The Download Munkey : Finder of Things …

While the words “cryptids” and “cryptozoology” might be unfamiliar to most, I’ve sure that most would have heard or read stories of famous cryptids like Bigfoot/Sasquatch, Yetis or the Loch Ness Monster.

Cryptids are therefore creatures that are alleged to exist through sightings and reports or physical evidence like tracks and even feces but have not been conclusively verified due to lack of actual specimens for thorough scientific analysis and study. The study of cryptids also extends to animals known to Science but alleged to exist outside their usual areas of distribution or are believed to be already extinct.

While the North American BioFortean Review has been discontinued - the last issue being Issue 18 published in January 2006, this freely downloadable newsletter in PDF format offers a fascinating insight into the world of cryptids and cryptozoology together with an assortment of other articles on zoological and natural oddities.

© North American BioFortean Review

Another case of the old proverb “Do not judge a book by its cover”

Edited by Chad Arment, Brad LaGrange together with Craig Heinselman of CRYPTO magazine, these issues are filled with lots of interesting eyewitness accounts of alleged cryptids ranging from contemporary reports to century-old articles from newspaper archives. Likely causes are provided where the reports are believed to be cases of mistaken identity.

© North American BioFortean Review

Strange carcass recovered by the Zuiyo Maru in 1977

Despite the title, North American BioFortean Review does not focus exclusively on cryptids and other natural wonders from the North American continent. Reports of strange creatures from contributors all round the world feature regularly, from giant American centipedes (Issue 2), the carcass of a possible aquatic cryptid recovered off New Zealand by the Japanese trawler Zuiyo Maru on 25 April 1977 (Issue 2), blue tigers in China (Issue 6), alleged giant squids in the Serbian Carska Bara bog (Issue 7) to wrestling camels and camel caravans across USA during the second half of the 19th century. (Issue 13)

© North American BioFortean Review

Hoaxes are also analyzed like the ghastly little specimen above (Issue 8 ) and the stories of fabled and legendary animals dissected to identify the possible identity of creatures like the Indian bis cobra (Issue 9).

Download the back issues of North American BioFortean Review and CRYPTO.

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The Download Munkey has been up and running for close to two years with over 600+ posts as I write this and thankfully, I still haven’t ran out of things to write about (yet)

Unfortunately, additional responsibilities and overtime at work have been taking a toll on my free time for the last few months which have resulted in me spending far too much time during my weekends instead of weeknights writing stuff for this site. Many thanks to my wife for putting up with my obsession to write enough stuff for each week but I think it’s time for me to put things into perspective and reassess my priorities in life. (or at least for the future weekends )

I’ve decided to cut down on my posting frequency as a consequence - I still love writing about stuff that I genuinely enjoy but I guess some things have to give in exchange for a more balanced life (and balanced mind, oh and more gaming time on the weekends too )

Therefore starting from next week, posting for Random Monday, Military Tuesday and Art Friday will be on alternate weeks only (Wallpapers Wednesday and Games Thursday will be unaffected for the time being )

I’ve plans for something new on Saturday if time permits and hopefully I can eventually resume daily posting when the workload lightens up (which is quite a bit of wishful thinking, frankly)

The best way is keep track of updates to The Download Munkey is still via the RSS feed or by clicking the big orange button to the right.

Have a happy new year!

Have to disappear somewhere without internet access for the next week or so or no posts for the upcoming week. Meanwhile, there’s always the 600+ posts in the archives and the excellent links on the right sidebar

Meticulously detailed Gundam renders are a hallmark of Ivan Sanchez aka sandrum’s deviantART gallery which showcases over 60 renders of his shiny mecha models from Bandai’s Gundam meta-universe.

I especially like his more dynamic works where the models are superimposed over images of fiery explosions or serene spacescapes that actually complement rather than distract from the models themselves.

A selection of my favourites below.

© Ivan Sanchez

A Shin Musha Gundam surveys a battlefield of dismembered GMs and Zakus.

© Ivan Sanchez

Wing Gundam Zero, rendered in classic MG model kit style.

© Ivan Sanchez

A bright orange Gouf Ignited from the Gundam Seed Destiny’s timeline.

© Ivan Sanchez

A trio of FAZZ Sentinels in space.

Available as high resolution downloads, these renders make perfect desktop wallpapers too, like this stunning image of Akatsuki Gundam below .

© Ivan Sanchez

The massive GP-03D Dendrobium.

Ivan Sanchez’s gallery is definitely a site not to be missed for fans of the ever-expanding range of mecha in the Gundam meta-universe.

Check out more of Ivan Sanchez’s works over at sandrum.deviantart.com. Be sure to also check out his Anaheim Machines Project where he posts more renders of WIP mechas.

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Apparently, garden gnomes are vehemently against the crass commerciality of Christmas or simply harbour an enduring hatred against elves because of their well-known saying:

Beware of elves bearing gifts

Strapped to a bungee from the rooftop of his mobile skyscraper, Mr Nameless Garden Gnome decides to stop the fanatical elves from cramming crappy presents through his chimney once and for all (or at least until the elves successfully scamper up the roof and untie his bungee rope)

In the meantime, Mr Nameless Garden Gnome will do whatever it takes to stop the invading horde from knocking them off the skyscraper to hurling killer litter and summoning airstrikes on the hapless elves. Watch out for the elite delivery boys on sleighs of the 1st Santa’s Parachute Division and 2nd Santa’s Air Assault Division, who just won’t quit until they get blown sky high

To reward your valour in service against the elves, up to 16 pro-tips can be unlocked when you get a sufficiently high score to allow you to unleash even more Garden Gnome Carnage™ in your next attempt

Download Garden Gnome Carnage and merry X’Mas!

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