Two New Records For Me!

I think I broke my record on the amount of days between a blog post! XD Anyway, I've taken up vlogging but I don't really have much to vlog about. Isn't that annoying? Apart from that, the only other exciting thing to happen in my life is I got 13 out of 20 in my first Chinese test. Yay. That's all.

Come to think of it, I just broke my personal record for my shortest blog entry too. My fingers are tired of typing.

Fighting For Taiji's Dolphins!

I am today beginning my short video on the dolphin captured and slaughters that take place in Japan. So that means I'm gathering footage of wild dolphins in Japan, and I'm going to use it to create a video about the slaughters and captures. A few other people have done in recently, getting ready for 2014's Taiji Summit. I am making my own. I think I might start a new Tumblr blog, called "Be the Change". Nope, that's already taken... How about... "Be The Change Taiji". That can be the blog address, so that's that then! :D www.bethechangetaiji.tumblr.com. I just created it now!

Well that's all from me, but I'm will now be off working to protect all of Taji's beautiful dolphins! :D

My Video So Far

Well my Hello Zepp video so far has finally finished rendering after 42 minutes so my laptop is working at it's normal pace again (although that's pretty slow too). I've made a few silly mistakes but here it is so far:

I forgot to edit some of the clips to make them black and white, but oh well I can easily fix that! I'm taking a break from Hello Zepp now (it's been stuck in my head for the last few days) and I'm going to work on the dedication to my friend Freya instead. :D

Let's Talk About MEPs!

I've spent most of today working on MEPs and my Hello Zepp project, which is rendering right now and making my laptop because ridiculously slow. I finished my part for PacificOrcas' MEP, which I really like, so here it is:

I am obsessed with it and.... I USED OTHER PEOPLE'S FOOTAGE! It was exciting stuff, I've only ever used someone else's footage once. XD Anyway, I've still got about 8 more parts to do and as for my Archangel MEP, I only have one more part to come in! Yay! Then I can host another MEP! Bigger yay! It's so fun and it's a great way of cheating if you want to make a video to a song but can't be bothered to! XD

That's all I've got to say, other than the fact that there is lots of fog around here today and I really don't like it. CURSE THE WEATHER! :(

Luna!! :D

Well Lovey's calf has FINALLY got a name: Luna!!! I love it! :D Read more about it in my other blog, Orca Worldwide, www.orcaworldwide.blogspot.com because I cannot be bothered to type everything out again. I'm still ill, but I feel a bit better. Woo hoo! :) Also, my friend Freya's murder mystery is now tomorrow, so I'm happy about that too!

I've just finished watching I'm A Celeb so that's about it for me. I'm off to finish my part of PacificOrcas' MEP now. :D

Hello Zepp

NOTE: If your name is Zepp (is that even a name?!?!) then I'm sorry, but this post isn't about you.

Okay well I decided to make my video to Hello Zepp, which is the theme song for the Saw films (haven't watched them but I'm in love with the music). Saw is a horror film, so it's supposed to be scary. My video is creepy, perhaps, but not scary. Anway, it's taking FOREVER to make but this is the latest preview (it's not even on YouTube!) :

It's not that bad, is it? Can I just say that I picked the font for my watermark for 2 reasons:
1) The font is called "Bates Shower" and my surname is Bates XD
2) The lower-case letter "o" looks a bit like a little saw, which I suppose keeps in with the song in a slightly weird way... lol

So that's about it from me. I'm off to work on my video now. Byeeee :)

A Tiring Couple of Days

Meh. I'm tired. On Friday, I went to my friend Lilly's house for a sleepover and after going to Pizza Hut, spending an hour in Blockbusters and watched Black Swan, we didn't get to sleep til 5 o'clock in the morning. And then we went into town shopping. I got home at about 3:30, and half an hour later I was out going to lifeguard. And it was hard this week! We did lots of stamina! :'( But I was with Alex and Yeva so it wasn't too bad! XD Anyways, after that I went to my gran's house and we watched lots of Primeval and I'm A Celebrity. And now today, I feel ill. So I feel tired again. Grr.

Also, I'm thinking of making a new video to "Hello Zepp". Maybe.

More News on Stella's Calf!

