Friday Links: Bunnies and Breaking Bad Edition

My bosses have been out this week. By bosses, I mean my editor, who’s on vacation this week and next. And my lifestyle-coordinator-manager XFE. He’s abandoned me for a cross-country golf trip with his dad to celebrate Senior XFE’s retirement.

This means I have to single-handedly run a multimedia information empire (hey, we post videos sometimes), and attend the approximately bazillion meetings that my work boss attends (including meetings to discuss work products that cannot be worked on because of mandatory attendance at said meetings where we discuss the potential work products that can someday be worked on if one is not in meetings.)

Literally, one of my notes from a recent meeting suggests we take a Facebook poll on which filter to use on an Instagram of our forthcoming infographic, and then write an online story about the poll results, which we should then pin via our association Pinterest account and reblog on our campaign/initiative’s Tumblr. Obviously, tweeting from our various Twitter accounts along the way. It was all very META. And hopefully, a joke.

Wait, what was I saying? Oh yes, not only am I booty-cheek deep in all that outlined above, BUT, I also have to care for and feed myself this week, including setting my own alarm, which I failed to do this morning. (And also, feed and care for my chubby cat. But really, that’s just a footnote.)

As a result of managing my own life in both a professional and personal sense, I am quite the tired bunny. In fact, I’m such a tired bunny, I stole this gif of a tired worker bunny from this Texan, who is a freaking hilarious genius.

 

Every time I’ve felt stressed out the last couple of days, I’ve looked at that gif. It slays me.

Here’s some other things from around the InterWebs that have helped me get through the week.

  • In honor of Shark Week, a video of a dissection of a Mako shark. Spoiler alert: his last meal was a 200-pound seal.
  • I feel like every year, just as Porktober is poking its pointy pink ears up over the horizon, there’s a story warning about bacon shortages. Here’s this year’s. And now I’m going to be obssessed about Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus. Awesome.
  • The Duggars better watch out. Deadbeat dad Orlando Shaw, who has 22 kids from 14 different women, says he’s got a reality show in the works. I dunno, if they couldn’t get All My Babies’ Mamas made, what chance does this guy have?
  • I hate WalMart and I love libraries. We need more of this.
  • Sephora is nirvana and I run around like an insane person who’s never been exposed to toiletry products every time I go in there. Which is why I try to order online instead.
  • Did you know there are an estimated 23,000 nuclear weapons in the world? That and other world enders are outlined in this terrifying infographic. Might as well hit up the casino (casino.org produced the infographic. No subtlety there.)
  • And finally, the most amazing thing in the history of ever (in just six minutes): a middle school musical version of Breaking Bad. These kids deserve an Emmy. Or, at least, a trip to Comic-Con next year.

Friday Linkage: Big Cats Find Love on Metro

  • DC metroWant to get even closer to the sweaty intern swaying next to you on the packed Blue line this summer? Now there’s a dating website for DC metro riders. Giving new meaning to “weekend track work.” (I have no idea what I was insinuating there. Doesn’t really work, does it? Look! Something shiny!)

big cat

  • Speaking of metro, I saw the above advertisement on the way home the other night. Apparently, big cats are roaming the wilds of DC and disrupting public safety. Maybe I should alert them about this beastie.

Petunia Garbo

 

  • My super helpful friend Emilia (who’s killing me with her Instagrams of her vacation in Cinque Terre right now) sent me this list of shark-infested waters a couple of week’s ago, with a note: “I bet you’re in the midst of planning your next vacation. Be sure to pass this along to XFE so he can consider one of these & please his loving girlfriend.” Nice. Don’t fall off any cliffs, Emilia.

 

  • It’s only a month till our trip to Croatia and I have not started my packing matrix! Just kidding. Of course I have. And I incorporated a few tips from this packing tutorial on Refinery 29, even though I will obviously NOT be trying to live out of a carry on.

 

  • Life is full of difficult choices. But deciding, NAY, knowing when to drink beer in the shower is no longer one of them, thanks to this handy infographic. Have a great holiday weekend!
Should I Drink a Beer in the Shower?

 

Infographic: Surviving a Baby Shower

In a truly shocking turn of events, I went to a baby shower this weekend that was not awful. Actually, it was quite nice.

Well, I’m not willing to totally go against character and put my curmudgeonly persona into a coma — it was quite nice for a baby shower, let’s say.

I mean, there’s a reason why it’s not called “an adult shower” — primarily because the gifts are not of too much interest to most adults. Or, at least not to chosen-to-be-childless adults. I cannot seem to muster up a whole lot of excitement for breast feeding paraphernalia or another packet of onesies, for example.  (Although I did find myself “oohing” over a fetching hand-crocheted circular blanket.)

What made this baby shower successful in my opinion are a few things:

1) The champagne was a’flowing. And, it was a serve yourself situation. AND I quickly ascertained where the backup bottles were and made use of that knowledge when things were running low.

2) The gift opening was pretty speedy. Although I mostly chatted and drank champagne through the whole thing, it went pretty fast.

3) No games. None of that melted candy bar in a diaper business at this soiree. And I, for one, am grateful. Unless that game is throwing fistfuls of $100s and then letting the ladies duke it out. I think that would be a great baby shower activity. I would enjoy participating or observing that one.

So, all in all, I give this baby shower a 10 out of 10. Good job, Amy and company.

As I said, I wasn’t paying the strictest attention to the gift roundup, but I think a few of the items in this infographic below were acquired.

For the record, Amy is a first-time parent, but she’s already a doting step-mom to her spouse’s daughter. So they needed all the essential items, as well as fun and creative toys. Which is why I gave baby his/or/her first pair of teeny-tiny Western boots.  Y’all, they were so cute I almost kept them.

Infographic Friday! Honorary Beverages Edition

We’ve got a big weekend coming up, people. It’s the Kentucky Derby on Saturday and Cinco de Mayo on Sunday. Both are perfect excuses for themed drinks.

And, infographics.

For example, did you know that the mint julep has been promoted by Churchill Downs in association with the Kentucky Derby since 1938? Yeah, me either. And each year almost 120,000 juleps are served at Churchill Downs over the two day period of the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby, virtually all of them in specially made collectible glasses.

mint julep

Cinco de Mayo? Not a celebration of Mexican independence, as it turns out. Mexico’s Independence Day is September 16. May 5, 1862 was actually the day the Mexican army won a seemingly impossible battle against France. But, today it’s best known as a day to celebrate all things Mexico, including tequila. (And, in DC at least, racing chihuahuas)

tequila-infographic

I”m astounded by the fact that the U.S. consumers twice as much tequila as Mexico!

I’m not a big bourbon drinker, nor tequila drinker, so I’ll probably just celebrate with a cold beer. Whatever you’re doing this weekend, stay thirsty, my friends. And be safe. You never know when a speeding chihuahua will come along and take you out at the ankles.

chihuhuas

The More You Know, the More You Go

I lerve a good infographic. I really do. So much information delivered in an entertaining and colorful way. Last Friday, I was looking for an infographic for work, as I often do, and I came across this fascinating little gem. While not really appropriate for work, it seems like this is the type of Trivial Pursuit knowledge that might come in handy, at say, a coffee shop where they are serving civet coffee.

Who knew that poop was so interesting. And useful! And came in an assortment of colors! Although, if my poop comes out blue, I’m going to be very, very upset.

I also now know to be wary when driving over what might appear to be camel poop. Very handy, that tidbit.

And, to watch out for feces flinging caterpillars. Not sure where those guys live, but I’m on high alert.

Seriously, where do these infographics guys come up with this stuff!

The Facts About Poop