Cat Thursday--August 31, 2017

Welcome to the weekly meme (hosted by True Book Addict) that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s)

Atlas Obscura came out with a post on old encyclopedic book on cats by English cartoonist Charles Henry Ross.

IN THE 1800S, PEOPLE WERE just as crazed about cats as we are today. But instead of memes, Instagram posts, and viral videos, the Victorians had satirical comics and chronicles.
English cartoonist, and evident cat fanatic, Charles Henry Ross wrote an epic encyclopedic book detailing the intricacies and culture of cats. In The Book of Cats. A Chit-Chat Chronicle of Feline Facts and Fancies, Legendary, Lyrical, Medical, Mirthful and Miscellaneous, Ross makes an argument in support of the animal. Published in 1868, Ross read over 300 books, browsed newspapers, drew 20 illustrations, and gathered a mass of anecdotes about the fondness and repulsion towards cats. 

He set out to debunk a lot of the old myths of cats. So happy cats had a champion back then!

Here are a few drawings from his book:

Go and check out the whole article. Pretty interesting stuff!

Horror Movie Wednesday: Hellraiser

I love horror movies! I watch a lot of them just for fun all year long. I even a horror-movie-night every week with a few friends. I thought it would be a good idea to write down a few thoughts about some of these horror movies I watch, all the good, bad, and in between. I'm not an expert or anything. Die-hard horror movie buffs will love quite a few that I'm not all that fond of....But I'll just throw a few thoughts out every week for fun and see what sticks!

Hellraiser (1987): This is a cult classic and one on the must-see of horror lists. I finally watched it last week with my horror cohorts. The special effects were truly gruesome and well-done. Undead Frank was awfully good!

Frank his deviant sexual ways and comes across a puzzle box. He solves it and is horrifically transported to some sort of hell. Cut to Larry (we learn later is Frank's brother) and his wife taking over Frank's house after he's gone missing. Larry's wife Julia, we learn through flashbacks, has been having an affair with Frank and is desperate to find him. She finds him pretty quickly after Larry cuts his hand and bleeds all over....because Frank's been waiting to feast on some blood through the floorboards and comes back as some horrific being all sinew, muscle, and bone. He needs to feed! Will Julia bring him the bodies? What is she willing to do to bring Frank back?!

It's cheesy. The story doesn't make a lot of sense but it's probably not supposed to. The themes of pain and pleasure and sex all run throughout this movie. It's pretty out there for its time. It wasn't great but it was a fun watch.

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

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Roxane Gay's memoir "Hunger" is the most visceral and beautiful memoir I've ever read. It's true. It is a must-read for anyone who is human. So everyone.

I was introduced to Roxane Gay when she came out with "Bad Feminist" a few years ago. I loved her raw and unflinching style. She shares her thoughts with us about her body. She's a large woman and has struggled with her weight since she was brutally gang raped as a young girl. She writes:

"I ate and ate and ate in the hopes that if I made myself big, my body would be safe. I buried the girl I had been because she ran into all kinds of trouble. I tried to erase every memory of her, but she is still there, somewhere....I was trapped in my body, one I made but barely recognized or understood. I was miserable, but I was safe."

Goodreads.com

Fat shaming is still a thing. I guess because it's what we wear every day and cannot hide. If we're thin or even within an acceptable plus size we can still move through life without getting too much attention (unless we're in our teens...but that's different). I read about women who get looks of disgust or told advice on how to lose weight all the time...like that is exactly the thing they needed to magically help them lose ALL THE WEIGHT!

Somehow it's always ok to comment on women's bodies all the time, but especially if they're too big. Unfortunately, that's still ok. We have no idea why people are the way they are. Our experiences as humans are so varied. So instead of condemning each other, let's listen and be sympathetic to all the stories out there. And this is why I love Gay's memoir so much. Her story is horrible but so real. We don't have to love our bodies or hate them but we can appreciate them for what they do for us today, whether big, small or in between. Let's just love and accept people and hear their stories. Maybe then we can be good humans and take care of each other.

Her story is one that is horrific yet hopeful. Sympathetic and terrifying. She hasn't gotten over anything and yet she's willing to let us in on her experiences, good, bad and in between. It's a moving and poignant memoir and one that needs to be read.