Plants Behaving Strangely…

Posted April 25, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: environmental, science, trends

– – No, we’re not talking about the carnivorous plant in the musical Little Shop of Horrors, but let’s consider what’s happening to some like…(long pause)…the bloodroot, ahahahahaha!

This little herb, like a number of other plants including dogwoods and lilacs, is showing a life cycle that is sped up,  flowering earlier than usual or normal in many areas.   On average, spring is now coming several days earlier than it did a few decades ago, possibly as a result of global warming.   It’s easy to consider an early spring a good thing, but such may confuse plants and insects, making them shift their schedule.  If snow melts earlier, vegetation may suck up the water more quickly, leading to drier conditions for the ecosystem later on into the summer, and increasing the chances of wildfire.

Most climate scientists say that a warming climate would in turn be expected to affect the weather, but where, when, and the extent of such is hard to predict.  The fact that the oceans are warmer than they were about thirty years ago means that there’s on average about 4 per cent more water vapor lurking around over the oceans.  Since what goes up must come down, this could translate to more snowfall in winter and more extreme weather patterns generally…

Comments: 1 Comment

Animal Cruelty Videos Protected by Court…

Posted April 23, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal rights, animals, furry, furry causes
Tags:

– – I wish I could report otherwise,  but the Supreme Court has struck down a federal law designed to stop the sale and marketing of videos showing dogfights and other often graphic acts of cruelty to animals, saying that it the law was too broad and is an unconstitutional violation of free speech.   The court’s ruling here was largely as anticipated.

The 8-1 decision was a defeat for animal rights groups and congressional sponsors of the original legislation, which was intended to stop the legal sale of “crush” videos and videos depicting pit bulls attacking other animals and one another in staged confrontations. Only Justice Alito dissented in the case,  predicting that “crush” videos will soon flood the underground market and saying that the harm animals suffer in dogfights is enough to sustain the law…at least we have one furry spirit on the Supreme Court!

Comments: 2 Comments

The Horror, the Horror!

Posted April 21, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, cartoons, furry, movies
Tags:

– – Something wicked this way comes…or at least, something terribly bad is coming.  I’m talking, of course, about the upcoming Yogi Bear movie, which promises to give new meaning to the name, Boo Boo.

One questions why a Yogi Bear movie has to be made in the first place; perhaps it has something to do with the nature of evil, or perhaps the Guild of Malevolent Intent is somehow involved.  Perhaps those of us who are furry haven’t suffered enough in this life, and our pain must be taken to a new dimension.  I will leave such musings to the philosophers, being but a timid woodland creature myself- -.And what possible good can come out of a Yogi Bear movie, you might ask?   The moans and sarcastic commentary to be heard out there just anticipating this movie  are absolutely delicious!

“The misery that will be ‘Yogi Bear,'” as remarks one commentator, features none less than Dan Aykroyd slumming as the voice of Yogi Bear…and get this, Justin Timberlake will play sidekick Boo-Boo!  Tom Cavanagh will play Ranger Smith, a part rumored at one time to be going to Brendan Fraser.  The movie will be done in the live action/CGI hybrid style of Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Now Yogi Bear was a one-dimensional character from almost 50 years ago who had no memorable narratives and was at best annoying as he stole countless picnic baskets from human campers in the fictional Jellystone National Park further impoverished by Hanna-Barbera’s econo-animation.  Now if Yogi would maul someone for that picnic basket, I might consider it redemptive, but having seen Robert De Niro play Fearless Leader in Rocky and Bullwinkle, I figure I’ve suffered enough…and as another commentator put it, perhaps this movie was inevitable, but it’s still painful to see…     😮

Comments: 2 Comments

Nature Abhors a Vacuum, and Brendan Fraser…

Posted April 19, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, furries, furry, movies
Tags:

– – God help us, Furry Vengeance is coming, a movie which may set the fandom back further than the Fur and Loathing episode of CSI.   The title sounds like a horror movie, but it appears to be another variation of an already well-worked family comedy formula.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Brendan Fraser.  He’s an affable guy, and I liked the Mummy movies, especially for the awesome jackal warriors. Brendan plays a good action hero who knows better than to  take himself seriously,  but then there are his comedies in which he smacks his face really hard into some solid object…over and over again.

