pix o’ the day: wall of water

tsunami boat 

Surfing randomly for a photo of a mother for some other blogging project, I was floored to come across the Tsunami blog, which is a record of the Boxing Day Tsunami in Thailand. The picture pages (20!) are astonishing. Unfortunately, the page is copy-protected and I can’t post image links, you’ll just have to follow the text link. The images here are authentic, but from other sites.

Yes, some of the images are hard to look at, but some of them more than make up for that, like picture number one on the Tsunami blog, which shows the tsunami approaching like a blue wall crested with clouds, and a Swedish mother running straight towards it, into the surf to save her children.

They all made it.

While you’re there, check out the images of the 2002 Chinese tidal bore. Some of these were circulated in 2006 as “tsunami pictures” but they are actually old photos of a rare occurrence where a river encounters an unusally strong incoming tide and the result is a tsunami-like wall of water that travels rapidly upriver. Apparently, it’s an annual occurance in that Chinese city and people just love it; they hang around the riverbanks and when it comes roaring their way they go all Running of the Bulls, giggling and jogging out of reach.

You know, I really hope they get cable in China soon, and free up the internet, because these people are obviously STARVED for entertainment.

tidal bore wave

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fallen-blossom jellyfish discovered

Well take a LOOK! What would YOU call them?

stauromedusae jellyfish

Discovered at a depth of over 8500 feet, these beautiful and mysterious life forms are unlike any known jellyfish. What no-one knows is, why are they pink? Colour is theoretical at that incredible depth, as there are no naturally-occurring light sources except the glow of the phosphorescent hunters. If there are gay rights activist/jellyfish enthusiasts out there, this is definitely their totem animal.

The new species is from the Cnidarian (phylum of jellyfish, corals, anemones) order stauromedusae…  The new species is unusual in its color (pink) and its proximity to to the superheated vent fluids.

quiz: what are the odds you’ve been abducted by aliens?

Yeah, but what we need now is a quiz for “what are the chances you ARE an alien?”


There’s a 32% Chance You’ve Been Abducted By Aliens


Even though you have a few alien abduction signs, you’re almost certainly in the clear.
However, if aliens ever do come to your neck of the woods… they’ll probably be coming for you!

What Are the Chances that You’ve Been Abducted by Aliens?

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quiz: what kind of sandwich are you?


You Are a Club Sandwich


You have a big personality. It’s hard for anyone to ignore you!
You dream big. You think big. And you eat big.

Some people consider you high maintenance, but you just know what you want… and when you want it.

Your best friend: The Tuna Fish Sandwich

Your mortal enemy: The Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

What Kind of Sandwich Are You?

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the Living Intestine: the Juno Ledge Sea Serpent

We’re talking Sea Monsters, people. So you know we mean business.

Now, everybody knows that Nessie‘s just a big ol’ lump o’ dinosaur, not a serpent at all. And Caddy‘s a figment of some screech-addled sailor’s story-telling impulse. And Ogopogo…well, we do not speak of Ogopogo. The ancient Fossil Shark was a shark, after all, if quite serpentine in spots and from certain angles, especially in candlelight.

But now, at last, we’ve found a genuine Sea Serpent. My shrivelled and blackened heart leaps up

Beneath the surface of our crystal blue waters live a myriad of marine life.

Sometimes we can see them from the air — steely eyed shark congregating by the thousands, graceful stingray, gliding along the shallows.

But go deeper…

You never know what you’ll find. Just ask Jay Garbose.

“This is a first and I’ve traveled and video’ed all over the world.”

Take a look at what he found and listen to the story — it’s no fish tale.

“I was diving on Juno Ledge. That’s about a mile off shore of Juno Beach. At first I thought it was a sea cucumber although no one has ever seen one stretched 7 to 10 feet the way this one was. It’s sort of grey and putty like and very smooth and taffy like in the way it stretches. Some of my friends and I have sort of dubbed it the living intestine.”

And it is just exactly as beautiful as that description would lead one to believe. At first, I thought it was a hoax. Once I saw it moving and had observed its blundering, slow, mindless, horrible writhings, I prayed it was a hoax.

Click to view, if you dare.

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