Tungurahua Erupts

Explanation: Volcano Tungurahua erupted spectacularly in 2006. Pictured above, molten rock so hot it glows visibly pours down the sides of the 5,000-meter high Tungurahua, while a cloud of dark ash is seen being ejected toward the left. Wispy white clouds flow around the lava-lit peak, while a star-lit sky shines in the distance. The above image was captured last year as ash fell around the adventurous photographer. Located in Ecuador, Tungurahua has become active roughly every 90 years since for the last 1,300 years. Volcano Tungurahua has started erupting again this year and continues erupting at a lower level even today. Some truck-sized boulders landed more than a mile away.

Credit & Copyright: Patrick Taschler

Fact, Fiction and Fantasy

The reality of Trump Tower, Las Vegas' tallest residential building — which Trump described as "very, very successful" — is different from the hype.

Conceived as a high-end hotel-condominium development in Las Vegas' go-go years, the project opened in 2008 amid the economic meltdown. Most investors pulled out and demanded their deposits, leaving Trump and his partners holding the bag.

The casino-free building, wrapped in 24-karat-gold-infused glass, now rests in the boneyard of the Las Vegas Strip, a collection of vacant lots, barren scaffolding and silent cranes left over from abandoned resort projects.

These days, the 645-foot Trump tower might be a metaphor for his nascent campaign: lots of splash, little in the way of substance.

"gore-eographed suspence"

This grisly looking vampire meets an equally grisly fate in the stylish “Stake Land,” showing at Laemmle's Sunset 5, West Hollywood.

Shark DNA: an aid to tracking the origin of shark fins

As a follow up to yesterday's post on thresher shark research, another shark news item is making the rounds: tracing the source of shark fins through DNA. Thanks to research in identifying DNA components in various shark populations, scientists can now track down the origin of dried shark fins right back to the source - the location of the shark population from where the fin was taken. This will assist in enforcing shark conservation management regulations and hopefully stem the illegal taking of sharks which adds so much to the overall devastating annual toll.

Covering the subject, here is a re-cap post from Shark Divers' Underwater Thrills:

Sharks and DNA Zip Codes - Hope?

Thursday, April 28, 2011

An international team of scientists, led by the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University, has used DNA to determine that groups of dusky sharks (Carcharhinus obscurus) and copper sharks (Carcharhinus brachyurus) living in different coastal regions across the globe are separate populations of each species. Both are large apex predators that are heavily exploited for the shark fin trade, which claims tens of millions of animals every year to produce the Asian delicacy, shark fin soup.

Many of these species are declining as a result of this fishing pressure for their fins.

DNA research projects were conducted by a collaborative international team of scientists from the United States, Australia, South America, Asia, New Zealand and southern Africa. The scientists collectively analyzed part of the mitochondrial DNA in nearly 400 sharks sampled from all over the globe.

This research was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts through a grant to the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University. Sequence data were collected in the Field Museum's Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution, operated with support from the Pritzker Foundation. Additional sequence data were collected at the Guy Harvey Research Institute with operational funds and a grant from the Save Our Seas Foundation. Funding was also provided by the Turner Fellowship Program and the Tinker Foundation.

For more information on "Global phylogeography of the dusky shark, Carcharhinus obscurus: implications for fisheries management and monitoring the shark fin trade," visit here.

For more information on "Phylogeography of the copper shark (Carcharhinus brachyurus) in the southern hemisphere: implications for the conservation of a coastal apex predator," visit here.

World Car of the Year

The 100% electric Nissan LEAF™ won the 2011 World Car of the Year Award presented at the New York International Auto Show. There, it was up against 38 other vehicles, including the Audi A8 and BMW 5 Series.

Julia Child in A Covert Affair

Julia Child's wartime spell in the Office of Strategic Services has always seemed the most intriguing chapter in the story of her evolution from the cocoon of her staid, soft-shoe Pasadena upbringing into the iconic French chef who revolutionized American cooking. Serving in that precursor of the CIA not only took her away from her native shores for the first time but also plunged her into two cultures about as different from what she was accustomed to as any you might find. Surely, it was no coincidence that India and China also boasted two of the world's greatest cuisines, so that amid all the culture shock there was also exposure to a panoply of spices and new ways of cooking.

How appropriate, then, that Jennet Conant, who has demonstrated her flair for bringing to life the odd interstices of World War II's intelligence services in "Tuxedo Park" and "The Irregulars," should now be training her sights on this time in Julia McWilliams' life, when she met Paul Child, the man who would give her that name — and so much more.

Conant doesn't disappoint in her picture of the whirlwind life of the OSS, created very much in the image of its founder, the maverick William J. Donovan. Her glimpses of how he overcame bureaucratic rivalries and turf wars are as exciting as her picture of life in the field, complete with dengue fever, cobras and scorpions.

"The Las Vegas Mob Experience"

Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal sits at a witness table before the Senate Investigations Subcommittee, Sept. 8, 1961 in Washington during a probe of organized gambling. Las Vegas has recently opened their museum about some of its founding fathers and most influential figures — guys with names like Bugsy, Lefty and Lansky.

The spoof of that "other Pasadena parade"

The Pasadena Doo Dah Parade is world-famous for its egalitarian spirit and its wiggy, offbeat style. This spoof of that "other Pasadena parade" is a toast to madness and mayhem. This year's highlights include an actual Doo Dah wedding, Dr. Steel's Army of Toy Soldiers and perennial favorites BBQ & Hibachi Marching Grill Team, the Men of Leisure and the Doo Dah house band, Snotty Scotty & the Hankies. Colorado Boulevard between Altadena Drive and San Gabriel Boulevard, Pasadena. 11 a.m. Sat. Free. (626) 356-9725. http://www.pasadenadoodahparade.info.

