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Column Anime Spotlight Gentle, Magnificent Gratitude: A Love Letter to Natsume’s Book of Friends One of the coziest, most comforting anime of all time, a slow-burn coming-of-age story that champions decency above all. By Leah Thomas | Published on October 3, 2024 Credit: Brain Base / TV Tokyo Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Brain Base / TV Tokyo This year, Christmas is coming early with the release of the seventh season of Natsume Yuujinchou on October 7th. This is the perfect time for a little retrospective on this quiet, irreplaceable triumph of a series. “Natsume Reiko was always, always alone.” This is what the powerful yōkai Madara tells Reiko’s grandson, Natsume Takashi, after he accidentally frees the yōkai from a forest shrine.  Natsume-kun can relate. Like his grandmother Reiko, he was born with the supernatural ability to see and interact with yōkai, ayakashi, and other monsters of Japanese folklore. This ability has always alienated Natsume from other human beings. When yōkai scared him as a boy and he cried out in fear, others called him a liar. Orphaned as a toddler, Natsume spent his entire life leading up to high school being passed from relative to relative. At last, he’s landed with a kind older couple who live in his grandmother’s hometown in rural Kyushu. He is determined not to creep them out. Natsume hopes to hide his abilities from everyone, but avoiding yōkai in the countryside proves a challenge. The mountains and forests and farms and traditional houses here have not changed much for centuries. In rural Japan, the world is older, the trees wilder, the ghosts stronger; superstitions hold genuine merit. It isn’t hard to believe that moss-covered jizo statues might wink at you, or that the crows in the branches are sentient and gossiping like aunties, or that the fox darting across the road could actually be a centuries-old shapeshifter. Drawn to Natsume’s resemblance to his grandmother as much as his spiritual power, the yōkai of the countryside won’t leave Natsume alone. Thanks to his encounter with Madara, Natsume discovers that, as a girl, his grandmother captured the names of yōkai in a calligraphy book she called The Book of Friends. Doing so allowed her to control them, and ever since all the local yōkai have wanted one of two things: to get their names back, or to steal the book and gain power over powerful spirits. But Natsume, an introspective, painfully lonely orphan, sees right through Madara’s interpretation of his grandmother as a yōkai-hunting villain. His grandmother Reiko, if she was anything like him, didn’t want servants. She wanted friends. She was just very terrible at making them. Natsume resolves to return the names to the yōkai his grandmother wronged. Many anime ghost stories are set in the countryside. But Book of Friends, though rife with ghosts, is far from a horror story. Instead, it is one of the coziest, most comforting anime of all time, a slow-burn coming-of-age story that champions decency—human and inhuman both—above all. Sure, you may be a monster, but that need not determine what kind of person you are. A Little About Yōkai… Credit: Brain Base / TV Tokyo When I meet people in Japan, they are often surprised by my infatuation with yōkai. I wear bakeneko shoes and kappa tees; I created a map of Japan that distinguishes the 47 prefectures not by cities or landmarks, but by a representative yōkai said to live in the region. It hangs proudly on my wall, and every time I visit a new prefecture, I color in a new yōkai. I have a yōkai tattoo (it features sunekosuri, or “shin-rubber,” a catlike yōkai that trips people in alleyways after dark). I am not the only foreigner infatuated with yōkai by any means. Why is that? Well, for one thing, yōkai are damned interesting creatures, as weird as they are diverse. You’ve got the giant rattling skeleton Gashadokuro, as big as Godzilla, who haunts former battlefields and eats people for fun (I have a Gashadokuro poster hanging over my toilet, naturally). But then you’ve got doll-like household spirits called Zashiki-Warashi who may break a few pots but mostly take care of your home. And you’ve got Amabie, a three-legged bird-beaked fish lady who became popular during the pandemic because her name and image are said to prevent the spread of plagues (the handwashing signs at my workplace feature cute clip-art of Amabie, who reminds kids to use soap.) There are yōkai severed horse heads that hang from tree limbs and knock riders from their steeds for fun, and yōkai whose sole purpose is to lick the hair from empty washtubs, and somewhere in Ehime there’s a yōkai rooster that spits fire. And objects or animals that live to be 100 years old become tsukumogami, gaining either a soul or sentience or both, which means there are also yōkai karakasa kozō, a one-eyed umbrella who hops around on one sandaled foot, and mokumokuren, eyes that grow on the paper screens of neglected sliding walls.  