Big Cat, Little Cat: Jokes in Bad Taste What is it about Jokes in Bad Taste that I can’t Quit? I’m a big believer in making jokes that punch up, not down. I will make jokes about transphobia or racism. But never about a trans person or a Black person. One of the canards you…
Tag: discussion
Conflict (Caturday Questions)
Big Cat, Little Cat (Adam has left posting this week’s Big Cat Little, Little Cat up to me. I hope I’ve done as good a job as he does.) Can’t We All Just Get Along? Most of us who love to read have a favorite genre. A kind of book we reach for before anything…
National Coming Out Day: Advice to my Younger Self
October 11 is National Coming Out Day. (We’ve also got World Mental Health Day on October 10 and, on October 14, the forty fifth anniversary of Anita Bryant, singer and notorious homophobe, getting hit in the face with a pie.) National Coming Out Day is sort of contemporary take on second wave feminism’s mantra “the…
Chores (Caturday Questions)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Chores It’s Big Cat’s job to sit on Human-Mom’s head during Zoom meetings. It’s Little-Cat’s job to sit on Human-Mom’s keyboard while she’s trying to write. And it’s Middle Cat’s job to sit on Human-Mom’s lap when she’s trying to get up. The key to running an effective household is that…
Lizzo Twerked with Madison’s Flute (Caturday)
We actually learned a lot this week. Those of us who didn’t know, found out that Lizzo is actually an excellent flute player. She doesn’t just do it as a gimmick. I’m reminded of the times David Byrne sang an operatic aria or two at his concerts and did just an ear-blisteringly awful job. We…
Reality Check: The Afterlives of Indie Musicians
Zane Stroud and I used to be bandmates; we left the band and started new lives, and Zane is now heading in my direction–to become an academic. Zane and his wife Bessie drove Zoe and me to Clearwater Bay to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival. We took this double date quite seriously, because it was our first…
What Do you Know from Funny?
The world’s great philosophers don’t fully understand funny. I discovered this in my second year of grad school. I was taking a class on the Canterbury Tales. As the semester wore on, I was more and more fascinated by Chaucer’s humor. Stop and think for the moment. If you name the top ten most influential…
Books that Matter (Caturday Questions)
Big Cat, Little Cat Reader Responses and Books that Matter What’s an example of a book that hollowed you out? You got to the good part and you just… couldn’t put it down, but you could barely bring yourself to keep reading. Maybe the emotions were too painful, too close to home. Do you seek…
The Sandman and Cultural Appropriation
I’ve probably read the Sandman graphic novel series a dozen times. The last time I went through the whole thing was easily a dozen years ago. But if you ever have half an hour or so, we can sit down and I can tell you almost page for page what’s in it. Even the weird…
Reading is Fun (Caturday Questions)
People ask me what my favorite book is. Like most of you, I have a different answer every time. But more specific questions will get you more specific, and more stable,answers. What is the funniest book I’ve ever read? Moby Dick. Hands down. Nobody expects this answer. Big Cat, Little Cat Reading is Fun… Right?…