September 15, 2019
The time each kitten spent scratching each scratcher was compared.
"Preference of kittens for scratchers" in Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, Vol 21, Issue 8, 2019.
Two-choice preference tests were conducted to compare scratchers and preferred scratchers with or without additives (ie, catnip, catnip oil, cat hair) in six studies. Kittens (n = 40, <8 weeks old) had access to two scratchers on the floor of a simulated living room for 20 mins and interactions were video-recorded.[more inside]
"I wish I were a dog, so you could photograph me."
Photographer Vincent J. Musi (Instagram) chose almost two years ago to end his years of travel for National Geographic assignments to be home with his wife, Callie, and his then 16-year-old son, Hunter. He built "The Unleashed Studio" in the back of a pet food store and began making extraordinary portraits of our furry best friends in Charleston, S.C. (WaPo)
Dance all night with everyone/ Don't let nobody pick your fun
RIP Ric Ocasek: For all the road trips in all the states and all the dancing in the seat. [more inside]
“therefore inclined to “see only those who fought for slavery”
Charlottesville Confederate Statue Defender Sues Paper, Prof, for Reporting His Family’s Slaveholding History (SL Daily Beast)
Cave music
"Cave and Bat-Inspired Recorded Music and Spoken Word (An International Discographical Database
1905 – 2005)" [more inside]
FIGHT LIKE A GIRL
River City Girls Is Like River City Ransom But With Girls [Kotaku] “For decades, old-school beat-em up fans have been following the adventures of River City Ransom heroes Kunio and Riki, a pair of high school tough guys with a knack for rescuing their girlfriends from thugs. Wayforward’s River City Girls turns that tired formula on its head. It’s an utterly charming old-school brawler where the girlfriends get to rescue the boys, and lord have mercy on anyone who gets in their way. [...] It’s mainly River City Girl’s style that sets it apart from its progenitors. This River City is bright, colorful, and modern, peppered with fashion plate background characters deftly dodging errant attacks. Boss battles are introduced with gorgeous animated cutscenes, while flashbacks are presented as black and white manga volumes.” [YouTube][Game Trailer] [more inside]
The best music visualizer, online!
ButterChurn is a version of Winamp's famous Milkdrop 2 visualizer that runs directly in your browser. Play a song or set from Soundcloud or upload your own!
It’s true, Big Brother is watching
The case for universal US healthcare is made by eliminating employee wellness programs. Employee wellness programs are increasingly draconian and punitive.
Unsurprisingly, employers prize cost-cutting benefits over actual health benefits. [more inside]
Wild Nights with Harvard University Press
"Please, please, I’ll tell you anything I can, but I can’t afford to be on the outs with Harvard!" There's been renewed focus on Emily Dickinson, with fictionalized treatments of her life in last year's Wild Nights with Emily and in the upcoming Dickinson series. But the real-life drama over control of Dickinson's writings -- including "theft, adulterous affairs, a land deal gone wrong, a feud between families, two elite colleges, and some of the most famous poems in American literature" -- could go toe to toe with either of them.
A Murderer Who Kills Murderers Tells His Story
In Mexico's cartel country, a murderer who kills for "good" tells his story. The reality of vigilante justice is a lot different than it looks from the comic books. "Capache" describes being conscripted into the cartels as a teenager, the brutal training and initiation he went through, and how he switched "sides" to "protect" the people who can't protect themselves.
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