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Paula Gayness; Engage the people that live there — Awesome NYC story

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Written by Paula Gayness from Columbus Ohio with an awesome NYC story dated back to 1966.

I am always telling my stories about a wonderful vacation I took in New York City so why don’t I tell it to you tonight? It was in 1966 when I was ummmmm, 4? Haha – no – it was actually one year after graduation from high school and I had yet to turn 18! But my parents, and those of my two girlfriends, decided we were responsible enough for 9 days in the Big Apple so away we went!

Our very first adventure after we checked into the Barbizon Hotel for Women on 63rd in Upper East Manhattan was to take to the subway and find the Brooklyn Bridge. I would like to say right here that whomever we spoke with for whatever reason in NYC was as pleasant and helpful as ever could be to three young teenagers on their own in the city! I have heard people say New Yorkers can be rude and too busy to accommodate but we never ever encountered this. Quite the opposite – everyone we spoke to – and there were many – were very happy to share their beautiful city with us. I have many wonderful stories and I would be happy to occasionally share them.

We were told by the man who ran our hotel what subway to take and where to get off right at the bridge so off we went to see the famous Brooklyn Bridge. When we came up out of the subway the bridge really looked very intimidating to 3 young ladies from Columbus, OH so I hailed a cab and when he stopped to pick us up he asked rather quietly like he was tired, “Where to?” and lowered the rate flag.

I said “Please drive us over the bridge and bring us right back” — He turned around with a quizzical look on his face and said something like “Why do you want to do that?”

I told him about who we were and why we were there, where we were from and that when we returned home, we wanted to be able to say that we had been across the Brooklyn Bridge. We did not want to get lost and the only thing on the agenda that evening was this cab ride.

He flipped the rate flag back into the up position, asked us if we had some time to spare and when we said yes of course we did, that wonderful man told us he would not only take us across the bridge but he would give us a tour of Brooklyn and Flatbush and drop us off at a subway that would take us straight to the Barbizon! And he did just that! We had a 1 hour private tour from a native New Yorker – he pointed out everything and explained what is was, when it was built, etc., and gave us a running narrative during the entire trip.

When the hour was up he indeed dropped us at a subway entrance, told us what line to take back and what exit was ours at the end, and when I asked him how much we owed him for the trip he asked if $1.00 apiece was okay? Okay?? Oh yes it was certainly okay! To this day I think fondly often about the man who took an hour out of his job to give 3 young ladies from Columbus OH the first of many wonderful adventures in his town.

I have discovered that wherever one travels the best way to learn about the destination is to engage in communication with the people who live there no matter what job they have. People are proud of their heritages and are usually willing to talk about their city, town or country in length answering all your questions. Too many people travel and don’t take advantage of this communication and then say…”Oh the trip was nice” instead of “Wow! What an interesting place and how lovely are the people!” Opening up one’s own communication lines to others ends up a 2-way “happy street” traveled both by traveler and native.

Have a wonderful evening Scott and family and thank you for the opportunity to share and communicate something wonderful in my life. I just might send more for later at some point!

Paula Gayness

Calamity Annie on Facebook

Steven Blandin’s Bird & Wildlife photography

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Good morning friends. We are thrilled to have Steven Blandin featured on “The Good News Channel” today. He is an award-winning professional wildlife photographer who leads instructional bird & wildlife photography tours in the United States and around the World.

Flash Of Pink => Gold medal at the 2014 Professional Photographers of America International Print Competition | Roseate Spoonbill flapping its wings after a quick bath in the shallow mangrove waters. Also created at the Tampa Bay Spoonbill rookery. A rare glimpse at the full wingspan of this magnificent bird.

When i originally contacted Steven after seeing his work, he could not have been more passionate about when speaking of wildlife photography and cordial in explaining it to me. This gentleman is an artist when it comes to photography. Nowadays anybody can snap a picture with their smartphones and capture a pretty decent shot. But that’s not the game Steven Plays. He’s all in on techniques, equipment and the process of capturing those one in a life time shots. Here’s a link to see what equipment combinations work best for him; http://bit.ly/1hYuzDE

Flying In The Water => Short-billed Dowitcher shaking the water drops away. Small shorebirds are very interesting when looked at from closer! Fort Desoto Park, St Petersburg, Florida.

