"Super Size Me"

My confession... I feel a little guilty feeding LBJ with a cricket 1/5 the size of itself. But watching it chowing down the prey and getting high from this delicious meal, I have that instinct of caveman being fulfilled, how strange!

At the same time, I began to relate LBJ's feast to Americans diet – high sugar, high protein, high fat, high calories. Excuse me, the way they eat is not indulgence, it is negligence for the lack of a better word.



I didn't have to see the movie "Super Size Me," a 2004 comedic documentary on the influence of fast food industry on Americans diet, and I already know the consequence of the guy who fed himself with McDonald everyday for a month. A land of free has also become a land of excess and then turned into a land of abuse, in food sense. No matter what health care system we have and how good they are, it's doomed to fail.

Now going back to LBJ. Can I feed it with grass or vegetables? Not likely. He'll be dead like a dead branch. But what can I do to keep it healthy? I can only try balance of diet, which means feeding crickets with veggies and fruits, hopefully, it will do the trick. But for Americans, what options do they have? Many. Are they willing to change? Good question. I think I'm too cynical and skeptical on that.

LBJ just moved into his "McMansion"

The conventional wisdom of buying a house is a good investment. Not anymore!

The collapse of U.S. housing market during the last three years has been tremendously painful to a lot of homeowners. They traded up houses without paying a dime for down payment, wishing to make a quick buck when their houses were sold. Or those who cashed in from their home equities for luxurious lifestyles. Have I mentioned the unsophisticated buyers who were told they could be homeowners too when their incomes could barely make the ends meet? The result, unfortunately, is endless regrets in foreclosures and bankruptcy filings. As we all know, the party is over.

Even now, some economists and investment analysts are still not optimistic on the recovery of the housing market. Some continue to throw stone without mercy. Not surprisingly, the headlines on newspapers and TV news are blowing their horns, claiming prices will continue to fall, and house sizes will continue to shrink.

While "McMansion" may have been a thing in the past, there's always somebody who wants to join the club. Let's just take LBJ as an example.

LBJ is not rich and has never been rich. Money is never a concern, don't you love that? It has inherited a huge estate from Ray, my next door neighbor who lost his wife a year ago. No, Ray is not dead and he has no plan to give his hard-earned wealth to a frog, even if it were Prince Charming.

In fact, Ray is still healthy though he smokes quite a bit. Whenever I need to enter his home to help him out for something, I have to take a deep, very deep, breathe before knocking on his door. It is as if breathing his second handed smoke for a minute or two would kill me instantly. The fact is that Ray's fish died, all of them, and he doesn't want to keep the aquarium anymore. He's just nice to ask me if I want the tank for LBJ.

The windfall couldn't come at a better time when I have been thinking how to improve LBJ's quality of life in the last few days. Just imagine somebody gives you a house that is 10 times bigger than your existing one! As for LBJ, that means it'll move from a 1 gallon fish bowl to a 10 gallon "McMansion," which has an elegant courtyard for an afternoon nap, an indoor pool with sandy beach for sunbathing, three towers for food surveillance and endless hiding places for retreats, plus many more upgrades like floor to high ceiling glass walls, etc. Not to mention the unlimited supply of live insects as its edible buddies, all is free! I believe this new home will absolutely blow its mind.

In contrary to those who were the victims of the downturn of the housing market, no matter what their circumstances were, LBJ's windfall is here to stay. For now, I'm afraid its plan of searching its dad may have to be put on hold for a little while. But who could blame this little frog when a fortune just dropped over its head overnight!

Food for frog? Bon appetit!

What will a woman associate a frog with? Prince Charming?

And what will a man think of a frog? A bait for fishing!

See the difference? The image of Prince Charming didn't pop up in a four-year-old girl's mind by chance, it's taught. Catching a trophy fish with a frog is a boy's dream when a fishing rod is in his hands, but it's also taught.

What's my point? Nothing new... Girls growing up are protected from the exposure to violence of mother nature while boys are, on the opposite, allowed to learn from it. Having said that, I cannot deny the fact that genetic makeup plays a major role in the differences.

