L'Oceans...L'Oceans....

L'oceans, L'oceans .... comme les autres planetes...

the narrator's voice (guess it's Jacques Perrin's) cast the spell on me and the images sent me deep diving in the oceans. Love the movie. as grandiose as the scenes are, the music is. lovely. 

it was worth waiting and watching. 

the species are fabulous. most of them are new to my eyes. it features one species from Lembeh waters, Manado, Indonesia, which is the flamboyant squid (Metasepia pfefferi), so graceful! i could only mutter wow's to every scene. the tech was so cool and advanced that i could  hear even the faintest flip of the fins. incredible!

one scene touched me the most was: it was storming, and the lightning struck, a coco tree fell to the water. a monitor rushed to the scene and--unexpectedly--jumped on it and set sail on the fallen tree, drifting to uncertainty....

(this isn't my favorite poster from the site yet i know its message is: don't panick in the water)

and the "tangled" scene was bloody and even seeing the slender, mutilated  shark fell helpless to the seafloor could reduce anyone to tears....

the oceans are mysterious universes whose glimpses and riches are yet to be explored--by moi!

Tea Time!

i know moths and butterflies suck nectar. just don't know that they also like tea!

last night after watching Teater Koma's Sin Jin Kwie (it was 00.15), i agreed to sit and have tea with Rahma, Mada and Iie. Tea in beer glass as usual. I stirred the long tsp to dissolve sugar and then i put it on the table, "sunny side up".

Minutes later flew a moth: brown, ugly, hairy. uninteresting. It walked toward the tsp and then putting his long tongue to the bowl of the spoon.

There was virtually no liquid in the spoon. but it put its tongue there and stood for like five minutes. perhaps it was sipping traces of the sweet liquid.

then Iie took a spoonful and pour it into the spoon.

the moth stood motionless. i thought the warm liquid must have burnt its tongue. So i blew it gently...the moth flipped its wings repeatedly, never to leave the spoon. it turned out that it was sucking the sweet tea and seemed enjoying the spoonful!

Remorse of The Remoras

one thing i noticed when i saw the pool of beige sharks and colorful sea creatures on that "Bandeng Island": remoras!
how they arrived at the tank is one question. did the fishermen caught them with their "hosts" (sharks and mantas or other marine mammals)?

The inhabitant of the pool have a distinctive look: their pad-like, sucker-like organ. they're as big as the beige sharks, the biggest species in the tank. i bet they're in the state of frustration, trying to find new hosts. or can they be independent?

For the Loving Memory of Molly

walk the partner

Coco-Octo

it's very interesting
Indonesian waters are very rich!

Aussie scientists find coconut-carrying octopus

By KRISTEN GELINEAU, Associated Press Writer Kristen Gelineau, Associated Press Writer Tue Dec 15, 4:38 pm ET

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."

Wonder of Creation

Almost everywhere I go, I see insects mating. wonderful.
they rule this earth.

these moths are inhabitants of wind slapped Tidung Island, Jakarta.

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!

Monkey Love

Rama decided to stop at Monkey Forest Sanctuary, the prime gate of Ubud. I was not excited at first, thinking about the beasts. But the thought of Jane Goodall crossed my mind and some posing at the entrance gave me a jolt.

So i went inside (did i hear the young ladies say, "official bananas, Sir?"). I am all eyes, i thought.

the small forest itself is thick and dense and humid that the decision to wear my cotton cardigan was a mistake.

Rama and Fajar were enjoying themselves with the cams but somehow i was not that into taking pics. so i chose the clear open of the site on the upper hill which is usually used for ngaben or the Hindu cremation. there were scattered palm leaves roofs and bamboos. I then saw two girls, they apparently were taking notes. i approached one of them.

Riris was observing a colony of monkeys. In the heat of the day, she was wearing long sleeves, trousers, shoes and fishing hat. Later I knew the reason.

"They show a behavior found none in other monkey colonies," she answered my question, detailing on a particular behavior.

Ah, really? I thought chimps do it. (yeah, that David Graybeard who gave his hand to meet Goodall's)

"perhaps. this is for my final papers. i am helping a Japanese professor.

wow, that's cool! what monkeys are they, anyway?

"Macaca."

and the species?

Riris then pronounced a word i couldn't remember. But i remembered M. sylvana from the World Book days.

in the mid of this, suddenly i felt something landed on my head!

MONKEY!!!

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

the nasty beast sat comfortably on my head and reached his hairy hands to my neck... i managed not to freak out.

Riris laughed, so did Fajar. Hey you guys help me!

"Just walk fast, and he'll jump on the ground!" said Riris. it just din help! i now felt that the claws were sinking into my neck. ouch!

then i approached the nearby gardu. miraculously, it jumped down gently...phew!

everybody laughed. You double my mysey, guys....

while brushing my head with hands to remove any "monkey residue", i din know what Fajar did but suddenly a monkey jumped into his butts, grasping his jeans pockets. Fajar was on panic. Go monkey, go, get him! Hahahaha

"I've been here a week," said Riris. "Been bitten once."

oh that's why you're wearing all cover ups.

i din have thought to continue the conversation since all i saw was monkeys chasing around.

when i went across the bridge and saw the holy spring, i heard them approaching the banyan trees. noisy were they! perhaps they must take night sleep earlier. so i guess i will have no more encounters, i thought. so i asked the guys to get out of here soon.

and surprisingly, there were some monkeys watching the visitors in hope of some banana rewards.

