
politics.theonion.com/%5Bobject%20Object%5D
Aleta
-NYT
M4
@Aleta: one should never be surprised when a republican puts party before country.
SectionH
@Mnemosyne: I’ll definitely look that video up.
I know Connie – the Hugo winner who got groped by Harlan – well enough to call her that, and if you haven’t read her, give it a try, I think she’s excellent, but though I wasn’t at the Hugo’s – we were doing the merchandising whatever year it was (I thought it was 2008) it was apparently so egregious, and no it wasn’t in the wings, it was on the fucking stage. Srsly. Dozens of my friends who’d been there were steaming angry. Mostly women, but plenty of men too.
I tend to the “read the story” thing, but it’s admittedly hard sometimes. (Also too, I sent AL email to forward re your wardrobe picks for your RWA conference.)
Brachiator
Just saw the news about the passing of Harlan Ellison. I loved his work, especially his writing for television.
His “Demon With A Glass Hand,” an episode of The Outer Limits, wonderfully combines action, suspense and lyricism.
He was one of the masters who guided me through the wonders of science fiction and literature.
SectionH
@Mnemosyne: Can’t edit above post, but Harlan was always outrageous in that stupid adolescent show off male way. But I’m not making up his support for the ERA, and as you point out helping Octavia, and other decent things. Nor am I excusing his tit grabbing. Ecce homo.
Keith P.
It looks like my kitten acquisition drove my adult cat off…she refused to come inside with the kittens around, and she never showed up for food yesterday. :(
On the positive side, the kittens are absolutely adorable….one looks like a white tiger, and the other is a manx with an almost-Bengal pattern. And these two are some serious lap kitties, particularly the manx, who sees a lap and swiftly plops down in it and starts asking for belly rubs. And when one gets attention, the other gets very jealous.
Citizen_X
@SectionH: RIP doesn’t fit.
Metal fans commonly say “Rest in power” when a musician dies. It certainly applies to Ellison.
Pogonip
Cole, have you had him to the vet lately? He’s all swollen up! Either he’s retaining water or you are feeding him way too much. Please let us know how he is. Also, how’s Lily?
Bob the Betta has been with us 1 week shy of 2 years. We’re pretty sure he’s elderly as he sleeps a lot, but he continues to eat well on one end and poop well on the other. Even blows a few bubbles now and then.
PlaneCrazy
“In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.”
– Terry Pratchett.
Pogonip
Neither have the cat people.
zhena gogolia
I love you, Steve!
TaMara (HFG)
Steve could be no one else’s cat – he’s just so John-like. Magnificent.
SWMBO
@Pogonip: Many years ago my son had a vivid red betta. We kept moving him from one bowl to a bigger bowl. At the end he was in a gallon bubble. He kept growing to fill the space. He was as big as my hand. After he got old, he started turning silver starting at his nose. He was silver about 2/3 of the way back on his body (still vivid red on the tail). He died around 4 1/2 years old.
My son taught him to play. He didn’t tap on the glass but he would touch it and the fish would follow his finger. Sometimes he would hide and then jump out at you with his fins out. He had a lot of personality for a fish.