Tuesday, May 23, 2006
10,000 Stupid Birds
I can't stand that Visa advertisement where Richard Gere helps an Indian girl wish her brother luck by releasing an entire flock of pigeons.
Sure, it's entertaining the first few times, but after a while, the music starts to grate on your nerves. And the whole idea of the great white American tourist coming to save the impoverished local villagers smacks of 21st Century colonialism. And I don't know much about Rajasthan culture, but why are nearly all the men wearing turbans?
I'm not sure if anyone else has griped about this, but of all the birds they chose to release, they released pigeons. PIGEONS?! I mean, pigeons, those filthy disease-carriers? I'm exaggerating of course, but the rock pigeon (Columba livia) ranks very low on the list of bird species that I like. And I don't care if they're white (and in this case commonly called doves instead, but make no mistake, they're pigeons all the same), black, whether or not they retain their wild colouration or some mishmash thanks to centuries of selective breeding; among all the urban birds of Singapore, the rock pigeon is the species I appreciate the least.
Human activity has moved pigeons throughout the entire world, and those multitudinous flocks, literally sewer rats on wings, are so bloody common and prevalent everywhere. I'm sure many a car owner or a municipal committee member has his or her own complaints against pigeons. Not to mention how pigeons dirty statues and monuments; if any of those statues could talk, I'm sure the first thing they'd rant and rave about would be the gifts that rain down from above, courtesy of the pigeons. Not only that, but they are known to carry potentially fatal fungal diseases.
And has anyone noticed that pigeon shit is often green? My old neighbourhood got invaded by pigeons many years back, and the window ledges and even the pavement were quickly decorated with a filthy disgusting mess of white guano lavishly speckled with flecks of green. I'd take crows over pigeons any day. At least the feral pigeons in my current neighbourhood have not swelled into the huge noisy flocks that blight city squares the world over; I guess maybe the local stray cats help keep their numbers in check.
Just about the only saving grace I can think of for pigeons is that they taste good. And OK, the breeding carried out by pigeon fanciers did help inspire Charles Darwin. Pigeons are pretty interesting birds in some respects, especially in studies related to animal intelligence, or how birds use magnetic fields to aid in migration. And I do give them credit for sustaining urban populations of birds of prey; in many cities hawks and falcons manage to survive in cities like New York and London simply because they are fed by the huge populations of urban feral pigeons. And uniquely among birds, pigeons are one of the few species that feed their young on 'pigeon milk', a secretion from the crop, akin to how mammals feed their young by producing milk.
But I still think that of all the Indian bird species they could have released, they could have been better off if they hadn't released all those bloody pigeons.
I just had the thought that maybe all those birds were actually homing pigeons, and that after release, they'd fly back to the bird seller, to be used in yet another elaborate ploy to fool unsuspecting and gullible American tourists.
Brandon explores this scenario further with his own take on the advertisement.
And I just love this hilarious take on the advertisement from the mr brown show, done by mr brown and Mr Miyagi.
the mrbrown show 15 May 2006: no more bird
And by the way, check out their latest podcast: The Singapore Fei Chang Super Campus Idol Star plus Band show. Hosted by Daniel Gong and Gurpreet Singh. Absolutely hilarious stuff.
Listening to: (They Long To Be) Close To You by Carpenters
Sure, it's entertaining the first few times, but after a while, the music starts to grate on your nerves. And the whole idea of the great white American tourist coming to save the impoverished local villagers smacks of 21st Century colonialism. And I don't know much about Rajasthan culture, but why are nearly all the men wearing turbans?
I'm not sure if anyone else has griped about this, but of all the birds they chose to release, they released pigeons. PIGEONS?! I mean, pigeons, those filthy disease-carriers? I'm exaggerating of course, but the rock pigeon (Columba livia) ranks very low on the list of bird species that I like. And I don't care if they're white (and in this case commonly called doves instead, but make no mistake, they're pigeons all the same), black, whether or not they retain their wild colouration or some mishmash thanks to centuries of selective breeding; among all the urban birds of Singapore, the rock pigeon is the species I appreciate the least.
Human activity has moved pigeons throughout the entire world, and those multitudinous flocks, literally sewer rats on wings, are so bloody common and prevalent everywhere. I'm sure many a car owner or a municipal committee member has his or her own complaints against pigeons. Not to mention how pigeons dirty statues and monuments; if any of those statues could talk, I'm sure the first thing they'd rant and rave about would be the gifts that rain down from above, courtesy of the pigeons. Not only that, but they are known to carry potentially fatal fungal diseases.
And has anyone noticed that pigeon shit is often green? My old neighbourhood got invaded by pigeons many years back, and the window ledges and even the pavement were quickly decorated with a filthy disgusting mess of white guano lavishly speckled with flecks of green. I'd take crows over pigeons any day. At least the feral pigeons in my current neighbourhood have not swelled into the huge noisy flocks that blight city squares the world over; I guess maybe the local stray cats help keep their numbers in check.
Just about the only saving grace I can think of for pigeons is that they taste good. And OK, the breeding carried out by pigeon fanciers did help inspire Charles Darwin. Pigeons are pretty interesting birds in some respects, especially in studies related to animal intelligence, or how birds use magnetic fields to aid in migration. And I do give them credit for sustaining urban populations of birds of prey; in many cities hawks and falcons manage to survive in cities like New York and London simply because they are fed by the huge populations of urban feral pigeons. And uniquely among birds, pigeons are one of the few species that feed their young on 'pigeon milk', a secretion from the crop, akin to how mammals feed their young by producing milk.
But I still think that of all the Indian bird species they could have released, they could have been better off if they hadn't released all those bloody pigeons.
I just had the thought that maybe all those birds were actually homing pigeons, and that after release, they'd fly back to the bird seller, to be used in yet another elaborate ploy to fool unsuspecting and gullible American tourists.
Brandon explores this scenario further with his own take on the advertisement.
And I just love this hilarious take on the advertisement from the mr brown show, done by mr brown and Mr Miyagi.
the mrbrown show 15 May 2006: no more bird
And by the way, check out their latest podcast: The Singapore Fei Chang Super Campus Idol Star plus Band show. Hosted by Daniel Gong and Gurpreet Singh. Absolutely hilarious stuff.
Listening to: (They Long To Be) Close To You by Carpenters
