Snowball's Rise to Viral Fame

I was interviewed recently regarding the story of Snowball's rise to fame. I had expected, once again, for my words to be edited into a much more glossed over version of the actual story. Much to my surprise, and a very pleasant one at that, my words appeared as I had written them...unedited!
http://bestinflock.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/the-story-of-snowballs-rise-to-viral-fame/

I have had many people ask me if I work in addition to what I do at the rescue. I have to chuckle to myself because I work over 80 hours per week at the rescue without a break even for weekends, holidays, or other special occassions. My duties include everything from being Snowball's manager and a collaborator in scientific research to scrubbing and disinfecting bird cages. At the end of major cleaning days it's not unusual for me to look like Mel Brooks in "High Anxiety" after he's been satirically pooped on by a flock of birds.

I've been judged by some for the content of the tv programs which I have been on with Snowball. But I have never had control over what is edited out and what is left to be shown to the audience. Heaven knows I've tried to emphasize to the interviewers the abuse and neglect that I see and how much I want to do something about this in the form of legislation, but Snowball's charm always prevails and the sad parts end up on the floor of the editing room.

I have recently been able to write, direct, and produce my own videos and have them show up on Jennifer Viegas' blog "Born Animal" which is found on Discovery News. This also happens to be one of my three favorite blogs (and I do follow many), so I was overjoyed at the prospect of having my unedited (albeit rough and amateurish) videos appear there.
http://blogs.discovery.com/news_animal/

So when my words do go unedited and I am able to speak my mind, I am grateful. To those of you who have allowed this...a very, very sincere thank you!

Snowball in The TIMES newspaper

Snowball makes front page news once again. This time he is on the front page of Sunday's The TIMES newspaper. His story is also told online alongside his Taco Bell commercial at the following link.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/article_4b3a58ed-2eae-5c3a-a095-fa3135bec62c.html

Bird Paradise

Snowball and Irena Schulz were recently in New York City to take part in the World Science Festival. Bird Paradise kindly donated a cage for Snowball to make him comfortable during his stay in New York for the Festival. They also donated numerous toys for Snowball and his friends back home, as well as food and some of Snowball's favorite treats...pine nuts!

When we went to pick up Snowball's cage, we could not believe how many different types of toys they had in the store. There were countless aisles of shreddy toys, leather toys, wood toys, acrylic toys, and you name it. If the toy was not found in this store, chances are that it's just not available. And if you wonder about cleanliness, this store was fastidiously clean. I've been to numerous pet shops over the years and none compared in product availability and cleanliness. This is a place that you have to see to believe. Below is a link to their online store.

http://www.mybirdstore.com/

Snowball and all his friends at Bird Lovers Only Rescue Service, Inc. wish to thank Bird Paradise for their generosity and kindness in making Snowball feel so comfortable in his donated show cage as well as countless hours of enjoyment playing and tearing apart his donated toys.

THANK YOU BIRD PARADISE!

Snowball's Taco Bell commercial

We hope you will enjoy Snowball's Taco Bell commercial. If you do enjoy it, please consider donating to Bird Lovers Only Rescue. The donations that are generated on behalf of Snowball provide quality vet care, food, and toys for all the birds at our sanctuary.

Snowball in Smithsonian Magazine

Snowball seems to get around these days. He is currently featured in the Smithsonian Magazine (July 2009 issue).

Click on links below.
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2009/06/22/a-dancing-parrot-and-more/

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Wild-Things-July09.html?c=y&page=2

Snowball Makes World News

Pictured: Dr. Aniruddh Patel (left) and Dr. John Iversen (right)

Snowball, the prodigal parrot, has once again hit the airwaves. But this time it's the science side of Snowball that has everyone talking. Music has always been believed to be unique to humans. Thanks to Snowball and the scientists at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, California led by Dr. Ani Patel, that theory no longer flies - pun intended.

Below are links to some articles regarding a paper which was released in Current Biology on April 30, 2009 entitled "Experimental Evidence for Synchronization to a Musical Beat in a nonhuman Animal" by Patel, Iversen, Bregman, and Schulz. You can find many more links by Googling "Snowball dancing cockatoo."

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/430/1

http://inventorspot.com/articles/snowball_dancing_cockatoo_disproves_evolutionary_theory_21320

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103710332

http://www.discoverychannel.co.uk/news/dancing-birds-rhythm.shtml

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/04/backstreet-boys-cockatoo-shows-researchers-that-birds-really-can-dance.html

http://blogs.discovery.com/news_animal/2009/04/birds-can-dance-video-and-qa-with-harvards-adena-schachner.html

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090430.wdancing0430/BNStory/Science/home

Snowball on Animal Planet

Snowball can be seen instructing children on how to dance at a dance studio in Chicago, Illinois on Animal Planet's "Most Outrageous Animals." This segment can be seen on the following days (Eastern Time):

May 2, 2009: 10pm

May 3, 2009: 1am & 5am

May 9, 2009: 5pm

May 11, 2009: 9pm

May 12, 2009: 12am & 4am

The Magic of Music

A surgeon struck by lightning and a dancing parrot hold clues to music�s profound effects.
by Geoff Olson

http://www.commonground.ca/iss/211/cg211_olson.shtml

Snowball in NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE

Dr. Aniruddh Patel was interviewed by the New York Times Magazine on cognitive music studies involving Snowball. Studies were done to test whether Snowball's rhythmic movements matching the differing tempos of music were by chance or whether Snowball truly moves to the beat. Those studies revealed that Snowball does in fact feel the beat and adjusts to the tempo of the music. Click on the link below to read more about the research.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/magazine/14ideas-section01-t-003.html

Snowball in VANITY FAIR

Here is an enjoyable article from Vanity Fair regarding Snowball and the American Ballet Theatre. Personally, I would love to see Snowball in ballet slippers and a tutu!

