Quick update from the weekend

This weekend I came across the Animal Planet show called Killer Aliens. This is the basis of the show:


Welcome to ground zero in America for invasive species: Florida. The Sunshine State is being overrun by lethal Burmese pythons, feral hogs, Nile monitor lizards, and Gambian rats the size of cats - all non-native species that have been imported by humans. These foreign invaders are wreaking havoc on the ecosystem and natural species are being thwarted. With no natural predators, their populations continue to spread rapidly throughout the state, spreading disease, destroying vegetation and crops, preying on native species and in the worst cases harming humans. It's a race against time to fight this ecosystem nightmare. The front lines are expanding, and no one knows where they are headed next.    

An update from the end of summer: I had sent out several e-mails to organizations and animal controls through out Massachusetts. The majority received no response back. I was not able to get a hold of the information I was looking for. This led to me taking a step back and looking at subjects with a wider scope. From doing broader research I came across several interesting topics such as several states taking into consideration including pets in temporary restraining orders and I was also introduced to http://www.coolinfographics.com which is very interesting to me and has helped me start thinking of ways to display information. 

The semester so far: I am working on a side project right now. I am trying to construct structures and sculptures while having them correspond to the information I have so far. My first project is going to be constructing three different sized spheres covered in fur, each representing a specific number of animals euthanized in Merced County, CA for the year of 2009. 

I will also be listing links I have come across during my research, or stumble on through clicking through various sites and blogs. They may not have anything to do with my seminar research but the links will be of something that interested me, this being the first one:  http://colormekatie.blogspot.com/