Fluffcation
2009 October 27
Y’all, we are on fluffcation till further notice. We are posting nothing thought-provoking, drama-inducing, or troll-tempting for the immediate future. Anyone who says anything remotely controversial in comments will be thoroughly scolded.
Instead, we will all talk about lemurs:
That lemur look, by ucumari
LEMURS!
They have Halloween eyes.
Lemurs do hand jives: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpark_42/1466905006/
Also double dutch: http://www.flickr.com/photos/floridapfe/3621995980/
leeeeeeeeeemurs!!! so cute!
i got to touch one once. it kinda held my finger like an infant would. it effin’ rocked. much better than when the deer bit me on the ass that same trip…
I love ring-tailed lemurs!
How’s this for fluff: one of our two cats missed us so much over a 3 night absence that he spent ALL NIGHT last night trampling me, chirping, and trying to shove his (cold wet) nose up my nose. Cute. Not restful. Asshole cat.
Awww, cuuute!
by the way, it turns out that the Germans have a word for people who go “Awww, cuute!” at animals/babies/etc. :D
Maybe if those lemurs put down the donuts and started exercising I would think they are cute. But you can’t make me think that fat lemurs are cute.
The Bald Soprano, what is the word they use?
“Süßfinder”
Lemurs make me wish that I had a pretty tail!
We think our cat Moxie (of BMI Project fame) might be part lemur, because she has one very faint grey ring on her (black) tail.
Sorry, that’s literally sweet-finder
Makes sense. Süß!
Lucy Too, check out this tail.
Now THAT is an amazing tail.
Lemurs are pretty damn cute, but can they dance like cockatoos?
(let’s hope the html works…)
Since I’m allergic to cats…
One of our four guinea pigs has a big crush on my husband. Unlike dogs, guinea pigs do not usually bond with humans, so this is unusual, but this little guy will prop himself up on the sides of his cage and give Ed kisses, and if I’m holding him and Ed sits down next to me, he’ll immediately jump over to Ed’s lap. I’ve caught the two of them snuggling together in our marital bed.
Should I be jealous? Of my husband, I mean. I have needs after all, needs for furry critter snuggles.
I adore lemurs! They’re part cat, part human. Wait, are they primates? I know they’re related somehow.
@rosemary riveter: our cats have been especially needy lately, as well. One of them sleeping on me and NOT MOVING. And by NOT MOVING, I mean that I rolled over completely and he simply adjusted to stay on top of me. He has also been demanding pettings to the point that he will simply head butt my hands repeatedly until I pet him (more). Keeping my hands under the covers worked for a while, but now he looks around for them and starts wailing. All this has progressed over the course of about 5 days, as the weather gets colder. Hmmmmm.
I, personally, adore llamas and alpacas. Anyone who plays stupid facebook games, this morning I got to level 20 in Island Paradise and was finally able to buy llamas for my island. w00t!!!
@elise, I don’t know if they are considered primates. What I do know is that there was a common ancestor of modern monkeys and lemurs, and when Madagascar split off from the rest of Africa, the ancestor evolved one way into lemurs (on Madagascar) and another way into monkeys (everywhere else).
My other cat looks like a lemur. She has the same permanently startled expression.
(and envy me: I just came back from my friend’s, where I saw three weeks old lionhead rabbit babies :))
@rosemary riveter: our cats have been especially needy lately, as well. One of them sleeping on me and NOT MOVING. And by NOT MOVING, I mean that I rolled over completely and he simply adjusted to stay on top of me. He has also been demanding pettings to the point that he will simply head butt my hands repeatedly until I pet him (more). Keeping my hands under the covers worked for a while, but now he looks around for them and starts wailing. All this has progressed over the course of about 5 days, as the weather gets colder. Hmmmmm.
Funny. One of our cats has been especially needy for about two weeks now. Maybe it’s the onset of winter? Do non-humans get seasonal depression? Maybe I should make the cat sit in front of my light box.
Elise: Yes, lemurs are primates.
Did y’all know that there’s a lemur species named after John Cleese? I laughed really hard at his PBS show on lemurs^.
FLUFFY STRIPEY TAILS.
I think I’ve finally made friends with my roommate’s cat. A couple of days ago I picked him up, and for the first time he did not immediately try to get down. Instead, he put his head on my chest and started purring. Awww!
He’s a timid sort but a pain in the ass when he wants feeding (which is most of the time), and I spent a long time resenting him for not being my beloved cat who died in 2006 after 17 years. Not logical, but I freaking loved my Nickey, and I never really got to know any other cat until now.
Heck yes lemurs! They are without a doubt my favourite animals to draw at the zoo. They make such good shapes with themselves!
I have, however, always thought that that wide-eyed look they have on their faces all the time always makes them look as if they fear someone has just found their porn.
FLUFFY STRIPEY TAILS.
and GLOWY YELLOW EYES.
