Infradiggit's Lair

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2009-11-27T08:41:00.001-08:00

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Neighbors

2009-10-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

We don't have neighbors.

We can't invite them over for merienda or a football-game. We can't even beat on them if we wanted to.

See the other places, like Asia, they got neighbors.
No, we are surrounded by sea. But that's ok, 'cause we are happy.

I wonder what they do over in Malaysia? They... eat spicy food? Do they have movies? What do they do over there?

But we are happy, yes. We got America. We get it on TV.

Emperor Akihito of Japan is a human Bobblehead doll

2009-10-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

I won't get into trouble for this will I?

I happen to think that Bobblehead dolls are cool.

I'm smarter when I'm sleeping

2009-10-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

Like most of you, I love music. Sometimes one particular song keeps playing over and over in my head.

The Police were one of the best bands of the '80s and they had loads of great songs.

King Of Pain is one of my favorites.

The lyrics are very distinctive, almost like a nursery rhyme:

There's a little black spot on the sun today

It's the same old thing as yesterday

There's a black cat caught in a high tree top

There's a flag-pole rag and the wind won't stop

What's it about?

Beats me... but despite the upbeat melody there seems to be an underlying theme of death and decay:

There's a fossil that's trapped in a high cliff wall

There's a dead salmon frozen in a waterfall

There's a blue whale beached by a spring tide's ebb

There's a butterfly trapped in a spider's web

ANYHOO...

I knew the lyrics but never really thought about them.

There's this one particular line in the last verse:

There's a red fox torn by a huntsman's pack

A huntsman's pack? In my mind's eye, I could picture a red fox, somehow getting entangled in a hunter's shoulder bag, and getting mangled in the process -- what the hey, Sting's got quite an imagination.

Anyway, so one time I was sleeping, right?

And in my sleep I had a dream. And in my dream King Of Pain was playing.

I've stood here before inside the pouring rain....

Then I awoke.

Aha.

In my dream I had understood -- a huntsman's pack is a pack of dogs.

(Duh!)

Let's Make A Flake!

2009-09-18T17:59:00.000-07:00

The Make a Flake site can be accessed here.

Send me something interesting ( infradiggit [AT] gmail.com ) and I'll think about putting it up ;-)

Top 10 Venomous Philippine Animals

2009-09-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

******* Disclaimer *******

The material provided here is solely for educational or entertainment purposes only. Although the material contained on this web pages is factually correct to the best of my knowledge, I'm unable to confirm that all the information contained on the pages linked to mine are correct in every case. I welcome any comments or corrections.

******* Disclaimer 2*******

All the animals on this list deserve our utmost respect. Please let us not harm the animals or the environment. Knowledge is our best protection.

This list is by no means complete. There are, for example, various other venomous snakes and cone snails found in the Philippines besides the ones here: this is just to give an idea for what's out there. Since the Philippine archipelago is surrounded by so much water, it is perhaps unsurprising that most of the creatures on this list are marine animals. That being said, the terrestrial animals are nothing to be laughed at, either.

So, in a somewhat subjective sequence, here it is:

10. Philippine Pitviper (Trimeresurus flavomaculatus)

This alluring snake is endemic to the Philippines. It can grow to a length of 60 cm, and subsists on a diet that includes small rodents, frogs, and lizards. Like most other vipers, its venom is mainly hemotoxic in nature. It does not seem to be deadly.

More info here here here.

9. Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans)

The distinctive lionfish is a denizen of tropical coral reefs. The striking coloration serves as a warning against would-be predators, as the long dorsal spines are tipped with a potent venom. Envenomation from the lionfish is said to be extremely painful, and can lead to nausea and breathing difficulties, although it is probably not fatal to humans.

More info here here here here.

8. Textile cone snail (Conus textile)

Photo by Richard Ling

As if belying their beautiful appearance, all species of cone snails (genus Conus) are venomous. The larger fish-hunting species, such as the textile cone shown here, are able to deliver a dose that is lethal to humans. Do not pick up live cone snails.

Cone snails are stealth hunters that rely on a powerful mixture of toxins (called conotoxins) to paralyze and kill their prey. Upon getting close to its victim, a cone snail injects venom by means of a long proboscis that ejects poisoned, harpoon-like teeth (called radula).

