Live Like Jay!

I always firmly believed that anyone who didn't like the ''super-hero'' (though really ''fantasy reality character'' would be a far better term to categorize them all) known as ''Aquaman'' to the masses - well, via their simple dislike of such a character, they simply proved to lack imagination, vision, refinement, perception, intuitiveness - depth, without making any pun whatsoever here...
In one word, the better word for it all: soul.

For only a borderline soulless creature fails to see the spirituality of the sea; and such characters truly embody that - the ocean, in all of its mystery and fascination it can exert upon us all. Everyone of us wishes to be at the beach, but only a few are truly mesmerized by the rhythm of the waves, the lure of the tides, the great mystery that is the sea. Only those ''souls of the sea'' can get what I'm alluding at; for they are, verily, soulmates of the ocean and, thus, its sons and daughters...

The recently deceased Paul Walker was another such soul of the sea, to a lesser degree, however much greater than the newly-trained to surf Gerard Butler may be; both of them would belong to a sub-category just above that to which the above-mentioned 'Sea King' character and all others like him are constrained - and that, in and by itself, is not exactly praise, by any stretch of the imagination.

In sharp contrast, one of the most recent record-holding freedivers, the late Patrick Musimu, unquestionably was another one of those true blue souls ''of the sea''...  So were Mark Foo, Bob Simmons and Eddie Aikau, to name but three.  Many others, perhaps most notably breath-holding record holder Stig Severinsen, retired queen of freediving Tanya Streeter and/or Jacques-Yves Cousteau or Vasco Da Gama himself, have been far more fortunate in their indulgence of this love for the sea that consumes them; yet, none of these are a real-life counterpart to the make-believe Aquaman, Marine Man, Captain Nauticus, Undersea Knight, Sea Ghost, Mera, Marella The Aquawoman, Marina The Aquagirl, Seadragon, Sub-Mariner or Amphibion. They are nonetheless the closest to an Odysseus, Ulysses, Aegir, Poseidon or Neptune history will ever get to see. Each adventure out to sea could be their last; and they accept that risk and will continue getting out there, always. Because in the sea is also their soul - and, no; not everyone can fully get that.

One who always saw the sea for all that it is, was Jay.  He took to surfing as if he was born in the waves - and, in a sense, he was, right off the coast of Santa Cruz, where everyone fondly remembers him to this day, and always will. Now there's an example of someone who took to the waves due to his fascination with it: he would count them, as a child! The closest of all, arguably, to being ''king of the sea'' out of all the notables mentioned and not mentioned here; Jay was... and is... in a class all of his own, on top of that tidal wave. He garnered nationwide attention for his first few exploits: riding that huge wave, surviving the wipe out, continuing on a promising career of soul surfing and free diving, as Jay's reputation grew throughout the world, which brought him to the Maldives in 2001...

We skipped the 10th anniversary (leaving to others, more suited, to cover that) - but, since, roughly two years later, both a book and a film came out on Jay - we take this opportunity of the unlikelier-to-be commemorated (in such a grand way, at any rate) anniversary of his untimely passing (the 13th) to salute, as we did back in 2001 (...) this greatest of soul surfers... of soul searchers... of souls.

What all sea adventurers should be: so much more than a make-believe one. Jay's story deserved to be retold and it was in a magnificent way, in the recent film we salute, also, below...

20th Century Fox and Walden Media
present:

Chasing Mavericks

The soundtrack of the film is close to perfection 

and it culminates, as an emotional crescendo well should, 

with this masterful song that totally sums up 

Jay Moriarty's life, spirit and enthusiasm, 

as he reached out for that dream, 

pushed those limits to the maximum,  

found that energy and just let go...

Greg Holden, courtesy of Relativity Music 

If you haven't seen ''Chasing Mavericks'' yet
- please do so today.
You will love it
 -and the sea!
  You will see!

You will come to understand
why you, too, should...

Live Like Jay! 
+++

A.N.N. Once Again!

