why nobody knows about mermaids…

for all those people who have asked…

(thanks, Cesar!)

mermaid video of the month

the mermaid has known this song for a long time, but only just know come across this lovely video. unfortunately, at the same time, we was made aware, that the singer died a few days ago at the young age of 37. may the cosmic forces guide her on this part of her journey!

haiti fund-raising @ the foundry

image source: wikipedia

the mermaid has heard about the dreadful events in haiti and is taking part in a fundraiser at one of her favourite dwelling points – the foundry in london. the mermaid & her research team will be auctioning off some diving and swimming equipment, music and other things. please come and contribute. bring anything you don’t need any more & sell it for the foundry’s haiti fund.

date: 27 january 2010
time: 7-11 pm
place: the foundry, london, 86 great eastern street, ec2a 3jl
tube: old street

see you there!

ocean pictures wanted

the mermaid just wanted to pass on that the ‘ocean project’ is looking for people to submit their photos for their ‘ocean picture of the day’ weboceansite. they also do not just want you to submit any old photograph, but think about your emotional connection to it. photos and stories can be submitted here.

indoor jellyfish

source: strozzina/ccc green platform

yesterday, the mermaid went to what landfolk call an ‘exhibition’. it was very interesting, indeed, and even featured a swarm of glass jellyfish! the mermaid is very pleased that climate change is now discussed so widely amongst landfolk. merfolk has been noticing it for quite sometime now. the exhibition also presents both mer- and landfolk with many surprising insights how landfolk interact with the planet. when the mermaid was there, they even had a water themed debate! the mermaid now feels inspired to do her own art, but first she must learn about this strange festival that is going on in her surroundings at the moment. it is called ‘christmas’, and the mermaid has been told she will be told how to sing some christmas corals – the poor corals!

‘earth’ is showing at the royal academy of arts until 31 january 2010. there is a debate between 6.30 – 10 pm on 22 january 2010 under the theme of water’s opposing element, fire!

save the foundry!

source: emma buggy (artist)

the mermaid has just heard that the place she frequently performs in is to be knocked down to make space for a much less inviting building which will tower 18 stories high above the ancient st. agnes well. there are few places in london left for creatures such as the mermaid, the wormlady or similar gesture and soundmakers to present their work, so if you feel the same, and would like to see the world ocean day celebrations there again, please write to hackney council until 20 november 2009:

Hackney Planning Services
Dorothy Hodgkin House
12 Reading Lane
London E8 1HJ

floating things

floating things 1: the mermaid has retrieved this video from the wilds of the webocean. it tells the story of a man who gave up his comfortable occupation to dive in the sewers of his city. the mermaid finds this story remarkable. she has recently come across a lot of stories about floating human waste. anything from body wastes to plastics. she is monitoring several projects that are tracing how this stuff ends up with us aquatic folks. sometimes this happens in pretty unbelievable ways…

floating things 2: the mermaid has been show this campaign called ‘our rivers’. you can ‘adopt’ a part of your river and look after it. the mermaid wonders if any more landfolk will turn up at rivers because of this initiative. if yes, the mermaid shall greet them with some strange finds from her current home…

floating things 3: a floating events centre that has also been designed for promoting ocean conservation. the mermaid thinks that this is a fantastic idea. she wonders what other features this construct has apart from its ‘floatability’… will it have wastewater recycling? desalination facilities for generating cooking salt for events catering? a dolphin embassy?

rubber anacondas & whale protection

a fellow researcher (thanks, cesar!) has told the mermaid about the facinating ways landfolk are making use of large bodies of water to create energy for their wondrous devices, for instance, the one i’m currently using! the project he came across is called ‘anaconda’. it is a prototype, as he calls it, for using the energy of waves. the mermaid finds this very exciting! she also wonders what it will be like for merfolk to suddenly find these floating hoses in the sea. at least, the mermaid will know what they are! the mermaid finds this particular relationship between landfolk and the sea very interesting. the name landfolk give to fields of such devides is ‘wave farms’. the mermaid has always found the concept of a farm very peculiar, but domesticating waves she finds particulary amusing. not that these things are a laughing matter for landfolk, which the mermaid has learned to understand.

and neither is whaling! the mermaid is very moved by these pictures of a vessel that landfolks have made to look after her song-loving companions. another example that not all landfolk are out to wreak havoc upon our habitat! ah, so much to learn, so much to understand!

mermaid music video

the cove

during her research on merfolk-landfolk relationships, her landfolk colleagues have alerted her to the film ‘the cove’. one of the reasons the mermaid was sent on land is because of such goings-on. the mermaid finds that this film captures well that such activities not only harm merfolk, but landfolk in return, which is something that a lot of other examples she has seen have underemphasised.