I meant to post some pictures from Maui a while ago. We went to an intertidal region and built ourselves a tide pool of exciting critters. We also went snorkeling and found an eel and an octopus! We added the octopus to our tide pool, and she showed us some beautiful patterning. I also loved the way the lava rock was pocketed with nooks and crannies for creatures to hide in.

what's happening here?

i did not know porcupines could talk.

out to dry

New Addition to my Family!

About two and a half weeks ago, my friend's chameleon gave birth to ten adorable babies! I had no idea that chameleons gave live birth!! I was fortunate enough to get one, and he is my new best friend. I've named him 'The Grand Poobah' and I intend to carry him around the island forcing people to bow down to him and kiss him on the paw. However, at the moment, if anyone were to try to kiss him, he would be swallowed up in squishy lip flesh. So, right now, I am just feeding him lots and lots of crickets and spraying him with delicious water until the day comes when I can lord him over the entire Coconut Island. Bwahahahaha!

Hudson - Against The Grain from Dropbear on Vimeo.

I love pencils!

Adventures in Depression

Mom, click on the link to read the whole comic--I think she's pretty spot on. Oh, the hilarious world of depression!

Whale Fall (after life of a whale) from Sharon Shattuck on Vimeo.

thanks nas!

Benedetta Bonichi

too bad this makes smoking look so sexy...

Tremoctopus

On Monday, I had the pleasure of working with a famous Hawaiian octopus found in the bay last week. It was picked up in the bay by a local fisherman and was mistaken for an octopus-squid hybrid. However, it was actually a species of blanket octopus, or tremoctopus; a pelagic octopus that is usually found out in the open ocean. They are called blanket octopuses because of the bizarre cape like webbing between their back arms. The male of the species is very small and he detaches his hectocotylus (the arm he uses to deposit his sperm packets in the female) and it wiggles its way up into the female. They are pretty fascinating creatures. So when I found out that we had one in the bay, I called the fisherman and he brought it over to HIMB for me! Here is the octopus as a block of ice before I thawed it out and examined it more closely.



It was slow going getting that girl thawed, but it was quite soothing. Slowly pouring water over her body, gently pulling at skin, careful not to tear it, watching her limbs unfold. I needed to get samples for several people who wanted to do genetic testing and remove the beak for Dick Young. Here you can see the "blanket."





Also, my octopus cyanea laid eggs. So many more babies...

hypnotic

Hail to the V!

I can't begin to describe this video as well as they do on Coilhouse.

"I’m not sure how comfortable I am with a full minute of advertising that repeatedly references disembodied genitalia. “It” is the cradle of life, but isn’t “it” attached to someone? “It” is the center of civilization, but “it” isn’t the one throwing up its arms. But the strangest, most uncomfortable section is that last part, the longest part, the part where men are fighting for “it” — killing to possess “it”. That section is really weird because what I get from that section is that men have made war upon one another for your vagina. They have killed each other for your vagina. They have leveled cities and razed the land for your vagina."

The Ice Book (HD) from Davy and Kristin McGuire on Vimeo.

The Saga Of Biorn from The Animation Workshop on Vimeo.

Thoroughly disturbed

I am totally going to do something like this for my grandkids. They need to know their grandma was eff'd up.

FITC Toronto 2011 Titles from FITC on Vimeo.

disturbing...

Hambuster from Hambuster Team on Vimeo.

via coilhouse

kinda makes me want a hamburger...

Lightning in Kaneohe

A pic a friend of mine took on Monday night during the thunderstorm.

Spider attack from Ahmet Ozkan on Vimeo.

definitely worth your time

Images of the Weekend

I am an octopus mom again! Here are some pictures of me struggling with the male while I tried to relocate him away from the female. The end of the day was spent relaxing on the dock with a beer.

oh Bill...

The Japanese Popstars Feat. Green Velvet - Let Go from David Wilson Creative on Vimeo.

love it. thanks bryan!

Valentine's Dessert Party

I recently threw a wine and dessert party on Coconut Island. Our kitchen is a disaster area, which is evident by the photos. I made cheesecake, sana torte, crystal cake, trifle, lemon tart, and chocolate chiffon pie. There were about 20-25 people and about thirty bottles of wine (all of which were empty by the end of the night...). Here are some pics of me with the desserts--if only there weren't a hideous rat nest hole in the wall....

of course i like this song... it sounds like "the knife"

More Bus Adventures

I had almost forgotten what a joy it is to ride the bus... almost. My car recently sputtered to a stop, smoke coming from under the hood, slowly coughing out its last, dying breath (I know that's redundant, but it sounds more dramatic). My poor Harold. Well, as a consequence of these events, I have been reduced to using the bus for transportation once again.