Also, MEERCKATS!
I present for your amusement an entire page of lemur pictures.
Elise: lemurs are part of the primate order! They are lemuriformes lemuridae, and are the best part about learning the primate tree in Introduction to Physical Anthropology. They share with their human (distant cousins) binocular vision and grasping hands (but no opposable thumbs, alas alas).
However, if we do not categorize lemurs in the Linnaean system of classification, but instead use the ZOMG KAYOOT system of classification, lemurs are not very closely related to humans at all. In fact, in the zomg kayoot system of classification, lemurs are known as slinky-yet adorabilidae. They are close cousins of meerkats, (suricat suricatta or pertand adorabilidae) and kittens (felis catus or icanhazbacon adorabilidae).
Additionally, in the zomg kayoot classification system, friendly German shepherds, ducklings, and Sendak’s Wild Things are all closer relatives of the lemur than humans are.
I am missing the cute factor here.
They look like some weird alien/ rat crossbreed to me.
Gross.
I once had a teacher who referred to farting as “fluffing”, and would stride around with her nostrils twitching trying to figure out who fluffed so that they could be sent to the bathroom. Much mocking ensued, of course, but it does cross my (utterly juvenile) mind when I see “Friday Fluff”.
Fluffcation made me snicker: being sent to the bathroom by Ms. NostrilTwitch because someone farted.
AnthroK8, I shall have to study this zomg kayoot system of classification further. I believe I can find reference material at a site having something to do with cheezburgers.
I guess I do remember something from my physical anthro. class. That was many moons ago.
Adorabilidae. Snort!
I LOVE lemurs! That John Cleese documentary on lemurs was awesome. They have such tiny, wonderfully articulated little hands.
My beloved is a zoologist and he arranged for me to cuddle a black-and-white ruffed lemur at London Zoo. Oh, I love him so much.
They also had a very sleepy kinkajou which was adorable. In zomg kayoot taxnomy the kinkajou is a hybrid between a monkey and a kitten, although in the Linnaean system it is closer to raccoons.
Llamas, you say?
I think I just like lemurs because that word is so much fun to say.
Leeeeemurs. Lemuuuurs. Lemurs…llellellellemmmmuuurs.
HELP.
Lemurs! And cockatoos!
I’m getting a bad nostalgia attack…anyone here British and old enough to remember Animal Magic?
All right, everybody, let’s stop derailing this thread with talk of other mammals. SM clearly stated that this thread was to be about lemurs.
LEMURS!
@lume, then SM must go down as well, since she brought up her ring-tailed cats.
I disagree with your fluff!
Liturgical geekout: We’re coming up on the feast of All Saints, which started off as the Christianized version of the Roman feast of Lemuria. All Saints was originally put in mid-May to depaganize Lemuria, but then was moved centuries later to October to do the same thing to Celtic Samhain.
Ah, crap, now I’m veering toward controversy. SELF, WATCH OUT OR I’LL BANNINATE YOU!
I am missing the cute factor here.
They look like some weird alien/ rat crossbreed to me.
Gross.
I KNEW EVEN LEMURS WOULD BE CONTROVERSIAL! Fucking internet!
That’s it. From now on, this blog will be about nothing but socks.
(mcm, if it’s not clear, that was me joking, not scolding. Although the blog might just be about socks for a while.)
Kate,
Make sure it’s the RIGHT socks. Poor socks can make your feet sweaty and stinky.
Although the blog might just be about socks for a while.
Put socks on those lemurs and you’ve got yourself a deal.
SM, my dog’s name is Moxie. Best pet name ever! (Also, a student of mine brought your namesake Doty poem to class last week. That’s one hell of a good poem. I hadn’t read it in some time.)
Regarding socks: I’m currently knitting some. Handmade wool socks keep my toes so warm!
@Siobhan
She said her cat was *part lemur*, which I assumed was still acceptable. ;-)
On a related note, love to Sweet Machine, Fillyjonk, A Sarah, and Kate. You are amazing.
How about sock puppets? I could be up for a blog about sock puppets. Better yet, how about sock puppets with lemur faces and striped tails?
I remember Animal Magic!
I shall de-lurk just to say “Aw, lemurs!”
Somehow lemur threads are way less scary to delurk in.
Aww lemurs! So cute. So fun to say!
On needy kitties: mine too! She’s been so incredibly needy for a few weeks but I had attributed it to her accidental fall out of the window a few weeks ago. No worries, we’re on the first floor so she was not hurt but she’s an indoor kitty that hasn’t been out in 3 years. We were both traumatized.
Where in the ZOMG KAYOOT system would baby galagos be? -
http://woodlandparkzblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/galago-twins-born.html
Bushbabies, that is, for the rest of us. They’re in the Strepsirrhini with lemurs so they ought to be allowable here, yes?
Stop it with the cute baby animals. You are making my ovaries ache.
