Cute Cat Friday 2015-07-10: Freddie

Enjoying the morning sunshine.

We're told Freddie has only ever been an indoor cat, but he's definitely curious about the outside world. Once he and Belle are more used to each other, we'll let him out the cat flap and the world will be his.

Strength versus beauty

This graphic has been circulated on social media for a while:

I must admit, I smiled when I first saw it. But if you stop to think about it, the graphic overlooks a more serious point.

Of course they are both unattainable, idealised body types. But what are they ideals of? Barbie's body represents an ideal of beauty, whereas He-Man's represents an ideal of strength.

Strength is an active quality. If you are strong, you can rescue a child from a burning building. You can build a house, sail a ship, slay a dragon. You can be a hero.

Beauty is a passive quality. If you are beautiful, then at best, you can persuade other people to rescue children, build houses, sail ships, or slay dragons. You can be the decorative reward for the hero.

Moreover, there are many ways to be strong and athletic without looking like He-Man. Mainstream standards for feminine beauty in our culture are much more narrow. Telling boys they should aspire to be strong, and girls they should aspire to be pretty, is one way sexism gets started.

To be clear, there's nothing wrong with a person of either sex wanting to be beautiful. It just doesn't strike me as a great idea to promote it as the most desirable goal in life.

Cute Cat Friday 2015-07-03: Belle

Belle and her fluffy tail commanding the stairs. 

(Introductions to Freddie are going slowly but the cats should be getting along soon enough.)

Unfunny jokes

Dear Facebook friend,

Yesterday, you "liked" an anti-immigrant joke on Facebook. The punch line was:

You're British mate, you're entitled to fuck-all! (*)

You're a perfectly pleasant and likeable person, not normally given to sharing immigrant-bashing posts. I really, sincerely hope this was a one-off and you didn't give it much thought.

Residents of the UK are entitled to all sorts of things, often taking them completely for granted. For all its faults, the UK has a good standard of living, world-class health and education institutions, and a vibrant and diverse culture. That is why I've chosen to make my home here -- instead of Canada or the USA, as I have the right to do -- and pay thousands of pounds in visa and citizenship fees for the privilege. It's curious, and a little sad, the author of this "joke" has less pride in the UK than I do.

One might protest that I am one of the "good" immigrants. This distinction is not as helpful as some appear to believe. We can all agree criminals are "bad" immigrants, but beyond that it very much depends on subjective opinion. In addition, certain politicians don't bother with these niceties when blaming "immigrants" for everything from unemployment to bad traffic on the M4.

I know the Facebook post isn't about facts or reason. It's about having a cheap laugh at the expense of immigrants. Speaking as one of them, I am not impressed.

In the old days, it was easier to indulge in a little hypocrisy. Open and honest discussion may be a virtue, but I've got plenty of other things to worry about, and my life would be simpler if I didn't know you "liked" this joke. Now it is known, I can't un-know it, and I'm writing about it because it bothers me.

Hypocrisy isn't as easy as it used to be. All of us should all bear in mind that when we "like" anything, Facebook's ever-so-helpful algorithms will push it to our friends and acquaintances, who may not have quite the same reaction as we do.

Best wishes,

Iain

---

* - This is why punctuation is important:

• You're entitled to fuck-all: You're entitled to nothing.
• You're entitled to fuck all: You're entitled to copulate with everyone.

Cute Cat Friday 2015-06-26: Introducing Freddie

This is Freddie, the latest addition to our family.

We had thought of waiting longer before adopting another cat, but Belle seems to really miss having another feline for company, and when we dropped by the Blue Cross shelter last week Freddie captured our hearts at once. We brought him home on Sunday and so far he is settling in nicely.

Freddie is a one year old male, named for Freddie Mercury because of his exuberant and outgoing nature. He is one of the friendliest cats we have ever met, and demands affection any chance he gets. We think he may be either a Bombay cat or a Burmese-domestic cross; but no matter his ancestry, he's a very handsome, playful and affectionate feline. He even tolerates being poked, prodded and grabbed by our baby son without complaining.

For now we are keeping Freddie separate from Belle in the spare room. They have glimpsed each other a few times when the door is open and neither one seems at all hostile, so we are optimistic they will soon be getting along well.

Here's to Freddie having a long and happy life in our home!

Death and Facebook: Now with extra creepiness

Somewhere in the Facebook servers, an algorithm "pushes" anniversary reminders of your posts. Today, it pushed a photo of my cat Dexter, taken exactly three years ago:

As regular readers of this blog will know, Dexter passed away six weeks ago tomorrow.

How dare Facebook pretend that it cares?

The Downfall of Sir Tim Hunt

A couple of weeks ago, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir Tim Hunt made some highly sexist remarks in a speech to the World Conference of Science Journalists. Soon after, he resigned his post as an honorary professor at University College London.

Sir Tim Hunt. Source: BBC News

Hunt is reported to have said:

Let me tell you about my trouble with girls. Three things happen when they are in the lab: you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them they cry.

There are two aspects of this I find interesting: The depth of Hunt's cluelessness, and the question of whether he should have kept his job.