The Ustream: live action 24/7

I've only recently begun to realize the great awesome-ness that is the internet. Although it's definitely got it's scary side, the internet has been a unique tool in getting information out to the world....whenever. wherever.

My friend and I send regular e-mails to each other regarding our life and funny things that happen and she knows I'm a suck for animals. So she sends me this live action link to puppies being born.

Regular people allowing the world to sneak peak on their lives. In this case...a link to a family's rescue dog giving birth to a whopping 12 puppies (2 were stillborns, but 10 live healthy and snuggly!) The 400 some-odd viewers were SO touched by the efforts of this brave rescue mama and her human helpers that people began donating money to the shelter which the animal came from!! How amazing is that?? remarkable!

I browsed the Ustream site a little and found that there's a 24/7 live stream for just about anything! From pets&animals to entertainment and music. All at the push of a button.

This is not the first time that I was introduced to Ustream...a few weeks ago I was introduced to the Decorah Bald Eagles from Iowa that hatched 3 cute little chicks via their live stream---how cool is that??

So while it still sounds a little creepy to me that one would want to have a live stream of their own lives continuously broadcast to the world....I could see why people might want to do it. You can send a message so quickly to SO many!

Anyways, this is just a post about my fascination with the many live streams I've been watching today :)

Click here to watch Mayme and her 10 pups wiggle around!

Click here to watch the Bald Eagles take care of their cute chickies!

The fostering: KITTENS!!

Even though I am deathly (might as well be) allergic to cat fur, I always like to keep an eye out and find ways to help out or get my fair share of kittie loving if I can. That's why when I go back to Taiwan, the first thing I do when I walk through the door is hunt down my cat...who is usually hiding in a closet or out sunbathing. And I hug her with both arms outstretched so as to not get any fur in my allergic nostrils.

Now days, I just try to visit friends who have pets or pass the word around between people looking to help foster and people who like animals (and aren't allergic). My friend just received a fresh pair of awesome-ness the other week---fostering kittens! WOOHOO.

I very much feel like a cat aunt in these situations because I always get invited to visit the kittens and play with them--they are adorbs! Baby animals are cute because not only are they just fun to look at, they are so curious about the world around them and they don't realize any danger so they're eager and willing to explore!

They also rarely fight you to be picked up, poked at, petted, having their picture taken, or have you stick them in weird places. It's pretty thrilling to watch a young mind grow--especially when it can barely walk, makes me giddy inside!









<---This is me with kittens, EXCITED!

The Undead: Zombie Ants?

Imagine a world of unique power...out of this Earthly world...but actually still perfectly plausible. That is the world in which we live. So many unknowns that sometimes the norm seems a bit unusual to the untrained eye.

I saved this Yahoo article for a rainy day...and today rained (and hailed near by...and hand a mini-tornado, what the heck? California...where is our awesome weather that makes others jealous?!)


Anyways, it's about fungus. Sure, when we think beyond mushrooms and bread mold it can get a bit scientific with long names like "Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani" and "Ophiocordyceps camponoti-rufipedis" . So let's just get straight to the cool part.

This fungus attaches to live organisms, then renders them essentially dead as the fungus begins to grow inside the organism--ultimately killing the living, and becoming king (or queen, who's the say?) of the dead. This article's fateful victim? The ant.

Through the series of semi-creepy, yet slightly artistic in a National Geographic sort of way pictures, we can see the fungus slowly growing out of the ants body about 1 or 2 days after death.

During late stages of infection...the fungus slowly engulfs the ant completely...covering it with soft white "fuzzies." It's an eerie way to die if you think about it, just having something slowly consume you from the inside out before taking over your body completely. YIKES!

Check out the full picture-by-picture story here!

The Sad Song: A Whale's Wrong Frequency

I love browsing sites that have information that's only semi-useful. Mainly, I find these articles and pictures I read to be fulfilling my sanity in a different way than academic papers. It's a learning process that goes beyond books and memorization...it's the best kind of learning...learning by pure fascination.

