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Nintendo announces Super Smash Bros. 4 …& 5!
Author: crossaffliction
Surprising no one, Nintendo announced at this year’s E3 that it will release a new Super Smash Bros. for its forthcoming Wii U console. The fighting series includes furry Nintendo characters such as Fox McCloud and Lucario, plus guest character Sonic the Hedgehog.
Series creator Masahiro Sakurai has not ruled out the possibility of a release on the 3DS, which would be the first installment of the series on a handheld video game system.
The game or games, though definitely coming to at least the Wii U, are not yet in production. Sakurai’s studio, Sora, is currently working on the 3DS game Kid Icarus: Uprising, and may defer Super Smash Bros. until its completion, giving furry gamers plenty of time to petition for inclusion of their favorite characters.
story_3569_nintendo_announces_super_smash_bros._4_____and_5_.mp3
Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought
Creative Commons: Full post may be available under a free license.
Last U.K. Teddy Bear Factory Celebrates 80 Years
06/11/2011
By: Rainstar
The teddy bear is a soft and cuddly toy that many, if not all, of us have owned at one point or another in our lives. This icon of childhood has been around as long as anyone can remember. 80 years ago in Telford of Shropshire county United Kingdom, a teddy bear manufacturing factory opened its doors and released its first catalog of their fuzzy friends. The factory, known as Merrythought ltd., is still alive and thriving; pumping out new designs and different bears each year. Not only is it a factory, but Merrythought contains a gift shop and museum dedicated to the history of the teddy bear and the company itself. Besides staying in business since 1931, what makes this factory so interesting is the fact that Merrythought is the last surviving teddy bear factory in the U.K.
I visited Merrythought last January when I was touring the United Kingdom with my family. Located a mere ½ mile upstream from the infamous Iron Bridge, the factory sports tall iron gates topped with festive teddy bear heads. A life-size (or rather, a very large) teddy bear statue wearing classic London Beefeater attire stands sentry just outside the museum; greeting passerby’s with a dignified air. Upon entering the museum, (if memory serves me correctly) a large chest housing several different bear designs from over the years beams down at you. A friendly clerk greets you at the door and will gladly answer your questions.
Gordon Holmes founded the Merrythought business in 1930. Like any business, Merrythought has experienced its share of ups and downs. In 1935, despite the Great Depression, the factory became the largest soft toy factory in Great Britain. During World War II, the Iron Bridge site was requisitioned by the U.K. armed forces and the factory began producing war materials. The organization was released from its military duties in 1946. In November 2006, the company voluntarily dissolved in response to, “…the ongoing effects of external economics.” More specifically, cheaply produced goods from foreign countries – against which Merrythought could not compete. The company remained closed until January 2007 when a media and social outcry rescued the company.
Oliver Holmes, grandson of founder Gordon Holmes, joined the company in 1972. Eventually, Oliver inherited the company from his father, Trayton Holmes, and became the head of Merrythought. He remained as such until his recent death in April. His daughter, Sarah Holmes, has since succeeded him.
Despite the loss of Oliver Holmes, the future could not be brighter for the Merrythought teddy bear factory. Most of the factory space (namely the large buildings outside the museum) has been rented to other corporations. Due to this, the factory has been unofficially renamed, “Merrythought Village.” Also, the London Olympic Games organizers have selected Merrythought to produce the official teddy bears for the London 2012 Olympics.
Furries in the World of Sex
I recently noticed that the furry fandom seems to be referred to in one of AIDES' other safe-sex campaigns. "The World of Sex" (NSFW) is a detailed drawing of a fictional sex-themed amusement park. One area seems to depict people in fursuits engaging in sex, and is labelled the "Enchanted Furry Forest". (So, yes, stereotyping all furries as fursuiters, and all fursuiters as using their costumes for sex.)
As it happens, the French-language version of the illustration instead labels the area "La Foret Frivole" ("The Frivolous Forest").
2 people die as bear flies through SUV
Via CNN
A bizarre auto accident involving two vehicles and a bear has left two people and the bear dead, Canadian authorities said.
