Bloorp.

I’m pretty conscious of slipping into Crazy Dog Lady Territory, which I’ve dangerously approached to varying degrees. Scratch that — I’ve already been there and back again.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m head over heels for my little Hemingway, who is also my first dog.

I never grew up around dogs, so I haven’t been privy to all their little quirks and mannerisms. What’s probably old hat to most owners is a fun little discovery for me on a daily basis.

Last summer, we went through what I dubbed his morning tantrum. As Matt so aptly put it, he was like a five-year-old boy who didn’t want to go to school. Hemmy doesn’t throw this tantrum anymore, which is a real shame because it was absolutely ridiculous to watch, but it shall live on in memory — and on YouTube.

Well, once you get past the first 40 seconds of him chewing himself, that is.

I remember this moment like it was yesterday. It’s one of my absolute favourite memories of Richard and I’m so, so thankful that my girl Christina was notorious for taking little nonsense videos on her point-and-shoot all those years ago.

The short and sweet clip you see above was one of them and for a fleeting second, I can almost make myself believe that Richie is back here with us where he belongs, smiling that little smile of his, as if nothing’s changed…

We were having a dinner party at my pal Justin’s, and our master chef Richie was teaching us how to flip pancakes.

He handed me that very pan and ran through the proper wrist flick that would send the flapjack spinning in the air, then landing smoothly on the non-stick surface. I took the pan reluctantly, afraid of dropping it or the pancake or that some general Emily Claire bumbling would inexplicably set the kitchen ablaze.

Richie, however, was firm and confident. So I went for it. There were some near misses but not long after came my first successful attempt — the pancake sailed gracefully in the air and landed snugly back in in the pan. I was so excited by this newly discovered skill that I had to fight the urge to flip every damn pancake within sight…and it was all thanks to Richie.

I miss him. I miss him so much that almost five years later, it still hurts. I don’t know if that will ever change, but memories like this help ease the pain and remind me that I once had a wonderful friend who made me a better person simply by having him in my life.

Merry Christmas, Richie.

Finding old files is like uncovering forgotten treasure, isn’t it?

I’m not sure how I could have possibly forgotten about this one, which I took in New York this past February. (I must have been too preoccupied posting pictures of rhino iguanas and emu carpaccio.)

February was my last month with KidScreen before moving over to its sister publication Playback, thus ending three memorable years of covering a most fascinating industry.

And what a way to end it all — watching the legendary Bobby McFerrin and his son Taylor belt out an a capella version of “Misty” one of my all-time favourite standards.

Bake ‘em away, toys.

This is my friend Mark, and there’s a very good reason we’re pelting him with rice (and no, it has nothing to do with getting married.)

He’s a survivor of testicular cancer. Last month, he was known as The Guy at Home in His Underwear, having spent 25 consecutive days confined to a loft wearing nothing but his gitch and streamed live à la Truman Show (except he actually knew there were cameras on him). All in the name of raising $50,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society.

On his last day, we gathered outside the loft — unbeknownst to him — to greet him back into the real world as he donned clothes for the first time in 25 days.

This is how it went.

Few things are more beautiful than a man and his piano.

Matt’s supremely gifted uncle Tom Baker is also a former musical director for The Second City Toronto (keeping it all in the family, you see). He is the most wonderful pianist and has released a few solo piano albums, which we gave to my jazz-loving father .

We visited him and his wife earlier this week in the country, an hour and a half out of the city where they own a sprawling 50 acres of land. Also in their possession are a number of gorgeous instruments, from a grand piano to a dulcimer (dulcimer!) to a bass recorder.

While playing around with the instruments, we mentioned how much Dad loved the CDs and I wondered if Tom was at all familiar with the song “Emily.”

He was out of the room when I leaned over to ask Matt. As if on cue, he reentered the room and Matt asked the question for me, “Do you know the song ‘Emily?’”

With hardly a moment’s hesitation, Tom made a beeline for the piano room and the sounds of My Song filled the air like they’d been there all along. My heart swelled and I was rooted to the spot.

There was a sudden pause in the melody and we heard Tom cry out, “Oh, shit!” as he tried to remember the rest of the song. Matt, his aunt and I all burst out laughing, then we moved closer to the piano room to watch the music man at play.

But as you’ll see, the song eases its way back into his memory, making it very hard for anyone watching not to smile.

When it was over, Tom rose from the piano, looked at me and said, “I think I’ll put that on my next album.”

My friend Jim did just that earlier this year. I can only keep my fingers crossed that Tom may do the same.

After being completely mesmerized by this video, I have made it my personal mission to visit the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.

It’s apparently the second largest in the world, next to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and boasts this impressive Kuroshio Sea display that makes you feel as if you’re watching an underwater mural come to life—complete with whale sharks!

You probably already know that I like aquariums and if you’d like the same eye-widening experience I’ve had (thanks to multiple viewings), then here’s what you should do:

1. Click play
2. Turn up the volume
3. Go full screen for the full effect
4. Lather, rinse, repeat

Trust me. I know what I’m doing here.

thedailywhat:

Cute Animals Being Cute of the Day: Cutest wittle panda has the cutest wittle predicament after climbing the cutest wittle tree.

[ratsoff.]

Uh, I’m just going to come out and say that this video gave me a major cutegasm. Excuse me while I watch it over and over…and over…

Could there be a more perfect way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon in late May?

This video brought to mind a column I wrote when I was a reporter for The Mississauga News many years ago. Unfortunately, it isn’t available online, but in it I described a summer evening with two friends. We were cash-strapped students who didn’t want to spend another Friday night going to the movies. Again.

We ended up in a nearby park and my buddies brought a couple of gloves and a baseball. And you know what happened?

They taught me how to play catch.

I remember the bright stadium lights from a nearby football field giving me just enough visibility to see that I was learning pretty quickly not to throw like a girl—a skill that’s later proven to come in handy.

And even though I take great pleasure in exploring my love of video games, nothing can beat some of the purest and most basic forms of entertainment. Sometimes, a ball and glove is all you need to have the best time ever. I write that with all the sincerity in the world.

A Frisbee, as it turns out, will also do the trick.

(For the record, I was actually tossing the disc around with those guys, but Mark Rabo’s video didn’t appear to have any footage of that. Also shown in the video: my pal Will, Brandonnn, Kris, Robyn, Jason, Mark.)

I just about lost my mind when my buddy Will shared this Nat Geo clip, so much so that I’ve already seen it multiple times and decided that it also needed to be shared right here.

Please note that the orangutan is wearing a life jacket in several of these shots. AN ORANGUTAN-SIZED LIFE JACKET.

If this does cause any form of melting, then you clearly must have sold your soul for a measly $5.