PixlBit

Looks like you've been making the most of your time off for the Winter.

We went to see Divergent a couple weeks ago as well. I didn't mind the movie, but I never read the books either, so I guess that makes it excusable for me.

Actually, I spent it getting fat and lazy on the couch and now I barely fit into my uniform pants and am seriously and sadly out of shape. Oh, well. I'll be in shape again soon enough.

Yay, Ranger stuff is back. Always a sure sign of Spring. :)

 I love your bird-related posts. I'm gonna have to do some paperwork today too after the doctor's. Even if they tell me I'm still sick, that work pile is already too damn high since I've been away. 

You also reminded me I need to get some of Macklemore's old (much less popular, but often even better) stuff on the station. 

As for Divergent, I hear mixed things. Online reviewers have naturally said it's the worst movie ever, while the YA loving women on my Facebook all say they enjoyed the book and movie.  I'll wait to see it, though I may read the first book at least to see what it's all about. 

I couldn't care less about Divergent though, really. I'm just pissed that they also made The Giver look like a Hunger Games knockoff, which is not AT ALL how I remember that book, and where is the black and white? I trusted you, Jeff Bridges. I even loved Tron: Legacy when it was critically panned, but this is unfuckingforgivable. That trailer looks like such trite shit. Hope I'm wrong but man am I skeptical. 

Divergent - I really liked the book, and that's probably why the movie was such a let-down. It's a better-written book than The Hunger Games, but comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. They're both about dystopian futures and have young female protagonists, but that's kind of all they really have in common. as for The Giver, I didn't care for the book, but from what I recall, it really didn't have a whole lot in common with The Hunger Games other than being set in a dystopian future and having a young protagonist. Actually, come to think of it, The Giver has more in common with Divergent than it does with The Hunger Games. Hmm...

I honestly never even read it as a dystopian future novel, just an allegory for God in The Giver, who provides heightened emotional experiences to a young man in an otherwise feelingless world, and an allegory at the end for abortion from what I could gather, given their Kevorkian practices with children. 

I need to read it again. My friend Austin is a big fan of the book, as was I when I read it, and he recently gave back the copy I lent him. It's short, so I'll have to get on that. It seems like I'm remembering a totally different book when people talk about it. 

And I am oh-so-happy to be back, even though there's still a good fott or more of snow on the trails.

I've got the third Leaf on the Wind in my bag. Was excited to read it at lunch today, but based on your comments, my excitement's now doubled!

UPDATE: Read it at lunch. Great issue, wish we could've had it as an episode of the show proper.

Too bad FOX didn't appreciate the awesomeness that was Firefly, or we could have had that as an episode.

hey man my parents have been watching Crossing Lines. They like it a lot. 

that's cool rangerness has started again.  I eagerly anticipate adventure stories!!!

So far, my adventures consist of stepping into a muck hole during low tide and almost getting a bootfull of mud, stepping onto what looked like solid ice and one foot going through into the stream below causing me to fall on my face, and slipping on a patch of ice and doing a Wile E. Coyote impression. All of which must have looked hilarious. I was laughing, I mean, if you can't laugh at yourself, wo can you laugh at?

haha, perhaps you need a reality TV show: "The Physical Comedy of Tami the Ranger".  Half of it could have you getting into spills, and the other half rescuing animals.  It'd be fun for the whole family! 

Nah, I recommend just watching North Woods Law instead. Besides, if I had a reality show, the bigwigs in the capitol might realize I exist. I much prefer to fly below the radar!

me too.  I am stealth Snee. 

That Crossing Lines show sounds interesting. I might have to check it out.

Yeah Ranger stuff! Its funny to hear someone's job related to being outdoors, yet they have to fill out paperwork. Dang that paperwork, and new policies! The deer remains sound interesting. 

I work for the government, there's always paperwork involved, lol.

As soon as I find my USB card reader, I'll post some pics. The one of the deer remains looks like it came out really well, but it's hard to tell from a 2" screen. I'm hoping the skull didn't get hauled off too far and that no one grabs what's left, because it would be cool to have for when we do nature programs.

Children of Earth was an amazing story...  plus it has the new Doctor.

The fourth season is the one after Children of Earth, Miracle Day. I thought it was pretty good, but apparently general consensus differs with my opinion. But yes, Children of Earth was excellent.

I still have to watch Miracle Day.  I do look forward to watching it, but just haven't gotten around to it yet.

You're returning to Ranger work and one of my best friends is returning to scenic Rhinebeck, NY to work the same Spring through Fall that you do, working in the kitchens of The Omega Institute [http://www.eomega.org/], walking around the lake, and hobnobbing with all the New Agers. Ah, if only I could find something similar for myself. I want to report on the birds' activities too.

Check with your local state park system. You never know until you try. As long as you don't mind starting out as a seasonal, there are usually opportunities out there. Audobon centers frequently hire for seasonals, too. Just remember the crap wages, though. My boss Andy's son is making more in his work study job than I do as a ranger. I do get really good benefits, though.

