Happy Birthday, YouTube! and two non-sequiturs.

As many of you may, or may not know, this year marks the 5th in which YouTube has assisted, inspired, bullied, and/or cajoled us into blissful, hilarious, mind-numbing, and diversion therapy procrastination. From funny babies, to insane animals, animation, music videos, voice-overs, old tapes, new tapes, puppets, nerds, dweebs, dorks, geeks, dumb beauty queens, sobbing gay divas........and everything and anything in between, I think we [read: I] owe them a large debt of gratitude for reminding us that there's always something to laugh at, and/or make us feel better about our own life, especially when we're not feeling so great.

I saw on the Huffington Post that Conan O'Brien listed his top 5 favorite YouTube videos. And I think that if Coco gets to do it, I do too. (Sure, why not?) So here are my Top 5 Favorite YouTube videos ever. Thanks, YT - you've made the word "viral" sound so much less disgusting.

#5: Because at heart, I'm just a huge World of Warcraft nerd ... no better than these guys. In fact, I might be worse.



#4: This has to be the coolest video mashup ever. Gwen Verdon, the fabulous Queen of Fosse (literally and figuratively), "walks it out" to Unk. Almost 30 years before Unk wrote the song. Brilliant.



#3: My sister and I can sing this by heart. Don't bother with the other videos by this kid - they're not nearly as brilliant. Harry Potter + Puppets + Pipe Bomb + Random Song = MAGICAL. (HA! Get it?? I made a funny!)



#2: I think this video, exemplifies some of humanity's best traits, while still being entertaining. An entire prison (complete with a tranny) creating their own production of "Thriller?" Yes.



#1: Why? Because quintessentially, this video has it all - it's what YouTube is all about: cute things, surprising moment, short, sweet - No matter how rotten I feel, I can watch this little 16 seconds of happiness, and feel somewhat better. Without fail.



Non-Sequitur #1: 

One of the most admired people in my little life, Garrison Keillor, writes eloquently and personally (and, I fear, truthfully) in the Baltimore Sun about the future of publishing. It's highly depressing for those of us who cling to the carbon-based paper books like polar bears desperately holding on to all-too rapidly melting icebergs (DOUBLE THE DEPRESSING!), but as Garrison himself says, electronic self-publishing is making minced meat out of $30.00 publications issued by bloated publishing houses. Blame technology, blame the economy, blame the youth of today....or just hold on to the books you have, invest your savings in all the books you can still grab your hands on, and then open a Used Book Shop (or Paper Antiques, if you will) in your neighborhood in 10 years, and watch the money roll in! I bought a pre-Depression-era edition of Jane Eyre when I was in Olympia, Washington for less than $10.00. It was highly exciting at the time. Now - it's horrifically sad.

And if you don't see the tragic-yet-hilarious irony in me posting the above article on perhaps the western world's largest self-publishing website - then why are you reading my blog??

Non-Sequitur #2:

My family and I were visited by a representative of the Golden Retriever Shelter of Southern California. She inspected our home and asked us questions about our current animals, as well as general dog care and maintenance. We had been preparing for some animal fascist - a woman who would deem my incredibly pet-friendly house and family unworthy because we have a pool in the back yard, two middle-aged cats, and a rabbit who's allowed to roam-free pretty much anywhere. She was actually quite lovely, but the source of my fear came from the on-line questionnaire we had to fill out, which took no less than 45 minutes. It asked everything from "What will you do with your dog when you travel?" to listing every single pet we've owned as a family - going back to the cat my dad and mom owned when I was born - and how/why they died. Intense? You have no idea.

Rescue shelters are notorious for overly-zealous volunteers who test and investigate everything from kitchen faucets (I'm not kidding!!) to types of yard grass. I understand the impulse - the animals at most of these shelters have been through such hell, they don't want to send them right back into another one. But their methods and demeanor sometimes lack... common sense. I actually know someone who was denied a cat by some of these people - and this someone worshiped and adored cats as though he were an Ancient Egyptian. Boo! Boo I say!

At any rate, it was a good visit, and hopefully sometime next week I'll be able to post pictures of our new "forever pet friend." That's the shelter's website lingo talking....

And here's to all the furry forever friends who need good homes. I would rescue you all if I could. And then maybe give some to Fiona. ;)