Do you have a cat? Does it pee or bite what you don't want it to?

Research suggests your cat might be frustrated with its life, since it is semi-domesticated after all. Especially if it is not allowed out, it might be a good idea to enrich its environment.

The catch is you might need to collect some more food pieces from around the house than you are used to.

Here is the easy read version with more information, and here is a specialised site which inludes instructions on making homemade cat puzzles. It looks like a fun weekend project regarldess of outcome.

Here is an interesting video on how rulling works, regardless of political system.

It seems to suggest that the rulling is only possible if major interests are represented and that, in any political/power organisation, there is always an oligarchy representing the major interests that is doing the ruling. Better watch the 20 min video to get more detail and make up your mind...

There is a follow up too.

Here is a video essay on blockbuster music.

I would suggest to spend the time to watch it. If you really want the summary it is:

The Hollywood norm has always been creative unoriginality in music scoring. Often by copying the style of other movies and playing it safe.

It is possible that the references being copied in recent movies have a smaller gamut of music than in the past, but the major problem of forgettable music in modern blockbusters is not lack of originality, or risk.

The main thing that has changed is that music is now made in a computer. For good practical reasons: it is much cheaper and flexible to adapt to a movie in production, while it is still being cut. The problem is that computers have not been good at simulating instruments that stand on their own to do melody. Or at least it is not easy to do.

The boring music of modern blockbusters is due to the lack of subtlety in the choices that led to its production, which result in little focus in melody. Solo flutes are not the norm, drums beats are. And they are not very memorable.

While it is probably a combination of digital music affecting the movie making process and a shift towards de-emphasising music, it seems to me like a lost opportunity to make great popular art.

An easy accusation would be that music is yet another thing the creators are not putting their soul into. But I think the person scoring a movie might actually be very into it. To me it is more interesting whether they would have chosen their career path if they had grown listening to the work they are producing.

I think the problem is that the movie making process treats the public as mindless consumers who will be offended by more refined choices. While it is true that not all viewers will grasp and appreciate subtleties in a movie, this is not a reason to remove them from the movie. It is not a good reason to make a movie targetted at the lowerst denomicator. And it commits the sin of not leading by example - how are people supposed to be exposed to more complicated subjects and discover if they appreciate them? Is the only way to increase the depth of the movie to increase its complexity?

To me this sort of behaviour is a denouncement of responsibility. Irresponsibility and the accusation of elitism (the other defence of the bored/uninsprired creator), reminds me of news reporters accusing educators appearing in the news of any misinformation the news has spread. They say their job is entertainment and making money, not education. The defence of irresponsibility is to deny responsibility. I think it is a problem if the creator and the public think the creator has no responsibility.

Interestingly, the video above is a response to the following video.

Both are good, but I prefer the one that prefers function over form. That is what I would aspire to create if I was 15 years old and considering my career.

Here is a nice video illustrating, among other things, how traffic jams appear to go away for no reason. The solution to end all traffic is rather interesting.

Then again, one could say the solution already exists.

Here is a video on China, suggesting the name is a modern invention implying the idea of a nation state, which is also recently imported to China.

If you like reading on paper, or find proof-reading working better on paper, or like the idea of making booklets that kind of stay together without binding as a consequence of them being folded, you will enjoy Cheap Impostor.

Cheap Impostor is a mac program that allows to print in half the size of A4, and lays out the pages so they fit in booklet created by folding the printed pages in two.

It also makes printing cards easy.

And whatever you print, it saves paper.

You only need a mac and a printer that supports double sided printing.

It works as a print-to-pdf option from any program that can print. Its output is a pdf ready to print, check its website for illustrations, they confer how simple it is much better than words.

You can download and use it for free, but it is shareware so you are expected to eventually pay.