The sodium solution

 

Not sure wat means? And as per usual, the techno-geeks are offering their five cents (or is it bitcoins) in the commentary section...everyone pretty much disagreeing with everyone else.

Is a "natrium reactor" less efficient than a standard one, but easier to build and operate? Or is it both cheaper and *more* efficient? 

I suppose both options are worth looking into. You know, climate change, peak oil, that kind of stuff. Note also who finances this little operation! Hmmm...

Now, do thorium reactors.  

No forests on Flat Earth?

 

Content creator Emma Thorne (a former conspiracy theorist turned basic left-liberal) comments a bizarre flat earth video, which is apparently something of a classic. 

I assume the original version is titled "No Forests on Flat Earth", but there is also a dubbed version called "No Trees on Flat Earth". Emma is commenting the original, narrated by a guy with a heavy Russian or East European accent. 

The whole thing could be a troll, perhaps a parody of flat earthism. Or it could be a real kook. This far out on a limb, it´s impossible to tell. Nor is it overtly obvious how any of the weird factoids in the video  proves that the Earth is flat?! But sure, the claims that Devils Tower is the petrified stump of a truly gigantic tree, that Grand Canyon is a quarry, or that a secret nuclear war was fought between 1780 and 1815, do have a certain intrinsic charm. 

There are other whackadillos and wingnuts out there who claim that dinosaurs never existed, that Stonehenge is a modern fake, that the US Socialist Workers Party killed Trotsky, that many insects are robotic UFOs...you get the picture. However, I know for a fact that the claim that birds are really drones covered in plumage is parody, and I strongly suspect it´s the same with the girl who believes the cicadas in her backyard are harbingers of the apocalypse. 

But, as any paranoiac will tell ya, that´s exactly what They *want* you to believe!

Nuking Yellowstone

 

OK, this was unusual. The content-creator actually *debunks* an apocalyptic rumor, specifically the Russian claim that they can hit the Yellowstone caldera with a nuclear-armed missile and trigger a new eruption of the super-volcano, which would then devastate all of North America. 

In reality, even a direct hit with such a missile would at most devastate the Yellowstone national park. But sure, maybe that *is* worth massive MAD-type retaliation? I mean, we can´t let the Rooskees nuke our bisons and wolves, can we now? :D 

The Event aint drag queen hour, yo

 

A Black gay drag queen claims to have build a compound in Wyoming (a conservative state) to survive "a fucking civil war", which he claims is looming. Not sure if this dude is telling the truth, or merely trolling, but it does fit into the narrative about "The Event"... 

RuPaul is building fortified compound in red state

Darwin Awards

 

I can already see Professor Edward Dutton fuming over this. "She scores high in narcissism, low in conscientiousness, low in agreeableness". The bison, on the other hand, seems serene as a buddha...

What mutant will win out in the end, remains to be seen. Although it sounds rather counter-intuitive, my money (inflated Swedish kronor) are at the bison!

 

Djävulens mormor (eller dotter)

Tänk att vara liberal eller på något sätt "vänster" och hamna på samma sida som Liz Cheney, dotter till Dick Cheney, som antagligen låg bakom 9/11. Trodde *jag* var en cynisk realpolitiker... 

Så ska dumpade Cheney hämnas på Trump

Nightmare before Christmas?

I love this article. It mentions a business actually called "Chad´s Christmas Trees", and a newspaper called "Cowboy State Daily". (They missed Greta the Grinch, though. I expected a based site like Breitbart to blame the Christmas tree shortages on Greta Thunberg!) There is also ACTA, the American Christmas Tree Association?!

Yes, it´s involuntary hilarity. In reality, this nightmare before Christmas isn´t funny at all. Something tells me a shortage of X-mas trees will be the last thing on our minds when shit really hits the fuckin fan on this rock... 

Christmas tree shortage in the United States

Perfectly wild

"A Perfect Planet" is a new series shown on BBC Earth, narrated by David Attenborough. When shown on Swedish TV, however, we have to rest contented with Henrik Ekman! I recently watched the first episode, "Volcano".

