This is what it's going to be, this time out, on this latest update of the one, the only true *aqua musings* blog on the wondrous web...! And it is done with a purpose - not a porpoise, no... In order to circumvent the tangent that ''Aqua Anna'' is obviously bent on giving this blog, whenever she hijacks it... Yes, I can imagine that I did encourage her (excite her?) and perhaps even enticed her into it - with all the Aquaficionadas she saw frolicking around here, over time... But come on now; there is a limit!
I give the top nods to the lyrical, luminous Aquaficionadas, like this:
While she outright lusts for -yes; lusts for- the ones like this:
But that is another story...
This remains, primarily and foremostly (?) *my* blog: my prerogative and my musings about all things aqua! And that is Aqua as in the angel, right: a luminous aquaficionado if there ever was one! Not necessarily aqua as in Aquaman - duh! He doesn't need me; DC doesn't! DC's beyond help, actually; they've got Geoff trying to salvage things there - Geoff and Jim! Geoff (to Jim): "he's dead, Jim!" Lest it is "IT"... hmm? Whatever... And Aquaman? He's still got all of his finny friends - does he not? He's still got Mera, that Eskimo girl (no, not the one who became an Elemental, oh-so-briefly - now retconned out of existence, most probably...!) and, yes, he still has whoever's behind that most blasphemous "shrine"... ugh! It moved -sailed off- to warmer waters: social media - Twitter! Never mind the fact that, meanwhile, the state of the actual seas continues to deteriorate...
I thought of turning the tide here with talk of another character that certainly fits in perfectly - but that we never really mentioned before, somehow! Given the title of this blog, of course, it is not entirely surprising that we'd focus on all things aqua - Aquaman, Aquawoman, Aqualad, Aquarius, Aquarian, Aqua Bats, Aqua Fresh, Aqua Velva... But there is certainly something to be said about one cosmic character that rivals Aqua The Angel himself (?) in sheer power and Aquaman One Million in pizzazz - and we do mean a Marvel, yes... but no, not that inbred with pointy ears --- come on!!! (That dud is not worthy evenwhen he's outfitted with that dumbo Infinity Gauntlet, a cosmic Rubik cube *and* the Anti-Life Equation on top of all that! You may add -or not- a silver conic hat with that - as seen below! LOL)
No, folks - we are talking of no one else other than the Silver Surfer himself here - somebody Jay would have approved and perhaps even say ''cool'' about...! (That darn cone of a hat does indeed appear to be made of silver though - argh! Bah - it's probably cheap aluminium foil or, cheaper still, some fool's gold type of thing worth nothing like make-believe adamantium or vibranium! LOL)
But back to the Surfer!
The Silver Surfer who did, actually, also beat Aquaman to the punch in terms of live action adaptation - despite being, roughly, 100 times more difficult to accomplish! (But that is no big deal, really: Popeye, Sinbad, The Little Mermaid, Ariel, Aquamarine, Nemo, Captain Nemo, Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones, Bluebeard, Yellow Beard, Redbeard, Rescator, Jaws, Flipper, Dory, Ahab, Quequeeg, Starbuck, Moby Dick of course, Fathom, smart sharks, Abe Sapien, The Fisherman, Gillman, his Shape of Water clone, The Waterworld Mariner, Disney's water-downed Atlantis and even Spongebob Squarepants ALL got to the Cinematic Realm -once referred to as the Silver Screen- before Aquaman & Mera, so...) ''Silver shine stretching to the seas'' sang that other Ryan (the better one, actually; not the goofball who happens to be married to Blake Lively - for the tide & time being) in a D.C. film - meaning a Damien Chazelle film, here... of course! ''La La Land'' - which could be one of Aqua Anna's all-time favorites if viewed as a mere prequel to Emma Stone's turn as a lesbian tennis player in Battle of the Sexes which was, indeed, her next big role, in Tinseltown continuity...
Genesis sang of a ''Silver Rainbow'' way back in the exceptional Eighties - a song that, once I discovered it years later, inspired me a great deal in the concoction, plotting and edification of my own Aqua Force (although not as much as the fantastical ''Home By The Sea'' which was found on the exact same LP - what a great album it was; the best Genesis ever put out, in my humble but luminous opinion! Their 12th overall - and second with Phil Collins as lead singer, I do believe! But that's another story...)
And there is, always, that other Silver Rainbow --- pardon: ''Man On The Silver Mountain'' by classic, seminal, spectacular Seventies band... Rainbow! There's nothing like it...
