Not algae, and not a shellfish. A cephalopod. I don't care to eat them, and I think they look creepy, but I have nothing else against them, since they don't come around and bother me.
"In 2025, 40% of women aged 15 to 44 say they would move abroad permanently if they had the opportunity. The current figure is four times higher than the 10% who shared this desire in 2014, when it was generally in line with other age and gender groups."
I wonder how many of those women are from other countries to start with. That would make a big difference in whether one would be admitted to another country as anything but a tourist. For what it's worth, I don't know anyone who wants to return and live in Mexico, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Ecuador, or Colombia.
One of my ladies did mention an acquaintance, here illegally from the DR, who had relocated to Colombia out of concern over immigration enforcement here. She and her children did not find Colombia particularly welcoming, and she was considering other options.
Many people think they would like another country better. Some actually move to one and find they do like it. Others, not so much. "Wherever you go, there you are," they say, and so are other people, including ones you don't like or who don't like you.
I dunno. My 2 girlfriends who are now in Australia are very happy. A girlfriend who had to move to Canada on business wonders why she fought the transfer.
I think how happy one is where one lives is the same as how happy one is in the US--friends & family, activities one wants to do and work one enjoys, opportunities to learn or travel. I'd had good bagels, but am currently surviving without that.
Yet, my lovely now 41 year old Niece is unmarried. BA, MA summa Cum Laude from Wheaton College, plus some DTS. Recognized in a few Dallas Realtor mags as a top Agent. Affable. articulate. world traveler. Many.friends.
No husband and she is sad about it.
Her pool is very small now.
I recommend to no avail, is to self select by doing some interesting things.
I keep suggesting to Thor that he volunteer with an environmental group. He could meet women who care about the environment and want to do something outdoors. "Going to the game store with your little brother is no way to find a relationship."
They've romanticized it, and think it will be wonderful...And as long as parents are funding it, it is. It's only when they have to self fund it, and find out how expensive it really is that they reconsider.....
In 2025, 40% of women aged 15 to 44 say they would move abroad permanently if they had the opportunity. The current figure is four times higher than the 10% who shared this desire in 2014, when it was generally in line with other age and gender groups.
I wonder where they think they might like to move to. I suppose it’s probably “anywhere that Trump isn’t President.”
Appalling as Trump is, I think a lot of people in that age group, but especially young women, have come to believe that life in America has turned into a hell, when in fact, despite Trump, life goes on here pretty much same as it has for decades. Their perceptions are sharply at odds with reality.
Are they? The group behind Project 2025 wants women out of the workforce and back in the home. There is a subset of the Christian Nationalists who want to repeal the 19th Amendment. The SCOTUS has given states the right to charge women with murder for having an abortion, or being forced to nearly die before having one when it is medically indicated. Speaker Mike Johnson's wife gives "lessons" on how to be a trad wife--Republicans are not pushing back on all this.
The US is developing labor & delivery room "deserts" due to Medicaid cutbacks on top of for-profit hospitals closing those that don't deliver big enough profits. The US has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world.
Doesn't scream "We love our women."
If I weren't so very old, I'd be outa here. My daughter and SIL , now with a daughter, are currently in Year 18 of his Marine career, and are talking about other nations as possibly their home for when he retires.
The issues relative to abortion and labor and delivery are serious.
But women in the workforce benefits men and families, not just women. I can not see them being driven from work. And the mass of people who'd look at proponents of repealing the 19th ammendment with a "Hell no! Are you nuts?" far outweighs the number who think its a good idea. Please forgive the language, but realistically that is the fewest vulgarities I can hear in that response it is that serious to people.
Aside from church, most of my social life means hanging out with men. I know there are serious Trump supporters present (I am married to one), but the activities are more important than the politics and they do not let the politics get in the way of the activities. Those types of interactions fly under the radar, but I think there are more than people assume.
No question that many women were deeply unhappy about the Dobbs decision.