Female social dominance was first observed in the Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta). Since then, many, but not all, species of lemurs have been found to demonstrate female social dominance including the Crowned Lemur (Eulemur coronatus) and the Gray Mouse Lemur (Microcebus murinus).
Hmmmm. We may be into controversial territory here.
But I do love me some hand knitted socks.
Also, a student of mine brought your namesake Doty poem to class last week.
Yay! I met Doty once, before I started blogging, and I always wonder if, should I ever meet him again, I will feel compelled to confess that I kinda messed with his google-ability.
Ok, fine. I will no longer derail with cockatoos. Would you prefer dancing lemurs?
Yeah, that’s right. But I still prefer the birds :)
(*sigh* and I hate having to wear socks.)
I’m going home to knit a lemur sock puppet.
Oh, and I love me some Smartwool socks. Not as good as handknit, but easier to come by.
@Meems–I hate wearing socks, too, unless they are very fuzzy and it is very cold outside. Sock puppets, on the other hand, I get along fine with.
My dad and I took a trip to Alabama (from NY) a couple of years ago. On the way there we saw a lemur being furtively smuggled into an SUV by a weirdly photogenic family of five in a rest stop parking lot. I’ve always wondered what the story was.
I think other mammals are probably fine.
I have a lemur hat.
Ooh, Ashley, guinea pig crushes are the cutest! I had a pig named George, who had a crush on my roommate’s small dog. It was wary but requited. George would come running out of his hideyhouse and stare at the dog, nose to nose through the cage side, and the dog would stare back, till they’d both suddenly start and jump, and then go right back to staring transfixed.
I have to admit, I’m really partial to head-butting, cage-match-ready, red pandas:
Eucritta, I think bushbabies would probably be something like gigantic-ocularus adorabilidae. Although, I’d say the commenter above who mentioned the “looking like someone found the porn stash” thing could apply the same argument to bushbabies. They’re so “who? me?!”
Also,Siobhan re: this– “Make sure it’s the RIGHT socks. Poor socks can make your feet sweaty and stinky.”
Given the political inclinations of the mods, wouldn’t this be a case for LEFT socks? Otherwise the lemur sock puppets might invent e-mail personas in order to show up on this thread. Then they’ll start saying mean things about bushbabies, siamangs, and other primates. They’ll be lemur-sock-puppet-trolls.
Our feet will never be safe again and we’ll all know we’ve gone down the internet rabbit hole.
*do not wish to grade papers*
I have a lemur hat.
I hope that’s a hat crafted to resemble a lemur, because lemur fur doesn’t look lush enough to get one through the hard, cold winter.
Keen makes left and right socks, for the centrist in you.
Also, I want to know more about the lemur hat, please.
Meems, I like both videos. :-) Leapfrogging lemurs!
Though I did wonder whether the cockatoo was also responsible for the horrible screaming noise that started up a minute or two in (not the intermittent whistles), or if there was another culprit.
I once danced with my bellydance troupe at an event that featured lemurs like the ones above. I don’t know why there were lemurs at a multicultural fair, in retrospect that seems weird, but one of them climbed up on one of our cutest dancers and the result was sincerely splodeworthy. I did not have a camera at the time, alas.
In person, those things are kinda freaky. They have knowing eyes and very human hands. Also, their tails are really impressively strong, like a tentacle.
I second the Smartwool socks. You can fit shoes over them–I have feet on the larger end of the size spectrum, so I can’t half-szie up easily.
I even got some with no-slip dots on the bottom. Yay!
Candy corn calls. It is a chilly, rainy finally-fall day here, and that just calls for cozy socks and candy corn.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosemarygrace/3212281836/
Behold the nose that kept me awake all night (my cat Tali). He may not be a ring-tailed lemur, but he looks a bit like a tree panda.
I have ALWAYS wanted a pet lemur, like seriously. And then I got a cat about a year and a half ago. And she sort of looks like a lemur. If you talk to her, she gives you that same wide-eyed ‘Omigod, wtf, BBQ?’ sort of look. And her tail is all long and fluffy. She’s a mix of Pepe LePue and King Julien (the Lemur King from Madagascar if anyone remembers.)
Tomorrow’s post should be about Sugar Gliders D:< They are equally, if not more-so, adorable. And are pocket sized!
SM: I don’t think I am responsible enough for bipartisan/centrist socks. Or, my washing machine is too hostile for them. This depends on whether or nto you believe the consistant disappearance of socks in my house is due to my laziness or the machine’s sock-nibbling tendencies.
If all my socks are the same, I have a fighting chance of at least being able to wear mismatched socks of approximate similarity when one of a pair goes missing. If I had left and right socks, I just know all of my left ones would disappear and I’d be left only with rights.
Then I’d have to turn some inside out or go without foot coverings on one appendage.
My feet: they have to live in a one-party state.
