#@montereybayaquarium looking at you

[taibhsearachd]

So I was musing to Mags about how somehow in the last few years, after being weirdly unapproachable (and really awkward with children) all my life, I am now often the person that single mothers will approach to take a family photo for them, or small children will abruptly hand their toys off to with no warning.

And then I realized (after a moment, because I rarely get to go out around people anymore except when my dad abducts me for a tiny vacation, so I don't have a lot of normal life to compare that to) that all those experiences actually happened in museums and aquariums and zoos, where I am not more outgoing but I am much brighter and smiling more than usual and almost always sharing random facts with my dad because infodumping is my love language...

And then I realized these people are approaching me because when I am in that specific environment, I am giving off very chill Ms. Frizzle vibes.

#personal post #okay to reblog #if someone could just hire me to share random facts at a museum or aquarium or whatever? #honestly I feel I’d be a delightful addition to most places #I can be Ms Frizzle any time I enter any of these places #IMAGINE IF I HAD TIME TO STUDY A SPECIFIC THING #I’ll do the wig and themed dress if you want tbh that sounds awesome #some museum or place of learning pls hire me #@montereybayaquarium looking at you #literally grew up there hire me as your chill non-kidnapping ms frizzle to share facts about the kelp forests #I’d be a lot less awkward with kids if it were socially acceptable for me to just share facts about sea urchins you know?

[bees-with-swords]

So you're a celebrity who moved to Tumblr. Do you have what it takes to survive?

Twitter is a fine planet. But now, trampled by Musk and with citizens panicking, you've decided to take a vacation to the little wilderness of Tumblr. That sounds lovely. I bet it's cottagecore.

Wrong.

Tumblr is a jungle planet. The eco system is finely tuned, full of poison and predators and bugs with HUGE asses. Anyone who walks in unprepared will be eaten alive. You smell like another planet. You don't know the rules of this place. So how do you survive?

Run your own blog.

Tumblr can sense marketing teams like a shark can sense blood. You are a person, not the @montereybayaquarium. Someone else writing your content is a death sentence.

Be cringe.

Tumblr is comprised of cringe based life forms. Being on Tumblr is in itself an act of cringe. Cringe may be considered a biohazard on Twitter but here it is the basis of all content.

Irony is enjoyed in moderation.

This should be a rule everywhere, but it applies more on Tumblr. Irony is like alcohol: fun to use but poisonous in excess.

There is no algorithm to help you.

You don't have a little GPS to feed you the location of good content. Strike out and find it on your own. Luckily, if you're famous, @staff will probably help you out. They have a hut in the jungle filled with sample specimens.

The lack of algorithm also means that you won't get much free attention without being interesting. Tags broadcast everyone's posts the same amount. Random wacky memes are as dense as foliage, they won't make you stand out. Neil Gaiman lives on a mountain and spends his mornings discussing his work seriously, feeding the birds. What can you offer the ecosystem?

This is a place where you die.

Do NOT censor your language. The algorithm isn't going to punish you for saying "dead." Talk like a human being.

Keep your head down

Focus on your own stuff, reblog some stuff. Hubris is punished swiftly. You are not the most important beast in the jungle.

(The most important beast in the jungle is @straycatj. Follow him but do not interact with him. Every organism on this planet will burn you to the ground if you touch a hair on his head.)

Listen to the ecologists.

@strange-aeons has been documenting the ecology of this place on YouTube for years. Since the "search" function is nonfunctional, posts come and go. Geography shifts when you look away. Documentation is difficult. If you don't understand a meme, research content from the experts.

The novelty of a celebrity asking the public about a Tumblr meme may work to your advantage. However, most other celebrities on this platform prefer to avoid all memes. It is easy to get lost when exploring the shifting landscape.

We don't want you here.

Are you sure you're up to this? You're going to have to prove yourself. You're probably not ready.

