International Day of Protest for Lolita Was A Huge Success!

THANK YOU to everyone, world wide, who came out on the International Day of Protest for Lolita on May 15, 2010. Even here in Pittsburgh we had about 2o people. The Seaquarium protest had almost 100 people! It’s about time something was done to reinforce the fact that these are wild animals, not entertainment.

I’d like to especially thank everyone who came, bought t-shirts, made signs, handed out brochures, signed petitions and donated. You’re what make this so wonderful! Also, I’d like to thank Luke Kapp and Matt Dye for taking video and pictures! Here’s some pics courtesy of Shelly Signorello and Michelle Spano Buzas!

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Remember, folks, the fight isn’t over yet! Please go to http://www.savelolita.com to see what you can do to help!

And here’s the video from Luke Kapp! Make sure to check out his YouTube channel.

International Day of Protest for Lolita – May 15, 2010

On Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 12:00pm, a protest will be held all over the world with a division here in Pittsburgh, PA to raise awareness about Seaquarium Orca, Lolita.  Over thirty different cities and countries have signed up to be part of the massive collaboration to show the Miami Seaquarium along with other marine mammal parks and the world that Orcas do not belong in captivity.  One of our protests held on October 11, 2008 generated national media attention for the Orca when a four-minute segment was aired on CNN Headline news.  In collaboration with Orca Network, I invite fellow Pittsburgh residents and media to come out and support this cause. We hope to see Lolita retired back into a sea pen in her native Pacific North West waters where she will be taken care of for the rest of her life unless she chooses to rejoin her pod that lives there as well.

She has been living in an illegal tank at the Seaquarium for the last 39 years, and has taken a backseat to the newly developed swim with the dolphins program. This backseat has raised controversy as to why she shouldn’t be retired, because the Seaquarium is not allowed and won’t build her a bigger tank.  Surrounding the controversy with the rising number of orca attacks at Sea World, she could be the first of a new generation of orcas being retired back to their natural habitat

If retired she will initially reside in a generously sized “bay-pen” where she will be fed, taken care of and slowly reintroduced back into the wild. After rehabilitation it will be her choice to continue to live in the “bay-pen” or leave to rejoin her pod.

In 1970 Lolita was captured in Penn Cove. Since then, much controversy has surrounded the safety of the Seaquraium’s actions with their animals. Hugo, an Orca captured two years earlier from the same pod as Lolita, committed suicide at the Seaquarium in 1980 by bashing his head off of the illegal tank; after showing strong signs of depression. Many have offered more than what Lolita’s insurance policy is worth for her retirement, but Owner Arthur Hertz of The Seaquarium has yet to agree. The concern is from coast to coast on an animal that has done her time in living quarters to small, and arguably unsafe conditions for patrons to view in this dated arena.

Please come out to support this wonderful cause on Saturday May 15, 2010 at Point State Park in Pittsburgh, PA. Feel free to use the comment space below for any questions, directions, or offers for help! Also, if you plan on coming, please let me know. I’m trying to get a sort of pre-registration plan together. Help us get a good turnout and you’ll be on the news and possibly even a spot on Current TV! Anyone can help! We’re looking for photographers, videographers, face painters, and creative people to help make t-shirts and signs. Also, we need a bull horn! It’s just not a protest without a bull horn!

Come on down for Lolita! Kids are welcome, too! Actually, if we get enough, expect some face painting!

You can email me at thatgirlwithablog@gmail.com for more information. You can also email Shelby Proie at shelby@savelolita.com and find more information at www.savelolita.com or www.orcanetwork.org.

You can also pre-register at the Facebook Event or the Myspace Event. Feel free to friend me on both!

Also, here’s a list of city captains. If your city isn’t listed or you need contact information for your city leader, contact Shelby at Save Lolita!

Chicago: Niki Gianni
Miami: Shelby Proie
NE Florida: Venus Hurst
Whidbey Island, WA: Howard and Susan
Olympia, WA: Pat Rasmussen
Vancouver: Rachel Palmer
Denver: Lauren Kimball
Berkeley, CA: Wendy
Amsterdam: Ingrid van Dam
Pittsburgh, PA: Amanda Young
Whakatane, New Zealand: Emily
Toledo, Ohio: Amber
Philadelphia, PA: Shannon
San Diego, CA: Hailey
Stockholm, Sweden: Ewakajsa Werngren
San Fransico, CA: Kim Flaherty
Toronto, Canada: Bob Timmons
Vancouver Island: Tarah Millen
Glen Falls, New York: Jessica Ryle
Belgian: Noortje
Budapest, Hungary: Tatiana
Orchard Park, New York: Kimberly
St. Lois, Missouri: Sarah Garvin
Key West: Kathy Watkins & Gina Gaft
Portland, Oregon: Rae Wilson
Michigan: Bailey Hanson
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Christine Swedell
Melbourne, Australia: Gwen Williams
Indianapolis, Indian: Leighann Shropshire
Seattle, Washington: Diana Comstock
Houston, Texas: Amanda and Brian
Sarasota, Florida: Candace Gee

