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Pond Stars, new show starting September 9th.

Postby ChrisPond on Sun Aug 17, 2014 12:18 pm

Being the resident pond builder here on CC, I thought I would bring this up and see if anyone in this community finds this interesting or is planning to watch. "Pond Stars" is a new show starting this fall on Nat Geo Wild. Not only are the stars of the show representatives of the vendor I buy my pond material from, they are also business mentors and personal friends.


Anyway, here is a teaser clip released this spring (I believe the show may all ready be on in some parts of the world?)



Here is more info on the show..the link goes to nat geo's website.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/pond-stars/

If the show is a success, there is a chance I could end up on it at some point as the show travels the country building with local Certified Aquascape Contractors. They filmed during the last winter in warmer clients for the episodes that have been completed and are ready to air. They have all ready filmed with a couple of my pond building friends (can't wait to see the trout stream they build in episode 2 with Bernie) so once they start filming during my season I should get be able to get them to my area.
Last edited by ChrisPond on Thu Sep 04, 2014 8:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby TA1LGUNN3R on Sun Aug 17, 2014 12:50 pm

Sorry. I'm sure the exposure would be great for you, but this looks like another fucking ridiculous show that has almost nothing to do with nature or biology. Throwing in a couple of token turtles won't fix what happened to channels like the history channel or the discovery channel.

Damnit, when I watch the national geographic channel I watch it to see some nekkid peoples in the Amazon or Africa, not some whiteys who are selling some crap I don't care about!

-TG
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby nietzsche on Sun Aug 17, 2014 2:01 pm

TA1LGUNN3R wrote:Sorry. I'm sure the exposure would be great for you, but this looks like another fucking ridiculous show that has almost nothing to do with nature or biology. Throwing in a couple of token turtles won't fix what happened to channels like the history channel or the discovery channel.

Damnit, when I watch the national geographic channel I watch it to see some nekkid peoples in the Amazon or Africa, not some whiteys who are selling some crap I don't care about!

-TG


+1000


But I hope you get to be in the show. Good luck.
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby ChrisPond on Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:45 pm

TA1LGUNN3R wrote:Sorry. I'm sure the exposure would be great for you, but this looks like another fucking ridiculous show that has almost nothing to do with nature or biology. Throwing in a couple of token turtles won't fix what happened to channels like the history channel or the discovery channel.

Damnit, when I watch the national geographic channel I watch it to see some nekkid peoples in the Amazon or Africa, not some whiteys who are selling some crap I don't care about!

-TG


At first glance, most people would think you make a great point and if I did not know anything about ponds, I would agree with you. But since I am a pond builder and understand and experience the effect on local ecosystems first hand, I will spend a few minutes sharing my knowledge and then let you decide if pond builders should be on nat geo wild.

Aquascape ponds (and most ponds that are built) are based on an "ecosystem philosophy"...basically, use mother nature instead of fighting against her. that means we set up ponds to be as natural as possible, avoiding chemicals...the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) philosphy.

this means that each one of the ponds I install become their own little micro ecosystem that effects the local ecosystem. After all, water is the basis of life and life needs water...think about those traditional Nature shows you like where they set up a camera at a body of water in Africa to watch the animals interact...really this little pond in a backyard is no different...just instead of crocodiles eating some type of deer, you have bullfrogs catching dragonflies (or so on)

Most of the ponds my company builds, and most contractors I know, end up in suburbia. Suburbs are typically areas that have had nature bulldozed to build houses right on top of each other on their little lots. Then a monoculture of sod is installed and a homeowner spends their summer spraying chemicals and watering it to keep it green and pretty. Hardly a place for natural ecosystem. Pretty similar impact as cutting down a rain forest...in both cases nature is wiped out in the area.

then someone like me comes into a backyard and builds a little piece of paradise (little is in the mind of the beholder...my avatar is just a small piece of 100k pond install and last season i had a client spend over 200k on their pond, however most of my pond installs cost my clients 6-10k). Well anyway...the person loves what i have built and then they start enjoying it. Before they know it, you have a scene out of "Field of Dreams"...."if you build it, they will come". "They" being everything that suburbia pushed out.

