Underwater Texture, Abstract art.

This picture was taken during a dive on the well known “USAT Liberty Wreck” in Tulamben,Bali

Tenerife has something to offer every diver.  It has drop offs, reefs, deep diving, shallow diving, marine life, wrecks and caverns.

Being very accessible from all destinations in Europe and America, it is a sub-tropical haven for new divers and experienced divers alike.

Dive 24-7 is Tenerife’s premier diving centre as they can offer all aspects of diver training and charter.  If you wish to try a dive, you will be under instructor tuition in a shallow secluded area.  You can complete the full range of recreational courses and specialities. If you wish to become an instructor, a trimix diver or a rebreather diver,  we can offer you the whole diver education package.

Finalmente un Oscar per una delle poche rappresentanti della Hollywood dei tempi d’oro ancora vivente (oggi ha 85 anni).

La Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences quest’anno ha deciso di fare uno strappo alla regola, e ha consegnato la prestigiosa statuetta alla carriera prima della sfarzosa cerimonia televisiva, in programma il 7 marzo, a uno dei volti più belli che il grande schermo ci abbia offerto, dalla presenza carismatica e dal fascino inconfondibile, regina dei film noir anni quaranta.

Betty Joan Weinstein Perske (così si chiamava in realtà, madre rumena e padre polacco) inizialmente è ballerina, fotomodella di Harper’s Bazar e indossatrice, studia all’American Academy of Dramatic Arts di New York, per venire poi scoperta da Howard Hawks che la fece esordire nel cinema, in Acque del Sud. Sul set conobbe il grande amore della sua vita, Humphrey Bogart (più grande di lei di vent’anni) a cui rimarrà fedele fino alla morte (1957) e dal quale ebbe due figli.

Soprannominata giustamente The Look (lo sguardo), seducente e sensuale, Lauren Bacall è stata protagonista di celebri film, meno numerosi però di quanto avrebbe potuto: del resto ebbe a dichiarare “Un giorno incontrai Mister Bogart. Senza di lui avrei potuto fare più carriera, ma io ho preferito Mr. Bogart”.

Nel 1979 ha pubblicato la sua autobiografia, tradotta anche in lingua italiana, Io, Lauren Bacall.

filmografia

p.s.

Dopo Acque del sud, Bogart & Bacall girano insieme anche La fuga (Delmer Daves, 1947) e L’isola di corallo (John Huston, 1948), ma il loro capolavoro è senz’altro il celebre Il Grande sonno (Howard Hawks, 1945).

It was time to get to the next main island. Not even considering a ferry ride now, I flew out of Coron on another one of those small propeller planes. The view was stunning as usual.

It was my last propeller plane ride of the trip.

My next stop was Moalboal in Cebu. The most interesting thing that happened was that I had tropical fruit pancakes for breakfast. I kid you not. Aside from the pancake place (very aptly called Last Filling Station), there wasn’t good food to be had in walking distance.

The diving was boring, as I had a mediocre dive guide who couldn’t even take care of himself let alone me. He didn’t point out anything at all. Once he saw a whaleshark but didn’t even bother to signal me and upon surfacing asked me whether I saw it. (Obviously not.) When I spotted what looked like a blue-ring octopus (neon blue pulsing rings anyone?) he told me it was a fish.

Thomas is over from the UK visiting his sister  and couldn’t resist the opportunity to dive the Rainbow Warrior while in the Bay of Islands.