Oh, so, my mom is a bit of a lemur freak. I adopted her a lemur through the National Wildlife Foundation for Mother’s Day a couple of years ago, and she set the picture* they sent her as her computer desktop. The really freaky thing was, we realized its eyes would follow you around the room.
* Not of her individual lemur, or anything.
Going out with mismatched socks doesn’t seem so bad to me today. On Sunday I discovered (after I’d gotten home, of course) that I went to breakfast and the farmer’s market with mismatched shoes. Ugh.
Lemurs! I love those bright orange eyes. However, they are not *quite* as cute as baby sloths.
I, personally, adore llamas and alpacas. Anyone who plays stupid facebook games, this morning I got to level 20 in Island Paradise and was finally able to buy llamas for my island. w00t!!!
Hee! How is that game so addicting? One of my friends works for them, so I started playing out of solidarity, and now I’m all “must… buy… more chickens!” I’m only on level 9, so I’m still excited for when I can buy sheep.
AS: All Saints is amazing. And I’m so glad you mentioned it, elsewise I’d have forgotten it was this Sunday and missed For All the Saints. And, with any luck, Who Are These Like Stars. Why yes, I am Anglican, how did you know?!
fat nutritionist: I have been trying to refind that video for quite some time. Thanks!!
Those sloths are cute but aren’t some sloths horrifying? Didn’t we talk about horrifying sloths a while back?
I love socks. I would wear lemur-inspired socks.
Awww. Speaking of “adopting” animals, I did that once through Tiger Haven which is a big cat sanctuary in Tennessee. Their website has good pictures for anyone similarly in love with big cats.
Katia, I think you’re thinking of (prehistoric) giant sloths (and this thread).
@MissPrism: Yes!
I still can’t go to a zoo without doing ‘what this animal is thinking’ commentaries in Johnny Morris-esque voices.
Also, I thought the song about Gemini the seal was soooooo silly at the time…but years later I can still remember the tune. Aargh.
And what about newbie pandas?
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/featured_pets/Critters/KD/Saran.jpg Coatimundi… another striped tail special.
My brother insists he shall name his firstborn Screaming Lemur . Our mom is not impressed.
I have a sock problem. A serious one. I have two sock drawers, one for short socks and one for knee socks and over the knee socks…and another drawer for tights… sockdreams.com is my downfall.
I once danced with my bellydance troupe at an event that featured lemurs like the ones above.
I briefly misinterpreted this as saying that your troupe danced like lemurs, and was excited. (I have a friend who does a really good lemur impression, actually, and you could work it into a dance.)
I have an NDA about the lemur hat, in the sense that I don’t want to tell anyone where it’s from because I want it all to myself. But yes, it’s not made of lemur, and it’s actually probably really easy to google up. :)
I’m all for fluffcation and pictures of cute animals. This blog has totally blown my mind over the past couple of months. Too much thinking for me. :-)
My 4 year old son Tate wanted to know about Lemurs, so I put on Meems’ vid for him. “Oh,” he nodded, “They’re called Lemurs because they leem.”
Right. Leem-ers.
Okay… if it’s the lemur hat revealed by a brief google search, your hat wins Winter. (I don’t really need a lemur hat, since I have plenty of other hats. I just wanted to behold it. And now I have beheld. And there was joy.)
I was gonna say, lemurs are named for ghosts (lemures in Latin; also called larvae, spirits or ghosts). Supposedly hostile spirits, specifically, which I guess isn’t very fluffy. I didn’t know that All Saints had originally been in May to appropriate the Lemuria (I always liked that the Lemuria was on the 9th, 11th, and 13th, but not the 10th or 12th, even days being unlucky); I’d only heard the bit about Samhain. Though obviously one of Christianity’s first big footholds was in Rome, so that makes sense.
So I guess that’s the Pagan version of a liturgical geekout. :)
I am so very happy to hear John Cleese has a lemur named for him; I saw that show he did on them years ago and it was such a marvel and a delight to see a grown man so happy. He was just a giddy melting pile of goo when faced with an actual lemur. It was so sweet!
Also, I loved his line about being in Madagascar, because it was “the only place in the world Michael Palin hasn’t been.”
Here is another kinda cute in a Halloweeny way prosimian:
Lemurs! I LOVE lemurs!!!! Doesn’t everyone?!?!?!
Morte (and other Sock Dreams lovers)
Since I have so little to brag about I can’t resist telling you that I drive (or ride the bus) past the Sock Dreams headquarters every day!
Also, if anyone else likes to tell cute animals where to go, you should really check out f-u penguin. That site will crack you up.
Oh God, y’all, someone on my Facebook feed posted about coconut crabs today!!! I had the worst flashbacks!!!!!! (Though I admit it was slightly amusing to watch the innocent people Googling and going “OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT AND WHY IS IT ON MY PLANET?!?”
I’m going to go stare at pictures of cute puppies for a while and try not to think of them becoming crab food.
