an otter for my buddy

When I was a kid, and people would ask what kind of animal I would be if I could be any animal, I always wanted to be an otter. I loved how they just seemed to swim and play all day! You never saw them being hunted or killed on the Discovery Channel, and in general, they seemed to have a pretty chill life.I have this one friend of mine who *loves* otters to pieces. She also happens to be front and center on all the Prince coverage, and as you can imagine, she has been pretty slammed with work lately. So last week, when I was at the zoo, I snapped a few otter pics for her.We all love reading everything we can about big news stories like this one (obviously, since I keep linking to more and more articles on the topic), but it's important to remember the people who are bringing us these stories and how they have deserted their families and loved ones this last week in an effort to work around the clock to bring us the latest. If you know such a journalist, make sure you thank them. I promise, their bosses probably aren't doing that (I really don't mean to sound jaded, I just know from many, many years in newsrooms that editors move onto the next big thing and rarely look back and thank staffers for a job well done).And here are a few wonderful finds around the internet to send you into the weekend with a smile on your face:+ I loved this photo essay (little boys? astronauts? yup.)+ I loved this interview with Amanda Peet on aging+ Who wants to make this cake for me?+ This look into four different men and their finances and their views on money sucked me in all the way.