Fun Fauna Fact Friday

The Australian fruit bat belongs to a family of old world bats known as megabats (batass!) and have also been referred to as the flying fox probably because they are huge. Some (like those pictured above) can reach 40 cm (16 inches) in length and attain a wingspan of 150 cm (5 feet).

They feed on fruit, pollen, and flowers, often aiding in the dispersion of seeds throughout the ecosystem. They are not yet listed as endangered but because of the the destruction of their native habitat they risk dwindling populations.

Despite their popular portrayal as haunted house dwelling, disease carrying mini-monsters they are quite shy, clean and very rarely spread disease to human populations. Plus, just look at 'em, I think that they are adorable.

Fun Fauna Fact Friday

The red panda- sometimes called the firefox or the lesser panda (which is pretty offensive to the red pandas given the fact that they are infinitely superior to their useless yet celebrated cousins) are related to both giant pandas and raccoons but currently occupy a family all their own- the ailuridae.

Unfortunately, the red panda is endangered as a result of vast deforestation in their native China, Myanmar and Burma, but unlike the Giant Panda, they make babies and eat things other than bamboo. So, not only are they better suited for survival they are obscenely adorable, like living stuffed animals.

Happy Fathers' Day

This last Sunday in New Zealand was Fathers' Day which is a few months later than Fathers' Day in the States. So I decided to do a little research to find out why they fall on different dates

My original thought was that because fathers generally don't care about Fathers' Day each country just picked their own arbitrary day to celebrate because all the other countries were doing it.

I wasn't too far off, "It took many years to make the holiday official. In spite of support from the YWCA, the YMCA and churches, it ran the risk of disappearing from the calendar. Where Mother's Day was met with enthusiasm, Father's Day was met with laughter. The holiday was gathering attention slowly, but for the wrong reasons. It was the target of much satire, parody and derision, including jokes from the local newspaper Spokesman-Review. Many people saw it as just the first step in filling the calendar with mindless promotions like "Grandparents' Day", "Professional Secretaries' Day", etc., all the way down to "National Clean Your Desk Day."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fathers_day

*I was going to post a humiliating picture of my own dad dancing at his wedding reception because it's hilarious. Then I decided it was a really mean thing to do on Fathers' Day. I love him far too much.

Hodge Podge Lodge

*Photo is of a gleefully terrified me and inventor of the now one trillion dollar laser cannon!
Also, the outside of the place in case you ever want to come by and visit

On and off for the last few months we have been living at Wellington's Lodge in the City. At first glance it's rundown, dark, sketchy and dirty- or in euphemistic terms- it has character and history. The rooms are small and sterile, for flair ours has a tiny faded picture of a waterfall bolted upside down to the wall and yellowing curtains with what appears to be some sort of Native American pastel nightmare patterned on them.

In the beginning it seems like your run of the mill hostel, but once you stay a bit longer you start to notice that it is anything but. The boarders are mostly Kiwi's who have run into some sort of trouble, there are a lot of drunks, people on the dole, people on bail and single mothers with kids; they are, by and large, people with shit to deal with and not your usual bright-eyed travelers from abroad.

There is a third floor which is always locked and inaccessible from the other floors. Does that also mean that they can't get out? My mind goes a flutter with the possibilities, I quite like the mystery.

I like to call it a halfway house of sorts. In my time here, I have often conversed with a man who can carry a conversation equally well with me or the sliding glass door. A man who is in close contact with the Prime Minister, John Key, and is developing a $100,000,000 laser cannon. What is a laser cannon, you ask, does it shoot laser cannonballs, maybe aimed at laser pirates, I'm still not sure? Also, upon meeting you he will kindly offer to file down your teeth, then he will show you how all his teeth are all precisely uniform then he will launch in to a grandiose speech about his idea for a flying car that can get you from Wellington to NYC in 30 minutes. Amazingly he has attracted a posse of like-minded folks, Katie's dubbed them the “little people with big ideas” crew. There is the unknown boarder in 218 who plays nothing but 90's power ballads/R&B very loudly, very early in the morning. There is the silent weathered old man who never speaks to anyone but is always lurking around the lounge drinking coffee. There is the girl who sometimes dons a headscarf and other times skimpy mini-skirts and halter tops. There is the 18 year old girl who can't seem to get her dress to stay on properly and likes to vacuum her room at least 5 times a week. The list goes on...

And as crazy and weird a place it is, I find myself strangely attracted to it, it's beginning to feel like home.

Beervana and Frugal Enlightenment

Last weekend we had the pleasure of volunteering at Wellington's annual celebration of all things brew at Beervana. We got to pour ourselves foamy microbrews between serving customers (how can you honestly recommend a beer without having tried it?), bump shoulders with some of the premier brewers throughout New Zealand and learn which chocolate to pair with which beer (my personal favorite was a dark, black pepper, strawberry chocolate with a mellow oatmeal stout). Awesomely enough, America was solely represented by Colorado's own homage to Hunter S. Thompson- Flying Dog. The next day, we got in free of charge and experienced 15 different breweries from the other side of the tap. None of this would have happened unless we had volunteered.

We are poor but unwilling to miss out on all that Wellington has to offer which puts us in a seemingly impossible situation. Fortunately, to solve this problem requires just a little extra legwork and some free time (of which we have heaps). I highly recommend it if you are in a similar situation. Keep an eye out for upcoming events that look interesting and then contact them saying you would like to volunteer your time in exchange for free admission. Most people are happy to have you help and you get to do fun things without spending a dime. It's a win-win.


FACT OF THE DAY
There are technically only two types of beers- ales and lagers. This is determined by which direction the yeast goes once it's gorged itself on sugar. In ales the yeast floats to the top, in lagers the yeast sinks to the bottom. All the other “types” of beers- stout, porter, pilsener etc. are either indicating a certain style of brewing or a marketing ploy to get you to try something novel.