For the love of wolves and oceans.

Did you know the wolf is my favorite animal? I mean, I love ALL animals … but the wolf … the wolf has always been my favorite. I’d like to do my part to keep the wolf around for a long time.

To me, the wolf is a symbol of our forests, something that is becoming less important everyday, it seems.  Paving Paradise to Put up a Parking Lot. The wolf has loyalty to its family, another rarity in nature. Wolves are mystical and wise. Wolves are misunderstood animals that deserves their own place and protection. Wolves, deep down, are just as afraid of people, as most people are of them.

Are you aware that Sarah Palin supports the aerial hunting of wolves?

Not to mention the offshore drilling which will threaten marine life, coastal waters, and totally screw coastal economies?

Do you enjoy your beachy vacations? What if there comes a day when they are too polluted to enjoy .. when the ocean becomes too dirty to swim in that it will make us sick? I don’t know about you, but I’ve always dreamed of swimming with dolphins. Taking a cruise. Parasailing. What if one day, IN OUR LIFETIME, that just wasn’t an option anymore?

Are you okay with having a less beautiful world?

This video is about the aerial gunning of wolves issue, and it is brutal and upsetting. I couldn’t even watch it all the way through. But still, it’s reality, and this sort of reality hurts.

I’m just sayin’.

A few things we can do right now:

Check out Defenders of Wildlife. Support the PAW act by signing this.

While you’re at it, take a minute to stand up against the Bush/Cheney assault on endangered species.

Don’t like signing petitions online? Think they don’t get anywhere? Then write a letter. Make a phone call.

Just do SOMETHING.

If there’s one thing I will defend ’til the end, it’s the lives of innocent animals.

“The question is not, “Can they reason?” nor, “Can they talk?” but rather, “Can they suffer?” ~Jeremy Bentham

 
What happens on vacation …

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We recently returned from a 5 day trip down to beautiful North Carolina. We had a wonderful time, first visiting Raleigh and then heading off to the Crystal Coast.

Here’s a rehash:

Day One: 

Our drive down to Raleigh was a bit rough …. it poured torrential rains the entire trip, with maybe a 10 minute break of sunshine somewhere in Virginia I think.  It was the kind of rain where you think your windshield wipers might need replacing, and you can barely see the car in front of you.

But we made it, checked into our hotel and later visited with our friends (s)wine and momentofchoice who graciously toured us around Raleigh (thanks again guys!)  and took us to a nice little Irish pub, Hibernian.

During the tour, I was able to see where the design college is located, one which I’ve considered for perhaps continuing my graphic design education. Raleigh is also full of neat little shops and restaurants, beautiful neighborhoods, bike and walking paths … it’s a city with a unique and engaging ambiance. Not too big, not too small, and not too far away from the beach.

We didn’t spend much time there as we were leaving for the coast the following morning, but the time we did spend we greatly enjoyed. To Alex and Teresa, it was wonderful to meet you, and thank you for your hospitality, I hope we get the chance to visit again sometime =)

Day Two:

Heading to the Crystal Coast, we were greeted with wonderful weather. We had feared it would rain the entire time again but it was partly sunny the whole way.  It took us about 3 hours to get to the beach .. part of the way I could smell the pine trees which lined the highway on both sides. It was refreshing to see nice, long, CLEAN stretches of highway … something you don’t see much around here.

As always, the beach looked fabulous. I’m always amazed at how seeing that first glimpse of the ocean never gets old.

After we checked into our hotel, we went out driving around … had some lunch, grocery shopped, then headed back to the beach to spend some time in the sand. The surf was harsh, so we didn’t do much swimming that day.

That night we had dinner at McCurdy’s on Moonlight Bay, a recommendation from momentofchoice, and it was awesome! It wasn’t very crowded so we got an outside table just as the sun was starting to set. Grilled seafood, veggies & Red Stripe beer, mmmmm …. it was a lovely dinner.

Of course we couldn’t miss Obama’s speech, so we hurried back to the hotel room to watch it.

Day Three:

Started the day off with a trip to the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll shores. It was nice, not too crowded, which made me happy because my last aquarium experience was a horrid one … you couldn’t see the fish for all the children running rampant and their parents shoving them up to the glass to get a closer look.

Anyhoo, the NC Aquarium isn’t huge but it had a good bit of neat things to see … we took some great pictures there, two of which I plan to enter into the aquarium’s annual amateur photography contest. I’ll let you know how that goes!

At the aquarium I found an Orange Julius stand  .. I love those! I don’t think I’ve had one since I was little. I didn’t even know they still existed.

There is a nature trail at the aquarium and we started off walking it, but quickly turned back as it was FULL of mosquitos and biting flies. I wasn’t wearing good hiking shoes and left the bug spray at home, so we decided to do that another time.

We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant which I can’t remember the name of, and then spent the rest of the day back at the beach. I was delighted because the waters were much more calm and clear that day. I saw my first actual fish in the water, of all the times I’ve been to the beach, I’ve never actually seen a fish near me until now. I also saw an abundance of crabs, all sizes! First time for that too …. I guess the quieter the beach, the more animals you will see.

Day Four:

It took us quite a while on this day to decide what we wanted to do. We wanted to do something really fun since it was our last full day there, but the choices were just too many.