The creativity is endless, and the morality of each yōkai varies. They are as changeable as the seasons, as unpredictable as typhoons. For every monster that emerges from a toilet and kills those who dare use the wrong-colored toilet paper, there’s an old clay cup hiding in the crawlspace that will sacrifice itself to protect the household, shattering as it absorbs an incoming curse or disaster.  Of course, the general weirdness of yōkai means that even the potentially docile ones can be frightening. But in many stories, yōkai are more misunderstood than malicious. Natsume can’t help but give yōkai the benefit of the doubt even when they terrify him. After all, how many people have been afraid of him based on assumptions that he was either crazy or a liar or both? And fortunately, his spiritual power allows him to punch them pretty damn hard when the need arises, too. And then he either runs or apologizes, depending on the circumstances. Socializing is never simple for a guy like Natsume. Becoming A Good Friend Credit: Brain Base / TV Tokyo “He doesn’t know how to be a friend,” Madara explains to Natsume’s human classmate Takumi in the second season finale, after Natsume yet again darts off into danger without asking for help. It isn’t an insult, but a fact. Natsume has always seen himself as an inconvenience, and he would sooner chop off his own leg than lay his burdens on someone else. More than rejection, he fears inflicting pain on those he cares about.  Takumi, the son of a Buddhist monk, can’t see yōkai, but he can sense them and sometimes sees a haze where they stand. More than anyone else, he understands Natsume. And unlike Natsume, he understands that good friends share their suffering, and in doing so, alleviate it. But it has never occurred to Natsume that anyone would want to help him with his problems. Natsume’s gradual willingness to accept help from others is a fundamental aspect of his character growth. Natsume is too considerate, initially to the point of self-harm. In the first season, he values himself so little that he throws himself headfirst into danger. After all, if he dies, no one will miss him, right? This is why, when he first meets Madara, he tells him, “Protect me from other yōkai and help me return their names and, when one of them kills me, you can have the Book of Friends.” But Natsume also can’t help being empathetic, and in seeking to understand yōkai and people he finds himself less alone. After he forms bonds with people and monsters in his midst, Natsume continues to throw himself into danger, but because he wants to live. His kind nature hasn’t changed, but his motivations have. He is a wonderful protagonist. Eventually he accepts that some of the yōkai can be his friends, and that there are people in this countryside town who appreciate him. In addition to Takumi, Natsume befriends Natori, a famous actor and secret exorcist who sees supernatural beings clearly thanks to a cursed birthmark of a lizard that travels around his body. There’s Taki, a girl who learned to draw magical yōkai-revealing circles from her grandfather. There are classmates who know nothing of his yōkai relations but appreciate his kind, spacey nature. Natori envies Natsume’s power over spirits, but Natsume never sees himself as having any. Instead, he sees himself as befriending people. Very, very odd people. Credit: Brain Base / TV Tokyo Some of the best moments of the series are those when we see Natsume through the eyes of those who know him. In a later season, an entire episode is dedicated to Touko and Shigeru, the lovely couple who have taken him in. They reflect on all his moments of strangeness and insecurity and recall how they longed to help their traumatized adoptee. They are grateful for the privilege to watch him becoming whole and happier over time, and how wondrous it is to have unexpectedly become parents late in life. As Shigeru says once, while Touka frets over Natsume returning home late, “It eases my mind to see him going out on his own. Takashi-kun is so considerate of others, but there is such a thing as being too considerate.” Natsume still refuses to share his ability to see yōkai with his relatives, however. Not because he fears rejection; he trusts them now. Instead, it’s because he doesn’t want to give them any reasons to worry. Similarly, at times we view Natsume through the lens of the yōkai friends who have come to surround him. They are fiercely protective of him because he has always been fiercely protective of them. The powerful horse yōkai Misuzu and Hinoe, a beautiful yōkai woman who was infatuated with his grandmother, both go to great lengths to help him. He has earned their loyalty rather than their servitude, and though he never takes it for granted, it takes him aback. Whenever they invade his bedroom to ask for favors or appear in the forest shield him from the attacks of nefarious creatures, Natsume is overcome with appreciation. …But less overcome than he once was, because Natsume, a boy who has always valued others, is learning to value himself, too. All Hail Nyanko-Sensei!  