Just when we've heard all the good news there is to hear about Disney's "Zootopia" - including scoring '99% good' from "Rotten Tomatoes", earning over $1 billion in international box office sales, and earning a variety of awards (including several Annies, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar®) - something not-so-good came up this week...

On Tuesday, March 21, 2017, according to two of the major Hollywood tabloids, screen writer Gary ("Total Recall") Goldman claims that he came up with the original concept and screenplay for the all-anthropomorphic cartoon feature. Why he waited until now to make this claim is beyond me!

Rather than go into a lengthy explanation, I'll just provide you with a pair of links to said tabloid articles - each of which you can read and judge for yourself (whether Disney had the rights to make "Zootopia", or Goldman was in the right himself)...

Variety: http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/di.....ht-1202013303/

Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/th.....-writer-987660

NOTE: It should be pointed out (to avoid any confusion) that screen writer Gary L. Goldman should not be confused with the other Gary Goldman - a long-time associate of former Disney animator Don ("The Secret of NIMH") Bluth. Just to set things straight...

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ADDENDA: A featurette called "Zootopia's Deep Meaning: How We Talk To Kids" explains to parents and other grown-ups how to discuss the subject matter of the Disney CGI film to our young - without using such words as 'bigotry', 'racism', 'segregation', 'sexism', and 'drugs'. Presented by ScreenPrism, it can be viewed in "YouTube" at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmZC1nMsIcU

OBITS: First and foremost, you've probably heard (by now) about the passing of anthroartist/writer Albert Temple - A.K.A. GeneCatlow - whose webcomic had international appeal. He died of natural causes... He was 59.

NOTE: One of the last times Albert contacted me came in the form of a comment (two months ago), when he saw my "Ghost Cats" photo-op - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/22199507/ - and I liked it whenever he saw something unique from me in "FA"...

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TELEVISION: March 10th is a busy day for animation premieres on the tube. On Disney Channel, the pilot episode of "Tangled: The Series" - "Before Ever After" - (featuring 'Pascal' the chameleon and 'Maximus' the horse) debuts. Meanwhile, on the streaming channel NetFlix, comes the first episode of "Buddy Thunderstruck" - with animation by the team behind (Adult Swim's) "Robot Chicken", and created by the guy behind the "Care Bears"! (I kid you not!) The show is about a semi-truck race driving canine and his anthropomorphic friends (and enemies). Consult your listings for the time in your area when it airs... Meanwhile, returning to HBO later this month is Season Two of "Animals", as we see new scenarios with various fauna in the New York area (mice, rats, pigeons, etc.) - featuring the vocal talents of folks like Jason Alexander, Andy Dick, Whoopi Goldberg, Ice-T, et al. The first new episode debuts on March 17th at 11:30 PM. (For "Mature Viewers", due to language and graphic imagery.)

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HOME ENTERTAINMENT: Already out on Blu-Ray and/or DVD are "Moana" (Disney), "Finding Dory" (Disney-Pixar), "Trolls" (DreamWorks Animation), and "Ice Age: Collision Course" (FOX/Blue Sky Animation)... And the hit musical comedy "Sing" (Universal/Illumination Entertainment), will be available in stores on March 21st. The CGI feature will be accompanied with three brand-new mini-movies with some of the principal characters.

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MOVIES: It's hard to believe that "Zootopia" (Disney) debuted worldwide one year ago, and yet the studio hasn't announced whether or not that a sequel to the CGI film will be made. In the meantime, Illumination Entertainment had announced that work will begin on a sequel to "Sing" - just one month after its theatrical release! Go figure... And mark your calendars for the American release of Disney's reboot of "Beauty and the Beast" (on March 17th) - over 25 years since the original animated feature came out - starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens (respectively)... Currently in American cinemas is "Rock Dog" - the story of the son of a Mastiff guard dog (voiced by Luke Wilson) wants to follow his personal dream of being a rock star. Eddie Izzard, J.K. Simmons, and Lewis Black provide some of the other voices... Another impending release is "Spark: A Space Tail" - an intergalactic variation of "The Monkey King", featuring the vocal talents of Jace Norman, Susan Sarandon, and Patrick Stewart. It opens on April 14th... And lastly, a sequel to "The Nut Job" (subtitled "Nutty By Nature"), with Will Arnett reprising his role of 'Surly Squirrel', in an all-new misadventure. It will open on August 18th.

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LITERATURE: One of the newer funnier books out in stores is "The Bad Guys" (Scholastic) by Aaron Blabey, the story (or mini-collection of stories) of a quartet of villainous fauna (a wolf, a shark, a snake, and a piranha) who wants to go straight and do good deeds, just to shake off the negative stereotype each one was given. And each time they try to do good, something bad happens. It's available through Amazon, as well as in chain stores such as Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.

This is the first in a series of personal journals about my life. I didn't want to confine them to just a single paragraph. Instead, I'm compressing two short journals into one big one; so, if the first journal bores you, move on to the second one...

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"Latest 'Zootopia' News"
By this time, most of you are already aware of the fact that Disney's "Zootopia" won the "Academy Award" for 'Best Animated Feature'. And the timing couldn't have been better, as the CGI flick just celebrated the first anniversary of its release in international theaters (under its other titles "Zootopie", "Zoomania", and "Zootropolis")...

Earlier in 2017, "Zootopia" picked up many other awards including the "Golden Globe", and six different "Annie Awards". However, the winning streak wasn't perfect. For example, at the "People's Choice Awards", the film lost out to another animated feature (Disney-Pixar's "Finding Dory") in several categories ('Best Animated Feature', 'Best Family Film', and 'Best Voice Acting' for Ellen Degeneres). Then, two weeks before the Oscars were to be handed out, the "BAFTA Awards" in the U.K. pulled off another surprise by selecting (Laika's) "Kubo and the Two Strings" as its winner for 'Best Animated Feature'.

At this point, everyone was worried that "Zootopia" wasn't going to win any more awards (and that "Kubo..." was going to pull an upset victory in Hollywood). But, for some reason, I'd felt confident that "Zootopia" was going to pick up the golden statuette on Sunday, February 26th. So, following the posting of my "Red Carpet" comic gags - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/22722906/ and https://www.furaffinity.net/view/22728604/ - I'd decided to change the dialogue between the three characters in my strip ('Nick Wilde', 'Judy Hopps', and my character 'Jimmy Kammel' - based on "Academy Awards" emcee Jimmy Kimmel), making a reference to winning the Oscar® - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/22741248/ .

Sure enough, when the film had won the 'Best Animated Feature' nod, I stuck around to hear co-directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore and producer Clark Spencer make their respective speeches. Then, I raced over to my computer, and began to post the congratulatory message (with an excerpt from the "Red Carpet" gag and all that new dialogue) to as many "Zootopia" walls in "Facebook" as possible. (They include "Zootopians", "Zootopia News Network", "Zootopia Fan Art", "Welcome To Zootopia", "World Of Zootopia", etc. - none of which are associated with Disney Animation.) Within an hour or so, I had received a fair amount of 'likes' from fans of the film and visitors to these various walls.

But my crowning moment came, approximately 24 hours later, when I'd returned to "Facebook" and saw a separate message from "Zootopia" co-director Rich Moore - who'd posted a photo of his Oscar®, and the following words:

"Let this be a lesson to young people everywhere -- this is what happens when you spend your time daydreaming, doodling in textbooks, and chasing crazy dreams."

I couldn't pass up a better opportunity than this, and despite the fact that Rich had already received a few hundred replies (congratulating him and his co-workers), I'd joined in the fray. Attaching the "Red Carpet" gag excerpt, I typed out the following to accompany it:

Jed Martinez: To Mr. Moore: My obligatory congratulatory cartoon! In retrospect, I should've added one more character to this scene: a one-humped camel named Matt Dramondary*! But I think this image is satisfactory enough... Once again, congratulations to you, Messrs. Howard and Bush**, and everyone else at Disney Animation for a job well done! - from JED3154 (not to be confused with JED3113*** - otherwise, tomorrow I'd turn 104 years old instead of 63!)

I would've been happy if Mr. Moore added a 'like' to my message and attached image... but a few hours later, I found out that he even responded to the whole thing! Check it out:

Rich Moore: Funny stuff Jed! Thanks for that. ✌️

To get a complimentary reply from an animation director - who'd just won an Academy Award, less than 48 hours earlier - is probably one of the greatest moments of my life (next to meeting cartoon veterans, such as Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Myron Waldman, Norman McLaren, and Bruno Bozetto)!

FOOTNOTE: I'd decided to send a 'hard copy' of the same "Zootopia Fan Art: Red Carpet" comic gag excerpt to Jimmy Kimmel! I'll let you know if he responds to it, in a future journal...

* This is a reference to actor Matt Damon, who was the target of a lot of jibes from Jimmy Kimmel throughout the "Academy Awards" telecast.

** Jared Bush was an additional co-director and co-writer of "Zootopia"

*** If you've seen "Zootopia" as many times as I have, you'll know that JED3113 refers to the license plate of the pie truck driven by character 'Gideon Grey'. I was taken aback, when I saw my first name on the big screen, but two viewings later, I was blown away when I saw the 31 following said name. 3 and 1, you see, could easily represent March 1st - my birthday! But if said plate was 100% accurate regarding my date of birth, it would've read JED3154 (as I was born in 1954). JED3113, however, would mean that I'm either four years old or 104 years young! Oh, well... five out of seven characters ain't bad!

Academy Award and Oscar® A.M.P.A.S.

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"How I Celebrated My 63rd Birthday"
I've had some interesting birthdays throughout my entire life. Some of them were good (like the time I got my Atari 2600 Video Game System as my main present); and some of them were not-so-good (like the time Mom served take-out Chinese food as my birthday meal... with mounds of MSG... resulting in my vomiting in the toilet, and hanging out in the bathroom for two solid hours)!

