Is Shark Week turning into a joke?

If you have just glanced at this blog than you know I am a bit obsessed with Sharks, so when Shark Week comes around each year it is like Christmas to me. But so far this year I am just not thrilled with it.

Rocking the Shark Week shirt I made - Ready for an exciting week!

Air Jaws: Finding Colossus was good, I have loved all of the Air Jaws incarnations. I was actually scared for the guys in this one - I mean did you see that one of the guys pushed a great white way when he was in the mobile cage. Not to mention the genius who decided it was a good idea to lay on ply-wood that looked like a female shark. But it was real, the sharks were REAL, the danger was REAL, no CGI, no actors, no dramatizations.

Showing my Shark Spirit at work with last years shirt and my DIY shark buddy

After that great show we got Submarine Shark. I was cooking dinner when this started so I missed the disclaimer that it was a dramatization. I thought this was real until they actually showed the shark, I mean are you serious Discovery Channel? Could you get any faker? I let last years Megalodon slip because I do love me some Megs (even though I know they are extinct)  but are you really going to continue showing us these fake shows just to get views?

This year's Shark Week nails - while eating shark gummies 

I use to love how Shark Week was about learning of shark and conservation. In the past we had the shark attack survivors who are now shark advocates. We learned the true story that inspired Jaws and how the author regretted the effect his book and later movie had on sharks. We even got Alien Sharks that intoduced many to goblin sharks. I would be happy with a bunch of Myth Busters episodes about sharks instead of the mockumentaries we are getting recently. I would be fine with the mockumentaries if they were not put on during this week or this channel. I loved Sharknado so I can handle cheesy movies but do not try to pass it off as a real event.

My (failed) attempt at painting a Hammerhead migration *note to self work on depth and perception*

That brings me to the new fad that is happening on educational channels - reality TV. Yes, it is cheaper to make. Yes, it can be entertaining. But is it educational NO! TLC is the worst, it is called THE LEARNING CHANNEL, what does Honey Boo-boo teach me? or what about Long Island Medium? It is getting ridiculous. History Channel does it too, what does Pawn Stars have to do with history? They did have the Hatfields & McCoys and they show real documentaries too but the whole reality TV thing is getting too bad.

Sharknado nails

I am still going to watch all of Shark Week and I will most likely watch it again next year but I hope they make it educational again. We want people to stop the slaughter of shark by finning and culling, but if you keep scaring them with these mockumentaries how do you expect anyone to take you seriously? I am a fan of teaching facts, it can be interesting but don't mix in lies to make it that way.

What are your feeling on Shark Week? Do you think they are going too far with the fake documentaries?

Book Review: Meg Series - Hell's Aquarium

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Book 4 - Hell Aquarium

        4 years after Primal Waters, Angel is back in the lagoon with 5 new pups. 3 runts and 2 sisters all from the same litter but with the aggression the sisters seem like they were a litter of their own. Unable to get the Institute expanded to hold the bigger Meg family, and with RAW(Release Animals to the Wild) group breathing down their backs Jonas sells 2 of the runts to a United Arab Emirates aquarium. What Jonas didn't know is that the crown prince wants more that just the Megs in his aquarium, he wants the prehistoric animals the late Dr. Maren claims to have found. Jonas unwilling to go on this suicide mission, David on summer break from college wants to go to Dubai to watch the megs and train recruits on the Manta Ray submersible. Again much like his dad, David puts his life in risk for love. Back at home the sisters kill the last runt making RAW come on even harder and even planning on breaking into the institute to releasing the sisters. During this time Jonas is secretly planning on releasing Angel back into the Mariana Trench. What Jonas is doing can save lives while Raw is putting much more in danger.  

David makes this book, he is strong yet bull headed and is willing to risk everything to protect the ones he loves. Jonas despite is advancing age is still throwing himself into danger to save others. He makes dives no one his age ever should, he get in the lagoon with Angel (ok she is in sleep mode but still) he is like He-Man, nothing can stop him. Dani has really grown up, though her and Terry are not in this book that much, which I am not complaining. Most of this one takes place in Dubai with David. He is being played like a violin and he has no clue, he went thinking he was never leaving land but just like the crown prince planned from the beginning David goes down to Maren's underwater lab to collect the information needed. The prince knew that only someone from the Taylor family had the ka-hones to go down not knowing what they would encounter. I was actually sad in some parts of this book, there was a bit of a love story in it, at first it was annoying then it grew on me. I was terrified at some points, and others I wanted to fricken strangle someone and I am 100% surprised Mac and Jonas were able to keep their cool. All in all it was a great book. A lot more technical than the previous books, which was a bit annoying I basically skimmed over those parts since it was just jibber jabber and had not meaning to me, tinsel strength, construction mumbo-jumbo, and lifting power, no need for it but hey if that is your thing you might just enjoy those parts. But the meat of the book to action, the hidden agendas, love story, the edge of your seat thrill parts, that is where I was and I enjoyed every bit of it.  Absolutely would recommend if you have read the previous books.