It´s ostensibly an educational production about the pivotal role of volcanic activity in sustaining life on Earth. Except, of course, that it isn´t. The "educational" angle is just an excuse to show the most spectacular footage of wildlife the BBC could lay their hands on this season. No hard feelings, btw! I mean, who cares about geology, anyway?

First, we get to see Lake Natron in Tanzania, a large volcanic lake where literally millions of lesser flamingoes breed and nest every year. It looks like another planet. Unfortunately for the flamingoes, but fortunately for the ecological balance in nature, marabou storks also gather to feast at those young flamingoes which aren´t fit enough to run away. I assumed the truly spectacular footage from Lake Natron was made by drones (the lake seems to be strongly acidic) but actually it was shot by an actual human who reached the interior of the lake area with a hovercraft! The local Massai tribeswomen even had to help him repair the hovercraft´s skirt... 

Next, we get to see some bizarre footage from the Galapagos Islands. At the small island of Wolf, one of "Darwin´s finches" (actually tanagers) have evolved a truly remarkable behavior. The "vampire ground finch" sometimes attacks the Nazca boobies and literally sucks their blood, weirldy enough without the boobies even noticing. At the island of Fernardina, an iguana climbs down into a volcanic crater 800 meters deep to lay its eggs in the hot sands surrounding the volcanic lake. This almost literal descensus into hell is extremely dangerous for the lizard, due to steep cliffs and falling rocks. 

This first episode ends with scenes of otters and coyotes from Yellowstone and a large gathering of cute-looking but dangerous brown bears from Kamchatka in Russia. 

I´m not sure if "A Perfect Planet" really proves that the planet is perfect, but at the very least, it does seem to be perfectly wild! 

I will certainly continue watching this series with great interest. 

Breakfast at the bungalow

Mount Shasta 

"The Magic Presence" is the second book in the so-called Saint Germain Series, authored by Guy Ballard under the pen name Godfré Ray King. It´s arguably even worse than the first volume, "Unveiled Mysteries", and I frankly only skimmed it. Even that took hours! 

Ballard was the founder of a peculiar religious group in the United States, usually known as the Mighty I AM Activity. Later, it changed its name to the Saint Germain Foundation. The group still exists, but its activities have been eclipsed by the more well known "Church Universal and Triumphant" founded by Elizabeth Clare Prophet, which also claims the mantle of Ballard and Saint Germain. The best exposé of the Ballard group was published already in 1940, "Psychic Dictatorship in America" by Gerald B Bryan. 

In 1930, Ballard claimed to have met the "ascended master" Saint Germain at Mount Shasta in California, and later in the Tetons in Wyoming. These meetings are detailed in his first book, "Unveiled Mysteries" from 1934. "The Magic Presence", published a year later, is a kind of sequel. The real count of Saint Germain was a 18th century alchemist, but in the Ballardite scenario, the old joker has been transformed into a semi-divine and mystical being with supernatural abilities, of which immortality is the most obvious. The notion of Saint Germain as an ascended master comes from Theosophy, but at least in the main line version, he played a subsidiary role, whereas in Ballard´s group, the count takes centre stage. I´m not sure why, but perhaps his aristocratic background might have something to do with it? 

"The Magic Presence" is even more tedious and dragging than Ballard´s first book, and often comes across as a failed novel. It´s as if the author tried to develop a plot featuring everything from Arab sheiks to Communist spies, with some attempted murders thrown in for good measure, but lacking essentially any skill of the novelist, simply couldn´t take it beyond the bearest outline. Instead, the book is filled with interminable discourses on "the I AM Presence", delivered by Saint Germain or some other ascended master who appears out of thin air just for the occasion. But OK, it *is* supposed to be a sacred scripture, so perhaps I´m making too harsh demands on the writer?

It´s interesting to note that the milieux in which the story takes place are upper class. We get to meet American billionaires who own Arabian race horses and large bungalows, mine-owners used to the miners following their every order, accomplished singers and musicians, international diplomats, and the previously mentioned sheiks. Ballard (a former treasure hunter and mining engineer) seems infatuated with gold and gemstones. In the book, he gets the supernatural ability to find gold deep inside mountains. Another thing that struck me was that the main characters constantly eat sumptuous meals, including a seven-course dinner! It´s therefore ironic to read that Ballard advocated an ascetic lifestyle, combining a strict vegetarian diet with almost complete sexual abstinence... 