"catastrophic collapse"

Los Angeles Dodgers fans who are worried about their team's lackluster recent history have nothing on Chicago Cubs supporters, who have endured a century-long championship drought.

Perhaps no postseason was more painful for the Wrigley faithful than 2003, when fan Steve Bartman appeared to interfere with a foul pop-up in the eighth inning of a potentially pennant-clinching Game 6 against the Florida Marlins, an act that set into motion a catastrophic collapse and the team missing the World Series.

Or did it?

Oscar-winner Alex Gibney ("Taxi to the Dark Side") explores the Bartman incident, the alleged Cubs curse and sports scapegoats in general in "Catching Hell," his new documentary that world-premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday night.

"It came out of a personal pain," Gibney said in an interview after the premiere about his reason for making the film. The director, himself a die-hard Red Sox fan, went through a similar ordeal during Bill Buckner's flubbed ground ball in the '86 World Series, an event that gets ample airplay in this film.

"I lay awake for days after that happened. At some point, you think, 'It's only a game. It's not like anyone in your family is hurt, or like there's been an attack or an earthquake,' " he said. "But I was still stunned and devastated, and I wanted to examine that."

In the film, which will premiere on ESPN later this year and possibly get a theatrical release, Gibney interviews numerous fans who sat near or comment on Bartman, uncovered rare footage from the game and even re-creates what Batman was hearing on the radio's seven-second delay as he watched the fly ball come at him.

He concludes Bartman was not nearly as responsible for the loss as the reaction from the fans, angry and in search of a scapegoat, suggested. Many other hands had reached up for the ball, and even had Cubs outfielder Moises Alou caught the pop-up, a series of key miscues on the field played a far more important role in the subsequent collapse.

Most interestingly, he paints a picture of Bartman -- immortalized as the laconic, headphones-wearing fan in a green turtleneck who was hustled out of the stadium amid death threats -- as a tragic and even mythic figure.

"In the Odyssey, when Odysseus blinds the Cyclops, [the Cyclops] goes to his mutant friends and tells them 'No Man' did it, and his friends say, 'Well, it must have been the gods,' " Gibney said. "Bartman, in a way, is a kind of No Man. So he must be the gods." The fan, who has since declined all requests for public appearances and interviews, including Gibney's, was just as devastated about the Cubs loss as the people whose hearts he supposedly broke. But he has all but gone into hiding in the nearly eight years since the incident.

Sparkle-Clean Sharks: thresher sharks practice good hygiene in the Philippines

As marine biologists continue to study the physiology and behaviors of sharks, we are learning more and more about these fascinating creatures and what we can do to protect them if it's not too late. Case in point:

Thresher sharks have been greatly depleted in number - caught for their fins and meat - which is disappointing over and above the obvious loss in population because it is a very unique species. The thresher shark's namesake elongated tail fin has been shown to be used as a hunting tool, slashing and stunning its prey. Diver encounters with thresher sharks have always been scarce as they often swim in deep, open waters and don't typically congregate in large groups.

However, off the northern tip of Cebu in the Philippines, a dive tourism business is growing based on the thresher shark. Apparently, a concentration of thresher sharks frequent a seamount there, which increases the opportunity for divers to see these beautiful sharks in the wild.

Researchers from U.K.'s Bangor University have been studying the behavior of these sharks in the Philippines and have recently published their findings in the journal PLoS One. According to the research team, the thresher sharks are frequenting the deep seamount to get a good cleaning. Residing at the seamount are a number of cleaner wrasses, a fish well-known for cleaning larger reef fish by picking away parasites and dead skin or scales. It seems that thresher sharks have caught on to the benefits of this hygienic service and will cruise close to the seamount, slowing down to half their normal speed and allowing the cleaner wrasses to give them a thorough once over.

The researchers have filmed this behavior, amassing over 1,000 hours of footage. They are quick to point out that mankind can have a disruptive effect on this symbiotic relationship - the seamount already shows evidence of dynamite fishing, a local commercial technique that literally destroys reef communities.

According to lead researcher Simon Oliver, “Our findings underscore the importance of protecting areas like seamounts which play an important part in [the sharks'] life strategy to maintain health and hygiene.”

Fellow researcher Dr. John Turner said, regarding their studies, “The work uniquely describes why some oceanic sharks come into coastal waters to perform an important life function which is easily disturbed by man.”

"Nothing stays the same"

The Hollywood Sign (built in 1923) is the most famous sign in the world. It is located on Mount Lee in Griffith Park overlooking Hollywood. It is illegal to hike to the Hollywood Sign. There are many good vantage points from the streets of Hollywood. The Hollywood Sign originally said "Hollywoodland" before it was shortened in 1945.

"one thousand years of singing"

Westminster Abbey has resounded to music every day for over one thousand years. Singing has played a hugely important role, from the plainsong Offices sung by the monks of the tenth-century monastic foundation to the daily choral services sung by the Choir of Westminster Abbey today. Over the intervening centuries some of the most illustrious British organists, singers and composers have been closely associated with the Abbey, which continues to play a leading part in the musical and cultural life of the nation today.

Filmmaker's Journal: trying to keep up with Diana Nyad

Scuba divers, like myself, like to think that we become one with the ocean every time we put a regulator in our mouths and dip below the surface. Boaters and hard-core yachtsman, I'm sure, feel the same way. And perhaps even fishermen. It's a combination of appreciating the environment we are in and, at the same time, testing or challenging it a bit - because, after all, we are being the intruder.