Good luck with the studies back home Thomas & have a good christmas

«Era una giornata afosissima. Stavamo morendo di caldo men­tre aspettavamo l’apparizione della diva. Qualcuno comincia­va a insinuare che Theda si fos­se liquefatta con il bistrò che le impastava le ciglia. Si aprì una porta e ap­parve ai nostri occhi la regina delle sirene bardata di pellicce fino ai denti. “Miss Bara — disse l’agente con una voce da im­bonitore da circo — è nata all’ombra della Sfinge. Laggiù fa molto, molto caldo e lei qui ha freddo». Theda Bara fu la prima vamp ufficiale del cinema americano. Solo quindici anni prima, nel 1903, una figura di donna piccolina e bionda si era mossa su uno schermo tremolante. Si ve­deva appena: la pellicola era breve e con­fusa. Il suo nome Mae Murray, la prima attrice cinematografica del mondo. Pochi anni dopo gli schermi erano pieni di don­ne che sbarravano gli occhi paurosamen­te o che si aggrappavano con lunghe dita tremanti ai tendaggi. Di Theda Bara si raccontava fosse nata in pieno deserto sahariano dagli amori di un ufficiale francese con una donna ara­ba, dalla quale Theda avrebbe ereditato poteri magici. Il suo nome era un ana­gramma di Arab Death, morte araba. Le immagini tratte da un suo film Sin (Peccato), la ritraggono fasciata fino ai piedi da un abito scuro con gli occhi cu­pi rivolti fissi verso lo spettatore, mentre le braccia erette reggevano un’incredibile selva di capelli neri che ricadevano sulle spalle bianche, quasi fino alla cintola. Theda diventerà famosissima girando film come Cleopatra, La donna tigre, Salomè, Saffo eterna. In realtà si chiamava Theodosia Goodman ed era na­ta nell’Ohio.

«Ho fatto un calcolo — disse nel ‘12 una bambina di so­li tredici anni — mi rimangono solo sette anni per di­ventare famosa, poi sarò troppo vecchia. Ho una famiglia da mantenere e se non sfondo entro ottobre mi ritiro». E così il suo ultimo nichelino se ne andò per potersi presentare a uno dei più famosi produttori cinematografici di Hollywood. La bambina si chiamava Gladys Smith, e con il nome di Mary Pickford sarebbe di­ventata una delle più famose attrici del cinema muto. Per il pubblico americano era Our Mary (la nostra Mary). Anche quando si sposò con Douglas Fairbanks (famoso da noi per aver dato volto a Zorro), fu sempre costretta ad apparire in pubblico vestita da marinaretta. Negli an­ni del sonoro aveva trent’anni. Si ritirò ma con lei era nato lo star system.

Ma le prime attrici del muto non era­no così famose, e la figura della Diva nasce più tardi quando si sviluppa una feroce rivalità tra case cinematografiche. All’inizio l’associazione diva-donna fata­le non è automatica e la figura della fem­me fatale nascerà proprio in Italia dove le prime divine fisicamente erano morbide e  rotonde. I loro amanti invece erano magri, con gli occhi sprofondati nelle orbite o per meglio dire nel “gorgo della lussuria”. In seguito con Lidia Borelli e Francesca Bertini, la diva italia­na dimagrisce. Anche se l’immagine del­la donna lentamente cambia accanto a lei vi è sempre un uomo bruno, con bella dentatura, baffi nerissimi, volto magro e naso prominente.

Le trame dei film erano abbastanza scontate; se la grande amatrice assisteva a una parata militare un tenente dei lan­cieri, trafitto, cadeva da cavallo. Se visita­va una mostra di quadri un pittore capel­luto si inginocchiava davanti al­l’Ispirazione finalmente trovata. La di­dascalia recitava: «E l’amore divampò». Quando la fatalissima si stancava di un amante e decideva di liquidarlo, l’uomo di turno fremeva e sul telone bianco si leg­gevano dialoghi di questo tipo:

«Elena, Elena! Non mi ami più? Sei sazia di me, Elena?» — e lei — «Sì. Vattene!». Lui: «Barbara! Maledetta! Chi è il tuo nuovo amante?». Lei: «Signore vi disprezzo!». Lui: «Pietà, Elena! Pietà! Ho abbandonato mia moglie per te! Io ti bramo!». La didascalia informava che: «Tutto il passato risorge in lui». E sullo schermo risorgevano la moglie, i figli, la vecchia madre, e lo zio monsignore. Poi il duello, la morte e il riso schernitore della fatalissima. Il pubblico mitragliato da punti esclamativi, soffriva.