More info here here here.

7. Geography cone snail (Conus geographus)

Photo by diverosa

Cone snails are truly the champion pharmacologists of the animal kingdom.

The venom contains an extremely rich cocktail of toxins known as conotoxins, which are made up of short peptides that have a remarkable range of diversity and specificity of action. Each snail species produces around 30-200 different types of conotoxin peptides, and taken together the Conus genus is estimated to produce about 50,000 different venom components!

Conotoxins typically disrupt the function of ion channels in the cells, thus leading to serious neuromuscular disturbances. Early symptoms of Conus envenomation usually include numbness, a tingling sensation, and ischemia. More serious effects, such as those caused by a sting from C. geographus, might include nausea, general paralysis, coma, and even death by respiratory or cardiac failure.

More info here here here here here here.

6. Beaked sea snake (Enhydrina schistosa)

Photo by Teresa Zubi

Sea snakes are closely related to cobras, and all are highly venomous. Fortunately for us humans, they are usually shy and non-aggressive. The large beaked sea snake, on the other hand, has been implicated in numerous fatalities. Some studies rank it among the world's most venomous snakes. Divers take care.

More info here here here here.

5. Reef stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa)

Photo by Richard Ling

With the possible exception of #1, I'm probably more afraid of the stonefish than anything else on this list. Where's the fish? I can't see you, dammit it's not fair!

The reef stonefish is the world's most venomous fish. The dorsal spines are loaded with venom that can cause intense pain with possible muscle paralysis, and respiratory and cardiac failure, depending on the depth of the penetration. This level can be fatal to humans if proper medical treatment is not administered within a couple of hours.

More info here here here.

4. Blue-Ringed Octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata)

No bigger than a golf ball, the blue-ringed octopus nevertheless packs a powerful punch.

The relatively painless bite from this octopus delivers the deadly tetrodotoxin (10,000x more potent than cyanide), which can cause muscle paralysis and lead to respiratory failure within 90 minutes.

The blue ringed octopus can be found in coral reefs and shallow tide pools. When threatened it displays the characteristic bright blue rings all over its body. It normally feeds on small crustaceans, which it kills with its venom.

Here is a beautiful gallery featuring this incredible creature.

More info here here here here here.

3. Philippine Cobra (Naja philippinensis)

© 2005 Wolfgang Wuster

The Philippine Cobra is an extremely toxic snake. It is said that drop by drop, it has the most potent venom of all cobra species in the world. The venom is a neurotoxin that can cause respiratory paralysis and death in 30 minutes. What's more, the Philippine cobra can "spit" venom up to a distance of three meters.

This cobra species has a stocky build and measures an average of 1.7 m in length. The color is usually a uniform brown. The species is endemic to the Philippines, and can be found on the islands of Luzon, Mindoro, Catanduanes, Masbate, and perhaps other islands as well.

More info here here here here.

2. King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)

Photo by David Williams

The King Cobra is crowned as the world's longest venomous snake: fully grown it measures an average of 3.6-4 m in length, although larger individuals are sometimes encountered. It can be found throughout southeast Asia (including the Philippines), as well as in India and China. The King Cobra lives in forests, bamboo thickets, mangrove swamps, or close to human settlements. The name Ophiophagus refers to the fact that its diet consists of other snakes (from the Greek ophis 'snake' + phagus 'to eat').

The bite of the King Cobra is extremely dangerous, with a reported 75% fatality rate. This is due to the huge amounts of venom injected and relatively very long fangs. The venom has a potent neurotoxic effect, and consists of proteins and peptides that attack the central nervous system.

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Needless to say if you encounter a King Cobra NEVER EVER try to handle it! I can't believe this guy!!!

More info here here here here here.

1. Box Jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri)

And the most venomous animal on the planet -- the Box Jellyfish. Although most often associated with Australia, these critters do exist in the Philippines (see links).

The venom of the box jellyfish is said to be so potent that one could die from the pain alone. The venom is stored in specialized cells called nematocytes that are found throughout the tentacles, and released on contact. To make it really scary, the tentacles are quite long, not to mention very difficult to see in the water! Survivors are often scarred for life.

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Also in the news: Canadian man survives jellyfish sting in the Philippines.

More info here here here here.