The message of the I AM Activity is somewhat more developed in this second book than in the first (if you can find it somewhere inbetween the gold coins and creamy coffee drinks). The goal of the activity is "Ascension", during which the "Electronic Body" unites with the "I AM Presence" (or Magic Presence) and becomes an imperishable body of Light, which can operate both outside time and space, and inside it. The Magic Presence is said to be situated above the head, and from this point divine energy pours down into the brain and body. I think it´s obvious that the I AM Presence is really kundalini. The goal, evidently, is to become a siddha. The point of vegetarianism and sexual abstinence is to hoard the life energy and use it for this end. While this suggests that Ballard was familiar with the kundalini concept, his "yoga" seems breath-takingly simplistic. Those who wish to ascend should visualize themselves surrounded by violet fire, while chanting certain "decrees". In this way, a mysterious force known as the violet flame can be called down and accomplish the ascension by burning away negative karma. The role of the ascended masters, apart from teaching, is to act as conduits of these supernatural forces. Saint Germain in particular is associated with the violet flame. Ballard even claims that there is a machine, known as the Atomic Accelerator, which can transform a human´s body into pure light. Unfortunately, only the ascended masters have access to this contraption in one of their subterranean cities. 

While the first book sounded more typically New Thought, this second volume thus comes across as more weird and mystical. The metaphysic is nevertheless similar to New Thought: God is pure love, and all suffering and limitation (including physical ageing and death) must therefore be the result of literal wrong-think. Ballard says that absolute forgiveness is necessary to attain the higher state, but both his books rather suggest that the author was more interested in power than compassion. Would-be assassins are stopped by supernatural force, spies are exposed by mind-reading, and so on. There is also a paranoid streak in the book, since the Great White Brotherhood (the good guys) operates in strict secrecy due to the risk of treason and infiltration. 

Of course, Ballard died in 1939 without ascending, which apparently created a crisis within the cult. During the preceding years, the Mighty I AM Activity had been relatively succesful, holding mass meetings in many American cities, but the 1940´s saw the rapid decline of the movement. Perhaps its fascistic sympathies also had something to do with it. 

I will probably not read the rest of this series... 

Blimps and spindles

The Royal Teton Ranch?

So I decided to read the supposed revelations of Saint Germain... 

"Unveiled Mysteries" is the first book in the "Saint Germain Series". It was originally published in 1934. Its author, US national Guy Ballard, used the pseudonym Godfré Ray King. Guy and his wife Edna had founded a sect or cult known as The Mighty I AM Activity. It was surprisingly popular during the 1930´s, but gradually faded into obscurity already during the 1940´s, perhaps because Guy Ballard died in 1939. Strictly speaking, the group still exists, now under the name Saint Germain Foundation. A similar message is preached by "the Church Universal and Triumphant", founded by Mark L Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet. 

Ballard claimed to have recieved his teachings from an ascended master, Saint Germain, suggesting that he had studied Theosophy, where Saint Germain has exactly this status. But while the Theosophists emphasize other masters, Ballard turned Saint Germain into a virtual god, making him the chief conduit of supernatural revelations in the present dispensation. The *real* count of Saint Germain was a 18th century alchemist and adventurer active in France, and would probably have been very pleased by his posthumous status as a de facto divinity within a weird American religious cult! 

"Unveiled Mysteries" tells the story of Ballard´s encounters with Saint Germain, said to have taken place in 1930 at Mount Shasta in California. He was also taken to see mysterious underground facilities in the Tetons and Yellowstone. The "plot" is very thin, and most of the book contains Saint Germain´s revelations, which are just as tedious and boring as any other channeled message. OK, maybe they are a *bit* better written, but still mostly boring. The book feels in-house, probably because it really was so: Ballard was addressing an audience relatively knowledgable about early 20th century occultism and alternative spirituality, meaning New Thought and various forms of Theosophy. The reader is supposed to know what an "affirmation" or a "ray" is, and presumably also to recognize references to the chakras or the sunken continent of Mu. Some knew too much - critics of Ballard pointed out that he had plagiarized a number of earlier books, most notably "Dweller on Two Planets" by Phylos the Thibetan!

