Krazy Kat.

Okay, so your cat’s toxoplasma gondii might be causing your schizophrenia…

If [Jaroslav] Flegr is right, the “latent” parasite may be quietly tweaking the connections between our neurons, changing our response to frightening situations, our trust in others, how outgoing we are, and even our preference for certain scents. And that’s not all. He also believes that the organism contributes to car crashes, suicides, and mental disorders such as schizophrenia.
…
Schizophrenia did not rise in prevalence until the latter half of the 18th century, when for the first time people in Paris and London started keeping cats as pets. The so-called cat craze began among “poets and left-wing avant-garde Greenwich Village types,” says Torrey, but the trend spread rapidly—and coinciding with that development, the incidence of schizophrenia soared.
…
In a 2011 study of 20 European countries, the national suicide rate among women increased in direct proportion to the prevalence of the latent Toxo infection in each nation’s female population.

… but probably not…

Indoor cats pose no threat, he says, because they don’t carry the parasite. As for outdoor cats, they shed the parasite for only three weeks of their life, typically when they’re young and have just begun hunting. During that brief period, Flegr simply recommends taking care to keep kitchen counters and tables wiped clean.

However, it is another potential reason to be terrified of your own mind. And your cat.

Linkwad.

Another scary/depressing edition, unfortunately:

• We are the 99 Percent tumblr.
• While CEO pay rises, thanks to repeated “above-average” contracts (via Yglesias). When San Jose police and fire unions did this, city government basically went bankrupt.
• The short of this long article: forests store carbon, slowing global warming. Global warming kills forests, and could accelerate.
• What? Racism’s not a thing anymore, though!

Linkwad.

1. An interesting multipart Slate discussion of transhumanism.
2. I sort of thought Bones made up this job.
3. Brad Plumer on Solyndra and the state of solar power.
4. Netflix: crazy like a fox?
5. If this volcano blows, the 2012er morons will be even more insufferable.
6. G+ lives again.
7. Behind the scenes of Louie with Louis CK.

The clock washed midnight away.

Initially, I was just going to post something smarmy for Hurricane Isabel, comme ça:

That was before I read things like “Irene is capable of inundating portions of the coast under 10 – 15 feet of water, to the highest storm surge depths ever recorded,” and “Mass evacuations of low-lying areas along the entire coast of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia are at least 50% likely to be ordered by Saturday.”

There are plenty more terrifying scenarios in the rest of the post (although it leaves out the possibility¹ of a No Man’s Land scenario), and this map shows you which areas will be screwed, based on storm strength.

That said, my hurricane preparedness strategy currently revolves around buying prosciutto and baguettes, downloading TV shows and listening to Gil Scott-Heron. This may prove insufficient.

The eyes have it.

Weigel is right–this Michele Bachman eyes tumblr is most definitely “grade-A nightmare fuel.”