Hi, y'all. Just wanted to re-post a story I read from the Susan B. Anthony List.
"As Mother’s Day approaches, I am reminded of a beautiful story I once heard. While serving the poor in Calcutta, Mother Teresa once found a young boy on the streets and brought him back to Shishu Bhavan—one of the homes she established for impoverished and disabled children. There, the boy was given food and clean clothes—but he ran away! The next day, again the boy was brought back to Shishu Bhavan, and again he ran away. Three times, the boy ran away, until on the third day, one of the Sisters followed him.
“Why do you keep running away from home?” the Sister asked when she caught up to him. The boy pointed to a tree, under which a woman was standing, cooking a simple meal of food she had found in the garbage. “But this is home,” he said, “This is where my mother is.”
Every time I hear that story I am struck by the pure, simple meaning of those words. “But this is home. This is where my mother is.” Our mothers are our first home. A mother’s love for her child is so powerful—I really do believe it can accomplish miracles. Despite all poverty, loves conquers all."
If you are reading this, the woman who is your biological mother did at least one thing right - she gave birth to you. Thank her for it if you can! And of course let's all thank the mothers, biological or not, who have raised us, fed us, clothed us, loved us and given us a chance at life.
As I write, I am aware that some of you never had a mother, and some had one that was a terrible influence in your life. Maybe this can be a time to strengthen your resolve that you will be a different kind of mother to your children, or that you will raise your daughters to be different kinds of mothers to theirs. It is never too late to bring goodness into the world. Though circumstances and people may seek to change us for evil, let's seek always to change them for good.
Thank you, Mom, for choosing to bring me into the world, and for loving me through it all!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Is Revolution Inevitable?
I have been feeling compelled recently to discuss several issues that are relevant to our lives today. I will start with a perspective on the current health care legislation to springboard into my thoughts on what seem to be some underlying issues we have long overlooked that have contributed to where we are today.
Simply put, the current legislation needs to be defeated for several reasons, which I am sure we are all aware of by now. They are common sense and illustrate the points that will follow. I will list a few of them.
1. Financial Disaster. A simple principle we've all seem to have forgotten is don't spend more than you make. This legislation not only spends more than it makes, it does so with math that wouldn't pass the third grade. Who decided comparing ten years of income with six years of expenses was a sound way to balance the budget? No wonder our country is owned by China.
2. Prior History. If you give a kid 10 bucks and tell him to buy shoes for school and he spends it all on candy, you'd call that immature. If you give him ten more bucks and he does it again, you'd call that rebellious. If he comes to you again and says he's gonna buy shoes this time, really, you'd tell him to take a hike. Congress has never paid for a social program it has started. Now it wants to start another one that dwarfs the prior ones in size, AND pretends that it will pay for the latest one with funds from the first ones, which already have a negative account. And then it tells us not to worry, it will really work this time. The kids in the Congress are playing with our money. It's time we tell them no.
3. Overreaching Power. Citizens of the United States cannot be criminally or otherwise penalized for choosing not to purchase a product or service. If they are, they no longer live in a free society.
4. Perpetuation of a Welfare State. When the government insists on giving some of its citizens something without requiring anything of them in return, the rest of its citizens are forced to pay for the poor choices of others. As the government expands it reach to accommodate more and more of it's citizens problems instead of requiring them to contribute to the solution, it strips the right and the motivation for personal responsibility from all of its citizens. The more money it demands from its citizens to implement its programs, the less control they have over the profit of their own labor, and the more the society trends toward a collective state with a way of life dictated by those in power. Utopia is an unsustainable ideal.
The above are strong reasons to defeat this bill. However, even were all of these reasons absent, the bill should be defeated because it promotes the devaluing of life as well as the restriction of dissent against that devaluation of life. It does this in the following ways.
1. Expands funding for abortion through massive increase of funds to Planned Parenthood and subsidies to private insurance plans that contain abortion coverage. For those who argue this is not the case, let me pose a simple question: If this were not the intent of the bill's architects, why do they refuse to include language in the bill explicitly excluding abortion funding? The answer is simple. They want abortion coverage included in the bill.
As an illustration, if I were to consider buying a car from you and you told me you replaced the timing belt and water pump, I would ask to see the receipts. If you told me you had the receipts but you didn't want to show them to me, what would that tell me? It would tell me you were lying, and I'd need to find another car to purchase. If something looks like a monkey, and smells like a monkey, and acts like a monkey, well, it's probably a safe bet that it actually IS a monkey.
2. Has a lack of conscience protections for healthcare workers other than doctors who oppose abortion. So workers are being forced to choose between an immoral act and their jobs. This is an incredibly coercive misuse of power, and should not be allowed.
For these reasons, we should pray heartily for the bill's defeat. If it passes, we must also seriously consider our response to it's passage. In the beginning of our country, revolution was stoked by the idea of taxation without representation. Citizens were being told by their government what to do with their money with no right to disagree. Ironically we are in increasingly similar circumstances with the leaders of our country. Although we have a representative form of government in structure, those who claim to represent us are increasingly arrogant and unaccountable in the use of their political power. They are shaping the future of our country and our lives without us. This is unacceptable, and it is the right of every citizen to not only protest, but also to remove from power those who are no longer acting on behalf of the peoples' voice.
Is revolution inevitable? It depends on what you mean by revolution, but what I mean by it is that we have relinquished too much power to the federal government and must regain our voice in the political process. First, by actually interacting with our leaders, and second, by holding our leaders accountable to a path of government that is morally and fiscally responsible, that increases the personal responsibility of individual citizens and decreases dependence on the government for the sustenance of our lives. If we demand these things and there is no response, then I would say that yes, revolution by every definition is inevitable, and the United States of America as we know it will be no more.
In my next post, I want to discuss underlying problems to the symptoms of government we are now experiencing, as well as some solutions to these problems such as a balanced budget amendment to the constitution, the role of the individual in society, etc. Until then pray for the defeat of the current healthcare bill, and pray for the instigation of healthcare legislation that actually makes sense and is morally and financially sound.
Simply put, the current legislation needs to be defeated for several reasons, which I am sure we are all aware of by now. They are common sense and illustrate the points that will follow. I will list a few of them.
1. Financial Disaster. A simple principle we've all seem to have forgotten is don't spend more than you make. This legislation not only spends more than it makes, it does so with math that wouldn't pass the third grade. Who decided comparing ten years of income with six years of expenses was a sound way to balance the budget? No wonder our country is owned by China.
2. Prior History. If you give a kid 10 bucks and tell him to buy shoes for school and he spends it all on candy, you'd call that immature. If you give him ten more bucks and he does it again, you'd call that rebellious. If he comes to you again and says he's gonna buy shoes this time, really, you'd tell him to take a hike. Congress has never paid for a social program it has started. Now it wants to start another one that dwarfs the prior ones in size, AND pretends that it will pay for the latest one with funds from the first ones, which already have a negative account. And then it tells us not to worry, it will really work this time. The kids in the Congress are playing with our money. It's time we tell them no.
3. Overreaching Power. Citizens of the United States cannot be criminally or otherwise penalized for choosing not to purchase a product or service. If they are, they no longer live in a free society.
4. Perpetuation of a Welfare State. When the government insists on giving some of its citizens something without requiring anything of them in return, the rest of its citizens are forced to pay for the poor choices of others. As the government expands it reach to accommodate more and more of it's citizens problems instead of requiring them to contribute to the solution, it strips the right and the motivation for personal responsibility from all of its citizens. The more money it demands from its citizens to implement its programs, the less control they have over the profit of their own labor, and the more the society trends toward a collective state with a way of life dictated by those in power. Utopia is an unsustainable ideal.
The above are strong reasons to defeat this bill. However, even were all of these reasons absent, the bill should be defeated because it promotes the devaluing of life as well as the restriction of dissent against that devaluation of life. It does this in the following ways.
1. Expands funding for abortion through massive increase of funds to Planned Parenthood and subsidies to private insurance plans that contain abortion coverage. For those who argue this is not the case, let me pose a simple question: If this were not the intent of the bill's architects, why do they refuse to include language in the bill explicitly excluding abortion funding? The answer is simple. They want abortion coverage included in the bill.
As an illustration, if I were to consider buying a car from you and you told me you replaced the timing belt and water pump, I would ask to see the receipts. If you told me you had the receipts but you didn't want to show them to me, what would that tell me? It would tell me you were lying, and I'd need to find another car to purchase. If something looks like a monkey, and smells like a monkey, and acts like a monkey, well, it's probably a safe bet that it actually IS a monkey.
2. Has a lack of conscience protections for healthcare workers other than doctors who oppose abortion. So workers are being forced to choose between an immoral act and their jobs. This is an incredibly coercive misuse of power, and should not be allowed.
For these reasons, we should pray heartily for the bill's defeat. If it passes, we must also seriously consider our response to it's passage. In the beginning of our country, revolution was stoked by the idea of taxation without representation. Citizens were being told by their government what to do with their money with no right to disagree. Ironically we are in increasingly similar circumstances with the leaders of our country. Although we have a representative form of government in structure, those who claim to represent us are increasingly arrogant and unaccountable in the use of their political power. They are shaping the future of our country and our lives without us. This is unacceptable, and it is the right of every citizen to not only protest, but also to remove from power those who are no longer acting on behalf of the peoples' voice.
Is revolution inevitable? It depends on what you mean by revolution, but what I mean by it is that we have relinquished too much power to the federal government and must regain our voice in the political process. First, by actually interacting with our leaders, and second, by holding our leaders accountable to a path of government that is morally and fiscally responsible, that increases the personal responsibility of individual citizens and decreases dependence on the government for the sustenance of our lives. If we demand these things and there is no response, then I would say that yes, revolution by every definition is inevitable, and the United States of America as we know it will be no more.
In my next post, I want to discuss underlying problems to the symptoms of government we are now experiencing, as well as some solutions to these problems such as a balanced budget amendment to the constitution, the role of the individual in society, etc. Until then pray for the defeat of the current healthcare bill, and pray for the instigation of healthcare legislation that actually makes sense and is morally and financially sound.
