Monday, April 6, 2009

Amazing Insight On Beautiful Butterfly Tattoo Designs



Amazing Insight On Beautiful Butterfly Tattoo Designs

Tattoos are becoming more and more popular throughout the world, and even more so in the United States and Europe. The hottest celebrities are now seen sporting the latest and trendiest tattoos. In fact, the trend seems to be toward more tattoos, not fewer.

There are countless types of tattoos, and there is no need to fret when trying to decide on the best design for you. Among the most popular modern designs are the butterfly tattoo designs, dragons, tribal patterns, crosses, henna instead of ink, and other designs related to religion - there is a nearly endless supply of potential designs.

Butterflies have been in vogue for a very long time. The beautiful butterfly has adorned all manner of purses, clothes, necklaces, bracelets, rings, and many other things. The key to making you stand out among the crowd is the bright colors that butterfly designs feature. Tattoos of butterflies take advantage of this large color palette in order to create eye-popping designs. However, there are so many butterfly tattoo designs to choose from that you may find yourself confused.

Several of the most popular butterfly designs include tribal-style, fairy, and even Irish-Celtic designs that are often seen on the small of the back. The tribal-style butterfly designs derive from the art of many tribes from all over the world. Some of this art comes from the British Isles, especially Ireland and also Scotland and can come from places as remote as Borneo. The butterfly has long been associated in the popular mind with the fairy.

Often, representations of fairies include wings that resemble those of the butterfly; the opposite is also often true. This beautiful insect can also be thought to stand as a representative of variegated nature herself. Therefore, such butterfly tattoo designs are very popular among contemporary men and women. Butterfly tattoo designs are especially dear to women. Among females, butterfly tattoo designs tend to be the most popular. They appear in a large variety of styles from simple two-color designs to those featuring many colors.

Typically, such tattoos are found on either the shoulder or the arm; this is the same regardless of whether or not the tattoo will be permanent. Some more outgoing and brave people even have butterflies tattooed above the foot or just below the back of the head where the procedure can be very painful.

Butterfly tattoos act, for many people, as a creative outlet wherein the shapes and colors are a method of self-expression. Butterfly tattoo designs form a portion of the marriage between nature, fashion, and artistic expression. Butterflies are commonly used by popular and successful artists as an important design element. From temporary stickers to long-lasting ink tattoos and other forms of body art, tattoo artists enjoy experimenting with the shapes and hues of butterflies.

Temporary tattoos and body art will only last for a limited number of days; some can be removed using paint thinner, and others require only soapy water. Body art is very temporary, and because of this there is more potential for variety in the design.

By: Adam Hefner
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Enjoy Duck Hunting

Enjoy Duck Hunting

Duck hunting is one of the most popular hunting sports in the world. It is as much a social calling as it is a hunt, in fact, representing a whole set of cultural standards and etiquette rules that many people do not even consider. It has a whole culture all its own, from a proper dress code to duck hunting dogs and assistants. The world of duck hunting is ripe with cultural significance, but is also has a dark side and represents a less than desirable aspect of human nature. Regardless of the point of view, there is something to be learned about duck hunting that may shed some light on either side of the ethical quandary.

Duck hunting is mainly a sporting activity around the world now, as commercial duck hunting has since been banned in most of the developed countries. Duck hunting is, in fact, as old as time itself. There are early indications that ducks and geese were somehow hunted during the Ice Age. Cave drawings indicate that duck hunting was a sound practice early on in human existence, giving way to ducks and swans appearing on cave paintings in Ice Age Europe. There is also evidence of duck hunting in Egypt, as a mural on the tomb of Khum-Hotpe displays a man capturing ducks in a stream. Ducks were also likely hunted by early man in the Americas, as early Peruvian art indicates.