Credit: Brain Base / TV Tokyo In the future I will certainly be writing more about yōkai, and I could write about this series for eternity, but I am not allowed to do that, okay, both because I have a day job and Reactor, while amazingly indulgent of my whims, has a suggested word count for essays. Madara, aka Nyanko-Sensei (Master Kitty), aka Mofumofu (fluffy fluffy), aka Ponta (Spots, basically), aka kobuta (piggy) deserves a novel of his own. Instead, let’s pay homage to this irreplaceable character here. It isn’t surprising that even though the last Book of Friends production (aside from the wonderful ongoing manga), was released in 2018, Nyanko-Sensei merch has continued to sell like hotcakes. Yes, he’s a fat calico cat, and appeals even to those who have never seen the show. But I think the context makes him even more appealing. A fat cat who is secretly a badass shapeshfiting wolf-deity thing and also a sake lush and also a very wise friend developing his own empathy in Natsume’s company is impossibly charming. Madara is not a mere mascot, although he certainly looks good on keychains. He is a truly powerful yōkai who chooses to appear as a lucky cat because it’s comfortable. He constantly denies that he is a cat, and of course, in almost every episode he transforms into a giant white flying wolf to protect Natsume. He also takes on the form of a human girl sometimes, a girl who looks similar to Natsume’s grandmother Reiko. “Yōkai don’t care about things like gender,” he has claimed, but his choice of human form seems a little pointed. Nyanko has a penchant for manju and sake and other delicious foods, and in most episodes is either overeating or clutching a sake bottle in his paws. He claims to care only for himself, and yet constantly saves Natsume from harm. Initially, he agrees to be Natsume’s “bodyguard” only because Natsume has promised to bequeath the book to him. Later, he says that he stays with Natsume because “I just can’t get bored with you.”  Madara isn’t fooling anyone with that bit. If he wanted the book more than he wanted Natsume’s company, he could have let Natsume die a hundred times over. Instead, every time Natsume returns a name to a yōkai, he feigns annoyance and complains that the book is growing less powerful, but that’s about it. Nah, there’s a deep bond there, an unspoken understanding between a boy and his almost-cat. They both know it, but Natsume is too nice to call Madara’s bluff. Credit: Brain Base / TV Tokyo In the fourth season, after Natsume throws himself in the path of an attacking exorcist to shield Nyanko-Sensei from harm, the exorcist tells Natsume, “That creature does not like you. It does not care about you.” Later, when Nyanko confronts Natsume, Natsume knows better than to tell the truth. “I was just protecting the book of friends,” he says, throwing Nyanko’s usual phrase back at him. Nyanko, in his wolf form, smirks, and Natsume smiles, and nothing more need be said. These two are absolute dorks and weirdos and very, very Japanese, so this is actually how they say, “I love you, dear friend.” More than any other yōkai in the series, it is Nyanko who embodies the duality of these creatures. He is powerful but gentle, terrifying but amusing, fluffy but sharp-clawed. And he is also learning to be a superb friend, though he would never admit as much. Just as he would rather die than admit to being a cat, even as he pounces to chase a string. Ichi-go Ichi-e Credit: Brain Base / TV Tokyo Japanese culture is renowned for celebrating the ephemeral. Every year, families gather under the cherry blossoms during hanami to say farewell to winter and welcome spring. The beauty of the blossoms, famously, lies in their short existence. Within a week of blooming, most sakura petals fall to the ground and rot. In the meantime, people revel in the showers of pink that make the world feel, briefly, magical. “Human lives are short,” Madara tells another yōkai and a drinking party, when asked why he is spending so much time with Natsume. Natsume, too ever philosophical in his private thoughts, is all too aware of how precious and fleeting time with friends can be.  