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Rest of the Trip Part I...
Not very exciting titles to the blogs, but honestly when I'm typing, I'm too tired to be creative...
This is the first opportunity I've had to actually sit at a computer since I've been in Peru. I'm at the moment in the office of our tour guides and new friends Percy and Brady in Cusco, Peru. They've been more than helpful since we've been in Cusco, and we are thankful for them!!
Before the trip began, I bought a small external hard drive to take with me and dump images to as I went along. The only problem is, yes, I have a Mac, and in the internet cafes and most offices of Peru, PC's reign supreme. What does that mean? My drive can't be read by them, and I can't dump my images. So instead, I've been dumping my images to Percy's computer.
Of course, I have to have a way to get them back home so now I'm sitting in their tour office in Cusco burning DVD's...I'm constantly reminded that when traveling, be prepared for everything to go wrong that can. For this reason, I'm thankful that they've been more than gracious to work with me in every way possible to figure out a way to save the images I've been shooting. Eventually I'll have some to share with you all thanks to these guys. uh, gotta go...I'll write when I get back to the States I guess.
The Clothing Journey
We spent Sunday going to a church in Miraflores with some friends, then talking clothing business with our new friend Anny Tuipe. After a few hours of talking business, we aired out our minds with a stroll along the beautiful cliff line overlooking the ocean at the Larcomar. Monday morning we met with some other friends interested in helping with the business, Samuel and Marta. They took us to the clothing district in Lima, a writhing mass of handcarts, tricycle carts, cargo, signs, color. It was a great learning experience, especially in regard to what is available in Lima for textiles, etc.
Check out the album HERE.
Stuck In Lima - Guess we'll visit La Punta...
As with everything else on our trip, getting to Cusco proved to be harder than anticipated. To all considering traveling overland to cusco from Lima, plan on three or four days enjoying the stops along the way, or a 22 hour bus ride straight through. We had an entire route planned out going down the coast to Paracas, Nazca, inland to Huaycucho, Cusco, through Arequipa, and ending in Lima. By the time we had figured out how much time and money it would take to get to all these places, we had narrowed the list to Lima-Cusco-Lima. So much for the sweeping travel plans.
Rather than spending the 22 hours on the bus we bit the bullet and bought tickets for Wednesday morning. Since we were stuck in Lima until then, we decided to pass the time by taking a side trip via taxi and combi (bus) to la Punta Callao, a port about 45 minutes outside of Lima.
Check out the album HERE.
Rainstick Beach and the Point
While there we checked out the beach. It was cold, windy and gray. The only other person there was an old man sitting in a plastic chair hunched against the wind. He was guarding the outhouse, making sure all who entered in paid what I now call the pee tax. Fortunately I didn't have to use his service and left him sitting in peace.
The beach in the area actually consisted of grapefruit size rounded stones that knocked against one another like a giant rain stick as each wave receded from the shore. We wandered around listening to the strange sound and taking pictures of dilapidated row boats weathering away on the beach.
Listen to the Beach HERE.
After ample picture time we checked out the municipal library on the tiny square. They happened to be having senior citizens lunch at the time, so we snuck up the Victorian stairs and plopped down on an ancient black leather couch in the stairwell to rest. We had a jolly time there contemplating the ceiling, and when we rose to leave, noticed two body prints that hadn't previously been there...uh, we're still not sure where they came from, but if you're reading this and you're from the library, our sincere apologies.
Just around the corner next to the sea, we perused the row of empty restaurants waiting for hungry people. There was definitely a lot of traditional Peruvian food like cow heart kabobs, chicken balls and things like that. While contemplating our culinary choices, a couple of local musicians strolled by. I asked them to play a couple of traditional Peruvian tunes, which I happjly recorded with my iPhone. 5 soles and some good music later, we decided to wait on dinner and backtrack to a very colorful little town a couple of blocks from La Punta called Chucuito. We snapped some shots on the street of all the different paint schemes, talked to a very nice older lady working there as an information person who told us chucuito was painted like that for tourists, and spied on some welders showering sparks in the adjacent ship yard as the evening grew.
Finally we wandered around a colonial era ammo depot with a ton of canons and slipped into a tiny restaurant just as the doors were closing. We got the usual-grilled chicken with rice, and beef with rice. We ate while Dad did the books and the kids teased each other. Kids are the same where ever you go. "He's picking on me!" complains the girl to Dad with that little girl look hard for dads to resist. "Not unh, she's picking on me!" retorts the little boy. And around the tables they go chasing and laughing. I sneak a few shots with my giant camera sitting on the table.
It's getting late so we pay for our meal and slip out onto the street. It's night, I'm nervous, and as we walk to the corner to catch a bus back to Lima, a taxi pulls up next to us. The driver leans over and starts telling us to be careful, watch out for thieves, and not to be walking around. He tells us so many times and with such intensity, he starts freaking me out! We tell him we're fine we only have to walk a block. He gesticulates and rattles off even more intensely, telling us he'll take us the block for free, just to get in the taxi. There is literally no one else on the street, and somethings smelling veeeery fishy. I'm about to punch the guy in the face he's getting so annoying. Then he tells us if we change our minds, he'll be parked at the end of the road on the plaza by the sea. Finally he leaves us alone.
We get to the little plaza and ask the police women standing there where to pick up the bus, and who should interject from the curb but our friendly taxi man. He tells us we shouldn't take the bus it's too dangerous, but he'll take us safely to Lima. He actually comes over to us again while we're talking to the women to solicit us. Man, this guy is desperate for a job, or to help himself to our stuff.
I finally tell him in a strong tone for the last time we don't want his services, and even the police woman tells him the same thing, after which he apologizes to me for bothering us. Geez, the bus sounds like heaven at this point. We finally catch the bus and make to the hostel in one piece. Tomorrow we head to cusco.
Info gathering going well
The days in Lima were spent well in terms of finding out the things I needed to know in the beginning stages of the micro-business. We've made solid contacts and new friends with people who have the right skill sets to get such a venture off the ground. Namely business licensing requirements, import/export knowledge in this area, and a good knowledge of small coops in Peru and how they work. Now it's time to visit the famed Machu Pichu.
Flight to cusco
View from the plane
Morning comes early. Like 3:30 early. We basically sleep dressed so we can just roll out of bed into the taxi. This is what we do, and a couple of hours later we're on the plane to cusco. It's a one hour flight, as compared to a 22 hour bus trip. We hardly have time to get settled before we are descending again. We skirt some fantastically tall peaks tearing a hole through the clouds and then for a second all is grey. When we break through the bottom side it's as though we've entered another world. A vast patchwork of red, brown, and yellow terraced mountains cut by deep valleys spread out beneath us. Their peaks disappear into the clouds we've just come through. Soon a pattern of red tile roofs appears in a valley. We bank sharply left as the roofs rush toward us and then we are down. We stand under a blue sky with white clouds and cool temps. Welcome to cusco.
Check out the album HERE.
Sacred valley tour woes
We've connected with a friend of a friend from back in the U.S. His name is Brady and he has a tour company called machu pichu sky. He's a fellow believer which makes our meeting that much more comfortable. In a matter of a day he's arranged the travel for our plans in cusco.
We are whisked to our hostel and have breakfast in the pretty courtyard while we discuss the schedule. First on the list is the city tour. We sleep until lunch and then board a bus with a bunch of other, um, tourists (there! I said it), and start to take in the ruins of the famous Inca empire.
Like every good tourist, we obediently follow our guide around while trying to decipher his broken English, absorb the impact of entire civilization, and take at least one photo with no one in it in a record time of five minutes before we are herded back onto the bus to see the next place we've been waiting to see our entire lives. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT ever let me get on a tour bus again.
As a consolation prize, however, we get to visit Sexy Woman, aka Saxayhuaman, the largest Inca ruin just outside cusco, and we even get to take some time here to take it all in. The immensity and precision of it really is amazing. Even if for only one hour I'm glad for the chance to see it.
Check out the album HERE.
More to come later, as outlined below!!
Prep for machu pichu
After our city tour
The big day and glitches
No hot water in Aguascalientes
Concert
Ruela gets kicked off the mountain
Cold onset
Machu pichu highlights.
Saturday country drive and farm day
This is the first opportunity I've had to actually sit at a computer since I've been in Peru. I'm at the moment in the office of our tour guides and new friends Percy and Brady in Cusco, Peru. They've been more than helpful since we've been in Cusco, and we are thankful for them!!
Before the trip began, I bought a small external hard drive to take with me and dump images to as I went along. The only problem is, yes, I have a Mac, and in the internet cafes and most offices of Peru, PC's reign supreme. What does that mean? My drive can't be read by them, and I can't dump my images. So instead, I've been dumping my images to Percy's computer.
Of course, I have to have a way to get them back home so now I'm sitting in their tour office in Cusco burning DVD's...I'm constantly reminded that when traveling, be prepared for everything to go wrong that can. For this reason, I'm thankful that they've been more than gracious to work with me in every way possible to figure out a way to save the images I've been shooting. Eventually I'll have some to share with you all thanks to these guys. uh, gotta go...I'll write when I get back to the States I guess.
The Clothing Journey
We spent Sunday going to a church in Miraflores with some friends, then talking clothing business with our new friend Anny Tuipe. After a few hours of talking business, we aired out our minds with a stroll along the beautiful cliff line overlooking the ocean at the Larcomar. Monday morning we met with some other friends interested in helping with the business, Samuel and Marta. They took us to the clothing district in Lima, a writhing mass of handcarts, tricycle carts, cargo, signs, color. It was a great learning experience, especially in regard to what is available in Lima for textiles, etc.
Check out the album HERE.
Stuck In Lima - Guess we'll visit La Punta...
As with everything else on our trip, getting to Cusco proved to be harder than anticipated. To all considering traveling overland to cusco from Lima, plan on three or four days enjoying the stops along the way, or a 22 hour bus ride straight through. We had an entire route planned out going down the coast to Paracas, Nazca, inland to Huaycucho, Cusco, through Arequipa, and ending in Lima. By the time we had figured out how much time and money it would take to get to all these places, we had narrowed the list to Lima-Cusco-Lima. So much for the sweeping travel plans.
Rather than spending the 22 hours on the bus we bit the bullet and bought tickets for Wednesday morning. Since we were stuck in Lima until then, we decided to pass the time by taking a side trip via taxi and combi (bus) to la Punta Callao, a port about 45 minutes outside of Lima.
Check out the album HERE.
Rainstick Beach and the Point
While there we checked out the beach. It was cold, windy and gray. The only other person there was an old man sitting in a plastic chair hunched against the wind. He was guarding the outhouse, making sure all who entered in paid what I now call the pee tax. Fortunately I didn't have to use his service and left him sitting in peace.
The beach in the area actually consisted of grapefruit size rounded stones that knocked against one another like a giant rain stick as each wave receded from the shore. We wandered around listening to the strange sound and taking pictures of dilapidated row boats weathering away on the beach.
Listen to the Beach HERE.
After ample picture time we checked out the municipal library on the tiny square. They happened to be having senior citizens lunch at the time, so we snuck up the Victorian stairs and plopped down on an ancient black leather couch in the stairwell to rest. We had a jolly time there contemplating the ceiling, and when we rose to leave, noticed two body prints that hadn't previously been there...uh, we're still not sure where they came from, but if you're reading this and you're from the library, our sincere apologies.
Just around the corner next to the sea, we perused the row of empty restaurants waiting for hungry people. There was definitely a lot of traditional Peruvian food like cow heart kabobs, chicken balls and things like that. While contemplating our culinary choices, a couple of local musicians strolled by. I asked them to play a couple of traditional Peruvian tunes, which I happjly recorded with my iPhone. 5 soles and some good music later, we decided to wait on dinner and backtrack to a very colorful little town a couple of blocks from La Punta called Chucuito. We snapped some shots on the street of all the different paint schemes, talked to a very nice older lady working there as an information person who told us chucuito was painted like that for tourists, and spied on some welders showering sparks in the adjacent ship yard as the evening grew.
Finally we wandered around a colonial era ammo depot with a ton of canons and slipped into a tiny restaurant just as the doors were closing. We got the usual-grilled chicken with rice, and beef with rice. We ate while Dad did the books and the kids teased each other. Kids are the same where ever you go. "He's picking on me!" complains the girl to Dad with that little girl look hard for dads to resist. "Not unh, she's picking on me!" retorts the little boy. And around the tables they go chasing and laughing. I sneak a few shots with my giant camera sitting on the table.
It's getting late so we pay for our meal and slip out onto the street. It's night, I'm nervous, and as we walk to the corner to catch a bus back to Lima, a taxi pulls up next to us. The driver leans over and starts telling us to be careful, watch out for thieves, and not to be walking around. He tells us so many times and with such intensity, he starts freaking me out! We tell him we're fine we only have to walk a block. He gesticulates and rattles off even more intensely, telling us he'll take us the block for free, just to get in the taxi. There is literally no one else on the street, and somethings smelling veeeery fishy. I'm about to punch the guy in the face he's getting so annoying. Then he tells us if we change our minds, he'll be parked at the end of the road on the plaza by the sea. Finally he leaves us alone.
We get to the little plaza and ask the police women standing there where to pick up the bus, and who should interject from the curb but our friendly taxi man. He tells us we shouldn't take the bus it's too dangerous, but he'll take us safely to Lima. He actually comes over to us again while we're talking to the women to solicit us. Man, this guy is desperate for a job, or to help himself to our stuff.
I finally tell him in a strong tone for the last time we don't want his services, and even the police woman tells him the same thing, after which he apologizes to me for bothering us. Geez, the bus sounds like heaven at this point. We finally catch the bus and make to the hostel in one piece. Tomorrow we head to cusco.
Info gathering going well
The days in Lima were spent well in terms of finding out the things I needed to know in the beginning stages of the micro-business. We've made solid contacts and new friends with people who have the right skill sets to get such a venture off the ground. Namely business licensing requirements, import/export knowledge in this area, and a good knowledge of small coops in Peru and how they work. Now it's time to visit the famed Machu Pichu.
Flight to cusco
View from the plane
Morning comes early. Like 3:30 early. We basically sleep dressed so we can just roll out of bed into the taxi. This is what we do, and a couple of hours later we're on the plane to cusco. It's a one hour flight, as compared to a 22 hour bus trip. We hardly have time to get settled before we are descending again. We skirt some fantastically tall peaks tearing a hole through the clouds and then for a second all is grey. When we break through the bottom side it's as though we've entered another world. A vast patchwork of red, brown, and yellow terraced mountains cut by deep valleys spread out beneath us. Their peaks disappear into the clouds we've just come through. Soon a pattern of red tile roofs appears in a valley. We bank sharply left as the roofs rush toward us and then we are down. We stand under a blue sky with white clouds and cool temps. Welcome to cusco.
Check out the album HERE.
Sacred valley tour woes
We've connected with a friend of a friend from back in the U.S. His name is Brady and he has a tour company called machu pichu sky. He's a fellow believer which makes our meeting that much more comfortable. In a matter of a day he's arranged the travel for our plans in cusco.
We are whisked to our hostel and have breakfast in the pretty courtyard while we discuss the schedule. First on the list is the city tour. We sleep until lunch and then board a bus with a bunch of other, um, tourists (there! I said it), and start to take in the ruins of the famous Inca empire.
Like every good tourist, we obediently follow our guide around while trying to decipher his broken English, absorb the impact of entire civilization, and take at least one photo with no one in it in a record time of five minutes before we are herded back onto the bus to see the next place we've been waiting to see our entire lives. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT ever let me get on a tour bus again.
As a consolation prize, however, we get to visit Sexy Woman, aka Saxayhuaman, the largest Inca ruin just outside cusco, and we even get to take some time here to take it all in. The immensity and precision of it really is amazing. Even if for only one hour I'm glad for the chance to see it.
Check out the album HERE.
More to come later, as outlined below!!
Prep for machu pichu
After our city tour
The big day and glitches
No hot water in Aguascalientes
Concert
Ruela gets kicked off the mountain
Cold onset
Machu pichu highlights.
Saturday country drive and farm day
Friday, September 25, 2009
Day 7
I'm still typing these updates on My iPhone as i haven't had the time to find coMputer access but when I think about it the technology is amazing. I mean, I'm updating my blog on the Internet from my cell phone in Peru!
It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone-arts camp for the kids is already gone. We had our finale tonight. A mass concert with probably 100 kids singing, dancing, and beating buckets and trash cans with drumsticks. Even though I was shooting pictures I was moved by the force of joy with which they worshipped.
Ask me if it is worth coming down to this place to instruct kids in the arts, and the use of the arts in worship, and I will tell you yes, without a doubt. It's not just about having enough supplies to be able to express themselves through art - it's about forever impacting these lives through the power of relationship. Ultimately materials don't impact people. People impact people. This is one small way of doing just that. All of the supplies used were brought down by our team, and for this week we've spent our days pouring our knowledge, passion, and love into these young lives. At the concert there were several hundred people-family and friends of the students who were able to see the power of artistic expression in their childrens' lives. In Peru many people look down on art as a legitimate job or career. Espcially on the expression of art in spiritual contexts. The president of the national endowment for the arts has said that the greatest challenge of this century is to reconnect the arts with the expression of faith. This task is evident in Peru as well, and is what we have been striving to help accomplish.
The film experience
I have been struck by the number of times we were thanked by the people we have filmed for coming to visit them. As I've seen before, so many of these people feel so honored by our presence. They feel as though someone in the world knows they exist and cares enough to come. It is a humbling experience and always hard to leave each person or family we have visited.
This week we've run ragged filming. Monday was scout day. We drove to each of the locations to scope them out for lighting and angles and ambience. We wanted each place to tell the best story possible. Along the way I shot over 600 images. The next day we filmed the daily process of the feeding program three of the churches have in their communities. Altogether they serve over 250 children breakfast or lunch every day. They are up to Start breakfast at 4:30 a.m. every day. Then the kids come, answering the call from the man with the portable bullhorn running through the hills announcing breakfast. They come out of their homes with dirt floors, particle board walls and plastic or tin roofs. And for a moment in their day, they find warm hugs and happy faces.
At one house, I introduce myself to a neighbor watching our interview. I stand on one side of a tall particle board wall and she on the other with her little 9 month old girl. Her baby is more bold than she is, leaning over the fence while her mother hides behind her. I find out her name is Juana and her baby is Estefanie Valeria. I comment on how much I like the green color of her fence and she says the fence would be ugly without it. As it is, it's one of the few green things in the area, a splash of much needed color in a dreary brown world.
Julia, the lady we are interviewing, is very pregnant, and when we ask her the due date she says today...uh maybe she shouldn't be sitting on that small stool...she asks everyone their names and seems to decide that Benji's is the one she wants to use for her own child. Influence is strong here.
At another house, the last one for the day, we interview a mom who has been involved with the feeding program for some time. She cooks meals for the children, her own eating there as well. In their meager home there live four families, all related. The grandma, who is 83, thanks us for coming. I thank her for allowing us into her home. I am acutely aware of their vulnerability as they open their lives to us. They allow us to come in with our cameras and film pictures of everything. I wonder how I would respond if a film crew came into my house and asked to film in my bedroom and everywhere else. But they are all glad we've come to be with them.
Grandma has a daughter who has four beautiful daughters. One of them, Lindsey, is about to turn 15. On October 16, she will have her quinceria. It is the celebration for all girls becoming young women. While we are conversing and filming she watches intently everything we do. As I shoot I let she and her younger sisters see the photos in my camera screen. As we stand there she tells me she is turning 15 and asks if I will be her Padrino - I think I know what she is asking but I ask Ramiro to be sure and yes, I am right. She wants me to be her godfather. This is a great honor, and usually is reserved for a man in the family or a close family friend, but she has asked me. I've only known her for two hours.
