Nate the Puppy!

Another choice puppy from the Daily Puppy - here's Nate the Border Collie! What a cutie!

Can You Explain Funny?

Professor Peter McGraw thinks so, but I'm not so sure. At least, I hope not, or soon we'll just have robots writing our sitcoms and rom coms and I'll be out of a job! Unless I get a job building comedy robots, but that doesn't sounds very fun(ny).

[article via Wired]

How to Steal like an Artist

A really intense article by author and artist Austin Kleon on his website that covers creativity in the modern world. A lot like "Everything is a Remix." Check it out - it may give you a few ideas.

Kristen Wig NY Times Profile

I'm not a huge fan of all of Kristen Wig's SNL characters (although I think Penelope is pretty darn funny), but I am really excited about her new movie "Bridesmaids" and she has been super funny in her other film roles (remember the evil producer in "Knocked Up"?)

So this NY Times profile about her was pretty interesting. I'd say it's worth a read, even if it just gets you even more super pumped for "Bridesmaids."

Amy Poehler: Keeping in Classy at the Time 100

Amy Poehler is a kick ass woman in general, but now she's proven herself to be a kick-ass and gracious woman, as well.

Check out her speech from the Time 100 Gala wherein she thanks the women who take care of her children while she goes off to lead her extraordinary life. She couldn't do it without them, and so she thanks all these women all over the world who let working mothers work outside of the home at all, women who are often unsung heros - until that night.

Fun with Jello

I feel like I could watch this for hours without getting bored. No wonder the aliens on "3rd Rock from the Sun" were so scared of it!

How Green is Your State?

Texas is the best at wind power!

But we are also the best at releasing tons of carbon dioxide. Oops!

You can check out what your state is doing that's great and green vs what they're doing that's super lame at Mother Nature Network.

Loyola Kicking Booty on Living Donor Kidney Donations!

I don't know what's in the water in Loyola University Medical Center, but I want to start drinking it.

It may have to do with their Pay it Forward program. It's a way for people to send their kidneys across the country to needy donors everywhere, and already eighteen people - seven Loyola employees now dubbed "The Seven Sisters of Loyola" - have donated since the program's inception in March 2010. How incredible is that?

I guess some people, and some communities, are just amazing, but that doesn't mean we all can't be. I hope these wonderful women start a nationwide trend!

[Article from Montgomery Patch]

Poodle Puppy!

Alfie, you, sir, are a delight. Thanks always to The Daily Puppy for providing us with another wonderful pup (though I am concerned about the growing relationship between him and that Shrek doll. Mainly because I don't know if stuffed animals can give consent). Also, it's a good thing that wet dog smell can't come across through computers just yet, because he probably stinks as cute as he looks in those photos!

Tiny Things Make Me Giggle

Vincent Bousserez's Tiny Plastic People make me very happy.

Do they make you happy, too?

See the rest of this gallery over at FlavorWire.

Bridesmaids: So Funny!?

I can't answer that for sure because I (like most of you) have not seen it yet! But I am SUPER excited about this possibly-super-funny movie.

Here's a fun featurette from MakingOf to whet your appetite (I didn't embed it because they do that auto-start thing which can be quite aggravating when you are trying to read a different post).

Also a trailer, why not?

A Hare-Raising Adventure with Simon's Cat

I like Simon's Cat the most when he's destroying furniture or otherwise annoying his beleaguered owner, but sometimes it's good to see him get his comeuppance - especially when it's delivered by a super adorable bunny buns!

Women in Film (in General): Outlook Pretty Bad, Honestly

Ok, ok, you don't have to paw after me all at once but you would not believe it... I've got time to write for TV and film! Can you believe it? I'm practically Wonder Woman, but not that one (but at least they're trying to have a female lead here? Or three? Who knows...)

I think a lot of people might be confused by how there are more female producers than writers or directors, but I've found that the entertainment industry is very receptive to having women in important roles - so long as they aren't important creative roles. Also producer is such a loose term that it's natural for there to be more women in those jobs than the actually-definable writer/director jobs.

