Shark Tank for UWOL #5

[Kevin Railsback]

Well, I have one more day to try and get something for the mammal challenge then I'm tied up for the next 45 days pretty much from sun up to sun down.

The only wild mammal I've seen so far has been a squirrel on my bird feeder.

Yeah, I know I can film my dog or go find some cows or film some horses running in slow motion. I really don't feel the passion for doing something like that just to enter something.

So, most likely, I'll be taking a dip in the tank.

The sad part is I was supposed to be in Yellowstone this month where I could have had mammals coming out of my ears! Oh well.

Maybe I'll do a non-competitive entry of some of the stuff I've shot in Yellowstone in the past.

[Gabriel Yeager]

C'mon Kevin!!! Don't give in so soon! Thats my job. ;-)

I know how it is to have a jammed pack month, but you can get something in... You may be tired, but you could shoot at night. Theres lots of interesting mammals out in the night. Just gotta keep yourself from falling asleep. Think it over, go sit in your back yard (providing you have a house) at night for a couple hours, I'm sure you'll see something.

Don't drop out! You can do it!
~Gabriel

[Meryem Ersoz]

look how well we have collectively raised up young gabriel! good job, UWOL team.

it will just not feel like a UWOL Challenge unless kevin plays...i thought i was throwing one up that was right down his alley. but i guess work is more important than play....

WHO SAID THAT?? did that just come outta my mouth? disgraceful....

[Kevin Railsback]

It would be right up my alley if I wasn't in Iowa.
Was out all day and all I saw was a squirrel running across the road.
Why do you think I spend every moment I can out of state? These challenges are about the only Iowa footage I have and I've lived here since '76.

If it moves here, they kill it. They introduced otters because they wiped them out. Well, now they want to wipe them out again because fisherman complain it's to hard to catch fish now. They're shooting all the deer in town now because people's hostas get eaten. Bobcats were coming back in Southern Iowa but now they're opening a season on them to get rid of them too.

The shoot hawks and eagles around here as well because they think they affect the pheasant population.

Did film some great stuff today though. Just none of it had anything to do with mammals.

So, I'm done till the next challenge.

Maybe I'll luck out and I can get out of state for that one.

[Trond Saetre]

Sorry to hear you had to take a swim in the shark tank, Kevin.
Blame your boss if the sharks get too agressive!

Looking forward to have you back with us.
The uwol family will be waiting for you in the next challenge.

[Bill Hamell]

Originally Posted by Kevin Railsback

If it moves here, they kill it. They introduced otters because they wiped them out. Well, now they want to wipe them out again because fisherman complain it's to hard to catch fish now. They're shooting all the deer in town now because people's hostas get eaten. Bobcats were coming back in Southern Iowa but now they're opening a season on them to get rid of them too.

The shoot hawks and eagles around here as well because they think they affect the pheasant population.

Did film some great stuff today though. Just none of it had anything to do with mammals.

So, I'm done till the next challenge.

Maybe I'll luck out and I can get out of state for that one.

Sounds like you missed an opportunity to do a piece on mammals killing mammals…

[Mat Thompson]

I don't believe it Mr Railsback will give up his T-shirt.....I'm sure he'll russle up some mamalian action from somewhere :-) !!

On another note. The way you speak about Iowa makes me very sad, why oh why do human beings think they have the right to say what should live and what shouldn't because of it effecting us in some small way.

[Kevin Railsback]

Hey Mat,

I doubt Meryem would have had my size anyway. :)

If my situation changes, I'll certainly get out there and try to shoot something. It just looks highly doubtful.

In my old neighborhood the guy a couple houses down from me would trap and kill all the squirrels because he didn't want them eating his birdseed.

Didn't matter that I set corn out for the squirrels because I enjoyed them.

I stopped setting it out when I thought I might be contributing to their demise by attracting them to the neighborhood.

Yeah, Iowa is certainly not a wildlife haven that's for sure. :(

But by golly is you're a duck or pheasant you have all kinds of people trying to increase your numbers. It's just everything else has to die so as not to lower the numbers.

