The Twelve Days of Christmas as sung by The Animals

Bet you didn't think the lyrics to this song could get any more confusing. And now, the Zoo'd Animal Hybrid Friends have put their own twist on it ^_^

What you hear, is what they want. Whaaat?

The short version: 

Rabbird is a bunny in a tree, because she's part dove and enjoys nesting in soft, fluffy stuff.

Penguana just loves banana splits!

Froogle is of course, a jumper (that's a pun in English-speak, because in the UK she could be considered to look like she's wearing one). So she loves leaping across lily pads.

Pandaroo loves math and other "nerdy" stuff.

Unicat is a fancy girl, who enjoys her showcase of fancy horn accessories.

Zebat loves strawberries - zey are tres sweet! Ooh la la!

If you know Slowan, then you know his perfect "gift" would be sleeping all day.

Elefox enjoys 8 large scoops of his favorite treat, chocolate ice cream.

Octomouse lives in a sandcastle on Brown Sugar Beach, so now she has lots!

Parrofly just loooooves him some jelly beans!

Beever is a gentle florist, so this was fitting for him.

And last but not least, Dogosaur loves snacking on candy almonds. Given his size, 1,200 of them seemed fitting.

The Long Version (Lyrics):

"On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
A bunny in a tree 

On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Two banana splits, and
A bunny in a tree 

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Three lily pads
Two banana splits, and 

A bunny in a tree 

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Four math equations
Three lily pads 
Two banana splits, and 
A bunny in a tree  

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Five golden horns!
Four math equations 
Three lily pads 
Two banana splits, and 
A bunny in a tree  

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Six juicy berries
Five golden horns 
Four math equations 
Three lily pads

Two banana splits, and 
A bunny in a tree  

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Seven sleeps a-snoring
Six juicy berries 
Five golden horns 
Four math equations 
Three lily pads 
Two banana splits, and 
A bunny in a tree 

 

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eight scoops of ice cream
Seven sleeps a-snoring
Six juicy berries
Five golden horns 
Four math equations 
Three lily pads 
Two banana splits, and 
A bunny in a tree  

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Nine sandy castles
Eight scoops of ice cream 
Seven sleeps a-snoring 
Six juicy berries 
Five golden horns 
Four math equations 
Three lily pads 
Two banana splits, and 
A bunny in a tree  

 

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Ten beans of jelly
Nine sandy castles
Eight scoops of ice cream 

Seven sleeps a-snoring 
Six juicy berries 
Five golden horns 
Four math equations
Three lily pads 
Two banana splits, and 
A bunny in a tree  

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eleven flowers growing

Ten beans of jelly 
Nine sandy castles
Eight scoops of ice cream 
Seven sleeps a-snoring 
Six juicy berries 
Five golden horns 
Four math equations 
Three lily pads 
Two banana splits, and 
A bunny in a tree 

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Twelve hundred candy almonds
Eleven flowers growing 
Ten beans of jelly 
Nine sandy castles 

Eight scoops of ice cream 
Seven sleeps a-snoring 
Six juicy berries 
Five golden horns 
Four math equations 
Three lily pads 
Two banana splits, and 
A bunny in a tree."

Lyrics and illustrations by Daryl Januszewski. Voices by Rob Januszewski & Daryl Januszewski.

More About Planet Zurbpod

In August 2017, I introduced to you, a little purple planet, which inhabits 12 zany hybrid animals. They range from a red-haired elephant to an industrious insect with an accent. And though this original description was well-received, I learned there are still some questions - which is awesome! Keep them coming 😊


Things to know about Zurbpod

1. The name is basically an anagram, made from the first letters of some of the characters' names. They are Z from Zebat, U from Unicat, R from Rabbird, B from Beever, P from Parrofly, O from Octomouse, and D from Dogosaur. It's pronounced exactly as it looks; "zurb-pod".

2. It's climate is similar to Earth's, only with basically no winter. No blizzards, no slippery ice, no frost bite or hypothermia... just warm days! Yay!



3. It's not as big as Earth, though. There are also no humans - just the 12 hybrid animals. Because of her small population, she is approximately the size of Pluto (which is of course, no longer a planet as of 2006; though it was then declared a "dwarf planet").

4. Zurbpod has interesting locales, such as Brown Sugar Beach - home to Unicat, Penguana, Octomouse, and Elefox. She also has a healthy place called Veggie Forest, where the trees are made of broccoli and other natural food. This forest is home to Rabbird, Pandaroo, Zebat and Parrofly. And this friendly planet has a refreshingly cool lake, where some of the aquatic hybrid friends live, such as Beever, Slowan, Froogle, and the biggest of them all - Dogosaur!

*To get more information on their homes, get the 'Where We Live' coloring book from Etsy - it shows each of their homes in better detail! 

5. She (yes, Zurbpod chooses to identify as female) is purple, because that's just the way she is. Her clouds are made of cotton candy - so the sky is a light bluish-purple with a sweet scent. Though Rabbird, Zebat, Beever, Slowan and Parrofly would have to go pretty high to taste the sweet clouds!

