Selasa, 15 Desember 2009

Coco-Octo

it's very interesting
Indonesian waters are very rich!

Aussie scientists find coconut-carrying octopus

SYDNEY – Australian scientists have discovered an octopus in Indonesia that collects coconut shells for shelter — unusually sophisticated behavior that the researchers believe is the first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate animal.
The scientists filmed the veined octopus, Amphioctopus marginatus, selecting halved coconut shells from the sea floor, emptying them out, carrying them under their bodies up to 65 feet (20 meters), and assembling two shells together to make a spherical hiding spot.
Julian Finn and Mark Norman of Museum Victoria in Melbourne observed the odd activity in four of the creatures during a series of dive trips to North Sulawesi and Bali in Indonesia between 1998 and 2008. Their findings were published Tuesday in the journal Current Biology.
"I was gobsmacked," said Finn, a research biologist at the museum who specializes in cephalopods. "I mean, I've seen a lot of octopuses hiding in shells, but I've never seen one that grabs it up and jogs across the sea floor. I was trying hard not to laugh."
Octopuses often use foreign objects as shelter. But the scientists found the veined octopus going a step further by preparing the shells, carrying them long distances and reassembling them as shelter elsewhere.
That's an example of tool use, which has never been recorded in invertebrates before, Finn said.
"What makes it different from a hermit crab is this octopus collects shells for later use, so when it's transporting it, it's not getting any protection from it," Finn said. "It's that collecting it to use it later that is unusual."
The researchers think the creatures probably once used shells in the same way. But once humans began cutting coconuts in half and discarding the shells into the ocean, the octopuses discovered an even better kind of shelter, Finn said.
The findings are significant, in that they reveal just how capable the creatures are of complex behavior, said Simon Robson, associate professor of tropical biology at James Cook University in Townsville.
"Octopuses have always stood out as appearing to be particularly intelligent invertebrates," Robson said. "They have a fairly well-developed sense of vision and they have a fairly intelligent brain. So I think it shows the behavioral capabilities that these organisms have."
There is always debate in the scientific community about how to define tool use in the animal kingdom, Robson said. The Australian researchers defined a tool as an object carried or maintained for future use. But other scientists could define it differently, which means it's difficult to say for certain whether this is the first evidence of such behavior in invertebrates, Robson said.
Still, the findings are interesting, he said.
"It's another example where we can think about how similar humans are to the rest of the world," Robson said. "We are just a continuum of the entire planet."

Kamis, 12 November 2009

Frog (&) Prince

Never saw such a beautiful and not frightening frog as seen in http://www.rainforestsos.org ad
and there's Kermit too!

I'm surprised to see that [English] sense of humor :)

Foreign Farming

I remember Fatima Bhutto saying this in a session in the second day of Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2009:

"Saudi Arabia . . . plant their corps in Pakistan to feed its people . . . [recently] thousands of Pakistani line up for food"

Minggu, 08 November 2009

Amorphophallus!

over the span of 10 yrs, been to the garden for about four times buuuuuuuuuut never once i spotted the famous parasite.
yesterday went there with Cika and Anast. happy i was, the plant there was.
it's not in the state of full spung, erect. rather, it's drooped.
but i'm happy to see it. fantastic plant!

Senin, 02 November 2009

My Love, in the Garden

L'amour de moi, s'y est enclose
Dedans un jolie jardinet
Ou croit la rose et le muguet
Y aussi fait la passerose

Ce jardinet est bel et plaisant
Il est garni de toutes fleurs
On y prend son ébettement
Autant la nuit comme le jour

Helas il n'est si douce chose
Que de ce doux rossignolet
Qui chante au soir et au matinet
Quand il est las il se repose

Ce jardinet est bel et plaisant
Il est garni de toutes fleurs
On y prend son ébettement
Autant la nuit comme le jour

(L'Amour de Moi, Mediaeval Baebes)

This is How The Harvest Time Comes

seed thrown on a field by a man
he then goes to bed
he forgets about it

The seed sprouts
and grows
how it happens
he has no idea

without his help
The earth does it all:
first a green stem of grass
then a bud
then the ripened grain

Harvest time!

