Category Archives: High Seas

Starring and written by Tom Hanks, Greyhound is a VOD war drama. For those looking to binge movies of this genre, check out these recommendations.

Amidst all the films forgoing the theater reason in favor of VOD, Greyhoundis one of the larger-scale projects. The film stars Tom Hanks, who also wrote the script forthisWorld War II drama. Hanks plays the commanding officer of a military convoy of ships crossing the Atlantic without air support.

RELATED:Top 10 Tom Hanks Movies, According To IMDb

Though it is a fairly contained film,it serves as a tense and exciting war story with non-stop threats and effective naval battle sequences. It is a worthy inclusion in the genre of war movies and there are plenty of exciting films from that genre worth checking out if you were a fan of Greyhound.

When seeing Tom Hanks as a commanding officer in World War II, it's hard not to be reminded of Saving Private Ryan. The Steven Spielberg film followed a group of soldiers who go on a dangerous mission to find one soldier who is being sent home.

Once again, Hanks proves to be a completely believable leader and military man who also brings a level of everyman to the role. The battle sequencesare brutal and intense, making Saving Private Ryanone of the most harrowing war movies ever made.

While war is dangerous for all soldiers involved, there is something extra terrifying about being atwar on the high seas, especially inside a submarine. U-571 is a WWII thriller about a group of American soldiers attempting to steal an encryption machine from a damaged German sub. When their own ship is attacked, they must survive onboard the damaged enemy boat.

RELATED:5 War Films From The 00s That Are Way Underrated (& 5 That Are Overrated)

While it plays loose with history, the movie effectively captures the claustrophobic feel of being trapped inside a sub underwater with the enemy above.

It is not just WWII films that share the same intense depiction of naval warfare. Crimson Tide is a modern take on that kind of story, which also deals with the idea of leadership in highly tense situations.

Denzel Washington plays the second-in-command onboard a nuclear sub while the world is on the verge of nuclear war. Cut off from the outside world, Washington begins to question the commands of the captain, played by Gene Hackman.

Most of theactioninGreyhound is seen within the battleship Hanks' officer commands. While the world is at war, it is fascinating to see a war movie that has such a specific focus.

Furyis another WWII film that tells a small-scale story of a tank team in the dying days of the war. Brad Pitt plays the commanding officer, a man very different from Hanks' character yet one with a similar sense of battle. It makes for a unique look at war in a way audiences have rarely seen.

A big aspect of Greyhound, and one of the most interesting aspects of the film, is its look at Hanks' character as a leader of men. This is his first big assignment in the military and he is put in charge of an entire convoy of ships.

RELATED:5 War Films From The 90s That Are Way Underrated (& 5 That Are Overrated)

This focus of the film is reminiscent of the classic war film Patton. George C. Scott plays the titular real-life American general in this glimpse at his campaign in WWII. The film is a fun exploration of his brilliant commanding style and his many flaws.

Since Greyhound deals with the early days of America's involvement in WWII, a great film to watch along with it would be Tora! Tora! Tora!, which deals with the attack on Pearl Harbor that prompted America's involvement.

The film is a spectacular epic, depicting both the American and Japanese side of the story. It makes for a thrilling look into military tactics and one of the most significant military moments in history.

Another film that expertly depicts the many threats and feelings of paranoia involved in naval warfare is the stunning German film Das Boot. The film centers around the crew of a German U-boat, who are battling the stress and anxiety of their position while beginning to question their fight in this war.

Das Bootis a harrowing film that gives rare insight into the other side of the battle. Like Greyhound, it is a film that focuses on the senselessness of war even as the soldiers fight with all their strength.

For a movie that is basically set in one location, Greyhound makes it a pulse-pounding adventure. It is also a unique war film in that much emphasis is put on the importance of survival rather than fighting.

RELATED:10 Great Anti-War Films To Watch If You Like Da 5 Bloods

Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk delivers a similar message. The film depicts the rescue mission of British troops from the beaches of France. There arefew heroic battle sequences, with the film focusing on people trying desperately to survive so they can live to fight another day.

There is a non-stop excitement to Greyhound that few movies can pull off. Asviewers follow Hanks' commander during the several days at sea, he bounces from one threat to another. As one catastrophe is averted, another arises just as fast. It makes for an edge-of-your-seat experience.

Sam Mendes' 1917 pulled off a similar feat. The World War I film follows two soldiers carrying a message across a battlefield. The one-shot look of the filmadds to the suspense and will leave audiences holding their breath until the credits roll.

Naval battles are not often depicted in Hollywood movies. Greyhound manages to make them realistic and exciting throughout the entire film. Another film that achieves this, albeit from a much earlier era, is Master and Commander.

Russell Crowe plays the commander of a British ship during the Napoleonic War as he and his crew do battle with the French on the high seas. Crowe makes for a stirring lead and the battle sequences are spectacular.

NEXT:5 Best & 5 Worst World War II Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Next 10 Of The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Films Made In The 2000s, Ranked By Rotten Tomatoes

A writer and film fan. I always enjoy keeping up with the latest films in theaters as well as discovering some hidden gems I may have overlooked. Glad to be a part of Screen Rant's positive and fun community and have the opportunity to share my thoughts with you.

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10 Movies To Watch If You Liked Greyhound | ScreenRant - Screen Rant

The oceans throughout history provided seemingly inexhaustible fish for people brave and skillful enough to exploit them. Whenever fish catches declined, fishers would sail farther and farther from home to meet their needs.1 Nowadays the entire global ocean is accessible. Large factory ships and the magic of refrigeration have allowed fishers to venture out for months or years, and more efficient and diverse ways of fishing have increased catches with little care or understanding about the incremental reduction of fish stocks.2 Before the middle of the twentieth century, no one but a few scientists worried about how long the bounty could last, until suddenly, everything began to collapse. Mini wars over fishing rights between Iceland and the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s, along with increasingly protective measures by other nations, led to the unilateral establishment of exclusive economic zones (EEZs) to keep foreign fishers away, the legitimacy of which were formally recognized in 1982 under the auspices of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea. Yet even still, as in Newfoundland, fisheries kept collapsing, with tragic consequences for entire communities.

The great majority of fisheries data come from coastal ecosystems including estuaries, marsh and mangrove wetlands, seagrass meadows, kelp forests, and coral reefs. In spite of great differences in their inhabitants, the dominant predators in each of these environments were historically large animals, including some combination of killer whales, sharks, seals, crocodiles, predatory fishes like tunas and sharks, and seabirds.3 Nowadays, however, most of these animals are so severely depleted as to be ecologically extinct. Humans have taken their place as the dominant predators at almost all trophic levels above the zooplankton.4 There is even a major fishery for krill in Antarctica, which are critically important for the survival of whales, without the necessary ecological data for an adequate stock assessment to know what is sustainable.5

Biomass of groundfish and sharks has been diminished by an order of magnitude in the northwest Atlantic.6 Similar depredations have affected coral reefs, kelp forests, estuaries and coastal seas, and the high seas.7 Many fisheries biologists originally claimed that the depletions of fish stocks were overstated, but a detailed assessment by the US National Research Council strongly supported the original claims.8 It is now generally accepted that two-thirds of global fisheries are overfished and getting worse, while many of the remaining, better-managed fisheries are not yet sufficiently recovered to be economically viable.9

Global fish catches are declining in spite of increased capacity supported by misguided government subsidies that only accentuate the problem.10 The greatest losses are for large-scale industrial fisheries, whereas artisanal catches appear to be more sustainable. Risks of biological extinction are also increasing for large animals.11 Caribbean Monk seals have already been lost, and their Hawaiian and Mediterranean counterparts are gravely threatened.12 Killer whales are rapidly diminishing globally, especially those species that depend on highly specific overfished prey like salmon.13 Caribbean sea turtles have declined in abundance 100-fold, and Caribbean crocodiles are threatened to endangered throughout most of their range.14 Sharks are globally threatened with losses of numerous species exceeding 90% or more.15

The oceans have long been the terminal point for our garbage, excrement, and chemicals. Coastal pollution most obviously began in the stench of estuaries like New York Harbor, which by the nineteenth century had become serious hazards to human health.16 Soon afterwards, entire semi-enclosed seas like the Baltic and Adriatic seas, Chesapeake Bay, and embayments of the Mississippi Delta were so polluted by excess nutrients and organic matter that oxygen levels declined, and fish kills were commonplace.17 More recently, the industrial pollution of toxic chemicals and greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels have extended to the farthest reaches of the oceans and the atmosphere, poisoning tuna and swordfish with mercury and littering the oceans with plastic.18

There are currently more than 500 coastal hypoxic dead zones worldwide that are largely due to massive increases in nutrient runoff from intensive agriculture made possible by cheap nitrogen fertilizer manufactured from petroleum.19 Excess nitrogen runoff fuels population explosions of phytoplankton far beyond the capacity of zooplankton and other suspension feeders to consume them. As a result, the excess phytoplankton die and sink to the seafloor where they are metabolized by microbes, a process that consumes most or all of the oxygen in bottom waters. Animals including fisheries species that cannot swim away die from asphyxia, except for a very few species that can survive in extremely low oxygen conditions.

