Black-Eyed Kids…

Posted April 19, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: controversial, mysteries, speculation, strange, strange happenings, unexplained, weird

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black-eyed-kids– – The Discovery Channel has a rather interesting show called, Monsters and Mysteries in America. – –Well, I prefer a monster to a mystery any day, but I’ll take a mystery if no good monsters or even laughable cheesy ones are available. A number of mysteries or unexplained phenomena fall into the category of urban myths, one of which as given a segment on the show was that of the black eyed kids, who should not be confused with the Black Eyed Peas, an American hip hop group…

…well, black-eyed kids or BEKs for short are creepy children in the pre-teen to teen age range with a disconcerting habit of appearing to motorists, homeowners, or even campers, often in the middle of the night, and who engage in the act of seeking admission to whatever the person approached occupies. As their name suggests, such children have no white in their eyes, the entire surface of which appears as black as “slices of night,” as one observer has described it. Often the BEKs appear in groups of two, although sometimes there are more, and at other times there is only one. Their appearance is additionally described as pale, and their speech rather non-inflected; they have an otherworldly quality, leading to wild speculations that these are perhaps aliens, time travelers, vampires, ghosts, or demons. More mundane explanations are that these are cultists, goths, pranksters, or people who’ve injected tattoo ink into their eyes (which is done). The black-eyed kids must be invited in, a characteristic traditionally associated with vampires, and if denied admission they supposedly become more hostile and insistent.

People who have reported a BEK encounter describe feeling filled with panic, fear, and anxiety. One who invited a pair of BEKs into her house said they told her they had come to “collect” her; after barricading herself in a room for a time, she fled the house. Typically, when the approached subject tries to view the creepy little visitors after departing the site, they are nowhere to be seen.

Black-eyed kid encounters date back to about 1988, and while likely just an urban myth, I wouldn’t invite then into your house should some come knocking in the middle of the night. They’re probably not selling cub scout candy…pleasant screams, ahahahaha!

 

 

The Aflac Duck in Physical Therapy…

Posted April 17, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, animal spokepersons, animals, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, furry commercials, television

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physical therapy– – As you’re likely aware, the Aflac Duck was recently injured, suffering damage to his beak and a wing.  Now the waterfowl is fighting his way back, with help from physical therapy and the inspiration of Rocky Balboa!  In the 60 second commercial, we are shown the duck struggling with such therapy tasks as climbing stairs, treading water, working on a gym station, and jumping rope…slow and sad piano-accented music plays in the background.  It’s so hard for the doggedly-determined duck…but then he starts to get his energy and range of motion back, and as the soundtrack of “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor plays in the background, we see the duck working out like a champ!

The underlying message is that with Aflac to pay his bills so he doesn’t have to worry, the duck can focus on therapy and getting better…and there’s no keeping a good duck down!  He’s gotten 35,000 get-well cards, according to Aflac’s chief marketing executive, who considers the duck and the brand to be not an image but an experience.   But will he suffer from post-traumatic stress, and require therapy?  This is the 58th commercial to feature the Aflac duck, if you’re counting…

 

“Cookie Monster” Just That…

Posted April 14, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, anthropomorphic, deplorable practices, things humans do

Tags: ,

cookie– – Many strange things may be found in New York City, including people who walk about in unlicensed character costumes offering tourists the opportunity to have their children photographed with them in the expectation of getting a several buck tip in return.  These characters are known to frequent Times Square and elsewhere, and may be dressed up as Sesame Street notables, Mario of Nintendo fame, Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh, or perhaps the Statue of Liberty, to name a few; some of the outfits are poor copies, barely recognizable.  Trouble is, the hustlers tend to be a bit aggressive, and at times have been known to bother or pursue their marks for photo privileges, demanding money afterwards before putting a photographed child down.   There have been ugly incidents as well; last summer, someone dressed as Grover lost it, and burst into an antisemitic rant in public…a Super Mario once groped a woman, and a Spiderman even punched a mom!  Hardly your friendly neighborhood Spidey…

Well, last Sunday someone dressed as Cookie Monster had himself photographed with a two-year-old, becoming irate when the child’s mother didn’t have tip money handy.  Insults and cursing followed, and the costumed cad pushed the child, allegedly causing the boy to almost lose balance.  Now the Cookie Monster wanna-be is facing charges of assault, aggressive begging, and endangering the welfare of a child…

…what’s next?- -“Shackle-Me Elmo?