Nel ‘15 negli Stati Uniti arriva una ragazza europea bionda e rotonda. Ha un’aria goffa e si veste malissimo. Il suo nome era Greta Gustafsson. Viene messa a dieta: diventerà Greta Garbo. Il pubblico la vedrà quasi sempre recitare in camere da letto con baldacchini, lenzuola di seta, specchio sopra il letto, tendine svolazzanti anch’esse di seta.

Uscita dall’al­cova del set, la Garbo si sfilava in fretta i vestiti di scena (come quello costruito per Mata Hari costato 10.000 dollari e al quale avevano lavorato operaie per due mesi) e indossava una vecchia gonna e un maglione accollato, con un sospiro di sollievo. Sarà una delle poche attrici che sopravvivrà al sonoro.

Al suo pri­mo film sonoro i giornali annunciaro­no: «La Garbo parla». Le sue prime parole furono: «Dammi un whisky. Ginger ale a parte, e non fare il tir­chio, bimbo». La sua voce profonda e roca fu un successo. In occasione del suo primo film comico il nuovo slogan fu: «La Garbo ride». E la Garbo, per la prima volta, rise. Dopo il suo ritiro passava ore a ri­vedere i suoi film commentando­li ad alta voce e parlando di sé stessa in terza persona. «Guar­datela come si muove. Che as­surda pettinatura ha. Eccola, ora dirà così, farà questo».

Anche Marlene Dietrich è una ragazzina europea, grassoccia e affamata, che pensava a un marito come alla sistemazione più augurabile: «Non mi dispiacereb­be se possedesse una fattoria così che potessimo vivere in campagna ad allevare anatre, polli e maiali e non avere preoccupazioni». Diventa famosa con il film L’angelo azzurro, dove piantata a gambe di­varicate di fronte al pubblico, oppure seduta con le gambe accavallate, in­guainata nel pagliaccetto e nelle calze nere sorrette dalle famose giarrettiere, seduce l’anziano professore Unrath cantando con voce roca: «Io sono fatta per l’amore». Si racconta che per assu­mere quello sguardo intenso che la rese famosa il regista le dicesse: «Conta fino a sei e poi fissa l’obiettivo come se fosse l’unica cosa al mondo che desideri».

Marlene e Greta per gli statunitensi rimar­ranno sempre delle estranee, e non solo per il loro accento: sono scandalose. Greta non si sposa e Marlene è troppo ele­gante e spregiudicata.

All’avvento del sonoro l’aria intorno agli stabilimenti di Hollywood si fece pesante. Lunghe file di autocarri portavano le nuo­ve installazioni parlanti. Molte dive spa­rirono per insufficienza di voce. I produt­tori invece intravvidero nuove possibilità. Si aprì una nuova corsa alla ricerca di nuovi tipi a cui dare voce e presenza.

Ma la morte del cinema muto non portò via con sé la memoria delle vecchie dive, e a molti anni dalla loro scomparsa, rac­contano due giornalisti americani, a Hollywood: «Per cinque dollari si poteva comprare un piccolo scrigno di legno di sandalo che conteneva l’orlo di un’unghia di Mae West o una calza di Marlene Dietrich in una busta di cuoio, o ancora per soli quindici dollari un dente del giu­dizio di Greta Garbo. Queste erano vere e proprie reliquie. Non osavamo chiede­re i certificati di autenticazione: si tratta­va di documenti offerti alla fede, non alla critica».

]]> http://nickisnook.net/2009/11/15/mom-to-the-college-kid/ Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:19:41 +0000 Nicki http://nickisnook.net/2009/11/15/mom-to-the-college-kid/ http://cheapincense.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/an-unforgettable-story-about-bali-diving/ Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:09:33 +0000 incense91 http://cheapincense.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/an-unforgettable-story-about-bali-diving/

Author:
Source: articledashboard.com

In 1982 I worked as an English speaking, morning star incense
, tour guide, but during my free time I learned Italian language by my own method autodidact using English – Italian; Italian – English dictionary and grammar book.. I spent about 2 hours a day to learn it, sometime early in morning, in the afternoon and sometime late at, morning star incense
, night. I succeeded to keep in my mind 2 words a day but I found much difficulty in learning the grammar because it is very different with my mother language Balinese and Indonesian, but I insisted to meet with success. Day by day, week by week and month by month, and ….. finally I got it.