The structural integrity of coastal marine habitats, from the tropics to the temperate zone, is dependent on the abundance of a small number of structurally dominant species of mangroves, saltmarshes, seagrasses, kelps, and reef corals that stabilize sediments and provide critical shoreline protection from storms.20 They are also important sites of carbon deposition and sequestration, and are important nursery habitats for fisheries.21 Coastal development and climate change effectively kills the environment, reducing biological structural stability and complexity. Global losses have been alarming, reaching 50% for mangroves and 30% for seagrasses.22 Global declines in living coral cover on reefs is also highly variable but commonly exceeds 50% throughout the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific.23

Other increasingly widespread forms of anthropogenic habitat change are more immediately destructive in reducing habitat complexity and biodiversity.24 The most damaging include dynamite fishing on coral reefs to harvest the fish that float to the surface; seabed trawling for shrimp, scallops, and groundfish that transforms biodiverse underwater forests into depauperate level bottoms of mud; and deep seafloor mining that, if it is allowed to proceed, will inevitably destroy seafloor ecosystems for decades and possibly centuries.25 Container ship traffic is also increasing almost exponentially and carries the double risk of fatal collisions with endangered whales and sound pollution that is dangerous for all cetaceans.26 Seismic oil and gas exploration causes even more severe sound pollution that can cause mass mortalities of whales and dolphins.27

Introductions of exotic species are also increasing due to expanding ship traffic, which discharge ever-increasing volumes of ballast water that contain larval stages of invertebrates, fishes, plankton, and pathogens.28 While the data are mostly circumstantial, the first mass mortality of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum occurred next to the Caribbean entrance of the Panama Canal, and the first widespread outbreaks of coral diseases in the Caribbean were recorded from nearby Colombia and adjacent Netherlands Antilles.29 Coral diseases are exacerbated by global warming, but these first Caribbean disease outbreaks occurred two decades before the first reports of coral bleaching due to extreme warming events.30 Introductions also occur due to deliberate or accidental release from aquaria, as with the Indo-Pacific lionfish that has devasted native fish populations of the Caribbean.31

Farmed salmon bones preserved in a laboratory in collaboration with palaeontologists at the University of Bergen, Norway. Michelle-Marie Letelier,Outline for The Bonding (Still #3), 2017. 16mm film transferred to HD. Image courtesy of the artist.

Impacts of climate change due to the burning of fossil fuels are also both direct and indirect, including rising average temperatures, extreme heating events, declining oxygen, ocean acidification, disease outbreaks, and intensification of extreme storms.32 Sea surface temperatures are rising globally, but disproportionately, with the greatest increases in polar seas and semi-enclosed basins in the temperate zones, such as the Gulf of Maine. The latitudinal limits of myriad species are rapidly increasing in response, as in the case of the Humboldt squid, whose northern limit shifted from southern California to the Gulf of Alaska in just a few decades due to a combination of climate change and overfishing that reduced the abundance of predators.33 Most species range shifts are more gradual but pervasive, with great implications for fisheries.34 For example, optimal conditions for Atlantic and Barents Sea cod are moving northward out of traditional fishing grounds and into different international jurisdictions, further exacerbating the consequences of historical overfishing.35 Tropical reef corals are also migrating towards higher latitudes, most strikingly along the southwest coast of Australia, where kelp forests are dying off and being replaced by subtropical species including reef corals.36

As oceans continue to warm, species characteristic of colder polar conditions have nowhere else to migrate and are at risk of extinction. Arctic species and entire ecosystems are increasingly threated by the loss of summer sea ice.37 Populations of polar bears, which historically fed on seals captured at breathing holes, are plummeting, and starving bears are showing up around human settlements where they forage on garbage and potentially whatever else.38 Other effects on polar food webs are still poorly understood, but the collapse of Antarctic krill, for example, would have grave impacts on the baleen whales that feed upon them.39

Global warming is also causing increases in the magnitude and frequency of extreme heating events wherein sea surface temperatures may rise 2 to 3C above normal maxima in just a few months.40 Consequences for reef corals can be catastrophic.41 Healthy reef corals exist in symbiosis with the dinoflagellates within their tissues that are critical to coral nutrition and calcification.42 Extreme heat breaks down this symbiosis, whereby corals evict the symbiont (which leaves them ghostly white, hence bleached). This is commonly fatal to the corals unless symbiosis is reestablished within a matter of weeks. Mass bleaching events are increasingly frequent and severe, raising questions about the very survival of coral reefs. The most recent extreme example was in 20152016 when most corals along the northern Great Barrier Reef bleached and died, and similar mass bleaching and mortality occurred across the Pacific.43 Another example is the enormous blob of hot water that appeared in the northeast Pacific in 2014 that was associated with collapses in species abundance and outbreaks of diseases.44

Climate change also sets off a cascading series of indirect effects that magnify its impact. The impact of coral diseases has greatly increased, especially in connection with mass bleaching events.45 Outbreaks of coral diseases are especially impactful on polluted reefs and those where overfishing has resulted in population explosions of fleshy algae, which have been shown experimentally to increase the vulnerability of corals to disease.46 In contrast, disease outbreaks are comparatively rare on unpolluted reefs in marine protected areas with abundant grazing fishes. Lobsters along the northeast coast of North America are also more vulnerable to shell wasting disease as waters warm, effectively wiping out the fishery in Long Island Sound.47

Oxygen concentrations are declining in the open ocean because warming surface waters makes them lighter, which in turn slows down the vertical mixing of the oceans; a runaway process that decreases the rate of oxygen transport to the deep sea and upwelling of nutrients to the sea surface.48 The process is especially striking in the equatorial Pacific, and in the Arctic ocean where the cover of summer sea ice is rapidly decreasing.49 Sea ice is highly reflective, dispersing heat back into the atmosphere, whereas seawater absorbs heat and sets up a positive feedback that is effectively irreversible. Reduced nutrient upwelling and declining oxygen are strongly associated with decreases in open ocean productivity, which is the basis for high seas fisheries.50

The ocean is also becoming more acidic. Solution in seawater of increasing atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide has resulted in a global reduction in ocean pH of 0.1 units over the past century.51 The biologic consequences of acidification are still poorly understood and controversial, but could affect the reproduction, physiology, growth, and development of a wide variety of plants and animals. The most obvious impacts are on organisms that form their skeletons of calcium carbonate, which is more easily dissolved under more acidic conditions. This is already affecting shellfish aquaculture industries in the state of Washington, where pH has been steadily declining.52 Aquaculturists have been forced to raise vulnerable juvenile clams and oysters under less acidic conditions in aquaria on land before placing them in the ocean.53 Reef corals are also vulnerable to increasing acidity. Corals grown under present-day more acidic conditions grew 15% more slowly than corals where pH was maintained at historically less acidic conditions.54

Bird watchers were pioneers in the early rise of the conservation movement, with organizations such as the Audubon Society fighting to stop the slaughter of herons and egrets for womens hats.55 Similarly, its not just important for tourism that increasing numbers of people pay good money to see whales up close in the wild and increasingly to SCUBA dive with sharks.56 Besides the thrill of witnessing their power and grace, whale and shark watchers learn about the lives and behavior of these animals and how they fit into ocean ecosystems which, in turn, leads to increased support for their protection.

Horror at the slaughter of whales was a major factor in the establishment of the International Whaling Commission in 1946 which, despite persistent opposition from a few countries, has resulted in dramatic recoveries of most whale species.57 In addition to the ethical issues inherent in the mass slaughter of such animals, we now know that the great whales were once (and increasingly are now again) vitally important ecosystem engineers, as predators of massive amounts of fish and invertebrates, prey for other large predators, highly mobile reservoirs of carbon and nutrients, and as carcasses, sources of energy and habitat in the deep sea.58

Similar public concerns about the loss of other marine mammals were a driving factor in the enactment of the United States Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, which prohibits the killing, harm, harassment, or collection of any marine mammal in US territorial waters or by US citizens anywhere else. It also forbids the importation of any marine mammal products or parts. Populations of most marine mammals have varyingly recovered, although their comparative success is strongly associated with their life histories, habitat requirements, and geographic range.59 The depletion of essential forage fish due to overfishing also inhibits their recovery.60 One obvious manifestation of success is the greatly increased abundance of seals along the east and west coasts of the US, where their activities and real or perceived impacts on fisheries are not always welcome. Their rebound has also led to increases in great white sharks near shore, restoring a degree of balance to marine food webs while generating new questions about perceived risks to humans and potential impacts on endangered species.61

Increased tourist revenues have also led to the banning of shark fishing on coral reefs by entire nations because the sharks are vastly more lucrative alive than dead. Economic analysis for the government of Palau demonstrated that diver tourism provides 39% of the countrys total GDP, and that 21% of divers come principally to dive with sharks. The approximately 100 sharks in prime shark dive sites are each worth about US$180,000 per year in tourist revenue, or US$1.9 million during their lifetimes, versus about $110 for their fins and meat.62 Shark diving is a burgeoning global industry that is not without its environmental concerns, although if it is done responsibly, the net conservation value appears to be generally positive.63

New studies of the remarkable behavior and migrations of ocean species are also increasing public support for increased protections.64 The electronic tagging of thousands of individuals of different species of Pacific whales, seabirds, seaturtles, tunas and other large fish, and sharks has revealed striking transoceanic migrations of some species versus others that move much smaller distances.65 Bluefin tuna, for example, move back and forth across the Atlantic and Pacific, hanging out for up to a year or more in the same general location before moving on.66 In contrast, eastern Pacific great white sharks move back and forth between the California coast where they feed on burgeoning seal populations and an area of deep ocean halfway between Baja California and Hawaii dubbed the White Shark Caf, where they feed on vertically migrating fishes and invertebrates.67 Over 200 of these sharks have been tagged and followed for up to twenty years.68

Wild salmon eggs at Arna Sport Fishermens Association, Norway. Michelle-Marie Letelier,Outline for The Bonding (Still #5), 2017. 16mm film transferred to HD. Image courtesy of the artist.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are an increasingly popular and effective conservation strategy for biodiversity and habitat protection when effectively financed, administered, and enforced.69 Unprotected paper parks, however, can do more harm than good by lulling people into thinking everything is fine when it is not.70 MPAs are also controversial from the perspective of fisheries management, with some arguing that MPAs are the most effective tool available versus those who believe that other management tools such as catch shares and gear restrictions are more effective in most cases than simple area closures.71

Cabo Pulmo in the southern Sea of Cortez is one of the most spectacular success stories of an effectively enforced MPA.72 Although it was severely overfished at the time, Cabo Pulmo was designated as a Mexican marine national park in 1995 on the basis of its coral populations. Protections did not become effective until local villagers self-organized to enforce the entire park as a no-take area in the late 1990s. Fish biomass was less than one metric ton per hectare in 1999, comparable to other unprotected areas or paper parks throughout the Gulf of California. Subsequent to the villagers protection, biomass increased over the following ten protected years to about 4.5 metric tons, while all other areas failed to increase. Biomass and diversity have fluctuated since 2009, in large part due to the community evolving towards a more natural composition that includes greater populations of schooling fishes as well as more abundant corals. The greatest potential threat to Cabo Pulmo is its notorious success, which attracts burgeoning numbers of tourists and development.

A network of nine well enforced no-take MPAs and two partial-take MPAs was established around four of the northern Channel Islands off the coast of California in 2003 and revisited ten years later.73 The biomass of preferred fisheries species approximately doubled within MPAs at three of the four islands, but non-targeted species showed little response. The biomass of targeted species outside the reserves also increased by about one quarter, possibly because of a spillover effect. Similar results were obtained the Cowcod Conservation Areas established in the southern Channel Islands in 2001, where abundances of six of eight targeted species and four of seven non-targeted rockfish species increased regionally from 1998 to 2013.74 Rising temperatures during the study are a complicating factor. Nevertheless, 75% of targeted species but none of the non-targeted species increased inside compared to outside of the MPAs while controlling for environmental factors.

The establishment of very large marine protected areas within exclusive economic zones has increased the area of ocean within MPAs to only 3.5%, about half of which are under strong protection.75 Meanwhile, most ocean ecosystems are hemorrhaging, as major fishing fleets continue to expand their global operations.76 This may be changing, however, as the international community finally begins to seriously consider international governance of the high seas defined as areas beyond national jurisdictions. The first major achievement in this was the agreement to establish the worlds largest marine protected area by the twenty-five-national-member Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.77 The agreement protects all wildlife and bans fishing for overfished krill and Patagonian and Antarctic Toothfish in 600,000 square miles in the Ross Sea for thirty-five years. Much more will have to be done, however, to preserve populations around Antarctica where these species are threatened by overfishing and rapid climate change and have ripple effects on the marine mammals and penguins that depend upon them.

The scientific case for closing the high seas to fisheries is strong. Nearly 98% of global seafood production comes from the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of individual nations and aquaculture. What does come from the high seas is mostly luxury species such as tuna and billfishes, yet their commercial value is even less.78 Moreover, most high seas fisheries are heavily dependent on government subsidies by a small number of wealthy countries that can afford the enormous costs.79 Closure of the high seas to fishing would therefore have great economic and social benefits in addition to environmental protections of fish stocks and the long-distance migration routes of marine megafauna.80 Most compellingly, the overwhelming majority of high seas fishery species are also major components of fisheries within national EEZs, which means that closure of the high seas to fishing would produce a vast MPA where commercially important species could prosper, reproduce, and spill over into EEZs whose potential catches would increase.81 Further advantages would include simplification of policing the rampant problem of pirate fishing and transfers at sea.82

While commonly overshadowed by bad news, concerted actions to reduce pollution and protect keystone species have resulted in many recoveries of marine populations and ecosystems.83 The installation of modern sewage systems and the reduction in nutrient runoff have varyingly improved water quality, reduced excess planktonic productivity and toxic algal blooms, and restored seagrass meadows, salt marshes, and fisheries in estuaries around the world.84 These efforts demonstrate that even greater progress could be achieved in stabilizing coastal ecosystems if adequate measures are taken to eliminate or greatly reduce pollutant runoff, and most importantly agricultural nutrients.85 Serious efforts to do so have not yet materialized, however, because farmers dont have to pay for what they pollute. There is also a problem of scale in semi-enclosed seas like the Baltic because nutrient buildups in sediments are already so great that simply reducing nutrient runoff may not suffice.

Banning the use of fish pots around Bermuda in 1990, where fish populations had collapsed due to overfishing, resulted in rapid rebounding of fish populations dominated by schools of large parrotfish.86 Since then, abundances have remained high except for the large predatory fish that remain overfished. Coral populations also have steadily increased due to the control of algal populations by the abundant parrotfish. Caribbean coral reefs are generally extremely overfished, but the few places where both fishing and pollution are effectively controlled uniquely support high coral abundance.

Detail of farmed salmon scales, Norway. Michelle-Marie Letelier,Outline for The Bonding (Still #2), 2017. 16mm film transferred to HD. Image courtesy of the artist.

