This post was originally posted here, please 'upvote' the post so more people will be inclined to view it.

The Kakapo, an endangered species.

Nothing can prepare you for a meeting with a kākāpō. Not even an entire front page of them happily shagging a graying faux fro narrated by Stephen Fry. These weird creatures are, without doubt, one of the most remarkable birds in the world. But they need our help to survive.

One of the most notable features of the kākāpō, is its distinctive, musty odour. And then there’s the way it looks and behaves. Firstly, it's a parrot that looks like an owl, or maybe a giant budgie. Despite it's large flappy shaggy wings, it cannot fly. Instead, it walks, jumps and climbs around. Sometimes, the kākāpō will forget it can't fly, often when attempting to flee a predator. The kākāpō will then climb a tall tree and, just when it's actually safe, emit a heroic cry and jump into the air. Only to fall back down. It squawks like every over parrot, but the sound comes out more like a braying donkey, than an exotic bird. Weighing in at 1,4kg-2,2kg, the fattest parrot in the world, it is also one of the longer living ones at around 90 years. That's better than most people.

Unlike most people though, the kākāpō is highly endangered. There are less than 125 on the planet. There are probably a lot less living kākāpō, than there are gifs of it rumping heartily on the front page right now. I think, that since imgur has gotten so much joy out of this fantastic bird, it's is only fair that we return the favour and bring some joy back to kākāpōs themselves.

In the 1970s only 18 kākāpō were known to exist – all males. The species seemed doomed to extinction. But in 1977, a population of male and female kākāpō was discovered on Stewart Island, giving new hope for the survival of this precious bird. Since then, a small team of dedicated staff from the Department of Conservation have worked tirelessly to protect, manage and grow the kākāpō population.

These birds have been supported by volunteers and staff work year round ensuring the birds are safe, healthy and well fed. The aim of Kākāpō Recovery is to establish at least two managed populations of kākāpō and another self-sustaining population, each with at least 50 breeding aged females, in a protected habitat. Let's help them out.

Therefore, I am going to ask you to donate to help preserve this wonderful bird, so that coming generations can enjoy it as much as we do and have done these past 24 hours. Rare parrot means ENDANGERED parrot. Please help save this wonderful bird from extinction Even a dollar can help make a difference. There are so many of us and so few kākāpō. All donations go directly towards kākāpō recovery – That means food, incubators, health checks, nests, etc. Please visit this link and help out: http://kakaporecovery.org.nz/donate/

It can be pretty hard to figure out if you are in a relationship with a narcissist. Thankfully, there are signs that can help you out.

Narcissists are all around us. From that friend on Facebook who never posts a bad selfie, to the charming boss at work who always manages to get the conversation back to herself. The problem is that they exist on a spectrum, just like autism. Like autistic people, there are a wide range of narcissists, from those who have full-blown egos to others who just tip-toe onto the scales.

Here are four signs that can help you identify whether you are in a relationship with a narcissist:

.....click link to read the rest. Pretty interesting stuff, I certainly have a few Narcissists in my life.

We all belong to a soul group. It’s your innermost circle of most trusted people that are in your life to teach you important lessons.

Sure, we all have a lot of people in our lives but not all of them are part of our soul group and that’s because not all of them have a profound impact on our lives. Here are the signs that somebody is a member of your soul group:

1. If you have chemistry

If you have instant chemistry with somebody, chances are they are going to serve a purpose in your life. If they immediately feel familiar the second you meet and you get along so comfortably, they may be a part of your soul group.

2. If they encourage you

People in your soul group constantly encourage you and believe in your potential. Whether it’s personal goals, career goals or relationships, people who belong in your soul group will always push you to achieve these goals and once you do, they’re genuinely happy and help you celebrate them.

....... click link to read the rest.

Growing up in the 21st century in Australia I sometimes forget how fortunate I am. This century is a great time to be alive, almost zero injustices, the government looks after us and values our freedom of speech and opinion right?