My birthday for 2017 ranks as one of the better celebrations - in spite of the fact that (1) I only got to spend my special day with my brother Glenn (and no other friends and/or relatives), and (2) the only snail-mailed birthday greeting came from my friend Philip B. Smith of Reading, Pennsylvania.

The celebrating really began on Tuesday, February 28th, when I first went (by bicycle) to The Last Picture Show - a multiplex cinema located in Tamarac, Florida - for a 'discount Tuesday' matinee viewing of "La La Land" (which, less than two days earlier, won six Academy Awards, and thought it won a seventh - when actors Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced the 'Best Picture' Oscar®, only to find out they were given the wrong envelope, and that "Moonlight was the actual winner). The musical film was light enough entertainment for me, and that's all that mattered.

From the cinema, I rode my bike to Sweet Tomatoes in Coral Springs. There, I'd used a very special birthday coupon (printed from my Yahoo! inbox) that entitled me to a free dinner buffet meal (which included salad, several different soups, pasta, and an array of dessert - including 'chocolate lava cake', 'frozen yogurt with toppings', 'tapioca pudding', and several different types of muffins)! The only thing I had to pay for was a large beverage to go with my meal...

Then, on Wednesday, March 1st - the actual birthdate - I rode my bike to a Denny's restaurant here in Margate, when I'd used another (printed Yahoo! inbox) coupon to order a free 'Grand Slam Breakfast' (two pancakes, two sausage links, two bacon strips, and two scrambled eggs). And I only had to pay for the coffee that accompanied said breakfast fare...

Later on, my brother Glenn took me - in his Mini-Cooper - to the Bobby Rubino's Rib House in Pompano Beach for dinner. We got there before sunset, and Glenn took a picture of me in front of the restaurant (which I hope to post in "Fur Affinity" at a later date).

Once we were seated, our waitress came to our table to take our order. Glenn couldn't help but notice that she spoke with a Latin accent. "Are you from South America?" he asked.

"Yes," our waitress replied. "Colombia."

My own eyes lit up when she'd mentioned the country.

"Ah, I'm a big fan of Shakira," I'd told her.

"Oh, I like her, too."

"You probably know that she appeared in an Oscar-winning film, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't know that."

"Sure," I said. "She was the voice of 'Gazelle' in 'Zootopia', which won the Academy Award two nights ago."

Then, I'd leaned back a little to show the waitress the T-shirt I was wearing; It was a blue "Zootopia" tee with 'Nick Wilde' on it and the words "The FOX has arrived!"...

Now, it was the waitress's turn for her eyes to light up!

Anyway, instead of asking for the 'birthday special', our waitress recommended that we use a special newspaper coupon (that I'd brought along) and order the 'Two meals for $25' special - consisting of the popular house appetizer (the 'onion loaf'), followed by a main course with one side dish, and one dessert.

Glenn had barbecued chicken with a stuffed baked potato, while I had the rack of ribs and a side order of baked beans. All of this was washed down with iced tea. And for dessert, I had a slice of chocolate cake, topped with whipped cream.

Our South American waitress returned with another waitress and the dessert - with a lit birthday candle inserted - as the two of them sung "Happy Birthday" ♪

(I was worried that they were going to embarrass themselves, when they got to the line, "...Happy Birthday, dear _____..." and then stop to ask for my name; but they got that covered. They simply sang "...Happy Birthday, from Rubino's..." - which caught me and Glenn off-guard.)

Needless to say, our Colombian waitress received a big tip.

As I'd said before, this birthday in 2017 was definitely one of my better ones!

February flew by so quickly, I didn't get to post many of the journals I'd promised 28 days ago (including my "Top Five List" [of 'faves' from 2016, originally intended for December of last year], a new edition of "Fur-One-One", my latest "2017 Animal Commercials" reviews, and some personal reflections of my life, as I'm about to turn 63 on March 1st). Hopefully, I'll have more time to present these postponed journals throughout the new month...

In addition, I hope to post new editions of "EFF" comic gags (some of them with newer acronyms of 'fat furry' characters), "Front & Back" gags (both regular and 'fat furry' versions), and "Zootopia" fan art (including one more lettered Sudoku puzzle). I'll also have a few more surprise illustrations from other venues (such as my latest 'cover art' for an issue of the "Oriole Sun" - the monthly newsletter of my condo complex in Margate, FL).

As for 'photo-ops', I'll have more fauna-related artwork by my late mother Sheila Shell Martinez, and some unique snapshots of some recent animal encounters (taken by me and my brother Glenn) - all to be posted on "Throwback Thursdays".

And I'm already gearing up for April - which is "National Poetry Month" - as I hope to post brand new "EFF" comic gags with an occasional haiku and/or limerick. I might also experiment with 'haiku strips' featuring some of the "Zootopia" characters. Here's one example I plan to illustrate:

'Officer Hopps' hates / Her new ZPD nickname: / "Long Ears of the Law"!

As always, your 'feedback' (through comments and shouts) are welcome!

As part of my annual tradition, I have a list of my favorite ads from the "Super Bowl 51" (American) telecast; but first, a short backstory...

On Sunday, January 29, 2017, my old analog television finally conked out, never to turn on again. Later in the week, with my brother Glenn's help, we discarded the 'old school' model, and went to a Best Buy store in Coral Springs (FL) to purchase an HDTV. The following day, we went to Xfinity to trade in my old Cable box for a new one. After that, we went to the Best Buy in Margate to purchase a Blu-Ray player (so I can finally see "Zootopia" at home on my new wide-screened TV).

We'd spent most of Thursday (February 2nd) we put all the new hardware together, but I was unable to get strong Cable TV reception for the new TV. So, I'd called up Xfinity, who'd promised to send a technician... on Sunday morning, February 5th (the day of the big game). Long story short, he fixed the problem, and I got clear reception, not to mention a 'crash course' on how to use the new Xfinity remote...

Now, here's the payoff to said backstory: I never got to see the entire football game! By the start of the Third Quarter, the Atlanta Falcons led the New England Patriots 28-3 - ahead by twenty-five points - and I ended up falling asleep (expecting the Falcons to have this blowout clinched), before Tom Brady and the Pats began their memorable comeback (including the first Overtime period in "Super Bowl" history), beating their opponents by the final score of 34-28!

By the time I woke up, the local news was on - during the weather forecast - and I shut off the set and went to bed. I'd learned about the big game's outcome the next morning, by the announcer on my clock radio! Hence, the creation of this "Super Bowl" haiku on Monday...

During Third Quarter,
Fell asleep... When I woke up...
The Pats EFFING WON??!!!

This was a crying-out-loud shame, because the best "Super Bowl Commercials" usually air during the Fourth Quarter. Regardless of missing out on the best that Madison Avenue has to offer, here's a short list of my favorite spots:

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BEST CELEBRITY SPOTS
5. T-MOBILE: "Odd Couple" (with Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart)
4. PIZZA HUT: "Oh, My!" (with George Takai of "Star Trek")
3. AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO: "Secret Society" (with Jon Lovitz)
2. HONDA: "Yearbook" (with all sorts of celebrities including Robert Redford, Viola Davis, Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Jimmy Kimmel, et al)
1. SQUARESPACE: "JohnMalkovich.com" (with... you-know-who)

BEST 2017 MOVIE PROMOS FOR TV
5. "LOGAN" (the last "Wolverine" movie with Hugh Jackman)
4. "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES" (with Johnny Depp as 'Jack Sparrow'... again)
3. "F8: FATE OF THE FURIOUS" (with Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, and Jason Statham)
2. "GHOST IN THE SHELL" (with Scarlett Johansson)
1. "GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2" (featuring 'Rocket Raccoon' and 'Baby Groot')

BEST COMMERCIALS WITH ANIMALS
5. BUD LIGHT: "The Ghost of Spuds McKenzie" (with the canine icon from the 1980s, back from the afterlife... Shades of "A Dog's Purpose"!)
4. SKITTLES: "Romance the Rainbow" (with a whole bunch of people - and one groundhog [a "Caddyshack" knock-off] - catching the candy, being thrown through an open window)
3. YELLOW TAIL: "Kangaroo" (with a CGI marsupial, pushing the wine among RL humans, and trying to be this generation's 'Spuds McKenzie')
2. WONDERFUL PISTACHIOS: "Treadmill" (with 'Ernie' the elephant - voiced by John Cena - at a gym, damaging the title equipment in the process)
1. KIA: "Tree Hugger" (with Melissa McCarthy as a hapless environmentalist whose intentions were good, but the animals she tries to save [a whale and a rhino] harm her in the process)

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Needless to say, my choices for the best will probably differ from yours. I know that they differ from the professional critics...

Anyway, if you want to see any of these "Super Bowl Commercials", go to "YouTube", type out the brand name (in the 'Search' section of its 'Home' page), click Enter and watch your selection(s)!

Welcome to the latest 'sweeps month' (February, 2017) in my "FA" site...

I hope to post a lot of new material, including more fan art of characters from "Zootopia" (the Oscar-nominated animated feature), new "EFF" and "Front & Back" comic gags, all-new 'photo-ops', and a few other surprises (such as brand new 'fat furs' avatars for "Fat Tuesday")...

As far as new journals are concerned, I'd put off "The Best of 2016" (material) from last month, in favor of presenting the list (of 'five favorites' in various categories) this month. I'll also try to provide info on the latest 'animal commercials', my favorite "Super Bowl 51" ads, another edition of "Fur-One-One" (with the latest 'furry news'), and the occasional personal stories of my (so-called) life.

Your 'comments' and 'feedback' are always welcome, naturally.

It took a lot of searching throughout "YouTube", but I'd found a whole bunch of brand new TV commercials with animal characters in them. I thought I'd present them this time without the usual descending order (with the last one as my selection as the best). Perhaps you might think that one of the middle comments might be for a commercial you think is better than all of the others. YOU be the judge...

