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 |   Reflections and ruminations from a modern day Alice - Life is Wonderland |
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Reflections and ruminations from a modern day Alice - Life is Wonderland  Welcome to the place were I chronicle my own falls down dark holes and adventures chasing white rabbits! Come on In, Take a Bite, You Never Know What You May Find... "Curiouser and curiouser." Alice in Wonderland    |
| 30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT November 21st Is there a TV show/movie/book from your childhood that you still enjoy today? Tell us why it resonates with you. It may just be the seasonal nostalgia, but the classic Christmas movies I watched as a child, still number among my most favorites. I loved introducing my daughter to the original animated Grinch, or those quirky stop-action clay films like Rudolph and Frosty. She loves them, will watch them eagerly year after year. Recently we watched the original "A Christmas Story" and she laughed at Ralphie in his bunny suit and covered her mouth in mock horror when the Bumpus hounds ate the father's Thanksgiving turkey. I marvel at how dated some of the films are but they are such classics that they tradition drives you to watch them with delight time and time again. They come out with new Christmas movies every year but its these old standards that top the list for me, and my daughter. I find them comforting and familiar and those are sentiments I can appreciate in a world that seems increasing hostile and unsettled all the time. |
| 30-Day Blogging CHallenge PROMPT November 20th SeaWorld. Good? Bad? Ugly? What is your opinion of zoos and aquariums? I'm not usually one to re-purpose blogs but this topic is one I wrote about exactly back in 2013 and my opinions have not changed. I don't think there is anything more I could add or change so I'm sharing the original blog from October 2013 which was inspired after I watched the CNN aired, "Blackfish" film. It was very thought-provoking for someone for whom Seaworld was such an influential experience in my youth. The only element of this original blog that is date is the mention of Tilikum, who has since died. October 25th 2013 Blackfish - a personal take on a global movement CNN debuted Blackfish last night and I watched it. I also watched a few of the post-viewing panel shows immediately following the broadcast. I'm still digesting everything this morning. First and foremost, I admit, without any real shame, that I am a child of Seaworld. My parents took us there as children, at least a few times. For me, it only took that first visit to convince me that my true calling was to be a Seaworld trainer. My siblings became brilliant surrogates for orcas and dolphins as I practiced what I believed to be, the skill set of my destined career. The fact is, I fell in love at Seaworld. I fell in love with the sounds, the smells, those shiny multi-toned wetsuits, the animals and in particular, those Killer whales. I believed along with the millions of other people, that this place was magical. I raised my hand as high as I could, praying along with every other child, that I would be the one selected to go up and meet Shamu. The experiences I had at Seaworld were the foundation for a lifelong fascination with the ocean and the inspiration for my pursuit of marine biology for at least a large part of my educational life. My attraction to the orcas in particular fueled a field focus on apex predators in general and instilled in my a passion to understand and learn more about their important roles in the ocean's complex ecosystem. Seaworld was responsible in many real ways for the wonderful and enriching opportunities and experiences I had during my years of study: my stint as a High School aquanaut, my trips to Australia and New Zealand as part of youth science exchange, my Semester at Sea on a beautiful schooner and floating science lab, my semester of study in Hawaii on the big Island and so much more. While my friends were asking for cars for graduation, I was pleading for permission to do cage dives with Great Whites off the coast of California or camp out with the Orca pods in British Columbia. In summation, Seaworld turned on something inside me that may have forever lain dormant and unexplored. I can not help but think about that truth when I see the posts and hear the calls to boycott Seaworld as Blackfish is released to the world. I am, as a now more educated adult, seriously conflicted. What Blackfish gets so right in this film are the basic facts about these magnificent animals...they are highly intelligent beings, capable of emotion connections and a sense of self-awareness virtually unparallelled in the animal kingdom. They are very social animals that maintain family bonds so strong that individual pods are really family groups that extend into multi generational communities, which researchers have discovered, develop their own habits, language and behaviors over time. These are animals that are known to regularly traverse great distances, hunt in highly evolved pack units and display remarkable problem-solving abilities. In the wild, they routinely react to humans with curiosity and remarkable amenability, never with aggression. It is my belief there is no marine mammal more ill-suited for captivity with the isolation, the lack of adequate space and the obvious restrictions to pursue their natural instincts to hunt, to communicate and socialize or to breed. I saw in Blackfish, that while Seaworld is profiting from these animals, they are also providing a vehicle for exposure for generations like mine to see, and in some cases, touch these amazing animals. Without Seaworld, would we even know how much we could deeply care for Killer Whales? Without Seaworld, would we even be able to know or care why their captivity is so inherently wrong? I don't believe so. The trainers and animal custodians that participated in this film were clearly moved by the animals in their care, driven to protect them and form relationships, meaningful ones with them. I believe the vast majority of their peers feel exactly the same. Seaworld is not simply the corporate giant, the money-machine...it is also a collection