Quotes from around the Web

via Metafilter:

I have four rescued cats (thanks daughter working in a veterinary hospital) who all have something missing. You put them all together and you pretty much get one complete cat.

Anyway, they all have their places and do their cat things and only interact/screech at me when they want wet food. The rest of the time they keep to themselves, with one exception:

WHEN I DO YOGA.

Then, I become the most fascinating person in the world.

I go upstairs. They ignore me.

I put on my workout clothes. Ignore.

I turn the TV on. Nothing.

I put on the Bryan Kest DVD and I hear 16 paws TEAR ASS up the stairs and they all sit at the doorway, staring at me. They gingerly enter the room.

I fast forward through the introduction because no, I do not need to hear again about nose breathing. They circle around me.

I start in mountain pose and swan dive to relax my head and neck, and they all think I'm a piece of tuna, head-butting me, serpentining between my legs, arching their backs and kissing me.

Downward dog is a complete joke. I've got Bobo nibbling my hair, Fat Tony kissing my feet, Mikko flopping between my hands and Ava lying under my stomach waving her paws at me.

Yoga with cats, indeed.

An older quote but timely given the movie's upcoming release:

Now that same discrimination against the hate-filled has threatened to affect the box office for Ender’s Game, with the LGBT group Geeks Out organizing a boycott that is, essentially, like the Stonewall police raid of sci-fi movies, except targeted against homophobes and costing—rather than humans their dignity—Orson Scott Card his money. And just like the Stonewall rioters, Card is here to say he’s finally had enough of being hounded simply for his way of life that involves decrying others’ way of life.

source: Onion AV Club -- Ender's Game author Orson Scott Card issues plea for tolerance of his intolerance of gays

aka protagonist of Atlas Shrugged:

happy birthday
Oh, Dag
you remembered
I got you something
you did?
that’s so sweet
I got you the greatest gift one human being can offer another person
you didn’t have to do that
what is it?
I have achieved something
Oh, gosh
well
I made an achievement all by myself and no one can touch it or sully it with their dirty jealous fingers and no one can take it away from me, never never never
so
happy birthday
thank you, Dagny
Yes.
You’re welcome.

source: the toast

The Borgias, episode 1. We are facing the papal election of 1492. Another Cardinal confronts Rodrigo Borgia in a hallway. It has just come out that Borgia has been committing simony, i.e. taking bribes. Our modern audience is shocked! Shocked, I say! That a candidate for the papacy would be corrupt and take bribes! Our daring Cardinal confronts Borgia, saying he too is shocked! Shocked! This is no longer a matter of politics but principle! He will oppose Borgia with all his power, because Borgia is a bad person and should not sit on the Throne of St. Peter! See, audience! Now is the time to be shocked! No. This is not the Renaissance, this is modern sensibilities about what we think should’ve been shocking in the Renaissance. After the election this same Cardinal will be equally shocked that the Holy Father has a mistress, and bastards. Ooooh. Because that would be shocking in 2001, but in 1492 this had been true of every pope for the past century. In fact, Cardinal Shocked-all-the-time, according to the writers you are supposed to be none other than Giuliano della Rovere. Giuliano “Battle-Pope” della Rovere! You have a mistress! And a daughter! And a brothel! And an elephant! And take your elephant to your brothel! And you’re stalking Michelangelo! And foreign powers lent you 300,000 ducats to spend bribing other people to vote for you in this election! And we’re supposed to believe you are shocked by simony? That is not historicity. It is applying some historical names to some made-up dudes and having them lecture us on why be should be shocked.

Don't let this fantastic critique fool you, though--Ex Urbe is not one of those history savvy folks who can't stand it when media gets any little thing about history wrong:

In a real historical piece, if they tried to make everything slavishly right any show would be unwatchable, because there would be too much that the audience couldn’t understand. The audience would be constantly distracted by details like un-filmably dark building interiors, ugly missing teeth, infants being given broken-winged songbirds as disposable toys to play with, crush, and throw away, and Marie Antoinette relieving herself on the floor at Versailles. Despite its hundreds of bathrooms, one of Versailles’ marks of luxury was that the staff removed human feces from the hallways regularly, sometimes as often as twice a day, and always more than once a week. We cannot make an accurate movie of this – it will please no one.

Source: “The Borgias” vs. “Borgia: Faith and Fear” (accuracy in historical fiction)