giant green anemone, originally uploaded by bphall.

I am often curious about the struggle, and harshness of nature. Amazing, beautiful creatures use countless strategies to obtain food, and keep from becoming a predator's prey. Anemones use stinging cells within their tentacles to paralyze prey, but do not bother humans. Anemones prey on mussels, sea urchins, small fish, and crabs. Once paralyzed, the anemone pulls its prey into its mouth, digests the food, then excretes waste from the same opening. These rugged creatures can live to more than 80 years. Anemones generally live attached to the rocky intertidal zone near shore. Spend a day at the beach watching the tide go in and out. You'll soon notice waves crashing on the rocks with these tough creatures glued to the reef, attempting to find stasis during dry, hot periods of low tide, then you'll see them pounded by high surf, and high tide. While taking this photo, I imagined I was a tiny creature stung by the poison dart like tentacle of this amazing creature, then I gently touched the animal, and pressed the shutter as the anemone began to quickly close. Shaw's Cove, Laguna Beach, CA

texture, originally uploaded by bphall.

A close-up photo of the texture, color, pattern of a sea star found near Catalina Island, CA.

The footage was taken one morning snorkelling off Jan's dive boat while the rest of the gang went for a dive down on Eel Garden.  Some of it's a tad choppy, given shooting video while snorkelling isn't the easiest.  I have stacks more underwater video now, but unfortunately not the space or power to process it easily into a movie, so you'll have to be patient.

The vid's about 45MB so you'll need bandwidth and/or patience to view it.  Yes, the beginning is deliberately 'fuzzy'.

It took me 3 1/2 hours to upload it yesterday, so you're obliged to give it a try.

30-09-2008 Polonia in the Mix 006 on AH.FM
AH.FM FORUM

Nitrous Oxide
01. Tritonal - Lights Over Austin
02. Nitrous Oxide - Show Me
03. Lange feat. Sarah Howells - Out Of The Sky (ID Remix, maybe N2O?)
04. Akesson - Perfect blue (Original mix)
05. ID
06. Akira Kayosa - Southern Cross (Icone Mix)
07. ID
08. Reconceal - Touch Her Heart (Michael Angelo & Jim Remix)
09. ID (N2O/3rd Moon track)
10. ID
11. Michael Angelo & Jim - Nissi Bay (original mix)

Paul Miller
01. Galen Behr Vs. Hydroid Vs. Keemo - The Dawn In Carabella (Afterwhite's Mash Up)
02. Orjan Nilsen - Soulflayer (Original Mix)
03. Paul Allen - Your Heart (Paul Miller pres. Motion Blur Remix)
04. Reconceal - Touch Her Heart (Michael Angelo & Jim Remix)
05. Headstrong - Helpless (Paul Miller remix)
06. Danny Powers - Frequency (Original mix)
07. Paul Miller presents Motion Blur - One More Time (Original Mix)
08. Denga vs Manus - Lost Love (Vengaence Mix)
09. Digital Nature and Manuel Le Saux - Pretender (Ben Gold Remix)

Adam Nickey
01. ID
02. Kopi Luwak Feat Tiff Lacey- Far & Away ( Adam Nickey rmx)
03. ID
04. Tritonal - Lights Over Austin
05. Signalrunners - These Shoulders (Oliver Smith Remix)
06. Bartlett Bros - Let It Flow feat. Marcia Juell (Gareth Emery Remix)
07. Reconceal - Touch Her Heart (Michael Angelo & Jim Remix)
08. ID
09. Immoral Monkeys - Portobello (Adam Nickey Remix)

Hensha
01. ID
02. ID
03. Kopi Luwak Feat Tiff Lacey- Far & Away ( Adam Nickey rmx)
04. ID
05. ID
06. Algarve vs. Cold Blue - Sakura (Nitrous Oxide Remix)
07. Daniel Kandi & Robert Nickson - Liberate (Original Mix)
08. ID (Giuseppe Ottaviani)
09. Andre Glensk - Empty Sky

