Chicago's river dyed green for St.Patrick Day

©Flipped Out

If you're one of the readers of SeaWayBLOG, looking at the picture here above, you may think that I'm going to speak about some environmental issue concerning river chemical pollution but if you're a Chicagoan you already know that this is a completely different (and more pleasant) story...
Two days ago it was St.Patrick Day, the yearly holiday celebrated on 17 March, named after Saint Patrick (AD 387–461), the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland. It began as a purely Catholic holiday and became an official feast day in the early 1600s. However, it has gradually become more of a secular celebration of Ireland's culture.
During their celebrations Chigaoans dye their river green and have done so since 1962 when sewer workers used green dye to check for sewer discharges and had the idea to turn the river green for Saint Patrick's Day. Originally 100 pounds of vegetable dye was used to turn the river green for a whole week but now only forty pounds of dye is used and the colour only lasts for several hours.
Chicago is not the only American city celebrating this way:
Indianapolis also dyes its main canal green. Savannah dyes its downtown city fountains green. In Jamestown, New York, the Chadakoin River (a small tributary that connects Conewango Creek with its source at Chautauqua Lake) is dyed green each year. Columbia, SC dies its fountain green in the area known as Five Points (a popular collegiate location near the University of South Carolina).
The picture above and the two following were taken on this year celebration. Unfortunately weather was dark and gloomy.


©Getty Images via Daylife

©Getty Images via Daylife

The following pictures instead were taken in previous editions and the sun makes them really spectacular:


©multisanti

©multisanti

©jshueh

©jshueh

©multisanti

©yuan2003

Water Sculptures

©Alexandra Zaharova & Ilya Plotnikov

A nice little set of "liquid sculptures": flowers and a star created with water splashes.
The authors are Alexandra Zaharova & Ilya Plotnikov, a russian couple of advertising and fashion photographers. You can check their portfolio in their website: DOBERMANSTUDIO.RU


©Alexandra Zaharova & Ilya Plotnikov

©Alexandra Zaharova & Ilya Plotnikov

©Alexandra Zaharova & Ilya Plotnikov

©Alexandra Zaharova & Ilya Plotnikov

The Cove

Photograph courtesy Brooke McDonald, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society via AP

First of all: the picture above has not been altered in any way, what yyou see is blood, dolphin's blood
Probably you've already had listened something about the documentary "The Cove" especially now that it has won the Academy Award, if it's not the case you really should inquire about it.
The Cove is a 2009 American documentary film that describes the annual killing of dolphins in a National Park at Taiji, Wakayama, in Japan from an anti-dolphin hunting campaigner's point of view. The film highlights that the number of dolphins killed is several times greater than the number of whales killed in the Antarctic, and claims that 23,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed in Japan every year. The migrating dolphins are herded into a hidden cove where they are netted and killed by means of spears and knives over the side of small fishing boats, a particularly horrible (at least from my point of view) way of fishing called "Dolphin drive hunting". I had already spoken about this kind of fishing in the post entitled "The sea became bloody red.. the horrible bloodshed of the pilot whales in the Fær Øer islands." about the pilot whales slauthering that occurs each year in the Fær Øer islands.
The film was directed by former National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos. Among the challenges faced by the production team were the tight security and inaccessibility of the cove therefore portions were filmed secretly during 2007 using underwater microphones and high-definition cameras disguised as rocks.

The documentary won, amongst many other prizes the U.S. Audience Award at the 25th annual Sundance Film Festival in January 2009. On March 7, 2010 The Cove won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Film at the 82nd Academy Awards.

The movie follows former dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry's quest to document the dolphin hunting operations in Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. In the 1960s, O'Barry captured and trained the five wild dolphins who would play the role of "Flipper" in the hit television series of the same name. This pop-culture phenomenon fueled widespread public adoration of dolphins. It was when one of the dolphins committed a form of suicide in his arms, closing her blowhole voluntarily in order to suffocate, that O'Barry came to see it as a curse not a blessing. Days later, he found himself off the island of Bimini, attempting to cut a hole in the sea pen in order to set free a captured dolphin. Since then O'Barry has worked tirelessly as an advocate on behalf of dolphins around the world.