As a grown up, I like frog because it is one of those amphibians that existed in the dinosaur period, but it doesn't have the chainsaw-like teeth to bite while I'm gaming at it through the lens of my camera. I can also use it to catch a fatty bass to indulge my caveman instinct. However, I'm not a big fan of using frog as bait for some reason. May be it's too cruel, I don't know. But here comes the dilemma, I do enjoy deep fried frog legs. I guess you can make a point that any wildlife could be a friend of yours in one country but a delicacy in another.

One other thing I couldn't resist is to take videos and photographs of LBJ, that really arouse my... no, it's not that... I mean my creativity and fulfill my curiosity. It's like watching an episode of National Geographic live.

Next time, when you wonder why I'm so obsessed? Just remember one thing, researchers do spend hours observing the behavior of a frog. I'm no researcher, and I could be just like other guys keeping their fingers busy on video games in iPhone, Wii, and DS, but I would rather keep my eyes on a frog for leisure. Perhaps I'm old-school.

Throw me a short comment, would you?

Now watch LBJ catching its prey in lightning speed. Bon appetite!

Tree frog shoes

Who doesn't want to be a celebrity and become famous and rich?

Just ask some of the people in LA who are taking up odd jobs to subsidize their livings in order to fulfill their dreams – the dream that one day, they will have the opportunity to perform in front of a movie camera, to be somebody in Hollywood.

Even animals couldn't resist that temptation. Or should I say the owners of the animals couldn't? Just watch the TV commercials with animals, mostly humorous, being used to sell products.

Pigeons? Check!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycvf9E2cjRs&feature=player_embedded

What about a dog and a horse? Yes, together. Don't worry, it's not an animal porn clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj-sT_hmZtg

Have you forgotten the cowboy monkey? Well, you better not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXVK3hTRxlY

All of these ads were very successfully recalled by audience and generated handsome profits for not only the advertisers, but also the owners of the animals.

For that matter, I want to be one of those animal owners who don't have the talent to act or sing, let alone my look, to have a chance under the spotlight. The problem is, I don't have ANY animals! All I have is a little tree frog named LBJ (LoBo Jr.). Well then, maybe LBJ can pull off a serious commercial to sell an advertiser, who knows.

For one thing, I don't want to be a celebrity and I don't want to be famous. But I can live with having a small fortune out of my hobby. Watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1ydhaTVDW4

And a poster too.

Meet The Frog

LoBo Jr.!

What? LoBo Jr., a green tree frog?

That's right. You didn't mis-read.

Actually, it was David, my high school classmate whom I grew up playing soccer with, who suggested the name on a Facebook posting. And then another friend claimed that the name did infringe her son's and asked for loyalty fee, or else she threatened to sue. She was only kidding of course.

In fact, lawsuits are quite trendy in the U.S. these days. You sue me, I sue him, and the next thing you know, he sues you, like a love triangle.

So, what I concern more is to avoid being sued by the band Los Lobos. No sweat, I've added Jr. after Lobo just in case... Oh, he has a Chinese name too, 小綠寶, (Little Green Precious from word to word translation) how about that, huh? To make things easier, let's just call him LBJ (don't be mistaken, it's not that U.S. vice president in mid 60s).

LBJ is not much different from his cousin Shrek, a northern leopard frog that I released back to a conservation area last summer, except it's a shorter guy that max out at 2 inches long from nose to... ah, its ass. And it has bigger toes with suctions that stick on anything it jumps onto. Yep, just like Spiderman, no kidding. Shrek, like the Ogre, could be twice or even more the size of LBJ and more of a swimmer and long jumper. (You can go back a few postings to see his photos and videos)

What is more profound about LBJ is that he could camouflage itself very well in its surroundings, just try to find it in the picture.

Nevertheless, if you happen to have a tree frog and you hear something is quacking loudly inside your house in the middle of the night, stay calm, no duck is on the loose. It's just your tree frog croaking "quack, quack, quack" like a duck... now go back to your bed and dream about eating a roast duck.

Another newcomer

It's been more than a year since Shrek was released back to nature, hope he's doing ok.