Police in Quebec said a 300-pound male black bear wandered onto a road and was struck by an eastbound Pontiac Sunfire. The impact sent the animal hurtling through the air, where it smashed the windshield of a westbound Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle and went out through the back window, regional police spokesman Officer Martin Fournel said.
Find the full article here: furryne.ws | Published News
My Little Pony Corrals Unlikely Fanboys Known as ‘Bronies’
The 32-year-old, who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, loves his daily fix of My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, and he’s not alone. He’s part of a growing group of “bronies” (“bro ponies”) — men who are fans of a TV show largely intended for a much younger audience.
“First we can’t believe this show is so good, then we can’t believe we’ve become fans for life, then we can’t believe we’re walking down the pink aisle at Toys R Us or asking for the girl’s toy in our Happy Meal,” Allen said in an e-mail to Wired.com. “Then we can’t believe our friends haven’t seen it yet, then we can’t believe they’re becoming bronies too.”
Every nerd has a favorite TV show they watch religiously and know inside and out. But My Little Pony seems like an unlikely object of fanboy love. Since the show debuted last fall on cable channel Hub TV, it’s attracted a growing number of male fanatics. Their love of the show is internet neo-sincerity at its best: In addition to watching the show, these teenage, twenty- and thirtysomething guys are creating pony art, posting fan videos on YouTube and feeding threads on 4chan (and their own chan, Ponychan).
They also risk life, limb and being trolled to death on the /co/ board to fawn over a small gaggle of ponies with names like Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.
Dogs Likely Born with 'Canine Telepathy'
Practice makes perfect, however, so the more a dog hangs around humans, the better he or she becomes at "canine telepathy," which actually relies upon hyperawareness of the senses.
Those of us who have owned or been around dogs for any period of time know how well they often "get" us, sensing tiredness, depression, headaches or other maladies before we consciously exhibit any major outward signs of distress. Dogs can even detect when a person has cancer. They also seem to sense our joy and good health.
Monique Udell and her team from the University of Florida wondered why dogs are so clever at reading us, and how they accomplish this feat. Are dogs born with the ability to sense our mental states, or do canines learn from experience?
To explore these questions and more, Udell and her team carried out two experiments involving both wolves and dogs. In the experiments, the two sets of animals were given the opportunity to beg for food, either from an attentive person or from a person unable to see the potential begger.
The researchers showed for the first time that wolves, like domestic dogs, are capable of begging successfully for food by approaching the attentive human. This demonstrates that both species - domesticated and non-domesticated - have the capacity to behave in accordance with a human's attentional state. They are therefore likely born with the ability, since wolves would not have had much practice, which the typical pet dog gains by begging for treats during dinner and at other times.
Some dogs were better at reading people than others were, however. Shelter dogs were not nearly as good as pampered house pooches, demonstrating that exposure to humans allows dogs to hone their natural people-reading skills more.
According to the researchers, "These results suggest that dogs' ability to follow human actions stems from a willingness to accept humans as social companions, combined with conditioning to follow the limbs and actions of humans to acquire reinforcement. The type of attentional cues, the context in which the command is presented, and previous experience are all important."
2 people die as bear flies through SUV
Police in Quebec said a 300-pound male black bear wandered onto a road and was struck by an eastbound Pontiac Sunfire. The impact sent the animal hurtling through the air, where it smashed the windshield of a westbound Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle and went out through the back window, regional police spokesman Officer Martin Fournel said.
Eye of the Tiger: Interview – 2 Gryphon
2 Gryphon Furry Commedian
Kell Bengal and Kraden band together for ‘Eye of the Tiger’, a new sideline segment run by Kell asking the in-depth questions on various topics.
This episode we interview 2 Gryphon, a high-line furry personality, professional comedian with a knack for making a point/firey indifference, and general interesting fellow. In this interview we ask 2 not about his works so far, but about his means behind them. He reveals a deeper and more engaging mind at work behind his on-stage and on-show character. What was planned to be a 20 minute Q&A turned into an hour of in-depth tantalising conversation from ‘the Aristocrats’ to Malcom X.
His home-page, vod-cast, archive and rants can be found at www.Ranting-gryphon.com
A little bit about 2… (source: Wikifur)
Born in August 1972, 2 has been a performer for most of his life. He began as a rock guitarist in the 1980?s. He then ventured into the sci-fi and fantasy fields, doing comedy events at conventions during the 1990?s.