Sorry, I'm obsessed XD

Anyways, this is the official post on Nagoya's website. I translated it (badly) into something that you can (kind of) understand:

Giving birth baby orca "Stella" was born safely!

Orca "Stella" gave birth safely. The birth of a killer whale, this is the first time at the hotel. To everyone many During this time, Please watch warmly and I thank again.

Individual course data, until birth is as follows, because it is not yet begun nursing, please watch warmly.
Birth date:

24 minutes on Tuesday, November 13, 10 o'clock Heisei 24
Neonatal

Gender: Female Estimated weight: 160 ~ 180kg Estimated length: 200cm

We apologize for the inconvenience to everyone, if you understand the following matters, Nagoya would appreciate it if you could warmly watch over the growth of the first baby killer whale.

(Parenting after birth until stable) for the time being from Tuesday, November 13: rest period of the exhibition and performance of the dolphins and killer whales.
Parenting is not the killer whale can be found from the viewing surface to do with the large reserve pool.
Live large in vision screening (3rd floor North Building), describes how the Orca (10 minutes each time) (※), 3 to 4 times 1.
※ Weekdays: 11:00,12:30,14:00,15:30: 11:00,13:00,15:30 Sundays

So... the key points from that are:

• Calf was born at 10:24
• Calf is female
• Estimated weight of the calf is 160-180kg
• Estimated length of the calf is 200cm (2m)
• The dolphin and killer whale shows have been cancelled because of the birth
• Guests can watch the calf and Stella live on the large screen

Well that's about it!

Photos of Stella's Calf :)

These images all belong to Port of Nagoya Aquarium, not me:

Ran, Stella and the calf in the middle! <3


Stella and her 5th calf, who was born head-first strangely <3

I'm so proud of my wittle Stelzie-Welzie!

Congratulations to Stella!

Stella's calf was born at 10:24am standard time this morning!! Her calf is a female and is about 2 metres long and healthy! Congratulations so much to Stella and everyone at Nagoya- it's their very first killer whale birth!!! Oh my gosh I'm so happy I squealed when I read the news report headline. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!! I'm sorry, but Stella's such a special whale to me even though we've never met. ^_^ But I'm just so overjoyed for her it's unreal! I'm so glad it was a successful birth, and my best wishes go out to Stella, her calf and the other killer whales at Nagoya. HOORAY! :D

Well This is Awkward...

Remember how I went on and on and on about how I didn't like the look of Primeval: New World from the official trailer? Well, I hate to admit it, but... I actually really like it. Awkward. :$ It's still not at good as the original Primeval, but I do like it! And I especially like the fact that they creators of New World are releasing clips of the dinosaurs which you can use to make your own movies.

So yes, I've made a right fool of myself but oh well :P

"Orca Oceans", My Upcoming Book Project

I am working on a book, believe it or not! ^_^ It is called Orca Oceans and focuses on the Japanese 8-year-old Nishi the killer whale as she faces the many dangers of the ocean. Whether it's being captured for aquaria, finding the devastating effects of illegal bomb fishing or drowning in abandoned nets, my book has a kind of conservation theme. And yes, it may appear to be anti-captivity, but it's actually more like anti-capture. I got the idea from three main things: Morgan, the orca that was captured as part of a rescue but instead of being released, was sent to Loro Parque when she was perfectly healthy and her pod had been found; Narnia, who was captured off the coast of Russia in August this year; and two dolphins named Hope and Faith (formerly Sad and Lonely), because they spent ages in the a tiny indoor pool (much like the one Nishi lives in) and were eventually put into a sea pen after protests (this is again, what happens to Nishi in the story).

So that is my inspirations for Orca Oceans! There may also be some sequels, set in locations beside of Japan. I've had ideas for the locations, including Indonesia, New Zealand and perhaps even Antarctica. Either way, I'm on to Chapter II so far, and I have completed the overall storyline. Tell me what you think! ^_^