I've been wondering for a while why there isn't any leopard frog setting up summer camp in my pond this year. But guess what? There is...

I was sipping my coffee in the breezeway, enjoying the cool breeze and the soft morning sun, but something caught my attention... something was moving along the bottom of the backyard door. Oh my, it's a tiny frog, about one and a half inch long. It was quite clumsy while jumping. Thanks for the dusty and dirty carpet, that hasn't been cleaned since, oh well, a month ago... that got stuck on its limps.

Don't ask me why I'm attracted to frogs... actually not just frogs, but all kinds of little critters. It's something that I grew up with, I guess. And I'm still wondering why I didn't become an entomologist if I like it so much...

Anyway, going back to the frog. It's not a leopard frog, nor a toad. It's a tree frog with tremendous jumping capability. It's even better than the leopard frog. Why? His padded hands have suctions to stick on walls and glass. Cool huh!

More later... meanwhile check out his look.

Oh his name? I'll tell you next time.

FAREWELL

"Free the Frog! Free the Frog!! Amphibians around the world unite!!!!!" Dee, my co-worker, made this petition to let Shrek go free in an e-mail. "How dare you? Dee!" Just kidding...

Actually I really do think this is time. Tomorrow will be a good day to do so because the forecast said it'll be a rainy day, an amphibian day.

Funny thing is I didn't make much connection with fish in my two aquariums, but somehow letting Shrek go seems to trigger some uneasiness. I guess we call this attachment. Eight months is long enough to create a bonding. Or perhaps it's the fact that I'll be going to Hong Kong with my kids for three weeks next Tuesday, YEEEEEEEHA, so I can certainly relate how Shrek feels about being with its species, should I say "the other frog is calling!"

Before we go, Shrek wants to show off his worm-eating skill. Enjoy! And by the way, I think Shrek is actually a female because he didn't do any callings at all.

Ahem... remember Andy William? "B-O-R-N F-R-E-E, AS FREE AS THE WIND BLOWS...."

FREEDOMMMMMM!!!

What would you do if your kids decided to run away because your house is too small? Not once, not twice, but three times. Three times! Would you buy a bigger house, or you simply let them go.

In my case, I think of the latter. Of course I'm not talking about my kids. I'm talking about Shrek, my froggie. He escaped from the aquarium three times in the last four days, hiding in the toilet corner, under the entertainment center, and on top of the aquarium. You may wonder how he pulled it off. Simple. First, he is no longer a small froggie. Second, as the previous video shows, he jumps up like a launching rocket. Third, I keep the filtration and heater's openings open and I didn't know he is so determined to go. Sounds like the movie "Finding Nemo," isn't it?

In fact, his escape coincides with my recent thinking if it's time to let him go back to where he was. After all, my duty to keep him alive has already achieved, so keep him captivated in an aquarium seems to serve more of my own interest than his purpose of existence. Not to mention he has outgrown my aquarium. If that is the case, how can I justify to keep fishy friends in my aquarium then.

So what would you do if you were me?

Shrek, a launching rocket!

My body got so excited when Spring comes, that's why my blog is like missing in action. Hey, don't blame me, I have a life to live other than taking video of Shrek! After all, who can resist the warmth of the sun, the smell of the greens and the touch of the light breeze of Spring after three months of hibernation? Anyway, it's been quite some time since the last post, but you know, a good video takes time to make. Shrek is in action of course, but this time I see him like a rocket launching.

Watch:

A small "JAW"

Over the weekend, I had Chris Beck, a close friend, working together on editing the slow motion of the previous movie clip. May, Chris's wife and a co-worker of mine, was shaking her head, saying "oh, you boys..." as she looked at us cheerfully celebrating our not-so-profound success in the editing, at least by professional standards. She is right, boys will always be boys. No offense, May!

You know what? After editing the sound effect in, the clip is no longer just a frog feeding on a cricket like the previous one. It's almost like watching the great white shark chowing down a seal in "JAW", or the tyrannosaurus swallowing the lamb in "JURASSIC PARK." Even I myself feel the chill of the violence in the name of "the strongest survives."

Speaking of that, it does exist in our world in different aspects. Gun shots here, civil wars there. How about Wall Street bankers gaming on our financial system while corporations and crooks violating business ethics for their fat pockets. Or the rich keep getting richer while the poor struggle in putting food on the table.

We're almost like the crickets trying to get fed while avoiding being eaten alive. Having said that, our prospects are much brighter than the crickets because we are not confined by where we are in our own food chain. One day, we may be at the bottom, who knows on another day, we may rise up to another level if not straight up to the top. Or vice versa as we have witnessed those falling down hard in the last 12 months.



Chris, thank you for your help.

Video credit: me

A dream

Picture this: a bald eagle is descending in high speed right above a lake, then extending its claws to grab a fish right out of the water. And in seconds, it flies away without a trace. It's so breathtaking.

Or a slow motion movie clip of a lion's deadly hunt in safari, which turns out to be an incredible escape being pulled off by the prey itself, will never fail us. One way or the other, we have that "WOW" moment.

As you know, I'm no film director, but I like taking NOT low budget, but NO BUDGET movie shots of my leopard frog with my crappy point and shoot camera, dreaming one day I could be one of those National Geographic photographic journalists shooting footage of an elusive wolf pack hunting caribous in Alaska or part of the BBC natural history camera crew shooting documentary of two snow leopards going after mountain goats in Pakistan shown in the "Planet Earth" series.

I know, I know, it takes a lot skill and hard work to put a collection like that together. And I admit I wouldn't have that kind of patience and talent to pull it off, but still, it doesn't deter me from creating my own version of a "controlled" documentary of my leopard frog.

Beware, this clip is not "G" rated, but it's nowhere near X's though. Watch:




If you like this one, you surely would like the slow motion version that will be posted in a couple of days, stay tuned.

Is Shrek the Shrek in "Shrek"

The answer is I still don't know.

It's already Spring. I have been wondering if Shrek actually feels the urge to... ahem, mate. However, the tricky thing is Shrek has been living comfortably indoor through the winter, does it even know it is Spring now?

Without going through the hibernation process to trigger its biological clock, does Shrek, still has the instincts to call for its princess if it is a male leopard frog, or to look for the frog prince if it is a female.

Maybe I can steal an idea from Dee, a co-worker of mine who is a frog lover. Her cubicle is filled with pictures of frogs. Some are on the wall, some are hanging from the ceiling. I should call her "frog lady" from now on, nah!

Anyway, my idea is to tape a whole bunch of frog pictures around my aquarium as "stimulants" and see if Shrek will react to its fantasies, I mean its instincts, to make calls 24/7. If it does, Shrek is definitely the Shrek in "Shrek." If it doesn't, it might be a Fiona, and I should go to a nearby pond to round up a male for her.

Spring is a good time for happy ending... I know, I know, I'm just over my head.

Can't let go

Me: Shrek, you look very hungry! You just can't let that cricket go free, can you? Enjoy while it last.

Shrek: Hey hey hey, what do you mean, Mr.? You don't bail me out anymore?

Me: Well, sorry Shrek, you got crickets from me but who got my lunch? My house is currently under water, but the bailout doesn't seem to help us at all. Also, pay cut is on the horizon, not to mention my tax dollars is going to AIG executives' bonuses!

Shrek: Oh no, All Is Gone?

Revisit the chilling thoughts

Yes, it's mid-February and the daylight is already longer. Some of you couldn't wait to pull the Hawaiian shirt out of the bottom dresser, but being a naysayer, I would say "not so fast." Daily high is still below or right at the freezing and in the low twenties in average at night. I don't need a groundhog to find out if Spring is here, the frozen little pond in my backyard tells me it isn't yet.

Speaking of my little pond, I can't help but giving myself credits, yes, again, on saving Shrek's life. "No big deal, man," you may say. And you're right, maybe I'm a little narcissistic. However, as I read the news on Feb. 12, which was the 200th birthday of two famous historical national icons - Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, I also found out that 2008 was named The Year of Frog, which was a global campaign to raise public awareness and understanding of the crisis of amphibian extinction. What a coincidence? How appropriate on my rescue action, eh! Honest with you, I didn't really know about that until last Thursday.

