The Romance of Tree Lobsters!

Hot on the heels of the Giant Weta, another big honking Antipodean insect is in the news:  http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/six-legged-giant-finds-secret-hideaway-hides-for-80-years

Two tree lobsters, perched atop Patrick Honan of the Melbourne Zoo.  Photo by Rod Morris/rodmorris.co.nz, via NPR.org

Dryococelus australis (also known as the Lord Howe Island Phasmid and sometimes dubbed the "tree lobster,") thought to be extinct, is alive!  And prospering!  And romantic!

Eradicated by invasive rats from its only previously known habitat on Lord Howe Island, it improbably survived on a lone shrubbery nestled in a windswept crag of this romantic island:

Ball's Pyramid, by John White, via NPR.org

After confirming rumors of the insects' presence, scientists scaled this rockface after dark on Valentine's Day 2003 to collect specimens, from which a breeding program has been established.  Observations of the insects snuggling in captivity reveal that "they sleep at night, in pairs, the male with three of his legs protectively over the female beside him."

Vive l'amour!

Nudibranch Tuesday!

Allow the peppy tune to enhance your enjoyment of this week's sea slugs! (Video changes over to a second nudibranch one minute in.)

Cüte-sküdar'a Gider Iken: mülti-CÜTE-ral appeal

In the Turkish song "Kâtibim" (also called "Üsküdar'a Gider Iken," the opening lyric), a woman sings about a rainy day and her romance with a well-dressed clerk who looks handsome in his starched collar. 

Here's a movie version, complete with starched-collar clerk.



YouTube abounds with adorable kiddies acting out the parts of the lady and the clerk. Here's one:




Many other sets of lyrics, in many different languages, accompany this same melody.  There are several web pages discussing its ubiquity, and it was even the subject of a politically-tinged 2003 documentary film by Adela Peeva, titled "Whose is This Song?"

Read further:
http://riowang.blogspot.com/2009/10/whose-is-this-song.html
http://www.everybodys-song.net
http://reflections-of-a-nomad.blogspot.com/2010/05/when-going-to-uskudar-on-sacred-shabbat.html

While there aren't any Japanese lyrics for the song, these Japanese kidlets have cleverly reinterpreted the Turkish kids:  they are kawaii-sküdar'a gider iken!  (And look at how those two letters "i" practically make a "ü.")

Cast Your Vote: Estonian Socks!

The polls are open for the Diagram Prize, awarded yearly to the book with the oddest title.  Last year's winner was "Managing a Dental Practice the Genghis Khan Way."  I desperately hope this book includes some brilliant "tartar domination" puns, and information about crushing cavities, driving gingivitis from your mouth, and hearing the lamentations of your plaque-causing bacteria.  As the book predates the Westminster victory of Martha Stewart's chow, it's probably not about crunching a lot of milk bones.

Dr. Khan, DDS, with profuse apologies to Dr. Barton McGirl

 
Here's this year's shortlist of nominees (via sponsor Bookseller.com):

• A Century of Sand Dredging in the Bristol Channel: Volume Two by Peter Gosson (Amberley). A book that documents the sand trade from its inception in 1912 to the present day, focusing on the Welsh coast.
• Cooking with Poo by Saiyuud Diwong (Urban Neighbours of Hope). Thai cookbook. “Poo” is Thai for “crab” and is Diwong’s nickname.
• Estonian Sock Patterns All Around the World by Aino Praakli (Kirjastus Elmatar). Covers styles of socks and stockings found in Estonian knitting.
• The Great Singapore Penis Panic: And the Future of American Mass Hysteria by Scott D Mendelson (Createspace). An analysis of the “Koro” psychiatric epidemic that hit the island of Singapore in 1967.
• Mr Andoh's Pennine Diary: Memoirs of a Japanese Chicken Sexer in 1935 Hebden Bridge by Stephen Curry and Takayoshi Andoh (Royd Press). The story of Koichi Andoh, who travelled from Japan to Yorkshire in the 1930s to train workers at a hatchery business the art of determining the sex of one-day-old chicks.
• A Taxonomy of Office Chairs by Jonathan Olivares (Phaidon). Exhaustive overview of the evolution of the modern office chair.
• The Mushroom in Christian Art by John A Rush (North Atlantic Books). In which the author reveals that Jesus is a personification of the Holy Mushroom, Amanita Muscaria.

