Cute Thing: Creepy, Coy Unicorn from the Future

Check out this awesome piece from Norwegian artist Børre Sæthre's current exhibition at P.S. 1:



Look at that lil guy! So coquettish! He is creepy but I like him.

Sæthre's show is up through Jan 26, 2009. I'm not familiar with him, but I'm intrigued. I'm definitely going to try to peep the exhibition soon.

And look what else is at P.S. 1 through Sept 14, 2009. CRAZERS:



That wacky thing is Leandro Erlich's piece Swimming Pool! I can't wait to see it in person. It looks so vertigo-inducing. In a FUN way!

Images:

Børre Sæthre, Stealth Distortion (...must have seen it in some teenage wet dream), 2008. Mixed media, Dimensions variable, Courtesy the artist, Photo: Matthew Septimus. Courtesy P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center

Leandro Erlich, Swimming Pool, 2004. Masonry, swimming pool ladder, laminated glass and water. 20 x 9 7/8 x 10 feet (600 x 280 x 300 cm) © Leandro Erlich. Courtesy: Sean Kelly Gallery, New York. Photo: Matthew Septimus. Courtesy P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center

Tasty Thing: Carr's Cheese Melt Crackers

These are the most delicious crackers I have tasted in a long time. I haven't been this excited about a cracker since Carr's Rosemary Crackers (which are my #1 jam!).

I had them over the holidays with cream cheese and lox and capers and onions (I just used the cream cheese. All that other stuff... not so much.). They were delightful! Light and crispy. Nice and big and sturdy enough to hold lots of toppings.

The key to their tastiness is the onion flavoring. Not only is there a burnt cheese/parmesan-y taste, but there's a distinct onion taste. Almost chive-y.

I think these would be good with more cheese on top (perhaps a brie, something spreadable) or cream cheese with dill and cucumber. OR ham and a sheep's milk cheese.

Yums.

Coo-OOO-kie Crisp

Remember the Cookie Crisp dog burglar? (Now the mascot is a wolf, by the way. WTF!?)



Well, there was a REAL LIFE dog burglar in Smith's Food and Drug in Murray, Utah a few days ago. He sneaked into the grocery store and ran out with a bone! The store manager told him to "Drop it!" but the dog looked at him like, "SUCKAAAAAAA!" and high-tailed it out of there. Awesome.

And there's a video! I love the expression on the dog's face. You can totally tell he's about to pull some shenanigans.



I tried to draw a picture of the dog but discovered that huskies are tricky to sketch.

Failed husky drawing, complete with rejection crumple-marks:



I gave up on doing the shading on the body because I could tell this drawing wasn't going anywhere.

Semi-successful poster drawing:

God Bless Us, Everyone

Charley is like the Tiny Tim of cats. He can't really walk too well, but he is so cute it will make you want to cry all night.

Charley has Cerebellar hypoplasia so he has some trouble getting around, but he's not in pain and has a normal life expectancy. His owner made this video to spread the word about the disease and let people know that cats (and dogs!) with this disorder still make great pets. SNIFF!!!

Oh man, Tiny Tim! Now I want to watch the Muppet Christmas Carol. It's some of Michael Caine's finest work.

We're Marley and Marley, woooOoooOOoo!



Uber-Christmas-thanks to Zara for the tip!

Welcome to the World, Unnamed Baby Hippo!

A blubbular, bug-eyed baby hippo was born in Germany.



That is all.

Update: LOLcats Still Funny

Last year when I dressed up as a LOLcat for Halloween, I thought I was doing so at the apex of the fad. I never would have thought that over a year later I'd still be checking I Can Has Cheezburger on a regular basis.

Yet there I was today, and I saw a LOLcat that made me actually LOL.



Then I remembered the adorable vintage postcard that someone found in a thrift store and sent to ICHC. It may be the earliest LOLcat!



Conclusion: LOLcats were, are, and will forever be awesome and hilarious.

Cuties Beware

The hilarious blog "F*** You, Penguin" will take you down a notch! This blog "tells cute animals what's what."

My fave posts:

Ponies Try Too Hard

Seals are Always Looking for a Handout

Llamas Will Break Your Heart Without So Much as a "My Bad"

Manatees Think They Can Get Away With It

Barney's Last Hurrah

President Bush's dogs, Barney and Miss Beazley, have been making curiously high-budget Christmas videos every year he's been in office. I always look forward to them. They're always like 8 minutes long and make me laugh so hard. My fave was 2005's "A Very Beazley Christmas", in which Barney got jealous of his new little sis Miss Beazley and all the attention she was getting.

