The Resurgence of Science

Posted March 10, 2009 by vulpesffb
Categories: science
Tags:

obama-brings-back-science–Praise God, the sciences have made a comeback in their acceptance by government!  I am thrilled that President Obama is encouraging more open scientific discussion and research without political interference.  As Obama well expressed it, “Our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values.”  Obama has signed documents changing U.S. science policy and removing what some researchers have said were shackles on their work.

Obama elaborated, “It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda–and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.”

The most immediate effect of this will be to allow federally funded researchers to use hundreds of new embryonic stem cell lines for promising research in hopes of creating better treatments and even cures for conditions ranging from diabetes to Parkinsons Disease to paralysis.  While some don’t like the fact, we are a religiously pluralistic society, and spiritual and scientific belief need not be mutually exclusive.  The ethical imperative to relieve suffering and promote healing is well served by this decision and change in policy.

I’m beginning to feel like we are starting to live in the 21st century…Hallelujah!


Comments: 2 Comments

Eugene the Jeep

Posted March 8, 2009 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, cartoons
Tags:

the-jeep–Eugene the Jeep is a bizarre cartoon animal living in our three-dimensional world who really belongs to a fourth-dimensional world.  He is loosely described as being “a magical dog (who) can disappear and things.”  His cells were forced through the dimensional barrier into our world, where they combined with free life cells of the African Hooey Hound.

The Jeep is a yellow creature about the size of a dog who walks on his hind legs, has a bear-like head and ears with a large nose, long tail, and protruding stomach.   Moreover, his diet consists only of orchids.  The Jeep has high intelligence and employs a limited form of teleportation as a function of his fourth dimensional genes and origin,  yet communicates largely through body language.  He can walk through and on walls and ceilings.

No, I haven’t been drinking or ingesting controlled substances.  And what is remarkable is that this far-out animal creation appeared in some Popeye the Sailor cartoons from the 1930’s!  Truly a creation decades ahead of his time…

Comments: 1 Comment

Alligators in the Sewer!

Posted March 5, 2009 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, rare animal
Tags:

alligator–The reported presence of alligators in the sewers of New York City has been a powerful and persistent urban myth, and one with some factual basis in that three Harlem teenagers did find an eight foot rogue ‘gator in the sewer in 1935.  Alligators have also been found in the sewers of other cities such as New Orleans.  Whether alligators can live and breed in the sewers of NYC has been the subject of disagreement among experts, a topic which MonsterQuest investigated in a recent episode.

Armed with a robotic camera mounted to an eight-wheeled “mud monster” vehicle (love these cool toys!), MonsterQuest probed a few sewers, although with 11,000 miles of sewers in NYC, they clearly could only check a tiny percentage of them.  Alligators were not found, although roaches galore were, together with worms, slugs, and the ever-popular rats.  As ‘gators are opportunistic feeders, these critters represent a satisfactory food source for them.  Sewer temps can also reach 90-some degrees with steam being vented there.

Alligators do invade residential areas in Florida, with one poor woman finding one in her kitchen which may have gone after the family cat; the picture shows a gator just about ringing the doorbell of another Florida residence, which would generate more excitement than your Avon representative.  While MonsterQuest didn’t find ‘gators in the NYC sewer, they did find enough food, water, and warmth to sustain alligator life.  An alligator in the NYC sewers could then go from eating rats to small dogs to homeless persons, though I really doubt that’s going on…

Comments: 6 Comments

Pink Dolphin Found!

Posted March 2, 2009 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, anomalies, furry, rare animal
Tags:

pink-dolphin–A pink Bottlenose dolphin has been found swimming in an inland lake in Louisiana, USA.  The dolphin is actually an albino variant, which is reflected in its reddish eyes. Other than its hue, the dolphin appears normal and healthy.

The dolphin has become such an attraction that conservationists have urged people to observe the animal at a respectful distance, and leave it alone!