Now, compare this photo with the one above, which one you think Shrek would like to be in if he has a choice?



See this link for more info on The Year of Frog campaign

http://www.amphibianark.org/yearofthefrog.htm

baby fish update

If you read the comments from the previous posting "Oh babies", you know one of my followers, Chao, suggested that I could have a TV interview on Ann Curry's NBC morning show. You know what? I counted the baby fish in the aquarium again last night and I found seven of them. Yay... the mother fish, a platy, is just one baby fish shy of tying the record of Nadya Suleman who gave birth to her Octuplets.

New video

I have posted a new video at the bottom of the previous post if you missed it. If you haven't read the post, read it before watching the video clip.

OH, BABIES !

Sometimes life happens.

Ahem, don't get me wrong... I already have two kids and my will doesn't have extra space to add any extra names. But things got a little out of hand, a few babies did came out of nowhere in my house just a couple of days ago. "What?" "I didn't do anything, they're not mine!" Sounds familiar?

OK, let me explain. There's no secret of it. Just think about when I have ahhhh..... two fish that have big bellies and the chance that they give birth to a few fishy babies is nothing new. Of course, I'm grateful to have a few little fishy friends hanging around in Shrek's neighborhood. However, whether they can survive and grow up is all up to the law of natural selection.

After spotting the first one, I couldn't help but spending the next twenty minutes trying to get an accurate head count, but I gave up after counting only five of them. I realized that there's no way the mother fish can beat Nadya Suleman, the 33-year-old woman who lately captured the headline news by giving birth to octuplets. If you don't quite know how to pronounce it, try to pronounce "octopus" first.

Wait, but she is a single mom and already have six children! And those young children are raised pretty much by her mom Angela. Well, you can fill in the rest of what you can think of.

The last thing that I want to say is, yes, sometimes life does happen, but in this case, lives ARE made to happen. I don't know. What do you think?




Here's a snapshot of the mother fish.

Size matters

One of my followers asked how big Shrek's neighborhood is, i.e. the size of the aquarium. I hope he isn't planning to file litigation against me on frog abuse. Just look at how big Shrek has grown and you'll know he's just a happy camper there.

OK, it's a 30-gallon aquarium. The filter is a cheap underwater filtration system that costs 15 bucks or so.

Good question!

Shrek: Am I fat?

Lewis: You want an honest answer?

Shrek: Yes.... wait, no.... arrrrrgh! O... K...

Lewis: Your weight is equivalent to the top 50 percentile of the obese population in the U.S., how about that?

Shrek: That's it? Whew! I feel better!

Meet the neighbors III - Shadow

Shadow lives in the dark side, but not Darf Vader's kind.

It belongs to the family of African knife fish. I don't know about its relatives, but Shadow is extremely shy. It hides itself in a cave, or tunnel, or some place that is dark all day. It's as if it's anti-social. To be a little more politically correct, let me just say it's aloof.

I wish I read more about this fish before putting my money down. Why would any hobbyist wants to own a nocturnal fish. That defeats the purpose of having fish in an aquarium, doesn't it? Nobody will wake up in the twilight and try to flash for where this fish is hanging out. In Chinese, we call this "late night ghost," mostly refer to people who are active during nighttime.

Anyway, over a week or so, I thought about the term aquarium. It doesn't exactly reflect why I put the frog in in the first place. I like diversity in this little indoor "pond." I want to see different characters in this neighborhood, which may create argument sometimes, but that's what the world we're living in right now. Culture is a beautiful thing, so why do we need to separate them apart as long as they live in harmony. After all, Shadow doesn't bully others. In fact, it's a good dancer. When it swims, its tail will capture your appreciation of its movement.

The bottom line is if everybody is well-fed, they're happy, they don't ask for more. OK, OK, I'm an Utopian. They're a little bit territorial sometimes. What about Shrek? Well, I've observed long enough for this conclusion: he's not a good fisherman, but a good hunter. So his neighbors are safe.