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daily_rahui_quiz_feedThere’s two things keeping me on iPhone:
I would like to experiment with running an Android phone but those two thing, and especially iMessage, will keep me on iOS forever more.
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james_davis_nicoll
newsfromme_feedHere's a link to Part 1 for those of you who need a link to Part 1.
So…I'd outgrown or read all the books that interested me in the kids' section of the West L.A. Public Library and I wasn't allowed to check out books from the adult section. My parents checked some out for me but the library had a limit on how many books you could have out at one time and I was cutting into on my folks' allotments. My mother sought out the Head Librarian and asked, "Is there any way to get my son a card for the adult section?" I think I was nine or ten at the time.
The Head Librarian had heard it had been done but it hadn't been done at any library where she worked. "I don't know how to arrange that," she said. Since I was there participating in this discussion and something of a youthful smartass, I said, "Maybe there's a book here somewhere that will tell you how to do it!"
She laughed and I think that convinced her I deserved what we were asking for. She said, "I think I can arrange it if you get a letter from the principal at Mark's school."
So we got a letter from the principal at my place of learning, Westwood Elementary School. The principal was a nice lady whose name kept changing because she was getting married, then unmarried, then married again, then unmarried again and so on. I think her name at this point was Mrs. Kermoyan and she dashed off the requested letter. We took it to the Head Librarian who stared at it for a long minute or two. Then she said, "I know the process starts with a letter like this but I'm not sure what I do next."
Still the youthful smartass, I said, "Maybe you could call the Head Librarian at some other library in the system and ask them what to do." The Head Librarian considered my idea for a second and then said, "I think I'll call the Head Librarian at some other library in the system and ask them what to do."
She did and that Head Librarian didn't know what to do so she said, "I think I'll call the Head Librarian at some other library in the system and ask them what to do."
And that Head Librarian called some other Head Librarian and that Head Librarian called some other Head Librarian and I don't know how many Head Librarians this went through until one of them said, "Just issue the kid an adult card!" So they issued the kid (i.e., me) an adult card and the Head Librarian we started with wrote on the back of it, "O.K. to check out adult books" and signed her name.
By the way; Do I have to point out that the term "adult books" back then meant something different than it does today? It was then pretty much anything above the reading comprehension of Dr. Seuss or Freddie the Pig.
So all was fine except that every time I tried to check out books from that section, if the person at the check-out post didn't know about me and my card before, they said, "I'm sorry but you're too young to take these out." I then had to tell this person to turn the card over and sometimes, they'd go check with someone and be told that yes, it was legit.
But back to the first day I had that magical card…and it really did feel like magic. I walked proudly over to the non-kids' section. I'd been there before. No one had ever stopped me from browsing there. It was just the taking-home-a-book part that had been forbidden. I felt very powerful as I went directly to the Performing Arts section, which is where I'd done most of my browsing on that side of the library.
I noticed a book there I hadn't noticed before. It was a very old-looking one on the history of vaudeville and I opened it up, flipped to a random page and there, before my nine or ten-year-old eyes was a photo of a naked lady. An actual, black-and-white photo of a naked lady.
I'm sure these days, kids in that age range have very little problem seeing naked ladies and maybe even naked men. They now have this thing you may have heard of called The Internet and there are also things like HBO and Netflix. The last time I went to a large newsstand, it was rife with photos of naked people. You couldn't not see them. But in 1961, which is roughly the year we're talking about here, that was not so common.
I stared at this particular naked lady — she was in that book because she was something called a "stripper" — and I stared at my newly-acquired magic library card and wondered: Did this card unlock some special access to books that were invisible to anyone without such a card? Were there now other books on the shelves with photos of naked ladies in them?
A quick check of other books in that section revealed the answer to that second question was no. But I could not only still see that naked lady in that book, I could even take her and it home with me. Which I did. It turned out the book had a few other photos of other naked ladies.
In the months that followed, I occasionally found another naked lady in a book there. I also found — and this was almost as good but not quite — a couple of books that told how certain magic tricks were done.
I loved watching magic on TV and I always understood that I was seeing tricks. The magician — it was often Mark Wilson, who I got to meet many years later when I joined the Magic Castle — did not actually saw a person in half or make them disappear. I always knew they were tricks and I was dying to know how they were done and if there were any that I could do.