#ryan reynolds #tumblr #brought to you on the unholy day of #November 5 #sorry #this was in my head and I had to get it out

[crplpunkklavier]

there is something to be said about how i really barely feel disabled anymore once i'm in a truly accessible space. because the space is no longer disabling me.

so, we went to see the @montereybayaquarium for our honeymoon. we didn't make it through the whole aquarium on our first day, so we went twice. on day 1, i came to the ticket desk with my cane and said i'd like to have a wheelchair. on day 2, i didn't bring my cane, and once again requested a wheelchair. there was absolutely no difference in the employees' reactions: i didn't have to ~look disabled~ to be immediately met with a nod, and a wheelchair that 1) was my size and 2) i was able to move myself.

this is going to seem like a list of things that clear a very low bar, and i suppose it is. but i have been to bookfairs that attempted to take my cane from me because they didn't believe me i needed it, as if cane users carry cane prescriptions around with them (NOT A THING.), and who only let up when my friends and i explained to them (not reminded. explained) that what they were doing was illegal. the cologne zoo only has visitor wheelchairs that can be pushed by a companion, not wheeled by the user themselves. the art museum needs me to bring my own. so, you see where i'm coming from.

the aquarium was fully accessible. (at least for me as an ambulatory wheelchair user - i of course can't speak for people with different disabilities.) there was no exhibit i was cut off from by stairs, because all of them either had reasonable ramps (not too steep), or elevators that were quick and roomy enough not to make me feel like i was missing out. every exhibit was at a height/level that someone sitting down could still see. some of the active touch exhibits (like getting to pet certain animals or feel kelp) were trickier, but staff always came forth unprompted to ask me (not forcibly, just ask) if i could reach everything okay, and if i couldn't, they leaned down and over to help me get where i wanted. there was a walk-through bird enclosure where a staff person followed us, and explained that the doors need to open and close somewhat quickly, so she'll just stay around us while we're there, and as soon as i'm ready to exit through the door i was to let her know. she was fully in the background while we were in there, and at no point did i feel like i was under any pressure to get out soon, or like i was inconveniencing her.

literally the only difficult thing about going through the aquarium with a wheelchair was that at the very end of the day we weren't entirely sure where to give it back. the only difficult thing about going through the monterey bay aquarium with a wheelchair was getting rid of the wheelchair!

am i just advertising the monterey bay aquarium in this post? maybe. yeah. they're good in general and i'll give them as many free ads as i want. they were just also a really good example for accessibility that made me feel like a completely normal aquarium visitor. like i wasn't disabled, because the place enabled me to visit it.

and it's on my mind now that i'm back home in germany, because yesterday i had to take a train from a station that had me crawl up 4 flights of stairs with a cane and a suitcase around crowds of people that didn't help. and it wasn't that the elevator was broken or anything. it's that plenty of train stations even in large cities like cologne simply are not accessible for anyone who can't climb stairs.

and the aquarium was a good example for how it's not just things like ramps and available wheelchairs that are necessary, but how their staff also clearly knew what they were doing. there is an etiquette to learn for people who had never worked with disability before (you will at some point!), and they'd learned it. my needs never stumped them. and i got to spend my honeymoon feeling like an easy customer and only ever weeping because i got to see the ocean.

#this was more structured in my mind but whatevs #thank u monterey bay aquarium and if i never have to go to cologne again itll still be too soon #and also thank u to my wonderful spouse whose first time it was accompanying me on a wheelchair day and who did beautifully <3

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Hi! Marine biology is an interest of mine and finding your blog was like a goldmine to me. Unfortunately my city doesn't offer a program for it and learning myself always feels overwhelming past the basic fun facts stuff. Are there any websites, video series, or books you'd recommend? Something that introduces more technical terms/concepts would be great, but I'm really open to anything :)

Sorry if you've been asked this or if you don't really have an answer :,D

I have answered similar asks before, here is one and here is another! But things more on the web, hmm... I'm afraid I don't know exact places to go looking for technical terms, sorry to say. My recommendations will definitely have to do more with things on the funnier side. For one, I definitely recommend checking out @montereybayaquarium here on Tumblr, they have fun and educational content! And my buddy @bethanythebogwitch has a Wet Beast Wednesday -series where she goes more in depth about a specific aquatic animal each Wednesday, I always reblog them because they're so good but there's a whole collection if you haven't seen! Also shoutout to Hakai magazine that has many articles about conservation, environmentalism and other cool news related to the oceans, it was recommended by my other buddy @eros-vigilante!

