i’m not crying. it’s just been raining… on my face.
Maybe it’s the eleventeenthousandth day of dreary weather outside.
Maybe it’s the financial meltdown / employment rates / war / other war / impending other war / eco-disaster / partisan backbiting / fear mongering / hate mongering / stupiditymongering / mongering in general / etc.
Maybe it’s hormones.
Whatever the case, my eyes have been leaking all morning—in a good way (girls, i’m sure you’ll understand), and all due to a veritable lovefest of adorable.
First up: ITP graduate student Kacie Kinzer’s “tweenbots” project, in which she explores the relationship we humans—particularly hustle-and-bustle New Yorkers—have with our physical environment by inserting a plucky little cardboard robot into the teeming multitude of the city to see how we’ll react. Her robots are forward moving with no steering capabilities (at least none that she employs in her social experiments), so they must rely on the kindness of strangers who pass by to right them on their course. Kinzer’s website, www.tweenbots.com, includes a video of the pint-sized anthropomorphic bucket-o-bolts making his way—with the generous help of 29 strangers who help him over potholes and curbs, loosen him from under park benches, and point him in the right direction—diagonally across Washington Square park.
Restores my faith in humanity, really (just like that Spoon video with the little yellow robo-dancing ball… which may be my first strike on this cute offensive, if I can find and post the link).
Next: I took a break from reading Twitter posts and Huffington Post blogs about Bernie Madoff, Somalian pirates, and Neocon Teabagging parties. I just couldn’t keep up the high level of concentrated snark, eye-rolling, and cringing that was required of me. So naturally, when I saw a HuffPost link to “Bo the Puppy Runs with Obama,” I couldn’t resist the chance to swoon. I haven’t figured out how to post a photo here yet… so check the link if you want the urge to hug your monitor. I’m giving serious consideration to changing my desktop image. My only hesitation is the fear that I’ll start incessantly patting my lap and baby/dog/obama-talking to my computer: “ohhh, look who’s so cute? who’s a good dog? yes you are! who’s a good POTUS? oh yes you are! who breaks up brawls between Sarkozy and Hu Jintao at the G-20? yes you do! oh yess you dooo!”
And last, let the waterworks commence: I’m embarrassed to say, even knowing that this silly little video is a publicity stunt for a Belgian reality show… I couldn’t stop the dopey smile and elephant tears while I watched. So maybe it is the weather. Or hormonal—just like my perennial desire to tuck myself under a down comforter and watch the 1996 French film Ponette through my sobs for the eightieth time. But maybe, just maybe, my morning obsession with sweet and good and adorable is in part a reaction to all of the heavy and ugly and bitter going on in the world.
Sure, I still might put myself through the beautiful agony of watching little 4 year old Ponette cope with the loss of her mother for 92 minutes. But aside from that, it’ll be some serious cute mongering, all the way. No hugs barred.
