January 2012 Newsbytes archive

Two directors were mentioned by name in last month’s Newsbytes; Martin Scorsese and John Carpenter. Unfortunately, neither is making a furry movie, which would be awesome.

Fred: More on the death of the chimpanzee who may have been Cheetah.
Fred: Photos from Wired of 13 new animals and 1 new fungus discovered during 2011.
Higgs Raccoon: Wolfire Games releases Alpha Version 163 of Overgrowth.
Ringtailed Fox: ArtSpots.com closes its doors.
dronon: John Carpenter's The Thing, starring Pingu. (Not for the squeamish.)
Fred: A team of biologists has discovered that male spiders spy on their rivals during courtship ceremonies, so they can mimic and pinch their most successful dance moves.
Rakuen Growlithe: Cat survives euthanasia attempt... twice.
dronon: A Samurai Pizza Cat action figure may be coming out in Japan later this year.
GreenReaper: The full Taboo furry segment has appeared on YouTube, though who knows how long it'll stay up there. [HappyWulf]
Ringtailed Fox: Yet another kangaroo attack in Australia occurs. Is it overpopulation, stress, or are the kangaroos beginning to rise up against their human overlords?
Equivamp: Planet of the 'Roos. I blame Sonious.
Fred: Too much sex results in stay of execution for ram.
Sonious: Sydney Morning Herald piece on furries.
Fred: An extinct giant tortoise may be re-breedable.
Ringtailed Fox: Fans of StarFox will love this: StarFox vehicle figurines are coming to Japan!
GreenReaper: Furs on a boat (2011 Furry Cruise).
Higgs Raccoon: Publishing company Lulu.com are offering 25% off Paul Kidd's novels. Coupon code: LULUBOOKAU305, expires January 31. Maximum $50 savings. [OzFurry mailing list]
Fred: Global warming may make reptiles smarter.
Higgs Raccoon: Indian broadsheet DNA reviews Uud Bilaw Manus, a comic based on a Bhojpuri-speaking anthropomorphic sea otter.
GreenReaper: SFWeekly interviews Chairo on making fursuits.
Fred: World's smallest frog discovered in Papua New Guinea .
Higgs Raccoon: Article in the St. Helena Star: Teen designer discovers hot glue, faux fur and Pluffy.
dronon: That ostrich is totally checking you out.
dronon: Police wear tails at Glastonbury Festival.
crossaffliction: Rango wins its first televised animation award at the17th Critics Choice Movie Awards [Higgs Raccoon].
Rakuen Growlithe: Massive SoFurry 2.0 beta update with launch expected on 20 January.
Sonious: Russians use a husky/jackal hybrid in counter-terrorism operations.
crossaffliction: Given my predilections I found this interesting. [StephenTStone/Reddit]
Higgs Raccoon: My Little Pony Skyrim mod replaces dragons.
Fred: Near-extinct, never photographed monkeys rediscovered in Borneo.
Higgs Raccoon: Volkswagen's 2012 Super Bowl commercial features dogs barking the Imperial March from Star Wars.
Ringtailed Fox: Spider trips alarm at German bank.
Higgs Raccoon: Animal trainers call for new Oscar category for animal film stars.
crossaffliction: Uggie the dog is supposed to be the real star of Best Picture frontrunner The Artist.
GreenReaper: Bad Dragon has been reinstated.
GreenReaper: Grizzled langur monkey “rediscovered” in Indonesia. [tip: M Bunny]
GreenReaper: Missouri furs are fixing for a convention. No date yet, but there's a dance party fundraiser on Feb 2.
GreenReaper: Apparently the Firefox dev team is full of furries. [WagzTail e.p. 5, 7:42]
GreenReaper: SoFurry is switching to v2.0.
GreenReaper: Animals are the latest theme on Milan’s fashion catwalks. [tip: earthfurst]
GreenReaper: Tirrel's Rockoons 3 is out - spot the norn!
GreenReaper: Photo: an all-white blackbird.
Fred: A curious snow leopard in the Afghan mountains steals a camera trap.
Ringtailed Fox: Kung Fu Panda meets Mad Max.
Equivamp: A bit late, but SF Weekly was invited to Further Confusion 2012, and noted the fandom's individuality. Further Confusion's media director Chairo even gave them a three-page interview on fursuits.
GreenReaper: Another FC2012 article. [baracudaboy/furrymedia]
crossaffliction: Well, The Adventures of Tintin failed to receive a Best Animated Feature nomination, so Rango has that Oscar in the bag.
GreenReaper: The editor of the Baltimore Sun's youth tabloid b suggests a furry/plushie themed bar.
Higgs Raccoon: Chinese doctors remove volleyball from dolphin’s stomach.
Green Reaper: Siberian huskies have “more than tripled” in the UK in the last decade, while the English Setter is now vulnerable.
Fred: Watch a baby condor hatch and grow on live webcam.
Rakuen Growlithe: Minister kills cat by keeping it in a cage for a few days before throwing it off a bridge.
Fred:Jumping spiders have not only 8 eyes and hundreds of ears, they have 3-D vision.
Fred: What you always wanted to know: binturong’s butts smell like popcorn.
Fred: Gray wolves (well, wolf, singular) return to California, and he has lots of fans.
GreenReaper: Sea lions shot of Puget Sound.
banrai: New regulations regarding laboratory animals including more space. A step forward for vivisection?
Ringtailed Fox: Elderly Alaska woman saves hubby from ornery moose.
Ringtailed Fox: Calgary lion dies after surgery to remove cancer from spleen
dronon: A trailer for the upcoming anime film, Wolf Children.
dronon: A brief discussion of unfairly typecast species.
Fred: Poisonous mammals.
GreenReaper: Going to Furry Fiesta 2012? You have just over a day to pre-register.
GreenReaper: The DHS is monitoring “human to animal” tweets - do they think furries plan to use a virus to wipe out humanity?
dronon: From the creator of VVVVVV comes a short, silly cat simulator.
crossaffliction: Martin Scorsese points out his Oscar front running movie has a dog too. [Kristopher Tapley/In Contention]
Fred: Severe wild animal decline in Florida because pythons are eating them.