Horace Bent, the custodian of prize, said: "Never has the debate raged so fiercely as to which books should be put forward for the shortlist. Which is why this year we have selected seven shortlistees, rather than the traditional six. And what a shortlist we have."

Judging these books purely by their covers, I think "Estonian Socks" clearly deserves my vote.

Check out the other covers and cast your vote here.

Turning the Other Cheek, Cute-Style

If you like the scratchies on your left cheek, why not turn over to the right?  This is basically just a low-budget cute owl clip, but hang in there until :15.

Nudibranch Tuesday!

Six Hearts that Beat as Three

At the Seattle Aquarium on Valentine's Day, an exhibit was reconfigured to allow "Rocky" access to female tankmate "Mayhem."

Via KPLU.org

On the one hand, it's pretty weird to anthropomorphize octopus mating--note roses in tank (apparently heart shaped decorations and romantic music further "set the mood.")  I'm not sure how much anthropomorphism colors my impression that maybe captive Mayhem didn't like having her tank opened to Rocky.  He did not exactly proffer a genteel request to hold her hand, hand, hand, [etc.]  On the other hand, OOOOOH OCTOPUS ROMANCE!

Maybe they can get married in front of the beluga tank!

Regional Bleat

Science reports:  "goats have accents."

Via NBC New York

Researchers found that as goats grew older and moved with different herds, their voices changed to adopt the specific call of their new herd, the U.K. Daily Telegraph reported. That suggests a goat’s voice is not solely genetic, but is also a product of their environment.

Full article from NBC New York.  (NBC's coverage is more succinctly goat-centric than the Telegraph's.  And they have a better picture).

Gah!!!! Lampreys!!!! OMG-OMG-OMG-OMG!!!!

This would ick me out so much more if the narrator's wholesome Midwestern tones weren't also making me laugh so much.

From National Geographic:




Highlights and quotable quotes:

:31     "As young, lamprey are blind and toothless."  [ooh!  babies!  nursery music plays in background]
:56     SEVEN YEARS
1:28   AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!
1:34   "They even have teeth on their tongues, so they can rasp into the flesh of their prey and suck blood."
1:45   Change in music indicates sweet innocent lamprey is all grown up
2:04   AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!
2:21   IT'S SUCKED ON TO THE LENS
2:26   "These beady-eyed bloodsuckers attach to bodies...  Snouts... Even up in the gills."

Time-lapse night sky video

Fullscreen, baby!


Temporal Distortion from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

What you see is real, but you can't see it this way with the naked eye. It is the result of thousands of 20-30 second exposures, edited together to produce the timelapse. This allows you to see the Milky Way, Aurora and other Phenonmena, in a way you wouldn't normally see them.

Read the full description here.

Shakira Bitten by Sea Lion

From: AOL Latino

"I think what happened was this: The [sea] lion mistook the shiny surface of my Blackberry with a fish. The sea lion thought I was playing with him, giving him food. Interestingly, 30 minutes ago I was complaining to my guide, Andrew , of never seeing wild animals up close in my travels. well, I think I'll never be able to say that again. Now I'm going to see penguins that I think are a little more friendly, besides they have much smaller mouths."

Via AOL Latino

Mind Control Nail Art

I'm pretty sure this work by "luxury nail artist" Sophy Robson depicts the "Lady Gaga is an illuminati puppet" theory.

via CNN

The above photo appears in CNN's "the democratic self-expression of nail art" slide show:

British nail artist Sophy Robson has built an empire around her iconic rainbow tips and use of graphic pop art images. The owner of London's Sophy Robson Nails and NailPorn concierge service also appeared on the Martha Stewart Show to show the American style icon how to make 3-D nails.

Aha!  This explains those Westminster photos.

This photo, from twitter, is captioned "Martha Stewart's Chow Chow posing with its handler."

NOW you tell me....

I totally missed Superb Owl Sunday, a day when:

the majestic strigiform will awake from its yearly slumber. If the Superb Owl sees its shadow, we're in for another 6 weeks of people quoting lines from TV ads!

