Micah's stories

Cow Falls Through Roof, Hurts One
Thu 12 Jul 2001 - 07:48

Go read about the man who had a cow fall on him in a coffee shop. No, I'm not kidding. This is almost as weird as the one about the cow falling out of the airplane, though I can't remember if that one was true or not.

1 comment(s) – read more

Animal Cruelty on TV Show
Tue 10 Jul 2001 - 17:03

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals wants to see the unedited footage from Survivor where one of the contestants killed a wild pig to see if it constitutes cruelty to animals. Since I don't watch Survivor, I can't form an opinion on this one... did anyone see it? Any comments?

6 comment(s) – read more

Return of the Right Whale, and Extra-Nice Fish
Tue 10 Jul 2001 - 14:34

I certainly wasn't expecting to see this after my last post about the injured right whale, one of only 300 right whales remaining... but apparently scientists are going to go after him again, this time with a different sedative to see if they can untangle him. I wish them the best success, and will keep an eye out for more news about their venture. Also on the ocean-front, New Scientist reports that there are fish that try to apologize to other fish by petting them with their fins.

Seals and Pandas
Mon 9 Jul 2001 - 09:53

Yahoo had an interesting article on what seals use their whiskers for. Not all decoration, it seems. And off the Animal Planet site, a rather amazing story (bordering on News of the Weird) about a human woman who saved a couple of panda cubs with spare milk.

Man Bitten by Dragon
Thu 28 Jun 2001 - 10:01

There's definitely something bizarre about being attacked by a komodo dragon. Fortunately, the man who got bitten had a good sense of humor about it. Read about the incident, and then for laughs check out Salon's interview with the dragon in question.

Selling Graphic Novels in Bookstores
Thu 28 Jun 2001 - 09:09

Not sure whether to call this sf or furry news; it's relevant to both. Publishers Weekly recently had a fascinating article about selling graphic novels in bookstores, why booksellers should and how to do it... as well as a series of articles on how comics publishers are trying to reach a broader audience through online and bookstore distribution channels. This is greatly encouraging to me, since one of the reasons I've never really considered doing a graphic novel was because of the ghetto graphic novels are shoved into when the time comes to sell them. You don't reach an audience without distribution, and it looks like booksellers might be waking up to the fact that graphic novels do sell. Indeed, I remember the pleasure I felt when I discovered my local Borders had a shelf of graphic novels (and in fact, I bought one; while I don't buy single comic books, I will buy compilations of them). Here's hoping there'll be more graphic novel sections in the future. And hey, wasn't there talk of a Fusion graphic novel? Lex, are you reading? *grin*

Right Whale Rescue Failed
Thu 28 Jun 2001 - 08:15

Some of you might remember a post I found off New Scientist a while back about rescuers attempting to free a male right whale, one of the few left in the wild. Unfortunately, their attempts didn't work and now they're hoping the whale will be able to free himself. This has to be one of the more frustrating times to be a scientist... being unable to save a creature so rare there are only 300 left, and giving it up to fate. You can read more about it at Salon. On a more upbeat note, cows also enjoy music, though they prefer ballads to hardcore rock and roll.

Resource for Female SF/F Writers and Fans
Wed 27 Jun 2001 - 09:08

For the women in our audience (and fans of women), a link to Broad Universe seems in order, an organization devoted to the promotion of science fiction and fantasy written by women. Men are also encouraged to join if they support the cause. The website has a regular newsletter with industry and writing tips, a book list and some other info, as well as some cool things coming down the pike (like a PR database). The newsgroup is active and turns up some interesting posts on a regular basis. The Broad Universe launch was noted by Locus Magazine and the website got a review on the latest issue of SF Weekly.

Teenage Mutant Turtles Movie?
Fri 22 Jun 2001 - 12:38

I thought this was a rumor, but now I've seen it twice... there's a possibility for a Teenage Mutant Turtles movie using CGI. Coming Attractions has some information on their new site for the movie and SF Wire also has the story.

1 comment(s) – read more

Lynx and Whale Rescues
Tue 19 Jun 2001 - 13:55

Some random animal news now: NOAA embarks on a mission to rescue an injured right whale despite the weather and difficulties involved; and two lynx kittens found in a clear cut forest in Maine. The latter article is especially interesting in its mention of how humans can plan how they're going to use the resources of nature in such a way that it can actually provide more opportunities for wildlife than would have occurred naturally. This is similar to the premise of a book I finished reading by a naturalist, Eco-Geography (link to Amazon). Worth the read for those of you interested in sustainable living in a way that neither insists that all human life is inimical to the pristine and perfect natural world nor assumes that we're hell-bent on destroying everything in our selfish quest for material wealth.