That's about it, I sadly rarely remember to note down the things I'm watching ^^'' The only YouTuber whose name I can recall is Ze Frank, because his username is so different and his videos really stick with you. He has a "true facts" series! And I did also find the coastal seas episode of Our Planet on YouTube too, so that's a fun place to go to, too.

Hope this helps! I'm glad that marine biology is of great interest to you! :3

#whenever i want to find more technical terms related to things like anatomy i just go look up xyz anatomy etc. #but this obviously will not work if youre just starting out. youd need to know what youre looking for to even start looking! #i tend to do research topic-by-topic. overview and distribution and behaviour and anatomy and life history and so on #but again this works for certain groups of animals. not in general for marine biology #doerqpfergböots sadly im not too much of help when it comes to researching because i always just jump in TToTT #asks #anon #anonymous #anonymous asks #important

[todaysfish]

Okay team, today’s fish is Neoclinus blanchardi, the sarcastic fringehead.

The first fact I have for you is that when threatened they look like this:

Great, I’ve got your attention.

Okay, so sarcastic fringeheads are blennies that live off the west coast of North America, they’re only about a foot long, and they DON’T HAVE SCALES.

This scale-less-ness is actually quite normal for fish in their family, Chaenopsidae, who also don’t have a lateral line as most fish do. Normally, lateral lines allow fish to orientate themselves in a water current, and give them information about their spatial environment via several thousand sensory organs, the neuromasts.

But anyway, blennioids (yes, that’s a word: it’s the blennies) in the family Chaenopsidae don’t have lateral lines, so we’ll learn about those later.

So why, you ask, that ridiculous face?

First of all, rude. It’s a majestic face! Those draping skin flaps! Those enraptured eyes!

All that skin is for face-offs between fringeheads to compare sizes; when threatened by another fringehead for mating partners or dens, these spectacular little blennioids open their jaws to compare size.

The goal with this face-off is to avoid a fight where one could be injured; however, if that’s not worked out in the face-off, they will start to push each other. With their big open mouths.

Sounds a little gay

Thanks for the gif, @montereybayaquarium 😍

#todays fish #sarcastic fringehead #fish facts #fishblr #blenny

[spritebloom]

It's the New Year! So have all the blogs that helped me (somewhat) with my spec evo project, as well as cool blogs in general! I also made a similar post on @octahedral-chaos and @octastims.

@charseraph : Awesome worldbuidling and creature design. Also the crowns are adorable.

@jayrockin : Awesome worldbuilding, spec evo AND character design! Love the centaurs!

@alexriesart : Very, VERY in-depth worldbuilding and spec evo stuff. Birrins are very cool.

@extrajigs : Really cool creature design and thought out worldbuilding. Love the chimeras' design.

@delta-hexagon : Very cool art and alien designs. Also very rad In general.

@iamthekaijuking : Awesome at biology AND spec evo stuff! Love the ask-thingies about random biology stuff.

@wbqotd : Worldbuilding stuff! Very useful for getting ideas for your project, but don't know which part to focus on.

@mbari-blog/ @montereybayaquarium : Deep sea stuff! Absolutely awesome and you guys should support them... plus the "Into The Deep" exhibits look awesome.

@nasa : Space stuff! Pretty good for figuring out the actual planet AND star system your alien story/ project thing is taking place on.

#OCTAfan says stuff #Long post #Tw all caps #Ask to tag

[beardedmrbean]

In other news, the moon narrowly missed hitting a man in the eye like a big pizza pie. Scientists believe that's amore.

Trying to remember if @montereybayaquarium started this one up or not.

Regardless of all that, you should go back to the top and this time sing it in your head like it's the Spongebob theme.

You're welcome.

Side note, this guy's only got 95 subs. I'd say that's a tragedy but looks like noting new has shown up on his account in at least a year so no biggie.

