Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
There’s a punctuation error called the “grocer’s apostrophe,” apparently often seen in grocery stores. It’s an apostrophe placed where it shouldn’t be, as in plural nouns. When I worked for the Cambridge Food Co-op in grad school, for instance, I had to put up with this sign on the spuds: “Potatoe’s.”
But when I was in my local grocery store yesterday, I saw a grocer’s missing apostrophe:
Besides the annoyance of seeing a sign (turned towards me) announcing what item the cashier should push, as well as the idea that “Pretzel Crisps” is singular, there’s that missing apostrophe in “its”—twice!
Don’t people ever check if they’re unsure? Or are they not unsure?
Here are two statements by different apologists. If you know your weasels, you should be able to identify both of them. If you do cheat and Google the quotes, do not put the answers in the comments.
1. On the 9/11 hijackers:
“The hijackers themselves certainly regarded the 9/11 atrocities as a religious act but one that bore very little resemblance to normative Islam. A document found in Ata’s suitcase outlined a program of prayer and reflection to help them through the ordeal. … The principal imperative of Islamic spirituality is tawhid (“making one”): Muslims truly understand the unity of God only if they integrate all their activities and thoughts. But this document atomizes the mission, dividing it into segments — the “last night,” the journey to the airport, boarding the planes, etc. — so that the unbearable whole is never considered. The terrorists were told to look forward to paradise and back to the time of the Prophet — in fact, to contemplate anything but the atrocity they were committing in the present.”
As the analyst dryly commented, “The 9/11 hijackers were not being good Muslims, then, because they printed up an itemized schedule.”
2. On the Charlie Hebdo massacre. When asked if the magazine Charlie Hebdo helped polarize Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe, this apologist responded:
“Well, it’s not a justification by any means at all, but what Charlie Hebdo represents for a lot of people in Europe is precisely this clash of civilizations. Look, the editors of Charlie Hebdo would unapologetically say they make fun of everybody, every religion, and they make fun of Muslims for a very specific reason to sort of show, or maybe demonstrate, that look if you maybe want to be in this country, if you want to be in France, then you have to deal with the French values, you have to rid yourself of your own values, ideals, norms, and you have to take on French values. And there have been a number of laws passed not only in France, with regard to prohibitions on Islamic dress, but throughout Europe about whether you can build mosques, about whether build minarets, et cetera. And this tension, this polarization I’m afraid has led to a lot of acts of violence. Not just the tragedy yesterday..”
The auction for the illuminated, illustrated, and autographed copy of WEIT, which runs for 8 more days on eBay, has already succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. Artist Kelly Houle and I (she set up the eBay page and is managing the auction) decided to start the bidding at $995, hoping to get at least $1000. (Two years ago, two autographed copies of the book, with only my signature and no illustrations, went for about $300 at the British secularist auction for Doctors Without Borders.)
I awoke this morning to find that the bids were considerably higher—$3,050! That represents lot of help for the activities of Doctors Without Borders (DwB).
Remember that every cent of the proceeds goes to DwB, so if you either have deep pockets, or have friends with dosh, feel free to raise the bid. And please share the site with other people who might be interested.
Cat lists are usually tedious, but this one, from i iz cat, is adorable. It shows adult cats with their kitten replicates. There are 15 of them, but I’ll show six (they’re all good, though, so go over to see the rest):
As far as I know, all kittens are born with blue eyes, so this mini-me will undoubtedly soon look more like his role model:
*******
This nasty person got exactly the karma he deserved, and I can’t imagine this was set up or faked:
*******
Finally, the Guardian reports the depredations of a ginger Tom named Louis, who hangs around a cathedral and attacks d*gs:
Whether he’s padding through the magnificent nave, warming himself next to a cosy radiator or curling up in his favourite basket in the gift shop, Louis the cat has become a beloved feature of Wells cathedral.
But Louis has found himself in a bit of bother after a ginger tom answering his description was accused of a series of rather nasty attacks on dogs in the peaceful Somerset city.
The owner of one alleged canine victim, Mandie Stone-Outten, said her springer spaniel Millie was targeted in Market Place close to the cathedral. “This dangerous, semi-feral cat pounced like a wild lion in the jungle on to my dog Millie’s head,” she said.
“It all happened really quickly. I pulled the lead backwards and went flying down the kerb, into the gutter and ended up in a heap in muddy rainwater, in the gulley in the market place. That cat has serious issues.
