Welcome to the baby goat circus where there is one ring and one trick: jumping on and off of this poor lady. Watch as she patiently sits there while these two kids take their turn springing off her lap:
The post Baby Goats Use This Lady as a Springboard appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Kevespadabill?
Last month, we were treated to a fun special effects filled video from Wolverine Cat. To show that we are fair and balanced, we have a super villain cat that is the BANE of his owner’s existence:
The post Bane Cat Is Not Amused appeared first on HelloGiggles.
KevespadaC.R.E.A.M.
In addition to A Better Tomorrow, the 20th anniversary release due this July, Wu-Tang Clan also apparently recorded a second album, called Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, in secret. It gets far more complicated: RZA claims they're only making one copy of the double album, which will travel from museum to museum (in an "engraved silver-and-nickel box") being played for paying customers. Then they'll sell the single copy for millions of dollars, like a piece of art. ("This is like somebody having the scepter of an Egyptian king," says RZA.) The anti-leak strategy involves "heavy security" and headphone-only listening, which seems optimistic. But if you are interested in paying $30 to $50 to listen to an album once on headphones in a roomful of strangers, then hey! There's a second new Wu-Tang album.
Read more posts by Amanda Dobbins
Filed Under: surprises ,wu tang clan ,music
If the end credits of the Veronica Mars movie already had you shaking and sweating with acute VM withdrawal, take heart. Creator Rob Thomas and co-author Jennifer Graham released The Thousand Dollar Tan Line today, one of two planned Veronica Mars novels that take place after the film. Even better, Tan Line's audiobook is read by Kristen Bell herself, whose mellifluous yet extremely sardonic delivery will really cure what ails you, if what ails you is a disease brought on by a Veronica Mars deficiency. You can listen to a four-minute sneak preview below. As for the book's plot, friends don't let friends attend mysterious spring break mansion parties in Neptune. A warning should be printed in big block letters on every "Welcome To Neptune" street sign.
Read more posts by Halle Kiefer
Filed Under: veronica mars ,kristen bell ,the thousand dollar tan line ,audiobooks ,candy
Kevespadathe building in the photo is the koreatown shithole i used to live in
Because the supply is so small, the entire state's in a crisis. The average California minimum-wage worker (at $8 an hour) would have to put in about 18.5 hours a day, seven days a week (and every week of the year) to afford a two-bedroom apartment. In all, 61 percent of renters in California can't afford a two-bedroom apartment.
In July, California's minimum wage goes up to $9 an hour; in 2016, it'll be at a still-paltry $10. But will this help any? Probably not as much as anyone is hoping. The real issue is the lack of affordable housing more than it is the rate of the minimum wage, says the NLIHC.
· Out of Reach: 2013, California by Area [NLIHC]
· Los Angeles Has The Highest Percentage Of Renters In The US [Curbed LA]
Even though Peeps are now going to be available year-round, I will always associate them with Easter and spring. They were always my favorite springtime treat when I was a kid and I keep finding new ways to use them this time of year, though I don’t inhale them quite as quickly as I did when I was 10. Last year, I turned a batch of Peeps into a very adult Peep-Infused Vodka that I used to make some holiday cocktails. I might make another batch of spirits with a different color of Peep this year, but I also wanted to make something that would appeal both to kids and young-at-heart adults who still have a soft spot for Peeps, and the result was a batch of Peeps Krispy Treats.
I’m not sure why I never used Peeps to make cereal bars before, but it just never occured to me to replace regular marshmallows with these more colorful ones. It’s probably because Peeps tend to melt more easily than regular marshmallows when exposed to heat (so they’re not quite as durable in s’mores, for instance), so they didn’t seem like they would be the best fit for a treat the relied on melted marshmallows for structure. After a little bit of experimentation, I found that a blend of Peeps and regular marshmallows that was the right combination for a batch of perfect – and festively colored – cereal bars.
