Tig3 is the most laid back cat I have ever had. I keep saying that I’ve won the Kitty Lotto, because I have. After eleven years of one cat who absolutely did not let you do a thing to him that he needed, like give him medicine or clip his claws, or even clean gunk out of his fur—and eleven years of a cat so timid that she literally runs away from me if I step towards her too quickly—it is simply wonderful to have a cat who is quickly earning “Fearless” as one of his names.

Gracie is afraid of the broom. When Tig was less than nine weeks old, I took the broom to the office to clean up the bits of cat litter that escaped the litterbox. Tig thought the broom was just the neatest new toy. I can’t sweep if he’s in the room any more. I had to hide the broom. He was destroying the straw.

Gracie and Tig were both afraid of the hair dryer. Tig heard the hair dryer and ran away, then came back to see what the noise was. That’s what he does. He runs from the source of a new, loud noise, then sneaks back behind me and checks it out. Once he determines that it isn’t going to hurt him, he does the kitty equivalent of a shrug and gets on with his business.

Tonight, we had an intense downpour with flashes of lightning and thunder. Due to my crappy management company, my gutters are full of pine needles again, so the excess water pours down onto my living room picture window. It’s loud. Tig investigated it. I thought he might enjoy seeing the source of the water, so I picked him up and opened the front door. He was fascinated with the rain pouring down, and unmoved by the lightning and thunder. I put him down and went to get a towel, because the water comes in through the window frames. When I got back to the window, Tig was—sigh—drinking the rainwater in the frame. (Which is why I just laugh at idiots who feed their cats bottled water. They’ll drink any water, anywhere, no matter how disgusting it may seem to us.)

I really did win the kitty jackpot with this Tig. It’s like I cashed out all my kitty karma and got the best possible cat I could find. And he’s showing all the signs of growing up to be a great big goofball, too.

Time for our evening play session before bed. His favorite toy: Rolled up wads of paper, just like his predecessor’s. And he fetches them, too.

I’m going to have to add “Lotto” or “Winner” to his list of names, I think.

Our very own Soccer Dad is hosting Haveil Havalim, a.k.a. Carnival of the Jews.

If you like this blog, you’ll like the posts in the carnival. Go check it out.

Israel appeases Hamas by entering a truce with them, and Hizbullah gets the message: Israel is a pushover.

Hizbullah has returned to its original demand that Israel release not only several Lebanese prisoners but also hundreds of Palestinian ones in exchange for kidnapped soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, Ynet has learned.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s specially appointed envoy overseeing MIA affairs, Ofer Dekel, heard the renewed stipulation at a meeting with German mediator Gerhard Conrad in Berlin last week.

And why not? Israel is ignoring the fact that Hamas is using the truce to rearm and regroup, showing Hizbullah that Ehud Olmert will agree to just about anything these days. He’s offering the Golan to Syria and allowing the U.S. and the UN to ignore the UN-agreed-to Shebaa Farms border. So why would Nasrallah think that he needs to actually deal in good faith with Israel? No one else is.

The prime minister vehemently rejected the renewed demand. Israel has repeatedly said it would not consider including Palestinian prisoners in a deal for Regev and Goldwasser under any circumstances. Hizbullah is insisting on the clause to solidify its standing in the Arab world as patrons of the Palestinian cause.

Sure. And a few weeks ago, Olmert vehemently objected to any truce that didn’t include Gilad Shalit’s freedom. Just wait. He’ll cave on this, too. He’s currently threatening to fire all of his cabinet ministers who vote to dissolve the government this week. It remains to be seen if his ministers care more about Israel than they do for their own positions. I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.

The Labor ministers left the government meeting in order to confer with Labor Chairman Ehud Barak. One of the ministers who witnessed
the scene told Ynet that “The Labor ministers were seriously spooked and immediately left to ask Barak what they should do. The prime minister has proven to them that they won’t be able to keep their jobs while undermining the government.”

Let him fire you, morons. You’ll only be out of work for as long as it takes to complete new elections.

Barak told his ministers that they must hold their ground and vote for the dissolution of the Knesset in view of the multiple police investigations held against Olmert.

Labor announced last week that it intends to back the future motion of dissolution, although given the choice it would “opt for governmental stability rather than new general elections”.

Translation: Polls show a Labor defeat, so we won’t call for elections yet.

I simply can’t get a handle on why Israeli politicians suck so much, and then I take a look around at American politicians, and I go, “Oh.”

Your weekly Tig pic:

The two of them share the sofa, if not much else. Gracie isn’t really showing signs of sudden acceptance. I was upstairs drying my hair this morning when I heard yowls and other suspicious noises from downstairs, and Tig suddenly dashed up the stairs and ran between my legs to hide behind me. When he laid down shortly afterwards, tufts of fur came off him.

Yep. Gracie got him.