For Sake of the Snake (part 2)

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After that snake incident, I soon began watching Austin Steven’s Adventures on Animal Planet. He specialized in reptiles, which was the main reason I watched his shows. My interest in snakes was growing, and I began to ask my parents for my own pet. I wasn’t allowed a snake at first, so I got a bearded dragon instead, whom I named Tanny. A few weeks later I went back and was allowed to get a black and white banded Californian Kingsnake, and I very creatively named her Shadow Mist. Shadow for short.

I was kinda nervous about Shadow at first. I didn’t want to get bit and I always used gloves when handling her. After a month or so I just thought “screw this” and I gave up on being cautious. She only struck at me a few times and I had never gotten bit by her. She was a beautiful little snake, and had a little white star on her forehead.

After school I would head straight for her enclosure and drape her around my neck before writing in my journal. She would just lay there motionless as I wrote, absorbing the little heat I could put out and watching the movements of my pencil.

Tanny died a few months later, but I still had Shadow.

About a year and a half later I had to leave for OVS, and leaving her behind was upsetting for me. Did my parents know how to take care of her? What if my cat got her? What if she got lost? She got lost often due to a faulty enclosure but I would always find her in odd spots. Once I didn’t even realize she was lost until I spotted her on my doorknob. Scared me to death, that little stunt did.

Anyways, during my first Christmas break I finally went back to China to visit. Our cat and dog were ecstatic to see me, but somehow, it was like Shadow knew I had come back to visit. Her body was pressed up against the glass of the enclosure, and she lifted her body up vertically and did the weird dance that many cobras do while flaring their hoods. I took her out immediately and she never struck.

About a year later I asked about her and my mom said that she had escaped and they couldn’t find her. “When?” I asked. “Oh, six months ago.”

I MEAN WHAT. If a little girl’s pet gets lost or died, maybe you could say something like “he ran away,” or “doggy went up to heaven,” but I was freaking 15! You can’t just… Not tell me when something that important to me disappears!

I haven’t gone back to China since Freshman Christmas. Now I’m a Junior, and this Christmas my brother and I are going back to China for a little bit. I like to think that Shadow’s still in the house somewhere, watching the family from the cracks in the ceiling and eating any stray mice that come along. Maybe sometime in college I’ll get another snake.

My dream job is what Austin Steven’s doing. If I get bit? I’ll suffer, but I’ll have to trust modern medicine, I guess.

Now thinking about it, I feel like my favorite animal is the snake after all.

For Sake of the Snake (part 1)

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It was 9:30 at night, maybe 10:00. I was reading intensely, as I usually do, but was quickly brought out of my concentration by the muffled noises coming from our first floor. I quietly snuck out of my room and sat on the top of the staircase, peering between the hollow metal bars of the railing and wondering why my mom and nanny were fretting in front of our window.

I continued to sneak down, careful to avoid creaky steps, and crawled atop the dog-haired couch to see what was behind the window. The window was the size of the wall, allowing us to see much of what goes on outside, but for the moment, all our interest was focused on a shadowy figure at the rightmost corner of the window.

It was around wintertime, sometime between November and February (wide range, I know), so the heaters of our house were on and the windows were like sheets of ice. There, huddled sadly in the corner, was a large, black snake.

I think that was the first real snake I ever saw in my life.

In my hours within Animal Planet I had watched many shows on snakes, as well as picture books and book mentions. I had always been fascinated by them, so that night, my 10-year-old self was in a shock from seeing that creature.

My nanny grew up on a farm, where snakes are her bane. My mom didn’t like that snake sitting there and “endangering” our family and dogs, so they were wondering the best way to shoo it away. My nanny took a boot and whacked the window with it, which caused the snake to hiss and strike on the window.

I woke up the next morning wondering if it was a dream. To this day I’m still wondering, but either way it doesn’t matter. And now, with my incredible knowledge of snakes, I conclude that the window snake was a black rat snake.

Russia’s Slim Future

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The Russians have found what seems to be the way of solving at least one of America’s problems.

