I must admit I've never understood ties. A few are beautiful, but many are … strange. And what's their function, really? To announce that you belong to some obscure club?

The worst was the period when professional woman began copying men's wardrobe — much of which is appealing — but, ties?

So I don't really get this celebration of an accessory that seems best suited to strangling its wearer. But it did give me an excuse to make this silly photo.

Oh, wait. It's not National Tie Day. It's National PIE Day. Now that's something to celebrate.

Never mind.

Go look at cats instead:

• Carnival of the Cats goes up every Sunday
  • The 358th edition, 1/23, is up at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat
  • The 359th edition, 1/30, will be at Katz And Other Tales