This final Whimsy for 2013 is brought to you via George Takei on FB and Amazon Reviews on “How to Avoid Huge Ships: John W Trimmer.
Good Advice For Most Readers, But Doesn’t Cover All The Bases.
By Jamie on January 18, 2012
Format: Paperback
There is one major oversight in this generally well-written book, and that is that it addresses animate readers exclusively. As a large rock in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Giglio Island, I have recently been confronted with instances in which avoiding huge ships was of fundamental interest to my personal well-being. However, the methods presented in Capt. Trimmer’s book were none too useful in my efforts to avoid huge ships, as I was recently struck by a very large ship indeed, a cruise vessel called the ‘Costa Concordia’. I think the ship came off slightly worse in the exchange, but the experience was disruptive to my afternoon and rather jarring. In a situation such as this, Capt. Trimmer’s advice would have been immensely beneficial to humans, fish, seabirds, and other animals, but I am none of those things. I’m a big rock. I can’t zig-zag or duck and cover. Rocks don’t do that. I’ve tried. I tried some time ago to scoot over to the left a bit to get some better sunlight, and it took me three thousand years! That’s not fast enough to avoid even the slowest huge ships. It is for precisely this reason that I would advise Capt. Trimmer to augment this edition with a section intended for readers like me–perhaps “How To Avoid Huge Ships If You Are A Rock, Iceberg, Or Coral Reef”. There is a market out there for this, Capt. Trimmer, and I assure you it would be well worth your time and effort.
Please share any bits and pieces that have surprised, delighted, intrigued or otherwise positively engaged you.
As a child of the Enlightenment I already feel abandoned and disoriented from dealing with violent Foucuatian tempests. I am not at ease in this turbulent post modern sea. Now up pops a rock wishing to have its say. Are we in a post- human world already? Diderot, Kant, Hume, save me/us.
Mahaut, fer gawd’s sakes man, this is a crisis for you. Sartre! de Beauvoir! Marcuse! Zizek. A cure is needed man. Alternately try these bonza aussie sheilas singing ten bucks in the glove box (the sunny cowgirls).
After having to put up with listening to the wails of those who have gone broke or wrecked themselves because they steadfastly refused to consider seeing a situation from the opponent’s or rival’s or colleague’s or customer’s or user’s point-of-view …. at last, some really good advice on how to stop this attitude ruining themselves.
Thank you, Tyrrhenian Sea rock.
(mind you, none of this lateral thinking will make it into boardrooms).
14 words that are their own opposite
This is cool.
Wow.
Aw!
http://koshersamurai.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/bumblebee-bat-4.jpg
http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/30/dolphins-deliberately-getting-high-on-puffer-fish-toxins-4245066/
I dunno. Kids today!
This rubber duck keeps turning up and exploding wherever it goes.
http://www.news.com.au/world/duck-down-for-count-before-nye-party-in-taiwan/story-fndir2ev-1226792794696
A Last Hurrah!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25690488
And, yes, it is duplicated on the remaining Saturday Salon thread.