A 4/20 Encounter

Walking around the city earlier tonight, I was randomly approached by a red-eyed young man.

"Hey, man, can you spare me like, a dollar or two?" he says.

"No, sorry, I only have card on me." I lie, but that usually deters beggars.

"Oh, man, listen, can we just go to that McDonald's and get some food? I'm REALLY hungry, you know, cause it's 4/20, it's a national holiday."

I pause, smirking, and eventually agree to his request for two reasons:

1) I've been watching a lot of Breaking Bad lately, so I have a heightened empathy for stoners. This guy even looked a bit like Jesse, though obviously not as handsome.

2) I was pretty hungry myself, having not had a proper dinner, and didn't feel like eating alone. I figure, what the hell, let's have a meal with this dude and make a new friend.

"Alright. Let's go." I say. He thanks me, and tells me that if I also want to celebrate the national holiday, I should go to 'Square Washington Square Park' where everyone is celebrating. He goes on to tell me about how he's from Detroit, and that he's a gypsy, a drifter, and that's he going to California soon because there's a girl there who claims her kid is his, cause it looks like him, so he's gonna go and see what's up.

We reach the McDonald's and stand in line, at which point he starts repeating that 4/20 is a national holiday, and that I should go to Square Washington Park, and that he's a drifter, and that he's from Detroit, and that he's going to Cali. I begin to realize he's far too blasted to be an interesting dinner mate, and is probably not that interesting in general. I also don't feel like having fast food. After he orders, I pay the cashier without getting anything myself. He doesn't notice, being too busy pulling his shirt over his head to show everyone a Detroit tattoo on his back.

"What's your name, brother?" I ask.

"Justin. But people call me Detroit."

"Detroit Justin. I'm Jackie. Take it easy, man." I shake his hand and leave.

It cost me 5 bucks, but I'm hoping so badly that when he sobers up, he'll have a vague recollection of Jackie Chan buying him a meal at McDonald's.

The Metallic Tarantula

~ 7" legspan when fully grown

Today's Animal of the Day is the Metallic Tarantula, or the Gooty Sapphire Tarantula, named for its brilliant blue color and for the fact that it was discovered in Gooty, India. Its scientific name is Poecilotheria metallica. 

Not much is known about the Metallic Tarantula, other than the traits it shares with others in its genus - it is arboreal, fast-moving, and spins funnel-shaped webs. When an insect gets caught in the web, the Metallic Tarantula can sense it through the strings like a Master of Puppets, and will move to Seek & Destroy its prey using its powerful venom. The venom is not lethal to humans, but can cause intense pain and nausea. If you're bitten, you may feel a sensation of Creeping Death. "Enter Sandman," you might think, while your vision starts to Fade to Black. 

The Metallic Tarantula is critically endangered, due to deforestation and excessive logging. The loggers don't care that they're destroying habitats; to them, profit is everything and Nothing Else Matters. The Metallic Tarantula's remaining numbers are unknown but hopefully there is still more than One out there.

The Red River Hog

Today's Animal of the Day is the Red River Hog. It is a wild pig found in Western and Central Africa, in rainforests and grasslands with dense vegetation. The RRH is distinguishable by its bright red coloration and the white stripe of fur along its spine. They are very social animals, living and traveling together in groups of 10 to 20 comprised of a lead boar, some females and their piglets. Though RRH boars have smaller tusks than most wild pigs, they will defend their family aggressively against predators, the most prominent of which is the leopard. The RRH is completely omnivorous, eating fruits, grasses, insects, lizards, and even carrion. Red River Hog families will sometimes follow underneath groups of monkeys as they move through trees, eating the fruits and scraps that fall to the ground.

The Beluga

Today's Animal of the Day is the Beluga. Not to be confused with the Beluga Whale, the Beluga is a sturgeon found in the Caspian and Black Seas of the Middle East. It is the largest freshwater fish in the world, with records reporting sizes from 16-24 feet in length and 2200-3500 pounds in weight. The Beluga can live to over 100 years and grows constantly throughout its life, feeding on other fish, birds, and seals. With its great size, the Beluga could easily eat humans and destroy civilization, but it doesn't because it is cool. To repay its kindness, humans have hunted it and eaten its roe to the point of critical endangerment.

It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that "beluga caviar" does not refer to caviar from a beluga whale. Because whales are mammals.

Also it looks like it has a funny mustache

 

The Binturong

Today's Animal of the Day is the Binturong, aka the Bearcat. It is a large arboreal mammal found in Southeast Asia, weighing around 40 pounds with a body size of 2.5 feet. Binturongs are too fat to jump around in trees, but are skillful climbers thanks to their large prehensile tails. They are omnivorous, primarily eating fruit but also preying on insects and small birds and mammals.

Binturongs communicate via anal scent glands, which have been reported to smell like buttered popcorn. It is at the top of my bucket list to smell the anus of a binturong.

Here is a Binturong appearing on Conan to promote its new movie.

The Fennec Fox

Today's Animal of the Day is the Fennec Fox. Found in the Saharan Desert of North Africa, it is the smallest canid in the world, weighing about 3 pounds and standing 8 inches tall. Its huge ears help it to hear prey moving underground, and also serve to dissipate heat and help the animal stay cool. 

Fennec Foxes mate for life and will dig into the sand to create an underground home for their family, complete with two bathrooms, a walk-in closet and a nursery. They feed on insects and smaller mammals and birds, and are preyed upon by raptors like the eagle-owl. As a defensive measure, the Fennec Fox will run and hide in its den and flip off the eagle-owl as it passes overhead.