I wish there were more photos of this chihuahua skeleton sculpture made entirely from typewriter parts by artist Jeremy Mayer. I wonder how big it is? Is it life-size? It must be.
According to Mayer’s Tumblr, he’ll be posting more photos of this piece in the next few days. Hold tight.
Via Boing Boing
You may have already seen this fantastical black sheep trimmed like a poodle, but I haven’t, so I thought I’d share with you all in case you missed it, too. Because, well, it’s a black sheep groomed to look just like a goddamned poodle!
The project was by Lernert & Sander for the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant. According to the groomer Marieke Hollander “it was a lot of work on the day of the photoshoot. It took 12 hours, including the grooming, to finally get the right pictures.”
Is it me, or does the sheep look slightly embarrassed by its new ‘do? I hope this doesn’t turn into some sort of new hipster pet trend.
Via Mudfooted and with thanks to Adam Parfrey!
Damn my terrible timing! Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of the passing of Sylvester; queer icon, incredible vocalist and Disco Diva extraordinaire. Well, I may be 24 hours late, but I couldn’t let another day pass without posting something in tribute here on DM.
And what a doozy of a clip! Yes, it’s Sylvester at the Castro Street Dog Fair in 1984, receiving the “celebrity pet” award on behalf of his pup, Princess Terry, from former Catwoman Lee Meriwether, all under the watchful gaze of a leather-vested cowboy. Yep. It really doesn’t get any more camp than this.
R.I.P. Queen Sylvester, you will forever be missed!
Major H/T to Matthew Hill!
This PyroPet cat candle named “Kisa” is damned adorable, right? As the candle burns, it slowly reveals an aluminium kitteh skeleton. I dig it.
The candle also comes in black. You can order Kisa at the Swish website for around $34 + shipping.
Tim: Well, that’s no ordinary rabbit.
King Arthur: Ohh.
Tim: That’s the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on!
If I bought these Monty Python and the Holy Grail rabbit slippers, they’d probably just end up being extra expensive Monty Python dog toys. My dogs are like that. Assholes.
The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog slippers are available through Firebox for $40.89.
Update: Some less expensive ones can be found here.
Via Laughing Squid
Don’t worry, I’ve got your holiday gift ideas covered this year: What about this delightful handmade taxidermy mice chess set by Etsy shop TheCurious13? There’s only one available and it’s retailing for $550.00.
According to the write-up on Etsy:
The set includes 16 light colored mice and 16 dark mice, in various sizes, pawns being the smallest. Set comes complete with wooden hand painted chess board, and storage case (not pictured).
Now I’m curious what the chess board and storage case look like.
With thanks to Gail Potocki!
Here’s a stunning—and major décor statement piece, IMO—500 lb. bronze octopus coffee table by Los Angeles-based sculptor, artist and designer Isaac Krauss.
It’s pretty incredible, eh? I can’t find the price for this, but I’d wager that this sucker ain’t cheap…
You can contact Krauss via his website if you’re interested.
h/t Everlasting Blort
Mutant “super rats,” which cannot be killed by regular poisons are spreading across the UK, according to researchers and pest control experts.
Just like those creatures in James Herbert’s classic pulp horror novel, The Rats, these super rodents eat toxic pellets “like feed,” and have spread as far as Kent, the West Country and Sussex.
In an interview with Metro newspaper, Richard Moseley of the British Pest Control Association said:
“Normal rats are being killed off by poison, so these resistant species are taking their place—it’s only natural that their numbers are expanding. But they’re being found further afield than previously anticipated. They eat poison like feed; you might as well be leaving out grain for them.”
There are an estimated 10.5million rats in the UK. Rats can breed rapidly and have a gestation period of 21-days, one female can have as many as 14 “pups” at a time. It is believed that some breeding pairs can produce as many as 800 young in just two years.
While poison resistant rats have been observed in the UK for over 50 years, researchers from the University of Huddersfield have claimed these mutant rats are spreading rapidly. Last year, researchers discovered that up to 70% of rats tested in some counties were resistant to poison.
Dr. Dougie Clarke told Metro that a naturally occurring mutation of genes was most likely responsible for these “Super Rats.”
“It’s now a big problem in some areas of the south of England. The only solution is stronger poisons.
“There are concerns about poisoning secondary animals and birds but, if it’s carefully controlled it can be kept to an absolute minimum.”
Rats are considered a major health risk to the public, if their populations are left unchecked. However, Jeff Knott from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said:
“We cannot afford to lock ourselves into a toxic arms race we can never win, as wildlife will be the loser.”
Mutant giant rats are also a problem in Iran, Central Europe and New York, but now that Mr Herbert’s once fictional “super” Rats are spreading across the UK, how long before Guy N. Smith’s giant Crabs and Shaun Hutson’s mutant Slugs make their appearance?
Via the ‘Metro’
Last week, when we spoke to David Yow about his forthcoming Jesus Lizard: Book
I love cats. Always have. The only time I didn’t have a cat was a brief hell in Chicago where I lived in an apartment whose landlord didn’t allow them. At that place, I had a life-sized cardboard cutout of a cat which I named Toody. I also love wordplay. I’m the only adult I hang out with who still gets a kick out of puns. I make up palindromes. I used to write songs and poems (these days, I leave that for the songwriters and poets); in this book of cat-pun drawings, I have made a concerted effort to come up with ideas that range from really funny to really amusing. The entire litter of animals in this book are line drawings that are ‘coloured in’ with photographic textures, and each cat is dropped into a photographic setting. Yep, that’s the truth.
Catatonic
Cat Burglar
Cat Nip
Cat-O-Nine Tails
Et cetera. There are many more of these to be seen at Yow’s web site. And that’s the only place you’ll be able to see them for awhile. The book won’t actually be out until next summer.
It’s charming that he thinks people will like pictures of cats, but frankly, I’m skeptical. Who the hell buys cat stuff?
Below, fan-made video for Scratch Acid’s “Cannibal” (NSFW)
AVAAZ.org have a petition to stop the sale of living animals as keychain/lucky charm.
The petition calls on the United Nations to:
...demand the Chinese government to ban the manufacture and sale of amulets and jewelry containing live animals.
As the petition explains, this “new fashion” jewelry in China has:
...animals living under plastic containing a liquid nutrient and oxygen that allows them to live up to 2 months.
This is cruel and should be condemned by the international community.
Though it has been claimed that the animals can live up to two months in the “nutrient” environment, this is not true, as the animals die within days through a lack of oxygen.
This story has been featured in the news since 2008, but nothing has been done to stop this horrific trade.
Please sign the petition to help highlight and stop the sale of amulets and jewelry containing live animals. Thank you.
With thanks to Lindsay Reid.