This past week I had the opportunity to meet and film someone who takes the physical and metaphysical experience of the oceans to a level that I can only marvel at. Shooting a segment for CNN's Medical News with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, I had the pleasure of working with Diana Nyad, a world record-holder in open ocean, long-distance swimming. We were filming in the Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool at the beautiful Malibu, California campus of Pepperdine University. With a warm day and a clear sky to work with, I proceeded to put Diana through her paces as she swam lap after lap while I shot her from a variety of angles. I say put her "through her paces" totally tongue-in-cheek, as this exercise was a mere stroll through the park for her. But by the end of the day, I was exhausted.

Long-distance ocean swimming is an intense exercise in endurance, concentration and, in many ways, becoming one with your environment. The distances that Diana covers and the hours that she spends continuously swimming are incredible. Her world record is 102.5 miles, from Bimini Island to Florida, over two days. Over 102 miles and two days non-stop.

Diana prefers to swim without the aid of a shark cage - there are those swimmers who feel the use of a shark cage makes the swim a bit less challenging - not because of the concern for sharks but because the cage acts like a box that tows the swimmer along, keeping him or her on the right path and smoothing out ocean swells. Diana deals with the possibility of shark encounters by using several electronic Shark Shields attached to a following kayak.

Nourishment is provided throughout the swim in the form of fluids and high protein snacks that are totally burned up to satisfy her caloric needs and provide little waste. Diana experiences all the various levels of extreme physical and mental endurance that you can imagine, getting the mind to focus so that the adrenaline and endorphins keep pumping before the body systems eventually say they have had enough.

Diana completed her swim from Bimini to Florida in 1979 and then took a break from swimming - for 31 years. A year ago, at age 60, she began training to break her own record by trying for a distance that rough seas had kept her from accomplishing in 1978: Havana, Cuba to Florida; 103 miles and 60 hours.

As I found out in the Pepperdine pool, this is a woman to be reckoned with. An inspiring and indomitable force - and I had to try to keep up with her with scuba gear and an underwater housing in my hands. Well, all right, no excuses. She made me look like a total wuss as I gasped and dragged air from my tank at a phenomenal rate, feeling my heart leap from chest as I worked my dive fins overtime to try to keep up.

Eventually, I decided, well, enough of the underwater side-by-side dolly shots. I'll just float here and let her do all the work.

After a number of laps, you catch yourself before asking her if she needs a break. Asking if she was getting tired seemed a pretty lame idea, but actually breaks were called for to allow her to warm up. With well-developed muscles and minimal fat, even in a heated pool, Diana can lose body heat quickly. So, occasional jumps into a nearby heated whirlpool did the trick.

Life is short, which means that the goals we set for ourselves - whatever they may be - should be sought after with determination, not complacency. Diana Nyad, knows this very well. And she melds her mind and body with the sea to accomplish things that we can certainly take inspiration from, whatever the endeavor, whatever our age or sex.

As she quotes from poet Mary Oliver on her website's home page, "What is it you want to do with your one wild and precious life?"

Learn more about Diana Nyad at her website.

"Capturing Magic"

The 1957 Chrysler Windsor


Here is a photo of the interior of my dad's 1957 Chrysler Windsor, that he had when I was a young boy. He bought this car used and had it until the early 70s. You rarely see one of these on the road today. I have only seen a few in my lifetime.

My father installed a small turntable that could play 45 rpm records. It was in a drawer, mounted on springs that helped to dampen road vibration. I do remember some skipping, but for the most part, it was just so cool to be able to listen to your own "sounds" while cruising around. I clearly remember dad taking me down to the Pike in Long Beach, right before they closed the Cyclone Racer forever. We had The Mama's & The Papa's song "California Dreamin'" playing as we motored along Ocean St. I was too young and scared to ride the Cyclone, but wished I had later when I realized that it was one of the most classic wooden roller coasters of all time.

The awesome pin stripe work on the dash was of course done by my uncle Fritz.
Kustom tuck and roll upholstery and the trick machined hubcaps that he made were nice touches. He also removed most of the exterior branding and badges for a cleaner appearance.



Recollections Posted by Synthetrix. Click on the heading above to visit his blog.

"The Beginning of Islam"

Q: WHEN DID IT ALL START?

A: With the Hijra or Hegire – the migration of the Prophet Mohammed from Mecca to Medina in 622.

This date marks the beginning of Islam and the Muslim era.

Medina – “city of the Prophet”
After Muhammad’s revelations he began to preach with great zeal. This was still in the area of his home town, Mecca. Some 100 or so followers joined Muhammad, however, there was also great opposition to him. Unable to make any progress in Mecca, Muhammad decided to move to Yathrib, a city some 450 kilometers or 280 miles north of Mecca. The city was later named Medina meaning, “city of the Prophet”.

"a great party for all!”

SATURDAY, April 30th, Colorado Blvd., in East Pasadena, stepping off at 11:00am. Daring to go where, well, we went last year, this year’s Pasadena Doo Dah Parade will venture eastward for the second time in its colorful history. While the alternative event has enjoyed much popular success in the Old Pasadena retail and entertainment district, organizers are excited to bring the eclectic parade to the town-like setting of East Pasadena. “Old Pasadena has been a terrific backdrop and host for the Doo Dah Parade,” says organizer Tom Coston. “But East Pasadena is an exciting new frontier with its own local character and possibilities. It’ll be a great party for all!”

"blood is thicker than water"

Queen Victoria's grand plan to marry as many of her descendants as possible into the reigning families of Europe resulted in her progeny sitting on the thrones of no fewer than 10 nations. After all, as the saying went back then, "blood is thicker than water," and so with this network of rulers related to the woman who was dubbed the "Grandmama of Europe," surely then peace would prevail. But of course, little more than a dozen years after Victoria's 1901 funeral, attended by a host of these relatives, cousin was pitted against cousin in unprecedentedly hideous global combat.