But for all but a tiny percentage of women, the change in the law had no actual impact on their day-to-day or year-to-year lives. Again, perception vs reality.
I get your point. But if I was a woman of childbearing age, I would be more than deeply unhappy, particularly if I were on the older end of that range. The uncertainty surrounding being able to get proper care, particularly if you had had trouble conceiving or with miscarriages is seriously disturbing.
Having an abortion is something one might want to do only occasionally, or even never. Meanwhile, doing all the daily job, housing, shopping, transit, surviving things in a foreign country - assuming one would admit you - might turn out to be much more difficult than expected.
Thank you. That piece boggled my mind. When I commented, I was politely disagreed with, "look at the numbers."
I am surrounded by Trump people. Not one would even think of of the ....stuff those quoted in the article are proposing. I couldnt believe The Dispatch would publish something so clickbaity.
Few other topics generate site engagement like the "battle of the sexes" or anything adjacent. Evil White Christian Nationalists are a garnish: so few, but so tasty.
That is a helpful article. Yes, this is going on but put it in perspective.
It is difficult for me to believe that enough Republicans to matter are going to think that way after listening to all the women in the Trump administration and all those Republican women serving in Congress.
I dunno. Add the Republicans who believe/support this to the number of religious individuals who support this plus the number of women who would like to "retire" to raise kids** and it adds up more than one imagines.
**Those I've talked with who want to "retire" to raise kids want to do so wealthy, so that may be a limited number
It's a notion, but it's not a thing. The only mechanism is a Constitutional amendment, and that's not even going to be proposed. They're just yapping in their little yard.
Repealing the 19th Amendment is close to a possibility. If there are ever enough red statehouses to call a Constitutional Convention, which has been discussed, it would definitely be on the table.
Lots of yapping by some particularly mangy little dogs.
But as *Rod Dreher wrote about in a recent Free Press piece, the numbers of people -- particularly young men -- with anti-semetic, anti-women, transgressive answers is growing. Makes me nervous.
Any number of women-hating, Jew-hating yahoos is too many. Nonetheless, Doug Wilson's goofballs aren't a political force outside their little enclave in Idaho. There are more reactionary-Mormon polygamist cult followers than he's got.
Pete Hegseth, although he is in a significant appointed office, is a media figure, not a politician. I don't think he'll last out the Trump administration: he'll either put a foot wrong, or internal opponents will persuade the Dictator Baby that Hegseth isn't sufficiently loyal. And then he'll be some nobody on YouTube with dumb tattoos and remaindered books. "Who was that guy, anyway?"
I knew a boy in grade school who would write on the back of the girl's shirt in front of him; it was his way of flirting... (yep, I'm telling my age a bit by saying "grade" school, instead of elementary, my dear, right?)
ahhh, sad. I don't know if my 13 yr granddaughter is interested in boys yet - unfortunately, if her mother has any influence, that's gonna be a yes - I'll ask my son, who has custody (but lets his daughter spend time w/ her mom) if there's any interest... & any mutual interest. She used to be a good volleyball player, altho she's very tiny, so not sure how that's going this yr. I hope she's still in some sports... everytime she has a picture, either a selfie or by someone else, she does a 'kissy face'. I cringe, but maybe that's the thing these days???
Writers want their protagonists to be more interesting, attractive, and admirable than the average young teen in real life.
She's friendly with some boys on the science team and some in her Sunday School, which group overlaps with boys she knew in Cub Scouts. She was happy to see familiar faces, even if they were boys, when she want to camp last weekend for a co-ed Scouts leadership program.
Octopuses are among the most intelligent invertebrates, and their complex behaviors often suggest a capacity for play and a desire for mental stimulation beyond basic survival needs.
Object Play: In aquariums, octopuses have been observed playing with objects, such as blowing plastic bottles around their tanks with jets of water, seemingly just for the sake of interaction.
