This 28 st primate had to be sedated for two hours by specialist vet dentists during a successful operation to remove a painful three inch root.

Pertinax, a silverback Western gorilla, was said to be "understandably groggy" after the operation at Paignton Zoo in Devon.

He was treated by Dr Peter Kertesz, one of only a few specialist zoo dentists in the world, who has worked on exotic species including whales, pandas and elephants.

He said: "Animals or people, it's all the same - they need treatment, they get treatment. The scale is what varies - and the location. It is all about teamwork.

"It is a very serious business. The health and sometimes the life of a rare creature is in your hands."

Neil Bemment, curator of mammals at the zoo, added: "Pertinax had a broken canine. Peter had to remove the root, which was a good three inches long."

Pertinax is the 25-year-old leader of the zoo's bachelor group of gorillas and was treated at the attraction.

Dr Kertesz has a dental practice in London and his first experience of animal dentistry was when he looked at a cat for a vet in 1978.

Who would have thought that the Spung would safely arrive in Uganda?

Jan travelled over 6000km with the famous plastic glass and infamous Belgian beer!

What a star our Maltese gentleman! Bloody hell - what a good job!

By the way, we are throwing our support behind Adelaide's own Gannon Wade (why does he not have on online presence?), who used to be our checkout dude at our local Woollies. He has a wonderful, dry sense of humour, and we wish him well on his idol journey.

Funny: I'm sitting in my room right now, watching Radiohead's performance (live) in Santa Barbara on Radiohead TV. As I am watching (and hating myself for hating the music industry's ridiculously high prices on concert tickets... I should have spent the $75!), I decide to update here. And they begin to play The Bends. This is when the above picture finishes uploading. When I took this picture, I was thinking about the fascination all of the children had with the gorilla. There were more kids at one time in the gorilla exhibit than in any other exhibit in the zoo, and most of them were crowded around this glass wall, reaching out to this large, sad-looking gorilla sitting by the window. And I am thinking to myself, as I am making this post: How bad does this gorilla have The Bends? I understand that zoos, especially the Smithsonian zoo, are there to help these creatures that wouldn't have made it in the wild. It doesn't make me feel any less sad for this gorilla stuck in a concrete and glass cage with the same tree to climb on day after day.

"i wish i could be happy
i wish
i wish
i wish that something would happen

i want to live and breathe
i want to be part of the human race"

AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION OF TEXT

EN TIOÅRIG MILJÖAKTIVIST

Jag vet att jag borde vara tacksam. Men nu börjar min äldsta sons enträgna miljöengagemang gå mig något på nerverna. Ända sedan vi kom hem från Kolmården har han oavbrutet tragglat på om olika djur- och naturprojekt.

”Snälla pappa, kan vi inte bli fadder för späckhuggaren? Det kostar bara 100 kronor i månaden.”

”Ja… vi kan ju prata om d…”

”Åh, titta här!” avbryter han. ”Här på Kolmårdens Insamlingsstiftelse kan man sms:a TIGER till 72900, för bara 30 kronor.”

”Visst, det låter intressant.”

Förresten pappa, mamma köper väl bara KRAV-märkta produkter?”

”Öh… det hoppas jag innerligt!”

”Sedan måste vi börja använda nedbrytbara plastpåsar!”

”Ja, ja… men du, kan vi inte…”

”Och bergsgorillorna, pappa…”

”Jaha, är vi tillbaks till djuren igen?”

”Om vi bara sms:ar till…”

”Vänta lite!” vädjar jag. ”Du har tittat på dessa sajter i timmar nu. Kan du inte lämna datorn och gå ut i friska luften istället.”

Det gör han. Men han kommer tillbaka efter en timma, då tillsammans med några andra barn som han har samlat ihop. Och de bär på soppåsar.

”Pappa, gissa vad vi har gjort?” säger han med sitt bredaste leende.

Jag funderar på om jag ens vågar fråga.

”Vi har byggt en nationalpark i skogen, och vi har städat bort allt skräp i den - så att djuren kan trivas bättre.”

Javisst. Självklart. Att städa rummet är en heldagsaktivitet, men tydligen är det inget problem att i ett nafs städa en hel skog.

Vi får nog sitta ner, tänker jag, och välja ett bra projekt som vi kan stödja. Annars ger grabben mig aldrig någon ro.

Fast egentligen, tänker jag igen: man borde väl vara tacksam.

Vid ögonkontakt med gorillahanen på Kolmården fylls man av stor respekt.

Nhiều giờ liền người mẹ dã nhân bị shock vì mất con, đã rung lắc, lay đứa con trên tay mình tìm kiếm những dấu hiệu của sự sống của Claudio đã mềm rũ. Khách tham quan sở thú lau nước mắt chứng kiến cảnh tượng buồn thảm và đầy xúc động.

