PETA helps humans (for a change)

I have plenty of issues with some of PETA's promotional tactics, like sexploitation and making fun of human tragedy, but this campaign I really like.

Last week, PETA donated 100 cast-off fur coats to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, noting that people on the street are "the only people who have any excuse to wear them." They were then distributed free-of-charge.

Of course, they made note of the fact that all the furs had been "donated by erstwhile fur-wearers who, once they found out that animals on fur farms are often bludgeoned or genitally electrocuted, couldn't stand to have carcasses in their closets." PETA marks the coats to make resale impossible, and issues tax receipts to donors.

Donated furs are also used as bedding for animals in wildlife rehabilitation centers, or as props in anti-fur demos.

F'd Ad Fridays: Ink, not mink

Easy enough to say when you're under studio lights. But Chris "Birdman" Andersen plays hoops for Denver. If he's serious, he must be freezing his nuggets off by now.

PETA brings you Bloody Mario

You've got to hand it to PETA. Their creativity is as boundless and their shamelessness.

This time, they're after Super Mario:

"When on a mission to rescue the princess, Mario has been known to use any means necessary to defeat his enemy—even wearing the skin of a raccoon dog to give him special powers.

Tanooki may be just a "suit" in Mario games, but in real life, tanuki are raccoon dogs who are skinned alive for their fur. By wearing Tanooki, Mario is sending the message that it's OK to wear fur. Play Super Tanooki Skin 2D and help Tanooki reclaim his fur!"

In this version of the game (complete with infuriating MIDI-type music), you are the skinned raccoon dog, chasing after a flying Mario, dripping blood from your flayed pelt he has wrapped himself in. Fun for the whole family!

Enjoy the game here.