Even More Intriguing than Ancient Aliens....

Adorable and romantic puffer fish!

Building underwater "crop circles" to impress the ladies!

Full story here and here.

Metal Monday: Goat Attends Concert

I wish I knew where this came from.  But I can't find any clue about the original.

Chickens are Easy Marks

'Branch Beat

OPod on shuffle.  (GastrOPod, that is.)

Home, Home on the Range

Where the deer and the nudibranchs play.

Squid Attack!

My complements to the editor on the jazzy soundtrack.

 

That thing getting attacked is a remotely operated vehicle from the amazing Neptune Canada project.

Trees Say "Thank You." Or Something.

Instead of telling people how much we appreciated customers buying the Eco-Series, we thought it was much more powerful coming from those that benefited the most. The trees themselves.

How did we get trees from a forest to say thank you? We collaborated with renowned UK artist Tim Knowles, we journeyed into the Black Down Forest, South West of London and built a series of intricate apparatus and systems that allowed trees to draw our thank yous.

 
I'm not sure about the success of this "art," but I appreciate the sentimentality of the endeavor.

"Octo"pus, uh, "Dance"

This act takes a very strange Flash Gordon direction at :44.



Book the Octopus and his ladyfriend via VeniaminShows.com

1978 Week Ends Abruptly: Do You Really Want to Watch the Trailer from "Convoy?"

If you really do, it's here.  But wouldn't it me more fun to watch the trailer from cinematic masterpiece Orca?




Unlike Convoy, a 1978 release, Orca graced screens in 1977, so doesn't technically fit within this week's theme.  I think it's a sacrifice worth making.

1978 Week: Straight Talk

From the movie Rude Boy:  a young and eerily prescient Joe Strummer occupies 1978 then rocks against racism.

1978 Week Continues: I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper

"Night and Day" was not an isolated incident.  Can you believe there's more of this?

Night and Day

They really don't make them like this any more.

Nudibranch Tuesday: "Best Flatworm Ever"

Okay, not a nudibranch, just some other sort of "sea slug," but still enchanting.  And arty!  Plus I think it's sporting "caviar nail art."

Metal Monday: Internet Convergence!

I'm assuming you've been to the "Cold Steel" part of the internet.



And perhaps you're familiar with Jörg Sprave, internet slingshot guy?



OMG!!! They converge!!!

Maine man to be buried in casket made from tree he revered

From the Boston Herald:

The man who spent the last years of his life fighting in vain to save Herbie, the oldest known American elm tree in New England, made his living in the forestry business, clearing and selling trees across southern Maine.

Yet Knight, who died Monday at the age of 103, valued trees for their natural beauty and spent more than 50 years protecting the town’s street trees as Yarmouth’s volunteer tree warden.

"He used to joke that he probably took down more trees than he saved," said Deb Hopkins, Knight’s friend and the tree warden who took his place 10 years ago.

"But he did save a lot of trees," Hopkins said. "Herbie was the apple of his eye. He was passionate about that one tree because it was so beautiful."

Knight died Monday morning in hospice care in Scarborough. A celebration of his life will be scheduled in the next few days, and Knight will be buried in a hand-crafted casket made from Herbie’s wood.

photo by Tori Milan via Flickr via GreenFudge.org

Full story.

Starfishes of the Mind

This video clip makes me shriek.  I can not tell whether I am shrieking with delight or terror. Via Everything is Terrible:



Weirdly enough, while reading Echinoblog yesterday, I also came upon a similar clip (embedded below); credits end around 1:30:



If you really want to watch Warning from Space in its entirety, it's here.

Are giant, English-speaking, bipedal starfishes "trending?" Gosh, I hope so!

Metal Monday: Hail Seitan

The power of puns is so mighty that the internet supports two entirely different metal chefs praising Seitan.