Download & Tracklist @ Trance Addict

As if the body blow of losing Turnmills, The Key, The Cross and Canvas wasn't enough in 2008, the news that the End would close for good on 24th Jan 2009 was probably the worst of all for the capital's clubbers. In its 13 years it's played host to some of the best-loved DJs, with residents from founders Layo and Bushwacka! and Mr C to Danny Howells, Laurent Garnier, Steve Lawler, DJ Marky, Andy C and stalwarts like Chew The Fat, DTPM, Milk'n'2 Sugars, Simple, Olmeto, Cocoon, Circo Loco, not to mention a list of guests that reads like a who's who of dance music, it's a tragedy that it'll finally, along with its little sister, the AKA, close its doors. The centre of town is now more barren than it's ever been.

With times tight, it's not impossible to understand that the last in a long line of offers for the premises would be too good to turn down. The team has been there from the start, and 13 years is a long time in clubland. When time for change came, leaving it to anyone else to run wouldn't see right, when it's something so close to all of them, and especially when the future years, and the desire to continue ad infinitum, must be weighed up. But for those that have gone time and time again it'll be a huge loss to the capital, as it's surely the light that's shone brightest in the past two decades in a capital with nightlife that is the envy of the world.

But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. And, over the past thirteen years, we've been spoilt. Personal memories are so many, some hazier than others. From early visits for Underwater, Missdemeanours, Be As One and Riot! to midweek carnage of record launches (Digweed and Howells' Choice Ones were the stuff of legend) and Sunday nights misspent at Clandestino, and Mondays at Trash, maybe the least-known but most lauded residencies the club has seen. The one thing that run through it all was how easy it was to have a good time in those two hallowed rooms. The club was (and still is) run so well, with nothing more important than the clubbers and the music, that, for the uptight reputation that the capital has, it could've easily been Manchester or Leeds. It was a pocket of friendliness and cool that seemed to sit outside the confines of the city.

I'm not 100% sure when I first set foot in the club, it would've been around the end of the 90s, but I remember queueing for ages, which, back then, proved it must've been an experience worth repeating. And despite the changing times and clubbing climate, very little changed downstairs. It didn't need to. The main room, with its raised central booth perfect for both worship of and performance from the DJ, and the lounge, as much for chatting, catching up, and boozing as dancing, were an example to many others on how simplicity really was the best watchword. I've lost count of the many times I've stood up the end of the bar buying shots or more beers, whether it was the fun and games of Riot! on Sundays gone by, where so many of my current friends were met, or Cocoon, taking a break from the pounding main room. It won't seem right not having that familiar spot to take a breather, or add to the hangover of the morning after. I've been lucky enough to get behind the decks. It may have been only once, in the Lounge at Riot! (sadly the 2nd last in 2006) but I'm able to say I played my favourite club, and I'm not sure how many could say that.

So, what of the future? Despite all the wailing and gnashing of teeth, there are still 4 months left to give the club the send-off it deserves. Plans and line-ups for the final weeks are as yet still unreleased, but it almost doesn't matter who plays, it'll be the last chance to say goodbye to the place with the people that matter. Much like those gone before it, it'll be hard to get used to walking from Holborn to Tottenham Court Road and glancing down West Central Street and finding that famous view no longer there. But like other legends before it, we can at least say, without a hint of smugness or ego, that we were lucky enough to spend many a lost weekend in its confines, and look back over those memories at the fun we had. The clubbing map is always in a state of flux, and while, 2 years ago, if someone had told me five of the capital's finest nightspots would be lost to developers, i'd have laughed and also prayed. But we can only look back and think how lucky we were that the people behind the End gave us all those years, not be angry that it's gone. Its significance can only be understood even more once it's finally closed its doors. And I'll be there when it happens, you can count on that. Monday the 25th January will be a black day in more than one way, but I'll be taking holiday. I think I'll need it....

This is what I look like underwater.

