I discovered BuzzFeed.com a few weeks ago, and it has quickly risen to the top of my "oh, I need to check this real quick instead of writing that thing I need to get done 2 hours ago" list. In fact, I have two stories to finish right now, and I'm procrastinating to write this post (real quick, though, so please forgive the inelegance). 

This appears to be a gratuitous photo of my cat seemingly studying diligently on my iPad, but it's actually very related. BuzzFeed does a lot of cute cat posts, and you will be directed to several later in this piece.

So what is BuzzFeed.com? They post links to popular culture stories with funny intros, YouTube videos, picture lists, especially of cute animals, even inspirational stories. All kinds of fun, funny, moving, weird, disturbing stuff from the interwebs.

Here's what they say about themselves on their website: "We feature the kind of things you’d want to pass along to your friends: an outrageous video that’s about to go viral, an obscure subculture breaking into the mainstream, a juicy bit of gossip that everyone at the office will be talking about tomorrow, or an ordinary guy having his glorious 15-minutes of fame. And when you read BuzzFeed, you’ll always know the movies, music, and products that are on the rise and worth your time."

Yeah, that about says it. Hardly a day goes by that I don't either retweet or email one (or more) of their posts. Most days, I do both. 

Sometimes, they make me laugh at and agree with something that I feel a twinge of guilt for enjoying, like the post "21 Reasons You Should Hate Kim Kardashian." I mean, they were all such good reason, but I still felt kind of guilty.

Then they'll make me tear up with an uplifting story about how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed from the neck down playing football during his junior year in college, to their 90-day roster. The Bucs' head coach was LeGrand's coach at Rutgers and ... oh, just click here to read the story. It includes the Bucs' statement. I honestly do not think you'll regret it. Plus, you'll get to see more of the site that way.

But what really got me to sit down and share all this with you is the post "My Cat Joffrey," a rather long poem Christopher Smart wrote to his cat in 1757 while confined to a lunatic asylum. I've been working on a work project about 18th century poets, and I never once stumbled on this one until I made my daily pilgrimage to BuzzFeed today. It's actually quite moving, and there are lots of pictures of cats captioned with lines from the poem. Click here to read it. Again, I do not think you'll be sorry to have done so.

 This is the kind of photo BuzzFeed's awesome contributors could really take somewhere. It's my American Girl Felicity doll, which I have set up in an ironic display (no really, it's totally ironical). My cat likes to sleep with her, but she used to be embarrassed about it (like I should probably be embarrassed to post this picture). Here, she is running away as I try to record her on film. 

Update: When I came back to read Alysa's comment, I was struck by how Felicity kind of looks like a maniacal lunatic. One of my best friends harbors a secret fear of dolls, and when I first sent her this picture, it sent a chill down her spine. Just this moment, I understood why. Just a thought: maybe my cat saw the look of 'crazy' in Felicity's eyes, and that's why she's running away. 

Update #2: I had also completely forgotten about this photo, which now takes on an entirely different hue when seen from the lens of my cat's potential fear of or anxiety about Felicity. Is this the face of a cry for help, or what? 

 This photo was taken a few weeks later, when she was ready to go public with her love for Felicity (but really, who can blame her? Felicity is awesome, though sadly retired). Notice how she refuses to look at me or acknowledge the camera, though. 

Update #3: This photo may also express that something has transpired between the cat and the doll, some unspoken understanding, because both the doll and the cat look less crazed/more comfortable in each other's presence.

And by the way, if you like seeing cute and funny and silly pictures of cats, check out:

The 25 Most Awkward Cat Sleeping Positions

and

25 Awkward Cat Sleeping Positions: #26-50 

And if you don't like cats at all but really adore dogs, you might enjoy: 

27 Dogs That Are Growing Suspicious of You 

and

108 Reasons Why Corgis Really Are That Great 

I could go on and on, but that's all I have time for now, so it's back to work for me. Happy reading!