Vài giờ trôi qua, Gana vẫn không từ bỏ hy vọng, cô đặt đứa con trên lưng, chậm rãi bước đi trong khuôn viên và cứ vài bước chân cô lại ngoái đầu nhìn xem đứa con yêu của mình có sống lại không.

"Claudio đã chết trong vòng tay mẹ - chúng tôi nghĩ Claudio có bệnh ở tim"  - Giám đốc vườn bách thú Joerg Adler nói - "Hôm thứ Tư Claudio không được khỏe, hôm thứ Sáu thì nó không buồn ăn uống gì và sức khỏe trở nên tệ hơn, chúng tôi luôn theo sát tình trạng sức khỏe của nó, nhưng nó đột ngột qua đời vào sáng thứ Bảy".

Cái chết của cậu dã nhân con là bi kịch thứ hai của Gana vì năm ngoái Gana bị tách khỏi đứa con gái 6 tháng tuổi Mary Zwo để mang sang một vườn bách thú khác ở Stuttgart. Nơi đó, nó đã thu hút rất nhiều du khách đến tham quan.

Cho đến vài ngày sau, người bảo vệ sở thú vẫn không thể tiếp cận được xác của Claudio vì mẹ Gana vẫn không mãnh liệt bảo vệ, không rời bỏ con mình. Adler nói:"Ngoài tự nhiên, một con dã nhân mẹ có thể ôm giữ xác con mình trong vài tuần".

Tình mẫu tử của mẹ con dã nhân có thể được lý giải phần nào là do thời kỳ mang thai của dã nhân mẹ rất dài: 295 ngày - so với con người chúng ta là 266 ngày và sư tử là 108 ngày. Cộng với nỗi mất mát của đứa con trước đây.

Dã nhân hay khỉ phát triển và có đời sống và tình cảm gần giống như con người (có khi hơn con người không chừng), chúng cũng thương tiếc người thân khi họ qua đời. Cũng thể hiện sự quan tâm, nỗi buồn, hay giữ cả xác ngưởi thân cho đến khi bị phân hủy.

Thông thường, dã nhân sẽ chôn cất người thân của mình bằng cách phủ lá lên cơ thể.

Đây là bài dịch từ một phần bài viết của tờ DailyMail của Anh: A mother's grief: Heartbroken gorilla cradles her dead baby

Sự đau buồn của Gorilla làm tôi xúc động, nó cho chúng ta thấy rất nhiều trong chúng ta - những con người - chưa chắc đã sống có tình, có nghĩa như gorilla, như gia đình Gana tội nghiệp kia, và biết bao kiếp sống khác nữa trong vô vàn cái mà người ta gọi là "VƯỜN BÁCH THÚ", "SỞ THÚ" hay "The ZOO".

Đến đây tôi chợt nhớ bài thơ Nhớ Rừng của nhà thơ Thế Lữ - một trong những bài thơ hay mà tôi thích và vẫn thuộc cho đến bây giờ. Đã hơn mười năm tất bật với cuộc sống ở Sài Gòn này - tôi thấy mình cũng giống như con hổ trong bài thơ đó.

Thương cho những con hổ, những chú gorilla trong sở thú, và thương cho tôi trong cái "sở người" này!

Nhớ Rừng
(Lời con Hổ ở vườn Bách thú)

Tặng Nguyễn Tường Tam

Gặm một mối căm hờn trong cũi sắt,
Ta nằm dài, trông ngày tháng dần qua,
Khinh lũ người kia ngạo mạn, ngẩn ngơ,
Giương mắt bé giễu oai linh rừng thẳm
Nay sa cơ bị nhục nhằn, tù hãm
Để làm trò lạ mắt, thứ đồ chơi
Chịu ngang bầy cùng bọn gấu dở hơi
Với cặp báo chuồng bên vô tư lự.

Ta sống mãi trong tình thương nỗi nhớ
Thủa tung hoành, hống hách những ngày xưa.
Nhớ cảnh sơn lâm bóng cả, cây già
Với tiếng gió gào ngàn, với giọng nguồn hét núi,
Với khí thét khúc trường ca dữ dội
Ta bước chân lên dõng dạc, đường hoàng,
Lượn tấm thân như sóng cuộn nhịp nhàng,
Vờn bóng âm thầm lá gai, cỏ sắc.
Trong hang tối mắt thần khi đã quắc
Là khiến cho mọi vật đều im hơi.
Ta biết ta chúa tể của muôn loài
Giữa chốn thảo hoa không tên, không tuổi.

Nào đâu những đêm vàng bên bờ suối,
Ta say mồi đứng uống ánh trăng tan?
Đâu những ngày mưa chuyển động bốn phương ngàn
Ta lặng ngắm giang san ta đổi mới ?
Đâu những buổi bình minh cây xanh nắng gợi
Tiếng chim ca giấc ngủ ta tưng bừng?
Đâu những chiều lênh láng máu sau rừng
Ta đợi chết mảnh mặt trời gay gắt
Để ta chiếm lấy riêng phần bí mật?
- Than ôi! Thời oanh liệt nay còn đâu!