 

The Gecko Meets The Vikings!

Posted April 10, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal spokepersons, anthropomorphic, furry commercials, television

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vikings– – In a recent Geico commercial, the company spokes-gecko travels back to the ninth century to book passage on a viking longship and comment on the difficulty of mobile phone communications in that time period. The viking-era ship forges through a nasty storm at sea, its stalwart oarsmen keeping pace with the thudding drumbeat provided to synchronize their efforts. As the gecko traverses the water-soaked deck of the viking vessel, the absurd juxtaposition somehow works!

The spot cross-promotes Geico with the new History Channel series, Vikings. Well-written and acted, the Vikings show is worthy of your attention for its characterization and attention to detail. There’s death, decapitation, spirited combat, and political scheming…and talk about tough! One viking wife beats off two would-be rapists with a sword, while another on a raiding party dispatches her lusty assailant with a dagger! Defending English warriors are outclassed by the Vikings after a hard day’s raiding, and they seem to relish the workout. Vikings is a gritty and unflinching show about some of history’s toughest warriors, so pass the mead, and let us feast!

Dr. Pepper Ten and the Manly Beverage

Posted April 8, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, animals, Brilliant but twisted, furry, furry commercials, television

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pepper hawk– – Wouldn’t you like to have a hawk for a friend that obligingly drops off a cold drink when you’ve a hankering for one?  The dude in the “No Man’s Land” commercial for Dr. Pepper 10 does, and also frolics with a bear in the wilderness, tears and chews bark right off a tree, and effortlessly carries a huge log with one arm!  Such things are apparently possible when you partake of  “The Manliest Low-Calorie Soda in the History of Mankind.”  Welcome to the manly world of Dr. Pepper 10, so manly it’s packaged in gunmetal-gray cans.- -Would Hillary Clinton drink this?- –I think not!

‘Ya see, diet sodas are frequently perceived as wimpy drinks unfavored by manly men, so the good folks at Dr. Pepper have brought us this neo-version of Grizzly Adams to counter this perception.  Partaking of it’s “bold flavor” and ten calories enables us to be “wild and free,” or so they would have us believe; all that’s missing is a drum circle.  So much for guys being sensitive and in touch with our feelings, and I like my diet drinks just fine.- -I’ll gladly take a friendly hawk and a bear buddy, though, if anyone’s offering…

Fishy Business…

Posted April 4, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, aquatic, scalies, strange

Tags: ,

merman – – Many of us yearn for a furry transformation, but there are those who wish for a more uncommon conversion.  Among these rare and exotic types are those who are into mermaids, or their male counterparts, mermen.  Both according to legend are alluring and seductive sea creatures who possess the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish.  They tend to make themselves visible to ships during storms, using their siren-like singing to lure the opposite sex into the water.

Now interest in mermaids and mermen was spurred by Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and interest can translate into obsession.  Some people enjoy the fantasy to the extent that they relish role-playing it by means of acquiring mermaid fins.  Mermaid swimsuits are available, and may be visible as a beach fad this summer.  The fantasy doesn’t come cheap, however, with  mermaid tail suits starting at about $169, and deluxe silicon versions running close  to $3,000.  There are mermaid/mermen lifestylers who are into their interest as much as those who don fursuits and attend conventions. 

Strange?- -It’s all relative, and almost everyone is someone else’s idea of a freak…or so I think, very much at home in my fox mask.  Thus endeth our tail for today…Ahahahaha!

Shatner vs. The Gorn, Redux!

Posted April 2, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, animals, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, furry commercials, scalies, sci fi, television

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gorn-shatner– – Back when special effects were a lot less special in the 1960’s, we were treated to an episode of Star Trek (The Original Series) called Arena where a young William Shatner’s James T. Kirk fought a powerful but ponderous and slow-moving reptilian creature called a Gorn.- –Well, 46 years after their original encounter, Shatner is again rematched with his scaly rival in a commercial for a Star Trek video game debuting this month.  The duo is comfortably seated on a sofa in a cozy living room, each one armed with a video controller and engaged in virtual on-screen combat!

