Tuesday, December 20, 2016

It's Not the Squid Fishing Fleet: Part 2


In my last post, I shared my personal reasons for naming my hand embroidery shop Squid Fishing Fleet. I wrote:

To me, the phrase "squid fishing fleet" has come to represent the mixed nuts of UFO studies: its fringe intrigue, its Americana lore, its kitsch, its rainbow of personalities shining in shades of respectability, sympathy, amusement, curiosity, and actual bullshit. 

It also stands for legit wonder. That adolescent passion for believing impossible things.

But, it's not just me connecting fleets of squid fishing boats with UFOs. It's REAL.

Earth Observatory

As recent as 2014, the International Space Station capture images of dense light off the coast of Thailand. From a distance on the water, as pictured above, these same lights could seem otherworldly. To flip the words of Dr. Bruce Maccabee, it's actually the squid fishing fleet.
 
According to NASA's Earth Observatory: "Scientists first noted such night-lighting of the seas in the late 1970s and early 1980s, while compiling the first maps of Earth at night."

At night, fleets of fishing boats cluster over nutrient-rich, southern Pacific waters. Rigged with LED lights to lure a small species of squid, the boats light up the absolute darkness.

It's all very magical seeming when you see images like the above, but a common place for these suckered squid to end up is in an air-locked package like that of popular Japanese snack.


Squid Jerky!

Unless one knows about the squid fishing fleets, with their bright clear lights that seem to hover still and silent, it may rightly freak a person out.

That's why in the documentary UFO's Are Real Maccabee talks about his studies of the December 31, 1978 sighting off the coast of New Zealand. The former Navy physicist talks about thoroughly and as dryly as those jerky treats, but there's a tasty morsel of the quirkiness, facetiousness or innocence, that is what always draws me in to these kinds of stories.

Maccabee's site reads:

         Subsequently, Philip J. Klass published the squid boat explanation in his book, UFOs, THE PUBLIC DECEIVED (Prometheus Books, Buffalo, NY, 1983). After citing his reasons for agreeing with Ireland and Andrews, Klass wrote, "If the bright object photographed in Pegasus Bay was not a squid boat, the only plausible alternative is that it was an extraterrestrial craft from a distant world."

         Could that be true? Is it possible that the light was not from a squid boat and therefore was from a ET craft?
         The following paper shows why it was not a squid boat....unless it was a

flying squid boat.



I can only take Maccabee's word, with his serious math and stuff, on what the New Zealand footage shows. Or not. But whether it's a real unidentifiable space craft, a hoax, Venus, Jupiter, mating mutton birds, or the squid fishing fleet isn't the point to me.

It's random pictures of a guy in a row boat staring at a glowing light on the horizon, taken out of context. It's what I said about the off-the-record, off-center cultural meme and all the characters playing a part.



Monday, December 19, 2016

It's Not the Squid Fishing Fleet: Part 1

In the late 1970s, Dr. Bruce Maccabee, a US Navy optical physicist, studied a film shot by a New Zealand news crew that may have captured a UFO. Being an expert in optical data and other Strategic Defense Initiative work, Dr. Maccabee studied the footage and of the spasmodically moving light in it, Dr. Maccabee says this in the 1979 documentary UFO's Are Real:
"I've concluded that the film does not show Venus or Jupiter. It does not show meteors or mating mutton birds. It does not show secret military maneuvers or the squid fishing fleet. I've concluded that the film is not a hoax."

Emphasis above is my own. That's because Squid Fishing Fleet is the name of my new craft and art shop!



You kind of have to hear him say it in the documentary because he speaks in short statements with a shield over any personal bias or emotion toward the topic, as a military professional would. He also gives off a nerdy vibe.

In the context of the entire UFO's Are Real documentary, with its 70s film stock and style, its cast of charactersMaccabee, Wendelle Stevens (biographer/translator of guru Billy Meier), Dr. Leo Sprinkle, Marjorie Fish, Dr. James Harder, (how do they have names like these?) Betty Hill (genuinely my personal favorite), plus the granddad of ufology Stanton Friedmanand its clear agenda, it's kind of amazing.


To me, the phrase "squid fishing fleet" has come to represent the mixed nuts of UFO studies: its fringe intrigue, its Americana lore, its kitsch, its rainbow of personalities shining in shades of respectability, sympathy, amusement, curiosity, and actual bullshit. 

It also stands for legit wonder. That adolescent passion for believing impossible things. 

Image of Handmade Patch with Important Cats=Aliens Message

So, I feel that, without thinking about it too much, it can encompass most of the themes that inspire me to create, whatever I end up putting out there. Some items aren't or won't direct related to UFOs; I make them because I think they're cool or pretty.

