Thou Shalt Meet, Clearing the Cuteness Backlog, and www.alden.pond

I'm thrilled to be writing two days in a row, if only because it means that I'm not stuck "in another fucking mtg." following these Ten Commandments.  Seriously, though, so many completely pointless meetings this week... I've been all about Commandment 2, while meeting coordinators and presenters seem to be tending toward 4 more and more.  And there I am, stuck coffee-coveting and doodling, knowing that I could be back at my desk producing important aviation documentation.  (People must know to beware of the linen trousers!)

Or I could be back here, continuing to develop an overwhelming backlog of adorable animal photography.  You know what?  It's been a long week, let's unload some of this.  You all deserve it.  Yesterday's Wild Things, though cute in their own way, just can't compare to good old fashioned monkey-dog bonding.  While monkeys carrying dogs and monkeys using dogs for transportation make up the majority of the pictures, the monkey-dog hugs (especially 17) and the classic "Sir, no touching the dog, please" of number 7 are my favorites.  Maybe the monkey would have more luck protecting the dog from unwanted human contact if he created a force shield around him.  One of these animals can help.  And, when he has successfully mastered the techniques of the force, that monkey will have every right to feel just as proud as these animals.  Only, he should try not to show it.  Nothing's more douchey than an animal that's all like "Do you know who I am? I'm kind of a big deal..."  Well, except maybe a human that's all like "Do you know who I am? I'm kind of a big deal."

And one final item to get you through your Thursday:  Lately, the weather when I leave for work has been a bit rainy, but when I arrive at my office, it clears for the next nine hours, until it is time for me to head home, and the clouds and rains roll in again.  So I've frequently found myself thinking, "If only there was a way for me to enjoy the great outdoors from the comfort of my desk."  Well, the good people at the National Endowment for the Arts must have heard my cry, because they are providing funding for the development of a Walden video game.  And really, is there any text more deserving of a video game?  Just imagine playing out Chapter 12 of Henry David Thoreau's classic book: "You only need sit still long enough in some attractive spot in the woods that all its inhabitants may exhibit themselves to you by turns."  Just put the controller down and watch people and creatures pass by.  A video game is the most obvious way to live through Thoreau's most famous line: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."  Because hey, no pressure!  In the game environment, when you come to die, if you discover you had not lived, you don't need to worry about it; you've probably got four more lives anyway!  Depends how you did foraging for 1-Up mushrooms.

It's Mother's Day in Mexico!  Wish the madres in your life un día bueno!