Ooooh

[karohemd]

Looks like wonderful pictures of oceans and the life in them on BBC2 now.

Ah, it's by one of Jacques Cousteau's grandsons, continuing his grandfather's work. I remember being glued to the TV screen whenever one of his programmes was on. Parts of it was the fascination of the world underneath the surface so few of us ever get to see and parts was that there was always a glimpse behind the scenes. He was also one of the few to point out how important the health of the oceans and its wildlife is to the health of the planet (and therefore, mankind) as a whole and this was in the 70s. His wildlife programmes along with those of the German classics Gzimek and Sielmann were my main nature fodder in the 70s. In the 80s they were replaced by Arendt&Schweiger and of course David Attenborough (who I don't recall having seen earlier than the early/mid 80s on German TV). Watching nature programmes was very important on early Saturday evenings so dinner had to be finished and eaten before 7, when there was (and still is) a fixed spot on the third channel so dad and I could watch (we weren't allowed to watch TV while having dinner when I was young, a rule that was relaxed later on).

Great Cthulhu!

Sea pens. *blinks* how obscure!

Comments

[ginasketch.livejournal.com]

Oh good. I need something like this at the moment to help me unwind. I'm in such a horrible mood.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

we weren't allowed to have dinner while eating when I was young

I don't believe you!

[ginasketch.livejournal.com]

heh. I completely missed that.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Seriously. I guess it's one of those cultural differences.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

I think... you should reread your sentence!

[ginasketch.livejournal.com]

You meant to say "weren't allowed to watch tv while eating", right?

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

yes indeed. Good thing I didn't go to work today...

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Gah, and I missed it, too. :/

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

He was also one of the few to point out how important the health of the oceans and its wildlife is to the health of the planet

Pity that 40 years on it's still such an uphill struggle to do anything about it. From destroyed food-fish stocks to dying coral reefs to rampant algae blooms, the health of the oceans has taken such a beating over the past few decades. Cousteau's oceans, with pollution the main concern, seem like an unimaginable dream of health compared to now.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Indeed. Then again, visionaries rarely are heard, only realised years after. :o(

[mr-malk.livejournal.com]

Was the Oceans thing any good? A.A. Gill said it was a load of old shit, and that Cousteau's grandson was a vacuous beach bum with the critical depth of a gap year student (paraphrased, but close) in his preview of it earlier this week, but then he was in a bad mood at the time, and had just been ranting about John Sergeant.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

It was OK, it had some pretty and rare pictures (like the sea dragon and the above mentioned sea pens). They documented the sorry state of the southern seas in places but seemed to concentrate on the pretties. They spent a lot of time searching, something they obviously always do but is cut more drastically in the actual programmes.

[dreamsewing.livejournal.com]

I remember reading a rather cool article in mebbe Scientific American ? about how Jacques' sons and grandsons have altered ( they did not want to say mutated or evolved) bone marrow, bone density, muscle adhesion and how they anchor into thier bones, and muscle/fat ratios due to them spending most of their lives in the water. A couple more generations and they will have bred a whole family able to live entirely in space :)

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Heh, I thought you were going to say "...generations and they will have grown gills and webs between their fingers and toes". Also, that would make sense, while the space thing doesn't.