(Иногда я не могу понять, статей написанных журналистами. oni: Matfey, Mark, Luk, i Ioann)

Kamis, 24 September 2009

Slender Lightning Bugs!

Smitten by this song Fireflies by Owl City. why 10 millions? why ten thousands?
people are obsessed with numbers yes? as in a thousand oceans
well then. this song is kinda fun and makes me remember of fireflies at Argopuro house, Nongkojajar. been so long since the last time i saw them!


You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep
'Cause they fill the open air,
And leave teardrops everywhere
You'd think me rude, but I would just stand and stare


I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems


'Cause I get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they try to teach me how to dance
A foxtrot above my head,
A sock hop beneath my bed,
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread (thread, thread)


Leave my door open just a crack
(Please take me away from here)
Cuz I feel like such an insomniac
(Please take me away from here)
Why do I tire of counting sheep?
(Please take me away from here)
When I'm far too tired to fall asleep


To ten million fireflies
I'm weird 'cause I hate good-byes
I got misty eyes as they said farewell (said farewell)
But I'll know where several are
If my dreams get real bizarre
'Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar


I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
Because my dreams are bursting at the seams

Minggu, 23 Agustus 2009

sumpin to think over

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2009/jul/19/food-waste?picture=350496037

Vegetal: Bali



Vegetal: Australia

I wrote that in early 1999. I am glad that it came true, been twice up to now. Kak Ester went to Auusie for the second time and sent me some preview of the continent.


Jumat, 24 Juli 2009

Deep River!

my home is over Jordan
Deep river Lord, I want to cross
over into campground
(Deep River, a spiritualsong)

I'm in a sentimental mode. i was touched by this article (daily Kompas, also online today). how could springs cease to flow?
i have a brother by the river.