Although Norrin Radd would rather be a fan of this one, I suspect:
...for obvious reasons...
Hmm... maybe not that last one there...
But anyway!
Silver Surfer is one of the classic characters from that
much-maligned form of art - sequential art!
Many are those who will still, to this day,
dismiss it with the back of their hand
even though it is the source material that has injected new life
into the famed seventh art's otherwise sagging box office results!
Imagine that: they cannot even hope for more
than 200 million dollars return
on any other film release; yet, any single one of those ''comic-booky'' films
stands a realistic chance of approaching the 900 million-1 billion range!
Even such an oddity as a Lion King/Batman rip-off!!!
No wonder there is no turning back, now, for movie studios -
they'll keep churning out super-heroes movies!
Much to the despair of purists like Jodie Foster -
Aqua Anna's own super-hero...!!!
But that is another story too...
Sometimes, however, the end results are very much odd,
misbegotten, mixed successes at best.
Somehow, three of the greatest teams of all-time
have seen their films come out as such:
Justice League... X-Men... and the Fantastic Four!
(... so *not* holding high hopes for the Doom Patrol, Titans
or my own Aqua Force!)
In those two Fantastic Four films produced in the early 2000s,
mostly regarded as failed attempts to capture the alleged grandeur of the source material, we get to see the Silver Surfer, eventually - a brooding, tragic figure originally come to Earth announcing its imminent doom - much like an angel of the End Times will.
Only he is alone of his kind - and without wings or halo!
The Surfer is very much like
a wingless angel indeed, come from above
to help humanity - save it, very nearly
although he is not quite allowed to do so;
just like actual angels are only our
heavenly attendants, and not our saviors.
We have One Savior:
remember?
At least Jesus The Christ has had
many more film adaptations
than this sad Surfer did! Thank GOD...
They did successfully translate onto cinematic form the essence of that "wingless angel" though - in that also much-maligned film production featuring that quartet there... Let's have a look:
In his "without wings" condition, he is much like Clarence in "It's A Wonderful Life" - or luciferian, outright. Yet he redeems himself; fighting the good fight! In that regard, he becomes quite like DC's Phantom Stranger instead - a stranger in a strange world, marooned here when he doesn't belong here at all. He belongs nowhere, really: the Beatles' Nowhere Man far more faithfully so than that old TV show time forgot ever could be...!
Fab Four > Fantastic Four - 4 ever!
Also very sad: but it is the way it is...!
Oh well...
Silver Surfer has suffered greatly
-much like Aquaman-
due to his "good guy image"
in recent years...
They think good guys are soft...
too much of a nice guy types...
in the worst cases of denigration
they will call them "gay"...
Although they are clearly superior
to all of the favorites of the day,
good guys like that
will be projected to lose
most if not all of their battles
against inferior quarry;
like Iceman, lower right
and this "Monica" there,
lower left - whoever she is!
The way the character was conceived and written, originally,
it is conceivable, too: he would just walk away
(or, in fact, surf away - in the sky.)
and let Icegayman and Mytilenia think of themselves
as the victors there - or work it out between them!
He is just that kind of a nice guy -
weary of trivial belligerence.
Much like a Dr. Manhattan.
It is simply very unfortunate that the so-called king
(king of comics - as in comic-bookies, Johnny)
Jack Kirby himself (not Stan Lee) could only think
of one possible name for him: Silver Surfer
thus pinning him forevermore with the lamentable initials
that are evocative for all the wrong reasons: "S.S."
(no: no one thinks of the OSS - ever.)
He still projects that cosmic, angelic aura - in spite of that.
So, yes, indeed, that Silver Surfer dude
is an angel of a kind
and one with a proclivity for the aquatic
-if only by the looks of it-
that is far more charming than, say,
the penchant perceived in Lobo, for example!
... well, it is all
in the eye of the beholder, really...
ANYHOW...
Next time he's on the big screen
-when he finally makes it, officially, to the MCU-
I could see Vin Diesel in the role:
why not? It's light years better than Groot
and if S.S. was all CGI the first time around,
now, CGI could be used to make Vin
look younger... leaner... ever whiter too!
And isn't it apparent that S.S. was,
from the very beginning,
an allegory for slavery
and the emancipation
of a man recently freed from bondage?
A black man can play the Surfer
-it is better suited here, actually,
than it is in Jack Kirby's other sports
or sports-inspired character:
Black Racer... or Skier-
albeit a bleached black man
bleached to the cosmic extreme.