Like many other "messages" of this kind, Saint Germain´s discourses turn out to be surprisingly contemporary, in this case 1930-ish. The hidden advanced civilizations described in the book have a distinct science fiction flavor, yet their main mode of transportation are "airships" (presumably blimps). They put their precious documents on spindles! Ballard was a former treasure hunter and confidence trickster obsessed with finding gold mines. He may also have been a mining engineer. Naturally, then, Saint Germain and the masters live inside mountains, have advanced mining technology, and constantly lecture Ballard on the spiritual and economic qualities of gold. At one point, Ballard converts a gold-obsessed confidence trickster to the religion of Saint Germain! In real life, *he* may have been the "converted" trickster. Overall, the author seems more interested in gold, yellow diamonds, marble, jade and raw supernatural power than in uniting with the mystical body of the Christ...

The factual errors (or very garbled factoids) are also funny. Saint Germain takes Ballard back in time to the Mexican rain forest, where they encounter an expat colony of Incas. Even more curiously, the Inca ruler has a throne adorned with ostrich feathers. Ostriches, of course, live in Africa, not Mexico. Another classic is the lethal fight between a panther and a mountain lion (which is said to be much larger). Ballard seems to have been unaware of the fact that "panther" and "mountain lion" refers to the same animal species! 

But what about Saint Germain´s message? I was somewhat surprised by the fact that it was almost 100% New Thought. All the sunken continents, unknown civilizations and aliens from Venus (twelve of them) are really vehicles for promoting a kind of metaphysical prosperity gospel. God is said to be pure Love and Life, and these forces permeat the entire universe, indeed the universe is literally alive and loving. However, humans have forgotten this fact, and all limitations and strife arise from this negativity. Ballard believed in reincarnation and karma. If humans could only readjust their spiritual attitudes, so Love and Life can flow through them freely, they would be able to "manifest" anything and everything, and the world would turn into a virtual paradise. The I AM Presence is what Hindus would refer to as Atman, and this Atman is one with God (Brahman). Of course, in the Ballardite perspectiv, this is given a positive and active spin, whereby divine power is called down through the Atman and commanded by the believer. Although Saint Germain emphasizes such qualities as forgiveness, compassion and self-control, I think it´s obvious that Ballard is more interested in the sheer force he rightly or wrongly believed could be "manifested" in this way. Apart from his constant description of golden domes and jewelled lamps, he seems fascinated by the autocratic power of ancient monarchs. None of the fictitious empires described in the book are democratic or even vaguely republican. There is also a prophecy about a utopian age soon coming to the United States, during which a select elite of truly capable people will step forward and take command. (Many of Ballard´s followers, including his wife, were former supporters of the fascist Silver Shirts.) 

And yes, I´m partial to Gerald B Bryan´s classical polemic against the I AM movement, "Psychic Dictatorship in America", reviewed by me elsewhere on this blog. 

Next, I´m going to read Ballard´s "The Magical Presence". Wish me luck... 

Wild caldera

“Wild Yellowstone” is a two-part documentary about animal life in the Yellowstone National Park. It's fascinating, and the area really does look like another planet! During the winter, even large waterfalls freeze to ice in Yellowstone, and the animals have to seek shelter near the hot springs (which can kill you if you get too close). The animals are all the usual ones: bears, the famed Yellowstone wolves, foxes, coyotes, ravens etc. If you like cuddlier creatures, I suppose otters and beavers might do. The “message” of the documentary seems to be that life in Yellowstone is hard, even during the summer, and we get more than our fair share of hunts, fights and other conflicts. If you like Bernd Heinrich's books, I suppose this could be for you (although the books are probably gorier still). My main objection to “Wild Yellowstone” is that the special effects made with the latest high tech cameras get annoying after a while! Still, I think five stars is the only option here…

A puny cult

William Dudley Pelley

"Psychic Dictatorship in America" by Gerald B. Bryan is a book published in 1940. It exposes the machinations and strange appetites of Guy Ballard, Edna Ballard and their bizarre religious movement, The Mighty I AM Activity. For a few years during the 1930's, this particular group had a mass following, or at least the capacity to stage mass meetings in many American cities. Its message was an eclectic melange of New Thought, Christian Science, Theosophy and American right-wing nationalism. Guy Ballard claimed to channel a host of "ascended masters", most prominently Saint Germain. The Mighty I AM Activity seems to have lost its mass appeal already during the 1940's. Decades later, its fallen mantle was taken up by a strikingly similar organization (presumably an off-shot), the Summit Lighthouse or CUT, led by Mark Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet. Today, the Prophets are more well-known than the Ballards.