In October 1982 one, morning star incense
, of my friend who run a, morning star incense
, travel agent in Bali asked me to handle his clients, they were Italian and speak a little English. That was my first time to practice my Italian tongue. When I met them at Bali International Airport, the first question I must answer was “where is the best place to dive”. With honesty actually I didn’t know the answer, but I promised them for the good news the day after.

I visited my friend’s house and meet Bli Monyoh, a fisherman live in Sanur the village on the southeast coast of Bali. I knew he was a good fisherman and very smart in shooting fish, diving with his own talent using very simple dive equipment.

We talked about diving places and he told me that in order to discover most enjoyable dive, must visit 2 o 3 different places of the fascinating underwater world among the coral reefs. Mr. Bli Monyoh looked, morning star incense
, at his Balinese calendar to see a good day to go to, morning star incense
, the sea. My clients, morning star incense
, were crazy about dive.

The first day he brought us to Semawang at Sanur by his outrigger sail boat. Located in front of Sanur Tourist Beach. Dives at a few meters depth was rewarded, morning star incense
, by beautiful underwater panoramas, table and trophy shaped coral and sponges, a thousand of colorful fishes swim by in kaleidoscopic profusions. I am not a swimmer or a diver, I just sit on the boat and prepared the needs when they go up. Was a wonderful day.

The second day Bli Monyoh brought his companion a smart diver named Agung Toya, together with them some gun (exactly, morning star incense
, an arrow) unwound by a strong rubber band made of tire. Before living Sanur, Bli Monyoh laid an offering and perfumed incense in front of a temple and prayed to God. Along the road about one and a half our drive, he stopped several times for praying where there are temples for God’s blessing, safety and luck. Even before touching the water he did so.

When we arrived at Buitan was a very traditional fishing village, located at the district of Manggis Karangasem eastern Bali near Candidasa, I was amazed by the beauty of the nature, a spectacular panorama or the terraces ricefield, rural ambience and the Majestic Mount Agung at the far back, for Bali it is the place of the Supreme God “The Navel of the World”. The sea was, morning star incense
, magnificent, clear blue water, remained untouched by modern influences, seduce everyone especially beach and dive lovers. Now Buitan boast a luxury 5 stars hotel and some small accommodations in Balinese style, morning star incense
, bungalow.

When we were preparing everything for dive a cordial local man came close to us and gave his own wooden boat used for free in the hope of us catching a lot of fish. We sailed at 09.00 a.m in calm sea. About 50 m from the beach we arrived on the coral, morning star incense
, reef where the wave breaks itself. Under very good weather we could see a wonderful underwater world among the coral reefs.

My Italian clients brought their own dive equipments because, morning star incense
, they were the holder of PADI license. While the native divers used their own talent. Wow, wow, wow, what a great day, we fished a lot (only selected fish), one thing surprised me that Bli Monyoh got 4 king lobsters. At 11.00 a.m. we finished our adventure and the, morning star incense
, local man was waiting us on the beach ready with his woods fire, chili, onions, garlic, salt and coconut oil. We grilled our fish in relax atmosphere on the beach with nice breeze of the ocean, than enjoyed, morning star incense
, a delicious gala lunch in cowboy style. Wow amazing, we really celebrated and enjoyed a great day.

Now in Bali there are some exciting and fascinating, world renowned dive sites: Nusa Dua, Sanur, Padang Bay, Gili Tapekong, Tulamben, Amed, Nusa Penida and Lembongan and Menjangan Island.

So if you are a sea and dive lover why don’t you choose Bali for your next destination,, morning star incense
, this enchanting island is waiting for you with its fascinating underwater world. Plan your travel and book your preferred hotel or contact your travel agent. The quickest and the easiest way is, go online and choose Bali Dive. One of the most reliable dive center on the island now is Ena Dive Center (www.enadive.co.id).