[Meryem Ersoz]

do any of these help? a good opportunity to do a 30-second PSA and help transform the killing fields of iowa....

i hate the idea of kevin in the tank. kinda bruises my heart a little. though i myself have spent several months in the company of sharks, during the first 2 Challenges which kept me busy busy busy....


Iowa
• Last Hope Animal Rescue and Training - Saving Eastern Iowa's Homeless Animals. (Cedar Rapids)
• Noah's Ark Animal Foundation - We are an environmentally friendly no-kill shelter for cats and dogs . (Fairfield)
• C & W Rustic Hollow Shelter Inc. - Animal Sanctuary. (Nashua)

another idea would be for everyone to upload a clip of a mammal to the UWOL website and let kevin edit something for us from that....

where do i come up with these brilliant ideas??

hey everybody,
KEEP KEVIN OUT OF THE TANK!

[Kevin Railsback]

Meryem,
If I really wanted out of the tank I could just go film some cows. :)
But that's like just throwing something up just to keep in the running for the T-Shirt.

A stock agency was looking at some work of mine. They wanted stuff I considered junk.
They said my junk was better than anything they had. Well, I still wouldn't let them have it.

The head of acquisitions called me and said if someone was willing to buy a junk clip of mine for $5k would I still refuse to sell it. I told him I do that all the time. He was at a loss for words at that point. :)

For me, it's not about money, it's not about getting a t-shirt. It's about passion. If I don't feel it, it doesn't matter to me how much someone wants to pay or how important it is to keep the string of films from breaking.

That's why I have a business partner. She's a little barracuda. :)

So, if I can find something I'm passionate about, I'll try to wrangle my way out of the tank. But, I'm not gonna just go out and film my dog just to say I made the challenge.

[Geir Inge]

But I sure would like to see you in one of those T-shirts :)
as much as I will miss your film in uwol5, so hang on and keep up the good fate. All I'm doing these days is complaining about the weather, and it doesn't help a bit.

[Meryem Ersoz]

Originally Posted by Kevin Railsback

it's not about getting a t-shirt..

it's not?? you make this sound so inconsequential. when we're all struttin around in our hard-won UWOL garb, you're gonna be singing a different tune, my friend, a different tune!

awright, enough with the jokes. i am just sad to see you out of the game when you have put so much into it.

[Kevin Railsback]

Just got back in after running around this evening. Zip, nada for mammals.
Even hit a wetland where I can usually find some muskrat's running around.

Saw a butterfly, dragonflies, 2 frogs and a bunch of swallows.

It's frustrating cause I know if I was in Montana right now, I'd be knee deep in mammals. :)

Sunset is about 7:30 here this coming week so maybe I can luck out in the last 30 minutes of light each day.

I'll have the director of the nature center scope things out for me and email me if something's up.

[Trond Saetre]

Originally Posted by Meryem Ersoz

another idea would be for everyone to upload a clip of a mammal to the UWOL website and let kevin edit something for us from that....

where do i come up with these brilliant ideas??

hey everybody,
KEEP KEVIN OUT OF THE TANK!

This could have been fun and interesting.


Don't give up yet, Kevin!
Hope you can find some mammals during those 30minutes in the evenings.

[Marco Wagner]

Originally Posted by Kevin Railsback

Meryem,

A stock agency was looking at some work of mine. They wanted stuff I considered junk.
They said my junk was better than anything they had. Well, I still wouldn't let them have it.

The head of acquisitions called me and said if someone was willing to buy a junk clip of mine for $5k would I still refuse to sell it. I told him I do that all the time. He was at a loss for words at that point. :)

Can you send them my way? I'm in debt up to my eyes and those are about to be repossessed any day now, :-)

I hear where you are coming from about the tank thing. I'm getting the feeling I'll just get beat out by someone with dolphins or whales, or something a LOT more spectacular than what I have to shoot around here. Not even getting an HM on the last DVC or UWOL was a big blow to the ego as well.