February 14, 2011 Dear Leslie, This is Kermit. It's been a pleasure to chat with you and I'm very happy to move forward with this conversation. As mentioned earlier I'm a lifetime student of evolutionary biology, wildlife conservation, and ethology. Natural history writing is my passion. I strive to make ecology and conservation accessible to segments within society that have little or no orientation to the sciences. The juncture where history, ecology and philosophy converge is often my canvas. The irreplaceable value of biodiversity within intact ecosystems is often lost on a large populace within our global community. The opportunity to articulate scientific information to diverse audiences presents many compelling challenges, some of which meld well with my particular skill set. In 2004 I began writing a feature length documentary entitled 'CHICKEN,' originally envisioned as a basic academic piece about the evolution and natural history of Gallus domesticus and its wild progenitors. I set it aside to focus on other writing and research only to rediscover it late last year. In re-tooling this project I've integrated a renewed focus on presenting a broad expanse of information obtainable to a wide audience. In short, CHICKEN becomes a surprisingly reachable treasure trove of inherited knowledge from our collective cultural antiquity. We look at the crucial role this bird played in Neolithic revolutions of specific cultures, exploring its significance in successful migrations and expansions of human civilization throughout the world. Our story chronicles the world's most important livestock species from sacred icon, to ritual symbol, to medicine, to food, immunology and more. Our historic relationship with the domestic fowl provides but one thread of a colorful, comprehensive and fully entertaining tapestry woven by our narrative. Because the chicken was domesticated by different cultures in different regions of Asia and Indonesia at diffe