Pep & Sinead on the bow of the Rainbow Warrior

Pep & Sinead are out on holiday from Ireland and had read and heard all about the Rainbow Warrior, so whilst over here they “just had to dive” the old girl.

Paul is over from Canada on a quick visit and managed to get a quick dive in before returning home.

De nos jours l’investissement d’une somme d’argent importante pour le développement d’un site web n’est pas forcément facile pour tout le monde, surtout dans le cadre de l’ouverture d’une entreprise ou pour un particulier désirant se lancer dans une activité secondaire.

C’est pour cela que Core-IT propose des créations de site web à partir de 160.- (CHF).
Ce prix inclus une maquette simple ainsi que le site web et le nom de domaine préalablement choisi avec le client.

L’hébergement du site est facturé par l’hébergeur. Les tarifs peuvent varier selon les services mis à disposition par les hébergeurs.

Le délai de mis en ligne est de 48 heures environ.

Nous proposons aussi le Référencement de site à partir de 50.-, de plus nous pouvons vous inscrire sur différent annuaires du web affin d’améliorer la fréquentation de votre site web.

Nous Produisons aussi des bannières publicitaires animées à partir de 50.-

Disponible aussi pour les utilisateurs de WordPress.

Exemple:

There’s no Arsenal news today. So this will be a very very short one and it’s only a hint of Arsenal related stuff. A toast for my shortest ever posting.

First, Yaya Toure’s agent wins my Hero Of The Day award for his wonderful response to Man City’s pursue of the unsettled Barcelona midfielder. Dmitri Seluk said this.

If he leaves Barca, he will not go to Manchester City where, according to his brother Kolo, he would be welcomed with open arms. He would sign for a more important club.

You can have all the money in the world but some players you just can’t buy. Dmitri and to a certain extent Yaya still retains some of the decency compared to many who do not blink when silly money is thrown at them. He went further to say that those more important clubs includes 8 and if Arsenal is one of them, I would welcome back another Toure in the club.

At the other end of the spectrum. Bruno Satin who represents David Ngog had this to say.

He wouldn’t try and con the ref. Maybe he fell down because he was worried about being injured. Sometimes there are challenges that can assassinate you. A defender could get five matches for throwing his shirt and the player who broke the leg of Eduardo only had a three-game suspension

Now, I don’t know about you but the many angles of replays that I’ve seen, it was never a penalty. No touch no tackle no foul. The plea of self-defense is absurd. He could easily have kept going without falling down and I’m pretty that even if he was tackled, the impact would have been minimal that no injury would occur. Rest assured Bruno, Carsley isin’t going to kill your pot of gold.

That’s it for today folks. It’s been a pleasure bringing to you the life of football agents.

The Liverpool player N’gog is a cheat and an actor worthy of nomination for this year’s Oscar for Best Simulation on A Soccer Field. His dive extraordinaire, earning his team a converted penalty in Liverpool’s Monday night Premier League match up against Birmingham City, will stick in the memory of opposing fans like superglue on a toilet seat. Like celebrities heading for liposuction, many are calling for soccer to suck out the simulation that is killing the heart of the game.

Why do people like N’gog play soccer when he would have been better off around a diving board or taking acting lessons at the local dramatic society? OK, he wants his team to win but like that? It’s not going to do Liverpool any favors. Watch the next legitimate penalty claim from Liverpool being turned down by a nervous referee keen to avoid the humiliation inflicted upon their colleague by the phony N’gog. Cheating comes at a price.

Diving practice has always had a following in soccer but today it is reaching religious levels as the hubris of some players run amok. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, blessed by God as his divine soccer son, is nailed to the flopper’s cross. With pout and glower on his immaculate face, he converts dives into penalties and free kicks, from whence he scores. Millions follow and worship him. As everyone knows, Maradona thanked God for his diabolical handball goal in the Mexico World Cup in 1986. He was supreme enough to blame the hapless English goalkeeper Shilton for coming off his line. Far from being crucified as a cheat, El Diego was carried to the Temple of the Gods.

So cheating –  is it OK to get away with it?

