Friday LOLz: Cat + Shark Costume + Roomba + Duckling is Way Better with Yakety Sax

By now you've all probably seen the amazing video of a cat dressed like a shark, riding a roomba, chasing around a duckling. If you haven't, it's real. Trust me. I know it sounds way too awesome to be true.

Carrying Condoms, Now With More Sexism!

Ladies, I really don't like to hate on someone's good idea, that I fully support, due to the language of their press release and angle for marketing. But this week I got a press release that was so backwards, so out of touch, and offensive, that I just can't not rant about it.

Cat Yoga: Because Obviously

Anyone who parents a cat knows how frustrating it can be to do anything on the floor without your furchild inserting himself into the situation like a needy jerk. Wrapping gifts comes to mind as one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish in the presence of a cat. (Walking across a room unscathed is also a feat in itself, let's be real.) Working out at home is one of those tasks that, unless you're in a room with a door, with your cat on the other side of said door, keeping the cat out of your...

Taylor Hanson Turns 30 Today

Want to feel old? Taylor Hanson, the middle of the three flaxen-haired, angel-voiced brothers from Oklahoma, hits the big 3-0 today. It's hard to believe, because it means admitting that I will be 30 next year. And thinking back to when Hanson hit the big time in 1997, I was about to turn 13, which meant Taylor was a ripe old 14 at the time. Good lord, we are all so old.

Forever 21, Known For Being Horrible, Surprisingly Does Something Unhorrible

Most ladies my age (ahem, late 20s) and those older and younger (so basically a lot of the ladies) have shopped at Forever 21 at some point. The retail clothing chain is known for its cheap (and cheaply made) trendy fashion, gaudy jewelry, and for ripping off

20 Words We Can Blame on Shakespeare

Your Daily Squee: Live Manatee Web Cam!

Oh my goodness. We're used to the emergence of the puppy and kitten live web cam feeds, every once in a while, in all their distracting glory. There was even one a couple years ago that let you operate toys in the pen with the cats, letting you effectively wave feathers around while the cats lounged lazily while giving you the stink eye. Very rewarding.

Soundtrack Your Workday with the Sounds of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

I have a tendency to fall in love with the soundtracks of my favorite video games. It's a thing that I do. (I wrote out a score for my high school band based on the opening music to Pokemon Puzzle Challenge. So yeah.) But unlike commercially available pop songs and the like, music from video games is not generally available to take with you everywhere, like your entire CD collection. Sure, you might be able to find some stuff online and steal it, and video game soundtracks are...

Some Weirdness for Your Monday: Creepy Personalized Dolls on Groupon

If you thought you were just going to waltz right into the work week without seeing something super creepy on the Internet, I'm here to ruin that possibility for you today. A friend of mine sent me a link this morning to a Groupon special that ... well ... it's one of the creepiest things I've ever seen. It's a discount on a super-personalized stuffed animal version of yourself,...

365 Layers of Make-up Applied in One Day. Warning: This is Pretty Gross.

I just came across a video by directors and artists Lernert & Sander called Natural Beauty. It's a short film that documents the application of 365 layers of make-up to the face of Belgian fashion model Hannelore Knuts. Ladies, this is what a year of painting...

It's Friday! Go enjoy the weekend like this moose in a swimming pool

Seriously. Aren't moose just the best? I mean, not when they're falling on your car after you hit them with it, but most of the time, moose are the best. So, here's one going for a swim. May your weekend bring you an equal, if not greater, amount of joy.

Read Receipts for Text Messages: Stalkery or Useful?

Text messages are a large part of the way we communicate with each other these days. Honestly, it's my preferred method for carrying on conversations and asking and answering questions, as I've grown to hate talking on the phone with most people. This is not to insult my friends, who I love very much, but why stop what I'm doing (pause Netflix, usually) to talk to you when we can just as easily get stuff done while talking with our fingers via our phones? Maybe I'm just old fashioned.

Brides + Beer = Totally fine or a no-no?

Ladies, it seems the list of things on the Internet that make my eyes roll so far back inside my head (that I think they'll fall out my butt) grew a little today. A story on TheFW about a photo of a bride (wearing a white dress!) in New Zealand enjoying a beer (out of a bottle, no less!), caused a fuss online because we humans can't not pass judgment on people we don't even know. The act of consuming beer while wearing a...

Foamy the Squirrel's 2 cents on marriage equality

It's been a hectic week for marriage equality, with Obama's endorsement and North Carolina's writing bigotry into law. Naturally, Foamy the Squirrel has something to say about it. Hard to believe a cartoon squirrel possesses greater logic and reasoning skills than more than half of this country.

Incontrovertible Proof that Leggings are not Pants

Ladies, can we all agree that leggings are not pants? I hope we can. I've been shaking my fist and shouting to the heavens about this for what seems like forever, but apparently the message has not caught on. Leggings. Are Not. Pants. I still cannot get the image of all of the underwears I've seen through people's leggings-as-pants. One particularly stripey pair I could see while at Union Station some time last year still haunts me. Gentlemen, I have heard all of your arguments for leggings...

All Nyan, Every Nyan!

Alright, ladies, it's hard not to love a cartoon poptart cat with a rainbow tail/poop trail who flies through space, right? (It's even harder when your real-life cat son resembles the guy!) And that song! Let us not forget the glorious, melodious, effervescent song on endless repeat in our brains.

A funny cat video for your Friday

Happy Friday, everyone. Let's all learn something from this cat about making our daily tasks our bitch. He knows what's up. Let's not worry about being wasteful and instead concern ourselves only with how to get everything done with style.

Proke: An addicting web game for you word nerds

It's Friday. Our brains are probably most focused on getting paid, how long it is till we next get paid, and how we're going to blow a bunch of money on stupid crap this weekend. Right? Sure. Probably.

