And who says cute animals aren’t major players on the global scene. That cat saved a rail company and a tiny town! President-elect Obama, get me an apartment in D.C., a box of hats and ten Corgis and I’ll make Wall Street booming again in no time.

Since Tama has been such a smashing success, two other stations in Japan have adopted animal stationmasters. Sure, they might be knockoffs, but this isn’t Mr. Pibb territory - they are still adorable animals. Take Maron, the Yorkshire terrier/railmaster of Okunakayama-Kougen Station. This pup has the same duties as Tama, but actually one-ups the cat by wearing a much more awesome uniform. He has his own photobook available for purchase, and a must-see movie.

Not nearly as endearing as either other furry stationmaster is Bus, the lazy cat. The wrong-form-of-public-transit cat runs a station in the middle of Japan, though Bus mostly just sleeps and blogs. Seriously, not the best work ethic for a four-footed station boss. This video focuses on Bus, but includes some footage of Tama and Maron as well.

Still not convinced of the value of an animal stationmaster? Tama recently had an entire train designed in her honor. Video below.

Speaking of Cute Overload though, I’d never actually taken a look at the “comments” section of each post. I wish I had, because it would have given me a massive self-esteem boost about the fact that I maintain a cute animal blog. I enjoy cute animals, but these commenters FREAK OUT about them. Take the comments for this (adorable) post into consideration. A few gems:

omg squeeeee, leftest one is proshing my mind into exploshuns.

Is…is that English? I’m afraid to Google search some of this (proshing?).

I want to rub my face all over them…the bellies…the tails…the faces….*splodes!

This makes me want to set-up some sort of hotline.

The lady in the middle is holding pandy like a cat, and it’s acting like it’s being strangled, LOL!
“HALP!! She’s got meh! Run away! RUN AWAY!!!” :P
Well, nobody mentioned the tongueage!

LOL, strangulation!

oh lawds sake, red pandas are so fricking adorable! i haven’t really seen much of them as so often it is the black & white pandas the media usually report on, not these uber-cute fuzzy-wuzzies.

Stupid Giant Panda-leaning media. I listen to Red Panda talk radio.

Ultimately, I pretty much agree with all these commenters 100 percent (Red Pandas are great) but I think their word selection is…bizarre. If you waded through all of that, SURPRISE:

And then there are those NU students who express themselves musically on YouTube. In an era where anyone can record themselves covering “Live Your Life” on the ivories and have 50,000 people view said performance within a week, I’m surprised more NU students haven’t struck out for YouTube fame via tune. But Northwestern has a fair amount of notably weird musical performances floating around the web. Here are ten of the strangest musical endeavors to go from dorm room to YouTube.

1. “That Guy” by Steve Persch

As the most notable rap song out of NU (with a strong, compared to the competition, 6,102 views and media coverage ), “That Guy” takes a hard-hitting look at the type of dudes inhabiting NU. And by “hard-hitting,” I mean a Republican, a hippie, a dork and the lead singer of Vampire Weekend. While “That Guy” falls flat in delivering any riveting commentary (Persch explains in the above Daily article how the song is about how people “front” who they are, a topic socially popularized by Fat Albert), it succeeds in being very well-written (he may not be Q-Tip, but Persch has some good lines in here) and bosts references to SESP, Plex and Net IDs.

2. “Thriller” as done by various NU students

Everyone remembers the hilarious Filipino prisoner rendition of “Thriller,” but before your grandma forwarded you this internet sensation, the folks behind Dance Marathon briefly held the Guinness World Record for “most people doing the ‘Thriller’ dance at once.” Back in February of 2007, 78 dancers imitated the King of Pop, breaking the previous record of 60 people zombie-ing it up at once. For a few months, DM laid claim to a (quirky) world record. And then 1,500 inmates took that joy away from NU.

3. “I Screwed My GPA” by The Northwestern University Singaporeans and Friends

Somehow “I Screwed My GPA” both bucks and embraces the NU stereotype of homework before Hundo. Yes, the song revels in debauchery (including games of frisbee and vomiting into what appears to be a Halloween plastic pumpkin), but everything comes back to that sagging grade point average, and what’s more nerdy than letting the thought of a sub-3.0 GPA interfering with your good time? It’s important to think about this internal conflict while listening to “I Screwed My GPA” because it helps your mind avoid the subject of the putrid source material.

