Super Bowl Commercials 2013

It is that time again, the big game has been played and many advertising dollars went towards commercials. This year on CBS the price for 30 seconds of ad time was $3.7 – $3.8 million, with an expected audience of over 100 million viewers. I only watch the game for the commercials, and was kind of disappointed again this year. Coke did not have any cute ads this year, the one with the security cameras was good but the race one was not. But there were funny commercials not featuring cute animals which I enjoyed (my favorite of those ads was from Oreo).

The game actually surprised me. The power outage was a bit crazy but even though I did not care which team won the plays were amazing and the game was really close by the end. I do wonder if the blackout caused problems with which ad spots aired when, as there seemed to be a set of commercials aired twice in a row.

Here are a list of my favorite cute commercials:

1. Sketchers – “Man vs. Cheetah”

I have always loved Cheetahs, and gazelles, so this one makes the list. I love the wink from the gazelle.

2. Cars.com –  “Wolf”

A wolf puppy! How can I not include this one?

3. Toyota RAV4 – “Wish Granted”

So this ad does not feature that many cute animals, but the dog and talking squirrels are great. Plus the commercial is really funny and much better than a lot of the ads overall.

4. Kia Sorento – “Space Babies”

Featuring cute baby animals and a funny-ish ending assures that this ad makes my list.

5. Doritos – “Goat 4 Sale”

I thought this one was funny and the goat was cute. In my opinion the Doritos commercials from the past couple years have been really interesting and inventive – I look forward to them each year.

6. Budweiser – “Brotherhood”

This was my favorite commercial! A great emotional story complete with baby Clydesdale. I could not have asked for more from this commercial, and a major plus given the brand’s other strange ads which ran multiple times during the game.

You can find all the commercials on youtube at adBlitz.

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Puppy Bowl IX

Puppy Bowl 9 is this Sunday (Feb 3, at 3 pm) on Animal Planet!

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This years game returns with new adorable puppies, kitten halftime show, hamster blimp, Meep the bird, and on the sidelines this year are hedgehogs (possibly wearing tutus).

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As usually, the Puppy Bowl airs before the “big game” so you do not have to miss either one! If you are unable to watch at 3, the Bowl replays a few times so you can catch it later.

Here are a few of the starting line up:

1. Althea the female Australian Shepherd and Catahoula Mix

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2. Aurora the female Siberian Husky and Retriever Mix

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3. Bessie the female Catahoula Leopard dog mix

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4. Daisy the female Yorkshire Terrier

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5. Marta the female Schnauzer and Beagle mix

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6. Juniper the female Great Pyrenees

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7. Nala the female Japanese Chin

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8.Chestnut the male Labrador Retriever and Australian Shepherd mix

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The full line up of puppies can be viewed at Puppy Bowl IX Starting Lineup

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New Yoshi Game!

Today Nintendo announced a bunch of updates and new games for the Wii U. I am really excited for the announcement of a new Yoshi game currently called Yarn Yoshi.

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The game is being developed by the creators of Kirby’s Epic Yarn. The production of the game is being overseen by the director of Yoshi’s Island and Yoshi’s Story. I feel this game is in good hands!

Like Kirby’s Epic Yarn the characters and world look to be made mostly from fabrics and yarn. The game does not yet have a release date.

Here are a couple more screen shots:

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(images from Nintendo)

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Happy Pooh Bear Day!

Guess what?!  Today, January 18, is Pooh Bear Day!

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(image source)

The day commemorates the book’s author A.A. Milne who was born on January 18, 1882. His son and the toys he played with were the inspiration behind the books.

Photograph of  A.A. Milne, Christopher Robin Milne, and Pooh Bear

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(National Portrait Gallery, Howard Coster)

I absolutely love Winnie the Pooh! I have the books, many items with Pooh and friends on them, and stuffed versions.

Here is a small bit of my collection:

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The largest Pooh I have is pictured here – he is around 3 feet tall and came from the Disney Store. The medium Pooh was available at toy stores when I was a kid. The smallest one came from a store at Disney World, and is the same as the ones first pictured in this post.

I have also been to visit the original Pooh (and Christopher’s other stuffed friends) at the New York Public Library. I did not know that is where they are kept, and it was a pleasant surprise to find them!

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(image source)

If you are a Pooh Bear lover I encourage you to celebrate the day by reading one of the books or watching one of the movies!

Finally, in the spirit of celebration here is an adorable puppy dressed as Pooh Bear:

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(photo source)

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Valais Blacknose Sheep

Do you like cute and fuzzy sheep? Have you ever seen the Valais Blacknose breed?

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(Picture from the Facebook US fan club)

The Valais breed (Walliser Schwarznasenschaf in German) is originally from the Valais region of Switzerland, and is often kept in Switzerland and Germany. It has coarse wool and is usually raised for meat but can also be used for its wool.

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(zermatt.ch)

Tumblr Pictures

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I love this breed for its fluffiness, black face and patches on legs, and curly horns. It is also extra adorable when they have giant bells around their necks! If you have Facebook and love these sheep consider liking the US Fan Club.