Let's dance to that...
Oh, and to go back to that angelic Aqua vibe, in conclusion - do not, I repeat, do not seek out aqua-angel.co.za (even though it promises "water treatment through reverse osmosis... water filtration... water purification" - nothing less than that!) --- their site has been infected by a virus! So sad...
Zimbabwe - it's not Nigeria, but still...
Kind of brings back fears and nightmarish visions of water contamination - perpetrated on purpose, in an evil scheme of biochemical or bacteriological terrorism or warfare...
The following are NOT in my "Aqua Force" either...! *LOL*
~~~ Splash ~
Not to be confused with this Splash nor with this one! Or my very own Mariamar...
Marine Boy, Neptina and another Splash-er...
Deep Blue/Indigo I don`t really want, yo...
And Marrina... Ah, no go!
Not the Octonauts - and not this Aquaman either:
Atalon... nah!
and none of the following either - for obvious reasons!
Hmm... I think I`m forgetting some Sub-Altern here...?
no - that`s not it!
Submarine Man
... ah... also Submarine Man!
And Michael Turner's Fathom is off-limits! Ask around - you'll see that I'm not bastardizing the facts at all...! But I might invite Shark-Man though... *lol*
(AP) After four weeks as Washington's newest tourist attraction in front of the U.S. Treasury building...
WASHINGTON (AP) - The duck stops here. After four weeks as Washington's newest tourist attraction, a mother mallard duck and her - count 'em - 11 ducklings were transported in a motorcade Sunday to a new and far more suitable setting in Rock Creek Park.
The whole group took to the water, well, like ducks, although there was a bit of drama along the way.
The transfer had been mapped out like a military operation for the mother duck, a capital celebrity since taking up residence at the main entrance to the Treasury Department. The building is on Pennsylvania Avenue, the prime thoroughfare that tourists use in walking to the White House, which is right next door.
The Secret Service uniformed division had provided protection for the nesting mother over the past four weeks. Agents had built and then extended metal barricades to keep tourists back from the nest, which the mother had constructed in a mulch pile surrounding a tree.
Even after appearances on national television and in newspapers around the world, the mother - whom some Treasury employees had variously named Duck Cheney, Quacks Reform and T-bill - seemed oblivious to the attention as she stuck to her job of keeping the eggs warm.
The hatching began Saturday afternoon and continued into a stormy night with heavy rain. Wildlife experts who had studied the nest believed there were nine eggs. It turned out there were actually 11 eggs; all hatched.
The mother and her offspring were left on the nest overnight so the ducklings could get oriented.
Early Sunday, in an operation more elaborate than the ducks' move in the children's classic "Make Way for Ducklings," government biologists gently captured the mother duck and her yellow-and-black ducklings and put them in cages for the short ride to their new home.
Once at the park, the ducks were placed in a holding pen to get their bearings. But in only a few seconds, the mother mallard had found an opening and was headed to the nearby creek. Her ducklings scurried behind in a single line.
Duck No. 11 had a little trouble at first, stumbling and landing on its back, its webbed feet fighting the air. It quickly righted itself, only to trip again and tumble down the muddy river bank before landing with a plop in the water.
From there, all 11 ducklings quickly formed a line paddling after their mother and set out to explore their new surroundings.
While they had hatched in the rain, their first journey in their new home took place under a bright sky.
"Ducks are born knowing how to navigate in water," said Laura Illige, chief park ranger at Rock Creek. "We have a healthy duck population here and we are happy to take the new additions under our wings."
---
On the Net:
Rock Creek Park site of National Park Service: http://www.nps.gov/rocr
Treasury Department: http://www.treasury.gov
Titanic Items Auction for More Than $150K
May 1, 7:27 PM (ET)
(AP) An 18-carat gold pocket watch, which belonged to a Titanic passenger, Nora Keane, was among the objects auctioned off...
BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) - Dozens of Titanic relics auctioned for more than $150,000 Sunday, including a gold pocket watch owned by an Irish immigrant that stopped ticking the day of the sinking when she was rescued in a lifeboat.
The watch, once owned by Nora Keane of County Limerick, Ireland, was sold for $24,675, more than three times its estimated value, said Jon Baddeley, Bonhams & Butterfields auction house's marine collectibles expert.
Keane, who had emigrated to Harrisburg, Pa., was returning to the United States on the luxury liner's maiden voyage after a four-month visit to see her mother. It was damaged by water as she was rescued in lifeboat No. 10.
