I think Jerry is pulling our leg. I think its a whale that some green peace guys painted spots on down the body so as to confuse the whalers. The fact that it resembles Ralph, is a product of our suggestablility, and our awareness of Jerry’s fondness for the little fur ball.
Nice try Jerry, we’re not fooled by you or your green peace co-conspiritors.
You know Lee, if you are correct, then maybe Ralph can become some sort of symbol for saving the planet. You know, something like “if a mouse and and whale are so interconnected, it shows how all things in life are really a part of one another, each depending upon one another for its existence and what one does to one affects all, blah, blah, blah, etc”- that sort of thing.
Ralph could become Famous!
All the Best,
Tom
If Ralph gets more famous than he already is, we’ll have a copyright problem.
The children named him Ralph. I thought that’s a great name for a mouse, and I try to take the children’s suggestions on such important matters, so I went with Ralph. As it turns out, Ralph S. Mouse is a character in a series of children’s books by Beverly Cleary. There’s even a Ralph the Mouse movie. The literary Ralph rides a toy motorcycle.
Best wishes,
Jerry
OMG! I can see the duck now! The “whale” is the head, and the green bit that starts under Ralph going to the left is the bill! Looks kind of mallard-ish!
I think the little tiny size of the avatar contributes to this “trompe l’ oeil” (sp?) nature. I’ve never seen anything like this, and it’s cool!
Damn! This has turned into a much cooler thread than the deleted one that prompted me to start it! Thanks, Dale!
Cheers,
serpent
Jeeeez I thought it was a whale for the longest time…and then one day it was a mouse. What a revelation. I thought..mmmm…am I the only one here that saw a whale…better shut up about it or people will think I am wierd. 
Thank you, Serp!!! I couldn’t see the duck until you pointed it out.
First: mouse.
Next: whale, but only upon other commentary.
Next next: no duck at all until Serp’s guidance.
Next next next: ??
Jerry has a shapeshifting avatar. It will hold my scrutiny for further hidden meaning.
consults the Oracle of the Avatar of Jerry
Don’t serpents eat rodents
MarkB
I believe that’s what drew his attention to my avatar. If we can keep him distracted, I believe Ralph will be safe. We’ll have to take turns.
Best wishes,
Jerry
I love the word “mouse”. It’s almost like an auditory illustration.
Mouse. Mice. Mouse.
Definitely a whale breaching through the waves. Note the asteroid in the background, burning up in the atmosphere as it hurtles into the ocean at breakneck speed. The whale is trying very hard to get away from the potential impact site, where a very large group of dinosaurs has gathered for breeding purposes. Boy are they in for a surprise! Are you an evolutionist?
This picture makes a wonderful Rorshack (sp?) test.
Forrest Aguirre
Nobody can put up a shape shifting avatar like Bloomfield though! Hope I am not tempting fate though.
I emailed the link to Marie, who painted the image.
She’s enjoying our discussion about it. She says, “Who are these people?” (What should I tell her?)
Best wishes,
Jerry
Just tell her that we are all mad. Happily mad.
Umm…
Whatever. Make something up.
She can see that.
Hmmm…maybe we need a dissertation on this. Bloomfield? Jim Stone? Wombat? Martin Milner? Anybody up to it?
It’s a Hippo emerging from under the water. The mouse’s eye is the hippo’s left eye, and the ears are the hippo’s nostrils.
Take care, Johnz
When I first see the avatar, I see the hat wore by the main character on the TV show Hogans Hero’s. After I focus on it I see the mouse. It took a while to see the whale and the duck. My 24 year old son looked at it for about 20 seconds and named the duck, whale, hat and mouse in that order without reading any of the posts.
Kool Jerry!
Cheers,
Kathy
Marie’s getting a kick out of it. She had no intention of making it do that.
I can’t see anything but a mouse, but that’s what I saw first, so mabey that’s why. 
Well, it’s supposed to be a mouse.
Perhaps you’re the only sane one.