Is it really unnatural?

A pukeko

OK, so normally I find biology OK, usually a little boring as it isn't all about dissection but more heavily based around patterns of behaviour and learning definitions (maybe it's just my class?). However, a few weeks ago we were watching a video to do with native New Zealand birds. For those of you who do not know where New Zealand is, we are a tiny country of about 4 million people just next to Australia. No, we are not Australians either!

Rights or Religion?

Within the past month in New Zealand there has been a lot of media hype regarding the passing of the Marriage Equality Bill that aims to redefine marriage as something other than an exclusive bond between man and woman. However, despite the generally strong support for this, some individuals maintain opposition to this amendment and, if able, punish those that support this movement. The most publicised occurrence of this was the suspension and subsequent sacking of my old chemistry teacher from his position because he supported students who wished to stage a silent protest against the remarks made by the principal in the school newsletter.

A Surprisingly Gay Children's Film (That Technically Isn't)

I like animated films, even ones that might be targeted at a... younger demographic than myself. And I've always found it kind of unfortunate that pretty much no children's films feature gay romance. There's quite a lack of LGBT representation in most media, but it's particularly absent (and depressingly so) in children's media. I think it's actually a huge roadblock against LGBT people realising and coming to accept who they are - I know that I personally spent the first many years of my life believing people came exclusively in guy/gal pairs, in no small part due to Disney's repeated insistence of such. That's why, just last year, I was pleasantly surprised to find an animated film that can be considered both a children's movie, and a gay one. It's a Japanese film called Arashi no Yoru Ni (commonly known in English as One Stormy Night).

I don't really expect you to have heard of it, seeing as it's never officially been released in English, although some fans were given permission to make a dub, which can be found on YouTube here (it's split into 8 parts).

Lonesome George the Gay-lapogos Tortoise

RIP George. Go get the party started in tortoise heaven!

On the 24th June 2012, at 8 am local time, Lonesome George, the last of the Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni species of tortoise (also known as the Pinta Island tortoise, Pinta giant tortoise, Abingdon Island tortoise, or Abingdon Island giant tortoise), slipped silently away from the world of the living and off to the world of tomatoes.

It is believed that Lonesome George, a.k.a. El Solitario Jorge in his native tongue, was the last of his species. Conservationists have been searching for years to find another tortoise of this species, but failed to do so.

But all reproduction attempts failed. Was he gay?