100,000 Lights Floating Downriver

During Tokyo's Hotaru Festival lately 100,000 illuminated blue LEDs were released in the city's river. The solar-powered spheres bobbed their way down the river, drawn in the flow. They looked like the milky way or the freaky phosphorescence you can encounter in southern oceans. The glowing spheres were later caught downstream by giant nets although I like to think that one or two got away and are now exploring the Pacific.

Fig 1.

Fig 2. Photos by jeremy v, makure and ajpscs.

Serious Jellyfish

This photograph is doing the rounds on the internet lately. The floating creature is a Lion's Mane Jellyfish, a real creature but this photo is a fake. The diver has been photoshopped in to make the jellyfish seem huge.

Fake

Real

This manipulation makes me mad. It seems to suggest that nature is not amazing enough by itself, it needs to be meddled with. But nature is plenty amazing enough already. The Lion's Mane Jellyfish can get to be nearly 8 feet in diameter. This ought to be enough for anyone, and with their streaming stingers they can be up to 120 feet long.

Monsters Attack Belfast

For the Belfast Children's Festival this year I will be reading from my books and talking to readers at No Alibis Bookstore on Friday 16 March 6.30pm. I'm "Back by popular demand" apparently.



Come along if you're, roughly, over 10 years of age. It's free and you don't need to book.

Details over on the festival website.