The deal of the century
March 23, 2015 6:17 PM Subscribe
Tom Cox also runs the My Sad Cat and My Smug Cat Twitter accounts and each kitty-related tweet is a joy in my otherwise staid day.
posted by Kitteh at 6:23 PM on March 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 6:23 PM on March 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
“THAT ONE ALWAYS GETS THINGS WRONG,” I can hear him saying. “I EMAILED THEM ABOUT IT. SHE HASN’T HALF LOOKED FED UP SINCE.”
I wanna spend time with this man.
posted by Countess Elena at 6:26 PM on March 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
I wanna spend time with this man.
posted by Countess Elena at 6:26 PM on March 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
Wait, is it just me or is he trying to cash in on the Lumbersexual angle that's apparently the in thing right now?
"Hey ladies, lumber runs in my blood! And blood runs in my lumber, if ya know what I mean..."
posted by symbioid at 6:29 PM on March 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
"Hey ladies, lumber runs in my blood! And blood runs in my lumber, if ya know what I mean..."
posted by symbioid at 6:29 PM on March 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
That was a pleasing read.
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:35 PM on March 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:35 PM on March 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
When did this become a legal Settlers of Catan move?
Fookin told ya
(Also: 'branch manager'. Heh.)
posted by obiwanwasabi at 6:37 PM on March 23, 2015 [5 favorites]
Fookin told ya
(Also: 'branch manager'. Heh.)
posted by obiwanwasabi at 6:37 PM on March 23, 2015 [5 favorites]
That was delightful, thanks!
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:53 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:53 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
“THAT’S NOT A VERY NICE THING TO SAY ABOUT GEORGE.”
So happy from that bit.
posted by casual observer at 6:59 PM on March 23, 2015 [8 favorites]
So happy from that bit.
posted by casual observer at 6:59 PM on March 23, 2015 [8 favorites]
His website is also delightfully bonkers: http://tomcoxblog.blogspot.co.uk/
posted by orrnyereg at 7:24 PM on March 23, 2015
posted by orrnyereg at 7:24 PM on March 23, 2015
Very comfy read indeed, nice accounting of a unique and nevertheless beloved individual, being the dad, and the part with the log in the stream.
posted by Oyéah at 7:37 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 7:37 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oh this was wonderful, thanks for sharing!
posted by sciatrix at 7:38 PM on March 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by sciatrix at 7:38 PM on March 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
Tomorrow I will call my dad. He doesn't shout, but I actually do have a lumber-related question for him.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:50 PM on March 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 7:50 PM on March 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
I knew this was about Tom cox's dad because he is the one who gives sage advice about being wary of fookwits and loonies.
posted by winna at 7:59 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by winna at 7:59 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Giggles much appreciated on this, the Monday of doomness.
posted by joycehealy at 8:00 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by joycehealy at 8:00 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Been following @mysadcat for a while now. Tom Cox's Books, including The Good, the Bad, and the Furry, hit US shores on April 14. Looking forward to it!
posted by MrGuilt at 8:21 PM on March 23, 2015
posted by MrGuilt at 8:21 PM on March 23, 2015
My dad called last night to ask if I could drop by and cut down the snowball tree in the yard. Evidently my mom had put weed killer all around it, but some had gotten on the tree and one side was dead.
I got there this morning, tied the dogs up (half a mile walk), and looked over to find him tying clothesline into the tree. Mind you, this is maybe twenty feet tall, mostly branches; the trunk was maybe seven feet. He was trying to throw loops of the clothesline into the upper branches.
I asked him what he was doing. "Making sure it falls the right way," he replied. I told him all that holding on to ropes and trying to pull the tree would get him was twigs stuck in his face; didn't he call me because I (kinda) (ok, maybe) know what I'm doing?
He got rid of the clothesline.
I fired up the borrowed chainsaw and notched the tree the way Pop was planning on pulling it with ropes. He stood there in tennis shoes and cotton gloves, directly in the felling path. I asked him politely to fucking move, and my mom told me to watch my mouth, and I cut the other side of the tree.
