On January ninth World Wildlife Fund reported the poaching of a family of eleven African elephants in Kenya. Despite the lack of presence of this issue in international news, especially in the United States, poaching continues to this day. Tens of thousands of elephants are killed every year for ivory. Elephant poaching is extremely high because of the insatiable desire for ivory in Asia. WWF is part of the initiative to ban the ivory trade in Thailand, the largest unregulated ivory market in the world. Elephants are essential to both the African and Asian ecosystem. The African elephant is the largest land mammal in the world. They have fan-shaped ears, tusks-including the females- and three toes on their hind foot and five on their fore foot.There are two types of African elephants: savanna and forest. Forest elephants tend to be smaller and darker with tusks that are straight and point downward in contrast to the tusks of a savanna elephant which curve upward. In addition to the difference in tusks, both savanna and forest subspecies have differences the sizes and shapes of the skull and skeleton. It is estimated that one third to one quarter of elephants are forest elephants. Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants consisting of four subspecies: Borneo Pygmy, Sri Lankan, Sumantran and Indian. Asian elephants are an icon to Asian culture. Indian mythology says that elephants are one of the nine jewels that surfaced as the gods searched for an elixir for immortality. The Borneo Pygmy elephants are the smallest of the animals and possibly the cutest, with the gentlest nature of all the Asian elephants. They have straight tusks, baby faces, over-sized ears, plump bellies and long tails that drag behind them. They were once believed to be the remnants of Sultan Sulu's domesticated heard but WWF has determined them genetically different from their Asian counterparts.
Sri Lankan elephants are the largest and darkest of the Asian elephants, yet they have patches of no skin tone on their bodies. The Sri Lankan population has drastically dropped 65% since the turn of the 19th century and for this reason these elephants are protected by Sir Lankan law and killing one results in the death penalty. Sumatran elephants tend to have smaller tusks but despite this fact they are still targets of poachers. This poaching specifically hurts the Asian population even more because only males have tusks. The main danger to elephants besides poaching is the conflicts that occur with humans, especially retaliation kills after an elephants destroys crops or perhaps kills a human.
Elephants have are matriarical herds lead by the oldest female. The only time a bull comes in contact with a herd is during mating. The rest of the year a bull lives in isolation. A mother carries her calve for twenty-two months, longer than any other mammal. A female usually has a calf once every four to five years. Because of the attachment to the heard it is known that a calf will stay by it's mother's dead body sometimes dying itself. This obviously is one of the many qualities of elephants similar to human emotions. Elephants have a distinct call almost like a deep grumble that is audible only to other elephants. When there is a cull, a killing of herd, an elephant can use this call to warn elephants miles away not to come in that direction. There are hundreds of reasons to protect these magnificent animals. There is no reason to kill any animals whether it be elephants for ivory or rhinos for medicine. (668 rhinos died in 2010, a 50% increase, for their medicinal use in villages in Asian.) To find out more about elephants and to help keep all animals free from chains go to: http://worldwildlife.org and Wildlife Crime Story
"The questions is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?" David Attenborough
Think of your favorite song? Why is it your favorite song? Is it the lyrics? The beat? Does your favorite song change as your life changes? I could never narrow down so many amazing songs to one favorite. What makes a song for me is the lyrics. I don't particularly like singing in front of others, but when a song with lyrics I believe in plays I cannot help myself. There is this saying, it is a bit juvenile but at the same time totally true: the song a girl sings will tell you more about herself than she ever will. I believe that if you listen to songs that people sing just for themselves you will learn so much about that person. There are way too many songs that I know explain myself better than I could ever try to. Sometimes when people don't understand me I wish I could just give them a play list of songs to explain myself. Would that really work? I don't know if the meaning of the song would convey to another person. Would they hear the sadness, the heartbreak, the hope, the anger or the joy? Sometimes lyrics take on the job of a cry for help. Being a person who hates asking for help, I often listen to a certain song on repeat, subconsciously hoping someone will notice. Have you ever found a song so perfect that you cannot help yourself and you listen to it about 96 times- no exaggeration? It makes me smile inside when I witness someone doing just that, because I know how much that happens to me. If someone was paying attention they would have the keys to your soul. I know every girl has that one song they wish a guy would sing to them. Of course the songs I would choose are Maroon 5 songs. I mean who doesn't want Adam Levine singing to them? But the most beautiful song, the song I would cry if some guy sang to me is Ray LaMontagne's Hold You In My Arms.
