but soooo much more interesting than the politician I bet you thought this post was going to be about.
Ha ha ha!
I picked up a copy of the Times for the morning subway ride, and they had the best article about jellyfish. Absolutely fascinating. Did you know that they eddy out to stay where they want to stay? That some of them have crystal-weighted eyes? That if you run into a man wearing pantyhose in Australia, he might not be a cross-dresser, he might just be going to the beach? Fascinating stuff.
I'll definitely have to remember the pantyhose thing for the next time I'm giving a talk about hazardous marine life. Faaaabulous trivia!
15 comments:
What's so unusual about a man wearing panty hose?
Not that there's anything wrong with that! :D
Is wearing pantyhose on the beach worse than wearing a Speedo? Does it make a difference if you are a man or a woman? Is it worse for a man to post a picture of him bare chested on a beach on his blog or post it on his Facebook page or send it in a tweet? What about a woman in a bikini? Is online flirting worse than offline flirting? Why have I never had any success with the pickup line, "Would you like to see a photo of my underwear"? What's a prude? Is any of this more important than Climate Change? Why do I keep asking rhetorical questions?
Phew. I'm just glad you made it clear that those were all rhetorical questions. That means you weren't actually expecting to get any answers, right?
I guess that's what kind of questions I ask at home to my kids. I rarely get answers.
And on the other subject, what a WEINER!!!!!
And a dog.
But not a Weiner Dog.
Do I expect to get answers to rhetorical questions? Who would know? How many issues are more important than a man sending a lady a picture of him in his underwear? How many people have not done something they would be embarrassed about if it became public? How many people would lie to cover up something they were embarrassed about? Is it worse to lie to persuade a nation to undertake an unnecessary war or to lie about a photo of your underwear? Is it worse to deny the reality of human influence on climate change or to deny sending a weird photo of yourself? Do I not really expect any answers to these questions? Why is a weiner funny but a boehner isn't?
If you pronounce Weiner like a German would, it's no longer funny
Back on topic....
Maui Ocean Center has a nice sea jellies tank - an acrylic cylinder about four feet in diameter and seven feet tall, with lots of moon jellies in it. Great place to relax to their gentle pulsations as they swim about in the tank.
Ah, that reminds me that I can put a picture with this post - and also that I need to pay a visit to the Coney Island Aquarium with my "real" camera (the Lumix TQ gave me for Christmas) - I bet I could get some nice pictures with that in the aquarium's excellent jellyfish exhibit. I've gotten a couple of decent ones with the Optio but the Lumix is a lot better in artificial light.
Panda, I thought this post WAS about men in their underwear.
Or in someone else's underwear.
And I agree with Tillerman that too much is being made of this Weiner (a common complaint, actually).
It's just another story of a politician seeking congress and using the internet to reach out to his constituency.
O Docker, and anyone else who might have mistaken my intent similarly -
Actually, this post was about jellyfish. The jokes were irresistable, but the article really was fascinating and I would have posted it even if there hadn't been run in an issue of the Times featuring heavy coverage of political scandal in which the main character displayed an annoying lack of vertebral fortitude.
I did vent, briefly, on Facebook, because I found it intensely annoying that a supposedly media-savvy, intelligent individual could be stupid enough to think that trying to blame something he knew perfectly well was his own damned fault on some mysterious hacker was going to work. That's just too dumb for words. The internet doesn't work that way.
Who among us hasn't, in a moment of anger or thoughtlessness, hit the "send" key on something that we wished we could recall, maybe even just an instant later? I sure have - but once you've hit send, it's too late, you just have to suck it up and own it.
If Weiner had just had the sense to do that, I don't think I ever would've said a word about it. I don't have terribly high expectations of politicians - they seem to be in a business that can really bring out the worst in the best, always been that way, always will.
Thus endeth the rant. Now if you didn't read the jellyfish article, seriously, go read it, it's very very cool.
I don't think I misunderstood your intent, but thought you might be pointing out the many similarities between jellyfish and politicians.
Besides being spineless, both are transparent and able to assume almost any convenient shape, depending which way the current is flowing. Both live in the depths, but like to bask in the warmth of bright lights.
The Times author uses the description "jiggly and slimy". He asks, "Where is the head, the heart, the back...?" He continues that they're often mistaken for "so much mindless protoplasm with a mouth". I know just what he means.
And it turns out that in the case of both species, it has taken extensive research to verify the existence of a brain. I think you will agree that the events of the past week bear that out.
Seriously though, the most fascinating jellyfish fact to me is something in another article or blog post I was reading this week (can't remember where).
Some species apparently have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria that live inside the jellyfish. The jellies rise to the surface, seeking the sun, more for the benefit of the bacteria than for themselves. This allows the bacteria to produce stuff they don't need but which are nutrients for the jellyfish.
Sorry I don't remember more accurate terms, but pretty cool, no?
Well, when you put it like that...
No, no, no. I only wish I was that subtle. It was about jellyfish, with a bad joke about a guy who shoulda known better thrown in for a cheap laugh.
ps - Jeeze. That's hysterical. I really do wish I was that funny.
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