It fell perfectly.
Five more minutes and the tree was in small enough pieces for the "yard waste" dumpster, and I was on the way with the dogs.
(No point, just thought it interesting to read about dads and chopping wood on precisely the day I'd had an experience with my dad and cutting down a tree.)
(also my dad has an inside voice and would sound positively redeculous saying "fookin'")
posted by notsnot at 8:26 PM on March 23, 2015 [7 favorites]
I got there this morning, tied the dogs up (half a mile walk), and looked over to find him tying clothesline into the tree. Mind you, this is maybe twenty feet tall, mostly branches; the trunk was maybe seven feet. He was trying to throw loops of the clothesline into the upper branches.
I asked him what he was doing. "Making sure it falls the right way," he replied. I told him all that holding on to ropes and trying to pull the tree would get him was twigs stuck in his face; didn't he call me because I (kinda) (ok, maybe) know what I'm doing?
He got rid of the clothesline.
I fired up the borrowed chainsaw and notched the tree the way Pop was planning on pulling it with ropes. He stood there in tennis shoes and cotton gloves, directly in the felling path. I asked him politely to fucking move, and my mom told me to watch my mouth, and I cut the other side of the tree.
It fell perfectly.
Five more minutes and the tree was in small enough pieces for the "yard waste" dumpster, and I was on the way with the dogs.
(No point, just thought it interesting to read about dads and chopping wood on precisely the day I'd had an experience with my dad and cutting down a tree.)
(also my dad has an inside voice and would sound positively redeculous saying "fookin'")
posted by notsnot at 8:26 PM on March 23, 2015 [7 favorites]
I can't help thinking of how my dad avoided serious injury because the roof of the van he'd put his ladder on while cutting down one of the trees at home cushioned his fall when the ladder slipped. Dear dad, he is sweet, and he is capable, but he he's got a way of going just a little farther than he should have.
posted by wotsac at 9:18 PM on March 23, 2015
posted by wotsac at 9:18 PM on March 23, 2015
Great post - brought my Grandpa back for a little while.
posted by aryma at 10:23 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by aryma at 10:23 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
RICK
posted by Kwine at 10:57 PM on March 23, 2015 [15 favorites]
posted by Kwine at 10:57 PM on March 23, 2015 [15 favorites]
WHAT YOU FOOKIN WANT?
posted by fullerine at 12:19 AM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by fullerine at 12:19 AM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
A spoiler that I don't feel bad at all about:
It isn't a Faustian bargain that involves cat soup or some such. The person asking for the cat is the writer's father, whose own cat was killed by a car weeks before, and he and his wife are sad without a moggy at home. The cat, at the writer's house, was annoying the other cats. The writer can visit the cat whenever. The cat is happy in his new home. It was best for all involved.
I reiterate, everyone is happy, especially the cat, who is cozy and purring in his new abode. JHarris out.
posted by JHarris at 12:53 AM on March 24, 2015 [10 favorites]
It isn't a Faustian bargain that involves cat soup or some such. The person asking for the cat is the writer's father, whose own cat was killed by a car weeks before, and he and his wife are sad without a moggy at home. The cat, at the writer's house, was annoying the other cats. The writer can visit the cat whenever. The cat is happy in his new home. It was best for all involved.
I reiterate, everyone is happy, especially the cat, who is cozy and purring in his new abode. JHarris out.
posted by JHarris at 12:53 AM on March 24, 2015 [10 favorites]
Where would cats be without humans? Humans are beautiful creatures.
posted by ouke at 12:53 AM on March 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by ouke at 12:53 AM on March 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
They'd be in the wilderness of Africa with their wild ancestors, felis silvestris.
The biggest difference between the domestic cat and its forebear is its tolerance to human presence. The wild cats will skedaddle at the merest hint of an approaching human. Wild cats are rated of "least concern" by conservation groups, and seem to get on well without peeples bothering them.
