Dillo Day is officially done and the calendar turns to June. That means summer is definitely here (or at least the time to start seriously getting excited about the summer is here), and the coming of the warmest season calls for a special animal to showcase. Nothing says summer more than dolphins, and if you say differently, you should be banished to some sort of permanent winter. Just look at them play with bubble rings!
Did you know baby dolphins are known as calves? And that they are born tail first? Did you know I’m getting all this info from this Web site? Look at this baby dolphin.
Dolphins are really paranoid, because they only rest one half of their brain at a time, always keeping an eye open to watch out for predators. These dolphins don’t have anything to fear, though!
Dolphins find stuff and communicate using echolocation, described well here. If you ever played Ecco the Dolphin, you would have known this.
Dolphins are pretty peaceful. A meaner beast would have devoured the cat in this video.
Dolphins also like dogs!
Dolphins also like sex!
Also, the dolphin race can boast one of the greatest TV theme songs of all time.
Happy summer everyone. And remember, cute animals are all around us, not just on the Internet. Keep a watchful eye out for adorableness.
Sometimes, cute animals are flawed. And then you have Skeeter the Narcoleptic Poodle, one adorable doggy who also falls asleep a lot. Kinda depressing, but Skeeter’s also really precious.
Thanks to Billy Schwartz for finding this one. But I understand some of you might be feeling a bit downtrodden by that pooch’s predicament. So here’s a cute dog falling asleep (on its own will) to make you smile.
With the Stanley Cup Finals, NBA Playoffs, MLB regular season and Belmont Stakes going on, it’s a great time to be a sports fan. To celebrate an awesome spring of sports, here’s a video of “sporty animals.”
Not quite the Puppy Bowl, but still pretty neat. Also, if you need to deck out your pooch in sports clothes, go here.
Still feeling down about the big graduation announcement? Try cheering yourself up by voting in Today’s puppy poll! Choose which pup you think is “cutest and cuddliest” and let the world (who watches Today, I guess) know.
Bonus video of puppies in case the thought of Mayor Daley makes you want to join the Foreign Legion.
Puppies are cute, but waiting for them to grow up can take a really long time, and can also be a big drag. But thanks to the wonders of YouTube and video-editing software, dogs can become cute in a matter of seconds instead of months. Plus, you can edit out the part where they get really big. You also can slap Six Pence None the Richer’s only hit over it for added cuteness.
Warning: much like a Japanese horror film, this clip opens with the jarring image of a dog nursing her pups. If you don’t like nature and how canines feed their young, avert your eyes. Also, as mentioned, features Six Pence None the Richer.
As I was making my usual blog rounds tonight, a video posted on my favorite Japanese blog (and it should be yours), Japan Probe, grabbed my attention. It’s a video of a bear swinging a baseball bat around.
My mind, perplexing as it always is, instantly thought, “I wonder what the cutest mascot in Major League Baseball is?” And, just like that, I became determined to figure out the answer. I’ve done the proper research (Google Image Search), and have compiled a list of the cutest costumed-people roaming America’s ballparks today. A few ground rules: seeing as this is Cute Animal Blog, all mascots up for consideration need to be animalia. That eliminates baseball-headed mascots, human mascots and anything that made me go what the fluff (see what I did there?). This tragically includes the best overall mascot in baseball, the Philly Fanatic, but rules have to be followed, regardless of how made-up they are. On to the list.
U-G-L-Y, you ain’t got no alibi…
Some mascots just don’t excel in the looks department. At all. And probably should be turned into stadium-grade hot dogs (especially true in Anaheim). The fugliest of the furries are: the Texas Rangers’ poorly dubbed Rangers Captain, who comes off as a Quick-Draw McGraw wannabe; Pittsburgh’s Pirate Parrot, too fat to be cute but not fat enough to be endearing; Kansas City Royals’ mascot Slugger, better known as “Bart Simpson merged with a cat”; the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Baxter the bobcat, who looks strangely like Wilfred Brimley; the Houston Astros’ Junction Jack, who looks slightly “special,” if you catch my drift; the Colorado Rockies’ Dinger, proving dinosaurs are never cute; and Stomper, since he represents Oakland and Oakland sucks (go Angels!). Now onto the contenders.
10. Billy the Marlin
Photo courtesy of wallyq on Flickr under Creative Commons
Fish are usually never cute (note the absence of any sort of fish on this blog), but Billy the Marlin, the Florida Marlins mascot, transcends usual scaly ugliness to just make the cut on this list. His nose seems a little off-putting (and terrifying), but his flabby cheeks and open mouth make Billy a little more approachable. Loses big points for having hands despite being a fish.
9. Ace
The Toronto Blue Jays’ mascot has a very sleek color pattern (mostly because of the silver, a color that makes everything a little more futuristic), which covers up an otherwise so-so bird. Ace’s head looks way too plastic compared to his fuzzy body, but still a solid mascot. Kind of like the Blue Jays themselves…kind of good, but not good enough to finish in a memorable position.
8. The Bird
Another winged creature! The Bird, Baltimore’s finest gift to the world since Animal Collective and inspiration for The Wire, looks a little too humanish to finish higher, but the Halloween color scheme is one of the coolest in the league. Also, looks like he has googly eyes. Definite plus.
7. TC
Ahhhhh, a nice cuddly bear! But also really generic. Coming up with a mascot for the Minnesota Twins wasn’t an easy task, as evidenced by the fact the previous mascots were two fat dudes shaking hands. So even if TC isn’t the most interesting animal, he’s still adorable and fuzz-tastic. Points for apparently getting married on the field.
