Call me geeky...

Okay, so call me geeky, but here I am National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals Of The World in hand (thanks sis!) ready to explain to you why I find these creatures amazing. This coudl result in a call for help or of anger.....not quite sure. Its a ramble, so pull up your chair settle in and feel free to take your time reading this, but please don't ignore. I'm going to be nice and limit my rant to dolphins. Now, I have a question. When someone says dolphins, what pops into your mind? Flipper? Those dolphins you saw smiling at six flags? Nope. Wrong answer. Commonly, Bottlenose Dolphins are the showcased dolphins. There are around thirty-five species of dolphins. And, though its not common knowladge, they all look different. For example, I'll give you a comparison between the bottlenose and a hectors dolphin. Bottlenose Dolphins are grey, hectors dolphins are light grey, dark grey, black and white. All at the same time. Another common error is the idea that a dolphin is a big fish with a beak. First of all, I'd like to say a dolphin is a MAMMAL and not a fish. Secondly, not all dolphins have beaks. Its about an even split between beaked (meaning their faces end in a pointy long nose, aka bottle nose dolphin) and dolphins with rounded heads. Now, to finish off the Hectors dolphin analysis, they live near New Zealand and their lifespan is about twenty years. And guess what? In the entire world, there are less the two thousand of them. That has decreased by fifty percent since the 1980's, or so it is estimated. Wonder what will happen in the next twenty years.....

Okay, so your saying "woo-hoo the hectors dolphin is dying. And you're a nerd. I get it. Whats your point?" My point is that in the greatly uneducated and immoral generation where ignorance is used as an escape, I'd like to at least attempt to instill in you some sense of the horrors that is the death of our marine mammal population, not just dolphins. Don't your kids deserve to wake up in a world where there are real polar bears and they arn't something grandpa or grandma talk about? Good luck with that. Studies show that the polar bear habitat could reasonably be wiped out totally by the end of this century, maybe less. If we're lucky a few years more. Yet what have our news stories been? "War In Iraq" and "Explosion of an Appartment Building". Our world is dying around us, but we'd rather cause more death instead of help the death already occuring. Does it make a difference if its animal or human? Oh, okay, humans can talk and complain. They can also produce things like the Holocaust and September Eleventh. An animal is as much God's creature as a human, in fact they were here before us if you want to get down to bible-beating. And at the moment, I am inclined to find them a more respectable form of life then this generation who would let them die and focus on killing themselves. Okay, I'll bring another species of dolphin to the table. Actually, though still dolphins, classified in a seperate catagory. These are freshwater dolphins. One such species is the Amazon River Dolphin. These dolphins swim through the amazon river and even through the trees of the surrounding rainforest when the rain floods the banks of the river. Another River dolphin is the Yangtze River Dolphin. I'd like to introdunce Qi Qi. Qi Qi is a Yangtze that has lived in captivty since 1980. He was saved from fishing hooks which tore him up and now is the only surviving dolphin in captivity. Or was. If he is still alive I am not sure.....not much has been learned through my research since the publication of this book in 2002. However, the number of yangtzes left in the world is only in the tens. Thats right. The maxium amount of dolphins left on this Earth is around 99. Thats it. But thats if we're lucky. The saddest part of this slaughter story is that we did it. Thats right. You and me and the rest of our human race. These dolphins are dying from pollution and careless fishing methods. Also, boats have heartlessly plowed through them and torn up the areas in which they live. Basically, humans have been destroying and killing off the species. The only effort to save them resulted in the opposite effect. A relocation by the Chinese Government to the "seminatural reserve" for protection resluted in ineffective catching and death of more dolphins. Exactly one dolphin had been caught as of 2002 and she died within six months of relocation. Now we hear murmors of the only river they inhabit being damed and I ask you, how can the world be so heartless? (Did i mention these dolphins are cute??)

I know that this may not have hit you as ahrd as it hit me, but please rethink your quick habit of saying you didn't do it and you don't plan on changing it. Don't leave it for someone else, because if everyone leaves it for someone else who ends up doing it? Also, you may not have been the driver of those boats or the bulder of the dams, but did you stop them? Did you even care to look? Or did you just rely on our society's method and seeming religion, one that is killing the world around us human and animal alike. The method and phrase that we base our lives on simply because its what those around us do? Did you honestly let yourself believe that our society is correct? The method i speak of is simple. Ignorance is bliss. But when it all comes down to it, tell me. When your children grow up in a world of poisoness air and non-exsistant animals then you come find me and tell me how blissful your selfish ignorance was.

Mouse Update.

The offical mouse name is Pipsqueak. His cage, I'm sure you've seen those colorful hamster cages, is becoming very pleasing to him. He climbs and organizes his food and somehow always manages to hide from me. Which I find frusterating, seeing as its only a foot and a half cage or so. Grr mouse. But he continues to be cute, and I'll post pics in a few days.