He is currently ranked in the top 5 Professional Photographers in the state of Florida, he exhibits in Arts Galleries in New York and across the United States. His work has been recognized many times and has been published in various nature magazines. Steven gives an instructional eBook, “The 4 Angles Of Success”, for every new blog follower at www.bird-wildlifephotographyblog.com. The Good News Channels has done dozens of features by now and we love to see an artist give something away to share is passion and techniques through his eyes.

Speeding At Low Altitude => Royal Tern taking altitude after taking off. Fort Desoto Park, St Petersburg, Florida.

Artist’s Statement right off of his website.

“My wife introduced me to nature photography during our early dating years. My passion for wildlife photography itself was truly born during an African safari in Botswana. Since then, I have been hungry for learning more about all aspects of photography. I have watched my work flourish into creations that take me back to those encounters in all the vividness of their emotions. Here’s link to Steven’s website; http://bit.ly/1EgW1GY

Smelling The Light => Polar Bear smelling the air in quest of tis next meal. The adorable beast had been munching on berries for a while, when it decided to lift up its nose and walked away. Hudson Bay, Canada.

Steven has a fine art gallery; http://bit.ly/1IfzUv8. Perfect for corporations or for private collectors. We will be pleased to offer you custom fine art photography impressions to adorn your walls. Enjoy browsing through the fine art collections and do not hesitate to reach out to us for quotes or custom requests. We offer limited edition signed aluminum metal prints, metal prints with a glass/acrylic top layer and fine art canvas with sizes up to 98×43 inches. Custom sizes are available; http://bit.ly/1IfzUv8

Vampire Wings => Final round at the 2015 BBC Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition, Birds category. Reddish Egret in hunting position during an overcast day. Fort Desoto Park, St Petersburg, Florida.

Checkout Steven’s blog where he will share with you his love for nature photography through field posts, instructional photography tours update, photo creation advice, equipment reviews and much more. I personally went through it and was completely amazed. A wealth of information on birds, wildlife, nature and so many camera and photography tips. Here’s the link to his blog; http://bird-wildlifephotographyblog.com/author/bephotographers/

This kind gentleman Steven Blandin has four different types of tours he can take you and a group on. “The Alaskan Bald Eagle Photography tour;

Steven can also arrange a Botswana African Safari — Bird & Wildlife Photography Tour …

If that doesn’t suit your fancy, you can take a Florida Spoonbills & Shorebirds Photography Tour in the Tampa Bay, FL area, Lastly, Steven has a Private Wildlife Photography Workshop and Bird Photo Tours in Florida;

Feature continues below now;

Follow My Eyes => Peacock in full mating display. Corbett National Park, India.

Steven’s Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/StevenBlandin.birdwildlifephotography

Tilted Landing => Willet about to land to join the flock. Fort Desoto Park, St Petersburg, Florida.

Steven’s Instagram account; https://instagram.com/stevenblandinphotography/

In The Summer Landscape => Final round at the 2015 BBC Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition, Mammals category. Not the typical Polar Bear image! Male Polar bear cruising the Summer landscape with purple fireweed blooming. Hudson Bay, Canada.

Steven’s YouTube account; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUV24v39vFKDXmMCLI2TSKw

Born Of The Water => Brown Pelican flapping its wings against the water in an attempt to clean up its dirty feathers. Created in the Tampa Bay, Florida.

Pink Landing On Blue => Silver medal at the 2015 Professional Photographers of America International Print Competition | Roseate Spoonbill with breeding colors landing on the clear blue water. Created at the Tampa Bay Spoonbill rookery, where I run photography workshops. I am always amazed at how stunning those birds look when they are about to land!

Sammy & Family would like to close with what a pleasure it was to work with Steven Blandin on this feature. Steven loves birds and wildlife and his pictures show his passion. We would highly recommend taking a tour with Steven. Not only will you see amazing birds and or wildlife but he will teach you his techniques of getting the best possible picture one can get. Taking a tour with Steven would be fascinating and educational. Gotta love that combination.