4. “Ignition (Remix)” by Ladies In Red

A cappella isn’t my thing. Like, when I see a flyer taped on the ground for a show, I turn the other way. I’d rather be strapped to a chair placed in front of a thousand speakers blaring out The Jerry Lewis Telethon than sit through ten minutes of a Ben Folds song done completely vocally. But even though I’m not really a fan, I understand a cappella is a staple of NU culture and tons of people enjoy it. And plenty of footage of Northwestern a cappella groups can be found online. Instead of wading through clip after clip of human beat-boxing, I’m throwing Sigma Alpha Iota’s a cappella rendition of R. Kelly’s “Ignition (Remix)” onto this list because, quite frankly, this song is pretty neat. Good work ladies, you made me not want to throw my computer out the window after four straight viewings.

5. Freestyle about NU by Common

What could be better than Northwestern students singing a famous rapper’s song? How about a famous rapper singing about the lives of Northwestern students? Chicago emcee Common did just that that at Dillo Day 2008, when he slipped into a hoodie and freestyled on topics pertinent to the NU community like painting The Rock and eating at Flat Top. The whole clip isn’t entirely Northwestern-centric though: Common gets in plenty of shout-outs to Kanye, Obama and sex, but the most memorable bits come when the Smokin’ Aces star rhymes about jumping in the lake at midnight. One complaint though: Why would you alienate the majority of the campus by just giving a shout-out to Bobb? Now I’ll never come around to Finding Forever.

6. “Tarzan Boy” (according to the video) by the Northwestern Marching Band

The NU Marching Band’s various game performances are a breeze to find online, so why settle for something so obvious? I have no idea what the context for this video is, but somehow this is the strangest band video I’ve ever seen. The key is the insightful commentary (”woooooo, hahaha, ohohohohoh”) by the ladies behind the camera.

7. “Go U” by Mo Greene

Is Marching Band not doing it for you, especially at football games? Then I present the Bad Boyz II of Northwestern football songs: Mo Greene’s “Go U.” Mr. Greene should be thankful the Wildcats are having an awesome season; I can’t picture listening to this rap if NU were limping towards the Motor City Bowl (heck, the line about Ohio State makes me cringe). But beyond being a good cut for Jock Jams: Northwestern Edition, “Go U” also offers up one of the most glowing portrayals of NU in song ever. The fans are “rowdly like Piper” and Mo Greene (oh geez, I just got that) even makes Willie the Wildcat come off as a bouncer at The 40/40 Club. Plus, “N-Dubs” is a much better t-shirt slogan than tepid “Nerdwestern.”

8. “The Real Stephtizzle” by…I’m not sure

“Stephtizzle” grew up in the Show Me State, got accepted into Northwestern and feels rejection because she’s surrounded by talent and…she made a rap video about it? The mysterious tizzle and her roommate filmed this biographical rap joint with visual aides courtesy of a laptop. This little diddy is shrouded in mystery (well, not really, you can figure out more details by checking the tags on the video) and is a vital artifact of NU during the YouTube era. Also, I’m digging The Blood Brothers poster in the background.

9. “Hockey Mom/Pitbull (Jockin’ SP Remix)” by Russ Armstrong

For all you university YouTubers who aren’t sure what you want to do with your life, NU alum Russ Armstrong shows you that it is possible to rap about current events after graduation. Though it feels archaic today, this video probably looked and sounded awesome back when a certain Vice-Presidential candidate was still relatively unknown and had not yet been outed as a functioning idiot. It’s good to see Northwestern graduates not named Stephen Colbert creating YouTube content, even if said content features a defecating kangaroo.

10. “The Jewish Boy Rap” by Rappin’ Joely-B

Not every NU YouTube video was made post Y2K. “The Jewish Boy Rap,” made by a National High School Institute participant under the name Rappin’ Joely B, was created in 1987, before a large chunk of the current NU student population was born. Featuring a very brief story starring a young Jewish man and the “King of Rap,” it doesn’t take “The Jewish Boy Rap” long to get to the good stuff, especially when he “raps the Jewish way.” Terribly awkward and unfazed by stereotypes (”we’re gonna blow you away with our big Jewish noses,” not to mention enough bagel shout-outs to give Einstein’s a run for their money), “The Jewish Boy Rap” is without a doubt the most bizarre musical endeavor to ever come out of NU and that’s even before it hits the lox-and-prayer breakdown.