In "George, Nicholas and Wilhelm," a finalist in the biography category for this year's Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, British biographer Miranda Carter focuses on the nexus among the heads of state in three of the major combatants, Britain, Russia and Germany. The allied King George and Czar Nicholas (shown above) were not only first cousins (their Danish mothers were sisters) but they looked so much alike that people frequently mistook one for the other. Nicholas' wife was also a first cousin to George (on his father's side) and Kaiser Wilhelm bore the same close relationship to both. (He was also related twice over to the czar.) In Carter's capable hands, what could so easily be little more than an annotated family tree springs to life full of vivid, flesh-and-blood characters and replete with family attachments, feuds and quarrels. As her story unfolds, we see just how determinative — and sometimes irrelevant — these turned out to be.

"Bye, Bye Birdie"

This photo from Bye, Bye Birdie, dated c. 1960 was recently spotted by UCLA Musicology Chair Raymond Knapp. His sharp eyes identified the guitarist as UCLA's Ethnomusicology Professor and head of Jazz Studies, Kenny Burrell.

"a jubilant message"

So light as to transcend the earth's gravity, angels are a lyrical expression of Dali's world of dreams and fantasy - in fact, Dali once said "nothing is more stimulating than the idea of an angel"! From the end of the 1940s, when the artist began weaving strong religious themes into his artworks, angels appear frequently in his oeuvre. In this beautiful sculpture, the Dalinian angel trumpets his divine music, wings spread, head thrown back, sending his jubilant message to all who will listen.

"tilting at windmills"

Congress' eleventh-hour compromise on the federal budget this month rescinds $400 million in funding for high-speed rail in fiscal year 2010, and eliminates federal funding for high-speed rail in fiscal year 2011. Yet California High-Speed Rail Authority officials remain committed to their vision of a high-speed rail link between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The agency is beginning to tilt at windmills.

The congressional action means that California will not get the $19 billion in federal grant support the authority was counting on receiving by 2016, nor (almost certainly) the $2.4 billion in grants that Florida's governor declined. Technically, Congress' agreement did not rescind roughly $3.75 billion in federal grants to California, but this commitment is also at risk. About $715 million has not been obligated and could be easily rescinded. The remainder of these funds is obligated, and rescinding them would be more difficult but not impossible.

California taxpayers would benefit greatly from rescission, because every dollar Congress finds the courage to rescind from the California rail project is a dollar the state no longer has to match. In Sacramento, some lawmakers are beginning to connect the dots. Assembly Bill 76, introduced by Diane Harkey (R-Dana Point), would have defunded the California high-speed rail project, but it was rejected in a committee vote along party lines.

Above: An artist's rendering of the proposed San Jose stop on the $43-billion high-speed rail line. (California High-Speed Rail Authority / Bloomberg)

"Exploring Marilyn Monroe's Catalina days"

The Catalina Island Museum has assembled a trove of letters and photographs that reveal the star-to-be as a vulnerable and girlish young woman.

Los Angeles Freeways -- they're either insane or ingenious

Lots of people from across the country complain about their cities commutes and traffic, but until you have actually been on the 405 through the 405/101 interchange and the Sepulveda pass you have no idea what traffic really is. Here's a picture below in case you need a visual of what your daily drive will look like, enjoy...

Attacking Oil: new research in dealing with the effects of oil spills

While developments in alternative energy - like solar, wind, and thermal - continue, the harsh truth is that it will be some time before these and other energy sources can make a considerable dent in our reliance on fossil fuels. And so the reality of someday having to contend with another spill, perhaps on the same level as the Gulf oil spill or worse, is very real.

Therefore, while science continues to look towards alternatives, it is also looking at ways to deal with the effects of spills on the environment. Chemical dispersants, while perhaps being able to actually disperse the oil, have not been given a clean bill of health, so to speak, when it comes to ancillary effects on the environment, particularly when used at the high levels administered in the Gulf oil spill. Scientists are trying to find more natural or organic methods to better treat oil in the soil, plants, and even on animal life, like birds.

Here are two interesting videos from National Geographic Daily News that highlight some of the research and progress that is being made in this approach. If successful, it could provide a means to better combat the effects of an oil spill. But these will never replace the need for more alternative fuels - just like methadone is only a temporary replacement for the heroin addict. Getting off the addiction is the ultimate and only definitive cure.

"Thar she blows"

A group of 2,500 people set a new world record last year for the largest number of simultaneously erupting "Mentos geysers". The Mexico City participants dropped the candy inside 2-liter bottles of soda at the same time. The mixture created a giant geyser of fizz. A representative from Guinness World Records was on hand to verify the event.

"he wanted to be an entertainer"

Ehrich Weiss, the Budapest-born son of an immigrant family, ran away from home at 12 to join the circus. Not the least bit interested in becoming a rabbi like his father, he wanted to be an entertainer.

Although Weiss was already an accomplished trapeze artist in a neighborhood circus, he soon turned around and headed back home. But it was only a matter of time before the whole world knew who he was. Reinventing himself as Harry Houdini, the rabbi's son became a celebrity as an escape artist, and, by the time of his death in 1926 — on Halloween — a legend.

Rising Sea Levels: some nations are already seeing waters at their doorstep

Human populations have an economic attraction to the water. Whether it be oceans, lakes, or rivers - these bodies of water can prove to be effective points of transportation, and that leads to trade and commerce. Just look at the location of many of the major cities worldwide and you will typically find a water connection.

So, with the slow but study increase in sea level being brought about by climate change, particularly the effects of global warming on the Arctic and Antarctic regions, there are some very serious economic and socio-political issues that will be brought to the forefront in the next couple of decades.

