Thursday, August 13, 2009
In The Macroverse: Spider Kills Bee.
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| From In The Macroverse |
This spider worked non-stop for about 20 minutes wrapping a bee that had gotten stuck in its web. Once the bee was completely encased in webbing, the spider dragged it into the bottlebrush tree for dining later.
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| From In The Macroverse |
Meanwhile, in a nearby web off-camera another bee struggled for the duration and escaped. There is no mercy or justice in nature. Only survival or death contingent on circumstances.
To see more photos of the bee wrapping the spider sequence, click the links above, which take you to the In The Macroverse album at picasaweb.google.com/tdavera. Scroll to the end of the album. And thank the gods you're at the top of the food chain. So say we all!
-tdr
Labels: Insects, Nature, Photography
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Infestation: A Sci-Fi Gem on SyFy Channel.
Saturday night, SyFy Channel showed Kyle Rankin's (no relation, darn the luck) new monster-bug movie, Infestation. (Here.) The movie has a lot of fun playing with monster, zombie, and alien invasion movie conventions. But it's far from being an exploitation of science fiction genres. There's good writing with real-live character development and good direction. The movie is also blessed by the lead acting of Chris Marquette and the supporting role played by Ray Wise, as Marquette's dad.
Infestation takes place in the first days after animal-sized bugs have conquered the world. All humans had been instantaneously knocked unconscious only to awaken some days later wrapped in webbing. Marquette's character is part of a small band of humans who try to survive and decide to launch an attack on the bugs' nest, to rescue the girl and blow up the queen.
The plot will probably surprise nobody but the writing might; for instance, when Rankin has Marquette's character talk disappointingly of having fantasized that the end of the world would come some day leaving him and his own beautiful Eve to repopulate the Earth. The reality is not exactly what he'd imagined.
When SyFy shows the movie again, as they no doubt will, give it a look.
-tdr
Infestation takes place in the first days after animal-sized bugs have conquered the world. All humans had been instantaneously knocked unconscious only to awaken some days later wrapped in webbing. Marquette's character is part of a small band of humans who try to survive and decide to launch an attack on the bugs' nest, to rescue the girl and blow up the queen.
The plot will probably surprise nobody but the writing might; for instance, when Rankin has Marquette's character talk disappointingly of having fantasized that the end of the world would come some day leaving him and his own beautiful Eve to repopulate the Earth. The reality is not exactly what he'd imagined.
When SyFy shows the movie again, as they no doubt will, give it a look.
-tdr
Labels: Insects, Movies, Science Fiction
Paid Grassroots Organizing.
This flyer in the neighborhood is a timely reminder that when liberals organize using paid workers of an advocacy group, it's still a grassroots campaign. No astroturfing here. Move along now.
-tdr
Update: Even better, Grassroots Campaigns is a paid political consulting, fundraising, and field organizing organization. Welcome to Wonderland, Alice, where words mean what we say they mean.
Labels: Politics