DRST
@Lume, I’m not sure if it’s Snowball or the other bird making that awful blender noise. I really have a thing for birds, though – had parakeets as pets growing up and always wanted a conure.
@Arwen, your son is clearly adorable.
Well, they’re not lemurs, but they are fluffy and adorable: live webcam of the pandas at the San Diego Zoo
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam/index.html
you’re welcome
I had to babysit a young wallaby once, for work. It was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. It looked like a strangely elongated rabbit, walking on its hind legs.
“They’re called Lemurs because they leem.”
LOL
Starling, how the hell did this wallaby-sitting happen?!? You have the best life.
Another extremely cute stripey-tailed critter, the ringtail cat:
http://www.uwyo.edu/benkman/ringtail.jpg
These little guys are native to arid regions in the US West, and are related to raccoons. They’re also sometimes called ‘miner’s cats,’ especially in older accounts; they’re reportedly easy to tame, and were kept as pets by prospectors.
I was at work one fine summer evening when a call came in of a lady with a medical problem. She was staying at one of the local motels. She had to be rushed to the emergency room, but she left a baby wallaby at the motel. The manager didn’t know what to do for it, and our local Animal Control was at a loss. So we contacted the wallaby-rescue people with whom she was associated, and until they showed up, I got to be on wallaby-sitting duty. They’re cuddly little suckers.
That was such an unpredictable job. I loved it. And who knew there were wallaby-rescue people in the continental US?
Is it bad that I choose my employment based solely on its probable entertainment value to me?
Starling, are you kidding? That’s the definition of “good.”
Is it bad that I choose my employment based solely on its probable entertainment value to me?
Not at all! The main reason I’m in grad school is that my post-college jobs all bored me to tears.
Other striped critters:
http://www.beedogs.com/index_files/page0001.htm
I love the more “unusual” aby-animals:
baby aardvark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HytkgcbQXoU
baby tapir
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHMlmBb03oY
baby okapi
OMG, iiii, I attended a pet costume contest last Halloween, and I was like, “GO, BEE DOG! GO, BEE DOG!” the whole time, but the bee dog did not win.
“We’re coming up on the feast of All Saints, which started off as the Christianized version of the Roman feast of Lemuria. All Saints was originally put in mid-May to depaganize Lemuria, but then was moved centuries later to October to do the same thing to Celtic Samhain.”
*hears triumphant orchestration flanking narration in 3D*
*waits for fanfiction*
*grabs left and right socks*
Ooh, we’re talking about pets in costumes now? This is Zoe, my friend/neighbor’s French Bulldog: http://bit.ly/1K85wO I’m not entirely sure she likes being a pumpkin.
Kate: how is it possible for a non Bee Dog to win a costume contest? How? HOW?
Well… my dog will be wearing a flowery shower cap with holes for the ears and my housemate will be wearing a non-sexy red cape and dress combo, and her 7-ft boyfriend will be wearing Paul Bunyon gear. As a trio, THEY might win over a Bee Dog.
But solo? A Bee Dog should just trump, really, everything there is.
Meems, it’s because she wants to be a BEE DOG. Of course.
Aminal pics: Awwwwww!
(mcm, if it’s not clear, that was me joking, not scolding. Although the blog might just be about socks for a while.)
But do you make your own socks? Knit or crochet? :P
Liturgical derailing: I’m an Episcopalian m’self.
How have I lived without knowing about ringtail miner cats ere now?
I’m glad I’m not the only one here who has pet guinea pigs-I’m 41 years old and still have a rodent fixation. They aren’t for my daughter, they’re for me. What can I say? I just love them. Its my inner child playing. :)
I have a hot dog:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eucritta/2984264295/in/set-72157603416812982/
As long as it’s nothing but fluff, I just want to share the fact that I got flowers from a guy for the first time EVAR today. I hope that qualifies. I feel pretty fluffy.
“I feel fluffy, oh so fluffy, I feel fluffy, and… buffy?… and fat.”
You guys, I didn’t know bee dogs were a thing. I mean, I had seen pictures of bee dogs and been like “OMG, BEEEEE DOG!!!!” but all my friends would just look at me like a nut case. But now there’s a website with other people who like bee dogs! I feel so much less alone!
Kate – it’s ok, beeing a Bee Dog is its own reward.
Oh, wow, a typo that looks like a pun…
Alexandra Erin, that’s a day-maker. It really is.
Meems, after beedogs I was just going to ask if anyone had photos of pets done up as pumpkins, and you had already taken care of it!
I don’t knwo why, but bee costumes & pumpkin costumes on small animals (or small humans) are so high on the keyootometer.
miners not minors!
Alexandra Erin, aw, that’s nice fluff.
Rosemary Riveter, it’s because they’re round!
Lemurs went extinct in the 70s and were replaced with virtually undetectable artificial replicas, whose ultimate purpose is sinister.