Despite important accomplishments, comprehensive policies are lacking to address the unsustainability of the modern economy that is driving ecosystem collapses and threatening human wellbeing.87 Nature is a complex system, and much of that system as we knew it is irreversibly breaking down.88 Environmental perturbations in one place almost inevitably have repercussions down the line, be it agricultural pollution in the US cornbelt causing the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico or the effects of runoff and overfishing on outbreaks of disease affecting reef corals. Huge energy and investment in projects to restore populations of corals in Florida and on the Great Barrier Reef are making much progress in terms of the technical details of raising, breeding, and growing corals, but they are also absurdly expensive and small scale, not to mention that putting the corals back into the same nutrient polluted environments and expecting them to somehow survive is folly. More fundamentally, they are bandaids to address the symptoms of ocean decline rather than addressing the fundamental root causes of the ocean crisis: global warming, overfishing, and land-based pollution.89

The most encouraging development towards adapting to and managing these realities is that large scale efforts to decarbonize the global economy are beginning to gain traction despite political intransigence, not least because, in addition to its obvious advantages for human health and the environment, green energy is financially a better option than heavily subsidized fossil fuels.90 California, the fifth largest global economy, is committed to be carbon neutral by 2045 and is well on track, and electric cars are becoming a more practical alternative to gasoline and diesel. The outstanding question is how rapidly opposition can be overcome to speed things up and take actions on the appropriate scales.

This paper is adapted from a presentation at the University of Utah submitted to Island Press. The author is grateful to Jennifer Jacquet for her helpful review of the manuscript.

Oceans in Transformation is a collaboration between TBA21Academy and e-flux Architecture within the context of the eponymous exhibition at Ocean Space in Venice by Territorial Agency and its manifestation on Ocean Archive.

Jeremy Jackson is Senior Scientist Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution and Professor of Oceanography Emeritus at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

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Revaluing the Oceans - Architecture - e-flux - E-Flux

China appears to be accelerating its campaign to control the South China Sea and the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Beijing does itself no favours with the highly ambiguous nature of its claims in the region. Its internationally condemned nine-dash line sometimes appears to be delineating its claims to the island features within it. More ominously, Beijing sometimes insinuates the line as a maritime delineation, carving out sovereign control of the sea itself as well as the airspace above it.

Chinas ongoing militarisation of many artificial features in disputed waters is well known. A less well known, but highly consequential implication of this militarisation is the vastly increased capacity it gives China to project power not only to control the reefs and rocks of the South China Sea, but, in the future, to assert control over the high seas and airspace above it. Beijing is vocal about its opposition to innocent passage and other military activities within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zones.

Beijing has tried hard to keep its dispute resolution efforts focused on bilateral negotiations between itself and the various claimants, effectively fracturing a united response by ASEAN. Pushback in the region is only now beginning. Chinas sweeping claims also impact many countries that lie far beyond the shores of the South China Sea. The US, Japan, Australia, India and many others around the world have critical interests in using the sea directly for economic, scientific and military purposes. More urgently, maintaining an open and free system of movement through the high seasand in the future, in outer spaceis of critical importance.

The decisive rejection of Chinas claims in the South China Sea by an arbitral tribunal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 2016 only accelerated Beijings continued bad-faith efforts to construct features, militarise them, and extend administrative control over others presence and activities to the furthest reaches of the nine-dash line. In fact, the ruling decisively rejects both Chinas claims to many rocks and maritime features and the idea that these islands can generate territorial seas and exclusive economic zones.

This studied strategic ambiguity by China (on display on other fronts as well) should encourage the international community to confront an alternative and altogether darker explanation for Beijings behaviourthat it is building forces and positions in the region so that over the long term it can assert sovereign authority over the South China Sea.

This interpretation of Chinas actions, though difficult to accept, should be considered as a possibility in military and strategic planning efforts around the world with an eye towards avoiding this worst-case outcome. It is important to remember that the scope and scale of Chinas claims are unprecedented in international law and have no real analogue anywhere else on earth. An unwillingness to confront this scenario risks ceding Beijing permanent control over economic and military activities over a large and critical section of the worlds oceansand beyond.

The South China Sea is a third larger than the Mediterranean Sea and more than twice as large as the Gulf of Mexico. Acknowledging Chinas sweeping claims to sovereignty over this massive space would increase the possibility of a future international environment in which ever larger portions of the global commons are cut off and controlled by individual nations.

Either the international community believes in maintaining a free and open global commons and protects international law or it doesnt. If it doesnt, then Chinas potential annexation of this vast space will guarantee similar claims over the worlds oceans. To foreclose on this future will require an active and aggressive response by the widest grouping of states possible. Regardless of how individual claims over the various land features in the South China Sea are resolved, the entire globe has a stake in free and open access to the region.

For this reason, the US, along with all major allies and partners, should explicitly link Chinas own access to the global commons with its behaviour in the South China Sea. Washingtons announcement of its rejection of Beijings maritime claims, underscored by the US Navy dual aircraft carrier strike group exercises in the region, is a good beginning. However, operations in the South China Sea play to Chinas strengths. The US and the widest range of allies and partners in the international community should begin to articulate and apply escalating administrative and technical restrictions globally on Chinese shipping, air travel and transport in and through exclusive economic zones around the world by participating countries.

Restrictions on economic and military transit and scientific exploration should be pre-planned and scalable so that they are similar to Chinese moves in the South China Sea. These allied grey zone competitive activities could be problematic for Beijing; they would drastically increase the cost and complication of accessing the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. For example, contiguous US, Japanese and Philippine zones restrict direct Chinese access to the Western Pacific. This possibility should be communicated to Beijing should it attempt to assert sovereign control in the South China Sea through force.

Securing the highest degree of freedom and access throughout the global commons should be the ultimate goal of this international effort. Focused and reciprocal restrictions on China throughout the exclusive economic zones of the world should be coupled with strong assurances that they remain open for participating nations. Moreover, these restrictions on China should be easily and quickly reversible. When Beijing comes to its senses on the use of the South China Sea, its access to the global maritime commons should be both restored and encouraged.

Although this strategic approach to countering Beijings most aggressive designs in the South China Sea appears to be rather drastic, like-minded nations around the world should be prepared to deliver a decisive shock to Beijings calculations about any gains it may achieve by limiting access to the South China Sea and rejecting the free use of the global commons more generally. Even hinting that a global response on this scale is possible should concentrate minds in Beijing on their strong and growing dependence on the global commons to reach their much vaunted centenary goals. Together, allied nations should encourage China to support an open and free global commons today in the South China Sea.

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How to stop China completing its takeover of the South China Sea - The Strategist

Overfishing is one of the greatest threatsto ocean health, yet for decades many governments have paid subsidies to their fishing fleets, helping them fish beyond levels that are biologically sustainable. Its time to end these harmful subsidies, some of which even support illegal fishing activities. Now, new case studies show that World Trade Organization (WTO) measures to end those harmful payments could help local fishers while increasing global catch.

Not all fisheries subsidies are harmful. Some, for example, might help artisanal fishers survive a lean season, and those payments should be maintained. But studies show that governments are spending $22.2 billion per year on payments that encourage overfishing. These subsidies, paid to help offset the costs of vessel fuel, upgrades, port renovations, and other expenses, enable primarily industrial fleets to fish farther from shore and longer than they otherwise would. A June 2018 study found that without government subsidies, as much as 54% of the present high-seas fishing grounds would be unprofitable.

Fortunately, the global community has recognized this problem and the need to address it: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14 Target 6, which U.N. member governments agreed to in 2015, tasks the WTO with crafting an agreement to end harmful fisheries subsidies. WTO members were on track to finalize this deal at a June meeting but have postponed that conference due to COVID-19.

The new case studies provide the first practical evidence of how curbing subsidy-driven overfishing would improve fishery sustainability and benefit local fishers, their families, and their communities.

To produce the studies, the International Institute for Sustainable Development commissioned researchers to examine fish stock exploitation levels, governance regimes, revenue from landings, income from subsidies, and operating costs in three fisheries: shrimp in Latin America, sardinella in West Africa, and southern longline tuna in the Pacific. The researchers were then asked to examine the economic impacts of possible WTO disciplines, and options for managing these impacts.

Broadly, the studies found that reforming harmful fisheries subsidies could lead to higher yields for local fishers, which in turn could help provide more stable jobs, raise fishers incomes, reduce poverty, and improve food security in local communities.

Incomplete or inadequate reporting often allows governments to obscure the nature of their subsidy programs, creating challenges in evaluating their true impacts. But if governments commit to increased transparency and more complete notifications to the WTO of their subsidy programs, analysts and observers will gain a far better understanding of the potential effects of any new policy.

