Smart Bitches Trashy Books | All of the romance, none of the bullshit.

Thanks to Suzanne for the heads up which totally made my day. It’s busy over here in Bitchery HQ, but even if you’re as frantic as I am, still, take five minutes to have a look at the national zoo Ferret Cam. Seems the Black Footed ferret (official ferret of Smart Bitches, I think) had a baby, or kit, on June 20, and if you look, you’ll see sleepy mama and very small baby, who is often awake.

A minute ago, as I type this, baby kit ferret was trying to wake mama up. Oh, buddy, good luck with that. Right now he’s slung across his mama’s middle, probably hunting up something to eat. 

Thanks to Kerry for the rather heartbreaking news article: the black footed ferret, the official ferret of Smart Bitches, is fighting an outbreak of the plague. Travis Livieri, whom you might remember from other Ferret-related news articles, has been out all night vaccinating the ferrets. According to the NYTimes, “A colony that contains nearly half of the black-footed ferrets in the country and which biologists say is critical to the long-term health of the species has been struck by plague, which may have killed a third of the 300 animals.”

The efforts to preserve the ferret’s habitat is a tricky issue balanced between ranches who hate prairie dogs, and ferrets, who live and hide in the prairie dog burrows, then hunt and kill the prairie dogs as a big furry dinner.

Good thoughts to Mr. Livieri and the ferrets themselves. 

Lots of links to start your weekend off with massive browsing. What you wanted to get something accomplished this afternoon? PAH! Suffer with me.

Kate Douglas has a question for you: is man flank deserving of the whiteout? Not for one second do I believe the man pictured on that cover has a tush that flat, but still, man flank is problematic?

Mimi Gets a Contract made me snort so hard I nearly aspirated a Splenda packet from across the room. Thanks to Angie for the link.

I just laughed myself into tears reading this article about the Diagram Prize, which is a hunt for the most bizarre book title. The Greek Billionaire’s Virgin Love Child’s Boardroom Mistress has NOTHING on these books. Don’t miss the slide show of covers. Thanks to Svenja for the link.

Thanks to the many, many people who sent me this link: using the frozen sperm of two Black Footed Ferrets which had died years ago, the Smithsonian National Zoo successfully bred two kits (those would be wee adorable baby ferrets), born in June. The sperm was frozen back in 97 and 98, and ten years later, those two ferrets are proud papas from beyond the grave. Mazel tov to the successful breeding crew, and to the new mommies. And mad props to Moth who sent me a link to the article with the subject line, ‘The Virgin Black-Footed Ferret’s Secret Baby.’

And if you’re feeling the need to gaze at the sleeping cuteness that is the Black Footed Ferret (official ferret of Smart Bitches), there’s always the immensely addictive ferret cam.

See, I am all about wasting valuable hours of your time today! We’re having a bit of a hurricane today in the northeast, so we’re all inside on the internet. Ok, *I’m* inside on the internet, but hey, join me in endless surfing!

Suppose you’re having a craptastic day, your wip isn’t going right, it took you over an hour to go 14 miles to work (hi there, were you on that bus with me?) or the way in which you roll along isn’t merry. Enjoy: ZooBorns: baby animals, many of them endangered, from zoo and animal conservation centers around the world.

Altogether now: Awwwwww.

[Thanks to Rebecca J for the link!]