International Call Day for Lolita #2 – January 23, 2010

Thanks again to everyone who called in for the first International Call Day for Lolita in September, now we’re asking you to call again. This past September, over 100 people worldwide called the Miami Seaquarium asking them to retire Lolita and release her to be with her family in Puget Sound, Washington, prompting them to actually close their phone lines and designate a button to press if you wanted to talk about Lolita!

Please call the Miami Seaquarium on  January 23, 2010 to let them know that her illegal confinement will not be tolerated. You can contact them at (305) 361-5705. If the line is busy, try back in a few minutes!

If you’re not sure of what to say on the phone, you could say something like:

“Hi, I’m calling from [your city] and I am concerned about Lolita’s living conditions. her tank is sub-standard according to APHIS and about the size of a standard hotel swimming pool. My family and myself will be boycotting your aquarium until Lolita is retired and released.”

or

“Please retire Lolita the killer whale. I understand she is important to your business, but she has been in the same small tank for 40 years now. Her family is still alive in the wild and there are thousands of people willing to pay for her retirement. Captive dolphins and whales have been released before very successfully and Lolita is a great candidate. Until she is retired, my family and I have decided to boycott Miami Seaquarium.”

And really, people, you know this isn’t in vain…YOU are the ones that plugged their phone lines, YOU are the ones who prevented the Seaquarium from winning a spot on TV with Nickelodeon. YOU can do it again!

Also, in Lolita news, check this out from Shelby Proie with Save Our Oceans Now:

Finally, everyone that wants to help Lolita but doesn’t live in Miami or even the United States now can!  Thanks to Niki we are starting an international day to protest for the retirement of Lolita, the lone captive orca kept in an illegal sized tank at the Miami Seaquarium.   On Saturday May 15th we are looking for city captains from all around the world to organize a protest (in front of a captive facility, city center, or busy town square) to show the Seaquarium that people from all over the United States and the WORLD want to see Lolita retired back to her native waters off the coast of Washington.  Pictures and videos of the protests will be broadcast and then sent to the Seaquarium.  I’m sure local media will get involved and we will raise more awareness than ever about Lolita’s plight and why she must be retired.

If you are interested in being a city captain and organizing a protest in your city please contact me:  Shelby@savelolita.com and I will get back to you with the details!  Let’s all fight for Lolita and show the Seaquarium and the WORLD we are not backing off until Lolita is retired!

So on January 23, 2010, please take just a moment out of your busy day to call for Lolita. It only takes a minute of your time, but you’ll do so much good! Thanks, everybody!

Stimulus Funded Puget Sound Clean Up

So, last night I saw this on NBC Nightly News:

Actually, I cannot for the life of me get this shit to embed, so go watch it here. Dammit.

Rather than piecing together small grants which could have taken 15 years or longer, this cleanup effort, organized by the Northwest Straights Initiative and funded by Obama’s stimulus package, can do so much more at one time, saving thousands of dying creatures trapped in these nets, like the Puget Sound King Crab in the video above.

Help support the clean up of Lolita’s former home and keep our oceans clean:

Department of Ecology
People for Puget Sound
Puget Sound Partnership

For more information on Lolita:

Save Lolita
Orca Network
Miami Seaprison

International Call Day for Lolita – September 13, 2009

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, everyone, it’s been crazy times. I promise I have lots of things coming for you: books, movies, music, and more! Stay tuned!

From Shelby Proie of Save Our Oceans Now:

Click on this picture to buy this shirt!

We have set up an international call day on Sunday September 13, 2009 (the day before Lolita arrived at the Seaquarium in 1970) we are asking people from all around the world to call the SQ, along with write them emails, and fill up their comment box on the website this day! Hopefully by the flooding of calls, etc. we can get them to shut down the phone lines and jam the server for their website!