Surprisingly, these cereal treats aren’t too sweet, even with the addition of that extra sugar from the exterior of the Peeps. I added in a small pinch of salt that helped balance the sweetness and the regular marshmallows boosted the base marshmallow flavor a bit, too. The real difference between these Peeps Krispy Treats and regular ones is that the cereal bars will take on the color of the Peeps that you use, whether that is pink, yellow, purple or blue. You will need very slightly different amounts of Peeps depending on whether you use bunny or chick shapes, as the chicks are a bit larger than the bunnies. This recipe uses a lot of Peeps and makes a relatively small batch of bars. You can double it to fill a 9×13-pan, which is perfect for serving a larger crowd.
I’m serving these before Easter, as a festive treat for the holidays. You can also bookmark the recipe and use it after Easter, when seasonal Peeps are discounted and you can pick them up when they’re on sale. Either way, the bars keep very well when stored in an airtight container for several days, so you’ll be able to enjoy them long after you’ve made them.
Peeps Krispy Treats
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
16 Pink Bunny Peeps or 15 Pink Chick Peeps
1 cup plain mini marshmallows or 8 large marshmallows
1/8 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups rice krispies/puffed rice cereal
Lightly grease an 8×8 or 9×9-inch square baking pan.
In a large, microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter, Peeps and marshmallows
Microwave on high for 60-90 seconds, until marshmallows have melted. Add the salt and stir the marshmallow mixture until smooth, then add in the cereal. Stir with a large spatula until everything is evenly combined.
Transfer mixture to prepared pan and press down into an even layer with a spatula. Allow bars to cool to room temperature before slicing.
Makes 16 squares. Recipe can be doubled for larger portions.
Two words: baby hippo. Two other words: I can't. Say hello to the first new baby hippo at Mexico's Chapultec Zoo in 16 years. And its ears.
There's still a couple weeks left before Game of Thrones returns to our screens. But in the meantime, here's the first trailer for Hustler's This Ain't Game of Thrones XXX, featuring Daenerys, Brienne, Cersei, Jon Snow... and watch until the end for a look at Tyrion Lannister. It's safe for work!
Hello friends! I’ve been in Costa Rica this week getting a sunburn on my scalp, eating ceviche like it’s going out of style, learning how to surf, and mostly thinking thoughts about what I’m going to cook for you this Spring and into our future. I needed a bit of a get away to think my thoughts. Maybe my brain works best from under a sun burnt scalp. That’s probably it.
I’ve also been reading a lot of non-Internet words on this little getaway. Books… those are non-Internet words. They’re pretty cool.
East of Eden is my very favorite book of all time. It’s John Steinbeck at his absolute everything. It’s epic and heartbreaking and if you haven’t had your heart destroyed by this book then I would recommend that you add this work of art to your Spring reading list.
I took some time to read the dedication to East of Eden this week. Something that I had skipped in my regular life of haphazard efficiency. The dedication alone stopped me dead in my tracks. The dedication alone is a compilation of words more beautiful that I’ve ever written in my whole life. Just the dedication! How’s that for something?
Steinbeck dedicated East of Eden to his dear friend and editor Pascal ‘Pat’ Covici. This:
Dear Pat,
You came upon me carving some kind of little figure out of wood and you said, “Why don’t you make something for me?”
I asked you what you wanted, and you said, “A box.”
“What for?”
“To put things in.”
“What kind of things?”
“Whatever you have,” you said.
Well, here’s your box. Nearly everything I have is in it, and it is not full. Pain and excitement are in it, and feeling good or bad and evil thoughts and good thoughts- the pleasure of design and some despair and the indescribable joy of creation.
And on top of these are all the gratitude and love I have for you.
And still the box is not full.
JOHN
Steinbeck typed up East of Eden, literally carved a beautiful box for it, and delivered the box and manuscript along with this letter to his friend Pat. I instantly feel like I need to do more beautiful ad poetic things with my life. More sunset appreciation, restful pondering, and maybe more poetic musings with a pen and bar napkin. Something, right?
Here’s to our Spring and our Steinbeck.