 

The Busy Modern Woman Does It All

Via RocketNews--
Terrifying people is a full time job, but the Ring's Samara / Sadako still finds time to inspire Hello Kitty, then throw out the first pitch at Tokyo Dome Stadium the TokyoDome:

Inexplicable Jaw Harpery

Don't miss the tiger.  I have no idea what is going on here.   Many thanks to the creators for sharing this work.

Nudibranch Tuesday: Philately Edition

Via:  http://www.examiner.com/article/nudibranchs-featured-on-new-australian-stamps-1

New issues from Australia join a surprisingly large catalog of nudibranch postage stamps.

Look out!  There's a shark in the surf!  No, wait... it's just a nudibranch.

Metal Monday: Avian Edition

Fish Egg Fingertips

New for 2012:  "caviar" nail art.

Follow the tutorial here.

Frog Kicks Back

The YouTube poster assures us, "The video was shot entirely fortuitously. The frog is OK. There is no nails, no glue, animal abuse, etc. Later, she jumped off the bench and galloped away to the water"

Nudibranch Tuesday: Nail Art Edition

You must have shared my sense that this was inevitable.


Tutorial one gives us:

And a second approach to Nudibranch Nails:

Colonel Bun Commands You to Have a Joyous Orthodox Easter

Pas de Bunné

A Peeps version of the "Kingdom of the Shades" from La Bayadère:

source

Hungarian Zither Metal

This video has everything! Farm animals! Throat singing! Orbs! Metal! Geraniums!



As best I can tell, "Citerion" is a Hungarian Ensemble.  I am guessing the name has something to do with "citera," the Hungarian zither.  No idea about the "puszta illegal professional." 

More zither shredding:

I Didn't Know You Cared....

Do you know that the words "caress" and "carrot" share an etymological root?   Yes, really!  Well, no, not really, but here are some roots sharing a caress:

"Cuddling Cwmbran Carrots Stun Gardening Gran"

source

Related news story: Swedish woman's lost wedding ring found on garden carrot after 16 years.

.

Lena Paahlsson says the ring was on a small carrot she was about to discard.

How is the news coverage on this story utterly devoid of caret/carrot puns?

One Carrot Ring by Solange Azagury-Partridge

Polar Buns

Aurora "Lepor"ealis!

source

Aurora Leporealis CAPTURED IN A PEEPS DIORAMA!

source

Look at the Peeps huskies!  The Peeps reindeer!  I'm pretty sure those are marshmallow flukes flashing back there in the corner...  Peep artist Nina Cois, you are a genius!

La pasión!

Good heavens! My life is not too boring, but it is never, ever like this:



The information attached to this video on YouTube identifies the performers as Sylvia Shazadi, Carmelo Cuevas, and his horse Cartagines.

Nudibranch Tuesday!

Nudibranch art by Jillian Walters


Nudibranch attack! by ~MissNysha on deviantART


Colorful Toxic Nudibranchs! by ~MissNysha on deviantART

Good Riddance, Winter

Here on the East coast of the US, the spring equinox is at 12:14 a.m. on Tuesday, March 20.

Sorry, Southern hemisphere.

Like Sands through the Hourglass, so are the Chix of our Lives

Nudibranch Tuesday!

These little guys are so expressive in elegant closeup!



Many more exciting undersea videos await at the YouTube Channel of Japan's Enoshima Aquarium.

Feelin' Crabby?

A smooch will cheer you up.

source

More lip designs from this artist and other lovely images here: viridis-somnio.deviantart.com

I know what you're thinking...  Yes, the internet has given us nail art to match.

Via the delightfully named Spaz and Squee

Art Film

This has everything:  dance!  costumes!  underwater! underwater puppetry!

The film is about 10 minutes long and deserves your full attention, so if you're in the middle of your day perhaps you'd like to come back when you're settled in after dinner.


SOLIPSIST from Andrew Huang on Vimeo.

Also: a behind-the-scenes video--


SOLIPSIST - Making Of from Andrew Huang on Vimeo.