Lets turn off the puppy cam for one night, however, and take a little time to gawk at other Shiba Inus on the Internet. Did you know the Shiba Inu’s favorite video game is Guitar Hero? And that Shiba Inus can sniff out Gibson Les Paul guitars?

Most Shiba Inu clips skip the set-up and just wallow in the cute. Exhibit A.

Exhibit B.

Exhibit C.

And some Shiba Inus show off.

But, as puppy cam illustrates so well, Shiba Inus are most adorable in a group.

This next dog is named Spudgy. Spudgy has bigger probelms in his life then being named Spudgy, though. Mainly, he is really tired.

The panda in the next video really wants to sleep. But once again, humanity ruins it for the bear by being loud. Also, I encourage you not to read the YouTube comments, but that should be a given for any video.

This tiger cub doesn’t have to deal with any of the problems that poor panda faced.

And finally, a lovely YouTube picture montage. Only the highest quality here at Cute Animal Blog.

I’ve already penned extensively on why Michigan sucks (and really, you don’t even need a list) so instead, lets investigate another aspect of U of M’s football team — choice of mascot. Is the wolverine an adorable animal, or an abomination deserving of a life in Hell (read: Michigan)?

The wolverine is one of the most mysterious animals around. Most Google searches I do just lead me to X-Men fan sites or football message boards. A YouTube search yields even less content, unless you like Michigan slideshows featuring Hinder on the soundtrack. Thankfully, Wikipedia comes through, and immediately paints the wolverine in negative colors. The wolverine is a type of weasel, one of the fugliest critters around. Not looking good for the wolverines cuteness credentials. Maybe a video can help.

OK, they look a lot better than your typical weasel. Hmmm, what other videos have they got?

HOLY HELL, THAT WOLVERINE FOUGHT OFF TWO WOLVES.

As Wikipedia notes, the wolverine is deceptively strong, and sounds down-right nasty. These little creatures have been known to kill moose. Big moose, not some sort of growth-stunted moose I might add. This wolverine scares off a grizzly bear.

(Note: I’d like to apologize for all the dead deer in these videos. Not the cutest image.)

I think the ultimate criteria in deciding whether an animal is cute or not is if you get the urge to hug the beast in question. After watching the next video, I can safely say the only people who would be willing to hug a wolverine are wearing several layers of body armor.

My vote goes for not cute, and I’d also nominate them for “most fear-inducing weasel on the planet.” But don’t fret too much Michigan…it’s probably better to have a fierce mascot than something that screams “couldn’t strike fear in anything.” Though, I’m all for more offensive monikersbeing changed to something more huggable. To close things out, here’s a tribute some guy did to the wolverine, complete with Queen.

Go ‘Cats!

I did wonder the other day, and I assure you I’ve never had this cross my mind before, “I wonder what Soulja Boy is up to?” The young rapper, best known for being a blight on rap music for the past commercial year, has a new album coming out (just in time for the holidays!) and has released a new single, titled “Bird Walk.”

(Which piece of clothing is better - the “Bird Walk” obnoxious text t-shirt or the “Vote” shirts only a week late?)

Since the song never actually explains what a “bird walk” is, I’m going to ignore the Urban Dictionary definiton (”A G ass walk dat only da pimps can do”) and instead assume this somehow relates to actual birds. So, how about some birds “walking it out” to Unk!

Some birds don’t need bangin’ Southern rap joints to move their feet. Some just need a computer.

The dude who put this video up took a stroll with some cranes. Now that is a bird walk.

Not walkey enough for you? Maybe this Patagonian penguins can win you over.

No post devoted to birds walking would be complete without the godfather of walking, winged creatures: Big Bird. Tragically, I couldn’t find any videos of Big Bird set to “Walk It Out” or “Crank That.” You’ll have to settle for him playing tennis with Tony Danza.

This bulldog, on the other hand, has the right idea, but just can’t find a proper position to rest in.