The fact is that we have no idea how much hope and life we bring to these people. For us to boil down such trips to a matter of money is to have missed the heart of the matter. We can send money and things to people all day long, but there is no substitute for being with people in the flesh. This is what brings encouragement and hope.
As web are about to leave, Lindsey says, "so you can't be my godfather because you're not going to be here on my birthday?" I tell her that that is correct and tell her I am sorry but that I am honored she has asked me. I am embarrassed to have been asked to fill such a role - I don't really deserve to be asked that. It makes me realize again the impact we have on people here in these circumstances.
As we drive away I am sad again and sit quietly for awhile lost in thought. I realize how permanent these circumstances are for so many people and feel the weight of that. I have to remind myself that I can't change everything but I can just relate to people and be with them. That is what I can do.
It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone-arts camp for the kids is already gone. We had our finale tonight. A mass concert with probably 100 kids singing, dancing, and beating buckets and trash cans with drumsticks. Even though I was shooting pictures I was moved by the force of joy with which they worshipped.
Ask me if it is worth coming down to this place to instruct kids in the arts, and the use of the arts in worship, and I will tell you yes, without a doubt. It's not just about having enough supplies to be able to express themselves through art - it's about forever impacting these lives through the power of relationship. Ultimately materials don't impact people. People impact people. This is one small way of doing just that. All of the supplies used were brought down by our team, and for this week we've spent our days pouring our knowledge, passion, and love into these young lives. At the concert there were several hundred people-family and friends of the students who were able to see the power of artistic expression in their childrens' lives. In Peru many people look down on art as a legitimate job or career. Espcially on the expression of art in spiritual contexts. The president of the national endowment for the arts has said that the greatest challenge of this century is to reconnect the arts with the expression of faith. This task is evident in Peru as well, and is what we have been striving to help accomplish.
The film experience
I have been struck by the number of times we were thanked by the people we have filmed for coming to visit them. As I've seen before, so many of these people feel so honored by our presence. They feel as though someone in the world knows they exist and cares enough to come. It is a humbling experience and always hard to leave each person or family we have visited.
This week we've run ragged filming. Monday was scout day. We drove to each of the locations to scope them out for lighting and angles and ambience. We wanted each place to tell the best story possible. Along the way I shot over 600 images. The next day we filmed the daily process of the feeding program three of the churches have in their communities. Altogether they serve over 250 children breakfast or lunch every day. They are up to Start breakfast at 4:30 a.m. every day. Then the kids come, answering the call from the man with the portable bullhorn running through the hills announcing breakfast. They come out of their homes with dirt floors, particle board walls and plastic or tin roofs. And for a moment in their day, they find warm hugs and happy faces.
At one house, I introduce myself to a neighbor watching our interview. I stand on one side of a tall particle board wall and she on the other with her little 9 month old girl. Her baby is more bold than she is, leaning over the fence while her mother hides behind her. I find out her name is Juana and her baby is Estefanie Valeria. I comment on how much I like the green color of her fence and she says the fence would be ugly without it. As it is, it's one of the few green things in the area, a splash of much needed color in a dreary brown world.
Julia, the lady we are interviewing, is very pregnant, and when we ask her the due date she says today...uh maybe she shouldn't be sitting on that small stool...she asks everyone their names and seems to decide that Benji's is the one she wants to use for her own child. Influence is strong here.
At another house, the last one for the day, we interview a mom who has been involved with the feeding program for some time. She cooks meals for the children, her own eating there as well. In their meager home there live four families, all related. The grandma, who is 83, thanks us for coming. I thank her for allowing us into her home. I am acutely aware of their vulnerability as they open their lives to us. They allow us to come in with our cameras and film pictures of everything. I wonder how I would respond if a film crew came into my house and asked to film in my bedroom and everywhere else. But they are all glad we've come to be with them.
Grandma has a daughter who has four beautiful daughters. One of them, Lindsey, is about to turn 15. On October 16, she will have her quinceria. It is the celebration for all girls becoming young women. While we are conversing and filming she watches intently everything we do. As I shoot I let she and her younger sisters see the photos in my camera screen. As we stand there she tells me she is turning 15 and asks if I will be her Padrino - I think I know what she is asking but I ask Ramiro to be sure and yes, I am right. She wants me to be her godfather. This is a great honor, and usually is reserved for a man in the family or a close family friend, but she has asked me. I've only known her for two hours.
The fact is that we have no idea how much hope and life we bring to these people. For us to boil down such trips to a matter of money is to have missed the heart of the matter. We can send money and things to people all day long, but there is no substitute for being with people in the flesh. This is what brings encouragement and hope.
As web are about to leave, Lindsey says, "so you can't be my godfather because you're not going to be here on my birthday?" I tell her that that is correct and tell her I am sorry but that I am honored she has asked me. I am embarrassed to have been asked to fill such a role - I don't really deserve to be asked that. It makes me realize again the impact we have on people here in these circumstances.
As we drive away I am sad again and sit quietly for awhile lost in thought. I realize how permanent these circumstances are for so many people and feel the weight of that. I have to remind myself that I can't change everything but I can just relate to people and be with them. That is what I can do.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Day 3
It's 11pm and the steady um puh umbpuh of bass under high electronic riffs pushes in through the open windows. If I had been taken here blindfolded I would swear I was somewhere in Asia based on the anime-esque sound. But I'm not. I'm in Peru. Under a warm alpaca blanket on the second floor of a house in Comas.
Today we spent getting aclimated to our surroundings. We hiked up the hill to the cross overlook through the poorest parts of Comas. Two years ago when I came everything was new, but now I feel like I'm visiting an old friend. Others are here for the first time and I am reminded of the continual flow of life from new to old. I see it in the faces around me, young children with the aged. Nothing seems different here since I left but I know I've changed. Loyda comments that my Spanish has improved. There's a change!
After the hill we plan for the documEntary. When we have a rough schedule nailed down we take a short break then eat dinner. It's already 9pm. We celebrate gigi's birthday away from home then taxi it back to the house. The music pumps through the window phnctuated by distant fireworks, lulling me to sleep. So flows the river. Welcome to Peru.
Today we spent getting aclimated to our surroundings. We hiked up the hill to the cross overlook through the poorest parts of Comas. Two years ago when I came everything was new, but now I feel like I'm visiting an old friend. Others are here for the first time and I am reminded of the continual flow of life from new to old. I see it in the faces around me, young children with the aged. Nothing seems different here since I left but I know I've changed. Loyda comments that my Spanish has improved. There's a change!
After the hill we plan for the documEntary. When we have a rough schedule nailed down we take a short break then eat dinner. It's already 9pm. We celebrate gigi's birthday away from home then taxi it back to the house. The music pumps through the window phnctuated by distant fireworks, lulling me to sleep. So flows the river. Welcome to Peru.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Peru, Land of the Inca
Hello to everyone. Just a quick update to let you know I am headed to Peru in the next couple of days. I'll be working with a group of artists outside of Lima to mentor people in the arts (singing, dance, photography, etc.), to pick up some skills from them, and to do some documentary photography and video work.The second week, I will be researching for a clothing project that is underway along with making some great images of Peru and it's people.
Stay tuned to keep up with the action as it unfolds!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The Bitter End Has Arrived...
Hey, guys! In case you haven't heard by now, the bitter end has arrived. The die has been cast, Tourism Queensland has spoken, and they've chosen Ben Southall from the UK to live in the Blue Pearl Villa on Hamilton Island for the next six months...playing in the sun...with the dolphins, and sea cows, and pretty coral, sipping exotic drinks with little umbrellas to keep the ice from melting in them - I'm not jealous, no not me! I've got much better things to do in Nashville. Uh, I'll let you know when I think of them.
Really, it's not bitterness, I just have a melancholy personality, you know Eyeore - a dark cloud behind every silver lining. Why do you think I was researching poisonous creatures in the Great Barrier Reef? Eyeore Complex. NOTHING can be that paradisical (new word), not even the GBR. I don't even really have the heart to tell you about the rest of those VPC's that I promised. The best I can do is give you a link to them HERE.
So, Ben, congratulations! I'm sure you'll be a much more cheerful caretaker than I would have been. My approach wasn't working - how do you attract people to a place by telling them all the ways they could die or contribute to medical research? No, you're the man Ben! Just wear your nylons and watch out for those tiny little invisible floaties waiting to send you to the Hereafter...
Really, it's not bitterness, I just have a melancholy personality, you know Eyeore - a dark cloud behind every silver lining. Why do you think I was researching poisonous creatures in the Great Barrier Reef? Eyeore Complex. NOTHING can be that paradisical (new word), not even the GBR. I don't even really have the heart to tell you about the rest of those VPC's that I promised. The best I can do is give you a link to them HERE.
So, Ben, congratulations! I'm sure you'll be a much more cheerful caretaker than I would have been. My approach wasn't working - how do you attract people to a place by telling them all the ways they could die or contribute to medical research? No, you're the man Ben! Just wear your nylons and watch out for those tiny little invisible floaties waiting to send you to the Hereafter...
Monday, March 2, 2009
I Can Finally Tell the Truth...
The truth is, I knew two days ago I wasn't gonna be in the top 50. But I felt like I should wait til it was "official"...and, now it is. Check out www.islandreefjob.com for the top 50, and if you want, follow them to the bitter end!!!
And to all you who have been reading this blog, or at least visiting from time to time, thank you so much for stopping by!!! I intend to keep blogging, now that I've started, and the topics for this blog will be based around my travel and visual arts pursuits. I will, however, be finishing my blogs up about the TEN MOST POISONOUS CREATURES on the reef before leaving the the reef behind as a major topic.