Judging by Bryan's account, The Mighty I AM Activity was a classical cult. Members were forbidden to socialize with outsiders (including family members). They were expected to live strictly celibate lifestyles, which destroyed many marriages. Even kissing, hugging and socializing with members of the opposite sex without a chaperon was prohibited. The cult had its own security guards known as "Minute Men" to silence critics at public meetings. Its worldview was completely paranoid, with "entities" and "black magicians" constantly threatening the faithful. Like other cults, The I AM Activity made promises it simply couldn't fulfil. It preached a kind of "prosperity gospel" and claimed that its members would soon "ascend" to Heaven in immortal bodies of Light. Naturally, the more rational supporters soon defected, when they realized that the Ballards and their closest associates were just as vulnerable and mortal as everyone else. The group was eventually forced to change its teachings, claiming that you could "ascend" even if you died physically on Earth! Despite this, Edna Ballard kept the death of Guy Ballard in 1939 a secret for three days, fearing that his death would precipitate a crisis within the group.

Failed prophecies are another cultic staple. The Mighty I AM Activity claimed to have destroyed a gigantic astral monster threatening Europe with war. This was accomplished in 1938. As we all know, World War II erupted about one year later. Undeterred, the group turned to keeping the United States out of the war, which they claimed had been successful. (Bryan's book was published before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It seems the ascended masters failed again!) Those who took the messages of the Ballards seriously frequently espoused pretty bizarre behaviour. Many travelled to a certain mountain in Wyoming, where the ascended masters were supposedly hiding, hoping that the mountain would open and let them inside! It didn't. Another member snapped when seeing a black and red gown in a shop window, black and red being evil colours in the cult's worldview. She started screaming: "BLAST, BLAST, BLAST", apparently some kind of protective curse. Some members of this absurd movement were subsequently institutionalized. Pets fared worse. Cult members killed their dogs and cats, supposedly to make them "ascend", on orders from the leadership.

In the insular atmosphere of a cult, the leadership can make their clods believe almost anything, and the Ballardite cult was certainly no exception to this rule. Thus, Guy Ballard claimed to be a reincarnation of George Washington, while Edna was Joan of Arc. Their son Donald had supposedly been Lafayette in a previous life. At one point, the Ballards claimed that New York City was on the verge of destruction by an earthquake. Supposedly, an enormous "Gas Belt" under the city threatened to erupt. The Ballards saved the day by instructing their followers to chant "decrees" which turned the gas into gold! Another bizarre claim dealt with the "Atomic Accelerator", a kind of high-tech chair which makes anyone sitting on it "ascend" to higher spheres. Unfortunately for inquisitive seekers, the accelerator is locked away in one of the mountain retreats of the ascended masters. Apart from Guy Ballard, nobody has actually seen it in action. Sometimes, the antics of the Ballards were downright comical, as when they had to change a picture of Saint Germain due to their idea that black was evil. Unfortunately, the master had a black moustache and beard, so an artist was swiftly commissioned to change the colour to blonde. The red stripes in the American flag also created problems for the "patriotic" Ballards, since they regarded the red color as evil, too. The solution was to prophesize that the color of the stripes will be changed to golden when the "masters" take power in the near future! Bryan also wonders why Saint Germain, who was both Shakespeare and Bacon in a previous life, speaks in modern colloquial American English, including slang expressions. Perhaps because his "channel" Guy didn't have the benefits of a classical education...?

