Cats and Words
@catsandwords.bsky.social
“Do you find it easy to get drunk on words?”
“So easy that, to tell you the truth, I am seldom perfectly sober.” — Dorothy Sayers, “Gaudy Night” (1935).
“So easy that, to tell you the truth, I am seldom perfectly sober.” — Dorothy Sayers, “Gaudy Night” (1935).
“O quam mirabilis”, composed by St Hildegard of Bingen, whose feast day is today.
youtu.be/3cd8AgtOo9M?...
youtu.be/3cd8AgtOo9M?...
Symphoniae: O quam mirabilis
YouTube video by Sequentia - Topic
youtu.be
September 17, 2026 at 12:59 PM
“O quam mirabilis”, composed by St Hildegard of Bingen, whose feast day is today.
youtu.be/3cd8AgtOo9M?...
youtu.be/3cd8AgtOo9M?...
This should be a headline in
The Onion. Alas, it is not. It’s from the UK’s Daily Telegraph:
“Compulsory lentils in Labour school meals shake-up”.
I’m all for healthy proteins (lentils especially), but this is, pun intended, nuts.
The Onion. Alas, it is not. It’s from the UK’s Daily Telegraph:
“Compulsory lentils in Labour school meals shake-up”.
I’m all for healthy proteins (lentils especially), but this is, pun intended, nuts.
September 14, 2026 at 1:03 PM
This should be a headline in
The Onion. Alas, it is not. It’s from the UK’s Daily Telegraph:
“Compulsory lentils in Labour school meals shake-up”.
I’m all for healthy proteins (lentils especially), but this is, pun intended, nuts.
The Onion. Alas, it is not. It’s from the UK’s Daily Telegraph:
“Compulsory lentils in Labour school meals shake-up”.
I’m all for healthy proteins (lentils especially), but this is, pun intended, nuts.
From all that terror teaches,
from lies of tongue and pen,
from all the easy speeches
that comfort cruel men,
from sale and profanation
of honor, and the sword,
from sleep and from damnation,
deliver us, good Lord!
--G.K. Chesterton, 1906
from lies of tongue and pen,
from all the easy speeches
that comfort cruel men,
from sale and profanation
of honor, and the sword,
from sleep and from damnation,
deliver us, good Lord!
--G.K. Chesterton, 1906
September 11, 2026 at 2:09 PM
From all that terror teaches,
from lies of tongue and pen,
from all the easy speeches
that comfort cruel men,
from sale and profanation
of honor, and the sword,
from sleep and from damnation,
deliver us, good Lord!
--G.K. Chesterton, 1906
from lies of tongue and pen,
from all the easy speeches
that comfort cruel men,
from sale and profanation
of honor, and the sword,
from sleep and from damnation,
deliver us, good Lord!
--G.K. Chesterton, 1906
September 7, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Bolo de cenoura (Brazilian carrot cake). Nothing like American carrot cake: no nuts, no shreds of carrot, no cream cheese in the frosting. #baking
www.beryl.nyc/index.php/20...
www.beryl.nyc/index.php/20...
August 22, 2026 at 8:05 PM
Bolo de cenoura (Brazilian carrot cake). Nothing like American carrot cake: no nuts, no shreds of carrot, no cream cheese in the frosting. #baking
www.beryl.nyc/index.php/20...
www.beryl.nyc/index.php/20...
The next time someone talks about “traditional values”, remember that “tradition” and “treason” are etymological twins. A “traditore” was originally someone who handed over (the literal meaning of “tradition”) sacred texts under threat of persecution. #etymology
August 18, 2026 at 12:27 PM
The next time someone talks about “traditional values”, remember that “tradition” and “treason” are etymological twins. A “traditore” was originally someone who handed over (the literal meaning of “tradition”) sacred texts under threat of persecution. #etymology
Leo is appropriately skeptical about #BlackCatAppreciationDay because he knows that’s *every* day.
August 17, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Leo is appropriately skeptical about #BlackCatAppreciationDay because he knows that’s *every* day.
Mary, Queen of Heaven, by the otherwise nameless Master of the Saint Lucy Legend (fl. 1480–1510, Bruges). National Gallery of Art, Washington. #Assumption
August 15, 2026 at 11:59 AM
Mary, Queen of Heaven, by the otherwise nameless Master of the Saint Lucy Legend (fl. 1480–1510, Bruges). National Gallery of Art, Washington. #Assumption
There’s a high-school baseball player named Isaiah Snavely and I’m getting all the Charles Dickens vibes. #baseballnames
August 12, 2026 at 12:38 AM
There’s a high-school baseball player named Isaiah Snavely and I’m getting all the Charles Dickens vibes. #baseballnames
In what universe is #internationalcatday only once a year?
August 8, 2026 at 12:42 PM
In what universe is #internationalcatday only once a year?
July 30, 2026 at 11:36 AM
I’m watching a tennis tournament in Portugal. One of the sponsors is the country’s national bank. As an Episcopalian, it’s really disorienting to see their acronym all over the stadium: BCP. 😁
#worldscollide
#worldscollide
July 26, 2026 at 7:11 PM
I’m watching a tennis tournament in Portugal. One of the sponsors is the country’s national bank. As an Episcopalian, it’s really disorienting to see their acronym all over the stadium: BCP. 😁
#worldscollide
#worldscollide
What do you mean, you’re reading? With me here?
I guess I’m taking a break… 😻
I guess I’m taking a break… 😻
July 21, 2026 at 12:17 PM
What do you mean, you’re reading? With me here?
I guess I’m taking a break… 😻
I guess I’m taking a break… 😻
Seeing #OldNorthChurch from the harbor, one realizes just how effective a beacon it was 250 years ago when it was the tallest building around.
July 14, 2026 at 1:57 AM
Seeing #OldNorthChurch from the harbor, one realizes just how effective a beacon it was 250 years ago when it was the tallest building around.
Utterly unbothered little prince. #blackcatsofBlueSky
July 12, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Utterly unbothered little prince. #blackcatsofBlueSky
With the Tall Ships here, the obscure #wordoftheday is “wharfinger”, being somebody who manages a dock or pier (different from a harbormaster, who has legal responsibility for an entire waterway).
July 11, 2026 at 11:40 AM
With the Tall Ships here, the obscure #wordoftheday is “wharfinger”, being somebody who manages a dock or pier (different from a harbormaster, who has legal responsibility for an entire waterway).
Your #wordoftheday is “semiquincentennial”. 🇺🇸
July 4, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Your #wordoftheday is “semiquincentennial”. 🇺🇸
Bread*. Fresh tomatoes, sliced. Mayonnaise (Duke’s if you can get it). Salt and pepper. That’s it. That’s the sandwich. #toohottocook
* In the American South, where this sandwich comes from, it’s white bread. Not in my house — I use homemade challah.
* In the American South, where this sandwich comes from, it’s white bread. Not in my house — I use homemade challah.
July 4, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Bread*. Fresh tomatoes, sliced. Mayonnaise (Duke’s if you can get it). Salt and pepper. That’s it. That’s the sandwich. #toohottocook
* In the American South, where this sandwich comes from, it’s white bread. Not in my house — I use homemade challah.
* In the American South, where this sandwich comes from, it’s white bread. Not in my house — I use homemade challah.
I heard a raven calling in the neighborhood this morning. (No pic because it was concealed in a tree.) It would be nice to think it might be a sign… #iykyk
June 25, 2026 at 11:35 AM
I heard a raven calling in the neighborhood this morning. (No pic because it was concealed in a tree.) It would be nice to think it might be a sign… #iykyk
And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
—Genesis 9:12–13
—Genesis 9:12–13
June 19, 2026 at 12:42 AM
And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
—Genesis 9:12–13
—Genesis 9:12–13
Summer colds are the worst. Fortunately I have a live-in nurse. 😻
June 10, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Summer colds are the worst. Fortunately I have a live-in nurse. 😻
News flash for Big Tech: the only intelligence I’m interested in using is my own. Keep your “machine learning” to yourself. #NoAIinthishouse
June 8, 2026 at 6:01 PM
News flash for Big Tech: the only intelligence I’m interested in using is my own. Keep your “machine learning” to yourself. #NoAIinthishouse
As a Dorothy Sayers devotee, what makes me happiest about today’s wedding is that the Royal Family now have a real-life Peter and Harriet. 😁
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
King's nephew Peter Phillips marries NHS nurse
Peter Phillips married NHS nurse Harriet Sperling during a private ceremony on Saturday.
www.bbc.com
June 6, 2026 at 6:00 PM
As a Dorothy Sayers devotee, what makes me happiest about today’s wedding is that the Royal Family now have a real-life Peter and Harriet. 😁
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Happy Ascension Day! “God is gone up with a merry noise.”
Image: the delightfully rococo Chapel of the Ascension at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, Norfolk, England.
Image: the delightfully rococo Chapel of the Ascension at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, Norfolk, England.
May 14, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Happy Ascension Day! “God is gone up with a merry noise.”
Image: the delightfully rococo Chapel of the Ascension at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, Norfolk, England.
Image: the delightfully rococo Chapel of the Ascension at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, Norfolk, England.