Everyone is a great winner. But what counts is how you handle it when you lose. Even winners lose sometimes. The difference is they shake it off, drop their ego and work harder for the next battle. – Dr Harp Seal —

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Dr. Harp Seal

The Empire State Building and Sammy

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Good morning friends. It was only a week ago that The Empire State Building hosted their historic event for endangered species. We figured to do a nice write up on this larger than life building and Sammy’s first class visit 4 Years Ago from the lobby to the very top. The official opening date of the Empire State Building was May 1st, 1931. It remained the tallest building in NYC for 40 years until the Twin Towers were built. It took only one year and 45 days to build. It took almost 7 million man hours to build. There are observation decks on both the 86th floor and the 102nd. Over 4 million visitors a year come to visit this bigger than life building. The total height of the building is 1, 450 feet. I mean it’s literally in the clouds.

As I have mentioned to all of you before, I was a trader for over 20 years on Wall Street. But my first job on Wall Street was a cold caller, yes the young man that would not let you off the phone. Be that as it may, my phone skills are unstoppable, unless of course you hang up on me which plenty of people did and do. So i called up the media department over Four Years Ago, and I said I would like to do a photo shoot at The Empire State Building for my website. They said terrific, lets get you set up. So we were exchanging information and she asked me describe what kind of pictures I wanted for the article I was going to write. I told her I wanted to take pictures of Sammy at all the hot spots in the building and particularly on the Observation Decks on Floor 86 and floor 102.

So she said; “Scott who is Sammy?” I said he’s my 10 pound Pomeranian dog, he just loves adventures. So the nice young lady said; “There are no dogs allowed in the Empire State Building. So i said to myself; “OK Scott, time to break out the old calling skills from Wall Street” — So I said; “Young Lady, in this particular sense you can’t really look at him as a dog, in this case he’s a spokesman for “The Empire State Building” in NYC. My website is going to do a featured story on the worlds most famous building sending more traffic to the building and that traffic will buy tickets to go to the observation decks. And I repeated “Its really not a dog coming to the building, its a project. The dog is just part of the project” — And I followed it up with one more closer, “Projects are allowed in the building, right?” So this sweet young gal said, I wont mention her name, but she said: “Mr. Smith when would you like to come in for the photo shoot?” — And without hesitation, I said” Tomorrow morning”

So my friends, other then an animated King Kong in 1933 at the top of The Empire State Building, Sammy Smith, the 10 pound Pomeranian to my knowledge is the only dog that was ever allowed in the greatest building ever. Wait, wait, I just said “dog” — I meant to say “Project” — A great New York lesson for our friends around the world. Its all about semantics. You say “Tomato” and i say Tomahto. And with that, Sammy the project got to see the Empire State Building with first class personal tour. They were literally creating restricting areas inside the building for my website to get the pictures I needed.

As I told you my late father was a commercial real estate broker in NYC. So his job was to move companies from one building to another should a company decide to have their offices somewhere else. During his years of being a commercial broker he showed prospective tenants many different spaces for lease inside the Empire State Building. But funny enough, the first time I saw this Iconic building was in the 1933 movie with King Kong climbing up it. And no, I did Not actually see it in 1933 being that I was born in 1969. King Kong was one of those movies they played ever year until the more recent ones were made like in 1976, and then another one in the New Millennium.

Its located on 5th Avenue between 33 and 34 street. Prime real estate for the world’s’ most famous building. Many a times I have stood right in front of The Empire State Building and looked straight up and because its so tall, I almost fell over to keep looking up and up to find the top of it. If you are in NYC, you must visit The Empire State Building. Put it first on your list.

Thank you life for letting me live on August 4th, 2015

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Good evening friends.

Tonight I would like to Thank God for letting me participate in life on August 4th, 2015. I can speak for anyone else but without the man upstairs I was a walking dead man.

OK, so tomorrow morning we have the full feature from The Empire State Building’s Illuminating Light Show of Endangered Species from this past Saturday night. It will be featured on “The Good News Channel” — Folks, wait until you see more of these larger than life images of our beloved animal friends and read the full story on this event. August 1st, 2015 will go down in history of one of those most historic NYC nights ever. The history books will speak of this for hundreds of years to come. OK, but that is tomorrow.

