The Captain’s Log entry: Weeks of December 11 - January 2, the year of our Lord 2023 🪩
Belated Happy 2024! Karma is a cat! Capricorn season! And some announcements for 6 Degrees of Cats season 2!
Happy 2024! Yes, we’re about 10 days past but better late than never, right? Speaking of which - we hope you loved our Yule cat episode! Captain Kitty and co. were apparently good enough to have received the cat hats we wanted. We, as in I, Amanda. Behold.
No co-executive producers were harmed, beyond 10 seconds of indignity.
As we’d mentioned in the last episode, we took a much needed holiday break. Winter is chaotic due to the end-of-year shenanigans, which unfortunately included some not-so-great $urprises. Thankfully, it's also Capricorn season, so I, Captain Kitty gifted myself a few extra days to get the house in order.
AND. We are super pumped to be nearly halfway through season 2!
GET EXCITED! Our next episodes will cover:
Cats and the internet
Cats and music (multi-part series)
…we can’t wait!!
And. ANNOUNCING! 📣
We will soon be launching a subscriber-only Kofi channel including a special BROADCAST starring - you guessed it! - Amanda, Binky and Snuggles (well, they’ll pop in and out).
Please look out for that special stand-alone announcement.
CAT NEWS LATELY
Fresh catches trawled from the internet.
Well, well, well - look who’s jumping on the “cats are SEO defined” bandwagon (which we’ll be discussing in the next episode, droppin’ on January 23 30!)
Cat Couture: Feline Friends Showcase Warm-Fuzzy Coats in a Quirky Winter Collection Parade! [The Weather Channel; US]
And what were we sayin’ about cats being great hunters in our Fathers’ Day episode?
The world’s deadliest cat is deceptively cute. Meet Gaia. [Washington Post; US (paywall)]
What it’s like to be a cat - we sort of approached this topic in our Cats, Kantian Ethics and Karma (Buddhism) episode!
Here’s how your cat experiences the world [NatGeo; US - excerpt from Secret Life of Cats by Carrie Arnold]
Cats and mental health - here’s my take: (1) Cats are the most accessible pet to own. You don’t have to take them outside to evacuate their bowels. They don’t need to be bathed. They only need an annual vet visit, love and will tell YOU what they need, very clearly. (2) Correlation doesn’t mean causation, so the headlines take a leap from the original article. C’mon now!
Opinion: What my cat taught me about life after Covid [CNN, US]
Long-suspected link between cats and schizophrenia could be real: new study [NY Post, US]
The original article: Cat Ownership and Schizophrenia-Related Disorders and Psychotic-Like Experiences: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [Schizophrenia Bulletin, paywall but email me for the PDF]
In fact…
Cats Filled the Prison. Then the Inmates Fell in Love. [NY Times; US (paywall but email me for a gifted article link; I have 10!)]
Taylor Swift - (cat) person of 2023: look, until I become the face of the ultimate cat lady, I’m ok being second fiddle to her.
Why Taylor Swift's Cat Benjamin Button Was the Ideal Feline to Join the Star on Her “Time ”Cover” [Yahoo News, Canada]
Taylor Swift Jokes About Her Reaction to Being Named Time 2023 Person of the Year: 'Can I Bring My Cat?' [People Magazine, US]
John Mayer is not a cat person y’all. I have a feeling he did this to jump on T. Swift’s coattails. Bet you a whole bag of cat treats
Kitties and science - y’all listened to part 1 and part 2 of our science episodes in season 1, right? “Science never stops”, as guest Dr. Titilayo Shodiya said! Behold - NASA beaming up a cat video with lasers (meta!) and artificial intelligence (AI, not “Al” as in the diminutive for “Albert”, “Alvin”, “Alphonoso” and even “Alexander” if they want to break from the “Alex” path) being used to better communicate nonverbally with kitties! Not everything is going to hell in a handbasket after all!
A cat video highlighted a big year for lasers in space [Ars Technica; US]
Cats Can Hide Their Pain—But Not from AI [Scientific American; US]
Cats outside - the news. Again, we’re gettin’ to it.
What’s on the Menu When Your Cat Goes Out? Probably More Than You Think. [NY Times, USA (paywall)]
Hey, you gotta spread the love! (Newsweek, hire me to be your cat editorial director!!)
Cats and dogs - false binary!!
Cat takes exception to coyotes attacking the family dog [CNN; US]
Feline doggo shows all the signs of being raised by a cat (video) [BoingBoing; US]
CALLS TO PASSENGERS
…that’s you!
If you love what you’re listening to and want to make sure we stay afloat:
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Click on the button on this note to pledge, once we get our business in order 🙂
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Tune in on January 23rd 30th!! Until then, peace on earth and goodwill to all!
🐾 Captain Kitty, Binky and Snuggles
For the second half of this newsletter, please click that “pledge” button! You’ll receive NEWS FROM THE CREW featuring Binky & Snuggles, CAPTAIN’ CAT ASTROLOGY, special recommendations from a guest (is it YOU?) and other treats.
BONUS FOR THOSE WHO SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM
Here be the full instrumental for The Captain & Tenille 2: Snuggles: "(Don't) Let it Snow" as featured in our last episode: https://on.soundcloud.com/giHxv