The price for that doggie in the window is higher than you think...

If there's anything that's pure evil, it's a puppy mill.

You might be thinking: a puppy factory! I bet that would be all fluffy and adorable! Unfortunately that couldn't be further from the truth. The reality of it is that behind that doggie in the window is a dark world of animal abuse. Dogs that come from puppy mills often have serious health and psychological problems. While the puppies that we see in pet stores at least escape the horror of puppy mills, the lives of their parents are a living nightmare. These dogs will spend their entire lives in the dark, disease-ridden world of puppies-for-profit. These dogs are often kept in small cages and do not receive proper medical care or nutrition.

Luckily, you can help put an end to this!

Help put puppy mills out of business by remembering these tips when looking for a dog to join your family:

1. There are thousands of dogs (and cats!) just waiting for you to adopt them. There's no reason to buy your pet at a pet store. Visit your local animal shelter to meet lots of furry friends who would love to go home with you! You can even volunteer here to hang out with four-legged buddies all the time!

2. If you are going to buy a dog, make sure that you are buying it from a reputable breeder. You can visit dog shows to talk to breeders of all types of dogs (and it's a great excuse to pet dogs all day)! When you visit a breeder, make sure they introduce you to your future furry friend's parents so that you know that they are happy and healthy!

 3. Visit Stoppuppymills.org to find out more about how you can help stop puppy mills.

How can you say no to a face like that!?

Dear Katie Couric: You rock.

I was already in the "Katie Couric rocks" camp after her interview with Sarah Palin back in November. But this interview with Glenn Beck just further proves her awesomeness. I thoroughly enjoy that she calls people out when they are full of baloney, which Glenn Beck most certainly is. And Katie just isn't going to let him get away with that because Katie Couric is not full of baloney. She's keeps it real, and with the airways constantly clogged with baloney-spewing personalities like Beck, Bill O'Riley, and Sean Hannity, I appreciate that. I appreciate that she asked Glenn Beck what exactly he meant by "white culture" when he said that Obama has a deep-seated hatred for white culture. Because I, for one, have absolutely no idea what he was talking about. And it turns out, neither did he:




This interview is, of course, also further evidence that Glenn Beck is a babbling maniac who doesn't even understand the words coming out of his own mouth. I bet he thinks this is "Gotcha Journalism" too...

Glorious, indeed!

There are no words to adequately describe this except that I feel like it completely sums up the lifelong wonder that I have felt about the universe.

Watch this: "A Glorious Dawn": Carl Sagan featuring Stephen Hawking, remixed.

It is amazing.

Autotune can be used for good!

And you thought that I wasn't coming back...!

Dear Loyal Readers and Friends, 

Obviously I have been MIA for the past couple weeks, and for that I am terribly sorry. The guilt has been eating me up inside. I just got a job and then I was in Maine for five days without reliable internet access so no chance for blogging then, and work is work, so no chance for blogging then either. So it's been bittersweet, because I can't spend all day with you on the interweb BUT my new job is pretty cool and they pay me money. And as much as I'd like to deny it, money is kind of important and useful... So, that means that I now have to juggle my time between working and writing here. It's going to be quite an adventure! If you'll bear with me, I'll to do my very best to keep writing interesting and insightful posts. In addition to my new job, I'm also studying to take the GRE a second time... And trying to keep up with the freelance baking that I do as well, which means also having to work on new recipes... Not to mention the fact that I'm still pretty sad about Reading Rainbow being taken off the air... So, I guess maybe I'm a little bit over scheduled?

I have quite a bit to catch up on, don't I?!

It's good to be back!

Laurel

The Sexiest Makeover IS Reading a Book!

I came across this when I was looking for the Reading Rainbow logo:

Aww, thanks Levar! I feel better already!

Goodbye Reading Rainbow

After 26 years of reading fun, PBS has decided to take the classic children's show Reading Rainbow off the air. I have to say that I am genuinely sad. Like so many people, I have fond memories of exploring the exciting world of books with Levar Burton. The show's cancellation is due in part to a lack of funding but also to a shift in the philosophy of what the purpose of children's TV show should be. This change can be traced back to the Department of Education under the Bush Administration. The emphasis shifted heavily toward giving kids basic ready skills like phonic and spelling. As a result, PBS, CPB and the Department of Education began to put large amounts of funding toward shows that taught children how to read. Unfortunately, the focus of Reading Rainbow was to help children develop a love of books and reading -- and assumed that they already had basic reading skills.

Reading Rainbow is the third longest-running children's show in PBS history; survived by Sesame Street and Mister Rogers. In a way, it feels like this marks the end of an era where children's shows were not based on technology and computers, but instead had a low-tech and more tangible theme. There was no 3D animation or fancy CG graphics, the emphasis was on real people doing real things. When I think of kids shows today, I don't understand many of them. And maybe that's because I have become old and cynical and prejudiced toward my own childhood. But while many of these new shows don't lack Flash! and Wow! I can't help but feel they don't have soul. At least not the kind of soul that shows like Reading Rainbow had.

Good bye Reading Rainbow; you will be missed.

And, because we all need to listen to it one more time, I leave you with the Reading Rainbow theme song:

What's even better than a high-five? A sci-five!

I need this shirt. It's brilliant, because, after all, if you're going to high-five, why not give it a little Vulcan flair?

I came across this stylish shirt on a list of the top 101 T-shirts for scientists, science geeks and nerds that was sent to me by a friend. If you like geeky shirts it's definitely worth checking out. I am proud to say that I actually already own the "Stand Back! I'm going to try SCIENCE!" shirt.If you're looking for some great math shirts, my favorites are here. I especially like the "Keepin' it real" shirt.

I don't even know what to call this...except disturbing...

Ok, so it's really horrible that these kids did this at all, but it's seriously disturbing that one of them was black.

Dear Black Kid: White Power does not like you! Swastikas are not your friend! When your friends start saying "Hey, let's go write KKK in sod!" that's when you say "Hey, I gotta go get some new friends!" You should not respond with, "Oh super! I'll start making the swastika!"

My mind is officially boggled.

I am wondering if these kids knew what they were writing. It is so hard to believe that they didn't. But then, in the past year, I have been constantly surprised about what the teenagers at the high school where my boyfriend teaches are unfamilar with. They seem to do and say things of which they do not understand, or fully understand, the meaning or consequences. Perhaps that was the case here. Or perhaps its another example of the fact that racism is still pervasive in the United States and being passed down to younger generations. But I still don't understand what the black kid was thinking...