It has been a fascinating and fun journey since I started this thing a month ago (it's only been a month??) In regard to my video, as soon as I turned it in and slept for a few hours, I saw things I really wish I had changed, but alas there was no time left! As it turns out, those things would have been very helpful, but most of what we do in life is a matter of learning by trial and error.
Life is like an iceberg. Most of the successes that people see above the surface are undergirded by a far greater number of "failures" beneath the surface. They aren't failures, really, just opportunities for reassessment, adjustment, and refinement of the way we live and the things we do. There will be another time.
In the meanwhile, I'll still be writing, and shooting, and traveling, and learning, and sharing! There's too much to do just to sit around and wish I'd been the one snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef for $100 grand...(isn't there??) =)
And to all the applicants who applied, and those who are still kicking, congratulations on making the effort. I can see the icebergs rising!
And to all you who have been reading this blog, or at least visiting from time to time, thank you so much for stopping by!!! I intend to keep blogging, now that I've started, and the topics for this blog will be based around my travel and visual arts pursuits. I will, however, be finishing my blogs up about the TEN MOST POISONOUS CREATURES on the reef before leaving the the reef behind as a major topic.
It has been a fascinating and fun journey since I started this thing a month ago (it's only been a month??) In regard to my video, as soon as I turned it in and slept for a few hours, I saw things I really wish I had changed, but alas there was no time left! As it turns out, those things would have been very helpful, but most of what we do in life is a matter of learning by trial and error.
Life is like an iceberg. Most of the successes that people see above the surface are undergirded by a far greater number of "failures" beneath the surface. They aren't failures, really, just opportunities for reassessment, adjustment, and refinement of the way we live and the things we do. There will be another time.
In the meanwhile, I'll still be writing, and shooting, and traveling, and learning, and sharing! There's too much to do just to sit around and wish I'd been the one snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef for $100 grand...(isn't there??) =)
And to all the applicants who applied, and those who are still kicking, congratulations on making the effort. I can see the icebergs rising!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Finding Nemo Finds a Home
Hey, folks. Just thought I'd let ya know that the DVD Finding Nemo is making it's way to Colorado24, the winner of stage 1's drawing!! Hope Nemo likes it over there!
Tomorrow, I will officially announce the results of Stage 2 thus far...
Wishing a wonderful evening to all.
Tomorrow, I will officially announce the results of Stage 2 thus far...
Wishing a wonderful evening to all.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Ice Cream Cone + Gastropod = Our Next VPC
Hi, y'all. I've been checking out our latest VPC (Very Poisonous Creature) for a couple of days. Aside from getting sidetracked on YouTube watching videos of the Loch Ness monster for a couple of hours, I have learned some very interesting things about this ocean gastropod, known as the Cone Shell.
photo: wickipedia.org Textile Cone
The snail is so named because the shell resembles an ice cream cone - except that's not ice cream in there. It's a big, muscular foot, and a big siphon tube mouth, and a couple of stalk eyes - oh yeah, and some nasty harpoon teeth.
Doot-De-Doo, hohum, hohum, along slides the snail, beautiful and harmless looking, with that proboscis sticking out, smelling the water. For what? For dinner. Then along comes a hapless little fish, or human hand or foot (curiosity killed the FILL IN THE BLANK), and chemicals secreted by the curious victims enter the proboscis of the snail.
It does a little searching with that long, skinny mouth/nose, and then...BAM!!! BAM, BAM!!! Dinner is served. Or in the case of the human hand, that little harpoon tooth has just delivered the goods. Which, of course, isn't really good at all, even if you've got a hold of such a pretty shell...
The story of the monkey who stuck his fist in the jar and then got beat over the head comes to mind...
Cone shells are very common. There are over 1000 species of cone shells, which have varying diets. They may eat other mollusks, sea worms, crustaceans, or small fish. Mostly, they are from 2 to 4 inches long, but the ones that eat fish grow up to 10 inches long. These fish-eating cone shells are the most dangerous to humans. Fortunately, there are only a few of these types - among them, the Textile Cone and Geography Cone. When their harpoon teeth are injected into the victim, they inject a milky venom which is a neurotoxin.
This venom will cause fish to be paralyzed in a few seconds, and to get a free slidey ride down a snail gullet. In humans, it causes blurred vision, slurred speech, numbness, and difficulty breathing (sounds like a few too many beers). If it is severe enough, it will cause respiratory failure in a few hours, and sometimes death.
There is no antivenin for the venom, so the only cure is life support and time, which allows the toxins to finally be dissipated by the body. Some say that about 20% of all cone shell stings result in death, more than the percentage for the cobra snake.
Although the bigger cones can be deadly, only fifteen deaths can be confidently attributed worldwide to the cone shell in the record books. The smaller ones (the vast majority of the cone species), produce a sting no more painful than that of a bee.
In spite of the downside to the venom of the cone shells, there is a great upside. The venom is very promising in serving as a basis for some very powerful and beneficial drugs. At the moment, there is research being conducted on its use as a cure for Alzheimer's disease, as well as a pain killer 1000 times more powerful than morphine, but without any side effects.
So on your next visit to the Great Barrier Reef, where there are 18 species of cone shells, a good rule of thumb is to keep your thumbs off of them. This will save you from a painful trip to the ER and being another guinea pig in cone shell venom research!!
Happy Snorkeling!
photo: wickipedia.org Textile ConeThe snail is so named because the shell resembles an ice cream cone - except that's not ice cream in there. It's a big, muscular foot, and a big siphon tube mouth, and a couple of stalk eyes - oh yeah, and some nasty harpoon teeth.
Doot-De-Doo, hohum, hohum, along slides the snail, beautiful and harmless looking, with that proboscis sticking out, smelling the water. For what? For dinner. Then along comes a hapless little fish, or human hand or foot (curiosity killed the FILL IN THE BLANK), and chemicals secreted by the curious victims enter the proboscis of the snail.
It does a little searching with that long, skinny mouth/nose, and then...BAM!!! BAM, BAM!!! Dinner is served. Or in the case of the human hand, that little harpoon tooth has just delivered the goods. Which, of course, isn't really good at all, even if you've got a hold of such a pretty shell...
The story of the monkey who stuck his fist in the jar and then got beat over the head comes to mind...
Cone shells are very common. There are over 1000 species of cone shells, which have varying diets. They may eat other mollusks, sea worms, crustaceans, or small fish. Mostly, they are from 2 to 4 inches long, but the ones that eat fish grow up to 10 inches long. These fish-eating cone shells are the most dangerous to humans. Fortunately, there are only a few of these types - among them, the Textile Cone and Geography Cone. When their harpoon teeth are injected into the victim, they inject a milky venom which is a neurotoxin.
This venom will cause fish to be paralyzed in a few seconds, and to get a free slidey ride down a snail gullet. In humans, it causes blurred vision, slurred speech, numbness, and difficulty breathing (sounds like a few too many beers). If it is severe enough, it will cause respiratory failure in a few hours, and sometimes death.
There is no antivenin for the venom, so the only cure is life support and time, which allows the toxins to finally be dissipated by the body. Some say that about 20% of all cone shell stings result in death, more than the percentage for the cobra snake.
Although the bigger cones can be deadly, only fifteen deaths can be confidently attributed worldwide to the cone shell in the record books. The smaller ones (the vast majority of the cone species), produce a sting no more painful than that of a bee.
In spite of the downside to the venom of the cone shells, there is a great upside. The venom is very promising in serving as a basis for some very powerful and beneficial drugs. At the moment, there is research being conducted on its use as a cure for Alzheimer's disease, as well as a pain killer 1000 times more powerful than morphine, but without any side effects.
So on your next visit to the Great Barrier Reef, where there are 18 species of cone shells, a good rule of thumb is to keep your thumbs off of them. This will save you from a painful trip to the ER and being another guinea pig in cone shell venom research!!
Happy Snorkeling!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A Day In the Life of Me...
Well, here you go folks. Figured I'd put together a little video of what my typical day looks like. Probably very boring to those of you who don't know me, and a little boring to those who do, but it was fun to make! Besides, that's why they have that handy fast-forward button...
Monday, February 23, 2009
And The Winner Is...
As promised yesterday, I have (with the assistance of a trusted accomplice) drawn a winner for this stage.
And the winner is...(CUE TRUMPET BLAST). COLORADO 24! Yes, you know who you are. All you need do to claim your prize is email me your address, along with the film of your choice having anything to do with AUSTRALIA (either actors from or the film itself located Down Under). It will be delivered to your doorstep along with my sincere thanks for your continued support!!
For those of you who missed out this time around, there's always stage TWO (which we are now in). All that is required for you to enter is at least one comment on my blog, and a public following.
Congratulations, Colorado 24!
Finally, as a reminder, here are the crucial dates for this whole shindig.
March 2 - Announcement of 50 shortlisted candidates
April 6 - Announcement of 11 shortlisted candidates
May 3 - week of interviews with 11 in Queensland
May 6 - announcement of the winning candidate
July 1 - start date for the new "Caretaker of Hamilton Island"
If we make it past the first cut over 34,000 other candidates, that will be cause for incredible celebrating. If not, well, we can walk away knowing more than we ever thought we would about one of the greatest places on earth! See you tomorrow!
And the winner is...(CUE TRUMPET BLAST). COLORADO 24! Yes, you know who you are. All you need do to claim your prize is email me your address, along with the film of your choice having anything to do with AUSTRALIA (either actors from or the film itself located Down Under). It will be delivered to your doorstep along with my sincere thanks for your continued support!!
For those of you who missed out this time around, there's always stage TWO (which we are now in). All that is required for you to enter is at least one comment on my blog, and a public following.
Congratulations, Colorado 24!
Finally, as a reminder, here are the crucial dates for this whole shindig.
March 2 - Announcement of 50 shortlisted candidates
April 6 - Announcement of 11 shortlisted candidates
May 3 - week of interviews with 11 in Queensland
May 6 - announcement of the winning candidate
July 1 - start date for the new "Caretaker of Hamilton Island"
If we make it past the first cut over 34,000 other candidates, that will be cause for incredible celebrating. If not, well, we can walk away knowing more than we ever thought we would about one of the greatest places on earth! See you tomorrow!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
LAUNCHING STAGE TWO!