[Another wonderful infographic from Statette, with stats provided by a study done by USC Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism]

Women in (Late Night) Comedy: Outlook Not So Good

According to Statette, those Late Night boys are running super low on the funny ladies.

Well, boys, I don't mean to be not-coy, but I'm single and ready to mingle***

***disclosure: only in terms of not having a comedy show to write for - romantically I am taken. Just clearing things up before my boyfriend thinks I broke up with him over my blog, which, I think, would be even worse than by text.

Happy [Belated] Earth Day!

April is so full of fun holidays - half of my family's birthdays, spring becoming spring in general, and general awesomeness - but it is also home to one of my favorite holidays - Earth Day!

Unfortunately, I was super busy at work and totally did not give Earth Day it's proper due on the 22nd, so I am making up for it now by posting some fun Green-related news.

1) Bolivia proposes an Earth's Bill of Rights to be enacted by the UN. I'm all for this. Considering the planet is our home and we literally (in the literal sense of the term) cannot live without it, it only seems right that we give it the same rights (really shouldn't we give it better rights?) than us measly humans.

2) Radical recycling or "urban mining" is the hip new way to save e-waste from tainting all of our precious resources and keep e-waste recyclers (and the rest of us) in the green.

3) Address the Mess has some great ways you can help out for Earth Day not on Earth Day! This is perfect for us, seeing as it is not Earth Day again until 2012.

4) Kiva introduced Green Loans! How great is that? Now you can help entrepreneurs and the planet! (Ok, so they're all filled up right now, but be patient and I'm sure there'll be more ones soon)

Not inspired to help out yet? Well, the Earth isn't excited about kicking you off the planet, either, but she's totally going to do it if you don't suck it up and do your part.

And don't you dare say that CFL's take too long to light all the way up - a) they give your eyes time to adjust and b) it's not too huge of a difference.

[Bill of Rights article from Canada, the publication, not the country - or maybe both? I'm not sure, I hadn't heard about it until today either - the publication, not the country]

[Urban mining from Scientific American, Address the Mess from CC Insider, and Kiva obvs from Kiva]

People Who Can Relate

It sucks when bad things happen to nice people who are way to young to be dealing with this kind of stuff.

Here's the perspective of a woman who suffered a stroke at twenty-six. That's a lot tougher than what I went through, and I'm really amazed at how she's pulled herself together after having her whole mind fall apart. Also, the name of her blog is brilliant - Mindpop.

Here are some ways not to cheer up or relate to a cancer patient. I can tell you, these also apply to kidney patients (though my own responses were generally not quite quick and snarky so much as yelling or quiet seething - I could only handle two emotional levels during that time).

Sometimes it's good for me to remember how lucky I am, and that it could have been so much worse. Then again, I'm not writing for the Hairpin and these ladies the coolest! So clearly I still have something to strive for.

[Also, ladies, if you are reading this which I highly doubt because - you know, why? How did you even know this blog existed? I am also flattered, though! - I don't at all understand what you're going through, but please know that reading about your experiences makes me feel like I wasn't a total crazy/mean/bad person for thinking a lot of the same things when I was going through my I'm-too-young-for-this-also-this-is-BS experience.]

[Thanks, the Hairpin and The Awl for publishing such great articles!]

New Kidney on the Block!

Yes, '90s pop artists can make dreams come true.

To honor Bobbette and her extraordinary kidney donor, as well as the man who brought them together, let's all sing this one out loud: (in this case, the right stuff was a spare kidney and a large twitter following!)

[Read more at the Boston Herald!]

Best Colbert Clip Ever

Just. Plain. Incredible.

New Theory

Take a look at this picture.

Ok, now think about this: Prince Harry is the Logan Echolls of the British Royalty.

Look at the sarcastic dissatisfaction in which he rides that horse.