There isn’t anything to blog about. Well, technically, sure, there is. But there’s nothing I feel, I don’t know, somehow pushed to write about. Usually there’s something that picks at my mind – pick me, pick me – and that’s what I write about. But it seems like I’ve lost a connection or something. Things aren’t hooking up.

But all day today two poems have been circling around in my mind, the stanzas floating in and out. They have nothing to do with each other. They were written hundreds of years apart. One was by an alcoholic guy, the other by a lesbian. But they are both so powerful and worth sharing.

The first you’ve probably – I hope – heard of.

Here goes:

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee.
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea.
But we loved with a love that was more than love -
I and my Annabel Lee.
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud,
Chilling my beautiful Annabel Lee.
So that her highborn kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me.
Yes, that was the reason (as all men know)
In this kingdom by the sea
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we,
Of many far wiser than we,
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life, and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea…

It’s “Annabel Lee,” by Poe. Wonderous. I guess you can write fantastic love poems even if you marry your 13-year-old cousin. Oh, and a “sepulchre” is a tomb, by the way. So there’s one.

And here’s the other. It’s by Andrea Gibson, who, I swear to God, is one of the most powerful poets still living. She is amazing, especially live. YouTube her reading “Blue Blanket.” It haunts me every time I watch. That one is my favourite, but this is the one I can’t get out of my head today. It’s called “Dive.”

i often repeat myself.
and the second time’s a lie
i love you, i love you
see what i mean? i don’t
…and i do
and i’m not talking about a girl i might be kissing on
i’m talking about this world i’m blissing on
and hating
at the exact same time
see, life doesn’t rhyme.

it’s bullets and wind chimes
it’s lynchings and birthday parties
it’s the rope that ties the noose
and the rope that hangs the backyard swing
it’s a boy about to take his life
and with the knife to his wrist
he’s thinking of only two things:
his father’s fist and his mother’s kiss
and he can’t stop crying.

it’s wanting tonight to speak
the most honest poem i’ve ever spoken in my life,
not knowing if that poem should bring you closer
to living or dying, drowning or flying
cause life doesn’t rhyme.

last night i prayed myself to sleep,
woke this morning
to find god’s obituary scrolled in tears on my sheets
then walked outside to hear my neighbor
erasing ten thousand years of hard labor
with a single note of his violin
and the sound of the traffic rang like a hymn
as the holiest leaf of autumn fell from a plastic tree limb,
beautiful and ugly
like right now, i’m needing nothing more than for you to hug me
and if you do, i’m gonna scream like a caged bird
see, life doesn’t rhyme

sometimes love is a vulgar word
sometimes hate calls itself peace on the nightly news
i’ve heard saints preaching truths
that would have burned me at the stake
i’ve heard poets tellin lies that made me believe in heaven
sometimes i imagine hitler at seven years old
a paint brush in his hand at school
thinking, “What color should i paint my soul?”
sometimes i remember myself
with track marks on my tongue
from shooting up convictions
that would have hung innocent men from trees
have you ever seen a mother falling to her knees
the day her son dies in a war she voted for?
can you imagine how many gay teenage lives were saved
the day matthew shepherd died?
could there have been anything louder
than the noise inside his father’s head
when he begged the jury:
please don’t take the lives of the men
who turned my son’s skull to powder,
and i know nothing would make my family prouder
than giving up everything i believe in,
still nothing keeps me believing
like the sound of my mother breathing.

life doesn’t rhyme.
it’s tasting your rapist’s breath
on the neck of a woman who loves you more
than anyone has loved you before,
then feeling holy as jesus
beneath the hands of a one night stand
who’s calling somebody else’s name.
it’s you never feelin more greedy
than when you’re handing out dollars to the needy
it’s my not eating meat for the last seven years
then seeing the kindest eyes i’ve ever seen in my life
on the face of a man with a branding iron in his hand
and a beat down baby calf wailing at his feet.
it’s choking on your beliefs.
it’s your worst sin saving your fucking life.
it’s the devil’s knife carving holes into you soul
so angels will have a place to make their way inside.
life doesn’t rhyme.

still.
life is poetry, not math
all the world’s a stage
but the stage is a meditation mat
you tilt your head back, you breathe
when your heart is broken, you plant seeds in the cracks
and you pray for rain.
and you teach your sons and daughters
there are sharks in the water
but the only way to survive
is to breathe deep
and dive

Good shit, no?

