August will be a special month when it comes to the full moon. It will bring us not one, but two full moons. The first will kick off the month on Wednesday,Aug.1, and the second will be follow on Aug. 31. According to some almanacs and calendars when two full moons occur within a calendar month, the second full moon is called a "blue moon."

There is an exception however for those living in the Kamchatka region of the Russian Far East as well as in New Zealand. That same full moon occurs after midnight, on the calendar date of Sept. 1. So in these regions of world, there will not be the second of two full moons in August, but the first of two full moons in September.

The full moon on the 31st will likely look no different than any other full moon and not resemble it's name of "blue moon". But the moon really can change color under certain conditions. After forest fires or volcanic eruptions, the moon can appear to take on a bluish or even lavender hue. Soot and ash particles, deposited high in the Earth's atmosphere, can sometimes make the moon appear bluish. For example in the aftermath of the massive eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in June 1991 it was reported there were blue moons worldwide.

The term "once in a blue moon" was first expressed in 1824 and it refers to occurrences that are uncommon, though not truly rare. It appears to have evolved out of the fact that the word "belewe" came from the Old English, meaning, "to betray." To have two full moons in the same month is not as uncommon as would be thought though. It occurs, on average, about every 2.66 years and in the year of 1999, it occurred twice in a span of just three months.

Be sure to enjoy this interesting occurrence this month because the next time we will see two full moons in a single month comes in July 2015 on the 1st and the 31st. Happy Full Moon watching!

Husband and wife risked their own safety by lowering a ladder into the bin so the cubs could be reunited with their mother

Three curious bear cubs got more than they bargained for when they clambered into a roadside dumpster.

The young creatures - the offspring of a notorious black bear in Ruidoso, New Mexico - got trapped after learning how to open the bin's latch.

But help was on the way when a couple performed a daring road rescue by carefully lowering a ladder into the dumpster, enabling the trapped animals to escape.

Shirley Schenk, one of those involved in the bear rescue, told ABC News: 'They know how to open the latch to the dumpster. This mother is notorious in the neighbourhood.'

It is unclear precisely how long the bear cubs had been in the bin, but Shirley and her husband Tom said they heard the animals crying through the night outside their home.

At first light, the couple came to their aid armed with a ladder and a pick-up truck.

Tom slowly reversed toward the bin while Shirley perched in the back with a ladder. The mother was at first seen backing away from the truck and Shirley used this opportunity to drop the ladder in.


However, as the pick-up truck made a hasty retreat, the adult bear returned to the scene.

Soon after, the heads of three bear cubs pop up over the edge of the dumpster and the creatures then climb out, back to the security of their mother.

Shirley added: 'I was not scared. I had my husband driving and I knew we’d drop it and go. I would have never done that on foot.'


Far from being a one-off, the couple say they have performed this kind of rescue on two other occasions and purposely keep a ladder by their garage door in case they are needed.

Shirley added that the black bears are seen about twice a week and are rarely aggressive. (Source)

Mark Herz from NPR member station WSHU catches up with the story for All Things Considered in a report due to air later today. As he says, the calf's DNA still needs to be tested to confirm that he truly is a white buffalo — "or bison, as they are more properly known." But, "test results or no," many Native Americans are planning to be there tomorrow.

To be part of such an event "brings so much happiness to us because of the stories of the white buffalo calf that [were] passed down to us for generations," Marian White Mouse, of South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, tells Mark.


A white buffalo calf, says Jace DeCory, a Lakota who's also from South Dakota, "is a sign of rebirth. It's a good omen. We feel good when white bison are born, because it reaffirms our belief that things will be better for our nation and for our people."

As The New York Times reported earlier this month, farmer Peter Fay — who "began raising bison [in Goshen] as a hobby four years ago" — says "he carefully researched the bloodlines of the calf's mother and father, and he is confident the animal is all bison without any intermingling with cattle."

We wish we had better news to report concerning the white buffalo calf we posted about in May and the search for his killer. Lightning Medicine Cloud, which was living on a ranch near Greenville, Texas, was killed just shy of his first birthday.


