Old Spice’s Wild Collection…

Posted March 21, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal presence, animal spokepersons, animals, furry, furry commercials, television

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wild collection

– – It’s wild, and perhaps a bit crazy…like a fox!  Also like a wolf and a hawk.  Meet the Old Spice Wild Collection, which introduces men’s scents called Wolfthorn, Foxcrest (- -yay!), and Hawkridge.  Now unfortunately (or fortunately), these scents smell nothing like the wild animals that they’re using as mascots, but at least you won’t wind up smelling like stale beer or Axe.  All three scents are available as antiperspirants/deodorants, body washes, body sprays, after shave lotions, and cologne sprays.  

Now these scents stay with you, so the commercial for Wolfthorn is narrated by a woman who’s at a high society function when she meets a man who literally comes in with a snarling wolf hanging on each of his shoulders.  “I was afraid, then seduced, then intigued, then in a car,” she relates.  “I never had a chance!,” she concludes as the whistled classic Old Spice theme plays.  The wolf-wearer bears his wolves with him at every step, drives his car with the babe and beasts right through the fancy glass side doors of the society affair, and barrels off into the night with them.- -I do so love a happy ending!

This certainly beats an earlier Old Spice commercial where a sea captain was shown fighting with a squid-like creature on his shoulder…and did I buy Foxcrest? – – Well, what do you think?!

Wolfman Mac’s Chiller Drive-In…

Posted March 19, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, animals, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, furry, television

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wolfman mac – – It’s cheesy, and proud of it…Wolfman Mac’s Chiller Drive-In, that is! Many of us when young grew up with regional variations of the “Chiller Theater” concept, a show usually on Saturday night which presented horror or science fiction films from the 1950’s or 1960’s, such “The Crawling Eye” or “Attack of the 50-Foot Woman.” Armed with a freshly-made batch of Jiffy Pop popcorn, I’d settle down before the tube for two hours of kiddie bliss.  Horror and sci fi films of that era weren’t terribly graphic and the special effects were laughable by today’s standards, but they were great stuff to a ten-year-old!  Some of those shows included hosts, such as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.  

Wolfman Mac is cut from the same cloth as such hosts, but he’s lower budget still.  He’s a werewolf who runs a dilapidated drive-in located in the fictional town of Hauntington Heights that shows B-grade horror movies you’ll marvel were ever made.  The Wolfman’s sidekick is an wisecracking, extremely fake-looking plastic skeleton called Boney Bob.  There are over a dozen cast members that include TORG the robot, a guy in a cardboard box costume; and the nutty Professor M. Balmer.  During breaks from the movie, they perform skits that mirror or parody the action from the flick.  It’s not Shakespeare, but is great late-night fun!

Wolfman Mac is in real life Mac Kelly, who as a kid loved old horror films, werewolves, and all things Halloween.  Originally a local show, it’s now carried nationally by the Retro Television Network, but has retained all of its high camp charm…

Odd Folks Home…

Posted March 16, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: anomalies, Brilliant but twisted, strange, television

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Edgar

– – The aptly-named reality show Odd Folks Home is a spin-off of the Science Channel show, Oddities.  It tends to feature the most eccentric clients of the Obscura Antiques and Oddities store showcased in the parent show, and viewers are taken into the homes of these people to see their private collections and practices.  Many of these individuals would be at home residing with the Addams Family; there are sword swallowers and fire eaters, and artists who work in such mediums as skulls, animal parts, and human blood.  These people would be fun dates, and indeed one lady screens her men by taking them home to see how they handle such tasks as articulating a cat skeleton.

The show has the perfect host in Edgar Oliver (pictured), a real-life playwright and actor who takes creepiness to an art form.  On the Oddities show, we see him in a state of near ecstasy over the discovery of a straightjacket.  “Are you sitting…comfortably?,”  inquires Edgar of the listening audience on some episodes of Odd Folks, with the perfect facial expressions and hand gestures.- -This guy is a treasure!

You can learn much about the morbid and macabre from this show, and for that reason it’s probably not suitable for young children or the squeamish.  As for me, however, I’m right at home in the Odd Folks Home

Walter, the Litter Genie Cat

Posted March 14, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, animal spokepersons, anthropomorphic, furry, furry commercials, television

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walter– – Litter Genie is a cat litter disposal system, not to be confused with Little Genie, the Elton John song.  Anyways, Litter Genie features a spokes-cat named Walter, who is a bit of a singing sensation himself.  Walter has actually cut some music videos, one of which is called I Haz a Pie Row Tek Nik, performing as Walter and the Awful Pawfuls.  My favorite Walter video, however, is a flashback to the psychedelic sixties, with the fab feline performing I Haz a Catnip in Mah Head with Walter and the Wizards.  This is from an album called, Litter Trippin’.

Yet another of Walter’s music videos is called, Me Luvz Mahself, with Walter performing with the Lap Cats and featuring rhythm and blues styling with cats wearing gold chains and gem-studded collars.  As it was sung in The Aristocats, “Everybody Wants to be a Cat”…meow!