This year's video is, sadly, the last one, and it looks kind of crappy compared to the previous ones. But that only makes it more awesome, obvs.

The First Family's acting SO bad. And so is the dream sequence animation of Barney and Miss Beazley as divers and gymnasts at the Beijing Olympics. (I'm serious. Make sure you watch until 3:05, when there are some VERY high-profile surprise guests!)

I wonder if the President enjoys doing these videos or if he's like "Ugh, one of THESE again? Boy am I glad it's the last one."

One thing's for sure. Those darn dogs are CUTE as lil buttons.

Vice Pupsident

Joe Biden's wife Jill got him a German Shepherd pup as a present for winning the election!



He doesn't have a name yet. Apparently the Bidens are letting their granddaugthers name the dog.

Aww-splosion! Obams has his work cut out for him trying to find someone cuter than this lil fella.

Pupdate: Oh, BIDEN! Apparently he got this dog from a known puppy mill. Peeps are MAD.

Hang in there, Socks!

Poor Socks the cat. First the Clintons handed him off to Bill's former personal secretary when Bill left office. (Was their ownership of Socks just a PR stunt!? Why did they keep Buddy and not Socks? Jerks.)

Now, Socks is very, very sick! He has cancer and isn't expected to live much longer.

Linda Kulman, who ghost wrote Hillary Clinton's book, Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids's Letters To First Pets, was saddened by the news, telling me, "He is the last of his kind." For the book, Kulman, says she "spent time" with Socks and Clinton's first pup Buddy. "He was nothing but a gentleman. He was elegant and a perfect resident of the White House." She adds, "he won't soon be replaced."

Aw!

Here are some cute tidbits about Socks from his wiki:

He was known to share his food and water with a stray tabby, dubbed "Slippers".

He eventually lost the position of principal Clinton pet in 1997 when the Clintons acquired Buddy, a Labrador Retriever. At this point, some fans of Socks joked that he had been "voted out of office" of White House pet in favor of the more traditional dog.

Socks found Buddy's intrusion intolerable; according to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Socks "despised Buddy from first sight, instantly and forever." Bill Clinton said, "I did better with ... the Palestinians and the Israelis than I've done with Socks and Buddy."




Oh man, I hope Socks hasn't seen this pic. It would make him TICKED OFF.

On a separate note, what's this Kids's Letters to First Pets book???? I gotta get my hands on it.

How did I not know about this???

ZOOBORNS, people. ZOOBORNS. As in newborns at zoos. As in, the best blog idea ever.









It's sorted by animal type. You're welcome. And an extra special thanks to Anna for the tip.

Don't Double Cross a Dog

Some peeps did a study and found out that dogs have a sense of fairness! And they don't like being messed with. Apparently scientists have found this to be true in monkeys too.


From The Huffington Post:

The dogs sat side-by-side with an experimenter in front of them. In front of the experimenter was a divided food bowl with pieces of sausage on one side and brown bread on the other.

The dogs were asked to shake hands and each could see what reward the other received.

When one dog got a reward and the other didn't, the unrewarded animal stopped playing.

When both got a reward all was well.

One thing that did surprise the researchers was that, unlike primates, the dogs didn't seem to care whether the reward was sausage or bread.

That last part is hilarious.

Moral: treat all dogs the same. OR ELSE. They will turn their heads away from you!

"I eat everything, but sometimes I don't."

Remember that video of the cute little French girl who told that cute story about the cocodrile a few weeks ago?

Well, now she's written a letter to Santa. And boy is it cute.

Père Noël,

I would like a nice gift, and I would like to see you.

Because I have been very good throughout the year. I have listened well, I have cleaned up my room by myself and I had fun at school, and I have played with my friends.

Also, I am going to move, I will have a nice house and a mezzanine.

I eat everything, but sometimes, I don’t.

Then I would like to see you for Christmas and Halloween and talk to you. I would like to sing you a song-poem. When is winter coming ?

Also I would like to talk to you, but if you leave and go far away, I would like to see you in your house.

If I hug you, your beard will not sting, it will only tickle.

And I would like to go into your sleigh. How will I do that ? Do I have to climb up the trees ?

Kisses,

Capucine

Ugh. Love her.

And apparently you can buy t-shirts with her drawings and sayings and the money goes to schoolchildren in Mongolia or something!

This one says "The hippopotamus was allergic to magic," which was a totally ridiculous and awesome thing she said in the video.

Chipmunk Mechanic

Hope Wideup of Demotte, Indiana, was having trouble starting her car one morning. When she looked under the hood, she saw THOUSANDS of walnuts stuffed in the engine compartment!