I have read criticisms that Natsume Yuujinchou as a series is slow. While I can’t speak for others and I imagine that people used to shōnen action series about chosen ones might find this anime aimless at times, I cannot think of a single episode that does not add nuance to the world and its characters. This story progresses naturally, celebrating the mundane moments of rural life and the seasons changing as its protagonist grows up. Despite all of its fantasies, Book of Friends strives to feel realistic.  Takahiro Omori, who helms this series, has been among my favorite anime directors for years. He is deliberate in his choices and always understands how much atmosphere matters. In the case of Book of Friends, the cicadas matter, the dew matters, the shifts from summer to winter uniforms matter, and fog on the breath matters, too. The annoying yōkai matter, and lost photographs matter, and classroom banter is precious enough to bottle up and keep close forever. Most seasons of the series culminate in either a festival or a social gathering. In the first season, it’s an autumn festival that Natsume attends with a little fox boy, and in the second it’s hanami, and in the third it’s a banquet Natsume’s yōkai friends hold to celebrate him. There, he plays tag with friends for the first time in his life. Credit: Brain Base / TV Tokyo In Japan, there’s an idiom often spoken during holidays and reunions: Ichi-go, ichi e. One time, one meeting. It’s a sentiment that we can all relate to, one that may put a pang in our hearts: there is no telling when or if we will all be together again with those we love, and even if we are, it won’t be the same as it is now, because life changes all the time. Every meeting is unique. The impact Book of Friends has on those with whom these ideas resonate is no small thing. While I have certainly met people who have never seen the show, I have never met someone who said, “I watched that show and it was okay.” Instead, those who have watched it more often say, “That’s my favorite show,” or “I rewatch it every year.” It was inevitable that I would write this essay on what is, to me, one of the best, often unsung anime out there. I have admired this series for fifteen years now, and it has arguably changed the trajectory of my life.  I moved to Tottori, Japan, the least populous of all Japanese prefectures, in September of 2022. I was leaving an abusive workplace just outside Tokyo, and like many newcomers with rudimentary Japanese skills I hesitated when the decision was presented to me. Tottori is famously rural, so much so that even people in Japan rarely visit, despite the prefecture’s many local charms (it isn’t just the sand dunes, okay?).  But then my trainer told me that the city I was moving to neighbors a place dedicated to yōkai. Sakaiminato, a little port town where legendary mangaka Shigeru Mizuki spent his childhood, boasts an entire street dedicated to the creatures Mizuki incorporated into his iconic manga Gegege no Kitaro. The street is illuminated by eyeball streetlamps and there are yōkai statues everywhere, depicting everyone from terebii-kun, a ghost-boy emerging from a TV (he almost certainly inspired Ringu), to Betobeto san, a creepy yōkai whose clopping footsteps you might hear behind you in the dark. There’s a tiny yōkai shrine, and visitors can collect stamps and omiyage from the unique little shops that line Kitaro Road.  Credit: Brain Base / TV Tokyo “The pace of life is slower there,” my trainer added, but at that point, I was sold. To me, in no small part thanks to Natsume’s Book of Friends, yōkai symbolize something other than fear. A place that celebrates yōkai is a place that values history, culture, and the oddities that make life interesting. And if I have learned anything from loving Natsume and his friends, it’s this: the best things in life are often uninvited, unexpected, and challenging, too. And sometimes, the things you are most afraid of become the things you cherish most. I boarded multiple trains and left Tokyo behind. I chose the slow life, and I chose the ghosts, and you know what? I have never once regretted it.  Have any series changed your life like this one did mine? And what other premieres are you thrilled about this Fall anime season, other than Uzumaki? This weekend I’ll be making a night-bus pilgrimage all the way to Nagoya to visit the Ghibli Park, so expect a little Ghibli retrospective next time. Later this month, it’s time for Halloween—I’ll be writing about body horror in anime, discussing series like Parasyte and the works of Junji Ito, as well as my new obsession, the recent horror gem The Summer Hikaru Died. It’s spooky season! Any recommendations?[end-mark] The post Gentle, Magnificent Gratitude: A Love Letter to <i>Natsume’s Book of Friends</i> appeared first on Reactor.

