Archive for March 2009

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“Wolverine” Is Coming!

March 30, 2009

wolverine–On May 1st,  X-Men Origins: Wolverine will open in the U.S., with Hugh Jackman in the title role.  Because of his furry nature, Wolverine is a fave of mine, and Jackman portrayed him well in the previous three X-Men movies.

The film is a prequel that will be set roughly 20 years before the initial X-Men flick, and will focus on Wolverine’s violent and rather dark past; this will include his involvement with Sabretooth and the Weapon X program.  Jackman, who felt that Wolverine had kind of mellowed in his last outing, wanted to portray the character as we first met him in Wolverine’s cage match in the initial X-Men flick.  To prepare for the role, Jackman underwent a  weight training and cardio program, and engaged in high-intensity work- outs in character, making noises while exercising!

Hugh Jackman also gave a rousing performance as vampire and supernatural creature hunter Gabriel Van Helsing in the film Van Helsing. –His upcoming flick should be a hoot!

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, furry, furry heroes
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Bobcat Blitz!

March 28, 2009

bar-cat–A bobcat walked into a bar…

It sounds like the setup line for a joke, but it was no joke for the patrons of the Chaparral Bar in Cottonwood, Arizona when a real bobcat entered, and injured three people!

It was a barroom blitz as patrons climbed on top of bar stools  and tables as the bobcat made his entrance.  Cell phone cameras recorded the encounter.  The bobcat chased two people around a pool table, and at one point,  began climbing up a guy’s leg, who, growing concerned, punched the bobcat in the face!   The feline exited, and (unhappy ending) was shot dead by police in the bar’s parking lot when he advanced on one of the officers (“I’ll take you all on!–I’ll take you on with one paw tied behind my back!”).

Guess they didn’t serve cats there…tests will be performed to see if the bobcat was rabid.  An Arizona Fish and Game representative likened a rabid bobcat to the cartoon Tasmanian devil…

Categories: animals, furry, unexplained
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Close Encounters!

March 27, 2009

lizard-man1

–A recent episode of MonsterQuest presented that “Violent encounters with strange beasts may be increasing.” A number of cases were presented in support of this contention.

In Yakima, Washington, a Bigfoot-like creature is reported to have kept pace with a car traveling at 35 mph; in addition to the reporter cited, Bigfoot was additionally seen by dozens in this area, including four policemen!

In Minnesota, a creature was hit by a car, and then shot at by two brothers (Talk about having a bad day!).  MonsterQuest investigated, seeking DNA from a bullet shot at the creature and lodged in a tree; no DNA was recovered.

In South Carolina, claw marks and puncture holes were found on a van which also had its bumper pulled out; testing suggested that 306 lbs. of force were required to do this to the bumper.  A lizard man was felt responsible, not the heavily-tattooed sideshow gentleman, but rather a bipedal creature 7-8 feet tall  with big red eyes and three fingers on each hand.  Blood samples taken from the vehicle were at first found to be contaminated, later testing as from a domestic dog.

The same episode reported an Indiana hunter sighting a gray, strongly-built ape-man like creature with a massive chest who showed his teeth.  Polygraph testing (87%-95% accurate) showed that this observer was “non-deceptive.”

A commentator speculated that more violent interactions with strange unidentified creatures are likely to occur in the years ahead, possibly resulting in a death…

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(…and thank you, most excellent readers,  for enabling this blog to reach the 25,000 hits mark!–Woo-hoo!)  😉

Categories: animals, cryptozoology, furry, rare animal, unidentified

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The Late Great Elephant Bird

March 23, 2009

elephantbird–The Elephant Bird once inhabited the island of Madagascar off the eastern coast of Africa, and was the largest bird ever to have lived, weighing up to half a ton and standing up to ten feet tall.  The birds resembled heavily built ostriches, with small heads, massive legs, taloned claws, vestigial wings,  and a long, powerful neck.  The eggs of the creature were 13 inches long, and held the equivalent of 200 hen’s eggs; such eggs were bigger than the largest known dinosaur eggs.

Specialized to an island environment with no large predators, the elephant bird was essentially hunted to extinction by good ole homo sapiens, vanishing entirely by 1700. Egg-collecting by Europeans also contibuted to their demise as the birds bred slowly, and their enormous eggs could only be laid in small numbers.

Legends of the giant roc in Arab folklore were probably based on the elephant bird, which is now sadly as dead as the dodo…

Categories: animals, furry, historical perspectives
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Mysterious Creature Seen Near Lancaster County

March 18, 2009

nutria1–A mysterious creature has been reported around Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  Described as reddish, weighing about 200 pounds, and looking like a giant beaver, the animal may be a pig or a capybara, although game officials think it is most likely a nutria.

A  nutria sounds like a healthy ingredient in a breakfast cereal, but is actually a large rodent not indigenous to the United States, hailing from South America.  Thirteen nutrias were brought to the U.S. from Argentina in 1937, where they escaped confinement and multiplied like wildfire in a number of southern states, especially Louisiana.   Nutrias tend to reside near waterways, and are generally considered a destructive pest; they were originally imported out of interest in their fur.

