I will do no more than to post the description of the film that was provided on Top Documentary Films.
STORYLINE
The long-awaited second part of the unauthorized documentary series based on Carl Sagan’s groundbreaking 1994 book has arrived. The insightful Pale Blue Dot: Humility examines how our perspective on the vastness of the cosmos has shaped our shifting sense of self through the ages.
Pieced together as a mosaic of pop culture clips, historical stills and footage, appealing animations, and Sagan’s own audio commentary, the film is a rebuke against the plague of bloated self-importance, and the need to claim superiority over others for control of insignificant specks of territory. Even the field of science has not immune to these selfish pursuits.
From that foundation, Sagan’s probing commentary provides a brief recap of our understanding of the heavens and the Earth throughout history. This evolution of discovery represents an epic and ongoing battle between our quest for supremacy and the reality of our insignificance. For many generations, the deeply held belief that the Earth was the center of the universe was impervious to reason or to revelations obtained through further investigation. Mainstream thinking was slow to evolve when it came to the correlation between the Earth and the Sun, for example, or the age of our planet in comparison to the universe at large. The widespread and steadfast acceptance of various theologies further clouded our capacity for reasoned judgment.
But the ceaseless canvas of the universe – adorned with hundreds of billions of galaxies, distant planets and brilliant stars – provides the ultimate lesson in humility. Our modern understanding of the universe demands a more nuanced and less conceited perspective. Yet our yearning to give special meaning to our existence is a barrier to these scientific discoveries. After all, we have to be here for a reason. As Sagan states during the course of the film, it is a battle between our quest for “deep knowledge and shallow reassurance”.
It is obvious that great care went in to assembling the film, and the flow of complex information is cleanly and artfully presented. Pale Blue Dot: Humility is an affectionate representation and tribute to Sagan’s trailblazing intellect.
But as well as wanting to share this with you it also serves as an introduction to tomorrow’s post.
Columbia River Natural Pet Foods of Vancouver, WA, is expanding its recall to include 2 of its dog and cat food products because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria bacteria.
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December 24, 2018 — Columbia River Natural Pet Foods of Vancouver, WA, is expanding its recent recall to include additional dog and cat foods due to their potential to be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.
What’s Recalled?
The following products are being recalled:
Columbia River Cow Pie Food for Dogs and Cats
Package Size: 2 pounds
Lot Number: 72618
Columbia River Chicken and Vegetables Food for Dogs and Cats
Package Size: 2 pounds
Lot Number: 111518
The recall includes 261 packages of Cow Pie Lot # 72618 and 82 packages of Chicken & Vegetables Lot# 111518 fresh frozen meats for dogs and cats, produced in July 2018 and November 2018.
Cow Pie and Chicken and Vegetables are fresh frozen meat products intended to be fed raw to dogs and cats.
Both were distributed in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington through retail stores and direct delivery.
The Cow Pie product comes in frozen 2-pound purple and white plastic bags with Lot# 72618 found on an orange sticker.
The Chicken and Vegetables product comes in frozen 2-pound turquoise and white plastic bags with Lot # 111518 found on an orange sticker.
No illnesses have been reported to date.
About Salmonella and Listeria
Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes can affect animals eating the products and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.
Healthy people infected with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever.
Rarely, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms.
Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.
Pets with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting.
Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain.
Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans.
If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.
What Caused the Recall?
The potential for contamination was noted after testing by the Washington State Department of Agriculture revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella in one package of Cow Pie and Salmonella in one package of Chicken & Vegetables.
What to Do?
Consumers who purchased the product should discontinue use of the product and return for a full refund or exchange by returning the product in its original packaging to place of purchase.
Consumers with questions may contact the company at 360-834-6854 Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 4 PM PT.
This recall is being made with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
U.S. citizens can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.
I am speaking of the summer months and the risk of animals being burnt. Mind you, as the following article shows, summer is stretching it a bit. This article was published on December 10th!
But whenever it was published it’s a good news story.
