Ferret bath-time, oh noes!
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Showing posts with label animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animals. Show all posts
1.25.2010
Hurray!
Police Rescue 150 Stolen Ferrets in Mexico City - ABC News
Ferret abduction is serious business. Also, I have to imagine that the thieves had no idea what was in the boxes when they stole them. I sort of wish they had gotten somewhere and had to deal with 150 pissed-off, bored, hungry ferrets.
1.23.2010
Joan of Arc Relics Confirmed to Be Fake
Joan of Arc 'Relics' Confirmed to Be Fake : Discovery News
The thing that struck me about this is that, like holy relics in some branches of Christianity, there was a vigorous trade in sometimes fake religious items in ancient Egypt as well. In the Late Period especially, animal cults associated with various deities gained immense popularity. One of the primary activities of pilgrims to the various shrines was purchase of a mummified animal suitable to the particular cult as a votive offering. In some places its seems that animals were bred and raised specifically for this purpose. Often the temple could not keep up with the demand and the mummified animal often was simply empty wrappings in the appropriate shape (especially with fairly lightweight animals like birds) or sticks, rocks, and whatever else would fill out the wrappings and have sufficient heft.
You can see an example here.
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The thing that struck me about this is that, like holy relics in some branches of Christianity, there was a vigorous trade in sometimes fake religious items in ancient Egypt as well. In the Late Period especially, animal cults associated with various deities gained immense popularity. One of the primary activities of pilgrims to the various shrines was purchase of a mummified animal suitable to the particular cult as a votive offering. In some places its seems that animals were bred and raised specifically for this purpose. Often the temple could not keep up with the demand and the mummified animal often was simply empty wrappings in the appropriate shape (especially with fairly lightweight animals like birds) or sticks, rocks, and whatever else would fill out the wrappings and have sufficient heft.
You can see an example here.
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1.15.2010
Why the world is really going to end in 2012
Because the capuchins (the monkeys, not the friars) are coming for us. For serious.
The following video was posted on Cute Overload today:
Watching the whole thing is awesome. Much of it is squee-worthy, or at least was to me and I have to give the videographer mad props for not frightening off the monkeys by squeeing is paroxysms of delight when watching the monkeys. However, if you don't watch the whole thing, at least watch from about 3:30 onward.
Yeah. Little buggers are all about some dropping big heavy things from heights. On purpose. At enemies.
"Yeah, fine, whatever, the live in South America, in the jungle, so what?" you say.
Well, then, watch this:
Oh yeah, we're screwed. It's only a matter of time before the ones in the wild learn to drive and fly planes. Then they'll meet up with all the "domesticated" helper monkeys. And then...well, my friends, then those of us with a plan will be safe and sound and the rest of the world will devolve into utter, capuchin-controlled chaos.
The following video was posted on Cute Overload today:
Watching the whole thing is awesome. Much of it is squee-worthy, or at least was to me and I have to give the videographer mad props for not frightening off the monkeys by squeeing is paroxysms of delight when watching the monkeys. However, if you don't watch the whole thing, at least watch from about 3:30 onward.
Yeah. Little buggers are all about some dropping big heavy things from heights. On purpose. At enemies.
"Yeah, fine, whatever, the live in South America, in the jungle, so what?" you say.
Well, then, watch this:
Oh yeah, we're screwed. It's only a matter of time before the ones in the wild learn to drive and fly planes. Then they'll meet up with all the "domesticated" helper monkeys. And then...well, my friends, then those of us with a plan will be safe and sound and the rest of the world will devolve into utter, capuchin-controlled chaos.
11.22.2009
Mommy mouse and Baby mouse Amigurumi Crochet Pattern.
I love this cute little mousey momma and baby in sling. The little bow on the tail is adorable too. Nice Christmas-y colors, too - for those who celebrate these could be great little decorations or gifts.
Pattern available in Handmadekitty's Etsy shop (check out some other adorable patterns there, too).
Pattern available in Handmadekitty's Etsy shop (check out some other adorable patterns there, too).
9.14.2009
Aminals!