Great News!!! I just got my official acceptance today from Queensland Tourism. My application video is now online!
SO, what this means is that all of you who are following my blog will have one and possibly two opportunities to give me a big push towards the Reef.
HOW? you ask? By voting for my video as most popular. Yes, even when we're all grown up we play silly popularity games. But, I didn't make the rules, I'm just trying to take advantage of them!
So follow this link, and five star that sucker!! my video application!
Unfortunately, it runs more slowly (especially so on the island reef job site) on YouTube. Very frustrating of course after all the effort to see the video skip and lag so far behind the audio, but you work with what you've got right? =)
For a truer run, watch it in my blog here below. But don't forget to rate it 5 stars at the official site as that's how they'll know you guys are actually out there!!
FINALLY, some business to take care of. For you guys who have been with me from the start, thank you, thank you! As promised, I will be drawing a name and delivering up the winner a DVD of their choice having to do with Australia!!! You tell me what it is and it's YOURS!
I will make the announcement in tomorrow's blog! What will it be? Crocodile Dundee? Steve Irwin's Crocodile Hunter the Movie? The original Mad Max? Ah, the Man from Snowy River! OR, you may choose a movie that has an Aussie IN it! You pick, I send. Badabing, badabang!
See you all tomorrow, and don't forget to rate that video!
SO, what this means is that all of you who are following my blog will have one and possibly two opportunities to give me a big push towards the Reef.
HOW? you ask? By voting for my video as most popular. Yes, even when we're all grown up we play silly popularity games. But, I didn't make the rules, I'm just trying to take advantage of them!
So follow this link, and five star that sucker!! my video application!
Unfortunately, it runs more slowly (especially so on the island reef job site) on YouTube. Very frustrating of course after all the effort to see the video skip and lag so far behind the audio, but you work with what you've got right? =)
For a truer run, watch it in my blog here below. But don't forget to rate it 5 stars at the official site as that's how they'll know you guys are actually out there!!
FINALLY, some business to take care of. For you guys who have been with me from the start, thank you, thank you! As promised, I will be drawing a name and delivering up the winner a DVD of their choice having to do with Australia!!! You tell me what it is and it's YOURS!
I will make the announcement in tomorrow's blog! What will it be? Crocodile Dundee? Steve Irwin's Crocodile Hunter the Movie? The original Mad Max? Ah, the Man from Snowy River! OR, you may choose a movie that has an Aussie IN it! You pick, I send. Badabing, badabang!
See you all tomorrow, and don't forget to rate that video!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
So, How Long IS That Reef??
If you've been following my blog and recent application video post, you might be wondering (like Mandy from the video) just how long that reef really is!! Or even WHAT it is (like Constance).
So I thought I'd be kind enough to answer these two questions for all you curious types.
But first check out this awesome footage from Tourism Queensland. You can find out a lot more info by checking out the media section at their site Island Reef Job.com
So the answer to the first question - "Where in the world IS the Great Barrier Reef?", as you've seen in previous posts, is the great country of Australia. Now to be more specific, it borders the northeast coast of the state of Queensland, Australia.
The answer to the second question is a bit more tricky. How long IS the Great Barrier Reef? I guess it depends on where you begin counting coral. Now if you wanted to you could really start counting at the southernmost tip of New Guinea and work your way down from there.
But even if you started in the far north at Somerset, Queensland, Australia and ended at Bundaberg, Queensland in the south, that would be 1480 miles (or 2387 KM for all you people in the rest of the world).
However, most estimates range in the mid-1200 mile range. But when you're talking about a living organism, things are in constant flux. I mean, if you got a big hurricane in it might pull up huge chunks of the reef, and well, then you've lost a few miles...
Then there are the Crown of Thorn Starfish, which eat up coral with gusto. They say as much as 30% of the coral has been digested by these critters. So then, do we count living reef, or dead reef? Dunno.
To all that coral I want to say hurry up and grow already, because the more the better, right? But you can't rush pure wonder...
Stay tuned for some outtakes, some more pics, and some more deadly VPC bios...
So I thought I'd be kind enough to answer these two questions for all you curious types.
But first check out this awesome footage from Tourism Queensland. You can find out a lot more info by checking out the media section at their site Island Reef Job.com
So the answer to the first question - "Where in the world IS the Great Barrier Reef?", as you've seen in previous posts, is the great country of Australia. Now to be more specific, it borders the northeast coast of the state of Queensland, Australia.
The answer to the second question is a bit more tricky. How long IS the Great Barrier Reef? I guess it depends on where you begin counting coral. Now if you wanted to you could really start counting at the southernmost tip of New Guinea and work your way down from there.
But even if you started in the far north at Somerset, Queensland, Australia and ended at Bundaberg, Queensland in the south, that would be 1480 miles (or 2387 KM for all you people in the rest of the world).
However, most estimates range in the mid-1200 mile range. But when you're talking about a living organism, things are in constant flux. I mean, if you got a big hurricane in it might pull up huge chunks of the reef, and well, then you've lost a few miles...
Then there are the Crown of Thorn Starfish, which eat up coral with gusto. They say as much as 30% of the coral has been digested by these critters. So then, do we count living reef, or dead reef? Dunno.
To all that coral I want to say hurry up and grow already, because the more the better, right? But you can't rush pure wonder...
Stay tuned for some outtakes, some more pics, and some more deadly VPC bios...
One More Thing...
My hat is off to Tourism Queensland for coming up with such a brilliant marketing scheme!! I mean what better way to generate world-wide publicity for Queensland than this? You've got all of us poor folks running around like crazies doing crazy things for a shot at paradise.
Brilliant! And thank you! At least I'll be more connected, more market-savvy, and more in shape than I was before I started this whole thing, and I'm sure the same is true for everyone else involved.
Check out the following article about the job: at the Brisbane Times.
Brilliant! And thank you! At least I'll be more connected, more market-savvy, and more in shape than I was before I started this whole thing, and I'm sure the same is true for everyone else involved.
Check out the following article about the job: at the Brisbane Times.
Friday, February 20, 2009
WOO HOO THE ROCKET HAS LEFT THE PAD!
I am extremely, deliriously happy to announce (in-between sloppy typing and nodding off) that the video is entering cyber-space as I write. Now I don't want to get too happy because it's only half out of the other computer in the room as of now, and the little wheel of death has been spinning for some time at the queensland servers - SO, crossing my fingers that the pipes don't go down while this little gem is en-route.
After a day like yestertoday (not that's not a typo), anything could happen. Do I dare begin explain...well sure, why not, I've got nothing better to do....oh wait, yes i do (snooooore....)
____________________
Ok, It's now nine hours later. 9:56pm to be exact. I'm feeling slightly rejuvenated after a CiCi's Pizza run (love their buffet!), and a five hour nap. I feel a little bit like I just came out the other end of Willie Wonka's chocolate factory, but I guess it's good to experience that every now and then.
Let me pause here to say for all you "get to the point" people that YES, HALLELUJAH! the video is d-o-n-e, and I'm going to try to catch up on some sanity!! Now carry on...
So, yesterday, I was going to put together my video. I had all the pieces shot, and just needed to weave them into a complete whole. Little 15 second intro, few photos, video clips, some interviews, no problem. Until I found out that my Final Cut software was screwed up on my laptop. Which meant I had to use my desktop. Fine, except I had all the files on my laptop. Well, that's easy, you say. Just use a flash drive, or a CD! But my desktop is ancient. 7 years old, so, uh, it doesn't have USB 2.0, and all the newer external drives won't work with it. And of course, I forgot about the CD option...duh.
So, I figured I'd go to the store at about 10a.m. to get a thumb drive and resolve the issue. Easy transfer, BAM - done! But when I got there, I realized that there aren't any fire wire thumb drives, or portable hard drives for that matter - not at the stores! (of course, the two that would carry such things are no longer in business...)
Solution number TWO. Buy a large external drive which would be firewire, and which I could use to tranfer all those files from my laptop to desktop and vice versa. So after some running around that's what I did. Only when I had finally gotten the drive hooked up, files loaded, and tried to put it on my desktop - unt uh. No dice, nope, nada. The drive, while recognized in the flow chart, wouldn't show up on my computer.
It was now noon, and I had to be done by 4:30pm. Starting to get frustrated, I figured I could use an old external drive to do the job. SO, I got the NEW drive, put it back on my laptop, and proceeded to transfer ALL 200 gigs of info onto it from my old drive via the USB 2.0 port. But after "processing" the files to prepare for copying for like 10 minutes, it said it was going to take 87 hours to complete the transfer. EIGHTY-SEVEN HOURS. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND??? I DON'T HAVE 87 HOURS. I have FOUR, and counting!!!!
SO, I cancelled the operation. I thought maybe it would be faster via fire wire - since my new drive is so fancy, it has USB 2 AND firewire! So I plugged in my firewire port and dragged the files again to my hard drive. NOW it was even slower!! What the HECK was going ON!?
So I cancelled THAT operation, too, and the wheel on my screen kept spinning for longer and longer periods of time. FINE, I thought I'll just THROW SOME STUFF AWAY - like all my OS9 stuff. Who needs that anyway?
Well, all this dragging files back and forth, out of the trash, cancelling operations was apparently not well-liked by my hardware. I ejected my NEW drive from the laptop, and it went away. But THEN it magically reappeared. Why? Um, yeah, I forgot to unplug it from the USB port, so this whole time I'd had it plugged into my computer via USB AND Firewire. I don't think that's a good idea...
Just ask my OLD hard drive. Because it crashed. Hard. And now I'd managed to buy a new drive that didn't work, and crash 200 gigs of information on my old drive.
All for 15 seconds of video.
And I was just getting started! Finally, 6 hours after I started this whole compatibility circus, I finally realized I could just burn a CD...
