Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni

NZ fishermen Capture Colossal Squid

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A fishing crew has caught a colossal squid that could weigh a half-ton and prove to be the biggest specimen ever landed. The squid, weighing an estimated 450KG / 990 lbs and about 10M / 39 feet long, took two hours to land in Antarctic waters. The fishermen were catching Patagonian toothfish, sold under the name Chilean sea bass, south of New Zealand "and the squid was eating a hooked toothfish when it was hauled from the deep,"

Colossal squid can descend to 6,500 feet and are extremely active, aggressive hunters. The frozen squid will be transported to New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa, in the capital, Wellington, to be preserved for scientific study. Marine scientists "will be very interested in this amazing creature as it adds immeasurably to our understanding of the marine environment," - New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton.

Posted out of pure Coolness factor :)
we know so little of what our deep oceans hold. it gives new thought to the "Kraken" myths of old sailors.

BLOG OF R

This crazy Cat now has his thoughts in a Digital Realm.
to those streaming over to Richards thoughts on his site, i say this. keep an open mind. he's serious in the things he feels.

you or i may agree or disagree with them, but i think they should not be dismissed. i think encouragement should be given to those who try and look beyond our normal everyday routines and thoughts. a pound of positive effort, results in positivity none the less ...
now he justs needs to wak some pics up to give things some spice :) GRAVY!!

BLOG OF R

MUTE MATH

MUTE MATH
MEMBERS: Paul Meany (vocals/keys), Darren King (drums), Greg Hill (guitar), and Roy Mitchell-Cardenas (bass)
ALBUM: MUTE MATH - MUTE MATH (2006)

The four piece band (originating from New Orleans) has scattered influences that are apparent without being obvious, and touch on everything from DJ Shadow styled beats, moments of beauty and grandeur a la Bjork, and vocals that pay legitimate homage to Police-era Sting.

When asked about this vast expanse of musical territory that we are asked to find them dwelling within, Paul Meany (lead vocals) replied, "I blame it on the past forty years of music." They act on the idea that their magic is to be found in the mixture of countless thoughts. Their live show thrives on this random energy too involving homemade instruments, live sampling, a junked-out keytar, and enough dizzying energy to make the hardest cynics wet their pants. So, bring an extra pair if you have to, but don't miss them live. currently this band is no where to be found on Australian radio to my knowledge, but they are gaining in momentum in the US. trust me this one deserves a listen if your into funky, energetic rock n roll, not to mention post rock experimental musings. think ... the vocals of Sting with the rockiness of Feeder and the experimental angles of Explosions in The Sky. i found them through a random music download, they had a curious name, i grabbed the album, was blown away .... and i now own the album. proves music downloads work. sign me up for a tour, check out their myspace page for tunes and vids .... amazing energy, without being heavy or angry. great to see.

MUTE MATH

MYSPACE

MERCH

Nightmare

You ever have those dreams?
you know the ones. the ones that repeat. the ones you cant wait to wake from. the ones that leave you with a loss of time, the feeling of a ruined good nights sleep.
i got stuck in one recently. and it pops up every now and then.

the places may change, the circumstances, the times even, but the people and feelings remain the same. its almost a haunting where old enemies return, and your thrown back to the wall, left feeling like you cant escape. powerless to people you once faded into. grasping for courage, or the mask to fit into the circle again. in the real world theres no contact with these people, yet they creep into my subconscious some how without warning. its the strangest thing.

on another note....
UNI starts on Tuesday the 27th. looks like things will flow as mon / thur / fri @ HR, and tues / wed as full days of study. ive also got lectures on the thru and fri which im hoping to shuffle into my HR day. they only go for an hour.

maybe i'll bump into past enemies in the corridors? no masks this time round.






Curtin on a good day" :)

David Hicks

anyone catch "Insight" last night on SBS? theres a replay on Friday 23rd FEB around 7:30pm and Monday 2:30pm (check local guides) you should all check it out. This weeks discussion was on the David Hicks affair (the accused australian terrorist in Guantanamo Bay) and involved all parties being on camera, including his Father, Defense and Prosecution army representatives, and Australian Government Representatives. all round a great watch.

