A ZOOLOGY graduate has set up a webcam with a motion detector in a bid to verify a recent sighting of a big cat in Leeds. James Downs and his partner, Anna Lepianka, saw the animal stalking through a field near a disused railway line on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday afternoon. James, 37, said: “It was about the size of a Labrador, and dark coloured with a long tail. It was prowling at the bottom of the field and went up into the brambles. “I used to work in a zoo and was a zoologist by degree. It was no Collie – it was definitely a cat. Its front shoulder blades were popping like cats’ do. “Unfortunately we don’t have a photograph. It was about half a mile away.” They couple spotted the animal from their home in Stanks Drive, Swarcliffe, at about 2pm. “I walked up to the field about 20 minutes later to have a nosey,” James said. “It’s a deer path and if it’s a big cat it will follow the scent.” There were no footprints but James found two shredded pigeons, and hopes to catch the animal on film as hard proof.
Read more at: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/is-there-a-big-cat-roaming-round-leeds-1-8077505
Sunday 21 August 2016
Warning released after multiple sightings of a hyena in woods near Bristol
Reports of multiple sightings of what people are describing as a hyena in woodland near Bristol have sparked a frenzy of speculation in Portishead and the surrounding area.
The initial sighting was reported by Stuart Price, who posted his experience on the town's community social media, and more people said they had either seen or heard a hyena-like creature.
Mr Price said when he contacted police, he was told by officers that his sighting was 'not the first', but police would not go looking for it until they have firm evidence.-read more
Crikey! I've got two crocodiles in my back garden
A reptile enthusiast in Scarborough is hoping he can play a part in saving a crocodile from extinction.
first known sheepskin coat
The world's first known sheepskin coat was worn by Ötzi the 'Iceman' 5,300 years ago.
Scientists have studied the famous mummy's clothes for the first time and found they were made from a variety of five different animals.
These included brown bear for his hat, goat for his leather and sheep - for his coat.
It means Ötzi, found frozen in a glacier in the Alps a quarter of a century ago, was donning the garment more than 5,000 years before today's hipsters.read more
old man card
my sensei says i play the old man card -54 -when trying to do the physical aspects of gesar karate and to some point he is right as i constantly have to fight my nerve damage ,bad knees,hip playing up and when my brain is not playing ball with my body .i don't know if i am that old as stiil do weights,light cardio ,karate ,walk so i am going to try harder next time.
Killer shark off Cornwall?
In a scene reminiscent of the film Jaws, a fisherman out on the water has said he was nearly toppled from his wooden boat by the man eating shark.
The angler was out looking for mackerel a mile off the coast of St Ives, when suddenly his boat was rammed by the 7ft fish.
As it swam away – passing another boat – he identified it as an oceanic white tip, a shark famed for feeding frenzies around shipwrecks and plane crashes.
While the prospect of this killing machine swimming around our coast sounds terrifying, before any one flees the water, experts are already pouring cold water on the reports.
They claim the shark, normally found in tropical waters, has never been seen this far north – and even if it has entered our waters it will be virtually comatose by the cold.
Nevertheless the fisherman are adamant.-read more
pc madness .
oxford council in a possible act of pc overkill may ban the following titles from its documents -mr,ms,mrs as not too upset transgender people and also want to use a gender neutral option mx.no i am not anti transgender i just think it will make people more anti and pc is just going too far .
gale returns home.
gale is a rubber duck who was returned to his home in new york after a 5 year journey around the world ,during this time its owners received postcards from 20 countries.
army style baseball cap is nomore.
i first acquired this cap in torrington pannier market some many moons ago as i liked the look and style of said cap.this cap served me well protecting me from the rain ,sun and in my mind made me look cool -hard to believe dear reader.i finally had to say goodbye to this cap due ripped on top eyond helping my balding head from the solar rays of the sun ,a sad day.so goodbye dear cap thanks for the memories.
are you born bad?
a part of the brain -the cerebral cortex -brains generosity centre is more active in kinder people who in turn have greater empathy with others. in a study by oxford university -31 man aged 19-32 had to play a game learning to associate symbols with money rewards and were given chances to win for themselves or another player.those who rewarded themselves were faster at identifying the symbols that give themselves a reward so may explain why some people could be bad or less likely to help a fellow person-the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex is the specific part of the brain that is tuned into helping people.
not a toaster
if you like toast you can now get a toaster called tasteriod.this toaster connects to your smartphone to print images on bread ,very useful not.
Saturday 20 August 2016
DNA traces origins of Iceman's ragtag wardrobe
DNA analysis of Oetzi the Iceman's clothes has traced their origin to at least five different species of animal.
Among his kit were a hat of brown bear skin and a quiver made from roe deer.
Despite being well preserved and studied, the 5,300-year-old mummy's various leather items had not all been identified at the species level.