#anonymous

[balletbookworm]

Finally remembered to take pics of the journal lol (better late than never). I rounded out February with 14 books read, many of them really fun reads, but head and shoulders above the rest was You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by @azemezi which I did on audio read by the awesome @prospertunia - I was practically feral by the end of the book bc I Had To Know How It Ended Immediately Ack. Also, justice for Joy, she’s amazing, I love her, I hope we get to see her HEA someday too 💖 My March theme comes directly from @mochibujo Patreon journaling kit - Jellyfish Ladies in Space! (There’s no “official” name, but that’s basically the inspiration 💜) I used my Prismacolor pencils to color in some of the phenomenal black-and-white cover page - it just looked too stark in my journal without the color - and various @notebook_therapy washi from mostly the Moonlit Alchemy set on the tabs (I really liked how the gray-toned lavender tapes complemented but didn’t distract from Hedda’s design - also, the @archerandolive Heliotrope Calliograph brush pen I used for the headers I lettered was an exact match to the purple in the kit💜) The three photographs are pictures I took of the jellyfish at the @montereybayaquarium on a trip in 2019. 📸 Part of why February was a great reading month was due to #blackathon2023 hosted by @jesseonyoutube_ 💕💕 I knocked out my 6th book with 2 minutes to go in the month to complete my #teamoshun prompts 🎉 And finally - in a little life update, I have hip surgery scheduled for Friday 🙃 so I have a week of CHG showers and mupriocin to put in my nose twice daily. So why not make a pretty chart to tape to my bathroom mirror? 😉 #journaling #bulletjournal #bujo #reading #readingjournal #books #bookjournal #stationery https://www.instagram.com/p/CpcCmEZg86R/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#blackathon2023 #teamoshun #journaling #bulletjournal #bujo #reading #readingjournal #books #bookjournal #stationery

[unsleepingtales]

Lucky episode 13!! Reactions/freak outs/etc <3 this one is another long one so strap in

Starting off strong with AxMurph bits

Did Lou dye his hair?

The set is SO COOL

I need to know Mira better. She fascinates me. (<- adult who used to be a child who watched disneys little mermaid So Much)

Gerelody <3

The dome is watery!! Cool!!

Love daddy? Hate daddy.

What if Pinocchio just pretended to be a gondolier? What if he did that?

Ok so the MerKing is a spellcaster

EMILY AXFORD DICE MOMENT

Gerard my love my light <3

Gerard and Pib really are a power duo damn. I know we talk about the different paths Gerard could have taken but honestly commanders strike is such a good move for him

RICK PERRY AND TEAM YOU ARE SO COOL

Siobhan’s look is so good today.

Mer king’s ac is below 16???

Oh that dome effect is so cool. Crew you’re doing amazing I love you.

Shoutout @montereybayaquarium <3

The FUCK

God… the idea that some intelligent part of Pinocchio’s story looked at what he was doing and decided ‘no no, if you’re going to get this much power you’re going to have to live at least some part of what was written for you’ is terrifying.

“There is no love true enough in any story to be more important than this showing up” is an absolutely insane thing to say Brennan.

Axmurph <3

Brennan’s nat20 gets you your wildest dreams policy is so good.

The giant fish has asthma. Ok.

IT HAS ÅŠTHMÄ

Pinocchio just s c r e e c h i n g

No no do not go back to the extraction/distraction model that did not go well??

Epic highs and lows.

Oh ok NOW we remember the mechanics. Suuuuure.

Love adding some chaaa

Tiny little cricket mini????

Emily’s outfit is Also excellent. Fish earrings!!

“You’re a fish.” “A frog is a fish?”

[murph squeals weakly]

Did they name the cricket sprinkle?

He’s terrible… and he’s a fish…

ROSIE NO

“Setting tone and expectation, this is very bad.”

Siobhan and Emily scheming… love you <3

Love this thing the editors are doing where they closeup on the mini and then show the character art, it’s cool

Brennan constantly reminding them that it is not a fun cartoon in the monstrous fish’s stomach

TWO IMMEDIATE FAILURES? Good lord. We still have no idea what happens if one of them thrice upon a times without the others right?

Tim’s Big Stack

Pinocchio shrieking is top tier

British people please explain what Siobhan meant by fudge being a slur in England?

Whomst the fuck- ohohohoh Scottish sea witch yea baby

He’s letting him try it??!!!!

“Gerard, why don’t you focus on Not Drowning?” Quickest put down ever

We’re gonna have to rename Red the little matchstick girl lmao

Awww they put floaties on her mini <3

Yes Murph get your bad dice energy all over it

MURPH

I appreciate the little sobering moment to kind of get back in the combat mindset, it was helpful for me as a viewer.