The most heartbreaking song has to be I'd Rather Go Blind by Etta James, "I'd rather be blind than to see you walk away from me boy." Etta James had a heartbreaking life, so it is no surprise that her music spoke the words she couldn't. In Cadillac Records Beyonce portrays Etta's emotions perfectly.
The song that best screams "help me" is the Fray's How to Save a Life. I remember watching the video, during a tough time in my life and crying. Not only the words but the emotions expressed are not fabricated. These are emotions move you down to your core. I challenge you to watch the video. Then watch it again while truly listening to the lyrics.
"Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend. Somewhere along in the bitterness. And I would have stayed up with you all night had I known how to save a life.... Try to slip past his defense... Lay down a list of what is wrong. Things you told him all along. Pray to God he hears you."
This song gives you a reality check if you really pay attention. It explores the idea that sometimes if you don't listen to a friend you could lose them, not only emotionally but physically. "I WOULD HAVE STAYED UP WITH YOU ALL NIGHT HAD I KNOWN HOW TO SAVE A LIFE. I PAY TO GOT HE HEARS YOU."
Two of the best song writers who speak through their songs are John Mayer, "When you're dreaming with a broken heart, the waking up is the hardest part," and Taylor Swift, "We might quiet a mess babe. It's probably better off this way. And I confess babe in my dreams you're touching my face. And asking me if I want to try again with you, and I almost do."Anyone who puts their heart and soul into their music will always spark a connection with others. Amy Winehouse used her heartbreaks to create soulful music that sounds like it's from the 1960s, "We only said goodbye with words. I died a hundred times. You go back to her and I go back to black."
Like I said before there are countless songs with raw emotion. One only needs to pay attention to another's song choice to understand what they are feeling.
*Alanis Morissette: You Learn: You live, you learn. You love, you learn. You cry, you learn. You lose, you learn. You bleed, you learn. You scream, you learn.
*Adele: Melt My Heart to Stone: And I hear your words that I made up. You say my name like there could be an us. I best tidy up my head I'm the only one in love.
*Beatles: Blackbird: Blackbird singing in the died of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly.
Blink 182: Miss you: Hello there the angel from my nightmare... We can live like Jack and Sally if you want.
*Billie Holiday: I'll Be Seeing You: I'll be seeing you in all the familiar places, that this heart of mine embraces all day through.
*Boys II Men: Goodbye to Yesterday: It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday
Brandi Carlile: The Story: All of these lines across my face tell you the stories of where I've been. But these stories don't mean anything when you've got no one to tell them to. It's true I was made for you.
Breaking Benjamin: Dear Agony: I have nothing left to give. I have found a perfect end. You were made to make it hurt...Dear agony just let go of me, suffer slowly is this the way it's got to be?
*Bruno Mars: Talking to the Moon: At night when the stars light up my room I sit by myself talking to the moon, trying to get to you. In hopes you're on the other side talking to me too.
Cat Power: Sea of Love: Come with me my love to the sea, the sea of love. I want to tell you, how much I love you.
*Coldplay: Fix You: When you try your best but you don't succeed. When you get what you want but not what you need. When you feel so tired but you can't sleep. Stuck in reverse. And the tears come streaming down your face. When you lose something you can't replace. When you love someone but it goes to waste. Could it be worse? Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones and I will try to fix you.
Daughter- Youth: Our minds are troubled by the emptiness...And if you're still breathing you are the lucky ones cause most of our feelings they are dead and gone.
*Duffy: Delayed Devotion: My love for you have turned to hate.
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetics: Home: Home is whenever I'm with you.
*Elvis: Love Me Tender: Love me tender love me sweet, never let me go. You have made my life complete and I love you so.
*Eminem: Love the Way You Lie: It's morning you wake a sun ray it's your face smear makeup as we lay in the wake of distraction....Try to touch me so I can scream at you not to touch me.
