Armchair adventuring | Karavansara

I was rather unconvinced, when I first saw the earlier episodes of Sanctuary, the Canadian TV series starring Amanda Tapping.
I think it was the rather clunky (?) CGI sets.
And yet, today – as the fourth series is being aired here in Italy – I’m a fan.
I actually like it a lot better than, say, Eureka (which bores me to death) or Battlestar Galactica.

After all, a series featuring a science team investigating cryptozoology to protect the cryptids, featuring a sasquatch as a character, involving much (computer-generated) globetrotting, an ancient race of Twilight-free vampires, a hollow earth setting, references to ancient mysteries and whatnot…?
With Jack the Ripper as one of the good guys?
And a descendant of Thor Heyerdahl as a member of the cast?
Together with that woman from Stargate SG-1?

C’mon – it’s obvious that my interest for the series should border on the fetish.
Add the slightly steampunkish feel of some episodes and of part of the premises, and I’m sold. Continue reading →

Steven Spielberg’s 1975 movie Jaws was one of the movies that changed the game, and the highest grossing movie of its time.
I was too young to go and see it in a cinema – although some of my pals did sneak in and emerge later from the darkness of the movie hall with tales of horror and wonder.
Today, I like to watch Jaws every time a TV channel runs it again.

And yet, if as a movie-goer and a fan of action thrillers I love Jaws, as a scientist I always felt the shark facts in the film leave more than something to be desired.

Shark Attack, a quick-read, fact-filled pamphlet by noted biologist Richard Ellis, published by Open Road Media, aims at setting the record straight, providing an ample overview of actual shark attacks – including those that inspired the original novel from which the Spielberg movie was made – and a passionate discussion of what sharks are really like, and what a shark attack is in reality.

But the booklet is not only a debunking of the 1975 movie.
This is a condensed introduction to the life and biology of the shark, its interaction with marine ecosystems and with humans.

It’s clear, concise, fun, filled with great images.
It does not detract from the enjoyment of the movie – and provides a further layer to the viewing.