An Abundance of Cute

My boyfriend is fabulously resourceful and always finds great websites to share with me. For the past few months, I have been addicted to adorable pet photos and would always awe and squirm over their cuteness. I haven't had a pet of my own in a while and would love to call one mine. The fact that I have been receiving links to so many little furry creatures is adding to my pet fever! Here are two from Cute Overload that I just had to share:

THIS JUST IN: Panda 'Tocks
I have always found something fascinating about pandas, especially given their black and white extreme fur shade contrast. One thing I never knew about pandas though is the weird positions in which they place themselves. They are full of curiosity and love to climb, so much so that they end up upside down on hanging over branches sometimes!


Secrets of Pocket Pet Photo Shoots
Look at its big eyes! Other photos in the series include the hamster playing a trumpet, drinking from an empty milk bottle, posing near a miniature slide, and more. Some of these seem to be a little forced and that makes me uncomfortable, but the cute factor is on overload no doubt.

World Builder

Maybe it's far too late at night—or early in the morning—or maybe I just can't bear the thought of losing a loved one. Whatever the reason may be, the 9 minutes and 15 seconds World Builder brought tears to my eyes. This brilliant work of art was created by filmmaker Bruce Branit. Does his name ring a bell? It might, because you've probably seen his work before on your television set or the big screen. The visual effects section of his resume includes hit television shows Pushing Daisies and Lost, the 21st century King Kong film (2005), the film rendition of Sin City (2005), and so many more. In Branit's words, the touching short film is a story where "a strange man uses holographic tools to build a world for the woman he loves." The video is also available in high quality.



Additional link: World Builder on Facebook

What Age to Get Married?

Listening to Chum FM's Roger, Darren and Marilyn podcast today, I realized the strangest thing about the discussion of marriage and age. A lot of people make plans when they are young about at what age they wish to meet certain life goals. These life goals are usually that of graduating, buying an apartment/a house, buying a car, getting married, having a kid, etc. Society seems to have also imposed a standard ages for these specific life goals.


On the radio today, a woman mentioned that she has several weddings to attend this summer and the weddings are of engaged couples in their mid-20s. They then said that it's a good age for people to get married. Women should get married mid- to late-20s and men in their early 30s. Does that not imply that men and women should have an age difference of about five years?

It's confusing. Get married whatever age you feel comfortable. Get married not because you have to but because you are in love. Get married when you are financially secured and content both independently and together.

To me, it's absolutely crazy that people get divorced. Get married with the intention of staying with the person forever.

How-To: Keep Them Necks Warm

It's true, I still wear v-necks in the winter. Don't dismiss the idea though; it's all about layers for me. Jackets over v-necks are just fine, but who zips up their hoodie all the way up to the neck? Not me. How do I keep the cold wind from chilling my bare neck? Scarfs!

I adore scarfs. I have a large collection of scarfs. That's as comprehensive as my clothing "collection" gets. I don't collect other accessory items, just scarfs. There are so many ways to wear them and I'm bored of my lazy, simple wrap-arounds or loops. Time to try something new! Here's a cool article from Time Out Chicago that includes a video of how-to.


via Time Out Chicago

And another site I literally just found that is super useful as well, Texere Silk's Scarf Tying Guide. They've got some beautiful sketches for instructions.

I'll do more How-To blogs in the future. There are just so many simple and fun things to learn and to do! Keep warm!

3/3/09

Thanks to my boyfriend's tweet on Twitter, I have discovered that today is Square Root Day.

3/3/09

Did any of you know this? Did my boyfriend make this up? Apparently it's on Wikipedia; I knew he didn't think of it himself! (Or maybe I should give him more credit!)

Happy Square Root Day!

February, Thursday 14 . 1884.

On Valentine's Day 125 years ago, Teddy Roosevelt lost his loved one. His wife Alice died on their fourth anniversary of their engagement from Bright's disease. After her death, T.R. never spoke of her again, even omitting her from his autobiography. She was only 22. This is a page from his diary that very clearly expresses his grief.


via Jordan Ferney's Oh Happy Day!

Serena Williams Namedrops on Ellen

I am a huge fan of the Ellen DeGeneres and her weekday talk show. Since I'm in university and have bizarre afternoon and evening classes, I keep myself updated by subscribing to the podcast on iTunes. Last Tuesday, Serena Williams, currently the #1 tennis player in the world, was on Ellen and cleverly gave her sponsor a free mention. She is a damn good celebrity endorser!



Ellen asked Serena about the Australian Open tennis tournament that took place in January. It was scorching hot for the entire two weeks of the matches and many players experienced exhaustion from the heat. Serena said, "Oh my God, it was so hot. At one point it was, like, um, I think they said it was 125 degrees (Fahrenheit) on the court. And it was just like, literally, I was running and like thinking this is almost not worth it. Is this worth it?"

And the conversation continues with...
E: How are your shoes not melting on the court?
S: Well, I mean, Nike makes the best shoes, so absolutely... [laughs].
E: Good answer, you should buy them with American Express cards!
E: And when you're done playing, put on CoverGirl makeup!

You can watch the whole interview on YouTube here!