6. The Moose
Mooses are generally a little dopey-looking in nature, so the Seattle Mariner’s moose mascot carries a little bit of his species’s dumbness. But he’s also pretty cool, and very fuzzy. And he drives an ATV, and an animal operating a motor vehicle of any sort is instantly adorable. Especially if said animal is a moose on an ATV who almost mows down a Boston Red Sox player.
5. Fredbird
I imagine that, at first glance, you are wondering why that poor bird above is melting and if his death hurts much. Hate to break it to you, but Fredbird, the St. Louis Cardinals mascot, hasn’t had a vat of acid dumped on him, he just naturally looks that way. But therein lies the charm of Fredbird. He might be a little goopy, but he’s still cute, and most importantly he’s unique. No other MLB mascot looks like they were left in the microwave too long, and he should be celebrated for that.
4. Paws
Tigers rock! Even if they kind of look like Juggalos.
3. Screech
Two reasons why the Washington Nationals’ mascot is so great. One, Screech is really pudgy and cute, like Dom Deluise. Two, this bird has anime eyes. Super kawaii!
2. Rally Monkey
Look at the joy that little fellow brings the people. Yes, my Angel bias is showing. No, I don’t care, I love that monkey.
1. Lou Seal
Not only does Lou Seal come in two different colors, as evidenced above, but the San Francisco Giants’ mascot combines cute with cool. Just look at his “xtreme” sunglasses and “in-your-face” backwards hat. Yet, underneath all that hipness, Lou Seal is an adorable marine mammal with whiskers. Plus, the Giants need some good news nowadays.
If you glance over the “Pets and Animals” page on YouTube right now, you’ll notice a lot of screenshots of the dog featured in the video below. The video, as you’ll see after my long-winded intro, features 13 seconds of a dog whining really loudly. But people don’t hear the annoying screeching of a puppy…they here something more. Do you hear anything in this?
Some speculate the pup is shouting “Elmo,” as in every four-year-old’s favorite puppet. Others hear yelps of “out,” as in let me out. Some hear Rhianna’s “Umbrella.” One astute YouTube commenter notes that, if you believe in reincarnation…
“According to myth when an animal is born and able to yelp it’ll mutter a word which according to believers is the last word they said before they died.”
Thanks! Listen in, and decide for yourself. Or just focus on the dog, he’s pretty cute. Though he’s suffering.
Hillary backers, just give it up already. Obama’s more or less wrapped up the nomination, barring a revelation he enjoys grinding up the bones of children to put in his coffee every morning. And I doubt that is going to happen. Plus, he’s got a parrot that can recite his catchphrase, “Yes, we can.” Where is your birdie-pal, Hillary?
This video made the front page of CNN. Think about that. Also, parrots can be pretty annoying.
Consider this the Gone With The Wind of hamster videos. At 8:25 long, this isn’t for those types of people who want a five-second clip of a duck running in a circle for satisfaction. You have to be devoted to this hamster video, but you shall be rewarded if you choose to go down the hamster-hole. Trust me, this video has a lot of great moments.
I think there might be some sort of hidden commentary on society buried in this video. I just can’t find it because I’m too entranced by an ape using a cell phone and dancing around. Plus, he dresses like people do.
I don’t know how this baby hamster ended up on a piano in the first place, or why the person filming this feels the need to push down on the ivories in order to make the furry guy fall down. But the end results are adorable.
Baby hamsters enjoy more than popcorn, though! If YouTube tells us any truth, they also like broccoli.
And bananas!
And… veggie burgers? That’s what this video claims.
Cute Animal Blog readers, I usually don’t ask for your help. I just throw a video of a red panda up on this here Web space and hope for the best. But not today. Today, dear readers, you have to get involved, and help name this kitten.
This cat doesn’t have a name. That just isn’t right. So, the owners want to hear from the wisest people in the world — YouTube commenters — to find the perfect name for this little guy. So, if you thought of a great name for the cat while watching that video (all I got was “Lil’ Screecher”), head on over here and leave a comment with your idea. Let’s show the world how good Northwestern is at naming cats.
There I was, just sifting through YouTube videos when I stumbled upon a video of a dog holding a press conference. I couldn’t resist clicking it. Here is what I saw:
I stuck around until the very end, and became intrigued by “Bark the Vote.” So, I went to the Web site. And had my mind blown away.
Bark the Vote seems to be akin to Rock the Vote, a group aimed at encouraging people to head out to the polls this November. Instead of using “in-your-faceness” and bad rock music, Bark the Vote relies on Schmitty (”The Real New Yorkie”) to get people voting. Here is the group’s mission statement, outlined in the page’s blog… which is written by Schmitty himself.
“So pooches — let’s unite and walk our human companions to the polls to exercise their right to vote in November. Maybe if all our pet loving friends vote — we will have a kinder, gentler country . . . and more treats!”
I’ve never heard better words blogged by a dog. The site also features “Schmitty’s Platform,” which outlines Bark the Vote’s takes on various issues. On the economy: “There’s nothing better than feeling good about a job well done, getting a well-deserved pat on the head and being rewarded with yummy stuff to eat.” On diversity: “Look at the long-standing feud between mailmen and dogs. What’s that all about? Take my mailman — please! Arf-Arf! After a few good sniffs, I now love my mailman and my mailman loves me.”
Get-out-and-vote programs rarely fill me with anything but contempt or fear for my life, so Bark the Vote wins for making me want to fill out my absentee ballot to make puppies across the country happy. Forget issues like abortion and social security, lets focus on building more dog houses for cute pups!
Only in Japan can a monkey work in a bar getting people drinks. I’m also going to go out on a limb and say only in Japan can a monkey wear khaki shorts and a nice shirt.