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/wolcott/2009/01/it-may-be-the-most.html

Studying synchronization to a musical beat in nonhuman animals

The recent discovery of spontaneous synchronization to music in a nonhuman animal (the sulphur-crested cockatoo Cacatua galerita eleanora) raises several questions.

How does this behavior differ from non-musical synchronization abilities in other species, such as synchronized frog calls or firefly flashes? What significance does the behavior have for debates over the evolution of human music? What kinds of animals can synchronize to music, and what are the key methodological issues for research in this area? This paper addresses these questions and proposes some refinements to the �vocal learning and rhythmic synchronization hypothesis.�

http://www.birdloversonly.org/docs/Study_NYAS.pdf

Radio Shows

Irena Schulz from Bird Lovers Only Rescue will be speaking on "The Bird Talks" on Sunday, September 7th at 9pm Eastern Time. http://www.askthebirdexperts.com/

Irena Schulz will also be on "Animal Talk Naturally" on Tuesday, September 9th at 2:30pm Eastern Time. www.blogtalkradio.com/animaltalknaturally.

Fundraiser at Steak n Shake

We will have a fundraiser at Steak n Shake on Sunday, July 27th from 12 noon until 8pm. Please print out the vouchers below and bring them with you on the day of the event. Steak n Shake will donate 20% of the amount you spend on your meal to us, but you need to bring your vouchers with you. Thank you so very much for participating in our fundraising event!!!

http://birdloversonly.org/img/SS_July27.pdf
http://birdloversonly.org/img/SS_July27.JPG

Steak n Shake is located at 312 North US 41 in Schererville, Indiana

"Come To The Edge"

Dr. Kim Bloomer of Animal Talk Naturally on Blog Talk Radio http://www.blogtalkradio.com/animaltalknaturally wrote a poignant piece on animal care and responsible ownership. We all too often seek things to fulfill our lives to make us happy without researching what it is that will make the pets happy and healthy. Although I believe that people are well-intentioned in wanting to provide a good home for a bird, they often times purchase a bird on impulse without researching what it takes to make the bird happy and healthy. Birds are extremely intelligent, needy, and demanding. They are excellent at masking their illnesses so there is no way of telling whether the bird is healthy by appearance alone. Birds need to be checked by an avian vet yearly, they need to have plenty of out of cage time, they need a variety of healthy foods to eat, and they need to have plenty of different toys to keep them interested while they are in their cage.

Please go to this link to read Dr. Kim Bloomer's article. www.birdloversonly.org/docs/Edge.doc

Investigating the human-specificity of synchronization to music

Below is the link to the scientific paper "Investigating the human-specificity of synchronization to music" on Snowball's cognitive music studies lead by Dr. Ani Patel at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, California.

http://birdloversonly.org/docs/Patel.pdf

Snowball in NATURE NEWS

Snowball has officially entered into the scientific world. Please click on the link below to read the article in "Nature News."

http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080625/full/news.2008.914.html

Music and the Mind

In this edition of "Grey Matters," Aniruddh Patel, of the Neurosciences Institute, discusses what music can teach us about the brain, and what brain science, in turn, can reveal about music. Series: "Grey Matters" [4/2006] [Science] [Show ID: 11189]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKFeuzGEns

Please paste the above link into your browser to watch the lecture.

About 35 minutes into the lecture, Aniruddh Patel discusses the biological significance of moving to a musical beat, and why it's interesting to find
out if animals (other than humans) can do it. He even discusses a bird that moves to music (from the film "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill"). Of course, this was all pre-Snowball!

Irena and Charles of Bird Lovers Only Rescue Service, Inc. would like to thank Dr. Aniruddh Patel for his visit on April 3rd, 2008 and for our continued collaboration on this very exciting and interesting project!

A very special thank you to Dane, for none of this would have been possible without you!

Pictured above is Aniruddh Patel, President of the Society for Music Perception and Cognition, with Snowball.

FOX News Chicago w/Mark Saxenmeyer

A very special THANK YOU to FOX News and Mark Saxenmeyer for a wonderful piece on Snowball and Bird Lovers Only Rescue! The episode aired on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Thanks, Mark! We love you!

http://community.myfoxchicago.com/blogs/SaxInTheCity/2008/04/02/Becoming_a_Star_on_YouTube

Snowball dances to "Another One Bites The Dust"

I want to thank Auntie Annette for sending me the Queen CD. I still love the Back Street Boys the best, but there sure are some good songs on here that I like dancing to! I hope you enjoy my dancing to "Another One Bites The Dust."
There will be a crew coming from a Japanese TV show to film me and I'm set to audition for "America's Got Talent" for a March episode. I hope you've all been watching me on Animal Planet's "2007: Year In Animals" which runs for four weeks on different days and times.
Love,
Snowball

David Letterman Show

We have had many requests for us to place the segment of the David Letterman Show that featured Snowball on our site. Someone emailed the site to me that is presently on You Tube. For those of you who had missed the show, please click on this link to view it. We are the third guest on the segment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwmSNFVhKXI