marko_the_rat: Peer (peer)
Neil Gaiman is a writer of excellent and discriminating taste. He likes rats. Most of his books have at least one rat in them. I am presently reading his latest collection of short stories, "Trigger Warnings". I haven't encountered any rats yet, but I fully expect I will. Which brings me to this image. I won it in the art auction at Further Confusion 2007. I just had to get it because I am a rat that loves kangaroos. I asked the artist, G T Skunkrat, for the story behind this piece and he said there wasn't any. It's a fine piece, but that's where he fell down, according to Neil Gaiman, who had this choice piece of advice for artists: "Be amiable but enigmatic, and when people ask for the story behind the painting, say, "My lips are sealed." But for god's sake, imply there is one. It's the story they're buying." Of course, I'd already bought it by then so it didn't matter, and I still have it celebrate my longstanding love of kangaroos.

Oil painting of a rat hugging a kangaroo
marko_the_rat: (camera rat)
[livejournal.com profile] madiushrat tweeted this wonderful photo! Read here for why this photo is special.
marko_the_rat: (Default)
Courtesy of Wolfie, I thought I should let you rats know that there is a documentary on ABC's iView called Mark Lewis Season: Rat which is about "the remarkable and intelligent rats of New York [Of course, all rats are remarkable and intelligent--MML] and their ongoing conflict with another successful mammal, Man." This is by the director of Cane Toads: An Unnatural History (also available on iView), so it promises to be quirky and off beat.

Hurry! These documentaries will only be on iView for a limited time.

EDIT: We've seen it before. It's actually a tabloid-style hysteria piece with not much in the way of serious natural history that sets [livejournal.com profile] ristin off ranting about how much New Yorkers exaggerate. (I myself have great respect for New York and its inhabitants, though I am still slightly bewildered by it. I guess, in spite of my protestations, I'm really just a country rat at heart.) Also, iView is only available to Australians. Those who are very keen could try to find an Australian anonymous proxy so they can sneak in but proceed at your own risk. :/

End

Oct. 21st, 2008 06:09 pm
marko_the_rat: Gothic or serious (gothic)
Bo was put down today. He somehow got his muzzle caught in the cage bars overnight and that, combined with his myco, was too much for him. After we freed him we washed him and I cradled him this morning, wrapped in my favourite towel, until he settled down. Ristin took him to work so he could keep an eye on him but he wasn't getting better. We couldn't let him suffer and he wasn't really aware of his surroundings or eating anymore. The vet said he wasn't going to recover and recommended we put him down. He's gone now; not even a body left to mourn over.

It's funny, I haven't really felt it much as of yet. I cried a little, while talking to Ristin on the phone, but mostly I've just felt numb.

I'll miss you, Bo.
marko_the_rat: (Default)
(Well, this rat may not need one, but it would certainly help. o_O) Brisbane researchers have mapped 66km of streets around St Lucia by writing software that mimics how rats navigate and plugging a webcam into it. Go rats! (And then tell us how you got there.)
marko_the_rat: (Default)
[livejournal.com profile] qtplatypus has pointed out a very interesting interview with CSIRO Wildlife's Dr Ken Aplin. Dr Aplin is obviously a very intelligent and discerning scientist; he admires them greatly and describes them as "lovely creatures." ^_^ I counsel rat-lovers not to be put off by the title, but I do warn that he does speak briefly about rats as food.
marko_the_rat: (Default)
Several months ago I reported a new rat species, now I'm pleased to announce the rediscovery of a rat species after 112 years! Yes, the very cute greater dwarf cloud rat is back with us once again, after having been found by a team of Filipino and American scientists. This find further emphasises how important the Philippines is to the world of biology, especially to rats. Lawrence Heaney, Curator of Mammals at the Field Museum and Project Leader, said, "The Philippines may have the greatest concentration of unique biological diversity, relative to its size, of any country in the world."

Ratties!

Mar. 12th, 2008 01:57 pm
marko_the_rat: (Default)
(What's this? An unlocked LJ post that's not about Rattus? o_O)

While the wonderful Higgs was up here, he took some impromptu footage of me and my pet rats, Izza and Bo. This is the first ever video footage of me outside of my fursuit that I've put online ever! Please be kind.

marko_the_rat: (Default)
As should be obvious, I just love Second Life. Part of what I find so appealing about it is the amount of control you have over how you look and it's not that hard to grasp the basics of how to do it. Over the past few weeks, I've done my latest round of changes to my avatar and probably have reached a temporary point of stasis. I thought this would be a good opportunity to share the latest fruits of my labour. The main changes are I've finalised my whiskers (yes, I'm meant to have more on the right side than my left), added ventral fur and added texturing to my tail.