Let’s talk today and tonight. We hope everyone had a fabulous Poppy Tuesday. I am so in love Poppy its insane. He eats out of my plate, drinks water out of my glass. Anytime Vanessa says: “Do you realize there are germs in that water from Patrick.?” I respond with, “Do you realize the chandelier on the ceiling can fall and crack our skulls open at anytime? — Vanessa do you realize we can get hit by a car every time we walk outside?”

I told her, I don’t sweat the small stuff, if Patrick has some germs, and I catch them, I’ll live. It makes him happy, and that makes me happy. The rest is in God’s hands.

OK, lets close with two Poppy notions tonight;

1. Everybody has “The Poppy Chance” — He represents Hope and Possibilities. And man did I need those two words over the years.

2. I remember when Vanessa and I first got him, it was incredible. And he was so eager to please us so he would not be sent away again. He didn’t realize if hell freezed over that was Never happening. But in September of 2013, hell did freeze over and it was almost lights out for me. The point is not to bore anyone with a story you heard many times, but I knew when i woke up after six days under, it was Patrick’s Heart that was breaking. I knew Sammy & Henry were going to OK. They were shaken up yes, but they had been with me a while. Patrick was with us only 3 weeks before i went down for the count. When I made it home alive, I never let that little boy out of my sight again. My bond with Patrick is unbreakable and unshakable. Madly in love with my little boy.

Signing off from Puerto Rico on day 205 , Scott Smith for Sammy & Family.

Projecting Change: The Empire State Building

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Hello friends. We are thrilled to feature “Projecting Change” at The Empire State Building on “The Good News Channel” This is a very special night in NYC at the Empire State Building. Tonight the Empire State Building will display digital light images of endangered species in the hopes of helping the plight of animals.

Sammy & Family is thrilled about this event and wants to thank the Press Department of the Empire State building for helping us feature this story tonight. If something ever needed to be center stage, it’s the plight of the animals and their daily struggles.

For the first time in New York City history, this stand-alone, architectural projection art event featured towering images of endangered species—more than 350 feet tall and 186 feet wide, and covering 33 floors—on the south façade of The Empire State Building in an art event meant to draw attention to the creatures’ plight against mass extinction.

Photo Credit Jon William Brumbaugh

What could be more center stage than being projected on 33 floors of the Empire State Building. Wow, let me say that backwards, WOW. The projected images of endangered species will be almost 400 feet tall. The images will start being beamed from 9 pm tonight, right up until Midnight from a building on West 31 Street.

Travis Threlkel founder of Obscura Digital and Louis Psihoyos illuminated the night with live video projections, including (an 8 minute environmentally-focused tableau, combined with iconic imagery of endangered species, that made each 15 minute cycle running throughout the night a unique experience) showing a Noah’s ark of animals including Cecil the Lion, a snow leopard, a golden lion tamarin and manta rays, along with snakes, birds and various mammals and sea creatures choreographed to Racing Extinction’s original songs. Throughout, the LED lights atop the building were coordinated with the projection, by the building’s lighting designer.

(Photo by Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images for The Oceanic Preservation Society)

Travis Threlkel of Obscura Digital out of San Francisco, and Mr. Psihoyos, director of the Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove” came together to collaborate this once in a lifetime event about one of the most important dangers and challenges on Earth today. Apparently, this project was three years in the making. NYC has strict laws about images being projected in the city. Especially when it comes to the most famous building in the world.

This Illuminating Endangered Specie Event is coming right on time. This event comes on the heels of Cecil the lion, who was heinously killed last week in Zimbabwe, and President Obama’s speech in Kenya just last week that the USA is cracking down on the Ivory trade to help protect elephants.

(Photo by Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images for The Oceanic Preservation Society)

We have written many times before that Mother Nature is tough enough on animals and marine life as it is. The last thing they need is for people to stack the deck even further against them, and that is putting it mildly. People are crucifying all kinds of species all over the world, with a total disregard for the lives of these beautiful, Majestic creatures. Whether its Trophy hunting or Canned hunting, and whether the creatures are Majestic or not, its across the board outright heartless. It needs to stop.