Mata Air Brantas Mati
Jumat, 24 Juli 2009 | 04:00 WIB

Kediri, Kompas - Puluhan sumber mata air di Sungai Brantas, Jawa Timur, mengering, bahkan mati, akibat perusakan hutan secara besar-besaran. Kondisi itu mengancam kelangsungan kehidupan makhluk hidup, termasuk manusia, beserta kegiatan perekonomian di sepanjang aliran sungai.
Direktur Lembaga Swadaya Masyarakat Ecoton Prigi, Arisandi, di Kediri, Kamis (23/7), menyebutkan, dari 111 sumber mata air Sungai Brantas, saat ini tinggal 50 sumber mata air. ”Data itu kami dapatkan dari hasil penelitian tahun 1998. Kondisi saat ini semakin parah. Kami perkirakan sumber mata air yang mati jumlahnya semakin banyak,” katanya di sela-sela acara sosialisasi lingkungan kepada pelajar di Kediri.
Prigi mengatakan, sumber mata air Sungai Brantas berasal dari Gunung Kelud di Kediri, Gunung Wilis, Gunung Welirang, Gunung Arjuna, dan Gunung Liman di Nganjuk. Sumber-sumber mata air itu mengering seiring maraknya perusakan hutan dan pengalihan fungsi kawasan konservasi menjadi lahan pertanian.
Sebagai contoh, hampir di seluruh lereng Gunung Wilis di wilayah Kabupaten Kediri, Tulungagung, dan Nganjuk saat ini telah berubah dari hutan menjadi lahan pertanian produktif dengan tanaman utama jagung, ketela, dan sayur-sayuran. Tanaman hutan produksi, seperti jati dan pinus, habis dijarah.
”Jika terus dibiarkan, tak menutup kemungkinan Sungai Brantas mengering 15 tahun ke depan. Padahal, kita tahu, Sungai Brantas adalah urat nadi kehidupan 60 persen lebih masyarakat di Jawa Timur,” ujarnya.
Air Sungai Brantas tak hanya digunakan sebagai sumber air perusahaan daerah air minum, tetapi juga sumber pengairan lahan pertanian di Malang, Blitar, Kediri, Jombang, Mojokerto, Sidoarjo, serta sumber air bagi sejumlah industri manufaktur.
Kerusakan Sungai Brantas diperparah dengan adanya pembuangan limbah cair dari rumah tangga dan industri serta penambangan pasir besar-besaran.
Tinggi muka air Waduk Bade di Kecamatan Klego, Kabupaten Boyolali, Jawa Tengah, pada musim kemarau ini juga menurun drastis hingga mendekati ambang batas minimum. Elevasi waduk turun dari 239,50 meter di atas permukaan laut (dpl) menjadi 237,42 meter dpl. Akibatnya, aliran air untuk ribuan hektar sawah terpaksa dibatasi.
Para petani di Desa Lagadar, Kecamatan Margaasih, Kabupaten Bandung, Jawa Barat, terpaksa mengandalkan saluran drainase warga untuk mengairi sawah dan kebun mereka. Padahal, air yang mereka gunakan tercemar berat limbah pabrik.
Produksi melati turun
Musim kemarau sekarang ini juga menyebabkan produksi melati di Kota Pekalongan, Jawa Tengah, turun karena stok air pada musim kemarau tidak memadai. Penurunan produksi juga mengakibatkan melonjaknya harga melati dari Rp 10.000 menjadi Rp 19.000 per kilogram.
Ahmad (70), petani melati di Desa Slamaran, Kecamatan Pekalongan Utara, Kamis, menyatakan, penurunan produksi melati terjadi sejak satu bulan lalu. Sebelumnya, dari lahan seluas 2.000 meter persegi ia bisa memperoleh sekitar dua kilogram melati per hari. Saat ini hanya 1-2 ons melati per hari. Anjloknya produksi juga membuat pasokan ke sejumlah pabrik teh di Tegal dan Pekalongan turun.
Juri (65), petani melati lain, mengatakan, penurunan produksi melati terjadi karena tanaman kekurangan air. Selama ini, tanaman melati hanya mengandalkan air hujan dan air saluran irigasi kecil, yang berada di pinggir lahan itu. ”Daun kering dan rontok,” ujarnya. Menurut Juri, penurunan produksi melati juga disebabkan serangga ulat.
Pada musim kemarau ini, sawah seluas 173 hektar di Desa Pilangrejo, Kecamatan Wungu, Kabupaten Madiun, Jawa Timur, juga dibiarkan telantar oleh petani karena tak ada air untuk mengolahnya. Di Jabar, 193 hektar tanaman dilanda kekeringan.

Minggu, 19 Juli 2009

Minggu, 12 Juli 2009

To the Blackbird

hi, nice feathers you have! great plumage

ah, you speak back to me, dear friend?

hi yourself again now! how was the weather up there?
did you have nice breakfast?

nice voice you have

sing to me my new friend
any song for this demanding heart

before you open up your beak
please let me speak
of nice things, of nice surprise
you bring me

hi, nice feathers you have! great plumage

can i fly with you now? i'll be your entourage

Jumat, 10 Juli 2009

sad phrase

a tear i shed
upon a word
actually two
i heard from you

sad phrase
unexpected

just remember
my heart
sad one

mean word
actually two

forced company
do aint no good

mean words
for soul aint food

(i only
plant nice
word
actually two
and harvest
nice response)

da da dum

this is how i respond the calling of blackbird
and the invitation of the sun, slipped below my door

alive

The future comes alive today
in the form of just one hand
in the fertility of this lush land

Rabu, 08 Juli 2009

wondering if i ever have to play the instrument

wondering if i ever have to play the instrument
the way my pa lulled the tree to sleep at night
i don't have the talent like that of a man in hamelin
but let me get ir right and then i'll let you in
to sip some soup i made out of the harvest of my garden

wondering if i ever have to play the instrument
what song will i play first to the eager ears
what will pa say about my playing technique?
in the middle of the song will i lose my audience?
i know i have the voice but it don't match the instrument

la la la la la
la la la la la
la la la la la
la....

