Is anyone a dog whisperer? Jack Bauer has decided, of late, between 4:05 and 4:08 is the appropriate time to get up every morning.

I’ve tried making him stay put until 5:00, which is when we normally get up, but he’s a 100 pound dog who jumps up on the bed if you don’t pay attention to him.

And, let’s be real, 4 a.m. is early even for me.

If anyone has any ideas, I’m all ears. I’d like just another 50-55 minutes of sleep. Is that too much to ask?

And speaking of dogs…if you watch only one Gin and Topics video this week, it has to be the one in the #1 spot. I promise you, it will be the best eight minutes you spend.

5. Jordan Knight Makes Old Navy Ad. Deb Dobson and I laughed and laughed at this. If you remember the commercials that sold you mixed tapes, you will think this is hilarious. I’m kind of jealous of Old Navy. Super freaking brilliant YouTube ad campaign!

4. Thank You Hater! Mr. D sent this to me…it’s a very funny video about managing negative comments (cough, trolls, cough) online. It has some bad language so don’t watch if that’ll offend you.

3. Cats Playing Patty Cake. My crazy (as in, real crazy, not ha ha crazy) friend Laura Petrolino posted this on my Facebook wall and pretty much said if I didn’t include it in Gin and Topics, she would unfriend me. So I watched it to be sure it was worthy and HOLY COW it is worth it. So. Freaking. Funny.

2. Mister Rogers Remixed. Last week we had Mrs. Doubtfire remixed. Today it’s Mister Rogers. And, for those of you who grew up with him, you’ll find this both hilarious and disturbing. Actually, after watching this, I’m shocked our parents let us watch this show at all. Creeeeeepy. You can give your thanks to The Invisible Man (aka Bill Dorman).

1. Jack McBrayer and Triumph the Insult Dog Visit Chicago’s Weiner Circle. And now for the piece de resistance. Marc Girolimetti posted this on his Facebook wall, with a tag to his Chicago friends. When Conan was in town last week, they took a visit to the famed Weiner Circle which is, um, known for their “customer service.” In fact, it’s a place we take out-of-town guests without any warning as to what to expect. It’s highly entertaining for us. You’ll see why. Oh, and Marc? When you come to town to mark this off your bucket list, please let me take you!

Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich is the founder, CEO, and author of Spin Sucks, host of the Spin Sucks podcast, and author of Spin Sucks (the book). She is the creator of the PESO Model© and has crafted a certification for it in collaboration with USC Annenberg. She has run and grown an agency for the past 19 years. She is co-author of Marketing in the Round, co-host of Inside PR, and co-host of The Agency Leadership podcast.

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