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LUNCHABLES: Here are two new ads for the kids' lunch meal, featuring more antics of 'Jacky' the jackalope and 'Platy' the platypus...

1. "Dining Disguises" (:51): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsTQtaXC5Qg
2. "Driving Test" (:30): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8PyWvsz_BA

GEICO: One of the newer campaigns for the insurance company is a series of narrated stories, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes (such as last year's "Itsy-Bitsy Spider"), tying in financial aid for lost, stolen, and/or damaged possessions. Here are two of the newest spots...

1. "Goldilocks" (:30): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ethNdbrDDdg
2. "Baa Baa Black Sheep" (:30): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSSBZ-FWloE

KELLOGG'S: Two new fifteen-second ads for Kellogg's food fare debuted this month; one for a Frosted Flakes spin-off product with (the CGI version of) 'Tony the Tiger', and a Pop Tarts spot with the 'Poodle Moderator' (from 2016's "Big Debate" ad)...

1. Cinnamon Frosted Flakes (:15): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFyDQcZYD-w
2. Pop Tarts/"Latte & Mocha" (:15): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8uFQMkrRKo

CARFAX: The (crudely designed) CGI 'Carfax Fox' is back in a pair of commercials, as he has difficulty interacting with his live-action human customers...

1. "Used Car" (:30): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT3sXqO8dlU
2. "Used Truck" (:30): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch6zs1QssSM

VOYA FINANCIAL: The computer-animated orange origami animals are back in new spots for Voya, and are joined by green versions (who represents the money you could earn), as this folded fauna converses with live-action humans. "Park Bench" features squirrels, while "Coffee Shop" has rabbits...

1. "Park Bench" (:30): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wtbnf_1FJDw
2. "Coffee Shop" (:30): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99PYEQQN1Hk

WONDERFUL PISTACHIOS/"BFF" (:30): 'Ernie' the (CGI) elephant is back, once again teamed up with sports legend Richard Sherman, in a new spot for the popular nut product - presented this time in montage-style...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVHOJt7RTDM

VISTAPRINT INDIA/"What's Your Print?" (:30): Speaking of elephants, a few real pachyderms (with computer enhancements) help promote an agency that specializes in printing lettering and art upon T-shirts, signs, and other items...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzm-emf5dVA

"ANIMAL JAM" (:30): An interactive computer program with lots of friendly fauna (led by a vixen) had its own TV spot recently...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg1iglVKYow

AMERICA'S BEST/"Designer Sale" (:30): The eyeglass establishment held a recent special, as its avian spokesperson - a CGI talking owl - chats with one satisfied (and overenthusiastic) customer...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phu0pdIPFWe

WGU/"Air Quotes" (:30): Lest you think that talking owls are only good at pushing eyeglasses (or Tootsie Roll Pops), you should check out the birds featured in this spot for Western Governor's University or WGU...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rx2JTXr90U

THE REAL COST.../"Straw City": Last, but not least, a computer-enhanced PSA (Public Service Announcement) with anthropomorphic pigs and a big, bad wolf promotes the main hazard of cigarette smoking - lack of breath (as the lupine character fails to huff and puff and blow down any of the buildings in an entire town made of straw)... #FailByCigs

(:30 spot): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66R7mKkIC20
(:15 spot): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pir-PUkXNAU

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If I'd made mistakes in any one of the above links, just go to the 'Home' page in "YouTube" and type the brand name of the product or service into the 'search' box at the top, in order to bring up the ads I'd been hyping.

And, in February, keep an eye out for my annual selections of "The Best Of The Super Bowl 51 Commercials"!

MOVIES: Hot on the heels of 2016's animated animal fare (including "Zootopia", "The Secret Life of Pets", "Finding Dory", "Sing", etc.), a lot more feature film titles will be coming out in 2017. Among the US releases are "Rock Dog", "The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature", "Blazing Samurai", and "Ferdinand". Among life-action flicks with animals (real and/or CGI) are "A Dog's Purpose", "Born In China" (a documentary about Asian fauna), and "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" (the latter title with Bradley Cooper reprising his vocal role of 'Rocket Raccoon')...

TELEVISION: Lest you think that Disney is doing some hot business on the big screen, the 'Mouse Factory' is coming out with more anthropomorphic fare on the small screen in 2017. For example, Disney Junior will debut a spin-off of "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" (on January 15th), entitled "Mickey and the Roadster Racers" (a Disneyesque version of Hanna-Barbera's "Wacky Races"). Later in the year, Disney XD will premiere a reboot of the classic "Disney Afternoon" series "DuckTales" - with David Tennant taking over the role of 'Uncle Scrooge McDuck' (originally voiced by Alan Young, who [sadly] passed away last year). And Disney Channel will have its own cartoon show based on one of its feature-length films: "Tangled: The Series", as 'Rapunzel' returns (along with her long blonde hair), joined by animal characters 'Pascal' the chameleon and 'Maximus' the horse... Other animated shows on Disney Channel/DisneyJunior include new episodes of "Sofia the First", "Doc McStuffins Toy Hospital", "Goldie and Bear", "The Zhuzhus", and "The Lion Guard"... A new CGI series (from Belgium) for Cartoon Network - "My Knight and Me" - pairs up a very young squire and a rather inept knight, as they defend the kingdom against dragons and other foes... Meanwhile, the series finale of "Regular Show" debuts on Monday, January 16th on Cartoon Network... Watch for the debut of PBSKids, a new network devoted entirely to the children's fare associated with PBS. Among the animated anthropomorphic shows to watch are "Arthur", "Clifford, the Big Red Dog", "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood", "Dinosaur Train", and "Nature Cat". Consult your Cable TV listings for the channel airing PBSKids in your area...

COMICS: 2017 is not even one week old, and already a number of titles of animal-related comic books is getting ready for Free Comic Book Day on May 6th. They include "Animal Jam", "Sonic the Hedgehog", "Spongebob Freestyle Funnie", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", and "Underdog", with more titles to come... Here's a small sampling of comic titles to come in the weeks ahead: "Angry Birds", "Animal Noir", "Donald Duck", "Donald Quest", "Duck Avenger", "Mickey Mouse", "My Little Pony", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", "Uncle Scrooge" (all from IDW), "Gold Digger" (Antarctic Press), "Sonic the Hedgehog" (Archie), and "The Mighty Zodiac" (Oni Press)...

LITERATURE: Among the newest book titles with animals characters is "Word of Mouse" by James ("Middle School") Patterson and Chris Grabenstein, with illustrations by Joe Sutphin (published by Hachette) - the adventures of Isaiah, an intellectual mouse, who can communicate with humans (if only any of them will listen to him). Isaiah seeks out help from anyone in rescuing his family from the laboratory he'd escaped from. (Anyone who thinks this would make an excellent animated feature film, raise your hands!)

AWARDS: 'Award Season' had already begun a week or so ago, with the "Critic's Choice Award". In the cartoon field, Disney's "Zootopia" won the award for 'Best Animated Feature', while "Bojack Horseman" (on Netflix) won the award for 'Best Animated TV Series'. The next major ceremony will be the "Golden Globe Awards" - to be distributed on Sunday, January 8th (on NBC-TV). "Zootopia", "Kubo and the Two Strings" and "Sing" are among the nominees in the 'Best Animated Feature' category. Of course, the "Golden Globe Awards" are a precursor to the "Academy Awards", coming up in late February... Among additional ceremonies with animated films - including the latter titles, as well as "The Secret Life of Pets" and "Kung Fu Panda 3" - are the "People's Choice Awards" (to be given out on Wednesday, January 18th), and the "Annie Awards" (for all sorts of cartoon fare, to be distributed on Saturday, February 4th).

(ADDENDA: By the time you've read this journal, Disney's "Zootopia" earned the "Golden Globe Award" for 'Best Animated Feature'. Congrats to co-directors Byron Howard, Rich Moore, and Jared Bush - not to mention an entire animation staff [artists, writers, effect coordinators, etc.], musical ensemble, and voice actor cast - for coming up with a film that both entertains and educates a world that needs to learn a lot more about 'diversity', 'respect', and 'trust'... Next stop: the "Academy Awards"!)

OBITS: 2017 was a year of many passages among personalities who had contributed to the anthropomorphic world. Among those we had lost were (in alphabetical order) author Richard Adams (96), who wrote both "Watership Down" and "The Plague Dogs"; Joe Alaskey (63), voice actor who specialized in portraying various "Looney Tunes" characters (most notably as 'Daffy Duck' in the "Duck Dodgers" TV series for Cartoon Network); British actor Brian Bedford (80), who is best remembered as the titular vocal role in Disney's "Robin Hood" (1972); Lois Duncan (82), the author of "Hotel For Dogs" (which would be made into a 2009 motion picture); character actor George S. Irving (94), who 'baby boomers' remember as the narrator of the 1960s cartoon series "Underdog"; actor Marvin Kaplan (89), the voice of 'Choo-Choo' on Hanna-Barbera's "Top Cat", as well as other animal characters on Ruby-Spears "Saturday Supercade" (in the "Kangaroo" and "Frogger" segments); TV producer/movie director/actor Garry Marshall (81), best known for producing "Happy Days", "Laverne & Shirley", and "Mork & Mindy", who provided the voice of 'Buck Cluck' - the father of "Chicken Little" (the 2005 Disney animated feature); entertainer Debbie Reynolds (84), who - in addition to her starring roles in classic film musicals "Singin' in the Rain" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" - voiced the title character in the (1973) animated feature "Charlotte's Web"; actor-comedian Garry Shandling (66), who provided the voice of 'Verne' the turtle in "Over the Hedge" (2006); veteran actor-writer-director Gene Wilder (83), whose credits include "The Producers" (1968), "Blazing Saddles" (1974), "Young Frankenstein" (1974), and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (1971). In the world of animals, Wilder portrayed 'The Fox' in the (1974) children's film "The Little Prince", and starred in a film adaptation of Eugene Ionesco's play "Rhinoceros" (also 1974); Tyrus Wong (106), the production designer for Walt Disney's classic cartoon feature "Bambi" (1942); and Scottish-born character actor Alan Young (96), who starred opposite a horse on TV's "Mister Ed", a lion on the big screen in "Androcles and the Lion" (1952), and provided the voice of 'Uncle Scrooge McDuck' on the original Disney's "DuckTales" TV series (1987-1990), as well as in "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983), and a few of the new 'Mickey Mouse' made-for-TV short subjects (2014-2016). Hail and farewell, one and all...