Thank you Andrew Huang!

Ratatouille The Snowboarding Opossum

Seaside Magic

Maybe all the enchantment comes from the old-timey editing, but the appearance of a surprise guest at :45 is pretty magical too.

More Octopus Romance... and More Nail Art

Here in the open ocean, things seem a bit more decorous, but I still think there's a menacing undertone to the sentiment, "you ARE going to say you love me too."  Nonetheless,  I appreciate that the editor of this video has kept us on our toes with a Beatles' tune that is NOT Octopus's Garden.

Actual underwater footage starts at :22



These blue ring octopodes must be absolute champs at repelling the evil eye.

via http://www.evileyebeads.org/turkish-evil-eye-beads/

via http://www.itsnature.org/sea/other/dangerous-blue-ring-octopus/ combined with
http://dussandharma.blogspot.com/

While we're on topic of nazars, how about some nail art!

via http://www.emeraldsparkled.com/2010/06/notd-evil-eye.html

via http://www.emeraldsparkled.com/2010/06/tutorial-evil-eye-design.html

manicured from http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/blue-ringed-octopus

More Owls

I hate to fall back on the obvious, but these owls really are "a hoot."



I like the commingled incredulousness and resignation at 0:11

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

Ostriches!

Winter would be better with more skiing ostriches.





The creator of this next video doesn't explain what this ostrich was doing in Iran. Escaping from something? Wikipedia confirms that ostrich is an African animal, although it does intriguingly allude to a now extinct Arabian Ostrich.



Equally, winter would be better with more dancing ostriches.

Remote Kontrol and Ruth St. Denis: Astonishing Bone Illusions

According to YouTube, 28 million people have already seen this video since it was posted in September, but in case you missed it...



I am blown away by what this guy can do with his ankles. Not only does Nonstop, the dancer in this video, move in amazing ways, the musicality of this performance is also great.

YouTube commenters seem primarily struck by the impression that Nonstop looks "boneless."

I wonder what they would have thought of modern dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis (whose rippling arms were insured by Lloyd's of London).

Source

In her autobiography, St. Denis reminisces about the "astonishment" of German audiences in 1907:

It is hard to realize now, when most dancers use an arm ripple, that at this period it did not exist as a part of the dance. I was the first dancer in the Western world to use my arms in such a fashion.

[...]

During the Wintergarten engagement I had an amusing visit after the performance. I knew that my arm ripple was the subject of much interest and speculation on the part of the public. In the Incense my arms were held out from the shoulder and were raised and lowered with a subtle rippling movement which began between the shoulder blades and seemed to extend through and beyond the fingers. In the Cobra the arms took on the undulating ripple of the snake’s body. After my Cobra dance we would frequently see women furtively practicing the sinuosities of the snake dance in the orchestra seats of at the back of their boxes. But I did not know that it was also the object of scientific curiosity.

[...]

A group of German professors had witnessed my dances and wished to call upon me in a body. [...] They were anatomists who had been intrigued by the famous arm ripple which lay completely outside of any previous experience of theirs. Would the highborn be so gracious as to repeat this phenomenon in the more intimate confines of her dressing room?

[...]

One of them took off his pince-nez and began to tap along my arm from shoulder to wrist, explaining to his confreres in excited terms what, in his estimation, was happening to the muscles. [...] I rippled with the right. I rippled with the left. I turned my back and, dropping my shawl chastely to my shoulder blades, allowed them to behold the wondrous beginnings of the movement.

They all talked at once, and they all exclaimed in various tones, “Das ist wunderbar! She has no bones. Yet it doesn’t stop. It goes on and on.”

via the New York Public Library.

If only those anatomists had had this handy tutorial:

Chickens are so amazingly talented!

As an instructor of bellydance, I am very impressed by these poultry. Talk about clean technique!





The choreographic possibilities are profound. (Chickens at 1:28)