queerbychoice | Kenji Yoshino and the Cat Who Turned on the Lights, by J. K. Lilian Jackson Rowling-Braun

What is it about this book Covering by Kenji Yoshino? First

electronblue started telling me all about it on AIM, then a few days later

kethylia wrote about it in a LiveJournal entry, and now

frankepi sends me the book in the mail. I don't think I've seen so many people not acquainted with each other all simultaneously get excited about the same book since the last time J. K. Rowling published one. And the book is an analysis of civil rights law, not a novel! I'm slightly frightened by the excessiveness of the P.R. campaign. But I guess now I'll get to see for myself what the fuss is about, thanks to Frank.

Stardust learned a new trick today; she figured out how to turn light switches on. Unfortunately, she shows no sign of knowing how to turn them off again. When I came home from work today, I found that the ceiling fan/chandelier in the living room was turned on. I know I didn't leave it on myself, because the only time I've ever turned it on is when photographing the living room - there's just no possible reason other than photography that I could ever need to light the living room with four lightbulbs at once instead of just one. But the switch to turn on the ceiling fan/chandelier is right above the bookshelf that Stardust always sits on when she's saying goodbye to me in the morning, so I suspect she probably flipped the switch immediately after I left, and then left it on for the next eight hours until I came home. Silly electricity-wasting kitten. Anyone know where I can sign a kitten up for ecology and/or economy classes taught in cat language?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

just sit her down in front of An Inconvenient Truth. it's got lots of graphs and diagrams if she can't follow the English...

yay! except she'll probably just turn into a movie fanatic and order a lot of DVDs on my credit card and play them in my living room where it'll be hard for me to avoid them.

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i think it's an idea that's "in the air" more than something Yoshino needs to "borrow" from anyone. also, while i haven't read Love the Sin yet i'm pretty sure Yoshino would happily cite it if he'd "borrowed" from it, given that he cites an awful lot of other sources and inspirations in his book.

and yeah, the writing style and personal nature of Covering are a big part of what makes it so remarkable. it's intellectually sophisticated but it's also written beautifully and compellingly.

Ha! Is the lightswitch right next to a door or some other column-like structure that she could climb? I know it doesn't seem possible -- I wouldn't have believed it myself until I saw Manny do it -- but cats will climb walls. After a year of practice, Manny's got some sweet hangtime.

Yeah, it's right above my new bookshelf that she sits on all the time, so she could easily bump into it without even trying. I wouldn't put it past her to try to turn other light switches on, though - she's totally obsessed with spending hours trying to reach anything high up, solely because it's high up. When she was littler it was the refrigerator handle and then the telephone cord, but now both of those are too easy, so she goes for the magnets on the freezer and the strings that draw the blinds closed.

I absolutely loved Covering. I found the subject fascinating--it looks at the history of progress towards "gay rights" in ways I hadn't really seen before (and talks about other cases of civil rights as well. The personal anecdotes are endearing but I'm not sure that's what made the book so exciting for me; it's more the overall subject matter and the beautiful, poetic style in which Yoshino narrates it.

Perhaps you could put some sticky tape or electrical tape over the switches that you never use so that they can't be flicked, even by the most determined kitten. Stardust might still get the switch that you do use, but at least it means she won't leave the whole house blazing away all day while you're out.

this has nothing to do with your post. just commenting to tell you i'm adding you to my friends list because it think your journal is interesting. i dont update my journal too much, but i guess that would be a good thing if you're considering adding me back because i see you have a bunch of friends on your list anyways lol so you probably have a handful as it is. anyways, thanks for considering me :) happy typing!

Hello! I quite like your icon. Unfortunately, I hardly ever add back anyone who adds me, but you're certainly welcome to read.

Kenji Yoshino and the Cat Who Turned on the Lights, by J. K. Lilian Jackson Rowling-Braun

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hey

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