Furry Vengeance, opening April 30th, is described as a  live action family comedy in which an ambitious young real estate developer faces off with a bunch of angry animals in the Oregon wilderness when his new housing subdivision pushes too far into a pristine area.   Led by a raccoon, the animals stymie the development, and teach Brendan’s character about the consequences of man’s encroachment on nature.–Sound familiar, wholesome, harmless, and predictable?  Sample yucks:  Fraser hides inside  a Port-A-Potty, which is being attacked by a bear.

Comparisons to Over the Hedge are inevitable.  This looks like a flick geared to appeal largely to little kids, and there will be worse things out there,  oh yes…things like Yogi Bear, the movie, coming this December… 😮



Comments: 3 Comments

Tasering Animals…

Posted April 17, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, furry, medical, science
Tags: ,

– – It may come as a shock to hear that animals have been used as test subjects for Tasers to determine if being subjected to the stun guns can lead to ventricular fibrillation, a highly abnormal heart rhythm that can become fatal.  In a bizarre experiment, sixteen sheep were anesthetized, administered methamphetamine, and then given repeated shocks with Tasers to simulate what might happen when drug-addled humans were hit with the stun guns!   Some of the smaller sheep suffered elevated heart rates, but none experienced a potentially lethal heart condition.   “It’s not so baaad,” commented one sheep of his Taser experience.

Taser experiments have also been conducted on anesthetized dogs as well on on conscious pigs, surgically modified pigs, and pigs under the influence of cocaine! Neither the knocked-out dogs nor the conscious pigs suffered ventricular fibrillation, whereas the pigs surgically modified to remove the thick skin around their hearts did suffer near heart failure when the Taser’s barb was placed less than an inch away from their hearts. The coked-up pigs actually had their safety margin increased by 50 to 100 percent!  (“Hit me again, dude,  far out!”)

A Taser was also successfully used in the field on a cow moose in Alaska who refused to leave a construction site where her calves were trapped.   Research has gone on for five years studying the effects of Tasers on captive moose and bears, and Taser International is seeking to develop a wildlife-specific stun gun;  just don’t tase me, bro!   Wildly unauthorized field tests have also been conducted on bears and bulls as well as on more dogs and sheep…whole lotta shockin’ goin’ on…

…and by the way, the name “Taser” was originally an acronym for “Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle…”

Comments: 2 Comments

Viva the Kraken!

Posted April 15, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: cool things, creature features, imaginary animals, movies
Tags: ,

– – I’m a sucker for mythology with the usual elements of  ultraviolence and the bizarre thrown in, so Clash of the Titans is my kinda thing.  The 1981 original didn’t exactly enjoy cult status, but was kind of a campy classic, even boasting Laurence Olivier as Zeus, a mechanical owl called Bubo, and stop action special effects that were all that was available at the time.   If you allowed yourself,  you could still have a lot of fun with this film, cheesiness and all.

Reviews haven’t been overly positive for the re-make which I have yet to see, with many faulting the dialogue, character motivation, and general lack of humor in the film, which was hastily re-made in 3D.   The Kraken is eventually released and visually impressive, reminding me however of the toothy Langoliers creatures from Stephen King.   Some have preferred the battle sequence with the gorgon Medusa depicted in Titans… but it’s all good!

…So pass the popcorn, will ‘ya?


Comments: 6 Comments

Hysterical Panda Pregnancies…

Posted April 14, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, furry
Tags:

– – Humans aren’t the only mammals that can experience false pregnancies.  The female giant panda at the National Zoo is acting like she may be pregnant, sleeping a lot, making nests with shredded bamboo, and even showing elevated hormone levels…but maybe she is, and maybe she isn’t…and she ain’t talkin’.

