Millions of cats and 1 baby panda

I've always loved the children's book, Millions of Cats. Who knew there is a woman living the life? And she's not a crazy cat lady. She just runs the best animal shelter ever.



Cat House on Kings



And One Baby Panda

This zoo in Japan is not the best shelter, but it is a protected place for the birth of a baby panda - don't miss the first second or two!


Drinking without being thirsty and making love at any time, Madame, are the only things that distinguish us from other animals.
- Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro, 1784, translated

the Democratic convention, Hillary & women

Believe it or not, I rarely watch TV unless there are new LOST episodes involved or I am in the mood for Stewart & Colbert. But I've just spent two weeks watching the Olympics and now the the Democratic national convention. Watching the convention is fascinating, especially if you cut out the nitwit pundits and take it in straight for yourself on C-Span.

I have a few friends back home in Pennsylvania who supported Hillary Clinton and now say that they are wavering between Obama and McCain. So watch and learn for yourself. I'll just share some highlights here for those of us who know that "women's issues" matter for all of us, including men.

A conversation with NOW past-president Eleanor Smeal


McCain's own words


A conversation with current NOW president Kim Gandy


A few more words from McCain


How does Hillary Clinton feel about McCain's attempt to use her to elect himself?


So think for yourself, but don't think that a vote for McCain is somehow a vote for Hillary Clinton or for women. Were you watching? No way. No how. No McCain. Boom shaka laka laka boom. Burn baby burn. Hilary had a nice soundtrack. Missed it? You can watch the whole speech on C-SPAN.

What's bugging me today? Michael Phelps fuss.

It's about time I give the Beijing Summer games some deep thought. I've been watching daily and I have a lot of questions.

1. Why do I love China?
2. Why does the fuss about Michael Phelps bug me so much?
3. Why do the beach volleyball women wear sports bra bikinis but the beach volleyball men, the indoor volleyball men and indoor women wear shorts and tank tops?
4. Are all medalists really from the U.S., Europe and China? Or is that an accident of my viewing times? Or a product of biased media coverage? Or will the second week of events open up a wider international competition?

Let's start with the question I can answer. Why does the fuss about Michael Phelps bug me so much?

I like Michael Phelps. I enjoy a personal story about the life of an Olympic athlete. It builds a human connection to the rest of us couch potatoes. Sure, Michael eats 5 breakfasts for breakfast. But he has a mom and two sisters and they all look like my kind of people. They wear their hearts on their sleeves and allow their emotions to play all over their faces. Mom's proud of him and he's proud of her. He loves that as a single mom she went to graduate school. Her late nights working as a school principal were a positive influence on the kids, inspiring them to work hard at something they care about. I like all of that.

Now here's what bugs me. Phelps is the greatest swimmer ever so let's just stop there and have a big party. Do we really need to pretend that the number of golds makes Phelps the greatest Olympian ever? What's harder, 8 golds for swimming 8 ways or one all around gold that requires excellence in different gymnastic events? I don't know. What other sport has 8 very similar events? I don't know. But I'm starting a new campaign. I want to get the world on board for track sprints 8 ways. I don't actually know much about track either, so I suggest that the 8 events should be sprints forward, backward, waving your arms over your head, skipping, hopping in a potato sack, holding an egg on a spoon in your mouth, balancing a water balloon on your head, and finally building up to that last gold medal for the best silly walk. It's okay if one of these is a relay.