Hope you all are having a lovely day today, whatever this day means to you (or doesn’t). Consider this an open thread, to discuss whatever, from presents to politics to cats to whatever holiday stress you might be feeling.
And here’s some stuff I found on the Twitter.
— David, who is hanging in there
Merry Christmas, everyone! 🎄🎅 pic.twitter.com/YfyTsQ95de
— Maggie Serota (@maggieserota) December 25, 2017
At this time of year, take a few moments to remember who Christmas is truly about… pic.twitter.com/TQ9tSP5EED
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) December 24, 2017
I haven’t laughed this hard in a while. I needed this. pic.twitter.com/2aQFpugdis
— deray (@deray) December 7, 2017
Brian Eno, Paris, 1973 (with Christmas 2017 augmentation) pic.twitter.com/hRwMDTOUKv
— Brian Eno News (@dark_shark) December 25, 2017
“Fun” pic.twitter.com/tsAdsZeez8
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) December 24, 2017
#MerryChristmas 🎄🤶🏻 pic.twitter.com/IahMZhf5gc
— Melania Trump 45 Archived (@FLOTUS45) December 25, 2017
Same. pic.twitter.com/kcNPdrLy6R
— Adrenalin (@adrenalindenver) May 24, 2017
🎈🐾🐅🎈🐾🐅🎈🐾🐅🎈🐾🐅🎈🐾🐅
All of a sudden …
🐾🐾🐾🐾 pic.twitter.com/fza8NZioI0
— The Cult Cat (@Elverojaguar) December 25, 2017
Human: My cat has an easy life
Me: pic.twitter.com/e8kvlVhUdR— Curious Zelda (@CuriousZelda) December 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/awwcuteness/status/945193410662682624
skiriki
you should call him something very grand. like name of Prince or princess. if I have another cat I would call him Lomacha after my favorite boxer.
Skiriki
You could go with Gemellus. That means ‘twin born’ so it’s a little memorial for his brother.
Alan ? that is too heartbreaking! much better idea than my ?
re: Kitty name
Biswas.
*watches the mad scramble for Google* 😛
@Shadowplay
Brings up an interesting question for the group: does it count as cultural appropriation to name a cat something like that (assuming Skiriki ain’t south Asian. If so, problem solved)? Naming a human child as such would absolutely be, legit curious what the rules might be with pets
I sailed before with repairman – his family name is Biswas. I don’t know if it is cultural appropriation. it is only common family name?
@Axe
Interesting thought.
Wouldn’t really have thought cultural appropriation applies to animals as such. By applying that criteria, Didi and Carisma would have to be renamed as a breed 😛 (unless Bengal cats actually come from Bengal, in which case the naming problem becomes moot).
Alternatively – is there anything inherently wrong in remembrancing a famous person from another culture in a name? This I’m asking you very seriously – know enough about the States and the historical naming/surnaming of African Americans to know that there are problematic elements there – if you have time/inclination to give your thoughts.
@Valentin
Suresh Biswas was a soldier and explorer, quite famous in some circles. Born in Bengal, wound up as Lt Colonel in the Brazilian Army. He wasn’t much appreciated in his life time (racial prejudice ain’t a new thing 😛 ), but he basically wrote the first part of the book on jungle warfare.
I told my mum I wanted to name my cat Slobodan Milosevic – she didn’t think it is funny ? anyway he has normal name now, I never really mean I will call him this I just said it to be funny.
@Valya
Biswas is a common family name in India and Bangladesh. Cos of the way surnames tend to be inherited, it’s very uncommon for one to be a case of appropriation (eg: a white Brit with that name would prolly have gotten it from an Indian ancestor. Of course, there’s still some issues of colonialism there, but not quite the same as appropriation). Possible, but not likely. With surnames, the opposite is more often the case with immigrants changing their names/having their names changed to fit in better. The issue is when white parents give their children ‘exotic’ names. And other white parents being impressed and wowed by how cute the name is… now a white baby has it, of course
@Shadowplay
Ha. No. But ha
No, there’s nothing inherently wrong, folks just need to tread very lightly. Does this person need remembrancing? Does this person need remembrancing in this way? Does this person need remembrancing in this way by me? In 99% of cases, the answer to at least one of those will be ‘no’
Similar concept, different MO. Appropriation seeks to adopt the trappings of another culture, usually for personal/social gain and in a way that ends up just diluting the aforementioned culture. ‘Your name is Toby!!!’ is meant to dominate and destroy that culture. Neither is good, but not quite the same discussion
This helicopter crash in New Mexico looks pretty fishy.
Roy Bennett, Zimbabwean opposition figure, dies in helicopter crash
Police confirm Bennett, his wife and four others were killed in crash
Bennett was called sharpest thorn in the side of Robert Mugabe
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/18/roy-bennett-zimbabwean-opposition-figure-dies-in-helicopter-crash
In happier news, Prince William got a haircut:
Or, as those smartypants at Jezebel put it,
Dad Gets Hair Cut
https://jezebel.com/dad-gets-hair-cut-1822230008
Ah. Thank you. That makes total sense – the degradation and obliteration of the subject culture, whether by violence, by the application of introduced law, or by simple overwhelming by the introduced culture is a standard tool of imperialism.
I’m just used to thinking of it in terms of applying it to other places, not applying it to people brought “here” – but of course it would be equally applicable.
And thank you once more. I appreciate it – I know there is no obligation for you to teach or explain, but you really saved me a lot of time and blind alleys/stupid ideas with that.