Problem Solving for Fun: They are known to take things apart, open jars, solve mazes, and can become bored if not given stimulating activities. This inquisitiveness often leads to creative, sometimes unexpected, interactions with their environment.
Mischievous Antics
Numerous anecdotal accounts from aquariums highlight actions that seem intentionally disruptive or "spiteful" in a way that aligns with a mischievous personality:
Targeting People: Some octopuses learn to recognize individual lab workers and have been known to squirt specific people with jets of water when they walk by, especially those they dislike.
Causing Trouble: A famous octopus named Otto in a German aquarium repeatedly caused power outages by climbing to the rim of his tank and squirting water at an overhead spotlight that was annoying him.
"Punching" Fish: In the wild, octopuses have been documented "punching" fish during cooperative hunting, sometimes for no apparent reason, which researchers suggest could be a form of expressing social frustration or spite.
Complex Emotions and Sentience
Recent scientific understanding has shifted towards recognizing octopuses as sentient beings capable of experiencing a range of emotions, including pain, curiosity, anger, and irritation. While "humor" is a complex, subjective emotion, their capacity for play, individual personality, and seemingly purposeless (but calculated) actions suggest a level of cognitive and emotional sophistication that some observers experience as a form of humor or mischief.
In short, while we cannot know if an octopus understands a joke, their actions can be surprisingly witty, suggesting complex internal lives and a capacity for behavior that goes beyond mere instinct.
Octopuses are invertebrates and are considered the most intelligent of all mollusks. Their intelligence is unique and is demonstrated through:
Problem-solving and memory: They can navigate complex mazes, figure out how to unscrew jar lids to get food, and remember solutions to problems over time.
Tool use: Octopuses have been observed using coconut halves for shelter, a rare behavior in the animal kingdom, especially for an invertebrate.
Physical manipulation: They have eight highly tactile, flexible arms, two-thirds of which contain neurons, allowing the arms to act with some independence and making them adept at manipulating their environment.
Camouflage and mimicry: They possess an extraordinary visual communication system, capable of instantly changing their skin color, pattern, and texture for camouflage or to mimic other animals for defense
Here's what I wonder, though: Is their brain architecture in the same league as that of vertebrates? Or are they just unexpectedly high-functioning as invertebrates go?
Good question. My off-the-cuff answer is that their brains are significantly different from mammals' brains, rather as if they were aliens in a science fiction story. However, I can do more research.
Don't do the research on my account (I could probably look into it if I wanted to take the time), but if you're curious on your own behalf then by all means share your findings.
I suspect that some of what's called intelligence in mollusks reflects a different kind of neural processing than we're used to, and we tend to project certain attributes onto their behavior from our own type of intelligence.
Good morning. 34 degrees, rising to the 50s. Just about all the leaves are down and I’ll be raking/leafblowing, getting exercise.
The mothership is reporting on the end of the shutdown, which must have meant a late night for them as Trump signed the bill late last night. The FP is reporting on the Epstein files. Files were released, including emails showing Trump spent quite a lot of time of one of Epstein’s girls. Perhaps they were just having intellectually stimulating conversation <need-sarcasm-emoji-here>.
Only a fool would think that Trump didn't know exactly what was going on with Epstein and the teenage girls. Or would think that Trump wasn't just fine with it.
Perhaps because so many have shunned leadership? Managing, participating, supporting with time and work - that requires dealing with people. Phooey on that.
Trump has the ability to gaslight his followers, as he did about the 2020 election and the 1/6 Capitol riots. Jedi knights could learn a thing or two from Trump ("You don't need to see his identification. . .").
Trump definitely knew about Epstein and teenaged girls. Whether he grasped the whole enterprise is less certain. He's not very interested in anything but himself.
Even if Trump did grasp it, he wouldn't have cared. Because he's stated his "personal Vietnam was not getting a VD," so probably figured to each their own.
There is actually a phenomena where when something you think is icky, you won't notice it in other people, you assume they stop before they cross that line. Joe Paterno was not a pedophilia monster, so he didn't think Jerry Sandusky could be.