Ricky Gervais: Discovered in the Philippines

2009-09-14T06:21:00.000-07:00

THIS IS of course old news but it bears repeating: Ricky Gervais, the man behind The Office and Extras, actor, writer, director, producer, comedian, winner of seven BAFTA awards, three Golden Globes, two Emmys, blahblahblah, got his first big break in the Philippines.

We are talking, of course, about his 80s band Seona Dancing, whose song More to Lose became a massive hit on these shores.

I guess the burning question on eveyone's lips is, why the hell didn't it become a massive hit worldwide?

It boggles the mind.

With lyrics such as:
A thousand tortured lives have fallen
Wounded dying cut down by the
Questions that we've sharpened
Just to save our losing days

What's not to like?

Pseudo intellectual teenage angst has simply never been better expressed in a pop song.

Anyway, here's the song. Enjoy the memories!

TO OUR generation, More To Lose is every bit as iconic as The Cure's Boys Don't Cry, The Smiths' This Charming Man, or Depeche Mode's Just Can't Get Enough. The 80s were simply the best.

So, thanks, 99.5RT or whoever was responsible for discovering Seona Dancing.

And thanks, Ricky.

For more Seona Dancing, check out this tribute site made by a true fan.

Cool Sounds: True Blood

2009-09-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

THIS SERIES is waay oversexed --
but the opening credits are a true work of art!

[download][download][download]

Books: Rizal, Lost in Translation

2009-09-10T23:12:00.000-07:00

FROM TIME to time I get the urge to pick up one of the Classics, you know, to get a little culture into the ol' brain.

Noli Me Tangere, I knew we would meet again.

Though we had it in high school and university, I can't really say I have actually read the Noli. I just never really took assigned work seriously back then, as I had, uh, better things to do with my life.

Well, the time had now come.

So I bought a copy of the new Penguin Classics edition, which came out in 2006. As I understand, it's the first English version of Noli to come out of such a major publishing house. This new edition, hailed as a "beautiful new translation" on the back blurb, was translated from the Spanish by Harold Augenbraum, the executive director of the National Book Foundation (wow).

Now, I have to admit that I hardly know any Spanish beyond para bailar La Bamba, and call me crazy, but I think there is something... strange about this translation.

To illustrate, let's look at just a tiny slice of text, from one of the more inconsequential, but nevertheless memorable scenes, the one featuring hot chocolate (it's from Chapter XI). I have marked in blue some words that stood out.

Penguin:

"Are you going to visit the parish house of the Dead Fly? Well, if they offer you chocolate, which I really doubt they will do, but anyway, if they do, be careful. If he calls the attendant and says, 'Fulanito, make a hot bowl of chocolate, okay?' then don't worry. But if he says 'Fulanito, make a bowl of hot chocolate, all right?' then grab your hat and hightail it out of there."
"What?" the frightened listener would say. "They give you big bowls? My lord!"
"N-no..."
"What then?"
"'Hot chocolate, okay' means thick and 'hot chocolate, all right' means watery."

Now compare that to the original text:

-¿Va usted al convento a visitar al curita Moscamuerta? Si le ofrece chocolate, ¡lo cual dudo! tenga usted cuidado. Si llama al criado y dice: Fulanito, haz una jícara de chocolate ¿eh? entonces no tenga miedo, pero si dice: Fulanito, haz una jícara de chocolate ¡ah! entonces coja usted el sombrero y márchese corriendo.
-¿Por qué? -preguntaba espantado su interlocutor-. ¿Acaso el fraile pega jicarazos?
-¡Hombre, tanto como eso no!
-¿Entonces?
-Chocolate ¿eh? significa espeso, y chocolate ¿ah? aguado.

3 THINGS.

(1) "Dead Fly" is a direct (literal) translation of "Moscamuerta". However, a quick google reveals that the term mosca muerta also refers to a hypocrite or a person feigning innocence. It is akin to the English idiom "butter wouldn't melt in her mouth".

It's an idiom, dude.

(2) In the original Spanish, the text refers to una jícara de chocolate. And later on, it refers to el fraile pega jicarazos. Now according to google, jícara is a "taza pequeña, generalmente con el fondo más grueso que las paredes, que se usa para tomar chocolate", the likes of which can be seen here here here and here. It is a cup or bowl made from the fruit (gourd) of the calabash tree.

