Sunny skies. Light breeze.
I was thrilled to give a presentation on my "cinematic journeys" at the Apalachicola Center for History Culture and Art. Tales told (some tall) from a lifetime of adventure filmmaking from Africa to the Far Pacific. It was arranged by a former film student of mine, the lovely Merrill Livingston, who is now their events coordinator.  The next day we explored by boat some of the tidal creeks with Capt. Pete Olson.  Followed by a feast at the Up the Creek Raw Bar.  It's hard not to love that Florida Gulf town.

Gibbous moon. Clear skies. Brisk NE winds.
This evening during the Grays Reef Film Festival, I was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the National Marine Sanctuaries for my work as an oceanographer, filmmaker, author and teacher of environmental filmmaking at the Savannah College of Art & Design. Friends, family and former students were in attendance. Some flying in from Puerto Rico, others from the DC area.  My heart-felt thanks to all of you!

The calm before the storm as Hurricane Hermine heads our way.  New moon. Spring tides.
Today I'm heading to Atlanta to prep for the Decatur Book Fest.  I'll be giving a presentation on Saturday Sept 3 @ 1PM, followed by a book signing.  The Fest takes place around Decatur's town square.  Look forward to seeing some old friends there!!

Unseasonable warm. Calm seas.  Half moon.
A fine weekend at the Grays Reef Ocean Film Festival. Good friends and award-winning filmmakers Paul and Grace Atkins were honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards.  And we launched my latest book  Oceans Apart: the Wanderings of a Young Mariner - selling out all copies at the event. 

Very warm.  Calm seas.  A new moon.
Good news from Glencannon Press.  They will publish my memoir Oceans Apart: the Wanderings of a Young Mariner (the prequel to Islands Under Fire). The book chronicles my European adventures aboard the training ship Empire State IV as well as my Far Eastern misadventures as a deck officer on ammo ships bound for Vietnam.   Glencannon is a first rate publishing house that specializes in books on maritime subjects - history, biography and fiction.   Oceans Apart will be coming out some time in 2016. 

A cold front. Strong NW winds. Full moon.
Tytan Creates, a production company out on Tybee Island, Georgia, will partner with me in producing the feature length documentary The Riddle of War.  Tytan is currently producing a fine doc called Storm Soldiers­ about the linemen who risk their lives to restore electrical  power after outages. I look forward to working with Jim Stone and his creative team.  And having their offices out on beautiful Tybee Island is an added bonus!

Hot, humid. Not a breath of wind.  A waxing half moon.
Today the website for my feature documentary The Riddle of War is up and running.  Many thanks to SCAD grad Alyssa Richards (who designed this website as well) for a fine job. And very special thanks to SCAD grad Jane Gray who edited the 5 minute video prologue which is featured on the site. Our next step in the production process is getting commitments from our commentators.  Producer Renee Bishop will be handling this aspect of preproduction. After that, we'll be seeking distribution/production partners.  The website is www.riddleofwar.info.

Clear skies. NE winds at 15 knots. Crescent moon.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico with son Brett. The last day of our trip to the islands.  Spent 5 days visiting the Last Spanish Virgin: Culebra, the island featured in my book Islands Under Fire. I hadn't been back there in about ten years and it's much changed - mostly for the better.  A true eco-tourism destination.  We stayed at the Harbour View Villas overlooking the bay as guests of Druso and Michelle Daubon.  Awesome view, gracious hosts. Druso's father - also Druso - is featured in the book. We pretty much snorkeled every day. I was shooting underwater footage with a GoPro to be included in the long-awaited (by me) book trailer.  We were joined by Frank Torres (one of the heroes in the book) and his son Javier - also a marine ecologist. Culebra, you will be missed.

Light airs. Crisp and cool. Gibbous moon.
Today Fran and I visited the Brooklyn Museum to see the extraordinary exhibit War/Photography: Images of Armed Conflict and its Aftermath. The images cover conflicts spanning two centuries and six continents. It includes not only iconic photos such as raising the flag over Iwo Jima, but also the brutality and humanity of war. I'm currently developing a feature documentary called "The Riddle of War" which seeks to answer the question: why?  Why do we humans--remarkable social animals with extraordinary intelligence--deliberately and systematically kill other members of our own species?  Is war an immutable legacy of our primitive origins?   Or is it a learned behavior, fostered by misguided societies, and therefore capable of change?  This exhibit offered many potential visuals for the film.