http://www.sofles.com/

The Maui County Fire Department has announced that it will be offering the following locations and hours for fireworks permit processing.  The hours and locations for fireworks permit processing is as follows:

December 24 – 31, 2009 –  During normal business hours 7:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Fire Prevention Bureau (Wailuku Fire Station)
County Parks Permit Office – Lahaina
County Parks Permit Office – Molokai
Pine Isle Market – Lanai

Based on the inventory available, the maximum amount of permits for Maui is 250, for Molokai 61, and for Lanai 47.

Fireworks permits are required to purchase the firecracker type of fireworks and are good for 5,000 firecrackers.  Permit applicants must be 18 years or older and show proof of age at the time of permit processing.  There is no limit to the number of permits a person may purchase and the cost of each permit is $25 payable by check/money order to the County of Maui.  Cash will be accepted at the Fire Prevention Bureau and Pine Isle Market only,.  Novelty fireworks such as sparklers, snakes, fountains and cylindrical or cone fountains which emit effects not higher than 12 feet off the ground do not require permits.

The Maui Fire Department would also like to remind residents of the following rules in relation to fireworks:

Fireworks and firecrackers can only be legally set off from 9 p.m. New Year’s Eve to 1 a.m. New Year’s Day.
Setting off fireworks outside designated times is punishable by law.  Violations are subject to fines up to $2,000.
Aerial fireworks are illegal and extremely dangerous.  Importing and selling aerial fireworks without a permit is a Class C Felony.

General Prohibitions

-It is unlawful to remove or extract pyrotechnic contents.
-It is unlawful to throw any ignited fireworks from a moving vehicle.
-It is unlawful to set off fireworks within 1,000 feet of health care facilities and facilities for animals.
-It is unlawful to set off fireworks by schools.
-It is unlawful to set off fireworks on public roads, in County parks, at County facilities, cane fields, or places of worship.
-It is unlawful for any person without a permit to set off, ignite, discharge or otherwise cause to explode any fireworks within 500 feet from any hotel.
-It is unlawful for any person to offer for sale, sell or give any fireworks to minors, and for any minors to possess, purchase, or set off, ignite or otherwise cause to explode any fireworks, except that the parents or guardians may allow the minor to use fireworks while under the immediate supervision and control of an adult.

Safety Tips Regarding Fireworks Use:

1.Fireworks can be dangerous, causing serious burns and eye injuries.
2. Young children and fireworks do not mix.  Never give fireworks, even sparklers to young children.  Sparklers burn at temperatures of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Older children should only use fireworks under the direct supervision of an adult.
4. Always read and follow all warnings and instructions listed by the manufacturer for the safe use and handling of fireworks.
5. Make sure you have a clear, flat area to use the fireworks; away from structures, dry grass or brush, and other flammable materials.
6. Have a water hose or bucket of water readily available in case of a fire.

“Safety is always a concern. Of course, the best way to stay safe is to not use fireworks and enjoy one of the professionally done shows,” said Captain Paul Haake of the department’s Fire Prevention Bureau. “Dry conditions have always been a concern and this year is no different. We want people to enjoy their New Year celebrations safely.”

Public fireworks displays at 12:00 midnight on New Year’s Eve will be at the following locations:

Hana – below Fagan’s Cross
Kihei – barge offshore fronting the Grand Wailea Hotel
Lanai – Manele Bay Hotel

For additional information on the fireworks permits, contact the Maui Fire Prevention Bureau at (808) 270-7566

Merry Christmas Eve lol. I hope nobody was harmed while purchasing their Space Jam Jordans. Todays blog is about the double standard the media has for people they like. As a soon to be celeb i pay close attention to things like these because they could affect me one day.

Looking at the Tiger Woods situation it makes me think about some things. Would this be such a huge issue if he were a nice guy and the media liked him? Would this same situation have the same impact on someone like Michael Jordan? I think it’s a case of the the media building you up and tearing you down for the sake of entertainment. Now don’t get me wrong, im not excusing Tiger for what he did. But on the other hand there should always be limitations on how far things should go. It’s almost like people have been waiting fo him to slip up so they can go in on him. Once people found a reason they went crazy on him.

