The beauty of the depths

By rivqa Posted in Reviews Tagged , ,
Valerie Taylor gets up close to a shark. Credit: Madman Entertainment/Ron Taylor Film Productions.

Valerie Taylor gets up close to a shark. Credit: Madman Entertainment/Ron Taylor Film Productions.

Inner Space: The Complete Series
Directed by Robert Walker, Madman Entertainment, 1973, released on DVD 2012
This review was originally published in COSMOS Magazine.

Over Inner Space’s 13 episodes, Ron and Valerie Taylor showcase their impressive knowledge and sheer love of all things marine.

William Shatner’s gorgeous narration (he refers to leopard sharks as “streamlined spaceships of the sea”) and Sven Libaek’s pleasant jazz soundtrack (included on CD) make it easy listening. But the real joy is the Taylors’s boundless curiosity and unfailing bravery. It’s delightful watching them make friends with sea lions and hitch a ride on a giant whale shark.

Produced in 1973, Madman Entertainment pursued Inner Space for many years before managing to secure the rights and release the only commercially available version of the series.

Inner Space is clearly dated, with its slow pace and muted colours. The night diving and close-up camera provide the best-quality footage, and fascinating insights – such as the beauty of tiny hermit crabs and polkadot baby barramundi.

If anything, the series is a little light on facts, tending to give the visuals space to speak for themselves. It may thus appeal more to viewers who know little about marine life. But whether they’re collecting specimens and fossils for scientists or discovering new species, the Taylors’s contribution to science shouldn’t be underestimated.

The footage used in Inner Space was filmed over 10 years, documenting the beginning of the Taylors’s evolution from spearfishing champions to conservation advocates.

The coral-eating crown-of-thorn sea star is demonised as a reef killer – its ecological purpose and causes for its overpopulation are now better known. And I watched in mixed horror and amazement as one of the Taylors colleagues killed a shark (“man’s most-feared, deadliest enemy”) that seemed threatening, then proceeded to deliver her babies when he realised she was pregnant. But the Taylors subsequently endanger themselves to rescue a shark caught in their equipment, even performing shark CPR.

Later, they try to stop divers from killing endangered grey nurse sharks. These small, gentle sharks had a bad rep at the time, and were easy prey for divers looking to kill for sport. Ron and Val were determined to clear their names, and I’m struck by their important role of PR for species conservation.

As Shatner puts it, “it seems like a horrifying debt man is building up against nature”. The series ends by exploring shipwrecks as potential artificial reefs for aquafarming – both for food and as a way to repair the damage people have done to the ocean. It’s clear that the Taylors helped humanity on the road to start paying it back.

Nerdiness, in song and dance

By rivqa Posted in Reviews, Science
Keira Daley and Mark Chamberlain in Ladynerd. Credit: ladynerd.com.au

Keira Daley and Mark Chamberlain in Ladynerd. Credit: ladynerd.com.au

This review was originally published on COSMOS Online.

For the uninitiated, the opening number of Keira Daley’s Ladynerd neatly defined nerdiness as an enthusiasm for one’s obsessions that often comes at the expense of fashion sense.

Even if you missed the opening number, the mention in the first five minutes of the Venn diagram of nerdiness and negativity, with self-loathing as the intersection, just might give away that this is no ordinary comedy show.

Daley’s definition of nerdiness is broad; it includes science, Shakespeare, video games, tech, pop culture and grammar. But as the name suggests, the focus of the show is the often-disregarded female nerd. To do this, Daley uses song (with back-up and keyboardist Mark Chamberlain), mile-a-minute one-liners and physical comedy to take the audience back in time to meet some famous and not-so-famous lady nerds.

She starts with the easy stuff: Marie Curie’s scientific romance and collaboration with Pierre (and ‘Cornelius’, apparently the name of the large pile of dirt she sifted through to isolate radium).

Nerdy types short of a pick-up line might like to remember and reuse the puns about magnetism – a common interest the Curies bonded over (sorry) – or “Remember my name, you’ll be citing it later!” if you want to get really academic.

Then it gets a little more obscure, with a Chicago-esque ode to Bette Nesmith Graham.

A high-school dropout who ended up a working single mother after World War II, Nesmith Graham invented Liquid Paper to hide her poor typing skills.

And Florence Nightingale might be known for her compassionate nursing, lamp in hand, but her contributions to statistics and hygiene make her the “Chuck Norris of lady nerds”, Daley declares.