Valais Lamb

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(tumblr)

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Pokemon X and Y

A brand new set of Pokemon games has been for released later in 2013, Pokemon X and Pokemon Y. The games will be on the 3DS – the first full Pokemon game for the 3DS. Pokemon Rumble is out, but it is a very different style. A worldwide release of the game is expected in October.

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The three new starter Pokemon have already been revealed:

Grass Type

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Fire Type

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Water Type

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I am particularly excited for Fennekin because it is a fennec fox and a cute new addition to the Pokemon universe.

Here is a 3d version:

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(images from fanpop)

A real fennec fox just for fun:

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(bioweb)

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Save the Monopoly Dog Game Piece!

Hasbro, the company behind the Monopoly game, has decided it is time to change one of the iconic game pieces for the basic versions of Monopoly. These pieces have been around for years, and they are allowing fans to make the decision on which piece goes and what new one is added.

To vote, head on over to Facebook: Save Your Token

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The pieces at stake for removal: the car, thimble, boot, scottie dog, battleship, hat, iron, and wheelbarrow. You can select each piece to see the “reason” for removal and why it should stay.

New pieces up for vote:

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The new options are: robot, diamond ring, cat, helicopter, and guitar.

I voted for the dog piece, as it has always been my favorite:

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I encourage you to vote to save your favorite piece as well! As of writing this article the dog and car are in the lead of votes while the iron and wheelbarrow are lowest. Just in case your favorite piece ends up being cut, I hear a “Golden Token” Monopoly set featuring all of the original pieces will be available from Target some time in February.

Vote on Facebook at Save Your Token.

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Amazing Dog Grooming

I found some photos of very elaborate, and maybe crazy, doggie hair styles. The puppy cut can make many dogs look really cute but it is amazing what some shaving, styling, additions, and color can do to make a dog look completely different! What do you think of these dogs?

1. The Muppets

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I love the use of color, differnet fur lengths, and the creative use of the dog’s tail!

 

2. A Giraffe

 

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The paint is amazing, and I really like how the tips of the paws are black to simulate hooves.

 

3. A Horse

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Wow! This dog had to sacrifice a lot of fur to make this look, but I love the mane and tail! The hooves and saddle are a wonderful touch.

 

4. Peacock

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Very colorful, and I really hope that the peacock tail is a piece that the dog is just standing in front of and not actually attached to its back.

 

5. Tiger

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Such a cute look!

6. Lion and Zebra

 

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The mane is fabulous, I just feel bad for the saved tail!

7. Another horse

 

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This puppy has nice additions to its fur for the feathers on the helmet, mane and tail, and its puppy bridal.

8. Dinosaur (or maybe a dragon?)

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I am not sure what kind of reptile this is supposed to be, but the use of color and fur style are both simple and amazing.

9. Tropical dog

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I love the macaw and frog designs on this dog!

1o. Bison

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A cut of differing lengths really gives this dog the appearance of a shaggy bison.

11. Chicken

 

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I love all the subtle details on this one. The little wings on the dog’s side, the front legs being colored yellow with feet above the puffs on its legs representing the nest/hay of the barnyard, the comb, tail feathers, and tiny nest with chicks really make this an elaborate and well thought out design.

12. T-rex

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This one is easier to tell that it is a dinosaur! I love the teeth on it, eyes, and the creative use of the rest of the dog in the design.

 

I found these photos at puppieslovers.net, to see these and more go to Weird Dog Grooming Photos. Just scroll past the ads and there is a bar with more pictures that you can click through.

 

 

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The Making of a Christmas Card

 

 

Yesterday I posted my Christmas card picture and explained that my guinea pigs cannot be together because they fight. Today I will share more of the pictures I took and show the making of my Christmas card.

The set up:

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I had my camera on a tripod so I could prevent as little movement as possible so the frame would line up. I used a roll of fabric snow set up on the dinner table with a box behind to create the background. The dinning room does not have the best lighting, but I do not own any photography lights and it would not have made much of a difference anywhere else in the house.

The clothing and props:

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We had to get the cards made in order to be printed in time to mail, so I did not have time to make a more elaborate or interesting scene. I took two snowmen off my bookshelf and arranged the two sleds with stuffed Christmas guinea pigs next to them.  The wicker sleds I got when I was a kid, and the stuffed guinea pigs were gifts last Christmas.

The hat is a Yankee Candle jar candle topper accessory, so it has no strap. It is the smaller hat in this picture:

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The holiday cape and bandana came from Petsmart, and are Life’s Fur-tas-tic! brand. The bandana ended up being too small to fit, so it was not used.

Each guinea pig wore the one hat and dress individual and I took a few different pictures hoping to get something useful.

Cola’s individual pictures:

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Fizz’s individual pictures:

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Then after picking out the best pictures, photoshop’s magic put them together (and removed red eye):cropsantahats

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Merry Christmas!

Well, it is the second day of Christmas, so Merry Christmas!

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My guinea pigs posed for the camera this year to feature on my Christmas cards.

Cola and Fizz cannot be together because they fight, so they had individual photos taken and photoshop put them together. I can post a series of photos on what that looked like another day.

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