On the subject of Persian cats

My general stance on Persian cats is that they're abominations, but in a bizarrely adorable way. They're so far on the ugly spectrum that they come back around to cute, like those weird, perpetually wheezy little dogs with the goggly goldfish eyes. I look at their squashy flat faces and their permanently concussed expressions and they're so hapless, so obviously unfit for survival, that a primal "Awww" of pity and amusement rises up in my breast. Also, I kind of want to shear them like tiny meowing sheep.

The best thing is, the more deformed a Persian gets, the more it's seen as an exemplary member of the breed. For example, the Cat Fancier's Association named this Best Cat (of all possible cat breeds in the entire show) for the 2008-2009 show season:


Yes, I know, it doesn't even look like a cat, it may not even have legs under that fur, but who cares? I cannot be in a bad mood when I look at that picture. Even thinking about it can be enough reduce me to hysterical giggles. It's like a mop with teensy little ears and big, big orange eyes staring out at you with all the confused woe in the world. No matter how bad you have it, at least you are not that cat.

All of that is a very long introduction to a revelation I received courtesy of ginmar: Persian kittens are cute. Not so-ugly-it's-cute, just plain adorable. Mind-bogglingly so. Moreso that other cat breeds. All of the features that make them such hilarious monstrosities as adults - their big round eyes, their squished faces, their overabundance of fur - makes them weapons grade cute kittens.

Fireworks before the Fourth. And below it.

Somebody is setting off fireworks on the street level just a few blocks from my apartment. I thought the sound was thunder at first, until I looked out the window and saw the sparks and trails of light flashing through the narrow streets. It's beautiful, but almost vertiginous. The ground is not the place for fireworks - it's like glancing out an airplane window to see a pig trotting merrily along through the clouds. Not to mention the deep-seated knowledge of just how dangerous this must be. Most of the surrounding buildings are taller than the fountains of light exploding around them, and I don't envy the residents.

Well. Not much.