Guy Ballard was originally a confidence trickster with an obsession with gold mines. When he failed to find one himself, he began selling shares in non-existent mines. In a classical move, he later found religion - and founded his own religion. Or perhaps not entirely his own... In his book "Unveiled Mysteries", Ballard claims to have met the ascended master Saint Germain at Mount Shasta in California. Bryan has little problem showing that Guy Ballard plagiarized his story from an earlier book, "A dweller on two planets" by Frederick S. Oliver. The Ballards also stole ideas from metaphysical writer Baird T. Spalding, whom they had invited for extended conversations at their home! Apparently, the mantra "I AM" is taken from Spalding (who was no stranger to hoaxes himself). Bryan further believes that it was Guy's wife Edna Ballard who was the real mover and shaker behind the group. She had a more genuine interest in alternative spirituality and more personal charisma, while sharing her husband's unhealthy ambitions and low morality. Judging by the author's account, the couple suffered from delusions of grandeur. As already mentioned, Guy claimed to be the reincarnation of George Washington, and at one point declared that Saint Germain had given him all effective power in the United States. In secret nightly conclaves, the inner circle of The I AM Activity gathered to chant "decrees" for the sudden death of president Roosevelt and his wife!

To top it off, the Ballard cult had Nazi connections. Edna Ballard was a student of William Dudley Pelley's message. Pelley was, of course, the founder of the Silver Legion of America, a Nazi organization subsequently investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Pelley's movement had originally been "spiritual". When the budding Führer became more explicitly political, Edna broke with him. Many of the original supporters of The I AM Activity were recruited from the Silver Legion, including Pelley's former treasurer. Despite the Ballard-Pelley split, there are obvious similarities between the two groups: hero worship, "minute men" or storm troopers, hatred for Roosevelt and Communism, and delusional dreams about an imminent Machtübernahme. The main difference is that Pelley attempted to create an actual political organization, while the Ballards fought the New Deal with purely magical-occult means. This is what makes the Ballards sound so pathetic, as when Guy Ballard screamed to his supporters at a meeting in Dallas: "As George Washington, I was head of my army, and if necessary, I will again mount my white horse and lead the armies to victory!" At another meeting in New York, Guy was hailed as the "Commander in Chief of the United States of America" (i.e. president). When the chips were down, the Ballards had nothing, except a couple of ridiculous secret mantras such as "Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt: Blast, blast, blast their carcasses from the face of the Earth forever". The Mighty I AM Activity really was a puny cult.

"Psychic Dictatorship in America" is an easy read, but perhaps too rambling and badly edited. Yet, it's well worth looking into, at least if you're interested in new religious movements or organizations of the far right. Therefore I give it four stars.

The dog that ate my donkey

“The Guardiam Team” by Cat Urbigkit is a children's book with a seemingly unbelievable plot, set on a ranch in Wyoming. Rena is an over-sized dog of a breed known as Great Pyrenees (or Pyr for short). The dog looks photo-shopped! Roo is a burro, a wild donkey. The U.S. wildlife service apparently catches burros (there are too many of them), and gives them away to ranchers. Together, Rena and Roo (a dog and a donkey, remember?) are supposed to guard and protect the ranchers' sheep?! This year's hard-to-believe award, or what?

However, it seems that the scenario is true. Yes, Pyrs really do exist. I've actually seen one…right outside one of Stockholm's largest shopping malls! That's a long way from the plains of Big Wyoming. I wasn't the only one to stop and stare… I never seen a burro, but this particular kind of donkey is sometimes used as a livestock guardian. If Big Doggy and Cowboy Donkey can cooperate, I don't know, but the colour photos in the book looks genuine enough. Of course, their guardian instincts don't always work properly, as when they try to stop a ram from approaching the sheep! LOL.

OK, four stars. ;-)

Blood, gore and ravens

I admit that "The Mind of the Raven" was an interesting book. Books about ravens and other corvids usually are. In that sense, it's worth reading. Provided you are interested in corvids, of course!

And yet, I nevertheless didn't like the book. Bernd Heinrich constantly attempts to prove that he is manly and macho, and seems to have a morbid fascination with death, blood and dominance. And yes, he really is Reichsdeutsche. At one point, he gleefully reports a meaningless "experiment" he conducted at his farm: he quite simply tossed one of his geese into a cage housing hungry, young ravens, simply to see what would happen. Naturally, they attacked the poor goose. Is this man really a bird lover? He also threw a couple of chicken into the same cage, but this time the ravens didn't react. "The experiment was inconclusive". Heinrich must have been disappointed, so he killed the chicken, and fed them to the ravens in boiled condition instead!

