circuses aren't for the animals

Surprise, surprise - researchers have found that wild animals don't do well in circuses. They don't get the right kinds of activity to keep them healthy and happy, they don't have the right kind of environmental stimuli and conditions or the right social interaction, and travel is detrimental to their overall well-being.

To be fair, this article, though posted at New Scientist, comes from a journal titled Animal Welfare, so it's bound to be more favourable to this kind of assessment. But that doesn't mean the research - from the University of Bristol - isn't valid. Such conclusions have been persuasive enough for Austria to ban the use of wild animals in circuses apparently, though other countries have been slow to follow suit.

Cirque de Soleil's more to my taste anyway, if not my budget...

smarty pants birds and a metal weekend

In the ongoing story of bird intelligence discoveries... apparently mockingbirds have stepped up to join the list. Researchers in Florida began to notice that urban mockingbirds, protective of their nests, could recognize and react strongly to people who'd been messing with their nests before. At the same time the birds would ignore nearby people who were ignoring them. I also thought those little beady eyes were up to more than just looking for worms and such... 

Full bird recognition story on Discovery.

---

For me and a few of my friends, Victoria Day weekend was a very metal weekend. I doubt the old queen would have been amused but we definitely had a good time. (We also stepped outside the metal mode Saturday night for some darkwave/industrial/etc. by DJ Lazaras - definitely hit the spot.)

Highlights (which covers almost everything): 

• Woods of Ypres and Musk Ox at Club Absinthe in Hamilton (this was also Elevator 22's goodbye show and included a slightly juvenile manifestation of Will of the Ancients, though they get points for the Edge of Sanity shirt)
  
• Wolves in the Throne Room, A Storm of Light, and Krallice at Casbah in Hamilton (unfortunately we didn't make it in time to see Crux of Aux. actually, I'm not even sure they played. anyone?)
  
• Wolves in the Throne Room and A Storm of Light at the WreckRoom in Toronto (Krallice played well again but their monitor levels OCD interfered with my enjoyment, and Thrones only had me for the first few minutes. that jackass shouting out "Thrones" throughout Wolves' set didn't help)
  

If you want more details, reviews will be going up at exclaim.ca and hellbound.ca (though none of them by me).

Which brings me to the last point for today: Hellbound. June 1 marks the launch of a new metal webzine called Hellbound. It's based here in Ontario but the coverage will be international and the writing staff includes former contributors to the sorely missed Metal Maniacs, Metal Edge and Unrestrained!, including me. In fact, I'm working on my first interview and batch of reviews right now. Join the facebook group, visit the website, and check back on June 1 to see what we've been up to for your reading and viewing pleasure.