Ooooooh call of destiny homebrew subclass I need to know so much more about this

I love ridiculously intricate homebrew game mechanics.

The Fabian’s Bad Day die finally has its moment in the sun.

I love how willing Brennan is to roll with their batshit ideas. Yeah of course Rosamund was trained to swallow bonbons and macarons in her sleep, allowing her to swallow a goodberry whilst unconscious. Fucking of course that happened guys.

God Mira’s cool.

“Get ready to get to know me”

SNAKE EYES???

Brennan’s fLiRtiNg WiTh mE

Everything is either a neg or a flirt. This is just true.

YEAHHHH ROSIEEEEE

Get ready to keep getting ready to get to know me! Another thing about me, I’m a Sagittarius 💅

Brooklynite Pib is something that can actually be so personal…

Next episode preview reactions:

Alphonse is back again ok

#neverafter #verbal component #rick perry appreciation hours #dropout art team <3 #reactions

[faintedincoils]

RKSignz and LiteraryKitKat, this post is for you! Tumblr won't let me tag you though--either your blogs are too new, or you've got something in your settings making it that way. I dunno which. 🤷 Anyways, here are a bunch of blogs I recommend for various reasons. Take a look, but you obviously don't have to follow everyone.

@neil-gaiman

@reallyndacarter

@montereybayaquarium

@gallusrostromegalus

@thebibliosphere

@foxes-in-love

@secondlina

@straycatj

@prozdvoices

@badjokesbyjeff

@fyanimaldiversity

@demilypyro

@slimetony

@nepeteaa

@tkingfisher

@nyancrimew

@is-the-post-reliable

@animefeminist

@partycoffin

@ca-dmv-bot

@petermorwood

@dduane

@drchucktingle

@amphibianaday

@aquariumpacific

@thegorgonist

@onetigeraday

@nkim-illustrates

@actordougjones

@genderoutlaws

@headspace-hotel

@detroitlib

@fuckingrecipes

@cadavercrafts

@biglawbear

@sparkylurkdragon

For work/personal combo reasons, I say please follow @teenslib

And for, uh, dashboard enrichment, I dare you to follow @were--ralph

Will he put a lot of big boy furry erotica art on your dash constantly? Yes, but it's probably good for you. Also he is a true Tumblr institution, gotta get him in your bloodstream before @staff bans him again.

#faint thoughts #blog recs

[muzzlemouths]

y'know what? 7 for the weird questions

7. what animal do you look forward to seeing when you visit an aquarium?

OH OH OH. I can answer this one pretty easily.

Normally I'm a sucker for the touch tank (love the texture of sea cucumbers specifically) but I recently visited the @montereybayaquarium for the first time in a few years and they had a new exhibit with giant sea isopods! And I got to TOUCH THEM. Haven't stopped thinking about it since lol

#also if you live nearby and can afford it PLEASE please please give that aquarium a visit #my family used to go yearly and if anything they're EVEN COOLER than the last time we visited a few years ago #it's a nonprofit and I freaking love being there #if you can't go in person give the account a follow! you won't regret it

[ottitty]

Why don't you look at the live jelly cam and maybe you'll calm down for a while?

Courtesy of @montereybayaquarium - Source

#my gifs #gifs #jellyfish #aquarium

[acelessthan3]

Remember how someone became Tumblr famous purely because their url was the word pizza? There's all the other lore history with the selling weight loss supplements finally being the straw that made Tumblr give the ban hammer and the racism (but Tumblr was okay with that), but that's all it took. Pizza. Like I remember seeing her posts everywhere because everybody followed and of course things got reblogged, it's just what you did, but none of them have any lasting cultural legacy. None of them are still memes. She wasn't really known for anything the way for example the original perchu was the Moreos guy. It was always ever just because pizza. It's a decade later and we've all grown up and the idea of hoarding "desirable" urls is laughable unless you're doing it in a way that somehow impedes the ability of a government or celebrity or brand to use it (points if you successfully parody), in which case it's a different laughable (or if you are the real deal and you're genuine, looking at you @nasa @montereybayaquarium ). What I'm saying is we lost that (and good riddance!) but with that we also lost our innocence.