"It's been stopped ever since," Baddeley said. "We had a lot of interest from Ireland."
On the back of the watch was engraved the message: "To my dearest Nora, your visit to County Limerick warmed my heart. God bless and be with you on your return to Pennsylvania." It's signed: "Loving mother."
The Titanic sank in the North Atlantic on April 14 and 15, 1912, killing about 1,500 people.
The top sale price at the auction was $44,650 for the only known example of a 3rd class menu postcard, dated April 14, 1912. The card has a picture of the Titanic at the top, with the entire day's menu printed on it.
Baddeley said the items had belonged to a British private collector who wished to remain anonymous.
Rescuers Look for Boy Who Fell Off Boat
May 1, 7:44 PM (ET)
CAPE MAY POINT, N.J. (AP) - Rescue teams searched waters along the southern New Jersey coast on Sunday for the body of a boy scout who fell off a whale watching boat.
Rough conditions forced police and Coast Guard boats to suspend the search around midday, but investigators did find a piece of clothing on the propeller that might have belonged to the boy, police said.
The search was expected to continue Monday.
Nicholas Johs, 14, of Staten Island, N.Y., fell Saturday after he and several other troop members were jumping up and down in the front of the boat in time with the waves, witnesses told police.
One of the passengers threw Johs a life preserver but the youth could not reach it. Another passenger dove into the 49-degree water to try and rescue him, but had to turn back. Troop members were not wearing life vests, police said.
Prosecutors Give Arguments in Marine Case
May 1, 4:17 PM (ET)
By WILLIAM L. HOLMES
(AP) U.S. Marine 2nd Lt. llario Pantano leaves the Legal Support Services Courtroom with his wife, Jill...
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) - A Marine accused of murdering two Iraqi detainees intended to make an example of them by shooting them 60 times and hanging a sign over their bodies, prosecutors said Saturday during closing arguments in a pretrial hearing.
"There's no other reason why this stellar lieutenant would have used such poor judgment," prosecutor Maj. Stephen Keane said. "It is not up to a 2nd lieutenant to violate the law of war and make an example of people he believes are bad."
Prosecutors allege that 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano killed the suspected insurgents in April 2004 after ordering a search of their car. Pantano, a former Wall Street trader who rejoined the Marines after the Sept. 11 attacks, says he acted in self-defense after the men moved toward him.
"Lt. Pantano has told this to virtually every person who asked him," defense attorney Charles Gittins said in his closing statement. "He did exactly what he was required to do under the circumstances."
Pantano declined to make a statement in court after consulting with his lawyers.
The Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury, will determine whether Pantano, 33, will face a court-martial. After his closing argument Keane said he does not believe the crime deserves the death penalty.
The investigating officer has been given at least a week to make his recommendations.
The five-day hearing came to a close Saturday after Pantano's chief accuser returned to the stand following several days of legal wrangling.
Sgt. Daniel Coburn abruptly left the stand Wednesday when he was told he was suspected of violating orders prohibiting him from giving media interviews about the case. He returned to the stand Saturday after being granted immunity from prosecution.
Coburn testified Saturday that he believed the men were going to be brought in for questioning when Pantano ordered the search of their car.
However, Coburn also acknowledged that Pantano had stripped him of his job as squad leader and elevated a lower-ranking Marine to replace him. He said he believed his last evaluation, written by Pantano and reviewed by two higher-ranking officers, was a "career-ender."
Coburn said he hadn't seen the evaluation before he began to question Pantano's actions.
Two Teens Rescued After Six Days at Sea
May 1, 4:07 PM (ET)
SOUTHPORT, N.C. (AP) - Two teenagers lost at sea for six days without food or fresh water were spotted by fishermen more than 100 miles from where they started, clinging to their small sailboat.
The boys quenched their thirst with sea water and slipped into the ocean to cool off, but sharks chased them back onto the boat. At night, they used a single wet suit to keep warm.
"I asked God to take me," 15-year-old Troy Driscoll said as he lay in a hospital emergency room. "You're out there fighting for your life. We didn't want to fight anymore."
Driscoll and his best friend, 18-year-old Josh Long, were spotted Saturday about seven miles off Cape Fear - six days and more than 100 miles from where they had put in off Sullivans Island, S.C., on April 24. The boys were sunburned, dehydrated and exhausted, but otherwise in pretty good shape.
"We were praying for a miracle and we got one," Charleston Coast Guard Cmdr. June Ryan said. "Everybody on the East Coast has been looking for these boys."