We finally decided on taking a ferry to the Outer Banks to a particular part called Shackleford Banks. It was about a 15 minute ride from the mainland, and I was sooooo glad we chose to do that. The island is home to 140 wild mustangs, and we were lucky enough to see two of them. We were just walking and saw people pointing and saying, “Oh how cool!” … looked behind us and there they were, a stallion and his mare. I heard people saying of all the times they had been to that island, it was the first time they had actually seen horses.

We also saw tons, and I mean TONS, of little tiny crabs. I was amazed at how many there were, and how they scurry to dig holes and get out of your way when they see you coming. I tried to get a picture, but all you can see is sand.

We were lazy on the island for 2 hours until the ferry came to pick us up.  We had dinner at a place called Finz which was recommended by our ferry tour guide and was right on the water. It was nice.

When we returned back to where we were staying, we strolled the beach around sunset, got some last minute pictures, and spent the evening at a little joint called Molly’s, which advertised beachside burgers and beer … it was right on the pier! The view was nice, the beer was cold, the live music was fun, and we didn’t ever want to leave.

Day Five:

We reluctantly left to come home, which is always depressing. I hate the feeling of driving away from the beach, not knowing when you can come back again. It’s so carefree there … it’s easier to breathe, it’s easier to get out and seize the day because there is so much more to do. It’s wonderful to soak up some vitamin D and I realized there how everything is milder and simpler … for the first time in a long time, I actually felt calm.

Just can’t wait to go back. That’s one beach I think I would never get bored of. Not too touristy, not too desolate.

Just right!

So now it’s back to my regularly scheduled bullshit … when I’m not at work, I’m sitting here at the laptop researching NC jobs and apartments, and when I’m not doing that, I’m trying to catch up on some reading. I have a stack of Harvey Pekar and Chuck Palahniuk books just waiting for me, and they’ve been waiting a damn long time. Note to self: Myspace/Facebook less, READ MORE ….

 
What you should know about Sarah Palin.

Just yesterday on Facebook I joined the group ‘1 Million Strong Against Sarah Palin’.

The group’s description reads:

John McCain’s running mate truly is evil. Since John is 72 years old and on deaths door this crazy gun-loving mother of five could one day be our president.

Here is some info I dug up there. My lovely husband informs me this isn’t news, but maybe there are some who haven’t heard it yet, lol. I just discovered the bit about her pregnant daughter and I’m surprised there are no jokes ruminating about this yet. As someone pointed out to me, you know what sort of jokes would be flying if it were Obama’s pregnant daughter? Let’s be real.

Bristol Palin is pregnant … however, Palin slashed funding for teen moms who needed a place to live.

Sarah Palin’s wiki page

Who is Sarah Palin? Here’s some background information:

* She was elected Alaska’s governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town of about 9,000 outside Anchorage.

* Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.

* She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000.

* Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.

* She’s doesn’t think humans are the cause of climate change.

* She’s solidly in line with John McCain’s “Big Oil first” energy policy. She’s pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won’t be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.

* In July of 2008, Sarah Palin became the subject of a state ethics investigation looking into whether she fired a top law enforcement official in her administration because he had failed to dismiss a state trooper who was involved in a divorce with Ms. Palin’s sister.

* Sarah never left the country before July 2007 when she needed to first obtain a passport before visiting Alaskan National Guard troops stationed in Kuwait.

*As mayor of Wasilia, Palin built - as her legacy - a $15 million multi-use indoor ice arena on land that did not belong to the city. It will cost Wasilla at least an additional $1.67 million to acquire the land which the town is attempting to pay for by cutting library services, postponing capital improvement projects, and raising fees.

 
And, we’re back.

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We had a fabulous trip which I will tell about in more detail later. Lonnngggg ride home yesterday, reminder to self: don’t drive that far in one big trip EVER AGAIN.

Later I will upload some pics onto Flickr MySpace and Facebook. The pic above was taken at the North Carolina Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores.

*update*

Frustrated with Flickr! So if you want to see our photo collection (I know, looking at other people’s vacation pics is usually boring), but just in case, lemme know.

 
I’m worried.

I’m worried about Gustav.

“The mother of all storms…”

“get your butts moving out of New Orleans right now!”

please not another Katrinagate ….

We are heading home (reluctantly) from Atlantic Beach tomorrow. More later.

 
Manifest Hope.

24642264_1_signpost_for_change.jpgYou can now view the 31 finalists of the Manifest Hope Gallery contest by MoveOn.org members and other grassroots artists. The five contest winners are on display this week at the Manifest Hope Gallery in Denver, Colorado. The winners were selected by several contemporary art curators, and also musicians such as Moby, DJ Spooky and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth.

 You may bid on any piece, proceeds go toward progressive causes and electing Obama.

All are awesome and inspiring. The one posted here is my favorite, titled Signpost for Change, by Lisa Marie Regan of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Also, check out this new music video, My American Prayer, featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Joan Baez, Forest Whitaker, Macy Gray, Joss Stone, Herbie Hancock and more.

 
Meet Joe Biden.

 
I approve this message too.

 
What to do?

We’re planning a quick little trip to Asheville and then to Wilmington, NC next week.

I’m doing some research to try to fit in a few things in here and there.  Of course I can’t get to the beach fast enough .. but does anyone know of any other must-see, must-do things around those 2 areas?

Has anyone been to the North Carolina Arboretum? We love to hike, thought that might be nice.

 
Hoo ha Hoo ha.

Does anyone else think this commercial is hysterical?