A Catalogue Of Sustainable Achievements
Here at SuperForest, the dolphin love is endless.
SuperForester Laura just sent in a tasty, dolphin-inspired track to join my Dolphin Rap, as well as Smart Marc’s “Dolphin Fresh“, in the pantheon of great dolphin-inspired music.
Take it away, Laura!
Amazing! Cheers to Miss Laura, and to John Rosenberg who played the keyboard.
Check out Dolphins Are Awesome!
Good afternoon, SuperForest!
We’ve been keeping a close eye on the work of Ric O’Barry and his team’s attempt to stop the annual dolphin slaughter that is featured in The Cove. Being that so much has happened since my first post on this issue, I figured it was time for another update.
As Jackson mentioned before, unfortunately the fishermen did return to the Cove only a few days after the media left. About 100 dolphins and 50 pilot whales were captured but due to a new (and temporary) non-slaughter policy that was put into place, about 30 were taken for captivity while the rest, instead of being slaughtered, were released. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case for the pilot whales which were regrettably killed. The fishermen have tried to dodge the non-slaughter policy by calling them “whales” instead of dolphins but as O’Barry’s team explained, “pilot whale meat has even higher levels of mercury than the other dolphins.” And, of course, the fact remains that pilot whales are part of the oceanic dolphin family Delphinidae.
So the fight isn’t over but Ric O’Barry and his crew are still working hard. Just yesterday, The Cove had its first public screening in Japan! More than 250 journalists from Japan and around the world showed up to watch the film as well as non-governmental organization representatives!
This is extremely significant and as Ric O’Barry wrote yesterday:
Only a couple of years ago, I went around to major news media in Tokyo with my Japanese friends, pleading with reporters to cover the story of the Taiji dolphin slaughter. Many reporters told us that they thought it was a very interesting story, but they knew their editors would not run the story. They did not want to upset the Japanese government, and so the media colluded with the government to hide the dolphin slaughter and the dangers of mercury-contaminated dolphin meat.
Wow! To see the developments unfold and the step by step actions people are taking to cease the Taiji dolphin slaughter is very promising. And there is still so much we can do!
Here at SuperForest, we have launched the pro-dolphin media site, “Dolphins are Awesome”. SuperForester Jackson wrote (and performed) his Dolphins are Awesome Rap and soonafter the lovely SuperForester Aiko translated the rap lyrics into Japanese and graciously taught Jackson how to recite it! The plan is to spread this happy dolphin song far and wide and you SuperForesters can help us out by informing others about our actions or by making your own pro-dolphin media and sharing it with us!
In addition, Ric O’Barry has outlined a few more things we can do to take action:
1. Follow his blog: It’s very easy to stay informed with all of the Taiji dolphin developments by reading Mr. O’Barry’s very own blog! He explains the day to day developments and experiences in relation to his visits to Japan.
2. Sign the Petition: You can take a few quick moments to urge President Obama, Vice President Biden and Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki to address this issue and urge the government of Japan to stop the slaughtering of dolphins in Taiji, Japan.
3. Donate: As is often the case, in order for most organizations to stay afloat, they need funding. And being that travels to Japan are very pricey, Save Japans Dolphins accepts any donations, big or small, here.
Once again, we applaud the hard work and dedication of the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition! Slowly but steadily, the dolphin wins are beginning to trickle in and it is an understatement to say that the work of the Save Japan Dolphins coalition is an absolute inspiration!
Love to all,
C
| On the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month SuperForester Jordan “rediscovers” a literary gem from the vast treasure trove of an art form that, in our technological age, has become largely under-appreciated and “lost”.
|
If a great film is one that can not only entertain but also elevate — with the power to profoundly influence, affect, or change the way we see our world, our beliefs and values, and ourselves… then The Cove may just be the best movie of the year.
As this is a Found Poetry post, in honor of the film I bring you not a poem about dolphins (if you know any good ones, please send them my way)… but a poem about the perils of caging anything that needs, that should, that must be free.
His vision, from the constantly passing bars,
has grown so weary that it cannot hold
anything else. It seems to him there are
a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world.
As he paces in cramped circles, over and over,
the movement of his powerful soft strides
is like a ritual dance around a center
in which a mighty will stands paralyzed.
Only at times, the curtain of the pupils
lifts, quietly–. An image enters in,
rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles,
plunges into the heart and is gone.
If you have never had a profound encounter with non-human life in the wild, I urge you to do so. Don’t support dolphin shows like Seaworld that promote wild capture. Read J. Allen Boone’s Kinship with All Life. SaveJapanDolphins.org!
Here’s me and my mentor, SuperForester Aiko, as I learn the Dolphins Are Awesome! Rap in Japanese phonetically:
Iluca-wa saikoh! (Dolphins Are Awesome!)
We spitting hot fire! Thanks to SuperForester Aiko!
Domo arigato, Aiko-san!
Gooooood Morning SuperForest!
I wanna show you something exciting. Check this out:
That’s the Dolphin Rap translated into Japanese! SuperForester Aiko just sent it in!
I’m not sure if you’ve been following the story in Taiji, but sadly the dolphin hunting has resumed. Happily, we have a plan!
I am teaming up with an elite crew of Hip Hopera stars here in NYC to bust some fresh grooves and record videos for both the English dolphin rap, and the Japanese Dolphin Rap (which I’ll learn phonetically.) Then, Bee Ladd and I are going to teach the rap to the 4Fives and record a video of them rapping and singing, and finally, we’re going to team up with a school in Japan to have kids there make their own video and version of the Dolphin Rap.
We’re going to go the “spread happy information in the form of a silly song” route.
I’ve been emailing with Ric O’Barry and he and I are discussing the best way to proceed. I will keep you posted.
Cheers to Aiko, and to SuperForester Betta, who introduced me to Miss Aiko. Thanks to you both.
Love!
-Jackson
p.s. Check out Dolphins Are Awesome! Because Dolphins ARE Awesome.
(image via imdb)
Good Morning SuperForest!
A huge win today for dolphins and all sea life! As Carla pointed out, apparently the dolphin hunting activities in Taiji have ceased, and the Japanese media is covering the cove intensely. The film and the actions of Ric O’Barry and Co. have achieved a cultural tipping point, and now the entire world is paying attention.
I had mentioned my plans to go to Japan and sing the Dolphin Rap, but now that the show is apparently over, it seems excessive. The plan now is to stay in the USA, translate the Dolphin Rap into Japanese and work to spread it virally. Ramp up the pro-dolphin media campaign in order to keep the momentum going.
That said, if dolphin hunting were to resume, I’d be ready at a moments notice to fly down and spit hot fire. :)
A huge congratulations to Ric O’Barry, the team that made The Cove, and to the people of Japan.
Let’s continue this excitement for conservation and work to extend it to include all sea life.
-Jackson
Today is September 1, 2009. It marks the first day of dolphin slaughter season in Japan and because of this, former dolphin trainer and activist Richard O’Barry traveled to Taiji today with media representatives from all over the world. When they got to the notorious cove from the movie, they were throroughly surprised with what they found…
nothing.
No dolphin killers. No fisherman.
What they did find arriving on the scene was something even better!!
Japanese media! And lots of it!
As told by O’Barry:
…suddenly a camera crew arrived from Japan! And then another! And then still another!
You have to understand that this is SO IMPORTANT. These TV stations have REFUSED to cover the story in Taiji for years and years. NOW, for the first time, they have shown up, with cameras rolling. The head policeman talking with me even said, for the cameras, that the police are not there to support the dolphin killing fishermen. We shook hands, and they left.
As I said, it is a good day for the dolphins. And for me personally, as the police only wanted to talk with me, not arrest me!
The Cove movie led to the strong action by the city of Broome, Australia, in suspending the sister-city relationship with Taiji. So now, the Japanese media are sitting up and listening, for the first time.
And I’m telling them: “This tour is to show journalists the GOOD things about Taiji. You see, with The Cove movie out now, we don’t have to show the BAD things about Taiji. Soon, the whole world will know about the Taiji dolphin slaughter. And all Japanese will soon know about the cover-up that has occurred by the government in refusing to stop mercury-contaminated dolphin meat from being sold to unsuspecting Japanese consumers and children.
But Taiji can change this image of shame, if they want to. I will be telling them that the town of Nantucket used to be the capitol of the whale killing industry in the US. Now, it uses its history of whaling combined with whale-watching to market tourism very successfully. Whales and dolphins are worth more alive than dead. Taiji can do this, too. But the killing has to stop.
Yes, today was a good day for dolphins. Tomorrow, I will take journalists with me around town to show them Taiji. Tomorrow, too, I predict will be a good day for dolphins. Every day that we are here and the fishermen KNOW we are here, will likely mean no boats going out to round up dolphins for the killing Cove.
Yaaaay Richard O’Barry!
Yaaaay Taiji, Japan!
