It’s Book Week, with Albatross officially fledging tomorrow! Will it survive the many religious predators waiting to gobble it up, or attack it with cries of “It misses the nuances of Sophisticated Theology”? We shall see. Everything has already been determined by the laws of physics. Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is pondering her ancestors; Malgorzata explains:
Hili is sharpening her claws. It takes time. She is thinking about the cats before the time they domesticated humans and got readymade catfood in nice bowls. They had to hunt for everything they ate. Sharpening the claws is time consuming. Did those cats in the past have to take precious time from hunting in order to take care of their claws, or did claws take care of themselves during hunting?
Hili: Did cats in the past spend so much time looking after their claws?
A: Check on the Internet.
Hili: Czy kotom dawniej dbanie o pazurki też zabierało tyle czasu?
Ja: Sprawdź w Internecie.
And there is another picture of Hili on Andrzej’s Facebook page but it is definitely for the Polish readers. Next Sunday there is a second round of presidential elections in Poland. One of the candidates is supported by the greatest bigot in the Polish Church, a priest with the name Tadeusz Rydzyk (and the competition for this place is fierce). So Hili is asking: Is there anybody here who wants to vote as Mr. Rydzyk?
Does it really sharpen them to scratch them on wood? Seems counter-intuitive…
Fly Albatross, fly my pretty!
The other vote of the week is one in Ireland on gay marriage…
It removes the sheath of keratin, leaving a new, fresh, sharp claw.
Look at this picture from wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claw#/media/File:Katzenkralle.jpg
You can see the keratin layers.
10 days for the Albatross to fly over the ocean to Europe, come on big bird, you can do it a bit faster!
More importantly, why don’t cats get splinters?
Androcles would like a word with you….
b&
>
And after Androcles has had a word, the lion from whose paw he pulled the thorn would like a roar.
When Hili climbs out onto the smaller branches of a tree, how does she get down? Does she a) back down, b) jump to another limb, c) turn around and then descend, or d) something else? Or does it depend on the particular tree and situation, with a different strategy each time?
She is either jumping to another limb or backing down. She never turns around. And sometimes she miscalculates and falls down, but she often catches some branch on the way and stays on the tree.
Good reasons to keep her claws sharpened! I asked because a friend who lives in an older neighborhood here, where the lots are large and typically have many mature trees, had a periodic “cat on the roof” problem. There are two feral cats that she feeds and lets into the garage when the weather is bad (they can’t be in her house because she’s allergic, and in any case they’re both quite skittish and wild). Both of them climb a tree and then jump onto the roof, but one of them can’t (or won’t) reverse the route to get off the roof. I think finally my friend’s brother built some sort of bridge for the cats, between the tree and the roof.
I wonder how many humans have a “cat on roof problem” (or “cat up tree” problem), compared to the cats who think that they have a problem.
“Mrowlll ; I’m not going down there – there are lots of crazy hoomins prancing about waving their arms at me.” Quoth the feline.
Trzy slowa dla ojca prowadzoncego…
I am so excited about your book. I preordered from Amazon and can’t wait to get it–does anyone happen to know how soon they will come?
Most likely we will all find out about the same time. Most likely Amazon has the pre-ordered ready to go so it is up to logistics, UPS, and others.
I was thinking the libraries might get their books earlier, but apparently not.
I got my shipping notice this morning so I should have it tomorrow. Very excited.
I just checked my email, and I got mine too! Should come tomorrow.
Hooray!
I got an email telling me that they were trying to charge a card that expired between when I placed the order and now. So I had to go in and manually switch that one item to the credit card that has on the account for new orders placed since early March. Seems like a weird kink in the system.
Yep, me too.
Same here. My two copies. 🙂
Got my “Your Order Has Shipped” email this morning. Estimated arrival is tomorrow. Exciting!
I must say though, that waiting all this time, having it referred to as the Albatross, I’ll be slightly disappointed as I fear there won’t be a single image of an actual albatross somewhere in the book.
Interestingly, my copy of the book is shipping from that Southern state stuck in the North, Indiana.
> or attack it with cries of “It misses the nuances of Sophisticated Theology”?
You forgot “TM”, professor.
Vacation day in Canada today. It’s Victoria/Albatross Day. 🙂
I thought Victoria went with Albert Saxe-Coborg, not Albert Ross. But hey – I’m just an unimpressed Republican ; what would I know about the arcana of someone else’s royal family.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that Republicans in your part of the world aren’t the same as those in my part of the world….
b&
I’d forgotten that your lunatic right-wing fringe had stolen the title form Brutus et al. Seriously, I had completely forgotten about them. Dangerous deranged idiots though they are.
One of the candidates is supported by the greatest bigot in the Polish Church, a priest with the name Tadeusz Rydzyk (and the competition for this place is fierce).
Are some of the other competitors priests, too?
Mr. Rydzyk is not a candidate and none of the candidates was a priest. But the Church, by giving instructions to the believers, can influence the outcome. Now, in the second round, we have one candidate (the current President) who is more secular (just a tiny bit) and the other who would more or less like to demolish the secular state we have in Poland. Mr. Rydzyk, of course, supports the second one.
Thanks. (And I meant competitor for greatest bigot.)
Oh, sorry, I didn’t understand. And, yes, the competition for this exalted position is fierce and mostly among the Catholic clergy.
Thx! Not surprised.
But the first candidate does not not constitution, is known for arrogance and incompetence, and is a face for a corrupt government (last news – supposedly minister ordered burning a trashcan near Russian embassy during a rightwing manifestation!)
– while for the second one, it’s your speculation that he might demolish secular state (which would be quite hard for a Polish president, who can block a lot, but can’t really built anything thanks to our constitution).
Ummm, does not not == does not know
The albatross shall land on my doorstep tomorrow, exciting! As always, Hili looks so cute!
A good craftsman spends at least as much time caring for the tools as in using them….
b&
Albatross cords!
Get your Albatross cords here!
Made in reverent imitation of the Noodly Appendages of Our Spheroidal Master, these Albatross Cords (TM) are designed for suspending this work of SofistiCATed Theology (TM) in the traditional Albatross position.
Sorry, I’ll shut up now.
Or maybe not.