of people brought together by their love for these animals. When accidents happen, they are heartbroken both for the loss of human life as well as for the impact on the animals. When they talked about separating the mothers from their babies, there was guilt and anger as well as sorrow and a very common grief. If you took a cross-section of people at Seaworld at all levels, you would find far more good, caring and concerned people than bad. I have to believe that. So what's the answer? Boycotting Seaworld? Releasing the all captive Killer whales and their biological cousins around the world? I'm not sure I could answer today with any certainty. However, there are some things I support very strongly in the wake of viewing this film. #1. Seaworld should cease any and all captive breeding practices. These animals are not breeding spontaneously. They are being farmed, artificially inseminated. Worse, Seaworld is introducing the bond and then routinely severing it by removing the calves from their mothers. Anyway you look at this, given the maternal and familial bonds these animals form, this is moral and ethically wrong. The Killer whale population, as far as I know, is not threatened by extinction. There is no reason, outside of sheer profitablity, to make these animals reproduce. Most states have banned puppy mills, isn't this not the same evil on a much grander scale? At the moment, this is by far the biggest problem I have with Seaworld. #2. Seaworld should take a cue from some of the most respected zoological facilities in the world...develop actual habitats designed around the animal's care and comfort - not pools and tanks largely not updated over the last 30 years. Animals should be showcased for their natural beauties and abilities...don't ride them, don't make them do ridiculous tricks and behaviors that would never been seen in the wild. Wouldn't people be awed to see them up close, just being? - do we really need the music, the fanfare and spectacle to be impressed? No. I tell you this, just being on the other side of a viewing pane when an 11000lb Orca cruises by and locks eyes with yours...that's enough for most human beings to be awed, to fall in love. Seaworld recently responded that the concept of sea pens, ocean corrals were not suited for long-term care without stating any reasoning at all for that determination. So why not? Release at this point is not realistic nor in the best interest for many of these whales, so why not move them to a place that is more reminiscent of their habitat? Give them real seawater, the chance to catch their own food. The chance to live out their lives as close to naturally as they can. #3. There a many ocean parks and aquariums around the world, perhaps none with the same resources available to Seaworld. Why not make the switch more toward actual education and conservation? Engagement is key here so ask the public to be involved as more than simply spectators. Educate first, starting with the staff. One of the most startling revelations for me in the film is when a senior trainer admits that once she left Seaworld and begin to seek knowledge about the whales, she realized that she really knew nothing about the animals she had trained. She knew how to train them, but not anything about them. Seaworld is missing an opportunity to be an innovator in change and conservation, they need only restructure, reassess, reapply talents and resources. #4. The current population of captive orcas is a disadvantage. I'm not sure even the most respected marine biologist in the field could predict the changes these animals would have released back into the wild. Would their natural instincts find a way to the surface after their long years of captivity? Would they find adoptive pods that would welcome them as long-lost and distance relatives? Or would they be bullied, isolated, starved? I only know that these parks have created this situation and have the responsiblity to care for them in the best way possible for the animals. Stop breeding them, stop propagating Tilikum's bloodline, - become the moral caretakers of these magnificent animals and do right by them to the extent all the resources allow. If the young ones can be released and tracked, do it. Their survival may hold the key to other Killer whales gaining freedom. I'm not sure if releasing Tilikum is the answer for him...I only know his fate is one that makes me incredible sad. The image of him floating nearly lifeless for hours in his small tank, is tragic. Tilikum was not born with his aggression, it was not his nature. Aggression was nurtured in him, even if it was unintentional. Will I boycott Seaworld? Would I support a worldwide effort to seek the boycotting of Seaworld? I still can't answer that. I will tell you that on a recent trip through Orlando airport while shopping for a gift for my daughter, I eyed the beautiful Seaworld store for a few minutes before passing it by. I can tell you that today, I would not take my daughter there. Ultimately, Seaworld's refusal to participate or respond to Blackfish in any substantial and appropriate manner, has left a bad taste in my mouth. Today I would not buy a ticket or purchase their products. Seaworld is not a zoo, not research facility...its a themepark. I have come to understand that. I believe however that they can change. I believe they have the resources to change for the better. I reserve the right to not condemn them, yet. If I had not be able to walk through those gates, I would have not been fundamentally changed in such a positive way myself. I'm really afraid that closing those gates forever may prove to be a bigger injustice to the future generations into who's hands we will leave this planet and its oceans. |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT November 19th As I’m sure you’re aware, November is NaNoWriMo and the site is abuzz with novelists typing furiously to reach their word count goals. What motivates you to write? Writing has always been cheaper than therapy. That sounds a bit cheeky but writing has largely been the way I processed and dealt with things that happened to me in my life, be they traumatic or wonderful. As far as blogging and writing non-fictional pieces, it gives me the opportunity to examine how