2009 MIX-TAPE

So I was talking with mysterysong the other day and we came up with the idea of creating a 12 track mix-tape for 2009, picking a song defining each month and then compiling them for New Year’s 2010.

I think we should pick two songs for each month, giving us total of 24 by the end of the year. Considering this year also marks the end of the noughties, perhaps we should consider making a similar mix-tape choosing a couple of songs form each year since 2000.

To begin with, we need a track for January. Any suggestions?

Octopus: the world’s next dominant species.

Anybody who knows me will have, at some stage, stumbled (much to their ever-lasting regret), upon my great love of the octopus. Not because I think they are overly beautiful, and most certainly not because I like to eat them – the day an octopus passes my lips, may the god of cephalopods smite me down – no. Contrary to what people may think, the octopus is an creature of great intelligence, and exhibits behaviours which set it apart entirely from other invertebrates, and render it one of the most fascinating animals on this planet.

So, I present to you skeptics: Octopus – the world’s next dominant species.

The octopus as a forward-planner.

The ability to plan is something which we, as humans, take entirely for granted. However, it is not something which is shared throughout the animal kingdom, and definitely by no other sea-dweller. Many behaviors which one could describe as forward-planning could more correctly categorized as fixed action patterns – behaviors which, through trial and error, over many generations, have been learned, and which are demonstrated amongst all, or most, members of a species or group.

The octopus however, shows the ability to plan a set of complex actions tailored to its specific situation…

While watching an Octopus in Bermuda, a researcher observed it sitting in its sheltering den after a foraging expedition, where it caught several crabs, took them home and ate them. Suddenly it jetted out directly to a small rock about two meters away, tucked it under its spread arms and jetted back. It then gathered three other stones, propped these at the den entrance and, thus shielded, took a safe siesta. The strategy suggested qualities that weren’t supposed to occur in the lower orders: foresight, planning, perhaps even tool use.

Researchers and aquarium attendants tell tales of octopuses that have tormented and outwitted them. Some captive octopuses lie in ambush and spit in their keepers’ faces. Others dismantle pumps and block drains, causing costly floods, or flex their arms in order to pop locked lids. Some have been caught sneaking from their tanks at night into other exhibits, gobbling up fish, then sneaking back to their tanks, damp trails along walls and floors giving them away.

Maze and problem-solving experiments have shown that they do have both short- and long-term memory. Their short lifespans limit the amount they can ultimately learn. There has been much speculation to the effect that almost all octopus behaviors are independently learned rather than instinct-based.

In laboratory experiments, octopuses can be readily trained to distinguish between different shapes and patterns. They have been reported to practice observational learning, and have also been observed in what some have described as play: repeatedly releasing bottles or toys into a circular current in their aquariums and then catching them. Octopuses often break out of their aquariums and sometimes into others in search of food. They have even boarded fishing boats and opened holds to eat crabs.

The octopus has a super brain!

They are capable of associative and observational learning, they are curious and adaptive, and can invent new solutions to problems. They have a large brain relative to their body size, containing about 500 million cells, and they have condensed the classically distributed invertebrate central nervous system into a dense, discrete brain. Rather than retaining the very large and accessible identifiable neurons we associate with invertebrates, the cephalopods have paralleled the vertebrates, microminiaturizing neurons to pack more cells into a given space. They’ve also built layered structures into their brains, and thrown the tissue up into folds that increase surface area, much as the vertebrate cortex has.

In many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, octopuses are on the list of experimental animals on which surgery may not be performed without anesthesia.

Octopuses are able to open jars after just observing this being done a couple of times – an ability which is entirely outside what they would encounter in their natural lives. They are able to learn, to plan. They show their own distinct personality traits. As much as I love my goldfishies, that’s something you can’t say for them…

It is this ability to learn which sets octopi apart from all other lower-order creatures. Their behaviour is not merely a result of a survival instinct, rather it is a result of their observation, allowing them to learn, to form memories, in a manner more similar to that of higher mammals than invertebrates.

_______________

It’s interesting that when, billions of years ago, we supposedly evolved out of the water and took to land, the octopus stayed. The octopus has a brain unlike that of any other marine creature, and that is the fundamental point. Our ancestors at some point developed a different brain, and over millions and millions of years, we became what we are today…

So here’s the question – has the octopus been the intellectual giant of the sea for those billions of years, did the octopus brain evolve at the same point the human brain evolved, or is this a fairly recent (evolutionarily recent – a few million years or so…) intelligence? And if so, how long until the cephalopods evolve out of the water?

