M.C.A. Hogarth is running a Kickstarter campaign to launch her new web comic The Three Jaguars, a comedic slice-of-life about the intersection of art and business. Prizes include cameos, product advertisements (drawn by the artist), original art and postcards. The Kickstarter is 263% funded, with a week to go. Prizes are limited.

I was in a bad mood all day when I went to see this movie. A real bad mood.

I was looking forward to seeing it, however, because I decided it would cheer me up. I wasn't expecting it to be great and cheer me up; I expected it to be bad, and then I would get to take out all my frustrations on it in my review.

Essentially, if this movie was not the second coming of Furry Jesus, I was going to rip it a new orifice which I would then proceed to assuage my rage.

Can I even write that?

Anyway, you read the headline; this movie cheered me right up in the way I did not expect it to. By not sucking. Also, by not only not sucking, but by really not sucking a lot.

M.C.A. Hogarth is collecting funding to publish a "how-to" business book aimed at creative types (writers, artists, crafters, etc); the book features topics ranging from day jobs to time management to metrics (sample chapters) and is illustrated throughout by three cartoon jaguars, "Artist," "Business Manager" and "Marketer."

Four days into the campaign, the project is 43% funded; "perks" on offer include PDF and paper copies, cartoon sponsor page placements, and personal consultations.

Update (20 May): The project has been cancelled.

Dangerous Jade is a work of anthropomorphic fiction for adult readers only. (publisher’s rating)

Actually, although there are some torrid romantic scenes and a lot of adult language here, it is all standard M/F sex between consenting adults; less X-rated than many mainstream novels or R-rated motion pictures.

This is also #4 in FurPlanet’s new Cupcakes line of works shorter than novel length. Dangerous Jade is “only” a novella, but it delivers a complete and satisfying story.

Illustrated by Meesh.?Dallas,?TX, FurPlanet Productions, January 2012, trade paperback $9.95 (vii + 81 pages).

A recent Reuters story reports that biologists in Guatemala rely on Calvin Klein's Obsession for Men to attract jaguars for tracking and research purposes.

Use of the cologne stems from research done by The Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo, where researchers tested the effect of numerous scents on cheetahs. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, it was discovered that out of 24 scents tested, Obsession for Men was the favorite, with Nina Ricci's L'Air du Temps coming in second. Others fared much worse, such as Estée Lauder's Beautiful and Revlon's Charlie.

Man Pets Jaguar, Pays with His Finger

Don't mistake the jaguar for a 'pretty kitty'.

Usually, being an odd colour is bad news in the animal kingdom, but for some cats, such as jaguars and leopards, being melanistic seems to be a good idea.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute and the University of Maryland think studying jaguars and how the gene that regulates the colour of their fur might also change other aspects of their body, such as possibly making them more resistant to disease. Making wild black cats very lucky indeed!
Of course, this doesn't explain why some big cats, like lions and tigers, don't have a melanistic phase. Except, of course, in furry fandom!