It was extremely alarming to watch, coming to the logical conclusion that our government condones the imprisonment of people for unknown crimes for a sentence of torture and solitude. hes accused of being a "terrorist threat" because he went to these so called "terrorist training camps" and was in Afghanistan through the Taliban era of early 2001, but has never fired a weapon in war and hasnt been proved to have killed anyone, or committed any injustice?

thats like saying its ok to lock me up for torture of 10years because ive "thought" about bopping Johnny (weasel) Howard over the head with a 6 pound cricket bat. imprisonment for things you havent yet done, but that they "assume you will carry out in the future". things you've read or written or thought about, but would never carry out. "1984 thought crimes" anyone? This War on Terror is a cover story. pull the curtains back people. read, investigate, question. make sure your votes count this time around.... both here and in the USA.

INSIGHT

CIVIL RIGHTS DEFENCE

TERRORSTORM

"So it's important for us that it's a widely accepted thing."

Waking up early, brain function hadnt kicked in yet, but i could swear i turned on the TV and saw an advertisement for 7 news or Today Tonight for tonight (friday 16th FEB) regarding an RFID payment system by swiping phones and credit cards past sensors, ie electronic money. check it out if you can.

it blew my mind as ive heard alot about RFID (radio frequency identification chips) being developed for future human use. we are so close to getting "chipped" for the convenience of shopping and identification. another method to control the mass public. scary stuff, this is a baby step to "introduce" the idea to people and get them comfortable and numb to the technology. same with the new National Australian ID cards about to be introduced with chips.

think ahead, your chipped in the future with an RFID chip smaller than a grain of rice (yes its actually factualy that size! and getting smaller to fit in vacines) containing all your bank and personal details etc. you buy a load of groceries and suddenly get to the counter and find youve been "disallowed service" due to .... technology breakdown?, or maybe the store doesnt accept shoppers who also "bank with the wrong bank" or "wear the wrong branded shoes", what do you do when you can't eat?, we are giving up all our liberties and freedoms without concern and questioning.


RFID INFO AND PIRACY

PAYPASS RFID SYSTEM IN AUSTRALIA

RFID POWDER

ISIS

"In the Absence of Truth, Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted"
Hassan-i-Sabbah

ISIS, a LA based prog metal band, who recently toured australia headlining gigs in all capitol cities. yes EVEN PERTH!.. crazy stuff. playing at the tiny indi Bar of the Amplifier, the roof was officially blown off many a time, as we were treated to a fantastic performance. considering the lead singer had a case of laryngitis they forged on complete the show undaunted.

I can safely say this is the second best gig of the year, and to those who couldnt get off their ass to see it you missed out BIG TIME. what a shame the little venue wasnt a tad bigger, to accommodate the larger stage presence of the band and their visual aids of backdrops and full lighting, as we saw in California. never the less we were all there for the music and well .... to put it simply, they gave it out in spades.
being heavily focused towards instrumental sections, extended song lengths, and being a "heavy band" in general, you would have thought the crowd was going to be raucous. but no this was an audience who respected each other. and didnt need to "mosh" to feel involved. a thinking man's metal crowd.

why am i mentioning this here? because ISIS follow an similar path to outspoken musicians such as Rage Against The Machine, TOOL, System of a Down, Sleater Kinney etc etc, who all push themes of Political Questioning and greater thinking. this isnt just music to "rock out to" its music to dig into. to go back over and ask, whats that all about? what are they talking about. whos this Hassan-i-Sabbah guy? what does Panopticon mean and how does it relate to the album themes and society today? Great band, great music. never compromising to fit a formula or top 40 radio set list. One to watch!

ISIS HOMEPAGE

Around The World In Eighty Treasures ...

