Archive for the ‘animals’ category

The Christmas Tree Cluster and Fox Fur Nebula

December 23, 2008

fox-fur-nebula–The Christmas Tree Cluster (NGC 2264) is a well-studied region in the Monoceras (the Unicorn) constellation.   The Christmas Tree Cluster, the blue reflection nebula surrounding bright stars,  was so named because it looks like a tree in visible light…alright, use your imagination!

The Fox Fur Nebula (imagination required, puh-leeze!) is a strange shape originating from fine interstellar dust reacting in complex ways with the energetic light and hot gas being expelled by the young stars.–And it’s all only about 2,500 light years away…

…field trip, anyone?–Merry Xmas and Joyous Festivus from Foxsylvania!

The Yowie

December 19, 2008

yowie–Not to be confused with Howie Mandel, a Yowie is an unidentified hominid reputed to lurk in the Australian wilderness of Queensland.  This cryptid is similar to the North American Bigfoot and the Himalayan Yeti.

The creature, said to be a cross between a human and an ape with big red eyes, large canine teeth, and fangs emerges at night to eat whatever it can, including humans.  Grainy, blurry photo and video exists of the beast, including a video from  May of 2007.

Reports of Yowie-type creatures are common in the legends and stories of Australian Aboriginal tribes.   There were a wealth in sightings in the mid to late 19th Century, with reports having continued to the present day…

White Lion Cubs Born

December 18, 2008

whitelions121008–Two rare white lion cubs were born at the Belgrade Zoo in Serbia recently; aren’t they cute?   The mother of the cubs was a white lioness, while their father was a regular-color lion. White lions are not a separate species, nor are they albino.

A 2004 study counted only 30 white lions in the African wild; although considered divine by local African people, they are unfortunately also prized by hunters…

Lion-Hearted Dog

December 12, 2008

d-boy–In Oklahoma, a gunman burst through the front door of a woman’s house, and ordered her to the ground.  Her pit bull, D-Boy,  then rushed in from another room, attacked the intruder, and was shot three times by the home invader–twice in the head, being hit initially before he could even reach the gunman! Despite his injuries, the dog continued to press his attack,  at which point the gunman fled from the house.

As of this posting, the dog with the spirit of a Klingon warrior has survived the attack…

Hunting’s Decline

December 10, 2008

fox-with-attitude–Eleven American states ban hunting on Sunday, or restrict it to certain game and locations.  In Pennsylvania, for example, only coyote, foxes, and crows can be hunted on Sundays.

—Uhh…wait a minute!  Six days a week are not enough to be allowed to kill my kind?  You gotta kill foxes on Sunday, too?  Maybe they can sandwich it in after church!   I guess that they consider us nuisances or pests… I won’t repeat what I consider hunters.


But at least Pennsylvania has experienced a 28% decline in hunting license sales over the 25 years between 1981 and 2006.  This decline is attributed to loss of habitat, expense, and increasing anti-hunting attitudes.

It’s hard to sell hunting as a food-acquisition necessity when in reality it has long since become a “recreational” activity.

Better still, why not vent those aggressive, primordial impulses through a rousing video game where only images are killed rather than living creatures?  All we are saying, is give fur a chance!


Furry Guns

December 9, 2008

Furry Guns  (A Furry Mini-Western)western

— The fox sat quietly in the bar nursing a root beer, since there wasn’t a heck of a lot else to do in the 1870’s.  ‘Bummer,” he thought, “the internet won’t even be invented yet for well over 100 years!’  Sighing at that thought, the fox lit up a cigarette.  Unfortunately since it was one of the chocolate variety, it ran down his fur.  The best things in life, like chocolate and sex, tended to be messy.

The Raccoon, however, wasn’t one of them.  He pushed through the swinging doors of the saloon, and fixed his eyes on the fox.  “I’ve come for ‘ya, Fox,” challenged the raccoon.  “I hear that you’re fast…REAL fast!”

“Back where I come from, we’d call that premature ejaculation,” chimed in Miss Kitty, proprietor of the upstairs rooms where fursons went to yiff.

“Leave my sex life OUT of this!,” warned the Fox.  Turning his attention to the raccoon, he admonished, “I have no quarrel with you.  No one needs to die today.- – Why don’t you just mosey on out of here?” (A mosey was the way one walked nonchalantly out in the Old West.)

“I’m callin’ you out, Fox,” pressed the Raccoon.  “Draw, or I’ll shoot you where you sit!”

“Let’s not go there,” implored the fox.  “You have no hope of defeating me.  Don’t make me destroy you!”

