Scientists have just found the oldest planet in the known universe, and likely anywhere else for that matter -- 12.7 BILLION years old, quite literally almost as old as the universe itself. It's a Jupiter-size monster, and the folks who found it are both excited and very startled by their find. This may change a lot of thinking as to just how long life has been around, as the discoverers claim this proves it may well have had an Earth-like companion originally. You can read more here.

Doodles wrote in with this month's listing of upcoming future comics. Check it out, below. Also, I've incorporated Treesong's addendum at the bottom. Enjoy!

A black Labrador retriever apparently had the sense enough to go to a West Virginia hospital after being hit by a car.

Click here for story

A vet was called after he entered the waiting room, and is now being held while his owner is located.

Normally, racehorse names are reviewed for "correctness" by governing bodies, so that they are not derogatory, insulting, or vulgar. Once in a while, however, one makes it through, and the French three-year old filly "Big Tits" is one of them.

In explaining how the name came to pass, trainer Elie Lellouche says "We were having lunch and trying to come up with ideas... My son suggested Gros Nichons, but that wouldn't have got past France Galop, so we decided on the English equivalent."

That equivalent was overlooked by the British Jockey Club, who is in reciprocal agreement to check names for obscenities and the like. Now they are forced to allow the filly to race in the UK, much to the displeasure of "proper" racefans. As Jockey Club spokesman John Maxse said, "We never saw Big Tits."

A woman who claimed that she saw someone throw a bag of puppies out of a car, making national news and spawning a large reward for information leading to the capture of the puppy tosser, has now been charged with filing a false report. The puppy that was being shown as a valient rescue of the tragic event was discovered to be a recent purchase.
Tracy Lloyd told reporters that she didn't want her face on TV when the original story broke, but she was undone as the woman who sold her the dog not a week earlier came forward after recognising Lloyd's voice and her dog. The puppy has been returned to the original owner.
Update: Interestingly, or perhaps sickly, enough, the description Lloyd gave of the suspects who threw the dogs out of the car matched the family who gave her the dog in the first place. Not a very nice lady at all.

I never really saw if there was a bulletin board reserved specifically for furry roleplaying. So, I made one. There's not much there right now (not even a cool domain name). I just put it up using free BB software, but I hope to eventually make it a place everyone can come to RP as an alternative to the much more plentiful MU*s.

Brody's Furry RP BB

The Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions and other "greenhouse gases" has spawned unusual legislation in New Zealand. Unlike the majority of countries which signed the Kyoto Protocol, New Zealand contributes very little in the way of industrial pollutants, with more than 40% of suspected greenhouse gases in the country being agricultural in origin.

But from what, might you ask? From the country's 45 million sheep and 10 million cattle, who are hard at work day and night converting luscious grass into aromatic methane. It is this by-product of consumption which is being contested for taxation, and which would bring in about $4.9 million a year (ranging between $300 - $10,000 per farmer) to fund research on agriculutural impact minimilization.

The long awaited issue #4 of Circles will be ready for sale from the Rabbit Valley(R) Comic Shop on Friday, July 11th.

A pair of white Bengal tigers were born recently at the Natural Bridge Zoo in Virginia.

Read more here

Furry Networks is back online and serving your furry website hosting needs. For more info aboout us and our hosting plans visit www.furrynet.com

The staff of Feral! is very pleased to announce that John Barrett is our guest of honour for Feral! 2003. Known for creating evocative, dynamic characters, John Barrett is a furry artist par excellence. Barrett is also known for his character Roxikat, who serves as the current mayor of FurryMUCK. You can visit Roxikat's website, and view some of the wonderful artwork, at http://us.vclart.net/vcl/Artists/John-Barrett/

We are also greatly honoured to announce that Krahnos the Magi-Dragon will be our special guest for Feral! 2003. Krahnos creates works of warmth and feeling, whose soft lines and beautifully-realised characters transport you to worlds of Fantasy. To view some of Krahnos' works, you can visit his site at http://www.furnation.com/Krahnos

See you at Feral!
20-24 August 2003
http://www.campferal.com

Russian police battling fish smugglers have deployed a cat to sniff out contraband, including Caspian Sea sturgeon which produce Russia's world famous caviar.

Read the article here

Detroit Zoo workers await news of cuts By Tiffany L. Woods for The Detroit News

FURTHER CONFUSION 2004
JAN 22 - 26, 2004

In this edition:

* Introduction
* FC Annual Picnic
* Web page updated
* Submissions needed for FCTV
* Gaming at FC
* We have suites available
* Tables still left Dealers' Room
* Staff positions available

An article on furries appeared in the recent issue of Tin House, a Portland, Oregon based literary magazine.