Exploding kittens and goats

So perhaps you have heard of a certain card game Kickstarter that has gone balistic.

I have enjoyed reading this crowd-funding-that-could story from a marketing and fundraising viewpoint. The people involved (two designers and a famous comic artist) were very smart to focus on very few but very clear perks (donate $20 bux to make this card game, and you get a copy of this card game.) They may have set their initial sights too low ($10,000) and didn't plan out enough "stretch goals" (in case, like it did, the campaign surpassed it's goal.)

• Apparently, they reached their initial goal in 8 minutes. 
• Then, over 120,000 donors broke a Kickstarter record. 
• And they have now made over $5M.

I have also enjoyed watching from a goat supporter's standpoint. Goats have been in it to win it from the beginning, with an all-seeing Goat wizard able to help you, and later, the release of a goat butt that lets you see into the future.

(Granted, that is a mountain goat, not a true goat, but who's counting.)


The group was taking suggestions for other cards on Facebook recently, and I added a few caprine ideas. Who wants to bet if there will be more goaty magic to come?

Super-GOAT-Bowl!

Goats take over the Superbowl.

First off, in the Alternative Offering of Puppybowl, five goats served as the cheerleaders.

From Puppybowl Facebook

According to this article, "...four of the baby goats; Charlie, Murphy, Speckles and Sammy, were born and raised at Molasses Hill Farm here (in New Jersey). The other baby goat, Cookie, was born at the Guenther Farm, also in Clinton Township."

Then, the main reason people watch the actual game, as most people know, is for the commercials, and goats were to be had there as well:

Also, T Mobile's subteranian petting zoo:

 Anyone see any other goat sightings? Share them!

Are goats "havin' a moment"?

Goats are having a moment, at least according to one Washington Post article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/01/12/map-literally-every-goat-in-the-united-states/

We have know this for some time. It's nice to see someone else realize it as well!

The article also includes The Worlds Most Important Map (not really, because it only shows USDA recorded goats) and may be one of the first mainstream articles in recent memory to mention the cultural impact and relevance of goats. Cool! Keep it going into the Year of the Goat, people!  

Happy 2015 -- is it the year of the goat??

Greetings fellow followers and friends of all things capra. We are gearing up for a great year, with plenty more posts and hopefully a huge influx of mainstream goat articles. Already, I have spotted some goat-themed ads and goats appearing more and more often in mainstream media and gotten some great tips from fans. Keep it up!

For now, though, I have a question, which was brought up by this photograph and caption in this month's Country Living -- is it the year of the SHEEP (boo! no!) or is it the year of the GOAT? (Yaaa! Yeah!!!)

"2015 is the Year of the Sheep" -- yeah right

This is of course in reference to the Lunar or Chinese New Year, which happens Thursday, February 19, 2015 this year (it moves around due to the nature of the calendar it is based on, which is not the Gregorian calendar.)

Wikipedia states it is the Year of the Goat but elsewhere mentions it could be the Year of the Ram or the Year of the Sheep (shudder.)

So what do you think?

Game of Thrones as sung by goats

Thanks to all who pointed me towards this! P.S. Please excuse the few sheep thrown in.

As an aside, has anyone else noticed an influx of goats lately? Goats online, goats in cartoons, goats in commercials. The goats are coming, people. Be ready.

UPDATE! Goat Simulator Arrives April 1!

In my last post, I noted that a video game created during a creative jam may or may not become available for public consumption....

GUESS WHAT?

"You Did It, Internet. Goat Simulator Is A Real Thing That You Can Buy." - via Kotaku




Now I will admit, and fully realize, this is not a PR coup.  It does not tell a very truthful story about Capra hircus. For instance:

- Goats do not survive when hit by cars. Do not, in real life, hit goats with cars.
- Goats do not survive long falls, even onto trampolines. Do not drop goats in real life, even onto trampolines.
- Goats do not  have tongues that stick to things like axes. Do not try to get your goat to lick an ax and carry it around.

So I guess as far as defeating goat stereotypes, this video game isn't going to score many points (I will say I didn't see the goat in the game eating any garbage.)

But then again, Jam City Rollergirls didn't depict roller derby with complete accuracy either.

And just look at how much fun this will be! People are really looking forward to it. At least, the Goatmaiden is!

Goat Video Game Becomes Reality??

Thanks to a tip, and Kotaku.com I am now aware of a goat simulation video game that may or may not be in production. Coffee Stain Studio posted to their Facebook timeline on 1/20/14 a game jam example video of "Goat Simulator" (warning: scenes of goat getting hit by car--don't worry, he's OK!) and asked people to share if they wanted to see it turned into a real game. Then recently they released this youtube video, echoing the preliminary images with even more goat goodness:


So check them out, and please share if you want Goat Simulator! (P.S. gotta work on his climbing skills.)

From http://www.lonelyplanet.com/

Most Metal Goat

I thought I had seen the best combo of goat+metal band possible with the Metallica Packer Goat. However, life has proven me wrong by introducing me to Biquette.

More from Metal Insider:

Grindcore fan that happened to be a goat passes away 

We see a lot of things come across our desks, but the goat in the front row of a Wormrot show that’s been kicking around the internet for a few years is one of the best images in metal. Now, thanks to the team over at Noisey, we not only know that the goat had a name, Biquette, but sadly, that Biquette is no longer with us, having passed away last month.

