Hello to a group of people I'm assuming will never tire of talking about octopuses--my friends are burned out! :)

Joined
Mar 25, 2021
Messages
21
Location
New Jersey
Hi everyone, I'm Lauren. I had to join TONMO because I really can't talk to those around me about octopuses anymore. I've hit the wall, and met the limits of other humans' standard interest in the subject. So I am here somewhat as a support group. I suspect you all will understand. I look forward to learning with you, and sharing in this truly beyond amazing topic. At times, I don't think there is anything more interesting in world. I'm a psychotherapist and writer, and I've loved animals all my life. I have a little bit of background in wildlife rehab from my California days, and now reside on the Shore in New Jersey, where I am taking up surfing for the first time. Having grown up land-locked in the Midwest throughout my childhood years, I gravitated to the coasts (and further into the oceans, both coasts) as soon as I could hit the road. Really happy to be here, and to provide support and my enthusiasm for learning. I've devoured (like an octopus on a crab) many of the mainstream books on octopuses, and I'm now ready to deepen my understanding. Thanks for letting me coast along with you!
 
Welcome, and thanks for joining -- and a special thanks for becoming a TONMO supporter! :thumbsup: It's true, we don't tire of ceph talk here -- it's an immersive topic and requires stamina and dedication 😅

We have a bunch of ceph authors in the community; which books have you read?
 
Thank you! I'm glad to be here :smile: One of your author/staffers (James Wood) is the reason I'm here. I just picked up Octopus: The Ocean's Intelligent Invertebrate and learned about TONMO (thanks James!). I've read Jacques Cousteau's seminal (?) Octopus and Squid: The Soft Intelligence (and was thrilled to learn more about Joanne Duffy), as well as Other Minds (Peter Godfrey-Smith), the Soul of an Octopus (Sy Montgomery), Monarchs of the Sea (Dana Staaf), and Cephalopod Cognition is on the list as well. I haven't yet embarked on the scientific texts, but I have my eye on them. Would love any recommendations, as I'm sure I'm missing some fine texts. And of course, long ago, Jules Verne and Victor Hugo ONLY made me want to meet Octopus even more...
 
Welcome! Fantastic! What honorable company to find myself in!!! It was Cousteau's Octopus and Squid that I first found as a young reader desperate to consume everything I could find about these amazing creatures. Love the sci-fi influences as well!
 
Welcome! Fantastic! What honorable company to find myself in!!! It was Cousteau's Octopus and Squid that I first found as a young reader desperate to consume everything I could find about these amazing creatures. Love the sci-fi influences as well!
Thank you! I'm so glad to be here, and to be a part of these conversations. After reading your book, which I loved (!!), I would say that J-YC would likewise be in great company with you, were we lucky enough to still have him. I found myself studying the anatomy pages of Octopus and Squid, and appreciate that he included them at the end of the book not the beginning, because by the end what I was looking at was much more relevant--I understood the funnel and its function, and could actually wonder about the ink sac being so close to it, and what that might mean. My favorite quote from his book: "DIscrimination against animals, like all discriminations, is rooted in contempt--that is, hatred--for what is unknown and for what is different."

And of course your book resonated so utterly completely as to the importance of these creatures and their extremely long history as the "inventors of swimming," with their ancient knowledge of the sea. I've sensed since those early days as a young person watching an octopus in the zoo aquarium, thinking while looking at her (not at the more distant cosmos), We are not alone....
 
James Wood? Ug! That guy is nuts. Talks about octopuses all the damn time to anyone that will listen and many that won't. When he isn't talking about octopuses. . . it is squid! What a bore!
...And when he isn't talking about squid...it is the Nautilus! Talking about cephalopods to those who won't listen is an art form. It's probably a really good way to get that luxurious, but rare empty seat next to you on the plane :smile:
 
Hi everyone, I'm Lauren. I had to join TONMO because I really can't talk to those around me about octopuses anymore. I've hit the wall, and met the limits of other humans' standard interest in the subject. So I am here somewhat as a support group. I suspect you all will understand. I look forward to learning with you, and sharing in this truly beyond amazing topic. At times, I don't think there is anything more interesting in world. I'm a psychotherapist and writer, and I've loved animals all my life. I have a little bit of background in wildlife rehab from my California days, and now reside on the Shore in New Jersey, where I am taking up surfing for the first time. Having grown up land-locked in the Midwest throughout my childhood years, I gravitated to the coasts (and further into the oceans, both coasts) as soon as I could hit the road. Really happy to be here, and to provide support and my enthusiasm for learning. I've devoured (like an octopus on a crab) many of the mainstream books on octopuses, and I'm now ready to deepen my understanding. Thanks for letting me coast along with you!
Hi! And Welcome! My name is Leslie and like you, i am new and in love with and ever so fascinated by octopuses. I am not in a position to be able to have one and the people i have met online about cephs are so full of informatio that they so readily share and are so kind and patient with noobies that i think you will enjoy it so much! And, you won't talk to anybody about octopuses and only hear a dial tone in response 🙄.
 
Hi! And Welcome! My name is Leslie and like you, i am new and in love with and ever so fascinated by octopuses. I am not in a position to be able to have one and the people i have met online about cephs are so full of informatio that they so readily share and are so kind and patient with noobies that i think you will enjoy it so much! And, you won't talk to anybody about octopuses and only hear a dial tone in response 🙄.
Hey Leslie! Thanks for reaching out--your words are encouraging. Like you, I can't keep an octopus right now, and feel like a bit of a tourist here (respecting the work of the scientists and those who actually are lucky enough to interact with cephs regularly). I am so excited to have been warmly welcomed into this group, even though I know I bring mostly my curiosity at this point. I am absolutely planning to attend the next conference though, and hope to connect on a deeper level, and perhaps that will make me more confident about keeping octopuses myself. I've been to one wildlife rehabilitation conference in Tahoe years ago when I volunteered, and that was such a peak experience. I can only imagine a weekend of ceph talk! I'm curious to ask you, and will also post to the group...how did you first get into cephs? Do you remember your earliest encounter or awareness of them?
 
I don't really remember. I have vague memories of a movie with maybe James Mason and lots of octopus arms and thinking i wonder if there is a real animal like that. Plus i had a little girl crush on James Mason 🤷. My mini-obsession was overidden by lifetime obsessions with animals that are easily accessible, horses and dogs. I never forgot my fascination with octos and have actually been able to seriously pursue my interest in only the last few years. But what a great time to do so!!
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top