Today, on one of my whimsical floating of the cyber world...I came across an awesome article that profiled a lonely whale. Yes, A LONELY WHALE. It's funny to read the title because I got weird references of dating websites in my mind, and it turns out, that this whale might actually need to enlist the help of a dating site!! (If only it could...)

The whale is named "52 Hertz" because 1. it's gender is unknown 2. it sings all of its whale songs at 51.75 frequency--and we like to round up, since numbers get complicated, the more you add on after a decimal.

This whale has been singing her song (or his song) at least since it was first tracked tracked back in 1989 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Unlike normal whales who are group animals that live in small families or pods and travel together, this whale is rides solo.

It does not want to be solo (unlike the song...riding solo, riding solo--lalala) but there's a fundamental problem that keeps it from conversing with other whale homies. The problem lies in the song, which whales use as a common form of communication. Normal whale songs are set at a frequency of 12-25 Hz...and here, you can tell the major, MAJOR problem!!

What's one to do when you speak, and no one, but perhaps a land dog, can hear you?!? The difference between 52 Hz and 25Hz is quite great...and scientists are still trying to find a reason for this strange phenomenon. A mutation? A new species? Hard to say.

In the mean time...52Hz will keep swimming the ocean, making soundless calls that can't be received by any of its fellow mates. Truly, what is a vast world with no friends or loved ones? It is a sad song to be sung.















<<---If a whale date did occur, this might be how it goes down!! Check out the article yourself, READ HERE!!

The No Kill Zone: The Cat House

The Cat House near Kings River in California's San Joaquin Valley is truly a remarkable sight (though I have yet to see it with my own eyes!). It is one of the largest no kill, no cage, adoption sanctuary for cats and dogs. As of the time I read this article...the property estimates to have between 700 cats, 100 kittens, 15 dogs, and 6 goats. How's that for an enormous litter??
It opened in 1992 by Lynea Lattanzio who got the land as part of a divorce slash "awesome place to retire and have an awesome time with animals"...and has grown to become a well oiled machine and boats paid employees as well as many volunteers.

All the cats who have feline immunodeficiency disease are isolated and have their own area. Older cats have their own special area as well. As for the rest...they're free to roam in and out of the house and land. Lattanzio doesn't even live in her own house anymore since about 65 cats started occupying her living room.

A good retirement plan to all? Well maybe I wouldn't go THAT far...but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have some furry friends around when I'm older.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY AND WATCH A VIDEO FROM LYNEA HERSELF

The Love: Happy Valentine's!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!

Sometimes, it's pretty cool how nature comes up with its own way of showing love. Even know the "heart" shape is a man-invention...eventually nature proves that we simply stole it from her (or him, depending on if you believe the world is a guy or girl)....and BAM! Nature at its best.

So on V-day...whether you have someone or are spending it chillaxing on your own, just know that you're not quite alone. The world's got your back in some way, shape, or form...just gotta know where to look!

p.s. these are Damselflies mating :)

The Friend: How They Make Us Strong

Before I begin...I found out that there is actually a real www.pawcorner.com! Hm...I hope they don't think I'm stealing their name or copy-righting their title! Anyway, it's a place that people can put their animal related things up such as classified ads, blogs, polls, you need to sign up though, so I'm not sure when/if I'll do it.

Anyways, today was sort of one of those days, days you want to put behind you and get over quickly, days that you want to roll into bed as soon as possible (ASAP!!)...but alas, I cannot. There are obligations to fulfill before selfish desires.

HOWEVER, I got the bestest surprise of them all when I had a happy puppy jump into my lap!! My house is house-sitting our neighbor's dog while they go to the gym for a few hours...it's truly amazing how much better animals can make you feel, just when you thought you've slowly run out of happy thoughts.

I'm reminded of their warmth, their "smile", their unconditional excitement to meet you day after day as if it were the first, and their unwavering faith and love in you. With animals, you'll never self-doubt, you'll never feel alone, you'll never feel the need to explain or defend, and best of all, you've got the most awesome lap heater in the world--free of charge!

So take note, animal lovers and haters! No matter how you really feel about an animal, you can't deny that they never stop feeling for you.

Isn't Kona adorable? Definitely got that "puppy eyes" down!