(To read O’Barry’s full report, please click here!)
(image via easyart.com)
Goooood Morning SuperForest!
According to SuperForest’s analytics page, which keeps track of our statistics, roughly half of the folks who visits SuperForest every day are here for the first time.
So if you’re just getting here and thinking, “why all these dolphins?” Allow me to explain…
A few weeks back I went to see a movie called The Cove, which on the surface is about dolphin fishing in Japan.
For me, the film was more about how extraordinarily creative and willing to work together humans can be when they feel inspired and feel like what they are doing is right. When people get together to address an injustice, the limits of their strength seems boundless.
I was incredibly inspired by the actions of Ric O’Barry, a former dolphin trainer who has now spent 30 years trying to free captive dolphins.
Because of his pro-dolphin work, Ric has been banned from attending International Whaling Commission meetings. So the movie is about Ric and his team working to get video evidence of the hunting. After struggling mightily, they finally obtains this footage, and Ric straps a video monitor to his chest, crashes the IWC conference and works his way to the front of the room where he stands front and center, so that everyone can see what exactly is happening.
It is an incredibly powerful moment. The idea that all it takes to change the world is the focused actions of a handful of individuals has never been so clear to me.
And so I thought to myself: What can I do to add my energy to this cause? What actions can I take?
The goals and rules I set for myself were these:
It had to be fun.
It had to spread awareness.
It had to be a win for all parties involved, most importantly the IWC and the fishermen in Taiji.
I thought: “Well, dolphins are awesome. That’s a pretty easy sell.”
So, I started Dolphins Are Awesome! the site. Dolphins Are Awesome! is a free forum, open to all, for people to enthuse about dolphins, meet up and trade dolphins stories (or just meet up,) put up photos, and most especially put up videos and songs.
Songs are an important part of this plan because we’re also putting together the Dolphin Song, which is a collaborative, multi-part song about dolphins, and how awesome they are.
I’m asking any musician who feels inspired by messages of pro-dolphin positivity, to record some verses and add them to the site. We’ll stich the verses together with some magical cross-fade wizardry, and the song will begin snowballing. I’ve laid down some fresh beats, as has MC Smart Marc, and more songs and verses are heading in as we speak.
It is by snowballing positivity and awareness that we can succeed in every endeavor we undertake.
In the end, I want us all to create the world’s longest and happiest song about dolphins. I’d love nothing more than to have hundreds of thousands of people, grannies and babies, boys and girls, all singing together a message of hope and positivity about dolphins.
That is how I’ve chosen to protest the killing of dolphins in Taiji, with songs and laughter and community. The SuperForest way is positive encouragement only.
I never want to pick a fight, start an argument, or rile a feather again. I’ve done more than enough fighting, arguing, and feather-riling in my life. I just want to show everyone how we can sing and dance together and change the world while we’re doing it. The internet and our blogs allow our good deeds and intentions to leave a residue that stays behind and continues the work. By doing and sharing the good things we do, we inspire further good deeds. The internet is our happy playground of positivity.
SuperForester Aaron and I are in the process of planning the trip to Taiji in the last week of September, and there hopefully to connect with Ric O’Barry and teach him some dance steps and a rap verse or two. Nothing would make me happier than schoolchildren in Japan and America video-conferencing to sing and laugh together, as Ric danced among them. I want to rap my dolphin song with Ric, Jordan, and a class of school children on the beach at Taiji. And I want to shoot lots of footage and share it with you.
To make it so that every fisherman in Taiji has a catchy song in their heads about how great dolphins are, the human lives they’ve saved, and how as fishermen they are brave and good for protecting them, is my goal. I cannot condemn, or try to throw rules and petitions at anyone, but I can wage an entirely hilarious psy-ops campaign based solely on positivity and creating a win/win situation for everyone.
Positivity makes it so that I can “protest” and never feel drained. I get tired, but the work feeds me.
I don’t fight, I party for Peace.
An argument can only happen when both parties decide to argue. If one party wants to quarrel and the other just want to get to know you, make friends with you, share your stories, it makes it tough to fight. No fighting. No harsh words. No fear. Only excellence and creativity.
That way, everyone gets to play.
So the dolphins are going to be around for a while. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Wanna party with us? Join Dolphins Are Awesome! Write a Dolphin Song!
Love to All,
Jackson
One of my hands down favorite British rapper/MC’s, the legendary Smart Marc, has thrown down some verses of his own Dolphin Rap song!
Dolphins Are Awesome! is really coming to life.
