My friend Carolyn just got a dog, a three-month old Lab/Chow mix named Riley who's got to be the cutest freaking thing I have ever seen. Behold:
Yeah, I know. I know. Adorable.
Ahem:
Nickelodeon is adding some of its classic 90s and early 2000s programming to the iTunes store.
As part of Nick Rewind, which catalogues its older programming, Nick will sell individual episodes for the standard iTunes price of $1.99 and “best-of” collections and seasons for $8.99-$19.99.
Among the shows available on Nick Rewind on iTunes will be Rugrats, Clarissa Explains It All, Doug, Hey Dude, Rocko’s Modern Life, The Amanda Show, Aaahhh! Real Monsters, Angry Beavers, As Told by Ginger, Rocket Power and The Wild Thornberrys. (source)
Yessssssss.
I'm ba-aaaack!
Costa Rica was beautiful. I took a crapload of pictures, which I have whittled down into four Flickr sets. The first one is the big, main photo set with all of the stuff we did; also, there are three smaller sets with people and buildings, animals, and plants and nature and whatnot.
Here are some favorite pics:
I really loved this "No Prostitution" sign hanging outside of the Denny's in San Jose--like, is that really necessary? In all my life, I have never walked out of a Denny's thinking, "You know what would go great with that greasy sausage and bad coffee? A hooker!"
Maybe it's a cultural thing.
We stayed one night in a town called La Fortuna, which is at the base of Arenal, an active volcano. We could see the volcano from our hotel room, and so when I woke up briefly at 5 a.m. to pee, I peeked out the curtains to see what it looked like at sunrise. On my way back to bed I snapped a picture of the view.
When I got back into bed, all I could think was, "I wonder when in my life I will get another opportunity to truthfully and logically refer to taking a 'bathroom/volcanic photography break.'" I hope soon.
On my trip I got to see many, many monkeys. These two were in Manuel Antonio National Park, and it reminds me of why they are such a fascinating animal: monkeys manage to look so human--and so NOT human--at the same time, and it's really weird. Like, if you look at it one way this momma monkey is all exotic and wild and stuff, but then you also remember that her expression is the exact same one you use when you're trying to remember where you parked your car.
We also saw a bunch of crocodiles.
One thing I made sure to buy before the trip was a disposable underwater camera, because I have always wanted to take one of those cool underwater pictures of myself. Thanks to Laura's underwater photography skills, I can now check that goal off my list:
If I had a snorkel and fins, that would have "Vacation Stock Photo" written all over it.
Some other totally vacation-y images:
Laura being pushed off the platform on our zipline tour
Laura again, with the world's most vacation-y drink
Kate and Laura on the beach
Kate in the hotel pool
Check out the rest of the collection here, if you're interested.
Vacation was amazing. I wonder if Pancake will sit still and look at all 800 of my pictures with me.
[I'm in Costa Rica on vacation for one more day, so here's one last link. I'll be back tomorrow.]
I troll a lot of sites for links, but I find those listed on GeekLikeMe to be the most consistently interesting.
If you do start reading the site daily though, be warned: my This Week in Internet posts are going to start being a lot more deja-vu-ey.
[I'm in Costa Rica on vacation until the 25th, but here's one of my favorite sites for you to visit if you're bored. Check back tomorrow for another fun link.]
For a while last year I was reading about 12 gossip blogs a day, but then I started whittling the list to get rid of the more repetitive/slow/un-funny ones. Eventually I realized there is only one celebrity blog I need, and it's Dlisted. Michael K is hysterical, and his posting schedule is superhuman.
[
Today I'm linking to Emily's blog, The Media Nerd. You may remember her from her spectacular trivia quiz column on The Bathtub. As a special treat, she has prepared an entire guest post today in the form of a trivia quiz about Costa Rica!]
Although I've moved on to nerdier and lamer things, Lauren's in Costa Rica this week, and as a guest blogger I'm filling in with a quiz on the lovely country to help relive the old Bathtub days. Now you can learn more about that place us gringos call "The Rich Coast."
1. What is the name of the Costa Rican Army?
a. Ejército
b. Contra
c. Nada
d. Enemigo
c. Nada (nothing). Costa Rica officially abolished their army in 1949, after their 1948 civil war, making it the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish its army.
2. How has Costa Rica differentiated itself from other Central American countries (other than that whole no-army thing)?
a. It has a one-child policy
b. It has privatized its Department of Education
c. Its alphabet does not have the letter "Z"
d. It has been peaceful for the past fifty or so years
d. Unlike other Central American countries, Costa Rica has successfully avoided most of the violence that plagues the region.
3. Which one of these companies does not have facilities in Costa Rica?
a. Intel
b. Procter & Gamble
c. GlaxoSmithKline
d. Costco
d. There is no Costco in Costa Rica (there is one in Puerto Rico though). In 2006, Intel's microprocessor facility in Costa Rica was responsible for 20% of the country's exports.
4. What is the biggest industry in Costa Rica?
a. Tourism
b. Bananas
c. Coffee
d. Microprocessors
a. Tourism (it's a $1.9 billion a year industry and is the most visited country in Central America)! Good job Lauren, way to keep their economy going. Buy some microprocessors while you're down there too.
5. If you want the country to recognize your marriage, you must...
a. Marry a dude
b. Get married in a Catholic church
c. Go through couples therapy
d. Seek the advice of a traditional Costa Rican seer to ensure you two are compatible
b. You have to get married in a Catholic church because it's the official state religion.
6. What does the unofficial country's motto of "Pura Vida!" mean?
a. "This is living!"
b. "Pure life!"
c. "Distilled life!"
d. "Potable water!"
[Ed. note: I couldn't get this last picture to upload and since I need to finish packing I'm too lazy to figure out why it's not working. Sorry.]
a. is the loose translation, but b & c are the more literal translations. d is just plain wrong.
Hope you're having a great time Lauren, don't let them trick you into joining their non-existent army! Adios.
[Other friends with blogs: Matt's Two Year Sprint, and Michelle's MacNamerica.]
[I'm in Costa Rica on vacation until the 25th, but here's one of my favorite sites for you to visit if you're bored. Check back tomorrow for another fun link.]
The Big Picture is a new-ish site that's updated semi-weekly with, well--big pictures. It's part of the Boston Globe website, and--if I can get all journo for a minute--it's an example of a really good way for newspapers to use the web medium. One of the selling points of Internet-based journalism is that the web has infinite room for additional pictures and information, but many outlets misinterpret that benefit as a reason to broadcast superfluous crap. The Big Picture, on the other hand, is simple, compelling, and well-curated. There's a little bit of text for context's sake, but it's the glorious, high-res images that do most of the talking.
Get started with the gallery of pictures from the Running with the Bulls, or this Look at the Presidential Candidates. (Baby Obama=CUTE.)
Ben is watching Pancake while I'm in Costa Rica, and I can only imagine that there is a lot of this going on right now.
Just two cousins, sharin' a pillow.
