bo obama is in the snow and looks great

via

charlie is a good doggie

with a special trick

mystery solved : 30 rocky top edition

boy, oh boy, do i have an article for you. a query that has been pestering me for years came to an exciting conclusion during this morning's commute. let me begin at the beginning.

on november 15, 2007, i was watching 30 rock. you probably remember. it was the episode guest starring edie falco as a democratic congresswoman from vermont, with whom jack has a tryst. in one of my favorite scenes in all of 30 rock history, the two are conversing at a party, and the following dialogue ensues:

ALEC BALDWIN [to bartender]: I'll have a white rum with diet ginger ale and a splash of lime.
EDIE FALCO: Wow. I never would have pegged you for a University of Tennessee sorority girl.
[EDIE FALCO exits]
BARTENDER: Sir, here's your "Nancy Drew."
ALEC BALDWIN [looking offended]: For men it's called a "Hardy Boy."

LOL, right?

i've always been curious about how this honor came to be bestowed upon my prestigious alma mater, and i assumed i would never ever ever know.

then, i was watching last week's 30 rock episode, in which jack and liz travel to his mother's home in florida after her death. there, they learn that the woman believed to be her housekeeper is actually her live-in lesbian lover. spoiler alert retroactive.

while attempting to confirm their suspicions, the woman drops the following line on her way to heat up a pot of blue gatorade for them:

"I DVRed a documentary about the woman who designed all of Pat Summitt's blazers."

LOL, right?

anyway, i texted fellow 30 rock aficionado thomas wilhelm that i thought there must be a UT alum involved in the writing over there. this was no coincidence.

speaking of coincidences (!!), you may remember yesterday when i alerted you to the latest episode of alec baldwin's podcast in which he interviews lena dunham. i listened to it on the subway last night, and they mentioned a guest from a couple episodes ago, paula pell.

she is a writer on SNL, and lena had some very complimentary things to say about her. i still had that episode on my phone, so this morning, i gave it a listen. alec reminded us that she was mentioned in tina fey's book, during a story about how tina once fought to keep this kotex classic sketch, written by pell, in an episode. they also played the audio from her tylenol BM sketch, in which alec appeared while hosting.

in the midst of their conversation, which was pretty entertaining, alec asks paula where she went to college. first of all, what are the odds that he asks that question. second of all, THE ANSWER WAS THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE.

i followed up with a little more research at my desk when i got to work and confirmed that she has done some writin' for 30 rock.

THE END YOU'RE WELCOME GO VOLS.

(follow @perlapell on twitter)

gulp

15,000 crocodiles escaped from a farm in south africa. now they are running wild! what is it with animals today? am i right?

these dummies got themselves captured. more than likely by a man like this:

what the what?

there is a dolphin in the gowanus! just swimming around in all that muck.

he looks pretty happy. I hope he doesn't end up like sludgie...

zach randolph is an ALL STAR

everyone's favorite big ol grizzly bear will be joining the western all stars at this year's game in houston. WAY TO GO Z BO!

important tina turner citizenship news!!

Those famous legs will soon no longer be the famous legs of an American: Tina Turner is handing in her U.S. passport and becoming a Swiss citizen. It's not quite as nefarious as Gerard Depardieu's exodus from France — though inevitably comparisons will be made, Fox News — since, according to the AFP, the Tennessee-born singer has lived in Switzerland since 1995, when she moved along with her partner, Erwin Bach, a German record executive. (via)

puppy bowl live stream

Streaming live video by Ustream via

"don't worry, the album is ALMOST done"

there were two "don't worry the album is ALMOST done" news items out this week:

1) D'Angelo- According to Questlove, the comeback album we're all waiting for is 99% done and should be submitted to the record label in February. It is supposed to be an instant classic.

2) Jenny Lewis- her next solo album is 80% finished and will probably be out late 2013 or early 2014. She just needs to write a few more awesome songs. Also Rilo Kiley is never ever getting back together, so forget it.

you think youre cold?

at least youre not in chicago (wait, are you in chicago??) where this building froze after the firefighters put out a fire that was inside. brrrrrr

starting line-ups for puppy bowl IX released

copper is my vote for most valuable puppy. who's yours?