With this international history, duck hunting enjoys a popularity that spreads around the world. It is especially popular in North America, where the largest number of localized ducks can be located. Most ducks use the Mississippi River as a migratory guide, so many duck hunts take place along the river to use it as a guide for finding ducks. Arkansas is a major hotbed of duck hunting, with Stuttgart being considered the "duck hunting capital of the world".

Duck hunting is often considered popular because of its simplicity. The tools of the trade are simplistic enough, from a decoy set to a shotgun and duck call. The essence of duck hunting is based around the trickery of using the decoy and the duck call in tandem to lure the ducks out and into the air towards the decoy. After this takes place, the ducks are in open range for the hunt and the firing begins. These hunts take place around rivers, streams, lakes and any other bodies of water where ducks can be found.

There are many aspects that stand in contrast to duck hunting, of course. Most waterfowl conservation experts agree that the hunting of any type of waterfowl does little to help any situation. In fact, most marsh and wetland areas are shrinking at tremendous rates, giving rise the the criticism that duck hunting effectively diminishes an already diminishing habitat. There are several organizations that constantly spar with duck hunters over this reality.

One organization is the popular Ducks Unlimited. Ducks Unlimited is an international organization that stands as the leader in non-profit marshland protection and the protection of waterfowl. Ducks Unlimited sometimes works with hunters to protect the marshlands and protect the hunter's way of life. The main goal of Ducks Unlimited is the conservation of localized habitats where ducks can be found, enabling hunters to continue protected and logical hunts of ducks and enabling the survival of more ducks by creating better places for them to live.

Still, some hunters ignore this philosophy and have no interest in any protection of habitats. They, instead, pillage the duck areas and hunt ducks that should not be hunted. Duck hunting remains a controversial sport because of this aspect, unfortunately, and will continue to have a dark side as long as hunters remain blissfully ignorant as to the realities of organizations such as Ducks Unlimited. Without the cooperation of hunters and marshland protectors, duck hunts may be a thing of the past.


By: Jaden Skiver
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Funny Cat Behaviors and What to Do About Them

 
Funny Cat Behaviors and What to Do About Them
By Carolyn McFann

Cats sure have interesting ways of expressing themselves. Some are cute, and some, well, can hurt. Most cat owners know about love chomps, those playful nips cats give at times. They are different than true, defensive bites, which draw blood and really hurt. Love chomps are given out of affection, and sometimes can hurt a little, depending upon kitty's mood. What is going on, and why do they do this?

My cat Beau is deaf and is very physical in expressing himself. He loves to be touched, petted and kissed. His reaction back is to "chew" on me, sort of gnawing his teeth against my arm, as he purrs. I soon realized that this is out of caring, not out of defensiveness. He does this whenever he is deliriously happy, and it's sort of like he's trying to kiss me back but does it with his little teeth. Lucky me. I appreciate him for being so loving, and just show love back, but back off if he chomps a little too hard.

When your cat does this, don't hit or get mad, just gently brush it off and distract him to do something else. Cats respond to suggestion, professional trainers rely on this principle to train them. By giving kitty something else to think about, he will forget about gnawing on you and put his attention elsewhere. Though I'm not an animal behaviorist, I know what works for my cats, and use information learned by those in the know. A good resource to contact if you need a real professional's advice on cat behavior is at your local chapter of the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Aniimals). I called my local chapter and asked who to talk to regarding certain behaviors and they told me a behaviorist would call me back. She did, and was very helpful in giving me tips on handling problematic cat behaviors of different kinds. The ASPCA has local chapters in most cities and is a good resource for help with animals of many kinds so I recommend them.

Learning better communication with our pets is always helpful in understanding what they do and why they do it. Many pets end up at the pound because their owners didn't take the time or energy to learn why the animal did certain behaviors, then just gave up instead of fixing the gap in communication. We have to show our pets what to do in order for them to know what is expected of them. Cats can be more independent, of course, but they can be trained to undo bad behaviors with time and practise. Some things take more time than others. It is important to be patient and kind, anger only makes pets fearful and less apt to learn what you want them to learn.

