Since there have been some new readers to the blog (
Welcome!), this is a good opportunity for me to describe what
I Love the Yeti is all about.
This blog is an attempt to showcase and archive the rise in popularity of the
yeti, aka the Abominable Snowman. For those of you who don't know, this is the big hairy possibly-ape-like creature said to live in the Himalayan region of Nepal and Tibet.
For the purpose of this blog, it is not to be confused with another possibly-ape-like creature that resides in the Pacific Northwest of N. America known as Bigfoot or Sasquatch. Nor any other similarly ape-like creatures from other parts of the world. Unless said creatures have white fur. In that case, it's close enough, and I'll post about it. Brown fur on a possibly-ape-like creature is probably not going to make it though. If the brown-furred creature's standing in the snow, however (as seen in this
example), we're good. These are the House Rules.
(Update: Just to be clear, the creature known as yeti has never actually been reported by eyewitnesses as white-furred. This is just something we in the west made up. This blog isn't really about cryptozoology (which can be a legitimate science for finding real animals). Instead, this blog is about our popular culture's flawed desire to popularize and skew the idea of a possibly real animal. And our idea these days is that this animal called yeti is a weird polar bear crossed with a gorilla, even though that has little to do with the evidence. For actual cryptozoology, see sites such as Cryptozoology Online and Cryptomundo.)
Here's a basic pictorial guide to what I typically post to the blog:
As a testament to the
yeti's popularity, artists are often inspired to use him as the subject of their work. This blog's main focus is to share the various, unique visions of the
yeti. It's interesting for me to see what people think a thing looks like when that thing doesn't
actually have a "look". Unlike many artistic subjects, the
yeti's not real - or at least there's no photos of it. I like seeing how artists' depictions of this imaginary thing can evolve over time. If you showed someone from the 1950's (who knew what
yeti was) an artistic representation of the Abominable Snowman from 2010, he/she may not recognize it at all. It would not fit in with what they think a
yeti is.
Yeti is continually shape-shifting, incorporating different concepts and aspects from the popular culture.
(Note: In the description below, I've included links to the various labels (or tabs) that I have used to categorize my posts over the years. Feel free to use this as a starting off point to explore the site further.)
The depictions showcased on this blog include 2D visual
Art (such as drawing, painting, etc.), but also the 3D:
Plush,
Figures,
Designer Toys, and
Sculpture (statues). They also include the suits and costumes (
Disguise) that bear his likeness as well.
Besides the arrays of artistic depiction, this blog hopes to capture yeti's best moments...
...When he appears in
Comics,
Television,
Movies, at
Theme Parks, on hip
T-shirts, and when he tries to sell something (
Endorsements).
...When he's associated with food (
Edible), drink (
Potable) and also with sports (
Athleticism), particularly
Snowboarding of which he is rather fond.
...When he hails from
Japan,
Canada, or
Outer Space. Or even better, an
Alternate Reality.
...When he wears
Armor and when he wields a
Stave (which is the same as a sword). And even when he rips out a tree trunk and fights people with that (
Tree-as-Weapon).
...When he consorts with
Pirates,
Robots,
Unicorns and
Zombies (which isn't all that often actually).
...When he battles his adversaries one-on-one (
Versus), paying particular attention to the
Hulk and the
Superman.
...And when he's
Red,
Green, or
Yellow for whatever reason. When he wears a
Hat. Has
Horns (which is very often). Just one eye (
Cyclops). And when he enjoys an iced treat (
Popsicles).
By being in a position to chronicle and observe, this blog is able to note trends:
It may surprise you to know there is a rise in the number of images depicting him with the following:
Lederhosen,
Undies,
Skull Apparel,
Scooters.
And that he is rapidly becoming one of the major icons of both
Christmas and
Halloween holidays.
And then there are your usual theories that Yeti=
Snow Troll, Yeti=
Walrus-Man, Yeti=
Wendigo, and the ever-popular Yeti=
Were-Bear.
There has also, and this is interesting to me, been more and more depictions of
yeti rendering him in a highly stylized, abstracted manner. Less discernible ape-like features. More like a hulky blob-man. Cutesy, you could call it. Totoro-esque, if you know the reference. I call this new
yeti the
Ablobinable Snowman.
An example of Ablobinableness by Jess Bradley
This blog also desires to highlight artistic works inspired by kiwa hirsuta.
All hail the "
Yeti Crab". It's real. And it's amazing. Worthy of praise and song.
And here are a few other things about the blog:
Out there exist things that are
like a
yeti but aren't a
yeti. Each Friday, I typically have a post called "
Not Yeti Friday" to showcase said individuals.
Every year I do a
Gift Guide.
I personally think that when a
yeti speaks, he probably says the following word: "
Snaaaurr!" But others have different ideas. So I've done my best to collect his
different utterings.
There are a few running gags that amuse only me (and just barely). For example, whenever a
yeti depiction includes blood, I say that
yeti is participating in
Bloodpainting. I have no idea what that is. I also say that
yeti enjoys
Frog Collecting. And that somehow
Bananimals are important. Again, no idea.
This blog has been featured twice on Boingboing: once in
December 2005 and once in
March 2008.
That's it! Hope you enjoy! Oh, my name is Henry.