Nay ta ôm niềm uất hận ngàn thâu
Ghét những cảnh không đời nào thay đổi,
Những cảnh sửa sang tầm thường, giả dối:
Hoa chăm, cỏ xén, lối phẳng, cây trồng;
Dải nước đen giả suối chẳng thông dòng
Lẩn lút bên những mô gò thấp kém;
Dăm vừng lá hiền lành không bí hiểm
Cũng học đòi bắt chước vẻ hoang vu
Của chốn ngàn năm cao cả, âm u.

Hỡi oai linh cảnh nước non hùng vĩ
Là nơi giống hùm thiêng ta ngự trị,
Nơi thênh thang ta vùng vẫy ngày xưa
Nơi ta không còn được thấy bao giờ!
Có biết chăng trong những ngày ngao ngán
Ta đang theo giấc mộng vàng to lớn
Để hồn ta phảng phất được gần ngươi
Hỡi cảnh rừng ghê gớm của ta ơi!

So we got to thinking, with the recent resurgence of Stallone films (Rocky, Rambo and the remake of Death Race) how could they possibly make a movie more awesome than Over the Top?

Actually, it was pretty easy. First, we replaced "arm wrestling competition" with "rock, paper, scissors league." Second, we took "rock, paper, scissors league" and added "to the death." If a participant loses in this league, they actually die according to what their opponent "threw." Haha. Ha. Ha. Third, we replaced "son" with "800-pound silverback gorilla." I don't think I need to explain that one.

We decided to keep the cast pretty much the same and to leave Stallone's character as a big rig trucker, cause that's still pretty epic. You don't have to thank us Sly, Hollywood needs to keep you around. Click the picture above for a movie poster.

First of all, how this intimate picture of my Dad reclining in our backyard freezer made it onto the internet....I'll never know......

 Unless you live under a rock or in the remote hills and hollers of West Virginia, you should be familiar with the recent story in the headlines of the two professional Bigfoot hunters that claim to have actually recovered a bigfoot body in the mountains of North Georgia. (See earth-shattering photo above)

 The two Professional Bigfoot hunters say that they happened to stumble across the deceased corpse of an adult bigfoot while on a hunting trip in the Georgia wilderness.  All you Bigfoot buffs out there that have been scouring the deep woods of the Pacific Northwest for decades must be pretty ticked off to realize that the mythical creature was actually living in the remote mountains of the deep south.

  The two Professional Bigfoot hunters, who by the way, also claim to hunt aliens, The Loch Ness Monster, Dinosaurs, and Leprechauns, then dragged the body down out of the woods and put it into the approved standard Bigfoot Corpse storage container, aka an old freezer.  Over 7 feet tall, weighing a reported "thousands" of pounds, never before captured dead or alive in centuries, and now old Bigfoot is lying tucked away in some rednecks old freezer on his front porch with every other broken down appliance the man has owned over his lifetime.

The two Professional Bigfoot hunters, did I mention one is a Police Officer?, then contact a "renowned" Bigfoot Hunter out on the West Coast and the three decide to hold a news conference to tell the world of this great find. Of course, the "expert" on the west coast is a known con-man who is well known to those in the legitimate Bigfoot research community but the three men insist that what they have in the freezer is an actual Bigfoot.

They then allow blood and tissue samples to be taken from the beast and the samples are sent out to an outside lab for testing.

That was mistake #1.

The Blood and Tissue came back as being from a human and from an Opossum. Giant Opossum man? The professional Bigfoot hunters then claimed that the results were not accurate and that the samples had been contaminated. A human obviously contaminated the sample, accounting for the human DNA, and the huge creature must have recently consumed a opossum, accounting for the opossum DNA.  Here's another theory......Maybe...just maybe....this thing is a huge Opossum Man that just ate a human before he died! Hmmmmm   Makes ya think doesn't it.

Then the Idiot's made mistake #2. They allowed the corpse to be sent off to a lab for an actual autopsy.

The Autopsy came back. The earth shattering results?  What they had in the freezer was a .......frozen gorilla suit. The idiot's go through the motions of claiming to actually have a dead Bigfoot, knowing all the while that it is actually just a gorilla costume with some opossum guts thrown in. And one of these "professional Bigfoot hunters" is a Police Officer.  Don't you feel safe knowing he is on patrol somewhere. Actually, his Police Chief is in the process of having him fired since this little episode tends to cast some doubts on to his credibility as a human being, so there is some justice in the world.

If ya have a gorilla suit, that you know IS A GORILLA SUIT, and your trying to convince the world that this thing is a Bigfoot.....Ya have to have to Doctor onboard your scam that will say under oath that it is a Bigfoot corpse! Don't you Idiot's watch any primetime crime drama shows?  You don't have an outsider do your tests!!  What total Idiots!!