Now let’s look at another situation that happened to Ben Rothlisberger. Ben allegedly raped a hotel worker earlirer this year. Initally ESPN didn’t even report the incident which to me is racist. The reason why is because Shannon Brown of the Lakers was in a similar situation. They reported it the second it happened. The difference is they Like Ben Rothlisberger. This happens all the time and it’s sad.

This is just my opinion though. I can say whatever i wanna say now because im not famous yet. When i do become famous they’re probably gonna dig the stuff up and use it against me but i don’t care lol. Shout out to everybody that visits this site. The numbers are crazy and it’s because of yall. I might post another blog tomorrow or sometime this weekend. Until then have a safe holiday and Generation Next 2.0 is coming soon!

Super Rapper, Out

Paleontologists in China and the University of Kansas in an article published this week  analyzed the skulls of Sinornithosaurus, a bird-like raptor that was about the size of a turkey.  Their analysis revealed that the long, grooved, fang-like upper teeth of this dinosaur were connected by narrow ducts to pockets in its upper jaw.  These pockets could have housed venom glands.  The structure discovered in Sinornithosaurus is very similar to modern rear-fanged snakes that do not inject venom, but rather channel poison along grooves in their teeth.  Researchers now are interested in re-examining other raptors to see if they too have these features.  For more information on this discovery check out the video from the University of Kansas. 

HELLO OUT THERE:

Today I thought I would take a second to entertain you with just a few of the searches that people have been using when they happened to stumble on my blog. More confusing then why you would search these things is why they would happen to link to my blog.

They are:

Pooper Scooper: Well isn’t that just lovely. For some reason google thinks my blog resembles a pooper scooper. I would normally take offense but if it gets eyes to my blog I shan’t complain.

Peg Leg: As I have no peg leg this is a bit confusing for me. I could get a peg leg as a fashion statement. In fact I think I could rock it fairly well if I covered it in leather and studded it with silver. Except I would have to cut off my own leg and I am not really into that whole SAW situation.

Stabbing a “Mother f***ker: I am not kidding. Someone actually searched this and found their way onto my blog. More frighting than the fact that they searched that in this particular case is the fact that some creepy person who wants to “stab a mofo” now has me on their radar. CREEEPPY. In retrospect it may not be a good idea to be mocking such a person now. I am in BIG trouble.

Black Suits for graduation: I don’t wear suits, I am not a man, and my graduation is over. But I like to pretend that google sent this particular query to my blog because I have a keen fashion sense. KEEN.

Those are all the searches I am going to save for now. but I wanted to end this by making things interesting and tagging this post with some really random stuff in the hopes tat I can uncover some people who search even weirder things.

The tags: Santa, Satan, clogs, horns, hat pins, grim reaper, shark, Danny Glover, Meth, Christmas, sugar plums, fleas, Mansfield Park, Ghostbusters, Bratz, bats, snakes, worms, poison, Harry Potter.

I’ll let you know how it goes

<3 Keep Blabbing

Jane

Landing, I was.

The magic fading from a gash of a scar.

The smell of too-hot perfume, thicker than I had imagined.

Oh, punctual friend, where were you, before I needed you?

Snakes & fish, snakes & fish,

And what is this, beneath the well?

You don’t know me,

You don’t know hell.

How many words, how few meanings.

One sin, a while ago.

Twenty minutes, 40 more.

Sin meet sin, foe tap foe.

And you cried out.

And the roots took hold, stretching.

And the sky just stood there.

And the clowns came around.

Nonsyllabic platforms over arching dunder currencies

Notwithstanding all of those not withholding

Doing the same things

Finding other ways back into hell

Please don’t let me think too much about it

Please don’t make me count

Please take the balloons away

Please send my regards, please do

Crows’ nest is just a few dry sticks and leaves, somehow arranged on the small branches of tall trees. From the terrace of a five storey building I used to watch it from very close. There is a saying in Malayalam: like a crow’s nest.