In the subway station of Vystavochnaya in western Moscow, the people are allowed to pay their fare by doing 30 squats. They are placed in front of a machine that counts the squats and makes sure you are in a correct position.

This was implemented to promote a healthy and sporty life style in honor of the Olympic games that will take place in Russia.

If this system was to be implemented in the US, not only in the subway but in a lot of public services, America would benefit from a healthier population and a great decrease in obesity.

Sources: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57611796-1/to-ride-the-moscow-subway-for-free-do-30-squats/

The Pokemon Controversy

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Ever since the release of the first Pokémon games in 1996, hardcore Christians and vicious PETA members have bashed the franchise for its depictions of evolution and alleged “animal abuse.”

Pokémon is a franchise of games about a young trainer who embarks on a journey to defeat 8 gym leaders, the elite four and become the new Pokémon League Champion. Pokémon are caught in the wild with items called Pokeballs and are used to battle other trainers. Pokemon gain experience points and level up by battling other Pokemon, eventually resulting in their evolution.

Christians all around the world have protested against the franchise claiming that it goes against their beliefs. However, the type of evolution depicted by Pokemon is more relatable to growing up rather than becoming a different species. The Pokemon games show no sign of Darwinian evolution and do not contradict the beliefs of any creationist. It is merely a misconception.

Evolution Chain of 3 Pokemon

On the other hand, PETA members have criticized, protested and demonized the Pokemon franchise for its alleged depictions of animal abuse. Trainers use their Pokemon to battle other trainers. Granted, the subjects in these games are easily misunderstood, but there is no justification for PETA’s overreaction. PETA claims that this child’s game teaches kids to abuse animals. However, the games are focused on the special bond that a trainer develops with their Pokemon and the importance of teamwork, not cock-fighting.

Pokemon is a child’s game set in a different universe and it’s by no means a tool for evil.

PETA’s Extreme Overreaction: http://features.peta.org/pokemon-black-and-white-parody/

Shark Bait, Hoo Ha Ha

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Sharks are terrible creatures. They’re merciless hunters that can rip apart a human within seconds, and then will happily dine on their insides. When they sight a human and smell even a slight trace of their blood, nothing can stop them from killing.

At least, that’s how most people say sharks are.

Many times when people are attacked by sharks it’s because the person provokes the shark in some way, such as when divers grab at their fins or when fishermen untangle them from their fishing nets.

Honestly, sharks are like giant, rough-skinned, thousand-toothed dogs. That swim in the ocean. If you grab a dog’s tail, chances are they will bite at you. It’s no different with sharks, the only difference is that sharks and shark attacks are more exaggerated.

A diver dressed in a black wetsuit looks remarkably like a sleek seal, so the shark might take a hunk out of a diver, thinking he’s a seal. The result is a missing limb and a story of being attacked by “a vicious shark.”

Shark attack victims don’t usually die of shark attacks though, they die of blood loss. Sharks often do hit-and-run attacks, where they bite the victim, realize their mistakes, then quickly leave the human to bleed to death.

Vending machines have killed more people than sharks have. I’m sure many people have heard of this fact, but vending machines have killed more people than sharks each year.

Well I mean, it could be because humans are dumb and try to shake the machines that have eaten their change, which could often result in the machine falling on them.

Ok, moral of the story here is, shark good, people bad.

I mean.

Shark, not bad, people… Meeeh.

What Happened to Music?

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

When you turn on the radio these days, you’re bombarded with an obnoxious, headache inducing, auto-tuned song made up of repetitive words that don’t even make sense. Artists like Miley Cyrus, Ke$ha, and Lady Gaga pollute the press with news of some new stunt they have pulled, or their ever increasing shenanigans that demonstrate an effort to ditch the sweetheart image and rebel against all society norms. Not to mention their music is absolutely terrible.

Miley Cyrus has received a lot of criticism for her recent behavior – and rightly so. While it is her choice to behave how she wants, she is a public figure. She is someone young girls, and even the occasional young boy, look up to. She appears in magazines and TV, and sends an image and message to youth that it is ok to act the way she has been, when really, it’s not.