That said, most are known to suffer from cheezburger deficiency.
posted by JHarris at 1:01 AM on March 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
The biggest difference between the domestic cat and its forebear is its tolerance to human presence. The wild cats will skedaddle at the merest hint of an approaching human. Wild cats are rated of "least concern" by conservation groups, and seem to get on well without peeples bothering them.
That said, most are known to suffer from cheezburger deficiency.
posted by JHarris at 1:01 AM on March 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
There is something about firewood, that's for sure. For example: One of the most unexpected bestsellers in Scandinavia these last few years is Lars Mytting's "Hel ved" ("Solid wood"), a "'practical-lyrical' guide on the use and lore of firewood, based on Norwegian traditions and our modern science on stoves and renewable energy." Over 230 000 copies printed in Norway and Sweden alone, apparently. I really should read it one of these days.
Anyway, this was a delightful read. Tom Cox is fantastically great. I'm really looking forward to his next cat book "Close Encounters of the Furred Kind".
posted by soundofsuburbia at 3:56 AM on March 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
Anyway, this was a delightful read. Tom Cox is fantastically great. I'm really looking forward to his next cat book "Close Encounters of the Furred Kind".
posted by soundofsuburbia at 3:56 AM on March 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
>> wotsac: Dear dad, he is sweet, and he is capable, but he he's got a way of going just a little farther than he should have.
The reason why gruesome bloody pictures don't bother me is because I can't count the number of times my Dad deeply cut himself working in garage.. and then just shrugged it off because it Was No Big Deal, Who Needs Stitches.
posted by royalsong at 6:06 AM on March 24, 2015
The reason why gruesome bloody pictures don't bother me is because I can't count the number of times my Dad deeply cut himself working in garage.. and then just shrugged it off because it Was No Big Deal, Who Needs Stitches.
posted by royalsong at 6:06 AM on March 24, 2015
Okay, that mysadcat Twitter was a hilarious delight and I honest to god silent-cackled with my hand over my mouth (my dude is sleeping next to me and will be not best pleased to hear 'BECAUSE THERE WAS A FUNNY CAT TWITTER' as the reason if I wake him) so hard that there were tears.
It was the 'very tiny insight into what it's like to be a horse' tweet that ended up breaking me.
posted by pseudonymph at 6:31 AM on March 24, 2015
It was the 'very tiny insight into what it's like to be a horse' tweet that ended up breaking me.
posted by pseudonymph at 6:31 AM on March 24, 2015
Wild cats are rated of "least concern" by conservation groups, and seem to get on well without peeples bothering them.
As a species, perhaps--modern taxonomy describes the house cat as a subspecies of wildcat (felis silvestris catus), and other subspecies are doing OK-to-well. Some specific subspecies are at risk, in part due to cross-breeding with house cats. For instance, estimates put the Scottish wildcat (Felis sylvestris grampia) as having between 35 and 400 pure individuals.
posted by MrGuilt at 10:51 AM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
As a species, perhaps--modern taxonomy describes the house cat as a subspecies of wildcat (felis silvestris catus), and other subspecies are doing OK-to-well. Some specific subspecies are at risk, in part due to cross-breeding with house cats. For instance, estimates put the Scottish wildcat (Felis sylvestris grampia) as having between 35 and 400 pure individuals.
posted by MrGuilt at 10:51 AM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
George is apparently doing very well and has made a new friend. A good friend. A very good friend.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 10:23 PM on March 24, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 10:23 PM on March 24, 2015 [6 favorites]
Thank you for the update. George's budding relationship has me grinning just in time for bed.
posted by tigrrrlily at 11:08 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by tigrrrlily at 11:08 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Those all-caps and that cat preference make it sound like the speaker is using the word 'fookload' because he heard it somewhere. And is a skeleton. God I miss Terry Pratchett.
posted by BiggerJ at 2:27 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by BiggerJ at 2:27 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
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