Unintended Consequences

I love Finding Nemo. It's one of my favorite Disney movies. 

The main plot is triggered when a diver kidnaps Nemo from his home reef. Nemo spends the next chunk of the movie in a tank with other fish, who all want to escape and go back to the sea. Surely the movie is saying that fish belong in the wild? 

And yet Finding Nemo made clown fish so popular that the pet trade has been catching all types of wild clown fish. Now they're all threatened. People don't know that when they buy a clown fish, they're contributing to the disappearance of that species. And it's not just fish that are taken from the wild. Only some pets come from breeders. A lot of them are still taken from the wild, and not always legally.

And another unintended consequence of the movie? After people saw it, a lot of them flushed their fish down the toilet. They wanted to free the fish. But most fish are never going to survive that. Not all places dump their sewage directly into the ocean (thankfully). That water gets treated. And that will kill fish. But even if it didn't kill the fish, you should NEVER release pets into the wild. They usually aren't native to the area, and assuming they survive abandonment, they can destroy wild species and habitats. Even if the pets are native, they can spread disease to other wildlife.

Even domestic pets can suffer from movies. When a popular dog movie comes out, people rush to buy that breed of dog. And then those people often get rid of the dog soon after, flooding the rescue shelters. 

No matter how much you like a movie, you should never get an animal unless you've done all the research, and are prepared to take care of that animal through its entire life. Including vet care. And make sure your animal comes from a rescue, or a good breeder. 

Actually, I read Watership Down in middle school. I loved it, and decided to get a rabbit. I did the research, and finally got a little bunny. She lived twelve years. She was a lot of work, but she was the sweetest thing in the world. So yeah, you can make it work. But an animal should never be an impulse buy. They're living creatures, not toys. 

Movies should be careful with how they advertise animals. But even in Finding Nemo, which seems to discourage people from putting fish into tanks, people will still find ways to misread things.

Maybe all animal movies should come with some kind of disclaimer, or educational content @_@ 

I Want my Bison Back!

I was watching the bonus features on the animated Beauty and the Beast. 

Beast has features of a bunch of different animals, like bear, bison, and wolf. They were talking about designing Beast's human form (and mentioned that they forgot to give him a name). Though in the end, it didn't matter too much what he looked like. After all, the whole movie was meant to get you attached to the big furry beast. Then all of a sudden, he's gone and there's this dude instead. 

I'd never thought of that, but it's true! (Though I'm usually biased in favor of animal people. I love his beast design). They said that no matter what the prince looked like, viewers would always go "I want my bison back!"

 (And they also interviewed some actors who did stage versions of Beauty and the Beast. One actor who played Gaston said that he once dropped his knife during the final fight against beast. So he just had to start slapping Beast. Ultimate improv, that. )

(One more thing! I just saw a Youtube comment that said Beast kind of fills the usual princess role - he's locked in a castle, trapped in a spell, and someone rides in to save him XD )

Best animal names

 I just learned that some people have another name for French bulldogs. Bat pigs. Because they have a face and ears like a bat, and a body like a pig. They also grunt like a pig. That is an amazing name.

I've had my cat Leaf for ten years. 

And I only learned a couple weeks ago that there's a name for her coloration. A cow cat, or a moo cat. I love it. I always thought she had cow colors.

Upgrade

If I find a story I'm excited about, it's hard for me to keep it to myself. Sometimes I'll even try to explain a scene to someone who hasn't seen/read it yet.  Which is dumb. Partially because I don't think I'm very good at it. But also if I'm explaining an isolated scene, it won't mean much to a person hearing it. They don't have the full context. Nor are they invested in the characters.

 I know all this, but I still keep trying to explain scenes to people... 

Well, at the very least, I may be doing a better job now. My friend said I made one scene sound interesting XD

Bald eagle

In-Progress

I like reading book series that are already complete (TV shows too). It's such a different experience when you can read a whole series without too much gap between books. Otherwise you may have to wait years for the next book. And by then you've forgotten details, and feelings have dimmed. 

 It helps that I usually find out about things long after they're popular. Except by the time I get excited about them, everyone else is already over it XD

Pelicans (white, and pink-backed)

 I GET TO GO TO PERU! 

I was accepted with a sort of scholarship for a research trip along the rivers of the Amazon. I've wanted to go to the Amazon my whole life! There will be a lot of bugs, and lots of crazy stuff since it's the jungle, but it will be amazing!

I want to run out and get books on Peru!

You Can't Have Coco without Mexico

I was talking to someone about Encanto and Coco. They said that you could have Encanto without Columbia. The plot could take place in a number of cultures (unfortunately refugees are pretty common these days). But you can't have Coco without Mexico, because the plot is so integrated into the culture. 

 I don't think that's a bad thing. It's important to see different cultures. As long as the creators do a proper job with that culture. Some stories will fit tighter with the country than others.

Sending our Hearts to Ukraine

I'm late to post. Largely because I don't feel like I know enough to properly contribute. I've also been stalling in learning. Because right now, I suspect that no one's really doing anything to help, and I don't want that suspicion confirmed.

All I've heard to far is that people are boycotting Russia. It's like the rest of the world is just shaking their head in disappointment at Russia. Do something! Stop them! How can we still be letting this kind of stuff happen? And the maniacs that are doing it have enough nukes to destroy themselves and everyone else. 

I can't comprehend how humans have made the world what it is now. We learn nothing.

Anyway, here's a line that I've been trying to keep in mind. For most of us, the only thing we can do is try to keep the world around us peaceful.It has to start somewhere:

After the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, Swami Kriyananda wrote a letter to the Ananda communities worldwide. He said, “Though I very much wanted to pray, this drama is so vastly complex that, lacking a clear focus, no prayer of mine, surely, could be very effective. Then I thought of the prayer attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi*: ‘Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.’ And I thought, What better prayer than this for such a time?

Money's not what it was

Here's an important video about money today.