Is this…dun dun dun…the end of Cute Animal Blog???

Well, not really. In one of my more rash decisions, I’ve purchased the domain name cuteanimalblog.com because…geez, I don’t know it was cheap and I make bad Internet decisions (I’ve come dangerously close to buying this shirt on multiple occasions). So, in my head, Cute Animal Blog will continue on as its own Web site, a constantly updating place to check out adorable animals. Because what the web needs is another place to look at cats. I’ve already tricked several people into wanting to contribute to the site, now all I need is an actual, functioning Web page! Keep your fingers crossed and look for the site to launch sometime this summer (while you wait, keep following our Twitter, it will update!). Let’s celebrate this news with a puppy!

But tonight does end a major chapter in Cute Animal Blog’s history. This will be the last post ever on NBN, and this blog’s run on the site has been pretty great. I could wax poetic on Cute Animal Blog and my time running it, but I’ll keep it simple and say one of the biggest perks of my day the past two years has been seeking out cute animals to share with you. To close out this NBN chapter, let’s look at some of the all-time cutest videos and pics posted on this blog.

Corgi bein’ adorable

Mouse in a cup

Really, really small kitten

My vote for cutest cat ever

Cat owned by pillow

Dolphin plays with bubble rings

Sleepy bear

Puppy so cute that I e-mailed the owner in South Korea to ask him about the doggy, but he didn’t get back to me

Baby hamster eating food

Cat fights printer

Baby sloth!

Chimpanzee riding on a Segway

Baby tiger cub

Kitty!

Foxes jumping on trampoline=

Panda cubs

A few last videos …first, I’ve been told I’ve never featured an Alaskan Eskimo dog on this blog. So here we go!

Also, one more moment of hype for the blog …I promise if this thing actually happens, I will visit Tama, the famed stationmaster cat in Japan.

And last but not least, the unofficial mascot of Cute Animal Blog, the red panda! Thanks for reading everyone!

Of course, I’m way too lazy these days to go anywhere, so I’m relying on a much younger generation to come through for me. Thankfully, North by Northwestern staffers Dan Camponovo, Emily Chow and Matt Connolly decided to go down to the zoo to celebrate Mr. Connolly’s birthday, and snapped some great pics. So visit the Lincoln Park Zoo to see cute animals like these! And…they have a red panda, complete with stuffed red pandas. Do you need any other reasons to go?

All images courtesy of Emily Chow.

I didn’t realize they had cats at the zoo. Or maybe this is more unique than I think. Whatever, one more pic of it!

And a different critter now…

But wait, there’s more! These three also filmed a video of some monkey fighting one another. Good stuff, if you’ve come this far you have to watch it.

Lets learn a bit more about this strange little guy. The jerboa, according to your friend and mine Wikipedia, lives throughout Asia and Northern Africa. They also kinda hop. Check this out.

This clip shows a little bit more hopping action. It also has a sweet soundtrack.

According to the Internet, the jerboa doesn’t drink anything, instead relying on the food it eats to keep it hydrated. That sounds crazy. Let’s watch the jerboa eat food.

Some jerboas have longer ears than others. And according to this news report, they are also more rare.

I’ve just been informed by fellow NBN staffers that the jerboa is “scary.” These little fellas disagree!

To close out this post, here is a slightly longer clip of a jerboa trying to play with a hamster.

Summary

So much drama! Jordan wants to be friends with Rusty, especially after Andy officially breaks up with her. But, when Andy wants to officially get back with her like an hour later, Rusty gets all mad and says he can’t be friends with her because that’s not what he wants. And… you get one more twist after that one, which involves possibly the worst teacher a college classroom has ever seen. Cappie and Casey try to cram for a test, but Casey becomes jealous when she discovers Cappie’s dating habits. This leads to a bunch of awkwardness and eventually a big blowup. Rebecca leaves her computer, complete with an important essay unfortunately due the next day, in her car as it is towed away. Evan decides to help her get the computer back, even though it means facing off against a very angry dog. Elsewhere, Ashleigh doesn’t study for a test.

Representations of College

- None of the main characters are remotely prepared for their various midterms. It doesn’t take much investigating to figure out a large chunk of college students are complete slackers, but I’m glad Greek got this critical detail of university life down. Though I thought everyone – especially the seniors – were freaking out way too much about it. At some point, you look yourself in the mirror, say “C’s get degrees, yeah?” and move on with your life.

- Ya know, using Trivial Pursuit as a study tool is pretty darn genius. How come nobody else has thought of that before? Or am I just a bad student (see above bullet point)?

