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9.30.2009
The smelly boys' cabin
Genevieve asked me about some of the basics of ship life, and I had intended to talk about that kind of stuff here, but then just sit down and let whatever's on my mind spill out. So here goes:
Some people have awesome sleeping quarters, with only two folks in their cabin and a desk to work at. I, however, am in what has been dubbed "the smelly boys' cabin" — so named long before I came along, I swear.
It's a four-man cabin. I share it with Ron, a deckhand from Fiji; Wooly, our Australian videographer; and Ginam, our Korean translator. Ginam speaks very little English, so he pretty much doesn't follow any of the routines of the ship (he was also very sick until about yesterday). Ron is a good guy, he was one of the first people I met back in Vanuatu because he and I were hanging with the head of the campaign, Lagi, who I met up with when I first got there (Lagi is also Fijian, so Ron was staying in his hotel room, hence I got to know Ron).
Here are the smelly boys' bunks, I'm on the top right, Ron is below me, Wooly has hung that black towel in front of his bunk on the upper left, and Ginam is below Wooly:
David Woolford, aka "Wooly," is an absolute rip. He's a professional videographer who has been on over 20 Greenpeace ship expeditions, though this is his first time on the Espy. He also works as a cameraman for Australian news and TV. Wooly's a super funny and personable guy. He never lets being a grown-up get in the way of a good joke, but he's also extremely professional, very good at his job (the media officer onboard the ship told me that Wooly has a very good reputation), and a pleasure to work with. I've been working on a lot of videos, so I've been working with Wooly a lot. He's definitely one of the people I get along with the best on the ship.
We're woken up every day at 7:30, breakfast is continental style, and then from 8:00 to 9:00 we do chores. You have to sign up for the chores, and there aren't enough to go around, actually, so if I haven't signed up for one that day I either try to help someone else or go sit outside and drink my tea. Here's where I like to sit and do that:
I have signed up to do the toilets a couple times, as my colleagues back on shore told me that was the best way to earn the respect of the crew (it did seem to work). Other chores include laundry, cleaning the hallways, cleaning the mess, etc.
After chores I usually go up to the campaign office and check my email (I'm still at least responding to my regular email, even if I'm not doing much work for GPUSA), write blogs, post blogs, etc. I actually spend most of the day doing this, hence I spend most of my days indoors. Which is a shame. So I get outside as often as I can, just take a stroll around the deck outside. I could sit and watch the ocean forever.
Lunch is at 12:00. At 5:00, which is almost religiously referred to as Beer o'clock on the ship, we knock off for the day and head down to the lounge. Then at 6:00 it's dinner time. After that, we all just kind of lounge around, watch movies on the LCD screen in the mess, or on a projection screen in the lounge. I spend a lot of timing reading, too, of course. So far I've read A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge and 2010: Oddyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke.
I've only got one book left, but thankfully there is a small library onboard. I haven't looked around it too extensively cuz that's also where the computer for general crew access is, meaning there's almost always someone in there and I like to give them privacy.
I'm hoping they have some philosophy books in the library. Being in the middle of the ocean is making me philosophical. That, and Johnson, who I mentioned in a previous blog post, is a philosophy and theology student, and he and I have had some nice philosophical discussions, mostly about Kierkegaard and Sartre.
Some people have awesome sleeping quarters, with only two folks in their cabin and a desk to work at. I, however, am in what has been dubbed "the smelly boys' cabin" — so named long before I came along, I swear.
The view from the doorway into the smelly boys' cabin.
It's a four-man cabin. I share it with Ron, a deckhand from Fiji; Wooly, our Australian videographer; and Ginam, our Korean translator. Ginam speaks very little English, so he pretty much doesn't follow any of the routines of the ship (he was also very sick until about yesterday). Ron is a good guy, he was one of the first people I met back in Vanuatu because he and I were hanging with the head of the campaign, Lagi, who I met up with when I first got there (Lagi is also Fijian, so Ron was staying in his hotel room, hence I got to know Ron).
Here are the smelly boys' bunks, I'm on the top right, Ron is below me, Wooly has hung that black towel in front of his bunk on the upper left, and Ginam is below Wooly:
David Woolford, aka "Wooly," is an absolute rip. He's a professional videographer who has been on over 20 Greenpeace ship expeditions, though this is his first time on the Espy. He also works as a cameraman for Australian news and TV. Wooly's a super funny and personable guy. He never lets being a grown-up get in the way of a good joke, but he's also extremely professional, very good at his job (the media officer onboard the ship told me that Wooly has a very good reputation), and a pleasure to work with. I've been working on a lot of videos, so I've been working with Wooly a lot. He's definitely one of the people I get along with the best on the ship.