These findings, published in Scientific Reports, reveal a mix of wild-hunted animals with sheep, goat and cattle related to modern domestic breeds.
The researchers say this points to Copper Age people choosing carefully between different wild and domesticated animals when looking for materials to make their clothes.
But Oetzi's motley wardrobe, including a coat made from at least four separate goat and sheep hides, could also suggest a more haphazard and desperate approach - stitching together whatever scraps of skin were available.-read more
Sunday 14 August 2016
British Comics: A Cultural History
The specifically British contribution to the history of comics and cartoons remains under-researched and underappreciated. While there is a growing critical literature on such high-profile figures as Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, and Grant Morrison, huge swathes of British cartooning history have been neglected by critics, historians, and fans. As James Chapman points out in his informative new study, the “work of Martin Barker and Roger Sabin represents the only sustained academic engagement with comics in Britain… the British comic has never achieved the cultural cachet of the bande dessinee, but nor has it found a popular mythology equivalent to the American superhero tradition.” While Chapman might also have pointed to Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury’s 2006 book on Great British Comics: Ripping Yarns and Wizard Wheezes, his larger point is a valid one. Not only has “scholarly attention” been “thin on the ground,” fan culture in Britain often evinces a greater interest in second-tier Marvel characters than indigenous creators and titles. The so-called “British invasion” of the 1980s and 1990s is the conspicuous exception precisely because it left its mark on the American mainstream.
Both the scope and the scale of British cartooning are worth emphasizing. The medium’s early development was profoundly influenced by the work of satirical print artists such as William Hogarth (1697-1764), James Gillray (1757-1815), and George Cruikshank (1792-1878), as well as by various London-based illustrated magazines of the nineteenth century, such as Punch, the Illustrated London News, and-read more
Marvel Comics History and Marvel Comics Background
Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. Affectionately called the House of Ideas by the fan press, Marvel’s best-known comics titles include Fantastic Four, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Daredevil, Thor, Captain America, and X-Men. Most of Marvel’s fictional characters reside in the Marvel Universe.
Since the 1960s, it has been one of the two largest American comics companies, along with DC Comics. Located in New York City, Marvel has been successively headquartered in the McGraw-Hill Building on West 42nd Street (where it originated as Timely Comics in 1939); in suite 1401 of the Empire State Building; at 635 Madison Avenue (the actual location, though the comic books’ indicia listed the parent publishing-company’s address of 625 Madison Ave.); 575 Madison Avenue; 387 Park Avenue South; 10 East 40th Street; and 417 Fifth Avenue.
Timely Comics
Marvel Comics was founded by established pulp-magazine publisher Martin Goodman in 1939 as an eventual group of subsidiary companies under the umbrella name Timely Comics. Its first publication was Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), featuring the second appearance of Carl Burgos’ android superhero, the Human Torch, and the first generally available appearance of Bill Everett’s mutant anti-hero Namor the Sub-Mariner. The contents of that sales blockbuster were supplied by an outside packager, Funnies, Inc., but by the following year Timely had a staff in place.
The company’s first editor, the writer-artist Joe Simon, teamed with soon-to-be industry legend Jack Kirby to create one of the first patriotically themed superheroes, -read more
The History Of DC Comics
DC Comics is known as the king of all comic books. It has been the leader in the industry since its start many years ago. They paved their way with their styles and strategies and many other comics book industries in America followed them such as their rival Marvel Comics. The history of DC Comics has gone on to be a huge part of American culture.
DC Comics were able to survive and continue to thrive even when there were times when they had gone through declining periods when comics books were losing interest. However, today they proved to be one of the most successful stories in the comic book industry and are a subsidiary of the Warner Brothers Entertainment and are also part of Time Warner too.
The DC Comics made a name for themselves in 1939 as they were then founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. During that time its company was known as National Allied Publications. The initials for the DC Comic books were from taken from the Detective Comic series.
With that series came the rise of Batman. There was another line of comic books, known as Action Comics, which featured a new super hero named Superman. Over the years these two super heroes became quite popular and to this day they are still two of the most popular characters to ever appear in comic books and went on to spark the way for many other super heroes.
There once was a time when this industry was under an attack during the 1950’s as they were not considered to be up to any American standards for any children and the younger generation too. This company did continue to keep its success during that time along with several other companies too, and covered some areas as westerns and romantic stories but it was their reemergence of the super heroes which would lead them to a huge recreation of what made them so successful in the comic book industry known as the Silver Age.
It was during 1965 when the industry introduced a new super hero by the name of Flash. This character was created many years before but was brought back and updated to be placed in more popular times. This time more emotional and personal compelling stories were used along with some better storyboards and artwork which helped to liven up the character. The company did the same with all the other characters too, which included batman and superman. -read more
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