Further, further proof that we are seriously not aware of how stupid we are - as a race.

On strolling around our local pet store place recently - in order to buy two goldfish to keep the mozzies down in our pond - I was struck with the fact that 'anima-fishing' appeared to be selling small feline IRM scan machines. On closer inspection the large, white plastic donut affair was in fact a rotating, self-cleaning cat litter tray. I stared for quite a long time, first at the price - a snip sale price of 370 euros rather than 419; then at the sheer ugliness and cumbersome-ness of the thing. 

I am a dog person: dogs' expressions, dogs' delight at your return home, the walking; the general all round feeling that you are all part of a pack. Cats . . . many people love them and find them to be wonderful companions. Our various cats in the past were mainly bird destroyers, rather than rodent destroyers; aloof, observing us as food providers and not much more. There were moments of great joy but on the whole our cat-enthusiasm wained, mainly from the point that we found 'Bronzino' our old bruiser marmalade cat had decided a great New Year's present would be a crap IN our bed . . .

pampered but useful greyhound on her favourite sofa...

So, I can speak with experience on the non-joys of cat litter trays. But then, it's no great deal . . . small plastic spade, take out the wee-clumps and poo, into a bag, into the rubbish or cat poo recycling box if you live in a particularly organised area ( don't think this exists - yet). Or you can get one with a top so the cat can crap in privacy, and or the smell is reduced.  Or don't have a cat. Or have one if you have a garden - then there's the treading in the particularly stenchy cat-effluent, and the bird-depletion problem. Yep. Goldfish or dog. Sorry, you millions of cat-adorers.

Back to the IRM machine. Why would anyone want to spend 400 euros on a bulbous piece of future landfill? I can imagine the average life of one of these things would be similar to the always-soon-to-be-extinct home printer. Then to fix it? Ha-ha. Ever heard of Built In Obsolescence? I had Quick Look online and there are many different shapes of future land-fill cat toilets. Surely the plastic consumed would be better used for actual IRM machines? We seriously need to Wake UP.

1971....2018

Spot the difference.

The Lorax, by the inspirational Dr Seuss was first published in 1971 and is apparently one of many banned children's books in the USA - too subversive, the wrong message, anti-consumerism. I think he had incredible powers of observation, possibly the ability to see into the future?









We must have read The Lorax to our son Ezra about two hundred times and we/he never tired of it. In the early 90s the message was all too clear especially for someone like me, being involved in the shoddy world of advertising as a stylist.
I worked with companies who produced the equivalent of Thneeds - useless, of-the-moment items that would be produced in sweat shops to then be added to land-fill as soon as the interest wore off/the items broke/or were deemed to be 'so last year' or actually, month, more likely.
I've just read a review of the Lorax film. The story, from this account would have poor Seuss weeping in his grave - sugary, pathetically unfunny jokes all the way through, the message lost under a whumph of Hollywood 'business as usual'.
The book should be brought back and be issued as standard early-school reading along with subjects such as: where food actually comes from, how to cook it; how to garden and nurture food-plants, how to reuse what you have, and how to adapt to a possibly very near world where what colour your next smart phone will be is of absolutely no consequence.