As for me...hmm, how is my life? Seems like catching up on my life had to be a planned event. One example is the fact that I am finally able to blog in my Aunts living room. On my memorial day weekend. And dinner is soon, so I don't have long. But my weekend in general has been fun. I went to my first event, and I loved it. Well, to be fair, I liked it. It was brutally hott and not alot to do, but I am thouroughly convinced this is not normal. There were a few times through the day where I really really enjoyed it though. Thanks sis!!

As for school, Formal this week. AHHHH. And then NYSSMA early the next day. Then Hershey Park with the band next friday. Math Final, and S.S. test soon, shortly followed by Regents (if i spelt it right) exam. My year seems to be about to go out in a boom. RUN FOR YOUR LIVESS. Haha. At least it leads to Summer in less then a month.

Love you all!! <3

Mouse!!!!!

This is my new mouse friend. Isn't he adorable????? Literally, he's the size of a quarter.
He was hiding behind a snow shovel. This wasn't our first sighting, but it was almost night time so he needed a home.

His story? Well, on the ceiling of my porch there is a beam-like box that stretches the length of the porch. And, since a year or two back, mice inhabit the hollow beam. We hear the skitter of their tiny feet running around at night. But today, as dad went outside to mow, he saw a tiny tiny baby mouse huddled in the corner of the porch. We all went outside and sttempted to catch him (just to get a better look) in a shoe box. However, he spazzed (he fits in, i guess) and dove off the porch. We didn't really think he was in any sort of danger, so we sighed and quickly forgot about it. However, later that night, I went outside to take the garbage out and what did I see but the same mouse huggled in the corner of the porch yet again. Now, at this point, its getting too chilly for a mouse of his age and size to be outside of its nest. This time, he was more comfortable around us and posed for pictures, then let us catch him without too much of a fight. We held him, and he crawled on all of us. He esspecially loved dad, and crawling up his arm and down his back. Of course, for all of you who know my father (esspecially my sisters) as soon as the baby mouse with no home fell asleep in his hand he was no longer homeless. After cutting a soft pink towel into rags and cleaning out an old hermit crab cage, we have, at least temporarily, a suitablle hoomw in which he is now sound asleep next to me.

More later, and more pics soon. Love you all!

99 Red Balloons

Yes, thats what I said. 99 red balloons. Its a song, sure. But have you thought of the idea? Can't you just imagine a sky full of red balloons floating away to freedom? The pathetic part is...their freedoms consists of flying gallently into the sky until they reach a point where its cold and they are under extreame pressure and they pop. Wow, what an accomplishment. Still, I'd love to see what it would be like to have a sky full of Red ballons.

At this time, I'd like to point out Jerry, the blue monkey to your right. He is my "blog-gaurdian" of sorts. Please, play with him!! Just click and they you can click on him and drag him around, click the branches to make him jump there, or click or and give him a banana. He's often bored, and he loves people....and I can't believe I'm talking like this about a cyper animation. Whatever, feel free to play anyway!

Sorry!

I know, I know, its been over a week. I'm totally aware of this. I've had ALOT going on this week, however. So really, I haven't just been ignoring my blog. For example, I had my Chorus/Band/Chamber Choir concert weds. night. That went well, so I heard anyway. Now, I would write a story on how it's so sad because it's my last time performing with the middle school, but technically its not. Later this month I have another concert at the same place in which I am participating in only one event (a rare occurence, of course) which is women's choir. I have to say, the music department in my school is truly amazing. When I got to middle school, it was also my band teacher's first year. Straight out of collage, he was shy, quiet, and alittle overwhelmed by the energetic teachers surronding him. But over the years, not only have I learned how to come out of my shell, but I've watched him come out of his shell too. This shows at concerts where he went from moving his hands to moving his whole body and from shaking to laughing. As for my music teacher, she has truly pushed me somewhere I never thought my voice could take me. Between private lessons and out of school oppertunitys that she has lead me through, the three choirs I am currently involved in that are lead by her also challenge me and keep me focused. The concert that just passed consisted of regular chorus and chamber choir. Let me explain. Chamber is a auditioned choir that reherses after school and goes to a New York State full chorus competition/evaluation at the end of the year (meaning next week...AHHH!!). But, enough Middle School memories for now. I'm making it seem like the years already over!
As for other events this week.....well.....I did go back to memorial park. That was fun, as always. A few different people then last time and two added dogs proved to be quite a handful (no, I did NOT bring my 95 pound dog to a public park by myself....they were two 7 and 14 pound dogs belonging to my frinds). So...really...that was the only thing that night that was different. Basic memorial park night.
Now I am back to blogging, this I promise. And tonight, besides hanging out at home with the parents, not much is going on. I might even post later, depending on the boredom factor. So thats all for now...don't be mad!!

