Koala Cocoa Puffs Anyone? [Research Blog]

You’ve seen them, all kinds. You know, a physical association comparison made subconsciously when the guy with the large schnozz and less-than-tiny ears walks in the room and all that comes to mind is-- the cutesie Disney pal, Dumbo.
Whenever I see a person who greatly resembles the twin sister or brother of a horse, a gorilla, or even a llama, these are the human-animal associations I try to keep to myself. It’s much more acceptable to tell someone they look like something cute, like a puppy. But why? People don’t want to be told their ugly, even if they know they are. Which brings to me to the koala, they LOOK super cute, but that's only the beginning of it... Koalas are adorable and an animal one may be pleased to be called. But what people really don’t know is that these cute little Australian marsupials are nasty little fellas and carry some major baggage.
First of all, these guys are SUPER lazy. They literally sit around "e ‘rest motionless for about 16 to 18 hours a day’ and most of that time is spent sleeping. On top of that they can be highly aggressive towards each other and gnash those little teeth in each other’s faces. The most accurate human comparison I can make is that of koalas are similar to the middle aged human. They sit, they eat, they sit some more, they bitch, complain, and then when that all gets too much for them, they just go back to sleep; or for humans, they go on vacation.
Next off, koalas can’t make up their mind. They spend the majority of their lives hugging Eucalyptus trees but then when it comes to someone picking them up to give them a hug—don’t even think about it. Koalas can suffer tree-separation-anxiety but that hardly means they want a human substitution.
Speaking of substitutions… when these little guys enter the world, of course they’re picky and can’t just order the plain eucalyptus off of the menu. No. They have to have momma order a helping and deliver it to them directly via bacterial fermentation which takes place in the digestive process which means—yup you guessed it—for the first days of their lives, they have poo poo for breakfast. Cocoa puffs anyone?
You may think twice next time. As for me, gross stuff and baggage aside, I still want a pet koala.

Milk milk milk. Making the mundane original

Making the mundane original. 

Ever since I posted my originality to the mundane I felt guilty for having placed writing on my blog which I didn't feel Appropriately fit the topic. Odd mindframe the other day. Which brings me back to milk . It's kind of funny. Not really one of those things you think about . It's just there. It's the first thing you drink outside of the womb. It's one of the single most important essentials if life for the first few months. We forget that though. And then there's the flavors and varieties.  2% , not-as-much fat, and fat free. And then there's goat
Milk, cow milk, human milk, then it goes to chocolate milk and strawberry milk and so on and so on. Sometimes there's nothing better than a tall glass of ice cold milk especially on a sour stomach.  So what classifies something as a 'milk' anyway. How we decide what should fit into a smooth cool nutrient source. I wonder if there's certain requirements a substance has to meet to be put in that category. Are there a certain number of nutrients that have to be present to meet the standards for a recipe of milk. It kind of makes me think of college students... Sure , there's a general make-up of what a college student needs to possess, certain grades and other credentials,  but Theres always those special cases. For those kids who are terrible at math and science and fail at tests-- but yet they can compose a score for a short film that brings tears to any eyes who view.  Maybe they're not the 'ideal excelling student' but they're still a student. Like chocolate rice milk, it's not really milk from a mammal, but it's still yummy when served chilled and can satisfy your tastebuds. 

Making the Mundane Original...

Chitter Chatter

As an umbrella topic, we all talk. We talk to one another and when we’re not talking, generally we’re listening to someone else talk. Whether or not we’re invited to or we’re imposing. When speaking to someone it is polite to make eye contact and express modes of active listening such as agreeing and shaking your head yes or no, based on what the person is saying.
As a person with background in voice talent, I am often amused with not only what people are saying but also how they are saying it. In today's lecture I was lost not in the subject matter but purely in the delivery of it. Specifically, in one of my classes a professor of mine has a particularly high-pitched voice and I often times wonder if it is natural or forced? Several clues allude to whether or not this is her God-given tone, or if she speaks in one based out of emotion. She seems like an introverted person and sometimes when these types of people are placed in an atmosphere such as this nervousness can move in and affect how one speaks. Her breath support is strong, which is surprising, although she is not quite petite so she most likely has the capacity for a larger diaphragm, which would make sense that this tone is her own. She makes good use of each one of her articulators for the most part, but flops on certain words almost hinting at some sort of accent. Although from which specific dialect it’s origination is, I am unsure. Her speech is also interesting to me because of the way she delivers. We talk to people of different status than we in different ways. For instance, you normally wouldn’t talk in the same tone to your supervisor as you would to your small puppy at home. This professor in particular talks to us in the same tone as my 1st grade teacher did to us. Sometimes it’s amusing, and other times it’s cute, but the times I hate it the most is when she’s being rude. She’s so pleasant about it. There’s something dissatisfying about that. I suppose I demand variety in tone of speech in certain settings. I had a supervisor one time that sounded like a 5-year old, come later to find out, that she had done voice work for the Nickelodeon show, ‘Rugrats’; maybe I should make a career-change suggestion to her. I think I’ll wait till the end of the term for that though.