I feel about things and reflect on the effects those experiences have on me as a person. I believe it is true that there is always some degree of truth in fiction, so there is almost always something I can learn about myself as I craft characters and lay out the basic plot lines that become my stories. I'm motivated by the method, by the discoveries that I make through writing. I'm also motivated to leave something behind for my daughter. I write a lot of her through the various stages of her growth and development. When I was pregnant I asked a lot of questions and was struck by how many mothers said they could not remember things that I assumed would be indelible like milestones or experiences as a young parent. I never wanted to lose those memories, those moments. By writing about them, about her, I feel that I leave this record for the both of us. She can read through my writings and remember what she was like as a child, but also and most importantly, realize I was there with her...cheering her, teaching her and loving her through it all. I've never attempted Nano...even this 30 Day challenge is something I need to work at all the time. I know I need discipline. I know that I could be so much more as a writer if I could devote the time and the discipline to the craft. This is perhaps my biggest frustration...that I love to write, that I believe that I have some ability to write, and that it is always the thing I do last...the thing that gets the back seat in my life, because well...life gets in the way. |
| "Blogging Circle of Friends " DAY 2188 November 15, 2018 "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." With that in mind, what's beautiful to you? Beauty is a highly relative quality which gives it a wonderful kind of power. I often tell my growing daughter to "be your own beautiful", encouraging her to take all the liberties the quality of being beautiful affords her, inside and out. I find many things beautiful, chief among those things are my daughter's sea-change eyes and her ever evolving spirit. Beauty is a reflection of what is inside us as much as anything else. My daughter has a kind heart and that translates into a beauty and serenity that I see more and more as she matures. I have learned to take more time to appreciate the things in the world that I find most beautiful. I spend more time taking in my most favorite landscapes, like the beach forest of the Outer Cape in mid-August or that first new virgin snow on a crisp winter morning. I love flying over the cranberry bogs in the Fall, with airplane casting a shadow over the ripe, red berries floating below us. |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT November 15th Have you ever had a lucid dream? What was it about? If you could control your dreams, what would you want to spend your dreams doing? I am not an active dreamer, most likely because I am not a brilliant sleeper. Without the foundation of a solid night's sleep, it must be difficult for any dreams, let alone lucid ones, to take root and spread their nocturnal ribbons around my slumbering brain. There was a short period in my mid teens and early twenties when I suffered from the same reoccurring nightmare. It was very lucid and very violent. It always began with a chase, the surge of panic as I tried to get ahead of the danger. It always ended the same way, with me watching my blood pool below me and my hands at my throat. I always woke as the blade bit flesh, often with the scream still hanging about me. It made for interesting sleepovers and more than one bewildered college roommate. It was disturbing enough that I talked with a professional about it once or twice. I tried writing about it and I even briefly considered it could be part of a past life. Eventually the dream came less and less often until it disappeared altogether somewhere in my late twenties. I still can remember that quaking panic as I fled from that unseen attacker and I am grateful whatever was inspiring the lucid nightmare was somehow resolved. If I had control of my dreams, I think I'd like to see some of my stories brought to life in them. I'd like to see my characters and the story lines played out in lucid, living color...a private showing of a movie of my own making. It might be nice to examine my fiction in that way, with dimension and physical movement. If I could script a dream just for me, I'd spend the midnight hours traveling by train or taking one of those incredibly expensive Viking cruises. I'd love to take the European River cruise and spent my sleeping time drifting down the Danube or spying on fairy castles on the Rhine. I'd dream and dream hard...taking in all those magical sights that I could never afford in real life! |
| 30-Day Blogging PROMPT November 14th It's time for another prompt from the War Chest! Take a stab at this one: Share your first experience with love. No ... not like that. This prompt is challenging because my interpretation of love has evolved so much over time that I'm not sure I'd define some of my first experiences as "love" in the traditional manner. My first crush is pretty evident in my memory, a boy named Brian Bradshaw who was the blonde and blue-eyed apple of my eye from first grade to fourth. My first experience with love though, that's become much harder to pin down. Looking back, my first boyfriend wasn't love...nor was my second or third. The guy I dated through high school felt like a frustrated experiment dripping with teen angst, not the kind of love that sustains one through even the first semester away at college. My first real long-term relationship might have been love but it was the kind that disguises itself as a red, pulsing passion that so easily hid the violence and jealous rage at its core. That was a love I had to save myself from, flee the broken glass and broken promises, clenched fists and whispered threats. Then, I've also buried love, the kind of love that falls prey to demons and addiction no matter how badly you pray and fight to love it. Sometimes love is not enough to save someone from themselves, that is the kind of love that breaks you in ways you can never really fix again. You leave that kind of love in the ground, along with the hope you once had that it would grow and bloom in that once in a lifetime love. My first experience with love, the real, sustaining love was when I met my husband. It was that warm, healing kind of love that seeps across the wounded places in your heart like a soothing balm. It was the kind of love that powers a life together. I thought at the time that it was also the most powerful love there was but even then I have been proven wrong. When my daughter was born almost nine years ago, the love I experienced was that epic, all consuming, full blown forever, I would die for this person...love. It was the kind of love that grew inside me, under my heart, connected to my soul. It is the kind of love that grounds me, makes me want to live each day the best version of myself I can be...for her. It is the kind of love that knows no limits, no conditions and no end. |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT November 13th "If you do what you really want to do, you feel like you're playing." - Stan Lee (1922-2018). Stan Lee passed away yesterday, Monday November 12th. What is your opinion of superhero movies? Were Stan's stories a part of your life? Okay, admittedly I had to google Stan Lee. I am not a huge superhero fan but I still felt oddly ashamed that the name did not ring any bells given how prolific the Marvel universe is in the entertainment world. Clearly the man was a giant and I should really get out from under that rock once and a while! Stan Lee and his movies have not had any impact on my life, I have enjoyed some of them. I really liked the Avengers. I found it refreshing and entertaining. It was a great escape, which is something I value highly in my movies. Lastly, there is this...I know there is this vast world of difference between Marvel and DC, but as a child I was virtually obsessed with Wonder Woman. Linda Carter was my amazonian goddess hero and I had the under-roos to prove it! I would race about the house in those themed underclothes, with my cape and my arm bands, fighting evil before taking off in my invisible jet. From the age of 6-9, Wonder Woman was my jam. Seriously. |
| 30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT November 9th Did you know? The veins of a blue whale are so wide, a 3 year old child could swim through them? Spend your blogging time today thinking about size. Scale is important in writing - how do you use it? If you're up for it, try examining something extremely small and describing it as if it were the size of a car. Can you get your readers to guess what you're describing? For some reason I am finding these challenge prompts to be very taxing on my muse lately. This one comes as no exception. Size isn't something I spend a lot of time thinking about, at least not in sense of the physical scale of things. As far as describing something small that's the size of car...well I will give that a shot but I'm not overly optimistic  . The sun was rapidly waning, giving over to the painted summer evening sky in small increments of diminished light. Even as it sank, several stubborn rays clung to the hem of her stiff skirt, setting all the tiny crystals ablaze with its light. The setting sun moved across her petite frame like a loving shadow, as she turned smoothly on one delicate toe. The music that had played once played so robustly, too seemed to be fading with the daylight. The chords seemed to stretch and then die out as the notes dropped off as if with the day. The square where she performed had emptied as well. People and their packages rushed away, off to their winter night lives. Free from their admiring gazes, she longed to lower her arms and relax her posture. She wanted more than anything, to open her angelic eyes and watch the sunset. She indulged the fantasy of tossing off the rigid headpiece, shaking her long hair free and climbing down from the pedestal to stand on the cold stone in flat, bare feet. Any guesses? |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge - Nov 8th You've made it a full week! Congratulations! Today I want to know, what do YOU think makes a good blogger? What are characteristics that make you want to read someone else's blog? If you were judging your own blogging ability, how would you rate yourself? What aspects of blogging are most important to you? Some days it takes a lot for me to blog...like today, my day job is tearing me down from my ankles up and I'd much rather go home and crawl into bed than actually formulate a blog. But...its too early to start in on a glass of wine and I've made this commitment to myself to at least try to blog daily to keep the creative switch on. So obviously, I'm not an expert on what makes a writer a good blogger but I have a sneaking suspicion it could be dedication? Or the will to blog often and with meaning. I think the blogs I enjoy reading the most are the ones that are candid and open. They are filled with personal stories or opinions that connect me to the writer, the details I can relate to are what draw me in. What is important to me about blogging is that it is always there, like a reliable friend with a good shoulder and good ear for listening. It gives me comfort, gives me a voice. So, even on those days that I really am not "feeling it", it is still an outlet that inspires me to read and contribute too. |
| "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Day 1787 November 7, 2018 Prompt: There are two kind of writers: plotters and pantsers. Plotters outline, planning their beginning, middle and ending. Pantsers don't write first drafts. They fly by the seat of their pants. Are you a plotter or a pantser? I am by all accounts a pantser. I would love to have the organization and the discipline to be a plotter but I just do not possess either of those traits when it comes to my writing. When I have an idea, I tend to bust through it, writing in a great initial bursts for as long as I can. I do go back and edit my drafts but I do not usually change it or revise it in any meaningful way that would make it an official "first draft". It is something I feel I need to work on as a writer. I need to develop more discipline and take the time to plan out the pieces so that when I run out of steam, I have somewhere to pick up and go back to. |
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