- What kind of teachers do they hire at Cyprus-Rhodes, exactly? The entire last scene of the episode exceeds all possible boundaries I can conjure up by suspending disbelief. First, what teacher actually reads a love note out loud to the class? That’s just a dick move. Second, what teacher allows a When Harry Met Sally-esque love conversation to play out in his class in front of everyone enrolled in the class on the day of the test? Just bizarre. Almost as bizarre as how much I over-analyze this show.

Bad Writing Round-Up

- The writers were too busy penning dramatic twists to mess anything up, though the idea of a “brown wedgie” seemed a bit unnecessary.

Greek Tweet of the Night

“i can’t even begin to explain how much that episode of greek made me cry. i don’t even know why either? AND WTF NO CASEYxCAPPIE?” SarahGomes_x isn’t taking tonight’s episode very well.

Closing Question

I assume Jesse McCartney is no longer on the show?

And after you’ve been in a car for 10 hours, you start feeling super cramped and you want to move around. Even… gasp!… do exercise. And thanks to some perfect timing… OK, Megan Friedman who sent me these videos… I have seen a video where a dog does squats.

He gets a human pal in the next vid, and the cuteness gets upped to a new level as a result.

Great work goes to YouTuber sararingosaki for posting these two videos. And, to cap it off, here is the same dog being lazy and watching TV.

Kay, time to pass out.

This story comes out of Spokane, Wash., where some banker helped get a bunch of ducklings to safety. Cute stuff.

These two ducks are chatting with each other and also bugging some guy. Glad this didn’t happen to me.

The other birds I spent a significant amount of time watching today were seagulls. Now, I’m usually suspicious of them – when I was doing my study abroad in England, a seagull ripped a cereal bar out of my hands and left me with a cut that didn’t go away for three months. Apparently, I have all the rights to be suspicious of European seagulls, as this one in Aberdeen steals some Doritos.

Finally, a few photos of seagulls.

To compliment that clip, watch this one where the tables are turned and the cat gets to play. It’s a lot more minimalist, but still cool.

These two dogs exhibit some crazy strength (and persistence) by tugging a boat to shore. Look at how pleased they are with their work!

This dog drives a car…sorta. Hey, it looks pretty cool.

This puppy does some gardening, though he isn’t the most effective gardener you’re likely to encounter.

Even though dogs can do all these incredible actions, they still get tired in the end.

Big ups to Pet Tube for having all of these sweet dog videos.

But in the end, the storyline was pretty worthless. Greek is one of the few shows that doesn’t make a huge deal about gay issues, opting instead to treat gay characters like everyone else. Sure, the show has fallen for those after school special-worthy moments before, but they usually approach the gay characters (read: Calvin) as just normal people with normal problems. The show has even been nominated for GLAAD awards. The recent Rebecca plot didn’t have that same subtlety (shots of women kissing will do that) and didn’t seem as sincere as what the writers usually pull off with Calvin. So yeah, glad that’s over with.

Summary

Everyone is mad at Rusty for being a “douche-mover” after what he did to Andy, especially Cappie. In order to get into his good graces again, Rusty attempts to unearth a secret society on campus, one with which Cappie used to be obsessed. Surely, Cappie won’t hate Rusty if he discovers its existence! Elsewhere, a bunch of girls from the IKI house want to come back to ZBZ, but Casey isn’t sure what to do, as Frannie sure has had it rough recently. Rebecca confronts her lesbian feelings, while Calvin hits on a straight guy due to their shared love of the…uh, Detroit Lions.

Representations of College

- Secret societies do actually exist (or…do they???), though I’m not sure how many of them actually wear Jawa robes. Did you know Northwestern has a secret society, Deru? Now guess how many people actually care about what they do. Hint: rhymes with “hero…”

- I have never actually met a serious Detroit Lions fan in college. Yeah, I’ve met people from Detroit who are all “woo, go Lions” but never someone who actually is attached to the team in a serious way. Maybe they are hiding in shame.

- Rusty goes on a Cyprus Rhodes message board to look up info on the secret society. First, nobody outside of Yale would care about a secret society enough to post on a message board about it. Second, any college-related message board usually ends up like College ACB, which recent topics include…lets see here…”Uncircumcised Frat Guys.”

Bad Writing Round-Up

- The whole episode had a fan fiction vibe going through it, with Rusty and Dale going on a weird adventure (plus, the whole lesbian thing). Otherwise, a pretty solid night!

Greek Tweet of the Night

“Greek was great tonight! =D There has not been enough Cappie this season. Cappie/Evan = One True Bromance. Y/Y? ” Answer atlanticwasborn’s question, if you dare.

Closing Question

How many times did they use the word “douche” tonight?

This rabbit has a guitar pick on his head, and is sitting near an effects pedal.

The next clip features a bunny who doubles as an envelope opener.

I guess rabbits used as letter openers isn’t a weird thing, as there are quite a few videos of them online.

One more, for posterity.

OK, a few more pictures.