Pet Monologues

The attached video is of dolphins playing with silver colored rings which they have the ability to make under water to play with. It isn’t known how they learn this, or if it’s an inbred ability. As if by magic the dolphin does a quick flip of its head and a silver ring appears in front of its pointed beak.

The ring is a solid, donut shaped bubble about 2-ft across, yet it doesn’t rise to the surface of the water! It stands upright in the water like a magic doorway to an unseen dimension. The dolphin then pulls a small silver donut from the larger one. Looking at the twisting ring for one last time a bite is taken from it, causing the small ring to collapse into a thousands of tiny bubbles which head upward towards the water’s surface. After a few moments the dolphin creates another ring to play with. There also seems to be a separate mechanism for producing small rings, which a dolphin can accomplish by a quick flip of its head.

An explanation of how dolphins make these silver rings is that they are ‘air-core vortex rings’. Read the rest of this entry »

Cartoonist Mike Keefe

via denver post

Parts of Endangered Species Act may soon be extinct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration wants federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects might harm endangered animals and plants.

New regulations, which don’t require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by The Associated Press. Read the rest of this entry »

Australian pokes shark in eye to survive mauling.

SYDNEY, Australia (AP)—An Australian swimmer says he survived a mauling by a 16-foot shark by wrestling with the beast, finally getting free by poking it in the eye. Read the rest of this entry »

This is #1 in a series of nature photography. The images are winners in the prestigious 2007 Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards.

The competition includes the Grand Prize and winners in 15 categories. More than 17,000 entries were submitted from photographers from 26 countries around the world to document the beauty, variety, and importance of Earth’s wildlife and wild places.

About Windland Smith Rice

This exhibition has been named in memory of Windland Smith Rice for her unyielding support of emerging photographers worldwide. Windland’s love for nature and photography was second only to her love for people and her legacy will fuel the passion of these artists for generations to come.

2008
The categories for the 2008 Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards: Read the rest of this entry »

Pet Monologue has been memed. Knowing the creator, it’s an honor.
That said, we pass it along!

pet monologue’s message

**** START COPY****
In a Bottle across the Blog Ocean. Leave a message in the sand or on the bottle. Write anything you wish. Be a pirate or a poet. Serious or silly. Anonymous or not.
What message would you like to send out to the universe?
Mimi’s Message In a Bottle Meme
1. Compose a message to place in your virtual bottle.
2. Right click and SAVE the blank graphic below

Hi Mimi!
3. Use a graphics program of your choice to place the message on the picture
4. Post the Message In a Bottle meme and your creation on your blog along with these rules
5. Tag a minimum of 5 bloggers - or your entire blogroll - to do the same. Notify them of the tag.Your virtual bottle will remain afloat in the blogosphere ocean for all blogernity (That’s a Mimism for blog + eternity.)

Mimi says: “ADD your site to the Mr. Linky list and place your blog’s name and url in a comment HERE TO LET ME KNOW YOU’VE COMPLETED THE MEME. I will add it to the master list of message bottles. Email mimiwrites2005 at yahoo.com if you have questions.”

***END COPY****

Mimi’s tags…Sandee at Comedy Plus, Dating Profile of the Day, Bond’s Big Leather Couch , Crazy Working Mom, Coffee2Go, Hammer , Julie’s Jewels and Junque , Lyn’s’ Last Minute Life , Speedcat Hollydale Page, Gill’s Jottings, Lee at Tarheel Ramblings, 1 Million Love Messages, A Word In Edgewise, Airhead55, Turnbaby, Bud at WTIT, Are We There Yet? And Miles To Go Before We Sleep, Anndi’s Luggage, Anyhow Blogs, Asara’s Mental Meanderings, Matt-Man, Carver’s Site Or Is That Sight?, Colloquium, Daisy The Curly Cat, Desert Songbird, Diary of A Heretic, Dixie’s Heart and Soul, Dr. Anonymous, Duward Discussion, Everything and Nothing, Frank’s Honk ‘n Hollr, Friday Night Fish Fry, Hahn at Home, Happy Tiler, Here Comes A Storm, Home In France, I Am Woman, See Me Blog! It’s a Blog Eat Blog World, Julie Pippert, Late Bloomer Boomer, Meowers From Missouri, Miss Maggie Moo Talks 2 U, Empress Bee, My Life Is Murphy’s Law, My View Of It, Nick’s Bytes, Nola Dawn, Odat Mumbles, Olga The Traveling Bra, Queenie’s Random Ramblings, Screw Perfection, The Starr Ann Chronicles, Trav’s Thoughts, Wading Through My Stream of Consciousness, Wonderland Or Not

