The view facing east from Baldy Saddle, just below Mt. Wrightson. This was my campsite on Monday night.
I think the Swede was right….spring is really slow to arrive here. Snow is everywhere, and fills the crew with fear. Partially because of these desolate conditions, I keep getting sent to relatively birdless places on brutal death marches to do my surveys. This is not healthy, and fills the heart with hate. But today we did some banding, which was relatively mellow in comparison....the healing powers associated with clutching a Vermilion Flycatcher are not to be laughed at. This is in stark contrast to walking through a cloud of cow farts, which I would only recommend to members of the Tea Party, who are said to enjoy this sort of thing.
“The Field Season” means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For our purposes here, we will limit the scope of discussion to the context of wildlife biologists. For many, The Field Season is an exciting time….nice weather, discovering new places, meeting new people, working with new animals. Which is all well and good, and are all applicable to me. However, there is another meaning for me…..getting to listen to crappy pop radio and memorizing everything that’s popular at the time.
It’s inevitable. Your field rig has a fucked up stereo and can only play cds, or youre stuck with people who don’t like music enough to have any specific taste, or, more rarely, your taste in music is so strange that you don’t really want to subject your coworkers to it.....so for some reason, the only common ground everyone finds is the radio.
“The Radio”, if you are unfamiliar, is this thing that makes noise at you. It's primarily a series of bizarre sound effects, advertisements, and soap boxes for Republicans and evangelical Christians. Occasionally you hear a series of musical notes strung together that can be balled music. 99% of it is rubbish. Trash. Shit. Ok, maybe just 97% is terrible. Fortunately, I have developed a strong sense of irony over the years, and have somehow managed to derive some enjoyment out of the Top 40.
The Black-eyed Peas, Kesha, Lil Wayne, T.I., Akon, Lady Gaga…..they’re all in full effect right now. That’s what’s popular apparently….they apparently still sell records, and motivate people to do disgusting things to eachother after night in the club. For some reason, I really relish knowing this. Just now, the geologist nerds staying next door just showed up singing Bad Romance by Lady Gaga, which is some of the catchiest stuff ever conceived by mankind......no one is immune......
I'm somehow fascinated by Lady Gaga, more than any "diva" that has come about in my lifetime. I can't explain it......but I'm ok with that. Watch the videos for Telephone or Bad Romance, and you may understand too.
In terms of music I genuinely like, you must read this article if you've ever heard of NOFX. Whether you love em or hate 'em (its usually one or the other), this story should fascinate anyone who's ever given them a listen. On the disturbing, fucked-up scale, I give this a 9 out of 10. It will make you think twice next time someone hands you a shot.....
HA! We were just listening to that very song, Imma Be, in our very own work truck on the way to "the field" but yesterday....hilariously befitting
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