Nishi is a young killer whale who lives Anzen'na Cove, Japan. While swimming with her sister Kita in Himitsu Cove, she discovers the wreck of a submarine and a small black box which is identical to the one features in her worst nightmare where the pod is destroyed. Nishi vows never to enter that cove again, however after her other sister Arashi announces some shocking news, she finds herself there again. She dives down at a random point, and finds herself back at the wreck of the sub and the black box. Nishi panics and flees Himitsu. On her way back to her home cove, Nishi gets lost and ends up in Taiji Cove, where she is captured and taken to Tanoshi Aquarium. Here, she is placed in a large but shallow sea pen with her trainer Hayako in charge of looking after her. Nishi is trained to do tricks, but being unusually weak, she cannot perform and is placed in a tiny indoor pool with no light and fresh air. Only able to swim in tight circles and float at the surface, Nishi is reduced to a tiny, thin form of herself. However, Hayako realizes that she cannot look after a killer whale in these conditions and protests for Nishi to be moved back into the sea pen. It is successful and while in the sea pen one night, Nishi manages to leap over the net and escapes. Back in the ocean, she searches for her pod but is unable to find them. After seeing a large and potentially dangerous fishing boat, she looks in Anzen'na Cove, only to find it has been wrecked from what is was as a result of illegal bomb fishing. In despair, Nishi tries every cove nearby- Taiji, Kriken and Yushocku- only to find them empty. Eventually, she goes to Himitsu Cove where she finds her entire pod in the abyss with the submarine and the black box. Her pod are overjoyed to see her, but ignore Nishi's warning as they then try to open the box, which they believe will sort out their food shortages. Unaware of the fishing boat directly above the pod, Arashi manages to open the box. However her calf Wakai, who has now been born, swims off to the surface. The pod follows, only to find Wakai trapped in the fishing boat's nets. The humans on board abandon the nets, and in their fury, Arashi and Kita try to attack the boat. They are both sucked into one of the propellers in the process and although they both survive, Arashi is horribly mutated and loses one tail fluke and her dorsal fin, and Kita has deep wounds all along her body. Arashi then tries to rescue her drowning calf with the help of Nishi and Kita. The rest of the pod leaves, not realizing that Nishi is missing and presuming that Arashi and Kita are dead. Kita rushes into help Arashi, who is now tangled herself and with the combined effort of the three whales, Wakai finally swims free. Nishi guides him to the surface, where he hurries off to join the pod. Meanwhile, Kita has helped Arashi to get untangled, but is now stuck herself. She tells Arashi and Nishi to leave, and although the former does go, Nishi refuses to leave her sister's side. Realizing it it too late to help, as Kita is now fully unconscious, but still not giving up, Nishi lifts her sister to the surface, and although Kita makes one last attempt to survive, the cuts in her body are bleeding too badly for her to stand and, as she looks at Nishi for the last time, Kita dies. Nishi lets her body sink down to join the submarine which she discovered, and realizes that her nightmare was more than just a dream.

Oh No! Injections!

Well today I had my injections at school and it was horrible!!!! :'( :'( It hurt so much and I cried for an hour afterwards and I was feeling sick and so dizzy and could hardly stand! :( And they put it in my left arm, and I'm left handed. They weren't supposed to do that, so I coudln't write or move my arm all day. In fact it hurts as I'm typing now!!! :(

But now I'm watching Takeshi's Castle, which has cheered me up greatly XD

Back to School Tomorrow D:

Not looking forward to school tomorrow! I don't wanna go back!! :( :( :( Oh well. Well yesterday, Lilly came for a sleepover, and after she'd gone I spent the day doing nothing again. Me and Dad walked Gizmo (my dog) around Drinkfield Marsh this evening, but that has been about it really. I feel like I've really wasted my half term week off but it's too late now I guess.

And I'm also getting scared by the loud fireworks outside. They're so loud I FELT the last one!! :( And they sound like gunshots, so I'm not happy.

Bored Bored Bored Bored Bored

I'm so bored today it's UNREAL! Tomorrow is the last day of half-term and so far I've done pretty much nothing! All I've done is go to Whitby (we were supposed to be fossil-hunting on the beach but the tide was in so we just walked around and took pictures) and go shopping at the Metro Centre. And yes, while I did buy some nice stuff at the Metro, it was still tiring and by the end of the day I was quite fed up. But I did like that cupcake I bought. So yes, I am bored stiff. I have NO ideas whatsoever for a video edit, I'm sick of doing MEP parts and there is no one on Skype. Tomorrow we might be doing something. But we probably won't.