A definite highlight was the sketch about Hedy Lamarr, a Hollywood actor who was more than a pretty face. She escaped Austria and her controlling first husband, who was doing business with the Nazis, and developed the concept of frequency hopping, the predecessor of wifi. Disappointingly, the concept wasn’t picked up for the war effort, because (in Daley’s words) “Whenever I choose to be clever, no one pays attention”.

The adage of ‘It’s funny because it’s true’ definitely holds here, with women still fighting to be taken seriously in tech, ‘hard’ sciences and even in geek subculture (if they’re not in a Slave Leia costume, anyway). But Daley’s unflinching enthusiasm, stage presence, impeccable timing and prodigious singing talent are great tools for punching through stereotypes – and for getting some good belly laughs for nerds everywhere, proud or self-loathing.

Brring brrring!

By rivqa Posted in Science Tagged , ,

amsterdambikeWe were in Amsterdam last month and we mostly got around like this:

It was pretty awesome, even if we didn’t get to try out a bakfiets because it was too expensive to rent. The bike tracks in Amsterdam weren’t perfect (they did disappear every so often), and riding with kids is always a bit fiddly. But yes, pretty much awesome. I have never ridden a bike without a helmet and the only times I felt unsafe were when I accidentally rode down the bike lanes the wrong way because we drive (and ride) on the opposite side of the road in Australia.

Sydney is always going to be a harder place to ride because of the hills and absurdly narrow streets, but we can do so much better. After reading At War With the Motorist for a while, you really get a sense of how much better.

With all these thoughts in my mind, it was great to see this short documentary about how the Dutch actually got it together:

For once, the “won’t someone think of the children” argument used for good! Here in Sydney, two things hold me back from cycling: the hills and having kids to cart around. There are just some places where the roads aren’t safe to ride with children, but the footpaths are two busy. My commute to work features roads like this. The cycleways in the city are lovely but they’re only part of the picture — most people have to get there first. Maybe we’ll get there after NSW Labor gets its act together. Or something.

Individuals kicking the plastic habit: is it enough?

By rivqa Posted in Science Tagged , ,

Let me just preface this by saying that I think Beth Terry is fantastic. In case you don’t know, Beth has a website (really, it’s more than just a blog) called My Plastic-Free Life that basically documents her journey of giving up plastic and encourages others to do the same. I’m relatively new to it, but she’s been around since 2007.

It’s great, don’t get me wrong. Plastic is evil; it never goes away and it’s probably not all that good for you (but what is?). I’ve been trying to reduce our plastic consumption too, and have made some big steps: swapping to cloth nappies/diapers and wipes, purchasing metal water bottles, and banning liquid soap from the house. We’ve also been cutting down on tissues and packaged cleaning products, and I’ll continue to cut down as I’m able. Suggestions welcome.

However.

Firstly, the whinge. It’s hard. It’s time-consuming. And it’s expensive. Especially with kids. Many of Beth’s recommendations centre around going to the farmers’ markets with your own cloth bags (not just to carry shopping in, but to bag each type of fruit, vegetable and legume). And buying bread that’s not packaged. And asking every online retailer you ever shop with to please not wrap your products in plastic. I could go on.

Do I have to point out how much all of this is not going to happen? Yes, certainly we could plan better and always have green bags with us, but sometimes we don’t and need to pick something up on the way home. You know, so as to feed the kids and all. Farmers’ market? Butcher? Deli? The supermarket is one of my coping mechanisms as a working mother; often our shopping happens late at night when everything else is shut. And don’t even get me started on the suggestions of “just make [bread/crackers/jam/sauce/tofu] yourself”. In all my spare time, sure. I’ll also get my own cow and milk her.

Then there’s the plastic that kids just attract, like magnets. Not just food packaging, but toys. Toy packaging. Toys begged for. Toys given as gifts. And soon enough, there will be toys bought with own money. Not to mention other miscellaneous stuff, like potties and high chairs and car seats. These things are mentioned in a guest post on My Plastic-Free Life, actually; one commenter suggested taking presents away before the kids get them. That might work for our baby, but I’d like to see someone try that trick with our almost-five-year-old.

Still, gradually we can educate and improve and make better choices, especially as our finances improve with time. Sure.