How will you replenish your food supply when it runs out? What are you and your family going to eat? If you plan to have a secret survival garden at your bug out location, this will make you ahead of many people during economy breakdown and SHTF. We are all aware that growing our own food requires a lot of work, however, it is crucial for survival during post-disaster. Take a look at this inforgraphic, read on, and get some help on how to grow a hidden garden that will serve as your source of food when SHTF. Hide Food In Plain Sight With A Secret Survival Garden — This post is courtesy of Garden Season shared with permission — Are you ready for a natural calamity or an economic collapse and a food shortage after? Whether your answer is yes or no, growing a secret survival garden should be on the top of your prep list. It may seem farfetched but wouldn’t you rather be prepared than sorry? Few foods store well and whether it’s the post-calamity period or the present, processed foods aren’t good. Self-sustenance through plants is still the best way even in times of crisis. Find out how you can better survive with your family by growing your own food and learning to secure them smartly. These amazing playing cards filled with information on how to grow and sustain your garden! Grab these FREE cards here. Watching post-apocalyptic TV shows and movies got me thinking just how I would do in such a hostile environment. Besides not dying, of course, I wondered how my family would deal with the food supply. Being gardeners who grow our own food, I should feel confident. But as commonly depicted, panic drives people to take from others. Take it from survivalist experts, securing food supply should be a skill to learn and master. Learn to prepare and grow a secret survival garden here before a calamity strikes.   How To Camouflage Plants image via Watching The Wheels Forget about a beautiful garden if you don’t want to invite pillage troubles over. In times of crises, the uglier a garden is, the less are the chances of detection. If you can hide your precious food source among weeds and inedible bushes, the better. Growing plant barriers around your secret food source would be ideal to deter anyone from foraging. Thorn bushes should be great plants to start with. An orderly garden will also call other’s attention. So it’s best to plant food plants in random and chaos. It would be great to group plants like the three sisters in corn, squash, and beans. It will both avoid detection and each plant will benefit from each other.   What To Grow In A Secret Survival Garden | Not all plants are good at hiding like tomatoes with attractive fruits to catch attention. Considering how precious planting space would be during these times, it’s important to carefully consider your plants. The following plants are an excellent food source and can camouflage themselves among weeds and bushes:   Interested in some backyard beekeeping? This article will inspire you ???? https://t.co/sDJ8vLK5j6 pic.twitter.com/xRS10pMqoQ — Homesteading (@HomesteadingUSA) December 8, 2016   Potatoes | Carbohydrates are a good source of energy which is needed for survival and potatoes are essentially carbohydrates. Potatoes look a lot like any other plant with green leaves and occasional small white flowers. So grow potatoes in your survival garden since they blend well with other plants and even weeds. Bush Beans | Bush beans are another excellent source of vitamins and minerals. What’s great with this plants is how they can look like other perennial weeds. The fruits are long and look like stalks which perfectly camouflage with other non-food source plants. Their roots are good nitrogen source as well which benefits other plants close to them. Sweet Potatoes | Unlike the regular potatoes which have poisonous leaves and berries, the leaves of sweet potatoes are edible. In fact, the leaves are a good source of vitamins and minerals, a much-needed element for self-preservation. The vines look a lot like ivy and other invasive climbing plants, no one will notice unless one takes a closer look. Blueberry image via Grow So Easy Organic Blueberries have been growing wildly for so long now. They’re a good source of anti-oxidants and vitamins and therefore, recommended in every secret survival garden. Good thing, blueberries grows easily and blends well with other small trees or bush. How about venture into some of different gardening with “Rainbow Rose Seeds”, grab them for free. Want to read the full article? Check it out on our sister site GardenSeason.   Want more tips and ideas on how to grow you own secret survival garden? Check out this video from MarkP0177: In any critical situation, it is important to always stay as calm as possible. Well, this is my way of telling you not to get all anxious and panicky for what hasn’t occurred yet. Although, it’s perfectly smart to prepare for the unexpected. Don’t wait for any calamity and disaster and start learning some survival skills. Learn how to create your own secret survival garden! Do you make preparations for any emergency too? I’m interested to know your story. You can share it in the comments section below. Learn to identify a good food source in edible flowers as an important skill for survival preps! Follow me on instagram, twitter, pinterest, and facebook!   Featured image source via Tend Collective  

State and Federal Governments Impeding Hurricane Relief

It’s still a bit too early to call this a “cure”, but several clinical trials are returning exciting results.