After meeting with O'Barry, Psihoyos and his crew travel to the small town of Taiji, a town that appears to be devoted to the wonder of the dolphins and whales that swim off their coast. But in an isolated cove, surrounded by wire and "Keep Out" signs, some of the townspeople hide a stark reality. It is here that the fisherman of Taiji, driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and a dubious and artificial market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, engage in the unseen killing. Local volunteers physically block attempts by outsiders to view the dolphin killing taking place in the cove. Together with the Oceanic Preservation Society, Psihoyos, O'Barry, and the crew utilizes special tactics and embark on a mission to get the truth on what is really going on in the cove and why it matters to everyone else in the world.



For further info you can:

• Visit the official website of the movie: THECOVEMOVIE.COM
• Read an interesting article from National Geographic about the consequencies of The Cove movie winning the 2010 Oscar.
• View the official HD Trailer of the movie:
• View a new video about the dolphin slaughter in Taiji:

Gone fishing to spice up your dinner table

One of those cool design ideas I like so much: aach piece in this stainless steel cutlery set is whimsically fish-shaped, right down to tail, fins, mouth, and eyes.
The playfulness of this pattern will reel you in hook, line, and sinker. Not surprisingly, Gone Fishin' claims a place in Yamazaki's Museum Collection... and there's everything: Teaspoon, Salad Fork, Soup Spoon, Dinner Fork, Dinner Knife, Appetizer fork, Teaspoon, Salad Serving Set..and so on

Here you can buy them
and if you like this kind of thingd there's a nice collection of Creative and Unusual Cutlery Designs on Toxel.

Shark Watching is not for the faint of heart

(©emmevi via corriere.it)

As a photographer I've always found pretty intriguing the idea of dipping inside a cage to take pictures of sharks. Looking at these pictures taken in Guadeloupe with a white shark I feel even more intrigued.. It's for sure a strong experience


(©emmevi via corriere.it)

(©emmevi via corriere.it)

(©emmevi via corriere.it)

(©emmevi via corriere.it)

The church that resurfaced

The image of a church emerging from the water just with the bell tower is quite distinguishing indeed, but it's not so rare, there are at least half a dozen example in the world (and a wonderful one, I've already spoken about, is in Italy) and the story behind it's more or less always the same: a dam built for hydroelectric purposes causing an entire village to be submerged. The bell tower, which often is the highest spot of a village remains as a picturesque recall (of economic interests overwhelming people's interests).


©Reuters

This time however, even if the first part of the story is just the same, there is an unexpected (and somehow worrying) turn in the plot. The church has resurfaced!
It's in Venezuela and the cause is a severe drought which is hitting the nation, exposing a church, pictured in 2008 (left) and on February 21, 2010.


©Reuters

The 82-foot-tall (25-meter-tall) church and the Andean town of Potosi were flooded in 1985 to establish the Uribante-Caparo water reservoir to power the plant, which is currently operating at just 7 percent of its capacity.

©Reuters

The church is now an ominous symbol of energy shortages in the country, which gets around 68 percent of its power from hydroelectricity. The droughts spurred Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to declare an energy emergency in February.

©Reuters

In a little over a year, the Venezuelan church went from almost fully submerged to bone dry.

The drought that caused the rapid decline has been linked to El Niño, a climate phenomenon that occurs every two to seven years and changes worldwide weather patterns. During an El Niño event—such as the current one, which began in summer 2009—the Pacific Ocean warms up near equatorial South America and disrupts large-scale atmospheric circulation.

©Reuters

©Reuters

©Reuters

©Reuter

©Reuters

©Reuters

©Reuters

©Reuters

©Reuters

©Reuters