Did I just blow your mind?

[Image via Buzzfeed, where they list many super cute - super single! - princes]

HP7:P2 Trailer Oot!!

The Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 trailer is oot! (I like saying oot instead of out because Canadians are funny. They are also irrelevant to this post.) Wow. It really looks incredible. Watch it!

Badass Apple HD trailer available here. Actually, yeah just go to the Apple trailer because it's way better than my embed.

SPOILER(S) ALERT! (my thoughts, feelings, reactions)

I love all the glimpses at the Snape memories. They look off-kilter, a little disturbing, but also beautiful and nostalgic - and that's from about five frames alone!

That "Harry throwing himself and Voldy off the tower" thing seems a bit odd, but maybe it will work in context?

Love the hint at the Bellatrix vs. Molly duel!

Everybody's dying!!! I feel like they show a ton of the deaths in this trailer, but really you'd only know who/what is going on if you've read the books so it's not really that spoiler-y. (Of course me talking about it is, though, but if you didn't want spoilers you shouldn't have kept reading!)

On that note - Freeeeeeeeddddd!!

Overall the look feels nostalgic (I can't believe it's almost over!) and magical (Wands! Pretty floating things! Dragons!) like always, but also super gritty, action-packed, and dramatic to show that we're not just dealing with Harry Potter anymore - now we've got Harry F**king Potter.

And I'm ready to join the fight.

Life in a Day Trailer

Wow, this looks really darn awesome.

Anyone else as excited as I am?

For more information on the film, check out /Film.

A Bitter, Not So Green Apple

From Treehugger, I guess Apple really isn't that green after all.

Just kidding! I always knew they weren't green at all (in fact, they were recently labeled the worst polluters in the tech industry), but maybe now you do, too!

[Via The Independent]

Kidney Transplants: Doing Pretty Ok!

Good kidney news today: A new report in Eureka Alert shows that chronic rejection (the slow process of scarring that sometimes occurs in kidney transplants over the course of many years and can lead to the loss of the graft) is less prevalent now than ever.

This is great news for people who are otherwise healthy like me! The main threat to losing the kidney after the first year or so is through chronic rejection, so here's hoping that's not affecting me and I can keep this puppy for at least 40+ years. Right? I sure hope so!

Hilarious Muppet Calendar Circa 1982

Aww, who else wants one of these awesome Muppet Calendars from 1982? I know I do!

Hoppy Easter!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

More cute bunny hopping pictures available on Ark in Space.

Hyperbole and a Half: A Dog's Tail/Tale

Hyperbole and a Half has a new story up (finally, am I right?)!

The story itself is not my favorite (I find it a little repetitive), but I love all the drawings of the dog! She is great at drawing dogs. Also, I had a very stupid but lovable dog once, too, who used to go on many adventures in our old ranch - leaping out of moving pick-up trucks, eating weird things, and barking at anything that moved. He was the best.

The Mountain

Ah, the perfect, relaxing end to a really fantastic week:

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

Isn't April lovely?

["The Mountain" by filmmaker Terje Sorgierd, via Neatorama]

Polar Bear's Day Out!

That's not really the title of this video of a polar bear cub playing with a bucket, but the playful classical music definitely suggests it.

If you're looking for a nice Saturday dose of adorableness as well as relaxation, here you go!

Good News! Glenn Beck Leaving Fox News!

Finally! Some good news today!

(Have you read about this? It horrifies me - I mean, who doesn't get cold sores?)

But Beck is going off the air! That little burning piece of hatred I feel each day knowing he has a voice in the media will get slightly less burning-y. I don't like the fact that he and Ailes are still discussing his "future" with the network and Fox in general, but at least (at least) his show is getting the boot.

Phew! What a happy day... at least until the government shuts down and everyone loses their jobs.

Happy April Fool's Day!

My favorite joke (because I wish it was true!)

More The Aurors Videos

A girl can dream, can't she?