If it weren’t for the fact that they have a short lifespan, the octopus could be ruling the Earth…well, maybe that’s an exaggeration for now. Give it a few million more years though, and the next dominant species could well have eight legs.

Some links:
http://discovermagazine.com/2003/oct/feateye

http://www.fortunecity.com/emachines/e11/86/cephpod.html
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/06/octopus_brains.php
http://www.biolbull.org/cgi/reprint/210/3/308

Love, Uncle Rupert

Meet Ian Thorpe’s swimmer friend, Daniel Mendes

I don’t get it. I mean, why devote so many column inches to Ian Thorpe’s friendship with a hot Brazilian swimmer named Daniel? Yeah, they’ve lived together for three years and spend Christmas with each others families, so did my sister and her now-husband before they got marr-

oh … OH.

Ah, Rupert, your lawsuit-evading obfuscations are so clever. You minx.

Chesterton Road W10

Light Locations, Chesterton Road W10

So this is Australia Day…

So I’m sitting here in the traditional Left Australia Day attire, a bikini to demonstrate my love for this land and a black armband to disapprove of it. I don’t know if it’s because the view from the Ivory Tower is somewhat distorted, but this particular public holiday has always left me somewhat in two minds. After all, there’s a fine line between unbridled patriotism and latent nationalism. The former should be celebrated, the latter….

This year there’s been a bit more of a ruckus around Australia Day than normal. The current Australian of the Year Mick Dodson has argued that the date of Australia Day should be changed. He  and others have labelled it ‘Invasion Day” to mark the start date of the inequalities and atrocities that have been committed against our indigenous citizens. It’s a position that some in the Labor Party (though certainly not Kevin Rudd) agree with. The question then becomes, is this a debate that should be had?

For me, changing the date of Australia Day isn’t just about the Indigenous people, although I admit, I find the arguments quite persuasive. For me it’s a wider issue that emerges on Australia Day which  is best encapsulated in the symbolism of the Australian Flag that gets manufactured and draped over every space available.. Most recently in public memory, it was strongly associated  the images of the Cronulla Riots, a couple of years ago.  As The Age points out today, the underlying xenophobia which bubbles beneath much of the Australian narrative, can be a dangerous thing. It’s often on days like today, as the beer cascades down the side of a tinnie, that this nasty side of Australia can materialise. 

So I still don’t have an final  view on whether the date should be changed, but despite all the things are great about Australia Day (The Triple J Hottest One Hundred being my favourite), there are still issues that disconcert me. That’s my form of patriotism, a skepticism  towards the status quo which I think is perfectly legitimate way to celebrate today.

Poverty porn

Yesterday we were going to stage a poetry reading, but went to TTP instead.

On the way back we cruised the outer suburbs, where the grass is yellow and the speed limit climbs to 80, and manufacturing towers reach upwards on the northern horizon.

I work out there sometimes so I know the geography pretty well. It was a bit like tourism, five eastern suburbs kids crammed into a car, staring at the wildlife. I felt a bit queasy, like I was betraying all the good, decent people I’ve met out that way since I started at my job.

Alice Miles called Slumdog Millionaire poverty porn, but this was the real thing. Nobody meant it seriously, but that was half the trouble to me. We watch two little boys thwack tennis balls with cricket bats, while dad and grand-dad sat on low lying fold out chairs, stubbies in hand, or the toothless mother leaving her five year old sitting on the burning sidewalk while she dashes into the street to check for the oncoming bus. I don’t know about anyone else, but I was quite desensitised to the tragedy of it. I was safe behind my car’s tinted windows and locked doors, free to drive the kilometre or so back to tree-lined inner suburbia, Cibo coffee etc etc.

Still more perplexing is that word, tragedy, because what do I know? They could all be quite happy and may well be a lot better people than I am. And THEN, I run the risk of elevating that life to some place of impossible privilege, unreachable to me and my private school diction and Country Road wardrobe. Where do you strike the balance, between sympathy and apathy and respect and girls from Greece who think that poor is cool?

Anyway, poetry readings. Let’s get to it. I’ll bring the Neruda.

P.S. Bjorkent, you are a persuasive fucker.

Trinny and Susannah, where are you?

The Geneva Convention is in town for the long weekend, so we went out for drinks/dancing last night. We were in Sevilla and some girl rocked up wearing just about nothing – as in, a skin tight, white “dress” with a pouffy bottom. We christened her Sailor Moon.  She looked very uncomfortable, and kept adjusting herself which was a problem because every time she pulled the dress down to cover her arse/ladyparts, her boobs became more exposed, and every time she tried to fit her boobs back into the dress her arse came into view. Ugh.