Okay, well here we go, I have had tea and thoughts:
1) I have not decided the name yet. I personally prefer to keep early names as “work in progress” names, until I get to know the kitten and its personality develops and then a name can feel “right”. Of course, the future owner may entirely rename the kitten!
For example, in the last litter they originally started as Tigerface, Silverspot, WTF (yes, that’s literally what I uttered when she was born, because she looked like Tigerface) and Really Dark. Those names were based on superficial traits: Tigerface was pretty tiger-y, Silverspot was born almost silver-sheened fur (turned to standard golden Bengal later), WTF has been explained, and Really Dark was born as marbled version that forgot to marble.
Later on, when it came time to name them for realz, I had a bad sleep deprived day and then my mind got stuck on Rocky Horror Picture Show. I know, I know, a problematic choice… but? Tigerface became Dr. Frank-N-Furter, since he had been chopping my flesh quite often. Silverspot was Riff Raff, WTF was Magenta (and those two were a team) and Really Dark was Rocky, that kitten who wanted to be cuddled and touched.
2) Bleak name choices? I have to say that I actually considered “Aphex Twin” as a temporary name choice. Y’go look it up where he picked that name, I’ll wait.
3) But maybe his temporary name is just Big Boi?
4) Bengal cats have their origin in southeast Asia, as they’re a breed that literally mixes a wild cat, Asian leopard cat, with their heritage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_cat
Carisma and Didi are quite domesticated, though, and Finnish — they enjoy bathing in sauna and relaxing in leftover warmth for hours.
5) I am still kind of stuck with the idea of a star name, and I’ve been checking various resources. One of the reasons for this is because 1) I happen to like astronomy and 2) since this kitty will go to breed register, I have to pick a name that’s unlikely registered already. “Alamak”, a star from Andromeda (meaning ‘desert lynx’ aka caracal) is slightly tempting… but we’ll see!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_proper_names_of_stars
i tried before to learn why he call himself Aphex Twin because I thought it is about genetic disease – but I can’t find any information why he chosen it. only that he thinks it sounds good. ?
@ Valya
Google Aphex Twin Reverb
Hey, it’s been a while. There haven’t been that many new posts lately and I’m wondering why and if someone is willing to catch me up on things.
I spent the summer in a really cool commune and doing work for them, but I’m still stuck, professionally speaking. I need to work on my portfolio but I’m not in the healthiest home environment.
I’m an anarchist now, fuck it.
@authorialAlchemy
Welcome back!
David Futrelle experiences migraines and has been having a tough go of it lately. He’s working on getting them under control. He hasn’t been able to write much lately, but he does still tweet. (See the right margin.)
In the meantime, Mammotheers are holding down the fort.
Sorry to hear about your home environment and feeling professionally stuck.
Ever since Trump’s election, I’ve been very tempted to become an anarchist. #Maybemetoo
Kat:
Oh dear. David Mitchell has something to say about that:
Uh-oh. Everyone’s a critic.
CN: messed up stuff coming up.
About Aphex Twin, the story I read why the name went about like this:
Q: You never met your brother because he died before you were born?
A: Yeah. He has the same name as me. It’s not like I have a big hang-up about it or anything. I just think it’s tight because my mum was so upset about it when he died that she kept his name on but forgot about him, thinking “The next boy I have, that’ll be him.” So I sort of took his place as if he didn’t exist. That’s why I feel tight.
skiriki
I didn’t heard this story. it is appropriate for your kitten however.
@Valentin
Yeah… but I think I’m still gonna call him Big Boi until I know what’s he like 😉 😀
It is kinda sad that he’s growing up without other kitten siblings, but at least mama is giving him a bit of nest exercise, as she doesn’t just plop down in a way that would put a boob into his mouth; no, she’s making sure that he’s gotta come to her and find the tata he wants to suck. This is good, because normally kittens have that squirmy rota of nipple-seeking and they give themselves exercise that way.
When his eyes open and he starts being more active, I will have to find a way to do “playtime mobile” stretched over the bed, so he can bat at things and not get too bored with stuff.
I think a good name is Mogadishu. is this cultural appropriation? it is one of my mother’s suggestions for me before when I adopted my cats.
Nah. The reason why I’m going for IAU-approved star names is partially personal, partially because those names have been in use (and standardized) for years (some for centuries), and I kind of want to honor the fact that a lot of stuff we got from astronomy has been innovated, collected, researched and preserved by many Arabic universities and researchers in history and modern day, but I don’t want to give a human name, y’know?
Hi everyone, I know I haven’t been around for a while. If I can just brag for a moment: it’s because I’ve been very busy since my sister and I have been buying a condo. The closing was yesterday. We have our own place now (and can finally move out of abusive parents’ house)!
Just to throw my two cents in on the cat name discussion – in my opinion, it’s only really cultural appropriation if someone is making money on it anyways, so unless you’ve got the next grumpy cat I don’t think it qualifies. It’s definitely possible to be ‘weird’ or racist in naming pets of course…like (as an NDN/indigenous american) I would side-eye someone who introduces me to their cat named ‘squaw’ or maybe (to a lesser degree) ‘pocahontas’. If they just used an indigenous name that they liked, or the name of someone they wanted to honor (including pocahontas, I suppose, but I would find it a weird choice if they did know the historical facts of her life) I would think that’s cool. But that is just my opinion, I am sure there are people who feel differently.
We will also be getting another cat once we move out, to keep company of my sister’s cat while we are both at work. I want to name the new cat Money. Sister said no. It’s a good name!