Marty Essen's Blog, page 284

Who knows how long this will look so beautiful?

Marty’s photo of the day #2563: This aerial shot shows the Jago River and Bitty (the hill) in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Several days earlier, Deb and I had camped by the river, climbed to the top of Bitty, and canoed north, 35 miles, to the Arctic Ocean.


 


Since the creation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Democrats had fought to preserve it, and for more than 30 years, Republicans had fought to give it to filthy rich oil companies. This past December Republicans finally won the battle, when congress passed a bill opening the refuge to drilling and President Evil signed it. Because what would Republicans be without greed—and the do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do conservative Christian base that gives them power?


 


Who knows how long this scene will look so beautiful?

The post Who knows how long this will look so beautiful? appeared first on Around the World with Marty Essen.

The story of the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle

Marty’s photo of the day #2562: I will let a short excerpt from my second book, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico, explain this shot:

Shortly after returning to the gulf, we spotted a domed object—roughly the circumference of a trash can lid—on the surface of the water. At first, none of us could figure out what it was. Then, as our driver slowed the engine and moved us closer, Jose said hesitantly, “I think it’s an olive ridley sea turtle. I’ve never seen one on the surface of the water like that. It might be sick or dead.”

Through my telephoto lens, I could see the turtle’s shell, but it appeared as if its head was either missing or pulled inside. An instant later, the shell began to sink and a large head popped out of the water. “It’s alive!” I said.

As sea turtles go, olive ridleys are common. However, their numbers have dropped by 50 percent since the 1950s, largely due to egg gathering and getting caught in fishing nets. Most countries, including Costa Rica, protect the turtles. But even the protection is controversial, as the Costa Rican government allows 120 families from the coastal town of Ostional to engage in limited “sustainable” egg gathering. The government’s rationalization is that by limiting egg gathering to the first thirty-six hours of a mass nesting period (called an arribada), the families are mostly taking eggs that later arriving turtles would have destroyed anyway, and those families will protect the remaining eggs to ensure profitable future harvests.

How do I feel about Costa Rica’s turtle egg exemption? The Costa Rican government puts forth a persuasive argument that the program is actually increasing the local turtle population. On the other hand, it is arguably enabling the overseas turtle egg black market (how do you prove where the eggs came from?), where unscrupulous profiteers sell the eggs as aphrodisiacs to the same class of primitive idiots who ingest powdered rhino horn, expecting a variety of cures. So while I’d normally give an ecologically forward-thinking government like Costa Rica’s a greater benefit of a doubt than I would give a drill-baby-drill government like Alaska’s, I just can’t go there with them on this one.

As for the olive ridley sea turtle in front of us: she held her head above water for a minute or so, while we inched closer and raved about our sighting. Then, in one smooth motion, she ducked her head below the surface and was gone.

The post The story of the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle appeared first on Around the World with Marty Essen.

Scared of Eagles and Lynx? Have a military parade!

Much is being made in the news about President Crybaby Chickenshit uninviting the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles from their White House visit. What deserves just as much attention is that President Crybaby Chickenshit was too cowardly to even initiate a visit from the WNBA Champion Minnesota Lynx. Yes, President Crybaby Chickenshit was too scared of having strong women nearby, who could kick his ass both mentally and physically.

And, of course, President Obama had the Lynx to the White House three times for the three WNBA championships they won while he was in office. So to President Crybaby Chickenshit that makes the Lynx untouchable (especially the black women).

No wonder President Crybaby Chickenshit leads a party filled with fetish patriots who panic if they can’t have their microphallic compensation devices strapped to their sides. And when Eagles and Lynx are too scary, there’s only one thing to do: have a military parade!

The post Scared of Eagles and Lynx? Have a military parade! appeared first on Around the World with Marty Essen.

The mooses of summer

Marty’s photo of the day #2561: Yay! The first moose of the year is here. When I first saw the land we bought surrounding where we would eventually build our house, I didn’t think “moose territory,” because even though it has surface water, it’s not swampy. Nevertheless, just about every year, since 1996, we’ve had a summer moose—sometimes several of them. I’m also amazed that somehow they avoid the poachers that are likely nearby.

This year’s moose was in some thick brush by a ditch the trickles across the upper portion of our land. The sky was getting dark, and I couldn’t safely get close enough for a quality photo, but with any luck I’ll get several more chances in the coming weeks.

The post The mooses of summer appeared first on Around the World with Marty Essen.