Then there is the nest of the tailor bird. Now I do not see it. It is something of a marvel. Hanging from the branch of a tree, it is safe from snakes etc. which eat the eggs. Inside the chamber, it is furnished with soft material like feather etc. Even in rain and wind, the young ones are well protected. I wonder if we can imitate it, with artificial materials for our stay in forests, infested with elephants etc.   We can comfortably watch tigers and bear etc from close quarters.

Narayana pakshi, I think it is the swallow, makes its nest inside the room in old houses. It brings a small ball of mud and sticks it on the roof (ceiling. Then it goes out and brings another which is attached to the first one. Slowly and patiently, it goes on doing it, keeping in its mind the final shape of the nest, with a window one side ! Such architectural skill, similar to the tailor birds’, with very strong structure, is something to wonder at  !

Sometimes as an elementary school kid I would just simply luck out. An announcement would come over the brown loudspeaker in class to announce that in the afternoon in the auditorium we would be having a Snake Show. Maybe this is just a northern Alabama thing, I don’t know. But what I do know is the entire school got to skip Social Studies once a year to see The Snake Man share his crazy collection of snakes onstage.

Cobras, water moccasins, racers, and even a giant anaconda which he let a group of volunteers hold in a group effort. Every once in a while, he would purposely (“accidently”) let a snake slither off the display table onto the stage of the floor. And whenever that happened, a piercing scream filled the non air conditioned room as many of the girls (and boys) yelled in terror at the top of their lungs.

The Snake Man defined what it meant to have a backwoods country Southern accent, like the kind State Troopers have in Virginia. He had these old fashioned jokes that he thought were hilarious. And by the 4th grade, I had memorized his routine. When he pulled out the albino rattlesnake, he would always say: “The reason this snake is white is because of lack of pigment in his genes. Now I don’t mean blue jeans…” At the end of the show, he gave us all some tips on how to know which snakes were poisonous and which were not. And I will never forget this:

“Red and black, you can pet his back. Red and yella, will kill a fella.”

After the days of Snake Shows were done, I was part of DECA, a Marketing class and club in high school. I loved it. I was actually good at it. We had competitions and got to travel. In the class I learned some neat behind-the-scenes stuff about advertising. One of the things was this: Fast food restaurants usually only use two colors for their signs: Red and yellow.

A quick Wikipedia search of some of the meanings of these colors is interesting. Red: exit, energy, passion, love. Yellow: Slow, fun, happiness, friendship, hope. A person is driving along, sees the red and yellow sign, and subconsciously thinks, “I need to SLOW down and EXIT here, because I have a PASSIONATE LOVE for that food. It brings me HAPPINESS and HOPE, not to mention ENERGY. And Ronald McDonald is my FRIEND.”

It’s hard to find an exception to the red and yellow fast food sign rule. McDonald’s, Burger King, Hardees (Carl’s Jr.), Krystal, Sonic, In-N-Out Burger, Taco Bell, Arby’s, Wendy’s, Popeye’s, Pizza Hut, Bojangle’s. A Google image search will cease any doubts.

Red and yella will kill a fella. Applies to snakes and food.

Generation Next 2.0 Coming Soon!!!!!

What’s good everybody? I know it’s been a while and i promise i won’t go this long without posting a blog again. Today’s blog is about motivation. A friend of mine sent me an email link about positive thinking. It talked about training your subconscious mind. I was like “Get the fuck outta here”. You have to brainwash yourself to be motivated? Word? I hate shit like that, If you don’t have it in you, you just don’t have it in you (Pause).

It’s like fat people that use these gimmick workouts to try to get in shape. “Flirty Girl Fitness”, “Tae Bo”, “P90-X”. If you don’t have the motivation to get in shape then you’re not gonna do it. A video’s not gonna change that. Now im not saying that stuff can’t help you. It’s can further motivate you but you have to already have the initial drive.

Other than that everything is good with me. The mixtape is almost done. It’s like the poor man’s version of Detox lol. I’ve been working on it for so long and i just want it to be good enough to show the world im a top level rapper. A lot of underground rappers get caught up in local “hype”. I was guilty of that myself when i was younger. But at some point you have to decide what you’re in the game for. Do you be an also-ran or do you wanna be great? I’ve deciced that i want to be great.