Allegedly a rascally chipmunk was sneaking them in over the course of a few weeks while the car sat unused.

"This little guy stuffed a bunch of these nuts in the accelerator throttle," said Wideup, who had to spend $242 for towing and repairs.

"It's funny, but it's not," she said.

Sorry, lady, but I would argue that it IS funny. (Though not for the chipmunk who lost his treasure trove. Poor lil guy!)

Note: This post was delayed because I drew the drawing last night and then couldn't find it today, so I had to draw it again.

me: i'm so mad, i drew a really good picture of that chipmunk who put the nuts in the car

and then i LOST IT

my pal gary: oh no!

me: i think maybe i threw it away by accident

gary: ah.

me: i'm going to try to recreate it now

gary: well maybe a hobo will find it and be confused or delighted

Hopefully delighted! You're welcome, anonymous hobo.

Cute Thing! Oh My Cavalier on Etsy

Two Trees
$250

I adore the work of Julianna Swaney, who goes by Oh My Cavalier on Etsy. I bought a charming piece of hers (an image of a bear, drawn on a page from an old book) and it came very nicely packaged with a little free bookmark.

Lots of her stuff is very reasonably priced, but I'm aching for this original drawing of a sneaky berry-toting fox trudging off into the woods. It's currently my desktop image at work. It's the perfect combo of eerie and magical. Loves it!



Wolf Winter House
$30

A less expensive but equally awesome option is this limited-edition print of a wolf. Wait a minute. Does that mean that other image is a wolf too? Looks more like a fox to me. Well, anyway! Pretty great stuff.

What a Ham!

This is a hamster on a piano eating popcorn. Apparently it was posted by a guy who used to be in Nerf Herder?

I've never given much attention to hamsters but they look pretty snuggly! Plus, add popcorn to anything and I'm interested.

Charley and the Old Navy Factory

The delightful Todd Oldham, creative director for Old Navy and self-professed Charley Harper fanatic, has combined his two loves and helped produce a line of Charley Harper products for the chain!



For those not in the know, Charley Harper was a wildlife illustrator who created charming, very modern works that have been reproduced quite a lot for calendars, greeting cards, etc. You can still buy some of his prints on ebay.



His work is a lot of fun, and the man himself seems like he was pretty fun too. The BF just gave me Birds and Words, which features his bird illustrations juxtaposed with his hilariously hokey and dad-humored writings.

Anyway, his stuff is great for kids. Unfortunately for me (but fortunately for kids!), the Old Navy items are geared at children, but if you have to buy any gifts for little ones this holiday these would be so well-received.

Aside from the t-shirt featured above, which is $10 and comes in two other styles, there are books, games, and a coloring book.




These alphabet flash cards are pretty darn cute, too, and would look nice framed or even just tacked to the wall with nice metal push pins. (I may buy these for myself!)

Everything is under $15, and for the next few days they are offering free shipping and 20% off if you use the code "20FREESHIP".

Dogggggs Are the BEEEEST

You guys, dogs are so good! Ugh. This video has been making the rounds lately. It's some surveillance footage of a highway in South America. One dog gets hit by a car, and another (hobo) dog risks his life to run out onto the highway and drag the injured dog to safety.

This totes made me cry! I am a nerd.

New blog feature: CUTE THING!

I've decided to introduce a new feature to The Snuggle Factory: "CUTE THING!"

First up, this tiny parade of stuffed, silkscreened animals from IceBear on Etsy. Only $35 for the whole lot.

I.
WANT.

!

Puppies Are Warm

And these puppies saved a kid who wandered off from his babysitter into the woods!

The family dogs slept up against 3-year-old Jaylynn and kept him from freezing to death in 17 degree temps! Yeeow!

Billie Joe Roach, another member of the search party that found the boy, said the puppies refused to leave his side.

As the child was placed in an ambulance to be taken to a local hospital for examination, "The puppies were watching where he went.

"Where he went, they went," Roach said.

CUTIES! As someone who often has two cats sleeping ON her, I can confirm: pets are warm. Sometimes I move one of the kits on top of my feet if they're particularly cold. Is that bad?

Gender Roles!

Sara the Walrus really got me thinking. I was so sure she was a dude based on how she looked. But she wasn't! That's when I realized that some animals just seem to be one gender. Walruses, for instance, are total dudes. They have mustaches! Same goes for wire-haired dachshunds. Don't tell me this isn't a bro:


But it might be a lady!!

That got me thinking about which other animals seemed male or female. Here's a lil list:

Lizards

Guys. Specifically, CRANKY guys.