It is quite possible that Trump and others assumed Epstein liked younger women, but wasn't a pedophile nor a rapist.
The thing about "liking younger women" is that the same facts, in this case, can be described as "screwing teenaged girls," even if one imagined that everyone involved was a fully consenting participant.
The David Attenborough video had all the suspense of a horror film. Slow, skincrawling shots of slithering arms that neglect to provide a reliable sense of scale, yet I could not look away. The little fish ejecting his meal in fear was contrastingly cute. Well done.
hmmmm, are you sure it wasn't the, imo, very pleasant scifi-ish music vs the voice of the narrator, that was soothing?
I find all octopuses very fascinating, lovely, interesting, & intelligent... never owned one, so don't know how personable, but according to documentaries, that's what's said about them.
I could put my whole family to sleep by lowering the blinds and turning on "Blue Planet". It's the combination of music, water sloshing, and David Attenborough's voice.
And human beings think we're so evolved. These are great -- thanks!
Yes, David Attenborough's voice is soporific. When I want to nap, he's reliable.
We are evolved, and cephalopods are evolved differently, and so are forests. There are many different ways of being.
This whole idea of dying shortly after mating doesn't sound appealing to me.
Not algae, and not a shellfish. A cephalopod. I don't care to eat them, and I think they look creepy, but I have nothing else against them, since they don't come around and bother me.
ahhh, just look at the sweet eye, & call it creepy
People don't have to be friends with all the animals. Just don't hurt them.
"In 2025, 40% of women aged 15 to 44 say they would move abroad permanently if they had the opportunity. The current figure is four times higher than the 10% who shared this desire in 2014, when it was generally in line with other age and gender groups."
https://news.gallup.com/poll/697382/record-numbers-younger-women-leave.aspx
Houston, men have a problem!!
I wonder how many of those women are from other countries to start with. That would make a big difference in whether one would be admitted to another country as anything but a tourist. For what it's worth, I don't know anyone who wants to return and live in Mexico, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Ecuador, or Colombia.
One of my ladies did mention an acquaintance, here illegally from the DR, who had relocated to Colombia out of concern over immigration enforcement here. She and her children did not find Colombia particularly welcoming, and she was considering other options.
Many people think they would like another country better. Some actually move to one and find they do like it. Others, not so much. "Wherever you go, there you are," they say, and so are other people, including ones you don't like or who don't like you.
I dunno. My 2 girlfriends who are now in Australia are very happy. A girlfriend who had to move to Canada on business wonders why she fought the transfer.
I think how happy one is where one lives is the same as how happy one is in the US--friends & family, activities one wants to do and work one enjoys, opportunities to learn or travel. I'd had good bagels, but am currently surviving without that.
Yes, it's entirely possible that a person could like a new place.
I can not grasp that position. Leave and let the [insert heartfelt expletive here] bastards win??? Sounds selfish, not empathetic to me.
And I wonder if they would find what they expect to find.
Yes, I am in a mood.
pretty much my thoughts, too, especially the part of where in the world would they go to find what they're looking for?
Europe obviously, because, you know.
Although I know a young woman who interviewed for an academic position in Singapore.
My oldest daughter liked Singapore. She was only there for a month, though.
This person has either PhD or MA in women's literature. It would have been interesting to see how the experience affected her.
Jo was there on the ship when she was in the Coast Guard.
It's not just liberal women. Mostly I think.
Yet, my lovely now 41 year old Niece is unmarried. BA, MA summa Cum Laude from Wheaton College, plus some DTS. Recognized in a few Dallas Realtor mags as a top Agent. Affable. articulate. world traveler. Many.friends.
No husband and she is sad about it.
Her pool is very small now.
I recommend to no avail, is to self select by doing some interesting things.
Like a Christian archeological tour/dig...
I dunno. It's tough.
I keep suggesting to Thor that he volunteer with an environmental group. He could meet women who care about the environment and want to do something outdoors. "Going to the game store with your little brother is no way to find a relationship."