Monkeying Around on the Syfy Channel…

Posted March 10, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, anomalies, fantasy, furry, imaginary animals, television

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Flying Monkeys– – To me, they looked more demonic than simian, but that was perhaps the point.  The Flying Monkeys on the Syfy movie of the same name which aired on March 9th were evil, shape-shifting monsters, pets by day and killers by night.  Unrelated but with a number of shameless nods to the Oz saga (the movie’s even set in Gale, Kansas), these are nasty, flying beasties that swoop down to shred and tear…something to “get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!” – -Shameless but captivating low-budget entertainment, and as much fun as a barrel of flying monkeys!  Just click your heels together while repeating, “There’s no place like the Syfy Channel!

Palm Beach’s Sharks…

Posted March 8, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal behavior, animal presence, animals, aquatic

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shark– – Just when you thought that it was safe to get back into the water again, tens of thousands of blacktip and spinner sharks are migrating north up the eastern coast of the U.S., shutting down beaches in Florida!

Now shark sightings are not uncommon for South Florida beaches, and their migration is an annual occurrence.  What’s uncommon, however, is that the migration usually starts and ends sooner, well ahead of spring break season.  Blacktip sharks only account for 20% of unprovoked shark attacks in Florida, but with 15,000 sharks counted by researchers and some less than 200 yards from shore, lifeguards aren’t taking chances…

Little Caesar’s Horse Costume Commercial!

Posted March 5, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, animals, Brilliant but twisted, furry commercials, television

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little caesars– – Somewhere in life, we’ve all seen some variation of the old horse costume gag…you know, a costume where one guy poses as the front end of a horse, and his hapless partner literally brings up the rear!  Well, a recent Little Caesar’s commercial takes us to a costume party where we see two dudes in that classic horse costume get-up with their component pieces separated, and a girl in a princess costume brings it to their attention that Little Caesar’s is offering pepperoni pizza for a mere five bucks!

Galvanized into action, our two heroes then dash out the door where we cut to a scene of a magnificent stallion galloping hard across the desert to suitable rousing music!  The scene then changes again to the interior of a Little Caesar’s restaurant where we see the front end of the horse bent over and gasping for breath, poor guy.  The guy in the rear end arrives just slightly later, sweated but able to voice their pizza order.- -It’s a great revival of the classic horse costume gag, and the noble equine tradition!

 

Furries and the Harlem Shake!

Posted March 3, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, animal presence, anthropomorphic, furries, music, videos

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Harlem Shake

– – The Harlem Shake is kind of a flash mob performance or  “happening,” a kind of random visual absurdity that is both a dance and a song.  Since furries are no strangers to absurdity but rather exist within and delight in it, it’s no wonder that a number of videos are out there showing furries from locations around the world performing the Harlem Shake.- -Anyways, I’d rather see some fursons in well-make outfits performing the number than someone in a cheesy banana suit!

Animal influences have figured in a number of dance crazes, such as the horse dance featured in the Gangnam Style video by PSY, so why not enjoy such things?- -It’s the weekend, after all!  One must learn when to stop making sense…

Brickleberry…

Posted March 1, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal presence, animals, anthropomorphic, cartoons, furry, television

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Malloy– – ‘Toon bears are less common and often forgettable, so I’m glad to find something different.  Both Brickleberry and Yogi Bear are set in fictitious national parks, and include the relationships between bears and park rangers, but the resemblance ends there!  The Comedy Channel show Brickleberry is anything but clean and wholesome, and the center of focus for me is an anthropomorphic grizzly bear cub named Malloy who is crude, politically incorrect, narcissistic, has a superiority complex, and delights in putting down and messing with the park rangers, none of whom are normal individuals!  His parents unintentionally slain, Malloy has been raised by humans, and excessive indulgence in video games and junk food have turned him into something dark and sardonic that nature never intended; this is Baby Stewie from Family Guy in a fursuit!   Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo wouldn’t last five minutes with him, and Brickleberry is anything but Jellystone Park!

In addition to being likened to Family Guy, the show has also been compared to South Park in terms of trying to be offensive and pushing the boundaries, with violent and sexual content making this not a show for the kiddies…but what a bear we have in Malloy!

(note:  This post originally appeared Feb. 28th but was unintentionally deleted when I removed a draft, and so is regenerated here; my apologies to blog subscribers!)

Maxwell Pulled Over!

Posted February 25, 2013 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, animal spokepersons, animals, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, furry, furry commercials, television

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maxwell pulled over  – – We’ve all heard of pulled pork, but Geico takes Maxwell the pig to a different level of meaning with this when a police officer pulls his blue convertible over in a recent commercial.  Maxwell hands the officer his license and registration as well as his Geico digital insurance card.  Now it turns out that the cop doesn’t have a problem with the fact that a pig is driving, but rather the fact that Maxwell’s tail light is out.  “Fix it!,” orders the cop before walking away.

At least we haven’t seen an example of species profiling from the unflappable officer…