"Happy 2017", every'furry'!

I plan to start the New Year off with my 30,000th 'favorite' - which should occur right after Midnight - and I hope to post some all-new imagery in my "Fur Affinity" site - including the latest "EFF" strips, "Front & Back" gags, and "Zootopia" fan art, as well as some rare 'one shot' pix.

Meanwhile, I hope to move my 'photo-ops' and 'doodles' from the 'Gallery' to my 'Scraps' section, during the first week (so I can make room for more of the same)...

And, of course, I'll have some brand new 'journals' - such as my latest "Fur-One-One" column (of anthropomorphic news) and "Fat Furry News", plus reviews of the latest TV commercials with animals in them, and an occasional personal observation of my (so-called) life. And the New Year wouldn't start off with my annual list of "Top Five" pix and 'photo-ops' (in terms of 'views' and 'faves') - which I hope to present within the next 72 hours.

All that, and more, as I begin my tenth year in "FA". So, here's wishing all of you a happy and healthy New Year... and please don't hesitate to send me your 'shouts', 'faves', and 'comments'!

As 2016 comes to a close, I have found a few more television commercials with animal characters - anthropomorphic, real, and semi-real - which you can view on "YouTube", by clicking onto the link following each commentary about it.

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5. T-MOBILE: "Dog Years" (:30) - In this new commercial for the phone network service, a bunch of real dogs (with CGI flapping mouths) complain about the data limits of one of the competing services. They even 'bark' the T-Mobile signature jingle... ♪

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on24QVRIHsk

4. WONDERFUL PISTACHIOS - Here are two more commercials for the popular nut (snack food), featuring 'Ernie' the (CGI) elephant (voiced by John Cena)...

"Ernie At The Airport" (:15): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmGy-JqOVpI
"Ernie After The Party" (:15): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA6ArC6aEeo

3. GEICO: "Server Farm" (:30) - Continuing his cross-country tour, the next stop for the 'Geico Gecko' is 'Silicon Valley', where he promotes the new app for the insurance company, while he averts a temporary crisis when a mainframe computer is incapacitated...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7-KcK07iq0

2. FARMER'S INSURANCE - Once again, Oscar-winner J. K. Simmons informs future customers of being insured with Farmer's, based on past events (recreated for TV) with animals causing the inevitable catastrophes. Here are two more examples:

"Hot Dog" (:15): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4kosQ9L-bg
"Rodent Ride-Along" (:30): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIB-fv-XUx0

1. FOOT LOCKER/AIR JORDAN: "Defy The Monstars" (1:39) - You could call this commercial "Space Jam Redux", as a new bunch of basketball pro wannabes prepare to take on the 'Monstars' (intergalactic B-ball players), with the help of Jimmy Butler, Blake Griffin, and (of course) 'Bugs Bunny'... #HouseofHoops

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1YQFj64oBk

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CHRISTMAS BONUSES: As an added holiday treat, here are some incredible 2016 Christmas spots (again with animals) from North America and Europe - just to give you your jollies!

6. PETCO: "Last-Minute Holiday Gift" (:30) - A child, feeling sorry for the family dog (because Santa didn't leave him anything), gains some sympathy from his parents (even though the father's choice of present is not becoming of the canine - regardless of how good he is at using it, unbeknownst to Mom and Dad)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20qRIJdwG3Y

5. KOHL'S: "Christmas Commercial 2016" (:30) - A squirrel and a reindeer (both CGI) team up, in an attempt to rescue a toy doll that a Kohl's customer accidentally left in his shopping cart - only to be beaten to the punch by a store employee... #GiveALittleMore

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNjpq6oTH4E

4. HARRODS: "A Very British Bear Tale Christmas 2016" (1:30) - To help promote the famous London department store, an annual animated story with its living teddy bear character is presented, as he gets some special help from 'Father Christmas' to save the holidays... #HarrodsChristmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2_UCq-RrIw

3. UNIVERSAL/ILLUMINATION ENTERTAINMENT: "Sing: Holiday Promo" (1:00 +) - With the highly-anticipated CGI musical feature "Sing" set for its American cinema debut on December 21st, a special promotional short finds the cast of critters ice skating to Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride", until 'Gunther' the pig decides to kick it up a notch! And stick around to see other trailers and adverts for the film, from the same studio that brought you "Despicable Me" - a third film of this series to come out later in 2017...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVKxCYqtw5c

2. ANCHOR (BUTTER): "Little Elephant" - (1:08) - One of the more unusual adverts from the U.K. are spots for Anchor (brand) dairy products (cheese and butter), featuring a number of fast-moving sloth-like critters. In this holiday presentation, a youngster gets a noise-making toy elephant from his grandmother. The toy pleases him; but the noise drives his mother to distraction (even when she tries to relax with a slice of buttered toast)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzgAvmgbF4Y

1. HEATHROW AIRPORT: "Coming Home For Christmas" (1:10) - In this very sentimental advert for London's major airport, Mr. & Mrs. Edward Bair (a pair of anthropomorphic teddy bears) arrive in time for the holidays, as they go through the usual situations that humans encounter, when traveling by air. The visual metaphor by the end of the commercial is heartwarming, to say the least...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq1r_M5a6uI

And I conclude this segment with one last holiday commercial that doesn't deserve to be on a list; it stands out on its own, for all animal lovers...

JOHN LEWIS: "Buster The Boxer" (2:00) - To promote it's own British store chain, John Lewis presents a very poignant commercial about two parents preparing to surprise their child on Christmas morning with a brand new trampoline in the backyard. From the confines of the living room, the family dog ('Buster') bares witness to his own little 'holiday miracle', as he watches a variety of woodland creatures (a badger, a squirrel, a hedgehog, and a pair of foxes) playing on said trampoline! The advert's ending may be predictable, but you cannot help but feel for the lovable boxer on Christmas Day! #BusterTheBoxer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr6lr_VRsEo

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As always, be sure to notify me, if I'd made some errors in any of the links to these "YouTube" commercials. If 'worse comes to worst', just go to www.YouTube.com , type in the subject matter of the ad(s), and hopefully the specific commercial will come up...

Meanwhile, I hope to start collecting all-new animal commercials in 2017 (for your viewing pleasure). Until then, have a very "Happy Holidays"!

I underwent a delay in posting my material in Fur Affinity this past week, due to another in a series of personal medical episodes (since moving down to south Florida during the last years of the 20th Century).

It all began on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2016, when I woke up to a numbing sensation in my left arm and hand. At first, I'd thought I was sleeping (the night before) in an awkward position... but when the numbness persisted well into the afternoon, the 'red flags' were up!

With the aid of my brother Glenn, he drove me over to the Northwest Medical Center in Margate, where I'd reported the numbing sensation (which, by then, had lasted over ten hours), and figured that I was on the cusp of having a mini-stroke...

(The first time I had a major cardiovascular episode was in the Fall of 2001, when I'd suffered an angina attack. And on Thanksgiving, 2009, I had suffered a mini-stroke - when I'd lost control of the right side of my body.)

Long story short, the NMC took me in, and I went through a battery of tests (including an EKG, an MRI, a CAT scan, and numerous blood exams). Finally, surgeons implanted a stent in my heart, by way of the wrist of my right arm. (The first time I had a stent implanted was during the aforementioned angina attack - the angioplasty of which came by way of my groin, which is not a pretty picture, indeed.)

In total, I'd spent two days in a hospital bed, eating hospital food, and watching a limited amount of television (mainly "Hairspray Live!" - which was better than watching anything with Donald Trump)...

When I was finally released on Thursday, December 8, 2016, I was given a trio of prescribed meds, and two bits of friendly advice: (1) Try not to flex the right wrist for a week or two (until the incision heals completely), which is why you might not see any new art from me and my right 'drawing hand' (connected to said wrist) until Christmas; (2) Refrain from any heavy lifting - which includes taking out the bicycle (from my second-story condo) and carrying it down one flight of steps, for any rides. (Until then, I'll have to take a bus, walk, or ride in Glenn's Mini-Cooper.)

The important thing is, I didn't suffer a mini-stroke. The numbness had left my left arm, and my left hand is down to a slight tingle - which will hopefully go away shortly. For the time being, I'll reevaluate my diet (and try to eat foods with less sodium), consume items with low cholesterol, and consider alternate means of exercise (besides biking and walking). More importantly, I will attempt to take my prescribed pills (including blood thinners and cholesterol blockers) at the assigned days and time, during a proper regimen - so I can live a lot longer...

Keep in mind, my father Joaquin Martinez - who was a heavy cigarette smoker - passed away when he was 63. And I (a non-smoker throughout my entire life) am about to turn 63 in March, 2017. So, will I outlive my father? And, if so, how much longer will I survive? Only time will tell...

Here is the first in a series of journals devoted to those of you who are into 'fat furs' - whether you illustrate them, write stories about them, or collect all sorts of merchandise with these corpulent characters. (As always, any 'feedback' about this column is welcome.)

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IDEAL HOLIDAY GIFTS: Whenever I'd pass by the Build-A-Bear Workshop store (in the Coral Square Mall in Coral Springs, Florida), I would fantasize about creating my own plush toy - overdoing it on the stuffing (to the point that the head of this gorbellied beast can't see its own feet)!