But then, secondly. Really, what’s the point in making these reductions? There’s the feel-good factor, doing something positive for the environment. But in the scheme of the world’s population (not to mention industry) it’s insignificant. I don’t think our tip is appreciably smaller because of the disposable nappies that we didn’t dump in it.

To me, the only real point is to make a point. To show that it’s possible, and then to push for legislation. Because the mounds of plastic are not going to go away because I carried a few organic veges in a hemp bag. They’re going to lessen, maybe, when the companies making them are forced to do better. When bottled water is taxed at 1000% or more. And when we start pushing, as cliched as it may be, for a better future for our children.

Conversations

By rivqa Posted in Reflections Tagged

I don’t have autism, but in my life I’ve encountered many people who do. On one level, the different ways the human brain can function fascinate me, just as the shoddy science that goes on in this field infuriates me. On another level, some of them, at least, are just my friends.

Shanti is the closest friend with autism I have. She’s high-functioning, smart and funny and she blogs at Platform 25. We’re gig buddies sometimes (you should hear about our adventures at Bob Log III). She’s a talented photographer and a fellow science and science fiction geek. We have a lot in common and we’ve talked a lot about autism as well as many other topics.

Our most recent conversation was on Facebook and Shanti initiated it by asking me about Communication Shutdown. Even though I don’t have autism I wanted to blog about this, and reproducing a conversation (ETA: with permission!) is on one level a very lazy blog post. But on another, it’s perfect. Because it just proves the point that we agreed on. So here it is.

Shanti: What do you think about Communication Shutdown? I think it’s good to raise awareness about autism and have more money for educational services but I’m not sure about the whole ‘cure autism now’ thing. I’m all for curing severe autism because the parents go through so much and services are poor, even in today’s society…. But it does make think that people think that autism is only negative. Even in severe autism they have their own talents.
Then again it does give me a lot of issues. But without it would I be into photography/ physics/ story writing/ astronomy / art at the intensity that I am? No. Everyday I learn something new and that’s great. Then again I do have that ADHD thing.
I think there should be more awareness for autism and unemployment. How about a ‘give your job to an autistic day?’

Rivqa: Well… I see this type of campaign as trite – how can an NT possibly have any inkling of what it’s really like? Not using social networks may be a modest sacrifice, but it wouldn’t give me insight into the communication difficulties that …people on the spectrum face.

As for raising awareness, I’d question the value of that really. Autism is a well known condition now; education about the reality of it is needed, yes, but again, an event like this won’t add much to that.

I agree that the issue of a cure is sticky. It’s also unrealistic for a complex range of conditions and I think it would be better to focus on treatment that doesn’t rob people of their individuality, but that helps them function better. Education for broader society, better services, and high-quality research (Wakefield can shove it).

I think this is exactly what you’ve identified in yourself: there are the good bits of high-functioning autism, and there are the challenges. Employment is a really good measure of function, and that’s far more important than messing with people’s neurons.

Shanti: Also, autistics use social networking to better communicate.
So, you’re more towards ‘Education not Eugenics’ too? I think on Nov 1 we should change our status to that. I’ve got some good material on Eugenics in the 1920’s and not just from… Nazi Germany.
I think if an NT wants to understand what it’s like to be autistic they should lock themselves in their room and not talk to anybody. Then they can try to amplify every sound. Then rub sandpaper all over their skin.

Anyway, I got only 2 hours to find the Andromeda galaxy.

Rivqa: I am, but not in a way that sugar coats what it means to have autism, especially severe autism. Difference is OK. Suffering isn’t.

Take some pretty pictures of Andromeda.

Shanti: Totally agree. I’ve also talked to people on the severe non-speaking end of the spectrum to see what they think about it. One is content to sign or use a sort of net book to communicate. She doesn’t think she’s missing out on being social b…ut she has extreme meltdowns and tactile sensitivity. And I hate my tactile sensitivity and my short tempers. But what I go through isn’t as bad as what she goes through.

I can’t photograph Andromeda. I need more pro equipment but it was good to see it through my telescope, as well as a nebula and Hartley’s comet.



Rivqa: Yes, obviously people are going to want different things. I don’t think any movement should force a cure (if it even existed) on anyone who didn’t want it. But I also don’t think a movement should prevent anyone from taking one if they wanted it.

One day I will visit your neck of the woods so you can show me stuff through your telescope.

Shanti: Yes, you must. And Tania too.