Tropical regions, like the low-lying Maldives, are having to wrestle with the reality of someday being totally submerged - it's people becoming immigrants from a nation that literally no longer exists. But rising seas levels will impact more than a handful of tropical islands. As reported in the May issue of National Geographic, the heavily populated nation of Bangladesh is already feeling the effects of rising sea levels with high tides that are now bringing a foot of water into coastal homes, rising levels of salinity which impact aquifers, and river flooding becoming more destructive (three major rivers come together in Bangladesh to form the Ganges River Delta).

Bangladesh is a country with one of the highest population densities - more than half of its 164 million population live in an area smaller than the US state of Utah. As sea levels continue to rise, where these people are supposed to go and what economic infrastructure can travel with them is a big question. And if they are forced to immigrate, in that particular part of the world, who is prepared to take them in?

But rising sea levels is not an issue confined to lower income or developing nations. Major cities like Miami and New York would also have to contend with this problem. Would they need to prepare themselves, like New Orleans, with dikes and levies? We have seen the impact of walls that fail with the destruction in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. What will it take to protect a city like London when the Thames River overflows its banks, which some have predicted as early as 2025?
Within the scientific community, the vast majority do not dispute the reality of climate change and the impact of global warming. International organizations like the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are wrestling with the social, political, and economic implications. Perhaps it will be those issues, more so than purely environmental implications, that will drive nations to take action. The challenge is that it is an insidious, incremental, and long-term threat. Cities won't be swallowed up whole immediately and, as a species, we seem to react better to immediate threats. But if we wait until water floods Piccadilly or we find ourselves rowing a canoe to work in Times Square, it may very well be too late.

Florida's Dead Shark Mystery: 15 small sharks wash ashore along west coast

Every now and then we get mysteries than can initially defy explanation or fuel the imaginations of those seeking easy justification of conspiracy or doomsday theories. With regards to the oceans, there have been coral die-offs, algal blooms, whale and dolphin beachings, and mass fish deaths that occur from time to time. And this week, one more strange event occurred that, at this moment, has marine scientists scratching their heads.

Sharks have washed ashore along the northern beaches of Manatee County, Florida. This is an area along the western or Gulf of Mexico side of Florida, south of Tampa. The dead sharks, fifteen so far, consisted of bonnethead, blacknose, and sharpnose sharks - relatively small sharks that cruise coastal waters.

As reported by Bay News 9, marine scientists from Florida's MOTE Marine Laboratory do not believe the sharks succumbed to any effects from the Gulf oil spill because the normal range and travel patterns of these particular species of shark would have precluded them from getting in harm's way. However, it is nonetheless unusual for so many sharks to be found dead within a specific area - the occasional shark, yes; but fifteen sharks in a week, no.

"There were no real indicators of what went wrong with them," said Dr. Nick Whitney, Staff Scientist for the Center for Shark Research at MOTE Marine Laboratory. "There are no obvious signs of damage from fishing or net damage or anything like that."

Tissues samples were taken for analysis to determine whether the sharks died due to the effects of a red tide - an algal bloom that can carry dimoic acid which has been shown to cause neurological disruptions and death in seals and fish. Recently, an isolated mass die-off of sardines in Manhattan Beach, California left the harbor with literally tens of thousands of dead fish either floating on the surface or piling up on the harbor bottom.

Being the shark admirer that I am, I found this all very disappointing; I have dived with bonnethead sharks and they are beautiful, delicate sharks - petite relatives to the larger hammerhead species.

I also found it a bit ironic as I had just recently read an article that had listed the "top five unfounded health hysterias." The editors of the Big Think blog ran their self-appointed five and four of them revolved around over-hyped perceived threats from autism-causing vaccines, fluoridated water, the SARS virus, anthrax . . . and number five was shark attacks.

Poor sharks - lumped together in our over-worked imaginations with other obscure or statistically remote diseases or medical conditions. And yet the great malevolent ocean monster is, itself, truly susceptible to mysterious maladies that can deprive the ocean of an important member of the marine community.

It's not easy being a shark.

Tracking Great White Sharks: researcher reconsiders a controversial technique

The first shark I ever filmed professionally, to this day, probably remains as my all-time favorite: the great white shark. There are certainly sharks that can rival its beauty. And I have had my adrenaline pumping while swimming in the midst of other sharks in a frenzy - something you don't see with white sharks. But there is something so overwhelmingly magnificent when I am in the presence of a great white, that it still takes my breath away (or maybe I'm just trying not to spook the shark with my bubbles).

Because of that special allure, I have always been interested in their survival and the research and conservation efforts of others to solve the mysteries regarding their lifestyle that still exist today. As those mysteries are slowly unraveled, we will be better educated as to how best to manage and protect the remaining white shark populations, which are in perilous decline.

Over the past year, there has been quite a controversy within the shark research and, particularly, the shark advocate community regarding the research methods of Dr. Michael Domeier - techniques that were featured in the National Geographic television series Operation: Great White and can be seen in Nat Geo's new series Shark Men. Domeier devised a method that entailed hooking a great white, tiring it out to where it could be pulled up onto a large boat platform and hauled out of the water. Then, with only a few minutes available to Domeier's team, blood samples and measurements were taken and, most importantly, a long-range, long-term satellite or SPOT (Smart Positioning and Temperature) tag was bolted to the shark's dorsal fin. The shark was then released and tracking of the shark's position would begin in the hopes of determining more precisely what the migration patterns were of these animals.

From the start, there were questions as to whether this particular technique Domeier had devised was harmful to the sharks. It certainly wasn't a minor procedure and appeared fraught with animal trauma from the moment the shark was hooked to when it was dragged aboard to its final release. I, for one, had expressed concern that the method seemed overly complicated - a kind of Rube Goldberg attempt - and one that was perhaps better suited for the making of a dramatic television show.