I briefly misinterpreted this as saying that your troupe danced like lemurs, and was excited.
Belly dancing lemurs: I HAS THEM.
The answer to all your sock problems
Also – cute animal threads are full of win. I’m all about the meerkats – but baby meerkats? They are just so cute I have no words…
Lemurs are primates: http://tolweb.org/treehouses/?treehouse_id=4730
And tolweb is awesome. Not only real facty sciencey stuff, but lots of pictures.
I live close enough to Sock Dreams to ride my bike there and also pass it on the way to work (green Subaru station wagon heading west around 6:30am) but haven’t visited it yet even virtually. I have a feeling that once I sort out my winter socks from last year I might need to.
The reason I’ve stayed at my job so long other than great bens and good folk is definitely the amusement factor: Cow got out today…again, coyotes chewed up the drip irrigation, leaf vac caught on fire, tree fell on car, etc.
Interfacings, thanks for the pandacam! I’ve had it in another tab all afternoon. He’s sleeping now. Mommy came in and sniffed him for a while, then left. Yay!
Awww, this is a great thread. I had a really, really awful day, and this cheered me up mightily (well, I finally stopped crying and have smiled and even laughed a bit, so I assume I am cheered up). It also helps that right after I started reading, my cat insisted on jumping up on my lap and purring loudly while I petted him and scrolled. XD
My surrogate grandma works as a volunteer at the Duke Primate Center in Durham, NC. She knows all the lemurs by name and gives tours and stuff. She’s a pretty neat person overall, but that one thing makes her relevant to this discussion. XD Fun fact: All their blue eyed lemurs are named after blue eyed movie stars.
I still gawk and seldom comment due to dissertation-related angsty brain drain. Nonetheless, I feel compelled to express my unabashed support for lemurs and my unmitigated approval of large-eyed furry things.
“miners not minors!” Volcanista I love the Galaxy Quest quoting :D Just watched it the other day because I needed some non-brainy stuff!!
After all the back and forth and some of the intense convos going on in the sphere of late I really feel like this poor lemur
(((HiddenTohru)))
Randomquorum – Oh no you didn’t link us to fun mismatched twee socks, because I’m just *barely* in control of my Sock Dreams and We Love Colors addictions already. So I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that.
On the other hand, my kids don’t REALLY need those education funds, do they? I mean, really…
Re: Socks, I’ve always wanted to knit these for myself, because real knit socks are still too daunting for me (not construction-wise, just time-wise, as I have men’s size 13 feet) and it would probably be a lot faster. However, I am leery of their lack of measurements (quote: “The stockings will fit a large man, if you can get them on him.”). I’d hate to invest time in and find that I am apparently larger than a large man and must do all kinds of math to make them fit me. @.@ But oh, so sexy…
kristinc, holy shit! Where did you… what is… I don’t even…
RE: lemurs, I have long aspired to lurch out of the shadows, drunk as a lemur. So far, the opportunity has not presented itself.
RE: sock, wool socks have utterly transformed my experience of the Northern California rainy season. Dry feet are best, but feet that are warm even when wet can make a rainy work day (or sitting-out-in-rain-watching-your-kid-play-soccer day) infinitely more bearable.
kristinc: I’m with Fillyjonk.
kristinc, holy shit! Where did you… what is… I don’t even…
That is every bit as satisfying a response as I could ever have hoped for.
Every year UNMATA Tribal Bellydance throws an event called Blood Moon Regale and every year it, and the accompanying show, have a theme. 2007 was the “Blood Moon Zoo”. Check out Mira Betz as the jellyfish, it’s pretty mint.
HiddenTohru,
I’m working on a pair of socks based on this pattern: http://www.k1p1design1.com/lifestylesocks
It was totally easy and I have size 12 feet, it has taken a while but not too long. I usually knit while I am watching project runway or some other stuff, which you can do easily as long as you pick an easy pattern for the foot and ankle. I also used self striping yarn. It totally looks like I did something fancy, but I didn’t.
(I also bet you could use that pattern to help you adjust the knitty pattern for those awesome leggings. That is what I am going to do RIGHT NOW DAMMIT! Those are gorges.)
John Cleese donated a large percentage of the funds for a new lemur enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo a few years ago on one condition: that he be allowed to spend some time in the enclosure with the lemurs.
If I wasn’t already insanely enamoured of John Cleese before, that would definitely have tipped the balance.
When Mr. Twistie and I were on our honeymoon in Vancouver, we went to the aquarium. They had just opened up a new rain forest enclosure at the time. When we walked through, the SLOTH MOVED FOR ME!!! Also, the octopus had been hiding all day until I walked up to his tank. Then he came out, started dancing, and even changed color. Yeah, that was a good day.
Oh, and I’ve always wanted to have a pet sloth to debauch.