Well, now you can buy critters of this unusual size and shape at the "Tiny-Headed Kingdom" website. Currently, three ample animals with big bellies and miniature noggins (each one 18-inches tall) are being sold through the site: 'Nickleby' the Lion, 'Pip' the Bear, and 'Twist' the Tiger. When you visit the site, you'll be treated to a short history of each character.

The plushies from "Tiny-Headed Kingdom" are available at Go! Stores and through the site Calendars.com , but if you want to see what each one looks like now, just go to www.tinyheadedkingdom.com

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'FAT FAUNA' IN THE FUNNIES: Once in a great while, I send the "Fat Furs Mailing List" (a Yahoo! group) a comic strip with a fattened animal character in it. Of course, I'd also posted the links to some of these gags in past "FA" journals - https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7653927/ and https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7694325/ - but rather than give you the set-up (as I'd done before), I'll just provide you with the links, and let you be surprised with each strip (and its obese beast). This collection is a month's worth of 'fat furry' fare from November, 2016 (with the last two offerings from the Sunday funnies, and its fauna full-figured in full color)... Get your fill here!

"Speed Bump": http://www.gocomics.com/speedbump/2016/11/06/
"The Grizzwells": http://www.gocomics.com/thegrizzwells/2016/11/12/
"The Other Coast": http://www.gocomics.com/theothercoast/2016/11/17/
"WuMo": http://www.gocomics.com/wumo/2016/11/18/
"Pluggers": http://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2016/11/18/
"Pluggers": http://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2016/11/26/
"Heathcliff": http://www.gocomics.com/heathcliff/2016/11/27/
"Buckles": http://www.seattlepi.com/comics-and.....es/2016-11-27/

(NOTE: Be sure to notify me, if I had made errors in any of the above links.)

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A FRIENDLY REMINDER: If some of you are still not members of the Fat Furs Mailing List, and might consider joining, visit their site at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups.....ilingList/info

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Until 2017, here's wishing all of you a "Happy (and Hefty) Holiday Season!"

Well, 2016 is slowly winding down, and I hope to end things on a positive note...

For starters, I hope to present a special commemorative illustration, in celebration of reaching my 120,000th 'pageview' (back on November 26th) - with an appropriate 'fat furry' theme to it, of course...

During December, I also plan to post more fan art - from Disney CGI films "Zootopia" and "Moana" - in the form of additional lettered Sudoku puzzles, as well as some new "EFF" and "Front & Back" comic gags, and (perhaps) one more "Colorized Encore".

Among the 'photo-ops' I hope to post (on "Throwback Thursdays") are snapshots taken (last month) at the 2016 "Miami Book Fair International", some wildlife photos, another "Zootopia Memento" image, and a few other surprises.

As usual, my upcoming journals will include a few more "Animal Commercial" reviews, a new edition of "Fur-One-One" (with all sorts of 'funny animal' news), and some personal observations of my life...

...and to wrap things up, I'll present my annual list of 'the best of the best' in my "FA" site - namely, the art pieces and 'photo-ops' that got the most 'views' and 'faves'. I might even throw in a separate category for my "Zootopia" material (since the Disney film garnered a lot of attention this past year).

And, of course, I'll try to throw in one piece of holiday humor. We can sure use the laughs after this year! "Season's Greetings[color=red]![/color]"

It's been nine months since "Zootopia" had its World Premiere in Europe (and its American debut, a few weeks later), and already the Disney CGI feature has picked up its first major honor...

In early November, 2016, co-directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore were at the Hollywood Film Awards ceremony, where the movie became an 'honoree' in the 'Animation' category. Hopefully, this will be the first step, on its way to picking even bigger honors at the Annie Awards (for animation), the Golden Globes, and (the granddaddy of them all) the Oscars...

Meanwhile, both (American) Disney theme parks (Disneyland in Anaheim, California and Disney World in Orlando, Florida) will continue to have (costumed versions of) 'Nick Wilde' and 'Judy Hopps' appearing for the public for the balance of this year. Hopefully, the two main "Zootopia" characters might even put in an appearance in one of the holiday TV specials - at said theme parks - on ABC (which, as most of you know by now, is owned by Disney)...

And even though the film is no longer in theatrical release in the USA (but the Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital version is still available), there are plenty of "Zootopia" wares available in certain stores for its loyal fans...

For starters, remember when I'd told you about the Hallmark Stores with its newest Christmas tree ornaments, released as early as mid-July, 2016? ( https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7700053/ ) But, even with the latest new ornaments released in October, I was unable to find any of them with "Zootopia" characters...

Well, as it turns out, Hallmark did create two "Zootopia" character ornaments - one of 'Nick' and one of 'Judy' - only they're not sold at Hallmark Stores. Instead, they were made exclusively for participating Target Stores! (Or should I say Targoat?) Each ornament sells $8.00 (US) + tax (though prices may vary in other locations).

(BTW, some Target Stores still have lots of earlier "Zootopia" merchandise - including lunch packs, backpacks, play sets, figures, bedding items [pillows, blankets, etc.], toys and games, and boxes of their fruit-flavored snack [the latter in their supermarket section] - a few of which have now been discounted.)

Of course, if you wish to give out some "Zootopia" memorabilia to friends and family alike (who are big fans of the cartoon feature) - as presents for birthdays, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa - you can also acquire special rolls of holiday wrapping paper (with 'Nick', 'Judy', 'Finnick', 'Flash', 'Yax' and 'Chief Bogo' on it), made by American Greetings. A 40 square-foot roll of this paper is available at Big Lots! for $2.50 (US) + tax, while participating Target Stores are selling 50 square-foot rolls for $3.00 (US) + tax.

And now, a little personal story of mine, in which the moral is "Caveat Emptor" (Latin for "Let the buyer beware"). Last week, I was visiting my local shopping mall, where I came across a newly set-up kiosk, whose vendor was selling 2017 calendars, toys, and boxed games. Among his merchandise was a deck of jumbo-sized "Zootopia" playing cards (made by Cardinal Games) - which had abstract images of its cast of mammalian characters (resembling the ones seen in those animated 'stickers' I use in "Facebook"). On impulse, I'd bought the last deck of these cards on display, for $4.99 (US) + tax...

Three days later, I was 'window shopping' at various dollar stores in my area. One such store - Dollar Tree - had the exact same deck of "Zootopia" jumbo playing cards (don't get ahead of me now!), selling for (you'd guessed it) one buck + tax! (In retrospect, my face should've replaced 'Finnick' on the Joker card!) If your local Dollar Tree has this item, get them while supplies last (and the price is this low! Also, some Dollar Tree emporiums are selling "Zootopia" mini jigsaw puzzles (of 24 pieces, each one in the shape of a police officer's badge, when completely assembled), at $1.00 (US) + tax apiece...

Finally, I'm going to see if I can produce two more "Zootopia" lettered Sudoku puzzles for both "Fur Affinity" and various "Facebook" walls (with other characters from the film, that I had not included in past puzzles), before the end of 2016. So, be on the lookout for them - and "keep your pencils sharpened"!

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ADDENDA: I'd just learned that the nominations for the "2017 People's Choice Awards" were just released - with Disney's "Zootopia" up for several major awards, in categories such as 'Favorite Animated Movie Voice' (for Ginnifer Goodwin as 'Judy Hopps', and Jason Bateman as 'Nick Wilde'), 'Favorite Family Film', and 'Favorite Movie'.

The general public is welcome to cast their votes (in both movie and TV categories) by visiting the website at www.peopleschoice.com/pca/ and clicking on the "Vote Now" icon. The awards will be televised on CBS on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 at 9:00 PM, E.S.T./8:00 PM, C.S.T.

Here's an alternate link: https://vote.peopleschoice.com/#!/home/all

FINAL ADDENDA: On November 28th, the Annie Award nominees were announced - with "Zootopia" leading the pack with eleven nominations, including 'Best Animated Feature', 'Best Direction' (for Byron Howard and Rich Moore) and 'Best Voice Acting' (for Jason Bateman). Oddly enough, Ginnifer Goodwin ('Best Voice Acting') and Michael Giacchino ('Best Music in an Animated Feature') were not among the nominees; Maybe Ginnifer will have better luck at the "People's Choice Awards", and Michael might get an Oscar nomination for 'Best Original Score' at the Academy Awards. The Annie Award winners will be announced in late January, 2017...

Once again, I have another selection of TV commercials with animals in them (from this year) as found in "YouTube" - presented in descending order, with the #1 ad saved for last - and followed by the link to each one (so you can view it at any time, instead of waiting for it to air on the tube)...

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5. General Mills/Honey Nut Cheerios: "Dancing": Two thirty-second commercials promoting the cereal finds some talented people (young and old alike) 'busting a move' on the dance floor (well, actually, in their respective homes). The first ad highlights the talents of Tianne and Heaven, while the second ad is a montage of other folks 'cutting a rug'. And each commercial ends with 'Buzz' the CGI bumblebee doing his own version of "The Macarena".