The weekly 2sense show and his insightful rants gave him a sudden rise in popularity in the fandom as someone willing to say what many were thinking, even if they were merely his own opinions.
As a member of the furry fandom, he has a gryphon fursona. His name allegedly came to him in a dream about the creature. He regularly attends furry conventions and often performs stand up there. He has been the guest of honor at Califur 0, Oklacon 2004, Rocket City FurMeet 2005, Feral! 2006 and RBW 2007. He is also currently on staff at Furry Weekend Atlanta, Rocket City Furmeet and was a founding member of Furry Connection North.
2 formerly resided in Arkansas, USA, in a social collective of fellow furry fans/artists (“furs”), known as the North Arkansas Regional Furry Association (NARFA), and also formerly lived in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He now currently resides in Los Angeles, California
Kung Fu Panda 2 :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews
Via RogerEbert.com
“Kung Fu Panda 2″ is exactly as you’d expect, and more. The animation is elegant, the story is much more involving than in the original, and there’s boundless energy. I enjoyed it as fully as I possibly could, given the horror of its 3-D. The original film, in 2-D wide-screen, was just fine. But never mind. Hollywood has brainwashed us (or itself) that 3-D is an improvement and not an annoyance.
What’s best about this sequel is that it’s not a dutiful retread of the original, but an ambitious extension. Of the many new elements, not least is the solution of the mystery of how Mr. Ping, a goose, could be the biological father of Po, a panda. In the original film, as nearly as I can recall, every character represented a different species, so I thought perhaps inscrutable reproductive processes were being employed. But no, Po’s parenthood is explained here, and it has a great deal to do with new developments in the kingdom.
Finish reading at RogerEbert.com:Kung Fu Panda 2
Editor’s note: The best part about this is the last paragraph:
Speaking of “Panda 3,” I wonder if the relationship between Po and Tigress will advance from its current status as what might be called a warm friendship. Tigress seems to occupy a favored position in Po’s heart, reopening the possibility of cross-species pollination.
Find the full article here: furryne.ws | Published News
Dogs Likely Born with ‘Canine Telepathy’
Via Discovery
Dogs are so in tune with us that they can read our minds, according to a new Learning & Behavior study that also determined canines are probably born with the ability.
Practice makes perfect, however, so the more a dog hangs around humans, the better he or she becomes at “canine telepathy,” which actually relies upon hyperawareness of the senses.
Those of us who have owned or been around dogs for any period of time know how well they often “get” us, sensing tiredness, depression, headaches or other maladies before we consciously exhibit any major outward signs of distress. Dogs can even detect when a person has cancer. They also seem to sense our joy and good health.
Monique Udell and her team from the University of Florida wondered why dogs are so clever at reading us, and how they accomplish this feat. Are dogs born with the ability to sense our mental states, or do canines learn from experience?
To explore these questions and more, Udell and her team carried out two experiments involving both wolves and dogs. In the experiments, the two sets of animals were given the opportunity to beg for food, either from an attentive person or from a person unable to see the potential begger.
The researchers showed for the first time that wolves, like domestic dogs, are capable of begging successfully for food by approaching the attentive human. This demonstrates that both species – domesticated and non-domesticated – have the capacity to behave in accordance with a human’s attentional state. They are therefore likely born with the ability, since wolves would not have had much practice, which the typical pet dog gains by begging for treats during dinner and at other times.
Some dogs were better at reading people than others were, however. Shelter dogs were not nearly as good as pampered house pooches, demonstrating that exposure to humans allows dogs to hone their natural people-reading skills more.
According to the researchers, “These results suggest that dogs’ ability to follow human actions stems from a willingness to accept humans as social companions, combined with conditioning to follow the limbs and actions of humans to acquire reinforcement. The type of attentional cues, the context in which the command is presented, and previous experience are all important.”
Vote for the article here: furryne.ws | Published News
Review: ‘Fuzzy Nation’ by John Scalzi
Author: Fred
H. Beam Piper’s “Little Fuzzy” (1962) was about the discovery of a small, cute, furry mammal on the planet Zarathustra, and the battle against the Charatered Zarathustra Company to have the Fuzzies recognized as intelligent natives.