Occasionally on some show, I'd hear a magician talk about "The Code," about how all the magicians pledged on their honor to never, ever reveal to anyone outside the profession how tricks were done. What really puzzled me though was how it was decided that someone was enough of a magician to have access to those secrets. And while I was at it, I wondered how anyone became a magician in the first place if they were forbidden to know those secrets.
I understood: Magicians were forbidden to disclose to non-magicians how tricks were done…
…but apparently, there was no rule against them writing books that gave away many of the secrets to anyone who had an adult library card such as mine. Over the first few weeks with my new card, I checked all of them out and even mastered a few card tricks. I also checked out a few more naked ladies.
I spent a lot of time in that library for years…up until the point when I could afford to buy books instead of borrow. I began building my own library at home and it differed from that public one in two basic ways. All the books in my library were of interest to me and I didn't loan them out. Still, that library over on Santa Monica Boulevard meant a lot to me and who I became. I may remember other things about it in the future and post them here but for now, that's the end of this story.
newsfromme_feed…and he kicks off the new season with a devastating look at ICE and the Department of Homeland Security…
candyheartsexicanhascheezburger_feedIf cats competed in the Olympics, the rulebook would have to expand immediately. Traditional sports wouldn't cover half their skill set. There'd be events like hallway sprinting at 3 a.m., precision shelf clearing, and synchronized loafing. Every cat would show up with confidence, fully convinced they were born for this.
Gymnastics would be over in seconds because cats already treat furniture like a personal obstacle course. They walk narrow ledges without looking down. They jump distances that don't seem possible. They land clean and act like it wasn't even worth mentioning. Judges would hold up perfect scores while the cat licks a paw and pretends the applause is background noise.
Endurance events would belong to them too. Long-distance napping. Extended staring without blinking. The ability to ignore their name being called from across the room for record-breaking lengths of time. The crowd would sit there in respectful silence, watching elite athletes commit to doing nothing.
Winning wouldn't change their attitude. A gold medal ceremony would end with the cat stepping off the podium to sit in the box it came in. No speeches, no drama. Just a stretch, a yawn, and a casual walk away like the result was obvious from the start. The competition ends, but the training continues, because somewhere in the house there's another hallway that needs to be sprinted.
icanhascheezburger_feedIt is never easy losing a cat. No less if the cat happened to be your soul cat, beloved by all members of the family. But it is an unfortunate reality we have to live with, but one that has just as much upside as it does down. Especially when the CDS is on your side and ready to help fill the void with a cute kitten.
Now, sure, this family did not know that they were about to lose the cat who had been a big part of raising their children and making their house a home. But that is just how the CDS works, they know how to spot a potential problem and get ahead of it before it is too late. And it was with impeccable timing that the CDS brought this kitten so that it would be settled and ready to support its new family through such a tough time in their lives.
icanhascheezburger_feedWe did not grow up with cats. We got our first cat when we were teens. And let us tell you, it was a life-changing experience. Whatever we thought cat ownership would be like, it wasn't like that. From the first night, when our itty bitty kitty insisted on climbing into bed with us multiple times in a row, despite us being so scared of turning over and crushing her. Over time, we have learned so many things about what cats were like. We have learned that some cats love sinks for some reason, and follow you into the bathroom. We have learned that cats don't like closed doors - not because they want to use the doors to get in and out of a room, but just for the principle of it. We have learned that, despite the fact that cats don't understand us, cats can be really talkative. And we talk back.
One of the funniest things that we have learned - about ourselves, not our cats - through cat ownership, is that we really do treat our cats like tiny humans. We talk to them like we would to anyone else. The only difference is that we find outselves saying some absoltuely hilarious things to them that we would never say to other people.
icanhascheezburger_feedThat is what we have learned over our time writing for ICHC. Maybe you will be one of the rare ones - one of the people who rescue a completely normal kitten. One that has no quirks or strange obsessions or qualities. Just a normal cat. But more likely than not, if you rescue a cat from the street, you will get some of that uniqueness. Maybe you will get a cat that is obsessed with snap peas. Maybe you will get a cat who hates closed doors and yells at each and every one that it encounters. Maybe you'll get a cat who'll suddenly change color and make you wonder if it's not quite as normal as you thought it was.