Smart Marc was the frontman of perhaps the most incredible band that you’ve never heard of, The Rhyme Chemists.
Thank you, Smart Marc! I consider the Dolphin Rap gauntlet thrown down and I will step to the challenge.
Hear me, Smart Marc, no one breathes hot fire down my neck without feeling my sting in return.
Even though you are the world’s greatest MC.
LOVE!
-Jackson
(image via greenguards)
I realize that my verbage in the Dolphin Rap might be a bit incomprehensible. So here’s the lyrics I’m spitting like hot fire.
“This is Jackson, and today I’d like to talk about…
Dolphins! They are the best.
Look good in a hat. Look good in a vest.
They are magicians! Magic from the sea.
Friend to the whale and friend to you and me.Dolphins!
(I never saw such a happy fish!)
(I love the way they leap and play!)
And now I’d like to introduce you to my special friend…
(We call him)
Dolphin! Dolphin!
Master of the sea, cause he’s got a masters degree in Oceanography!
Oooooooh!
What more can you say? I mean, that’s basically it, right?
Oop! Oh wait, no. Wait, no. There’s more!What about the Walrus?!
The walrus is good too, but a dolphin is cuter, has a higher IQ.
Ha ha! Right. You ready for this? I’m gonna drop some science.
Here we go:
The dolphin is warm-blooded! Cares deeply for its young!
But equally important, dolphins know how to have fun!
Fishermen!
You are the best!
So careful with your hooks, so skillful with your nets.
Nets, nets, nets, nets…A good fisherman knows, that the dolphin is his friend.
Dolphins saving fishermen time and time again.
Now the time has come to return the favor.
Be a dolphin’s hero! Be a dolphin life-saver!A good fisherman knows, that the dolphin is his friend.
Dolphins saving fishermen time and time again!
Time and time again!Dolphins!
Dolphins!
Dolphins!Dolphins are awesome!”
Come join in the fun. Spit some hot fire of your own! We’ll mash it all together and create the world’s longest, biggest, happiest, most internationally collaborative song.
Check out Dolphins Are Awesome!
Love,
Jackson
I finished this last night at 4:30 AM. I’ve never before rapped, recorded, or written a song, so please take it easy on me… I hope you like! I’m going to do a better video and have that up soon.
If you like my song, please comment, email it around, embed it on your blogs, remix it, whatever gives you joy. nothing would make me happier than seeing this song sread around the world.
Special thanks to the Winstons, Nate Harrison, and whoever wrote the Flipper theme song.
Check out Dolphins Are Awesome!
Love,
Jackson
Goooooood Morning SuperForest!
I am home rapping today. I’m working on a little something for the Dolphin Song for Dolphins Are Awesome!
This is my hastily assembled home studio:
As you can see, I have turned a vornado fan into a very effective laptop cooling device. Got a little USB mic, an external drive, and my cans (that’s studio-speak for “headphones.”)
I’ve sampled one of the very best samples of all time, the “Amen break” from the Winstons 1969 song “Amen Brother”.
Here’s Nate Harrison’s amazing short documentary about this amazing 6 second song snippet and its incredible effect on our culture:
So, I’ve got some lyrics, and my studio, and now to rap rap rap, like I’ve never rapped before. (I’ve never rapped before.)
Dolphins Are Awesome! now has 49 members and growing! Thank you to everybody who joined! I’ve asked a lot of musical cats I know to contribute parts to the Dolphin Song and we’ll use Dolphins Are Awesome! to put all the parts together.
(If you’re just tuning in, the Dolphin Song is a collaborative, multi-part, international song that anyone can add to. The only rule for entry is that it must be a happy song about dolphins.)
Life is such fun.
Love to All,
-Jackson
I’ve started a collaborative site at ning called Dolphins Are Awesome!
Here’s the link. Anyone is free to join and upload positive dolphin-related media!
Got a happy song about dolphins? Upload it to Dolphins Are Awesome!
Shot some great footage of wild dolphins frolicking? Upload it to Dolphins Are Awesome!
Written a scathing review of fishing practices worldwide? Uh, sorry… Sadness and anger are not what Dolphins Are Awesome! is about.
Dolphins Are Awesome! is an open-source collaborative site for spreading dolphin love, love, and more love.
Check out Dolphins Are Awesome!
SuperForest is a positivity blog.
SuperForesters are all over planet Earth, all united in exploring how to redefine "environmentalism" and "sustainability" to encompass every aspect of our lives. Everything you find on this website has been personally created to uplift and inspire you.
Recent Comments