KETR at Texas A&M University-Commerce reports that leaders of the Lakota Nation believe the crime "was committed by at least seven people of Native American tribes other than Lakota." And they're warning that if authorities don't arrest someone soon they may, in the words of ranch owner Little Soldier, "bring those people [suspects] and give them to them right there on the courthouse steps if we have to."

There's also sad news this week from Minnesota of the death of a calf born on July 4 who also was thought to have been a white buffalo. (SOURCE)

For many, it’s exciting to know that the 2012 Summer Olympic Games begins today in London, England, and will continue through Aug. 12. Even more exciting is that the Native American community is being represented by four young women participating in four different sports, synchronized swimming, boxing, water polo and dressage, respectively.

These women, hailing from different nations across the Americas, are all competing in their very first Olympic competition, vying for their shot at a gold medal 100 years after Jim Thorpe won two gold medals at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.

If they’re successful at medaling during the 2012 games their names will join Billy Mills, Oglala Sioux, who won gold at the 1964 games, and Duke Kahanamoku, a Native Hawaiian and Olympic swimmer, who, like Thorpe, won gold at the 1912 Stockholm games.

Mary Killman, born in Ada, Oklahoma, 21, is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is half of the 2012 U.S. Synchronized Swimming team alongside partner Mariya Koroleva, who, in fact has dual citizenship with the United States and Russia. Killman was a member of the USA Synchro Junior Nationals Team in 2008 and was named the USA Synchro Athlete of the Year in 2010 and 2011.

“Representing the United States is an amazing honor,” she said. “To be able to not only represent my country, but also my sport, and have a bit of Native American pride as well just makes it all better!”

All the hard work and training she has put into making it to where she’s at today has been lined with confidence, something she feels is crucial to success. “The most powerful thing you can have is confidence in yourself,” says Killman. “There are always going to be rough times but if you keep pushing and just believe you can, you can achieve things you’ve only dreamed about. This works in not only athletics but in life in general. I’ve worked years trying to make my dream a reality and it’s finally coming true.”


One of Killman’s heroes is the above-mentioned Thorpe. “He’s definitely someone who had to work insanely hard to get every bit of recognition he got. He’s proof that you can do anything if you set your mind to it…I’ve always been brought up with something my dad always said, ‘rather you can see yourself doing or not, you’re right.”

The 2012 London games marks the debut of women’s boxing and First Nation Ojibway Mary Spencer set off as one of Canada’s best bets; a sure contender for gold. Spencer nearly lost her chance of competing in this year’s game after a surprising and disappointing first round loss at the women’s world championships in China that served as the qualifier for the 2012 Olympics. A few agonizing weeks later, she learned she had been awarded the wild card and became the lone Americas Continental group selection by the Tripartite Commission in the middleweight (75kg) class.


Spencer began boxing in 2002 at the age of 17. In an interview with the International Amateur Boxing Association she said, “I was always a sports fanatic and I took up boxing after my basketball season ended and I wanted to keep in shape. Since then I have not looked back, the energy in boxing is unrivalled in sports.”

From her beginning days in the sport, she has been described as a natural and very quickly started training under three-time Olympic coach Charlie Stewart at the Windsor Amateur Boxing Club in Ontario, Canada. Under his guidance and her hardwork, she’s become an 8-time nation champion, 3-time world champion and 5-time Pan-American champion.

Not only is she a fierce fighter in the ring, she’s proof positive there’s true splendor in being a strong woman as she was named as an ambassador for Cover Girl. Of the endorsement Cover Girls says they are, “proud to support Mary Spencer to help celebrate the power and strength in beauty.” She is also a member of the Motivate Canada’s GEN7 Aboriginal role model initiative. Her participation in the program includes developing sport, physical activity and empowerment programming with Aboriginal youth in First Nation communities in Ontario.

Tumua Anae heads into the 2012 games as the goalie for the US National Water Polo team. Anae, full name Tumuaialli Anea, is a Native Hawaiian whose grandfather emigrated there from Samoa in the 1920’s. She now resides in California and is an active member of the Church of Latter-day Saints and as the only Mormon on her team she’s said her team knows of her religious beliefs.


Tori Ackerman, of the Deseret News, reported Anae as saying, “When we go out on a team trip and go out and they drink after a game win or big tournament they say, ‘Oh yeah, Tumua can’t come, she’s Mormon,’ or ‘Tumua you can’t watch-this movie is bad and you’re Mormon,’ but they all respect that and I’m used to that.’”

Tumua attended the University of Southern California where she majored in broadcast journalism. While at USC, she played goalie for their water polo team all four years of her college career and then began training with the National team the summer after her senior year. One the road to becoming an Olympic athlete, Tumua racked in honors with her incredible talent in the pool. Among other things, she was part of the 2005 and 2006 CIF Water Polo Champions Division II, a finalist for the 2010 Peter J. Cutino Award and 2010 NCAA champion. More recently, she had 8 saves as backup goalie at the 2011 FINA World Championships as well as the 2011 FINA World League Super Final, in which she won gold, 7 saves in Team USA’s gold medal win at the 2011 Pan American Games, and a whopping 16 saves at the 2012 FINA World League Super Final. Finally, in May of this year, she was selected to the Olympic team as backup to Betsey Armstrong, whom many consider the best women’s water polo player in the world.

Adrienne Lyle, a Cherokee Nation citizen, comes to her first Olympic games as one of America’s youngest dressage riders at the age of 27 in a sport that commonly has Olympians double her age. She earned her spot by placing fourth-place at the U.S. Equestrian Federation Dressage Festival of Champions and USEF Dressage Olympic Selection Trials while riding Wizard, a 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Weltmeyer.

Lyle, coming from humble beginnings being raised on a small cattle ranch in Whidbey Island, Wash., shot to stardom in the dressage world after working some with Debbie McDonald (an extremely successful dressage rider in her own right) as a working student at Peggy and Parry Thomas’s River Grove Farm in Idaho in 2005, in 2006 as a fulltime assistant trainer and then competing with Wizard in their first Grand Prix in 2009.

These young women exemplify where hard work, discipline and the courage to put your dreams in motion can lead to. Many throughout Indian Country will be keeping an eye on these ladies as they strive for gold in these coming weeks.

As Mary Killman says, “2016 in Rio anyone?”
(SOURCE)

AFP - Rescuers in Indonesia fought Friday to help a sperm whale stuck in shallow waters to return to sea, as their efforts were hampered by local residents arriving on boats and driving it back to shore.

The 11-metre (36-feet) whale has been stuck near Pakis Jaya beach in West Java since Wednesday, said Benvika, a rescuer from the Jakarta Animal Aid Network, which is leading the rescue bid.

"We almost set it free a few times yesterday, but the noise from the engines of dozens of boats bringing in local residents confused and disoriented the creature, and it couldn't swim out to sea," he told AFP.

"It is still breathing normally but losing a lot of energy," he said by phone from the beach, 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of the capital Jakarta.

"It seems to have difficulty moving its tail, and we have to work quickly to save its life," he said, adding 16 divers were involved in the rescue effort.

Local residents were paying the equivalent of half a US dollar each for boat rides close to the whale, he said.

Some had jumped off the boats and onto the whale on Wednesday, causing wounds to its body, Benvika said.

Before rescuers arrived fishermen had also tried to crudely pull the animal back to sea, also hurting it in the process, he said, adding the whale was covered with blisters on is back.

Up to 30 boats carrying tourists had converged around the whale at one time, he added.

He said volunteers were stopping boats setting sail from the Pakis Jaya beach, but were unable to intercept vessels arriving from neighbouring coastal villages. (Source)

-Experts face challenge to preserve the species in the Scottish wild
-Fewer than 400 of Scotland's wildcats are left
-Species under threat from inter-breeding
-DNA test offers hope to identify pure breeds and ensure their survival

They stare into the camera with wide-eyed innocence.

But it will not be long before these cute kittens grow into powerful predators.

Two young wildcats, named Brave and Merida after the Disney characters, were born at the animal park at Kincraig run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.

Their arrival came as it emerged that as few as 400 of Scotland's wildcats survive in the wild, as the species is under threat from inter-breeding.

However, a new DNA test is offering hope that the species might survive. The test, which could be ready by Christmas, could identify which cats are pure-bred, and which are hybrid and pave the way for a breeding programme which could save the species.

It would allow for the testing of cats both in captivity and in the wild and for measures to be taken to protect those pure-bred wildcats that remained from being hybridised into extinction.

The current official estimate of 400 Scottish wildcats remaining in the wild is an informed guess; the worst-case scenario ‘that there is none’ is a genuine possibility.

Douglas Richardson, animal collections manager at the Highland Wildlife Park, said: ‘We get our knickers in a twist because the Indians aren’t doing all they can to protect their tigers, or the Kenyans their black rhinos, but it’s OK for us to let this one slip through the net? I don’t think so.

‘Here we have this iconic emblem of the Highlands and if we don’t get our finger out, it will become extinct, guaranteed.’

Wildcats are the only remaining large mammal predator and the only surviving cat native to Britain.

Persecution and deforestation contributed to a drop in numbers during the 18th and 19th centuries, but although suitable habitat has increased again, their numbers have continued to dwindle, due partly to disease and road accidents, but mainly to interbreeding with domestic cats.

Douglas said: ‘If you let dogs run feral, people would be up in arms for a very good reason. Cats? They think it’s all right.

‘We don’t want to stop anyone having cats, but we want to shut off the taps of more animals going to live a feral existence and cross-breeding with wildcats.’
SOURCE

Some have been paddling for weeks, stopping to visit other tribal communities on their journey.

When they land at North Point on the Port peninsula Sunday afternoon, it will mark the end of the 2012 Canoe Journey, and the beginning of a weeklong celebration of the revival of Northwest Indian traditions and sharing of individual tribal cultures.

It is an honor for the Squaxin Island Tribe to host this year’s annual gathering of Northwest coastal indigenous nations, and a privilege for South Sound non-tribal people to witness and enjoy.

The canoes will begin arriving about 1 p.m. Sunday, but those on shore will hear them before they see them. Each canoe family – with eight to 20 crew members in a 30- to 40-foot canoe – will be singing and beating their drums.

Upon arrival, each family performs the sacred Healing of the Waters, pouring water they have brought into Budd Inlet to mingle with the Squaxin native water, symbolizing the importance of the waterways to tribal ancestors.

Each family will ask permission to come ashore by raising their paddles, the traditional sign for a tribe that comes in peace. Fifteen to 20 canoes will come ashore at a time, and volunteers will pull a canoe out of the water every three minutes throughout the afternoon.

The “protocols” begin Monday, potlatch presentations by each family that usually involve drumming, dancing, singing, storytelling and gift-giving.

It is traditional that the host tribe presents last, and the Squaxins have been preparing elaborate gifts for their visitors with the help of the South Sound community, particularly The Evergreen State College.

With the help of a National Endowment for the Arts Grant, students and faculty have held a serious of workshops with tribal members to produce a variety of the gifts the Squaxins will present.

These include steam-bent wood wolf masks, book covers made out of cedar bark paper, carved and painted paddles out of yellow cedar, drums and woven hats. Bent wood cedar boxes were made at the studio of Andrea Wilbur Sigo and Steve Sigo, as well as etched glass pendants.

Workshops at the Squaxin community kitchen created regalia for the host dances, along with hand-woven wool tunics and skirts, and cedar bark leggings.

Hosting this canoe journey is especially meaningful for the Squaxin tribe, who are descendents of seven tribes that prospered among the inlets of south Puget Sound. They suffered greatly as the old ways were outlawed and lost at the turn of the previous century.

South Sounders have a unique opportunity to learn more about the historical significance of the Squaxin tribe as an inter-tribal trading center and the birthplace of the Indian Shaker Church.

It is a chance to appreciate the Squaxin heritage and share in the celebration of their achievement. (Source)

These stormy skies above Haikou, China, are pictured being punctuated by flashes of spidery lightning and bizarrely, a rainbow.

The phenomena were captured clashing dramatically amidst the ominous purple clouds during a rainstorm earlier this week.

Lightning generally occurs during storms, while rainbows tend to form after the rain has stopped, making this simultaneous appearance of both relatively rare.

An estimated 24,000 people are killed by lightning strikes around the world every year, and around 240,000 are injured.

Earlier this year student Matt Wilkes survived being struck by lightning twice – a feat he put down to the £3 umbrella hat he was wearing at the time.(Source)

Temperatures are soaring up over 100 degrees in many parts of the U.S. in an unusually hot summer and dogs suffering from overheating by being left in a car is becoming a big issue. Every year people are warned over and over again about the dangers of leaving a dog in a hot car so it would seem logical that everyone should know by now about the danger that this poses to their pet. But this year 5 dogs died in hot cars before the summer was even 2 days old according to the Associated Press.

If a dog is left in a hot car, it can take just minutes for the temperature to get hot enough to cause death. The temperature on very hot days can become deadly in just 10 minutes or less. It has also been shown that the temperature in a car can increase up to 34 degrees in just 30 minutes. Heatstroke can happen very quickly. It is very difficult for dogs to survive the heat because the only way they can cool themselves is by panting and by sweating through their paw pads. Once heatstroke happens the dog will experience shock, eventually going into a coma and suffering respiratory and/or cardiac pulmonary arrest.

Currently in the U.S. there are 14 states that have laws that prohibit leaving an animal in a confined vehicle if it endangers the animal’s life. Other states handle deaths and injury under animal cruelty statutes. The most common offenders are people running errands that leave their dog in the car. They rationalize in their minds that it will only take a couple of minutes to run in somewhere and the dog will be fine.

So what should someone do if they are by themselves with their dog and they need to make a stop? The first suggestion is to leave your dog at home in the summer time so that this doesn't even become an issue. However, here are some suggestions of how to deal with this question. If there is a drive-up window, use it instead of going inside. This works for a lot of eating establishments, banks, cleaners and pharmacies. Or shop in stores that welcome pets such as pet stores. But if none of these ideas will work then do not make a stop where you have to leave your dog in the car. It is not worth the life of your dog.

If you see a dog that has been left in a car on a hot day it would be best not to confront the owner. Instead take down the car’s color, model, make, and license plate number and have the owner paged in the store. You can also call the local humane authorities, the police, or contact a security guard. Be sure to act quickly because there is little time to save a life in this situation. If the dog’s life appears to be in imminent danger and the owner of the car can’t be located and/or the police haven’t arrived at the scene yet, find a witness that will back up your assessment and then take steps to remove the suffering animal while you wait for the authorities to arrive.

Once you have gotten the dog out of the hot car, use water to cool him off. If the dog isn’t responding, get the dog wet with lukewarm water and immediately take the dog to a vet. If you have rubbing alcohol you can rub it on the pads of his feet, in his armpits and in his groin area. Do not use ice as it constricts the blood vessels and should never be used to cool the dog down.

Animals are voiceless when it comes to abuse and neglect. We are their voices and we must speak up and act in order to prevent this whether it is intended abuse or just poor judgement.
It can be a matter of life or death!

White horses (which are rarer than other colours of horse) have a special significance in the mythologies of cultures around the world. They are often associated with the sun chariot, with warrior-heroes, with fertility (in both mare and stallion manifestations), or with an end-of-time saviour, but other interpretations exist as well. Both truly white horses and the more common grey horses, with completely white hair coats, were identified as "white" by various religious and cultural traditions.

Portrayal in myth

From earliest times white horses have been mythologised as possessing exceptional properties, transcending the normal world by having wings (e.g. Pegasus from Greek mythology), or having horns (the unicorn). As part of its legendary dimension, the white horse in myth may be depicted with seven heads (Uchaishravas) or eight feet (Sleipnir), sometimes in groups or singly. There are also white horses which are divinatory, who prophesy or warn of danger.

As a rare or distinguished symbol, a white horse typically bears the hero- or god-figure in ceremonial roles or in triumph over negative forces. Herodotus reported that white horses were held as sacred animals in the Achaemenid court of Xerxes the Great (ruled 486-465 BC), while in other traditions the reverse happens when it was sacrificed to the gods.

In more than one tradition, the white horse carries patron saints or the world saviour in the end times (as in Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam), is associated with the sun or sun chariot (Ossetia) or bursts into existence in a fantastic way, emerging from the sea or a lightning bolt.

Though some mythologies are stories from earliest beliefs, other tales, though visionary or metaphorical, are found in liturgical sources as part of preserved, on-going traditions

Mythologies and traditions

Celtic

In Celtic mythology, Rhiannon, a mythic figure in the Mabinogion collection of legends, rides a "pale-white" horse. Because of this, she has been linked to the Romano-Celtic fertility horse goddess Epona and other instances of the veneration of horses in early Indo-European culture.

White horses are the most common type of hill figure in England. Though many are modern, the Uffington White Horse at least dates back to the Bronze Age.

In Scottish folklore, the kelpie or each uisge, a deadly supernatural water demon in the shape of a horse, is sometimes described as white, though other stories say it is black.

Greek

In Greek mythology, the white winged horse Pegasus was the son of Poseidon and the gorgon Medusa. Poseidon was also the creator of horses, creating them out of the breaking waves when challenged to make a beautiful land animal.

Norse

In Norse mythology, Odin's eight-legged horse Sleipnir, "the best horse among gods and men", is described as gray. Sleipnir is also the ancestor of another gray horse, Grani, who is owned by the hero Sigurd.


Slavic

In Slavic mythology, the war and fertility deity Svantovit owned an oracular white horse; the historian Saxo Grammaticus, in descriptions similar to those of Tacitus centuries before, says the priests divined the future by leading the white stallion between a series of fences and watching which leg, right or left, stepped first in each row.

Native American

In Blackfoot mythology, the snow deity Aisoyimstan is a white-colored man in white clothing who rides a white horse.

Popular culture

The mythological symbolism of white horses has been picked up as a trope in literature, film, and other storytelling. For example, the heroic prince or white knight of fairy tales often rides a white horse. Unicorns are (generally white) horse-like creatures with a single horn. And the English nursery rhyme "Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross" refers to a lady on a white horse who may be associated with the Celtic goddess Rhiannon.

A "white palfrey" appears in the fairy tale "Virgilius the Sorcerer" by Andrew Lang. It appears in The Violet Fairy Book and attributes more than usual magical powers to the ancient Roman poet Virgil.

The British author G.K. Chesterton wrote an epic poem titled Ballad of the White Horse. In Book I, "The Vision of the King," he writes of earliest England, invoking the white horse hill figure and the gods:

Before the gods that made the gods
Had seen their sunrise pass,
The White Horse of the White Horse Vale
Was cut out of the grass.

More contemporary examples include Terry Pratchett's choosing white as the colour for Death's horse Binky in his Discworld series, or J.R.R. Tolkien's choice of white for Gandalf's horse Shadowfax in The Lord of the Rings. In film and television, the Lone Ranger rode a white horse. In the Shrek series of films, the cowardly Donkey turns into a noble white steed as part of a running joke in the second film. Princess Celestia, a character in the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic cartoon series, is a white winged unicorn who controls the movement of the sun. (Source: Wikipedia )

SEATTLE — Gyasi Ross grew up decades after the "Lone Ranger" aired on TV, but his friends would still call him "Tonto" when they teased him.

The making of a new "Lone Ranger" Disney movie, and the announcement that Johnny Depp is playing sidekick Tonto, have reawakened feelings about a character that has drawn much criticism over the years as being a Hollywood creation guilty of spreading stereotypes.

"Everybody understands who Tonto is, even if we hadn't seen the show, and we understood it wasn't a good thing," said Ross, a member of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana who lives and has family in the Suquamish Tribe, outside Seattle. "Why else would you tease someone with that?"

The film is still in production, but Native American groups have been abuzz about it for months, with many sharing opinions online and in a national Native publication running an occasional series on the topic.

Some Native Americans welcome the new movie, slated for release next summer. Parts were filmed on the Navajo Nation with the tribe's support, and an Oklahoma tribe recently made Depp an honorary member.

But for others, the "Lone Ranger" represents a lingering sore spot — one that goes back to the 1950s television version of Tonto, who spoke in broken English, wore buckskin and lacked any real cultural traits.

Depp's role attracted particular attention in April when producer Jerry Bruckheimer tweeted a picture of the actor in his Tonto costume. He had on black and white face paint, an intense gaze, a black bird attached to his head and plenty of decorative feathers.

"The moment it hit my Facebook newsfeed, the updates from my friends went nutso," wrote Natanya Ann Pulley, a doctorate student at University of Utah, in an essay for the online magazine McSweeney's.

For Pulley and her friends, the portrayal of Native Americans in Western movies is getting old.

"I'm worried about the Tonto figure becoming a parody or a commercialized figure that doesn't have any dimension or depth, or consideration for contemporary context of Native Americans," she said.

Native Americans are far from a monolithic group, and many are opening their arms to the new movie. Some are just excited to see Depp take the role.


In New Mexico, where some of the movie was filmed, the Navajo presented Depp, his co-star Armie Hammer, director Gore Verbinski and Bruckheimer with Pendleton blankets to welcome them to their land. Elsewhere, the Comanche people of Oklahoma made Depp, one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, an honorary member.

"In my niece's mind, I met Jack Sparrow," said Emerald Dahozy, spokeswoman for Navajo President Ben Shelly and a member of the Navajo group who met with Depp. "My personal view, I like him playing in a character which he can embody well."

Dahozy said the "Lone Ranger" production brought something more palpable to the reservation: money. The actors and the large crew lived on Navajo land, eating at local restaurants and staying in towns that rely heavily on tourism.

Native Americans aren't the only ones conflicted about the character of Tonto, which means "dumb" in Spanish. For Mexican Americans who grew up in the Southwest, the character draws up memories of one of the first dark-skinned heroes in popular culture and anger over a white man calling a brown-skinned person "dumb," said Rosa-Linda Fregoso, author of "Bronze Screen: Chicana and Chicano Film Culture" and a Latino Studies professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

"I remember rooting for him as a kid, but even I was a little bit offended as a child," said Fregoso. "For a grown white man to call someone 'Tonto' meant that you were less than human, not fully human or childlike."

In fact, Tonto's character has historically been called "Toro," which means "bull," in Spanish-language versions of early films, and Spanish language stories about Depp's role in the new film refers to his character as "Toro."

Disney representatives declined to comment, but Depp has said the film will be a "sort of rock 'n' roll version of the Lone Ranger" with his Tonto offering a different take from the 1950s show.

Cheyenne and Arapaho filmmaker Chris Eyre is willing to give the actor a chance.

"Based on Johnny Depp as an artist, and him going all the way and making this film happen, in my book (he) deserves some credit," Eyre told Indian Country Today for its occasional "Tonto Files" series. "He wants to change the view of Tonto, and he put his reputation and his career on the line."

The "Lone Ranger" began on the radio in the 1930s. Tonto was played by an actor of Irish descent, according to the Lone Ranger Fan Club.

The show rocketed in popularity and made a seamless transition to television, running on ABC from 1949 to 1957. In 2003, a TV reboot flopped. That version featured a Native Canadian actor playing Tonto.

But the 1950s portrayal of Tonto by Jay Silverheels, a Canadian Mohawk, is by far the most recognized.

He spoke in pidgin and was the loyal partner of the crime-fighting ranger, often bailing out the masked avenger from treacherous situations.

"Here hat. Me wash in stream. Dry in sun. Make whiter," Tonto says in an early episode setting up his relationship with the Lone Ranger. "Here gun to kill bad men."

That Tonto has been criticized as being generic and subordinate — a character with no individuality and no life beyond helping the Lone Ranger.

Reportedly costing more than $200 million, plus yet-to-be-added marketing costs, Disney's "Lone Ranger" is the type of film that can make or break a studio's summer. It's already been plagued with budget woes. The movie's release date in 2013 was recently pushed back a month.

Having Depp in the cast assures more eyeballs will be on the screen. Depp led the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise and anchored "Alice in Wonderland." Three of those movies surpassed the rare billion-dollar mark at the worldwide box office.

By MANUEL VALDES -The Associated Press (Source)

A man named Vladimir Maksimov found and rescued a puppy from dirty flood waters in Odessa, Ukraine. Vladimir decided to keep the puppy and name him Lucky. He is now in good hands; cared for by a loving and genuine owner.

The Ukrainian city of Odessa was hit by flash flooding caused by heavy rains on July 11, 2012. Teenager Vladimir Maksimov was out with friends when they noticed a mother and her puppies trapped in the flood waters.

One of his friends filmed him as he swam out to help the dogs. According to translations posted on Reddit, the mother and all but one of the puppies, drowned before Vladimir could reach them. But he managed to save one. The water was very dirty and cold and a there was a strong undercurrent.

