Archive for April 2011

« FOXSYLVANIA home page
Newer Entries »

“Sheep-Dog” Offspring Not Likely…

April 10, 2011

– – We all know that there are sheep and there are dogs as well as sheepdogs, of the Old English variety among others…but could a sheep and a dog produce an offspring?

Well, a farmer in western China’s Shaanxi province is claiming that such a miracle of nature happened, with the, umm, puppy-lamb having a white woolly coat with a mouth, nose, paws, and tail that look very similar to a dog’s features.   Experts say, however, that the animal is just an abnormal lamb, or perhaps a fuzzy-furred young canid that was found born near sheep.– It’s also as cute as the dickens!

Sheep and dogs are of different species that diversified about 80 million years ago from a common ancestor, and they are in separate orders or taxonomic designations.  They have been isolated genetically for so long that they differ greatly in their chromosome numbers.  While hybrids can occur such as the ligers possible between lions and tigers, dogs and sheep are just too genetically different for an offspring to be biologically possible…





Categories: animal oddities, animals, furry, strange
Tags:

Comments: 2 Comments

–Look!–Godzirra!

April 8, 2011

– – Godzilla has been a presence on the movie monster scene since his first film appearance in 1954, surviving cheesy outings in rubber suits and the 1998 reinvention of the character for Sony which earned the disdain of long-time fans of the character.   Worse still, movies like Cloverfield and War of the Worlds (the remake) produced a greater shock and awe factor.  It seemed the glory days of the classic character were behind him…

But wait, there may be a dance in the old boy yet!   Wikipedia reports a greater number of searches under Godzilla in the aftermath of Japan’s tsunami and nuclear reactor problems.  Furthermore, Legendary Pictures has announced that they are ready to start developing a new movie based on the classic Toho Studios monster that will go back to the roots of the creature.  Hopefully ready for a 2012 release, the new film may reboot this classic cultural icon…just in time for the end of the Mayan calendar!

Categories: cool things, movies, scalies
Tags: ,

Comments: 2 Comments

Foghorn Leghorn Does Geico!

April 6, 2011

– – Foghorn Leghorn is not the best known Looney Tunes character, but deserves a bit more attention.  He’s about to get it in one of the on-going Geico commercials, where it is posed whether Foghorn Leghorn would make a really bad book narrator…

The answer is, extremely! Foghorn is an anthropomorphic rooster with a Central Virginia accent and a “good ol’ boy” speaking style who is full of bluster, hot air, and himself.  He starred in 28 cartoons in the Golden Age of  American animation, first appearing in 1946.  We are shown the rooster narrating A Tale of Two Cities in his own inimitable way, offering much irritating commentary along the way.  So irritating is Foghorn that Henry the  Hawk, also present in the recording booth for the session, just can’t take it anymore, and picks up a bat to explain the situation to the extremely verbose rooster…it’s classic stuff!

Most of us know someone who is at least somewhat like Foghorn Leghorn, and have been tempted to deal with them in a similar fashion…just resist, because assault and battery is illegal!

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, cartoons, cool things, television
Tags:

Comments: 2 Comments

One of Us?

April 4, 2011

– – Imagine a surreal TV series about a guy, the girl next door, and her mixed breed dog, Wilfred. The twist is that the dog is played by a comic in a rather mediocre fursuit, complete with a drawn-on black nose!  That’s right, there may be a furry cult classic in the making here!

…Wilfred will be aired on FX, and is based on a successful award-winning Australian series.  Not all foreign shows translate well to American television, although there have been notable exceptions such as Being Human. The premise of this show is exciting as we who are furry generally have to content ourselves on television with anthropomorphic animal ‘toon characters such as Brian in Family Guy, or occasionally catch glimpses of fursuited actors such as Bill Murray’s dog character Frisbee all too briefly portrayed in the movie, Scrooged. Such tantalizing tastes only leave us hungry for more, and here in Wilfred we have the promise of a major, on-going furry character!

Family Guy alum David Zuckerman is adapting the quirky comedy for FX, and will write and exec produce.  Jason Gann, who co-created and starred in the Australian series, plays the title character.- -Coming your way in  June!

Categories: animals, furry, furry heroes, furry spirits, television
Tags: ,

Comments: 5 Comments

The Bridgestone Beaver

April 2, 2011

– – What goes around, comes around…or so we are shown in the karmic Bridgestone beaver saga, generally regarded as probably the best of this year’s Superbowl commercials.  We are shown an industrious beaver hard at work in a wooded area, dutifully carrying a branch across a road with a bridge spanning a river visible in the background.–Oh no!–A car is then shown zipping down the road towards the beaver, who throws his paws up in anticipation of becoming roadkill.  The guy driving, however, calls upon the excellent handling characteristics of his Bridgestone tires, and is able at the last second to swerve around the threatened beaver, avoiding a messy tragedy.

For the beaver, life is one dam thing after another…and we cut to six months in the future, when the same motorist is shown traveling down the same road during a storm.  This time, a tree across the road halts the driver’s progress.  It’s a good thing, too, because the bridge the motorist must cross has been swept away by a raging torrent of water!  The beaver and the motorist spot one another, and exchange salutes…it’s a great moment!

A parable for our time…now that’s car-ma!

Categories: animals, Brilliant but twisted, furry, furry commercials, television
Tags:

Comments: 2 Comments

To Be Young, Elusive, and Serpentine…

April 1, 2011

– – She’s young, beautiful, quite deadly, and on the lam; the Bronx Zoo Egyptian cobra, that is!  A mere 3 ounces and just twenty inches long, the missing adolescent cobra has more than 135,000 followers on Twitter, some of whom suggest possible hideouts for her or relate supposed communications.

Staffers at the zoo believe that the elusive snake is still holed up in some warm spot at the Reptile House such as a heating duct or under a large appliance.  Unless discovered, the missing reptile could spend months in hiding before eventually emerging for water or something to nosh.

The snake’s toxins can cause respiratory failure, and is probably the type of asp that Cleopatra used to commit suicide; the venom is lethal to humans in 15 minutes.   Snakes tend to seek out confined spaces where they feel safe, where I rather imagine that she’s listening to some White Snake…

Addendum:   The Egyptian cobra has now been located by zoo staff coiled in a dark corner of the Reptile House during a sweep of the premises.  She is in good condition, but her Twittering days may be over…

Categories: animal behavior, animal occurrences, animals, scalies
Tags:

Comments: 1 Comment

Newer Entries »