It’s crazy how people react when i tell them im gonna be “great” or the “best in the world”. They feel like they’re breaking me down by telling me how im not. In reality they’re just adding fuel to the fire. The only person that determines what i can be is me.

2010 is gonna be a big year for Snakes and freshMusic. I have a promotional “World Tour” planned lol. So far im have the Super Bowl (2/7) and the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight (3/13) on the schedule. Im gonna skip All Star weekend because the other 2 events are more important. That’s all for today people. My motto for 2010 is “Let’s Celebrate The Good New Days, Forget About The Past”. Generation Next 2.0 Coming Very Soon!!!! Super Rapper, Out!

The following may be harbingers of doom:

When you post instructions for the exam a week in advance, and the darlings show up in your office 15 minutes beforehand to ask if you could print out a copy of the reading for them.

When you give an extension because someone “didn’t have the document with them” at the time of the final presentations, you arrive at the agreed-upon time, wait, get nothing, and then 36 hours later the student appears asking “So what can I do now?”

When a student presentation clearly demonstrates that the person does not understand the implications of a basic statement about their chosen topic….and that topic was selected — by that student — 14 weeks ago.

When students forget that two-way video lets everybody see what everyone else is doing [or not] in front of their laptops.

When you ask a particularly-glassy-eyed student what they are thinking in the middle of the last study session of the semester, hoping that perhaps they’ve generated a thought by this point, and they answer the question “What are you thinking right now?” with “Oh, nothing. I’m just listening to everybody else talking…”

When you see this posted in the Physics Lab:

CRIKEY, what a day! Temperature must have topped at well over 30 today and we decided today was the day for Australia Zoo.

The boys and the Irwins!

Nick wasn’t feeling well but, being a big brave alpha male (well, we let him think that, anyway) he decided we could do the Zoo anyway.

We left about 8.30, not knowing really what to expect. 40 minutes drive to the tune of “Are we there yet?” Oh joys!

Arrived just after opening time and went straight for the shuttle ride. Not that we’re lazy or anything but it did a path that took in most of the areas of the Zoo and gave us an idea of what was there and the (vast) area it covered!

After the shuttle ride, we headed back to the Crocs (via the Gators!) for a look around their enclosures.

Both were pretty impressive and we were looking forwards to the ’show’ in the Crocoseum.

The tortoises were also pretty awesome. HUGE things. Would have been great to get a pic of the boys with it but had to settle for the lizard instead.

Tortoise just after feeding

Tortoise and lizard

We grabbed an early lunch and found a decent seat in the stadium ready for the show. Started with the usual ‘crowd baiting’ and then a walk-through by the elephants.

Elephant walk-through

Next up, several handlers came in showing and introducing the snakes (pretty impressive watching the snake in the water. Boy, it was fast!)

Snake and handler in the water

After snakes, we saw various birds. The parrots were stunning. Very vibrantly coloured and soon joined by more (noisier) birds, all speeding manically round the stadium!

Of course what we and everyone else were waiting for was the croc! I have to admit the croc demonstration was shorter than I expected but it was certainly pretty impressive. Let’s just say I wouldn’t enter that arena with one!

Croc and handler

After the show, we had a wander through the koalas. I think pretty much all the koalas we saw were sleeping. Apparently, this is because they only eat eucalyptus and it’s not high in energy!

ahhhhhhhh!

We bought some food ($1 a bag) for the kangaroos and headed into the ‘Roos. The first roo we saw was a bit reluctant to eat (probably sick of the same old pellet food!) but we soon found a more willing eater. They were really tame.

Eliot feeding a 'roo

Jake feeding a 'roo

By about 3pm we’d spent 6 hours at the Zoo and were pretty wiped out. We did a last-minute tour around the snakes which Eliot LOVED, especially as he’d just spent some of his money on a toy snake which was spending considerable time either wrapped around his neck or dangling towards unsuspecting children who he seemed to enjoy freaking out!

We left the zoo by about 3.30 and headed home via the supermarket (for drinks and after-bite cream. The mozzies FEASTED on me last night!) and a scenic drive down the Bongaree side of the island (the bridge side, rather than the ocean/surf side where we’re staying)

Did tea and chilled for a bit before heading to the beach at about 6pm. This time, however, I did something really brave. I donned my swimsuit for the first time and, accessorised with a sarong (ooh, get me!) waddled to the beach alongside the boys in their swimwear.