Speedcat tags…Catsy Carpe Diem, Catsy Carpe Diem Blogs, Out of the Blue, Getting a Grip on Grace, Just Love the People, Shiphire Dustbin, Daily Widget Blogspot, Amel’s Relm, From My Desk,Rusin Roundup,WorldGolf Blogs, TravelGolf Blogs, Ping Golf Clubs, Thess!, Inspiration 101, A leaders Journal, Our Journey to Forever, Pinoy World, TOP PICK,SEO GURU’S TIPS, DAILY HEROES, EARN ONLINE PINOY, Dat Curious, My News Reviews / Pinoy, Google News, Josey’s Silly go Lucky!, Dat Money, Franchise Talk, Stacie’s Blog, Learn How to Blog for Money, Paradise Philippines, Pet Monologues, Deep in the Forest, No Direct On, The Painted Veil, Monday Morning Power, Sugar Queens Dream, Kanani/Easy Writer, The PoliStew Cafe, Ev Nucci,Nascar Site, Worn Out Woman, Drowsey Monkey, Frog Bog, R Playground!, Cat’s are Crazy, Polliwogs Pond, Blog Elf, Ordinary Folk, Julie’s Blog, Mighty Morgan, Erina Hart’s Into the Inkpot, Robin Lee Sardini, Blue Izzy, Outta the Coop / the Chick, Observations fro the Back 40, Backwoods Drifter, Ms. Q!, Olga the Traveling Bra, Bobby’s Revellian, LA Times Pressmen, Traci in the Swamp, A Nice Place in the Sun, Pinoy Biker Rural Adventures, Grottynosh Life / Colin, Aaron Cook, Golf Girl, Mariuca, Sarcasm Abounds,Santa’s Mail Box, USA Trends Today, Laketrees / Kim, Predator Press, Mad Tomatoe!, Netster, Tarheel Ramblings, Six 4 Paula,

Pet Monologues is tagging…
10,000 birds
a blog around the clock”
amori, poesie, arte, chat by hanna
andy beard
animals as friends
ascender rises above
a side of cartoons
at your service
balloon juice
bark bark woof woof
blog d’ellison
catsynth
chicago history
comments from left field
diane clancy
diva marketing
dragonheart’s domain
echidne of the snakes
euro puppy blog
fishalicious
himalman
into the inkpot
instaputz
joy ito’s web
kiwipulse
lady banana
lady omega
laketrees
life from a cat’s perspective
mercury rising
michelle allen
michelle wrighton
mind of mog
movie cat
my only photo
monologue blogger
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nature shows and dreams
nocturnal blogger’s introspect
only in the apple
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petopia
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ravens roads
rennyra’s terella
rosehaven cottage
saving lives one at a time
sisu
tacjammer
texas oasis
the dog log
the dreaming tree
the green blog
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the green fingered photographer
the laidback buddhist
the modulator
the poor mouth
the reality of what humans do
theriomorhp
the scratching post
the social custom manifesto
the velvet violin
the webrunner
watermark

South Beach, Florida. We were lucky enough to be in town for the 31st Annual Art Deco weekend.

ocean drive and 10th with over 50 antique cars

albino phython

collins avenue and 14th

collins avenue and 13th

Here is an official release: Art Deco Weekend—1/18 thru 1/20. Just when you thought South Beach was only for Eurotrash tourists and low-rent hip-hop clubs, culture comes to town: Art Deco Weekend is here, still running strong after 31 years. The weekend celebrating architectural history kicks off tonight with the Light Up the Night parade at 7:30 on Ocean Drive, and continues through Sunday.