Anyways, started teaching 3 private students this past weekend, Saturday and Sunday we did classroom and pool, everyone did great. This weekend we're doing one dive at Redondo (I know, EVERYONE seems to hate beach diving, especially at Redondo, but I love it, plus I think it's good for students to get a taste of what it's like) and Sunday we're going to Catalina, where I'll also be meeting up with my friends, the Maezumi sisters, Kyrie and Yoshi! I taught Kyrie how to dive, and Yoshi is my dive buddy who stars in my video "Yoshi and the Sea Lion" (I posted in an earlier post). I haven't had a chance to dive with either one of them in ages, so I'm really looking forward to seeing, and diving, with them!

After the pool session on Sunday, I stopped by my LDS to get some new dive booties, and while there, Joe, the sales clerk that was helping me out, asked me what I had been up to, so I told him I had just spent the day in a pool teaching. He answered with, "Oh, bummer, must really suck when you have to teach and be in a pool when you can be diving in the ocean, huh?" I paused as I looked at him and answered honestly, that I actually enjoyed teaching, love introducing people to my underwater world, and that I'm happy whether I'm in 100' of water, or 6' of water, what it boils down to, is that I'm UNDERWATER!!!! and that's what makes me happy. I've hovered above the deck of a 5' deep pool before for an hour, not doing any skills, not moving, just hanging there, listening to my breathing, watching the bubbles squeeze through the water, feeling the water holding me in suspension, and I've been happy. Though I love seeing fish, playing with the sea lions, swimming through incredibly clear and warm waters, the thing I'm in love with is simply being underwater, that's all...

Or, like Aufheber said: give me a place to stand and I shall (rule) the world (?)

]]> http://bphall.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/faces-below/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:21:33 +0000 bphall http://bphall.ca.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/faces-below/  

seafloor_abstract, originally uploaded by bphall.

Cruising along in thirty feet of water at Bird Rock, Catalina Island, CA, just a foot or so from the bottom, I look down and notice the rock, and urchins, and the colorful encrusting sea life all around. And yes, I see a face. But it's not a face, it's an abstraction, a visual mondegreen painted on the sea floor. Does anyone know of a word that defines something seen, at first glance, that is, something else entirely?

Giant Kelp, originally uploaded by bphall.

I love diving the kelp forests off the California coast, and this photograph of a tiny section of Macrocystis pyrifera exemplifies the extraordinary features of this sea plant.

The result of homeowners being "under water" is more pressure on an economy that is already in a downturn. No longer having equity in their homes makes people feel less rich and thus less inclined to shop at the mall.

via Housing Pain Gauge: Nearly 1 in 6 Owners 'Under Water' - WSJ.com.

Check out the graphic that they have showing which areas are getting hit harder than others.

Tom

a fish's view, originally uploaded by bphall.

This is one of my all-time favorite photos. It was late summer at the Casino Marine Park, Catalina island, CA, and I was solo diving in shallow water, about 25 feet, when I thought I fired off my last frame of velvia film. The water was calm and clear as I slowly moved up toward my exit. In 10-15 ft. of water I looked up and saw this scene, but thought I was out of film. I carry a magnifier to see the film counter on my old nikonos v underwater camera, and to my surprise I had two frames left. I took my time to capture this surreal moment. I've dived this spot a couple hundred times and have never seen this view, and haven't since. Photography is always a moment never to return. This is a view of the Casino building from about ten feet underwater, with no tricks, just the refraction of the water.

I have always dreamt of living in a glass case open to the sea around me. Seems like things are heading below sea level after all. Could you tap the tides and generate enough power to ultimately sustain yourself? I believe there are so many technological breakthroughs just over the near horizons and we are going to start seeing them truly be brought to the public eye. Just another project to keep a keen eye on. Seems like Dubai is breaking many barriers within the architectural world.

http://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/Hydropolis/#Hydropolis_17840

The footage below was found on YouTube regarding the discovery of this bowl:

The report from the Christian Telegraph now follows:

Scientists find ancient bowl that may call Jesus a magician

In what is certainly to be a controversial speculation too hard for many Evangelical Christians to swallow, scientists claim they have found an ancient bowl that refers to Jesus Christ as a magician, reports Michael Ireland, chief correspondent, ASSIST News Service.

