NEWS ITEM: For the uninformed, this week is "Fat Bear Week", when ursines throughout Alaska (as well as the Continental USA) begin to bulk up for the impending 'winter hibernation'. Each one eats lots of sockeye salmon (adding four pounds a day to their body weight). Nowhere is this feeding frenzy more prevalent than in Katmai National Park in southern Alaska. As a result, the National Park Service is holding a special election, where folks get to vote for their favorite 'fat bear' (based on video footage of the fattened finalists), with the winner (and runner-ups) to be announced any day now. For more info, visit the following link:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/07/.....rs-alaska.html

Of course, hearing this RL news story might inspire some of you "FA" artists to render 'fat bears' in an interesting pre-hibernation scenario. My own (tentative) idea involves a wintertime 'slumber party' for some of this site's best known ursine characters - including 'Tolstoy', 'Fanimal', 'Tay', and (blowing my own horn) 'Bor-Bor Bear' (to name but a few). And since these furry behemoths will be 'pigging out' before turning in, said 'slumber party' will not be held in a cave, but instead in an extra-large cavern - to accommodate all those ginormous bellies. (To reiterate, this idea is tentative, and I might not have the spare time to draw all of the aforementioned corpulent characters.)

FOLLOW-UP: We have a winner! 'Beadnose 409' was chosen as the favorite 'fat bear' in Katmai National Park. For more details, visit the following links:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/scie.....=.45f61a4cd781

https://www.alaskapublic.org/2018/1.....week-champion/

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MERCHANDISE: The upcoming Disney CGI feature "Wreck-It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet" (to be released theatrically around Thanksgiving) has already spawned lots of wares based on its cast of characters. One of these characters is 'Fun Bun' - the rabbit from the kiddie video game - who 'Ralph' overfeeds it stacks of pancakes. Needless to say, Funko already produced two toy versions of the bountiful bunny: a new 'Pop' figure (no joke intended), and a new 'Mystery Minis' figure (available now at comic shops, book stores, and additional venues such as Hot Topic, FYE, etc.). Of course, a skinny version of the bunny is being sold (in the form of a plushie) at participating Disney Stores nationwide... Meanwhile, there are several fat animal characters featured in the form of the newest Hallmark "Keepsake Ornaments" (for Christmas trees). Included are an all-new hippo (adorned with holiday lights and other decorations) - which, when you push a button, plays the song "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" ($17.99, U.S.) - and the solar-powered "Christmas Cat", a roly-poly pussycat who's on his back - going after an Xmas tree ornament ($29.99, U.S.) - both available at participating Hallmark stores.

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COMICS: From "The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same Dept.", I saw an 'inflation gag' last week in an edition of the comic strip "B.C.", in which two mosquitos try to pierce through the tough skin of a dinosaur - with one of the bugs uncontrollably swelling up. You can see that strip at https://www.gocomics.com/bc/2018/10/05 . "Hmmm," I'd thought to myself. "Didn't I see this 'inflation gag' somewhere else?" Sure enough, over a quarter of a century ago, this very same gag (with nearly the same dialogue) turned up in Gary Larson's classic strip "The Far Side". You can check out the original version at this link: https://imgur.com/gallery/FIZD1 … Here are more recent links to other 'fat furry gags' from the 'Funny Pages':

"Pluggers" by Gary Brookins:
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/04/18
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/05/05
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/05/11
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/05/30
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/06/01
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/06/07
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/06/20
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/06/27
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/07/04
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/07/27
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/07/30
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/08/08
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/08/15
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/08/22
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/08/31
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/09/01
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/09/03
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/09/17
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/09/27
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/10/10
https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2018/10/24

"Over The Hedge" by T. Lewis & Michael Fry:
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/04/07
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/04/23
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/04/24
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/04/25
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/04/26
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/04/29
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/05/15
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/05/25
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/06/02
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/06/04
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/06/05
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/06/06
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/06/07
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/06/08
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/06/09
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/07/01
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/07/06
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/07/09
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/07/15
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/08/03
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/08/12
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/08/25
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/09/14
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/09/18
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2018/10/08

"Arctic Circle" by Alex Hallatt
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics/april-30-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics/may-11-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics/may-23-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics/june-1-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics/june-9-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics/june-15-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics/july-3-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics/july-5-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics/july-9-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics/july-21-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics/july-29-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics.....comics/august-13-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics.....comics/august-31-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics.....mics/september-3-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics.....mics/september-6-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics.....ics/september-26-2018/
www.arcticcirclecartoons.com/comics.....omics/october-16-2018/

"Bear With Me" by Bob Scott
https://www.gocomics.com/bear-with-me/2018/09/20
https://www.gocomics.com/bear-with-me/2018/09/25

"In The Bleachers" by Ben Zaehringer
https://www.gocomics.com/inthebleachers/2018/09/17
https://www.gocomics.com/inthebleachers/2018/09/30