So, not surprisingly, here’s some AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: What is one of your favourite poems? Leave it in the comment, if you can, with your favourite parts bolded.

Cheers,
Cat

What a shame, we cannot beat even Birmingham, and the worst part is that N’Gogg who I respected so much, dives.We dont need another Ronaldo or Drogba. This was a shame! What is going on at LFC!

Dive Location: Casino Point, Avalon, Catalina Island, California, USA

Original Dive Date: October 18, 2009

Honestly, nothing exciting really happened on this dive…..This was the dive that almost ended my scuba life (and real life, until you read the next dive I am about to log)

While my buddy and I decended the 50 base feet we were supposed to go, I will no longer trust him iwth the depth gages since he doesnt look at them and uses his EARS as a gage! I could not equalize….So slowly I started going up only to look down int the water and see my budy’s fins, kicking through the kelp.  SCREAMING for him to come back and banging on anything that made noise, it took him a good three min to realize I am gone!  After he came back and I equalized, we went down and started our dive.

Blah Blah Blah, saw the same fishes that are always there, yadda yadda yadda…..Chris thought it was a good idea to teach me the skills on my new BC without warning me.  Now in the long run, I understand that this was smart on his part to force me to do this since I need to know what to do if something were to come loose or break underwater….BUT NOT WHEN I AM ALREADY TICKED AT HIM FOR DITCHING ME!  HE would continuously unbuckle my BC in random spots, and when I got them back together, he would do it again!!!  FREAKING ANNOYING!  I told him to stop under water, but he didnt, so I got pissed.  (Ironically one of the only photos that came out that weekend was me underwater giving him the thumbs down to tell him to stop it!)

But the good thing was this dive my reg worked, so it wasnt all a bust.  I still hate Chris.

Type: Recreation   Bottom Time: 35 min Safety Stop Time: 5 min Duration: 00:40:00   Maximum Depth: 75 ft Avgerage Depth: 70 ft Start Pressure: 2,400.0 psi End Pressure: 500.0 psi

Entry: Stairs   Sea: Calm Weather: Fog Current: Mild   Depth Temp: 70.0 °F Air Temp: 70.0 °F Visibility: 30 ft

Dive Location: Casino Point, Avalon, Catalina Island, California, USA

Original Dive Date: October 17, 2009

Sooooo I might have screwed up and saved the deepest dive for last this day!….oops….But I wasnt leading so whatever! 

Doofus forgot how to put on a BC apparently so I sat at the bottom of the ocean for a few moments while he adjusted his equiptment.

Afther that, it was a great dive, we saw fishes….Chris was trying to walk on water and while I heroically saved his foot from the squorpion fish (YOU ARE WELCOME!) (ok so I didnt want chris to step on the little guy who was calmly hanging out in his home) I got yelled at for trying to shake the fin of the fish whose life I saved that moment. 

I caught a fish on this dive!  With my bare hands, like a champ!!  I dont think the fish liked it all that much but i released him after i gave him a backscratch. 

On the way back I decided to finally look at my gadges….in a panic it read 0 PSI!! I started slowly exhailing and realized that the gadge was going back up to 500psi!  WTF?! we started our way to the top, and the whole reg decided it didnt want to work….I got pissy…long story short, I survived and didn’t get bent, because I rock!

AN UPDATE:

I later learned this was actually a product of a loose hose and an unbalanced regulator, now after this situation has occured, I have stopped using unbalanced and only use Piston Balanced Regs. 