"Tianne and Heaven": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9XOMfzURqg
"Dancing Families": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klDDHU8HZp4

4. Lowe's "Make Your Home Happy": "Talking Dolphin": In a past journal, I'd mentioned the various spots for the home improvement store, where a variety of inanimate objects come to life (ranging from a plush kangaroo toy to a giraffe refrigerator magnet). This time, a soap dispenser shaped like a dolphin gets to say a few words...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7ir0kmwxMA

3. Oscar Mayer Lunchables (with 100% Fruit Juice Kabobbles): "Sculpting": In the newest TV ads for the take-out meal for kids, we find 'Platy' (the platypus) and 'Jacky' (the jackalope) preoccupied with clay, with each one trying to top the other in making a better statue. This one "YouTube" link features two commercials: the thirty-second version with the two creative critters, and a fifteen-second spot with 'Jacky' taking a spin on the potters wheel!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChRxfqr5m3U

2. Geico: "Raccoons/C'mon, Try It!": In one of the newest spots from the insurance company's "It's what you do" ad campaign, we find some raccoons pigging out by some overturned trash cans. One of the scavengers finds an edible so disgusting, he challenges his brethren to sample it themselves. (Just like Geico's classic "Camel/Hump Day" commercial, all of the raccoons have CGI moving mouths.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8skzjsaJc8

1. Wonderful Pistachios: "Ernie the Elephant": Last year, the folks at Wonderful (brand) nuts had a major campaign to promote their pistachios, with the help of actor/talk show host Stephen Colbert. This year they had outdone themselves, by hiring a new spokesperson... or, in this case, a new spokesmorph! 'Ernie the Elephant' - a computer-generated anthropomorphic pachyderm (voiced by John Cena of Wrestling, Inc.) - extols the virtues of this particular food product in three short spots (including one featuring Richard Sherman of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks). Like the elephant himself, you'll never forget these ads!

"Ball Game": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnVp0lyjdj8
"Richard Sherman": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IxAA2GsLE8
"Elevator": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lfy9BXJwFM

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As always, if I'd made any mistakes with any of the links, just go to the 'Search' space on the 'Home' page of "YouTube" and type in the name of the commercial brand and the product or service associated with said brand and click 'Enter'.

Next month, I hope to have one more journal with some final animal-related TV commercials, before 2016 becomes a mere memory...

Here it is, November, 2016 - the final 'sweeps month' of the year - and I hope to present a lot of new material in my "Fur Affinity" site...

Among the tentative submissions will be all-new "EFF" comic strips, "Front & Back" gags (with 'Bor-Bor Bear' and other characters), "Zootopia" fan art, and a few leftover "Roly-Polympics 2016" gags (which I never go around to drawing, but I'm not going to wait until 2020 to finally render them)...

I'll also have some new 'photo-ops' - some taken by me, and others taken by my brother Glenn - with its subject matter ranging from personal family life to animals and inanimate objects (such as cars).

As for this month's journals, I'll have the latest editions of "Fur-One-One" and "Animal Commercials", as well as more personal observations of my so-called life.

And since November is the time for Thanksgiving, Veterans Day, Election Day, and Daylight Savings Time, I hope to have something to cover each occasion (as well as a few obscure events, also taking place this month).

As always, your 'comments', 'shouts', and 'faves' are welcome!

When growing up as a kid, I was well-aware of the perils of Halloween - having to deal with pranksters, who dish out 'tricks' to annoy innocent youngsters who go around with their 'treats'.

Among the 'tricks' these miscreants would pull are hitting their victims with socks full of colored chalk, squirting shaving cream, soaping the windows and hanging toilet paper (or 'T.P.ing', as it's more commonly called) in the trees of the innocent's homes...

Unfortunately, as the years troll on (no pun intended), said pranksters start playing 'hardcore tricks', such as stomping on the decorative jack-o-lanterns in front of homes, slashing of car tires, and the infamous 'flaming paper bags of poop' (left on doorsteps), among other acts of vandalism.

I still recall my very first All Hallows Eve in Florida (in 1994), when I was driving my VW Golf westward on Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach, Florida. Just after passing the Powerline Road intersection, someone standing on the concrete median (in the middle of the street) began to pelt passing vehicles with raw eggs (including my car)!

Regrettably, I couldn't stop and back up (to go after this demented felon), as I was traveling at 40 M.P.H.; otherwise, the car behind mine would've rear-ended me. Furious as I was, all I could do was drive home, and wait until the morning of November 1st to wash off all that 'hen fruit' from the left side of my Golf...

Now, keep in mind, these sort of shenanigans took place only on October 31st... Fast forward to the present... October 24, 2016...

I was riding home on my bicycle, after sunset, going north on Rock Island Road in Margate (just a few blocks away from my condo) - obeying the law by staying in the 'bike lane' on the right side of the street - when a car with several passengers (and all their windows down) slowed down until it was almost going at the same speed I was traveling at...

Before I had a chance to comprehend what was going on, one of the passengers pointed something at me, and "Bang! Bang! Bang!" I'd felt a series of short and sharp stings on my left leg! Someone was shooting at me!

I'd slammed on the brakes, as the open-windowed car sped off. Reaching down, I felt something moist on my leg. Because I was on a dimly-lit stretch of Rock Island Road, I couldn't tell if it was blood or not. So, I pedaled toward a street lamp and looked at my fingers, fearing the worst...

But, instead of seeing red blood, it was blue paint! Apparently, the a**holes in the car were firing colored paintballs at me. They were 'weekend warriors' who attacked me... on a Monday!

I had to go into the men's room of the nearest business (in this case, a Dunkin' Donuts) to wash off the blue paint from the left side of my leg, my shorts, and my backpack.

Regrettably, since I was on a poorly illuminated road, I was unable to identify the make and model of the car or its passengers. But still, I plan to go to the local police precinct to report this incident, in the hope that this foursome will get arrested for any future attacks, before Halloween.

As a result of this scenario, I've decided to stay at home on October 31st, and hope that many pranksters will be placed behind bars.

Let this be a fair warning for all of you. Be on the lookout for those inconsiderate individuals who might put a damper on your Halloween (or, in some cases, one week before the holiday), by taking the term "Trick or treat" a little too literally!

Over the years, I have had my full real name - Jed G. Martinez - misspelled and mispronounced in so many different ways, I was seriously considering changing it to Rumplestiltskin Throckmorton Pinocchio... just to piss off a lot of people!

When I was born in 1954, my mother wanted to name me Gary, but my father - who always had his way - named me Jed. Now, in retrospect, I thought he'd named me after Jedidiah from "The Holy Bible", or after 'Jedidiah Leyland' (a.k.a. 'Broadway Jed') - the Joseph Cotten character in Orson Welles' classic film "Citizen Kane". Dad eventually told me that (when he used to have a job at a New York City laundry during the 1950), he'd named me after a shoeshine boy with that moniker... and that wasn't even the big letdown!

During the 1960s, when I went to both elementary and high school, all of the other students used to compare me to 'Jed Clampett' - the lead character from "The Beverly Hillbillies" (which was on TV's Top Ten list for several years, according to Nielsen ratings). Of course, the lower scum in school often compared me to another character from "TBH": 'Jethro Bodine' (who wasn't exactly a mental dynamo on the show).

To compound my situation, my brother's name was Glenn - which has the 'e' sound in the middle of the name Jed - and my father (whose real birth name was Joaquin) was usually called Jack - which has the 'j' sound at the start of Jed. So, whenever Mom was calling out for either my brother ("Glenn!") or my father ("Jack!"), I kept on mistaking it for Jed. (All the more reason why I should've been named Gary... or even Rumplestiltskin!)

Then, during the 1970s, a new development occurred, when I started getting personal 'snail mail'... addressed to me, but with my name misspelled. It all began when I'd signed up to get schedules for events at the Whitney Museum in upper Manhattan, and printed out my first name Jed. At the time, I used to draw a little line across the top of the letter 'J' - which, unfortunately, some inept associate at the Whitney mistook for the letter 'T'. Subsequently, every few weeks, I'd received said schedules, addressed to a 'Ted Martinez'...

Since then, I have had all sorts of 'snail mail' sent to me under other nom de plumes, including 'Jeff Martinez', 'Jed Martine', 'Jed Martin', and even 'Leo Martinez'! (How someone managed to get 'Leo' out of my penmanship version of 'Jed' remains a mystery to this very day.)

The strangest piece of 'snail-mail' I had ever received was a small package addressed to a Mrs. Jed Martinez - and I had never been married in my entire life! And, to "add insult to injury", said package contained a sample... a tampon sample! (And, at my age, it was certainly enough to give me a period!)

Then, there's the pronunciation of Martinez - which should be mar-tee-ness - but others say it in the alternate way, mar-tin-ess. This included an American radio personality, who was broadcasting in London one particular week, when I'd won a prize in a 'call-in contest'... and the guy announced, "The winner of the classical music CD is a Jed mar-tin-ess of Elmont, New York."

"Great!" I'd thought to myself. "Now I have a name that's been mispronounced in two different continents!"

This has been going on now for over fifty years, and it hasn't stopped yet...

The latest situation involving my name occurred recently, while I was ordering food at a local Wendy's (here in Margate, Florida). The guy behind the counter (taking my order) asked me for my name. This way, he can put it on the receipt, and call publicly it out when the order has been filled. (Now, bare in mind, the left side of my face no longer works properly - as a result of an operation [several years ago] to remove a benign lump located there - so, my mouth isn't properly functioning when I talk.)

"Jed," I had told the guy behind the counter.

"Could you spell that?" he'd asked.

"Sure," I replied. "J-E-D..."

"Thank you," he said, as he handed me my receipt... which was made out to 'JEE'!

I'd thought that this was a possible fluke, or that he didn't hear me spell the name out clearly. Of course, there was a loud din in the restaurant (from everybody in the back, cooking burgers and chicken sandwiches), so that might have contributed to his inability to hear me spell out it properly.

So, one week later, when I'd returned to the very same Wendy's, and placed another order to the same guy behind the counter, and he asked me to spell out my name this time, I'd placed my left hand on my left cheek (which, somehow, makes me sound clearer), and raised my voice in a louder register...

"J-E-D!"

"Thank you," he said, and gave me my receipt.

This time, he got the 'D' in my name right... but the receipt was made out to 'J-A-D'!

I am now tempted to lodge a complaint with the entire Wendy's corporation - insisting that, if all Wendy's employees cannot get my name spelled right on the receipt, I should get my meal for free; Or else, the next time I go to one of their eateries, and they ask for my name, I'm going to write it out in big block letters... on their counter... with a 'permanent marker pen' (so that they'll never forget my name)!