My Favorite Love Songs

Happy Valentine's Day, or if you prefer, just plain old Tuesday, everyone!

An interview with Christopher Hitchens from his 2009 CT Forum appearance

Don't Know What to Drink On Spotify? Try Drinkify.

"What are you listening to?" asks Drinkify. 

Where's the Adderall? There's a Connecticut Shortage

If you've got a prescription for the attenion-deficit-disorder drug Adderall, it's likely you're not able to fill it here in Connecticut, or possibly lots of other places in the whole country. 

People in Pizza-Slice Costumes Becoming PIzzas

Things are sometimes exactly as they seem.

Hilarious Photos of People Freaking Out at a Haunted House

At Nightmares Fear Factory Haunted House up in Niagara Falls, there's some unknown thing that seems to scare the CRAP out of every single person who sees it. The place takes rollercoaster-style pictures of the people who pass through this one room, and the photos are pretty funny. And if you can figure out what they're seeing, let us know.

Funny Right Now: Bad-Lip-Reading of Michele Bachmann

"Jennifer Lohan." (LOL)

Cool Right Now: This new Florence and the Machine video

Shake it out, "Shake It Out." (You'll like it.)

The Brilliance of Bad-Lip-Reading Videos

SLIDESHOW: Cool/Adorable Albino Animals

There's something kind of appealing about pigmentless animals. Here's a few pictures collected from Google Images -- so if you spot anything that looks 'shopped, drop us a note, bsnyder@hartfordadvocate.com.

Five Awesome Things to Do Today (Thursday 9/8)

With the weekend on the horizon, Thursday seems like as good as any night to get out there and do something fun. Your weekend is probably swallowed up by previous plans as it is, so here are five things to do tonight that you may have not known about.

Bye, Bye Summer!: 6 Things to Do Indoors as the Weather Cools

Most current lists of activities are for people who long for the summer and nice weather. I say, usher in the cold weather, 'cause I'm ready to sit inside for half a year. Here's a list of stuff you can do indoors while everyone else tries to salvage the remnants of the warm months.

The 20 Best Sheltering Suburban Moms

The Sheltering Suburban Mom is here to boss you around and not practice what she preaches. The woman in the image is the romance novelist Carly Phillips, from the portrait photograph that appears on her books. Although there is no clear reason why she was chosen, perhaps her black sweatsuit can provide the connection between her and the dreaded suburban mom. Here's a list of 20 of the best images, in no particular order.

Connecticut Light and Power's Facebook Page Should Be a Resource, Not a Complaint Line

Yesterday's tropical storm did a lot of damage in Connecticut, the force of which has resulted in the loss of power to more than 700,000 households. That means 700,000 people are taking cold showers and catching up on a lot of reading. And they're on the lookout for CL&P trucks.

9 Worse Things Than A Hurricane That Could Be Happening To You Right Now

The Best Tweets From Your @FriendFromHS

Joke accounts are vogue-y on Twitter, and I'm definitely a fan. Every time an animal escapes from a zoo, I get excited for the inevitable Twitter account(s) that pop up, chronicling the escapee's imagined romp around its region. (Remember the mountian lion that hoofed it here from South Dakota? Tweet,...

New York Times Magazine Writers Have Really Embarrassing E-Mail Addresses

There's a subtle snobbery I find myself indulging in when I see in my inbox e-mail accounts ending in @aol.com, @hotmail.com, @yahoo, etc. I realize this is a complex and unhealthy place of judgment. And I realize too that one day my own e-mail address -- a gmail account, duh -- will likely be on the list of dated domains, once the Next Big Thing comes around. And yet!

Where to Get Radiohead's Probably Boringly Earnest Newspaper 'The Universal Sigh' on March 29

Radiohead announced they're putting out a free newspaper, The Universal Sigh, this coming Tuesday.

So You Found A Way Around the New York Times Paywall! Who Cares?

Last week, the New York Times revealed its subscriber plans and paywall details, which will become significantly more pertinent once everything goes into effect on March 28. Since that announcement, though, bloggers and tweeters are getting all huffy and condescending about all the ways to get over the paywall, and trying to deconstruct the pay structures, and...

Heidecker and Wood: Is This Real or is it a Joke?!

Real-Life Superheroes in Seattle.

Just saw this blogpost about a real-life superhero patrolling the streets of Seattle. The Daily Intel gives a really great breakdown of the "fatal flaws" in this guy's superhero routine, but this video clip of the guy rescued by one of the "Rain City Superhero Crime Fighters" is like mouthbreathingly hilarious. Can someone in Hartford PLEASE put on a rubber suit, live in a comic-book store...

The Like Button

I'm friends with a couple of other Brianna Snyders on Facebook (Brianna Snyders 4 life!) and my favorite is a 14- or 15-year-old Brianna Snyder who lives in Connecticut! She's always putting something awesome in her status updates like:

4chan Hits The Bigtime

The posters over at 4chan are sweating, finally, over the 11-year-old girl they harrassed near to death and now, following coverage of the 11-year-old girl's total meltdown as a result of the trolling, Gawker.com won't be the only ones with "mainstream"...

Old People Reviewing Young People Music

In "Breakfast at Sulimay's," three white elderlies listen to a Young Jeezy track and an Animal Collective track. They hate it! And what they have to say is pretty great. About the song "My Girls": "Repititious. It's too repititious. ... It's as bad as 'Rocket Man.'"

Katy Perry and Russell Brand Are Upsetting Me

Katy Perry's song for summer, "California Gurls," is disappointing, right? She's dressed like a cupcake and singing about daisy dukes. Even by my standards, which are not so high, the song falls flat and gets uninteresting...