spike whining in jt's

Spike, the crazy Staffordshire Bull Terrier that belongs to Clancy, whining like a little girl in JT's bar yesterday.
What a pathetic racket for a supposedly hard dog.

toodle pip

the sun is back out!

Hurrah! The sun made a welcome re-appearance this afternoon, so let's hope it decides to hang around a bit all weekend, as, apart from a meeting in Gateshead tomorrow morning, l am now off work until Tuesday afternoon.
Hurrah again!!

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fox attacking a bird

While working yesterday, l managed to get a great photograph of a fox (with huge knackers) leaping off a house to attack a bird, which l caught by accident as l was going to take a picture of the torrential rain (it's non stop work when l'm in).
The bird escaped, but that is not really surprising, as the 'so called' fox is actually a slug that was on the window. It just so happens that when l took the photo, it was at that angle, and a bird flew past at the same time.
Looks good though.

toodle pip

5,000 ducks going to a pond in china

Something you certainly don't see very often, unless you live near Taizhou, Zhejiang, where these pictures were taken on June 17th. About 5,000 ducks being taken to the pond by local farmers. I would hazard l guess that they are not being altruistic, but have plans for duck eggs and soup. I could be wrong, but l doubt it.
The photos came from here.

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project nim (2011) - james marsh

What a great, yet depressing documentary Project Nim is. An attempt to teach a primate (in this case a chimpanzee that was named 'Nim Chimpsky', it was flawed from the very start. To me, the worst offender was the professor (Herbert S Terrace) who instigated the project, as it was not supervised properly from the start, had no great plan of action, achievable and recordable aims, and he was also pretty quick to change assistants (probably with a view to getting more shags), tactics and settings, and then suddenly ended the project, leaving Nim to be shipped off and forgotten about. Nim ended up in a research facility, but, mainly due to the persistence of one of the earlier helpers (Bob), and the involvement of newspapers and lawyers, was eventually rehoused in a sanctuary. Unfortunately, Nim was in  a cage by himself, without companions and stimuli, even if the sanctuary had good intentions when they 'rescued' him.  When new owners took it over, Bob was allowed involvement again, and other chimps were added to Nim's environment, so at least he had a happier end to his life.
The extra on the DVD about Bob's story was also tear inducing, but at least it was positive, with his standing in his families eyes rising due to his involvement and persistence.
If project such as this are to be undertaken, the assistants should be there for the duration, plus the chimps should be signed at all through their lives, and encouraged to pas on the signs to their offspring, and that progress (and other offsprings) monitored in an non invasive and enjoyable way for the chimps, who should also be living in an open environment.
Then there is the issue of cattle prods - good or bad?
More or less the same as 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', except in the movie, the apes escape to take over.
Only a matter of time.....


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bee sting photograph

This great award winning photograph of a Bee sting was taken by Kathy Garvey and shows the bee, the sting,  plus the bee's abdominal tissue.
Very good indeed - more information here.

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we3 - grant morrison

From 2004/2005, We3 (written by Grant Morrison) features animals trained by the military to fight wars in place of humans, drawn in a 'Western Manga' type style, which made a pleasant change from the standard comic styling that l usually read. The dog, cat and rabbit (We3) are to be destroyed after a mission, but, with some assistance, manage to escape, only for the government to try and track them down. The animals have some limited speech, look great, and the story is pretty sound, but the only problem l have with it, is l am not too keen on too many small panels over a large one, but l will let that go. I'd rather the writers and artists experimented with the story, panels and speech, as, even though some of it may annoy or frustrate me, there's a chance something spectacular and unusual might astound me. This wasn't it, but it was still a good effort.
I can also still remember when our Jacko used to attack mice like the cat in the frame above (a long time ago). That will never happen again, that's for sure.


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a manatee and a child

What a great picture. A Manatee and a child, taken by CMGW photography. It makes the Manatee look somewhat wise and all knowing, as though it is passing a silent and withering judgement on the next batch of humans (or is that just me thinking that?).
Anyway, our idiot rabbit will end up looking like that once we shave his hair off. It's only a matter of time...

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washing the filth off jacko

Jack, our remaining cat, is now about 22 years old, deaf as a singer in Coldplay, stupid, and pretty decrepit. As she can no longer use the catflap, she now has a dirt tray she pisses over the side of, and she stinks to high heaven on a regular basis.  This was after we gave her a clean up a couple of evenings ago. Scrawny little git.

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hedgehog and carrots

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh   how cute. A hedgehog with his head stuck in an old tin of carrots. Currently residing at East Winch Wildlife Centre, near Kings Lynn in Norfolk.

