April, Come She Will  You remember these kitties. You just remember them smaller. You saw Tank a few weeks ago: he was the vociferous kitty yelling at h2g2. In spite of Mama Cat's attempts to keep 'em down on the Hoggett Farm, they're roaming the living room and having a great time. Mrs Hoggett wanted to share: you can see the new video on this page.
There's a lesson in these kittens. No, srsly. There are an awful lot of unhappy people these days, arguing with each other. Others are afraid to open their mouths because they don't want to offend anybody else. There appear to be any number of horrible problems in the world, many of them heartbreaking, and no solutions in sight. One reason, it seems to me, is that we tend to overlook the obvious, or to be impatient about the basics. Peace, love, understanding? Old hat. The connectedness of all living? What a cliché. Love your neighbour? How last-century… You see what I mean?
Maybe we should take a lesson from the kittens. They've never been here before. To them, the world is brand new. Who cares if there were kittens last year? (I do: TJ's not quite a year old, about 10 pounds of enthusiastic young cat.) These kittens are like stout Cortez: with somewhat teary eyes, they stand, okay, not silent, upon their own Darien.
 Soon, these fellas will, too. Yep, that's Tubby. She has been delivered of a colourful brood, much to Hoggett satisfaction. Who can resist these guys?
Now you know why, as Superfrenchie so eloquently put it, 'Cats are the basis of the internet.' We can learn a lot from the philosophical furrballs. Now, let's go learn a lot from each other. It may be April Fool's, but we don't have to be.
- There is nature in these pages that will make you cry, it's so beautiful. Willem's Egyptian plover. bobstafford's reflecting image. Cactuscafé's magical, natural portal: make up a story. Talk about these things. Get inspired. Every time we look at the world, we see something old and something new.
- Yes, we know what time of year it is. Instead of trying to fool you, we're just fooling around. Humour everywhere, even in the quizzes. Try your hand at all the challenges. There's an extra one, because the Editor got disgusted about the writing column and went on holiday. Be sure to read SashaQ's ongoing work-related cartoon. You can probably relate.
- There are photographs in this issue that are like the devil: if they didn't exist, someone would have to make them up. But they did, and the photographers didn't, and there they are. Figure it out for yourselves.
- Speaking of devilry: Awix has a spooky movie review. Or is it? More like, well, just read it.
- Minorvogonpoet starts off April's Create Challenge with an insightful tale that demonstrates just how intricate a set of job requirements can be. You don't have to be handling explosives to be sitting on dynamite. Don't forget to send us your work-related stories. We want to know!
So, don't take any wooden nickels, as they used to say on the boardwalk. Be careful of April Foolery. Enjoy this content, and have a great week!
Book Suggestion of the Week from Paulh: Fish Who Answer the Telephone, by Y. P. Frolov [1937]. Reviewed in Nature, a scientific journal. Suitable for the season.
Video Surprise: Trying clicking here for the April Fool Kittehs, or click on the Pliny-embedded video.
Dmitri Gheorgheni
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