There were some shark researchers who had expressed both concern over the method of capture and the quality of the data. But the scientific and academic community is a small and tightly-knit world and so opinions were, for the most part, somewhat muted.

However, the online world of shark advocates had a field day with Domeier, particularly with one horrendously botched attempt that left a white shark, named "Junior", with a large portion of the hook lodged deep in its throat. Recently, pictures of that shark have emerged one year after its capture and they show a noticeably emaciated shark with severe wounds that may or not be a result of the bungled tagging episode. The simmering cauldron of online opinion once again went into full boil.

So, what is the latest in this controversial saga? With National Geographic Channel's Shark Men about to air, what can we expect from Dr. Domeier and his white shark research? Well, according to MSNBC, Domeier is in the process of retooling his research techniques. While still defending his capture methods, he is not pleased with the tags themselves and how they are attached. These SPOT tags are rather large and when attached to the shark's dorsal fin, can apparently cause deformation or damage. Domeier is investigating techniques for attaching SPOT tags that would minimize any possible damage. To better focus on this problem, he has chosen not to participate in the television series. From a crisis communications/PR perspective, it's also not a bad idea to take yourself out of the limelight for a while when surrounded by controversy.

Researchers are often faced with difficult decisions regarding the methods by which they gather data, the cost to the subject in question, and how much public media exposure can be advantageous in securing funding or possibly setting you up for intense scrutiny and even ridicule. I would hope that technology would prevail and powerful, long-lasting tags - much smaller and lighter in design - could be developed which would negate the need for such elaborate capture methods as Dr. Domeier felt compelled to employ.

We owe the sharks that much. Even a 16-foot, 3,000 pound great white shark deserves a little tenderness now and then.

Read MSNBC's article on the Domeier controversy.

"lunar rainbow"

Ladies and gentlemen, don your raincoats. Conditions may be just right in the coming days for a moonbow at Yosemite National Park.

A moonbow, also called a lunar rainbow, occurs, oddly enough, at night. The Yosemite National Park website says an optimal view is the result of "clear skies, enough water in Yosemite Fall to create sufficient mist, dark skies, bright moonlight not blocked by the surrounding mountains, and the correct rainbow geometry."

I can make no iron-clad promises, but Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said conditions look right: There is a lot of runoff at Yosemite Fall, the snow pack is enormous and the weather is warm.

Los Angeles Times photographer Mark Boster, whose Yosemite in Four Seasons photographic series has appeared in the Travel print section and whose photo appears above, recommends wearing a raincoat or poncho.

"Standing next to a roaring waterfall means bringing towels and plastic bags for your cameras," he said.

He shot this photo using a 16mm-35mm zoom lens. The aperture was set at f/4.5, and he exposed it for 60 seconds.

(excerpts from an article by By Catharine Hamm, Los Angeles Times Travel Editor, April 14, 2011)

"Creating Beauty"

Only nature could create such a majestic scene, right? Well, nature or burst flood-control gates.

The Salton Sea in Southern California was created in 1905 when spring flooding broke down the canal gates leading to the Imperial Valley, causing waters from the Colorado River to rush into a depression in the Colorado Desert.

Today, the Salton Sea area, about 60 miles northeast of San Diego, attracts birdwatchers, hikers and other visitors.

Times reader "tommy750" captured this scene.

Key Ocean Events This Week: Gulf oil spill anniversary & Earth Day 2011

For ocean conservation, this is a week of remembrance, concern, commitment, and hope.

Deepwater Horizon
It was one year ago, this Wednesday, that the Gulf of Mexico was rocked by an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil platform which signaled the start of an agonizingly drawn out event: the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill. Over the course of three months, nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil spewed into the Gulf; killing sealife, invading fragile coastal wetlands, and leaving untold quantities of oil strewned over the bottom of the seafloor. And added to that was the questionable use of massive quantities of dispersants, forming a toxic soup that removed large quantities of oil from visible sight but could very well have done lasting damage to marine ecosystems at the micro level.

One year later, we commemorate this anniversary with caution and concern - and even a measure of guarded optimism. Dr. Carl Safina, who spent a considerable amount of time in the Gulf assessing the initial damage and the potential long-term implications for both the Gulf economy and ecology, said recently, "A lot of questions remain, but where we are now is ahead of where people thought we'd be. Most people expected it would be much worse." As reported in TIME magazine, like the microbes that saved mankind from marauding Martians in The War of the Worlds, oil-eating bacteria played a similar role in the Gulf, consuming vast quantities of oil.

"Scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; University of California, Santa Barbara; and Texas A&M University traveled to the site of the blown well and found that microbes had digested much of the oil and methane that remained in the water," said TIME reporter Bryan Walsh. "By autumn, the levels were back to normal. 'It's very surprising it happened so fast,' John Kessler, an oceanographer with Texas A&M, told me earlier this year. '"It looks like natural systems can handle an event like this somewhat on their own.'"

But not all of the oil is gone and many scientists believe it will take years to fully assess the damage. What impact the dispersed or broken-down oil and trace elements will have on the basic building blocks of the Gulf ecology - the microscopic plankton, the larval fish and other sea creatures, the plantlife, and overall water quality - may not fully present itself for years or even decades.

It may well be that, unlike other areas of the world where major oil spills have occurred, the Gulf of Mexico may have a unique resilience. But it cannot be taken for granted. We must look at the dangerous method of deepwater oil drilling as an indication of the level of our oil addiction and realize that, as with a hardened drug addict, when our addiction-fueled actions become so desperate as to threaten ourselves and the world around us, then we must realize that we are at the edge and must pull back and chart a new and smarter course.