The Joys of a laptop

ahh...To be able to post from my beautiful yard. To feel the clean, fresh air and hear the gorgous song that all of the birds sing as I watch the sun gleam from behind the soft gray clouds and sink lower and lower into the green trees. God, I love my yard.

Now I feel the cool hint in the air showing me that night is almost here, and I must retreat into my comfortable house to finish my ELA homework. Lucky me.

Thank God for my people

Really, I mean, what would I do without them? Tonight I go to choir as usual. We're leaving, and one of my mentors says "oh, now we're going to go watch spider-man three" (by the way, by "we" he meant him, his two fun-loving children and his wife, with whom I get along great.). So I, being the nerd I am (thanks sis) go "LUCKY!!" and he just says "oh, want to come?". Well, lets just say I...heh...begged and pleaded and bargined and finally got the okay from parents to go if I got my homework done in the car on the way to the drive-in/pizza. So we go to pizza, and then go watch the movie from the back of their mini-van. Of course, me, I couldn't stand to sit in a car at a drive-in, so I traded my spot on the bench seat with the kids for a rag on the damp grass in the oh-so-crisp air. I sat next to his wife, and, well, have you ever been around someone who you laugh with often and suddenly something not meant to be funny is hilarious? Hah, yeah, well...lets put it this way...the people in front of us left. It just seemed that everything had a funny aspect, and of course the more we tried not to laugh as we pointed out it's cheesy flaws (totally not dising the movie though) the harder it got to stay quite and NOT choke on popcorn. But this break was something I really needed, and I can't think of anyone I would rather spend a late and absolutly perfect night with. So...be it this late on a school night before a test and any other drama you can throw at me...I'll always have my people. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

And with that, goodnight.

homework...homework...homework....

I love how school thinks they can take over out life with homework....its like "oh, we don't see you enough. lets add on a few hours." And that horendous science test today....two hours for that thing?! My goodness....I finished in what forty minutes? And sitting there with some kid scrathing their nails along the chalkboard and prissy girls screaming about mice...UGH. So yeah, school is getting on my nerves. Summer....PLEASE.

And now I force myself to return the math and social studies that await.

Rainy Day Rainbows

I wonder...why is it that life changes at the drop of a hat? I mean, you could have an excellent day turn into something not quite as excellent in a matter of seconds. More importantly...does that turn a good day bad? Does one bad event have the absolute power to change an entire day of wonderful events? Do we really live in a societly that allows good to conquer over evil so easily? In a more logical veiwpoint, it could simply be based on the severity of the event. Truely, winning a million dollars and then getting a papercut would not make my day a bad one. But on a day where I experience a truly depressing event, such as death or pain in a loved ones life, would a butterfly landing on my finger or flying by my finger give me enough joy to make my day count as a good one? And then, more importantly, I wonder if there is a right answer. Should we allow everything to sink in, good or bad? To be a well-rounded individual? Or...shall we fall back on the values that in a battle of good vs. evil good should always overcome?

...yes, stuff to ponder. On a more lighthearted note, I have gym tomorrow so i can forget about music class for at least three days. And I have a blog!! Yay me!!

Where in the world is the talent?!

Okay....after a music class of not-so-great performances by skaters and preps alike...I am forced to raise a question (and for all of my friends out there that...well.....need a hint every once in a while...this is a rhetorical question) where did the talent go? What happened to the Shakespears and Mozarts that appeared in almost all generations? Of course...I could just be sheilded in this "hicks" town. And yet....in those around me...I'm scared by the lack fo potential. This generation is forced to either hide or erase all chance or originality. I hope that as we go on the slightly (or not so slight) immaturity makes way for the true talent and destiny's of a generation that I am not yet willing to give up hope on.

I know I know....bed. Stop Posting.

I just can't help it!

I got this blog...and its looks are acceptable at best...but i do know that I have to keep at it.

I've been checking out some templates....and when mom gets back from Baltimore some time mid-week we'll look into that. So please, don't stop reading. I promise it'll get better!!!

Anyway...tomorrow should be an interesting day. Have I mentioned how much I hate my nineth period music class?! The teacher....goodness.....and the things we're assigned with under restictions (or lack there of) and deadlines that are totally abstract. Anyway, that and some other things.....which, seeing as its late and my parents are yelling.....i will go into at a later date.


Goodnight all!

Cute, right? Thats my Bear. DeLi's Cast a Magic Spell. I figured....well....most of you know the story of his show dog life. Most of you have seen how huggable he was first hand. I figured....if my blog was to have any luck at all...i need my big guy watching.

Thanks for visiting, bear.

I miss you.....<333

Blogging

Blogging.....always been an interestiong concept.

Of course......being a blogger.....and living up to the previously set expectations of my predecessors........is an art as I am discovering. Templates, pages, URLs, HTMLs and strange icons seem to follow me as I go along with the not-so-easy act of posting in general. Tonight I plan to change....or attempt to change....the current boring template I am being restricted by.

More later, off to edit.