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Well hello there! And thanks to Marco and Polo for letting me guest blog. You can normally find me over at A Whistle and a Milkshake, a food and music blog that doesn't, unfortunately, accommodate my other great love - sea creatures.
I am absolutely, and shamefully, oblivious to the goings on of most of the world. More specifically, the parts of the world that aren’t covered in water. Quiz me about the economy and you’ll meet a blank face. But if you ever need anecdotes about octopuses, I’m your girl.
If films such as Finding Nemo, Ponyo or the much underrated Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus have taught us anything, it’s that the underwater world is pretty cool, and it’s one that I’ve always loved. While most people check the ABC or SMH for their daily updates, I’m afraid to say that my news site of choice is www.deepseanews.com . And try as I might, I just can’t muster the same enthusiasm for local elections as I can for frogs that gestate their young in their stomach.
Right?
Well hello there! And thanks to Marco and Polo for letting me guest blog. You can normally find me over at A Whistle and a Milkshake, a food and music blog that doesn't, unfortunately, accommodate my other great love - sea creatures.
I am absolutely, and shamefully, oblivious to the goings on of most of the world. More specifically, the parts of the world that aren’t covered in water. Quiz me about the economy and you’ll meet a blank face. But if you ever need anecdotes about octopuses, I’m your girl.
If films such as Finding Nemo, Ponyo or the much underrated Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus have taught us anything, it’s that the underwater world is pretty cool, and it’s one that I’ve always loved. While most people check the ABC or SMH for their daily updates, I’m afraid to say that my news site of choice is www.deepseanews.com . And try as I might, I just can’t muster the same enthusiasm for local elections as I can for frogs that gestate their young in their stomach.
Right? And I think I’ve figured out why. Like many little kids, I had a thing for mythical creatures. Unicorns, dragons, griffins, Mr Tumnus, mermaids, the whole kettle. Even though I held out hope for Narnia for an awfully long time, I knew that these creatures weren’t really out there. Except for one. The Kraken, the creature about whom Tennyson had written the famous verse, who had been hypothesised by ancient Greeks, actually existed. Although no one, when I was young, had ever seen a giant squid alive, plenty of evidence supported their existence, not the least of which being giant sucker marks born by sperm whales, the scars of epic battles.
I gradually stopped reading Greek myths and legends and started reading about the ocean. From the deep sea hydrothermal vents where blind and blanched white creatures move like ghosts, to whale falls that house bone eating zombie worms, to ancient giant tortoises (like Harriet) and vigilante octopuses, the sea held all those stories I loved. The beautiful and the bizarre, the joyous and the monstrous. And who needs unicorns, when you’ve got narwhals?
The fish with the see through head: the barrel-eye fish
The Luidia sarsi starfish: confounding scientists.
Translucent creatures.
I may have mentioned earlier: Bone eating zombie worms My favourite line from that article? "The female worms keep males inside their tube as a sort of little harem that fertilises eggs as they are released."
The vampire squid from hell. A literal translation from the latin.
Blingin' rainbow jelly fish:
This ... amazing thing:
And, when I'm feeling blue, sea otters holding hands:
I gradually stopped reading Greek myths and legends and started reading about the ocean. From the deep sea hydrothermal vents where blind and blanched white creatures move like ghosts, to whale falls that house bone eating zombie worms, to ancient giant tortoises (like Harriet) and vigilante octopuses, the sea held all those stories I loved. The beautiful and the bizarre, the joyous and the monstrous. And who needs unicorns, when you’ve got narwhals?
Narwhals. So awesome.
If you need more convincing, here are some my favourite weird and wonderful things from under the sea. (With thanks: I wouldn't have found half these awesome things without the lovely Sarah: co-conspirator and workplace distraction of the best kind.)The fish with the see through head: the barrel-eye fish
The Luidia sarsi starfish: confounding scientists.
Translucent creatures.I may have mentioned earlier: Bone eating zombie worms My favourite line from that article? "The female worms keep males inside their tube as a sort of little harem that fertilises eggs as they are released."
The vampire squid from hell. A literal translation from the latin.
Blingin' rainbow jelly fish:
This ... amazing thing:
And, when I'm feeling blue, sea otters holding hands:
