Pink Elephants
Pink Elephants - a very different note So for a complete change of mood from my earlier angsty post, I decided to share something that made me happy.
Last night, in my usual avoidance of packing and all work related things, I watched Animal Planet's re-airing of Discovery Channel's "Planet Earth" series. They were showing the Jungles and Fresh Water segments. At the end of the jungle hour (which featured so many giant rain forest bugs that I could watch very little of it with out switching away), we see a rare waterhole gathering of usually solitary jungle elephants. Very clearly, though not the focal point of the shot, we see a pink elephant wander past. That's right. An actual pink elephant. Yet, this was not something the writers found worthy of a narrator's explanation. I sent text messages to several people - some of whom quickly switched over to see the pink elephant (which was never shown again). I began to wonder if I'd actually seen this pink elephant at all - or if my poor diet lately had caused me to burn some fat cells still laced with hallucinogens from past wild days (in case you don't know - that's the main reason people have flash backs). I went online to see what I could find out. Apparently, these elephants, who gain most of their nutrients by eating iron rich clay from the bed of aforementioned water hole, also spray this mud all over themselves and each other as a form of sunscreen/moisturizer. The pink elephant was either covered in its own homemade Coppertone, or had done so often enough to stain its skin permanently. I really wish I could find a pic, but alas -there are none.
If you haven't caught any of these shows - you should. Especially if you like nature shows or give a crap about our environment (as they claim the reason for making this breathtaking, HD series is to encourage interest in conservation). It's about 16 hours of programming, recorded in the most beautiful HD quality available. It looks more real than real life - especially on Adam's giant tv and broadcast on Discovery HD (easily the prettiest channel on television). These documentaries showcase many things never before caught on film - like a giant pride of lions taking down a full grown elephant, and other very camera shy animals hunting and mating etc. But be careful of the Caves episode - it's awesome, but there's a mountain of giant cockroaches in it. *shudders at the memory*
Last night, in my usual avoidance of packing and all work related things, I watched Animal Planet's re-airing of Discovery Channel's "Planet Earth" series. They were showing the Jungles and Fresh Water segments. At the end of the jungle hour (which featured so many giant rain forest bugs that I could watch very little of it with out switching away), we see a rare waterhole gathering of usually solitary jungle elephants. Very clearly, though not the focal point of the shot, we see a pink elephant wander past. That's right. An actual pink elephant. Yet, this was not something the writers found worthy of a narrator's explanation. I sent text messages to several people - some of whom quickly switched over to see the pink elephant (which was never shown again). I began to wonder if I'd actually seen this pink elephant at all - or if my poor diet lately had caused me to burn some fat cells still laced with hallucinogens from past wild days (in case you don't know - that's the main reason people have flash backs). I went online to see what I could find out. Apparently, these elephants, who gain most of their nutrients by eating iron rich clay from the bed of aforementioned water hole, also spray this mud all over themselves and each other as a form of sunscreen/moisturizer. The pink elephant was either covered in its own homemade Coppertone, or had done so often enough to stain its skin permanently. I really wish I could find a pic, but alas -there are none.
If you haven't caught any of these shows - you should. Especially if you like nature shows or give a crap about our environment (as they claim the reason for making this breathtaking, HD series is to encourage interest in conservation). It's about 16 hours of programming, recorded in the most beautiful HD quality available. It looks more real than real life - especially on Adam's giant tv and broadcast on Discovery HD (easily the prettiest channel on television). These documentaries showcase many things never before caught on film - like a giant pride of lions taking down a full grown elephant, and other very camera shy animals hunting and mating etc. But be careful of the Caves episode - it's awesome, but there's a mountain of giant cockroaches in it. *shudders at the memory*