wondering if i ever have to play the instrument

plung

it ain't my business
but they name the tree after me
they name the new species
after me
like me

a joke
an honor
a joking honor

but the tree is like me
beautiful
and people are crazy
about me
about me

a joke
an honor
a honoring joke

so i let them name it after me

Selasa, 07 Juli 2009

triumphant yet troubled

lit by expectation and the soft eastern wind
so high the feeling was, like creeping rose vine
trying to reach the poles that train it
or like a caterpillar, trying to find wisdom
in the pages of the leaves

he knows his destiny is written on the leaves

his stomach gets full yet the leaves are still
uncountable
abundant, if you will

like the insect that clings to the single vine
so my heart knows you're there
ever touchable
sometimes think that's unfair

but i conquer the urge to find wisdom
in your habitat, your kingdom
let alone your closet of fashion

he don't own the vine he's clinging to
like my heart--invisibly--clings to you
but whose heart owns yours?
whose eyes gaze at yours?

my hope for you is ever blooming
my hope for you is ever bloooooming

yeah
yeah
yeah

unlike the caterpillar, i understand the meaning of abundance
i will dance dance and dance around the table
then i will above this garden transcend

the meaning of abundance

yeah
yeah

Rabu, 17 Juni 2009

Sniff Sniff

I love the smell of:
essential oil in orange peel
Biasa store
Apple shampoo
Kefir lime
Lemon grass
Fresh cut grass sprinkled with heavy rain drops
Fresh from the oven breads
Arabica coffee powder
Freshly crushed mint leaves
Gas station
Synthetic melon essence
Basil, especially basil leaves with sambal Unyil’s Mom prepared to us eat
with that mysterious white-meated fish
Sambal Mami made for us to eat that golden brown scaly smoked fish
Crushed young guava shoots
Kuah bakso, so spicy esp that with clove and lots of pepper powder
Fried capsicum (after the sneeze inducing phase)
Fried garlic
And lots more

Minggu, 31 Mei 2009

Пастораль

K человеку, который пробуждал мою тоскy
Мою сентиментальность, меланхолию

Во имя красоты природы, Monsieur
Ваши прекрасные слова, я слушаю

Сезон он хорошо знал их:
Тепло весны, кокетливый Святоянский ночи
И осень, которaя всегда поздно пришла
Он сказал, "Зимa знает все радости"

Поэт, который был 38 весны
Oн нарисовал идеальное изображение
В моей голове
Он нарисовал все, со словами:
Олень, лошадь, медведь, луговые
Акация, береза, вишня, река
Смородина, поток, море
Ферме, сирень, Levisticum officinalis

Великий поэт—натуралист!

Он научил меня любить
Он сказал, любовь—олень

Любовь—цветок
Любовь—pанный весный дождь
(Он любил румяные щеки)
Он знал каждый плод земли
Он говорил о них как старые друзья


K человеку, который пробуждал мою тоскy
Мою сентиментальность, меланхолию
Для вас мой стеклo поднимаю! Salute!

(SemSa)

Selasa, 14 April 2009

I See Something Fishy!


One morning wakeup at Pulau Peucang to wait for dolphin show. Instead I've got a barracuda show. it was great!

Sabtu, 04 April 2009

Pretty in Pink

Drooping flowers in pink
looking inviting
yet for a bee like me
i know they bear
no single drop of nectar

they're pink! pink!
and the whole meadow summoned
to the foot of the mountain
that early morning
when pines only served as screen

fuchsia a mantid friend said
to the sniffing felis
but to me i recognised no such name
it's a color too said him

the entire congregation
decided to make a notion
that the owl should speak
a word of wisdom

ask the ash crow
for it will show
it always says i not know
anything that it does more

i was about to open my beak
but then i remembered this
an empty stomach is far more important
to fill than to negate this
and end as the breakfast
of the sniffing felis

Selasa, 31 Maret 2009

Senin, 30 Maret 2009

Beestung Lips

I bought this lip balm and thought this was a nice surprise. it mixes castor oil plant, candelilla, shea nut, almond, jojoba, and grapes. and when i applied it on my lips and twas like stung by bee.

