Posted by on May 8, 2015 | 6 comments

image

These guys (processionary caterpillars) follow each other in long lines–(DO NOT TOUCH ONE as they are poisonous and can cause swelling and pain where touched)

 

Well, in a blog a few days ago, I mentioned the doggy who slept with his master and how the girlfriend said it is either me or the dog, remember? BUT I forgot to put in this very interesting site about sleeping with your cat, so here it is. I, for one, found it informative, but since I am not nocturnal and get a big dose of evening just before I go to sleep with my anthros, I’m not really throwing anyone’s schedule off.

Today seems to be follow-up day.  A very good friend of mama and papa sent this view from her friend about the question of free expression, speech, art or otherwise, and I know my readers will surely get something out of his wise words:

You asked (on the blog) for thoughts about the issue of words & pictures that ridicule and deeply insult other’s  beliefs.  I find this issue confusing.  

My friend Gary has made the following comments:
1. Mimi and I took in a Sabbath matinee of The Book of Mormon, indisputably the filthiest and funniest afternoon of blasphemy we’ve attended in quite a while. After leaving San Francisco’s Orpheum Theater it occurred to me that no Mormon including a few we call family would ever think of bringing a death threat to the cast or the musical’s creators. Basically, they are far too nice to do such a thing.
So, more food for thought.  I can go round and round on this issue for days and still come up with questions.  As mama says, Islam is not like Catholocism or the Jewish or Mormon religion.  No religion is exactly like another, but all have so many details in common.  However, as the note above says clearly, a death threat because one disagrees with another is never acceptable.  And death to non-believers is abominable.
On a very different note, mama came home from her exercise class with a lovely story.  Today is a big holiday in France, which celebrates the signing of the peace treaty for the end of WWII.  Mama took some little coffee candies to the class and one woman politely turned them down, saying she did not like the taste of coffee.  After a few minutes she said, “But I wish to thank you.”  And mama said oh, that’s okay, I understand that you prefer other flavors and the woman said, no I wish to thank you for what your country did for France and for all of us in the war.
What a kind and generous thing to say on this very important day.  Mama’s kitty tears welled up, I can tell you that.
So all is not evil in the world and there are some very special people one meets along the way.  People who light up the day in the most unusual places.
And thank you, Sneha, for the infosite on sleeping with kitties.
 image
About to hit the sack for the night.  No prowling around for this kitty…hey, would you get up from this nice place to go chase mice?
 image
Is this the face of a night owl, I ask you?

 

 

2.
  • Gary Coates  It bears repeating that a sculpted image of The Prophet Muhammad appears on the wall of The U.S. Supreme Court that protects both the first amendment right to have a religion and for others to mock it in art and speech.
  • Gary Coates  The story gets more nuanced. My civil libertarian inner Voltaire gets tested. Pamela Geller is not someone I am inclined to agree with. She and her group are hostile to Islam, maybe to the point of hate speech. The response to hate speech is better speech, not attempted murder.
3.    Controversial speech was awarded and criticized in New York last night when CHARLIE HEBDO came to the PEN Award ceremony. No one was murdered.

The stand up stand in host Art Spiegelman drew a thoughtful distinction:
je suis Charlie mais je ne suis pas Pamela Geller.

Pamela Geller should debate an Islamist in a free speech forum and neither speaker should have to fear for their life. The Bill Maher Show suits me fine.