Ps. The dork in me in now reading Steinbeck and Covici: The Story of a Friendship. Just let it happen.
Okay, it is more like a yell, but still:
The post You’re Gonna Hear This Little Lamb Roar appeared first on HelloGiggles.
A touching BBC story describes a new documentary, Menstrual Man, that chronicles the trials and tribulations of a humble man in India who sought to offer his wife a sanitary napkin. After marrying, he discovered that his wife kept from him a secret: the rags she used and re-used to collect menstrual blood.
Only 12% of women in India used pads; they were simply too expensive for most to buy. Nearly three-quarters of all reproductive diseases were caused by poor menstrual hygiene. A combination of high cost and embarrassment kept women from developing a safe method of managing menstruation. Nearly a quarter of girls dropped out of school when they started their periods.
Arunachalam Muruganantham was driven to offer women a solution. He was going to design a machine that would produce low cost menstrual pads. He asked his wife to serve as an experimental subject, but one woman menstruating once a month wasn’t enough of a sample. He asked medical students to participate, but the responses were slim. He fashioned a fake uterus and collected goat blood, trying to experiment himself.
“Everyone thought he’d gone mad.”
His wife left, his mother left, his friends avoided him; it was suspected he was some kind of diseased or possessed sexual pervert, collecting menstrual blood to do god-knows-what.
Figuring out how to make highly absorptive cotton was a significant challenge. He finally tricked a multinational company into sending him samples of the raw material: cellulose from the bark of the tree. Now he just had to design a cheap machine that would turn the raw material into pads.
Four-and-a-half years later, he was producing affordable menstrual pads for Indian women on a cheaply made machine. He won an award. His wife came back.
He built 250 machines, which he then took to the poorest areas of Northern India. He gave them to women, at no profit, who could then produce the pads and sell them to local women. Each woman now runs her own business. ”Over time the machines spread to 1,300 villages in 23 states.”
He is now looking to expand to 106 more countries.
About his success, Muruganantham said:
Anyone with an MBA would immediately accumulate the maximum money. But I did not want to. Why? Because from childhood I know no human being died because of poverty — everything happens because of ignorance…. I have accumulated no money but I accumulate a lot of happiness.
Watch the trailer here.
Cross-posted at Pacific Standard.
Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.(View original at http://thesocietypages.org/socimages)
An endangered female Baird’s Tapir born on February 17 at the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society is the Zoo’s first birth of 2014. The calf was named Luna in a naming contest at nearby Palmetto Elementary School.
Photo Credit: Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society
Jan Steele, General Curator for the Zoo, said from its birth, the calf has been in good health, and has been gaining weight at a steady rate. “At first, we monitored the calf, but gave Alyssa space to strengthen her bond with her baby,” explained Steele. “Because Alyssa rejected her first calf, we wanted to make sure she allowed this second one to nurse.”
Zoo keepers had been studying methods to increase the likelihood that Alyssa would accept this calf, and had given her “scratch-downs” which calmed her and allowed multiple ultrasounds that showed the calf’s progress before it was born.
The calf’s weight was 40.5 pounds on March 7, when she was seventeen days old. Zoo keepers said the calf is on target to double in weight within her first three to four weeks of life, as Tapirs are expected to do.
See more photos and videos, and learn more about Tapirs below the fold.
The Tapir calf received her first neonatal exam on February 25, in which she received antibiotic and vitamin shots. She has begun exploring the Tapir habitat on exhibit at the Zoo, delighting guests with her adventures. She eats a pelleted diet along with banana and sweet potatoes. Using bananas as a reward, zoo keepers have already trained her to step on a scale to be weighed.
Baird’s Tapirs are native to Central America and northern South America, and are one of four Latin American species of Tapir. For the first week of their lives, infant Baird’s Tapirs are hidden in secluded locations while their mothers forage for food and return periodically to nurse them.
Baird’s Tapirs are in danger of extinction, and were officially classified as Vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Hunting and habitat loss are the two biggest factors in the species’ diminishing numbers, so any Tapir birth is critical, especially because their reproductive rate is slow.