Here are some of the specific findings from the case studies.

In the Latin American shrimp fisheries:

Key takeaway: WTO disciplines could help artisanal fisheries compete with industrial vessels that may not be profitable without subsidies. Fuel and vessel maintenance subsidies represented 20% to 50% of income for industrial vessels in Mexico and Nicaragua, for example.

In the West African sardinella fishery:

Key takeaway: WTO disciplines could limit the harmful subsidies contributing to the overcapacity and overfishing of sardinella for both sectors. These subsidies cover the costs of fuel, certain capital costs, and access to other countries waters, as well as contribute to allowing illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, mostly by foreign vessels. Previous studies have estimated that West African fishers are losing up to $2.3 billion in revenue each year due to IUU fishing in the region.

In the western and central Pacific longline tuna fishery:

Key takeaway: Though the impact of WTO disciplines would likely vary in different parts of the fishery, ending subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity could reduce the overall fishing effort and allow for Pacific island countries to better develop their domestic fishing industries.

WTO members still have a chance to reach a trade deal that could realize unprecedented benefits for the ocean. While new WTO measures might require transition periods to help vulnerable fishers mitigate potential short-term impacts of subsidy removal, meaningful subsidy prohibitions, coupled with improved fisheries management at the national level, could improve economic and environmental conditions in fisheries around the world.

The new case studies show that subsidy reform would improve ocean health and help fishing fleets operate sustainably far into the future.

Isabel Jarrettis a manager and Reyna Gilbert is a senior associate with The Pew Charitable Trusts project to reduce harmful fisheries subsidies.

Read the rest here:

Fisheries Subsidies Reform Could Reduce Overfishing and Illegal Fishing, Case Studies Find - The Pew Charitable Trusts

Last months clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh was the most significant conflict between the two countries since 1967. Despite signs of a partial tactical pullback in some places, there is considerable risk of further confrontations and even escalation along the disputed border. Some have been urging the Indian government to respond to Chinas moves in the Himalayas by placing pressure on Beijing in the Indian Ocean. What are Indias options and how likely is it to take such actions?

The Indian Ocean holds a particular place in the India-China strategic relationship. In almost every dimension, whether it be economic, nuclear or the conventional strategic balance along the Line of Actual Control in the Himalayas, India is probably at a considerable strategic disadvantage to China. Only in the Indian Ocean, which includes Chinas vital energy routes from the Persian Gulf and Africa, does India have the upper hand.

This has important implications for the strategy dynamic. Decades ago, prominent US Sinologist John Garver argued that in the event of a conflict between the two countries, India might be tempted to escalate from the land dimension, where it may suffer reverses, to the maritime dimension, where it enjoys substantial advantages, and employ those advantages to restrict Chinas vital Indian Ocean trade.

In strategic jargon, the Indian Ocean represents interior lines for India where the Indian Navy is close to its own bases and logistics and exterior lines for China, where its navy is operating with limited logistical support, away from home. Strategists tell us that you should meet your adversary in your own interior lines and their exterior lines. (That is the reason the Indian Navy is far from keen to get into any confrontation with China in the South China Sea.)

Short of all-out war, or perhaps an Indian Ocean equivalent of the Cuban Missile crisis, any attempt to interfere with trade would be subject to massive pushback from countries around the world.

This vulnerability gives the maritime dimension of the relationship a special significance. For example, the 2012 Non-Alignment 2.0 report by leading Indian strategic thinkers advocates that India should leverage potential opportunities that flow from peninsular Indias location in the Indian Ocean as part of an asymmetric strategy towards China.

These considerations have driven the Indian Navy to adopt a strategy of building its naval capabilities near the Indian Ocean chokepoints, particularly around the Malacca Strait, to create an implicit threat of interdiction of Chinas sea lines of communication. The navy considers that its previous threats of blockade made against Pakistan in several previous conflicts had a significant impact.

Indeed, in the aftermath of the Ladakh clashes in June, the Indian Navy was placed in a heightened state of alert and reportedly deployed additional ships to sea, although it is not clear precisely where. In recent weeks, Indian naval commentators have suggested that while India would have a difficult time imposing a blockade on Chinese shipping, it should nevertheless consider interdicting Chinese tankers as they pass near Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands, or otherwise deter, delay or divert shipping traffic to and from China.

Others have also noted the potential for Washington to move its carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt into the Malacca Straits/Bay of Bengal area to deter any serious escalation of conflict in the Himalayas. (Which, incidentally, would be an interesting replay of President John F. Kennedys decision to send the carrier USS Kitty Hawk to support India during the 1962 Sino-Indian war.)

This has not gone unnoticed in Beijing. According to Chinas Global Times, the PLA Navys Southern Theatre Command (which has responsibility for Chinas operations in the Indian Ocean) responded with naval drills in the South China Sea on 18 June.

Putting aside all this sabre-rattling, what are the realistic options for India (or others) to pressure Chinas trading routes in the Indian Ocean?

In fact, some naval analysts are deeply sceptical of the ability of any navy to impose a distant blockade of China in the Indian Ocean. Short of inspecting every ship which would be a huge task how could a blockade identify those that are actually headed to Chinese ports? What is to stop ships being rerouted in transit, a common event even in normal times? Even if a blockade could be successfully imposed, could China obtain sufficient energy supplies from other sources (which currently includes an epic 73 million barrels of oil reserves floating off the coast of China)? Just as importantly, what is to stop China retaliating with its own blockade or interdictions?

Even more important than these practical considerations, the political and diplomatic costs to India would be enormous. Short of all-out war, or perhaps an Indian Ocean equivalent of the Cuban Missile crisis, any attempt to interfere with trade would be subject to massive pushback from countries around the world including from Indias most important strategic partners.

In short, the Indian Navy might (or might not) have the capability to block Chinese trade through the Indian Ocean, but would Beijing take the threat seriously?

This article is part of a two-year project being undertaken by the National Security College on the Indian Ocean, with the support of the Department of Defence.

Excerpt from:

India-China conflict: A move from the Himalayas to the high seas? - The Interpreter

The worlds only biker rally cruise, High Seas Rally, will now take place on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship October 22-29, 2021.

Riding with all the excitement and camaraderie of motorcycle rallies, the High Seas Rally will sail on Royal Caribbeans Mariner of the Seas from Port Canaveral to Nassau, Bahamas; Perfect Day at Coco Cay, Bahamas; Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and Labadee, Haiti.

2021 will mark the 21st High Seas Rally sailing, each powered by legions of bike enthusiasts who come together for a first-class vacation that celebrates love of motorcycles and the freedom of the high seas. Rally cruisers also share a passion for helping others, which is the engine behind the High Seas Rally Dialysis Program and its rich history of giving back to the community.

Sponsored Links

Plans for the 2021 High Seas Rally include:

Entertainment: The Slow Ride at sea will be headlined by Foghat, plus Molly Hatchet and more bands to be announced in the coming months. On the High Seas Rally, the musicians dont just perform, they sail and party with guests all week.

Cruising for a Cause: The High Seas Rally sails with the proud legacy of supporting dialysis patients by providing them with an incredible all-expenses paid vacation on the high seas. In 21, the cruise will expand the cause to honor and support Military Veterans and First Responders.

Host Xavier Muriel: Their first-time host is Cycle Source Magazines 2019 Readers Poll Builder of the Year and builder of Easyriders Magazines 2019 Bike of the Year. Xavier, former drummer for the rock band Buckcherry, is currently building a custom HSR motorcycle at his garage (Providence Cycle Worx in Austin, Texas) which will be awarded to a lucky guest to take home after the 21 cruise.

Host Dave Nichols: Daves motorcycle credentials include rides as editor-in-chief of Easyriders and V-Twin motorcycle magazines, host of V-Twin TV (26-episode series on SPEED Channel) and a new TV series called Chrome Chronicles featuring host Richard Karn. He has written and produced over 1,200 TV commercials, wrote and produced a series of specials for HBO and was head writer and producer of American Top 40 for ABC. He also has produced live TV events and developed ad campaigns for radio, TV and feature films.

Comedian Roy Riley: For more than 43 years, Roy has entertained crowds from coast to coast as a stand-up comic. Guests have been hooked on Roy ever since he joined the first High Seas Rally in 2003. Roy keeps the fun and frivolity rolling during onboard shows, events and gatherings.

