Sea World Should Be Put Out of Business!

Sea World Should Be Put Out of Business!

     Last night, I watched a series of documentaries and news footage about Sea World and their killer whales.   I'll have to admit I was captivated by Sea World in San Diego in the early 1980's.  The organization was not as condemned as  it is today.

     I think it's appalling that these 12,000 animals are trained to perform like circus animals.  Tossing plastic balls, carrying humans on their backs as they race thru the water, landing on platforms in front of audiences in just inches of water.

      In 2010, a trainer, Dawn Bracheau, was killed by an orca, Tilikum, at Sea World in Florida.  She'd worked as a trainer for 16 years and had been performing for almost as long.  After a show, Tilikum pulled her into the tank, thrashed her about, and forced her to the bottom of the pool.  Orcas want to hold on to their prey, so it was very difficult for the staff to separate the whale from her.  Every bone in her body was broken, and she was "scalped" by the whale.

     Just several months before, another trainer, Alexis Martinez, was killed by an orca in the Canary Islands.  Sea World insisted on calling the event "an accident" rather than an attack.

     Sea World needs to go out of business and stop capitalizing on these magnificent creatures entertaining an audience...It's up to our young people.  Watch the documentary, "The Voiceless," produced by young people.  Also, the documentary, Blackfish, exposes the horror of Sea World's exploitation of marine life.

     Do your part, expose the problem and don't buy a ticket!

       

Oh, Those Naughty Victorians!

Oh, Those Naughty Victorians!

     Laid low this week-end by "an upper respiratory infection."  Or at least so says the doc.

Had to take the week off...

     Entertained myself with starting to read, Edward the VII, the Playboy Prince.  Fascinating stuff!  Decades ago, I watched the Masterpiece Theatre series on Lillie Langtry, "the Jersey Lily."

     Jane Ridley, the British author of this tome on Edward, has penned a captivating biography.  She doesn't leave a stone unturned.  

     I was a little surprised at what a lousy mother Victoria was.  There was no love lost between Edward (called "Bertie) andVictoria.  Edward was her oldest son.  One thing that stood out was that when he was Prince of Wales, she didn't give him the important "red box" and entrusted it to someone else.

     Edward was a randy guy.  He married the beautiful Princess Alexandra of Denmark (called Alix) and while it was a love match, he cheated on her a lot.

     One of his mistresses was Lilly Langtry, the "Jersey Lily."  She was crazy beautiful and well known artists of the day lined up to paint or sketch her.  She became an actress, as did her daughter, Jeanne Marie.

The Isle of Jersey

   In the Channel Islands of the U.K., Jersey is a colorful, ancient land with its own language, Jerriais.   

   Efforts to bring back Jerriais began in the 1960's with the effect that classes were started to teach the language.  Today, there is a dictionary in Jerriais and many school children are learning what used to be their native language.

http://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/The_programme_to_further_the_teaching_of_Jèrriais_in_the_island

Ernie Barnes, Durham Native

The NC Museum of History closed their exhibit/tribute to Durham native, Ernie Barnes.  He got 26 scholarships to play football at NC College, now NC Central University.

Here's a link:

https://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/events/exhibit-closing-north-carolina-roots-artist-ernie-barnes

So sorry I missed this exhibit...