Google appears to have adopted a “yes, we did it—so what?” attitude after it was busted thwarting an ad tied to a video in favor of former President Donald Trump while hypocritically allowing similar content featuring Vice President Kamala Harris. Google-owned YoTube admitted to demonetizing an ad launched by popular entrepreneur and motivational speaker Grant Cardone on one of his pro-Trump videos. However, the tech giant gladly approved revenue for the same ad when it appeared on his content featuring Kamala Harris, Fox Business reported on Monday. In remarks to the outlet, Google predictably fell back on the familiar excuse tech platforms often use when accused of censoring Republicans: it was an “error” that had been “resolved weeks ago.” Cardone, who has millions of followers across several social media accounts, first called out the blatant bias on Instagram and X posted on Sept. 5 and captioned, “Anyone who doesn’t think election interference is real, maybe this will change your mind.” In the clip, he quipped, “Google, you guys are nasty people.” WHAT A JOKE ? public service announcement - if you run ads featuring Donald Trump they will get taken down, but if you run ads with Kamala Harris… approved !! Anyone who doesn’t think election interference is real, maybe this will change your mind. pic.twitter.com/9JQSuMQbq7 — Grant Cardone (@GrantCardone) September 5, 2024 The censorship when Cardone launched an ad campaign to drive traffic from his eponymous channel—boasting 2.65 million followers—to his new page, 10X Studies. YouTube “immediately” flagged the ad as ineligible for revenue because Cardone’s original channel featured a pro-Trump video that allegedly violated the platform’s policies on campaign-related content. The flagged video, titled “Donald Trump Predicts NYC Chaos,” featured an image of Trump standing behind an American flag. In response to Google’s ad rejection and to test the platform’s potential bias, Cardone quickly revised the pro-Trump video to focus on Harris, with a new caption reading, “Kamala’s Capital Gain Tax Will Destroy Housing in America.” Cardone then resubmitted the ad for YouTube’s approval—and what happened next was jaw-dropping. YouTube swiftly greenlit the ad, allowing it to run on the Harris video uninterrupted for nearly two weeks. A Google spokesperson conceded that both videos “should have been disapproved because the advertiser has not completed our election advertising verification process.” The spokesperson inexplicably affirmed that the “second ad was initially approved in error and has since been blocked.” Google also mentioned that its “policies are designed to treat all advertisers equally, regardless of political affiliation. Occasionally our systems make mistakes, and we correct them as soon as we spot them." This is not the first time Google blamed censorship on an error. In June, Google banned the educational non-profit PragerU from its Google Play store amid the release of the documentary Dear Infidels: A Warning to America. In response, the tech giant claimed this was an error. In March 2024, YouTube fixed an inaccurate pro-abortion label on a pro-life video posted by the Alliance Defiance Freedom, and in 2021, cited a “mistake” after censoring the Ron Paul Institute’s channel.  A new Media Research Center study revealed that Google forced Americans searching for the Trump campaign’s website to first navigate through leftist news outlets, prompting the former president to pledge legal action in a potential second administration. Google’s claims of impartiality are undercut by numerous studies conducted by MRC, which have revealed the tech giant's sordid interference in American elections on behalf of Democrats, including Harris.  Specifically, 19 MRC studies have repeatedly exposed Google’s election-meddling censorship between the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 general. MRC President Brent Bozell challenged Google CEO Sundar Pichai on March 26 to discredit any of the studies, giving him until April 9 to respond. As of Oct. 2, Pichai has not replied. Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.

Click to Skip Ahead Most Popular Cat Names Male Names Female Names Other Great Names There are many people who like to use naming conventions when naming their pets. Some people like to use a specific letter (like B names for Boston Terriers), and others like to stick to a certain theme, like sports stars. Naming conventions are a fun way to bond with your pets and can be a great conversation starter. If you are someone looking for a name that starts with the letter E, you are looking for an uncommon sort of name. Names that start with E are less common than people realize, and the names are more unique than other letters. That makes it a perfect letter to mine for ideas for the perfect name for your cat. Here are 80 of the most popular cat names that start with the letter E. Most Popular Cat Names That Start With the Letter E These are the most popular names for cats that start with the letter E. These names were derived from copious amounts of research and categorizing to identify trends in the pet naming world. Each one of these names has made the list of the most popular cat names in the past two years. Some of the most popular naming trends are based on television shows, music, and traditional names. Image Credit: Julija Sulkovska, Shutterstock Male Names Here are five of the most popular male cat names. Some were taken from rover.com’s Top Cat Names of 2023 based on names submitted by readers. Other names were taken from cats.com’s list of most popular cat names starting with E, in which the names are voted on by readers. So, keep in mind that for the cats.com names, the number of “loves” for any name may change, and the numbers given reflect the number of “loves” at the time of writing. You are welcome to go to cats.com and vote for your favorite, too! 1. Eric Names inspired by The Little Mermaid were popular in 2023, and the name Eric was up 47%, according to Rover. Eric (Erik) also proved to be popular on cats.com’s list, with 124 “loves” at the time of this writing. 