*Fyleaf: So I Thought: So long I was, so in love with you, so I thought. A year goes by and I can't talk about it.
*Goo Goo Dolls: Name: I think about you all the time. It's lonely where you are come back down and I won't tell them your name.
Hoobastank:Running away: I just wanted you to tell me the truth.
*Ingrid Michaelson: The Hat: I should tell you that you were my first love.
James Morrison: Better Man: I wanna hold you and I want to say, that you are all that I need.
*Jason Mraz: Sleeping to Dream: Sleeping to dream about you and I'm so tired of having to live without you.
*John Legend: Save Room: This might hurt a little, love hurts when you do it right. I'll keep you safe in these arms of mine.
*Kate Nash: Birds: Birds can fly so high and they can shit on your head they can almost fly into your eye and make you feel so scared but when you look at them and you see that they are beautiful that's how I feel about you.
KT Tunstell: Other side of the World: It's too hard to say I wish it was simple but we give up easily.
The Killers: When You Were Young: You sit there in your heartache, waiting for some beautiful boy to save you from your old ways.
Kesha: The Harold Song: I didn't see that you were the love of my life and it kills me... I can't handled it when I torn off my nightlight. They say that true love hurts well this could almost kill me... I would give it all to not be sleeping alone.
*The Lumineers: Ho Hey: I belong with you, you belong with me.
*Maroon 5: Story: Did you know, that everything she ever does is for you
*Matchbox Twenty: Push: She said I don't know if I've ever been good enough... I don't know if I've ever been loved by a hand that's touched me and I'm a little bit angry.
*Mumford and Sons: Hold On To What You Believe: Hold on to what you believe in the light when the darkness has robbed you of all your sight.
*My Chemical Romance: Sharpest Lives: Give me a shot to remember and you can take all the pain away from me. A kiss and I will surrender. The Sharpest lives are the deadliest to lead.
Nat King Cole: Unforgettable: Unforgettable that's what you are
Natalie Imbruglia: Torn: Nothing's fine I'm torn. I'm all out of faith. This is how I feel. I'm cold and and I am shamed lying naked on the floor.
Norah Jones: Come Away With Me: I want to walk with you on a cloudy day. So won't you try to come away with me.
*Of Monsters and Men: Love Love Love: Cause you love love love when you know I can't love
*Otis Redding: (Sitting on) The Doc at the Bay: Looks like nothing's gonna change. Everything still remains the same... Sittin' here resting my bones and this lonliness won't leave me alone.
*Pink: Don't Let Me Get Me: I can't take the person staring back at me, I'm a hazard to myself.... I'm my own worst enemy. It's bad when you annoy yourself.
*Paramore: Playing God: You don't have to believe me, but the way I see it next time you point a finger I might have to bend it or break it off. Next time you point a finger I'll point you to the mirror.
Radiohead: Creep: I wish I was special so fucking special but I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo. What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here.
*Regina Spektor: Folding Chair: Maybe one day you will understand I don't want nothing from you but to sweetly hold your hand.
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Scar Tissue: Scar tissue that I wish you saw.
*Sarah Bareilles: City: Its clear this conversation ain't doing anything cause these boys only listen when I sing. And I don't feel like singing tonight
*The Script: You Won't Feel A Thing: I promise baby you won't feel a thing cause everything the world could throw I'll stand in front and take the blow for you.
Semisonic: Closing Time: I know who I want to take me home.
Simple Plan: Addicted: I'm trying to forget that I'm addicted to you.
Sixpence None The Richer: Kiss Me: Kiss me beneath the milky twilight, lead me out on the moonlight floor.
Snow Patrol: Called Out In The Dark: We are listening and we are not blind. This is your life, this is your time.
Tegan and Sara: Where Does the Good Go: Look me in the eye and tell me you don't find me attractive, look me in the heart and tell me you won't go.
Third Eye Blind: Jumper: I wish you could step back from that ledge my friend. You could cut ties from all the lies that you've been living.
*Three Days Grace: Animal I've Become: So what if you can see the darkest side of me, no one will ever change this animal I have become.