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Cats, dogs and a bobcat are the latest burn victims saved with fish skin
Just this past month, California suffered its worst wildfire in the state’s history. Camp Fire in Paradise, California burned 220 acres and claimed the lives of 85 people. The vast majority of residents had little-to-no warning to evacuate, and many pets were left behind and left to fend for themselves along with the wildilfe.
This kitten along with three other cats received care at the University of California Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital after they were found with severe burns during the Camp Fire. (Photo: Karin Higgins/UC Davis)
Several dogs and cats burned in the fire ended up at Valley Oak Veterinary Center in Chico. When Dr. Jamie Peyton, chief of the Integrative Medicine Service at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, heard about the animals, she volunteered to treat them with the innovative method of using tilapia skin on their burns. (This is the first time dogs and cats have been treated with tilapia skin for burns.) The kitten pictured above suffered third degree burns on some of his paws and lost the pads to all his feet.
“Their paws have been badly burned,” said Dusty Spencer, a veterinary surgeon at VCA Valley Oak Veterinary Center. “Their whiskers are singed or gone. Some of them have had really bad burns on their eyelids and nose.”
Olivia’s skin started to grow back just five days after the tilapia skin was applied. (Photo: Karin Higgins/UC Davis)
An 8-year-old Boston terrier mix named Olivia was one of the first dogs to receive treatment.
Olivia’s owners, Curtis and Mindy Stark, were out of town when the blaze began. Fortunately, Olivia has a microchip and was reunited with her owners. She suffered second-degree burns to her paws, legs and side, but it wasn’t long till she was feeling better thanks to the tilapia skin.
The Stark family was able to check Olivia out of the veterinary hospital. (Photo: Karin Higgins/UC Davis)
“It was a day and night difference,” said Curtis Stark. “She got up on the bed and did a back flip. That is the first time we saw her acting like she was before.” Treatment also works for the most severe burns
The bobcat suffered third- to fifth- degree burns on all of its pads. (Photo: Gregory Urquiaga/UC Davis)
Pets weren’t the only animals to suffer during the wildfire. Many wild animals desperately tried to flee but couldn’t.
A bobcat was also brought in for treatment. Peyton tells MNN the bobcat suffered third- to fifth-degree burns on his paws. A fifth-degree burn means the burn goes down to the bone. The animal was very thin due to his inability to hunt for food and lack of food sources after the fire. In the week since the bobcat received his first treatment, he has had three tilapia bandage changes. “Each one seems to be showing marked improvement and he is moving well and showing a lot of spunk at his rehabilitation home,” said Peyton.
It will be several months before the bobcat can be released back in the wild, but Peyton’s goal is to “help him heal as soon as possible to allow him to get back to his home.”
Previously, Peyton treated a bear cub injured in California’s Carr Fire back in August and before that two bears and a mountain lion from the Thomas Fire earlier this year.
Previous success for other injured wildlife
This summer, the Carr Fire near Redding, California burned for more than a month and scorched more than 229,000 acres — also forcing many wild animals to try and escape.
On Aug. 2, a Pacific Gas & Electric Company contractor spotted an injured black bear cub lying in the ash, unable to walk on her paws. She was the latest victim of the Carr Fire — and luckily, one the contractor knew he could help. The contractor called Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, a certified wildlife rehabilitation facility.
A team was quickly mobilized to rescue the cub. Officers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) cleared a safe path and tranquilized the cub to carry her to safety. The cub was brought to a lab to be treated by a team of veterinarians from CDFW and the University of California, Davis.
“Generally speaking, an animal that has survived a fire and is walking around on its own should be left alone, but that wasn’t the case here,” CDFW’s Environmental Program Manager Jeff Stoddard said. “In addition to her inability to stand or walk, there were active fires burning nearby, and with the burn area exceeding 125 square miles and growing, we weren’t sure there was any suitable habitat nearby to take her to.”
How does tilapia skin work for treating burns?
Tilapia skin is malleable enough that it can be cut into custom sizes to mold around an animal’s wounds. (Photo: Gregory Urquiaga/UC Davis)
“The tilapia skins provide direct, steady pressure to the wounds, keep bacteria out and stay on better and longer than any kind of regular, synthetic bandage would,” Peyton said. “The complete treatment also includes application of antibiotics and pain salve, laser treatments and acupuncture for pain management.”
The cub is the third bear in the state to be treated for burns with tilapia skin. Earlier this year after the Thomas fire, two bears and a mountain lion also received similar treatment. With each animal being treated, Peyton and her team grow more optimistic that tilapia skin is an effective treatment for burns that can be used in veterinary hospitals around the world.
“Just like we’ve seen in other species, we’re seeing increased pain relief. We’re seeing wound healing and an overall increased comfort,” said Peyton. “One of the most important things about being at UC Davis VMTH is that we are learning new techniques, but they don’t make much of a difference unless we can use them in the community.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated since it was originally published in August 2018.
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Reading this article leaves me with the impression that there are a great number of good people out there!
There were a number of photographs of Comet 46P/Wirtanen on this site.
But the one that really leapt off the page, so to speak, was this one:
Jack Fusco Photography in California wrote: “Hi EarthSky! I’m so excited to share my 1st photo of comet 46P/Wirtanen! We took our boxer, Kona, out to the Anza Borrego Desert with us and came home with a new family photo. : ) I shared some behind-the-scenes and outtakes over on my blog as well.” Awesome photo, and thanks for the how-to-photograph info on your blog, Jack!
OK, not in the sense of weather because the worse is yet to come I’m sure. But in terms of the movement of the Planet Earth in its orbit around the Sun. And that’s what matters!
This is a really ancient moment as the following article published in The Conversation explains in much more detail.
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What winter solstice rituals tell us about indigenous people
By Rosalyn R. LaPier Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, The University of Montana
December 13th, 2018.
On the day of winter solstice, many Native American communities will hold religious ceremonies or community events.
The winter solstice is the day of the year when the Northern Hemisphere has the fewest hours of sunlight and the Southern Hemisphere has the most. For indigenous peoples, it has been a time to honor their ancient sun deity. They passed their knowledge down to successive generations through complex stories and ritual practices.
As a scholar of the environmental and Native American religion, I believe, there is much to learn from ancient religious practices.
Ancient architecture
For decades, scholarshave studied the astronomical observations that ancient indigenous people made and sought to understand their meaning.
One such place was at Cahokia, near the Mississippi River in what is now Illinois across from St. Louis.
The Cahokia mounds. Doug Kerr, CC BY-SA
In Cahokia, indigenous people built numerous temple pyramids or mounds, similar to the structures built by the Aztecs in Mexico, over a thousand years ago. Among their constructions, what most stands out is an intriguing structure made up of wooden posts arranged in a circle, known today as “Woodhenge.”
To understand the purpose of Woodhenge, scientists watched the sun rise from this structure on winter solstice. What they found was telling: The sun aligned with both Woodhenge and the top of a temple mound – a temple built on top of a pyramid with a flat top – in the distance. They also found that the sun aligns with a different temple mound on summer solstice.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the people of Cahokia venerated the sun as a deity. Scholars believe that ancient indigenous societies observed the solar system carefully and wove that knowledge into their architecture.
Scientists have speculated that the Cahokia held rituals to honor the sun as a giver of life and for the new agricultural year.
Complex understandings
Zuni Pueblo is a contemporary example of indigenous people with an agricultural society in western New Mexico. They grow corn, beans, squash, sunflowers and more. Each year they hold annual harvest festivals and numerous religious ceremonies, including at the winter solstice.
At the time of the winter solstice they hold a multiday celebration, known as the Shalako festival. The days for the celebration are selected by the religious leaders. The Zuni are intensely private, and most events are not for public viewing.
But what is shared with the public is near the end of the ceremony, when six Zuni men dress up and embody the spirit of giant bird deities. These men carry the Zuni prayers for rain “to all the corners of the earth.” The Zuni deities are believed to provide “blessings” and “balance” for the coming seasons and agricultural year.
As religion scholar Tisa Wenger writes, “The Zuni believe their ceremonies are necessary not just for the well-being of the tribe but for “the entire world.”