This image is honor of Cecil the lion that was killed in Zimbabwe in early July of 2015

The Empire State building is notorious for changing its light colors at the top of the building for major news and events. In December of 2014, The Empire Strikes Back with a lighting ceremony at the top of the Empire State building to honor the annual dolphin slaughter that takes place in Taiji, Japan. The color of the lights representing this Japanese atrocity was red to symbolize all the bloodshed that takes place. They just recently changed their light colors when The Supreme Court ordered states to recognize gay marriages across the nation. In the spirit of New York City, The Empire State Building also Lit up in Yankees Blue Pinstripes to Honor Derek Jeter.

Lets hope this Endangered Species lighting event shocks and awes the world into a permanent state of animal kindness, animal equality, animal rescue, animal welfare, and so on, and so on and so on.

Travis Threlkel founder of Obscura Digital and Louis Psihoyos

Sammy & Family applauds New York City and The Empire State Building for this historic event one of the most important topics in the world today. For topics related to this matter please see Dr. Harp Seal and Scott’s Smith video and audio messages on animal welfare said in a way like never before.

“The Second Amendment from the Perspective of an Animal” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wIpM1Jak3o

“Where is the Geneva Convention for Animals? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_NebYbcuGA

“Sizing up Hunting by Dr. Harp Seal; https://soundcloud.com/dr-harp-seal/sizing-up-hunting-by-dr-harp-seal

Thank you friends for stopping and reading such an important message. God bless all animals around the world.

Written by Sammy & Family. More information on The Empire State Building Below.

About the Empire State Building

Soaring 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan (from base to antenna), the Empire State Building, owned by Empire State Realty Trust, Inc., is the “World’s Most Famous Office Building.” With new investments in energy efficiency, infrastructure, public areas and amenities, the Empire State Building has attracted first-rate tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the world. The skyscraper’s robust broadcasting technology supports all major television and FM radio stations in the New York metropolitan market. The Empire State Building was named America’s favorite building in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects, and the Empire State Building Observatory is one of the world’s most beloved attractions as the region’s #1 tourist destination. For more information on the Empire State Building, please visit www.empirestatebuilding.com, www.facebook.com/empirestatebuilding, @EmpireStateBldg, www.instagram.com/empirestatebldg, www.youtube.com/esbnyc or www.pinterest.com/empirestatebldg/.

About Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), owns, manages, operates, acquires and repositions office and retail properties in Manhattan and the greater New York metropolitan area, including the Empire State Building, the world’s most famous office building. Headquartered in New York, New York, the Company’s office and retail portfolio covers 10.0 million rentable square feet, as of March 31, 2015, consisting of 9.3 million rentable square feet in 14 office properties, including nine in Manhattan, three in Fairfield County, Connecticut and two in Westchester County, New York; and approximately 727,000 rentable square feet in the retail portfolio.

“The Second Amendment from the Perspective of an Animal” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wIpM1Jak3o

“Where is the Geneva Convention for Animals? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_NebYbcuGA

“Sizing up Hunting by Dr. Harp Seal; https://soundcloud.com/dr-harp-seal/sizing-up-hunting-by-dr-harp-seal

Thank you friends for stopping and reading such an important message. God bless all animals around the world.

Written by Sammy & Family.

Kurt Wenner The Pioneer of 3D Pavement Art

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Good morning friends.

We are thrilled to have Kurt Wenner featured on “The Good News Channel” today. Kurt is arguably the best 3D Street Artist in the World. When you see his work in this story you’ll see why he earned that status. He has painted 3D images all over the world. Kurt literally makes streets come alive with his 3D painting. Its hard to believe these images he paints are actually flat on the ground but they are.

1. Dies Irae was my first signature work introducing 3D pavement art as a new art form. It was done in Mantua, Italy, where I lived for 18 years.

Kurt is from Santa Barbara, California. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design and Art Center College of Design. From there he went to work for NASA as a space illustrator. Now how many people can say that ? Very impressive to say the least. In 1982 he left NASA and headed to Italy to embrace classical art. Kurt had a specific interest in Renaissance classicism, he was very drawn to how people drew 500 plus years back in comparison to how they were drawing in the 20 Century at that time. Wenner invented a new geometry to create compositions that appear to rise from, or fall into the ground.