We're woken up every day at 7:30, breakfast is continental style, and then from 8:00 to 9:00 we do chores. You have to sign up for the chores, and there aren't enough to go around, actually, so if I haven't signed up for one that day I either try to help someone else or go sit outside and drink my tea. Here's where I like to sit and do that:
I have signed up to do the toilets a couple times, as my colleagues back on shore told me that was the best way to earn the respect of the crew (it did seem to work). Other chores include laundry, cleaning the hallways, cleaning the mess, etc.
After chores I usually go up to the campaign office and check my email (I'm still at least responding to my regular email, even if I'm not doing much work for GPUSA), write blogs, post blogs, etc. I actually spend most of the day doing this, hence I spend most of my days indoors. Which is a shame. So I get outside as often as I can, just take a stroll around the deck outside. I could sit and watch the ocean forever.
Lunch is at 12:00. At 5:00, which is almost religiously referred to as Beer o'clock on the ship, we knock off for the day and head down to the lounge. Then at 6:00 it's dinner time. After that, we all just kind of lounge around, watch movies on the LCD screen in the mess, or on a projection screen in the lounge. I spend a lot of timing reading, too, of course. So far I've read A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge and 2010: Oddyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke.
I've only got one book left, but thankfully there is a small library onboard. I haven't looked around it too extensively cuz that's also where the computer for general crew access is, meaning there's almost always someone in there and I like to give them privacy.
I'm hoping they have some philosophy books in the library. Being in the middle of the ocean is making me philosophical. That, and Johnson, who I mentioned in a previous blog post, is a philosophy and theology student, and he and I have had some nice philosophical discussions, mostly about Kierkegaard and Sartre.
We're okay!
You might have heard about the tsunami that hit American Samoa and some neighboring islands earlier today. Just wanted everyone to know that we're okay.
9.29.2009
Tuesday times two
Today is our second Tuesday in a row. We crossed the international date line last night, setting us back a day. Which means I'm back on the same day as all you landlubbers back in America, and am now just four hours behind the Pacific time zone.
I may be back close to American time, but I'm still nowhere near America, as is made abundantly clear by the very international crew we have onboard. My unofficial tally gives us:
Here we are all assembled at the "muster station," a.k.a. the heli-hangar, for the (don't read this part, Gen) abandon ship drill, which we had on the very first day at sea. Safety first.
Here's a better view of the heli-hangar. (Click on any of these images for a larger view.)
Several different versions of English are spoken onboard this ship, but one thing common to many of them is ending all of their sentences with "yeah:" "Dees ees a good idea, yeah?" "I have been sailor for 16 years, yeah?" "I tink dat bird is a member of deh boobie fam-uh-ly, yeah?"
Everyone has dealt with all the time changes and seasickness differently. Our medic swears that Asian and Islander people get way more seasick than Europeans and folks from the Americas. He thinks it's a genetic predisposition. Bearing his assertion out, our Korean translator has not left his bunk for more than 15 minutes this whole trip.
Another guy, Johnson, our Papua New Guinean activist onboard, was pretty violently ill for the first couple days. Then last night he appeared in the mess and got himself a heaping plate of food. We all cheered loudly for him. He finished the whole plate, and I snapped this pic of a very happy Johnson immediately afterward:
That right there, friends, is photographic evidence of the fact that getting over seasickness is pretty much one of the greatest feelings ever.
I may be back close to American time, but I'm still nowhere near America, as is made abundantly clear by the very international crew we have onboard. My unofficial tally gives us:
- 3 Fijians
- 1 Papua New Guinean
- 1 Solomon Islander
- 6 Australians
- 1 New Zealander
- 2 Filipinos
- 1 Chinese
- 1 Korean
- 2 French Canadians
- 1 Argentinian
- 1 Ecuadorian
- 2 Brazilians
- 1 Mexican
- 1 Netherlander
- 1 German
- 1 Dutchman
- 1 other American (who has lived in London since the first Bush got elected)
Several different versions of English are spoken onboard this ship, but one thing common to many of them is ending all of their sentences with "yeah:" "Dees ees a good idea, yeah?" "I have been sailor for 16 years, yeah?" "I tink dat bird is a member of deh boobie fam-uh-ly, yeah?"