Type: Recreation   Bottom Time: 25 min Safety Stop Time: 5 min Duration: 00:30:00   Maximum Depth: 75 ft Avgerage Depth: 70 ft Start Pressure: 2,400.0 psi End Pressure: 400.0 psi

Entry: Stairs   Sea: Calm Weather: Fog Current: Mild   Depth Temp: 70.0 °F Air Temp: 75.0 °F Visibility: 40 ft

Casino Point Dive Park, Avalon, California, United States

Saturday October 17, 2009 10:00 AM

Bottom Time: 30 min

Safety Stop Time: 5 min

Duration: 00:35:00

Maximum Depth: 55 ft

Average Depth: 50 ft

Start Pressure: 2,400.0 psi

End Pressure: 500.0 psi

Entry: Stairs

Sea: Calm

Weather: Sunny

Current: Mild

Depth Temperature: 72.0 °F

Air Temperature: 75.0 °F

Visibility: 40 ft

Holly and I were doing some geocaching yesterday  when we came upon Bertee’s, near Fortville, Indiana.

Neither of us had ever been here, or even heard of it, for that matter.
It’s kind of out in the middle of nowhere, and I don’t recall ever seeing
them advertised.

Bertee’s bills itself as a “family friendly sports cafe’ ” and they’ve hit
it spot on.  There are two sections, family dining, and a pub side, and both of them are non smoking.  Both sides offer miltiple large screen TVs, and there were several families in there watching the Colts when we visited.

Let me say up front that I LOVE this concept…a family pub.  There’s a nicely appointed game room, live music on the weekends, sports all the time, and aways some menu special for the kids.  The atmosphere is pleasantly noisy
and busy without being overwhelming.

We were greeted by a host and promptly seated, and our service throughout the meal was nothing short of outstanding.

Looking through their menu, their speciality seems to be pizza and wings.
They also have a full compliment of sandwiches, salads, and steaks on their menu.

And, they have a breaded tenderloin on their menu, so that’s what I ordered!

And, they have a breaded tenderloin on their menu, so that’s what I ordered!

The first thing that I noticed is that the sandwich is HUGE…and THIN.
Matter of fact, far too thin for my liking.  It’s pounded out near paper
thin, and that’s the problem with this sandwich.  It’s so thin, I really
never could get a good taste of meat, it’s near all breading.  I can’t give
the flavor of the meat a fair shake, because I never got enough of it in a
bite to really taste it.

The breading was pretty…well, average.  It was nice and crunchy, but there was nothing that set it apart from a thousand other tenderloins out there.

On the plus side, the sandwich is very large and filling, and the price is right..  $7.99 and that includes your choice of fries or chips.  The fries were really very good…the high point of my meal. There were plenty of condiments, and the sandwich was served exactly as I ordered it.
On the minus side…it was far too thin, and perhaps just a bit overdone. It wasn’t a bad sandwich, it just wasn’t a  great sandwich.  As we left, I told Holly I was “full, but not satisfied”.  I’m going to give Bertee’s breaded tenderloin sandwich a 2.5 out of 5 bites…just average.
If you’re not searching specifically for a great tenderloin, I AM going to recommend you visit Bertee’s for some pizza, or wings, or even a steak.  The service is well above average, and the atmosphere is quite fun.  A family could have a lot of fun here, and we will visit again to watch the game with friends.

I’ll pass on the tenderloin, though.

Bertee’s is located at 10462 Olio Road in Fortville, Indiana.  You can also
visit their website here.

Karl - Rescue Diver Extraordinaire

Well hello everyone!  We would like to thank you for all your emails that have been firing through lately.

It’s really nice to hear from you all and that you are all still diving! AWESOME to see, loved the photos too.

Congratulations to Karl Johnson for completing his Rescue Course – Karl is going on to become Divemaster & a good DM he’ll make too, with his quick and ready wit he keeps everyone entertained!  Only problem is – he insists on all his gear being yellow & black!

Our winter maintenance on Molly is now completed and we’re back up and running – a well deserved break for both Molly and ourselves, now fully re-charged for the up and coming season, with maybe a few surprises in store?

The water temperature at the moment is fluctuating between 14.5 and 15.2 degrees, the average viz in the Bay of Islands and the Cavallis is approximately between 5 and 8 metres, we’ve had an average S to SW wind of 18 knots for the past month.