Now, the two Professional Bigfoot hunters are saying that the whole episode was a joke "that got out of hand" and are placing the blame on the con-man Bigfoot expert from California.  The joke is on CNN, FOXNEWS, and all the other media outlets that fell for the scam and actually carried these idiots news conference and posted their Bigfoot photos.  Suckers!!

1) Hinduism and Buddhism exhibition at the Glenbow Museum.

This exhibition was absolutely mind-blasting. The detail of the sculptures as well as the explanations adjacent to them were just great. These depicted in extreme detail how these religions have evolved since their beginnings as well as giving a clear idea of what they emphasize and teach.

2) Baby Gorilla at the Calgary Zoo

Not much to say besides being extremely cute. This little thing was posing right in front of the window to approximately some 30 people who stopped to take a good look and a picture of this little guy (2 weeks old). It is simply astonishing how similar gorillas are to humans when you really sit down to look at them. 

3) Modern Art Exhibition at the Glenbow Conference Centre.

There was not much throughout this specific exhibition besides this piece, which really caught my attention for being quite "groovy".

4) Royal Tyrell Museum - Dinosaur exhibitions

One of the biggest dinosaur exhibitions in the world. So many fossils and information to absorb... It is so weird to think how some millions of years ago dinosaurs existed and suddenly went missing. Who know what happened? Who knows if actually something like that won't happen to us? One of the facts that shocked me the most was how millions of years ago the average temperatures were much higher than nowadays; who knows in global warming is indeed a recurring event in the earth's life, and what could happen with us trying to interfere?

5) Photography from the Hinduism and Buddhism exhibition

This photograph just grabbed my attention for being so simple and yet so powerful. The sincerity in the smiles of the kids is just fantastic!

Will maybe later on tomorrow post some other pics. But for now these ones that I shot with my phone will do. Believe me I felt like an idiot when I found out that my big camera (Canon 400D) with an extra battery grip had no battery in the middle of the first day. Now that truly felt stupid when you include the fact I left the charger at home (Edmonton). So the iPhone had to do the trick. I must say I am quite happy with the results though, hope you like these shots too!

Cheers!

So where was I?  Oh, fragile state, blah blah.  We just finished watching the shows, and since I'm a little ramped up thanks to them, I thought I'd read a bit of news.  (Warning, this is not for the sensitive of heart.  I'm looking your way, BeThisWay.) And then I came across this bit of news at CNN.com and I nearly lost it.  I'll sum it up:  gorilla in zoo has baby, baby dies, mama gorilla won't let go of dead baby gorilla and is still carrying him around days later.

It is stuff like this that just highlights for me how little difference there is between us humans and other animals.  And this isn't anthropomorphizing, in my opinion -- this mom is mourning her child.  It's surely the early stages -- anyone who knows anything about mourning knows that the first stage is denial, and sometimes it lasts awhile.  Elephants mourn their dead, as well.  They will come across bones as the herd travels, and will caress and move the bones.  And then this story about a dolphin... just so sad, and so easy to relate to.  I think it's inaccurate to say that animals are like us, because it implies we are the species that sets the bar.  Rather, we are no different than any other higher-order species.  At least where matters of the heart are concerned.

Turns out what was purported to be a 500 pound half-man, half-ape was really just... a rubber gorilla suit.

I do love it when I'm right.

Of course, this wasn't a tough one to call. This whole thing reeked of hoaxdom. First of all, the guys who said they found the thing wouldn't divulge the location of the discovery. Then you had this Tom Biscardi guy fronting the press conference. Biscardi was involved in another false Bigfoot story back in 2005. And, of course, you had the suit. If you've never seen the movie "Trading Places," rent it tonight and watch the scene where a young Jim Belushi is dressed in a gorilla costume. It's the exact same suit.

Our Kelly Gilmartin did a story on Bigfoot last Friday, the day of the press conference. In fact, we led our 5:00 pm newscast with it. Fridays are typically slow news days, and the Bigfoot story was what everyone was talking about that day. (The Bigfoot story was the most viewed on our Web site for days.) Plus, we found a local angle involving Michiana residents who had reported Bigfoot sightings in the past.

And why not? It was fun. It was funny. And it was news. Not news in the way that the presidential election or the Russia-Georgia conflict is news. But our job is to give our viewers the stories they're looking for in the most informational - and yes, sometimes entertaining - way. Hopefully we did that.

As for the players in this hoax, they might get more than they bargained for. The Indiana group that performed the "autopsy" of the gorilla suit is thinking about suing the hoaxers. And one of the Georgia men, a police officer, lost his job. Which, of course, he should have. Would you want somebody who's capable of perpetrating this kind of scam on the American public patrolling your street?

In the end, though, it was a fun scam. It got us all talking. And it did one other thing... it gave kids all over America a great idea for a Halloween costume!