Just saw this advertised on the ABC ....
A new series begins 7:30pm Saturday, 10 Feb 2007
"Around The World In Eighty Treasures"

From the Taj Mahal to the Statue of Liberty, the Parthenon to the Great Wall of China, historian and TV presenter Dan Cruickshank embarks on a monumental challenge - to journey non-stop across the globe in search of the most significant man-made treasures on the planet.

Intimate and engaging, this series sees Cruickshank chart the rise and fall of many of the world's great civilisations, creating a unique picture of humankind, and celebrating the world as a diverse treasure house of art and ancient artefacts.

Travelling on an epic round-the-world trip to 40 countries Dan risks life and limb to reach and showcase some of our most remote and revered treasures.

From the castles of Japan to the Nazca lines in Peru, from Persepolis in Iran to the Sydney Opera House, this is a rare chance to share Dan's wonderment at the sheer majesty and beauty of humankind's creative powers.

Mark it down ! Check it out!

first episode Peru / Machu Picchu / to Brazil!

WEBSITE

Hit from all sides ...

Hey to eveyone.
just a quick note, sorry for the delays but all posts are up now and all caught up. as soon as i got off the flight i came down with a virus which hit me hard. still getting well, thx to all. more soon.

S.

Big Day .... of something

Got off to an early checkout of the Y Hotel which had served us well, in retrospect writing this from the $400 Novetel which has been pathetic from hour one. more on that later.

once again catching the train system was a breeze and we departed on the selected Olympic Park direct line. arriving at the olympic site was fantastic, you can clearly see why Sydney got the olympics back in the day. would love to have explored a bit more, but time was of the essence and we made way for the hotel. checking in fine, leaving our bags we headed into the showgrounds for BDO.

all up a great site to stage the event, basically double the size of the perth equivalent. 50 - 70K people, lots of food, rides, and stages. if you want some personal time and space this is going to be the wrong place for it. our setlist was pretty easy as the day went on, grabbing lunch we then caught "The Butterfly Effect", numerous toilet breaks, then "My Chemical Romance", "The Vines", "Kasabian", "Jet", "Muse", and rounding out the night with TOOL.

all up is was good, a nice experience to say you've been there and done that. i wont be doing it again. the Big Day Out is still not worth its money in my opinion, and completely didnt suit TOOL playing live. cant begin to say how thankful we are to have seen them at the Entertainment Center the night before.

Novetel .....
ahhh yeh. who said staying in a $400 night hotel room was gonna be easy and painless. lets see ... no keys to the rooms before we left, so we we arrived back there was no proof for us to get in to reception and past the security on the doors. lucky i had my "baggage tags" then 12AM our bags arent even in our rooms. better yet they stuck us in a double room, and not a triple.... so no third bed. mark and i arrived at 12 and Rich decided to rock up at 1:30AM, with no baggage tags (which i offered to him earlier in the day) no proof of bookings, leaving us to wake up and go down and get him. even though we had left notice twice on the desk for his name and reservation.

glad to be coming home. two aces beats the three kings.
i'll leave you all with pics from the day. How good does Clint look rockin out from The Butterfly Effect :) most enjoyable act of the day.

"Word of tonight, All together, holyfuckingshit. .... Maynard James Keenan 24.01.07

As i sit down typing this after the show i dont quite know just where to begin, words cant quite touch it. value cant be expressed in monetary amounts, least i say. it was all worth that 90+mins of pure bliss.

the day started very AEnimic indeed. sydney's weather changed overnight to be cloudy and overcast, light drizzles throughout. a change was in the air. the day had arrived. we were completely relaxed and ready. spending the day trying to post on the blog without success, (hence this is delayed telecast to go online) getting a big lunch and cruising down to the show. throughout the day walking round the city wearing our tool shirts, and seeing others doing the same, felt comforting, like somehow, silently, we didnt know each other, but for this one day of the year, we were all connected.

