Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
I am here for the ladies.
Last Saturday night, I saw my first female...turtle, that is. Melissa and I had just gotten off the beach after an exciting turtle walk, topped off with the capture of a particularly pissed off ghost crab. As we were leaving the parking lot we heard, "We have emergence 202, next will be 203" windily crackle over the radio.
Without hesitation we turned left out of the beach deck parking lot and sped down Beachview Drive, stopping at the Hampton Inn and then at Glory Dock to get back to the sand and spot the latest lady.
No turtle.
Finally, we were able to get a hold of turtle patrol who had previously been too busy with their new mama turtle. She was just north of the convention center, no more than a kilometer from where we had started. Again, we raced in 1960's Batmobile fashion (theme music and all) back up Jekyll's coast to find our lady loggerhead.
Until then, I hadn't seen a nesting female sea turtle. I have been working in sea turtle conservation for the better part of a year and always felt kind of like a poseur. The people I have worked with both in DC and in South GA had not just seen it, but seen it hundreds of times. They all, though, remember their first ladies, just as I will remember JICc78, and get just as excited with each emergence.
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Without hesitation we turned left out of the beach deck parking lot and sped down Beachview Drive, stopping at the Hampton Inn and then at Glory Dock to get back to the sand and spot the latest lady.
No turtle.
Finally, we were able to get a hold of turtle patrol who had previously been too busy with their new mama turtle. She was just north of the convention center, no more than a kilometer from where we had started. Again, we raced in 1960's Batmobile fashion (theme music and all) back up Jekyll's coast to find our lady loggerhead.
We got there while she was still digging her nest chamber. Soon after, she started dropping egg. At that point, with mama in a trance, we were able to approach her and watch as this lady laid in the moonlight. 45 minutes later, she started to close up shop and Turtle Patrol went to work, dressing her with her flipper and PIT tags, and taking a skin sample for a mitochondrial DNA study.
When they got what they needed it was off to the next one for Turtle Patrol.
When they got what they needed it was off to the next one for Turtle Patrol.
I stayed to see her off to sea. The nesting ritual has a spiritual quality. This same ritual has gone on for millions of years; far longer than any of the world's religions. This turtle doesn't know about environmental policy or coastal development. She knows about eating, mating and nesting and does as she always has (since she was about 30 anyway) and as the millions of generations of sea turtle before her had.
Until then, I hadn't seen a nesting female sea turtle. I have been working in sea turtle conservation for the better part of a year and always felt kind of like a poseur. The people I have worked with both in DC and in South GA had not just seen it, but seen it hundreds of times. They all, though, remember their first ladies, just as I will remember JICc78, and get just as excited with each emergence.
I have included a key for those of you having trouble deciphering the phone pic taken through our night vision monocular (Sarah Hoyt)
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Two Pieces of Trash
As a 5 year old, itching to get to the pool, bound by the back seat of an '89 Mustang, I would get mega-annoyed by my mother's constant stopping to pick up "just one more piece of trash." I couldn't understand why she would pick up one piece of trash, let alone many pieces, or even, every piece she saw.
Twenty years later, I find myself unconsciously picking up trash. Be it on the streets of Washington DC, along a hiking trail, or in the muddy sand of Driftwood Beach, I can't stand the look of garbage on the ground. If I keep on walking, that Catholic guilt that I have been working so hard to get rid of cuts a hole right into my stomach.
The problem here is that once you start picking up trash, when do you stop? Is every day going to be a trash clean up service project? That would turn just about every place you go into a chore.
So as not to pick up trash all day everyday, I have made a goal to pick up and throw away 2 pieces every time I am at the beach (which is every day). This won't make much impact by myself, but if everyone made sure to pick up just 2 pieces of trash every time they went to the beach, we'd surely have clean beaches someday.
This is no Mike Donohoe original, but it's an idea worth spreading.
Happy World Oceans Day!
http://www.theoceanproject.org/wod/
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That time I couch surfed through DC: Sept 15-April 4
From September 15-March 31, I interned with Conservation International's Sea Turtle Flagship Program. Initially I was only to be in DC until mid-December, but I was asked to stay on until the end of March after proving that I was worth keeping for a minute or two.
A lot of blog posts should have come out of this trip, and a lot of blog posts may yet, but to get everyone up to date, I have assembled a collage documenting my time in DC.
DC in 20 run-on sentences/fragments:
September 14: Packed everything I own in to Lucy's trunk, drove through the night, slept in CI's parking garage before showering at Caribou Coffee and showing up at CI's offices bright eyed and bushy tailed. Began living in DC. Ate multiple free meals a week care of CI's multiple meetings around lunch and dinner time. Lost my wallet, no access to cash, got third in a dance competition trying to win $100. Made new friends.
Learned about the metro, battled the Orange line many a morn. Drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on my way through MD for blue crabs. Went out for Halloween, made my costume for free with CI's printer. Celebrated 15 or so birthdays with Moe's Southwestern Grill. Explored the Mall.
Maxed out on samples at each of DC's farmer's markets. Won a free pair of sandals for being hilarious. Took the train from DC to CT, stopping in NYC. Battled the Blizzard of 2010. Made new friends with DC's Surfriders.
Went skiing for the first time at Wisp. Couldn't figure out how to get free falafels,but ate as many as possible anyway. Lived in my car, DC, NoVA, MD. Helped produce SWOT Report, made a music video. April 4: Drove home.
DC was an incredible test of strength. Strength that stemmed from the support of my friends and family. Without their couches and toilet paper, there is no way I could have made it through.
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Sunday, March 1, 2009
the milktrix
May 2003
While in Cleveland for a swim meet, I saw a film crew shooting a commercial of a car driving down the road. The camera man was following in an SUV standing in the sun roof. I immediately decided that shooting with the camera-out-the-sun-roof technique needed to happen and the milktrix was born.
The problem with the the camera-out-the-sun-roof technique is that it is apparently illegal on many levels. As we were filming, my ass half-out the roof of my mom's car, I have the driver go around Joe's car so that I can get the shot. Joe was following th posted speed limit of 45 mph which meant to pass him we were banging out about 55-60. This was not a problem with any of the other cars around us except for the police officer.
After we got the shot, we pulled over to thank the police officer for clearing traffic for us...
"Are you guys crazy?" He said, not calmly at all. "I oughta impound this vehicle and slap you with reckless opp."
"Hello officer, I'm Michael and this is Andrea. And we are filming a short for a photogr..."
"You guys were driving 60 miles an hour without a seatbelt, half out the car."
"Officer, I apologize, we just needed that one shot to finish our film and we have gotten it and so we're done."
"Well you have also got a pair of tickets for speeding and failure to wear a seat belt."
Read more!
While in Cleveland for a swim meet, I saw a film crew shooting a commercial of a car driving down the road. The camera man was following in an SUV standing in the sun roof. I immediately decided that shooting with the camera-out-the-sun-roof technique needed to happen and the milktrix was born.
The problem with the the camera-out-the-sun-roof technique is that it is apparently illegal on many levels. As we were filming, my ass half-out the roof of my mom's car, I have the driver go around Joe's car so that I can get the shot. Joe was following th posted speed limit of 45 mph which meant to pass him we were banging out about 55-60. This was not a problem with any of the other cars around us except for the police officer.
After we got the shot, we pulled over to thank the police officer for clearing traffic for us...
"Are you guys crazy?" He said, not calmly at all. "I oughta impound this vehicle and slap you with reckless opp."
"Hello officer, I'm Michael and this is Andrea. And we are filming a short for a photogr..."
"You guys were driving 60 miles an hour without a seatbelt, half out the car."
"Officer, I apologize, we just needed that one shot to finish our film and we have gotten it and so we're done."
"Well you have also got a pair of tickets for speeding and failure to wear a seat belt."
Read more!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Island Reef Job
I finally got my video application for IslandReefJob.com finished and uploaded. Over 34,000 videos have been uploaded. Some are garbage and some are really really good.
The idea is that you get this job, you go to the island and then you regale the world with your adventures via photos, videos and blog posts all the while drumming up interest in Australia as an international vacation destination.
The question becomes, how do you make yourself stand out in a group of 34,ooo?
Just because I got 15 emails and 30 phone calls in one day telling me that I am the perfect man for the job doesn't mean a whole lot unless I can show them.
I decided immediately upon hearing about it that we weren't going to go with a "talking head" type video application. Also, we were going to shy away from slide shows and pictures of me being awesome in various locales around the globe. Why?
1) Everyone else did that
2) This job is not about where you have been. Its about your ability to present Queensland to the world in an entertaining way. To do that, I have to start by presenting myself in an entertaining way.
I realize that not showing photos of me being awesome, and relying more heavily on imagery than words is a gamble. Focusing on plot, production value and humor did not however cause me to leave out any of the requirements for the video app. Instead, by sprinkling the pertinent information on top of this short, I have gone above and beyond; providing a preview of whats to come, not what has been.
I'm Travelin' Mike, and I'm going places.
Please go to: http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/applicants/watch/QCVC8pKWIV8
Thank you,
TM
p.s. I would like to give a special thanks to Joe Camerlengo for coming aboard behind the camera and Joe Fitzgerald for lending his vocal talents to the production. Both can be found at ThisIsMySuitcase
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Friday, July 4, 2008
That time the boat broke: A day without wake
4 July 2008
A weekend of wake boarding becomes a weekend of creativity when the boat breaks over the holiday. Beached for the day obviously did not mean a day of boredom. Here are some photos documenting our day at the beach.
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Tuesday, May 6, 2008
That time I went to the derby Part 2
4 May 2008 (continued)
After the race, I had to get back to the car before the others so that I would not be left. I started back to the parking lot only having a vague idea of its location: across the train tracks, near a football stadium before the roller coaster.
The lot was pretty far away and everyone had different directions to it. Not having any time to walk to the bridge to cross the tracks and find the stadium where the car was parked, I quit asking how to get to the stadium and started asking where the train tracks were. I got a lot of, "What do you want to know where the tracks are for?" and "Don't you want to know where the bridge is to cross?" After this, they would go on with their directions to get around/over them. I was just looking for a finger point in the right direction. I'd figure it out from there.
Finally, I asked someone the best way to the train tracks and they pointed me in the right direction. When I got to the tracks there was a fence about 10 feet tall with barbs at the top. It turns out that these things may keep normal people from climbing the fence, but not Mike Donohoe. With a gash on my right hand, and cuts on my leg, wrist and ass I jumped down from a second fence and had finally reached my destination with about a half hour before any of the people in my group arrived. Apparently, they took the scenic route. I made friends with a few 40 year olds that happened to be from Columbus and lived in the neighborhood I was living in when they were my age. They also happened to be giving out free Long Islands.
Following the LIT's things get a bit hazy...It seems that my friends found me. They were amazed by the fact that I was able to get back on my own and were worried that they were going to have to get the police to find me. We went to a pizza joint and parked around back. Then, when we tried to get out of the parking lot, we came up against a locked gate about 8 feet tall. Being as I was a veteran fence climber, I hopped it no problem only to come to a second locked gate identical to the first. When I finally got over and jumped on to the main road, I looked up to see Jamie, Kyle, McNugg and and Jenna standing there waiting for me. They had gone around...
We rolled up into the restaurant and were seated. While they ate, I napped, not necessarily on purpose. When I awoke I saw that there was no more pizza left and more importantly there was karyoke going on. Sensing a second wind, I quickly hopped up to put our name in.
Jamie and McBaby, not wanting to sing, went to sit in the car. Kyle, Jenna and I went up when they called my name and grabbed the mic. They asked what we were singing and I told them not to worry about it; the words would be on screen soon enough. An Asian girl came up and asked if she could sing with us too, so I put my arm around her and we began to sing with the bouncing ball. She sang with us until we got to the first chorus "And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free/And I won't forget the men who died and gave that right to me..." That's when the Asian girl left and the rest of the bar got on it's feet. Arm in arm with the entire bar, we finished the song to high fives, whistles, cheers...my first standing ovation.
Without a word and without looking back, we dropped the microphones and walked out...
Read more!
After the race, I had to get back to the car before the others so that I would not be left. I started back to the parking lot only having a vague idea of its location: across the train tracks, near a football stadium before the roller coaster.
The lot was pretty far away and everyone had different directions to it. Not having any time to walk to the bridge to cross the tracks and find the stadium where the car was parked, I quit asking how to get to the stadium and started asking where the train tracks were. I got a lot of, "What do you want to know where the tracks are for?" and "Don't you want to know where the bridge is to cross?" After this, they would go on with their directions to get around/over them. I was just looking for a finger point in the right direction. I'd figure it out from there.
Finally, I asked someone the best way to the train tracks and they pointed me in the right direction. When I got to the tracks there was a fence about 10 feet tall with barbs at the top. It turns out that these things may keep normal people from climbing the fence, but not Mike Donohoe. With a gash on my right hand, and cuts on my leg, wrist and ass I jumped down from a second fence and had finally reached my destination with about a half hour before any of the people in my group arrived. Apparently, they took the scenic route. I made friends with a few 40 year olds that happened to be from Columbus and lived in the neighborhood I was living in when they were my age. They also happened to be giving out free Long Islands.