The claimed recent discovery of Bigfoot in the US state of Georgia has turned out to be a hoax - it was a rubber gorilla suit in a block of ice.

Two men said last week they had found a 2.3m-tall (7ft 7in), 226kg (500lb) corpse of the legendary ape-like creature in a wood in June.

Two researchers bought the "carcass", encased in ice, for an undisclosed sum.

But as it thawed it turned out to be a rubber monkey outfit. Bigfoot has been the subject of decades of hoaxes.

Matt Whitton, a police officer, and Rick Dyer, a former prison officer, told a new conference in California last week that they had made the find while hiking.

'Dinosaurs'

A photograph on the men's website showed what appeared to be a large, hairy creature.

But Bigfoot experts reacted suspiciously to the men's claims and the story soon began to unravel.

BIGFOOT BASICS First documented report was prints found by Canadian trader in 1811 Name dates from 1958 reports of giant footprints found in California Ray Wallace, who died in 2002, claimed to have faked these Most famous footage shot in 1967 and contested ever since

Steve Kulls - of squatchdetective.com - observed the thawing and said that as the ice melted, the exposed head was found to be "unusually hollow in one small section".

As the process continued the feet were exposed - and were found to be made of rubber.

AP news agency reported that telephone calls to Mr Whitton and Mr Dyer were not returned on Tuesday.

But the voicemail recording for their Bigfoot Tip Line - which proclaims they also search for leprechauns and the Loch Ness monster - has been updated. It announced the duo were also looking for "big cats and dinosaurs".

Assisti Hellboy 2 por estes dias, e como sou um fã tanto do personagem quanto do diretor, eis aqui um pequeno review sobre o filme.

Hellboy 2 - O Exército Dourado (como deve ser traduzido aqui no Brasil) tem lançamento previsto para 5 de Setembro de 2008,  faltando quase vinte dias para isso o filme já pode ser encontrado na rede há uma ou duas semanas em uma qualidade formidável.

Dirigido pelo já famoso Guillermo del Toro, conhecido por diversas outras obras que incluem A Espinha do Diabo, Labirinto do Fauno bem como o primeiro número da franquia, este segundo filme segue a sequência de fatos apresentados no primeiro filme. Hellboy ainda faz parte do Departamento de Defesa Paranormal bem como seus amigos Abe Sapien e Liz Sherman. O diretor do departamento continua tendo seus conflitos com o vermelho de uma forma mais atenuada, porém com certa ligação paternal.

A história em si não tem muito de interessante para os que não tenham muito interesse pelo personagem e pelo universo ali apresentado no primeiro filme, ela segue uma lógica simples de um mundo oculto que vive junto ao nosso, mas que nossos olhos muitas vezes não podem ver. Criaturas fantásticas como elfos trolls e goblins existem, mas ao contrário de Harry Potter (antes que façam por si a referência) os elfos neste filme tem uma certa semelhança com o Senhor dos Anéis.

Os Elfos são uma raça de humanóides longevos que parecem ser os reis das criaturas ocultas. No passado teriam convivido pacificamente com os humanos até que um vazio existente em nossa espécie, chamado no filme de ganância, teria causado uma enorme guerra que somente foi interrompida quando o rei elfo Balor aceitou a criação do Exército Dourado pelas mãos de um ferreiro goblin.

O Exército por si era invencível, totalmente sem coração ou piedade, o que fez com que o remorso do rei apertasse ao ver a destruição que estava causando. Dessa forma um pacto de não agressão é feito entre homens e criaturas sobrenaturais que envolve a divisão de uma coroa responsável pelo controle dos construtos dourados. Após dividirem a coroa em três, os autômatos são guardados e escondidos pelo rei, sendo ele aparentemente o único conhecedor da localização.

Uma das peças da coroa é dada aos humanos, enquanto as criaturas das trevas permanecem com uma, dessa forma ninguém mais poderia usar o exército dourado indestrutível novamente.

Milênios se passam, chegamos ao presente dia onde o Príncipe Nuada resolve aniquilar os humanos por alguns motivos não tão bem explicados, mas que são basicamente o domínio da raça humana sobre nosso planeta, para isso ele parte coletando os pedaços da coroa e tomando para si a localização bem como o controle do Exército Dourado.

A história segue num ritmo tranqüilo, com alguns clichês que acabam por não empolgar e com certas cenas que poderiam ter sido mais bem editadas ou trabalhadas, uma fotografia excelente faz parte do pacote bem como um magnífico trabalho de pós-produção.

Ainda sobre a parte visual, notei aos primeiros minutos de filme um trabalho de maquiagem e efeitos especiais que fizeram, para aqueles que assistiram o Labirinto do Fauno, uma referência bem clara. Seja na técnica usada ou mesmo na textura das muitas criaturas apresentadas no filme.

