Beavers: Much More Than Purple Merkins in Canada

For the life of me, I cannot understand why humans attempt over and over and over again to hassle wild animals.  (Think back to 2006: Steve Irwin and the stingray death...)  But most recently, a fisherman in Belarus was apparently attacked by a beaver after trying to snap a fancy picture of the animal.  It bit him in the thigh and severed a major artery and he bled to death.  (That's hawt...)  The video below is of a different attack of a Russian man trying to capture a beaver just doin' its thing and it turns and attacks him.  Can ya blame the little fella?

I can see the thrill of wanting to capture wildlife through photography or video -  FROM A GAWD DAMN DISTANCE!  What I do not understand is relentlessly following an animal and then NOT expecting it to turn on you to gnaw the living shit out of your sorry ass. 

Moral of the story?  Beavers are much more than just one of Canada's national symbols or fancy merkins to dress up your privates... they are animals with big arse teeth that bite through freakin' TREES!  THINK ABOUT IT.

 

A purple merkin.... if you're into that sort of thing.
Who knew???

source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/04/11/newser-beaver-kills-man/2074145/

You are a Racist A$$HOLE, King.

The po po are at it again and it's not pretty.  Florida, you are pitiful.  You don't even bother to try and hide your racist, pathetic ways, do you?

FORMER police Sgt. Ron King apparently asked some folks if they wanted to practice shooting at targets that looked like a "faceless silhouette of a person in a hoodie holding a beverage can, a pack of Skittles candy tucked in a pocket."  Sound familiar?  That's because young Trayvon Martin was wearing a hoodie, holding a beverage and a pack of skittles the night he was shot and murdered in February of 2012 by George Zimmerman; the now high profile case in Florida.  Coincidence?  I don't think so.

King has this as a "training video" on YouTube (when are people going to learn that YouTube is not a place to post ANYTHING that resembles a video to be seen by others!?) and said the target was meant as a 'no-shoot' training aid.  Oh really?  I'm so sure we're all that stupid, Mr. King.

He has apologized to the Martin family.  Oh how very.  I'm sure they really care what you have to say.  He has been fired.  Well, that's not enough.  I don't know how we can ever end the madness of racism in our country when the ignorance of people like Mr. King do shit like this and pretend it to be something completely different than the obvious.  Not funny.  Not cool.

Rant over.

source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/14/travyon-martin-ron-king/2081467/

Less is More

The best thing I've read so far in my American Literature class is a poem called "In a Station of the Metro" published in 1916 by Ezra Pound.  It is said to be one of the best representations of the "imagist" movement in poetry.  I say less is more because the poem only contains fourteen words, but I think after you read it, you'll see why I say that.

I tend to fixate on poets who can do this.  I find it to be one of my favourite aspects of good writing in poetry and I don't think many can pull it off.  There are only a few that I know of that can do it well and when you read their poetry, you are left thinking of the images for the rest of the day.  Pure, raw and gripping.  I love it. 

My lame-o classmates didn't want to discuss the poem at all and unfortunately the professor moved on from it because no one had any opinions to share (except for me)! Jerks!  I had a comment I was going to bring up about an author that could really use "less" rather than "more" in her writing.  Danielle Steel - PAY ATTENTION!  I tried to read one of her books and had to put it down after 50 pages.  I'm actually surprised I got that far.  Thesaurus much, Danielle?  Geezus!

I would love some (serious) reaction to the poem.  Thoughts?  What does it make you think of?  Do you even like it?  Do you agree that "less is more" here?  In poetry?  In general writing?  

 

School, Work and Life are all Kicking my Arse

As I can see by the emails, phone calls, text messages and all the thoughts & prayers that everyone has sent my way (I counted zero), you all have deeply missed my presence here, so I thought that I would write a quick note to say that school, work and life are all kicking my arse (British English Anglo-Saxon word for the buttocks, usually replaced by the euphemistic "ass" in US/Canadian English).

I am taking the most atrocious American Literature class and although I LOVE to read, I reckon that I will  read Huckleberry Finn exactly NEVER again, even if it means I have to ride my own raft down the Mississippi to escape from doing so. 

Also, I am taking two Social Work classes and although I love them so much, my classmates are nothing short of annoying.  I know I need to gain tolerance, but it is very difficult to do this when they ask stupid questions such as "Will this be on the test?"   Why must we ask that question?  Can we all just assume that if the professor is talking about it that it is probably important enough to remember?  Come on, people.  What's going to happen when your client tells you they are homeless?  Are you going to ask them if they are looking for somewhere to live?  We need to start thinking and using that thing in our skull called a brain.

I also just started a new job (for the second time in the last two months - long story, no need to get into that here...) and have been doing trainings which I have loved and hated.  Orientations are more like DISorientations.  And sitting for 6-8 hours at a time makes my arse hurt.  However, the formalities are all done now and soon I can start to mentor youth.  (Lucky kids, huh...)

Life in general is busy and in four weeks I will be done with school for the semester leaving me with exactly FIVE classes until graduation.  Perhaps I can swing by and post some more totally interesting blogs when the middle of May is upon us.  ;)

gawd hates figs.