June 8, 2008
Portrait of the blogger as a young scientist
…listen
…about the musicMusic for specimens.
On Wednesday I spent a few hours at sea once again, on the marine science vessel Centennial, a significant tool for University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories. How I, a wannabe marine biologist and oceanographer, was so lucky as to end up living nearly walking distance from one of the world’s greatest research facilities, is beyond me. But here I am (in a couple of pix taken by my dear friend Laura). The people who work and study at the Labs are a great bunch; warm hearted, curious, fun. Over the past year I’ve gotten involved with FHL’s wonderful K-12 Science Outreach Program, and have also let peers know about their amazing Whiteley Center for visiting scholars.
We had a bunch of very sweet third-graders on board, and while I’m always tempted to use small humans as chum to attract the big sharks that would be really fun to study, I resisted the urge to toss any of these cute kids overboard. Instead, it was a delight to watch them enjoy the thrill of running their little hands through the muck and life forms brought up by the dredger from the bottom of the sea floor; about 30 fathoms at the point where we stopped. I get as much of a kick out of this as anyone. There’s an immediate, primal connection when one is holding bivalves, worms and crabs that only moments ago were oozing around in a far different world. My apologies to them all for bringing them momentarily into the light for our own edification.
Part of the Labs, as we left the dock.
The Centennial.
The dredger delivers its payload.
Mmmmmmm!
Yes, the sea really is this blue here.
Happy as a clam. Or any mollusk, for that matter.
Glenn Buttkus said,
June 9, 2008 @ 5:00 am
There is something so incredibly “right” about your love of, your study of and appreciation for, and the need to live near —the ocean. It throbs with synchronicity, and hums with homeostasis. It is so primal. What a hit, what luck for you to have found yourself so close to a den of oceanographers, and to have ingratiated ourself to them. The Centennial looks like an all business vessel, and you look right at home there; somehow.
Your musical clip, ALLEGRO from Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano, @ 2:14, really sets the tone. It is an award-winning piece for those who haven’t clicked on “About the Music”
from her full blown piece, at 12 minutes, composed in 1998. Played by the Berkeley Price trio. As we peer at your many pics, we are there, on the sea, feeling the sea, feeling for the sea, breathing deeply of the salt air, and enjoying the pungent oder of kelp and ocean mist on the ropes and chains of the clanking machinery; only imagining the mix of mirth, mud, and mullusk when the dredge brought up the playthings for the children.
I love your comment regarding your piece, “This particular piece was composed using a classical sonata form as a point of departure for a more modern tonal and rhythmic palette.” My, how you do talk the talk, after you have birthed the blues, and jumped the jazz.
Glenn