Good point!!
Meeting people doing things you enjoy (=being yourself) is the best way, the most real way. That is how my husband and I met.
My husband and I met when we were medieval reenactors in the late 1980s.
A job or a hobby?
Hobby.
Cool costumes!
I found my wife on the side of the road!
Our first date was a 5hr trip down to DC to see the King Tut exhibition
They've romanticized it, and think it will be wonderful...And as long as parents are funding it, it is. It's only when they have to self fund it, and find out how expensive it really is that they reconsider.....
There's a piece in The Dispatch entitled "Ending Women's Suffrage Is Not the Answer."
James Freeman of the WSJ has an occasional feature called Answers to Questions Nobody Is Asking. This could be a candidate.
I read it. It's clickbait. I know of no major politician calling for this, just social media types looking for an audience....clickbait.
In 2025, 40% of women aged 15 to 44 say they would move abroad permanently if they had the opportunity. The current figure is four times higher than the 10% who shared this desire in 2014, when it was generally in line with other age and gender groups.
link at top new post
I wonder where they think they might like to move to. I suppose it’s probably “anywhere that Trump isn’t President.”
Appalling as Trump is, I think a lot of people in that age group, but especially young women, have come to believe that life in America has turned into a hell, when in fact, despite Trump, life goes on here pretty much same as it has for decades. Their perceptions are sharply at odds with reality.
Are they? The group behind Project 2025 wants women out of the workforce and back in the home. There is a subset of the Christian Nationalists who want to repeal the 19th Amendment. The SCOTUS has given states the right to charge women with murder for having an abortion, or being forced to nearly die before having one when it is medically indicated. Speaker Mike Johnson's wife gives "lessons" on how to be a trad wife--Republicans are not pushing back on all this.
The US is developing labor & delivery room "deserts" due to Medicaid cutbacks on top of for-profit hospitals closing those that don't deliver big enough profits. The US has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world.
Doesn't scream "We love our women."
If I weren't so very old, I'd be outa here. My daughter and SIL , now with a daughter, are currently in Year 18 of his Marine career, and are talking about other nations as possibly their home for when he retires.
The issues relative to abortion and labor and delivery are serious.
But women in the workforce benefits men and families, not just women. I can not see them being driven from work. And the mass of people who'd look at proponents of repealing the 19th ammendment with a "Hell no! Are you nuts?" far outweighs the number who think its a good idea. Please forgive the language, but realistically that is the fewest vulgarities I can hear in that response it is that serious to people.
Aside from church, most of my social life means hanging out with men. I know there are serious Trump supporters present (I am married to one), but the activities are more important than the politics and they do not let the politics get in the way of the activities. Those types of interactions fly under the radar, but I think there are more than people assume.
I can say with some observational experience that Dobbs was a crushing blow to many women.
I was at a Veterinary Conference when it was announced. A huge groan was heard. Most vets are women.
No question that many women were deeply unhappy about the Dobbs decision.
But for all but a tiny percentage of women, the change in the law had no actual impact on their day-to-day or year-to-year lives. Again, perception vs reality.
I get your point. But if I was a woman of childbearing age, I would be more than deeply unhappy, particularly if I were on the older end of that range. The uncertainty surrounding being able to get proper care, particularly if you had had trouble conceiving or with miscarriages is seriously disturbing.
I think its the freedom to make that choice by oneself.
Imagine all your guns and bibles constipated. immediately gone.
I've heard them called irregular before, but never constipated.....
dang. I meant Confiscated ! good grief!
Having an abortion is something one might want to do only occasionally, or even never. Meanwhile, doing all the daily job, housing, shopping, transit, surviving things in a foreign country - assuming one would admit you - might turn out to be much more difficult than expected.
I lived overseas for a couple of years. Some things were harder, and some things easier. It was an interesting experience.