Pretty much i just built an "oasis" for nature in the middle of a dessert.

i bought my house in surburbia in 2004. In 2005, I tore out the lawn and put my pond in. then next to it, i planted some native prairie. Here are some of things I witness by walking out my backyard on a quarter acre lot every day:

flowering native water plants
koi swimming in my pond...and them spawning every spring
local birds bathing in my pond
multiple species of frogs
toads...tons of toads (and tadpoles every year spring)
butterflies
dragonflies...at least 5 in my yard at any time
insects...so many varieties
rabbits

Here are some of the things i have witnessed on occassion:
A hawk swoop down and take a koi out of my pond
A turtle make my pond his home for a week before moving on.
A blue heron standing in my pond trying to catch a fish
a bull snake (very rare to see)...pretty sure i scared him more than he scared me when i almost stepped on him.
an owl on my patio eye balling my fish


then there is the impact of a pond on a child growing up in the suburbs. just a month ago or so, the neighbor kids asked if they could come over and see my pond and feed the fish. After them getting permission they came on back and I broke out the fish food and they started feeding them (the fish were eating out of their hand). Next thing i know, a kid around 12 asked if he could stand on a lily pad. after i said no and being Confused, i asked why he would think that. He responded that he could in his minecraft game and he had never seen a "real lily pad".

I have carried on long enough...i invite you to read through this and learn more about the ecological impact a pond has on a local ecosystem. then you can decide if a show like this should really belong on a station that focuses on nature.

http://www.aquascapeinc.com/upload/PBB-Chapter02.pdf
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby nietzsche on Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:51 pm

I think he was referring more to the reality show aspect. Sure Pawn Shop touches on some superficial random history trivia, but it's actually a reality show about 4 obese guys making money on American's amusing spare change.
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby ChrisPond on Mon Aug 18, 2014 1:06 am

stop showing me Kate upton. i am also a Detroit Tiger's fan and everytime I see her I remember how she is causing Justin Verlander to pitch like shit.

The reality show will touch on the reasons I listed and so much more...just wait and see! ;)
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby TA1LGUNN3R on Mon Aug 18, 2014 1:10 am

What nietsche said. Your job sounds pretty great, actually, and I'm all for it, but the penchant for those shows to focus on the reality show segments and cliches becomes overpowering. Just wait till its ratings slip and they resort to cheap gimmicks.

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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby nietzsche on Mon Aug 18, 2014 1:29 am

ChrisPond wrote:stop showing me Kate upton. i am also a Detroit Tiger's fan and everytime I see her I remember how she is causing Justin Verlander to pitch like shit.

The reality show will touch on the reasons I listed and so much more...just wait and see! ;)


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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby Dukasaur on Mon Aug 18, 2014 5:11 am

ChrisPond wrote:
TA1LGUNN3R wrote:Sorry. I'm sure the exposure would be great for you, but this looks like another fucking ridiculous show that has almost nothing to do with nature or biology. Throwing in a couple of token turtles won't fix what happened to channels like the history channel or the discovery channel.

Damnit, when I watch the national geographic channel I watch it to see some nekkid peoples in the Amazon or Africa, not some whiteys who are selling some crap I don't care about!

-TG


At first glance, most people would think you make a great point and if I did not know anything about ponds, I would agree with you. But since I am a pond builder and understand and experience the effect on local ecosystems first hand, I will spend a few minutes sharing my knowledge and then let you decide if pond builders should be on nat geo wild.

Aquascape ponds (and most ponds that are built) are based on an "ecosystem philosophy"...basically, use mother nature instead of fighting against her. that means we set up ponds to be as natural as possible, avoiding chemicals...the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) philosphy.

this means that each one of the ponds I install become their own little micro ecosystem that effects the local ecosystem. After all, water is the basis of life and life needs water...think about those traditional Nature shows you like where they set up a camera at a body of water in Africa to watch the animals interact...really this little pond in a backyard is no different...just instead of crocodiles eating some type of deer, you have bullfrogs catching dragonflies (or so on)

Most of the ponds my company builds, and most contractors I know, end up in suburbia. Suburbs are typically areas that have had nature bulldozed to build houses right on top of each other on their little lots. Then a monoculture of sod is installed and a homeowner spends their summer spraying chemicals and watering it to keep it green and pretty. Hardly a place for natural ecosystem. Pretty similar impact as cutting down a rain forest...in both cases nature is wiped out in the area.

then someone like me comes into a backyard and builds a little piece of paradise (little is in the mind of the beholder...my avatar is just a small piece of 100k pond install and last season i had a client spend over 200k on their pond, however most of my pond installs cost my clients 6-10k). Well anyway...the person loves what i have built and then they start enjoying it. Before they know it, you have a scene out of "Field of Dreams"...."if you build it, they will come". "They" being everything that suburbia pushed out.