Kevespadaholy shit this is actually incredible
Fair warning: This is a must-watch in the negative sense; this is not an uplifting, the Children Are Our Future way to start your week. But imagine the brattiest possible video of Justin Bieber being interviewed by lawyers, then triple it, and you will have the below outtakes from a deposition in a recent paparazzo suit. Some highlights: Justin wagging his finger and yelling "Don't ask me about her" (the her being Selena Gomez, who was probably relevant because of this incident); Justin using the court video camera to adjust his collar; Justin interrupting a video segment to ask "Is this a film?" like seven times; Justin misusing (but not really?) the word detrimental. To be fair, the lawyers are also being major assholes — that is always true in deposition videos — but Bieber is on a King Joffrey level here. It is astounding.
Here is the Selena bit (he storms off at the end!):
And here is the vocabulary blooper:
Read more posts by Amanda Dobbins
Filed Under: the law ,justin bieber ,music
Zoo Miami is celebrating the birth of five African Red River Hogs! The three males and two females were born on February 28 and are the first of this species ever born at Zoo Miami.
The first-time mother, three-year-old Penny, was born at the Oklahoma City Zoo. The first-time father is two-year-old Baloo, who was born at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The mother and her piglets are presently separated from the rest of the group and will remain off-exhibit for a little while until the staff feel that mother and babies have bonded well and are secure with their surroundings. Penny is being an excellent mother and is very attentive to the piglets.
Photo credit: Zoo Miami
See and read more after the fold!
Red River Hogs are a common wild pig found throughout the rainforests, wet savannas, and waterways of western and central Africa. They get their name from their coarse red hair and their tendency to live along the water. They have a very elongated snout and very large ears with a long tuft of hair at the tips. They are very social animals found in groups, called sounders, of up to 20 individuals. They feed on a wide range of foods including roots, fruits, grasses, small animals, insects, and sometimes carrion. Their gestation period is approximately 4 months and the average litter size is two to four piglets. Red River Hogs can live over 20 years in captivity.
Graphic designer Fernando Sosa has created the most interesting sex toy prototype yet, a 3D-printed Vladimir Putin butt plug that's not quite ready for prime-time use but is an intriguing piece of protest art just the same.
Kevespadano
In an interesting development in fandom, more and more regular visitors of Disneyland are organizing themselves into "social clubs," apparently inspired by motorcycle gangs. Yes, because nothing says The Happiest Place on Earth like a sentimental take on the incredibly menacing Hells Angels. But these aren't your grandma's one-percenters. No, they aren't exactly trafficking drugs and illegal arms; rather these die-hard superfans are trading limited edition Disney pins.
Comedian Jenny Collier shared the above email to her Twitter on Friday, inciting a wave of fury (or at least moderate irritation) at the unknown venue owners who had Collier axed from a show because they didn't want too many women on stage in one evening. I don't know if they thought too many women would ruin the show but isn't that basically the implication? You have too many ladies up in there and suddenly it's all period jokes and no one wants to laugh (or buy drinks) when they hear that shit, okay? GOD, WOMEN COMICS, AMIRITE? Ugh, ridiculous. Let Jenny Collier perform!
A Bactrian Camel born on February 25 is already winning fans at the Cincinnati Zoo. Keepers announced the male baby’s name, Jack, one week and one day later – on Hump Day, of course.
Photo Credit: Cincinnati Zoo
Zoo keepers filmed Jack’s first steps, which were taken just an hour after he was born. Because the weather was so cold during his first week, Jack wore a coat to help him stay warm! Luckily, the cold spell did not last and the zoo captured photos of Jack and his mother, Sarrai.
Bactrian camels are native to the steppes of Central Asia. They have two humps, in comparison to the one-humped Dromedary Camel native to the Middle East and northern Africa. They were domesticated thousands of years ago and transported humans vast distances in ancient times. Able to survive up to 10 months without drinking water, Bactrian camels are listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Fewer than 1,000 Bactrian Camels survive in the wild; interbreeding with domestic populations is diminishing the genetic integrity of the species.