Apparently not everywhere. Even now people are being mistreated on what others call 'annoyances' and 'crimes' against the government. not sure what i mean? here I'll show you something mind blowing that I've come across.

RedTHaws (partial) review:

'So it came to pass. . . 

that in the 1950s, China began their Re-education by Labor Program, in which they sent their professors and teachers and scientists and politicos and intellectuals and religious and dissidents and revolutionaries and many others who did not fit their definition of proper citizens to prison camps where they were punished, humiliated, beaten, and mistreated until such time that they became "new men" and "new women" and were deemed worthy of re-entry into society.  

In addition to the human atrocity, the people in power also took the opportunity to purge national treasures in the form of art and literature, architecture, and religious icons.  Most Chinese people consider it to be a tragedy.

If it crossed my mind at all, here in my sheltered state of living with guarantees of freedom and life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, I would have thought that Chinese work camps were a thing of the past.

imagine my amazement when I went to google the history and found that these places still exist.  It's estimated that hundreds of thousands of people may have lived in these places until they were either killed or died.  As late as 2012, people were still being sent away to re-education camps for crimes against the state.  

This is the current news story that caught my attention: One woman was sent to such a place because she dared to protest about the too-lenient sentences given to the men who had abducted her eleven-year-old daughter, and used her as a prostitute in the child-sex-slave trade for three months before she could be located and rescued.  The mother's protests were inconvenient to the police force, and when she became too strident to be ignored anymore, they sent her away.  Because they can.

Amid expressions of outrage from bloggers, humanitarian organizations and the media from all over the world, for this example and countless others, China finally agreed to shut down the camps.  Here's the result:

"'You just change the sign at the entrance of the camp and instead of being called labor camp it is called drug rehabilitation center,' the expert said." Here's the link: http://www.dw.com/en/no-end-to-chinas-notorious-re-education-camps/a-17362570 

So, yes, it's an important book.  It points out the historical abuses, and reminds us that abuse is still occurring.'

rest of review here

I urge you to read the rest of this enlightening review, it has quotes, more information, etc. I just wanted people to realise stuff like this still happens. everyone needs to know. if nobody knows, nobody will care, and if nobody cares it will never be stopped. Now wouldn't that be a horrendous crime against humanity.

Definitions of humanity : "our differences matter but our common humanity matters more"
synonyms: compassion, kindness, consideration, understanding, sympathy, tolerance,  gentleness, mercy, charity, generosity.

Reblogged from Midu who reblogged it from Themis-Athena 

1: Currently Reading

2: Describe the last scene you read in as few words as possible. No character names or title.

Someone was getting his head chopped off via an axe, he could smell urine.

3: First book that had a major influence on you

4: Quick, you're in desperate need of a fake name. What character name do you think of first?

Skyla Dawn Cameron, from Bloodlines (its the author's name) I'll admit it took me a bit to think of it. This isnt something I have thought of before - you want something not too unique but something that you can enjoy the sound of.

5: Favorite series and why

I feel like its pretty obvious as to why, have you read the married duo? there bloody brilliant!!

6: Public library or personal library?

If I had to choose...... Public Library, ours are all connected to each other so i have like 6 libraries worth of books at my finger tips!

7: What is the most important part of a book, in your opinion?

whether its interesting or not.

8: Why are you reading the book you're currently reading?

I read a sample and it sounded fantastic, plus have you seen that cover? so i went out and bought it for myself as a b'day gift. Only now just getting the chance to read it.

9: If you were to publish a book what (besides your real name) would you use for your author name?

Not sure - would have to ask for suggestion and see what happened.

10: Do you listen to music when you read? Make a mini playlist for one of your favorite books.

Why would i listen to music when i read? that would take away from the reading experience cause half my concentration would be paying attention to the music - or i just wouldnt notice it at all.
One book that could improve with music would be 'If I Stay' and i would suggest classical violin.

11: What book fandom do you affiliate yourself with the most?

