The movie Taras Bulba (1962) opens with a narration. I thought: Have I heard that narrator before? Have I heard a parody of that narrator?

Yes and yes. It was Paul Frees, who also narrated Dudley Do-Right.

On average, my cats don’t ask for much attention; a head-rub suffices for half the day. For a few days recently, they were much more demanding. Perhaps it was the change in the weather; we’ve had a week or so of autumn, though Thursday was summery again.

Peter Ludlow (linked from Reason):

The former United States ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, argued that Snowden “thinks he’s smarter and has a higher morality than the rest of us … that he can see clearer than other 299, 999, 999 of us, and therefore he can do what he wants. I say that is the worst form of treason.”

(I haven’t found a more direct source for Bolton’s remarks.) If Snowden had instead sold his info to a rival state, at least he’d be keeping it in the family, as it were, rather than giving it indiscriminately to people who have never taken a government paycheck nor come anywhere near Yale; and it wouldn’t be the great sin of acting on his own initiative.

Later: Rather than go public on his own, Snowden shoulda given the files to 299,999,999 other Americans and let them vote on whether or not to publish.

It bothers me that Rocky and Bramble, though not obviously neurotic, don’t share the joyful manner of their predecessor Pillow (2005–2010?), who gave the impression of expecting fun around every corner. What am I doing wrong?

It now occurs to me: at least part of the difference must be that, as Rocky and Bramble never go outside, I never see them trotting.