My morning began at 7, and I finally arrived on campus at 10. The first bus ride ended in a rather confusing manner. Before getting on to the highway to cross over to the other side of the island, the bus driver pulled over and began to mumble something incoherent and requested that we disembark. While we were waiting for another bus to come and take us all over, four cop cars pulled up inexplicably. I overheard a woman on her cellphone tell her colleague that she was going to be late because a truck hit the bus. That confused me further because if we had been hit by a truck, I would think I would have noticed. The mystery was never solved unfortunately, because I had to get on the next bus (that arrived a prompt twenty minutes later...). When I finally made it into town, I comically (and unsuccessfully) chased down the bus I needed to transfer to in order to get to campus. I then waited, beaten by public transportation, for the next bus. Ultimately, I made it to campus and I promptly went to my office, put my head down and took a fifteen-minute nap. Thankfully, my ride home was less eventful, but I did manage to get off the bus prematurely and added ten minutes to my already thirty-minute walk back to the island. Needless to say, it was a long day.

I also rediscovered some of the familiar characters that seem to be ubiquitous on any public transportation. Since I have such a small readership, I'm not going to worry too much about offending people, but if you are offended, sorry. Today there was a particularly large population of mean, small, elderly Asian women (Acronym: MSEAW). When we were all forced to disembark the first bus, there was one especially MSEAW who decided to elbow her way to the door to ensure her departure before anyone else. Then, while boarding our replacement bus, she again aggressively made her way to the front of the pack with no regard for the victims of her pointy elbowed attack along the way. I may be overly bitter given that I was one of those said victims.
Another interesting, although quite unpleasant, bus companion is the chain-smoker who gets on and immediately fills the entire bus with an impossibly thick fog of nicotine smell. He or she then proceeds to spend the entire bus ride hacking away, apparently attempting to dislodge a lung and leave it as a present on the bus floor. Today, our unfortunate chain smoker was especially smelly and I was unable to politely mask my reaction as I quickly grabbed for my sweater and pressed it violently to my nose to filter the air.

On another note, I took some fantabulous pictures the other day of some of my baby octopus. I won't put them all up here, and I am even a bit hesitant to put one up since I don't want some sneaky scientist stealing my babies. Those scientists, always stealing babies... But, here is one for your enjoyment:

Delightful Weirdness

Here is a description from Coilhouse, where I found the vid:

Described as “a David Lynchian fever dream on Beatrix Potter terrain”, Christiane Cegavske’s exquisitely-crafted stop motion tale Blood Tea and Red String is a macabre delight and a labor of love that was 13 years in the making. The film, a dialogue-free, avant garde “fairy tale for adults” follows two groups of anthropomorphic creatures in fancy costumes -the aristocratic White Mice and the rustic Creatures Who Dwell Under the Oak – and the “struggle over the doll of their heart’s desire.” This struggle, notes one critic, is so fascinating because the actions and emotions of these bizarre creatures “so uncannily resemble warts-and-all human behavior”. We find a “disturbing comfort” in these unconventional characters, and we see ourselves in this magic world that Cegavske creates.

Happy New Year!

It has been quite a while since I updated. My eggs did eventually hatch, however, they didn't last long. There were thousands of tiny octopuses that looked more like squid (without the tentacles of course) swimming around the tank. I collected a lot of them for genetics research and some to raise. They weren't feeding well, so I am taking a different approach with the next batch of eggs. They will probably hatch next week, so I am trying to get everything ready for them.

I had a lovely, much needed break at home with family, friends, and falafel. When I returned, Hawai'i was rainy and grey. I was on boats on New Years day, and it was the most perfect day. Here is a picture... Jealous yet?



On Thursday, as I was driving home, I tried to take a picture of the beautiful sunset (only at the stop light, Mom). When I put my camera back in my bag, I thought I was turning the camera off, but I ended up taking a picture, and this was the result.



Here are some pics of my babies. You can see the little guys in their tube and the bucket I used the transfer them. There is also a picture of their mama--you can see some empty egg cases and some behind her that haven't hatched yet.





I had planned on posting a lot earlier, but the internet has been out for the past week! Also, I am going to try to start a podcast--maybe Music and Malacology, Tunes and Teuthology, Indie and Inverts? I really miss having a radio show and I refuse to go through the ridiculousness at the University of Hawaii. I'm thinking of doing a segment on science (likely sexual selection) every show and play some classic rock, old indie, new indie, mashups, math rock, etc. So, pretty much an eclectic mix. I'm figuring out the copyright laws and make sure I don't screw up. I looked into streaming a radio show, but that seems to require more licensing.

Also, I've started a journal with sketches of invertebrates from around the island. I'll try to scan some in and add them when I finish one.

Alright, that's all for this post!