Phillip needs to look at the last minute date options article. :)

petitetiaras:

Rapunzel’s Flynn Rider on the cover of NYLON Guys. View the whole collection.

Funny, and true for some of these symptoms…

erussom:

Sooooo…. this is going to be my life.

 

Where in the world?!?

thedailywhat:

Carmen Sandiego IRL of the Day: There she is!

[@adamkovic / reddit.]

Earlier: Waldo IRL.

World Cup fever has taken over my office, and I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to the groans and moans of coworkers shouting about their disdain for every bad call, missed goal, and score for the other team. (Working in an officle - a cubicle with a door - means I get the pleasure of overhearing a lot of fabulous things that others may not realize they are sharing with me.) Now, I’m not an avid follower of soccer (aka- el fútbol americano - yes, I paid attention in high school Spanish class), but I definitely don’t enjoy missing out on things (what Marc would refer to as ‘FOMS - Fear of Missing Something’), so I decided to join in the fun by creating a fantasy pool on Yahoo! Sports.

Shocked that I’m not an avid follower? Didn’t I play soccer in my childhood, like most other elementary school kids? In all actuality, I did, for two years (to my knowledge), before dropping out during the third year. Let me explain. My first two years, I served as the goalie (at least, in my mind, this is what happened. I have no idea if this is true or not - but I definitely know that in my mind, I was the best goalie to ever play on the Loveland Parks and Recreation team. Definitely.) I am fairly certain I spent much of the time standing in front of the goal and thinking about how great of a goalie I was.

In my third season, my parents dropped me off at practice wearing a red hoodie. (In all actuality, they may have been there watching the practice, but again, in my mind, I was all alone. Hopelessly alone.) The coach lined up the kids, and started calling out different field positions, and each boy would take his turn running to the field triumphantly to show the other guys that he knew what he was doing. Given my not-so-extensive-yet-self-congratulatory experience in the world of soccer, I watched as the other boys ran to their positions and I kept creeping closer and closer to the front of the line. My anxiety rose steadily as I watched boy after boy run onto the field, seemingly knowing everything about the sport. These guys were geniuses - and I quickly realized I was not. Instead of watching and learning from their brilliant knowledge, I panicked as I realized that I only knew of one position - goalie.

My spike in blood pressure due to my nerves was exacerbated by the teasing of the bully behind me in line, who made it very clear that red hoodies were not in style that season by repeatedly pulling the hood over my head and laughing maniacally. (I still have an aversion to red hoodies. Jerk.) As the last kid before me reached the front of the line, the coach yelled, “Oh this one’s easy - GOALIE!” And as he ran to his position on the field (I mean, who doesn’t know where the GOALIE stands? Clearly, he won this round…), I started bawling. Needless to say, that was the end of my soccer journey, which may have contributed to my not-so-avid followership of the sport.

So why get into the sport again now? Other than my regular battle with FOMS, I must admit I had an additional incentive to join the World Cup fun in the office this year. Meet my motivation:

“Hello. My name is Michael Ballack, and I am ridiculously attractive. Also, I am a German Midfielder in the lovely game of soccer.”

“What’s a midfielder, you ask?”

“Don’t ask JBrady.”

“PS- I hurt my ankle, and won’t be playing in the World Cup.”

Wait, what? That’s right, Ballack is out of the game (at least for now, to my knowledge. Then again, we’ve already established my expertise in all things soccer…). But it’s okay. My pool is actually doing pretty well, thanks to the advise I got from my coworker. “Just cheer for Mexico. Jose (our admin associate/friend) would want you to.” That, and the fact that soccer players are generally a rather attractive group.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!

Dear Fashionistas,

Bonnets are back. That’s right, you heard me correctly - all the latest rage.

Now I am not talking about the traditional mid-18th century brimless house bonnet – those are so last century. I am referring to the ever-so-brilliant calash bonnet, with the intensely large stiff brim – you know, to protect your hair from the gale. (Thank you, Wikipedia, for clarifying such an important distinction in headdress history.)

How do I know they are back in style? Well, as Susan and I were leaving campus on Thursday, we caught a glimpse of a woman walking across campus wearing a burnt orange UT shirt and a daffodil yellow bonnet with a tiny pattern (perhaps floral?) – she was really too far away to tell what the pattern was. Since Austin is the fashion capital of the world, we see plenty of trendsetters walking our campus.

Don’t believe me? Consider the following t-shirt:

Not-so-fashion-forward, you say? InStyle Magazine, Teen Vogue, College Fashion, and the Fashionable Housewife (among others) beg to differ. Perhaps we’ll see tie dye bonnets soon.

Admittedly, tie dye shirts can be seen around town on many-a-fashion-forward Austinite, whereas the bonnet has yet to achieve such mass appeal. That being said, one can definitely understand how I might have questioned my initial assessment of this woman’s sleek and saavy sense of style. I decided to put out a feeler into the social media world and see what kind of responses I could get. I shared the following letter on facebook:

Dear Random Woman walking across campus, Susan and I want to know why you are wearing a bonnet. Please advise. Sincerely, Justin

Over the next twenty-four hours, I received a handful of outstanding conversational comments, including:

MR: is she the sun maid raisin girl? that would be fun…that is the only person I can think of who wears a bonnet :)

CK: Or, Holly Hobbie!

MR: oh fun game! Maybe strawberry shortcake?

JB: Perhaps a Precious Moments model?

TR: Perhaps she is Menonite

AM: Perhaps its Baby Jane.

LD: Omg can’t a girl wear a bonnet anymore!??? Maybe she was honoring one of the many fashion icons from little house on the prairie!

While the comment game provided some great entertainment, it also demonstrated the general population’s discomfort with fashionistas. I am truly sorry, 2010 Bonnet - perhaps the world just isn’t ready for you.


(Old woman in sunbonnet, (c. 1930) - Special thanks to Doris Ulmann for this fabulous photo)

Gotta love The Onion!

Awesome Combo! :o)

snack-sizelife:

In Farmington, N.M., we saw the coolest pair of signs EVER! Hilarious.

I visited a church today with Janelle, and the sermon was about Choosing Joy. The youth pastor was preaching this Sunday, and he shared this video. It is hysterical, and I couldn’t stop laughing! I think I will try starting my days this week like Jessica demonstrates in the video, and see if it changes my week. You should, too!

“I like my job! I like my roommate! I like my apartment! I like my tie! I like anything!”

GLEE-Inspired Flash Mob at Ohio State

The opening of the brand new Ohio Union at The Ohio State University paid homage to GLEE, with a fantastic flash mob dance, set to the GLEE Cast rendition of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’. Thanks to my friend and colleague Kristen for sharing. Awesome!

In Spring 2011, the University of Texas at Austin will open our new Student Activity Center. I am starting a movement to include a GLEE-inspired flash mob for our opening, too! Would you like to see a Longhorn Flashmob, too?

Flower Ninjas = Awesome.

kari-shma:

Flower Ninjas (by Lilley1) | Etsy Store