“I said DRAW, you yellow-bellied, lily-livered varmint!,” shouted the raccoon.  (This was a serious insult, on the same level as a triple-dog-dare.)  The racoon went for his weapon, but the fox was already moving, his foreleg a blur of motion.  A single shot rang out before the raccoon’s gun had cleared his holster.

The raccoon stared incredulously, looking first at the fox and then at the small hole which had appeared on his chest.  He touched his paw to it, as if in disbelief that it was there. His paw came back stained crimson.  “Impossible!,” said the raccoon weakly.  “No one could be that fast!”

“Believe it,” responded the fox.  “This is where you fall down and die.”

As if on cue, the raccoon did exactly that.

“I ain’t cleanin’ up that mess,” proclaimed Miss Kitty.  “That’s not my job!”  Miss Kitty was a good union shop furson.

Neither was it the fox’s.  He just plugged ’em, not planted them.  Moving past yet another challenger’s body and exiting by the saloon’s swinging double doors, he hit the streets, a loaded six-string on his back.  The curse of being the fastest was that there was always someone looking to challenge him, and sex was always over almost as soon as it started. The race was not always won by the swift, but gunfights were.  The fox might not be getting much satisfaction lately, but at least he wasn’t the one pushing up daisies..  He’d have to live with that for now, and there was always tomorrow…

(…and the prairie winds sang their sad, mournful dirge…)


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Trigger Happy TV!

December 9, 2008

trigger-happyTrigger Happy TV is a hidden camera comedy TV program.  Originally a British show, most of the sketches appeared to be filmed on the streets of central London, and focused on ludicrous or embarrassing situations in public places.  The humor was derived from observing the public’s reaction to absurd situations, and is mentioned here because fursuited characters at times appear in the shows; a recently-aired episode showed, for example, a white polar bear who used a building elevator as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world for him to do so.  The original British edition starred Dom Joly and ran for two seasons from 2000-01.

Following its success in Britain, Trigger Happy TV was exported to other countries and the U.S., and the show may be occasionally seen on the G4 network in the U.S.

The Komodo Dragon

December 6, 2008

komodo-dragon–The Komodo Dragon resides in Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands, as it has for millions of years; amazingly, it was unknown to men until about 100 years ago!  The Komodo dragon can measure 10 feet in length and weigh over 300 pounds; some are reputed to be larger still, but have not been documented.

The dominant predator on the handful of islands that it inhabits, the Komodo dragon will eat almost anything, including carrion, pigs, deer, water buffalo, smaller dragons, and yes, humans! Dragon saliva teems with over 50 strains of bacteria, and prey should it escape from the dragon will usually die of blood poisoning within 24 hours.  Dragons will follow an escapee for miles as the poison takes effect, and can eat 80% of their body weight in a single feeding!

Deer Season

December 2, 2008

slaughter

–Sigh…another deer hunting season in Pennsylvania begins, a strange and uncomfortable time to be a furry or an animal lover.  This is a big hunting state, with a hunting culture so strong that they actually close schools for it.  Children as young as twelve are taken hunting, with the first deer kill being regarded as a rite of passage.  Pictures of grinning hunters holding aloft the lifeless heads of their prey will be published in the local papers, as if the hunters had done something laudable.  The language employed descriptive of the hunt usually even avoids the word “kill,” referring instead to an animal “harvested,” as if they were a head of cabbage.  You might see a slaughtered animal strapped to a passing car.  I once attended an activity at a professor’s house where he had an eviscerated deer strapped to a tree; I almost lost my lunch.

Hunters are not doing anything illegal here, although hunting is outlawed in some countries. I accept that hunting is a long-standing tradition and one which is unlikely to change in these parts in the foreseeable future.  It might be appreciated, however, if pictures of deliberately-slain animals were not published in such family-oriented publications as the local newspaper in deference to the sensitivities of those who do not share enthusiasm for such blood sports…

Bush Pardons Eagle Killer

November 28, 2008

bald-eagle–With less than two months remaining in office, G. W. Bush is extending an increasing number of presidential pardons, including one to Leslie Owen Collier, who pleaded guilty in 1995 to unlawfully killing three bald eagles in Charleston, Mo.  Hoping to kill coyotes in his area, Collier wound up taking the lives of other animals as well, including a red-tailed hawk, a great horned owl, an opossum, a raccoon, and seven coyotes in addition to the three bald eagles.

This lamest of lame duck presidents issued 14 pardons on Monday, including some to those convicted of drug conspiracy, tax evasion, bank embezzlement, dumping hazardous waste, and theft of government property.

Pardoning the perp of a veritable wildlife massacre doesn’t make much sense either, and isn’t it especially ironic when one of the species involved is a symbol of America ?