Shark Week Musings

 

Thanks Daily Dot!

I always have mixed feelings about Shark Week, and it turns out I'm not the only one.  This year included some egregious misinformation, which were called out by both shark scientists and Wil Wheaton.  David Shiffman's summary over at Wired includes the best, the worst, and the Hasselhoff.


While I want to continue enjoying both nature documentaries and fine films like Sharknado, I hope that all of us living by the sea can find and pass on accurate facts about these endangered animals.  Which are cool as heck. 

Here's hoping that knowing about sharks makes them less scary to your average Joe and will stop stuff like this.


Hey, what do you think?  Do you think it's okay for information to be misleading or inaccurate if the content is entertaining?  Or do you think we're all smart enough to figure out what is real and what isn't and what Discovery did isn't such a big deal?

Shark Week Musings

 

Thanks Daily Dot!

I always have mixed feelings about Shark Week, and it turns out I'm not the only one.  This year included some egregious misinformation, which were called out by both shark scientists and Wil Wheaton.  David Shiffman's summary over at Wired includes the best, the worst, and the Hasselhoff.


While I want to continue enjoying both nature documentaries and fine films like Sharknado, I hope that all of us living by the sea can find and pass on accurate facts about these endangered animals.  Which are cool as heck. 

Here's hoping that knowing about sharks makes them less scary to your average Joe and will stop stuff like this.


Hey, what do you think?  Do you think it's okay for information to be misleading or inaccurate if the content is entertaining?  Or do you think we're all smart enough to figure out what is real and what isn't and what Discovery did isn't such a big deal?

Today's afternoon movie...

Credit: National Geographic (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/great-white-shark/)

That's all I'm going to say about that.  Show starts at 3PM.

The Old Man and the Sea

in 4 minutes...

Sharks & Boys by Kristen Tracy

Enid has relationship issues.  Her father has had several affairs and is currently living in the basement while her parents sort out their marriage.  So she's pretty hung up on fidelity.  Her mother is a wedding caterer, and crafting happy marzipan brides and grooms does nothing to help Enid's insecurities.

When Enid's boyfriend, Wick, tells her he thinks they should take a break and heads down to Maryland for a graduation party, Enid...well, she goes off the deep end.  She takes off in her mom's car and stalks Wick, her brother, and their friends, hiding on board the sailboat where they are partying.

When she wakes up, the boat is out to sea and a storm is raging.  Boat sinks, Enid and boys get bashed around and finally get into lifeboat.  Which has no emergency supplies.

Oh, and another thing:

SHARKS!

And I am a terrible person, because this is where things get fun.  Enid and the boys (who are all sets of twins, by the way; Enid and her brother are fraternal twins) struggle to survive not only the SHARKS but one another, as old grievances and grudges come to the fore.

Plus there are SHARKS.  Not only is this book a great primer on the worst way to survive at sea, it is also a fantastic example on how to have a terrible romantic relationship.  A terrific way to end your summer reading!  One last trip to the beach, anyone?