Everyone has dealt with all the time changes and seasickness differently. Our medic swears that Asian and Islander people get way more seasick than Europeans and folks from the Americas. He thinks it's a genetic predisposition. Bearing his assertion out, our Korean translator has not left his bunk for more than 15 minutes this whole trip.
Another guy, Johnson, our Papua New Guinean activist onboard, was pretty violently ill for the first couple days. Then last night he appeared in the mess and got himself a heaping plate of food. We all cheered loudly for him. He finished the whole plate, and I snapped this pic of a very happy Johnson immediately afterward:
That right there, friends, is photographic evidence of the fact that getting over seasickness is pretty much one of the greatest feelings ever.
High seas sunset
So I mentioned I was going on whale-watch. Basically, it's exactly what you'd think it is: Sitting on the bridge, scanning the horizon, looking for spouts of water. It's kind of choppy out there though, so spotting spouts would be difficult.
Since we're in transit, we'd like to document as much as we can of the amazing marine life to be found out here in the high seas. Which of course means we're all stoked to hopefully see some whales.
I didn't see any whales, needless to say, or the title of this post would have been something like "I SAW SOME WHAAAAAAALES!" I did however see a couple flying fish. And a type of seabird known as the "boobie." (I also got to listen to the first mate, who is French Canadian, talk about "deh boobie family" at length, which was pretty awesome.)
So yeah, just as I was reaching the end of my watch, I stepped out and noticed this going on:
Not what you'd call a straight up, one-to-one trade for seeing whales, but, mmm, yeah, I'll take it.
Since we're in transit, we'd like to document as much as we can of the amazing marine life to be found out here in the high seas. Which of course means we're all stoked to hopefully see some whales.
I didn't see any whales, needless to say, or the title of this post would have been something like "I SAW SOME WHAAAAAAALES!" I did however see a couple flying fish. And a type of seabird known as the "boobie." (I also got to listen to the first mate, who is French Canadian, talk about "deh boobie family" at length, which was pretty awesome.)
So yeah, just as I was reaching the end of my watch, I stepped out and noticed this going on:
Not what you'd call a straight up, one-to-one trade for seeing whales, but, mmm, yeah, I'll take it.
9.28.2009
I'm on a boat!
Ahoy, mateys. I’ve been on the high seas for a few days now. Life as a sailorman has so far treated me okay – except for the first day, when I tried to eat dinner, got two bites in, and realized food was NOT a good idea.
We’re “in transit” right now, heading from Port Vila, Vanuatu out to the high seas, where we aim to highlight the pillaging of the oceans by commercial fishing fleets. It’s pretty unconscionable – these guys know they’re violating the law (in some cases), know they’re fishing at unsustainable levels (in most every case), and know that their actions today will most likely mean no tuna tomorrow, but they just don’t care. They gotta get that dollar.
Vanuatu was absolutely gorgeous. Did some swimming in the harbor, some kayaking, even jumped off the heli-deck of the Esperanza a few times (yep, that’s “heli” as in helicopter – we’ve got one, and I’m gonna ride in it).
We steamed out of Port Vila Harbor a few days ago. Since we’re in transit, there isn’t much action. I’m shooting photos and videos, and will share as many as I can. Video is tough though, because there just isn’t the bandwidth here on the ship for me to upload videos of my own. Which totally sucks, cuz I really wanted to make a bunch of videos that Greenpeace wouldn’t necessarily want to post. But I will shoot as many “ship life” type videos as I can for use on my Greenpeace blog, so hopefully you can see some of those. And if not, I’ll just have to upload them once I get home — in a month or so. Alas.
You still gotta admit that it’s pretty cool that we live in an age where I can even update this blog at all, given that I’m in the middle of the South Pacific. This data had to travel 36,000 kilometers up to the satellite and back down to Earth again to get to Blogger’s servers. Cool, huh?
So for now, no video. In the meantime, content yourselves with this goofy looking picture of me sitting just above the heli-deck:
As you can see, the water is INCREDIBLY blue. Even my colorblind ass can tell that the water is an amazing color.
Food is decent, people are great, and I’m on whale-watch starting now, so I gotta go! I’ll write more and post more pics later.
