October 30, 2004

At One with the Snails A fascinating (to me anyway) article about one man's devotion to an endangered snail and the single cave where it lives. LA Times article, reg. Required.
posted by squidranch 19 years ago
  • Find it fascinating, too, squidranch. A tale of perseverence in the face of run-off. Moral: Sure, life is precious. But not commercially viable.
  • He goes on my who-I-would-help-if-I-were-rich list.
  • Fascinating. I wonder, though, is it possible that the die-off of the snails is in some way related to their discovery and subsequent near-constantly being disturbed? It sounds to me like this guy is spending an awful lot of time down in a cave that, befire his arrival, was relatively unolested. His efforts to save the snails, as well as to reforest the area surrounding the cave, are admirable; however, could he, ironically, be the cause of their demise?
  • I can't remember who first said this, but you will change the outcome of anything by observing it. Admittedly, this was a bit more than simply observing (turning rocks over, blasting new entrances, etc...). You got a point jaypro.
  • Antrobia culveri
  • squidranch, that sounds like Heisenberg, and his uncertainty principle.
  • The Starry Snail You crawled after the rain The starry rain The stars made a house for you Out of their bones Where are you taking it now one your towel Time limps behind you To overtake you to run you over Let your horns out snail You crawl on a huge cheek That you'll never glimpse Straight into the place of nothingness Turn to the life-line On my dream hand Before it's too late Make me the inheritor Of your wonder-working silver towel. -- Vasko Popa, trans Charles Simac