Definitely Fantasy - but can a choose a sub-genre? like UF? cause UF is quite different from other Fantasy books out there....

as Midu put it 'We sit at the other end, at some distance from the PNR fans.'

12: Tell one book story or memory (what you were wearing when you were reading something, someone saw you cry in public, you threw a book across the room and broke a window, etc.)

I was telling my mother about the Cassie Palmer series - my mother loves ghost and people who can communicate with them - so i borrowed the first book from the library for her to read (i have my own copy but my mother is a slob) I forgot about the 'glistening penis' scene where it spends like a good page describing Mircea's apparently amazing appendage. Anyways my mother is still under the impression in very young, well at least prude enough not to think about peni (I'm 24) and was beyond shocked when she came across this page. She was like OMG did you know there was a sex scene in this book?! you read books with sex in them!? ASHLEIGH!? I in turn claimed good luck coming across an adult book without a sex scene in it!! still it was a cringe-worthy moment for me.

13: What character would be your best friend in real life?

Rose from Vampire Academy.

14: Favorite item of book merch

Hmm tough decision, probs Bookmarks, i like to collect them, but I'm also a big fan of bookends (i have 2 pairs so far) the bunny slippers from morganville vampires, t-shirts, bags and fridge magnets (which i have 3? of somewhere - well i think one is from firefly and one is from bones, cant recall what the other one is).

15: Post a shelfie.

give me two seconds.....

Bookshelf 1 - whole view

Bookshelf 1 - bottom shelves view

Bookshelf 2 - whole view

Books on top - including one of my bookends

There semi organised - my first bookshelf is my read books, you can see I've clumped to series together. My second bookshelf for the main part it my TBR books, though the bottom shelf is full with books I have read which I plan on putting upstairs in my room once my bookshelf is cleared of random things (moving process) and my books in the bookends are the TBR's i plan on reading asap.

16: Rant about anything book related

I have a massive hate for badly written characters, who's personalities aren't consistent, for authors who think its okay to fix a victim of rape with more sex. For TSTL character's, especially ones who play at being detectives or get everyone killed cause they just had to be involved. Butchering of animals is never an okay thing for me..... and shitty love interest, even worse when the main character was awesome than turned TSTL because of the shitty love interest. That about it from the top of my head. want to rant together at some point? I'm sure i can get on your band-wagon of hate too!!

17: What do you think about movie/tv adaptations?

Has the potential to be good, as long as evil producers don't screw it up. I enjoyed Tomorrow, When the war began. Divergent was pretty good too. The first Hunger Games was crap - they missed to much important information, the second one was good. 

18: Favorite booktuber(s)

??? Google will inform me!

.......

Ohhh yea I'm following some of these guys. Though i havent looked at any for ages. I'll look at some of the names I'm following.

PeruseProject, Little Book Owl, readbyzoe,  jessethereader, polandbananasBOOKs.

and thats all  could find for the time being - that im subscribed too.

19: Book that you call your child.

??? maybe if i wrote a book than went slightly insane from spending to much time with myself.....

20: A character you like but you really, really shouldn't.

I'm guessing this has to be a book character? cause otherwise i would totally choose Julian Sark from Alias for sure.
hmmm dont know.... i know i like some 'bad guys' from different books but i cant think of any one character off the top of my head right now....

21: Do you loan your books?

only if I don't like that book all that much or if i only got it for a few $$ otherwise hell-mother-fucking-no. hands off. People have been threatened going to close to my books with dirty digits - and not always by me, lol. 

22: A movie or TV show you wish would have been a book

ohhh i know!! more sherlock holmes!!!!

23: Did your family or friends influence you to read when you were younger?

Yes and No - I read A book when i was young (about a vampire that lived in a shoe box, who enjoyed eating soap. pretty sure he was green) Otherwise not until I was much older - I knew my mother read as i saw her books occasionally, but that was it - she read crime and it wasnt something i could part take in. As i got older (17) my friend jess use to read quite a few books and it always looked like she was enjoying herself. Then i moved in with Ben, he was reading Robin Hobb i believe, and looked so immersed into the thing i wanted to give it another go. I asked him for a book, and he have the first 3 books from the Pendragon series (see Q3) and well it pretty much escalated from there.

