WTF is it about those cats, LOL!

Benny,

Funny that you’d mention taking a big dump. You reminded of a scene from one of my favorite books in which a man very carefully describes his morning constitution. The character brings us into each detail even to the satisfaction he feels as the “rising stink” greets his nose.

I’m talking about Ulysses. People at the time were absolutely shocked and horrified by everything James Joyce described, mainly because at the time, literature was intended to be clean, neat and fit into a very specific box.

But the reality is, taking a dump is part of the human condition as is our endless fascination with things seemingly pointless videos of cats and the silly things they do.

I completely agree with you that these things are ridiculous, and it amazes me that these cat videos and websites are so popular. That is exactly why I ask why.

Why is it that I can play the Mean Kitty Song and my daughter will come running in from any room of the house to watch with slaw-jawed wide-eyed amazement. Ok, a five year old may be an easy sell, but then what about Noah, my husband?

Noah is a generally cynical person and tends to read only hard core science, politics, art, sports and my blog. I’m not sure he’d read my blog, though, if he didn’t know me personally. Yet, he watched and then continued to choose to watch more cat videos. Why?

Then let me ask you. What’s the difference between the cat videos here and, say, a video of a drunken (seeming) Irishman running around in a pillow fight?

So yes, I am indeed fascinated by internet memes. What makes one thing “hit” while another doesn’t. Why did Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up find a huge audience when Forgetting Sarah Marshall did not.

Noah told me recently a study he read that showed how these things seem to be based on luck. Or popularity. When you see many other people standing in a line, most people are more likely to stand in that line than in the shorter one next to it.

One thing I want to be entirely clear, though. I included this article NOT as an attempt to generate search traffic. I think my work on Matador as well as outside stands strongly enough on it’s own. I included it because I think this is a genuine topic of discussion. And thanks to your frustration and facepalm (another internet meme of equal silliness, i might add), the conversation now exists.

Perhaps I could have brought it up in more directly, but you know, sometimes, I don’t feel like being all serious. Sometimes, I just want to post silly cat images and let them speak for themselves.

Add to that, there are plenty of people who genuinely enjoy them. Who are we to say they shouldn’t? I just want to know what part of us is touched by these things. I want to talk about why.

I look forward to your many more facepalms from you, because, like you, I enjoy a challenge to my beliefs and world view.