Yesterday, in addition to our hike we went apple picking with some friends. There was a petting zoo at the orchard and I insisted I wanted to go.Oooooh, the adorable.
Little pot-bellied piggies sharing a pumpkin.
There were two adorable goat kids being acrobatic and silly. I managed to catch this one on top of the wire spool that was in their pen.
There were also bunnehs. There was one baby gray bunny in particular who totally would have gone home in my pocket had I been able to get my hands on him or her. Bunnehs!
We have a bunch of apples too, but while tasty, they aren't nearly as cute as the aminals.
Pretty much, the day made me long for the days when Tom and I can
finally have a little farm of our own. :P
9.04.2009
Presenting Faience Kitty Version 1.0
A friend of mine who is of the Egyptological persuasion (I promise, I do have a few friends who are not of the Egyptological persuasion) is going away for work and I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to make an amigurumi gift and try something a little bit new.
People familiar with ancient Egypt will know that Egyptian faience (to distinguish it from later Italian faience) was an extremely popular substance for making beads, amulets, small figurines, scarabs, dishes, tiles, and a wide variety of other things. It is essentially crushed/powdered quartz or sand and a small amount of silica lime held together with various binding agents, worked, molded, or otherwise formed and then glazed, either through application or occasionally a self-glaze produced during firing. As the object was heated, the surface vitrified, producing a shiny, glassy finish. Colors were achieved typically through the inclusion of mineral salts - copper being the most popular and well known and producing the vibrant blue-green or turquoise most commonly associated with Egyptian faience, but other colors also appear.
Anyway, when I started making amigurumi I thought that making "faience" amigurumi would be really fun, especially as a lot of the smaller Egyptian faience pieces are often of animals and are frequently absolutely adorable. "William" the faience hippo at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a classic example.
Often, as is the case with William, faience objects were painted in black often with floral/vegetation motifs.
This little cat here represents one of my first real attempts at a "faience" amigurumi. She does not have the lovely black motifs as I'm still working on methods of achieving this that don't necessarily involve embroidery (my hands and extensive embroidery do not mix well - cramping and lasting pain are usually the result). I've fiddled with paints, but I'm still working on an application method that will work. Faience Kitty's eyelashes are actually painted, though, and I like how they turned out, so I may try to apply those lessons to later attempts. However, I'm fairly proud of this little kitty. My friend had to foster her own kitty while she's away, so she now has Faience Kitty for company.
I wrote the pattern myself and I think it needs some tweaking, but I'm pleased overall with the result. I'm especially fond of the earring - there are some artistic examples of ancient Egyptian cats with pierced ears. I was trying to go for a seated pose like most of the statues and figurines of cats I'm familiar with - I'm not sure how well I did there. And she's posing, appropriately, with our papyrus plants in the background in these photos my husband was kind enough to take.
9.02.2009
Mister Drake
Ahh, amigurumi how I love thee. Yet another simple shapes, well executed = awesome!
I love this duckie with the big, intense eyes and the itty-bitty tail.
I love this duckie with the big, intense eyes and the itty-bitty tail.
9.01.2009
Retro Owl Amigurumi
Another adorable amigurumi, this time from Else10. This little guy really shows how important small details like placement of eyes can be in conveying personality. I love the sort of suspicious side-ways look here. And I love the blue variegated yarn. Very cute!
8.31.2009
Ice-Cream and Noodle
Irenestrange has created these wonderful striped elephant who incorporate granny-squares in their design on backs and ears. They're adorable, plus a great way to use multiple colors or bust through some last bits of yarn in your stash. Very awesome!
Score the pattern in her Etsy shop and check out her other nifty creations.
Score the pattern in her Etsy shop and check out her other nifty creations.
8.10.2009
Bat! (Not in my belfry, though...)
Super adorable bat amigurumi by mirjamemma with deployable wings! Nifty!
8.06.2009
Spidercat
I like it. It's mildly creepy. It's cute. It has googly eyes. And I now have the "Spiderpig" song from the Simpsons movie stuck in my head. Only replace "spiderpig" with "spider cat"
7.29.2009
THEY'RE COMING!