A team of scientists led by renowned French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio recently announced that they have found the bowl, dating to between the late 2nd century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D., that is engraved with what they believe could be the world's first known reference to Christ.

In an online article by Jennifer Viegas of the Discovery Channel posted to the MSNBC website, scientists say the engraving reads, "DIA CHRSTOU O GOISTAIS," which has been interpreted to mean either, "by Christ the magician" or, "the magician by Christ."

The MSNBC article says that if the word "Christ" refers to the Biblical Jesus Christ, as is speculated, then the discovery may provide evidence that Christianity and paganism at times intertwined in the ancient world.

"It could very well be a reference to Jesus Christ, in that he was once the primary exponent of white magic," said archaeologist Goddio, who is co-founder of the Oxford Center of Maritime Archaeology.

In her article, Viegas says that Goddio and his colleagues found the object during an excavation of the underwater ruins of Alexandria's ancient great harbor. The Egyptian site also includes the now submerged island of Antirhodos, where Cleopatra's palace may have been located.

Viegas says that both Goddio and Egyptologist David Fabre, a member of the European Institute of Submarine Archaeology, think a "magus" could have practiced fortune telling rituals using the bowl. The Book of Matthew refers to "wisemen," or Magi, believed to have been prevalent in the ancient world.

According to Fabre, the bowl is also very similar to one depicted in two early Egyptian earthenware statuettes that are thought to show a soothsaying ritual.

"It has been known in Mesopotamia probably since the 3rd millennium B.C.," Fabre said. "The soothsayer interprets the forms taken by the oil poured into a cup of water in an interpretation guided by manuals."

Fabre added that the individual, or "medium," then goes into a hallucinatory trance when studying the oil in the cup.

"They therefore see the divinities, or supernatural beings appear that they call to answer their questions with regard to the future," he said.

Viegas writes that scientists theorize the magus might then have used the engraving on the bowl to legitimize his supernatural powers by invoking the name of Christ.

Goddio said, "It is very probable that in Alexandria they were aware of the existence of Jesus" and of his associated legendary miracles, such as transforming water into wine, multiplying loaves of bread, conducting miraculous health cures, and the story of the resurrection itself.

Viegas explains that while not discounting the Jesus Christ interpretation, other researchers have offered different possible interpretations for the engraving, which was made on the thin-walled ceramic bowl after it was fired, since slip was removed during the process.

Bert Smith, a professor of classical archaeology and art at Oxford University, suggests the engraving might be a dedication, or present, made by a certain "Chrestos" belonging to a possible religious association called Ogoistais.

Klaus Hallof, director of the Institute of Greek inscriptions at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy, added that if Smith's interpretation proves valid, the word "Ogoistais" could then be connected to known religious groups that worshipped early Greek and Egyptian gods and goddesses, such as Hermes, Athena and Isis.

Hallof additionally pointed out that historians working at around, or just after, the time of the bowl, such as Strabon and Pausanias, refer to the god "Osogo" or "Ogoa," so a variation of this might be what's on the bowl. It is even possible that the bowl refers to both Jesus Christ and Osogo.

Fabre concluded: "It should be remembered that in Alexandria, paganism, Judaism and Christianity never evolved in isolation. All of these forms of religion (evolved) magical practices that seduced both the humble members of the population and the most well-off classes."

"It was in Alexandria where new religious constructions were made to propose solutions to the problem of man, of God's world," he added. "Cults of Isis, mysteries of Mithra, and early Christianity bear witness to this."

The bowl is currently on public display in the exhibit "Egypt's Sunken Treasures" at the Matadero Cultural Center in Madrid, Spain, until November 15.

Report from the Christian Telegraph

I loved how the latter picture turned out as if it was taken underwater.

Abalones are rather disgusting creatures to begin with. They look like snails, and they have circular mouths like leeches. But I would like to presume that none of it is true when it arrives on my plate.

I would however, ALWAYS say NO to escargots.

:P