Fajar was in the mood of being comical. he was mimicking them only to be playing tug-o-war with one of them later--apparently senior member of the clan. it was trying to grab his camera bag. hahahaha

uhm, by the way i am still curious about them. I think now i need Rama's help here.




(photos by Rama n Fajar)

Beachy Mimicry

it was no secret that sand on Kuta Beach was regularly maintained to outsmart abrasion. so i didnt expect to see any sign of living and moving marine creatures. all left are dead barnacles and broken reef. so, when Fajar and I walked along the beach in the third morning, we were stunt to see this mimicry and it was alive! whoaaaaaa

this small crab looked extremely interesting. it is almost transparent and i din have any idea how it mimicked the surrounding sand. okay, i'd seen one on the beach of Pulau semak Daun.
Fajar tried his macro at best and here's the lovely and sharp result.

Perfect illusion: a thumb sized crab. For him, it's the way of survival.

"Nice try" mimicry: a dog of sand color relaxing :)

Puppies' Day Out

cute as they may seem

sibling rivalry

ear catching

turn the other cheek

The masters

These siblings have the biggest hearts in this world. i thanked them for warming my heart in the morning.

that Friday morning, when I strolled around Kuta beach, i met them and they let this stranger of mine play with their big hearted dogs. cute and playful.

Into the Blue: The Story of Sasha, Donita & Chris

Taking chances

in the beginning

Turtlets

Choosing: what life is all about

13: the lucky number

Chris, Sasha, Donita: beachwise

Sasha, beachward . . .

Sasha, Chris

Lose direction

In surity

water!

Need courage: Donita

Donita

Chris

Sasha

Donita

Sasha

the real world: Java Sea

From our trip to Pulau Pramuka, August 2, 2008
all photos by Fi.

I Chirp because I'm Happy

from whence the chirping cometh

That's a twist from His Eye Is on the Sparrow

SParrows. Those cool birds.

Last Saturday I went to Alice's wedding ceremony at Katedral Jakarta. I thought, that would be cool because i admire the building and the choir. And lucky me Martha came along. Alice chose to wed her long time bf, Pak D, now christened Demitrius.

I sat in the third row (I must get every detail of this sermon, I said to myself) and when I turned my head to the right I saw something bizarre. The seat and the kneeling part were stained with droppings! Whoa!

Then my mind went back to 7 years ago.

I went to that church for Easter Mass back in 2001 with Kak Elda, Didin and Uria. Our main aim: listening to the choir. we heard nice words about it and we expected Latin mass. It turned out to be Indonesian mass and the choir sang a little. A seminary guy read the passage in singing tone. Beautiful though.

One thing i remembered was the chirping sound of sparrows throughout the mass. They nest here, in the house of worship, I thought.

So, i divided my attention: half for the holy matrimony (sacrament) and the other half for the sparrows. In the quarter of the mass, they came out of the mini gothic tower near the altar and began to make noise. Chirping!

when we prayed, they chirped
we sang, they chirped
we knelt, they chirped
we listened to the vows, they chirped
we listened to the sermon, they chirped

amazing! no wonder they're affectionately called burung gereja (church birds).

I suspect they nest behind those gothic carvings--from where the chirping was. These highly adaptable birds flew here and there, to the beautiful mozaic and ceiling, and to the lampstands. it was a beautiful sight to me.
Chirp! chirp!

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all the earth"

After that, Martha and I sat and ate awhile in the garden near the huge heap of corals (Cave of Mary) and we were serenaded by the chirping and a new beautiful noise--perhaps of a starling (jalak).

Cool coexistence.

Cinta & Rangga (My Furry friends)

You know it's hard to photograph animals, especially dogs. when they see the infrared light or the movement of the diaphragm, they will turn away, agitated. You need much patience--or bribe in form of dog food--for candid shots.

i don't know whose dogs they are, but they often pay me a visit, for a pat in the head or some snacks.

I tried to snap them candidly. one particular shot above produced resemblance to AADC. I din notice that until Becki said, Sem, this is AADC!

these furry friends have no official names. call them whatever you please, and they will rise their flag tails. so from now on i pronounce them Rangga and Cinta (the terrier at right).

one thing that disturb me is that Cinta often mounts on Rangga. the problem is that they're both males! oh my! is that because they can't find any females around? the abominable scene often doesn't last long as Rangga is twice taller than the terrier. weird eh?

by the way, don't get me wrong. AADC was my favorite movie back in my ABG (adolesence) days. so this serves as a tribute :)

Sem

An Unlikely Friendship

It is true that differences often do miracles. Just see the pictures above. The cat befriends the wild buffalo and the croc has a shoulder to rely upon. All happens at Bandung Zoo.

I havent got the explanation of this unusual behavior, but I believe every creature needs friends, right? It is as if they wanna say "You've got a friend" :)

Sem