V-log

News Update #106

goldenliontamarin — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:12:20 +0000

Here is what the t-shirt looks like (they simplified my drawings’ colors and details for easier printing):

I have been and will continue to be extremely busy for the next few months, due to the publishing of my book, the creation of the VCS, and helping coordinate National Save the Vaquita Day (July 6). I may not be able to post as many things during this time. But believe me, I am going to have a lot of stories to tell when it’s all over.

News Update #105

goldenliontamarin — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:02:52 +0000

I have been thinking about this for a very long time now. My idea is the Vaquita Conservation Society, or VCS. After all of the craziness of the book and National Save the Vaquita Day is over, I am going to start a new organization. The goal of the organization will be to educate the public about the Vaquita and hopefully serve as the first charity directly sending money to the switch-out program. I plan on working closely with the Muskwa Club and possibly the American Cetacean Society to create a new website with a similar look to these awesome pages: Manta Trust and Polar Bears International. Some of the pages will include: About the Vaquita, How to Help, Our Mission, Our Projects, and a News Page. It will closely follow all of the action of the Muskwa Club and everyone that will be associated with the VCS, and go hand in hand with V-log (which will continue as normal). More updates to come. I even have the logo created:

News Update #104

goldenliontamarin — Sun, 19 May 2013 05:06:27 +0000

Friday, May 17 was Endangered Species Day 2013. As a donation to our beautiful world, please buy a Vaquita t-shirt at https://campaign.customink.com/savethevaquita.

To my delight, my campaign is currently featured in the “Trending Campaigns” section of Custom Ink’s home page, https://campaign.customink.com! Help keep it there by purchasing one for only around $25! They also make a great gift. 25% of profits will go to ¡Viva Vaquita!, and the rest will go towards the printing of my book. The book will be featured in at least two aquariums’ gift shops and will be at many tables for National Save the Vaquita Day! Look for further updates on all of these things in the future. If you have not already, follow my blog (look in the right sidebar) to receive all new posts by email, just so you don’t miss anything.

News Update #103

goldenliontamarin — Thu, 16 May 2013 23:34:14 +0000

I’ll admit, I got a little teary-eyed after looking at this picture. Please don’t let the Vaquita follow in the footsteps of its unfortunate cousin, the Baiji. You can help by purchasing a t-shirt here: https://campaign.customink.com/savethevaquita.

News Update #102

goldenliontamarin — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:48:21 +0000

Using my own artwork, I have created a new Vaquita t-shirt with Custom Ink. Thanks to a comment by Karle from Custom Ink, I have discovered the Campaign feature. It is basically what I thought the Signup Sheet was originally. I have created a campaign, so now anyone in the world can purchase one and get it right to their door. The campaign ends on June 17, 2013 at 11:59 pm, and 100% of profits will go to the Vaquita. Please buy one and tell everyone you know to do the same, so I can reach my goal of 50 shirts sold! Post it on Facebook and Twitter, too! Here is the campaign: https://campaign.customink.com/savethevaquita. Thanks.

Fact of the Week #38

goldenliontamarin — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:33:07 +0000

In an interview with Chris Johnson, Dr. Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho stated that the Vaquita probably has the cleanest blubber of any marine mammal. This is a direct result of the health of the Gulf of California, which is one of the least polluted and most naturally productive areas of ocean in the world. This shows how simple the Vaquita’s threat is. Once we remove the gillnets, the Vaquita is in one of the best possible places to thrive. Watch the inspirational interview below. (Not viewable in email.)

News Update #101

goldenliontamarin — Mon, 06 May 2013 03:47:14 +0000

The Muskwa Club has put up the first episode of their series of shadow puppet videos. You can watch it below. Also, their website is now www.muskwaclub.org.

Attention Muskwa Club members: the deadline for ordering a Vaquita t-shirt is Tuesday, May 7 at 11:59 pm, though I may extend the deadline slightly. Order it here: http://www.customink.com/signup/2nvhf7s2.

I have made a lot of progress on my book, including finishing all text, almost finishing all the illustrations, and I have front and back cover images (courtesy of Memuco and Tom Jefferson). I might even get NOAA or The Cousteau Society to pay for printing by sponsoring it! I hope to send it off to publishing this month.

Immense progress has been made with Muskwa’s National Save the Vaquita Day, about which they are contacting the president to make it an official day, July 6th. They have many, many aquariums participating in or considering participating in the event, with the Waikiki and Cabrillo Aquariums being confirmed for that day. Also, there is a chance I will be manning a table at the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts on June 9 for World Oceans Day, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland on July 6 for National Save the Vaquita Day, if they confirm their participation in the event.

The Muskwa Club has a huge range of contacts in every imaginable niche, which is helping make all of this possible. They will be selling my book on July 6 at many of their tables, (¡Viva Vaquita! will be doing the same), and the Cabrillo Aquarium has even offered to sell the book at their gift shop! The Muskwa Club has many projects that they are keeping under wraps for now, but believe me, they are awesome! Also, I am now writing a column for the Muskwa Club’s monthly newsletter.

In other news, Jonathan answered the riddle correctly! Q: What is a Vaquita’s favorite model of computer? A: Microsoft Surface.

News Update #100

goldenliontamarin — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 18:49:03 +0000

Tomorrow, Monday the 29th, is the last day to join ¡Viva Vaquita! at Hula’s Island Grill and Tiki Room in Monterey, California for Mahalo Mondays, where 10% of all sales go to ¡Viva Vaquita!. Dinner starts at 4 pm.

Please email Endangered Species Chocolate at info@chocolatebar.com and ask them to make a Vaquita bar. It would be an enormous deal for such a big company to advertise the Vaquita!

Also, you probably noticed that I completely changed how my blog looks. I personally like it better now. How do you feel about it?

And, for the 100th News Update, I would like to end with a riddle. Submit your answers in the comments.

What is a Vaquita’s favorite model of computer?

News Update #99

goldenliontamarin — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:55:21 +0000

There are a lot of things going on right now in the Vaquita world. Topher Jones of Bisbee, Arizona has created an Indiegogo campaign for a Vaquita Expedition 2013 to get good photographs and video of the Vaquita. I believe this expedition has nothing to do with ¡Viva Vaquita! or their possible 2013 Expedition. Either way, it sounds very neat and worth donating to: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/vaquita-expedition?c=home.

A National Geographic article about un-damming the Colorado River seems very positive at first, but it may lead to an increase of illegal fishing in the Vaquita’s range. Read it here: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/12/colorado-river-meet-the-sea/.

The Muskwa Club has contacted many nationwide aquariums and has begun to form a successful Vaquita Day 2013. The day is planned to be July 6th, and we are trying to get as many aquariums to celebrate the Vaquita on that day as possible. I might even have a table at Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey! They have already arranged nationwide media coverage! This will really be a huge event! The Muskwa Club has really helped me achieve my dreams of saving the Vaquita, and they have many more crazy ideas in the works!

Being a Vaquita conservationist is one busy job!

News Update #98

goldenliontamarin — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:01:23 +0000

Memuco is, to put it mildly, awesome. He agreed to illustrate the cover of my book a while ago, and yesterday he sent me the finished products. He didn’t just do one, he did four. All four are the greatest Vaquita paintings I have ever seen. It was so hard to pick one for the cover, but I finally chose a beautiful painting of a mother and calf. But I will definitely use all of them for various purposes in the future. I don’t want to post them yet due to copyright reasons, but take my word for it that they are unbelievable. The book should be published by the end of the summer.