Missoni! For Target!!

I’ve been a fan of Missoni’s look for several years now. I’d never heard of this design company prior to seeing Amber Tablyn in this dress:

So interesting! So expensive!

but after that, I just knew that Missoni and I were destined for one another. Unfortunately, that dress cost more than the balance on some of my student loans, so I resigned myself to admiring Missoni from afar. Fast forward several years to the present, wherein Missoni are producing a line for Target. Hallelujah! Alas,  I have to admit, I don’t love everything.

This patio set looks un!comfortable!

I am, however, a fan of the following:

Assuming that I don’t get mowed down by other Missoni fans when I go to Target to get something, starting on September 13, I will be able to realize my dream of having something by Missoni in my closet. Yippee!

You wish you could have such awesome exchanges at work

Guy patron using public computer: “I need your help.”

Me: “Sure, what can I do for you?”

GPUPC: “I really need you to move me to the furthest computer  away from [girl patron using public computer]. She’s farting. It smells.”

Me: “Of course.”

Giggle.

These people are both at least a decade and a half older than I am, and this whole exchange/incident cracked me up and released some post-earthquake stress.

So now I crochet, too

I finished my first crochet baby blanket. It is – and I say this without any undue pride – ridiculously cute. For years I’ve been all “Oh nos, crochet!” but, amazingly enough, once I actually decided that I wanted to learn how to do it, I realized that I pretty much already understood the basics. I think this is going to be for Baby Girl W, who had the temerity to be born a couple of weeks early, meaning that this gift is official late. Thanks, kid.

Anyway, behold:

In the early stages

Blocking

Despite the fact that my stomach starts to hurt if I look at this for too long, I really like this blanket. So much so, that I decided to make another one. This kid isn’t due until November, but maybe I better pick up the pace, just in case…

UPDATE SOME MORE: In which I tentatively decide to believe in this again

Second update: Maybe it’s not a hoax after all? I give up.

Update: It turns out that this was a hoax. Bummer.

Original Post: Sip and Pay It Forward

Social science + Starbucks? Two great tastes that taste great together.

I was clicking along at MentalFloss and came across a tidbit in a blog post about Jonathan’s Card. Jonathan Stark has posted an image of his Starbucks card’s barcode on the internet. Anybody is able to download it and use it to purchase items with it. People are also able to refill the card. This twitter feed updates whenever there’s a transaction on the card.

This is pretty cool. People seems to reload the card quickly, although I notice that it seems to be in pretty small denominations. As an experiment, it seems to prove that people will pay to allow something like this to continue, although presumably the card barcode download is anonymous and there’s no onus on them to do so.

If you were a librarian, you’d get emails like this, too

I get the oddest work-related emails:

I admit. I am a crazy cat lady, but my obsession is currently contained to three kitties in home…but that doesn’t mean I’m not obsessed with Maru. YOU KNOW MARU. You have to know Maru. He’s a YouTube sensation! This Japanese Scottish Fold (that sounds oxymoronic) is famous for fitting himself into teensy boxes, jamming his head into paper bags, jumping in and out of pails, and basically being the cutest critter, ever. William Morrow will be introducing the American version of owner mugumogu’s international bestseller, the eponymous I AM MARU, on 8/23/11 ($15.99; ISBN 13: 9780062088413). The US version also features a special edition inside jacket poster and adorable four-color photos on each page. It’s a great book for any cat lover (and legions of rabid Maru fans who have been buying the Japanese version on Amazon for $49.00!).

We would love to invite our cat loving friends to have an advanced preview of I AM MARU – click the image below to log into NetGalley, and get ready for a cute overlord moment!

Have a purrfect weekend!

Love & paws for thought,

[Redacted]

In case you had any doubt, it should now be clear that there is not limit to how much PR people will debase themselves for their job.

So much win

The best things about the comments section in this Deadspin post are 1) while nobody is commenting directly on the post, they’re all making jokes based on it, and 2) all of those jokes are hilariously random. I may end up visiting Deadspin more often, just for the funny commenters. Deadspin: what Gawker was 5 years ago.