This is Luminous Luciano once again presenting to you 

The Aquaficionada Nymphal Newswoman extraordinaire...

A.N.N.!!!

And this is A.N.N. News!

 Say Hi to ANN - ''Hi, to ANN!'' - good tadpoles! 
Now take it away... ANN! 

Thank you soooooooooo much, Luminous Luciano!
Here we go with what I have found aqua-worthy
and most of note, in the news and on the web...

This week, we learn that ladykillers (or killer ladies, really) are indeed far more lethal than their male counterparts: only confirmation of what we already knew from before, right, Luciano...?

Female-named hurricanes kill more than male hurricanes because ...

www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2014/06/02...   Cached

People don’t take hurricanes as seriously if they have a feminine name and the consequences are deadly, finds a new groundbreaking study. Female-named storms have...

1. Female hurricanes are deadlier than male hurricanes, study says - CNN.com

   www.cnn.com/2014/06/03/us/female-hurricanes-deadlier/index.html   Cached
   

   Female-named hurricanes cause "significantly more deaths," a study finds; Researchers analyzed over six decades of death rates from U.S. hurricanes

2. Ladykillers: Hurricanes with female names deadlier

   www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2014/06/02/hurricane-female-names...   Cached
   

   Ladykillers: Hurricanes with female names deadlier. Researchers examined more than 60 years of death tolls from the 94 hurricanes that hit the USA from ...

Luminous Luciano has known me from before, yes - heck, he's known me for a long, looooong time now; so he has a very sound idea just how feral I can be! He used to call me ''Aqua Belle'' - lol. Now he knows better... Ah, how those innocent days are missed, though, are they not Luminous Luciano? It was me, you (the Aqua Beast of burden? LOL) and who was that other guy again... Phorcys, is that it? We championed the sea like musketeers and sea monkeys united for the common good of all water-breathers...! Something like that... Ah, Luciano... Such days will never return...

However, scavenging the net (as both of us usually do) I found this trio that certainly does appear to have been inspired by our auld Aqua Trio of note... hmm? You would be the pale one, surely... (And no - I do not mean the droids anymore - nor these clods!)

You always wanted to be famed for being hung like horses, 

Phorcys and yourself... will Sea Horses do?

*LOL*

But then there is always those three stooges of the sea...

And, if all else fails, go with actual aquatic creatures...

But let us go back to aquatic news now... Lakeside Views, even!  For it seems like our aqua-friends over at Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant have it to take the fight to them nasty aquatic invaders each and every summer season - as well they should, too...

Hmm - but aren't we aquatic invaders, every time we take to the sea... dump things in it... pollute it ten thousand different ways...?  (Not that it was my first instinctual reaction, immediately when I read about the campaign; but it sure got me to do as you do, Luciano - expand the notion in a different tangent, shall we say? So, be a darling and bear with me as I bear with you - okay?) 

Aquatic Invaders are, of course, nothing at all like our erstwhile aquatic trio; we were the good guys, not pesky, pervasive polluters! More like infinitely small, invisible to the naked eye, tiny itty-bitty pernicious little buggers that could contaminate all of your surroundings if you make the mistake of bringing them back to your home!  Disinfecting is, therefore, primordial; that's the way it is now, Luciano - you can't even go for a swim anymore without having to submit to an intricate protocol of decontamination afterwards! Just as if you'd just been through nuclear-devastated territory...

How sad, isn't it, Luciano? We, along with the Aquarius-born, who wanted nothing but to protect the seas, free them from surface pollutives, rend it once again as shiny as it used to be...!  The thought of its microbial cocktail state, now, makes me crave only a long bubble bath in the safety of my tub!

Years ago, Oregon also had it firm against aquatic invasive species - no word, yet, on how that ''war on terror'' has gone... hmm?  Maybe the tiny invaders eluded defeat, somehow...? Who knows what they can do, once they creep up on you? Crawl into your brains - take over? Ewwww!