I'm going to check those out. Crap wages or not, I want to get into stuff like that.

I'm excited that you're back at work in the park now, it usually means even more neat pictures of the wildlife and things you come across. I always love the pictures.

I've been using netflix to watch some documentaries lately. I watched all the orca related docs I could find. First I saw Blackfish, which chronicles the story of the male orca Tilikum whom was captured and stolen from his family as a baby and then has gone the rest of his life in captivity, killed two trainers, and really has had a heartbreaking story. I never realized how much misinformation and nastiness has gone on around sea parks over the years.

Then I saw one called The Whale about a male orca Luna that got lost or seperated from his pod as a kid and managed to survive right off the coast of Vancouver Island and began socializing with the humans, and people were unsure of what to do about it. The native First Nations believed Luna to be the reincarnation of their late tribal leader, the local government wanted to keep people from interacting with Luna so they could keep all parties safe, and all the citizens were developing relationships with him and going out on their boats to spend time and play with him.

Then I saw a short older Discovery tv special about orcas that I'd already seen but wanted to rewatch on netflix. They talked about their intelligence, the different varieties of orcas, transient orcas and how they adapt to hunt new prey in new places around the world. Evidence of orcas killing white sharks as well as their dolphin cousins was probably the craziest thing in that special. It was a pretty okay show but it was mostly about hunting. I prefer the documentaries that talk about orca pods, the emotional capacity and behavior of orcas, and the life long solidarity pods have.

I love Orcas, they've always fascinated me. Andy (my boss) and I had a conversation at the time of the second trainer's death about how it shouldn't have come as a shock to anyone who knows anything about orca biology and intelligence. Orcas are highly intelligent and social, and what they did to Tilikum essentially amounted to cruel and unusual treatment. Any highly intelligent social creature who is deprived of the comfort of others of its kind goes mad. It amounts to  the equivalent of locking a child in a basement and denying it social interaction, and we all know how well those children turn out. I can't bring myself to watch Blackfish, it'll just make me too sad and angry.

When your plans of moving to WA come to fruition, you'll be in the perfect place. There are several places that run orca watches. I always wanted to go when I'd visit my mom when she lived out there, but it was always too early in the season.

The orca watches sound amazing, it's one thing I didn't think about till now. Whenever I think about moving to WA I think about searching for lighthouses, and hiking around Olympic National Park. Now that you mentioned orca watches happen up there it'll have to be a must for me when I move out there.

Watching Blackfish made me sad and angry. I didn't know any of Tilikum's story going into it so it was all fresh. As heartbreaking as Blackfish was to watch I learned a lot about how big their brains are, how they can experience intense emotions, and how important the pods/socialization/solidarity are to orcas. I'm stunned and fascinated by how intelligent and social they are, it's like nothing else I've ever seen or heard of before. In the documentary The Whale about the orca Luna off the coast of Vancouver Island one of the filmakers was mentioning how there's some people who look to outer space hoping to find intelligent life and have a transcendent experience with a unique being, but he felt those feelings and got that experience here on Earth by being close to Luna and socializing with him.

I think it's generally super interesting to study intelligence in creatures whether it's humans, felines, apes, etc, but learning about orcas is something on a different level. Saying they're like humans seems kind of cruel because they seem a little nicer than us lol, but I think you'd understand what I mean. It's almost like coming across a human-like alien, like a human in the sea. Similar to us in a lot of ways yet completely alien. Ancient and evolving in their own ways with their own awareness, feelings, families, and diversity. Gosh they're an infinitely fascinating and mind blowing evolution of life; orcas are something amazing.

Yeah, as it goes along Supernatural has some really good moments mixed together with some really headscratching ones.

I hate the cutesy ones, it's like they're trying too hard.

I like Torchwood.  I hadn't watched it in a while though.

I saw Divergent with my wife last week.  I didn't read the books, but I thought it was ok.  I would of been better as a tv mini-series though.  My wife read the books.  She thought the movie was ok.

I started up Tales of Graces f.  I'm about 10 hours in.  It's pretty good.  I didn't like that part where I had to find the lever to raise the draw bridge though.  It was a bit confusing.  

I bought Serenity: Leaf on the Wind #3 last week and I still hadn't read it yet.  I'll make sure to read it tonight.

Oh, that drawbridge section! I thought it was going to drive me crazy! I ended up drawing a map so I could figure out where the heck I was, where I'd been, and how to find things again. At the time I played that part of the game, there were very few walkthroughs available, and I don't think there was a map for that section yet.

Since outdoorsy stuff is being talked about, I thought I'd remind everyone that Island of Lemurs: Madagascar IMAX is out in theaters starting Friday. 

I did my first research paper in sixth grade on Lemurs. 

Hi Tami....I know you're glad to be out and about after such a long winter. I look forward to a new season of Ranger Tales and Photos. It's always interesting to see whats happening in the great Maine Woods. See ya later....

another person reading that serenity comic. I am really missing out on things +(