Newly Remodeled Cruise Ship: Royal Caribbeans Mariner of the Seas recently completed a $120 million renovation that saw many new features added to the vessel.

Cabin rates for the High Seas Rally begin at $900 per person, and include meals, tickets to all concerts, activities, parties and other events. Further information can be found at http://www.highseasrally.com or by calling 844-279-8460.

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Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Hosting World's Only Biker Cruise in 2021 - Cruise Fever

Photo by: Melissa C. Beckman

S.A. Chakraborty is the Locus Award, World Fantasy Award, British Fantasy Award, Crawford Award, and Astounding Award-nominated author of The Daevabad Trilogy, which she describes as an epic fantasy inspired by the folklore and history of the medieval Islamic world that I dreamed up while working in a medical office and finished ten years later during a pandemic. Beginning with The City of Brassand followed by The Kingdom of Copper, the trilogy is now complete with The Empire of Gold, released in June.

For her next project, the writer is taking on a historical fantasy trilogy about an adventure heist thats a bit like Pirates of the Caribbean meets Oceans 11, set in the 13th century Indian Ocean, featuring ex-Crusaders and pirate mothers. (More details here.) A week after her AMA with r/Books (which we highly recommend for those interested in craft), Chakraborty dropped by r/Fantasy for another AMA, where she talked about post-trilogy-completing feelings, writing advice, historical medical procedures, a mythological tree that bears human fruit (!), a very cocky medieval guide to con artistry, parents (ranked), love, stealing a horse on the high seas, and much, much more. Here are the (spoiler-free) highlights!

[Editors note:Questions and responses may have been edited for length and clarity.]

How does it feel to wrap up The Daevabad Trilogy?

I am very, very tired. Haha, no honestly, my emotions have been all over the place. Ive been working on the Daevabad Trilogy for over a decade, nearly my entire adult life, and these fictional characters have been living in my brain through job changes and relocations, marriage and parenthood. Its hard to let them go! But for however sad and wistful Ive been, I mostly feel very, very satisfied. Writing these books put me through the wringer, but Im incredibly proud of the conclusionand more than that, I feel honored to see their reception among readers. People send me fan art! Theres fanfiction! Do you know how freaking cool that is a creator to see?? Its just been an awesome experience.

Can you rank the parents of The Daevabad Trilogy for us?

I feel like theres a spoiler version of this question but Ill resist!

From best to worst:

The Sens

MYSTERY

Hatset

Seif

MYSTERY

Daras parents

Kaveh

Manizheh and Ghassan, Ghassan and Manizheh.you know what, Im very barely putting Manizheh before Ghassan. Hes still the worst.

I think Nahri would make a good mom. Im sure shed be super anxious about it, but shes been through enough horrible things and fought for her own ambitions that I can see her being very understanding, supportive, and fiercely protective.

Lets talk about love! What made you decide to take Nahris romantic arc where you did? (Editors note: This answer is spoiler-free, but you can find the full, spoiler-filled version here.)

Ah, but the romance. With the Daevabad Trilogy, I really wanted to center the romance from Nahris point of view and explore the different ways love, attraction, and passion might weave in and out of her life throughout a period of years. And I wanted it to feel as real, nuanced and messy as love often does in real life. What is it like to have her first crush? To learn how to trust? To be betrayed? To have to navigate a political marriage? How would all this work in terms of her own agency and desire rather than prioritizing the feelings of male characters? And I wanted the story to reflect how Nahriherselffelt about love: that it could be a sentiment not to be trusted, a distraction. That in the end, there were other things she desired just as much, if not more.

Non-spoiler thoughts on romance since I have a spot to put them: I am not unaware this topic has roused some passionate debate among readers! Frankly, Im content to have written the canon and let readers find joy in shipping whoever they want. Its an adult book and were in the middle of a pandemic, steal your happiness where you can find it. But I hope people can do so without tearing into each other. Fictional men (heck, many real ones) arent worth that much negative energy.

How did you approach writing the trilogys complex medical characters and scenes?

I knew I wanted to make my main character a healer, but I also wanted to get it right (I was working in an ob/gyn clinic at the time and watching my own spouse go through medical school and a grueling residency). I wanted to play with some historical techniques and procedures such as the theory of humors, cupping, and trepanation. But more than that, I wanted it all to feel real. I wanted Nahris training to be as grueling and time-consuming as a modern medical student. I wanted some of her patients to be incredibly difficult and I wanted her to make mistakes that would get people killed. It was important to show the arc that gives her the confidence to do surgery in the third bookbecause you need a certain level of insane confidence to cut into someones head! But this also comes with responsibility. For all the politics and war and magical shenanigans (and romance, yes) her overriding ambition is to survive and take care of her patients.

The scenes! I really like the history of medicine so first came the research (and some memorable trips to medical history museums in both the US and the UK). But for the final pass, I always made sure to run everything by the aforementioned spouse. Theres always plenty to nitpick and criticize when you read any book, but let me tell youI know I got the brain surgery correct!

And what about developing and realizing the arcs of characters caught between conflicting loyalties?

I really just wanted to make these characters as messy and real and human as possible and with every revision, I tried to bring this more to the surface. No matter the magical world, theyre dealing with things that rip apart both the larger world and peoples heart everywhere: struggles with faith, duties to community, family drama. I spent a lot of time both sitting with each new dilemma/scene and trying out various paths (so much rewriting and words that will never see the light of day). There is no rule, no craft secret Ive stumbled upon (I had essentially no creative writing background or experience before these books which I can admit now in public since theyve been nominated for awards enough 😉 Its just practice. Critique and revise as many times as you can.

Whats your favorite, most outlandish myth from the medieval Islamic world that you wish youd included in the trilogy but didnt?

Oh man, this is legitimately difficult as there are so many to choosebut the waqwaq tree. Which varies among tellings but is essentially a tree that bears human fruit. Yes. Sometimes children. Sometimes women. Sometimes just heads that wail and scream omens. Theres a bit of a mystery because sometimes its also referred to as the island of Waqwaq, which may or may not contain heads. But you can find elements of the story dating back to earlier Persian tales and the Alexander romances.

What book about that particular period of history would you recommend?

There are a lot but I really enjoy The Book of the Wonders of India. Its set up as a collection of sailors yarns by a tenth century Captain Buzurg ibn Shahriyar (who may or may not have existed) and it just captures such a wide-eyed and woundrous (and wild and often extremely racist!) look at traveling the seas in the early medieval era. From monsters and mermaids to deathly gales and dodgy piratesits one of those books that reminds you how very human the past was.

Any favorite books you came across while doing research?

Theres a great translation coming out from the Library of Arabic Literature of al-Jawbaris Book of Charlatans which is essentially a medieval guide to being a con artist, written by someone who was SUPREMELY full of himself. Its magnificently bizarre and contains an anecdote about a scheme using a trained monkey said to be a bewitched Indian prince to guilt people out of money of the mosque (where said monkey makes his ablutions and performs prayer!)

Lets talk writing advice. How did you get yourself to write when you first started out and not fall into the whole am I good enough to be a writer trap?

I have what is probably both a depressing and inspiring answer to this: I truly, deeply did not ever imagine my dream of seeing these books published would come true. I wanted them to! Desperately! But I had no creative writing background and was not raised with the idea that the arts could be a career (not that my parents discouraged mebut I was a first generation college student from a working class family: financial stability was the dream). And I didnt want to let myself dream too much because I didnt want to me crushed if it all came crashing down. So I wrote the books because I wanted to. I did the work of getting them critiqued and looking for an agent because I had people in my corner who loved them and pushed me, but I didnt let myself get hopeful. I meanI still havent and the trilogy has been optioned by Netflix so you think Impostor Syndrome would start to fade but apparently not.

Which is a long rambling way of saying there is no good enough to be a writer. Write if you want to write, if you have ideas and stories burning in your brain. Write them because you deserve to have a creative outlet in your life regardless if it goes anywhere that pays the bills. And if it does one day? Fantastic! if it doesnt? Every sentence you craft is practice that makes you better. Trust me: I know this is hard to internalize. I agonized over whether or not writing was selfish when my daughter was a baby. But you get to have this.