Sydney's entertainment center is a fantastic venue for any occasion and we entered with ease. sitting down the anticipation was overwhelming, and the crowd slowly built to fill the sold out arena. opening with Stinkfist, 46&2 and Jambi, as expected all four members were in sync and perfect. the PA picked up nicely for maynards vocals to rise. it soon becomes evident with this band that they never disappoint, they never fail.

playing wings for marie and 10,000 days together first time in australia was magical. an ode to a passed mother, it was well respected, and signaled the start for the laser show and a huge "net of being" backdrop to emerge. the crowd went mad and mark and i just smiled as we knew what to expect from the californian show we saw in august. all in all you get out what you put in, each person using the emotion of the night to ride on.

i hear rumblings of a november tour. i see a melbourne adventure being born. keep the beer cold and a room free Miguel.... .. . .

LINK

Early Bird Catches The Worm

Some crazy person (Rich) wanted to get up at 4AM this morning to "check out the sunrise" so we ventured off into the dark this morning. treking through the city, it was like a lifeless monster, and skeleton of a city with no people, no activity, no noise. nice to see a different side. walking past hyde park, we saw many early morning possums close up, and flying foxes returning to nest.

arriving at circular quay and walking to the Opera House, we chilled out and watched the sun come up. no one around, flat harbour water, one boat fishing, we looked to the east as daybreak hit. very nice.

grabbing a coffee we hit Circular Quay train station and headed for a breakfast you couldnt beat down at Australia's most famous of beaches, Bondi. this cities train service is unbelievably easy to use and follow, relatively clean as well. the best in Oz? on par with the BART.

arriving at Bondi Junction we ventured down coast, in an easterly direction and hit Tamarama beach first, they're all dotted up the coast from Botany Bay into Sydney Harbor. a few smaller coves and then Bondi Beach, viewed from lookouts to the south. what a view and that whole coastline reminded me so much of the Natal Coastline. rocky outcrops, rockpools, dotted by beautiful beaches. very Salt Rock / Balito. Bondi has remained on visual appearence, stuck in 1975. its buildings facing the coast are all heritage listed and restored, no highrise apartments here until you hit the northern edge. it was the perfect time capsule shot of the area. morning, surfing, sun, and fine salt air.

now for an easy day, pack up and TOOL.

Fishy ...

Today we split up early, Mark and I rising at 5AM to make a trip and behind the scenes tour of the Sydney Fish Markets, the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere so we are told. making our way down to Central Station was fantastic, as this is the location we need to leave from for our trip to the Sydeny showgrounds. we caught the Light Rail which is basically a cross between a tram and rail carrage. lovely smooth ride, clean large and it takes the pressure off the main rail network.

$2.50 and 15mins later we are there. arriving somewhat 40mins too early for our tour we felt kinda lost, no signs or markings for the tour, but we knew we were at the right location at least :) time came, more people arrived and the tour began, and for a measly $20 you got an hour tour and free coffee. basically taking us through the working operations of the place, how its auctioning system works and buying methods. we then moved to the floor to sample some of the different species on offer, everything from your humble snapper to john dory, flathead, bream, all manner of crustaceans, right up to your large bluefin tunas and oddities like cuttlefish, mudcrab, deep sea crab. all in all it was fantastic! the female guide we had was often asking questions of "what species is this?" "how do you tell the female from the male?" etc etc, i think we stunned her and the crowd on just how much we knew. she asked if we were chefs, ..... yes for one, the others just a full time recreational fisherman and a part time graphic designer.

well that was a great start, however i had the unfortunate thing of losing my debit card happen mid morning which left a sour taste. no biggy, lost a small bit of money, ran to ANZ, cancel the card, ordered a new one and transfered the other funds out to my savings account and i was rolling. it just so happened i got a brand new service attendant on my counter and i basically had to do everything myself on the phone.

the rest of the day was spent shopping generally in the city and hitting a comic store. Kings Comics should be a staple for any illustrator to jump to when here. great selection and well set out the store was a pleasure to be in. and they had DMZ!. still not up to the high standards found in NYC.

tomorrow is flexible, but i hear the rumblings of another early start.