A estética de Hellboy 2 consegue ser um mix do Labirinto e de Hellboy 1, cores claras e alegres são usadas de forma que este trabalho não caia na mesmice de coloração predominante de azul em ambiente escuros que caracterizam certos elementos dark, distópico e noir muito presente em filmes de temática mágica ou ocultista dos dias de hoje.

Se no primeiro filme tivemos poucas criaturas fantásticas, nesse filme temos uma grande coleção, pois a interação dos personagens com o mundo sobrenatural é muito mais intensa. Temos desde fadas dos dentes vistas de uma ótica bem particular (embora cruel) até mesmo um Golem colossal de rochas, que aparece em um momento muito interessante do filme, passando por uma comitiva de músicos bem peculiares.

Talvez o maior truque e momento do filme tenha sido a referência feita ao destino de Anung Un Rama (o nome verdadeiro de Hellboy) como a besta do apocalipse cujo destino não mudará. A cena no qual esse assunto é utilizado possui um dos personagens mais bem caracterizados do filme: A Morte.

Não temos uma morte clichê com foice, nem mesmo uma donzela que mostra uma bela visão da pós vida, mas sim uma criatura que se assemelha a princípios religiosos, fazendo uma referência a anjos caídos e a seres além de nossa compreensão. Novamente a estética adotada no Labirinto aparece, a morte possui asas não muito grandes repleta de olhos vivos e sinistros, o que lhe falta no rosto bem como no homem branco e magrelo do Labirinto.

Existe realmente um personagem que remete muito à plástica do homem pálido de pernas finas do, o personagem chamado Chamberlain aparece quando o príncipe elfo Nuada exige um encontro com seu pai, o cenário deste encontro dá a clara sensação de ser uma fábrica abandonada onde as criaturas têm de se esconder mesmo sendo uma realeza.

É inserido no time dos mocinhos um novo personagem, Johan Krauss, no entanto a personagem peca em carisma e em utilidade uma vez que parece apenas uma cópia de Abe porém etérea enquanto Abe mantém-se como um bom "Tritão" deste universo.

A ausência do rapaz bonzinho do filme anterior é sentida de leve. Colocado no primeiro filme para criar um conflito amoroso entre Hellboy e Liz, neste filme faz-se apenas uma pequena referência a ele. Se for um erro de continuidade ou mesmo se o ator não aceitou (ou pode) trabalhar nesta continuação não é de meu conhecimento.

O hotsite produzido para o filme é muito bonito, encantador visualmente, tem bastante conteúdo que nos revela a possibilidade de extras deslumbrantes num lançamento em DVD, porém peca pelo peso excessivo, peso esse causado pelo uso indiscriminado da tecnologia Flash.

Embora ainda tenha apenas conteúdo em inglês, no lançamento do filme em terras Brasileiras pode ser uma boa forma de expandir o conteúdo caso a empresa responsável traduza o hotsite, resta aguardar que mesmo com tamanha demora do lançamento por aqui (ainda mais nos presentes dias) o cuidado seja redobrado para que a obra tenha toda sua integração multimídia explorada.

Por fim o filme fica como recomendação aos que gostam do gênero de ação com toques emotivos e cômicos. Existem pontos românticos que fazem  função de roteiro que não apenas "amor empurrado goela abaixo" para vender o filme na realidade Hollywoodiana.

Sem dúvida aqueles que procurarem um filme de entretenimento com uma história razoável e uma estética fina de tamanho esmero encontrarão em Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army (Hellboy 2 - O Exército Dourado) uma bela obra para coleção e diversão.

To read Chapters One through Three, click here.

Chapter Four, Part 1

Once Scraps had flitted off after his cap, I raised my office window, opened the desk drawer, and withdrew one of Mallory née Baines’s twenties, plus her photo of Herbert née Baines. I generally didn’t worry over locking my windows and doors; the hoods in the neighborhood knew who occupied (in a very loose manner of speaking) this office and left it be. But you never knew what would get into the head of a desperate, strung-out hophead like Scraps. He might get his second five-spot, but he’d never so much as lay eyes on these twenties.

Rearmed with a little loose cash, I loped off toward Park Avenue. Stopped. Sighed. Sure, I said I wouldn’t lose sleep over a few low-lifes running into toothy trouble in the Park—but I’d tangled with enough T-Rexes to give me an even bigger aversion to them than I felt toward humankind. For all I knew, Scraps was even now curling up on a bench, unknowingly spreading himself out for a meal. And I couldn’t have that. I needed all the hopped-up errand boys I could find.

Cursing myself for a soft number, I veered west, back to my warehouse, back to my phone. I called police headquarters and aped the night caretaker at the Central Park Zoo. One of the gorillas had escaped and run rampant, I bawled; the Park had to be sealed off until the beast could be found and subdued; send as many coppers as you can, this gorilla is no monkey business. I added the coup de grâce of some very convincing silverback calls, followed by a few incoherent screams from the “night caretaker.” That would keep the coppers occupied; no one knew better than me how enthusiastically they went after a rampaging ape.

