Archive for January 2011

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Bomb-Sniffing Plants!

January 31, 2011

– – Will bomb-sniffing plants guard the airports of the future?- -One can only hope so!- -Consider the possibilities!

Audrey II:- – Hold it, Towel-head the Terrorist!  You ain’t boardin’ that flight, not on my watch, no sir-eee!- -Feed me, Security!- -HAHAHA!

Achmed the Terrorist:- – By the beard of the Prophet, I am undone! –Aieee!

Normally on Foxsylvania, we consider fauna, not flora…but this is too cool to pass up!  Researchers at Colorado State University have manipulated a plant so that it turns white when it detects even trace amounts of TNT in the air.  The plant has been genetically rewired so that chlorophyll drains off from the plant, leaving it a stark white when specific materials are detected.  The redesigned plants are also 100 times more sensitive than a bomb-sniffing dog!

While the plant currently has a response time of several hours, it is hoped that this can be refined to a few minutes over the next several years, and that such plants could serve as sentinels at airports in the future…

Categories: Brilliant but twisted, science, strange
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Comments: 2 Comments

Fur Wars…

January 29, 2011

– – Even the Dark Lord of the Sith is no match for the Power of the Fur!


Categories: absurdities, animals, movies
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Comments: 2 Comments

Psychic Furries…

January 27, 2011

– – About two-thirds of U.S. pet owners say that their animals have a sixth sense about bad weather, while 43 percent say that their pets can sense bad news.

An Associated Press-related poll shows that 72% of dog owners report weather warnings from their dogs, whereas 66% of cat owners relate the same.  The same poll relates that 47% of dog owners and 41% of cat owners say that they have gotten bad news alerts from their pets.

How do furry seers relate these things?  Sixty-four percent of those polled say that their pets hide, fifty-six percent say that their pets whine or cry, 52 percent say that they become hyperactive, erratic, or make unpredictable movements, and 36 percent say that their animals bark or meow persistently.

Don’t believe that animals have a sixth sense?- -Oh, Nostradalmatian knew that some humans were going to say that!

Categories: animal behavior, animals, furry, psychology
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Comments: 3 Comments

Life Imitates Art!

January 25, 2011

– – Those of you familiar with Peter Pan or the movie Hook may recall how a crocodile was Captain Hook’s nemesis, but his approach could be detected by the pirate owing to the ticking of an alarm clock swallowed by the reptile.  The presence of this foreign body did not otherwise adversely affect the croc outside of diminishing his chances of a pirate supper.

Well, Peter Pan was nowhere in sight, but life imitated art when a 14-year-old crocodile called Gena at an aquarium in the Ukraine indigested a cell phone dropped by a woman as she attempted to photograph the croc!  The Nokia phone started ringing afterwards inside of Gena’s stomach (now that’s quality!), and the croc has since been refusing food and acting listless.  Even worse, the croc hasn’t had a BM in four weeks and appears depressed and in pain since consuming the phone.

Hoping that all things will pass, doctors tried to feed Gena quail laced with vitamins and laxatives, but he didn’t take the bait.  The crocodile will be taken for an X-ray next week if he continues to refuse food.  Surgery is a last resort as incisions and stitches take at least three weeks to heal in reptiles, and the procedure is dangerous for both the animal and the vets.

The crocodile in Peter Pan, by the way, had bitten off one of Captain Hook’s hands and wanted to continue the banquet.- -Aren’t kiddie stories great?!


Categories: animal behavior, animals, scalies, strange happenings
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Comments: 2 Comments

Canine CPR

January 23, 2011

– – Say hello to “Casper,”  the dog in extreme distress…but don’t worry, he isn’t real!  The cadaverous-looking canine is a manikin or “simulator” used to teach handlers how to perform CPR on and revive a dog.

A top security dog can be valued at up to $35,000, so such courses are in demand among law enforcement,  military, and security professionals.  Commercially-available canine simulators for “mouth-to-snout” training range in price from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.