We’re “in transit” right now, heading from Port Vila, Vanuatu out to the high seas, where we aim to highlight the pillaging of the oceans by commercial fishing fleets. It’s pretty unconscionable – these guys know they’re violating the law (in some cases), know they’re fishing at unsustainable levels (in most every case), and know that their actions today will most likely mean no tuna tomorrow, but they just don’t care. They gotta get that dollar.
Vanuatu was absolutely gorgeous. Did some swimming in the harbor, some kayaking, even jumped off the heli-deck of the Esperanza a few times (yep, that’s “heli” as in helicopter – we’ve got one, and I’m gonna ride in it).
We steamed out of Port Vila Harbor a few days ago. Since we’re in transit, there isn’t much action. I’m shooting photos and videos, and will share as many as I can. Video is tough though, because there just isn’t the bandwidth here on the ship for me to upload videos of my own. Which totally sucks, cuz I really wanted to make a bunch of videos that Greenpeace wouldn’t necessarily want to post. But I will shoot as many “ship life” type videos as I can for use on my Greenpeace blog, so hopefully you can see some of those. And if not, I’ll just have to upload them once I get home — in a month or so. Alas.
You still gotta admit that it’s pretty cool that we live in an age where I can even update this blog at all, given that I’m in the middle of the South Pacific. This data had to travel 36,000 kilometers up to the satellite and back down to Earth again to get to Blogger’s servers. Cool, huh?
So for now, no video. In the meantime, content yourselves with this goofy looking picture of me sitting just above the heli-deck:
As you can see, the water is INCREDIBLY blue. Even my colorblind ass can tell that the water is an amazing color.
Food is decent, people are great, and I’m on whale-watch starting now, so I gotta go! I’ll write more and post more pics later.
9.16.2009
It's all about racism
I keep saying this, and feel very strongly that it's true: The major motive behind the Teabaggers, the national healthcare protesters, and all of the Republican opposition to President Obama's agenda is racism. It's pretty plain to see, and it's finally a meme catching on in the mainstream media. Here's Olbermann interviewing Markos Moulitsas Zuniga about Jimmy Carter coming out and saying just that:
9.08.2009
Coupla collabs and a brief rant on national healthcare
I've been on vacation in Ireland for the past couple weeks, checking out plenty of the local pubs and hearing plenty of local trad music. I can't count how many times I heard "Galway Girl". It kind of came to define my whole experience in Ireland.
As it turns out, the song was written by Steve Earle and recorded with traditional Irish musician Sharon Shannon. An interesting collaboration, to be sure, between an American country artist and an Irish traditional artist.
So anyway, here I am at my first day back at work and I came across another interesting collaboration I thought I'd share.
R.E.M. has teamed up with MoveOn.org to produce a video in support of national healthcare. To me this is a huge issue. I do think that global warming is the more pressing issue, but if Obama can pull off universal healthcare he will have completed the New Deal and proved once and for all that the Republican anti-government platform is utter horseshit.
That is why the right wing is fighting universal healthcare, folks. They don't really object to universal healthcare — pay attention to their arguments, you won't hear any substantive criticisms against everyone having access to health care, because there are none to be made. All you hear are lies about "Death Panels" and immature, nonsensical insults hurled at Obama like "fascist" or "socialist." This is the last gasp of the racist Republican Party. If universal healthcare goes through, the modern Republican Party is done for, and they know it.
Anyway, the R.E.M. song is pretty good and the video is moving, check it out:
As it turns out, the song was written by Steve Earle and recorded with traditional Irish musician Sharon Shannon. An interesting collaboration, to be sure, between an American country artist and an Irish traditional artist.
So anyway, here I am at my first day back at work and I came across another interesting collaboration I thought I'd share.
R.E.M. has teamed up with MoveOn.org to produce a video in support of national healthcare. To me this is a huge issue. I do think that global warming is the more pressing issue, but if Obama can pull off universal healthcare he will have completed the New Deal and proved once and for all that the Republican anti-government platform is utter horseshit.
That is why the right wing is fighting universal healthcare, folks. They don't really object to universal healthcare — pay attention to their arguments, you won't hear any substantive criticisms against everyone having access to health care, because there are none to be made. All you hear are lies about "Death Panels" and immature, nonsensical insults hurled at Obama like "fascist" or "socialist." This is the last gasp of the racist Republican Party. If universal healthcare goes through, the modern Republican Party is done for, and they know it.
Anyway, the R.E.M. song is pretty good and the video is moving, check it out:
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