My conscious clear—clearer, at least—I returned to the task at hand.

The staff at the Waldorf doesn’t like me loitering around the front; spooks the starched-collar-and-diamond-broach crowd, it seems. Some of those same fat cats sat in the audience five years ago to stare at Carl Denham’s “Eighth Wonder of the World”, chained up onstage for their amusement. Maybe I should have directed them into Central Park.

I squeezed behind the hotel to the service entrance, startling a few busboys having a drag. They recognized me, and I them—if not by name, then by the scent wafting from their smokes. They were usually hard to startle. Very cool customers, these two. I sent one of them after Sims, the Waldorf’s house dick.

Sims waddled out, a stout, roly-poly number in a natty suit. “It’s late, Kong. Or should I say early. How you doing, big fella?”

“Been better. Been worse.”

“Ain’t we all.” Sims—and by extension, the Waldorf—was friendly to me. Every once in a while, Mrs. Diamond Broach would catch her robber baron husband with a sweet young maid, start screaming bloody murder and make for the windows. Classy hotels don’t need jumpers, and they don’t need the police, either. Who better to call than the big ape to catch or, if necessary, forcibly extract these shrieking ladies from their rooms, depositing them safely on the street? “What brings you here?”

“I’ve got a line on a guest of yours.”

He frowned. “Trouble?”

“Not the kind that’ll bother you. Bahnhof. 212. She in?”

“I’ll check.” He nodded toward the busboys and winked. “Careful you don’t get hopped up on the fumes ‘fore I get back.”

Check back next week for the continuing saga of King Kong: World's Biggest Dick!

The game I am currently addicted to is Cannon Game (They really should have put more thought into the title, seriously Cannon Game? The same marketing experts that thought up this name probably would have just called the iPod "Music Player").  But despite it's horribly unimaginative title this game is FUN.

For anyone who remembers such classics as QBasic's Gorilla and Gorilla2, or the Dos game Scorched Earth, Cannon Game is basically the same deal, except it doesn't support multiplayer, and you are firing on fixed targets that don't respond. Oh yeah and the graphics are WAY better than what your old CRT hooked up to an IBM Aptiva used to display.

The game consists of two basic controls: Altitude and Velocity, which are controlled by sliding your left and right thumbs across the sides of the screen vertically (the game is played in landscape mode). When you are ready hit "Fire" and your tank launches it's assault. If you miss make some minor adjustments to you Velocity and/or Altitude and fire again. Simple, yet extremely addictive.

Cannon Game is a free download from the App Store.

My last day in Rwanda was just as memorable as my past two months doing this internship.  I was informed last minute that the Rwandan Office of Tourism and National Parks had found an open spot on one of the gorilla treks for the morning of my departure.  Some would say that deciding to climb a volcano a few hours before boarding a plane is just a bit too rushed, flaky even.  Others, however, would point out that passing up an opportunity to see the rare Mountain Gorillas that can only be found in the area I've been working in for the past two months would be just plain foolish.  I agree.

I woke up at before dawn in order to make sure that everything I had was packed and ready to go for when I got back from my trek so I could make a mad dash to Kigali to catch my plane.  I had been told that if I was going to slam down the serious cash to see the gorillas ($500!), that I should try to go see the Susa group that is the longest trek but the largest group.  Alas, I didn't have enough time to spend trekking all the way up the Karisimbi volcano and so I settled on a steeper but shorter hike up to the Amahoro group.

 After a long drive along the usual rock strewn roads that my driver jokingly dubed "an African massage," we arrived at the bottom of the Bisoke volcano.  The trek was long, the group had moved further up the volcano to the dismay of the other tourists.  The altitude is just a bit too tough for some people and when you are not young and spry, the climb can be a killer.  I've been living in Ruhengeri for two months now and have no longer fallen victim to loud panting after climbing up a small hill.

The guide and I were a bit ahead of the group when we finally arrived at a massive crater half-way up the Bisoke volcano.  Our guide began to make vocalizations to announce our arrival and that we meant to harm. "rrraaa-hummm,  rrraaa-hummm."  All of a sudden, there was a huge amount of rustling in the trees next to us.  The guide and I were suddenly face to face with a 600 pound gorilla.  The silverback had come to say hi.  Directly behind us was a sudden drop into the crater; squeezing my hand, the guide and I made ourselves as small as possible as the big guy brushed by us.  After what seemed like an eternity, he went off in another direction to see what our next move would be.