Loved the open market, but could not bring myself to have them wring a chicken's neck and prepare it for me. The fresh seafood outstanding!
I think I'd eat vegetables.
But having a child, or not wanting to have one, I think as a husband, is a life long impactful decision either way.
Day tk day life… the grass seems greener on the other side….until we find its a drought and crabby grass…
Thank you. That piece boggled my mind. When I commented, I was politely disagreed with, "look at the numbers."
I am surrounded by Trump people. Not one would even think of of the ....stuff those quoted in the article are proposing. I couldnt believe The Dispatch would publish something so clickbaity.
Few other topics generate site engagement like the "battle of the sexes" or anything adjacent. Evil White Christian Nationalists are a garnish: so few, but so tasty.
Do they mate with preying mantis too? 😬
I think they mostly go on Twitspace and strike poses.
Sadly, like flirtations with Nazi ideas, it's a thing.
https://19thnews.org/2025/08/pete-hegseth-doug-wilson-women-voting/
ugh - I read part way through, then had to quit.
That is a helpful article. Yes, this is going on but put it in perspective.
It is difficult for me to believe that enough Republicans to matter are going to think that way after listening to all the women in the Trump administration and all those Republican women serving in Congress.
Thank you.
I dunno. Add the Republicans who believe/support this to the number of religious individuals who support this plus the number of women who would like to "retire" to raise kids** and it adds up more than one imagines.
**Those I've talked with who want to "retire" to raise kids want to do so wealthy, so that may be a limited number
It’s not a position that would appeal to slightly over half of America’s voters.
But maybe (looking at the bright side) they’re digging their own political graves with nonsense like this.
From your keyboard to God's eyes
So many of our comments are really prayers!
Hope so.
It's a notion, but it's not a thing. The only mechanism is a Constitutional amendment, and that's not even going to be proposed. They're just yapping in their little yard.
Repealing the 19th Amendment is close to a possibility. If there are ever enough red statehouses to call a Constitutional Convention, which has been discussed, it would definitely be on the table.
I think an invasion by space aliens is more probable.
Lots of yapping by some particularly mangy little dogs.
But as *Rod Dreher wrote about in a recent Free Press piece, the numbers of people -- particularly young men -- with anti-semetic, anti-women, transgressive answers is growing. Makes me nervous.
*-I don't think shares work with their site. But here it is: https://www.thefp.com/p/jd-vance-versus-the-groypers?r=9an1s&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Also, I've thought Rod Dreher was a yutz since the mid-90s. Never goes away, does he ...
I was a bit *startled to find Bari Weiss platforming him. I was never a fan.
*--I shouldn't have been. It's about quantity over quality in that world. So far, that's proved profitable.
I agree that expanding the platform has included bringing in some writers/speakers who really should have been left off and out.
Any number of women-hating, Jew-hating yahoos is too many. Nonetheless, Doug Wilson's goofballs aren't a political force outside their little enclave in Idaho. There are more reactionary-Mormon polygamist cult followers than he's got.
Pete Hegseth, although he is in a significant appointed office, is a media figure, not a politician. I don't think he'll last out the Trump administration: he'll either put a foot wrong, or internal opponents will persuade the Dictator Baby that Hegseth isn't sufficiently loyal. And then he'll be some nobody on YouTube with dumb tattoos and remaindered books. "Who was that guy, anyway?"
Ouch!
Thank you. To quote a wise fellow commenter, "I'm in a mood."
And when you say these creatures are "personable", what does that mean? Personable in what ways?
Octopi are noted for engaging with people, both in the wild and in aquariums.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Octopus_Teacher
Their problem-solving ability is significant, and some researchers think they could even have a sense of humor, or at least a sense of fun.
They're no squidding around when they shoot ink at people!
flirting?
I knew a boy in grade school who would write on the back of the girl's shirt in front of him; it was his way of flirting... (yep, I'm telling my age a bit by saying "grade" school, instead of elementary, my dear, right?)
