Also for the Imaginings
A little bit of first-person material from young social workers:
http://confessionsofayoungsw.blogspot.com/
http://trixfiend.wordpress.com/2007/12/27/confessions-of-a-former-social-worker/
http://blogs.nyu.edu/blogs/hrh235/socialwork/
For Monica in particular:
https://www.nacsw.org/cgi-bin/storeman.cgi?task=expand&item=2002&shopperid=16296&ItemType=book&datasource=pubs
http://confessionsofayoungsw.blogspot.com/
http://trixfiend.wordpress.com/2007/12/27/confessions-of-a-former-social-worker/
http://blogs.nyu.edu/blogs/hrh235/socialwork/
For Monica in particular:
https://www.nacsw.org/cgi-bin/storeman.cgi?task=expand&item=2002&shopperid=16296&ItemType=book&datasource=pubs
People Underwater
Since it seems that some of the Imaginings will be encountering Mo'Reece "underwater," check out this clip--underwater movement, generally thought of as hyper-fluid and graceful, has some subtle but important aspects that give texture to this fluidity. In particular, the relationship between motion and stillness: movement in the water is marked by the necessity of propelling oneself, and by the fact that this requires pauses, during which, for example, the arms and hands are returning to the position from which their motion can be repeated, without counteracting the propulsion they produced.
Sea Monkey Paraphenalia
I post a few images here, but I recommend doing a Google image search for "sea monkeys" if you really want to get a sense of how many different kinds of sea monkeys palaces are out there in the world.
The "Zones"
Two different interpretations:
The second is from "Mrs. Reimers' Website," as is the following text:
Like a rain forest, the ocean has distinct vertical habitats, and most creatures live within one zone.
Sunlit Zone: Most ocean life is found in the top 600 feet (180 meters) where water is warm, sunny, and constantly moving. Plants cannot grow in deeper waters, so zooplankton and other plankton feeders must live here too.
Like a rain forest, the ocean has distinct vertical habitats, and most creatures live within one zone.
Sunlit Zone: Most ocean life is found in the top 600 feet (180 meters) where water is warm, sunny, and constantly moving. Plants cannot grow in deeper waters, so zooplankton and other plankton feeders must live here too.
Twilight Zone: Water temperatures here dip as low as 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Giant squid, sperm whales, and many fish live here.
Dark Zone: Water pressure mounts here, rising as high as 1,000 times surface pressure. There is very little food here.
Abyss: Thick mud covers this cold, dark surface.
Dark Zone: Water pressure mounts here, rising as high as 1,000 times surface pressure. There is very little food here.
Abyss: Thick mud covers this cold, dark surface.
Sea Monkeys
"Sometime around 1957, Harold von Braunhut began to notice the tiny salt-water creatures known under the scientific name of Artenia Salina, or brine shrimp. At the time they were being used as fish food, mainly because of their size and high protein content. What he noticed was that the little buggers had evolved the ability to encase themselves in a protective shell and go into suspended animation during lean times; when they were later put back into water, they became re-animated and continued their little lives. Having successfully marketed a novelty product called Invisible Goldfish (similar to the pet rock in that the gag was there was no fish; purchasers only got the bowl, some colored rocks to put along the bottom, and a little plastic plant for decoration); von Braunhut saw another opportunity. The little creatures, in their suspended state, could be mailed across the country without harm; and once released, they were certainly less trouble than regular fish. He spent some time time developing the concept - coming up with formulas to cause faster growth, and developing a variety called Artemia NYOS (for New York Ocean Science), and when all was ready, he marketed them... under the name of Instant Life.
"Instant Life was not an instant hit. Finding distribution with a smaller company called Honey Toy Industries (later renamed Transcience Corporation), von Braunhut advertised in comic books, because so far it had been an ad medium under-utlized by other toy manufacturers. But sales, while steady, were not what he knew they could be. The little critters swimming around in their watery environment, their long tails flowing behind them, seemed to resemble tiny monkeys; in 1962 von Braunhut renamed his creation Sea Monkeys and sales took off.