Live music hits the stage at 13th Street, and there’ll be food all over the place, historic films screened at various venues, and a street fair lined with booths selling the same tchotchkes you have seen every single year.

Photo by Elvis Santana

But there are some new events this go-’round, including the first annual Little Miss Broadway Deco pageant—with a $250 prize! And in case there aren’t enough reasons for gay men to flock here, there’s the Arf Deco Dog Promenade, where attendees are invited to dress their pooches in Broadway-theme costumes. Do ruby slippers come in dog sizes?

All that aside, people really come to Art Deco Weekend for two reasons: First you buy the limited-edition souvenir poster, and then you take one of the fascinating history tours through the city. There’s so much going on it’s best if you just call 305 672 2014, or go to artdecoweekend.com to look at the schedule yourself.

mango’s dancers on ocean drive and ninth. we digress. check out Arf Deco Dog Promenade

Pet Monologues will be down for a week for technical issues. From 1/14 - 1/22. You will be able to access the site and leave comments. But we won’t be able to authorize or comment back. We apologize for any inconvenience. During this period PM is going to Miami’s South Beach area for business and R&R. I’ll have my camera as there are many photo opportunities. A little about the South Beach area:

South Beach during the day.

art deco during the day.

art deco and neon lights during the night.

people watching during the day.

South Beach is the section of Miami Beach, Florida that encompasses the southernmost 23 blocks of an island separating the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. This area was the first section of Miami Beach to be developed, starting in the 1910s, thanks to the development efforts of Carl G. Fisher, the Lummus Brothers, John S. Collins, and others. The area has gone through numerous man-made and natural changes over the years, including a booming regional economy, increased tourism, and the 1926 hurricane that destroyed much of the area.

In 1912, Miami businessmen the Lummus Brothers acquired 400 acres (1.6 km²) of Collins’ land in an effort to build an oceanfront city of modest single family residences. In 1913 Collins started construction of a bridge from Miami to Miami Beach. Although some local residents invested in the bridge, Collins ran short of money before he could complete it.

Carl G. Fisher, a successful entrepreneur who made millions in 1909 after selling a business to Union Carbide, came to the beach in 1913. His vision was to establish South Beach as a successful city independent of Miami. This was the same year that the restaurant Joe’s Stone Crab opened. Fisher loaned $50,000 to Collins for his bridge, which was completed in June, 1913. the Collins Bridge was later replaced by the Venetian Causeway. Read the rest of this entry »

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind–the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way. Woof! Meow! Squawk! Whinny! Talk!

When PM thinks of the environment we think about the relationship between humankind, animals, the environment. Humankind, we the people, exercise control over our environment like never before. As our control grows so do our choices. We can make things worse: or better. A good choice would be to spread the word about Blog Action Day. Another would be to share words of wisdom, a story, an image, or environmental resources in comments.

Older than us?

George Mackenzie Dunnet was a well-known Scottish ornithologist who passed away in 1995, aged 67. The photograph that accompanies his obituary shows a timeworn face, mostly bald head and grey locks clinging to temples. However, his sense of fun survives—literally.

Throughout his life George studied fulmars on Eynhallow in the Orkney Islands.He had his picture taken in 1951 holding a ringed fulmar when he was a young man and, by great coincidence, had it taken again 30 years later with the same bird. Personal vanity was brushed aside in his admiration for the fulmar’s unchanged looks.

Meanwhile, the bird lives on. It is a sobering thought that, when ringed, it was already a mature breeding adult making its true age a mystery.

Unlike humans, birds do not go grey or develop wrinkles. If their outward appearance does not change, how can we tell their age? In most cases ringing provides data on lifespan and longevity. Natural clues to the precise age of a bird are few and only serve to chart survival into adulthood—not beyond. Small birds replace distinctive juvenile plumage with that of an adult within months of being born. After this, their looks do not alter. Larger birds take several years to reach maturity during which time they grow progressively more adult-like feathers. Brown juvenile gannets acquire white plumage resembling their parents’ through a series of moults over a five-year period. Read the rest of this entry »