SEA WORLD!!

I have had the opportunity to visit Sea World Orlando during February vacation in 2007, and I had an amazing time. We had taken the car train down and were staying in a campground in Ocala, Florida. Sea World was amazing. We spent a whole day there, but we still didn't see everything. And what I did see blew my mind. The exhibits were beautifully built, the animals were exceptionally taken care of, and the park grounds were beautifully landscaped and sparkling clean. They even went as far as to ban straws or plastic lids from the park in order to protect the animals! ;) I got to see many different types of marine animals, including manatees, dolphins, giant turtles, flamingos, stingrays, Shamu, walruses, polar bears, and my favorite type of whale, the Beluga whale. I even had my picture taken with one of the clydestales!

I saw two of Sea World's amazing shows while I was there, Blue Horizons and Believe. If I could have, I would have seen all of Sea World's shows, but there are only so many hours in a day. The shows I did see were jaw dropping, mind-boggling, fabulous, stupendous, and any other word that means amazing!Blue Horizons was a dolphin show, but it did far more than have dolphins jump up in the air; it was a play about a girl who imagined about living in the sea. The actors? Well they were dolphins, false killer whales, exotic birds, trainers, and acrobats. When you watch Blue Horizons you feel like you’re at a Broadway musical, only better because there were animals. And, what makes the show more amazing is that the animals act right along with the humans! The acrobats, trainers, and dolphins all perform tricks. The acrobats did high flying stunts that are simply miraculous. Some even dived into the pool from the trapeze, a drop of at least 5o ft. The animals performed tricks that were equally amazing and all perfectly timed. If they ever messed up, no one ever noticed. My favorite trick was when to dolphins would use their noses to push their trainer around the pool. The only word to describe Blue Horizons is astounding!

Believe is one of Shamu's latest shows and it is utterly breathtaking. The show features huge rotating video screens, beautiful music, and the rest of Shamu's family. The show's choreography is based on the natural behaviors of the Orca. It was truly amazing to see these massive yet agile creatures in action and it gave you insight into how Oraca's behave in the wild. Another awe-inspiring part of the show is that even though the Orca's dwarf their trainers, they are very gentle with their trainers. The trainer's, in turn, are just as gentle to the Orca's. This is one of the goals of the show, to convey that bond between trainer and animal to the audience. At the end, one lucky member form the audience, who is madly in love with animals, gets to stand on a platform, at most 35 feet away from Shamu. They also receive a Believe whale tail necklace from a trainer. (Unfortunately, it was not me, but it was still really cool to see.) I believe that Sea World has done a truly amazing job with Believe.

The highlight of my day, however, came when I got to go behind the scenes of the dolphin nursery with my mom. I had received the tickets for this "animal encounter" as a Christmas present. You can only do this if you have tickets, but trust me it's worth it. The dolphin nursery is the enclosure for mother dolphins with baby calves and adolescent dolphins. Before we went into the nursery, our guide told us a lot of interesting facts about baby dolphins and their mothers. For example, baby dolphins are born with mustaches. Awww! How cute! ;p Then, our big group split into smaller groups and each group got to work with one trainer and two dolphins. We were able to feed the dolphins and have them perform tricks. (We fed the dolphins small fish, but they got the whole fish. This part didn't bother me; I thought it was cool ;p) We had the dolphins lie on their side and we got to pet them. (Their skin is smooth, cool, and soft, but not slimy. It was just awesome to pet them.) Then, we had them do other tricks like back walking and jumping, but my favorite was the handshake. The dolphin would rise up on his hind flippers and you grabbed the front ones. It was a little hard to do, but after a few tries a got it. All in all, my visit Sea World was one of the most fun and enchanting moments of my life!

Links:

Sea World Home:

http://www.seaworld.com/

Sea World Orlando Home:

http://www.seaworld.com/orlando/default.aspx

Sea World and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund:

http://www.swbg-conservationfund.org/

"Snacks and Attacks" Primeval Episode Clip

This is a clip from one of my favorite Primeval episodes. It's from Season 1 and the creature is a raptor.

"It All Starts Here" Primevel Season 2

This is a commercial for Primeval Season 2 to augment to my review of the new season.