And yes, I DID actually venture into the sea! It was beautiful jumping around in the surf in the sunset. Oh yes, there are photos as proof too (see below!)

Tracey and boys in the sea

And no, you WON’T be seeing a bigger version!

It was great fun though. We spent about an hour down there, jumping about in the surf. The boys often got knocked over my the strength of the waves but they didn’t care one bit. They just jumped back up and tackled the next one!

All in all, we’ve had a great day!

Tomorrow, we’re booked onto a river cruise.  We’re doing the 3 hour Devonshire Morning Cruise along the Pumicestone Passage which is the body of water that separates the island from the mainland, where the bridge crosses. It’s possible we could see turtles, dolphins and all matter of other creatures so I’m quite looking forwards to passing a leisurely morning on the water tomorrow.

Right, now I need to wake (a rather suffering) Nick and get the boys in bed! If the last few days are anything to go by, being ready to leave the house for 9am tomorrow shouldn’t be a problem but it’d be sod’s law that everyone wants to sleep in, wouldn’t it?!

We’ll see

Sad yesterday. Julie and the kids fit so well here, I wish they could move nearby. Julie was crying on Sunday because she had to go back. Who needs a father or husband right? Julie says she’ll never marry again, she loves her solitude and she’s set in her ways. And she has her kids. Her kids are her solace. They love and respect her so much-hard to find nowadays. She won her lawsuit last week against her ex. He has to pay his share of dental insurance. He has 5 days to appeal the decision and I think today is the 5th day. He told her he wasn’t going to pay no matter what they said. I wonder if he has to pay her lawyer bills too? Seems to me that $600 for one year would be a lot more manageable than court costs and two lawyers’ fees. He is a bitter, angry, shell of a man. Those kids deserve better.

Woke with a start this morning at 6:25. It was quiet in the house. I yelled her name 3 times before I got up and found her standing in her room dazed and wrapped in her robe. She took a shower last night so she was able to get ready in time. I am off this week. Yesterday, took Mom to Big Bowl for lunch with L. She seems rudderless. She said you can’t imagine what widowhood is like until it actually happens to you. He’s not there and it’s hard to comprehend that he never will be there again. Almost 2 years ago this month we found out that he had terminal cancer.

I dreamed I was living in a large house with 3 floors. Other people lived there too. I was in part of the walkout basement which had an area with a lot of plants/foilage in an indoor garden area dug into the basement floor. There were two people sleeping nearby. I was staring at the foilage in the dim lit and noticed a pattern of scales and the scales moved! They slithered and glided along the garden. I followed gleam of light moving along the scales until I could see what looked like a snakes head. When I realized that it was a snakes head, I turned around and slowly edged away but the snakes head moved with me and grew bigger as it followed along side me. I turned the corner and it did too. I started running and was able to get away. I know I told someone about the snake but no one could find it later. Miss Gem had her guitar lesson later and we couldn’t find her guitar. The last place we looked was in the basement. I woke up before I saw the snake again.

Miss Gem might try out for a play tomorrow. Jennifer wants her to. The tryouts are from 2:30-5 and she has a dentist appt at 3 so she told Jennifer she probably can’t try out. I know she really doesn’t want to do it but Jennifer talked her into it. We went to see her sing at the American Legion on Saturday. Her Dad played in a two-man band there. She did very well-she sang 2 Lincoln Park songs. I never heard of Lincoln Park before.

I still haven’t showered and it’s almost 8am. I want to go to Pier One today to Christmas shop.

One of the schools where I work has a set of 50 English-language storybook versions of Korean folktales. I’m planning to review the whole series. I will evaluate these books based on their titles, plot quality, the morals/lessons they offer, the art, and possibly their value as tools in teaching English. I’m going in order, from book one to book fifty.