EDIT: Added a close up of my tail so you can see the texture.

Includes 3D computer animated rat nudity )

For a comparison, this is what I started with back in July of last year.
marko_the_rat: (standing)
Some of you may think I have way too much time on my paws. I, on the other hand, think I have way too little.

Rat Health Fund )
marko_the_rat: (Default)
Having gone a few weeks without posting, some of you may be wondering what's up. Although me not posting for a long time can be a sign of depression, it is not conclusive. :) In fact, on the furry side, my life is great! I've been rediscovering Second Life and was recently accepted into the Furry Vermin club. I'm very proud that they took me into their dystopian, militaristic sim even though I was going about in the fur at the time. I'm sure a certain very special squirrel by the name of [livejournal.com profile] frynge had something to do with it. ^_^ To celebrate, I thought I should make some clothing more in keeping with the theme of the sim. I don't want them to think I'm just a bit of fluff they keep on the side. ;) They have some genuinely tough-looking rats there, but I was going more for a wannabe look. I'm still just a cute rat at heart.

Furry Vermin gear -- tail
marko_the_rat: (Default)
I've reported on this before, but there's a new article about rats laughing (including a video). Dr Panksepp has been gathering more evidence outlining the parallels to human laughter and there's even speculation about rats' sense of humour: He thinks they favour slapstick. Funny. I've always had a weakness for toilet humour myself. And anyone who's kept rats as pets know they delight in being mischievous.
marko_the_rat: (Default)
This news story is doing the rounds of LiveJournal. I know because there were three posts in a row that all mentioned me. :) I'm glad [livejournal.com profile] furrypaw was at least polite enough to point out I'm a clean rat.

Typical. The rats were hiding when I was there, and the moment I leave they come out and play.
marko_the_rat: (Default)
Seeing as I'm leaving for America in 1½ weeks, I couldn't resist sharing this delightful strip from the Australian syndicated comic strip Swamp:



(I want to assure my very kind American hosts that I will not be travelling with two garbage bags!)


(And [livejournal.com profile] higgs_raccoon sent me a box full of Swiss chocolates, in part in appreciation of my fursuit video. Go tell him how wonderful he is!)

RatCast

Dec. 18th, 2006 08:56 pm
marko_the_rat: (Default)
The remarkable [livejournal.com profile] jackrat has done his very first RatCast, for rats and other rodents. There are some really good songs in this (not least by JackRat himself) so do give it a listen even if you're not a rodent.
marko_the_rat: (Default)
I find this very amusing, for what it says about me. I saw this milk carton tie-in with
Charlotte's Web
(because I know that whenever I think of a pig I think of milk) and I just had to get it for the cute rat. Imagine what I'll be like when
Ratatouille
comes out next year! (PS: Has anyone seen any
Charlotte's Web
plush? If so, where?)


(In other news, this will now stuff up the photo sequence of Rattus in the shower; I'll fix it later.)

Ferrat!

Nov. 11th, 2006 09:01 pm
marko_the_rat: (Default)
([livejournal.com profile] quillblade must take the blame for coining a new species name.) Tremble in fear as [livejournal.com profile] rose_quoll demonstrates what a ferret-rat would look like.
The amazing ferret-rat!
marko_the_rat: (Default)
I made my rat boggle!
marko_the_rat: (happy)
I've been fairly bursting with rat pride lately. I've stood up for my species on Second Life, and I even defended the honour of scavengers at work today.

To celebrate, I made a "Proud to be Rat" montage today for my profile. It's intended as a sort of homage/tribute to Rose's "Proud to be a furry" sequence, also in my profile.

Proud to be a Rat


The artwork is courtesy of [livejournal.com profile] rose_quoll, [livejournal.com profile] aldi, [livejournal.com profile] swiftrat and Ninja Weasel.
marko_the_rat: (Default)
It turns out they're doing a live action remake of Charlotte's Web. If they're following the animated classic (I have to confess I haven't read the original book by E. B. White) Templeton the rat, while not a main character, does have a significant role. I don't know if other rats will agree, but I always saw him as a likeable rogue.

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Marko T. Rat

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