Buzzfeed's Ultimate Superb Owl Sunday Roundup.

Dafna Ben Nun - Behind the Camera

This woman makes me seriously examine my life choices.  She travels the globe photographing AND SNUGGLING adorable animals.  

Via Facebook.com/pages/Dafna-Ben-Nun-Photography

Photo: via Facebook.com/dafnabn

See more on Facebook or visit her site.

Oh Internet, you have the answer to everything!

You help the kids express themselves, AND you keep sea creatures safe from predatory phlebotomists.

Just use a fake blood recipe from here: http://goo.gl/WSHGA and pour some in the vial. If people ask, say it's narwal blood. It's not like they can prove you wrong.

Read further: How would I go about purchasing narwhal blood?

Romance Tips from Yahoo

From "Top 10 Sports Names Related to Valentine’s Day"

8. Do you Fila any love for sports?
In Persian, Fila is a name that means "lover". Naturally, this sports apparel must raise an eyebrow when it is sold in the country of Iran. For this reason, you can surprise your Iranian date with Fila fashion and doubly emphasize how you feel about them. After all, anyone that wears Fila shoes and clothing is technically a Persian lover.

Does your language affect your bank account?

Dictionary.com's Hot Word blog summarizes recent research about the effects of future-time-reference ("FTR") on speakers of various languages.

Analyzing retirement savings’ patterns, along with health habits, Chen found that people who speak weak-FTR languages prepare more thoroughly for the future than people who speak strong-FTR languages. In fact, weak-FTR countries save, on average, 6% more of their GDP every year. They also smoke less, exercise more, and are less likely to be overweight.

German is cited as a weak-FTR language.  No word on how FTR influences attitudes about chicken intelligence.

Full post here.

Werner Herzog on Chickens

Werner Herzog on Chickens from Tom Streithorst on Vimeo.

Bad Girls from M.I.A.

On the one hand, I love the commentary on anti-woman driving laws.  I'm relieved that no more redheads are getting exploded.   I'm relieved that I don't have to revisit my conflicted feelings about Straight to Hell's inevitable downgrade from song to sample. But I am so confused. 

Oh, great.  The liberation of Kuwait has begun. 

What on Earth are you wearing?  Also—note Arab-attired men in background standing with arms crossed.

Ladies stand (and "dance") with arms crossed.

Back to the men. Same stance, new location.  What are they standing on?  Are these pipeline segments?

This would be a great place for some log-driver type fancy footwork.



Or guinea pigs!




Ladies!  Just one in the car... I think?  Or is that a car full of festively hijabed and niqabed ladies?  Or just very strange upholstery?

Spacekisser

This is wonderful!  The people who brought us Orientalized Doctor Who comedy have now parodied Turkish Star Trek.

Spacekisser!


Thank you dokuztaneprogramla!

’Twas the Morning of Groundhog's

A Visit from a Groundhog
by Autumn Ward, adapted from Clement Clarke Moore

‘Twas the morning of Groundhog's, and all above the burrow
Not a crop row was stirring, not even a furrow.
Calories were stored in fat rolls with care,
In hopes the spring equinox soon would be there.

The marmots were nestled all snug in their dens,
While visions of vegetables danced in their heads.
And mamma in her slippers, and I, sans my shoes,
Were all settled in for a late morning’s snooze.

When out on the lawn there arose such a rumpus,
I slid from my bed to see what all the fuss was.
Across to the window I walked in a haze,
Opened the curtains and focused my gaze.

The sun on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Shone bright, then diffuse, fluctuating its glow,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a drowsy woodchuck departing his lair.

As dry leaves that before the calm breeze skate,
When they meet with an obstacle, flutter and shake,
So out of the burrow the rodent did heave,
Assessing the shadows, ‘hogmancy to weave.

"Pony" by Tim Lewis

Via BoingBoing.

Okay, never mind about the skiing and the dancing. Winter would be better if ostriches were occasionally kinetic sculptures with humanoid limbs. And they are!



More info:
http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/9510/1/tim-lewis-at-kinetica-art-fair