Wednesday, February 19

 
following is possibly the funniest forward i've ever gotten in my life. they want me to write a letter to the mayor about this. you're damn right i will - i'm writing our mayor to tell him to ship this elephant off.

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Letters Desperately Needed To Stop a Cruel Separation!!!

The L.A. Zoo has decided to send Ruby, a forty-one year old African
elephant, to the zoo in Knoxville, Tennessee. Renowned animal rights
activist Gretchen Wyler, founder of the Ark Trust, which recently joined
forces with the Humane Society of the United States, argues the L.A. Zoo is
violating a lifelong bond between Ruby and Gita, a forty four-year old
female Asian elephant. "Those two girls have been together since 1987."
Wyler says. Female elephants are extremely social and roam together in the
wild. Dr. Edward J. Maruska, former director of the Cincinnati Zoo, supports
the decision to transfer Ruby, saying, "She would join other African
elephants in Knoxville, and having given birth herself, show younger
breeding females how to nurture their offspring."

Why Is This A Bad Idea?

There are numerous reasons why this is a bad idea. For one thing
transporting elephants is not only stressful but also very dangerous. In
transporting elephants there is always the possible risk of death. Another
thing to keep in mind is the emotional trauma that goes hand in hand with
separating longtime companions. The zoo claims there is friction in Ruby and
Gitas' relationship but what family is conflict free. The bottom line is
that these beautiful animals are best friends. How could they not be? They
have lived together for over fifteen years and to separate them now would be
flat out cruel and malicious.

What You Can Do:

There are four letters that are desperately needed asking to please
reconsider destroying fifteen years of a bond that could pose risk to the
health of the animals and/or emotionally traumatize Ruby and Gita for the
rest of their lives.


Please write to Mayor James K. Hahn, at...
posted by from shannon at 9:20 AM

Monday, February 17

 
just a warning: this is one of my geekiest posts ever. it's the i love etymology post:

sub rosa \suhb-ROH-zuh\, adverb:
Secretly; privately; confidentially.

sub-rosa, adjective:
Designed to be secret or confidential; secretive; private.

Sub rosa comes from the Latin, literally "under the rose," from the ancient association of the rose with confidentiality, the origin of which traces to a famous story in which Cupid gave Harpocrates, the god of silence, a rose to bribe him not to betray the confidence of Venus. Hence the ceilings of Roman banquet-rooms were decorated with roses to remind guests that what was spoken sub vino (under the influence of wine) was also sub rosa.

posted by from shannon at 1:03 PM