Sacred Planet

"Get set for a 45-minute journey around the world to some of the most exotic and beautiful places that exist. From the comfort of your armchair, you'll visit the last remaining old growth forests of British Columbia, the glaciers of Alaska, the red rock canyons of Utah and Arizona, the tropical jungles and underwater mysteries of Borneo, the ancient ruins of Thailand and the remote deserts of Namibia." (Netflix synopsis)

Rated: G

This is a beautiful film.  I have watched it twice and still have only actually heard bits and pieces of what is being said as I am so captivated by the images.  It is visually stunning.  Almost every second of film could easily be made into a beautiful photograph.  It was shot in IMAX format which means the images are huge--they just feel huge.  The message is fairly similar from all of the elders, but each one uses their own cultural references to say it.  There is a lot of time lapse images in here--but is not the usual grass shooting up through the ground ones that are often seen in nature oriented movies/TV shows.  The very simple use of speeding up the film and also showing normal speed speaks volumes to those who pay attention.

personal rating:

8.5 / 10 stars

Tis the time of rangers... seasonal ones that is...

As spring draws near, just like the swallows of Capistrano, another phenomena occurs all across the United States.  It is the annual migration of the seasonal national park employee.  Due to visitation (and budget) most parks can only offer full services during the summer months.  There are some exceptions to this--the Everglades, Death Valley--the places that are not exactly "user friendly" during summer months, which have greater visitation during the winter months.  With the full services comes the need for additional employees, hence, seasonal rangers (and other park employees).  The season of these employees is generally 6 months or approximately 1039 hours.  So what do these people do the rest of the year?  Many different things--some seasonal employees are students, teachers, retired, find another park to work at, or take the time off until the season starts again.  Unfortunately seasonal employees do not receive any sort of benefits, but can accumulate sick leave, and annual leave (which can be paid out at the end of the season for hours not used).  But it is an interesting way to spend a summer or winter, learning about different parts of the country, different parks, and different topics.    The National Park Service is not the only one that offers seasonal employment.  The Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies do as well, however one of the most common conditions is that the applicant is a US Citizen.  Click on the USA JOBS link to look for openings by job, location, or agency.