Then again, this latter act of aggression might not be such a good idea. Knowing my luck (and my misfortune over the last five decades), I'll probably get arrested for 'vandalism'... and, at the police station, have my name misspelled when they take my 'mug shot'!

Just to let all of you know, I'd survived Hurricane Matthew - as did thousands of south Floridians - in spite of the intensity of the storm, and the overblown exaggerations of Governor Rick ("this will kill you...") Scott.

By early Thursday (10-6-16), Matthew was upgraded to Category Four - despite the fact that it had run over islands like Haiti and Cuba, and was temporarily down to a Category Three. I still had a lot of work to do in preparing for the storm. I'd finished buying supplies (dry food, water, and spare batteries), and charged up my cell phone and tablet (should a power outage occur). All I had left to do was remove a load of stuff that cluttered the back porch of my condo. (Unlike other condo apartments in my building, my back porch wasn't closed off with walls and windows; Instead, I just had gigantic screens and some low-lying metal bars exposed to the elements.) If I hadn't removed said clutter, the high winds of Matthew could turn any (or all) of them into projectiles - crashing into the glass rear doors of my kitchen and my bedroom...

At the same time, the condo association finally allowed any Oriole Gardens residents to use the clubhouse as an emergency shelter. (As I would later learn, only six people showed up, but eventually returned to their respective apartments.)

All this time, I'd kept tabs on Hurricane Matthew on my local NPR (National Public Radio) station. The staff announced the direction of the storm, how large its eye was, how fast it was traveling northward, and how high the winds were blowing. Oddly enough, of all the items I'd left behind in my back porch were two wind chimes, so I can tell when the outer bands of Matthew were picking up speed.

Finally, I locked the glass doors in the rear of my condo, closed the glass shutters of the front door and locked it up. I was ready to 'ride the storm'.

Keeping a flashlight by my side, I turned on my TV, to watch the latest updates of Matthew's approach (with Miami-Dade County under a 'tropical storm warning', and counties to the north under a 'hurricane warning'). At the same time, I had learned about the loss of lives in Cuba and Haiti (about 300 citizens) and the severe damage done to many parts of each island.

I'd kept wondering if a similar scenario was going to befall my part of south Florida - even though I was over ten miles to the west of the 'evacuation zones' near the Atlantic Ocean. "Would Matthew be worse than Wilma?" I'd thought to myself. "Will there be heavy flooding in my area? Will there be a lot more uprooted trees and roofs blown off buildings than there were nearly eleven years ago? What if the roof of MY building was blown off? Will I lose most (if not all) of my property? Stuff I had accumulated over the course of six decades of my life? Will I get injured (or killed) by some kind of flying debris from the storm? And what about my brother Glenn? I know he's had prior experience in dealing with hurricanes (such as Andrew), but will Matthew be the true 'acid test' for him?"

I fell asleep watching the televised coverage of the storm, although I was expecting the electricity in my area to eventually go out (as it did with Wilma, when the power wouldn't be restored for four days). The rain and winds from Matthew's outer bands whipped around my part of Margate, but the reporters' ongoing commentary and the humming of my TV set drowned out the exterior din.

I eventually awoke close to 5:00 AM, E.S.T. on Friday morning (10-7-16), when I'd learned that Hurricane Matthew had already passed by Broward and Palm Beach Counties (and reduced to Category Three status). We were all expecting the storm to make landfall somewhere in south Florida, but it never came to pass. Matthew had been skirting the Atlantic Coast of the peninsula (with its eye over forty miles away from the shore), as it continued to make its slow-moving northbound trek.

Later that morning, it was predicted that Matthew was going to make landfall near Cape Canaveral (with wind speeds close to 110 M.P.H.); but the good news for my area was that we'd 'dodged the bullet'! The two most beautiful words in the English language that day was NEAR MISS!

Still, I was worried about some of my anthroartist friends to the north of me. I'd made a call (on my charged cell phone) to illustrator Mary Hanson-Roberts of Orlando, just to check up on her and her cats. Later, I'd used my "FA" inbox to send respective E-mailings to upstate residents KelvinTheLion and Tzologeist; Everyone was doing fine.

"Thank God!" I'd thought...

Eventually, I stepped out of my condo to survey whatever damage befell Oriole Gardens; but, apart from a few broken tree branches and the bottom red stripe from the American flag (still waving in front of the clubhouse), very few inanimate objects were affected by Matthew's wrath.

Some of the residents began to remove tape from their windows - something I decided not to do (as I would have to deal with excessive residue from the adhesive side stuck to the glass). Other residents removed flat wooden boards over other windows, while still other took down expensive aluminum shutters (they'd spend a fortune on). The shutters on the windows of my clubhouse were still up, and will probably remain there until the end of 'Hurricane Season' (December 1st)... or possibly even later.

I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I took out my bicycle, and began to travel around Margate, Coral Springs, Tamarac, and other Broward cities - just to see how Matthew affected them. Some fast-food restaurants were open, but only the drive-thru portions. Public places like libraries and post offices were still closed to the public, even though the sun was out, and there was little-to-no rain and high winds anymore. And apart from a few tree branches, the only severe damage I saw were two cracked plate glass windows on an eatery in Tamarac - that Funimal and I discovered and had breakfast at one month ago.

I had my first hot meal at a Taco Bell in Coral Springs (a 'taco salad' with beef), later in the afternoon. And, surprisingly enough, some of my favorite stores were still open - such as a Target (even though its grocery section was still cleaned out by last-minute stragglers, preparing for the storm), Past, Present and Future Comics, and Tate's Comics (all in Lauderhill), and an Aldi Supermarket (also partially emptied) in Tamarac.

After returning home (and putting away my bike), I began to call my brother Glenn and my friend Funimal - to let them both know I was alright. All other friends and relatives were contacted by text.

As far as I was concerned, Hurricane Matthew was the closest thing to a 'wake-up call' I'd ever experienced. And even though I'm sure that this won't occur again in south Florida for a long time, I'm not holding my breath... There are still seven weeks left in 'Hurricane Season 2016', and anything (and I do mean anything) can happen between now and the end of said season. (And don't forget, 'Hurricane Season 2005' - with three major storms hitting my area - lasted well into the start of 2006. So, December 1, 2016 might not necessarily mean the end of all of our weather-related problems!)

As most of you know, Hurricane Matthew is on its way to the southeastern coast of the USA, planning to make contact with Florida by late Thursday evening. It had already passed by Haiti and Cuba, having diminished from Category Four to Category Three. However, with little land (except for the Bahamas) to go through, the warm waters of the Caribbean will cause Matthew intensify back to Category Four status...

If Matthew does make landfall in southeastern Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties), it will mark the first time a major hurricane strikes this area since Hurricane Wilma (back in late October, 2005).

My brother Glenn and I are getting ready for the storm's arrival. We've already stocked up on provisions (a three-day supply of food and water) and spare batteries (for flashlights and radios) - in the event a power outage should occur. I'm removing loose items from my condo's back porch (which have the potential of becoming projectiles, if they get picked up by the high winds of Matthew), and also charging up both my Kindle and my cell phone ahead of time.

I'm letting all of you know this information in advance, should the electricity in my area get cut off by the storm. So, if you are wondering why I haven't 'faved' anyone's artwork, or why I haven't posted any new material in my "FA" site during the rest of this week, you'll know the reason by now...

Here it is - October, 2016 - and I'm running out of original ideas of stuff to post in my "FA" site. But I'll try to come up with some swell stuff to get your attention (if not your 'faves')...

As far as my art is concerned, I'll try to draw and post some new "Zootopia" fan art, "EFF" comic strips, and one or two more "Roly-Polympics 2016" gags. Naturally, I'll have something new to post for Halloween (whether it's another costume for my bobcat 'fursona', or an ample animal filled with 'Trick or Trick' goodies). And if I can find any more doodles and sketches, while cleaning up my cluttered condo, you can bet that they'll find their way here, too!

Speaking of discoveries, I'd found the photos I took in late October, 2005, following the aftermath of 'Hurricane Wilma', some of which I plan to post this month. I'll also post more animal-related 'photo-ops' - taken by me and my brother Glenn.

As for upcoming journals, I'll have another edition of "2016 Animal Commercial" reviews, more "Fur-One-One" news, and an occasional personal observation on life.

All of this will eventually lead up to November, 2016 - my latest 'sweeps month' - when the Presidential election, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving, and holiday shopping days will be subject to my creative talents. Meanwhile, enjoy October in my "FA" site - no matter where you are!

MOVIES: "Storks" (Warner Bros.), a highly-anticipated CGI comedy, revolves around the myth about how these aerodynamic avians used to deliver babies. Set in modern times, a corporate head of all storks (voiced by Kelsey Grammer) decides to have his flock use their skills to deliver merchandise to humans (and give Amazon - and their drones - a run for their money). Meanwhile, a subordinate named 'Junior' (Andy Samberg) inadvertently restarts a presently-defunct 'baby warehouse', and the fun really begins. (The comedy team of Key & Peele nearly steal the film as a pair of wolves, who try to capture the baby for themselves.) "Storks" is now playing in cinemas across North America... With so many animated 'talking animal' flicks released during 2016 (including "Norm of the North", "Zootopia", "The Secret Life of Pets", "Ice Age: Collision Course", "Storks", and the upcoming film "Sing"), you would think that more of them would be coming next year. Well, tell that to the staff at Canadian-based Arc Productions (whose credits include "Gnomeo and Juliet"), who had to 'lay off' a large number of their employees - right in the middle of production of their latest feature, "Blazing Samurai" (a martial arts satire, set in Asia). The film features the voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Ricky Gervais, George Takei, Gabriel Iglesias, Mel Brooks, et al, and was originally scheduled for an August, 2017 release. Whether or not this flick will see the light of day remains to be seen... Finally, from the 'If It Ain't Broken, Fix It Anyway Department', Disney announced that they are going to work on yet another live-action reboot of one of their past animated features (just like they'd already done with this year's treatments of "The Jungle Book" and "Pete's Dragon", and next year's "Beauty and the Beast"). This time, it's a remake of "The Lion King" with Jon ("The Jungle Book") Favreau in the director's chair again. Oh, well; "Hakuna Matata!"