Review 08: Faithful Magpies

Title/Cover: I’m generally a fan of magpies since they they’re basically crows that made a little more effort with their appearance, but ‘faithful magpies’ don’t really seem like a good basis for a story. On the other hand, the cover does not feature any magpies at all, but instead depicts a man being crushed to death by an enormous constricting snake. Colour me intrigued. 8/10

Plot: Like all action-packed stories, this one begins with a man leaving home to take the civil service exam. On his way, he comes upon a large snake in a tree preparing to devour a nest full of cute baby magpies, and kills the snake with an arrow. That night, just as it is beginning to get dark and he realizes he needs a place to rest, he finds a conveniently placed house deep in the wooded mountains. A lady in a white dress with what appears to be a tail offers him a room and cooks him a meal. Later, the man wakes up to find himself being crushed by a huge snake, who reveals that she is the husband of the snake he killed earlier.
The man insists that helping the magpies was the right thing to do, and the snake offers that “if the bell at the top of the mountain rings three times before dawn”, that would prove that he did the right thing, and he would be forgiven and allowed to live (I don’t see how this would prove anything, but we are dealing with shape-changing snakes that talk, so hey). Since bells at the top of mountains apparently don’t usually ring at night, the man is not optimistic. However, just before dawn breaks, the bell sounds three times, and the snake lets the man go as promised. The man heads to the bell to find that the magpies had rung it by flying head first into it. After burying the birds and reflecting on their sacrifice, the man proceeds to become “the most faithful government worker in the country.”
I feel like the civil service framing device was sort of shoehorned in there because there was no easy way to make this story about filial piety or something.5/10

Moral: Essentially, the magpie parents sacrificed themselves in order to repay the man who saved their children, and in the process left said children alone and defenseless, and they probably ended up being snake-wife’s lunch the next day. I guess if you’re trying to foster a government/corporate culture that encourages employees to neglect their families in favour of other obligations, this is a good message. 5/10

Art: Unremarkable, but serviceable. 5/10

Pedagogic Value: Pretty much this is just simple past tense and some new vocabulary. Some of the other stories in the series emphasized some particular sentence structure, but not so much in this one. “I can’t breathe!” is probably the most useful phrase from the book. 4/10

Pretty lacklustre overall, but I suppose it’s notable for introducing bureaucracy into Korean folklore.

really awesome snakes!
see guido mocafico for more.

on a side note…
is it bad that i want a snake skin purse?

Amazing colours and textures

to see more check out Mocaficos site

“Cruelty is one fashion statement we can all do without.”  ~Rue McClanahan
    

 …And why do we call them wild animals when man is a wolf to man?

I am pretty pleased with myself for taking action and donating to the Humane Society for the prevention of animal cruelty. I know, I know, many of you are thinking “My small donation won’t do anything to help” but the way I see it, we rationalize spending unneccessary amounts os money of material things we don’t need. Frankly, tell yourself your small donation won’t do anything is simply a lazy excuse NOT to act. I am not going to sit here, however and sound pretentious and self-righteous; Action is a cause only you should join if you are truly passionate about it. Your support employs people to rescue animals, shelter, research to investigate and find abuse and neglect, and also pays for the marketing of animal cruelty prevention. Action is power and of course, change.

We need animals more than they need us. They fulfil most of our needs, like foods, clothing and even comfort, but to hear and see them being treated so badly for no reason is savage. Baby seals are clubbed to death, and skinned while they are half-alive (a practice that is supposedly illegal, but not enforced), horses and cows are  abused for their meats, chickens, electro-shocked, pigs starved  and hurled by their ears into piles of other frighted pigs, then brutally murdered. I am not saying one should completely abandon meat, (that is of course, your choice) but have an awareness about animals.

If you do want to get involved, simply log on to www.saveanimalsnow.org and become a member, or donate whatever amount you feel necessary. A little goes a long way. Remember to support animal-free products (check on the backs on cosmetic products to know whether they items are harmless to animals), write letters to organizations ensuring equality, and be aware of the goings on of your own pet. Keep them inside, and get them tagged. Also, respect those who feel the need to stand up for their beliefs. To read this and judge me and other activists  as overly sensitive, ect. is unfair and pretentious.

Check out Earthling also, to be well-informed about animal mistreatment! Injustice is injustice no matter who or what is harmed, and therefore deserves action! Rack up some good karma for yourself, and get involved if you’d like.  Now, quotes about animal cruelty.