2. The Flying Carpet
This image shows my 10-year-old son and a young friend posing on the carpet. It was done during the Corpus Christi holiday in Bettona, Italy, where we lived for six years. Checkout Kurt’s book; “Asphalt Renaissance; The Pavement Art and 3-D Illusions Of Kurt Wenner”

In 1984 Kurt invented 3D Pavement art which today has several names tied to it; 3D Chalk Art, 3D Street Art, 3D Sidewalk are and so on and so on. If you see a 3D image in the street its roots can be drawn back to Kurt Wenner. He invented a new geometry to create compositions that appear to rise from, or fall into the ground. That geometry is now known as ” Wenner’s hyperbolic perspective.” Now let’s hear from Kurt himself below;

3. Greenpeace Million Signatures
A million signatures were gathered in Europe to halt the introduction of genetically modified organisms, (GMOs), into the European agricultural environment. The names were printed on the border of the work, which measured 22 meters (72 feet) in diameter.

From Kurt himself; I am an American artist, although I have spent half my life in Italy. I work within the tradition of European classicism and create original architectural designs, paintings, sculpture and decoration. I work in numerous media and venues, but am best known for inventing 3-dimensional pavement art. This very popular art form has become a global and Internet phenomenon, inspiring many artists as well as the public.

4. Office Stress
This contemporary piece shows an ironic vision of the perils of office work. It is seen outside of a government building in Mantua, Italy, where actual bureaucrats did their work. Checkout Kurt’s book; “Asphalt Renaissance; The Pavement Art and 3-D Illusions Of Kurt Wenner”

My interest in Renaissance classicism started with the simple desire to draw well. I was struck by the vast difference between how students and teachers drew in the 20th Century and the way artists drew 500 years ago. It seemed to me that artists of the past had abilities far beyond those of today.

5. The Picnic. The work was created for an event called “The Big Lunch”, a United Kingdom event where neighbors get together on a specific day for lunch. The event counted an astounding 4.83 million participants in 2014!

My curiosity about this discrepancy took me to Rome in order to seek out and master drawing and painting within the “language” of western classicism. During this time I isolated myself from 20th century art in order to explore the ideals and concepts practiced in earlier centuries. It has since become an ongoing mission to rediscover classical traditions and communicate them to a contemporary audience.

Kurt Working in Herald Square, NYC

My paintings invite rediscovery of many artistic traditions, and I enjoy incorporating mythology, allegory, literature, and theater into the compositions. I find that even if a viewer cannot reference the story they sense that one exists and become engaged, curious to learn more.

6. The Moneypit. This composition, done in London’s Waterloo station, used a side panel and was executed in stereoscopic 3D. When viewed through Color-code glasses, the money appears to float in the air. Checkout Kurt’s book; “Asphalt Renaissance; The Pavement Art and 3-D Illusions Of Kurt Wenner”

I particularly like to challenge my audience with a wealth of allusions — historical, stylistic, and perceptual. While some viewers recognize and appreciate the content, others admire the richly embellished surfaces or technical ability. I especially enjoy working on large pieces that “encompass” the viewer.

7. A Millionaire’s Life
Done in Singapore’s Changi airport, the image shows the luxury lifestyle awaiting the lucky winner of their lottery.

By combining painting with sculpture and architecture, I force them to interact in new ways that often blurs the distinction between them. The traditional appearance of my work is my strongest illusion, as it obscures the bold and original use of perspective I employ.

8. The Circus Parade. Created for the Sarasota chalk festival, home of the Ringling museum, the 20 by 60 foot image was executed by a team of the world’s most talented pavement artists. Checkout Kurt’s book; “Asphalt Renaissance; The Pavement Art and 3-D Illusions Of Kurt Wenner”

My artistic motivation is to rediscover, transform, and share insights from the past. I have been fortunate to be able to share my work with millions of people and hope that it will inspire artists and the public to delve into the patrimony of European Art so they can find the wealth of ideas that is so often hidden with the passage of time.