Following the LIT's things get a bit hazy...It seems that my friends found me. They were amazed by the fact that I was able to get back on my own and were worried that they were going to have to get the police to find me. We went to a pizza joint and parked around back. Then, when we tried to get out of the parking lot, we came up against a locked gate about 8 feet tall. Being as I was a veteran fence climber, I hopped it no problem only to come to a second locked gate identical to the first. When I finally got over and jumped on to the main road, I looked up to see Jamie, Kyle, McNugg and and Jenna standing there waiting for me. They had gone around...
We rolled up into the restaurant and were seated. While they ate, I napped, not necessarily on purpose. When I awoke I saw that there was no more pizza left and more importantly there was karyoke going on. Sensing a second wind, I quickly hopped up to put our name in.
Jamie and McBaby, not wanting to sing, went to sit in the car. Kyle, Jenna and I went up when they called my name and grabbed the mic. They asked what we were singing and I told them not to worry about it; the words would be on screen soon enough. An Asian girl came up and asked if she could sing with us too, so I put my arm around her and we began to sing with the bouncing ball. She sang with us until we got to the first chorus "And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free/And I won't forget the men who died and gave that right to me..." That's when the Asian girl left and the rest of the bar got on it's feet. Arm in arm with the entire bar, we finished the song to high fives, whistles, cheers...my first standing ovation.
Without a word and without looking back, we dropped the microphones and walked out...
Read more!
That time I went to the derby Part 1
4 May 2008
Its kind of amazing how you can feel such relief for one month being over and a new one starting. April was a rough month and for the most part an adventure drought. All I can say is "Thank God for May"
This past weekend, Kyle and I were heading down the the Derby, so we made a pit stop in Oxford Friday night. We pretty much set the town on fire, I am not going to regale you with the story because I don't want to ruin your image of me as a sweet dude. The next morning we woke up on Paige's floor. After much groaning and some wide mouth Aquafina's we were on the road to Louisville and the 134th Kentucky Derby.
2 hours later, and probably 3 hours after we said we'd be there, we pull up to J-mo's house, put in a hug and a hello to with parents and jump into his mom's van. Within 10 minutes we have reached our tailgating destination.
Almost before putting the van in park, it's time for Mint Juleps with homemade mint syrup from hand picked mint. Them southerners can throw one hell of a parking lot party. More bourbon flows throughout the day as well as many games of Thunderstruck with random passersby. As we begin to run low on beer Jamie and McHugh prepare for our day in the infield by filling ziplock bags with Bourbon and duct taping them where they won't be patted by security. In years prior, Jamie has done the same, but with a female accomplice and an over-sized bra. This year the one girl brave enough to come along didn't have a whole lot of room to spare up there so flies and thighs it was.
Just as we began to wonder how we were going to get from the lot to the Derb, a guy in a 15 passenger van pulls up to our party and tells us that for $30 and a joint he can get us to the track. I never saw the joint nor were we offered a hit so that part of the deal may have fallen through.
As soon as Jmo and McHugh sat down, their ziplock flasks sprouted leaks, but did not explode. I took it upon myself to make sure the no more bourbon was wasted and soon the others pitched in to help.
At some point between the parking lot and scalping a ticket, my phone died. "It's cool," I figure, "we'll just stay together..." Jamie and I go in through the gate and while we are in line ready to post, it's time for me to pee, again. So I let him know not to move until I get back.
When I returned to the line, Jmo was no where to be found. All alone, and in the middle of 100,000 people and there I am without a cell phone. Instead of worrying about it and trying to find my buddies in this sloppy mob, I figured I would watch the races now and find them later.
Somehow, the pass that I scalped was an All-Access pass, meaning that I was able to go hang out in Sodom; I mean the In-Field, but I could also go back to the stables and watch the races from that side. I ended up going through the stables admiring the giant horses and trying to pump them up with songs from the Rock Soundtrack, "Eye of the Tiger," "Gonna Fly Now." After a minute or so one of the trainers told me to go the hell away. I guess that the Rocky movies do not have the same motivating effect on horses as they do on me.
For the rest of the afternoon until race time, I found myself in the middle of a Fiesta. Mexican music and dancing, grilled chicken and beef for fajitas, all the churros I could eat and muchos cervezas. As race time drew nearer, I began inching closer and closer to the track until I got to a ramp. I finagled my way up to the top and could see the amazing site of the Grandstand, packed to capacity across the way. Finally, at the top of the viewing deck, someone handed me a beer and we had a conversation about the Derby and the horses and who we bet on. When I turned around and began paying attention to where I was standing I almost fell over. Its a good thing I didn't because I would have fallen right onto the track. Everyone told me that if you are going to the Kentucky Derby, don't plan on seeing any horses. That may be true for most people, but I went to the Kentucky Derby and ended up with a front row seat.