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tubbs and his stinking arse

This is Tubbs the idiot rabbit about a week or so ago, with crap stuck to his arse. You'll be glad to know it has been cut off, cleaned, and kissed for good luck (maybe not the last one).
It's about time we got a goldfish, l think we are slaves to the animals we have.

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a dog pirate

The greatest dog costume ever! A dog made to look like two dog pirates carrying a treasure chest.
Genius is not a good enough word to describe this.
The dog doesn't look too happy though.

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rise of the planet of the apes (2011) - rupert wyatt

I used to really like the original series of  'Planet of the Apes' films when l was younger, so l was looking forward to seeing the new version of 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'. Not looking forward enough to go and see it at the pictures mind you, but l did have high hopes for it. Usually, because l am so sad, any film that was directed by someone called Rupert (educated at Winchester - named public school of the year in 2010 by Tatler, and the oldest of the public schools) would get my back up straight away (class war and all of that), but l'll admit he did do a good job with this, although the story was straightforward enough (evil lab / experiments going wrong / a good intentioned scientist / it all going tits up and the apes rising up). I shouldn't complain about unbelievable parts of the film if l am already watching a movie about apes talking and taking over, but there were a few scenes which annoyed me, such as  Caesar not telling of the cruelty being inflicted in the ape sanctuary by the guards. There was also a lot of fuss beforehand about how the ape effects and CGI  had moved on so much from the earlier films, and l do agree they have, but there were also plenty of action scenes where l thought people would look back on them in a few years and consider them dated. Anyway, l used to love Roddy McDowall in the earlier films, and he certainly bought a different kind of identifiable reality to the apes. Wasn't too keen on the apes running up buildings, as they reminded me of spiders, but overall, it was good enough to make me want to watch the sequel, and there are plenty of films where l don't feel that way. Andy Serkis must be wearing his hands away, rubbing them with glee at the amount of money he will be making from this franchise.

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spider bites

I would like to point out that this is not my bum (l am pleased to say) as it is the photographs of a spider bite and it's spread while someone was on holiday.
Horrible little gits, no wonder l don't like them.

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the spiders and the wagga wagga floods

I've posted before about the spiders hitting the high ground after the floods in Wagga Wagga earlier this year, but l still can't get over how disgusting (and frightening) it looks every time l am presented with a new set of photographs.
Disgusting. And who in their right mind would let their dog just walk through the webs?

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til, the rabbit with no ears

This is Til, a rabbit that was born in a zoo at Limbach-Oberfrohna with no ears. It looks outrageously cute and vulnerable, and the zoo publicised it's birth and played on the pity and cuteness angle to get some (probably much needed) publicity.
It was (probably - l'm guessing) named after Til Schweiger, who did the German comedy Keinohrhasen (No Ear Rabbits), which shows the Germans have a sense of humour (if my guesswork is correct).
All well and good, and nothing wrong with that at all.
Except........
One of the cameramen stood on it by mistake and killed it.
Yep, that is correct.
Dead.
Just think of how much grief that cameraman will get, and how bad he will be feeling.
Poor little bunny - l bet there were millions of homes and families that would have taken him in (including ours).

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philippine baby crocodiles

Ahh, they look kind of cute when they are born, but l wouldn't fancy bringing one of these up at home. They are Philippine baby Crocodiles, best left to get on with things by themselves, in the wild, and far away from me.

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brothers in leeds

There is an ongoing joke around these parts that 'my brother lives in Leeds'.  This is indeed true, and after l had finished work today, l drove him to Northallerton station to catch the train back there (he has been staying since last Thursday).  Peace and quiet at last (and a day off work tomorrow!).
But thinking about brothers, Tub's (our idiot house rabbit) brother died a while ago. Maybe though, he has another one, as the misserable and stupid looking git above sure looks like him, just a (slightly) fatter and lazier version (and the bloke looks like my brother nowadays).
I'll have to quiz the bunny about it later on tonight over a carrot or two while we watch the footie.

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super hero costumes for dogs

This makes me want to go out and steal a dog just so l can dress it up (not for the first time).
Costumes are available here.
Only $11.40!

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the stupid cat in the morning

The only trouble with being off work and then trying to have a lie in, is Jack, our stupid bleeding black and white cat.
She is about 21 years old, pretty death, blind and cronky nowadays. She also sleeps right outside of the bedroom door, and because she is used to the FPO getting up early every morning, she just meows constantly for her food to be put out at that time. It's no good shouting at her to shut up, as she can't hear us, so it's a matter of wearing earplugs or having to get up, trying to resist the temptation to boot her down the stairs for some peace and quiet (the cat, not the FPO). If there was any kind of God, she would have lost her voice, rather than her hearing. Bloody thing.

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