Kamis, 19 Maret 2009

O traveler

away from home
from the warmth of the nest
but the bird likes it best
and even forgets where it is
she feels it belongs
to the very land it perches on

that it eats many
and makes friends with many
makes me happy

do I set it free?
i asked me

my heart said
i never keep it caged
that his eye is on it
it can eat many
and be happy

here I end the story
I care not if it returns to me
as long as it eats many
flips its wings and swings
and be on and on happy

Pastorelle

ascended every morning
sent prayer through the ceiling
though heart heavy with uncertain feelings
to greet the bright orange sky

but her heart nobody knew
did it dwell in the land
where she held hope in hand?
or did it smile
when she was many a mile
away from her homeland?

the weeds she mowed
faster than did cows
fetched water in metal jug
atop her head
when she moved down in small steps?

slowly the water spilled
as she stepped down the hill
and the unborn baby forgot something
a scene unseen from his memory

(for the only thing he saw
was a scene in a flash of light
a flying angel view
from the white clouds
he saw him and the woman
on a boat, rowing
and it felt a hand pushed him
to the light
and that was him then
face to face with death
in curtain)

she did it with heavy heart
that every drip counted
oh what was that?
asked the unborn baby

ascended every morning
sent prayer through the ceiling
to greet the bright orange sky

but her heart nobody knew
it dwelt not in the land
where she held hope in hand
but it did smile
when she was many a mile
away from her homeland



(MamePb10)

Ship and Court

All you fear is black and white?
think of it, son
the beauty of it

and the skin is still unfed
but I come to know your grace

the baby step to greater happiness

the meaning stays true
even if I left the zoo earlier





(Dona, Jenni and Sem rode bike last Saturday at Ragunan)

Kamis, 12 Maret 2009

Minggu, 01 Februari 2009

Emily and Me

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few

(Nature, Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886)

Minggu, 18 Januari 2009

Snowdrops (?)

(by Tika)

I was flipping through Tika's European holidays pics. Think these white flowers must have grabbed her attention well. So standout and nice that she turned her head and felt she din have to pose with them :) she said they grow on a hilly city in Austria.

(The species is still unidentifiable to the gardener)

Minggu, 11 Januari 2009

Let's Hippo Everyone

that guy was talking about seeing the unseen. But it wasn't about "Can you see the wind... its presence is revealed by the leaves on a tree" kind of vision. (anyway i can't put away the 'vision' of him wearing bell bottom pants!) the fact that everybody was excited about his talk, however, was enough to make me grounded. I respect him.

During his talking, i thought of the little girl i met near hippo pool the day before. I was expecting the hippo would emerge, take some breath, and make some noise or drag the branch down to the pool. one minute. the hippo din move. two minutes. he--or was it she?--only opened his jaw a bit. so i tried a different angle.

a voice came behind my left shoulder. "Have you seen it?"



my head lowered. it was a Fendi-veiled little girl. "Oh you fashionable kid!" i said in my head.

"Ah yes but he doesn't want to show up apparently," i said. "Or perhaps he's shy."

She nodded and continued her talking and all i did was examining her Fendi monogram veil. Where did she get it? and i got to know that her parents were just 10 steps away and keeping an eye on us--or me particularly. I got uncomfortable being 'inspected'


this chillun (her manner reminds me of Harper Lee's li'l heroine) kept talking. "He opened his long mouth! I saw it!" she was so convincing.

i asked, how long? just to see how well she was at her basic biology--if there is any at her school

"thirty meters! it's big. i saw it!"

my jaw dropped and my eyes heavenward, seeing the big, long, oversized, smelly snout...

While staring at the snout (I mean sky), i couldn't keep track of her fantasy. She talked and talked and suddenly when I was about to give a nod, she turned her back and joined her family eating Popmie.

I decided to encircle the cage. it was like 30 x 30 m wide, surrounded by smelly green water. all i was thinking was, this cage only fits his mouth!

(Ragunan Zoo has about four Nile hippos and two pygmy hippos. All came from the continent of Africa.)