Let’s Roll, Kato!

Posted January 13, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: movies, Off-topic, television
Tags:

– – 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!


Comments: 4 Comments

Wrath of the Bovine!

Posted January 11, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal behavior, animals
Tags:

– – Another mad cow story, this one from Fort Pierce, Florida where a 70-year-old rancher working on his fence was attacked by a cow on New Year’s Day.  He shot it with a .22 caliber pistol, but it continued the attack…

…it then became a cat fight when the man’s wife began ramming the cow with her truck to get the irate bovine off her husband.– Did she say “Get away from (him), you bitch!” like Sigourney Weaver in Aliens?  The account is silent on this point, but the cow wasn’t even dissuaded by the truck hits.  At that point, the woman grabbed the pistol which her husband had dropped in the encounter, and shot the cow several times in the face.  The cow, we are told, was then finally contained in the pasture.

The woman related that the cow had always been nasty, and had attacked her about a week earlier, causing bruises.   At least the cow was no milk dud…

Comments: 2 Comments

‘Gator of a Different Color

Posted January 9, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal oddities, anomalies, scalies, unexplained
Tags:

– – In the wild, Florida alligators are usually a grayish black on top with a lighter colored belly.  That makes an orange-colored ‘gator discovered in Venice, Florida a bit of a stand-out.

Experts with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have analyzed the photos taken of the alligator by a 74-year-old woman and determined that the animal’s coloring is not genetic, suspecting that the coloration comes from mud or something else in the environment. It’s unlikely that the ‘gator is a dye job in light of the creature’s thick skin.

Unless the experts get their hands on the animal itself, definitive answers on reasons for its color will remain elusive.  Until then, see you later alligator!


Comments: 4 Comments

Something Smells Fishy!

Posted January 7, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal oddities, mysteries, scalies, strange happenings, unexplained
Tags: ,

– – Were the Mayans on to something?–Is it the Apocalypse?!- -I dunno, but just as birds were dropping from the skies in Beebe, Arkansas a massive fish kill was occurring some 125 miles to the west over a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River!

Some 100,000 drum fish were involved.  A pollutant was not felt to have been involved as only drum fish were affected, and a pollutant would have affected all fish.

The massive fish kill appears to be a natural occurrence, however, that is not tied to the bird kill in any way.  Fish kills in the area are common, although this one was larger than most…

Comments: 2 Comments

Mysterious Goat Slaughter!

Posted January 5, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal occurrences, creature features, cryptozoology, strange happenings, unexplained, weird
Tags: ,

– – Over the past two months, more than 300 goats owned by shepherds in Mexico’s Puebla state have been decapitated by someone…or something! As there was reportedly very little blood in the area where the goat bodies have been found, suspicions are again afoot about the chupacabra or some other unidentified animal being the culprit.

Chupacabra sightings often emanate from the Southwest U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, and Mexico.  Researchers have speculated that the reported chupacabras of Mexico and Texas may actually be coyote hybrids, although in Mexico groups of peasants have formed watch groups to monitor any possible chupacabra activity in their communities.  With so many incidents, 2010 has been termed by some “the year of the goat sucker.“

Now that’s something I could sink my teeth into…ahahahahaha!

Comments: 2 Comments

Birds Rain from the Skies!

Posted January 3, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal occurrences, animal oddities, feathered friends, unexplained, weird
Tags: ,

– – Yes, I live to write headlines like that!- -And in the Arkansas town of Beebe, more than 1,000 blackbirds fell from the sky in a one-mile area Friday night about 30 minutes before the arrival of the new year.

A wildlife officer on the scene reported that the birds “showed physical trauma,” and said the flock might have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail.   Another theory was that fireworks launched skyward by new year’s revelers might have stressed the birds.

And with 1,000 dead birds on the ground in Beebe,  they then obviously wanted to get the flock out of there…

(…What?– -You didn’t think I’d pass up a gift like that, did ‘ya?)   😉

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

(Addendum: The number of dead birds has been upped to possibly as high as 5,000!  Preliminary autopsies have determined that the birds died of traumatic injuries inflicted not on the ground but in the air, which lends support to theories of death by impact.)

Comments: 3 Comments

Happy, Happy!

Posted January 1, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, humor, Off-topic
Tags:

– – My mother used to eat pickled herring on New Year’s Eve, possibly thinking that if she did that, nothing worse would happen to her in the upcoming year.– -But whatever your tradition, may your 2011 be a healthy and happy year!

Comments: 5 Comments

Chupacabra or Coyote with Mange?

Posted December 30, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal oddities, animals, cryptozoology, Uncategorized, unidentified, weird
Tags:

– – Once again a farmer, this time in Kentucky, has shot a hideous, otherworldly-looking creature, raising speculation that it was the chupacabra, the legendary livestock killer.

Researchers and wildlife experts tend to think that this and similar creatures are most likely coyotes, raccoons, or opossums with mange, however.  Infection by tiny parasites or mites causes the infection in such cases, which results in the animal’s hair falling out and their skin becoming shriveled.

DNA testing by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is expected to solve the mystery of the pictured animal’s true identity…

Comments: 4 Comments

“Being Human” Coming Soon!

Posted December 28, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, cool things, television
Tags: ,

– – Imagine a TV show about three roommates in their 20’s; sounds like familiar territory, right?  Not so if those roommates happen also to be a vampire, werewolf, and a ghost!   As the trio struggles to hide their dark secrets from the world, they help one another navigate the complexities of living double lives while trying to be human.  Such is the core premise of Being Human, a re-imagining on the Syfy network of a dark and witty BBC original series.

British humor and sensibilities don’t always translate well in the States, and so not everyone is happy with the idea of an Americanized reboot of an acclaimed British series.  Syfy has promised that this won’t be a poor recreation of the series, but we’ll just have to wait until the January 17th premier to see.

They had me, after all, with the werewolf character…I still miss “Oz” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

Comments: 2 Comments

Reindeer High?

Posted December 26, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal behavior, animal oddities, animals, furry, science
Tags: ,

– – Santa’s reindeer may require a slight assist to gain altitude.  Scientist Andrew Haynes reports in the respected Pharmaceutical Journal that reindeer deliberately seek out the mind-bending agaric fungi in the wild, and are often seen staggering around afterwards, making odd noises.

It is felt that the reindeer deliberately seek out the mushrooms to escape the monotony of dreary long winters.  A common side effect of psychedelic mushroom consumption in humans is the feeling of flying, so the flight capabilities of Santa’s reindeer are interesting.

Herdsmen are also reported in some parts of the world to drink the urine of the reindeer to get high themselves, but I find that a little hard to swallow…

Comments: 3 Comments

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »