Day: October 14, 2013

The Missing Lynx

indigoshellLeave a comment

One of the animals I was most interested in during camp was Jazz, the Canadian Lynx.

I waited a long two sessions (four weeks!) before finally capturing a slight glimpse of him.

I remember always, always craning my neck to see if I could spot Jazz in his enclosure. Missouri is always hot, and Jazz has quite a bit of fur, so it was obvious that he wouldn’t like to be outside in the heat. Yet somehow, many people said that they would spot Jazz while on their way to the nursery or barn, so I would always pause for a few moments to see if I could spot Jazz.

I stayed at camp for three two-week sessions and by the start of the third and last session I had almost nearly given up hope on seeing Jazz.

There was a counselor sitting in his enclosure feeding him a hunk of meat. I could hear the crunch of the bones from where I stood, outside the cage fence, staring in.

It was really dark in the enclosure, and I think it was cloudy that day too. Jazz had a slight glint in his eyes while he chewed, keeping a careful eye on the counselor, some other campers, and I while we watched him.

As the days at camp got cooler I saw Jazz more and more, though I never had the time to really watch him. Campers weren’t allowed in his enclosure anymore, though while he was a kit he was allowed to be held and bottle fed.

I’m still quite upset that I couldn’t pet Jazz, or at least sit in his enclosure with him or even toss him a dead, bloody chicken. I sort of just wanted to sit on the ground and watch him, creepy as that sounds.

Rush

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

On Saturday night, I went to see the movie Rush. Going into it, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about a movie that focused solely on car racing. But the movie exceeded my expectations in every way.

Rush is a movie that focuses on the rivalry during the 1970’s between Formula 1 racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda. The film does a phenomenal job of creating three-dimensional characters who push each other to the breaking point, and at times, to the brink of death.

The filming of the movie was very well done, as was the soundtrack, the combination of which turned the races into intense and extreme moments, even for the audience. The actors fit perfectly together and managed to re-create a time and a lifestyle that we would never be able to experience for ourselves.

I was thoroughly impressed by the movie for many reasons. It was definitely one of the better ones I have seen this year, if not ever. Rush was very well done.

Worst Person 31-Raptors Mascot

backinphillyLeave a comment

Well, I’m back and ready to get another worst person in sports out. This episode doesn’t even involve an athlete or a coach or even an owner. There’s no front office propaganda or anything like that. No crimes were committed, but a MASCOT tore his Achilles.

Yup, you read that right.

The Toronto Raptors’ mascot tore his Achilles tendon during a performance for a school in Halifax.

The main problem with this is that now Toronto doesn’t have a mascot. For some reason, every article I’ve read about this “injury” classifies the Raptors as a team with playoff aspirations.

Let’s take a more in-depth look at this accusation. I feel a little weird writing about basketball during football season, considering that of the big four professional sports in the US, basketball is at the bottom of my list.

Other than Rudy Gay and Kyle Lowry, there’s not a whole lot of talent on their predicted starting five.

Quite honestly, I don’t even remotely care about the state of the Toronto Raptors, or basketball at all right now. It’s football season.

I just think it’s a little bit strange how a MASCOT is getting national recognition when his team plays in Canada.

That’s just two things that don’t register with me.

Are Electronic Cigarettes safe?

infamousdolphinLeave a comment

The use of Electronic cigarettes has sky rocketed during the last 3 years with the promise of providing a safe alternative to the pesky, cancer causing tobacco cigarettes. However, is that promise true? Or are the users  getting their money snatched out of their hands in an elaborate scam?

Considering that Electronic cigarettes contain no tobacco, they are not subject to the United States tobacco laws, which means that it’s not necessary to be 18 or older to buy one of these nicotine-filled tubes and enjoy it on the side of road.

Electronic Cigarette

Even though the e-cigs appear to be harmless, scientists have performed tests that suggest the contrary. Harmful chemicals have been found in the vapor of the electronic cigarettes; however, they still prove to be considerably healthier than the conventional tobacco ones.

It has yet to be determined if the E-cigs cause cancer. The FDA website claims that not enough studies have been performed on electronic cigarettes to know if they are harmful or not.

However, E-Cigs should remain available to all public because they offer an alternative to the tobacco cigarette that is considerably healthier.

Pasta

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

One of my all time favorite foods is pasta. I realize that it’s not very exciting, or gourmet. But it’s just so good, and there’s so many different things you can do with it.

Ravioli, one of my favorites, is best with a tomato sauce. Tortellini is best with Alfredo sauce. Gnocchi goes perfectly with either. And then there is every other kind of pasta that you just can’t go wrong with.

Living in the dorms, pretty much all I eat on weekends is pasta. We don’t have to check in at the cafeteria, so I like to make my own food instead. One of my go-to’s is the Annie’s Mac and Cheese. It’s a lot healthier than the Kraft stuff, and it’s way better. I also like to make just regular penne or rigatoni with vodka or tomato sauce.

When I’m home though, my dad gets a little bit more creative. When he has plenty of time before dinner, he’ll make his own tomato sauce starting from scratch. He boils the tomatoes, then cuts them up and adds them into a pan with garlic, onion and basil. He then generously pours it over bow-tie pasta. It is so good.

A lot of my friends say pasta is all I eat. While they’re exaggerating a little, they’re not far off base. It’s easy to make, delicious, filling and there are so many different variations possible. Pasta is definitely one of my favorite foods.

Armadillo Escape

indigoshellLeave a comment

While Stevie was one of the loudest creatures in the habitat area, people would often double back and investigate the out-of-place scratching noise coming from one of the habitats.

At first glance the habitat seemed to be occupied by a single prehensile-tail porcupine perched up on a tree. Once a camper enters the enclosure Ned might pop out of the wood shavings and trot happily around your feet, the little tree, his den, before pausing to scratch at the wall.

Ned was a six-banded armadillo and almost reminded me of a little old man due to his small tufts of hair and wrinkled skin. His back plates were hard like nails, though kinda weirdly fuzzy…

When I first entered his enclosure he was already running around, zooming along the walls and pausing to scratch at a worringly large hole on the rightmost corner of the wall.

I personally think that Ned is planning an escape. He charms newcomers by running circles around them.  Then while they’re distracted, he makes a dash at the door. Which is what he did when I didn’t close it quick enough.

I quickly used my foot to block his escape but wasn’t sure how to handle him. Should I pick him up? Scoot him away with my foot? With the help of a counselor I managed to keep him inside before snapping the door shut. “You know you can just pick him up, right?” he says.

Often times when things are slow in the habitats, counselors like to let Ned out and he’ll skitter along the small hallway the same way he does in his enclosure. Each time I visit his habitat the hole seems to be a few chips larger and maybe a little deeper.

I wonder if Ned’ll still be there when I go back next summer.