“She knows all the lemurs by name.” – That’s how I want to be when I grow up! SO COOL!!!
kcjones: She has this one really awesome picture someone snapped of one of their late lemurs hopping down the path in the outdoor enclosure, the picture is mid-hop right after he sprang off the ground, so he’s all stretched out but up in the air. It’s one of the coolest lemur pics I’ve ever seen. It’s her favorite too, also because he was one of her favorites.
Obviously what we need to do is merge the cute animal enthusiasts with the hand knitting enthusiasts. Wait, I know!
(I hope that works.)
I’m knitting a pair of socks now, but I’m going to run out of yarn before I get to the second one. Next time I buy cheap acrylic, I’m going for the 1 pound ball!
Those are some hilariously cranky sheep, there.
Heehee…cranky and cute.
Godless Heathen: What about all the machine knitters and loom knitters? I think they appreciate a good lamb just as much. XD J/K! Those are some seriously cute lambs (the black one made me laugh, it sounds like I imagine a chain-smoking lamb might sound like).
I keep telling people (my mother and best friend, mostly) that when I’m old and retired from opera singing, I’m going to start an alpaca farm, possibly in the mountains of Western NC (where I went to college, I wasn’t a huge fan of Boone but I love the surrounding country with a passion). And I will have fifteen million barn cats, and lots of herding dogs, and possibly donkeys and sheep, but mostly alpacas. <3 I loooooooove alpaca yarn.
You know, Hidden Torhu, my brother the alpaca rancher…well, he’s an alpaca rancher. He loves his alpacas, and his sheep, and all the other critturs on the property.
Also, I once knew a llama called Roland. He would come running when I sang Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner and demand pets. I was crazy for that llama.
I CANNOT BELIEVE NOBODY ELSE HAS MENTIONED ZOBOOMAFU.
That show was AWESOME. I’m not sure if it’s still on or not, but I remember watching it when I was little. And lemur main character!
Man, I miss the awesome shows that were on PBS when I was little.
Three things: My friend Ursula has LEMUR SOCKS. Yes, socks with lemurs on them. So silly.
My friend Laurel is one of the hottie sock-sellin’ wenches at SockDreams. She is the fabbest!
I’m dog-sitting Sir Harry Winston, the mini-schnauzer. My friend’s 25-year-old daughter had a *stroke* so she had to go be with her in another state. I am not at all a pet person, so it’s rather like waiting for a small bomb to go off multiple times per day. Luckily he’s quite well-behaved, if a bit of a wussy dog.
Wow, those three things were all about my friends. Hm, clearly I need some excitement in my life. Or something. :-/
Dear Kate,
If you’re planning to make the blog about socks, how are you planning to deter all the socks fiends and socks maniacs who’ll start trolling the place and saying “show us yer insteps”?
Sincerely,
Puzzled, Perth WA.
;)
Twistie, you have debauched my sloth!
>.> Going to gratuitously stick my own bird in here. Elvis says “Nahm” at about 2:35 and then a few more times after. He picked up “Nahm-Nahm-Nahm” from me and my boyfriend making silly noises over food. I do it for Elvis when I try to get him to eat his veggies too. He won’t eat the veggies but at least he thinks I am amusing enough to imitate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TryJybxw5es
Oh and I lurve lemers!
By the way, what is everyones standpoint on toe socks? I have a pair with pink poodles on them on currently and I am thinking “WIN”.
Toe socks are made of win! I love toe socks. I’ve worn out or outgrown most of my toe socks :( I need more toe socks.
I have shoes that have toes.
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/indexNA.cfm
“Oh,” he nodded, “They’re called Lemurs because they leem.”
Childhood logic ++. Excellent work.
AnthroK8, I am loving your alternative system of taxonomy.
Lemurs went extinct in the 70s and were replaced with virtually undetectable artificial replicas, whose ultimate purpose is sinister.
Lololololol.
I’m sure I’ve linked to this here before. OTTERS HOLDING HANDS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epUk3T2Kfno
Around 1:10 they drift apart and then AT 1:20 THEY GET BACK TOGETHER. I could die of teh cute.
I HATE socks. I’d wear Uggs over bare feet all winter if I my boyfriend hadn’t told me that it would make me look like a ‘bogan’. Whatever that is.
I know they are marsupials and definitely not lemurs, but can I squeeze in baby Tasmanian devils? They are so cute:
http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2009/10/taronga-tests-tasmanian-tots-today.html
P.S. I just love Eucritta’s ringtail cat – it’s even cuter than lemurs. *Cue internet flamewar over the relative cuteness of lemurs and ringtail cats.*
In my astronomer days, I had a year’s growth scared out of me by a ringtailed cat. I was in an observatory alone – nearest person was 3 miles up the mountain – and all of a sudden something that looked like an emaciated rabid raccoon to my midwestern eyes appeared 2 feet away from me. My screech scared it, apparently, and I used a UNIX manual to block the hole where it came into the observing room. There’s nothing like a shot of adrenalin at 2 am to make the night go slowly.