"Sea Monkeys were advertised in comic books for decades; at one time it was estimated that the world-famous brine shrimp were appearing in over 300 million individual pages of advertising a year. Von Braunhut was even granted a patent on his little lifeform. The popular ads portrayed a nuclear sea monkey family - Dad, Mom, Son, and Daughter - leading happy, peaceful lives and waving to readers with their gilled little hands. For all the enticement these ads created - and they were enticing - many purchasers were disappointed with what they received in the mail. The Sea Monkeys are, after all, just tiny little weird shrimp; they don't have arms or hands, they don't build civilizations, they don't proffer gifts to their human benefactors. Ultimately, they just swim around, eat their formula, lay some eggs, and die. Like the Mexican jumping bean or the mood ring, the anticipation of the item - or one's status with friends for owning it - seems to be the primary benefit that can be expected."
"Instant Life was not an instant hit. Finding distribution with a smaller company called Honey Toy Industries (later renamed Transcience Corporation), von Braunhut advertised in comic books, because so far it had been an ad medium under-utlized by other toy manufacturers. But sales, while steady, were not what he knew they could be. The little critters swimming around in their watery environment, their long tails flowing behind them, seemed to resemble tiny monkeys; in 1962 von Braunhut renamed his creation Sea Monkeys and sales took off.
"Sea Monkeys were advertised in comic books for decades; at one time it was estimated that the world-famous brine shrimp were appearing in over 300 million individual pages of advertising a year. Von Braunhut was even granted a patent on his little lifeform. The popular ads portrayed a nuclear sea monkey family - Dad, Mom, Son, and Daughter - leading happy, peaceful lives and waving to readers with their gilled little hands. For all the enticement these ads created - and they were enticing - many purchasers were disappointed with what they received in the mail. The Sea Monkeys are, after all, just tiny little weird shrimp; they don't have arms or hands, they don't build civilizations, they don't proffer gifts to their human benefactors. Ultimately, they just swim around, eat their formula, lay some eggs, and die. Like the Mexican jumping bean or the mood ring, the anticipation of the item - or one's status with friends for owning it - seems to be the primary benefit that can be expected."
Whale Calls
Very cool whale calls website--once you're there, click on "Take me to the Whales" in the bottom right corner, and you'll get to see hear calls that correspond to the different species.
Also, here is a short video on humpback hunting technique. Apparently they hunt in packs, and have a highly choreographed system of rounding up and then eating schools of fish.
Song References
From page 50, check out the reference points for the girls' dance routine. Can't embed these videos, but click the links to go to youtube: Too Close by Next and I Gotta Man by Positive K.
CRABS!
For Bella, primarily: a video of a crab digging a hole on the beach. Like Bella, he does not wish to be "surveilled."
More crabs scuttling sideways:
Fisheries Survey Vessel
The christening of a NOAA ship. NOAA stands for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the ship is a "fisheries survey vessel." It is at once useful as an image of the type of ship associated with marine biology, but also as a reminder of what one of the Imaginings discuss with Maurice--it's not all dolphins and whales, it's "surveying fisheries" as well.
Them Deep Fishes
Very funny and interesting, if long, series of clips of "deep fishes," as Bella calls them. It's narrated a bit like a horror movie. Especially provocative is the fact that there doesn't seem to be a full understanding on the part of marine biologists regarding how exactly all these "lures" actually work.
From Jackie, On the Servers
"The idea of the stadium play immediately brought to mind an essay by Kracauer, in The Mass Ornament. He talks about the Tiller Girls (like the Rockettes)..."
"This is just music and a photograph. I especially like the women in the shorts that comes near the middle..."
"The Tiller Girls scene in cabaret..."
"And the Rockettes achieving the effect that Kracauer was talking about..."
"Preteen Model Mariah"
There is an interesting phenomenon on youtube of which I was previously unaware--mothers or agents using the site to show photo montages of their preteen models. I assume older models use this marketing tool as well, but for our purposes the preteen montages are particularly interesting. Though obviously not something Mo'Reece would have access to, it highlights a lot of the issues around sexuality and age that are highlighted in the play.
When you look at these montages, they are always marked as "Preteen" and often have a childish theme to them--in "Mariah Lollipop" (great title) choo-choo trains run around the edges of the screen, and hopscotch squares flank the photos. But the pigtails, the lollipop, the school girl skirt do not sit comfortably on the innocent side of the line. Go to youtube and type in preteen model tv. If you want to watch just one, check out "Preteen Model Mariah" below. Comments on what you find?
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