Primeval Review Series 2

BBC America's popular Sci-Fi show Primeval recently entered its second season, season three in the U.K., with new episodes every Saturday night. Popular in both the UK and the U.S., Primeval was written as competition for the long running show Dr. Who. Primeval is an interesting show. It's about a team of scientists who work with the government to contain a little problem the UK is having with DINOSAURS! Creatures from both the past and future come through rips in time called anomalies. The team's job is to find, prevent, deal with, and possibly stop the anomalies. The show combines flawless CGI with live action for truly heart racing episodes. The series is full of drama, action, suspense, and of course comedy.
The team is made up of citizens and government officials alike. Helen Cutter, once a professor of paleontology, is the first person to discover these anomalies and has been living in them for the past 10 years. She is assumed to be dead. Her husband Dr. Nick Cutter, also a professor of paleontology, doesn't discover the anomalies until eight years after Helen disappears. He works with Claudia Brown of the Home Office, the U.K.'s equivalent of homeland security, and puts together his team.(Cutter soon falls in love with Claudia). The official boss is James Lester, a Home Office official. Cutter is the head of the people who deal with the anomalies. In his team there is Abby Maitland who is a zookeeper, Conner Temple who is one of Cutter's students and basically the geek, and Stephen Hart who is Cutter's research assistant and the person in charge of weapons. (Abby and Conner might end up going out, and then again they might not. We will have to wait and see ;) )
Primeval always has new drama. In Season One/Season Two (Originally Primeval aired in the UK as two separate seasons. Here in the U.S. Season One and Season Two were combined) Cutter went through an anomaly and came back to a world that had evolved differently. Claudia Brown no longer existed, but in her place there was Jenny Brown a P.R. person hired to cover up the anomalies. The team no longer worked out of the Home Office, but out of the ARC (Anomaly Research Center). There was also a new government agent, Oliver Leak. Leak was secretly working with Helen to establish a zoo of every creature that comes through an anomaly in an attempt to change the future. The team shut it down, but Stephen was killed in the process. This season has barley started and it already has lots of drama. Helen has an army of clones and clones Cutter. The real Cutter finds a way to predict anomalies. He also figures out that myths from other cultures are based on the creatures that came through past anomalies. Dr. Sarah Page, who has a PhD in Archeology and Egyptology, joins the team. Her job is to study myths from ancient cultures that could have possibly been anomalies. Captain Becker also joins the team to replace Stephan Hart as weapons manger. Detective Danny Quinn also tries to join the team, as his brother was killed by an anomaly creature. So far, however, he has not been allowed to join. Meanwhile, Helen has seen a future completely destroyed by an army of future creatures. She is convinced that the ARC has caused this and shoots her ex-husband Cutter in order to prevent it. The real culprit behind the future's destruction is most likely Christine Johnson, a government agent who wants to take over the anomaly operation. She knows everything about the ARC while the ARC knows nothing about her. All this drama in only the fist few episodes; it looks like season two/three is going to be amazing.

Primeval Homepage

http://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/primeval/index.jsp

EB Big Top!

The EB Music Parents Association has brought the Coles Bros. Circus to town from June 22 and 23 at the EB Community Center's field. The Circus is a fundraiser and all proceeds will directly benefit the EB Music Parents Association.

Before the circus starts you can watch the tent being raised. This will take place on June 22 at 7:00 AM. Seeing a circus tent raised will prove to be an amazing site and a great way to start of the summer. Doug Lee, father of beginner band saxophonist Peter Lee, said, "You don't see stuff like that often now-a-days". Unfortunately, this creates a problem because June 22 is the last day of school and that's where most kids will be.

The Cole Bros. Circus is one of the best circuses in the country, the best to its employees, and the most humane to its animals. It is also the oldest circus in America and is celebrating it's 125th anniversary. "The world's largest circus under the big top" will feature entertainment for all ages including acrobats, clowns, the human cannonball, and animals like dogs, horses, camels, and elephants. It's going to be a crazy circus, so don't miss the Cole Bros. Circus in E.B.

E.B. Spring Band Concert

Last night, at G.W.M.S. the 4th grade chorus, the beginner's band(5th grade), 5th and6th grade chorus, and 6th grade band held a free concert. It was a night of music and fun as the chorus sang their hearts out and the band blasted out notes.
The first group to perform was the 4th grade chorus. Standing high up on the risers they proudly sang their tunes. They ended with the upbeat song "Footloose", complete with dance moves and everything.
Then, the beginner's band performed. This was only their second concert, but it was obvious that they were very confident. They performed "Friar Jacques", "Mexican Hat Dance", and last but not least "Let's Go Band". "Let's Go Band" is an upbeat tune that features each part of the band and then the band as a whole. It got the crowd clapping along. The saxophone section seemed to have fun as the bobbed along to the music as they played. They even waved to the crowd at the end of the song, awaiting their applause.
Next up was the 5th and 6th grade chorus. They were missing many members due to either flu or a softball game, but they still gave a wonderful performance. The chorus performed a song about peace, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", and a three part song about baseball. The three part song was very funny and very lively.
Last but not least, the 6th grade band performed. They played songs such as "Grand Old Flag" and of course "Let's Go Band". They even added their own cheer at the end, "6th GRADE BAND! BEST IN THE LAND! YEEEEAAAAAHHHH!"
All of the performers did a wonderful job and further prove that EB Music Program is truly, "A Tradition of Excellence".

Blog Post 10: Beat Shell: Summer Reading Shell

http://www.kira-kira.us/cracker.htm Cracker! by Cynthia Kadohata is a story about a bomb-detecting dog and her trainer Rick Hanski who are both serving in the Vietnam War. At first they hate each other, but then become very close and a great team. Interestingly, the story is told through both Cracker's eyes and Rick's eyes. The book is recommended for kids ages 8-12.
http://www.chrismoore.com/fluke.html Fluke by Christopher Moore is the hilarious story of marine biologist Nate Quinn and his research team. They are working in Hawaii trying to figure out why humpback whales sing, but the more research they do, the more strange answers they find. First, Nate sees the words "BITE ME!" written on a whale's tail. He's just overworked right? But then, his lab is ransacked and the film with tail shot of the "BITE ME" whale is missing! What else can possibly go wrong? ;) This book is recommended for teens and adults.
http://www.johngroganbooks.com/marley/index.html Marley and Me by John Grogan is the story of a troublesome yellow lab and his family, or as Grogan put it, "life and love with the worlds worst dog". You follow Marley's life from when he was a puppy to his golden years. It's laugh after laugh as Marley gets into more and more trouble. There's awes when Marley does something cute and tears when the biography comes to and end. (My advice, since this is story about Marley's life you know Marley will die, but try to forget that as you read. It's not the point of the book.) This book is recommended for teens and adults, but John Grogan has also written a version of Marley and Me for younger readers and even picture books. They are Bad Dog Marley! and A very Marley Christmas. Don't forget to check out the movie when your done with the book! ;)
http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=0812975464 Walking in Circles Before Lying Down is about a woman named Dawn Tarnauer who hasn't had the best luck in life. Her parents weren't really supportive to say the least, she has been through two divorces, and her new boyfriend just dumped her. She used to have a loyal dog named Swentzle to help her through it all, but he died. So, Dawn turns to a pit-bull mix named Chuck that she adopts from the pound. Chuck does more than just console her with those sad puppy eyes. He actually talks to her and gives his own opinion of life! And Chuck's opinion on life is hysterical. Can his doggy instincts point her on the right path? This book is recommended for teens and adults.
http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=1599211823 From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, The War, and a Dog Named Lava by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth is a heartwarming memoir. It tells the story of a group of marines called the Lava Dogs that find a puppy in an abandoned building. The marines keep the puppy in spite of General Order 1-A, which forbids pets. They name the puppy Lava and it not only makes itself at home in their command post, but also in their hearts. This book is recommended for teens and adults. (I'm sorry that I can't give you a more detailed description, but I'm in the middle of the book myself ;p)
http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=0140384235 Kävik the Wolf Dog is a touching story about a wolf-dog and champion sled dog named Kävik and a boy named Andy. Andy saves Kävik from a plane crash and nurses him back to health, but Kävik's original owner comes to claim him. However, the wolf-dog will have no part of that. He runs away and loyally tries to find Andy. He travels 2,000 miles from Washington to Alaska, battling the wilderness and following his wolf instincts. Kävik the Wolf Dog is a action packed novel and one of my favorite books. This book is recommended for kids ages 8-12.