Teengirl was telling me recently that she likes the boys in the books she reads more than the ones in real life.
ahhh, sad. I don't know if my 13 yr granddaughter is interested in boys yet - unfortunately, if her mother has any influence, that's gonna be a yes - I'll ask my son, who has custody (but lets his daughter spend time w/ her mom) if there's any interest... & any mutual interest. She used to be a good volleyball player, altho she's very tiny, so not sure how that's going this yr. I hope she's still in some sports... everytime she has a picture, either a selfie or by someone else, she does a 'kissy face'. I cringe, but maybe that's the thing these days???
Writers want their protagonists to be more interesting, attractive, and admirable than the average young teen in real life.
She's friendly with some boys on the science team and some in her Sunday School, which group overlaps with boys she knew in Cub Scouts. She was happy to see familiar faces, even if they were boys, when she want to camp last weekend for a co-ed Scouts leadership program.
and:
Playful and Problem-Solving Behavior
Octopuses are among the most intelligent invertebrates, and their complex behaviors often suggest a capacity for play and a desire for mental stimulation beyond basic survival needs.
Object Play: In aquariums, octopuses have been observed playing with objects, such as blowing plastic bottles around their tanks with jets of water, seemingly just for the sake of interaction.
Problem Solving for Fun: They are known to take things apart, open jars, solve mazes, and can become bored if not given stimulating activities. This inquisitiveness often leads to creative, sometimes unexpected, interactions with their environment.
Mischievous Antics
Numerous anecdotal accounts from aquariums highlight actions that seem intentionally disruptive or "spiteful" in a way that aligns with a mischievous personality:
Targeting People: Some octopuses learn to recognize individual lab workers and have been known to squirt specific people with jets of water when they walk by, especially those they dislike.
Causing Trouble: A famous octopus named Otto in a German aquarium repeatedly caused power outages by climbing to the rim of his tank and squirting water at an overhead spotlight that was annoying him.
"Punching" Fish: In the wild, octopuses have been documented "punching" fish during cooperative hunting, sometimes for no apparent reason, which researchers suggest could be a form of expressing social frustration or spite.
Complex Emotions and Sentience
Recent scientific understanding has shifted towards recognizing octopuses as sentient beings capable of experiencing a range of emotions, including pain, curiosity, anger, and irritation. While "humor" is a complex, subjective emotion, their capacity for play, individual personality, and seemingly purposeless (but calculated) actions suggest a level of cognitive and emotional sophistication that some observers experience as a form of humor or mischief.
In short, while we cannot know if an octopus understands a joke, their actions can be surprisingly witty, suggesting complex internal lives and a capacity for behavior that goes beyond mere instinct.
did a google ask:
Octopuses are invertebrates and are considered the most intelligent of all mollusks. Their intelligence is unique and is demonstrated through:
Problem-solving and memory: They can navigate complex mazes, figure out how to unscrew jar lids to get food, and remember solutions to problems over time.
Tool use: Octopuses have been observed using coconut halves for shelter, a rare behavior in the animal kingdom, especially for an invertebrate.
Physical manipulation: They have eight highly tactile, flexible arms, two-thirds of which contain neurons, allowing the arms to act with some independence and making them adept at manipulating their environment.
Camouflage and mimicry: They possess an extraordinary visual communication system, capable of instantly changing their skin color, pattern, and texture for camouflage or to mimic other animals for defense
Here's what I wonder, though: Is their brain architecture in the same league as that of vertebrates? Or are they just unexpectedly high-functioning as invertebrates go?
Good question. My off-the-cuff answer is that their brains are significantly different from mammals' brains, rather as if they were aliens in a science fiction story. However, I can do more research.
Don't do the research on my account (I could probably look into it if I wanted to take the time), but if you're curious on your own behalf then by all means share your findings.
I suspect that some of what's called intelligence in mollusks reflects a different kind of neural processing than we're used to, and we tend to project certain attributes onto their behavior from our own type of intelligence.
hmmmm - dunno - like comparing apples to moss?