HOME VIDEOS: Current new Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital releases of theatrical films with anthropomorphic characters include (The 25th Anniversary Edition of) "Beauty and the Beast" (Disney), "The Angry Birds Movie" (Sony), and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows" (Paramount)...

VIDEO GAMES: A classic Nintendo video game gets rebooted for another new system. "StarFox Zero" brings the anthropomorphic space saga to the Wii U game console, as 'Fox McCloud' and his crew pilot their way into more new adventures than ever before. A bonus game comes with the software, and it's all available at GameStop, Toys R Us, and other leading stores...

MISCELLANEOUS: October is just around the corner; and while many shops are already starting to sell merchandise connected with Halloween and Thanksgiving, other establishments are jumping way ahead, and are beginning to sell Christmas tree ornaments. Among these shops are (participating) Disney Stores, whose catalog of tree ornaments include one of 'Winnie-The-Pooh' (stuck in the doorway of Rabbit's house), and one of 'Elliott' from (the original 1977 version of) "Pete's Dragon" (clinging to the side of a lighthouse). And on the first weekend of October, Hallmark Stores will be adding more Disney, Warner Bros. and other cartoon studio characters to their roster of tree ornaments (which were already put on display back in mid-July). Check them all out... Meanwhile, still other shops are starting to sell 2017 calendars. DayDream is already printing out and distributing calendars based on Disney and Disney/Pixar animated features, such as "Frozen", "Finding Nemo", and (most recently) "Zootopia". Selling for $14.99 (U.S.) each, said calendars include the last four months of 2016, so you can set them up on your wall (or your refrigerator), the moment you take them home with you...

MOVIES: "Storks" (Warner Bros.), a highly-anticipated CGI comedy, revolves around the myth about how these aerodynamic avians used to deliver babies. Set in modern times, a corporate head of all storks (voiced by Kelsey Grammer) decides to have his flock use their skills to deliver merchandise to humans (and give Amazon - and their drones - a run for their money). Meanwhile, a subordinate named 'Junior' (Andy Samberg) inadvertently restarts a presently-defunct 'baby warehouse', and the fun really begins. (The comedy team of Key & Peele nearly steal the film as a pair of wolves, who try to capture the baby for themselves.) "Storks" is now playing in cinemas across North America... With so many animated 'talking animal' flicks released during 2016 (including "Norm of the North", "Zootopia", "The Secret Life of Pets", "Ice Age: Collision Course", "Storks", and the upcoming film "Sing"), you would think that more of them would be coming next year. Well, tell that to the staff at Canadian-based Arc Productions (whose credits include "Gnomeo and Juliet"), who had to 'lay off' a large number of their employees - right in the middle of production of their latest feature, "Blazing Samurai" (a martial arts satire, set in Asia). The film features the voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Ricky Gervais, George Takei, Gabriel Iglesias, Mel Brooks, et al, and was originally scheduled for an August, 2017 release. Whether or not this flick will see the light of day remains to be seen...

VIDEO GAMES: A classic Nintendo video game gets rebooted for another new system. "StarFox Zero" brings the anthropomorphic space saga to the Wii U game console, as 'Fox McCloud' and his crew pilot their way into more new adventures than ever before. A bonus game comes with the software, and it's all available at GameStop, Toys R Us, and other leading stores...

MISCELLANEOUS: October is just around the corner; and while many shops are already starting to sell merchandise connected with Halloween and Thanksgiving, other establishments are jumping way ahead, and are beginning to sell Christmas tree ornaments. Among these shops are (participating) Disney Stores, whose catalog of tree ornaments include one of 'Winnie-The-Pooh' (stuck in the doorway of Rabbit's house), and one of 'Elliott' from (the original 1977 version of) "Pete's Dragon" (clinging to the side of a lighthouse). And on the first weekend of October, Hallmark Stores will be adding more Disney, Warner Bros. and other cartoon studio characters to their roster of tree ornaments (which were already put on display back in mid-July). Check them all out... Meanwhile, still other shops are starting to sell 2017 calendars. DayDream is already printing out and distributing calendars based on Disney and Disney/Pixar animated features, such as "Frozen", "Finding Nemo", and (most recently) "Zootopia". Selling for $14.99 (U.S.), said calendars include the last four months of 2016, so you can set them up on your wall (or your refrigerator), the moment you take them home with you...

Years ago, the folks in Washington, D.C. announced a service called the "No Call List", for owners of landline phones - who constantly receive annoying calls by telemarketers and scam artists who try to talk them into investing money in phoney deals...

I had long since given up my landline service, in favor of using a government-issued cellular phone (with 350 free minutes per month). I'd logically figured that it would take a real long time for scam artists to find my phone number and try to work their wiles on me... Well, time flies, in my case...

On Wednesday (9-14-16), I had received several calls on my cell phone from a 202 area code. Consulting one of my friends, he informed me that said call came from Washington, D.C. (The last time I got a call from our nation's capital was in August - when I'd won the 'Puzzle Challenge' on NPR News' "Weekend Edition: Sunday" - but other than that, I never got any other calls from there.) I'd told said friend that I'd try to call this 202 phone number later that day...

Oddly enough, within an hour, I was in my condo clubhouse when I'd received a call from the aforementioned number; but the reception was unusually poor, as I can barely hear the voice of the female caller over a lot of static...

"Is this Jed?" asked the caller, who seemed to have spoken with a foreign accent.

"Yes," I replied. "Who's calling?"

"I'm representing someone from the United States Department of Grants, who informs you that you are entitled to receive a check in the amount of $7,000..."

(Having been out of work for over a year, I had to go through a lot of channels just to receive both 'food stamps' and Social Security checks - which I can barely live on now [even though I was making far less than that when I was working part-time as a 'janitor']. I'd figured that the $7,000 would come in handy.)

"...this money," she continued, "will only be used to pay your bills, and cannot be used to purchase alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, pornography, and other illicit items."

(That's no problem for me, since I don't buy any of that stuff.)

"How will I receive this check?" I'd asked. "By mail or 'direct deposit'?"

"We could have the money included in your credit card account..."

"I'll have to cut you off there," I'd interrupted, "because I don't have a credit card. I'd stopped using them over a decade ago. I only have a debit card."

"Then, we can have the money in your bank account in nothing flat," said the female caller, her voice sounding even weaker over the static.

I was beginning to get suspicious, over the eagerness on her side of the conversation. For starters, I only began my latest bank account less than a year ago, when my brother Glenn decided to make it a joint account. ("How come Glenn hadn't heard from this Department of Grants himself?" I'd asked myself.)

I gave the caller just my name (Jed G. Martinez - not telling her what the middle initial stood for), but no other information.

"Look," I told her, "the reception in this clubhouse is poor. Let me step outside, so I can hear you better."

Within seconds, I stepped through the rear exit, into the swimming pool area, where I'd raised the cell phone back to my ear... only to hear dead air. She'd hung up.

Using a feature on said phone, I'd tried to call back the 202 number to get the caller again, only to get the following:

"The number you have dialed... ...is not a working number. Please hang up and try again."

Now, I was getting worried that I might've been a victim of a scam.

I immediately called my friend Funimal, who works for the U.S. Postal Service (a government agency), and who (luckily for me) had the day off from work.

I'd told him about the call I got, and the moment I'd mentioned the Department of Grants, he'd said, "It's a rip-off! They're trying to get your money, not give you any! That woman with the foreign accent is probably from the Philippines..."

("Great!" I'd thought to myself. "I was getting scammed from Washington, D.C., by way of the South Pacific!")

"As long as you didn't give out any important information about yourself (phone number, mailing address, Social Security number, bank account number, debit card number and PIN), you are still safe."

"I didn't," I replied, "but I was still caught off-guard. It's bad enough that scammers try to trick me over the Internet - as I get tons of 'Spam' messages over my Yahoo! inbox - but this was one of those rare moments I almost got ripped off over the phone."

"You might want to get on that 'No Call List', as soon as possible."

"I'll try to do that; but I don't know what good this is going to do, if I'm going to continue being someone's target..."

"Better safe than sorry," Funimal replied.

Of course, living in south Florida - where its population consists mostly of senior citizens - there are more targets that scammers aim for than anywhere else in the America. And, having just entered my sixties, I'm now a part of that minority.

So, I have to be more on the alert than ever before, whether these rip-off artist contact me via phone, E-mail, or even door-to-door. (And if any of you "FA" members recently became senior citizens, you might want to be on the lookout for these savory characters yourselves.)

September, 2016 is my latest 'sweeps month'; but, oddly enough, I'm probably going to have a lighter turnout of material in my "Fur Affinity" site than in past 'sweeps months' (February and May). Nevertheless, I'll try to present some new stuff for your perusal...

As far as art is concerned, I'll have a few belated "Roly-Polympics 2016" cartoon gags (with ample athletes) and "Zootopia" fan art pieces in the weeks ahead. And I might throw in a 'Fat Furry' fan art work (with the character[s] of other "FA" contributors)...

I'll also have fewer 'photo-ops' for future editions of "Throwback Thursday". I really want to present past pix taken by yours truly, instead of the newest digital works from my brother Glenn (just to show all of you that I'm a really good photographer).

And, of course, upcoming journals will include another assortment of TV commercials with animal characters; another "Fur-One-One" (news) column; and more personal stories about my life down here in south Florida.

I'll try to visit as many of you (in your own "FA" sites) as possible during September, and 'fave' whatever images tickle my fancy.

Until next month, take care (and continue doing the best each one of you are doing)!