See more photos of Jack below.
Indiana’s Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo enjoyed a January baby boom when two Black-and-White Colobus Monkeys were born within two days of one another.
“The fact that they were born within two days of each other was a big surprise,” said African Journey Area Manager Amber Eagleson. “We were aware that both of the adult females were pregnant, but based on their size we anticipated that one mother would deliver a bit later than the other. We never expected two infants at the same time!”
Photo Credit: Fort Wayne Children's Zoo
Zoo keepers bestowed corresponding names on the little Monkeys: the male is named Obi, which means “heart” in an African language, and the female is named Mchumba, which translates as “sweetheart.”
Keepers had to wait to name the infants until they could determine their genders. Mchumba clung so tightly to her mom that there was no opportunity to determine gender for several weeks after birth. The babies are half-siblings – they were born to different mothers and share the same father.
Colobus Monkeys begin life with all-white fur. At three or four months of age, they develop the dramatic black and white coat that characterizes the adult Monkeys. Colobus are unusual among Monkeys because they have a three-chambered stomach, which helps digest the fibrous leaves they consume in the wild.
Colobus Monkeys live in the rain forests of central and eastern Africa, and their survival in the wild is threatened by habitat destruction. The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo participates in the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan to ensure genetically healthy populations of endangered and threatened animals.
[Image via Queerty]
When the West Hollywood City Council took down the rainbow flag over city hall in January, their gesture at inclusiveness inflamed some residents' worries that WeHo's gay edge is dulling. (The city council later voted to put up a version of the city flag with a rainbow on it.) For every permanent rainbow crosswalk, there's something that seems to detract from the neighborhood's rep as a "gay haven," says the LA Times: Official designation for Boystown was shot down as "too narrow" (what about the non-boys?); the Pride Parade has been criticized as a corporate-sponsored bacchanalia that doesn't acknowledge the civil rights aspect of "pride" anymore. "The shedding of the LGBT identity is happening slowly with development [and] straight business owners," says one resident. "There's just a changing environment in West Hollywood."
As the fancy mixed-users proliferate and the $80-million megaparks become reality, this strong push to include everyone in the WeHo community is starting to look like straightification to many long-time WeHo residents, many of whom were drawn to the city exactly because of it's proud, public, pro-LGBT agenda. Sure, WeHo's city officials say they have "no intention of shying away from the city's gay history," but what everyone's waiting to see is how shy they'll be when shaping the city's gay future.
· West Hollywood's increasing diversity inspires mixed emotions [LAT]
Kevespadalooking cool never killed anyone
Valeria Lukyanova has made a career (?) of looking like a real-life doll and embracing the controversy surrounding her unique look. She's starred in a Vice documentary, she's denied claims that she's had plastic surgery (It's just genetics and lip-gloss , ok?) and now she's made headlines again by talking about her new diet, which is made up of two key components: light and air. I'm going to repeat that because it took me a second to get my mind wrapped around it. Light and air. (not to be confused with "love and light.")
Kevespadaattn. andrew wk fans: andrew wk is in this
I don't know whether Amy Sedaris or Lil Bub won this round of charades (I know for certain that it wasn't that bunny; you're not going to win charades just laying there, rabbit!!!), but we're all winners for having been able to witness this epic game. Next time I'm playing charades, everyone bring your pets. (This is not an empty threat, charades is my favorite game.)
I absolutely cannot stop laughing at this video. It's from Awakefest 2013, and some mad comedy genius decided that it would be much, much better to set the dancing of these (probably stoned) festival-goers to the music of the iconic British sitcom Benny Hill. I wholeheartedly agree.
Kevespadaneeded this
Here's the first sign of spring in Northern Ireland's Belfast Zoo farmyard: two African Pygmy Goats have been born!
The kids were born to mothers Snowdrop and Hannah. The smaller female kid has been named Aziza, which means ‘precious’ in Swahili and the larger male kid is called Adunbi, which means ‘pleasant’ in Nigerian.
