Back from NARBC

[Tropicok]

Returned from Arlington, TX after a one-day trip to the NARBC show. I had a wonderful time and was a big spender, $3 for small hemostat. Somewhat disappointed about the lack of vendors. I saw only two frog vendors with decent products. One was Michael Novy, Rainforest Junkys owner, and forget the other one. Listened to Nigel Marven talk about Komodo dragons. Very disappointed that Josh's Frogs was not there. A friend of mine won more than $300 worth of Exo-Terra equipment. Wow!

[Kurt]

Glad you had a good time. Did you get to meet "Nasty" Nigel Marvin?

[Tropicok]

Anyway, Kurt, I did not meet Nigel but he is a friend of a friend of mine, Russ Gurley. On the way home I smacked my forehead and muttered "why didn't I have Russ introduce us."
Why is he called "Nasty" I dare to ask.

[Kurt]

Animal Planet had a reality show a few years ago. It was called "King of the Jungle" and it was hosted by Jeff Corwin (whom I have met). Animal professionals like veterinarians, zoo keepers, and the like competed to have their own show on Animal Planet. There were judges that critiqued the contestants' performances in animal presentation and other events. The judges came mostly from other Animal Planet shows and they came and went from one episode to another. Nigel was the only judge that was permanent. He was also the most critical and thus gained the nick-name "Nasty" Nigel Marvin.

I liked the show a lot. It taught me how to do animal presentations better than I was already doing at the MoS & the HMNH. The second time around, "King of the Jungle" was totally different and I hated it. This time Jeff & Nigel were not involved and instead of having animal professionals competing, they had people that answered a general casting call. I remember one contestant, she was a very heavy-set woman who had just got her first dog, she knew nothing about animals, especially wild animals. Neither did anyone else on the show. I was very disgusted with the whole thing. The show was less about animals and more about people. Just like Animal Planet is today, more about people than animals. When they do talk animals its about cats and dogs and I can't stand shows about domestic animals! They are not real animals as far as I am concerned, just furry, little people. I find myself not watching Animal Planet too much, if at all. It totally changed with the death of Steve Irwin.