Lambs

Total girls.




Bald Eagles

Guys all the way. Note: this game only works with animals that look the same regardless of gender. (i.e. "Guy lions look like guys" wouldn't fly.) I just doubled checked and bald eagle ladies and dudes have the same plumage. Nuts!




Cats

Cats are ladies. All cats. Am I right?

Anyone have any other examples?

Remember that walrus????

Oh man. I can't stop thinking about her. HILARIOUS.

That's all.

Tinks, the Sick Sheep

Oh dear. This is so cute.

A family took in a brain-damaged sheep named Tinkerbell with the intention of bringing her to the vet and then giving her back to the farm that owned her. But they wound up rearing her themselves and keeping her. And now they take her for walks with their dogs!

Here's the mother of the family, Chiara Magarotto, talking about Tinkerbell and her daughter Scarlett, who took a liking to each other:

"She follows us about everywhere and enjoys going for walks with the dogs - she thinks she is a dog - and having tea parties with Scarlett. She even came to Scarlett's pre-school and was perfectly behaved."

A sheep having a tea party with a child! That I would like to see.

Bored Octopus

Poor Otto. He's just a bored lil guy since the aquarium where he lives is closed for the winter.

Here's some stuff he's been doing to keep himself busy:
- Juggling hermit crabs
- Throwing rocks against the tank walls
- "Rearranging" his tank (not sure what this means but it's probably awesome)

But then he did something dangerous:

"At two feet, seven inches Otto had discovered he was big enough to swing onto the edge of his tank and shoot out the 2000 Watt spot light above him with a carefully directed jet of water."

"It was a serious matter because it shorted the electricity supply to the whole aquarium that threatened the lives of the other animals when water pumps ceased to work.


Oh, Otto. Anyway, the aquarium folks moved the light so he can't do his little trick anymore. And they gave him some toys.

Correction: It's a lady walrus.

Apparently her name is Sara and she can also dance the tango.



Apologies for misidentifying your gender, Sara!

(Nobody tell her she has a mustache.)

This Walrus Can Play the Saxophone

As my friend Anna said upon showing this to me, "He really gets into it!"

You know who else gets into it? His trainer. Who is also awesome.

My favorite part is at the very end, around 1:00, when he's done playing the sax and puts his fins down and his shoulders make a "hrumph"/shrug/"Yeah, I just played the saxophone. No big deal." gesture.

Again, this is an animal I would really like to hug. So fat and squishy!!!

Martha's New Pup

Check out Martha Stewart's new pup, Genghis.



This dude could not be any cuter. He is the grandson of Paw Paw, Martha's pet Chow who died recently.

Here are some of the other pups in the litter.



Don't you just want to get all up in their fur? They look SO SOFT and SNUGGLY. Someone should find a way to make miniature Chows. Can you imagine if they stayed this size? Oh man.

I just want to put them in a little basket and carry them around. Or maybe in a little Baby Bjorn!! They'd be floppin' all around. Cute thought!

Yes. Very serious.

The Daily Puppy really isn't messing around this week. Check out Winston and his neck waddle. Emphasis mine.




GAH!

Now, the best/creepiest comments on Winston:

hahahahahaha Oh Winston, you are adorable and you look like tons of fun. My co-workers probably think I'm crazy because this picture is making me giggle. Such a cutie!

what a little biscuit! my polly wolly doodle (3 year old bostie) would LOVE to give Winston high fives! VERY ADORABLE!

Oh My Dog!! Winston you are very handsome, Are your eyes a beautiful green or is that just all the leaves reflecting in your eyes?? We are owned by 3 bostons and the youngest is 9 months - I think the 2 of you would make a great pair!! Winston & Cassey sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G. You are adorable Winston!!

Are you serious?

This French Bulldog puppy, Douglas, is CRAZY adorable.


Daily Puppy is such a good website. For obvious reasons (daily puppy! duh.) and not-as-obvious reasons like the comments.

A sampling:

hi Doug i'm sure you will grow into your ears, but if you do'nt who care's, your still a winner, long and happy life pal.

Hey Doug! You are too, too cute. You look a little worried in this picture - don't be, life is great for sweet little boys like you. Love those ears!

Doug, you are so adorably cute!!!! Tell me, do you have all the women after you??????? I can imagine you are everything your human has described. From Toronto

Douglas, you are waaaay adorable and if you ever want to vacation with a gang of silly, but loved, huskies, give us a shout. You are just wonderful :-)

I hope Doug remembers the dangers of the internets. Those huskies might not even be huskies!