One of my addictions is a site called StumbleUpon. I could spend an hour or two surfing through the sites that they recommend for me based on my past likes and dislikes. One side effect, however, is that I’ve begun to accumulate a lot of favorite links. And since since good internet content — like most things — is best when shared, I’ve decided to institute an occasional feature I’m calling “Five on Friday”, which will contain links on a particular theme, and will happen anywhere from weekly to never again.

Yes, I know this mass linkage thing is not revolutionary. Lots of people practice it in their posts. Now it’s my turn, and I’m kicking it off with Links that Make Me Smile. I found most of them through StumbleUpon which, incidentally, does not count as the first of five links. That said, here you go: five links to sites that left me smiling, and a bonus: my first-ever embedded YouTube video. (I’m so proud, though what does it mean if I’m already breaking my own rules? Hmmm.)

Follow the directions at Automatic Flatterer, and give your confidence a boost. (Is it embarrassing to admit that this always makes me smile?)

You’ll probably want to watch this advertisement twice — once to puzzle through it and once to figure out how it was done. Trust me, I know it doesn’t seem amusing at first, but it’s worth it for the ending alone.

Every musical genre has its own set of rules. Visit this site to read the not-so-serious Rules of the Blues. (It makes me think of Adventures in Babysitting: “Nobody leave dis place without singin’ the blues”. Anyone else remember that movie?)

I’d like to link to at least one blog entry with every “Five on Friday”. It’s hard to narrow it down, but this post from Rude Cactus gave me a huge smile and begged me to share. This is the story of his newborn son’s birth just a week or two ago. I’ve read it several times, and it always makes me feel better about life — and less nervous about eventually having children of my own.

And, finally, the bonus video. Since it’s hard not to laugh when others are doing so — especially if they’re children — I present you with Baby Ethan:

So, there are a few of my recent favorites. What links make you smile?

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