I failed to go with daughter Holly on her Chicago road trip as well. Which would have been fun.
It looks there will be good news for all the people who have paid for Neverwheres from Hill House (or anything overdue from Hill House). I'll have more concrete information very soon.
And anyone who is waiting for a refund on the cancelled Tulsa Event, Mammoth Comics will be making sure the refunds happen -- apologies: I think absolutely everyone who could have screwed up on this one did, in a sort of Perfect Storm of screwedupness. But things should sort now. And guilt, if nothing else, will bring me to Tulsa sooner rather than later.
I hate to be nosy, but did you take Zoe to the vet? Blindness in aged cats is most commonly caused by hypertension (high blood pressure, as I am sure you knew). This condition can be secondary to kidney failure or dysfunction or hyperthyroidism. We do not see primary hypertension in cats generally. The second most common cause would be retinal atrophy, but it is much less common. Unfortunately, with neither disease is the blindness reversible, but if Zoe has an underlying disease, her well-being could be improved by treating it.
Thanks for allowing me to give unasked for advice, but I find that often my patients owners don't realize that disease in one area can cause a more obvious sign in another.
Sorry if you knew all this stuff already.
Shera
a kitty vet (and huge fan)
I put this up because I thought it might be useful for other people as well. Yes, we took her to the vet today, who established that, yes, she is indeed blind. And is currently doing a whole set of tests on her. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her. She's an astoundingly sweet-natured cat, who we've had since she was a barn-kitten: she fell downstairs when she was younger, and had her hip screwed together -- she's never been as active since. But she likes to be loved more than any cat I've known. (Worries.)
[later]
She's back from the vet. It was indeed high blood pressure. They're trying to decide whether she needs medication. (She was hugely overweight when we got her back, and we put her on a long diet, so she's now at normal weight, which may help anyway.)
...
Words of wisdom from Sherman Alexie, writing about the Seattle Sonics trial:
...52. I don't believe in magic. But I do believe in interpreting coincidence exactly the way you want to.
53. Do you know why Indian rain dances always worked? Because the Indians would keep dancing until it rained.
Eddie Campbell has a new book out. This is always exciting. It looks particularly wonderful, and there are extracts at:
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/07/comics_leotard.html
...
Here's The Guardian talking about The Hugos. (I should say that, as far as I know, The Guardian is the only major newspaper that ever reports on the Hugo winners.)
Cloned Dog Owner Manacled Mormon for Sex is possibly my favourite headline ever. It's on the Guardian front page, today. (The story, although with a different lead line, is up at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/08/usa)
...
Nalo Hopkinson and Geoff Ryman are talking about their first Clarion Week (and everything else) on the latest AISF podcast: http://www.adventuresinscifipublishing.com/2008/08/aisfp-58-nalo-hopkinson-and-geoff-ryman/
...
Mister Punch photo series from the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-ca-0810-puppets-pg,0,1074139.photogallery?1
to accompany this article.
This is happiness. From the BBC and Jamie Hewlett (and his Zombie Flesh Eaters team) and Damon Albarn, present: Monkey, Sandy, Pigsy journey to the Olympics... (if it doesn't work, check at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/monkey/7521287.stm)
Labels: best headline ever, Cats, Eddie Campbell, hill house, Hugo Awards, Mister Punch, monkey and me, Sherman Alexie, tulsa oklahoma