Earth Day 2011
Two days after the Gulf Oil Spill anniversary, comes a reason to celebrate and be optimistic for our future. Earth Day is April 22 and, from its beginnings in 1970, it has grown from a perhaps Woodstock-generation celebration of the planet to a sophisticated event designed to make young and old aware of our connection with the planet and ourselves.

It has grown into a network of individuals and organizations working together, at least for a brief moment each year, to bring greater awareness to environmental issues and to get something accomplished, no matter how small or how grand in scope. And that's where the optimism comes in.

Earth Day does not sugar coat or gloss over the global issues we face just for the sake of holding hands and singing Kumbyah one day out of the year. Through the Earth Day network and website, they work towards mobilizing people, particularly children, to take action. One of its key efforts is the Billion Acts of Green whereby people commit to doing something "green" to protect the planet. One less single-use plastic bag, one less lightbulb left burning, one less tuna or swordfish consumed in a restaurant - all can have a cumulative effect.

While Earth Day is only two days away, there is still time to check out the Earth Day Network website and see what events are taking place in your area or how you can get your local school or other organizations involved through the course of the year.

The leaders of Earth Day know it's just a day. What we do the day after - whether in the Gulf of Mexico or at your local beach - that's what counts for future generations and the planet itself.

Read more about the Gulf recovery. Visit the Earth Day Network.

How about "two nights in a treehouse" ???

Leave it to a luxury resort to redefine "alternate route." To the Post Ranch Inn in California's Big Sur area, a 15-minute helicopter ride is the best way to avoid an hours-long detour. And starting Wednesday, you can book a package that includes the scenic flight.

Since March 16, when a section of Highway 1 collapsed north of Big Sur, about 13 miles south of Carmel, the California Department of Transportation has advised motorists to find different routes into this popular stretch of Central California.

Travelers driving up from Los Angeles and other points south of Big Sur are not affected by the slide. But for motorists arriving from the north, the detour could mean a long ride down various highways, rejoining Highway 1 south of Cambria, or connecting from Highway 101 and winding across Nacimiento-Fergusson Road.

Noting the drop-off in visitors to the ocean-view resort, Mike Freed, Post Ranch Inn general partner, collaborated with a helicopter company to shuttle guests from Monterey Peninsula Airport to a helipad on the Post Ranch property.

The inn's new "Flight to Paradise" package includes free round-trip helicopter transport from the airport to the resort; free airport parking; two nights in a treehouse guest room (it's on stilts, in the treetops); free snacks, beverages and wine; two 60-minute massages; activities such as daily yoga, guided nature hikes and stargazing with the in-house astronomer; and other perks.

"This is the first time we’ve set up a package where the room charge includes a complimentary helicopter round trip," said Freed, who tested the flight in the four-seat aircraft earlier this week. "It was a rare opportunity to see the Big Sur coast...from the ocean point of view."

Prices for the two-night, midweek package begin at $2,170, plus tax and tip. Basically, you get the helicopter trip, valued at about $900, for free. Here's the math: Treehouse rooms begin at $945 a night, or $1,890 for two nights, and massages add $280 for a total of $2,170. Weekend packages are available at a higher price.

The package is available through May 6, when Caltrans is hoping to have cleared the Highway 1 slide area; the road reopening date is tentative.

Info and reservations: Post Ranch Inn, (888) 524-4787.



(Los Angeles Times)

"Grand Canyon of the Pacific"

Waimea Canyon — about 3,500 feet deep, 10 miles long, a mile across and dolled up in enough shades of green, red, orange, yellow, purple and brown to render inadequate every paint swatch at Home Depot — is the type of spectacle Vegas would announce in 100-foot-tall neon.

I'd guess we're about halfway between Waimea's unseen bottom and rainforest-clad top. "It's sooooo beautiful," Terri says of the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. "It's unreal. Bryce, Zion, the Grand Canyon all mushed together in the tropics."

"Heyday of the greeter is gone"

The Southland has had some colorful characters over the years standing on corners just to give a boost to people walking or driving by. But most are gone now.
In this fast-paced, sophisticated and somewhat suspicious age, civic greeters don't seem to be getting much love.

A poet who was Laguna Beach's unofficial greeter for almost three decades died last year. No one has taken his place.

A Long Beach homeless man who waves to motorists from a street corner was out of action for several months after he was hit by a car.

And Rodeo Drive's official greeter was laid off in January, a victim of the weak economy.

"It's too bad," said Hossein Abbasi, proprietor of the Greeter's Corner Restaurant in Laguna Beach. "All the world needs a greeter. The human interaction is missing."

Certainly Laguna Beach is not as small-townish as it was in the 1880s when Old Joe Lucas, a Portuguese fisherman, started his daily ritual of waving to stagecoaches on their way to Santa Ana or El Toro.

He was succeeded in the 1930s by Eiler Larsen, a bearded ex-gardener famed for booming out to passersby, "Hello-ooo, how are you-uuu?"

Larsen, proclaimed the city's official greeter in 1963, once conceded that people "may think I'm crazy, but when a motorist comes to town, tired and weary of the traffic, and smiles when he leaves, does it matter what they think?"

In 1981, a few years after Larsen's death, his cause was taken up by Number One Archer (shown above), a poet who said he was so named because his mother was speechless when she gave birth to twins. (His brother was named Number Two Archer.)

Archer also had a trademark phrase. When asked how he was feeling, he would answer: "I'm perfect — just like you."

Now, Laguna's only greeters stand mute — two statues of Larsen occupy spots beside South Coast Highway.

Whatever happened to Gunther Toody ???

