9.8.2024
Back at last!
Well—sort of . . .
Only a few of you will remember the early days of television when stations sent out a “test pattern” during the many hours when nothing was being broadcast, just to let people know that their TVs were working.
Today, of course, there’s not an empty nanosecond in the mediasphere! But certain broadcasters may be offline for a while—and that’s my recent story.
Briefly: I’ve been busy improving my vision (literally, eyesight) for the past few weeks, which took up much more time and attention than I’d anticipated. The adventure continues, but I’m starting to catch up, and look forward to more EP activity soon.
In the meantime, I’ve been keeping track of various happenings—and one of them, in all seriousness, changed my whole view of sentient life.
As a matter of background: Some readers may remember that I’m on a modestly deep dive inside the world of artificial intelligence, about which much more to come. For now, the only relevant bit is that I sometimes have to watch YouTube clips that I would never ordinarily see—not because they are untoward, but because they are about things that are not even vaguely connected with my interests.
On the upside, I can now talk intelligently about Atlantis survivor and virtual influencer Gawr Gura, as well as LEGO Star Wars, Baldur’s Gate 3, CoComelon, and the women’s cricket league in India. Really—ask me.
As a consequence of spending time on YouTube, I occasionally get served up something from my own history, and that’s where today’s post begins.
Years ago I discovered the amazing world of Mark Rober, an engineer who teaches popular science with amazing YouTube productions like . . .
Backyard Squirrel Maze 1.0- Ninja Warrior Course
Rober’s videos are long, densely informative, and addictively entertaining, so—fair warning! But I hadn’t seen one in quite a while until, for no apparent reason, YouTube brought me:
First thing to know—you will not believe how intelligent, adaptive, and full of surprises this delightful octopus turns out to be.
By the end of Rober’s video, I was blown away almost equally by the unique characteristics of the octopus, and by the imaginative energy of the human.
So just take twenty minutes to meet Sashimi and learn about a species that, as Rober says, is “truly the closest thing we have to intelligent alien life on this planet.” (While you’re there, be sure to read the YouTube comments.)
Experienced EP readers will know where this post goes next. First, I say to myself, “there can’t possibly be an octopus Tarot.” Then . . .
Yes—3,000 enthusiastic Kickstart backers pledged more than $200,000 last year to bring the Octopus Tarot to life.
The deck really is quite lovely, and . . . . very much in the octopus spirit. Which I don’t think I could have appreciated before meeting Sashimi.
If you are wondering (I was!) “why octopuses?”, here are some excerpts from artist Luna Charlotte’s answer:
Why Octopuses?
When I first started, I didn't understand what was calling me to create an entire deck themed around these alienesque beings . . . .
I had been sketching octopuses obsessively and I couldn't exactly figure out why. A friend was flipping through my drawings and said;
"Luna! This is a Tarot deck!"
Sure enough, I had intuitively drawn about 6 very recognizable cards from the tarot totally unintentionally. So I listened to my intuition and decided to embark on the crazy roller coaster ride that is the creation of all 78 cards . . . .
As I dived into the project, every day it seemed, I would come across yet another fascinating octopus fact that made me go "WOW, these animals are SO STRANGE!"
Luna shares some personal insights about these “genies of the sea,” along with details of her creative process—so if you’re intrigued by now, check out her story.
As always, thank you for reading. And I haven’t forgotten all those cliffhangers . . .
Soon! C
Thank you! WAY too many entertaining distractions from my day-job here...
I remember the test pattern, and I remember the sign off music. We had, I think, three channels. There were rabbit ears on top of the TV, encased in aluminum foil. If the TV acted up, you walked over and bapped it hard on the left hand side (as you faced the TV). Those were the good old days.
I am happy to hear that you are making inroads in your vision. That is a continuing saga with me too.
I love the Ninja Warrior course for squirrels!
I am amazed about the Octopus Tarot. I really do not know what to say! It is interesting how the creator/artist came to realize that this is what she was meant to do,
Thank you for sharing!