My spot was a deck right after the second turn. Seconds after the familiar bugle tune, a brown blur sped by and it was to the screens for the finish. In almost no time at all the horses were back around the second turn slowing down to a stop. Except one. One horse came bounding around and with a harsh face-plant threw its jockey. Trucks and vans came onto the track and finally a curtain was place around the tent.
I am not sure the In-Field knew what was happening, but my side of the track sat in silence as they put Eight Bells down.
Read more!
Its kind of amazing how you can feel such relief for one month being over and a new one starting. April was a rough month and for the most part an adventure drought. All I can say is "Thank God for May"
This past weekend, Kyle and I were heading down the the Derby, so we made a pit stop in Oxford Friday night. We pretty much set the town on fire, I am not going to regale you with the story because I don't want to ruin your image of me as a sweet dude. The next morning we woke up on Paige's floor. After much groaning and some wide mouth Aquafina's we were on the road to Louisville and the 134th Kentucky Derby.
2 hours later, and probably 3 hours after we said we'd be there, we pull up to J-mo's house, put in a hug and a hello to with parents and jump into his mom's van. Within 10 minutes we have reached our tailgating destination.
Almost before putting the van in park, it's time for Mint Juleps with homemade mint syrup from hand picked mint. Them southerners can throw one hell of a parking lot party. More bourbon flows throughout the day as well as many games of Thunderstruck with random passersby. As we begin to run low on beer Jamie and McHugh prepare for our day in the infield by filling ziplock bags with Bourbon and duct taping them where they won't be patted by security. In years prior, Jamie has done the same, but with a female accomplice and an over-sized bra. This year the one girl brave enough to come along didn't have a whole lot of room to spare up there so flies and thighs it was.
Just as we began to wonder how we were going to get from the lot to the Derb, a guy in a 15 passenger van pulls up to our party and tells us that for $30 and a joint he can get us to the track. I never saw the joint nor were we offered a hit so that part of the deal may have fallen through.
As soon as Jmo and McHugh sat down, their ziplock flasks sprouted leaks, but did not explode. I took it upon myself to make sure the no more bourbon was wasted and soon the others pitched in to help.
At some point between the parking lot and scalping a ticket, my phone died. "It's cool," I figure, "we'll just stay together..." Jamie and I go in through the gate and while we are in line ready to post, it's time for me to pee, again. So I let him know not to move until I get back.
When I returned to the line, Jmo was no where to be found. All alone, and in the middle of 100,000 people and there I am without a cell phone. Instead of worrying about it and trying to find my buddies in this sloppy mob, I figured I would watch the races now and find them later.
Somehow, the pass that I scalped was an All-Access pass, meaning that I was able to go hang out in Sodom; I mean the In-Field, but I could also go back to the stables and watch the races from that side. I ended up going through the stables admiring the giant horses and trying to pump them up with songs from the Rock Soundtrack, "Eye of the Tiger," "Gonna Fly Now." After a minute or so one of the trainers told me to go the hell away. I guess that the Rocky movies do not have the same motivating effect on horses as they do on me.
For the rest of the afternoon until race time, I found myself in the middle of a Fiesta. Mexican music and dancing, grilled chicken and beef for fajitas, all the churros I could eat and muchos cervezas. As race time drew nearer, I began inching closer and closer to the track until I got to a ramp. I finagled my way up to the top and could see the amazing site of the Grandstand, packed to capacity across the way. Finally, at the top of the viewing deck, someone handed me a beer and we had a conversation about the Derby and the horses and who we bet on. When I turned around and began paying attention to where I was standing I almost fell over. Its a good thing I didn't because I would have fallen right onto the track. Everyone told me that if you are going to the Kentucky Derby, don't plan on seeing any horses. That may be true for most people, but I went to the Kentucky Derby and ended up with a front row seat.
My spot was a deck right after the second turn. Seconds after the familiar bugle tune, a brown blur sped by and it was to the screens for the finish. In almost no time at all the horses were back around the second turn slowing down to a stop. Except one. One horse came bounding around and with a harsh face-plant threw its jockey. Trucks and vans came onto the track and finally a curtain was place around the tent.
I am not sure the In-Field knew what was happening, but my side of the track sat in silence as they put Eight Bells down.
Read more!
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