…the problem is that panda cubs are extremely small, weighing only three to five ounces.  They are accordingly hard to see on an ultrasound.  If a female panda ovulates but fails to conceive, she almost always goes through a false pregnancy that mimics a real one, with the exclusion that there is no developing infant.  Even those working closely with a female panda can’t tell with certainty if she’s “in a family way” until a baby panda pops out.

The National Zoo’s female giant panda, Mei Xiang, has had pseudo-pregnancies for the past three years, but in 2005 successfully birthed a cub, Tai Shan…

..and wouldn’t Hysterical Panda Pregnancies be a great name for a band?

Comments: 2 Comments

The Tao of Furry…

Posted April 13, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: furries, furry fandom, furry perspectives, philosophy
Tags:

– – Those who talk about tolerance and diversity need look no further than the furry fandom; while we have our share of nasties, we have a big tent, and furs may be found there of every stripe (literally) and persuasion.

To paint us all with the same broad brush is inaccurate; besides, we don’t much like being painted with brushes, ’cause it tickles! We are of every age, race, nationality, and orientation.   Some of us are extraordinary artists, while others can’t draw a straight line; some of us are musicians, while others are tone deaf;  still others are creative writers, while others don’t reed and rite too gud.   Some of us do all of these things, while others do none.   At any rate, we all get along rather well with one another, appreciate one another’s gifts or lack of same, and generally don’t try and kill one another off.   This is a lesson from which many people might learn in politics.–You wanna talk about the lion lying down with the lamb?–Furries do this routinely!

So play nice out there, humans…we do!      🙂




Comments: 4 Comments

Becoming Horny…

Posted April 11, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: anomalies, medical incredibles, strange happenings
Tags: ,

– – Now get your minds  out of the gutter; this is a high-class place, at least occasionally!   We are talking today about humans who grow horns, most often cutaneous horns which are composed of keratin, the same substance as fingernails.

A 101-year-old grandmother in China has a rather impressive 2-1/2 inch specimen of such sprouting from her forehead.  Furthermore, another horn is beginning to poke out on the opposite side.  If one has to grow horns, one might as well be happy about it, and the person afflicted, Zhang Ruifang, has refused offers to have the horns removed.

Human horns, while rare, are not a new phenomena.  Robert Ripley of “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!” fame had described a case from the 16th century, and in 1930 brought a photo of a Manchurian farmer with a 13-inch protrusion on the back of his head to the world’s attention.

More recently in October of 2007, a 95-year-old Chinese woman was revealed with a 6-1/2 inch horn protruding from her forehead that grew downward over her face.  One month later, a 93-year-old Chinese male showed the media a 4-inch horn growing on the top of his head.

Cutaneous horns have also been known to grow on the arms, legs, buttocks, and even nipples…Believe It, Or Not!

Comments: 2 Comments

–Oriental Yeti?

Posted April 9, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal oddities, animals, cryptozoology, furry, mysteries, rare animal, unidentified
Tags: ,

– – Well, isn’t this a strange and sorry looking critter?- –Discovered in a remote wooded area in Sichuan Province in China, this mysterious hairless creature dubbed an “oriental yeti” will undergo DNA testing.

“It looks like a bear but it doesn’t have any fur and it has a tail like a kangaroo,” said one of the hunters who trapped the unidentified beast after locals reported a bear sighting…but this ain’t no bear!  “It also does not sound like a bear…it has a voice like a cat and it is calling all the time–perhaps it is looking for the rest of its kind or maybe its the last one,” added the hunter, Lu Chin.

So what is this animal?–Pending the DNA testing to be performed in Beijing, one cryptozoologist, Loren Coleman, thinks that it is a kind of civet, a small carnivorous mammal akin to the mongoose.   The Asian palm or Himalayan palm civet are regarded as the most likely possibilities.  As for the creature’s lack of fur, Coleman thinks that it has mange, a skin disease caused by mites.

While it is anticipated that DNA tests will show that the finding is “in no way anything extraordinary,”  this guy looks like he could use some TLC in addition to the fur!



Comments: 3 Comments

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »