Best of the Week #80

This week, in the interest of getting better at running uphill (I really am that bad at it), I embarked on a modestly ambitious plan of doing squats and lunges every day. Don’t be too impressed – these are literally me in my living room, watching Parks and Rec after a run, doing 2 sets of 30 squats and 30 lunges, no weights…but better than nothing, right?

Also in the interest of getting better at running uphill, I actually ran uphill last night…SEVEN TIMES!  Oh that’s right. Hill repeats. At 7 pm, I met up with some of my Ragnar teammates and did seven horseshoe-style hills around the Capitol (meaning: up the Senate side to the middle of the courtyard in front of the Rotunda, recovery jog down the House side; then up the House side to the middle in front of the Rotunda, recovery jog down the Senate side; etc, x7 -- for those of you not in DC, Capitol Hill is in fact a hill). It was fun!

What else of note? Well my nephew and I are rooting for the Giants. He is doing it in much better style than I can ever aspire to…(Cutest thing EVER, right?)

I’ve been having a bit of a sad week (here’s part of why -- for the love of all things not crying at work, do NOT watch the slideshow). So this Best of the Week is specially designed to make you and me smile!

Let's start with some happy animal news, "Outrageous Animals Break Records."

And, "Brookfield Zoo Animals Enjoy Tasty Halloween Treats."

I felt like this SO MUCH on Tuesday: "It Only Tuesday." I love the “quotes."

• "The current Tuesday is keeping apace with past Tuesdays with no more than one ten-thousandth of a second's variation at the most," NIST spokeswoman Dr. Geraldine Schach said. "However, I sympathize with the common consensus that this week has already been a colossal pain in the neck."

Why “English is like a child.”

• Everything we’ve done to and for English is for its own good, we tell it (angrily, as it slouches in its chair and writes “irregardless” all over itself in ballpoint pen). This is to help you grow into a language people will respect! Are you listening to me? Why aren’t you listening to me??

"Weird and Cool: Geometric Food Art"

I haven't watched this yet, but it's on my list of things to do: "Sara Baxter Rips Mt. Sac Course Record! G Team Sweeps 2012 Mt. Sac Cross Country Invitational.

Want to learn more about the Lord's Resistance Army? I build a whole new website section this week. So pretty! So informative! (Obviously I'm biased.)

“40 Ways To Stay Fat Forever”

• 1. Learn how to cook — pancakes.
• 2. Avoid jogging when it’s hot. Or cold. Or early. Or late.
• 9. Brunch.
• 12. Buy reduced-fat ice cream — eat eleven times as much.

Check out my friend’s article in the New York Times: "Gleaning Clues on Sunny Days From the Clouds," and the awesome slideshow that goes with it!

This is actually very interesting and constructive: “The Structural Barriers to D.C.'s Hipness: An Anti-Rant.” As a DC resident, I don’t actually care if DC is “hip” because, well, I’m not hip (still not entirely sure what that means), and I like it here anyways.

• The city is not hip and it never will be…. But rather than beat a dead trucker cap, we're going to take this opportunity to ask new questions: just why won't D.C. ever be "hip"?
• It is too expensive. 
• It's too small and can't get bigger. 
• No one lives here long enough. 
• Many residents are professional squares.
• The metro: Too clean, too little.
• No promise of glamorous success. 

Good news! “The secret to happiness? 7 portions of vegetables a day.”

• In cross-sectional data, happiness and mental health rise in an approximately dose-response way with the number of daily portions of fruit and vegetables. The pattern is remarkably robust to adjustment for a large number of other demographic, social and economic variables. Well-being peaks at approximately 7 portions per day.

I love Tina Fey:

• Actress Tiny Fey was seething on Wednesday as she try to express her outrage at recent comments by several Republican politicians about rape. 
• “I watch these guys and I’m like, what is happening? Am I secretary on Mad Men?” Fey said on Wednesday. “What is happening?”

An excellent list from SUAR: “20 Things No One Tells You About Running.”

• 7. You will go through phases where you feel totally inadequate as a runner.
• 8.  You will go through phases where you feel totally like a rock star as a runner.
• 15. You will get addicted. Yes, there are worse things to be obsessed about than running (like meth and prostitutes), but you might be surprised by how hooked you get into the whole running thing once you start.
• 17.  You will never be the fastest runner you know. You will always never be the slowest runner you know.

"Backup Spatula Always Ready To Go In Case The Unthinkable Happens." The title and picture is literally the extent of this "story" and for some reason it strikes me as HILARIOUS.

As a person about to go backpacking this weekend, I’m a little bit concerned about this: "How to Feel About a Snor'eastercane."

• Batten down the hatches, have you heard? There's a weather situation a'brewing, one with the best of all possible weather situation names. (Disclaimer: Should Snor'eastercane Sandy actually hurt people, which we really hope she doesn't, we will disavow any and everything in this post. Her name is Sandy! She's a snor'eastercane. What could she have to hate about?) But what's a snor'eastercane, you ask? 

But I'm even more (unreasonably, yes I know) concerned about this part: “There will also be a full moon, meaning TIDES and WEREWOLVES. Keep an eye out.”

Have a great weekend! And Happy Hurricane to all of you on the East Coast!