But while her actions are her choice, she could at least produce some worthy music. I mean what happened to artists like Bruce Springsteen, The Who, and The Police, who made amazing music and kept up a (somewhat) respectable image? It seems like the tunes you hear on the radio are famous for what shocking move the artist pulled the previous week, or whatever their baffling outfit of the week is, not their music. And let’s be honest, if the success of these songs was based solely on how good they were, and not how infamous their singer is, we’d have music actually worth listening to playing on the radio.

Record companies continually churn out songs where you barely even hear the true voice of the artist, but instead, hear the not-so-lovely voice of auto-tune. Singers hit notes that don’t seem humanly possible, and definitely make it impossible to actually understand what they’re saying. They change pitch at a dizzying rate, yet again making it impossible to understand what they’re saying. Not that they’re saying anything actually worth hearing.

It’s amazing how almost every song that comes out is about either falling in love or how some pop-star had their heart broken. They get to be just a little repetitive. I’m no artist myself, but I can’t help thinking there must be something more to write about than love. If you think about how many artists have albums that solely talk about love, it makes artists with diversity look like absolute geniuses.

I’m not saying all music that comes out these days is bad. And of course, everyone has their own taste. But the majority of the new pop music, or what comes on the radio every fifteen minutes, is pretty bad. It’s definitely time songs stopped becoming famous for whatever shocking stunt the singer pulled and actually had a little diversity for a change.

My Trip to Belize

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

In sixth grade, my school led a trip with a handful of students to Belize. We were to spend the first week of our trip building a cafeteria for a school, and the second week touring the beautiful country. Before leaving, I was very nervous. I was traveling to a different country without my parents. Not only was that scary, but the thought of building a cafeteria was daunting as well. The trip turned out to be amazing.

We all met at the airport and did the usual, going through security, catching our plane, and flying to Belize. The minute we stepped off the plane, I was hit by the humidity. It was so hot. Nonetheless, we collected our bags and got on the bus to where we were staying.

The first week, we mainly focused our energy on building the cafeteria. We worked in shifts – half of us would build while the other half spent time with the kids from the school, either in classrooms or on the playground (which was really more of a field of dry dirt).

The builders mixed cement and set the cinderblocks to make up the foundation of the cafeteria. It was grueling work, especially in the heat of the day. The group that was resting and spending time with the students from the school would get a chance to know an amazing group of kids, until it was again their turn to start building.

Despite the hardship and poverty that the students at the school lived in, they were happy. They had fun learning how to do handsprings across the field of dirt, or just sitting and talking with us.  They were unbelievably appreciative of what we were doing for them. It’s not as if we were building a state-of-the-art cafeteria. It was made up of three foot walls of cinderblock and poles that held a rood up above it. But to them, it was beautiful. I have never met anyone as appreciative as they were, especially at their age.

The second week was spent touring the country. We first drove up to a small lodge up in the mountains, and spent a couple days exploring the rainforest and caves around us. We then drove down to the coast and took a boat to a tiny island, where we explored and went on prolonged snorkeling excursions.

After the amazing couple of days we spent at the island, we packed up our bags – for good this time – and headed back to the airport. The trip was amazing. It was fun, educational, and rewarding all at once. The experience will remain with me for a long, long time.

Love the Cheetah

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For some reason, I’ve always loved cheetahs. Starting from around age 9 I’d watch Animal Channel for hours at a time, but it wasn’t until I was about 13 did I really notice the cheetahs. From then on I would watch cheetah documentaries and such until midnight or one in the morning, which was pretty darn late considering my usual bedtime was 9.

Firstly I think they’re beautiful. Beautiful physically and beautifully structured to get the most out of its main feature – their speed.

Long, spindly legs with powerful base muscles provide the power to charge through the fields. Unlike most felines, cheetah claws are only semi-retractable, meaning that their claws are always showing. This allows them to easily spring into action at a moment’s notice.