24: First book(s) you remember being obsessed with

oh look i found an image of my childhood book! dont judge me, i was an interesting child. lol.

25: A book that you think about and you cringe because of how terrible it was

just one!!! Anita Blake, Fever Series, Green.... i could go on... I've read a few shockers.

26: Do you read from recommendations or whatever book catches your eye?

Both. I have quite a few recommendations i need to get through , so i'll binge on them for a while if i can get my hands on them - lucky me my friends seem to buy them or supply them for me!!! some of my favorite books have been rec's.

27: How/where do you purchase your books?

anywhere and everywhere!! go to bookstore though is Dymocks, cause its just down the road, otherwise Book Depository for internet buying, cause they give me free bookmarks!!! and this second hand store - which i unfortunately live forever away from now (good for my bank though, cause i never left without spending quite a bit $$$).

28: An ending you wish you could change

the ending to Strange Angel series. wtf lili? vague much!!! i want to know the actual ending!! 

29: Favorite female protagonist

well fr the most part i base my fave books/series of the main character. but lets say...  Sirantha Jax. just because she's so different to every other character i have ever read.

30: One book everyone should read

There's no such thing as one book.

31: Do you day dream about your favorite books? If so, share one fantasy you have about them.

of course!! I tend to day dream what would i do in their shoes, or if its a survival book (e.g. dystopia, apocalypse, etc) i like to think of situations and wonder how they would get out of it alive, who they would sacrifice etc. and I love to theorise when I'm in the middle of a good book about whats going to happen next.

32: OTP

??? One True Pairing? seriously? I don't know..... Mercy and Adam? there always and they have a mate bond....?

ohh i know!! how about Robin and Scarlet!

33: Cute and fluffy or dramatic and deadly?

Dramatic and deadly for sure, less on the dramatic side though please.

34: Scariest book you ever read

I can't recall te name, but these two? girls went camping in a cabin? and a man who bad been abused all his like and left out in the woods for years and years (technically classified as the wild child syndrome - youtube, interesting stuff) started hunting people, including them. anyways i think one died, and the other (she was MC) was trying to run away/stay alive, and when he came for her she stabbed him in the eye!! was intense, then he caught her, and kept her safe, which was weird, then i think the police found them both in some seller dug in the dirt in the woods. anyways it was pretty good in the end, and by far the scariest shit i have ever read.

35: What do you think of Ebooks

convenient, especially if i have to travel somewhere and dont want to cart around a bulk amount of books - or im reading something with an embarrassing cover and dont want anyone seeing it!! lol.

36: Unpopular opinions

when you hate a book everyone loves - fever series, and the cinder series.

37: A book you are scared is not going to be all you hoped it would be

The Mercy Thompson book i havent read yet, 7? or 8? not sure. anyways heard some bad stuff about it. I love that series i dont want it to be ruined like Chicago Vampires was!! I've also avoided the last Sirantha Jax book cause its the last and i dont want it to end! plus she went missing for like 5 years in the latest book and no everything has changed and the only person who she still connects with is the bug guy who i always picture as that giant cockroach from Men in Black.

38:What qualities do you find annoying in a character?

Mary Sue-ness. Unbelievable. Fake-ness. Shallowness. TSTL. slut-ness but pretending there not, if you like the D or V just go with it, there's nothing wrong with being more modern sexually, we dont live in the 18hundreds, but dont pretend your a virgin with no desires, thats just annoying, and you look like an idiot cause i can see in your brain and tell otherwise. also really naive characters can get on my nerves (like the 17 years old who act 12? ugh)

39:Favorite villain

I will have to think on this and get back to you....

40:Has there ever been a book you wish you could un-read?

My fav's so i can turn around and read them all again for the first time!!