Coming from a historical background, how did you transition from something grounded in data and archives to building a fantasy world?

I think by both constantly trying to internalize that theyre different things and by reading other works of historical fiction to remind yourself that most arent getting down every tiny detail. Youre trying to sketch out an atmosphere, a scene, a tastenot argue a thesis.

Do you have any advice on adapting existing folktales and mythology without insulting their religions and cultures of origin?

This is a question that needs a far longer answer than I can provide here, but I try to flip the question and not ask what I can do without insulting such traditions, but what I can do to honor and respect them. People (often in the majority demographic) get horribly offended when they think theyre being toldnotto write something when really the attitude of questioning your intentions, trying to internalize and sit with critique, and considering existing power structures, your place in them, and the particular work under consideration will take you pretty far! And probably make you a better, more empathetic author!

In general, I dont think Id feel comfortable doing a deep or edgy reinterpretation of a living religion that isnt mine. Not because of fears of getting called out, but because it doesnt really sit right with me and isnt my lane in a way I think every writer needs to decide for themselves (and I think we should normalize both these discussions and the idea that people can learn). For example, I think the Mahabharat contains some of the greatest storytelling in history, and in particular I find Karna fascinating (the hidden family trauma! the loyalty to the one man who treated him right!) But I wouldnt try to retell his story. Im neither South Asian nor Hindu and it doesnt feel right. I might be inspired by elements of his character or arc, but I wouldnt try to make him as Karna mine. I couldnt do justice to him. (though relatedly, there is a fantastic YA space opera by a South Asian author that takes both Karna and the Mahabharat as its framing and its really, really good: A SPARK OF WHITE FIREhttps://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/sky-pony-press/9781510733817/a-spark-of-white-fire/

Whats the best writing advice youve ever gotten?

Best advice: FINISH THE BOOK. Dont get worn down into despair over a single scene or spend three months on the first ten pages. Writing is a very personal process but I do believe it is generally easier to see a storys larger arc or where the pieces need to go once you have a draft, even if that draft is half outline.

So tell us, how does one steal a horse on the high seas?

So I wrote the stealing a horse on the high sea as a nod to an anecdote from Ibn al-Mujawirs 13th century travelogue about the constant thieving between the so-called pirate amirs of Kish and the free agent pirate contractors horse merchants would hire to steal their horsesbackfrom the amirsthan realized I might want to use it in the next book so I might make you hunt the details yourself for now!

Head on over to r/Fantasy for the full AMA. For more, check out the AMA she did with r/Books last week.

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S.A. Chakraborty Tells Us the Best Writing Advice She Ever Got in Reddit AMA - tor.com

Ever since the shadow of coronavirus first started to creep up on us during the AW20 womenswear shows in Paris and Milan, questions have proliferated on just how fashion houses could go about showing their work at this time -- packing coughing guests tight next to one another for hours on end is not, after all, a savvy move during a global pandemic.

As weve seen during this most recent couture week, the overwhelmingly favoured option for debuting collections has been the fashion film. And with the first-ever Paris Fashion Week Online kicking off today, were sure to see the mediums reign continue, for this season at least.

At Louis Vuitton, however, a quick online flick isnt all well be seeing. They are indeed part of the official Paris Fashion Week Online calendar, showing a creative film at 14:30 CEST. This is, however, simply the introduction to an itinerant series of events that will see Louis Vuittons Message in a Bottle -- the title of Virgil Ablohs SS21 collection for the house -- travel the world.

Shot at Louis Vuittons Maison de Famille at Asnires, just outside Paris, tomorrows screening will see movers packing up Louis Vuitton shipping containers and loading them onto a barge, which sails down the River Seine and leaves Paris, according to a release. It isnt just the collection that youll find on board: on it, a colourful crew of animated characters called Zoooom with friends are hiding as stowaways.

After a month at sea, the shipment will dock in Shanghai, where a full-scale Louis Vuitton SS21 Mens runway show will take place on August 6th. Later in the year, therell be a third event in Tokyo, with further possible stops on the collections world tour to be announced.

As for the collection itself, itll be an extensive offering of around 80 looks, comprising new looks made from recycled material, looks repeated from the AW20 collection, looks freely created by the studio during the lockdown using recycled material, and new looks created from existing ideas.

Louis Vuittons proposed showcasing model is certainly future-forward, capitalising on the universal accessibility of film, while quenching a thirst for live runway shows. Its also a clever move at a time when border restrictions around the world prevent the full roster of typical show attendees from descending upon the industrys traditional centres en masse. Who knows, if Louis Vuittons proposal is anything to go by, we may just be entering an era in which, rather than going to see the shows, the shows come to you.

The rest is here:

Louis Vuitton Menswear is taking to the high seas for SS21 - i-D

Living the Life

Four years ago, weekends started with coffee and breakfast at the West End markets or a walk along the river to Southbank. Three days a week I cycled over Highgate Hill to work while my partner, Justin, dropped the kiddies at childcare, on my days off I met friends in The Froggy Park or attended Toddler Storytime at the West End Library. On the surface we were the typical young family negotiating a work-life balance. We were busy and tired.

Friends would ask, Now you have kids are you going to buy a house in the suburbs? But why leave West End? We loved our community. One evening I sat on my balcony trying to feed a child in tantrum mode, to keep calm I watched the active commuters cycling home along Riverfront Drive or Brisbane Ferries shuttling workers home up river. At that moment my neighbour walked past looking up and I waved sheepishly, embarrassed by the noise. Five minutes later, the same neighbour walked through my door and joined me on my balcony with wine and bubbles, I could have cried with relief. We shared a drink and laughed ignoring the now quiet toddlers captivated by bubbles. So to answer the question about leaving West End, I answered vaguely, not just now, never elaborating. But we were planning to leave our beloved home because we had a secret: an alternative plan for our life.

Love West End, miss West End. But leave we did. Not for the burbs, but for a life unknown. We eventually told our friends that wanted to live on a sailboat. A boat? With tiny kids? Is it safe? WHY?!

In June 2016, after selling or giving away almost everything we owned, we quit our good jobs, bundled the remaining items into our car and drove south to visit family and to practice living in a small space. We borrowed my Mums caravan and went camping in a Victorian winter. Ahhh, think of the FREE TIME, I thought. Having forgotten in the euphoria of departure that looking after two toddlers in an unknown, unbounded space is a full time job. Despite spending most of our time running after toddlers, we had fun and learnt how to live together. Three months later, we felt ready to take the next step and move our family to Malaysia where we would try living on Justins parents boat.

Before the boat would be ready for us to live on, it required some work, so we found a little house on a little Island near a marina. For two months, Justin and his parents worked full time on the boat while I embraced child care. Looking after young kids alone in a foreign country was tough, I couldnt even work out how to feed us. I had no car, two toddlers and the nearest shop was 500m away. Unfortunately, not eating wasnt an option so I went shopping.

Off down the road I traipsed with toddlers in the midday heat past the rice paddies and buffalo. The shop: dark skinny aisles piled high with yet-to-be-stacked goods; the air thick with humidity and the smell of onions left too long; two toddlers playing hide and seek; and me, trying to read ingredient lists in Malaysian Bahasa. I remember the first thing I made resembling a meal chicken stir-fry with sweet soy and noodles it felt like a pivotal victory in the battle Family vs Adventure Unknown. Things got easier and there was a pool at the marina, so most afternoons we would make the 45 minute journey. The pool was our happy place, and we swam and splashed away our afternoons. One afternoon at the pool, a wonderful thing happened. Another boat child arrived. Suddenly, I wasnt the only crazy mum, I didnt feel so alone. We bonded while running after toddlers in a swimming pool and were still friends to this day. Eventually the boat was ready for us and the next big adjustment loomed boat life!

We moved onto the boat, trading rice paddies and buffalo for waves and fish and pointed the boat north toward Thailand. Justins parents planned to jump off in Phuket a week later. We swam in turquoise water, learnt to handle the boat and revelled in our new cruising life. Bliss. On the last day to Phuket we had light wind, so Justin put the engine on. Moments later the 30 year old engine turned its last. Kaput. A week into our adventure afloat it was over. Back on land, I looked for a place to live while Justin and his parents looked for a boat yard to haul out and replace the engine. Again I was alone caring for kids in a new country. Justin and his parents worked hard in the sweltering Thai heat and humidity to dismantle the boat and organise a new engine. Nothing happens quickly and a month into our Thai visa, encompassing Christmas and New Years in Phuket, we were ready to try again.