I read the popular novel Remarkably Bright Creatures (not recommended) about an octopus, but figured it was mostly whimsy.
There's a lot of whimsy even among scientists, but there's also science.
Good morning. 34 degrees, rising to the 50s. Just about all the leaves are down and I’ll be raking/leafblowing, getting exercise.
The mothership is reporting on the end of the shutdown, which must have meant a late night for them as Trump signed the bill late last night. The FP is reporting on the Epstein files. Files were released, including emails showing Trump spent quite a lot of time of one of Epstein’s girls. Perhaps they were just having intellectually stimulating conversation <need-sarcasm-emoji-here>.
Only a fool would think that Trump didn't know exactly what was going on with Epstein and the teenage girls. Or would think that Trump wasn't just fine with it.
fools outnumber us. 😀
Perhaps because so many have shunned leadership? Managing, participating, supporting with time and work - that requires dealing with people. Phooey on that.
Trump has the ability to gaslight his followers, as he did about the 2020 election and the 1/6 Capitol riots. Jedi knights could learn a thing or two from Trump ("You don't need to see his identification. . .").
Trump definitely knew about Epstein and teenaged girls. Whether he grasped the whole enterprise is less certain. He's not very interested in anything but himself.
Even if Trump did grasp it, he wouldn't have cared. Because he's stated his "personal Vietnam was not getting a VD," so probably figured to each their own.
There is actually a phenomena where when something you think is icky, you won't notice it in other people, you assume they stop before they cross that line. Joe Paterno was not a pedophilia monster, so he didn't think Jerry Sandusky could be.
It is quite possible that Trump and others assumed Epstein liked younger women, but wasn't a pedophile nor a rapist.
The thing about "liking younger women" is that the same facts, in this case, can be described as "screwing teenaged girls," even if one imagined that everyone involved was a fully consenting participant.
The David Attenborough video had all the suspense of a horror film. Slow, skincrawling shots of slithering arms that neglect to provide a reliable sense of scale, yet I could not look away. The little fish ejecting his meal in fear was contrastingly cute. Well done.
That's what came to my mind. Would've made a great "horror" movie like the funky ones in the 50's & 60's.
hmmmm, are you sure it wasn't the, imo, very pleasant scifi-ish music vs the voice of the narrator, that was soothing?
I find all octopuses very fascinating, lovely, interesting, & intelligent... never owned one, so don't know how personable, but according to documentaries, that's what's said about them.
I could put my whole family to sleep by lowering the blinds and turning on "Blue Planet". It's the combination of music, water sloshing, and David Attenborough's voice.
re: very pleasant scifi-ish music
Funny. I kept thinking Christopher Lee would make an entrance as Dracula.
smiling - such different 'takes' on the same sounds...
right?!?
re: The saddest thing about cephalopods, who are very intelligent and often personable, ... is their short lifespans.
And that's why cephalopods aren't narrating documentaries about David Attenborough.
Heh, well played. I'm still holding out the possibility of colossal squid civilization that we just haven't discovered yet.
"Ph\'nglui mglw\'nafh Cthulhu R\'lyeh wgah\'nagl fhtagn," as it were.
Probably at the bottom of the Marianas Trench, coexisting with the megalodon sharks.
THOUSAND WORDS: Here are the shortlisted images from the 2025 Close-Up Photographer of the Year:
https://www.theatlantic.com/photography/2025/11/shortlisted-images-2025-close-up-photographer-year/684825/?gift=GJ8BttuoXrtu1ZXQn6tAied9-VpnXsG9GMDXP2DRF3Q&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
so many to enjoy!! TY!!
prettiest? - the orchid bee
cutest - froggie
I like all kinds of mantis
ewww - is the mite or the slime mold the ewww'y'ist?
cool -good title - home on the leaves
best timing - was gonna be the flying fox, but goes to Decisive Moment
You're most welcome. :)