Photographing chipmunks

Marty’s photo of the day #2560: When I was a kid and got my first camera, I promptly photographed my feet and then advanced to chipmunks. Years later I still photograph chipmunks, and feet . . . only on special occasions.

The post Photographing chipmunks appeared first on Around the World with Marty Essen.

Waiting on a chipmunk

[image error]

 

Marty’s photo of the day #2559: A week ago, this great horned owl hung out on a branch that was outside the window of my writing room and just above a chipmunk hole, significantly slowing down the workday for both the humans and chipmunks.

The post Waiting on a chipmunk appeared first on Around the World with Marty Essen.

Inside a Spanish castle

Marty’s photo of the day #2558: I will let a short excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, explain this shot from Spain:

If medieval real estate agents existed, they would have listed the Castillo de Monfragüe as a “starter castle.” Built in the fifteenth century, it was much smaller than the previous two castles we had seen. The unusually shaped building had six flat sides and a flat top. Each side was about twenty-five feet wide, and its total height was about the same as a three-story house. Although the castle didn’t have elaborate architecture or towers, it did have one exciting feature: an open door.

We stepped inside and were surprised to see only a single large square room with stone walls and a high ceiling. Medieval real estate agents would have had to avoid using the word cozy when describing the castle’s interior. An enclosed staircase led up from an opening in the far wall. We climbed the stairs to a midlevel embrasure window, which was big enough to support a cannon but not tall enough to for us to stand in. We hunched over and gazed down on the Rio Tajo (the major river in the area) valley, then continued to the top of the stairs and popped out on the roof. Surrounding us were walls six feet thick and seven feet high. Defensive crenellations (openings) allowed for weapon launching in all directions, and steps made it easy for us to get on top of the walls. In its heyday the castle was a strategic lookout. With views extending for miles, it would have been difficult for an enemy to cross the river without being spotted.

A medieval real estate agent might have advertised the castle like this:

Starter Castle. One large room for easy cleaning. Six-foot-thick walls provide all the protection you and your family will ever need. Roof doubles as a patio—great for entertaining friends, boiling caldrons of oil, or tossing heretics. Outstanding views allow for easy surveillance of neighbors. Built to last—six hundred years from now, it will still look as good as new.

The post Inside a Spanish castle appeared first on Around the World with Marty Essen.

Water Taxi

Marty’s photo of the day #2557: This is one of the more sea-worthy water taxis on the Amazon River. Or it could be a Peruvian naval destroyer . . . I’m not sure.

The post Water Taxi appeared first on Around the World with Marty Essen.

“Oh, yeah? You can’t make me not buy it!”

Despite quite literally putting a warning on both the Amazon and Goodreads pages for my science-fiction political-comedy, Time Is Irreverent, conservatives keep buying it and are then surprised when they hate it. I should have thought of this marketing tactic years ago: Tell someone not to buy your book and they go, “Oh, yeah? You can’t make me not buy it!”

So even though Time Is Irreverent is well on its way to outselling my two previous books combined, the novel is accumulating a nifty collection of 1-star reviews from conservatives. Today a 1-star review went up on Amazon that accused me of taking a cheap shot at Christianity.

Why is it that these so-called Christians feel it’s perfectly okay to insult other religions and tell non-believers that they are going to burn in hell, yet when I suggest that perhaps people take into account just how primitive people were in the first century, I am the one taking the cheap shot?

You know what is truly a cheap shot at Christianity? Voting for and continuing to support Donald Trump; speaking out for and advocating guns at the expense of the lives of our children; supporting corporate greed over the long-term livability of our planet; and taking the side of bigotry at every turn—all while claiming you have Jesus on your side!

In my next book, Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, not Again! Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon will be bringing Jesus to the twenty first century. Without giving away the story, you can imagine how Jesus is going to react to today’s Christians.

In the meantime, if you’ve read Time Is Irreverent and enjoyed it, please go to Amazon and Goodreads and post a review. Although my nifty collection of 1-star reviews is okay, it’s my nifty collection of 5-star reviews that give me the encouragement to keep writing.

The post “Oh, yeah? You can’t make me not buy it!” appeared first on Around the World with Marty Essen.

White-lipped tree frog

Marty’s photo of the day #2557: Today we go to the wet tropics of Queensland for this cooperative, photogenic white-lipped tree frog.

The post White-lipped tree frog appeared first on Around the World with Marty Essen.