Pretty much i just built an "oasis" for nature in the middle of a dessert.

i bought my house in surburbia in 2004. In 2005, I tore out the lawn and put my pond in. then next to it, i planted some native prairie. Here are some of things I witness by walking out my backyard on a quarter acre lot every day:

flowering native water plants
koi swimming in my pond...and them spawning every spring
local birds bathing in my pond
multiple species of frogs
toads...tons of toads (and tadpoles every year spring)
butterflies
dragonflies...at least 5 in my yard at any time
insects...so many varieties
rabbits

Here are some of the things i have witnessed on occassion:
A hawk swoop down and take a koi out of my pond
A turtle make my pond his home for a week before moving on.
A blue heron standing in my pond trying to catch a fish
a bull snake (very rare to see)...pretty sure i scared him more than he scared me when i almost stepped on him.
an owl on my patio eye balling my fish


then there is the impact of a pond on a child growing up in the suburbs. just a month ago or so, the neighbor kids asked if they could come over and see my pond and feed the fish. After them getting permission they came on back and I broke out the fish food and they started feeding them (the fish were eating out of their hand). Next thing i know, a kid around 12 asked if he could stand on a lily pad. after i said no and being Confused, i asked why he would think that. He responded that he could in his minecraft game and he had never seen a "real lily pad".

I have carried on long enough...i invite you to read through this and learn more about the ecological impact a pond has on a local ecosystem. then you can decide if a show like this should really belong on a station that focuses on nature.

http://www.aquascapeinc.com/upload/PBB-Chapter02.pdf

I agree with both of you. That's not equivocation, it is possible to agree with both of you. There really is no basic contradiction.

It is terrible how the History and Discovery channels have degenerated. Every second show on the History channel now is about hillbillies haggling over garbage. "I'll give you $40 for that repulsive kewpie doll." "Oh, that repulsive kewpie doll has been in my inbred family for 600 years! There's no way I can part with it for less than $75."

Chris, I love to hear about the cool things you are doing to bring a bit of life to the sterile suburbs! I'm always on the lookout for little pieces of life in the city. My wife will be in a doctor's appointment, and I'll wander out of the back door of the clinic and down to the ravine and the creek there. The density of the foliage blocks out the sights and sounds of the city. One of the busiest roads in town is less than 200 metres from me, but I can see leopard frogs jump and painted turtles and if I'm really lucky a fox or a groundhog.

You're both right. It is great what pond builders do, and it is unlikely that a TV channel will do it justice.

Speaking of self-promotion, Chris' interrogation will be published in Issue 122 of the Dispatch later today.
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby Serbia on Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:02 am

ChrisPond wrote:stop showing me Kate upton. i am also a Detroit Tiger's fan and everytime I see her I remember how she is causing Justin Verlander to pitch like shit.


God damn it, that whole argument drives me absolutely mad!

Are you familiar with Irina Shayk? If not, have a look:

Click image to enlarge.
image


She's dating Christiano Ronaldo. And with her to go home to on a nightly basis, he was only the greatest footballer in the world last year. Verlander isn't struggling because he has the sexiest woman in America today as his girl, he's struggling because he's still recovering from surgery, and he's pitched a shit ton of innings in his career. Stop blaming the woman, it's a completely illogical argument born of jealousy.

(and also, the Tigers better get their shit together, and fast, or we won't even make the playoffs, let alone the fucking Series! I was at the game this past Friday night, and I could tell from the first inning Porcello didn't have it, but our bullpen is so badly in tatters that it didn't matter, and we got shelled. At least Price pitched well!)