Comments: 2 Comments

Devils in New Jersey

Posted February 26, 2009 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, cryptozoology, furry, rare animal, unexplained, unidentified
Tags: ,

jersey-devil–There’s a special place in my heart for the Jersey Devil, having resided in New Jersey for years in the past.  I never liked portrayals of the Jersey Devil that were on the comical side, however, for he’s an awesome cryptid.

A recent episode of MonsterQuest gave the Devil his due, portraying him with proper respect.  This blog has featured both the Jersey Devil and the Montauk Monster in the past, and I don’t want to repeat what I’ve already covered.  Suffice it to say that the Jersey Devil has a rich and far-reaching history extending back around 250 years to the 13th child of a legendary Mother Leeds, who when pregnant with that child cursed him, saying “Let him be a devil!”–Well, be careful what ‘ya wish for, ’cause ‘ya may get it, right?  Not only was the 13th child a devil, but in some variants of the story, he consumed his mother and siblings before ascending up the chimney.– He’ll never get any presents on Xmas or  his birthday, but ‘ya gotta love the guy!

Now descriptions of the Jersey Devil vary, but in many accounts he’s described as a winged, horse-like creature with a long neck, red eyes, and a serpentine tail.  There have been many sighting of the creature over time, especially in the large, Pine Barrens region of southern New Jersey; in the early 20th century, significant numbers of people reported sightings, causing hysteria.  More recent cases include one in 1997 where a mother and child were outdoors and saw the creature in a tree, barely making it indoors before the beast landed on their roof and left footprints that couldn’t be identified as those of any known species.

The Jersey Devil should not be confused with the Montauk Monster, which is now thought to have been a decomposing canine (most likely a Boxer) that washed up on a beach.  The Montauk Monster briefly caused a stir when photos of  something weird and disgusting surfaced amidst rumors that it had been produced by the nearby Plum Island facility, reputed to be creating biological weapons for deployment against the Russians during the Cold War era (much like myself).

MonsterQuest presented alternative explanations for the Jersey Devil, including that it is actually a misidentified Great Horned Owl, or perhaps an African Hammerhead Bat.  For that matter, the Jersey Devils are also a professional hockey team in that state, and  far too many people in Jersey drive like bats out of hell…but I digress.

While MonsterQuest investigations in the Pine Barrens yielded nothing, eyewitness descriptions allowed creation of an awesome sculpture of the Devil which the 1997 observers said was much like what they saw; those same eyewitnesses also passed polygraph tests, indicating that they were telling the truth about what they thought they saw…and as it was said, it’s “Possible something is out there that could remain hidden for a significant time.”

…or at least, one can hope!


Comments: 2 Comments

The Late Nessie?

Posted February 22, 2009 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, cryptozoology, furry, unexplained

rines-image-1972–MonsterQuest debuted for a new season this February with an episode on the possible demise of the Loch Ness Monster. Sightings of Nessie have diminished in recent years, leading to speculation by some that the great cryptid may be no more.

Robert Rines is a long-term Nessie researcher who had a sighting of Nessie in 1972, and has made searching for the elusive beast part of his life since then.  Rines is no whack  job and no slouch in the brains department, having a number of college degrees, including some in physics.  Rines used sonar and other technologies in his investigations, capturing the attached image in the 1970’s.

Now in his 80’s, Rines felt that there may have been two or more cryptids in Loch Ness in the 1970’s, but that the creature’s remains now reside in the murky depths.  His possibly final visit to the Loch with the MonsterQuest crew failed to reveal Nessie, living or dead.

Believers can point to a 2007 video of moving objects below the surface of  Loch Ness, however, as hope that Nessie is still with us…

Comments: 1 Comment

The Swamp Stalker of Boggy Creek…

Posted February 20, 2009 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, cryptozoology, furry, rare animal, unexplained, unidentified

boggy-creek-monster–Known as The Swamp Stalker of Boggy Creek or The Boggy Creek Monster, this cryptid is reportedly a large, black-haired, barrel-chested creature who walks upright and stands about 7′ high.  He was the subject of a 1972 movie titled, The Legend of Boggy Creek.

Recently profiled on MonsterQuest, sightings of The Swamp Stalker have come from Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, especially the town of Fouke in Arkansas.  Sightings intensified in the late 20th century.  A theory is that The Stalker may simply be a misidentified black bear, although some of the sightings have come from areas not indigenous to black bears.

MonsterQuest set camera traps with 360 degree lenses which yielded only images of known animal species and a few human hunters.  A large old scat sample (feces) turned out upon analysis to be from a wild boar.

And so as with many similar cryptid creatures, the existence of The Swamp Stalker of Boggy Creek “remains undocumented…”


Comments: 5 Comments

Travis the Chimp Shot Dead…

Posted February 18, 2009 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, furry, unexplained
Tags:

travis—Travis the Chimpanzee was 15 years old and weighed 200 lbs.; an animal celebrity, he had appeared in commercials for Coca-Cola and Old Navy. Travis had a stunning repertoire of human-like behaviors; he used the toilet, rode in cars, ate at the table, drank wine from long-stemmed glasses, used a TV remote to channel-surf, and even used a mouse to view pictures on the computer!

Unfortunately, Travis lost it big time this past Monday, brutally mauling a  friend of his Connecticut owner and leaving her with life-changing injuries to her face and hands. In a desperate effort to stop the attack, his owner stabbed him repeatedly with a kitchen knife and hit him with a shovel, but police ultimately had to shoot the animal dead.

While the reason for the attack may never be known, Travis was reported to have suffered from Lyme disease and had been given Xanax by his owner in light of unsettled behavior, and his aggressive behavior may have been a medication reaction.  The woman attacked had also changed her hair style and may not have been recognized by the chimp, triggering territorial instincts. Chimpanzees are wild animals, and are aggressive in their natural state despite their cutesy portrayal on television…

Comments: 1 Comment

Animal Law

Posted February 16, 2009 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, furry, furry perspectives
Tags:

animals–Some things shouldn’t happen to a dog…but they do!

Animal Law is one of the fastest growing fields in the legal profession.  In 1993, just seven states had felony animal cruelty laws; today, all but four do…

“Animal law is where environmental law was 20 years ago.  It’s in its infancy but growing,” said Paula Frasch, who heads the National Center for Animal Law at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland.

In 2000, only nine law schools had animal law studies; today about 100 do.   Incidents of abuse and a shifting national consciousness have made this one of the fastest growing fields in the legal profession.

Comments: Be the first to comment

Cattle Mutilations

Posted February 13, 2009 by vulpesffb
Categories: aliens, animals, anomalies, unexplained
Tags:

mutilations–Cattle mutilations repel and fascinate at the same time; examination of the photographic record is not recommended for the overly-sensitive or those with weak stomachs.  Thousands of cattle mutilation cases have occurred in North America under abnormal circumstances; cows are found dead of undetermined causes, often exsanguinated  (all of the blood removed), and have had certain bodily organs removed with surgical precision.  Often reproductive and/or rectal organs have been removed as well.

Intriguingly, abnormally high radiation levels have at times been detected near the dead animals, and scavengers will not in some  cases touch the carcass; nor are there often footprints leading to and from the cows.  Clamp marks have been found on some animals’ legs suggesting that the cattle were taken from their usual habitat and mutilated elsewhere.  Sightings of UFOs and/or black helicopters have been associated with a number of cases.

A recent episode of MonsterQuest has dealt with the cattle mutilations, and one expert concluded that many although not all of the incidents may be attributed to natural predation from species such as coyotes; this explanation hardly explains such incidentals as irradiated soil where it occurs.  Satanic cults have been blamed for the mutilations, although there has been little supporting evidence of this.  The deaths have also been attributed to intelligence agency secret projects involving chemical weapons testing.  Others contend that the deaths were natural occurrences by viruses or lightning blown out of proportion, but the deaths look extraordinary rather than natural.  The extraterrestrial experimentation explanation seems to tie many incidentals together, and UFO “hotspots” such as Nevada and New Mexico have been especially hard hit by the occurrences…

Comments: Be the first to comment

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »