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Tuesday, January 20th, 2004 | 2:28 pm |
word of the day: ombudsman n. a person appointed by a legislative body to receive, investigate and report on complaints by private individuals against government officials. | 2:24 pm |
ladies and gentlemen, --the apocryphal corn skunk. These magnificent creatures are only just now beginning to be understood.
Once considered only a legend--and now severely threatened by systematic harvesting of their only known food source--the Corn Skunk, spilogale springicus, is an extremely difficult species to study, due to the intense shyness, low population density and nocturnal habits of the species combined with the difficult observing conditions presented by mature cornfields. Only in the past year have observations been made which yielded reliable data; much of our current information about the Corn Skunk is still apocryphal.
The Corn Skunk is, in appearance, markedly similar to the Spotted Skunk, having the characteristic black fur with broken white stripes. This similarity led, originally, to the identification of this species with the Spotted Skunk, which has recently through closer analysis proven false, though the name spilogale has been preserved until a clearer classification can be made. Corn Skunks differ from their distant cousins most noticeably in weight, weighing on average 6-8 times more than the Spotted Skunk. However, these physical differences are minor as compared with the vast shifts in behavior patterns Corn Skunks have adapted to deal with their unique lifestyle.
Like other mustelids, most skunks are mainly carnivorous. While they will eat fruit in season, their diet is primarily composed of insects, grubs, and small mammals. Once they reach adulthood, they rarely fraternize with other adults of their species outside of mating periods.
Corn Skunks, on the other hand, are known only to consume corn. During corn harvesting periods, they work nearly nonstop to consume and lay away as much corn as possible to last until the next season. They mate for life, and this partnership is so crucial to their corn-harvesting activities that should one member of a pair die, the other will soon starve to death. They care meticulously for their young for a full year, as the methods used for food-gathering are quite intensive and take some time for the young skunklets to master.
The harvesting techniques of this glorious creature are fascinating. The basic mechanics involve one member of the pair slowly climbing halfway up a cornstalk, then springing suddenly up to grasp the base of the ear of corn. At this point, due to the sudden weight of the skunk, the stalk bends down until the ear is close to the ground. The partner skunk (or ground-skunk), waiting below, must then quickly grasp the ear of corn and remove it as quickly as possible. If the operation has been successful, and the timing correct, the climber-skunk will at that instant jump clear of the stalk and it will spring back up, leaving no trace of the attack save for the missing ear of corn, and the pair will either consume the profits immediately or stack it for later caching. However, fairly commonly, one partner will mistime the performance. If the ground-skunk fails to catch the ear, or manages to remove it before the climber-skunk has disentangled its self, the climber-skunk will be catapulted into the air, sometimes landing as much as 50 feet away from the original stalk. If the climber-skunk, however, jumps off the stalk before the ground-skunk has removed the ear of corn, the ground-skunk, if holding on too firmly, will itself be launched out above the cornfield, without the benefit of at least gaining the ear of corn. A typical pairing of skunks may attempt up to 100 ears a night; on average they will harvest perhaps 75 of these ears and have each of them gone for roughly a dozen flights and subsequent crash landings. While corn provides good cover from prying eyes, it does little to break the fall of a fairly heavy skunk. Injuries are quite common, and few pairings can harvest for more than a day or two at a time without time off for recovery. Few injuries are serious, mainly bruising and the occasional sprain, but the work is quite strenuous. An injured member of a pairing generally takes over the role of ground-skunk for a night, but should both skunks become injured, the harvest must wait until one of them has recovered thoroughly enough to climb again. | Monday, December 29th, 2003 | 10:54 am |
arby's restroom haiku dampened toilet seat touching the delicate flesh of my tush, at night | Sunday, December 21st, 2003 | 2:05 pm |
211 the toys for tots drive has already ended. if you wish to still contribute or to leave a message, please stay on the line.... | Monday, December 15th, 2003 | 10:49 am |
what do bats sound like? | Saturday, December 13th, 2003 | 12:40 pm |
amenuensis correct spelling: amanuensis: (pl. amanuenses) n. someone employed to write from dictation or to copy a manuscript
amenuensis. so it shall be | 12:27 pm |
i am posting. i am posting Current Mood: dirtyCurrent Music: posting | Tuesday, December 2nd, 2003 | 1:17 pm |
fucking hipsters!
fucking... fucking hipsters.
honestly.
who can even carry on a conversation anymore, unless you have the right clothes. jesus.
-al. | Tuesday, November 18th, 2003 | 3:45 pm |
hey! crochet! i crocheted a line tonight, from photo instructions. it felt somehow satirical or...maybe backward is the word, to be doing this while attempting to watch BladeRunner seriously for the first time. like, "hey, alana, in the future, people will actually be able to BUY scarves, instead of just sitting around making their own."
and since i haven't posted in a while, and maybe there are other people out there, i'd highly recommend reading Dave Eggers' "You Shall Know Our Velocity". | Tuesday, November 4th, 2003 | 4:35 pm |
it's easiest to believe that the hole could be dug a little deeper, and that would be safe.
my brother is being shipped to guantanamo bay, in cuba, to guard the perimiter of the prison in which some taliban spies are kept. he says he's on the "desert" side of the island. there are cacti there. | Wednesday, October 8th, 2003 | 12:36 am |
it smells good outside | Thursday, October 2nd, 2003 | 8:09 pm |
action pt. 2 i meet b. at an arcade/dinner place. i've been waiting or he's been waiting, i forget. either way one of us is late. we wander around looking at the video games we can play. we only have about a dollar so we take our time, pretending to play some of them and goofing around. we finally play one game, a star wars type racing game i think. then it's time to go. i decide to push my luck and try to hug him. he gives me a look that says you know better. | Wednesday, October 1st, 2003 | 3:57 pm |
action dreamed last night that brian and i went on adventures in outer space. i don't remember what we did there. we rode in a space ship with aliens, which was normal, so we just talked to eachother. it was kind of the equivalent of riding in the back of someone else's van- no seats, so you had to sit on the floor, and smallish windows that you had to crane your neck to see through. when we got back, there was a mandatory trip to a target or meijer's like place- brian was on a quest for a specific action figure of one of the aliens we had encountered on the planet we went to visit. it was a huge golem like mud creature. he was frustrated because he couldn't find the version he wanted- like the store only had the scuba diver kind or the batarang edition. he was kind of cursing his luck good humoredly when he turned around and found exactly what he was looking for on a lower shelf. he got all excited and kind of gave me one of those "why don't you understand how awesome this is" looks when he saw me smiling. | Wednesday, September 24th, 2003 | 8:05 pm |
i did this thing. sorry alana is an ethnic joke alana is waiting in her dungeon alana is unique in that it exists as the only administratively run organization permitted to preside over and guide the affairs of student alana is a channeled energy brought through sandy breckenridge alana is a mirror of your heart and therefore the familiarity that you feel in sensing alana's tone and bringing it into your nature is a reminder of alana is also my first character; i have never restarted alana is niet de enigste die uit de toekomst komt alana is a name for universal heart energy alana is an executive board member of the high hopes 24 hour crisis hotline
alana is a world
alana is african american alana is to be a model to imitate alana is taken into make up to prepare for the show so the others wait patiently alana is knocked unconscious and jenny runs to get help alana is a great dancer alana is writing to janet because alana is passionate about singing alana is featured as a "girl on the verge" in jump magazine alana is waiting in her dungeon in north london alana is "still healthy and running strong alana is second from left alana is a beautifully decorated three bedroom alana is now 17 months old alana is always aware that she is meant to be a princess trapped in a dungeon or tinkerbell being kidnapped by the lost boys alana is a partner and head of our employment and hr consultancy group alana is an 18 years old dancer working in a pub but on her spare time she is a member of vigilance alana is a hard worker alana is forced to accept alana is 13 and lives in toronto alana is one grade higher than sam alana is alana is the older of dean and pat's two daughters alana is an acronym that stands for students of african alana is our main water quality technician for the 2001 alana is singapore's first budget hotel for golfers alana is more than just your average pop songstress alana is a homemaker alana is used to; she was an air force brat as a child and now has a career in the tourism/travel industry alana is best known for is probably the fantasy bride she created for the breast cancer auction sponsored by the here's looking at you alana is the professional organization that represents the nearly one thousand nurse anesthetists and student anesthetists in alabama in matters ranging from alana is governed by a thirteen alana is our volunteer coordinator alana is currently the webmaster for the arts and sciences site at the university of virginia alana is training to be a healer in her time alana is the brainchild of leonard perry alana is making great progress alana is experiencing a part of hers alana is the home of one of honolulu's finest gourmet dining experiences alana is a raver alana is very inspirational alana is still evolving and there is much work to be done alana is married to robert giovannini and they have three children alana is the proud resident assistant of the 6th and 7th floors of beaty towers east alana is currently an undergraduate studying biomedical sciences at the university of paisley alana is one of our favorites alana is dropped off at the photographer's studio to get her pictures taken for her school's 1st communion alana is licensed to practise before the us patent & trademark office alana is well known by its perfect service and the 15 years experience alana is very friendly and definitely enjoys what she does alana is wearing the famous gtfc ? england tee alana is a member of the graphic artist's guild alana is a rock star alana is a very pretty wrestler with years of experience alana is a technically sound player that will add depth to the defensive unit alana is employed as an assistant to the preschool director of yeshiva darchei torah in far rockaway alana is a superb cook alana is a big fan of yours and your staff alana is a young girl around 18 alana is being surrounded by some roses alana is a 1997 graduate of psu chemical engineering and started her career at ppg industries alana is just as cute as a button alana is currently 2 weeks into her 10 week alana is the calmest alana is in the first scene alana is an established young model from the south of england alana is a retention program designed to improve academic success alana is one of these people that hate people talking about her? even when it?s all alana is a 1998 graduate and is working in private practice in richmond alana is a very talented diver and has been able to improve each year alana is the principal of patterson human resource services ltd alana is suing bristol alana is married to dennis beck alana is a professional model based in san fransisco with incredible skill alana is a bit taller than karina alana is a proficient sound recordist alana is a farm partner alana is a very dynamic and versatile athlete alana is nestled amongst the best food alana is an amha and amhr registered sorrel filly | 7:39 pm |
to the creepy man standing in front of me perusing the informational pamphlets please go away.
oh wait, do you have any cigarettes? | Tuesday, September 23rd, 2003 | 3:48 am |
it doesn't sound like rain. it sounds more like someone taking a slow leak right outside my window. | 2:59 am |
5 months feels more like 5 years. | Wednesday, July 23rd, 2003 | 7:00 pm |
so why am i afraid? important things are on the line, i think. basically i'd better stop fucking around- think heavily. live differently. i woke up, got out of bed, went to work for several hours before i remembered that last night i was trapped in the black ...something and screaming at the top of my lungs for someone to come and wake me up. i half-woke up, making stupid animal noises. and it wasn't really like nightmare on elm street at all. | Wednesday, June 18th, 2003 | 8:47 pm |
all the crack and the drugs (pt.2) now if only "getting back my edge" didn't involve actually WORKing... somebody give me a deadline for something, please... (though spontaneous acts of creationary destruction have proven quite fruitful lately)
Current Music: nothing but flowers | Saturday, May 17th, 2003 | 2:13 pm |
this chair smells like computer my parent's house (or condo.) feels clean and protective. a sunny prefabricated refuge. there is something more innocent here that makes me feel like watching a shirley temple movie might not be so bad. in her heyday, i realize, my mother's mother bore a striking resemblance to judy garland. i could quit smoking here. a hiding space, for a bunny rabbit. soft blankets and heat.
i watch my mother sleeping and see her lips pressed tighter and her eyes sewn shut. i look at myself in the mirror and try to picture myself cold. i lay out everyone in their sleep, in ritual preparation. (i cannot do this to my father) i see my grandparents of both sexes. i see your hands. i see your eyes and nose, wet and running with tears and snot because we've both been crying in the car. i hear you wake up from your dream- you heard a voice in your head saying: "she doesn't love you". i told you i did, and you said it was nice to hear me say your name
oh, how many times will this have to happen how many times
i must be ready |
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