Feeling Vine

artistic vines@Kebun Raya Bogor

Sculptural

highly artistic pine seed

Solidari-Tree

these three trees grow side by side by the lake at UI. i'm amazed at how they manage to have "personal space". perhaps they chose not to compete for sunlight. how sweet!

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!

Swimming with sharks

(in Tulamben; photo: thedivingdugongers)

X: "what did you see there?"
S: a school of jack, countless clowns, fans, parrots, and some beautiful rays.
X: "Too bad you din see any sharks no?"
S: mind you, rays are related to them, buddy.

Qorina's Corner

Ria Qorina Lubis. This friendly lady dives and promotes sustainability. She snaps nice pictures. I came to know her pics when i read DiveDiscovery last march. love her pics!

not only shooting, she also sweats to identify the species. no wonder that one dive site in Ambon is named after her.

Let's Eat some Lions!

Once I resumed my snorkeling when i saw a lionfish in the size of a volleyball in Kiluan Bay, Lampung. I was afraid of the spines. Such terrible beauty. I am just glad that after that, each encounter didn't make me freaked out. my fear of it has turned into respect, I guess, for I admire them.

now having read an article in The Jakata post suggesting that--terrible as it may look--this fish is edible, i am ever curious. The scientists in Florida urge people to consume them. the spiny fish was once an accidentally introduced species circa 1992. now they've become pests, preying on other sea species.

To prepare the fish, all i need to do is to disarm the spines--just like when harvesting sea urchins aka bulu babi.

hmmm wonder what this candy-colored fish tastes like :)

(photo: thedivingdugongers)