For the Love of Cats

It was commonly thought that the Egyptians domesticated the cat. However, according to this history of cats, they domesticated themselves–and they did it about 10,000 years ago, somewhere in the Near East.

Scientists now believe that today’s 600 million house cats were descended from five female wildcats who wandered into a village and decided to stay when they discovered food in the form of rodents. Sounds just like a cat–feed them and you’ll have friend for life (or, at least, until the food runs out). Anyway, by eating the rodents, the cats protected the grain and everyone was happy, especially when the cats started squeezing out kittens.

Originally, there were five subspecies of wildcat. The domesticated critters are descendants of the Near Eastern wildcat. The other four subspecies are the European wildcat, the Southern African wildcat, the Central Asian wildcat and the Chinese desert cat.

Anyway, it’s interesting reading for those of us who love cats, including this guy.

High Court on Bong Hits

Remember the high school student who got in trouble with school officials for unfurling a 14-foot banner reading “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” so he and his friends could get on television while the Olympic torch parade went through Juneau? He challenged his suspension in court and took it all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he lost last Monday by a close vote.

They Had Me With the Headline

Any article that mentions “White House” and “subpoena” in the headline deserves some special notice. Especially when the issue is warrantless wiretapping.

The Pseudonym That Took on a Life of It’s Own

More on the strange case of Laura Albert, aka JT LeRoy, who lost a fraud suit brought against her by a production company that had bought the film rights to an “autobiographical” novel supposedly based on the fictional LeRoy’s life.

It would be funny, if it weren’t so sad.

And the Winner is . . . Hastings, Nebraska?

Yahoo! has made its choice of “greenest” city in the U.S. and it’s not one of the usual suspects. Hastings, Neb.–a “lively and progressive city of 24,000 people, according to its Web site–ended up taking the top honor of “Greenest City in America,” according to the Sunnyvale, Calif., company.

Apparently, the method of choosing involved having city residents take an eco-pledge, answer “green questions” and search for “green information” with their mobile phones through (what else?) Yahoo!

The prize for winning was either a free fleet of hybrid taxis or the cash equivalent. Since the city was presented with a $250,000 check, I assume there isn’t a crying need for taxis in Hastings, hybrid or otherwise.

Mayor Matt Rossen’s response on receiving the check: “Wow, that’s a lot of money.”

Finding Relief at the Beach

Is peeing in the ocean an environmental no-no or no? This Daily Grist column provides relief in the form of some answers to that question.

Both Red and Blue Parties Plan Green Conventions

Jumping onto the environmental bandwagon, Democrats and Republicans are both planning to hold “green” national political conventions next year.

What makes a political convention “green”? Buying confetti made from recycled paper and purchasing carbon offsets to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions are a couple of things mentioned.

And the host cities–Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul–are in National Geographic’s Green Guide list of the 25 greenest cities in the U.S.

Now, if their policies are as green as their conventions, we’ll be onto something.

“Age of Love” Relies on Age-Old Stereotypes

In “Age of Love,” yet another mind-numbingly idiotic reality TV show, 30-year-old Australian tennis star and former GQ cover boy Mark Philippoussis will be asked to choose a mate either from a group of seven gorgeous women in their 40s or from another group of six equally-beautiful gals in their 20s.

So it will not only be a competition among the women, but between older (“the cougars”) and younger (“the kittens”), as well. How tasteful, especially when the repartee includes exchanges such as this one:

“What’s a synonym for old?” one twenty-something asks.

“Decrepit,” answers another (who is apparently unaware that her time will come soon enough).

Meghan Daum notes in her column: “[W]e’re supposed to be impressed by this show’s progressive-mindedness. Most reality (or even nonreality) shows wouldn’t even ask the question of whether a wealthy, 30-year-old hottie would choose a 40-ish cougar over a 20-ish kitten.”

The show is supposed to represent some kind of debunking of the notion that younger is always better. But as Daum points out, the 40-somethings here are glorified less for their life’s accomplishments than they are for their well-preserved looks, cosmetic or otherwise.

She goes on to write: “‘Age of Love’ masquerades as an empowerment vehicle for middle-age women, but it’s really just an advertisement for the Restylane injections, liposuction and long shag haircuts that can be used to look not quite so middle-aged.

“The message is not that older women are wiser or more interesting than their younger counterparts but that, with the right tools (and enough money), 40-year-olds can access that formulaic version of hotness seen in 22-year-old pole dancers everywhere. And why bother being interesting when you can look like that?”

Senate Green Lights Energy Bill

The Senate yesterday passed a broad energy bill that would, among other things, require the first big increase in fuel mileage requirements for passenger cars in more than 20 years.

Carmakers consider the bill’s passage a major defeat and are expected to continue fighting it as it goes before the House.

Republicans blocked part of the Democratic plan that would have raised taxes on oil companies by about $32 billion and used the money on tax breaks for a wide variety of renewable fuels, as well as a provision of the legislation that would have required electric utilities to greatly increase their reliance on renewable sources of energy to produce power.

As a result, Senate Democrats had to settle for a bill that calls for a vast expansion of renewable fuels over the next decade–to 36 billion gallons a year of alternatives to gasoline–but does little to actually promote those fuels through tax breaks or other subsidies.

Environmental groups, though disappointed by the setbacks on renewable fuels, still hailed the vote on higher mileage requirements, which could eventually reduce American gasoline consumption by more than 1 million gallons of gasoline a day.

The car industry’s main trade association, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, appeared stunned by the sudden compromise and refused to comment publicly on the bill last night.

More Reasons to Write Under Your Own Name

For author Laura Albert, having a pseudonym was like having your cake and eating it, too. (Enjoying fame under the fake name, JT Leroy, while living in quiet obscurity under her real one.) Unfortunately, using her pseudonym to sign a contract has led to legal problems, which have essentially blown her cover, as it were. But what’s really interesting here is how her alter ego seems to have taken on a life of his own. For instance, she spoke about it in testimony as if it were a separate personality that could leave her and inhabit others.

The story of how this persona developed is fascinating. But publishing is a strange enough business without having to deal with problems of this sort.