A newsletter from last year also echoed the need to stop all forms of ''aquatic hitchhikers'' - and such a newsletter, full of vital aquatic information as it presents there, certainly would have been useful to these guys too, in this auld aquatic film classic time forgot...!  A film that fares amazingly well on an all-time list of movies about the Bermuda Triangle that can be found on IMDB... We are not the only ones who remember watching Kim Novak and Doug... Doug... Doug Whatsisname there, swimming along in it, without any slugs around or clinging on to him, as you would, dear Luciano! Not that we are to be included in that list of aqua-hitchhikers the likes of Alejandro Rey; certainly not (spoilers alert) but this was never to be inferred, really, and we knew so much already, did we not, Luciano?  ;-)

And although you have been known to hitch a ride (or twenty-thousand - not under but on...) on seafaring pleasence boats of all mettles throughout the tides; in truth, the only hitchhiker you should ever be confused with should be this one, Luciano! (I know; too bad he is such a land-based surface-dweller - and a jaywalker, on top of that! Eww!)

But back to aquatic affairs now!
I found this fascinating bit about a bipedal aquatic ape...?  Totally, utterly fascinating, really; as long as the only bi part there is the pedal indeed...!  Now I can almost hear you use your French on me again -how dare you again?!?  lol  ''Non mais quelle pédale'' you say? Ha, ha, ha. Not!
Next, I consulted a squid - the holistic squid, no less! It had the nine established and well-known benefits of aquatic therapy for me; I needed only one or two, really, at this time...!  (Hell, you damn well know I've over-indulged in all nine of them, all those years ago...! But that, how do you say that again... that ''is another story''... hmm?)

My next aqua-logged friend is a hippopotamus - yes, a hip hippo, Luciano! I won't make the joke ''like you'' now - don't worry! Oops, did I just type that...?  LOL  Come on; you lost all the weight the other Luciano (the tenor) never could, so, there is no need to be embarrassed now - au contraire... be proud!  And, besides, you know me well enough to know that, just like Gayla, I wanted nothing less than a hippopotamus for Christmas - every Christmas! Or a watch. Yeah. A cool watch is nice, too...?  Make the bracelet and build color hydrangea and it will be perrrrrfect!  ;-)

Well, as fate would have it, that's not quite exactly what my friend Hippopotamus Lee has to sell me (it's really swatches; not watches) but since I need a ton of those, too, I'm buying!

Think it's entrapment? I'll tell you right now, Luciano: I've felt far more ''entrapped'' with that other friend of yours, ''Popo'' (but not so much with his usual acolytes, such as that poor gentle creature beside him, on the picture...) when I had to change clothes and he was just there looking at me, with that weird grin on his face... the perv!  Popo The Perv - that's what he is! Voyeur! What a bad influence he must be on that other one and everyone else around him; and, no, I'm not just throwing barbs senselessly here...

But let's end this gossipy round... ah... rather this aqua installment in style, with this: courtesy of styleshug! See, Luciano? It's me! Oh yes - that is certainly me...! The three dots ''aquatic and blue ombre tank'' is so totally me - and the model chosen to wear is, like, my virtual clone!!!  Makes you want to sign up with Ruelala and buy it for me already - does it not? Makes you want to feel the dotty, bluesy, aquatic fabric in-between your fingers... doesn't it now, Luciano?  Heck, it makes you want me all over again - just like you not-so-secretly did, back in the day... hmmmmmmm?

I know, I know... that is, once again, ''another story''...  See you next time!

 Hmm... right on, ah, ''A.N.N.'' - let's call it a day and a blog post already...  

This is Luminous Luciano once again - see you all next time... maybe. 

Say Goodbye, ANN...!

 Goodbye, ANN... 

Say goodbye, Aquaficionadas...! 

I wonder why Heidi will not wave goodbye...?

Is it something I said...?

Last few pics make me think of  an old aqua song...

``one... two... three`` 

It must be... CHEMISTRY! *lol*

Gotta love the aqua touch there: a fire hydrant...

Yeah, okay - you may kiss goodbye...!

But remember this: a kiss is just a kiss!

;-)