Now John Scalzi has rewritten the same story, but with plenty of big differences. Fans of Piper’s Hugo-nominated novel can debate whether the original needed a revision, but none can deny that Scalzi’s version is enjoyable in its own right.
Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought
Creative Commons: Full post may be available under a free license.
Wanna hear a good band in the fandom?
Guide dog aids blind owner AND former leading labrador after he loses sight
After six years of loyal service, Graham Waspe was devastated when his guide dog Edward was left blind after developing cataracts.
But his devastation turned to joy when his replacement Opal turned out to be a real gem.
Mr Waspe’s new dog is not just aiding his owner to carry out everyday tasks, but also helping Edward to get around.
Find the full article here: furryne.ws | Published News
My Little Pony Corrals Unlikely Fanboys Known as ‘Bronies’
Each day, out-of-work computer programmer Luke Allen self-medicates by watching animated ponies have magical adventures.
Luke Allen, one of a growing number My Little Pony fanboys known as “bronies,” poses with two action figures from McDonald's Happy Meals. Photo courtesy Luke Allen
The 32-year-old, who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, loves his daily fix of My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, and he’s not alone. He’s part of a growing group of “bronies” (“bro ponies”) — men who are fans of a TV show largely intended for a much younger audience.
“First we can’t believe this show is so good, then we can’t believe we’ve become fans for life, then we can’t believe we’re walking down the pink aisle at Toys R Us or asking for the girl’s toy in our Happy Meal,” Allen said in an e-mail to Wired.com. “Then we can’t believe our friends haven’t seen it yet, then we can’t believe they’re becoming bronies too.”
Every nerd has a favorite TV show they watch religiously and know inside and out. But My Little Pony seems like an unlikely object of fanboy love. Since the show debuted last fall on cable channel Hub TV, it’s attracted a growing number of male fanatics. Their love of the show is internet neo-sincerity at its best: In addition to watching the show, these teenage, twenty- and thirtysomething guys are creating pony art, posting fan videos on YouTube and feeding threads on 4chan (and their own chan, Ponychan).
They also risk life, limb and being trolled to death on the /co/ board to fawn over a small gaggle of ponies with names like Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.
Find the full article here: furryne.ws | Published News
New guide dog helps wounded airman
Via WTNH.com [tip:@Talliy]
- By: Keith Kountz
Hartford, Conn (WTNH) – Back in December we introduced you to a Airforce Senior Airman who was blinded by an explosive in Afghanistan, and now 23-year old Micahel Malarsie continues to regain his independence, with help from the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation .
Malarsie walked into the studios of Clear Channel radio in Hartford this morning with his family, and his new best friend X-on at his side.
“I wake up in the morning, and whether we’re going to the grocery store, or the mall, or to eat, anywhere I go I get to take him with me,” Malarsie said.
It was January of last year when Malarsie was blinded by an improvised explosive device while on a routine patrol in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Finish reading story: New guide dog helps wounded airman: wtnh.com
Re: New CN Looney Tunes show?
this crapfest any longer. Was extremely disappointed to see that they
made her an excruciatingly annoying ditz :^(
Ron
Human & Bovine Genes Spliced – Brave Moo World
Udderly creepy! Scientists in China have created a herd of 300 cows that produce human breast milk, according to Sky News, and the hu-moo juice should be available on Chinese supermarket shelves in three years. Using transgenic and cloning technology similar to that which produced Dolly the sheep, cloned cow embryos were injected with human genes and then implanted into surrogate cows.
Workers at University of Beijing’s dairy farm say the result–identical to human breast milk with the same antibacterial and immune-boosting qualities:
is sweeter and stronger than the usual bovine variety
Genetically modified food is popular in China where GM papayas, tomatoes, potatoes, and cooking oil are already widely available for sale. The team at University of Beijing have already produced animals that are resistant to mad cow disease, as well as beef cattle that are genetically modified to produce more nutritious meat. The Chinese government recently approved insect-resistant rice and corn modified to help pigs absorb more nutrients.
Catch a video on the Transgenic Cows at GizModo