Fish for Friday

Edited by Morris Dean

[Anonymous selections from recent correspondence]

"The Art of Birds, Revealed Through an Altered Reality." [Becky Harlan, National Geographic] Excerpt:

At first glance, these birds wowed me. A few seconds later I started to wonder, Are they real?
    Well … yes. And no.

Medow Roseate Spoonbills (each bird photographed in Florida)

Have you watched our classmate Nortin Hadler's commencement address to the Michigan Medical School yet? It's not only sage – it's also quite entertaining. [22:43]
    If you yourself were invited to give a commencement address, what advice would you give a graduating class?


Do you think we can trust John Podesta (the Chairman of the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign) on this one?

Nearly 80 percent of all Republican money is going straight to outside groups like super PACs with no donation limits and very few rules. And on the Democratic side, it's the exact opposite: 80 percent of the money is going straight to the campaigns, where we can be careful and responsible stewards of our resources.
    These are two fundamentally different ways of running for office. By putting their money into super PACs and outside groups, Republicans have empowered millionaires and billionaires to run the show with dark money.}

    The Washington Post seems to think so: "2016 fundraising shows power tilting to groups backed by wealthy elite." [Matea Gold and Anu Narayanswamy]

Whose business is it, if I choose to read, or play on the computer, until 4 a.m., or sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will.

Albert Einstein: "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction."

Thomas Edison: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

Megan Rapinoe (U.S. Women's Soccer star), describe yourself in one word. [See short clip of it.]

There are more payday lending storefronts in America than McDonald's and Starbucks...combined. Payday loan shark attacks are devestating. What starts out as a short-term loan quickly becomes a devastating debt trap. With the entire loan due each payday, borrowers are left without enough money to survive and are forced to borrow again. Ninety-four percent of borrowers take out another payday loan with a month and more than half of borrowers are forced to renew their loans so many times they pay more in fees than the original loan. [“Payday Loans and Deposit Advance Products.” Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, April 24, 2013]

His entire life was spent on a chain in Halifax County, North Carolina. He was routinely denied food, water, and affection and was only 2 years old when his negligent owners stopped feeding him. By the time animal control authorities got to him, he was near death and it was too late to save him. Chase had to be euthanized.

You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]'s latest eyewitness investigation, at Padenga Crocodile Farms in Zimbabwe and Lone Star Alligator Farms (LSAF) in Winnie, Texas, revealed the atrocious conditions in which crocodiles and baby alligators are raised and/or killed. Our investigator documented that workers cut into alligators' necks and tried to scramble their brains with metal rods—all in the name of "luxury" items, including watchbands. Some animals were still conscious, flailing and kicking, even minutes after workers tried to kill them....
    PETA has submitted detailed complaints and evidence to local and state agencies with jurisdiction to enforce state anti-cruelty statutes and alligator-farm regulations.
    The most important thing that you can do to help end this suffering is to refuse to buy any product made from the skin of any animal and ask others to join you in combating cruelty to animals.
    Thank you for your compassion for animals and for your willingness to take action.

People along a neon-lit stretch of Magaluf

Criminy! At first I found this unbelievable, but then "in today's world," how could it not be? "In Tourist Destinations, a Picture of Excess." [Doreen Carvajal, NY Times] Excerpt:

From posing naked at Machu Picchu to filming their dives from hotel balconies into courtyard swimming pools, travelers across the world have been indulging in what officials and travel experts describe as an epidemic of narcissism and recklessness, as they try to turn vacation hubs and historic sites into their personal video and photography props....
    Officials in popular tourist destinations from Spain to Malaysia are starting to push back, and are considering tough new measures to control the most destructive behavior. These include imposing fines and jail sentences on unruly visitors, limiting group tourism and even turning the tables on the miscreants by posting photographs of their antics in a bid to publicly shame them.

The small island of Procida - Italy

Sculpture that looks like you can walk into the sky, by artist David McCracken in Australia:

Limerick of the week:

​Young Kendra struck a doctor on a bike.
"I wasn't driving reckless— I mean— like—
     just talking on the phone— ya' know?
     telling friends what I'm doing— yo?
Wasn't like I hit a kid on a trike."

Copyright © 2015 by Morris Dean