#stoned rambling #Tumblr history #this is me doing the old person thing in retail where they start just going off on a tangent about some personal experience #meanwhile you're just like so do you want paper... or plastic? #you know your reputation on this site and i celebrate that!

[etakeh]

lemon drop it like it’s hot @lemondropacab Heads up!

TriMet posted that they will not turn away anyone who is looking to escape the heat on an air conditioned bus, even if the rider cannot pay the fare

Please share! 9:25 AM · Jun 25, 2021

ALSO  TIPS FOR DEALING WITH EXTREME HEAT

  this was posted as well, but I’m too lazy to do screenshots:

Anna Herb @annacwebs In prep for the incoming heat wave in the PNW, here’s some tips from a Southern transplant to beat the heat! Thread 10:07 AM · Jun 22, 2021·

Close your blinds!!! ESPECIALLY during the hottest hours of the day (usually 12-4).

Fans are most effective when there’s a cross draft - if you have a fan pulling in air from outside, make sure there’s a second one venting warm air out!

Baby powder - no joke. Cover your body in it. Put it in your bra. Between your sheets at night. Works wonders. Just make sure it’s the pure cornstarch kind! No talc!

Plan to eat meals that require no/minimal stove/oven use. If you do need to use them, after dark is best.

Throw a couple of towels in the freezer! They’re great once chilled. Like a reverse-blanket*. 

The classic wet bedsheet trick - take a wet bedsheet and place it over any open windows, especially with a fan. The moisture cools things off more than you’d expect!

Fire For the DIY inclined, a “swamp cooler” is a pretty cheap DIY AC unit. There’s lots of tutorials online!

STAY. HYDRATED. DO NOT NEGLECT THE ELECTROLYTES. Remember that drinking caffeine and alcohol is counterproductive here!

And a PSA: PLEASE make preparations before this weekend and PLEASE learn the signs of heat exhaustion/heat stroke!! Watch out for the young and the elderly, and PLEASE keep your animals indoors!! Please be safe

------------------

*my personal favorite - cool cloth to the face also triggers the mammalian dive response, which can help with anxiety.  

Oh and my personal “hot” tip?  Change the background on your phone/computer etc to something COOL looking. Like temperature cool.  I’ve been livestreaming @montereybayaquarium​ because cool blue water. I know it’s only psychological, but it helps.

#heat #extreme heat #extreme weather #transportation #portland #pdx #trimet #buses #public transit #2021 #climate change #what climate change #this is perfectly normal #cooling #weather #ouch hot

[ammelanoleuca]

Fan art Friday post! @sophieandtoffee said their succulent box miniatures gave off Animal Crossing vibes, so I made the Seat of Cursed Knowledge (S.O.C.K.) from the @montereybayaquarium Animal Crossing streams 🦋 Even though I recently finished a Master's program for oceanography, I feel very much like I'm still just the cartography person and have a lot to learn for my job. I look forward to listening to Emily and Patrick's enthusiasm for sharing information about biology and museums - even the gross parts on tapeworms and stingers 😂 You can find their previous streams on their Twitch and YouTube channels, and I'm so excited for their stream guests today! . . . #polymerclay #theelvesbox #animalcrossing #acnh #sophieandtoffee #sophieandtoffeeclub #myfimo #sculpey #montereybayaquarium #vampiresquid #puffin #molamola #oceansunfish #terrarium #ocean #blathers #butterfly #miniature #resincraft #uvresin #resin #succulents https://www.instagram.com/p/CEKQ58Kg2qx/?igshid=1sah0ywlaft91

#polymerclay #theelvesbox #animalcrossing #acnh #sophieandtoffee #sophieandtoffeeclub #myfimo #sculpey #montereybayaquarium #vampiresquid #puffin #molamola #oceansunfish #terrarium #ocean #blathers #butterfly #miniature #resincraft #uvresin #resin #succulents

[cleverclovers]

If you're looking for a date activity during quarantine/shelter at home, @montereybayaquarium is still live streaming the aquarium, and the coast outside. If you haven't been, a lot of us who have may be willing to describe the location for you so you can use your imagination to place yourself in front of the glass ;u;