Virginia Oliver is the oldest licensed lobster fishing person in the state of Maine — and, her local Rockland Historical Society suspects, possibly the entire world. She began lobstering in 1928, when she was just 8 years old, and still goes out three times a week with her son, depending on the weather. She was supposed to be the Grand Marshall of the Maine Lobster Festival this year until it was cancelled because of COVID-19, but she still got to celebrate this crazy in fashion with this short film about her life that aired on Maine Coast TV on June 6th — Oliver's 100th birthday.
Her advice for a long life of lobstering is simple: "I have friends. Maybe they've lost their husbands. They don't do nothin'. You got to keep going."
The Lobster Lady [Vimeo] Read the rest
Noted crustacean expert D. Trump, Ph.D., discusses lobsters, free trade, and car tariffs. Another piece of brilliant work by Sarah Cooper. Read the rest
Jordan Peterson is really easy to make fun of -- what with the mystical nonsense and the pseudoscientific evolutionary biology -- but there are millions of (largely white, largely young, largely male) readers who've found his "12 Rules for Life" to be a balm for their souls and a rallying cry for a movement that has legitimized the most murderous strains of toxic masculinity.
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Sami's owner says she has always had a "strong mothering instinct." So strong, it seems, that it extends to crustaceans.
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Are you ready for some mind-altering, existential truth? Then by all means, behold: Cookie Monster. Not afraid to ask the difficult questions, his inquiring mind is like a tour guide for the hungry.
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We've all played one of those arcade "claw" games where a mechanical lobster claw is rigged to let go of prizes. But have you ever played with the prizes being live lobsters? [The Atlantic] Read the rest
From the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Facebook page, here are two lobsters doing it — apparently in the missionary position.
But looks can be misleading. What's actually going on here is external fertilization — that is to say, procreation without any of the potentially awkward penetration. Male lobsters produce spermatophores, packets of sperm, which they attach to the female's sternum. That's what you see happening here, according to the Sanctuary. Later, the female will use that sperm to fertilize her eggs.
Thanks to David Shiffman and Carin Bondar! Read the rest
Before Rimbaud, before the Surrealists, there was Nerval (1808 - 1855), living his life as if it were a lucid dream. Of course, it didn't hurt that his mental skies flickered with the chain lightning of madness—bouts of insanity that condemned him to periodic stays in asylums and, ultimately, self-murder.
In case you have ever wondered what lobsters sound like, here is a recording of Justitia longimanus, the West Indian furrow lobster. I literally jumped a bit when the lobster's voice came on. (Thanks to John Sutter for the awesome link!) Read the rest
This lobster, dubbed Calvin, was headed for the dinner plate—by way of a pot of boiling water—only to be saved because he looked nifty. Ahhh, the capricious nature of humans.
According to an NPR story, this spotted pattern isn't even the most unusual lobster coloration out there. White lobsters are even more rare. They can also, apparently, come in a sort of Miller Lite-can blue.
And they make great pets:
... Gérard de Nerval, the French artist who famously kept a pet lobster, which he named Thibault. He reportedly walked the crustacean in the gardens of the Palais-Royal, on a leash. And he gave a convincing explanation for his choice in non-human companions.
"I have affection for lobsters," Nerval said. "They are tranquil, serious and they know the secrets of the sea."
NPR can point you toward a Harper's article that offers evidence for Thibault's actual existence. I will say this: As a former employee of Red Lobster, the leashed lobster story sounds entirely believable to me. I have personal experience racing lobsters and teaching them to stand on their heads.
Via GrrlScientist
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