Creepy crawly critters are all around us,and some people find them unwelcome company. But like most things, bugs can seem less threatening when we know more about them.

Take Brian, for instance. Brian is actually a "Space Alien" Bug, and he lives on the planet "Bluthar"... The funny thing with Brian is, that even though he, himself, IS a bug, even he gets "bugged by other bugs"....

Here you see him swatting flies. Those darn pesky flies...he had to go get himself one of those plastic flyswatters to swat them with, and oh- NO! Now one of the flies has landed right on his nose - what's he to do?

Anyway, Bluthar's rather unpredictable and volatile climate get's very cold at times, and it snows there alot. (You can see the evidence of that on the snow-capped mountains behind him). For fun, Brian likes to ski there, that is, when he's not busy swatting flies. (Betcha didn't know bugs could ski!)

Well, with his 8 legs, he does need to be VERY coordinated, but luckily, he is. He's only had a few minor ski-related accidents this season; nothing to be alarmed about.)

The planet Bluthar's solar system has a few planets with rings around them (like our Saturn), which you can also see in the background here...

Some scientists, like Chandra Wickramasinghe even believe that Space Alien Bugs (like Brian) rain down on us from comets in Space and seed the earth!

Fascinating, isn't it? It's all discussed in the controversial, modern scientific theory of "Panspermia" (for more info, go to: http://tinyurl.com/365xd) that poses the question: Are we all aliens from space, just like Brian?

Well, Brian has to get back to swatting his flies now, so we'll sign off...but remember, Brian is a NICE, friendly bug, and he'd love to be your friend, and believe me, he's got some great stories to tell. Yes, the "Life of Brian" is quite an interesting one, I can vouch for that!

This piece has been created specifically for the 2004 EBSQ "Ripped Off" show, and I chose to rip off Amanda Hone's "Brian the Bug", which I picture here as well. Enjoy!