I appreciate the shout-out! :'D And yes, (other) Nancy was really cooking this year with Elara Voss. And I'm not just saying this because it's almost exactly my name with the first and last syllables removed!
Here is my most miserly killjoy opinion: I hate, hate, *hate* bodega cats. Hate them. Hate that "I have my cat eat the rats that come into my store" is framed as a cute bit of thrift rather than a grotesque health violation. Hate that they sit at the intersection of the internet's annoying cat fetish (I like cats, but c'mon) and a particular type of New Yorker's fixation on bodegas (wow, it's like, Spanish... so EXOTIC!). But more than anything, I hate that there would be zero fawning obituaries if the Waymo had run over the bodega's human owner.
My favorite bookstore cat is fictional. In Lawrence Block’s “Burglar” series, Bernie Rhodenbarr’s cover is that he is the owner of a (I think used) bookstore in Manhattan. The cat’s name is Raffles, which is also the name of a famous fictional British gentleman burglar in … Hong Kong? … Singapore? I’m not looking it up.
Imagine my surprise to read Nancy Friedman citing sports statistics :)
re: renaming to less controversial, but identical, names — you probably know the history of the redesignation of King County (where Seattle is) from some 19th-century racist to honoring MLK (?)
I am almost as surprised as you! I happened to be in the room where a TV was broadcasting Game 4, and even I couldn't help watching and being impressed. But of course I wouldn't have been able to rattle off those statistics without Wiki-help.
I appreciate the shout-out! :'D And yes, (other) Nancy was really cooking this year with Elara Voss. And I'm not just saying this because it's almost exactly my name with the first and last syllables removed!
Here is my most miserly killjoy opinion: I hate, hate, *hate* bodega cats. Hate them. Hate that "I have my cat eat the rats that come into my store" is framed as a cute bit of thrift rather than a grotesque health violation. Hate that they sit at the intersection of the internet's annoying cat fetish (I like cats, but c'mon) and a particular type of New Yorker's fixation on bodegas (wow, it's like, Spanish... so EXOTIC!). But more than anything, I hate that there would be zero fawning obituaries if the Waymo had run over the bodega's human owner.
Tbh I hadn't been aware that San Francisco had "bodegas," let alone "bodega cats." Everyone I know calls those businesses "corner stores."
How do you feel about bookstore cats? I'm pro.
My favorite bookstore cat is fictional. In Lawrence Block’s “Burglar” series, Bernie Rhodenbarr’s cover is that he is the owner of a (I think used) bookstore in Manhattan. The cat’s name is Raffles, which is also the name of a famous fictional British gentleman burglar in … Hong Kong? … Singapore? I’m not looking it up.
Imagine my surprise to read Nancy Friedman citing sports statistics :)
re: renaming to less controversial, but identical, names — you probably know the history of the redesignation of King County (where Seattle is) from some 19th-century racist to honoring MLK (?)
I am almost as surprised as you! I happened to be in the room where a TV was broadcasting Game 4, and even I couldn't help watching and being impressed. But of course I wouldn't have been able to rattle off those statistics without Wiki-help.