With the boat and shiny new engine back in the water, Justins parents departed. Alone now, we headed across the large bay to visit friends living an alternative life and there we spent an idyllic afternoon on a quiet beach drinking beer together. From that beach every possibility lay in front of us. But right in front of us, we could see trip boats ferrying tourists to a dazzling sandy island, and we thought, why not go there? We can go for free! The sandy island was a little exposed being almost covered at high tide, but newbie confidence had our anchor up and the next morning. As we arrived at the tiny little island, I looked windward to see a line of cloud and rain inbound. I assumed, wrongly, that we had time to drop and dig in the anchor. With the anchor barely touching the bottom, boof, the wind started pushing us toward a cliff. Newbie confidence was quickly replaced with newbie panic. Abort abort! Up came the anchor, back to our safe little beach. Lesson one in becoming-a-sailor: know your limits, assess the risks, dont be afraid to accept a lesser option. Slowly we learnt our lessons while simultaneously learning to find food in every bay and give kids daily exercise. During the evenings we poured over charts and researched places to visit. One particular island group called us further north: wild and remote with superior snorkeling. The Surin Islands were several days sail along the open coast. If we could get there, we would know we could do anything, but we had no pilot guide and little experience, still we decided to try.

We started inching our way north, stopping in manic Patong to run the gauntlet of tourists and ladyboys to buy food. We met other cruisers coming south who gave us maps and advice. We didnt realise it, but as a family sailing with young kids we stood out among the grey nomads: others were looking out for us. Along the way we found white sandy beaches shared only with seagulls. We discovered Thailand without tourists. We connected with other boat families and went to a full moon party in a bar built of flotsam. And we dropped anchor at the magical Surin Islands! We snorkelled with baby sharks, sat in the luminous aqua water and had fishes nibble at our toes, we climbed rocks and spied clown fish peeking out from anemones. We were happy drunk on life, our success and possibilities. Sadly though, the clock was ticking on our Thai visa. Good things really cannot last forever. Crash bang reality. Now we needed to make a big decision. With the wet season coming, what should we do next? We sat down late one night, looked at each other and asked the question are we ready to give this up? NO!

We began boat hunting, in the Mediterranean.

We hired a house for a month in La Coruna on the north west coast of Spain, where we spent days exploring a new culture and nights researching boats. After two months and another move to visit Justins family in Scotland, the right boat turned up in Southern France. She was a fixer upper, but affordable. Justin and his Dad flew down to have a look: she was a keeper, but required a couple of months of work before she could be launched. So, for the third time in a year, Justin was working full time on boat maintenance and I plunged back into full-time childcare. Alone, I moved myself, the kids and ALL our possessions to France, where at the end of a twelve hour day, I hired a car and learnt to drive on the other side of the road. As I crashed into a new bed that night after nearly no sleep for two days, I yearned for simple life of work, childcare and weekends. I felt alone, I speak no French and I had no internet. One night my son stopped breathing. I tried to call an ambulance, but I didnt know the number, my address, how to say respiratory distress and didnt even have phone reception anyway. Fortunately he was OK, but I was shaken to the core. Another important lesson learnt: plan for the unexpected. This wasnt the adventure I signed up for, but the boat was paid for, there was no going home now.

In the year since we left Australia, nearly half was spent on boat work. I look back on it as one of tough times, but also one of discovery, hope and optimism. The savings went down fast, but now we had our own floating home and we were the masters of our destiny! Or so we thought.

We launched Dizzie on 13 October 2017, just in time for winter storms in the Mediterranean to make sailing a potentially precarious activity. By October, holiday makers have retreated back to their colder northern homes and full time sailors retreat into a marina. So as soon as we started sailing, we stopped! We chose a marina with other boat-kids, in a little town at the bottom of Sicily. I didnt know it at the time, but it was exactly what we needed: to be surrounded by sailors more experienced, to be still and connect to a place.

The kids joined the state preschool five mornings a week where no one spoke English, Justin worked flat out on Dizzie and I embraced learning Italian.

Learning a new language was something for me, an accomplishment that I could own. Being a boat Mum, meant that everything I did was for the kids or the boat. I was used to working hard and owning the satisfaction of achievement. Now I was working hard and had nothing to show for it, it was wholly unsatisfying. Turns out this is a very common feeling among boat Mums. My confidence plummeted. All I did was cook and clean (which I wasnt doing entirely successfully). Learning to speak Italian gave me something of my own as an achievement. I needed it for self-confidence and to communicate with the preschool teachers. After six months of a delightful winter shared with wonderful families and salty sailors, we were ready FINALLY to realise our dream of sailing and living on our own boat. FINALLY, nearly two years after quitting our West End life, we were on the cusp of living our dream.

We left, said sad farewells (in broken Italian) to preschool, threw the dock lines and headed out into the open sea. Our first stop was a day trip to Malta and we had champaign sailing, but before we even had the chance to see the historic capital city bad weather chased us back to Sicily. Here we waited for better weather in a big safe harbour beside the captivating city of Siracuse. One month into the five month sailing season it felt like all we did was wait for good sailing weather, or run from bad weather. and it was still too cold to swim. I felt deflated: for more than a decade Id had a goal and now I had none. If you aim to climb a mountain, you plan, prepare, practice, you do it. You stand on the top, you raise your arms in the cold wind and cheer, you look down at where youve come from and realise an amazing achievement. There is resolution, completion, and acknowledgement. Well. we had reached our summit and there was nothing there. No-one gave me a high-5 and said, You worked hard! You made it! I looked on from my proverbial mountain and all I saw was more path, not up, not down, just onward into the mist. When I realised why I felt so down, I was able to grow past it and start enjoying life for what it was. Life is brief, the world is fascinating, and I have the front row seat to watch my kids grow. I saw the roses in the mist.

Im happy to say that since arriving in Greece two years ago, we have now found our groove. We travelled from Greece through the Med, across the Atlantic Ocean to South America and the Caribbean. Our lifestyle gives us the opportunities that other travel lacks. We rummage for the best apples with everyone else in the markets, we explore ancient ruins, but delve deeper into the issues of modern culture, we catch buses with the residents and avoid cruise ship days because we can. We boat-school in the morning and become free spirits in the afternoon. We are in tune with planetary rhythms; we eat dinner at sunset, marvel at the fish life on a new moon, feel the temperature drop before the rain comes.

Its not an easy life, but its never boring and we are living it together.

Lynita and family are currently in Martinique and will be heading south in another week or so.

All images by Lynita Howie

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A different Life: a West End family's adventures on the high seas - The Westender

Remember Skull & Bones? Ubisoft announced a nautical open world game about pirates on the high seas, with Assassin's Creed's naval combat serving as a base for the action. It sounded like a winner, and we were pretty interested to see how it turned out. Unfortunately, the game has been delayed multiple times since its debut at E3 2017. Most recently, we heard the game will be skipping next financial year, meaning it won't release until mid-2021 at the absolute earliest.

However, the game is apparently still alive. A new report from VGC has the latest on the seafaring adventure, and it seems development veered into rocky waters. The project has reportedly been rebooted after failed attempts to make the game a "premium box" open world, akin to Far Cry or Watch Dogs.

This is according to anonymous development sources, who are also saying Skull & Bones is becoming a "live" game. As VGC writes, the title will contain a persistent world, featuring "quests, characters and storylines that will drastically evolve and change over time". Apparently, Fortnite's "live storytelling" aspects have been a big influence. It sounds like the game will end up in the same waters as Microsoft's Sea of Thieves -- a live, online multiplayer ocean full of pirates that evolves through seasonal updates.

Elisabeth Pellen, writer and director of cel-shaded shooter XIII, has taken over as creative director after Justin Farren moved to another studio.

So, Skull & Bones is still happening, but it's taking on a completely different format. Instead of a big open world blockbuster like Ubisoft's other games, it's becoming a persistent online experience. Here's hoping it's shipshape whenever it comes to shore.

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Skull & Bones Reportedly Rebooted Into an Ongoing 'Live' Game - Push Square