Or maybe, you will end up going thorugh something similar to what this couple is going through. Maybe you will rescue what looks like a completely normal kitten, behaves like a completely normal kitten, and is in purrfect health. But that kitten will not stop growing. Ever. Not slowing down for anything. Maybe you will end up in that situation and find yourselves asking, just like these people did, if their normal cat is, in fact, normal.
icanhascheezburger_feedBecause that is all that we really need in our lives. And we mean that. We are simple people with simple needs, and what we truly need on a Sunday morning, more than anything else, is a whole bunch of precious cat memes and stories that will make us smile and forget about anything and everything else that is bothering us. And even though Twitter can be a difficult place sometimes, one thing that always thrives on that platform is the cat content.
So, we simply do the hard work for you guys. Every single week, we sift through everything and bring you the funniest cat memes that went viral on twitter, the cutest cat pictures that people enjoyed sharing, the wholesome cat stories that captures people's attention. All the viral cat things in one place for your enjoyment. So, take that moment. Stay in bed for a little while longer, try to forget about your troubles and the troubles of the world, and focus on the things that matter - on the things that would really, honestly make you happy. Find those five minutes to get your cat fix, and maybe things will look up a little bit.
goddess47 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
stargateficrecspikedluvsnopes_feedsnopes_feedsnopes_feedsnopes_feedsnopes_feedkingstoken posting in fancakechez_jae
How to Bungle Your Jungle: A Micro June Nash Misadventure by Melissa Banczak
waterswordARGH, the box where I stashed a bunch of pharmacy receipts has vanished into thin air and I cannot imagine where it is, nor can I persuade myself I would have thrown it out! This apartment is not large. I cannot remember the last time I saw it, but this doesn't say much.
I have made progress on the jeans I am repairing, except that there is a new spot that has worn out. It feels positively Sisyphean. Jeans of Theseus. Well, it keeps me from doomscrolling.
Steaming potatoes before browning them continues to be one of the great discoveries of my adulthood: it's so fast! and tidy! and produces perfect potatoes! I do need to acquire bamboo steamers for better steaming of fish and various Asian dishes and whatnot, but first I gotta figure out where would I put them? I have a tiny kitchen and a lot of equipment but I swear I use pretty much all of it (I would use the pasta roller more if eggs were affordable, but that really is the only thing I look at and wince, trying to justify the space). Semi-relatedly, the attempt to make the trash situation less horrible seems to be working: a small trash bin forces me to take it out more often, before the contents get gross. I should've gotten a foot-pedal model, but that is really the only flaw in the system, and I do like that the legs elevate it so I can clean under it easily. It's almost embarrassing how easy this dose of shame was to hack, but better late than never, I guess.
daily_rahui_quiz_feed - (no subject)james_davis_nicoll - Bundle of Holding: Downcrawl-Skycrawlnewsfromme_feed - A Place From My Past – Part 2newsfromme_feed - John Oliver is Back…candyheartsex - Post-Reveals Pinch Hiticanhascheezburger_feed - 21 Legendary Memes of Champion Cats Competing in the Furry Olympicsicanhascheezburger_feed - Distressed kitten found dumped in family’s garden just as their soul cat crosses rainbow bridge, proicanhascheezburger_feed - 'Get your paw out of my smoothie!' Most hilarious things people have caught themselves saying to theicanhascheezburger_feed - Kind humans save a cute screaming kitten from a sewer drain, but the "normal" kitten won't stop growicanhascheezburger_feed - 30 of the Funniest and Freshest Feline Tweets to Fill Your Week With Pawsitivity (February 16, 2026)goddess47 in stargateficrec - a lake with no fish, by spikedluv (PG)shakalooloo in scans_daily - Bleeding Hearts #1snopes_feed - Epstein files don't prove 'pizzagate' conspiracy theory was real. Here's whysnopes_feed - Don't fall for alleged image of Epstein dining with Chuck Schumersnopes_feed - Posts claim photos show Sean Connery and Thomas Brodie-Sangster at age 34. They're almost rightsnopes_feed - Is 'every morning's a Smirnoff morning' vodka ad real or spoof?snopes_feed - Debunking chart that falsely suggests transgender people are more likely to commit mass shootingskingstoken in fancake - Good Omens: Love is a Curious Thing ghost_daddychez_jae - Book 14.5, 2026watersword - (no subject)branchandroot