There are also descriptions of how the author kills deer, opens the carcasses, and then places them in trees to attract the ravens. During a visit to Yellowstone, Heinrich complains about so many carnivores having left the area. Finally, however, he reaches a really wild part of the national park, where wolves roam and kill freely, accompanied by ravens, of course! We also learn about Heinrich's childhood, how he bred wild, dangerous animals on his parent's farm, and so on. Apparently, he lived in a unaccesible part of Maine most of his life.

Less gory are Heinrich's descriptions of a pet raven belonging to his good friend Doktor Klaus, and a trip to northern Canada to study a large flock of ravens which live right inside a town.

Sometimes I wonder whether natural history books tells us more about their authors than about the animals themselves...

But OK, I'll give the book four stars for the sake of the ravens.

A meditation on Yellowstone

"Christmas in Yellowstone" is a one-hour documentary about the Yellowstone national park in Wyoming. It contains great footage of otters, elk, bison, wolves, coyotes, swans and a very inquisitive fox. We also meet nature lovers, people who celebrate Christmas at a hotel in the national park, and a photographer who insists on crossing Yellowstone on skis in the middle of the winter. The movie ends with a hibernating grizzly, almost sinisterly waiting to wake up from its slumber.

Frankly, there is very little action in this documentary. The wolves do try to attack elk and bison, but fail both times. The coyote comes looking for a wounded otter, but never finds him. And the bear, as mentioned, is hibernating...

Still, "Christmas in Yellowstone" is worth watching. It's a meditation more than a documentary. It wants to convey the atmosphere of the place, rather than bombard the viewer with a lot of information. I think it succeeds eminently well. Besides, most of us have seen enough action packed documentaries about wildlife already. I was pleasantly surprised when the wolves failed in their quest to attack the bison, or when the coyote never managed to find food. Most other documentary film makers would probably insist on including the usual hunts and killing sprees. It was also quite entertaining that the only "dangerous" animal was a perfectly ordinary fox, which ran right at the nature photographer Tom Murphy!

If you want an authentic look at a wintery Yellowstone, "Christmas in Yellowstone" is perfect. But if you absolutely want to see a lion attacking a wildebeest for the nth time, you might want to check out something else...

Life before humanity...and after?

"Yellowstone" is a co-production between Animal Planet and the BBC. It was originally aired as a TV series, which explains its lengthy run time.

The documentary is divided in three parts, called "Winter", "Summer" and "Autumn". All three contain dramatic and stunning footage from the Yellowstone national park in Wyoming. The geysers and other weird geological formations are featured, the extreme weather conditions are explained, and then follows a long parade of animals: bison, elk, wolves, pronghorns, grizzly bears, bighorn sheep, beavers, foxes, even nutcrackers and beetles. The most dramatic moment is a fight between a male and a female grizzly on a steep mountain slope. More corny is a confrontation between a beaver and a moose (!).

A positive thing about "Yellowstone" is that it doesn't constantly mention those famous (or infamous) wolves. The other animals, and even some of the trees, get their piece of the action, too. My personal favourites are the magpies and the honkers. I'm used to these birds from my suburban environment, and consider them to be somehow "suburban". They feel out of place in Yellowstone, and make the place feel like home...

Of course, that's about the only thing about this wilderness area that does feel like home. Otherwise, Yellowstone National Park might as well be another planet! That's probably because Yellowstone looks like Earth before the arrival of humans. That makes this documentary even more fascinating to watch. Somehow, it feels like being placed in a time machine, getting a glimps of a world long lost.

And Yellowstone, too, might be lost. Many of the animals are threatened by man whenever they leave the boundaries of the national park. A beetle is destroying the pine trees, a pest made possible by the somewhat milder climate. Global warming? And, of course, the whole area sits on top an active supervolcano. At least that's not our fault!

Yellowstone is more fascinating than Africa or the Amazonas. I admit of suffering from a serious boat of "TV safari ennui". Please spare me the lions and gnus, thank you.

This documentary was the perfect cure. Recommended.