Monday, January 29, 2007
Plastic Reincarnation
What happens when a G.I. Joe guy loses a leg or your kid gets tired of the Happy Meal toy he just had to have? Most of these castaways end up in the junk drawer or the landfill, but a lucky few make their way to Toy Lab where they're given new life by "kids" of all ages.

A recent rainy Sunday found my husband and I picking out parts for our own Franken-toys.

I named mine the Interstellar Puppigator.


Ben called his Carl G. Benson (don't ask me why).





The (gor)REAL(a) World: Prague


"It was only just a few months ago that Czechs were first introduced - some would say subjected to - reality TV. In late summer two new programmes hit the commercial stations, Big Brother and the then lesser-known VyVoleni (The Selected), drawing a great deal of media attention. Millions have now tuned in - and a great number of young viewers watch regularly - but others were turned-off from the start, either unimpressed or offended by the exploits of the shows' overnight celebrities. Until now. A new reality show begun this month by Czech Radio has grabbed many of these viewers' attention, a show that can be said to be "truly different", even at first glance. The reason? The stars of the programme are gorillas.
Moja and Kijivu, photo: Khalil Baalbaki, www.rozhlas.cz/odhaleni
The show, called Odhaleni - Unmasking, was put together by Czech Radio in connection with public broadcaster Czech TV. On November 7th a total of sixteen cameras began monitoring the exploits of four gorillas at Prague Zoo, and will continue taping and broadcasting on the internet for the next two months. Just like in other reality shows, viewers can tune in to see daily clips, or live action, and, just like in Big Brother or The Selected, one can send in phone text messages in support of their favourite star."
Flip This (Monkey) House


In this photo provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society, a pair of squirrel monkeys cuddle in the Bronx Zoo's newly renovated monkey house, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007, in New York. After being closed several months for renovation, the building reopened with newly painted murals as well as new rock formations and waterfalls. (AP Photo/Wildlife Conservation Society, Julie Larsen Maher) Credit: Julie Larsen Maher WCS
Oops
In a mysterious bit of monkey business, a female at a chimpanzee sanctuary has given birth, despite the fact that the facility's entire male chimp population has had vasectomies.

More.
Monday, January 22, 2007
If We Were On South Park . . .
This is what we would look like:




Created with South Park Studio
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Guilty Pleasures


Here at Tiny Monkey Industries, we are known to indulge in several guilty pleasures, which we usually keep to ourselves. But, sometimes, they're just too funny not to share. Case in point: The eating of raw cookie dough. Many people (and monkeys) enjoy the simple pleasures of cookie dough, but are ashamed to admit it.

That shame has now been captured in song by TMI faves Paul & Storm. The song, entitled "Pillsbury Cookie Dough," can be purchased for $1 from iTunes or from the Paul & Storm store.

If you are unwilling to part with $1, we've captured the uncommonly witty lyrics below. Imagine an earnest commercial theme song as you read (maybe that coffee commercial—was it Folgers or Maxwell House?—where the son comes home from the military and surprises his family at Christmas).

It's 4 in the morning, you sneak out of bed, and tiptoe down the stairs. You go to the kitchen and leave off the light, the Pillsbury cookie dough is waiting there. Yeah you open the door, take the tube in your hand, get the scissors down from the shelf. Peel back the label, give it a squeeze, you're gonna eat the whole thing all by yourself. There's nothing better than a whole damn tube of raw cookie dough. Go on and eat it all. Don't slice it, don't cook it, don't serve it, don't share it. Go on and eat it all. Hide the wrapper in the bottom of the trash and go back up to bed . . . filled with shame and cookie dough . . . from Pillsbury.

Howwwwwl


A rare black howler monkey dangles from a branch in the Community Baboon Sanctuary at Bermudian Landing in Belize, Central America, on Dec. 24, 2005. Some 200 private land owners voluntarily protect 20 square miles of habitat for the monkeys, whose population now exceeds 2,000. (AP Photo/Vicki Smith)
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Odd Adoption

From The Daily Mail

She is the ultimate predator - a sleek and stealthy killer. Pouncing on her prey, she silences the baboon with one swipe of a vicious paw. Then, suddenly, something stirs in the dead animal's fur, and the law of the jungle is rewritten.

From the bedraggled pelt of her kill crawls a tiny infant - a one-day-old baboon. In that moment, this young leopard forgets she is a hunter, and nurtures the baby baboon as if it were her own cub.

More.
Creepy Cool

These life-like sculptures by artist Tony Matelli both attract and repel me at the same time. I'd love to check these out in person.