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Apparently the world is experiencing a lull in newsworthy stories. I have Yahoo! as my start page to check
out the top events currently happening across the world. The top three are
always about the Iraq conflict, suicide bombings in Israeli cafes, and the
latest entrant into the Presidential race of 200FO. And near the bottom are
usually important events happening in foreign nations, deaths of famous people,
and up to the minute sports scores. But these past three days I have noticed
three stories about animals. Stupid fucking stories that deserve no
acknowledgement especially on the front page of the Internet's most popular
website. So without further ado, here they are. Creature Thought Extinct Found in Cuba HAVANA - A living example of an insectivore native to Cuba — but believed for years to extinct — has been found in the island's eastern mountains, a Cuban news agency reported. The discovery of the male insect-eating mammal known as an almiqui (pronounced ahl-mee-KEE) raises hopes "that it will not wind up in the catalog of the irretrievable animals disappearing from the face of the Earth," Prensa Latina said in reporting the discovery. The creature looks like a brownish woolly badger with a long, pink-tipped snout and can measure up to about 19 inches, according to Prensa Latina's Monday dispatch. The nocturnal animal burrows underground during the daytime, explaining why it is rarely seen by people. After the sun goes down, it emerges to root out worms, larvae and insects. Named "Alejandrito" by the farmer who found it, the living almiqui weighed 24 ounces and veterinarians declared the animal in perfect health. "Alejandrito" was held in captivity for two days of study and medical tests, then marked and let free in the same general area it was found, Prensa Latina said. The almiqui was described for the first time in 1861 by the German naturalist Wilham Peters, who wrote of the difference between the Cuban animal and a similar one found in neighboring Haiti. Since, only 37 of the animals known by the scientific name Solenodon Cubanus have been captured, including "Alejandrito." The last reported sightings of the creatures were in 1972 in the eastern province of Guantanamo, and 25 years later in 1999 in the eastern province of Holguin.  Lulu the Kangaroo Helps Save Farmer MELBOURNE, Australia - An unlikely hero hopped onto the scene when a farmer suffered serious head injuries after being hit by a falling branch. The hero? A partially blind pet kangaroo. The eastern gray kangaroo, Lulu, stood guard over Len Richards' unconscious body Sunday and "barked like a dog" to get help, the farmer's daughter said. "She was obviously trying to get our attention because she never acts like that," said Celeste Richards, 17. "It went on for about 15 minutes, so we went outside to investigate and we saw Lulu standing upright with her chest puffed out over Dad's body. If it wasn't for her, my Dad could have died — Lulu is my hero," she added. Richards, 52, was checking his property in Morwell, southeast Australia, for damage following a severe storm when he was struck by a falling branch and knocked unconscious. The kangaroo, which has just one eye, was adopted by the family about 10 years ago when they found her in the pouch of her mother, who had been killed by a car. "Lulu and Dad are very close and she follows him around, but we all just love her so much," Celeste said.  Dog's 12-Inch Ears Are World's Largest LONDON - They drag into his food. Sometimes, he even trips over them. Now they're getting an earful of attention. A basset hound whose grandfather gained fame as Biggles, the face of Hush Puppies shoes, has hit the limelight himself, making it into the new 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the dog with the longest ears. Guinness, which will publish its new edition of the book Thursday, issued a photo of Mr. Jeffries, Biggles' grandson, on Wednesday, showing the dog standing there with a hangdog expression and raised ears that look like the wings a Boeing 747. Mr. Jeffries, whose full name is Knightsfollie Ladiesman, has ears that measured 11.5 inches on Nov. 3, 2002, Guinness said. Owner Phil Jeffries, of Southwick, England, said his pet is more than just a hound dog. The dog's ears are insured for $47,800. The new titleholder only managed to set the record when his long-eared granddad died last year, giving up his claim to the Guinness book.  CLICK HERE AND VOTE. |
Phew, that was quite a storm. Isabel knocked out power to millions of customers here in Virginia including mine. For some
reason my room in my apartment was the only room in all of Harrisonburg or even west of the Blue Ridge mountains that was
left powerless in the hurricane's wake. And that is the sole reason why I have not written anything on the site. The picture
above is the only known picture of me that was taken after the power was brought back on in my room. Yes, you guessed
right... even my 64 bit color digital camera was not spared by the tropical weather. So now that I'm back out of my closet and the
2-bit black and white monitor is all hooked up and ready to go, I am prepared to write. 