The trouble with nutrias as an explanation for the unknown creature is that they don’t weight anywhere near 200 pounds, but are more in the ballpark of 10-20 pounds.  People, however, tend to exaggerate, and are often phobic about rodents, especially large ones…

Categories: animals, furry, unidentified
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Animal Abandonment in Hard Times

March 16, 2009

cats-and-dogs— One impact of the current economic recession has been increasing abandonment of domestic animal pets by their former owners, simply for the reason that their masters can no longer afford them.  In some cases, renters or owners have moved and intentionally left their pets behind. Such animals are at least usually discovered by a landlord or new tenant before they starve to death, and are taken to shelters where they will, dependent on the shelter, have at least a chance of acquiring a new family. In worse scenarios, the former pets are dumped outdoors in the mistaken belief that they will fend for themselves.  Pets abandoned in this fashion too often face a slow, painful, and/or violent death from predation, starvation, or motor vehicles.

Responsible pet ownership is a serious personal and financial obligation that should not be entered into lightly.  Buying cheaper or off-brand pet food in bulk may enable financially-strapped families to hang onto animal members longer, and if necessary every effort should be made to place an animal into a new home environment rather than abandon them; other family members or friends may be willing to offer  temporary  housing.   Community “shopper” type newspapers laden with advertising often offer free listings for pet adoptions.  If all else fails, placement of an animal into a shelter is far preferable to abandonment as they will at least be fed and treated humanely…

Categories: animals, furry
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Blue Moon…

March 13, 2009

moon—NASA has unveiled plans to return a man to the moon by 2018; that’s sooo far away!  The last lunar landing took place in 1972 (Apollo 17), long before many of you reading were a gleam in your father’s eye.

Things seemed to be moving ahead more quickly in the early days of the space program, when there was even optimistic talk of a mission to Mars by the the late 20th century.

The future’s just not getting here fast enough!  And I want my flying car as seen in The Jetsons…they’re long overdue!

Categories: science, space
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The Resurgence of Science

March 10, 2009

obama-brings-back-science–Praise God, the sciences have made a comeback in their acceptance by government!  I am thrilled that President Obama is encouraging more open scientific discussion and research without political interference.  As Obama well expressed it, “Our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values.”  Obama has signed documents changing U.S. science policy and removing what some researchers have said were shackles on their work.

Obama elaborated, “It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda–and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.”

The most immediate effect of this will be to allow federally funded researchers to use hundreds of new embryonic stem cell lines for promising research in hopes of creating better treatments and even cures for conditions ranging from diabetes to Parkinsons Disease to paralysis.  While some don’t like the fact, we are a religiously pluralistic society, and spiritual and scientific belief need not be mutually exclusive.  The ethical imperative to relieve suffering and promote healing is well served by this decision and change in policy.

I’m beginning to feel like we are starting to live in the 21st century…Hallelujah!


Categories: science
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Eugene the Jeep

March 8, 2009

the-jeep–Eugene the Jeep is a bizarre cartoon animal living in our three-dimensional world who really belongs to a fourth-dimensional world.  He is loosely described as being “a magical dog (who) can disappear and things.”  His cells were forced through the dimensional barrier into our world, where they combined with free life cells of the African Hooey Hound.

The Jeep is a yellow creature about the size of a dog who walks on his hind legs, has a bear-like head and ears with a large nose, long tail, and protruding stomach.   Moreover, his diet consists only of orchids.  The Jeep has high intelligence and employs a limited form of teleportation as a function of his fourth dimensional genes and origin,  yet communicates largely through body language.  He can walk through and on walls and ceilings.

No, I haven’t been drinking or ingesting controlled substances.  And what is remarkable is that this far-out animal creation appeared in some Popeye the Sailor cartoons from the 1930’s!  Truly a creation decades ahead of his time…

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, cartoons
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Alligators in the Sewer!

March 5, 2009

alligator–The reported presence of alligators in the sewers of New York City has been a powerful and persistent urban myth, and one with some factual basis in that three Harlem teenagers did find an eight foot rogue ‘gator in the sewer in 1935.  Alligators have also been found in the sewers of other cities such as New Orleans.  Whether alligators can live and breed in the sewers of NYC has been the subject of disagreement among experts, a topic which MonsterQuest investigated in a recent episode.

Armed with a robotic camera mounted to an eight-wheeled “mud monster” vehicle (love these cool toys!), MonsterQuest probed a few sewers, although with 11,000 miles of sewers in NYC, they clearly could only check a tiny percentage of them.  Alligators were not found, although roaches galore were, together with worms, slugs, and the ever-popular rats.  As ‘gators are opportunistic feeders, these critters represent a satisfactory food source for them.  Sewer temps can also reach 90-some degrees with steam being vented there.

Alligators do invade residential areas in Florida, with one poor woman finding one in her kitchen which may have gone after the family cat; the picture shows a gator just about ringing the doorbell of another Florida residence, which would generate more excitement than your Avon representative.  While MonsterQuest didn’t find ‘gators in the NYC sewer, they did find enough food, water, and warmth to sustain alligator life.  An alligator in the NYC sewers could then go from eating rats to small dogs to homeless persons, though I really doubt that’s going on…

Categories: animals, rare animal
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