Raad the rest here:
http://www.metalinsider.net/in-memoriam/grindcore-fan-that-happened-to-be-a-goat-passes-away

Photo from Biquette's Facebook Page

A happy little tune for your Thursday!

According to Wikipedia, George Formby (5/26/1904-3/6/1961) was once Britain's top-paid entertainer. He usually played tunes on ukulele both on the stage and in film.

Goats + Coffee

Photo by Matt Bohlken

I received a text just the other day alerting me to the fact that there is a Goat Coffee House in Eau Clair, Wisconsin. They serve organic, fair trade coffee roasted in Duluth, MN.

There is also a Wild Goat Cafe in Kent, Ohio, The Goat Cafe in New Jersey, The Dancing Goat cafe in Vermont, The Giddy Goat in .... Australia! Nanny Goat's Cafe and Feed Bin was featured on a Restaurant Impossible episode in February 2013.

By the way, did you know that some people credit goats for discovering coffee? One version of the legend speaks of a herdsman in Ethiopia who led his goats to an outcropping where they dined on berries off the bushes that grew there. Soon he realized he had discovered something magical, as the goats got up on their hind legs and began to dance around! He had in fact found the coffee cherry tree (did you know coffee beans are sometimes called cherries when they are fresh? They are!)

Vote For Doritos Commercial: Goat 4 Sale!

There is a real chance to be a part of bringing a NEW GOAT COMMERCIAL to air during the Superbowl! Just go to https://apps.facebook.com/crashthesuperbowl/ (you have to be on Face Book to vote). You can vote once per day online and on your mobile.

One of the issues with bringing animals into pop culture is the inevitable mistakes that will be made by those who don't know or those that don't care, about accuracy. I (of course) do not want to support animal abuse, or people treating animals unkindly. Goats, I am sure, would eat Doritos (and McDonalds formerly-happy meals). But if they were allowed to eat them a lot, I'll bet they would get sick. So don't feed your goat food that goats aren't built to eat (mainly brush like tree branches, leaves, hay, grain etc.)

One of the reasons for the myth "Goats will eat anything" is because they will pretty much put anything in their mouths.  It's one of the ways they explore their surroundings.

https://apps.facebook.com/crashthesuperbowl/

McDonalds Goat Comercial

Goat Comercial - AT&T

Yule Goat

A Man in Goat's Clothing?

There are reports that a man dressed as a mountain goat has been spotted in Utah. The authorities seem to be concerned that he may be injured by goats, or that a hunter may mistake him for a goat. This is going in the "creepy" file for now.

By they way, mountain goats are not true goats (capra genus), nor are they sheep. They are in the same subfamily as goats and sheep, but have their own genus (Oreamnos). I consider them to be closer to goats than sheep since they are called mountain goats. They have very square heads and remind me of Snowy from Tintin.

 

UPDATE:

'Goat man' in Utah mountains identified as hunter (7/24/2012)

Goats love to surf

Goatee has a protoge - Pismo!

Read more here.

MOW GOATS in Cleveland

Recently visited Cleveland and picked up a copy of the Plain Press, the free west side paper. There was a great little article on MowGoats- a pilot project designed to clear vacant lots using  THE POWER OF GOATS! Goats not only clear the spaces, but are environmentally sounds, and their presence draws communities together. Who wouldn't want to come and visit someone herding a group of caprines with names like Clover, Buffy, Rosie and Princess?

Check out this blog!

Retail Theory

“There are as many women as there are men who pursue odd ways of earning money, one class of which would be designated as ‘goats,’ for it is their business to be ‘discharged’ from the department stores in which they are ‘employed’ a number of times each day. When a grouchy or haughty customer makes complaint of discourteous treatment against a clerk, one of the ‘goats’ is summoned to the office as the person in charge of that particular department. There she is given a good talking to in front of the angry customer and summarily ‘dismissed,’ and the complainant goes away rejoicing.”

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=50-100-150-may-12

Goatee the Surfing Goat

The story is one told again and again. Surfing soccer-loving boy gets goat as a way to clear brush from his land. Boy, who used to live in Africa and has ties to http://www.flosoccerministry.com/ , planned to eat "Goatee" after she finished her duties, but, like many bitten buy the goat-bug (ew) found that the creature had such personality he couldn't help but fall in love. Well, not that kind of love (although the section of the video above does have a scene of them swinging tandem on a swing set, I am sure it's just platonic love).

Boy then, on his 33rd birthday, took the goat surfing and thought she did a good job. A video of him and Goatee appeared on a local tv station and soon went viral, being picked up all over the world.

Goatee is the mascot of Flo (forever loving others) Soccer Ministry, which spreads the love of Jesus through soccer. Something about soccer, and surfing, and goats... and Jesus I guess...they all inspire passionate embrace and soulful support that seems to go beyond the single entity. At least that's what I think. Think what you like - it's still cool to see a goat surf.

Sydney the Alpine Goat at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

I recently visited my favorite goat in the world at the world famous Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Sydney was an utter jerk when I worked with her back in 2000, when the Australian Adventure exhibit first opened. It was the first time I was around goats, and I soon learned to love her devious personality. She was the one who was always jumping out of the enclosure, munching on kid's strollers, and so on. She was one of the original animals in the contact yard (petting zoo).

She's getting on in years and seems to have mellowed. Still, she's awesome.

Sydney in her younger years