Louis in his basket, still looking peeved. Photograph: Wells cathedral
“Be aware – this ball of fluff is not as cute and cuddly as he looks. I’ve got a battered elbow, battered knee and a sore wrist,” added Stone-Outten, from Shepton Mallet, Somerset.
She added: “I think that cat has got history; it was far too good for that to have been his first attack – he knows what he’s doing.
I haven’t followed the Jeremy Clarkson affair, but I’m sure a reader will fill us in.
Louis began living at the great 12th century church a decade ago to keep any mice at bay. He has become so popular he has even starred in a children’s book called Louis the Cathedral Cat and features in a range of merchandise including clocks, coasters and wine-stoppers available in the gift shop.
A spokesperson for the Cathedral suggests that it was not Louis who was the malefactor, but perhaps one of several other ginger toms who live in the area:
A spokesperson for Wells Cathedral said Louis could be a little distant but had not been known to be aggressive.
She said: “It’s difficult to say whether it was Louis, unfortunately. While he can be rather aloof with our visitors, we know of at least two other ginger cats in the area who also enjoy strolling through the streets of Wells.
Here’s a video of Louis in the cathedral. Notice his resemblance to Ceiling Cat:
Ceiling Cat:
Given this remarkable resemblance, and Louis’s penchant for living in a church, I tentatively suggest that he is Ceiling Cat, perhaps an earthly incarnation sent down to save us from our sins. If he is attacking d*gs, that would then be a sign that d*gs, afflicted with original sin (subservience, tendency to defecate publicly, odiferous) are headed for perdition.
Today we have a combination of plant, animal, and landscape photos by reader James Billie, taken on a trek up Mount Kenya:
This photo of an “LBB” [little brown bird] is not that great (though I like the sharpness and the frost on the tent fly) but it may be of interest due to the location: on a tent pitched near the Minto Hut on Mount Kenya, at just about 14,000 feet, and almost smack on the Equator. The other photos show the surroundings and some giant groundsels and a hyrax. All were taken within a few steps of the tent (except the shot of Mt. Kenya from the west, showing the Diamond Glacier; and the one showing the summit area, including both main peaks, Point John, and the Russell Glacier).
These were taken long before the digital era, on all-manual, with lenses designed in the 1970s, using Kodachrome 64 (which some of your (younger) readers may have never heard of!) Anyway, the image quality isn’t up to the standard that is easy to achieve today with digital cameras and modern lenses.
James later gave a tentative ID of the bird: “I believe the bird is the moorland chat (Cercomela sordida)”:
Scenery with some giant groundsels (Dendrosenecio spp.), bizarre plants that are endemic to high-altitude habitats on East African mountains:
This is almost certainly a rock hyrax, Procavia capensis:
One of my bucket-list dreams is to climb either Mount Kilamanjaro or Mount Kenya.
As an unwitting Northern Hemisphere chauvinist, I forgot that although yesterday was the first day of spring up here, it was the first day of fall below the Equator. So let me make amends by presenting the Google Doodle showing this year’s advent of fall, whose first day, by my calculation, ends in roughly 45 minutes.
The Doodle, designed and animated by Kirsten Lepore, features not only autumn squash but a lovely animated squirrel. Click on the screenshot below to go to the animation.
BTW, how do you keep from falling off down there? 🙂
The weekend is here, and I must spend my morning taking the CeilingCatMobile to a body shop downtown to repair its face and shoulder. But the good news is that on my trek home I pass several good places to eat, including Xoco, Rick Bayless’s “Mexican street food” emporium, which makes a splendid Mexican hot chocolate (they grind the beans there) and fresh churros.
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is out for a walk, and you can see that spring has arrived, though the cherry trees have not yet leafed out. Although her dialogue is a bit enigmatic, I suspect she means that—because she of course is always going in the right direction—the cat is pleased that the weather is also changing for the better.
Hili: We are going in the right direction.
A: Who is “we”?
Hili: I and the world.
In Polish:
Hili: zmierzamy we właściwym kierunku.
Ja: Kto?
Hili: Ja i świat.
What better way to end the week than with a completely insane animal video? Here’s a parrot . . . well, here are the YouTube notes:
Lottie my African Grey telling everyone her name is Bond, James Bond [plus the tune whistled of cause]. Then blows a kiss and says “Whats that all about?”
