Boat bums and pulpits

Recently Captain was heard to suggest it possibly wouldn’t be that difficult to change TC’s name back to its previous, and much nicer name, Ebb Tide. Hmmm ...

Poor old Captain: snapped while trying to eat his lunch!

Bookshelf (Soapbox?)

One of Matey’s fabulous friends recently mentioned she missed Matey’s book recommendations. Matey also misses these chats with like minds so here are a couple of books she’s read recently and recommends highly. Enjoy.

Collapse by Jared Diamond (author of the brilliant Guns, Germs and Steel, also highly recommended).

Although this is a few years old now it can only become more relevant as we continue to fail to heed the warnings of science. Quite accessible and should be required reading, IMHO.

Seasick by Alanna Mitchell.

This is not about that problem the Matey has when the going gets rough but something much bigger. Being anthropocentric and land-based, traditionally we have failed to see the ocean as the basis of all life. Due to the complexity of the science involved we have not understood its importance and are still working this out. (Living afloat on the ocean does help in viewing it somewhat differently though!) This book translates scientific concepts from a range of fields into an interesting and accessible read. Sadly though the prognosis is not good — again, we need to change our ways.

And, while on the theme of extracting heads from sand, The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery is something everyone should read, if you haven’t already, IMHO. (NB, officially the ‘hottest summer on record’ has just occurred. Has anyone else noticed a lot of records being broken lately?)

Everything I have ever read by Tim Flannery has been informative and a delight to read, though the content can at times be somewhat depressing. He has the great and rare skill of being able to translate the complex information in his extraordinary brain into accessible language.