Found in a used book shop

Australia Museum, Aztecs, and mites

I revisited Sydney's Australia Museum yesterday, since rain was predicted for the entire day and for now I get a student discount. The exhibits all seemed the same as in my thorough visit about three years ago, except, of course for the traveling Aztec exhibit. The Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas have always been a bit muddled in my mind; all having been advanced civilizations practicing human sacrifice. So the exhibit was a good refresher:

• Mayans - of course - they have the peninsula named after them.
• Incas - South America, Machu Picchu and the Andes make this one the easiest to remember
• Aztecs? hmm... ok, there's the vague one. Mexico City. MesoAmerica... they got the turf to the west; both north and south of the Mayans. It's a moving border, with the rise and fall of alliances.

So Aztecs... connection with Australia? I was a bit saddened that the exhibit made no mention of the most amazing movie Apocalypto, by Australian Mel Gibson. Maybe they didn't mention the movie because a quick search reveals it was supposed to be about Mayans, but the rituals depicted were more Aztec? Some references call it racist? And while the museum did mention that sacrificed bodies were rolled down the giant steps of the temple, maybe the movie's graphic depiction of heads rolling seemed more sensational than academic. I've been to other exhibits (hmmm... Mayan or Aztec?), so I knew a bit about their means of ensuring social order and population control (elaborate ritual wars and human sacrifices). But I did learn something new! Apparently, the priests would wear the flayed skin of those who were sacrificed - until the skin rotted and fell off of their bodies! That's one that defies the imagination. And I don't recall seeing it in the movie! I am trying to imagine wearing a maggot-infested body suit.

Regarding the other exhibits, the birds and insects seemed a bit tired, but I was prompted to consider the the role of mites in the world. Class: Arachnida Subclass: Acari / Acarina. One of the early facts I learned is that Australia has a tick whose bite can cause paralysis and even death. The exhibit was not very helpful in exploring this topic, but it did make me wonder. Normally, one would think that a species can't be exterminated without having some greater effect on the ecosystem. But what about ticks and mites? Is there really any wonderful creature that relies only on ticks and mites for their survival? Or could we potentially wipe out an entire subclass, to great relief, and have no other impact on the ecosystem as a whole? Of course, we now know that to accomplish this task, the use of something like DDT, with much broader effects would be entirely inappropriate. But maybe a biological agent that only affects the Acari subclass? Once it was wiped out, we'd probably find some incredible unknown role that Acari play.

And the birds... The Birds! How could an entire room full of stuffed birds be brought to life while still retaining the historic nobility of their wood and glass cases? Interactivity! Discrete little panels adjacent to each wood case - press a button by their name, hear their call. The entire room would be a joyous cacophony!

Intemperate

Today I was accused of taking an "intemperate swat" at someone. This "intemperate swat" was totally via email - he was replying to my email. All I could think was what a beautiful phrase. Ah, to be British. But let me add, it's not easy being a vulgar American here.

Spiders!! ...or maybe not.

Creepy... I've come to terms with the spiders here in Australia - they're not really as bad as some of the horror pictures that have gone around the internet (millions of them after a flood, large ones eating birds - though I did see a lizard caught in a spider web). But today I felt something itchy on my chest. I go to scratch it and CRUNCH. But... what was it?! There's only a gooey black mess under my fingernail, about 1/4 the size of a pencil eraser. Am I feeling twitchy now? Tingling in my limbs? ok - an hour later, I'm still alive. Oh - and one other time I had a necrotic spot on my leg that was probably a small spider in my clothes. Fortunately, the spot healed rather than grew. Will small doses make me immune? Or will small doses affect my speaking ability, causing me to have a strange accent?

Drink and walk?

ok... Australia has frequent roadblocks to catch "drink drivers". They have a certification system for bartenders with strict rules about serving people who are already drunk. So now... what?! Evidence that Australians take their drinking seriously (in one way or another). ...no, I wasn't drunk when I took this photo - dim light; no flash on cell phone.

Australian for "customer service"

Web site says for specific information, please download this brochure. Brochure says for specific information, please consult the web site.

Toll-free number says "we are currently closed. If you need assistance, please see our web site." Web site says "If you need assistance, please call our toll-free number."

In the United States, you will be asked to navigate an answering machine tree, and possibly be put on hold each step of the way before being told to contact another department, explain your problem again, and be put on hold again. In Australia, you will likely reach a customer service agent in another country who will have virtually no sense of how to solve your problem, and once they consult their computer prompts or supervisor, you will be told that you'll need to call back during business hours.

Business front

You've walked by a restaurant a few times and you've never seen anyone in it. But the menu looks good, the place is clean, and it looks like they've spent a fair amount of money making the place look nice. You wonder how long they could stay in business without customers. So you take a chance.

Your food comes, and it seems decent enough, but your order is wrong. The woman who seated you is counting receipts, but it seems odd there could be so many receipts when there have been no customers. Her appearance is such that you imagine she might have been in the world's oldest profession before getting into the restaurant business. A second woman says she will correct your order, and explains that there's a new cook. Does this mean they have had more than one cook and yet you've never seen a customer there? Things start seeming a bit more odd, and the second woman also seems that she has potentially worked in the world's oldest profession.

Your order is corrected, the food is ok, but as you are getting ready to pay, at the counter one woman is berating another for having not cleaned the toilets. The woman being berated has limited English, and is trying to clarify the multitude of tasks she's been ordered to perform. They are not kind to her. You begin to suspect that maybe the primary business of this restaurant is not serving food, but perhaps a front for human trafficking or money laundering. Yeah - I have a vivid imagination. And there are a lot of odd store fronts in the Sydney suburbs - businesses that never seem to have any customers, but somehow keep the lights on.