Archive for the ‘animals’ category

Bigfoot Hoax Aftermath…

November 2, 2008

–In August you may remember that the world of cryptozoology was briefly in an uproar over a supposed Bigfoot carcass held by two Georgians in a freezer.  The alleged Bigfoot was found to be a rubber suit just as soon as the ice was thawed, although suspicions about the authenticity of the find existed from the beginning.

Remarkable was the fact that one of the two individuals with the “find” was a police officer.  Not surprisingly, that individual has since lost his job since police officers are expected to be, well, truthful. The ex-officer apparently saw his role in the fiasco as that of an entertainer, and he did not regard his misrepresentation seriously as he did not swear to be telling the truth…


(–Many thanks to my awesome readers for giving this blog more than 15,000 hits to date!) 😀

Really Bad Halloween Jokes…

October 31, 2008

(–These jokes are not up to our usual standards on Foxsylvania, not that we have many to begin with!– Now you have been properly warned! — Proceed at your own risk!)

Q:  Why did the skeleton leave the dance early?

A:  He had no body to dance with.

Q:  Why couldn’t the boy ghost have children?

A:  Because he had a hallow-weenie.

Q:  What did Dracula do while in New York City?

A:  He visited the bloodsuckers on Wall Street.

Q:  Why did the vampire couple separate?

A:  Because their relationship sucked.

Q:  What’s the difference between a male deer and a witch?

A:  One’s a hunted stag, and the other’s a stunted hag.

..and finally, the last Howloween joke!  (<cheers>)

Q:  When’s a bad time to run into a black cat?

A:  When he has an Obama sticker on his car!

(We apologize but do not accept responsibility for these jokes, the likes of which you will not now be subjected to for another year…  😉  )

Smaller Fox Tattoo

October 30, 2008

–Continuing the presentation of my personal collection of fox tattoos, I share with you this little guy on my lower inner arm.  He measures about two inches long and an inch wide.

This tattoo was patterned using “flash” art posted in the studio, meaning that it was a picture pattern that they already had up and available; other people may conceivably have the same tattoo.  Many tattoo artists will, however, work with pictures that you bring in, or will accept commissions to draw up something special just for you.

Tattoos are rather addictive; once you get one, you’ll probably want another.  A common pattern which I followed was to start out small and get larger tattoos thereafter.  My original tattoo was a small black fox silhouette; it was enough to get me hooked.  That original is no longer visible as he was eventually covered by a much larger, later masterpiece on the prime real estate of my arm!  😉

Howloween!

October 29, 2008

–I, for one, love Howloween! I think that it’s a day special to us furries, kind of a day on which we are given more permission than usual by the larger society to bring our insides out…and maybe have a few “mundanes” (non-furries) join us, if only for the day and evening. I anticipate Howloween the way some people do (shudder) the first day of buck season, or Xmas.

I’m not gonna engage in satanic rituals…nope, I’m just gonna ring doorbells, and run madly away to observe from behind any convenient bush or barrier…same as on any other day! 😉

And just think, on Howloween you can steal candy from your brother, sister, or kids while justifying in your own mind that it’s to prevent them from getting dental cavities!

The price of candy is up 4%, but hopefully that won’t prevent the traditional doorstep hand-outs! And maybe you’ll see “…a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hands, walking the streets of Soho in the rain…” (Warren Zevon, Werewolves of London)

Really Big Spiders…

October 24, 2008

Camel Spiders are nasty little buggers…and they’re not true spiders, but are of a different order of arachnids called Solifugae (“those that flee from the sun”), which includes scorpions and harvestmen.  Unlike true spiders, they lack book lungs. Their common names include not only camel spiders, but also sun spider, sun scorpion, and wind scorpion.

Camel spiders are nocturnal, and seek shade during the day.  They became notorious during the Iraq invasion when coalition soldiers thought the spiders were attacking them when in reality they were seeking out the shade which the presence of the soldiers newly provided. They do not attack prey larger than themselves unless threatened. This does not, of course, mean that one would want to snuggle up to such a spider; they produce no venom, but leave a disproportionately large, ragged bite wound that is prone to infection.  Leg span is up to five inches, and the suckers can run at speeds up to 10 mph.

Many wild and fanciful stories exist about these spiders, including that they leap into the air, disembowel camels, scream, and run alongside moving humvees.  These tales are dubious at best, but those who don’t fancy big spiders are unlikely to test them…

Mountain Lion Attack Hoax?

October 23, 2008

–An Amish man in Pennsylvania reported that he shot a mountain lion, and was injured by a second mountain lion while tracking it.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission, however, says that there’s no evidence to support the Lancaster County man’s claim.   Crime lab tests showed that a supposed blood trail wasn’t even blood…and a knife that the man contends that he used to fight with the mountain lion has deer hair on it.   A search of the area showed no evidence of mountain lion hair, feces, or tracks.

There hasn’t been a confirmed sighting of a wild mountain lion in Pennsylvania for more than a century…

Duck-Billed Dinos Headgear

October 20, 2008

–The fleshy crests on the heads of duck-billed dinosaurs are now thought to have formed part of a resonating chamber that enabled them to make bellowing sounds.  As they matured, the bellowing sounds may have gotten lower. The crests may also have served a purpose in temperature regulation…

Longest Insect!

October 17, 2008

–In the rainforest canopy of Borneo has been found Phobaeticus chani, the world’s longest living insect!  This sucker, a stick insect, measures 22.3 inches with his legs fully extended, more than a centimeter longer than the previous record holder, another stick insect from Malaysia.  The previous record holders have both been known for over 100 years, so its cool that something bigger has just been found. The eggs of this insect actually have tiny wings so they can glide from one tree to another!

Wouldn’t this be just the thing to put down the back of an obnoxious brother, sister, or parent?

Exit Opus the Penguin…

October 15, 2008

–On November 2nd, Opus the Penguin with again be leaving us, this time supposedly forever.  Written by Berkeley Breathed, Bloom County was the first comic in which Opus appeared, initially as a short-term character.  Opus soon became the heart and soul of this 1980’s strip, and was a real break-away character.  Aptly described as an existential penguin, Opus was a sweet and innocent little guy whose ventures into contemporary culture nonetheless exposed the absurdities of modern life. Bloom County also introduced us to lawyer Steve Dallas and the unforgettable Bill the Cat…ack!

When Bloom County wound down after a long and successful run, Opus came back in another strip, Outland, and finally in the current solo effort, Opus. He was often depicted as wearing a red bow tie or a traditional tie, and was even at times shown wearing tidy whities underwear.  I will deeply miss this very special anthropomorphic penguin… <sighs>

Pawprint Furry Tattoos

October 12, 2008

–A fair number of furry folks have tattoos of the paw prints of their respective species on different parts of their anatomies.  An accurate print can be found with minimal difficulty on the ‘net, they can be done in actual size or sized up or down, they are fairly easy for tattoo artists to do, and being relatively simple, tend not to be overly expensive to obtain.

This is a red fox pawprint that I have on my left lower leg.  I enhanced the color here, and it is not really quite as dark as it appears in the pic.  A leg tattoo can be hidden with a high athletic sock should you not desire to be furry while wearing shorts in public…