A Return to A(www)nimals

So, the report's been back for a week now, and largely in its morning time slot, too, for those of you time-stamp-checkers out there.  But the Report 2.0 (MacKenzie McHale stands by as I write this) has been notably devoid of a traditional Report fixture.  Specifically, there have been no cute animals!  Let's correct this now.

First up, while we've technically harkened in the beginning of Fall, the weather, at least here in DC, is still just perfect for lounging out in the sun.  And these 20 animals know how to lounge.  From ferret to chapeau-ed guinea pigs, there's a whole lot of adorable going on here.  I'm not too keen on Rowlf being listed, as he is technically a muppet and not an animal. Much as I know he must smell, the ferret in 10 is my favorite, although look how smiley that corgi is!

And if that's not enough (and we've been gone for a while, so it's not), BuzzFeed has also put together this incredible compendium of cute.  And they've made it into a test to see how far you can get without squealing.  I must admit, I didn't actually squeal.  I don't know that I'm capable of making such a noise.  Though it was somewhere around 12 or 15 that I took a deep intake of breath and felt my heart warm.  A dog sleeping in food?!  That would be great served up with the cup of ducks in 22.  And I'll be hard pressed to remember that all the chocolate in my house would kill him if 36 shows up at my door on Halloween.

And to wrap things up for the day... A wonderful blend of adorable animal and human interest.  Last Friday we talked about the Internet's ability to educate, not just serve as a place for time wasting.  Today, let's also consider just a single example of the social outreach angle of the Internet.  A whole world wide web of dog treats was available for  Bingo's Lick It List.  And certainly a bitter reader could argue that there are more worthy causes than Bingo, and I would be foolish not to agree with them.  But to Cole, whose life Bingo has saved many times, I don't think that is the case.  And without the Internet, I don't believe that the Bingo Hein Fund would have taken off.  If we can spread charity as we spread knowledge, that's damn good. 

Closing with the animal theme, throw your lion monarch brother off a cliff and then declare to his son, "I KILLED MUFASA," it's Jeremy Irons' birthday!  That's right, classically trained, Academy Award winning actor with an incredible range of live-action roles, I'm calling you out for being an animated lion.