The first season of "Car 54, Where Are You?," one of the funniest sitcoms of the 1960s, is finally out on DVD. In the 1950s, producer-writer-director Nat Hiken scored a huge hit on CBS with "The Phil Silvers Show," a.k.a. "Sgt. Bilko." Two years after "Bilko" left the airwaves in 1959, Hiken was back with "Car 54, Where Are You?," which aired on NBC from 1961 to '63. Hiken even co-wrote the snappy theme song. "Bilko" alum Joe E. Ross played Gunther Toody, a hapless Bronx policeman with a nagging wife, Lucille (Beatrice Pons). Fred Gwynne, also a "Bilko" veteran, was his quiet, girl-shy partner, Francis Muldoon. Their best friend was Officer Leo Schnauser (Al Lewis), who was married to the excitable Sylvia (Charlotte Rae). Gwynne and Lewis would reunite in 1964 for the CBS comedy series "The Munsters."

"ghillie camouflage"

Soldiers wearing ghillie camouflage suits, which simulate heavy foliage, march in a parade near Tehran.

(Vahid Salemi / Associated Press / September 22, 2009 )

BRING PRO FOOTBALL BACK . . .

Even though the labor crisis has the NFL at a standstill, the effort to bring a pro football team back to Los Angeles is moving forward.

AEG, proposing to build an NFL stadium/event center in downtown L.A., has taken another step in that direction by selecting Gensler to design the estimated $1 billion venue, The Times has learned. L.A.-based Gensler was one of three finalists, with the other two being the firms HNTB and HKS.

Wrecking ball for Land's End

A 25-room Long Island mansion that some believe inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald's portrayal of lavish lifestyles in his Jazz Age classic "The Great Gatsby" is being razed, the latest in a long cadence of estates disappearing from what's known as the Gold Coast.

Known as "Land's End" and sitting on a 13-acre lot on Long Island Sound, the 24,000-square foot house is being torn down to accommodate five $10-million custom homes. David Brodsky, who bought the home with his father, Bert, for $17.5 million in 2004, told Newsday that taxes, insurance and maintenance on Land's End became prohibitive — about $4,500 a day — prompting the decision to build anew.

In its glory days, Land's End was said to feature marble, parquet and wide wood-planked floors, Palladian windows and hand-painted wallpaper.

— Associated Press

A Hogarth Engraving

William Hogarth, Marriage A-la-Mode Plate I, 1745. (According to Act of Parliament April 1st, 1745. )

( William Hogarth, The Cartoon Museum / April 17, 2011 )

"Pioneering Photographer"

Contemplation Rock, Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park. The 1872 prints were meant to give a 3-D image when viewed through a albumen stereograph.

( Eadweard Muybridge / SFMOMA )

L A's Philharmonic Auditorium

At the southeast corner of 5th and Olive streets in downtown Los Angeles, there sits an ugly parking lot that looks rather out of place among the historic buildings that form the periphery of Pershing Square. Each day, a steady stream of pedestrians and drivers passes by this urban eyesore, most of them unaware that it used to be the site of one of L.A.'s most prestigious performing arts venues, the Philharmonic Auditorium.

For more than 40 years, the Philharmonic Auditorium served as the home of the L.A. Philharmonic, before the orchestra moved to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in 1964. Largely forgotten today — thanks to a date with the wrecking ball in 1985 — the auditorium has come back to virtual life on HBO, serving as a crucial setting in the miniseries "Mildred Pierce."

In the final episode, which is set in the late 1930s, Mildred (Kate Winslet) attends a concert at the Philharmonic Auditorium given by her daughter, Veda (Evan Rachel Wood), an ascending coloratura soprano. The concert serves as an emotional high point for Mildred, who sits teary-eyed as she channels her lifelong ambitions through her daughter.

Bahamas Shark Sanctuary: the call is out to protect a leading shark locale

Having just recently returned from a video expedition to the northwest banks off of the Bahamas, I was again reminded as to why this region is considered one of the shark capitols of the world. The underwater topography, from white sandy plains to lush reefs to expansive beds of sea grass, lend themselves as hospitable environments for a variety of shark species. Caribbean reef sharks and the occasional tiger shark cruise the reefs. Lemon sharks in large numbers, tiger sharks, and nurse sharks patrol the sandy bottoms. And in deeper water you can find hammerhead and oceanic white tip sharks.

With scuba diving and shark diving being major tourist attractions that support the Bahamas' fragile economy, it is surprising to find that there are no established management policies or regulated safe zones for the protection of the sharks in the Bahamas. These animals are exposed. But that could soon change.

The Bahamas National Trust (BNT), with cooperation from the Pew Charitable Trusts, is beginning a campaign to have a shark sanctuary established in the Bahamas. This would be the first of its kind in the Atlantic Ocean, and that could start the ball rolling much like what is occurring in the Pacific with the Palau Shark Sanctuary and the shark fishing regulations or prohibitions that have sprung up in several Pacific island nations.

But first, you must get the people on your side. With a committed, or least understanding and willing, constituency, you then can generate support and action within the halls of government. The Dorsal Fin blog noted the following two videos produced by the BNT and Pew Trusts. Each delivers basically the same message but with a slightly different angle. The first video is designed to appeal to the human element and to show that even Bahamian children understand the importance of protecting such a vital national natural resource and that what could happen to sharks will impact future generations. The second video shows the sharks themselves, particularly Caribbean reef sharks, and is a bit more informative - although it lacks a clever motif or hook that could perhaps better grab the viewer's attention.

But together they make for a great statement of common sense and concern. The Bahamas is more than a source or sun, sand, and a cool tropical drink (although that ain't bad by itself). No, the Bahamas is also a priceless oceanic treasure that needs an overarching policy of protection for its sharks. Without them, an oceanic gem would suffer in more ways than one.





I'll have some of my recent Bahama footage up soon in future posts, but in the meantime, check out the Bahamas National Trust and Pew Charitable Trusts to learn more about what you can do. It's about time.