9. Shangrilá. This multi-panel composition was designed for a one-man show in Jakarta, Indonesia, which featured 11 large illusions.

10. The Pearls of Dubai. A composition recounting the history of pearl fishing in Dubai features Sheik Mohammed and Crown Prince Hamdan, called (Fazza). Checkout Kurt’s book; “Asphalt Renaissance; The Pavement Art and 3-D Illusions Of Kurt Wenner”

11. On San Juan Island. Taking a walk on the Wintery beach near my home on San Juan Island.

Friends we will close with this. I had several correspondences with Kurt and his wife to put this story together. And despite being the best 3D Pavement Artist in the world who has a very tight schedule, they could not have been more polite and gracious. Sammy & Family thank the Wenners for joining us today. It was an honor to run this feature. To continue to follow Kurt’s projects, below are the links to his website and social media platforms.

Kurt’s website; http://kurtwenner.com/

Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/KurtWenner?fref=ts

Twitter; https://twitter.com/KurtWenner

Terri Irwin The Ultimate Wildlife Warrior

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Good morning friends.

Today’s featured story is about Terri Irwin, yes the wife of the late great Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. As we all know Steve Irwin was tragically killed by in Stingray in 2006. But today I want to take it back to their beginning. You see, most of us learned about Steve and Terri Irwin from the popularity and success of their worldwide show “The Crocodile Hunter. But the wheels of fate were in motion many years before all that.

Terri was born in July of 1964 and grew up in Eugene Oregon with her family who was in the trucking business. During her childhood years, Terri’s dad used to pick up injured animals on the highways and bring them home to help rehabilitate them. Needless to say compassion for wildlife was instilled in Terri from the very beginning.

By the time she was 22 years old, Terri was running the family business, worked part time at an emergency veterinary hospital and operated a wildlife rehabilitation organization called “Cougar County” The wildlife organizations was rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing cougars, bears, bobcats and etc. Terri Irwin was no ordinary 22 year old, she was wearing many hats, and wearing them well.

Now let’s take a look at the late Steve Irwin’s earlier years.

Stephen Robert Irwin was born on the 22nd February, 1962, in upper Fern Tree Gully, Victoria, which is about 20 miles form the main business district in Melbourne Australia. He moved with his parents and two sisters to Beerwah, Queensland, where his folks opened the Beerwah Reptile and Fauna Park in June of 1970. Years later the Irwin’s changed the name to ” Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park” which now of course is called The Australia Zoo. What a miraculous transition over the decades, but even with all the success the original common denominator has stood the test of time, their love and passion for wildlife. Continue reading →

Esther the Wonder Pig

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Good morning friends. We are thrilled to be featuring “Esther the Wonder Pig” on “The Good News Channel” today. Esther is probably the most loved 700 pound pig in the world. Dads Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter not only turned Esther into a worldwide internet sensation but a created a whole new movement for animal rescue, kindness, welfare, and equality. Our “Everybody Loves Sammy” online community applauds Steven and Derek for making the world a better place, many animals at a time. Check out this fascinating story below;

Meet Esther-the Wonder Pig. Adopted by her Dads Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter as a supposed mini-pig three years ago, Esther had other plans and kept on growing. Turns out she was a full-sized commercial pig and Steve and Derek were duped. Steve said, ‘We just adapted and loved her more. What else could we do? It wasn’t her fault and we would never give up a pet.’

They fell madly in love with her and this tiny pig changed the course of their lives forever. Living in a small city bungalow along with two dogs, two cats and 3 rabbits, and spending her days lounging on her couch, Esther won over the hearts of all who met her.

Realizing that Esther was originally meant to be someone’s dinner, Steve and Derek became vegans and in the process become accidental animal activists and vegan ambassadors. They are now much sought-after speakers at Veg-Fests across the country and have started an Esther’s Army page which advocates for pig issues and animal awareness, ‘the campaign headquarters for change’. (https://www.facebook.com/EsthersArmy)

Her dads soon realized that Esther needed more room and so they started an Indiegogo campaign raising $440,000 in just 2 months time to purchase a farm property for Esther and to also start an animal Sanctuary to save Esther’s kind along with other abandoned farm animals. (https://www.facebook.com/happilyeveresther) and the happily ever Esther website; http://www.happilyeveresther.ca/

As Esther’s adventures are shared online, she continues to rack up thousands of fans and followers and in the process exposes the loving, compassionate, and extremely smart side of pigs and in the process has raised awareness about the abhorrent conditions of factory farmed pigs and their hellish lives.