Winter games
Not all indigenous peoples ritualized the winter solstice with a ceremony. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t find other ways to celebrate.
The Blackfeet tribe in Montana, where I am a member, historically kept a calendar of astronomical events. They marked the time of the winter solstice and the “return” of the sun or “Naatosi” on its annual journey. They also faced their tipis – or portable conical tents – east toward the rising sun.
They rarely held large religious gatherings in the winter. Instead the Blackfeet viewed the time of the winter solstice as a time for games and community dances. As a child, my grandmother enjoyed attending community dances at the time of the winter solstice. She remembered that each community held their own gatherings, with unique drumming, singing and dance styles.
Later, in my own research, I learned that the Blackfeet moved their dances and ceremonies during the early reservation years from times on their religious calendar to times acceptable to the U.S. government. The dances held at the time of the solstice were moved to Christmas Day or to New Year’s Eve.
The solstice. Divad, from Wikimedia Commons
Today, my family still spends the darkest days of winter playing card games and attending the local community dances, much like my grandmother did.
Although some winter solstice traditions have changed over time, they are still a reminder of indigenous peoples understanding of the intricate workings of the solar system. Or as the Zuni Pueblo’s rituals for all peoples of the earth demonstrate – of an ancient understanding of the interconnectedness of the world.
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Let me pick up on the last sentence: “Or as the Zuni Pueblo’s rituals for all peoples of the earth demonstrate – of an ancient understanding of the interconnectedness of the world.”
We are all of us interconnected across the world. We have been for a very long time.
The importance of understanding this, truly understanding this, is critical to our future.
I saw this on the BBC News site back in November and had been meaning to share it with you before now. But it’s still highly relevant.
Do no more than go straight into the article.
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Nepal festival celebrates ‘day of the dogs’
The Nepalese festival Kukur Tihar celebrates dogs by blessing them with a red mark on their forehead
Every dog has its day, and for canines in Nepal that phrase could not be more literal.
The five-day Nepalese Hindu festival of Tihar started this week and the second day is known as Kukur Tihar or “day of the dogs”.
Dogs are celebrated and blessed with a Tika – a red mark applied to their forehead.
The animals are also given flowers, garlands and offered food as part of the festival.
Scooby the Japanese Spitz enjoyed being decorated with garlands of fresh marigold flowers
Hindus believe that dog is the messenger of Yamaraj – the God of death – and by keeping the dogs in good humour they will be able to appease Yamaraj himself.
Sumnima Maudas said Kukur Tihar is one of her “favourite Nepalese festivals” and added the day was all about her chihuahua Sanu
The festival, which shares some traditions with Diwali in India, also celebrates cows and crows.
Dog owner Umid Pokharel celebrated with his labrador Frieza but said “worshipping them for a day is not enough”
It is not just beloved pets who are involved in the celebrations. Stray dogs are honoured on the day too.
Kelsang Ongmu Tamang’s cat Missy joined in with the tradition as well as dogs Sweetie and Milly
Treats given to dogs during Kukur Tihar can range from meat, milk, eggs and good quality dog food.
Pappu the pug has been enjoying the food element of the festival
Tihar is also called Deepavali or the festival of lights.
Throughout this festival, people in Nepal clean their houses and courtyards; light up lamps and pray to Laxmi – the Goddess of Wealth – urging her to visit their houses and bless them.
Daisy Pie certainly looked pleased to be the centre of attention
The 5-year-old, brown-and-white pup, named after the famed crooner, inexplicably turned up 1,200 miles from Canarsie around Nov. 6 and was taken in by the Verrill family.
They were able to hunt down Sinatra’s owner in Brooklyn, Lesmore Willis, who burst into tears when he heard his beloved family pet had been found.
On Sunday evening, friends of the Verrill family made their way from Florida to the Baltimore area to hand off Sinatra to a pal of Willis’, Glen O’Gilvie, who lives there. O’Gilvie will then drive the dog to New York, he told The Post on Monday.
CBS This Morning published a video of the event.
Just a lovely outcome, albeit one that doesn’t change the fact that dear, young Zion is never coming back!