Things get a little heated, and the two arise to their feet to engage in hand-to-hand combat, complete with sofa cushions being thrown, and the legendary Starfleet captain dodging clumsy swings by the reptilian!   When the combatants clinch, Shatner breaks the reptile’s hold by smacking his palms over its ear orifices.  As the Gorn moans in pain, Shatner accuses it of overacting, and out of breath admonishes it that, “We’re both too old for this kind of thing!”- -Wonderful stuff!

The Gorn depicted is true to the original creature, complete with bulky costume and compound eyes.  A computer-generated Gorn as later seen  in an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise was considerably more agile, and moved quickly.  This flashback, however, reminds us of what may be Gorn, but not forgotten…

Undershirts Soft As Kittens!

Posted March 29, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, animals, Brilliant but twisted, furry, furry commercials, television

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hanes_kittens – – Many of us like to hug kittens, but would you like to wear them?- -Not as skins, heaven forbid, but as living, moving creatures?  It would be unnatural, and possibly a bit surreal if not creepy.  Then you’d probably pick up a lot of cat hair, and what if one of them had to pee or poop?  Many would be the problems of a kitten shirt, not to be confused with a hair shirt, worn in the Middle Ages to mortify the flesh, which is not an idea much in vogue in contemporary society…

…well, hair shirts were worn intentionally to be uncomfortable, and the idea of this commercial for Hanes ComfortBlend T-shirts and underwear is that they’re as soft or next best to being covered with luxurious kitten fur.  To drive home that point, we are shown a man wearing a digitally-enhanced shirt of many kittens, and they don’t seem to be overly-distressed by being worn, moving slightly and mewing independently.  The kitten-shirt wearing man doesn’t seem to be getting much support on his attire from his friends, so he taps Hanes spokesman Michael Jordan for his opinion.  Michael doesn’t seem to think much of kitten shirts either, and you can bet that PETA would be of the same frame of mind.

While cat-friendly, I doubt I’d like a kitten shirt, as well.  Now if you’d care to cover me with Catwoman, however, that’s another matter entirely…

Director Wolfdog for Old Spice’s Wild Collection…

Posted March 27, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, animal spokepersons, animals, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, furry, furry commercials, television

Tags: ,

wolfdog– – He understands marketing completely, wears an electronic speech translation device around his neck, and occasionally eats his staff members…that’s Mr. Wolfdog, the marketing director brought in by Old Spice to promote their Wild Collection fragrance line.  Wolfie knows his way around an  office, and his is complete with devices like calculators, business awards, and desk toys like a Newton’s Cradle.  Wolfdog is also a busy rascal, having made a series of banner ads, a number of videos posted on YouTube, animated GIFs, and even an album of inspirational business music called Night Business, with cover art featuring Wolfie in shades and a cool casual suit!  His credentials include being Alpha Male for Deciduous Forest Pack #13588 in Woods, Montana.

It’s all parody, but with videos such as How to Give Constructive Criticism (“Use a compliment kabob!,” “Wear a criticism sweater!”), Wolfdog is a more authentic, creative, and benign supervisor than some I’ve had.- -I could work for this guy!  He’d be a great improvement, actually…  

Hawkridge, and the Smell of the Wild…

Posted March 23, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal presence, animal spokepersons, animals, Brilliant but twisted, feathered friends, furry commercials, television

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hawkridge

– – The commercial for Old Spice’s Hawkridge runs like a demented out-take for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.  It’s a high-stakes poker game, and two male players are squaring off over the card hands that they hold while on-lookers gawk.  One card player with glasses, a receding hairline, and a handful of costly rings is contending against a handsome guy who has, interestingly enough, a hawk on his arm.  Although he holds a royal flush, the dominant player is sweating.  We are privy to his thoughts; “I couldn’t get a read on him.  Is he bluffing?,” thinks the man.  Looking up, the royal flush holder sees that his opponent now has two hawks.  Scree, screech the hawks.  A moment later, the hawks have multiplied to four; scree, they cry.  Briefly later, the hawks have multiplied yet again.  The shrill cries are now a chorus, with hawks descending from above and one even roosting on the handsome guy’s head.- -Holy Hitchcock!

When yet another hawk rolls out from under the table between the bespectacled guy’s legs, he obviously has even more to sweat about, and so decides to fold despite holding an unbeatable hand.  This is known as winning by intimidation.  A victory for the hawkmaster, who has also by now acquired his opponent’s girlfriend!  The message is that this scent doesn’t just attract women, but vanquishes competition!  Talk about giving someone the bird…