Their protruding chest contains a massive heart and pair of lungs for maximum oxygen intake, while their concave stomach and flexible spine allows for rapid and easy movement. A long tail acts as a rudder to stabilize quick turns and their especially long eyes views the world through a wide-angle lens.

Feline ears are usually pointed while the cheetah’s are rounded, like a bear’s. While walking or sitting, their hunched shoulders and fuzzy back almost have a bearlike appearance too. To me, their most distinctive qualities are the two black stripes that curve through their faces. The stripes start at the innermost corners of their eyes and curve down and around the nose before ending above their bottom lip. On some cheetahs the spots around the outer corners of their eyes are more distinctive, trailing down their cheeks or to the back of their necks.

Most predators hunt by simply leaping upon and overwhelming their prey. With the cheetah’s slimmer demeanor, they simply don’t have the power of a lion or leopard, so they have a trickier method instead. While chasing their prey, usually antelope, they’ll flick out a paw and trip it.

The sounds they make are ridiculous. They can purr and growl, sure, but they can also make peculiar (and adorable) chirping sounds. It almost sounds like the bark of a tiny dog, uttered through the vocal chords of a baby kitten, but through the body of a full-grown, dangerous cheetah.

Well, not very dangerous. Cheetahs are notoriously skittish and can even be too nervous to breed sometimes. In the San Diego Zoo, four of their cheetahs actually have canine companions to help calm them down and keep them happy.

People always ask me what my favourite animal is, and one of the first to pop into my mind is “cheetah,” along with “horse” and “snake.” Cheetahs have been with me longer than any other animal before, besides for dogs, and I long to interact with one in the wild one day. So far I haven’t even seen any in the few zoos I’ve been in!

(San Diego Zoo = Bucket listed)

Lies are always prettier than the truth

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US Journalist Stephen Glass is a perfect example of how a lie can get so out of proportion and snowball down taking everybody with it.

Stephen was a reporter for the New Republic, where he wrote funny and interesting stories. Until one day, one of his stories called Hack Heaven was being questioned for its authenticity. Glass repeatedly lied about the story, every time insisting it was real. He had reached a point where he truly believed his own lies, but he was busted. He knew lying was useless but he still couldn’t stop.

His constant battle ended with him being fired, but he didn’t go down alone. The New Republic was forced to publicly apologize to the readers and they took legal action against him. It was soon discovered that 27 out of the 41 pieces Stephen wrote for the New Republic were fully or partially fabricated.

Glass was a sociopath and a compulsive liar. His lies got so out of proportion, they became his truth.

Rene Magritte.

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“Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist. ”
—- Rene Magritte

This summer I had a chance to see Magritte’s real work at MOMA museum in NYC. Magritte has been one of my favorite artists for a long time for his particular impressionistic style.

Rene Magritte was born in Lessines, in the province of Hainaut, in 1898. His earliest oil paintings form 1915 were Impressionistic in style. The oil paintings he produced during the years 1918-1924 were influenced by Futurism and by the offshoot of Cubism practiced by Metzinger. Most of his works of this period are female nudes.


In 1922-1923, he worked as a draughtsman in a wallpaper factory, and was a poster and advertisement designer until 1926. In 1926, Magritte produced his first surreal oil painting, “The Lost Jockey,” and held his first exhibition in Brussels in 1927, in which he got lots of critics on the exhibition.

Later during the German occupation of Belgium in World War II, Magritte remained in Brussels. He briefly adopted a colorful, painterly style in 1943-44, and was known as his “Renoir Period.”

His work was exhibited in the United States in New York in 1936 in Museum of Modern Art and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Magritte’s paintings mostly embody the combination of realism and impressionism, and he is able to present his particular idea of humanity and dream. One of his representative piece is “The Lovers I (1928),” which identifies the mystery of two lovers who are shrouded in white cloth.

Magritte inspires me a lot, not only in art area, but also life.

“Life obliges me to do something, so I paint. ”
– Rene Magritte