Photo credit: Belfast Zoo
Zoo Curator Alyn Cairns says, “Aziza and Adunbi are a wonderful addition to the herd of African pygmy goats and to the zoo farmyard. The kids already have distinct personalities. Aziza is always happy and very friendly to keepers and the other goats. Adunbi, however, has a much bolder personality. He is extremely mischievous, a bit of a trouble maker and he likes to climb on top of things, including the other goats!”
African Pygmy Goats originate from West Africa and when fully grown they only measure up to 2 feet (60 cm) in length!
It just dawned on us that we don’t always have to write about stuff we like. Sometimes, we have strong opinions on what we don’t like. And rarely, do we come across something where we cannot decide. And this month, that’s what we’ve chosen to share with you, the undecided.
The artist that sparked this contribution is Dorota Pankowska, aka Dori the Giant.
At 24 years old, the photographer by trade has taken to the streets of Brampton, Ontario with a quirky and delightful street art series she calls PRO BONO PROMO. Armed with bottles of ketchup, mayonnaise, peanut butter, and bright orange processed cheese, Pankowska, takes household brands and stencils their logos using the product itself. She claims to be “poking fun at the fact that this almost looks like free advertising for the companies – with free samples included!”
And although we’re not sure if we get the joke, especially since these major corporate brands already monopolize our shopping aisles, her tongue and cheek approach to free advertising for them, somehow still makes us smile.
But why? In a time where everything artisanal and locally-sourced is supposed to be king, it’s hard to admit how warm and fuzzy certain junk foods can make us feel. The funny thing is, the food itself doesn’t make you feel good. It’s the memories connected to the brand that somehow overshadow the preservative-filled hangover. And maybe that’s how Pankowska’s pieces are speaking to us.
Or is it that we also use food as a medium?
From yarnbombing, zip tie installs, and space invader style mosaics, graffiti has come to encompass a plethora of materials. So the introduction of food is not so out-of-left-field… but in our minds, pretty brilliant.
“I love all the street art that I see every time I visit Toronto, and I wanted to do something like that in Brampton, which doesn’t have a big art scene. When I was brainstorming with my friend, I thought about expressing my love for Nutella by putting the logo around the city, at which point I asked myself, Why not actually make it out of the stuff?” – Pankowska via Fast Company
Her meticulously curated pieces, found on surfaces chosen for how their texture or color might contrast with the product itself, pushed us to re-think our reaction to her series. A white wall of mortared cinder blocks as relief for fluorescent orange Cheez-Whiz goop, is this art? Why can’t we look away?!
In the end, we leave you to make up your own mind. At least if you don’t like it, her particular brand of tagging is ephemeral and washes right off.
Just when it seemed like the day would never come, Cronut® mastermind Dominique Ansel, the man behind the original croissant donut mashup/craze born in Soho, New York, is coming to Los Angeles for his first ever Cronut pop-up outside of the city at Barneys New York at The Grove on March 1. Ansel and his pastry team are flying to Los Angeles three days in advance to prepare and bake Milk & Honey flavored Cronuts, which they will top with a Tahitian vanilla milk ganache, honey jam and lavender sugar, sold at $5 a round. The same price Cronuts sell for in New York but here in Los Angeles the funds go to the Heart of Los Angeles. Fun fact: Former Spago pastry queen Sherry Yard has agreed to help Ansel with the baking. Because why not.
Pastry sales begin at 10 a.m. and will be sold until 2 p.m. or more likely until they run out. [EaterWire]
In addition to banning bachelorette parties, The Abbey in West Hollywood is now prohibiting legislators who support bills that discriminate against gays and lesbians from entrance. The bar-restaurant will have headshots of state reps who support such bills and those individuals' names will be added to a "Deny Entry" list. Says The Abbey founder David Cooley, "I want to send a message to all those people out there who conflate Christian values with discrimination: we don't want your kind here." [EaterWire]