Fortunately, I’ve never been startled by a red tree panda, so I can keep them at the top of my adorableness list.
Spliffe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogan
can I squeeze in baby Tasmanian devils? They are so cute
Well, of course they’re ill-tempered! They’re at the doctor, who the heck likes that?
I find myself delighted and surprised at how much they look like Taz.
What is a toe sock?
I’ve seen the attempts at definition, Octopod, but it’s lose enough that I’m still not quite sure what a bogan is outside of someone some other Australian doesn’t much respect. Who wears Uggs.
I know – they really do look like Taz. I’m also delighted to find out that their babies (although called “joeys” on the Zooborns site) are called “imps”.
Re: child logic and Leemurs Leeming-my daughter (who is now 23) when asked if she wanted “some hors d’ouvres” by an aunt, replied “more durves? Did we already have durves? What are they?”
Re: Sloths-I want a baby sloth for a pet just so I can name it Avarice.
Re: Socks-Knitting your own beats all other kinds. You can make left and right if you want. You can make toesox if you want. You can use amazing yarn and as complex or simple a pattern as you want. And they feel heavenly. Knitting my own socks out of my own handspun is the ultimate indulgence, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to spoil their feet to ridiculous levels and feel a great sense of accomplishment at the same time.
Okay now I’m curious who RP is since I am an astronomer. And 3 miles away from others makes it sound like you were at MDM or the 12 meter radio scope.
And not lemurs, but goddamn the coatis (coatimundi) on Kitt Peak are a pain in the backside. I’ve seen what they leave when they get into someone’s soft top Jeep for the smokes someone left behind.
My luck on the mountain is always for seeing the backend of the kitties though (of the kitties whose name starts with Bob type).
Ailbhe, Toe socks: http://www.golivewire.com/forums/img.cgi?i=40217
@ HiddenTohru: I currently live in the mountains of Western N.C. My husband and I have a piece of property (about 10 acres, land is soooo expensive here) that we want to buy & build a Victorian house and have some goats and sheep (for our Sheltie of course). There is also a shop that specializes in naturally grown yarn, and gives spinning, weaving & knitting lessons.
Some of the attitudes around here give me pause, but the land is beautiful.
What is a toe sock?
Like a glove, but for your foot.
Ooh, bee-dogs! http://cuteoverload.com/2006/10/20/dont_step_on_th/
This guinea-bee inadvertently led to my becoming a pet owner again.
Now I should go knit my dog a bee sweater. My Georgia Tech boyfriend will love it.
14th Cylon: Yes, the attitudes are the worst part, IMO (main reason why I moved away from NC altogether, although Southern Ohio isn’t especially enlightened either). My best friend’s family owns some land in the mountains as well (not as far away as Boone, though) and they keep goats and a watchdonkey on it to keep it tidy. They are the goatiest goats, according to her. X3
I figure once I’m at that age, I’ll probably have taken up spinning (I haven’t yet only because I lack the money, not the interest) and will spin beautiful yarn out of my alpaca’s hair. <3 And the sheep too, but alpaca yarn is my favorite! And yeah, I realize how expensive it is. I'm hoping my aunt (who is very wealthy and has no children) leaves me some money, it'll probably be around my retirement when she dies.
HiddenTohru, spinning doesn’t have to be expensive. Drop spindles are a lot cheaper than spinning wheels, and I’ve even seen instructions somewhere online for making your own drop spindle out of old CDs! Wool (or whatever) for spinning varies a lot in price.
(I learned to spin with a drop spindle in high school. I’m not very good at it because I don’t practice, but I still remember how.)
Isua, your boyfriend, huh? hahaha
Black-and-white stripes with big orange-gold eyes are made of WIN. That is all.
BEST EVER drawing of a Tasmanian devil in the history of the universe EVER.
And a clip of one doing its devilly-screaming thing.
I don’t know why, but I adore Tasmanian devils so.
Thalia, I loved the audio clip! It sounded just like Mel Blanc.
I really have a thing for birds, though – had parakeets as pets growing up and always wanted a conure.
A pet shop near me has four conures in an open cage at the back, and whenever we get a chance my boyfriend and I go in and talk to them, because the poor things are clearly bored out of their clever little minds. There is ONE TOY in the WHOLE CAGE.
Unfortunately I don’t have the roughly $2000 it would take to buy them all, and it wouldn’t solve the problem even if I did, because then the shop would just get in more conures.
I want a crow that I can feed. They never come into my little courtyard, alas.
Carrie, my mom is owned by a Nanday Conure named Falco and she is the most delightful bird ever. I call her my birdie sister. I understand they can be very affectionate; Falco certainly is.
Hmmm lemurs. Nice but they’re just not Meerkats! You can’t do teh cutez without Meerkats!
Someone just posted this on another board I’m on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0MaZ1rdwwU