I spent a lot of time last week bitching about elders, the twitchy internet and bogus anti-aging products. The number of things to be pissed off about gets longer by the minute, but this week I seem to need a break from all the dispiriting news that afflicts our days.

So, this edition of Interesting Stuff, although short, is just for fun – things I've found that make me laugh, smile or just say awww and not a one of them about being old.

GEICO PIGGY
The Geico gekko has been entertaining us for more than a decade - I love that little guy and I've thought they have missed an opportunity in not producing a full-length feature with him.

Geico mixes up the gekko series of commercials with other, shorter-lived ad campaigns - some better than others - and the current "rhetorical questions" is one of their best efforts. My favorite for now is "Piggy."

It would be just irritating if it were not for the mother driving the car. In her place, I'd have smacked Piggy, but Mrs. A's restrained exasperation is perfect.

HOW TO LOWER YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE
Last week, working our way through Dr. Robert Butler's book, The Longevity Prescription, we discussed stress reduction. I think this would be a fine way to do that – giant soap bubbles at the beach.

A FACE ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE
Recently, The New York Times published a slide show of ugly animals. This is a blobfish. Yeech.

You can read the accompanying story here and see photos of more ugly animals here.

YET ANOTHER CUTE/FUNNY KITTEN VIDEO
It's only nine seconds and worth every one of them.

CONVOLUTED NAMES FOR PHOBIAS
Names of most phobias read like tongue twisters. There are hundreds of them, most that you've never heard of. My friend, Kent McKamy sent this short list with some commentary:

OULROPHOBIA: fear of clowns. (Stephen Sondheim faced this one down in A Little Night Music)

PTERONOPHOBIA: fear of being tickled by feathers. (Uh-oh - there go pillow fights)

SCIAPHOBIA: fear of shadows. (M. Night Shyamalan makes a fortune exploiting this one)

AGYROPHOBIA: fear of crossing the road. (Think of those brave chickens out there)

Kent says his special phobia is cyanophobia - fear of the color blue, as in the computer blue screen of death. What about you? Here's an amazingly comprehensive list to check out.

BABY WITH SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO SAY
That's all you need to know...

At The Elder Storytelling Place today, Lyn Burnstine: Laundry