On the other hand, the very similar sounding jicarazo, again from a quick Google, means "propinación alevosa de veneno" or in other words, a poisoned drink (here here). It seems Rizal was engaging in a bit of word-play, which the Penguin edition totally missed, translating instead to the utterly nonsensical "What? They give you big bowls?".

Wassuuuuup?

(3) Finally, 'Hot chocolate, okay', 'hot chocolate, all right'?? Jesus Christ on an effin raft man. I know one needs room to be creative, but chocolate eh and chocolate ah have long since achieved iconic status among many, many Filipinos, I think it was rather ill advised to have changed it. It just sounds soo wrong aaargh.

And to round things out, here is the same passage from Charles Derbyshire 's 1912 translation:

"Are you going over to the convento to visit the sanctimonious rascal there, the little curate? Yes! Well, if he offers you chocolate which I doubt-but if he offers it remember this: if he calls to the servant and says, 'Juan, make a cup of chocolate, eh!' then stay without fear; but if he calls out, 'Juan, make a cup of chocolate, ah!' then take your hat and leave on a run."
"What!" the startled visitor would ask, "does he poison people? Carambas!"
"No, man, not at all!"
"What then?"
"'Chocolate, eh!' means thick and rich, while 'chocolate, ah!' means watered and thin."

Wasn't that so much better?

The verdict:

Hate to say it, but it looks like the new Noli has simply been phoned in.

Cool Sounds: Spanish Rocks

2009-09-02T06:16:00.000-07:00

A FEW years back I really got into this music.

If I manage to turn on a single person to Rock en Español, I believe I can die a happy man. Besides I think the music meshes very well with the Filipino aesthetic sense. This is true rock spirit combined with plenty of passion, not to mention a social conscience.

So here are two of my favorite bands. Kinda old but still timeless!

You gotta love Los Aterciopelados. Led by high priestess Andrea Echeverri, they are the pride of Colombia.

Aterciopelados - Bolero Falaz

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Aterciopelados - Florecita Rockera

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And of course Mexico's own Molotov! PUTO PUTO!

Molotov - Puto

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Molotov - Gimme the Power

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Leapin Leezards

2009-09-01T00:46:00.000-07:00

This photo occupies a special place in my heart.

The picture itself is nothing special. It's just a lizard on an old tree trunk.

What makes it special is that a second after I snapped the photo, this hapless lizard was hit by a flying tsinelas (rubber slipper).

The young boy I was with, whom I almost thought of as my friend, saw what I was looking at and his first reaction was to try to kill it.

I must admit I was totally shocked I was unable to do anything, even get angry.

What bothers me about something like is that it's totally senseless. Why hurt an animal that couldn't possible do you harm? Where's the fun in that?

What's more, this didn't happen in the city. This was on Siargao Island by golly, about as close to paradise on earth as you can get.

Great Books: Blood Meridian

2009-08-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most violent books I've ever come across, rivalled perhaps only by American Psycho. It's also very, very good.

When Glanton and his chiefs swung back through the village people were running out under the horses' hooves and the horses were plunging and some of the men were moving on foot among the huts with torches and dragging the victims out, slathered and dripping with blood, hacking at the dying and decapitating those who knelt for mercy. There were in the camp a number of Mexican slaves and these ran forth calling out in spanish and were brained or shot and one of the Delawares emerged from the smoke with a naked infant dangling in each hand and squatted at a ring of midden stones and swung them by the heels each in turn and bashed their heads against the stones so that the brains burst forth through the fontanel in a bloody spew and humans on fire came shrieking forth like berserkers and the riders hacked them down with their enormous knives and a young woman ran up and embraced the bloodied forefeet of Glanton's warhorse.

Read that one again.

"... and swung them by the heels each in turn and bashed their heads against the stones so that the brains burst forth through the fontanel and ..."

Can you picture that in your head?

And the book from start to finish was immersed in bloody murder with no respite and intent in swallowing the reader whole in its rancorous maw that without a doubt its reputation for violence is richly deserved and but what the author finds it fit to write without interruption of punctuations just strung together ands like swollen infant indian heads strung through the nostrils with barbedwire left to glisten in the sun. They rode on.

I apologize for that lousy attempt to imitate the man. The book's language, if you can get past the savagery, is beautiful and hypnotic.

