Lions led by Sheep -

Well, that title kind of gives the news away, huh? Not to mention the reason why I’m posting so early this week.

There’s a very real possibility that my eco-suspense thriller ‘What if…?’ might be adapted into a movie by a giant of the entertainment industry (whether for the big screen or the small one is yet to be determined).

It’s a bank holiday here in England, so I decided to have a lie-in this morning. 7:47a.m. I got a phone call. Still drowsy, I answered. I quickly woke up when someone from continental Europe told me what the call was about:

• One of the biggest entertainment production companies in Europe wants me to submit a treatment (breakdown) of my book to see how it could be envisioned as a movie. Continue Reading »

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If they do, so many of them must be crying for all eternity after how we treated them!

• A special effects creation from the latest Hollywood monster movie?
• A newly discovered species from the depths of the Amazon jungle?
• An alien hoax?

No.
This is ‘Dany the dog’.
Yes, dog!
As in ‘man’s best friend’. As in a ‘licking your face, jumping for joy when it sees you’ dog. This ‘thing’ could be bringing you your morning paper or chasing your Frisbee in the park. Unfortunately, as Dany learned all too well, Bangkok’s streets are not overflowing with Frisbees, beaming smiles, or loving pats… just pain, suffering, and anguish. Continue Reading »

Warning - this is deeply offensive. If you aren’t offended, there’s something seriously wrong with you!

Four years ago I was 220lbs. I’m tall so I carried it well. But I felt bad. I felt porky. I had a big blubbery bulge hanging off me where my stomach used to be. Hot or what!?

I hated it. So I took responsibility for my own life and lost 28lbs. Sacrificing many of my favourite foods was brutal but I did it. Today, I’m 194lbs. And so much happier.

Last year scientists discovered a ‘fat’ gene. What’s that mean? To some degree, it’s not how much you eat that makes you fat, but genetics.

Talk about gutted. Why did I bother!? It’s not my fault! Gimme pies and chocolate. NOW!

Of all the things the government covers-up why wasn’t this discovery a prime candidate? Why? Because it’s increasingly becoming our culture to pass the buck, to deny responsibility for our own actions. Result? Now everyone has a ‘legitimate’ reason for it not being their fault if they’re fat.

Global warming, endangered species, violence, disease, poverty, hunger, exploitation… Isn’t there ever any good news?

You ever ask that? I’m betting you do. And I’m betting you’re asking it more and more often, these days. Just like I am. But relax, you won’t be asking it today - to launch this blog on a positive note, here are some of the top ‘good news’ stories from the past year that probably sneaked in under your radar:

10	Long endangered and with only 1,400 left in the wild, India’s tigers are to be protected through a $150 million project funded by the Indian government.
9	Zoologist Andrew Gray discovered that the tree frog Isthomhyla Rivularis is not extinct, as was claimed, but still happily scampering about the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve of Costa Rica.
8	Mexican president Felipe Calderon gave an extra $4.6 million funding to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. (You’ve probably seen this place on TV - forest glades plastered with butterflies that have migrated 3,000 miles from the U.S. and Canada.)
Miguel Tovar / Associated Press
7	Federal Judge Cooper, U.S. Magistrate Laporte, and finally a Federal Court of Appeals all ruled against the U.S. Navy and President Bush so protecting whales from injury by navy sonar in waters off California, Hawaii, the Galapagos, the Great Barrier Reef…
6	The Congolese government set aside 12,000 square miles of rainforest for the Bonobo - one of our closest relatives - of which there might be as few as 5,000 left.
(You’d think the little fella would be a bit happier at that news, wouldn’t you?)

Continue Reading »