A piece of advice I held onto from a speaker at the 2016 Portland Creative Conference was to not think too much about what you're creating, just to make it. Similar to one of my favorite Cheryl Strayed sentiments from Wild:

"Do you think miners stand around all day talking about how hard it is to mine for coal? They do not. They simply dig."

Another great piece of advice comes from my fellow artist pal and long-time friend Natalie. She said that if I just make what I like and put it out there, the right people will find it.

Without making myself produce products that everyone likes or if I'm doing enough good marketing, I'm giving myself permission to make what I'm excited about. I'll will talk about it in a way that feels good. And, I'm going to keep my day job because I ain't paying the rent with threads and felt. That's how the world works right now, and I accept it in a way. 

Meanwhile, for some background about how squid fishing fleets and UFOs are related, check out my next post!

Cheers!

Monday, December 12, 2016

How Lists & Routines Help Me WFH



Since beginning my career in start ups about seven years ago, I was introduced to the modern habit of working from home ("WFH" if you've ever read a PJ-wearing peer's gchat status). I never liked working from home, yet my current job pretty much calls for it.

In my first nine months of this job, working from home helped me become depressed.

Part of problem was that I had 0 friends as the new girl in town. Well, I changed that through luck and action.

Another issue what my offense to the fact that I believe work for an entity outside myself has no place in my home, my sanctuary. I changed my attitude toward that by reevaluating my 9 to 5 time within my sanctuary.

Remaining are my days, vast with possibility of motivation/lack of motivation.

How do I deal?

I make lists.

1. Starting with the intangible, digital realm, my iPhone helps. Included with my latest iOS are two apps, "Bedtime"  within the alarm app and "Reminders". Bedtime reminds me at 9:30 PM to get ready for 10:00 PM sleep.

At 7:00 AM, my alarm rings ("chirps" really, as I have it set to a forest of birds waking me! Not as tranquil as it sounds!). That's a total of nine hours of sleep, which is the least I need. I could, and do, sleep or lay around even longer. But, the important thing here is to have bed/wake times. Without a plan, there's no beginning or end to the days at all, thus an overwhelming pool of hours without a name.



2. Once I'm up, which varies between 7:00 AM and 8:30 AM (no later) depending on the day of the week or what I did the night before, I make coffee. I'm one of those "no coffee, no talkie" people, but it's more than that. It's part of my routine, my morning ritual. I make my coffee with my janky set up (mason jar, sieve), and enjoy it while eating cereal, starting simpler work tasks, talking to my husband, or just staring. Borrowing a clever line from Stranger Things, "Mornings are for coffee and contemplation."

That makes it a ritual, elevating it from just a routine or something I do to get through the morning. This approach secures it as a moment of grounding and simplicity.

3. As I ease into getting down to business (actual work), I make my daily list. It usually looks like this:

Monday
review upcoming bills/budget
work 8:30-12:30
-edit posts
-rewrite descriptions
-clear team inbox
meditate 1
yoga/lunch
work 1:30-5:00
-Tahoe lodge descriptions
-Martha's Vineyard beach house
-Big Sky email
meditate 2

Lists within lists, vague to-dos, specific tasks. Some of these (meditate, yoga), I have reminders on my phone for, yet I still include them in my handwritten list because it's a part of my day and physically crossing it out feels good.

Some of these are obvious, like work. When WFH, though, it has been all too easy for me to get lost in the possibility of when and how much to work, when to stop, when to start, what to do when, etc. With a plan of attack, I have a structure to work through step by step. Before I know it, I've completed my hours, contributed to my next paycheck, and can move on to "me time."

That's pretty much it!

A note on handwritten vs. digital: I'm a compulsive notebook hoarder, so it's easy for me to handwrite my dailies. If you're a minimalist and can't stand clutter, perhaps one big binder or a clean stack of Moleskins will work for you.

Whatever you do, I really believe that handwriting will save us all. The physical connection from our hands to pen to paper better solidifies that thought in our minds. You may also feel compelled to jot down other things on or beyond your list: a random thought, a funny memory, a doodle, an idea. Now your day is richer because you didn't just let your phone tell you what to do.

Want to start similar habits? Here are a few things you might want:

1. Easy-to-use apps like Bedtime and Reminders to nudge you nicely

2. A notebook and pen, or a pile of scrap papers and crayon, your hand and a Sharpie, etc.

3. Ownership of your time, a.k.a. breaks from work when you need them

4. Your own permission for sitting and staring at nothing

5. Patience for practice. ...



It's not going to work the first time exactly as you expect. It's never going to work unless you just keep doing it as much as you can. You will miss days because you're on vacation, you have an appointment, you have an emergency, you're tired or bored. Trying your best to practice every day and letting the practice take its time is enough in itself. And, I believe, that when you practice, it will work out for you as it needs to.

Do you WFH? What are your tips?