Using a drifting branch to hang on to, Vladimir slowly paddled back to shore, holding onto the puppy tightly. The puppy had swallowed a lot of water but was saved when taken to the vet. Vladimir named the puppy Lucky and decided to keep him.

Lucky is now healthy and well again and with Vladimir. ( A post-interview (in Russian Language) with Vladimir which shows Lucky healthy and with Vladimir.)
Source

In May of this year cyclists in China went on a daunting trip of more than 1100 miles (1700km) through the mountainous Tibetan Plateau from China's Sichuan Province to Lhasa, Tibet. Few racers can complete this overwhelming cycling challenge, but this year, one did it without a bike... or even shoes. What took place is a tribute to the love and loyalty of dogs around the world.

This love story all started when 22-year-old Zhang Heng made a pit stop with his cycling group at the start of the trek from China to Tibet. He had no idea what the consequences of a simple action of sharing would be. He saw a small stray dog lying in the street, exhausted and hungry. Zhang Heng felt compassion for her and tossed her a piece of his food. After this simple act, the little dog then joined the bikers for three days before they decided to make her an official part of the team. At first they thought she was just following them for the food, but as cyclist Xiao Yong, remarked," I can now see a bond between us from the way she looks at me. I think we have definitely moved beyond food."

She ran with the cyclists, sometimes taking the lead as they trudged up and down a grand total of 10 mountains, each mountain higher than the next for 24 days. The cyclists rode 30 to 40 miles a day, up and down mountains as high as 14,700 feet, and sometimes through heavy storms. The little dog, now known as Xiao Sa, kept up, and sometimes even led. She once ran 37 miles in one day, going uphill. The cyclists were all very impressed by Xiao Sa's persistence and she inspired them all the way to their destination. Sometimes she would even run back down the road to round up the stragglers. Some of Xiao Sa's followers in China began calling her 'Forrest Gump'.

Of course, sometimes she also got a ride in a makeshift box on the back of Zhang Heng's bike at certain times like when the group was about to cruise down a steep hill, much faster than a dog could run, or if she was exhausted. Once they were chased by a pack of big dogs, so Xiao Sa rode safely in her little box on the bike until they got away from the dogs.

Now that their trip to Tibet is over, their journey together is only just beginning. Zhang Heng has decided to adopt her and give her a permanent home. He has also taken her to a vet where she was declared healthy and about 2 years old. Xiao Sa has also become a celebrity in China, dubbed, "The dog with determination," as Chinese bloggers have described her. She now has more than 82,000 followers on Weibo, China's version of Twitter. But little Xiao Sa doesn't know about that or would care if she did. All she cares about is that she now has a home and someone to love which she well deserves. She is an amazing little dog with a huge heart and a great spirit.

Zoo officials happily introduced the baby South American fur seal to visitors and photographers for the first time mere days ago, on July 20. The seal pup delighted onlookers by snuggling up to his mom, Harimée, nuzzling her nose and draping himself over her back. Harimée had given birth to her exceptional albino baby on May 26; mom and pup stayed out of the limelight until last week so the pair could bond and adjust to their new life together.

The Dortmund Zoo announced on its website that Harimée died suddenly and unexpectedly at age 16. Female South American fur seals can live up to 30 years, and the zoo plans to conduct an autopsy to determine her cause of death.

In the meantime, zoo workers have taken Harimée’s still-unnamed baby boy back behind the scenes so they can feed him by hand and keep a close eye on him. Young albino fur seals can experience a range of health problems, including visual sensitivity.

The Dortmund Zoo website says the baby albino fur seal will be given everything he needs, including a swimming pool and other fur seal pals for companionship. Zoo officials asked visitors to be understanding about their decision to put the pup back in isolation: “The welfare of the animal is paramount.”

This is not the first time the Dortmund Zoo had to raise an orphaned seal pup by hand. A young male named Samson — not an albino— lost his mother in death at the zoo in 2006.

Zoo visitors are still being invited to vote for their favorite name for Harimée’s newborn seal pup. Name options include Chilo, Albus, Claro, Rubio and Branco.
(SOURCE)