*Rise Against: Savior: So tell me now if this ain't love then how do we get out? That's when she said I don't hate you I just want to save you while there's still something left to save.
Snow Patrol: Chasing Cars: If I lay here. If I just lay here. Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
*The Temptations: Ain't Too Proud to Beg: I know you want to leave me but I refuse to let you go. If I have to beg and plead for your sympathy I don't mind cause you mean that much to me. Ain't too proud to beg.
Train: Drops of Jupiter: Did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?
Trapt: Headstrong: Back off I'll take you on. Headstrong to take on anyone. I know that you are wrong and this is not where you belong.
*Vertical Horizon: Everything You Want: He's everything you want. He's everything you need. He's everything inside of you that you wish you could be. He's says all the right things that exactly the right time but he means nothing to you and you don't know why.
The Verve Pipe: The Freshman: For the life of me I cannot remember what made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise. For the life of me I cannot we'd ever die for these sins we were nearly freshman... his girl took a weeks worth of Valium and slept and now he's guilt stricken sobbing with his head on his floor.
Ximena Sarinana: Different: There's not too much to explain, when I'm so in my head... Sorry if I don't see you, remind me if my eyes cross you. Keep in mind I'm not here I'm in a different zone. Sorry if my words hurt you, wish I knew the time to lie to you.
In the broad scope of music these are only a few great songs that express emotions or words we sometimes find hard to express ourselves. The artists starred are the ones who I know have even more great songs. In the end sometimes the best way to find out how someone feels is to listen as they quietly sing, unaware that anyone is listening.
Susan Cain the author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Thinking, states of introverts, "You're told that you're 'in your head too much,' a phrase that's often deployed against the quiet and cerebral. Of course, there's another word for such people: THINKERS." Thinkers, that's all we are. And for those of you like me, who are often caught in your mind, I bet you just wish people would see that. The verdict on thinkers has yet to be decided. There are those people who say being able to escape to your mind is a good thing, a way to get away from others, but there are also others who are so uncomfortable with thinking, they wish you too would just stop thinking. As a thinker, you come across many hills and valleys. Even before I realized what was so different about my personality I stumbled upon an advertisement in Time that struck a chord with me. Across the top in big, bold, black letters was the word THINK. Since that day it has taken residence on my wall. Not only being a thinker, but also a very intense person, I have learned that the world can be very unforgiving to those who dare to push the boundaries. Those crazy ones. In my life I have had numerous occasions where I benefited from my inability to stop thinking. Of course there are those sleepless nights because my mind won't stop running and the torturous days I wish I could quit over analyzing my personal life, but all in all, thinking I believe is one of my best assets. To those of you who find yourself in the same predicament, I say to you, it is not a problem, it is a superpower and sometimes there are consequences one most deal with when given a gift. The world is too full of mediocrity and conformity to suppress such a gift. Embrace that "you think the most out of all the people I know," if in fact your friends tell you this like my best friend did. The subject of thinkers, brings me to this: up until this point, my posts might seem haphazard in their connection to one another. I wanted to just state that my tendency for thinking is not a linear one. I bounce from one topic to another. I write about things I read, hear or believe are important. For those of you who know me personally, the lack of connection isn't something new, it really is just who I am. One thought meanders on a long journey toward a completely different topic. The joy though is getting to experience the journey. So as you continue to read my blog remember that. It might not seem like anything connects but maybe, just maybe, that is what makes it beautiful. "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Picture a mother chimpanzee cradling her new born baby, but instead of this pair being in a beautiful canopy covered rain forest they are in a science lab's cage. As if it wasn't bad enough that his mother- son pair are locked away, it is only about to get worse. These scientists are planning on taking the new born away from his mother. The point of the experiment is to see if Nim, the baby chimp is be able to learn language like a human baby. Upon the night when the two are to be separated it is clear that the mother knows exactly what is going on. When she sees the scientist near her cage she immediately moves to the back of the cage protecting Nim. In what world is it okay to rip a child away from its mother? If we were to do that to a human mother and child, there would be a hundred repercussions. So I ask, in what mind, scientist or not, is it okay