2. Eddie According to Rover’s list, names inspired by 90s grunge were increasingly popular. The name Eddie increased by 6%, likely as a nod to Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. But Eddie is also a character in the hit show Stranger Things, which is likely why it was popular on cats.com’s list of names as well. 3. Eamon Now going solely to cats.com’s list, the name Eamon was the most popular with readers by a landslide, with 304 “loves”. Eamon is an Irish name meaning “wealthy protector”, a perfect name for a kitty that always has your back. Image Credit: Elena Loginova, Shutterstock 4. Edvard The second most popular name on cats.com was Edvard with 192 “loves”. Edvard is a name of Scandinavian origin but has a similar meaning to Eamon. Edvard means “wealthy guardian”, and is the Scandinavian form of Edward, the third most popular name choice with 190 “loves”. 5. Earl Earl was actually the 4th most popular name on cats.com, but we’re mentioning it since Edvard and Edward are so close. The name Earl had 182 “loves”. It’s the perfect name for a grey kitty (like Earl Grey tea), but it can also be added in front of another name for your cat to give them a regal name (i.e., Earl Fuzzypaws). Other popular names for male cats include: El Fuego – New in 2023. Elden – From the popular video game Elden Ring. Espresso – One of the more popular names based on drinks. Elmo – A classic pet name derived from the classic character. Elvis – A classic pet name derived from Elvis Presley. Female Names Cat names inspired by popular culture have proven to be very popular in recent years, especially for female cats. Here are some of the most popular female cat names beginning with E. The top five were taken from rover.com’s Top Cat Names of 2023. 1. Earth Earth might seem like an unusual name for a cat, but this name was up 193% in 2023. There were a lot of space and alien-themed cat names that were popular, but Earth is the only one that starts with E. Image Credit: David Tadevosian, Shutterstock 2. Evermore Leave it to the queen herself and fellow cat lover, Taylor Swift, to give us one of the most popular female cat names. The use of the name Evermore increased by 193% in 2023, inspired by Swift’s 9th studio album of the same name. 3. Este Speaking of Taylor Swift-inspired names, another popular name for female cats was Este. The name Este is inspired by her song no body, no crime and was up 110% in 2023. 4. Enid Another pop culture inspired name, Enid was also up 110%. The name is inspired by Enid Sinclair, the werewolf student and Wednesday Addams’ roommate and best friend in the hit Netflix series Wednesday. 5. Eevee This name, inspired by the cute fox-like Pokemon, was up 24% in 2023 compared to the previous year. We can certainly see why it’s so popular among cats. Other popular cat names inspired by pop culture include: Eilish – From musician Billie Eilish. El – Short form of Eleven, from Stranger Things. Eleven – A popular name derived from Stranger Things. Erika – A name that rose in popularity due to the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Elizabeth – From pop icon and documentary subject Elizabeth Holmes. Image Credit: Alena Ozerova, Shutterstock Other Great Names That Start With E While those names are the only official names that start with E that make the list of the most popular cat names for the past year, there are still other E names worthy of consideration. E is one of the more uncommon letters for naming. E is not as common as A or even I when it comes to names. However, there are plenty of interesting names that start with E that complement the most popular names list. Male Names Eadric Eagan Earnest Earnhardt Easton Eavan Ebbie Eben Eberhard Ebi Ebrill Ector Ed Edgar Eduardo Edward Edwin Egbert Egypt Einstein Elf Elton Emerson Emery Emmett Emory Enzo Epic Ernie Eugene Evan Everest Ewok Ezra Image Credit: BearFotos, Shutterstock Female Names Earhart Eartha Eathelin Ebony Echo Eclipse Eden Edie Edith Effie Elaine Elara Electra Elena Ella Eliza Ellie Eloise Elsa Elsie Ember Emerald Emily Emma Emmy Eowyn Esme Esmeralda Estelle Esther Ethel Eunice Eva Eve Evelyn Evie Conclusion Names that start with the letter E aren’t easy to find. Once you get through the top twenty or so names, it gets harder to come up with unique, popular, and fun names that start with this vowel. However, these 80 names provide ample material and inspiration to help you name your cat. The letter E is a great base to find a name from, and you are sure to get a classic name or something completely new for your cat. Sources https://www.rover.com/blog/cat-names/ https://cats.com/cat-names/start-with-e https://www.rover.com/blog/cat-names-that-start-with-e/ Featured Image Credit: Stock-Asso, Shutterstock The post The Most Popular Cat Names That Start With E (Updated for 2024) appeared first on PangoVet.