Steve and Derek clearly share their intentions on Esther the Wonder Pig’s Facebook page:”We want to help show you that she understands everything we say to her. She knows what’s happening, and she feels every emotion we do. She is not a product, or a piece of pork.”

Esther is now an internet celebrity with over 294,000 Facebook fans, 156,000 on Instagram and 20,000 fans on Twitter. She has many celebrity followers including comedian and well known animal activist Ricky Gervais who has visited Esther at her home.

Esther who is house-trained and almost 700 svelte pounds loves to relax in her swimming pool.

She has also become a fashion icon due to fans that send her in hand-made clothing.

If you follow Esther online, you can’t help but notice how smart and sweet she is and her adorable pictures and witty captions will always make you smile.

This amazing story continues to grow and add fans on a daily basis, and it all comes back to Esther the Wonder Pig! Who won over two young men who took a chance and opened up their hearts, their home and their lives to the world allowing all to enjoy this amazing adventure. The lives of all of us who follow Esther’s pages have all have been made brighter all because of one not so mini, mini pig.

Website; http://www.estherthewonderpig.com/

Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/estherthewonderpig

Twitter; https://twitter.com/EstherThePig

Instagram; https://instagram.com/estherthewonderpig/

Goodnight from Sammy on Family on Sunday, June 14th, 2015

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Dr. Harp Seal

Good evening friends.

It’s great to be here with everyone. We hope you all had a nice weekend. Day 154 in Puerto Rico today, man does time fly by sometimes. I say sometimes because when life hits us with the tough stuff it sure doesn’t feel like time flies then. So staying humbled has to always remain on my dashboard.

Thank you for all the anniversary comments today, our 2 year anniversary is actually tomorrow on June 15th, my apologies for any confusion on that. I was telling Vanessa i miss some of my friends back home today, so she said why don’t you pick up your phone and call them and say hello. I was like, oh yeah i can do that. It’s amazing how the obvious can be so unseen sometimes. With that said it does seem as we get older people connect with each other less and less, truth is I’m not in love with that notion.

So this Wednesday we have a great feature coming up on the Good News Channel with a married couple traveling the world called the “Wanderlusters” — Real nice people, so that is on Wednesday. Next Sunday, a week from today we are running a featured story on The Good News Channel about the one and only “Esther the Wonder Pig”…..

At the beginning of 2015 I said to our ELS family I am making a strong push for The Good News Channel to be the central part of our community and we’re still committed to that. When I say that, it includes all of our Sammy & Family stories also. Through the development of ELS over the last 3 years we’ve come across so many people do amazing things all over the world its seemed right to share those stories as well.

OK lets close with two positive notions tonight.

1. What will I trade a day of my life tomorrow for so that I am happy about it on Tuesday ? If you don’t know the answer to that, at least don’t trade a day of your life for something you know makes you unhappy. That’s just not intelligent and everyone I’ve spoken to and communicated with on ELS is intelligent.

2. I know I’ve been pounding the Vanessa drum lately with the 2 year anniversary coming up tomorrow, but its applicable to this notion. If I didn’t keep an open mind and open heart I would’ve never been on Instagram communicating with another animal lover in Puerto Rico who also happened to be my age, and on Instagram what is the likelihood of that ? And if I didn’t do that I would not be living in Puerto Rico today with 5 dogs, an angel for a wife and more importantly my best friend, and a new father who could be the nicest man on Earth. And to extrapolate this out even further, one of those 5 dogs named Jeffrey also took a leap of faith and has a whole new life, a life of love and hope. Think about all the positive domino effects that took place here and how many lives were positively effected. Sometimes we need to take a leap of faith, and most certainly we need to keep an open mind and open heart.

Signing off from Puerto Rico on day 154, Scott Smith for Sammy & Family.