Call me whatever you want at this point. I deserve it. At this point I had accomplished absolutely ZERO on my editing, had spent $250 on new equipment, and had to go teach my evening class. My roommate walked in just at that moment and said,
"So, you STILL working on that video?" Insert the expletives here because I'm ashamed to say they were running thick in my mind. I let him have it for a few seconds minus the potty mouth words, and then ran out the door to class. Yesterday, it was 75 degrees here. Today it was 25, except I forgot so I left without a jacket. All fine and good. Until I got to my car at 8:30pm, without a coat, and discovered that, whaddya know? My battery was dead!
Well, a few phone calls and one good friend later, my friend BEN's big Bronco was next to my car in the street. Only, uh, his hood wouldn't open. Now this would all be fine in 80 degrees. But it wasn't 80, it was 25. And I had no coat. By now, I was just laughing...a strange, deranged sort of laughter that makes you afraid when you hear it in the movies...
No really, it was becoming really funny. Either you laugh or cry. Laughing is easier. So, finally the hood was jimmied open, the car started right up, and I was on my frozen way home. Now I figured I'd better just start editing when I got home because I only had one day to finish everything before the deadline. And that's what I did.
I put together 15 seconds of video - all night long...I saw the sun come up - it looked so beautiful stretched across the golden fields outside the window. I saw it every few seconds in-between my micro - naps I was now taking. Finally, by 1:30pm, TWENTY-SEVEN HOURS after I began this madness, I compressed the final copy, and heard the angels singing. Or maybe that was delirium. At any rate, that five hour nap did a world of good.
HOORAY!! It didn't matter that the island reef job website wouldn't take my video after 10 tries, or that I had to use three different computers to get a browser that worked properly. All that mattered in the END was that I had accomplished the goals I had set out for myself when I first decided to do this crazy thing.
I DID THE VIDEO!! And it is now a great joy for me to annouce that STAGE ONE of my journey to the Big Reef is now FINISHED.
Welcome to stage TWO. The next phase is mostly waiting, networking, blogging, and building exposure, all while praying I make it into the top 50. Hope you guys stay with me on the journey!!!
And please feel free to make any and all comments or suggestions on the site. OH, and, check out the VIDEO and pass it along!! In the next few days, I'll be posting some out-takes.
Blessings.
After a day like yestertoday (not that's not a typo), anything could happen. Do I dare begin explain...well sure, why not, I've got nothing better to do....oh wait, yes i do (snooooore....)
____________________
Ok, It's now nine hours later. 9:56pm to be exact. I'm feeling slightly rejuvenated after a CiCi's Pizza run (love their buffet!), and a five hour nap. I feel a little bit like I just came out the other end of Willie Wonka's chocolate factory, but I guess it's good to experience that every now and then.
Let me pause here to say for all you "get to the point" people that YES, HALLELUJAH! the video is d-o-n-e, and I'm going to try to catch up on some sanity!! Now carry on...
So, yesterday, I was going to put together my video. I had all the pieces shot, and just needed to weave them into a complete whole. Little 15 second intro, few photos, video clips, some interviews, no problem. Until I found out that my Final Cut software was screwed up on my laptop. Which meant I had to use my desktop. Fine, except I had all the files on my laptop. Well, that's easy, you say. Just use a flash drive, or a CD! But my desktop is ancient. 7 years old, so, uh, it doesn't have USB 2.0, and all the newer external drives won't work with it. And of course, I forgot about the CD option...duh.
So, I figured I'd go to the store at about 10a.m. to get a thumb drive and resolve the issue. Easy transfer, BAM - done! But when I got there, I realized that there aren't any fire wire thumb drives, or portable hard drives for that matter - not at the stores! (of course, the two that would carry such things are no longer in business...)
Solution number TWO. Buy a large external drive which would be firewire, and which I could use to tranfer all those files from my laptop to desktop and vice versa. So after some running around that's what I did. Only when I had finally gotten the drive hooked up, files loaded, and tried to put it on my desktop - unt uh. No dice, nope, nada. The drive, while recognized in the flow chart, wouldn't show up on my computer.
It was now noon, and I had to be done by 4:30pm. Starting to get frustrated, I figured I could use an old external drive to do the job. SO, I got the NEW drive, put it back on my laptop, and proceeded to transfer ALL 200 gigs of info onto it from my old drive via the USB 2.0 port. But after "processing" the files to prepare for copying for like 10 minutes, it said it was going to take 87 hours to complete the transfer. EIGHTY-SEVEN HOURS. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND??? I DON'T HAVE 87 HOURS. I have FOUR, and counting!!!!
SO, I cancelled the operation. I thought maybe it would be faster via fire wire - since my new drive is so fancy, it has USB 2 AND firewire! So I plugged in my firewire port and dragged the files again to my hard drive. NOW it was even slower!! What the HECK was going ON!?
So I cancelled THAT operation, too, and the wheel on my screen kept spinning for longer and longer periods of time. FINE, I thought I'll just THROW SOME STUFF AWAY - like all my OS9 stuff. Who needs that anyway?
Well, all this dragging files back and forth, out of the trash, cancelling operations was apparently not well-liked by my hardware. I ejected my NEW drive from the laptop, and it went away. But THEN it magically reappeared. Why? Um, yeah, I forgot to unplug it from the USB port, so this whole time I'd had it plugged into my computer via USB AND Firewire. I don't think that's a good idea...
Just ask my OLD hard drive. Because it crashed. Hard. And now I'd managed to buy a new drive that didn't work, and crash 200 gigs of information on my old drive.
All for 15 seconds of video.
And I was just getting started! Finally, 6 hours after I started this whole compatibility circus, I finally realized I could just burn a CD...
Call me whatever you want at this point. I deserve it. At this point I had accomplished absolutely ZERO on my editing, had spent $250 on new equipment, and had to go teach my evening class. My roommate walked in just at that moment and said,
"So, you STILL working on that video?" Insert the expletives here because I'm ashamed to say they were running thick in my mind. I let him have it for a few seconds minus the potty mouth words, and then ran out the door to class. Yesterday, it was 75 degrees here. Today it was 25, except I forgot so I left without a jacket. All fine and good. Until I got to my car at 8:30pm, without a coat, and discovered that, whaddya know? My battery was dead!
Well, a few phone calls and one good friend later, my friend BEN's big Bronco was next to my car in the street. Only, uh, his hood wouldn't open. Now this would all be fine in 80 degrees. But it wasn't 80, it was 25. And I had no coat. By now, I was just laughing...a strange, deranged sort of laughter that makes you afraid when you hear it in the movies...
No really, it was becoming really funny. Either you laugh or cry. Laughing is easier. So, finally the hood was jimmied open, the car started right up, and I was on my frozen way home. Now I figured I'd better just start editing when I got home because I only had one day to finish everything before the deadline. And that's what I did.
I put together 15 seconds of video - all night long...I saw the sun come up - it looked so beautiful stretched across the golden fields outside the window. I saw it every few seconds in-between my micro - naps I was now taking. Finally, by 1:30pm, TWENTY-SEVEN HOURS after I began this madness, I compressed the final copy, and heard the angels singing. Or maybe that was delirium. At any rate, that five hour nap did a world of good.
HOORAY!! It didn't matter that the island reef job website wouldn't take my video after 10 tries, or that I had to use three different computers to get a browser that worked properly. All that mattered in the END was that I had accomplished the goals I had set out for myself when I first decided to do this crazy thing.
I DID THE VIDEO!! And it is now a great joy for me to annouce that STAGE ONE of my journey to the Big Reef is now FINISHED.
Welcome to stage TWO. The next phase is mostly waiting, networking, blogging, and building exposure, all while praying I make it into the top 50. Hope you guys stay with me on the journey!!!
And please feel free to make any and all comments or suggestions on the site. OH, and, check out the VIDEO and pass it along!! In the next few days, I'll be posting some out-takes.
Blessings.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I Must Be Insane
Working like crazy on my video. I must love pressure, cuz I'm under it - and the worst part is that it is self-induced. Why can't I just enjoy the regular 9 to 5 life?? =/
At any rate, today I purchased a scanner/copier/faxer/printer/dishwasher/dryer/rocket launcher thingy to do my whole life for me, including blowing it up when it gets too out of hand (which it's about to do).
But of course I can't figure out how to turn it on...ah, I remember the sweet days of ruler-lined notebook paper and pencil smudges!
I'll let you know when I surface, which will be right before the clock strikes midnight on the 21st.
Dum dum dum, DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM. Hope all you other island reefers are kickin' it on your tweeter decks somewhere, cuz SOMEone has to be relaxed at the moment or else the world will start to wobble...
Ciao for now.
At any rate, today I purchased a scanner/copier/faxer/printer/dishwasher/dryer/rocket launcher thingy to do my whole life for me, including blowing it up when it gets too out of hand (which it's about to do).
But of course I can't figure out how to turn it on...ah, I remember the sweet days of ruler-lined notebook paper and pencil smudges!
I'll let you know when I surface, which will be right before the clock strikes midnight on the 21st.
Dum dum dum, DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM. Hope all you other island reefers are kickin' it on your tweeter decks somewhere, cuz SOMEone has to be relaxed at the moment or else the world will start to wobble...
Ciao for now.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Which One of these VPC's will Kill You?
Which one of these combinations is the one that will kill you? 
OR 
Hey guys! It's been a crazy few days around here. Between working on my video, blogging, twittering, facebooking, and working on my currently paying gigs, I feel like a three ring circus except that I'm in all three rings at once. How does THAT work out?
Well, I'm excited to say I've received another top 10 bio from one o' those personable VPC's (Very Poisonous Critters). I've constructed a little puzzle above to introduce our current VPC. If you can figure it out without looking below, you get an extra Gold Star for the day!
So, prerequisite drum roll please!!! If you guessed the BJF, you are dead right. And if you didn't get it, you're dead wrong. If you touch one of them, you're at risk of death either way, so be very nice, take a step back, and welcome the Box Jelly Fish to blogger fame!
