Prevent an environmental disaster raise the profile for the need to clean up the seas around Chuuk lagoon

Lush vegetation and simple living punctuate the lives of the lagoon. Fishing, weaving and tending garden supplant the subsistence lives that many sustain on their individual islands. It is not unusual to see women waist deep in the mangroves hunting for a special delicacy or men walking the reefs by torchlight at night looking for baby octopus. Boat makers create vessels high in the hills of the inner islands and take them down to sea when finished. Open hearth fires are still used to cook the daily meals. Life here is close to nature and lived in conjunction with the land and the sea. Local carvers are also famous for using beautiful local woods to carve warrior masks and busts. 


Chuuk, with its vast, shallow, beautiful lagoon is a Mecca for wreck divers. A major shipwreck site from WWII, Truk Lagoon is unquestionably the world's best shipwreck diving destination. Here, more than 50 hulks have been transformed into shipreefs, holding the very best of the undersea world and maritime history at one site. Hard and soft corals in a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes attract divers worldwide for both daytime and night diving. The vast selection of artifacts still found on the wrecks after five decades are testament to the unique history of the Micronesian Islands. The historical aspect of Truk Lagoon is not totally hidden by the jungles. Japanese lighthouses, perched high atop the lagoon's finest overlooks, can be reached by hiking or driving. Old runways, command centers, gun emplacements, cave networks, hospitals and libraries can be found with the help of a knowledgeable guide. from the Chuuk tourist website


Now here comes the thud down to earth "To compare the Exxon Valdez with the wrecks in Chuuk Lagoon is not stretching the bow too far because the Exxon Valdez was basically out in an open ocean environment or estuary area, Chuuk Lagoon is a coral reef system and to have the sudden release of thousands of tonnes of toxic oil sludge on these pristine shores would be utterly devastating and would ruin the whole island’s economy for generations to come.” Ian McLeod, corrosion expert WA Museum. Source: Foreign Correspondent, ABC TV.

Teenage Angst taken to extremes

What was he thinking? Didn't Sid Vicious do this first?
 New York Daily News

You say distractions, I say destructions... let's call the whole thing off!

In this day and age there are so many demands on our time; so many entertainments and distractions in the form of  information technology and other people and work demands and even demands that come from arrangements we have entered into willingly.  Its hard to keep up with them all, and sometimes there is overload and all I want to do is to pull the doona over my head and go back to sleep.


But there is an answer for me.  I can learn from Reggie's example.

After all the years he has been on this planet, stumbling about, Reggie has learned that when he keeps on top of the little things in his life - at least the ones that are within his control, he is better equipped to also manage the bigger challenges that inevitably come his way.  These things don't take much time and you will feel more in control of your life if you do them.

Thank you Reggie Darling! Now everyone can share these gems from the wonderful New York social diary which never ceases to entertain, enlighten and uplift.

Life in the fast lane...

So there I was minding my own business, in the supermarket and waiting for my turn to put my groceries through and I witnessed a very worrying event in front of me.  There was a woman with a lot of groceries going through.  The last of her groceries was bread and biscuits. The woman behind her had a few things and they were in a carry basked.  So she kept pushing her basket into the other woman's bread.  She did it once, and then again, and eventually she was seen, and she said something to the woman in front of her.  Then when that woman wasn't looking she did it again.  I just happen to notice, and I had to look away so they couldn't see me smirking about it.   Then the first woman whose groceries had finally all gone through lent back and said something to the woman behind her, and while they were talking she reached over and squeezed the woman's bread.  She really gave it a good squeeze.
It was hilarious!
I don't know what she was saying to the woman who was directly in front of me, but she kind of reeled back, but it was a full line, and there was nowhere to go.
It was hilarious!
Afterwards the woman in front of me put her groceries through and she had this sad crestfallen look on her face.  There was no opportunity to change her now quite deformed loaf of bread, so she just had to take it.
That was hilarious!
Sadly, it reminded me of how we are now in an age of not only traffic rage, but supermarket rage!