For example, my cat Beau didn't sleep through the night when I first got him. As soon as the lights went off, it was his time to party. He sang his lungs out, picked on the other two cats (who were trying to sleep) and made a nusiance of himself. So, to combat his nighttime rowdiness, I kept him up all day, by waking him up every so often as he tried to nap, getting out a string with a toy on the end of it, and getting him to play till he was tired. By the end of the day, he welcomed sleep. And, he slept through the night. It worked. After awhile, I didn't need put forth any effort anymore, he just automatically slept through the night. I still wake him up occaisionally during the day, just in case, to make sure he's truly tired by the end of the day.

Another strange behavior is leg climbing. Sometimes, kittens think your leg makes a good substitute for a tree trunk and try to climb it. O-u-c-h! That can make just about anyone mad at first but remember, it's just a behavior that needs correcting. Kitty isn't aware that he is clawing the heck out of your skin, and is trying to be energetic. Give him something else to play on, like a kitty condo/cat tree. Those are great for cats who love to climb. Sprinkle it with catnip, and the next time little kitty throws himself at your leg, quickly put him on the cat tree, and mimic scratching on it, to show him what to do with it. By showing him, he will learn that it's more fun to climb the cat tree than you. Cat trees are always a good investment, I got mine on Ebay, and the cats live on it, practically. They know it's theirs and never scratch the couch since they have a place to get out their scratching needs.

Do you have a cat who loves to rocket around the house as he knocks over knicknacks and other stuff in his way? It's kind of like having a herd of wild elephants go charging through the living room, making a load of noise as they go. This is just cat energy being spent, kitty is bored and finding something to do. Give him some toys, and throw them for him so he can play. One great way to get kitty's energy focused is to use a laser light pointer and aim it at the wall. Watch kitty flip and flop, hopping at the wall on his tiptoes, as he tries to get that light. Don't shine the light in his eyes, because it is a laser, but do use it as a tool to play. Beau loves the laser light pointer and will watch the wall for hours afterwards, waiting for the light to come back. They can be bought at any office supply or pet store, cheap.

Another great and cheap toy to get kitty playing and distracted is the cotton swab, or Q-tip, but only let your cats play with these under your supervision so they don't ingest the cotton fuzz on the end. My cats never have swallowed any, and we've used them as toys for all my life. These things make my cats go wild. Just throw it in the middle of the room, or tie it to a string and drag it around the room. Any cat in the room will be drawn to it like a moth to a flame. My cat Blackie will do gymnastic manoevers with Q-tips, as he picks it up and throws it for himself, when nobody else does it for him. He can leap and rotate in mid-air. Cotton swabs make cats do the funniest things.

Embrace the crazy things your cat does, don't punish, just retrain if they do things that really bother you. It just takes a little understanding and patience. See what they need - are they bored, are they trying to show caring but doing it in a way that hurts? Gently retrain or distract. When kitty knows what you want from him, he will eventually get the hint and learn..most of the time. Beau still chomps on my arm, but doesn't do it as hard as he used to. He doesn't like being ignored, and if he mistakenly chomps too hard, I just walk off and don't give him the attention he wants. That, in itself, is punishment to him and he has learned from it.

If you want to see what other funny things other peoples' cats do, just watch America's Funniest Home Videos. Cats and dogs are great material for funny videos because they are fun and entertaining. Enjoy them, and let them enjoy you back. Teamwork is the answer.

Carolyn McFann is a scientific and nature illustrator, who owns Two Purring Cats Design Studio, which can be seen at: cafepress.com/twopurringcats . Educated at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, Carolyn is a seasoned, well-traveled artist, writer and photographer. She has lived and worked in Cancun, Mexico, among other interesting professional assignments in other countries. Clients include nature parks, museums, scientists, corporations and private owners. She has been the subject of tv interviews, articles for newspapers and other popular media venues.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carolyn_McFann