PHOTO OP: Peanut Thief

Via madlyinlovewithlife.

Hamsters Cast in ‘Blues Brothers’ Reboot

If there’s one thing Hollywood loves, it’s a good, high-profile reboot. Variety is reporting that hamsters Buttons and Scratch have been cast in the upcoming, Sam Riami-helmed reboot of The Blues Brothers.

The hamsters, who cut their teeth at Second City in Chicago, and also spent time last year at UCB in New York, are being touted as a brilliant combo to reprise the rolls made famous by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.

“If the decision to hire action impresario Riami as director was thought odd in Hollywood circles,” wrote Variety reporter Anna Pitasco, “the choice of Buttons and Scratch more than makes up for it. They bring serious funny to the production.”

The movie is expected to start filming later this year in Los Angels, Las Vegas, Vancouver and Chicago.

Via sonitan_oneisan.

Hamster Is Plotting Something, We’re Sure of It

Noctus the hamster is up to no good. The Fluffington Post can report with 95% certainty that the rodent is planning something.

We’re not sure what it is, but just look at him. Those intense, beady little eyes, the way he’s rubbing his hands together menacingly. Oh yes, he’s up to something.

Mark our words.

Via aleqto.

Guinea Pig Wins iPhone Photography Award

High-end photo sharing site 500px has announced the winners of its first-ever iPhone Photography Contest. The winner in the photojournalism category was Carabelle, a guinea pig, for her series documenting living conditions insider her cage.

How did a guinea pig manage to win such a prestigious award?

“Well, let’s be clear here. Carabelle won in the guinea pig division,” said 500px communications director, Jennifer Lee. “There were only like 3 entries. Most guinea pigs have no idea how to use an iPhone camera. In retrospect, it was kind of silly for us to have an entire section of the contest for them.”

Via piggy_duo.

Coca-Cola Stock Falls on Announcement of Animal-Sized Bottles

The market is not pleased with Coca-Cola’s (NYSE: KO) announcement that it will devote significant resources into creating a super tiny version of its product. The new Coke product, dubbed “Tiny Coke,” is aimed at the emerging rodent market — hamsters, mice, chinchillas — as well as small mammals, such as hedgehogs.

An early prototype of the new bottle design is seen above with a degu (a small rodent native to Chile).

Coca-Cola claims that small animals represent a potential $5 billion market that is currently completely untapped. Investors, however, have reacted negatively to the announcement, and Coke’s stock is down 15% in after hours trading.

Via mslavoie.

Guinea Pig Celebrates Birthday With a Salad

What’s the best way to celebrate your 3rd birthday? If you’re a guinea pig, you munch on a great big parsley and cucumber salad.

That’s exactly what Malcolm, pictured above left, a guinea pig from Scotland did on his recent birthday.

“And he loved it!” reported friend Camille Preston. “Salads are his favorite, so it’s really not a party without one.”

Next year, Mal is supposedly considering adding red peppers to the menu.

Via Castaway in Scotland.

Guinea Pig Builds Own Gaming PC

Florida guinea pig Max isn’t content to purchase his computers off the shelf or from a website. The tech hobbyist likes to build his towers from scratch using the best parts he can buy and afford. Why?

“Mostly for gaming,” says friend and fellow PC builder Jonathan Tegan. “His current PC is a pretty sweet rig: NVidia graphics, 8 gigs of RAM, quad-core processor. He spent a little money on this one.”

But on average, Max ends up saving about $800 by purchasing individual components online, rather than a retail machine. So what does the piggie play when his rig is up and running?

“Mostly Minesweeper,” says Tegan. “You obviously don’t need a dedicated graphics card for a dumb game like that. But I know Max likes to have power under the hood, just in case.”

Submitted by Dori Emerson.

Cops Bust Squirrel for Reckless Driving

Police in Somerville, MA have arrested a 2-year-old squirrel named Hank after receiving a report that he was driving erratically on Medford Street. Patrol cars attempted to pull the squirrel over, but he did not respond to the sirens, according to the police report.

“I called in some backup and we pinned his vehicle with a blockade,” says George Sevalis, the officer who made the arrest. “He didn’t seem to know or care that we were chasing him.”

There are no indications that Hank was driving under the influence, and he was not transporting anything illegal, though authorities did find a large cache of nuts in the trunk.

“He claims they’re his, and that he recently dug them up after the winter,” says Sevalis. “But we’re looking into it.”

Via Phaque1285

2016 Presidential Candidate Squirrel Tests Stump Speech

The memory of the 2012 U.S. presidential election has barely had time to fade, but already political pundits have their eye toward 2016. Prospective candidates have started to raise money, form exploratory committees and test speeches.

When it comes to the 2016 field, everyone agrees that Barry the squirrel has a good shot to be the Republican nominee for president. 

The charismatic rodent from Florida has been testing his stump speech in Iowa and New Hampshire the past week, an indication, think many, that he intends to run for president.

“Barry has a lot going from him,” according to MSNBC analyst Jenna Gwin. “He’s young, he’s popular in a swing state and he’s already shown the ability to raise a lot of money.”

Barry’s press team released a noncommittal statement last week indicating that the squirrel has not yet made any plans for 2016.

Via Ajnagraphy.