to take a defenseless chimp away from its mother? The mother, in fact, had never been able to keep any of her six babies. The most disgusting part of this experiment is when Nim is taken away from his first human home, the woman assigned to his role as mother describes how difficult it is for her to know he is being taken away from her. It seemed as if this woman had no empathy toward the mother chimp when she took away her baby, but when Nim is going to be taken away from her it is devastating. How on earth is it not possible for this woman to realize what she had done to the mother chimp? Being an animal lover, I have of course thought about how amazing it would be to have a chimp or any other animal live with me, but because I love animals I know that despite my feelings it would be detrimental to the animal. It would be a once in a life time experience to have a chimp wrap itself around me but at what cost? First of all, chimpanzees are first and foremost wild animals, they belong in the wild because they are so much stronger than us and have animal instincts to attack. There is no experiment in the world that makes using an animal for human gain right, when it means taking them from their home environment. For this reason I have a love hate relationship with zoos. The only reason I believe zoos are okay is because they help endangered animals and work for conservation. This experiment is nothing like what zoos do. When these scientists were "done" with Nim they took him back to the institute he came from. They talked about how they hoped Nim would not feel any pain or abandonment but in actuality it was more the humans working with him that would feel abandoned. I say this because when Nim was taken out of his first human home and moved to another, Nim felt no abandonment and loss of his past home. It turns out his feelings of abandonment only come when he is completely alone and isolated. This chimp institute in Oklahoma, Lemsip, scared Nim immediately. He had never seen any other chimps and not only were their other chimps, these chimps were locked away in primitive cages. Taking Nim away from a house and basically a life of a human child to put him in a cage with a lock around his neck is utterly inhumane. What these scientists did to Nim is unspeakable. To take this poor chimp from his mother, introduce him and raise him as a human child, only to bring him to this inhuman cage is reprehensible. The tragedy of this thoughtless experiment is summed up by one of the scientists, "We made a commitment to him and we failed. We did a disservice to that soul and shame on us." I could not have put it any better, shame on them. I cannot stand when people take an animal into their home only to abandon the animal years later after they grow attached to not only the human but the environment. To leave a social animal such as a chimp alone in a cage is torturous. Chimpanzees and all other social animals need companions. I work at a veterinary clinic and it hurts every time their is an orphaned or abused animal in the clinic. Both of my German Shepherds were rescues. It took so long for my first dog, CJ to trust us. Even as he grew older he would not eat if we left him in the house, because he was afraid we would not come back. Because I was so young when he got CJ I didn't really understand how he felt and roots of his actions but when we rescued Saba after CJ died I knew exactly what was going on. It took months for Saba to become comfortable in our house to the point that she could be herself. And to this day she continues to give us a sad face, a face that illustrates her loneliness, and barks whenever we leave the house- afraid we will not come back. As much as it pains humans to do what might be best for an animal it must be done. It is just like when a pet is sick- despite the pain the family will feel it is humane to put the animal to sleep so they do not feel any more pain. This is exactly what happened with CJ. We by no means wanted to lose CJ, we did not want to put him down, but because he had bone cancer and was in immense pain, we needed to think about him not ourselves. Scientific experiments and animal testing hurts countless animals every year. There has to be another way to test vaccines than on animals. It is now the 21st century, there has to be another way. In my mind taking an animal life is not worth saving human lives. Just because we have reason and can speak, does not mean that we are more valuable then any animal. There is a reason greed is one of the seven deadly sins. What scientists have done to not only Nim but to countless other animals is unforgivable and heartbreaking. "In what terms should we think of these beings, nonhuman yet possessing so very many human-like characteristics? How should we treat them? Surely, we should treat them with the same considerations and kindness as we show to other humans; and as we recognize human rights, so too should we recognize the rights of great apes? Yes." - Jane Goodall 'The more we learn of the true nature of non-human animals, especially those with complex brains and corresponding complex social behavior, the more ethical concerns are raised regarding their use in the service of man-- whether this be in entertainment, as 'pets,' for food, in research laboratories, or any of the other uses to which we subject them." Jane Goodall