GC and I thought, however, the her friends’ conservative dress code made up for this aberration. We were shocked, then, when a young woman wearing devil horns standing with Sailor Moon reached into the back of her dress, exposing first a thigh high slit then her underwear – which she promptly removed.

Really, it was 9.30 at night in a nice part of town. Surely you wait until everyone else in the bar is to drunk to remember or care before you remove your underwear?

I know Saturday night’s a licentious free-for-all, but this was just gross.

So, ANYWAY! I was out at Ruby’s last night and that idiot Dosa started texting Joy Luck Club. Turns out she was near by at the Electricity Works doing coke. I don’t know why he bothered texting; it’s not like she’s any fun! Plus she’s mad. I don’t really know why I’m posting this. It’s hardly gossip that she was at the EW doing drugs. It’s no wonder she’s lost the plot.

How was everyone else’s nights? I danced the night away with Old Man Anime, Dosa and Wedgewood. So much fun! I’m so glad we didn’t run into JLC, she would have SERIOUSLY fucked up my night. Plus, I didn’t have too many drinks which was good. MMMMMMMM.

So, that was my Friday night! Can’t wait to see you all on Sunday!

xoxo

OSCAR 2009!

So the Oscar Nominations were announced this morning at 5.30. The full list can be read here. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button leads the race this year with 13 nods, including best film, best director for David Fincher and best actor for Brad Pitt. This is all pretty predictable for the Academy who lap up glittering, nostalgic epics like there’s no tomorrow. This really infuriates me. I hate Button so much, but that’s for another post.

This year’s indie hit, Slumdog Millionaire follows close behind Button with 10 nominations. The sprawling drama about an impoverished Indian teen who ends up on a TV game show has garnered nods for best picture, best director for Danny Boyle and best adapted screenplay for Simon Beaufoy.

Close behind are Milk – about assassinated gay rights activist Harvey Milk – and comic book thriller The Dark Knight. Both films received eight nominations yesterday. The late Heath Ledger is amongst the nominees for best supporting actor. Rounding off the best picture nominees are Milk, Frost/Nixon and The Reader.

The biggest winner already has been independent cinema. Despite my disappointment at Benjamin Button’s success, it is one of only two studio release nominated for best picture this year (the other is Frost/Nixon). The rest have spawned from the indie world, along with many other films nominated in other categories. Michelle Leo is up for best actress for her tun as a struggling single mother in Frozen River. She competes against Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married, Angelina Jolie for Changeling, Meryl Streep for Doubt and Kate Winslet for The Reader. Conincidentally, Winslet recently won to Golden Globe for her performance – but in the supporting actress category. Winslet has not been nominated for her performance in Revolutionary Road, which earned her the best actress Golden Globe two weeks ago.

The Pitt-Jolie household must be celebrating tonight. Brad is up for best actor along with Mickey Rourke, who picked up the Golden Globe, Sean Penn for Milk, Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon and Richard Jenkins for The Visitor.

So where are the snubs? In my opinion, the biggest travesty is the exclusion of Sally Hawkins. Her performance in Mike Leigh’s latest film Happy-Go-Lucky was superb;  a much more accomplished turn than Angelina Jolie’s, whose messy hysterics in Changeling were almost embarrassing. I’m also suprised that Reovlutionary Road had such a bad run. I haven’t seen The Reader yet, but its critical reception has been tepid at best. Revolutionary Road showcases such magnificent talent and very little of it will be recognised at the Oscars this year. Also, Bruce Springsteen’s The Wrestler, which took home the Golden Globe for best original song this year, is sorely lacking from the nominee list at the Oscars.

In any case, Februrary 22 should be a remarkable night! I’ll post my picks at some stage over the next week. My head says Slumdog, my heart, Milk.

FOREPLAY!

So, the other day I helped my Grandfather take some unwanted backyard debris to the local dump. Despite being warned by dump officials not to scavenge, I found several items of interest, the most bizarre of which was a board game entitled Foreplay: A Game for Lovers. Foreplay is a sex game which opens doors to discussion between lovers. The back of the box elucidates on the game’s objectives:

“There are no losers in Foreplay. Both players win by gaining a new understanding of their partner and experiencing a romantic interlude. Share and explore each other’s thoughts. What is your most secret fantasy…what is your lover’s? What has been the most exciting sexual experience you have shared together? The first one to finish the game receive immediate physical pleasures. Imagine your body being caressed. Relax as fragrant oil is massaged into your thighs. Indulge and pamper yourself: pamper your partner [interesting colon use] Revitalise your love-life…play FOREPLAY”