Shane Coker said first he would hug his little brother Troy - "then I'm gonna hit him and let him know how much he made us worry."
The teens set out on a 14-foot Sunfish on a blustery day when the National Weather Service warned small boats to stay off the water. The realized they were in trouble almost immediately and tried to swim back to shore, pulling the boat along with them.
Within hours, they were out to sea.
"We lost our tackle the second day," Driscoll told one of his relatives on the phone. "So we couldn't catch any fish."
The boys' hope waned as the week wore on. They stood on their Sunfish every time they saw a boat, waving their paddles and yelling. One night they were awakened by water splashing in their faces and found a large container ship bearing down on them.
"It was like some monster building in the water," Driscoll said.
At one point, the teens thought they had drifted across the Atlantic Ocean and were close to Africa. Instead, they were about 111 miles north - well outside the Coast Guard's search grid - but close enough to spot one more fishing boat.
They got up and made some noise. This time, they were heard.
"What we have is an absolutely miraculous story of survival that's going to be studied for years to come," said Richard Goerling, Long's uncle. "I think those two boys have a book to write."
The Coast Guard wants to review the case to see how the boys took a route so unanticipated by computer models and weather and nautical data.
The boys said they don't remember much about their rescue, but recalled that as they were pulled aboard the fishing boat, their rescuers asked what they wanted to do with the Sunfish.
"We told them we didn't want to see it again," Long said.
not seven seas but... seven pagodas?!? O-kaaaaaay... *lol*
Tsunami unveils part of ancient city off India
Last Updated Fri, 18 Feb 2005 20:36:43 EST
CBC News
MAHABALIPURAM, INDIA - The tsunami that devastated the shores of the Indian Ocean also uncovered what appears to be part of an ancient city off the coast of what is already a United Nations world heritage site.
Mahabalipuram, a Hindu pilgrimage town just south of Madras on India's southeast coast, was heavily battered by the tsunami on Dec. 26.
Archeologists investigate an ancient artifact uncovered by the tsunami at Mahabalipuram, India.
FROM DEC. 30, 2004: World Heritage Sites damaged by tsunami: UN
When the giant waves receded, they washed away sand that had covered three rocky structures near the town, whose ancient, intricately carved temples are visited each year by thousands of pilgrims and tourists.
The structures include a bas-relief with elaborate carvings of animals that appears to be part of a temple wall or a portion of a seventh-century port city, T. Satyamurthy, a senior archeologist with the Indian government, told the Associated Press. Early British travel writers described the Mahabalipuram area as the home of seven pagodas, six of which were submerged by the sea.
One of the two-metre structures uncovered by the tsunami shows is an elaborately carved head of an elephant or a horse in flight. Another has a reclining lion carved on it.
Lions, elephants and peacocks were often used to decorate walls and temples during the Pallava period in the seventh and eighth centuries.
"These structures could be part of the legendary seven pagodas," Satyamurthy said. "With the water receding and the coastline changing, we expect some more edifices to be exposed."
Archeologists and Indian navy divers began shoreline and underwater excavations of the area on Thursday.
Headlines: World
Fatah approves Palestinian cabinet
Ferry death toll hits 114 in Bangladesh
Socialists win landslide in Portugal
Spanish voters approve EU charter
Israeli cabinet OKs withdrawal plan
Martin arrives for NATO talks
Lebanon cautious as UN seeks probe into Hariri's death
Marines, Iraqi forces surround Ramadi
Sri Lanka rebuilds washed-out rail line
~My Mer-name is Glaucus Bioluminescence. Wow ~ even the Mer~folk agree that I am luminous! ~They identify me with a minor sea~deity though: Glaukos has nothing to do with glaucoma, at least ~~~ (thank God! The REAL GOD!) ~~~~ Oh... no; Glaukos gave its color to glaucoma... :( ~~ well, says they! ~~~~~~~~ Aegir, Poseidon, Triton and scores of others are more powerful than him, anyway... so there! Everything will be fine! The Aquaficionadas are on my side! :) ~ Take The Merfolk Name Generator Test anyway! ~ Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator.
... An LP Anthem to the end of a childhood dream...? By LP...
... and assorted aquatic tunes for your listening pleasure... (l.p.)...!
But now, for your reading pleasure... ISSUU - brought to you by... an Aquaficionada!
Look, below, on this luminous aqua-map: PROOF that the Earth is indeed 70% SEA WATER! Weep, batty ones! ;)
