Shabby Streets and Savvy Animals
Recently I was heading to my friends house for an art and craft day when I accidentally got off the bus far too early. That was okay though, because I had my camera and was able to take pictures of the sad and slightly decrepit street which is Aurora. It is a street with a seedy underbelly, but also a street with character. And although there are seedy elements to Aurora, I never think of it as sinister, only a little bit sad and weary under the seemingly contradictory burden of too much travel and too much neglect.
I have been watching nature documentaries lately about animals and the parts I still cringe and close my eyes at are when any animal is eaten. I know it is part of nature, but it is hard to watch as the baby zebra clumisly tries to cross the murky brown river, it's tiny stripped head bobbing up and down, while the crocodile lurks just out of sight, licking it's spiky chops. And yes, that crocodile needs to eat, but it is so sad to watch it tear into the zebra. The worst part about it is the prey is being eaten before it is even dead. Nature really is brutal!
Speaking of the ever so chipper subject of death, I learned something interesting (from and avid redditer ) the other day about ones fate after death if they live in Amsterdam. If you die in Amsterdam with no friends or family to attend your funeral and mourn for you, a poet will write a poem for you and recite it at your funeral. This is a really beautiful idea. It is a way to appreciate everyone who has lived in this world, even if there is no one living in this world to appreciate them. I think this practice should be brought to the states! Maybe a nonprofit could be started employing poets around the country to write poems for all the lost souls who die alone.
Since tomorrow is a holiday and this post has (unintentionally) become quite dower, here is a link to a cheerful and adorable polar bear video. I was trying to find a clip to the video I was watching last night (Called "David Attenborough: Wildlife Specials episode one Arctic Warriors...It's on netflix), but I had no luck. There was a particularly cute part where a not yet fully grown polar bear was trying to hunt by imitating his mother's technique. Polar bears jump on the ice above water that they think a seal is occupying in hopes the ice will crack and they can catch the seal. They look pretty cute when they are jumping!
I have been watching nature documentaries lately about animals and the parts I still cringe and close my eyes at are when any animal is eaten. I know it is part of nature, but it is hard to watch as the baby zebra clumisly tries to cross the murky brown river, it's tiny stripped head bobbing up and down, while the crocodile lurks just out of sight, licking it's spiky chops. And yes, that crocodile needs to eat, but it is so sad to watch it tear into the zebra. The worst part about it is the prey is being eaten before it is even dead. Nature really is brutal!
Speaking of the ever so chipper subject of death, I learned something interesting (from and avid redditer ) the other day about ones fate after death if they live in Amsterdam. If you die in Amsterdam with no friends or family to attend your funeral and mourn for you, a poet will write a poem for you and recite it at your funeral. This is a really beautiful idea. It is a way to appreciate everyone who has lived in this world, even if there is no one living in this world to appreciate them. I think this practice should be brought to the states! Maybe a nonprofit could be started employing poets around the country to write poems for all the lost souls who die alone.
Since tomorrow is a holiday and this post has (unintentionally) become quite dower, here is a link to a cheerful and adorable polar bear video. I was trying to find a clip to the video I was watching last night (Called "David Attenborough: Wildlife Specials episode one Arctic Warriors...It's on netflix), but I had no luck. There was a particularly cute part where a not yet fully grown polar bear was trying to hunt by imitating his mother's technique. Polar bears jump on the ice above water that they think a seal is occupying in hopes the ice will crack and they can catch the seal. They look pretty cute when they are jumping!