Bollocks.
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby BigBallinStalin on Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:30 am

Wait, so women suck the precious fluids out of athletes and that lowers their performance?
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby ChrisPond on Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:42 am

Serbia, it's easier to blame Kate than acknowledge the other stuff.
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby Serbia on Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:45 am

ChrisPond wrote:Serbia, it's easier to blame Kate than acknowledge the other stuff.


As long as you can admit that, then cheers and go Tigers! lol

Bollocks.
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby ChrisPond on Mon Aug 18, 2014 10:13 am

Back to ponds...this is some video of a pond at the company headquarters of Aquascape (the show stars are from Aquascape). This project was completed by Certified Aquascape Contractors in 2008. the cost to install this in your backyard in 2008 was $1.5 million. About 300 of the top pond builders (by invite only) in North America came together to finish this in one week after the prep work was done by Aquascape.

Look carefully and you will see me multiple times ;)

This pond is located in St. Charles Illinois. i will be swimming in it by the end of the day :D





this is the pond after a 5 years. ed is one of the stars of the new show.

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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby AndyDufresne on Mon Aug 18, 2014 12:23 pm

I like Amy Pond the most of all the ponds.


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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby TA1LGUNN3R on Mon Aug 18, 2014 2:02 pm

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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby Army of GOD on Mon Aug 18, 2014 2:05 pm

Sorry ChrisPond but I hate everything having to do with this reality show craze.


Though, if you agree to say a line (not going to be inappropriate or anything) for me on camera I will support you 400% and will advertise the show as much as possible.
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby KoolBak on Mon Aug 18, 2014 3:23 pm

I find a very small percentage of the reality shows entertaining....90+% of them are simply a bunch of egomaniacs posing for the damn camera (counting cars / lizard lick towing for instance) or the stars are jackasses (american pickers / lizard lick towing for instance)....makes me want to puke. And how many damnable cooking shows can you make? Really?? Give me mythbusters any day.

As for ponds, the kind you promote Chris are great....the multitude of ridiculous water features sporting a $500 boulder with a hole drilled in it stuffed in a 24" square hole are asenine....lol.

I helped a good bud make a pond in his yard; 8 feet deep and irregularly shaped about 20' by 30' (took about 4 cases of beer to complete the damn digging....lol)....lots of nice rock / water flow...tons of native / nonnative flora.....all kinds of critters like yours have moved in...really cool. It' swimmable too ;o)
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby BigBallinStalin on Mon Aug 18, 2014 7:12 pm

What's with ponds? Why would anyone buy one--other than to breed catfish or something useful in them?
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby TA1LGUNN3R on Mon Aug 18, 2014 7:57 pm

BigBallinStalin wrote:What's with ponds? Why would anyone buy one--other than to breed catfish or something useful in them?


You could probably apply the same reasoning to pets or art or x and not really get anywhere. Probably just aesthetic or something.

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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby nietzsche on Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:03 pm

BigBallinStalin wrote:What's with ponds? Why would anyone buy one--other than to breed catfish or something useful in them?


Mosquitoes farm.
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby BigBallinStalin on Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:56 pm

TA1LGUNN3R wrote:
BigBallinStalin wrote:What's with ponds? Why would anyone buy one--other than to breed catfish or something useful in them?


You could probably apply the same reasoning to pets or art or x and not really get anywhere. Probably just aesthetic or something.

-TG


I've suspected the "warm and fuzzies" cause, but I'd like to confirm this with the master bond-builder, ChrisPond.
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby BigBallinStalin on Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:58 pm

nietzsche wrote:
BigBallinStalin wrote:What's with ponds? Why would anyone buy one--other than to breed catfish or something useful in them?


Mosquitoes farm.



USEFUL!!!!, NIETZSCHE!!! USEFUL!! MUY UTIL, CABRON!!!


AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby AndyDufresne on Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:48 pm

BigBallinStalin wrote:
nietzsche wrote:
BigBallinStalin wrote:What's with ponds? Why would anyone buy one--other than to breed catfish or something useful in them?


Mosquitoes farm.



USEFUL!!!!, NIETZSCHE!!! USEFUL!! MUY UTIL, CABRON!!!


AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is it a coincidence that Cabron and Carbon are almost the same words? I think not.


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Re: Pond Stars, new show starting September 5th.

Postby BigBallinStalin on Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:08 pm

Consult the Holy Book of Lionz.
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