Sopuporific

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Swiped from Snipy.

Not getting enough Nice Time™ ...

... from your Wonkettes?

Try this:

It’s not exactly the same as in the novels, but occasionally I’ll read a sex scene she has written and I will chuckle to myself, “Oh, I remember that.”

Awww overload

Twenty-one GIFs of cats and cardboard boxes: the first listicle I've ever linked to without feeling the slightest twinge of guilt.

Feel-good story

For srs.

Oval Office Awww

Larger versions here.

(h/t: Rebecca Schoenkopf)

Good news! Skynet threat is gone.

It appears that the rise of the machines will be focused instead on searching for funny videos of the true master race.

Looks to me like an insidious plot to bring back the fanny pack ...

... but, that aside, pretty adorable.

(context)

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Pic from here. Image "© All rights reserved by utilikilts."

Guess who just figured out she wasn't invited on the trip

(Swiped from Clare's FB album.)

(previously)

Colors in the White House

Sure it's staged, but that doesn't mean it's not beautiful. Click it to big it.

(source | via)

What horses in Wyoming looked like 6000 years ago (give or take)

Below, Ms. Morgan and her great-great-... grandparent.

zoom in | zoom out

Of course, no mention was made of the jockeys. This proves once again that the NY Times is librully biased and that evolution is Just A Theory®.

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Painting by Danielle Byerley, Florida Museum of Natural History. Image swiped from io9.

Awww. (Plus, they're math nerds!)

From Suzy Allman's NYT slideshow:

“We planned to make a “17” together, because we couldn’t find a Lin jersey. They’re all sold out.” — Jonathan Palmieri with Melissa Magner, both of Linden, N.J.

(h/t: KK)

Let's get scared!

As I tweeted back to Brad DeLong, dog-lovers are going to be impossible to be around for the next few days:

How Your Cat Is Making You Crazy

Jaroslav Flegr is no kook. And yet, for years, he suspected his mind had been taken over by parasites that had invaded his brain. So the prolific biologist took his science-fiction hunch into the lab. What he’s now discovering will startle you. Could tiny organisms carried by house cats be creeping into our brains, causing everything from car wrecks to schizophrenia? A biologist’s science- fiction hunch is gaining credence and shaping the emerging science of mind- controlling parasites.

Click, if you dare.

And can't you just hear Carl Zimmer cackling?

(pic. source, pic. source)

Looks like one of the Five Brothers after this past Tuesday, doesn't it?

(Actually, their eyes always look like that.)

Santorum did WHAT???

But seriously, a pretty cool little article, with bonus sound clip.

(title: cf.)

Actually, my biggest fear is running out of coffee

But this thing that I swiped from Rexi44's sidebar is still appealing.

I suppose there must be something worse ...

... than re-posting a video which ran as a pre-roll ad and calling it "blogging," but I can't think of what it would be. But who cares, I love these.

(alt. video link)

I haven't ever seen the cougar one. Have you?

Madonna con bambino ii

(h/t: TC, via email)

(previously)

Line of the Day: 2012-01-11

Usefulness: A

“This really depends on whether or not you find performance art useful. One moment, Filibuster will be pulling books off the shelf, the next he’ll be drowning a cat toy in his water dish, the next he’ll be taking an umbrella off the hook and walking around it (closed) in his mouth (he’s a pretty big cat, but this is still an odd sight to see.) Once, he broke into a bag of cat litter, piled it up in a big mound on the floor and took a shit on it. Matthew Barney, eat your heart out.”

(h/t: MK, via email)

Runners-up:

From the same review:

Huggability: B

“He tolerates being hugged, but he meows all the while. Look, for Filibuster, affection is an ACTIVITY. Affection is freaking ART. It’s not for laying around like a lump. He has to walk back and forth, meow like crazy and then bite you if you stop for even a second. The only time he ever sat on my lap was the one time I meditated. He put his little paw on my hand and sat there with me. True story.”

Also good (different review):

Appearance: B

“I’m not fat; I’m plush.”

"Cute Cats and the Arab Spring"

[Update] Audio-only file now available for download, if you prefer. See this post.

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"When Social Media Meet Social Change"

Here is the 2011 Vancouver Human Rights Lecture, given by Ethan Zuckerman. Even if you think you can't stand to hear one more word about Facebook and Twitter saving the commoners from the ruling classes, I encourage you to give this a chance. Despite his obvious enthusiasm for new media and what it may afford in bringing about monumental change, Zuckerman is quite realistic about the limitations and the risks. Also, he hates the word "viral."

It's about fifty-four minutes long, plus about thirteen minutes of Q&A at the end. If you'd rather download an MP3 of the highlights, see Cory Doctorow's tweet or right-click and save this directly.

Without further ado ...

(alt. video link)

Related links: Ethan Zuckerman's blog and a cute cat.

I think we can safely say there have been worse promos for a teevee show

(alt. video link)

(h/t: KK, via email)

Nothing against Capt. Picard, but ...

... just in case you wanted something a little different from the familiar, here is a squirrel doing a facepalm. You're welcome!

Especially you, David Miscavige!

(Swiped from Ecoconsultancy: "The 21 most horrific social media facepalms of 2011.")