You can say something like this: “Please retire Lolita the killer whale. I understand she is important to your business, but she has been in the same small tank for more than 39 years now. Her family is still alive in the wild and there are thousands of people willing to pay for their retirement. Captive dolphins and whales have been released before very successfully and Lolita is a great candidate. Until she is retired, my family and I have decided to boycott Miami Seaquarium.”

Here is the info to contact the Seaquarium:
4400 Rickenbacker Causeway
Key Biscayne, FL 33149
phone: (305) 361-5705
http://www.miamiseaquarium.com/contact/contact.asp

You can go to: http://www.countrycodes.com/ to show you how to dial to the United States.

You have the power to help Lolita get retired back into her natural surroundings where she can be with her family, please take the time to pass this info on to people you know who may be interested. Also feel free to record yourself calling the Seaquarium or make a small video saying how you feel about Lolita and that you support her retirement then send them to me and I will make an international collage of everyone.

Thanks,
Shelby
www.savelolita.com
shelby@savelolita.com

Now, no matter WHERE you live, you can help Lolita! YAY!

Lolita thanks YOU!

You guys made it happen! The Miami Seaquarium did not win EITHER nomination on Go City Kids!

Dave and Mary Alper JCC Summer Camp won Best Day Camp and Jungle Island won Best Tourist Spot.

Lolita – 1, Seaquarium – 0

See what people can do with a little effort? Please don’t stop now! Go to the Orca Network website to see what YOU can do for Lolita!

Thank you again for all of your hard work everyone!

For other links, visit here or here.

Other than that, sorry for the lack of posts the last few days. I promise blogs on Third Eye Blind, pinball, and possibly vintage cars. Stay tuned for more good stuff!

An Update on Lolita

Sometimes the links for Lolita are weird. If they are, try these:

Best Tourist Attraction: http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/miami-fl-usa/best-miami-ft.-lauderdale-tourist-spot

Best Day Camp: http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/miami-fl-usa/best-miami-ft.-lauderdale-day-camp

If that doesn’t work, type “go city kids miami” into your search bar and find a site that looks like this:
http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/region/miami-fl-usa
Go to the “Parent’s Picks” tab, pick Miami, then vote on the Best Tourist Attraction and Best Day Camp categories.

If we all vote for one, we’ll have the best chance of beating the Seaquarium! For Best Tourist Spot, vote Jungle Island and for Best Day Camp, vote for the JCC!

Also remember, that if you delete your history/cookies, you can vote however many times you want!

And in case you need it, please read the original blog! Visit http://www.savelolita.com for more information.
You still have ONE WEEK to do your part to save Lolita!

Vote NO to the Miami Seaquarium!!!

A repost from Shelby Proie of http://www.savelolita.com:

Hello Friends,

Please take 20 seconds to vote AGAINST Miami Seaquarium – which cruelly houses Lolita, a captive killer whale, in a tank so small, it’s illegal to USDA standards.

Seaquarium is nominated for “Best Summer Camp Miami” and “Best Miami Attraction.”
Voting ends July 15 and you can vote once every day! No registration needed to vote.

Seaquarium is winning so far, and we MUST beat them down. We cannot let them win or they will be in a Nickelodeon Magazine and on Television!!!

Go to each link to vote AGAINST Seaquarium. Vote for any other place, except them!

1.) http://gocitykids.parentsc..onnect.com/parents-picks/m..iami-fl-usa/best-miami-ft…-lauderdale-tourist-spot
-The best thing here is to vote for Parrot Jungle Island, because they are closest to the SQ.

2.) http://gocitykids.parentsc..onnect.com/parents-picks/m..iami-fl-usa/best-miami-ft…-lauderdale-day-camp
-The best thing here is to vote for the JCC, they’re the closest competition.

SPREAD THE WORD!!
Thank you very much! Our work will pay off someday soon!!
Lolita thanks you 🙂
Forward this and REPOST!!!
www.SaveLolita.com

Thanks to everyone out there voting, Parrot Jungle is winning by1% for best tourist attraction! Keep those votes coming. SAVE LOLITA! And visit http://www.savelolita.com!

To see pictures of Lolita’s tiny tank, go here! The performance tank that you see is Lolita’s only home. It is less deep than she is long and she shares it with (currently) four dolphins, sometimes more.

Save Lolita and visit www.savelolita.com, today!

Update: (Thanks Adam!) If you clear the cookies and history on your browser, you can vote as many times as you want! CHEAT FOR A WHALE! Thanks.