Despite what mainstream news outlets say, JD Vance crushed his debate against Tim Walz, who floundered when trying to defend the Biden administration’s destructive policies. Tulsi Gabbard confirms that this is true. - YouTube www.youtube.com “Anyone who watched with an open mind sincerely interested in listening to what both JD Vance and Tim Walz had to say probably came away with a very different and positive impression of JD Vance as well as the policies that he and President Trump are putting forward,” she tells Glenn Beck. “I think JD did a fantastic job in talking about these issues in a way that I could relate to, that were very real and really reflect the fact that both he and President Trump are listening to the American people. You contrast that with what we hear from Kamala Harris, what we heard from Tim Walz, who had a really, really tough job tonight trying to defend Kamala Harris and Joe Biden's disastrous policies,” she adds, noting that both Biden and Harris “are so arrogantly dismissive of the reality of the struggles of so many Americans across the country.” Glenn then asks if there was a singular moment during the debate that might “crystallize things one way or the other” for the undecided voter. “I honestly think that there were a lot of those moments on every one of the major issues,” Gabbard says. However, there was one moment that stood out among the rest. Toward the end of the debate when the subject of censorship was broached, Gabbard felt that the moderators — who, again, were left-leaning — did not devote the time or attention to what is “a very serious issue.” “We have hard evidence that [censorship] has been taking place” under the Biden administration, she points out. “You have Tim Walz himself who has said that free speech in the First Amendment is a privilege and that it does not apply to misinformation and disinformation and hate speech.” “The thing that he and Kamala Harris are not telling the American people is that they believe they're the only ones who get to decide what is misinformation and disinformation [and hate speech],” she tells Glenn. Had she been one of the moderators at the debate, Gabbard says she would have asked, “Would you then support banning Hillary Clinton's hateful, offensive speech in labeling me a traitor to the country that I love and I'm willing to lay my life down for?” “That was deeply offensive, and it was also 100% false, so their double standard is very real. They want to protect speech that they like, and they want to ban speech that they don't like,” she explains. “JD was on point when he said fundamentally we cannot have a Democratic Republic unless we protect every American's right to free speech and encourage this vibrant marketplace of ideas where we can debate issues that are important to us, where more speech always wins, and the best ideas will rise to the top.” To hear more of the conversation, watch the clip above. Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

San Jose State University's women's volleyball schedule continues to get shorter as yet another team has opted not to play against the SJSU team.The University of Wyoming is the latest school to take a forfeit loss against SJSU, and while no specific reasons have been given by any program, Wyoming is the third school to do so since it became public that SJSU has a male player on its team.The SJSU team has a 6'1" male athlete named Blaire Fleming, born Brayden, and is having the best season in program history. The team is off to a 9-0 start overall, 2-0 in the Mountain West Conference.The Wyoming Cowgirls join Boise State and Southern Utah as schools that have decided to take a loss rather than play against the team with the obvious advantage.'It is important we stand for integrity and fairness in female athletics.'"After a lengthy discussion, the University of Wyoming will not play its scheduled conference match against San José State University," the team said in a statement. "Per Mountain West Conference policy, the Conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Wyoming."The news is an about-face in the school's stance. Just a week ago, it was reported that Wyoming would indeed play SJSU. Though the schools have not given an official reason for their forfeits, Fleming's own teammate even said the reasons were obvious."I think we all know the reason the games are canceled," senior SJSU player Brooke Slusser told Blaze News.Slusser said that she fully supports the decisions of the other teams not to play her squad, adding, "If I was in their shoes, I'd probably do the same thing."Wyoming's governor, Mark Gordon, also said he supports the school's decision to forfeit the match."It is important we stand for integrity and fairness in female athletics," the governor wrote on X. — (@) Following Wyoming's forfeit, SJSU provided a statement to OutKick about the situation:"It is disappointing that our SJSU student athletes, who are in full compliance with NCAA and Mountain West rules and regulations, are being denied opportunities to compete," the school said via email. SJSU added that the school is committed to supporting its athletes and is dedicated to providing an "inclusive, fair, safe and respectful environment."However, according to Slusser, the school has not been very supportive of its female volleyball players and instead has kept its focus on its only transgender player."We've had meetings, and it's a lot of just checking in on Blaire. ... We were like 'what about us?'" Slusser said. "It's mostly just saying you can't be the person to ... identify Blaire's gender identity. 'Blaire needs to do that for himself.'"Slusser then explained, "Everyone above you is telling you you shouldn't be talking for Blaire, you need to make sure the other person is okay; and [the management] is not thinking about, 'Are we okay?'" Slusser has joined a lawsuit that asks the NCAA to stop allowing male athletes to compete against females and to keep them out of female locker rooms. The lawsuit stems from women's aquatic competitions that included Lia Thomas, the "trans woman" who dominated the 2022 NCAA swimming championships.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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