parks-and-recreation

"In Nepal's Chitwan National Park, leopards and tigers coexist by hunting at different times and for different prey, as well as by utilizing different vegetation complexes (Seidensticker 1976)."

"The western of Nepal lies at 120–815 m elevation in the subtropical region of Nepal, characterized by elongated valleys created by faults within the foothills of the actively uplifting Himalaya plateau (Lehmkuhl 1994). Much of the area was deforested and settled in the 1950s and 1960s, and today the 250-km2 western Chitwan Valley is home to over 200,000 individuals (Central Bureau of Statistics – Nepal 2016). While the northern region is intensively cultivated, the southern and western regions are dominated by CNP, a 932-km2 established in 1973 and internationally recognized for its largely intact primary forests, grasslands and habitats for endangered and vulnerable, charismatic mammal species. CNP is home to the vulnerable (Rhinoceros unicorns) and endangered (Panthera tigris tigris) (Spiteri & Nepal 2008). The Forest Act 1993 created the existing community forest (CF) system – a type of decentralized, locally governed forest management – to prevent habitat degradation and to sustain the quality of life for growing numbers of buffer zone (the area surrounding CNP) residents (Nagendra 2002). This arrangement allows for residents to legally collect resources from CF areas while CNP is rendered off-limits (Jones 2007)."

"Wildlife attacks on people in and around protected areas have become one of the main challenges for wildlife management authorities. We assessed all correlates of wildlife attacks during 2003–2013 in the vicinity of Chitwan National Park, Nepal. We used data from various sources (discussion with stakeholders, field observations, questionnaire surveys). Wildlife attacks were significantly correlated to factors such as site, season and time, activity, gender and awareness. Moreover, 89% of recorded attacks occurred outside the Park. The number of attacks fluctuated widely and patterns of attacks were significantly uneven across seasons and months. Of the 87% of attacks that occurred during the day, 63% occurred in the morning. Most victims were male and c. 45% of attacks occurred when people were collecting forest resources or working on croplands. Attacks were carried out predominantly by rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis (38%), tigers Panthera tigris (21%), s Melursus ursinus (18%), elephants Elephas maximus (9%) and wild boar Sus scrofa (8%). The people attacked lived close to the Park, depended on farming for their livelihoods, and had little knowledge of animal behaviour. Attacks can be mitigated through proper management of habitats inside the Park and raising awareness of wildlife behaviour among local people. We recommend establishing a participatory emergency rescue team to deal with problematic animals in high-risk areas."

"Disneyland is not an independent state."

"Disneyland exists in order to hide that it is the "real" country, all of "real" America that is Disneyland (a bit like prisons are there to hide that it is the social in its entirety, in its banal omnipresence, that is carceral). Disneyland is presented as imaginary in order to make us believe that the rest is real."

"On July 17, 1955, Disneyland had its invitation-only opening day gala, which was broadcast live on ABC. Nearly half the American population watched the festivities from the comfort of their own living rooms. Eleven thousand people were invited to the park; several thousand more arrived and tried to get in with counterfeit tickets. The day was filled with record-level heat and mishaps – Fantasyland was closed by a nearby gas leak, and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride succumbed to an overload of the park's power grid – but Walt Disney was ecstatic. When the park opened to the public the next day, visitors were lined up as early as 2:00 AM. The New York Times ran the headline, "Disneyland Gates Open -- Play Park on Coast Jammed -- 15,000 on Line Before 10 AM." Within its first ten weeks, Disney's new amusement park attracted one million visitors. By 1960, that number would rise to five million visitors per year."

"Disneyland became a destination for not just a national audience, including nine former and future U.S. presidents, but an international one. In 1959, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev famously protested his exclusion from Disneyland when the Los Angeles police chief claimed that the leader's safety could not be guaranteed within the park. Prime Minister Nehru of India touched down in the park, as did the King and Queen of Nepal, the Shah of Iran, and political leaders from Europe, Africa and South America. For foreign dignitaries and heads of state, Disneyland provided a window into American culture and history. "What introduces all of it, that you have to go through when you come into the park," historian Steven Watts explains, 'is this idealized rendering of small-town America, the values, the feel, the ethics, all of that. What Disney’s trying to do at some level of awareness is to create an image of America that people would like to think exists.""

"Hawkins contacted Nelson Boice, president of Florida Ranch Lands Inc., an Orlando realty firm, and “expressed a casual interest in a ‘super-sized’ parcel of land,” according to a November 1965 news account."

"As Michael Steiner has shown, Disneyland is both a purveyor of national mythology and a powerful symbol of late-modern American life. It is defined by pleasant consumerism, free of dirt, disorder and unhappy noise. And it promises limitless choices of entertainment and education. Behind these promises and the experience of Disneyland, however, is a network of careful management and manipulation, the staging of a powerful message that legitimates a suburban vision of American life and hides not only conflicts over it but also a large labor force of low-wage entertainment, food service, and maintenance workers."

"The parks do not belong to one state or to one section.... The Yosemite, the Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon are national properties in which every citizen has a vested interest; they belong as much to the man of Massachusetts, of Michigan, of Florida, as they do to the people of California, of Wyoming, and of Arizona. Who will gainsay that the parks contain the highest potentialities of national pride, national contentment, and national health? A visit inspires love of country; begets contentment; engenders pride of possession; contains the antidote for national restlessness.... He is a better citizen with a keener appreciation of the privilege of living here who has toured the national parks."

"Amy Poehler - Leslie Knope"

"Rob Lowe - Chris Traeger (Seasons 2-6)"

"Adam Scott - Ben Wyatt (Seasons 2-7)"

"Chris Pratt - Andy Dwyer"

"Nick Offerman - Ron Swanson"

"Aubrey Plaza - April Ludgate"

"Paul Schneider - Mark Brendanawicz (Seasons 1-2)"

"Aziz Ansari - Tom Haverford"

"Rashida Jones - Ann Perkins"