Weighing in at around seven pounds, the vinyl puppy Casper plays dead very well, and doesn’t mind when humans slobber on him…

Categories: animals, cool things, strange
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“Being Human” Works!

January 21, 2011

– – Those fortunate enough to catch the Syfy Channel’s premiere of Being Human (“There Goes The Neighborhood,  Part I”) caught an appealing show with a promising furry character that I’ll most certainly follow.- -Hey, any show featuring a werewolf, vampire, and ghost as the central characters already has me captivated from the onset!

Josh the werewolf is certainly my favorite character, being a nervous, nerdy, and conflicted individual who hasn’t had sex in two years and wakes up naked following one transformation next to a partly-consumed deer.  He makes quite an impression in a floral print dress he steals from a clothesline to cover his nakedness following the episode.  Josh’s relationship with the vampiric character Aidan is enjoyable and strangely believable.  Add a novice ghost called Sally who’s still coming to terms with her status and capabilities, and you have roommates far more interesting than the old Three’s Company trio.

With drama, good characterization, and decent writing,  Being Human isn’t just your typical paranormal show…


Categories: Brilliant but twisted, cool things, television
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Comments: 6 Comments

Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing!

January 19, 2011

– – It’s Ellie the Elephant, and this perky pachyderm swings out of the jungle in the newest GE Ecomagination commercial to a pulsing soundtrack of the Benny Goodman jazz standard, Sing, Sing, Sing.

Jiving past jet engines and electric car charging stations,  this baby’s got what it takes and she knows how to move it…and as a side benefit the hot licks accompanying her may just interest some of the younger audience in the best of swing jazz…

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, cool things, furry commercials, television
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Comments: 2 Comments

Every Picture Tells A Story…

January 17, 2011

The hunter grinned complacently with his trophy, unaware that the panther was soon to avenge the death of his friend, the elk…

…human cruelty was legendary, and it would go hard but the feline would better the instruction…

Categories: animals, furry, furry stories, Off-topic
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Cross-Eyed Heidi…

January 15, 2011

– – Not to be confused with Cross-Eyed Mary,  Heidi is a cross-eyed opossum who lives at the Leipzig Zoo in Germany.  Originally from Denmark, Heidi is both adorable and cross-eyed, a condition which would make her more vulnerable to predators in the wilderness.

Heidi is not in any danger at the zoo, however, and her optical flaw is painless while of unknown origin.  She follows in the legacy of other adored and well-known German animals that have recently included Paul the psychic octopus (RIP) and Knut the polar bear…

…Heidi should not be confused with cats that look like Hitler…

 

Categories: animal oddities, animals, anomalies, furry
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Let’s Roll, Kato!

January 13, 2011

– – I was enjoying the Syfy channel’s marathon on the classic 1966-67 The Green Hornet tv series which aired in my area Tuesday night.- -Yes, I enjoyed it…and yes, I do need to get a life!

Unlike the far more successful Adam West Batman series of the same time period, the Green Hornet was not intended to be high camp, and may have failed for that reason as well as for its lack of wildly outrageous villains which helped make Batman memorable.

While hokey, contrived, and dated by today’s standards, The Green Hornet tv series can still be appreciated on a variety of levels, most notably for Bruce Lee’s Kato and the fight scenes.  While Van Williams as The Green Hornet tended to throw haymakers at his opponents until they collapsed, Lee’s Kato launched devastating precision martial arts attacks, at times effortlessly decking multiple opponents.  He was the real deal as well, and The Green Hornet served to introduce Lee to an American audience, foreshadowing roles where he wouldn’t have to play a valet.

With its 1960’s hairstyles, clothing, and vehicles I’ve accordingly got a soft spot for the old series, and it was good to see it taken out of mothballs in anticipation of the upcoming The Green Hornet movie.  I wish them well, and may they be worthy of their heritage!


Categories: movies, Off-topic, television
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