With my heart racing, I was excited to see the rest of the group.  Not far off, we could hear more rustling in the trees.  Above us, another male gorilla climbed into one of the trees and started to peel the bark and chow down.  Soon, a few young ones came round to see what all the commotion was about.  Once they realized it was just some bald albinos come to stand and stare at them again, they went back to wrestling each other.  I can't imagine what they think of us.  What strange behaviour for an animal to do nothing but stare at them with seemingly no purpose whatsoever? I know one thing for sure, these gorillas blew me away and I just couldn't stop staring at them.  Every thing they did memorized me.  When I caught a glimpse of the newborn, I was absolutely elated.  When they broke out in screams when they bickered over food, my adrenaline began pumping.  Every second was amazing.  I am very happy that my last day in Rwanda I was able to have this experience.

Rwanda, I will miss you.  I have come to love you and all the people within.  I'll be back to see these gorillas again.

The press conference held today by the three men that had found the Bigfoot in Georgia was attended and watched by many. (You can watch the press conference here.) But some of the major news groups and actual Bigfoot believers were skeptical, calling the trio liars, and calling the whole thing a big hoax.

The supposed frozen body was actually a popular Halloween costume stuffed in cooler with some extra animal parts for added effect.

The group of men who "found" the body aren't even Bigfoot hunters or anything, they're really just some con artists trying to get the media's attention while they get book deals, tv spots, etc.

Sorry everyone, but this whole thing was a hoax. :(

To be honest, I really wanted to believe that this time, maybe this just once, someone actually found the legendary Bigfoot! I was actually kind of excited to hear about this. But as I kept on looking at the photos and stuff, I thought to myself: "why hold a press conference three days later, when this should be front page everywhere?" Now I'm just upset to learn that all of this excitement and everything was for a stupid costume and some animal guts. Those guys should be charged with something, anything.

[ Get more information and links to how the hoax got started. ]

Bismarck, N.D., August 15, 2028 — Terror shook the Olympic village yesterday as the gorilla who was disqualified from weightlifting competition went on a rampage upon learning of his ineligibility, and was ultimately shot and killed.

[caption id="attachment_962" align="alignright" width="90" caption="Bolo after being disqualified"][/caption]

Once his coaches broke the news to him in his quarters, Bolo flew into a rage and flung them across the room. He then bolted out the door and went running through the village, throwing objects and people, bellowing uncontrollably, and stopping occasionally to pound his chest. The enraged silverback critically injured five people and caused more than $2 million worth of damage.

Bolo eventually ran into the Olympic stadium and climbed up the grand staircase toward the Olympic flame cauldron, where he was shot dead by security guards.

The International Olympic Committee, with the help of DNA testing, had confirmed on Wednesday that Nuculescu was a mountain gorilla born and raised in the Bucharest Zoo. He had been trained in powerlifting at an early age, and his trainers decided to get him into the Olympics by shaving off his hair and dying his skin. 

The coaching staff of the Romanian team declined comment on the tragedy.  

Primate psychologist César Fosse, host of the popular Web TV show “The Ape Whisperer,” declined to confirm rumors that he helped train Bolo for the Olympics.  But he said he was shocked by the animal’s reaction to the bad news.

“We’ve come a long way in the training of simians over the last decade or so,” he said. “But apparently we haven’t got that temper thing solved yet.”

Humor-Blogs.com sends it sympathies to Bolo's loved ones.

Check out the new Humor Bloggers dot com.

The post, "Tierra's Summer Project: Gorilla Saliva," documents Tierra research project from inception to finish. She rounded up her own funding to travel and stay in Rwanda where she created a research project to detect infectious pathogens like herpes and influenza in the gorilla populations. As you may have read on this blog, infectious agents, especially pathogens from 'human caused origins' have caused a massive number of great ape deaths -- especially in gorillas. Therefore, for any successful conservation effort, it is vital to be screening gorilla populations for any signs of infection. Current methods involve sampling fecal matter but previous research has shown that biomarkers for infection can be detected from saliva. After unsuccessful trials of sampling saliva from anesthetized gorillas, Tierra modified her approach using a method inspired from a publication on saliva collection in chimpanzees.

She designed a 'a mesh bag with a juice-soaked rope,' which the gorillas would chew to extract the juice from. The device actually sounds a lot like the enrichment activities she and the other gorilla caregivers like I did at the Gorilla Foundation. And it worked really well, she was able to detect alpha-amylase, an enzyme that is used as a biomarker for stress, i.e. a response to inflammation and infection.

She extended her methods to wild populations, where she and the team, sampled several populations. When the Hirwa and Group 13 gorilla groups came down with respiratory disease, she also collected samples from them.

Her research project has since ended in Rwanda, for now, and the samples are currently being shipped back for more in depth analyses on various viruses, microbes, cortisol levels and gorilla DNA. I'm very proud to hear about her work she has done -- especially on other primatology blog's like Lucy Spelman's. I'm even proud to say I know, "Hey, I know her and worked with her!"

The Doomster

Michael Phelps' dress sense: blog post

Debate over US drinking age: article

Gorilla emotions : article