I poked my head outside for a breath of fresh air. As soon as I opened the door a big mosquito flew right to me and instinctively I had to kill it. After a few stomps on the ground I vanquished the nuisance. I forgot which of the many mosquito articles I've read but they said evolutionary if each human being kills enough mosquitoes in their lifetimes then eventually mosquitoes will evolve to avoid human beings.
Anyway, shortly after, a big moth ran into my face. The second one of the evening. Perhaps the same one. As watched it flutter around the porch light in disarray it got caught in a spider web. And I've never seen such a big insect caught in one of those webs before. Well actually, I saw a dead stink bug in one earlier today but they move slower than grass grows. So, I saw the moth struggling and the spider came down but it was too lively to do anything. The spider kept climbing down and I was wondering why it wouldn't wait until the moth was tired. I stared longer into the porch light at this exchange happening between two creatures. The spider would go down and it looked like it was flaying its arms trying to grab hold of the moth. As I looked closer it was actually tossing web on it trying to immobilize it further. I saw ball of web collecting by the moths feet. It was then I said "oh you're fucked". It was beautiful. An interaction I saw within moments of stepping foot outside. A tiny event relative to the universe. These events are happening everywhere even if we don't notice. There is always a big dance everything is constantly participating in.
It's cold though. I don't need to film it. It happens all the time, right?
I thought about how I could incorporate the Gen-space lab for projects in this class. However, it reminded me of my first job out of college. I was cleaning a cancer research lab overnight. There was a cool feeling working there. I had to wear these body suit to clean the inoculation room and had to call-in when there was waste in the red bio bags. But this was also the job that was so exhausting that I ran out of gas on the drive home –twice.
I want to pursue more observation and be present with my current surroundings, rather than the isolation of a lab. Reading these articles and being enveloped in bio has made me too aware of every detail that goes into how humans support themselves. Everything is far off balance.
If I can create tangible experiences that translates even some of the small things I have been starting to observe more it would feel fulfilling to me. I want to be more of a vehicle that inspires people to investigate further and if that means seeking out a lab then that would be great! If it means "oh god we are doomed as a human race," then a message is still conveyed.
Like in the p5 sketch I presented in class, I want to emulate a type of balance and show how certain actions will make it collapse or have the opposite effect of the original intent.
I could have saved that moth from that web. I thought long about it. I'm usually the guy who finds insects indoors and catches them to release outside. Usually saying, "be free, live your best life." But I didn't want to do that here. To see how hard the spider was working to eat and survive. It was this dance that would ultimately come full circle that I didn't want to disrupt.
Also, moths eat my wool clothes.
