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Sparks in the wild, Sydney sparks, Uncategorized

A puggle named Beau

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Cate

In exciting news for people who love animals, people who love Australia, or people who just love strange looking creatures with funny names, Sydney’s Taronga Zoo have announced that they’re now looking after a 40 day old puggle (that’s zootalk for ‘baby Echidna’ to you and me). Its name is Beau and it was found in a caravan park on the central coast. Presumably not on a surfing holiday, given Beau’s tender age.

Although, Beau might have been relishing an early taste of freedom – in what seems to me like a pretty severe form of grounding, adult female Echidnas generally “stash their young in a burrow from about 50 days old”, according to experts from the Zoo. And they don’t let them out for months. Although, they do home deliver food to their puggles, so that’s a plus.

And while we won’t know whether it’s Mr Beau or Miss Beau for some months yet, we do know that young Beau has a healthy appetite – according to the Zoo, “Beau resembles a mini vacuum cleaner, going back and forth making sure every drop of milk is sucked up – contributing to its ever growing belly”. You go, Beau.

So, there you go. A little story about Beau – from a trailer park on the central coast to a prime harbourside pad in Sydney, without the constraints of gender or hair. Good luck to you, pretty puggle.

You can check out more photos and videos of Beau on the Taronga Zoo website here.

Sparks in the wild

Birds of a feather

Posted on September 26, 2012September 24, 2012 by Cate

Pigeons often get a hard time – whether you mock them as ‘rats with wings’, or snigger as they rummage through school rubbish bins to try and salvage some dinner, they’re not exactly the most admired in the bird world. Except for racing pigeons – those guys are just amazing and I don’t think I’ll ever understand how they ‘work’. Anyways, a recent pigeon post on designboom caught my eye and I thought I’d share it here.

In a nutshell, German artists Julian Charriere and Julius von Bismarck (how’s that for a great name?) came up with a project they called “Some pigeons are more equal than others” during this year’s Biennale in Venice. In a daring PR campaign to make the pigeons ‘less offensive’ and more attractive to visitors, they took some of the birds from the Venetian piazzas into specially created booths and spray-painted them in different colours. Birds of spray, if you will. (Sorry.)

It’s an interesting idea and it definitely changes the whole look of the birdies. But, like ladies dressed up and fake tanned for a day at the races, the bright packaging will fade and true colours will be revealed before too long. And pigeons will be pigeons. Here are some of the photos – see what you think.

You can check out the designboom post here, with lots more photos of the multi-coloured pigeons.

Home sparks

A real bed head

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Cate

I noticed these on a recent Fab.com sale and thought they needed to be shared. Strictly speaking, they’re not works of art, they’re beds. But with a difference – these beds are made out of GIANT ANIMALS. Uh huh. According to their website, the people at Incredibeds are trying to encourage children to sleep in their own beds, rather than in with their parents or out on the lounge or up in a treehouse, I guess. I’m just not sure that dressing a little person’s bed in a giant bear or dog or pink cat, complete with giant paws, is the way to go…I mean, I’ve seen Gremlins, I know just what happens when seemingly cute, innocent, furry things go rogue…

Fuzzy Brown Bear “appears sleeping WITH EYES REMOVED”.

As always, I just put the ideas out there for you to consider. Perhaps you know a little person who would like to sleep in the jaws of a dinosaur every night, or be cradled by a giant brown bear that has had its eyes removed, or a fairly suspicious looking pink cat. Or maybe your inner child is crying out for a bed like this. Whatever, you can check out more about these beds at the Incredibeds website here. Good night & sweet dreams…And good luck…

Fashion Sparks

EverydaySparks Unique Gift Idea #73

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Cate

A main idea of this blog is to share stuff I see, which you might not. And for me, that often includes wacky gift ideas. I recently stumbled across The Mountain T-Shirt Store via a sale on Fab.com. They sell an interesting range, which they call Big Face Animals. And although you probably think you can imagine what they look like, I’ve included some of my favourites from this intriguing range below. They might just make the perfect unique gift for an animal lover. Or the perfect exposure therapy for an animal fearer. Or just a funny present for someone who appreciates crazy looking shirts. I’ve certainly never seen anything like them before…

And looking at all those giant faces has freaked me out a bit, so that’s enough for now. You can check out this bizarro range (and lots of other strangely named categories) at The Mountain T-Shirts shop here.

Sparks in the wild, WWWhat?

Happy Shark Week!

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Cate

I like to think that I’m a woman of the world and I know what’s going on…which is why I can’t believe that until yesterday I hadn’t heard of Shark Week. You probably already know all about it, but just in case you’re like me and have missed this festival in previous years, here’s a brief update. Shark Week started back in 1988 – it’s a creation of the Discovery Channel and is essentially a week-long series of TV shows about sharks. Apparently, it was developed to help the average person have a greater respect for sharks. And it’s now broadcast in over 72 countries. Uh huh.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Shark Week and the peeps at the Discovery Channel marketing machine have gone all out. In addition to the usual souvenir DVDs, books and t-shirts, you can also buy a heap of other wacky gear to show that you’re a friend of the sharks. Like this hat, for example.

SharkWeekHat — Foam Fin Hat from the Shark Week Store

Or these cupcakes, custom-made in a Georgetown bakery. The toppers show a logo or a shark or A LONE HAND STICKING UP FROM THE OCEAN OF ICING. Not sure that image is helping the sharks’ cause, to be honest.

SharkWeekCupcakes — DC Cupcakes from the Shark Week Store

And then there’s this hoodie t-shirt (for adults and for kids) – if you hold your arms like you’re giving yourself a hug, you can scare the life out of people around you. Nothing says Happy Shark Week like a giant set of chompers headed your way.

SharkWeekShirt — Shark Week Hoodie from the Shark Week Store

Finally, here’s the ultimate Shark Week accessory for your canine companion – a Hammerhead Shark Pet Costume. It doesn’t seem quite right to me, but hey, anything goes in Shark Week!

SharkWeekPet — Pet Costume from the Shark Week Store

So, I wish you and yours a very happy Shark Week. If you’d like to learn more about this Week, you can check out the Discovery Channel website here or head straight to the Shark Week Store to stock up on goodies here. A word of warning – when I checked, the website went straight to an auto-play video with a very scary voice over very scary music, “Deep beneath, a pre-dat-or is lurking…” Eeeeek – Happy Shark Week!