You may remember that these graceful, floaty little blobs of jelly are cousins of the coral polyps that have built the largest living structure in the world. And I'm sure they're thankful for their cousins' hard work because some of them live not too far from the protective walls of the reef (but not actually ON the reef - a very important distinction).
So why is it that these little guys are so bad? Well, first of all, there are roughly 19 known species of the BJF. And, they're not exactly like true jelly fish in that they actually "hunt" their prey (don't worry - they like shrimp, not people). The smallest of these identified critters from the class Cubozoa is the Carukia Barnesi (named after Dr. Barnes, a general practitioner. He discovered a live specimen in 1966 after spending a few hours on the sea bed staring up into space until one came floating by his mask).
At any rate, Carukia Barnesi is also known as the Irukandji jellyfish. These little guys, roughly an inch across or less, aren't content to just laze around in the sea. No, they're on a mission. They've got places to go, people to see, fish to catch. They actively swim up to 1.8 meters/second. I saw one swimming the other day with a gold medal around it's bell...
They only have four tentacles, which can trail from each corner of their bell up to around 16 inches behind them. Unlike most other jellyfish, they have nematocysts (stinging cells) on their bell as well as their tentacles. It's usually the bell that people come into contact with and are stung by. (That is one bell you do NOT want to ring...)
Usually, the sting is very minor or unnoticed, until 30 (or 5) minutes later, when it begins to feel like you're giving birth to octuplets, only 10 times worse. Now, being a man, I can't even imagine giving birth, period. But I'm thinking that there might be some women out there who wouldn't mind if a few more men had an encounter with a Irukandji jellyfish, just to encourage a little empathy...
This unbearable cramping, spasmodic pain in the lower back and just about every other muscle in the body, along with sweating, vomiting, nausea, respiratory failure and heart attack is known as Irukandji syndrome (ok, maybe child birth isn't quite as bad as that...). There is no anti-venin for the sting, so life-support and lots of vinegar is the recommended fare. Vinegar, when poured over the stung area, neutralizes any unfired stinging cells and can save you from a whole lot more pain.
The name of this little box jelly comes from the "Irukandji" tribe of Aboriginals who lived in Australia's Palm Cove area where the stings were frequently reported. I just keep thinking it's a strange honor to be named after such a VPC, but then it's other people who usually do the naming for you.
The really cool thing about these critters is that they have four sets of six eyes, one cluster on each side of their bell. Wouldn't that be convenient. Then you wouldn't have to have a neck. Which they don't. Nor do they have a central nervous system. Which leaves scientists (and tourists) wondering how they actually utilize those images they're receiving. Amazingly, 4 eyes in each set are simple photo-receptor cells (like the ones on your digital camera sensor) and see light and dark, while 2 eyes actually have a retina, lens, and cornea. In fact, the lower eye also has an iris which adjusts to the brightness of light. And they're far-sighted, too.
The bad thing is that they're transparent, so while they might be able to see us, we can't really see them. The good thing is the waters of Australia are fairly free of them during the dry season (May - November), so the risk of getting attached to one is very slim. There have only been two recorded deaths in the history of Irukandji stings. Like you're more likely to get struck by lightning than to get smacked by an Irukandji jelly. So rest easy. And if you're really nervous about it, buy a pair of nylons because they can't sting through them. Unless they're fishnet, but that might be a little weird anyway...
All in all, these little VPC's are the most venomous creatures in the animal kingdom known to man. I think they must have gotten that way by being called "Block Head" and "24 Eyes" in school. But that's just my opinion. I'm going to mind my own business, and pack a bottle of vinegar for lunch. By the way, the best news of all is that there are very few at the reef. Most of them are close to shore. So enjoy your stay, swim with a partner, and be glad for nylons.
If you're interested in a lot more detail, check out the following sites: http://www.marine-medic.com.au/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_jellyfish
See you next time!
OR 
Hey guys! It's been a crazy few days around here. Between working on my video, blogging, twittering, facebooking, and working on my currently paying gigs, I feel like a three ring circus except that I'm in all three rings at once. How does THAT work out? Well, I'm excited to say I've received another top 10 bio from one o' those personable VPC's (Very Poisonous Critters). I've constructed a little puzzle above to introduce our current VPC. If you can figure it out without looking below, you get an extra Gold Star for the day!
So, prerequisite drum roll please!!! If you guessed the BJF, you are dead right. And if you didn't get it, you're dead wrong. If you touch one of them, you're at risk of death either way, so be very nice, take a step back, and welcome the Box Jelly Fish to blogger fame!
You may remember that these graceful, floaty little blobs of jelly are cousins of the coral polyps that have built the largest living structure in the world. And I'm sure they're thankful for their cousins' hard work because some of them live not too far from the protective walls of the reef (but not actually ON the reef - a very important distinction).
So why is it that these little guys are so bad? Well, first of all, there are roughly 19 known species of the BJF. And, they're not exactly like true jelly fish in that they actually "hunt" their prey (don't worry - they like shrimp, not people). The smallest of these identified critters from the class Cubozoa is the Carukia Barnesi (named after Dr. Barnes, a general practitioner. He discovered a live specimen in 1966 after spending a few hours on the sea bed staring up into space until one came floating by his mask).
At any rate, Carukia Barnesi is also known as the Irukandji jellyfish. These little guys, roughly an inch across or less, aren't content to just laze around in the sea. No, they're on a mission. They've got places to go, people to see, fish to catch. They actively swim up to 1.8 meters/second. I saw one swimming the other day with a gold medal around it's bell...
They only have four tentacles, which can trail from each corner of their bell up to around 16 inches behind them. Unlike most other jellyfish, they have nematocysts (stinging cells) on their bell as well as their tentacles. It's usually the bell that people come into contact with and are stung by. (That is one bell you do NOT want to ring...)
Usually, the sting is very minor or unnoticed, until 30 (or 5) minutes later, when it begins to feel like you're giving birth to octuplets, only 10 times worse. Now, being a man, I can't even imagine giving birth, period. But I'm thinking that there might be some women out there who wouldn't mind if a few more men had an encounter with a Irukandji jellyfish, just to encourage a little empathy...
This unbearable cramping, spasmodic pain in the lower back and just about every other muscle in the body, along with sweating, vomiting, nausea, respiratory failure and heart attack is known as Irukandji syndrome (ok, maybe child birth isn't quite as bad as that...). There is no anti-venin for the sting, so life-support and lots of vinegar is the recommended fare. Vinegar, when poured over the stung area, neutralizes any unfired stinging cells and can save you from a whole lot more pain.
The name of this little box jelly comes from the "Irukandji" tribe of Aboriginals who lived in Australia's Palm Cove area where the stings were frequently reported. I just keep thinking it's a strange honor to be named after such a VPC, but then it's other people who usually do the naming for you.
The really cool thing about these critters is that they have four sets of six eyes, one cluster on each side of their bell. Wouldn't that be convenient. Then you wouldn't have to have a neck. Which they don't. Nor do they have a central nervous system. Which leaves scientists (and tourists) wondering how they actually utilize those images they're receiving. Amazingly, 4 eyes in each set are simple photo-receptor cells (like the ones on your digital camera sensor) and see light and dark, while 2 eyes actually have a retina, lens, and cornea. In fact, the lower eye also has an iris which adjusts to the brightness of light. And they're far-sighted, too.
The bad thing is that they're transparent, so while they might be able to see us, we can't really see them. The good thing is the waters of Australia are fairly free of them during the dry season (May - November), so the risk of getting attached to one is very slim. There have only been two recorded deaths in the history of Irukandji stings. Like you're more likely to get struck by lightning than to get smacked by an Irukandji jelly. So rest easy. And if you're really nervous about it, buy a pair of nylons because they can't sting through them. Unless they're fishnet, but that might be a little weird anyway...All in all, these little VPC's are the most venomous creatures in the animal kingdom known to man. I think they must have gotten that way by being called "Block Head" and "24 Eyes" in school. But that's just my opinion. I'm going to mind my own business, and pack a bottle of vinegar for lunch. By the way, the best news of all is that there are very few at the reef. Most of them are close to shore. So enjoy your stay, swim with a partner, and be glad for nylons.
If you're interested in a lot more detail, check out the following sites: http://www.marine-medic.com.au/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_jellyfish
See you next time!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Gettin' In Shape - Swimming with the P
I'll let you guys figure out what the P is, (think giant pool at a rec center...), but thought the momentous occasion of my re-acquaintance with the world of P was worth recording, being another step toward the best job on the planet!
So what do you all think of my entry into the water? I think it was the best I've ever done! ;-) Heck, why don't you guys out there join me in (re)discovering the art of swimming!!
PS. I haven't forgotten about the most deadly little critters down at the reef. I'm just waiting for them to get back to me with their bios - you know how life in the tropics is in a bit slower current of time...these guys just chowin' on one last plate of plankton before getting down to business!
So what do you all think of my entry into the water? I think it was the best I've ever done! ;-) Heck, why don't you guys out there join me in (re)discovering the art of swimming!!
PS. I haven't forgotten about the most deadly little critters down at the reef. I'm just waiting for them to get back to me with their bios - you know how life in the tropics is in a bit slower current of time...these guys just chowin' on one last plate of plankton before getting down to business!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Another Brave MOS (Man On the Street) Soul...
Hey, guys! Hope you are all doing well and enjoying some of the sunshine we've been having here in Nashville today WOW, beautiful day!! Got a couple of vids to continue the two most important questions of the year:
1. Where in the world is the Great Barrier Reef, and
2. How LONG is that sucker??
Hey, I don't script 'em folks, I just turn on the camera...but cheers to these guys for stickin' their necks out. Next time the great barrier reef comes up in general conversation, they'll be golden!
1. Where in the world is the Great Barrier Reef, and
2. How LONG is that sucker??
Hey, I don't script 'em folks, I just turn on the camera...but cheers to these guys for stickin' their necks out. Next time the great barrier reef comes up in general conversation, they'll be golden!
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