Zombunnies. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
I love them, they are deliciously frightening. Plus, their maker is a fellow Chicagoan. Check his etsy shop and Flickr stream for more.
I love them, they are deliciously frightening. Plus, their maker is a fellow Chicagoan. Check his etsy shop and Flickr stream for more.
7.12.2009
Yarn!!!! (And other stuff)
So, no post yesterday. Sorry about that. I overslept. Well, first of all, I couldn't fall asleep Friday night despite being exhausted. And then by the time I finally was able to drift off a huge, loud thunderstorm started, thus scaring Oreo and keeping me awake. Sigh. So, the whole "wake up in the mornings" plan has already been derailed. Yay, delayed sleep phase syndrome strikes again.
Last night I managed to go to sleep fairly early, but I was exhausted and so slept until 1:30 today. And even then I didn't want to get up.
But, hubby took me for lunch. And then I found out about a neighborhood yard sale that included yarn, so we walked over there (about a mile). I scored some excellent yarn - alpaca/wool blend and pure wool. Then we walked back and took a long rest by the botany pond and watched a whole dozen ducks napping on the edge of the pond and some young rats swimming around the lily pads. I am absolutely dragged out though.
So much for the idiots who say things like "well, if you were just more active/exercised more you'd feel better." I'm afraid it doesn't work that way.
6.17.2009
6.16.2009
Seal ready for rescue
Now this is the sort of cute lifeguard I would really like to see. I would totally let him save my day! Click on the link to BocoZoo's Flickr stream to the right for more of her fun creations.
Chihuahua
Doggie!!!! Super-cute and very nicely executed amigurumi of a chihuahua.
This little guy reminds me of one of my favorite aspects of dog ownership in the city. Our neighborhood is fairly multicultural, so there are families who speak all sorts of languages around. I love walking with Oreo and seeing a family with little kids up ahead, chattering happily in their native language, only to see the kid break off, stare at Oreo, and announce loudly and happily: DOGGIE!!!!
Yes, "doggie" is apparently an international word because it doesn't matter what language the kid was speaking 30 seconds ago - it could be Spanish, Mandarin, German, Japanese, Russian, you name it. And Oreo gets extra wiggly cute when he hears it. And is always a very nice gentleman with the little ones, especially the shy ones.
This little guy reminds me of one of my favorite aspects of dog ownership in the city. Our neighborhood is fairly multicultural, so there are families who speak all sorts of languages around. I love walking with Oreo and seeing a family with little kids up ahead, chattering happily in their native language, only to see the kid break off, stare at Oreo, and announce loudly and happily: DOGGIE!!!!
Yes, "doggie" is apparently an international word because it doesn't matter what language the kid was speaking 30 seconds ago - it could be Spanish, Mandarin, German, Japanese, Russian, you name it. And Oreo gets extra wiggly cute when he hears it. And is always a very nice gentleman with the little ones, especially the shy ones.
5.20.2009
rasta-pus
The name, the creation - what about this is not totally and utterly awesome?
I myself have not gotten around to crocheting octopi, but this may inspire me to start. The legs look super fun and the potential for fun customization is enormous.
I myself have not gotten around to crocheting octopi, but this may inspire me to start. The legs look super fun and the potential for fun customization is enormous.
Check out the original photo on Flickr for more information.
5.19.2009
5.13.2009
Where no meerkat has gone before...
niftyknits created these amazing meerkat versions of the major characters from the original Star Trek and I am in awe! Little uniforms with little insignia and rank stripes, tiny tricorders, communicators, and medical instruments, even Uhura's earpiece... So awesome!
I can sort of see how they could be confused for ferrets, but niftyknits wants it known that they are meerkats, so despite the ferret love here on my blog, we welcome our space traveling meerkat friends!
I can sort of see how they could be confused for ferrets, but niftyknits wants it known that they are meerkats, so despite the ferret love here on my blog, we welcome our space traveling meerkat friends!
If you're interested, the meerkat awesomeness is available for sale in niftyknits's Etsy shop
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