“No one in the world needs a mink coat but a mink.”  ~Murray Banks
“We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form. ” ~William Ralph Inge, Outspoken Essays, 1922

“Hunting is not a sport.  In a sport, both sides should know they’re in the game.”  ~Paul Rodriguez

“Animals give me more pleasure through the viewfinder of a camera than they ever did in the crosshairs of a gunsight.  And after I’ve finished “shooting,” my unharmed victims are still around for others to enjoy.  I have developed a deep respect for animals.  I consider them fellow living creatures with certain rights that should not be violated any more than those of humans.”  ~Jimmy Stewart”

“If we cut up beasts simply because they cannot prevent us and because we are backing our own side in the struggle for existence, it is only logical to cut up imbeciles, criminals, enemies, or capitalists for the same reasons.”  ~C.S. Lewis

“I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls.  They always say because it’s such a beautiful animal.  There you go.  I think my mother is attractive, but I have photographs of her.”  ~Ellen DeGeneres

Another snake meets its’ demise on the road.  I know DOR pictures are a bit morbid, but they are still educational.  First, I am even more aware just how prevalent copperheads are in my area (this one was 1/2 mile from my house).  Second, I realize I really can’t tell between northern, southern, and intergrade, no matter how I try.

Off of Highway 57, Rougemont, NC.

Common egg eater copies rhombic night adder

Snake park special report

Mr. P Donovan and his partner Sue have left Mokolodi and the Reptile Park is closed until further notice. The Park will now take over the management of the Reptile enclosure and other developments that need to take place. Its is hoped to set up a different vision of the snake park with a static museum display in the thatched hut with snake tanks with live specimens ,including bugs, scorpions beetles and spiders. Also the static display will include bird’s identification charts, animal skulls and horns, spoors of common animals found in the Park and other interactive fields of nature study

The Mokolodi Reptile Park and the conservation department of Mokolodi Nature Reserve and will continue to respond to call outs for injured animals or snakes for capture and relocation. At the moment Douglas McArthy and Melanie Biggadike are helping to restore this centre for opening next year as many people are fascinated by the world of reptiles and other creepy crawlies.

Snake Park Cobra

I’ll try to hide my Harry Potter posts so that spoilers will be hidden.  Just click on the “Continue Reading” link to see the full post.

Firstly, I’d like to suggest an alternate title for this chapter: How Not to Parent.  The Dursleys not only severely neglect Harry, but in doing so, teach their son how to mistreat Harry.  It’s clear in this chapter that the young Dudley follows by the example of his parents who not only cave to all of his demands but even encourage him act spoiled and treat Harry as a servant not a brother(more on that when Aunt Marge comes to visit…).  It really isn’t even until Dumbledore’s visit to 4 Privet Drive in HBP that the Dursleys are made aware of how they have truly ‘mistreated’ their own son.

In the visit to the zoo, the Dursleys  buy Dudley and Piers ice-creams and feel obliged to buy a “cheap ice-lolly” for Harry after the lady asks him what he wants.  I think it is interesting that Rowling mentions the cost of the lolly here because I don’t get the impression that the Dursley’s are disgruntled because of money.  I think it is more a dislike of the Potters and the wizarding world that leads them to mistreat Harry.  At every turn they will give him something inferior, but he is only really punished when something abnormal happens to him, something magical.

One of the most striking images of this chapter for me is the moment when Harry reveals that his most favourite physical aspect is his scar.  In my mind I see a small vulnerable child whose only connection to his real parents is the scar on his forehead, looking into a mirror and trying hard to recall the image of his parents, having only vague memory of a flashing green light.  This is definitely a build up to the moment when he stands before the Mirror of Erised and sees his whole family – perhaps one of the most poignant moments of this entire book.

We are also introduced in this chapter to Harry’s ability to talk to snakes.  There are no hints here of the relation of this power to any kind of dark magic, but this definitely comes into play in the next book.  Also, another familiar face appears in this chapter: Arabella Figg, Harry’s cat-loving neighbour, who turns out to be a squib and an ally of Dumbledore.