🦎🐧🦄🐭🐙🐘🦊🦇🐰🐱🐼🐦🦋🐶🐸

Thank you for your interest in this planet and it's kawaii-cute residents!

Stan Lee Inspired Many Cartoonists

On November 12 of this year, the world lost a cartoon & comic character legend. Stan Lee was 95 when he went. Unlike other comic book artists of his day, he gave the characters (such as Spider-Man) a long & complex history, complete with fears, personality quirks, bad days, and all things relatable. He made the once more-than-human super heroes, human.

And since then, the cartooning industry has never been the same. Fans tend to gravitate toward characters with whom they can identify... 

Though he was known for detailed, powerful and aggressive comic book art, he has inspired many different types of cartoonists. Not unlike Walt Disney, he was an artist who followed his own path and did what felt right at the time. And this created a universe of beloved characters! 

I grew up in the 90s, and was lucky to have witnessed such an array of super heroes and enjoy some good comic book/pop art style illustrations, which helped inspire my love of drawing. 

Though I don't draw in the same style (I gravitate toward both digital drawing, and cute characters, mainly with animalistic traits) I do appreciate the inspiration.  The picture below was sketched as a tribute to a fine cartoonist & designer of relatable characters. 

Why Do They Have Elements?

It has recently been pondered about why each character's description page shows an 'element'. 

As you've noticed, each of the 12 characters has a zodiac sign (none of them are duplicated). This is because - as an astrology fan - in a way each character embodies traits from their sign. 

For instance: like me, Octomouse is a gentle and timid Pisces. That means she is a 'water sign' (which is why she is part sea creature and can swim). 

The zodiac signs we know in the Western world, each have one of 4 elements. Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.  I'd like to try a little experiment here. First I'll list the general traits affiliated with each element (in Western and Eastern practices). Then I'll list each Zoo'd friend and their element, and then you can tell us where you see similarities 😊

Fire:

🔥Passionate about life

🔥Very confident, high self-esteem

🔥Never afraid to have a good time (the first ones out on the dance floor)

🔥Impulsive temper, large tantrums

🔥Genuinely care about others and will do grand gestures to express that

🔥Love their freedom and won't be tied down

Earth:

🌍Crave security at all times

🌍Are often quiet and thoughtful, intellectual

🌍Incredibly hard workers and very dutiful

🌍Highly critical and a bit picky, high standards

🌍Very sensual and love to indulge in pleasures

🌍Grounded in reality and unlikely to dream big

Air:

⛅Very intellectual and quick-thinking

⛅Highly talkative and 'chatty'

⛅Highly intelligent and difficult to fool

⛅Great at 'reading people' (body language, etc.)

⛅Also great at reading, and loves learning

⛅Not comfortable with emotions and prefer thought processes

Water:

🌊Deeply emotional and very sensitive

🌊Which leads to empathy and compassion

🌊Though sweet-natured, water personalities can have wild tantrums

🌊Usually quiet and dreamy in demeanor, mysterious

🌊Often lost in deep thoughts, has vivid dreams

🌊Very creative and romantic, a true 'dream weaver'

And now, let's look at our sweet Zoo'd friends...

1. Dogosaur - Fire (Aries)
2. Pandaroo - Earth (Taurus)
3. Parrofly - Air (Gemini)
4. Slowan - Water (Cancer)
5. Elefox - Fire (Leo)
6. Beever - Earth (Virgo)
7. Rabbird - Air (Libra)
8. Froogle - Water (Scorpio)
9. Unicat - Fire (Sagittarius)
10. Penguana - Earth (Capricorn)
11. Zebat - Air (Aquarius)
12. Octomouse - Water (Pisces)

So go ahead, check out your favorite characters and compare their personality traits to the ones described in their elements!  Now have a great day 😊

Is Kiki-Loki Real?

This is a question I asked myself recently, when I was sitting in the living room one evening, working from home. 

Having the TV on for background noise is soothing and helps me be more productive; occasionally I glance at the screen, and I saw what I thought was a reference to Power Rangers: 




A little background: I don't actively watch 'Carter', and this was the first time I actually sort of sat through an episode. I don't have anything against the series (and I love a good mystery!), it's just that life is too busy for being able to keep up with every show. 

Jerry O'Connell posing on 'Carter'

Anyway, the purpose of this post isn't to discuss the tragedies of the episode itself, but rather, the half-elephant, half-chicken character of Kiki-Loki. I think the thing that really got me (aside from the obvious interest in Japanese pop culture), is that this character is half elephant....

This may sound familiar because...

so is Elefox!! 

Now as for whether or not Kiki-Loki is real... 

She/he/it seems to have been made up specifically for the show's premise. I will say this, though - the producers and production staff sure put a great deal of effort into making everything from a giant costume and cartoons, to figurines and tee shirts of this character!

🐘 🐘 🐘 🐘 🐘 🐘 🐘 🐘 🐘