McCarthy is a master of rhythm.

What intrigues me most about Blood Meridian, like Amercian Psycho and Lolita, are the glimpses it occasionally offers into things hidden beneath, what on the surface appears to be a story designed to shock and provoke.

In the story we find all sorts of weird structural things. And if you pay close attention, you will begin to notice more and more of these features, like strange geological formations in an otherwise barren landscape. Word repetitions, distant echoes, palindromes, and mirror images figure prominently, contributing to an overall sense that some weird shit is going on behind the scenes, just beyond the grasp of our comprehension.

p. 96

Perdida, perdida. La carta está perdida en la noche.... Un maleficio, cried the old woman. Qué viento tan maleante...

...and when the company turned in to sleep and the low fire was roaring in the blast like a thing alive these four yet crouched at the edge of the firelight among their strange chattels and watched how the ragged flames fled down the wind as if sucked by some maelstrom out there in the void, some vortex in that apposite to which man's transit and his reckonings alike lay abrogate. As if beyond will or fate he and his beasts and his trappings moved both in card and in substance under consignment to some third and other destiny.

p. 120

As they rode that night upon the mesa they saw come toward them much like their own image a party of riders pieced out of the darkness by the intermittent flare of the dry lightning to the north..... And so these parties divided upon that midnight plain, each passing back the way the other had come, pursuing as all travelers must inversions without end upon other men's journeys.

p. 151

Under a gibbous moon horse and rider spanceled to their shadows on the snowblue ground and in each flare of lightning as the storm advanced those selfsame forms rearing with a terrible redundancy behind them like some third aspect hammered out black and wild upon the naked grounds. They rode on. They rode like men invested with a purpose whose origins were antecedent to them, like blood legatees of an order both imperative and remote. For although each man among them was discrete unto himself, conjoined they made a thing that had not been before and in that communal soul were wastes hardly reckonable more than those whited regions on old maps where monsters do live and where there is nothing other of the known world save conjectural winds.

What does it all mean?

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.

Read it.

Bogus Bugs

2009-08-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

Pop Quiz:
What's wrong with these pictures?

Did you get it? Sirit na?

Answer:
None of these insects live in the Philippines.

These are all American insects.

Aaaaargh. Did they really think no one would notice??

I suppose I need to give some proof. Well I think I was able to identify them all. (Click on the links for external pages).

Green june beetle a.k.a. figeater beetle (Cotinis mutabilis). Found in the southwestern US & Mexico.
Convergent ladybird beetle (Hippodamia convergens). Lives in the Americas.
Eastern hercules beetle (Dynastes tityus). Lives in the US.
Harlequin cabbage bug a.k.a. harlequin bug (Murgantia histrionica). Southern US.
~~Ornate Checkered Beetle~~ (here) is misidentified; probably the Red-blue checkered beetle (Trichodes nutalli). US & Canada.
Sharpshooter bug a.k.a. Broadheaded sharpshooter (Oncometopia orbona). USA.
Milkweed bug a.k.a. large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus). USA.
Spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata). US and A.

This is BULLSHIT man. For one of the Earth's unique Biodiversity Hotspots to issue stamps depicting some lame-ass "Common Insects of North America" is absurd, not to mention totally pathetic.

Ano ba yan Philippine Post! How could you?!?

It's not as if we can't make them well. Check out these stamps, from 1969:

click on picture to view larger size

Now that's beautiful.

See the fine lines. The composition. And admire the background! (I'm really big into backgrounds). Even the fonts look great.

These names of these swallowtail butterflies are as follows:

The ~~Common Birdwing~~, I'm afraid, has been misdiagnosed. It appears to be a male Magellan Birdwing (Troides magellanus). They are found only in the Philippines and on Orchid Island, Taiwan.
Tailed Jay (Graphium agamemnon). These butterflies are common even in the cities, and the caterpillars are often found on the guyabano plant.
Red Helen (Papilio helenus hystaspes). This subspecies of the Red Helen is endemic to (found only in) the Philippines.
"The Birdwing" (Trogonoptera trojana). This butterfly is endemic to the island of Palawan.

For a glimpse of more living jewels from Pinas, see this great website.

(All scans are from Skap's Bug Stamps.)