OK I am sorry this was so wordy but it is a book review so it happens. My pal Ashley McNiel has published 2 more books so those will be my next reviews I hope ya'll enjoy!

Book Reviews: Meg Series - Primal Waters

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Book 3 - Primal Waters

       18 years and 2 kids later we rejoin the Taylor family barely making ends meet, with Angel's departure from the lagoon and the cost of upkeep the Taylor/Tanaka family may have to sell the institute. Jonas is attempting to write a memoir but it keeps getting interrupted by his 17 year old daughter, Danielle's music and  phone solicitors so he takes a break.  The family goes to an annual Shark tooth festival in Venice Beach to talk about Angel and other Megs, this is when Jonas is offered a way out of the whole, but it might put him in a grave. A group of dare devil enthusiasts whom looks up to Jonas, for his heroic killing of Angel's mother and his dives in the trench, want him to be an announcer to their new reality TV show about daring stunts in the middle of the ocean. Jonas goes with his daughter to be the announcer DareDevils but what he doesn't know is that the person backing the show is the last person Jonas ever wants to be at sea with. 

My love for Terry was GONE in this book, she was a coward! I get that she has PTSD but she did a complete 180 in this one. She will not fly(she use to be a pilot!), she will no let her son scuba dive in the empty, is terrified of Jonas going to sea again(OK I will give her this one, she was right) but she drove me crazy. She did face some of her fears but she was just annoying. Her son, David, on the other hand is awesome. He was fearless, he would not take anything from anyone, he is his father's son. Mac was great in the other books and started off aggravating but grew as a person in this one, with help from his godson David. Dani (Danielle) was a typical teenager, thinks she knows everything, her parents are old and to cautious to do anything fun, and just a brat. She does grow near the end and learns to really respect her dad, granted she had to nearly die for that to happen. But, hey growth is growth, right? 

Book Review : Meg Series - The Trench

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Da'Hubby HATED me reading this series, it is all I wanted to do. He wanted to watch a show with me and I was like "I am almost at a stopping point" 2 hours later  "are you done yet??" - Da'Hubby. I just got lost in this world where Megs are real and an ever present danger. 

Book 2 - The Trench 

       This book (obvious by the title) takes place in the Mariana Trench 4 years after Jonas' second trip into the trench. Jonas is remarried to Terry Tanaka (daughter of the friend he helped) from the previous book. The female meg (Angel), birthed by the Meg that left the trench and was killed my Jonas in the last book, is in the Tanaka Institute Lagoon with feeding shows for the public. Now with the success of the Angel of Death shows lawsuits are rolling in from the families of the victims of the Meg deaths, putting a strain of Jonas' marriage, his wallet, and even causing a miscarriage. To make ends meet the Tanaka-Taylor family have to make a deal with the devil. Not wanting to leave the lagoon because he fears Angel will escape Jonas stay while Terry goes (against his wishes) to the Mariana Trench, and she doesn't realize how much danger she is really in. 

I love Terry in this book, she was a bada**, much better that the last book. We also meet the devil's disciples Celeste Singer and Benedict. I thought I hated Jonas' ex-wife but after meeting Celeste I would not mind having the ex back. Both Celeste and Benedict have ulterior motives and are not afraid to kill to get it done. We found out that the Megs are not the only thing that go bump in the night in the Mariana's trench. I do not know who was more dangerous Celeste and Benedict  (and his goons) or the other aggressors in the depths of the trench. This was a great sequel and that is not easy to do. This was such a thriller because in took place 5 miles below the surface of the ocean. Everything was amplified to dangerous measures, and there is no escape except death. If you have not started this series this book alone is worth it. 

Shark Book Series!!

Guys I cannot tell you how excited I am that I found a Shark novel that is actually good and on to of that it is apart of a series! Da'Hubby and I were at his best friend Tiny's house over the weekend for Comicpalooza and his wife Sloane  is also a shark lover. We were talking about our love of shows like Sharknado, Shark Week and Sharktopus and she remembers she has had the book Meg by Steve Alten for years. She gives it to me and I devoured the book. I went upstairs that night and read until I forced myself to sleep for the early day.

I swear that girl is the sweetest person ever!

I am in love with this book and I am so excited the read the 3 books that are in the series plus the prequel. I already downloaded the prequel since it is like a little mini book but I want the hard copy of the rest for my book shelf and for future reading.

Synopsis (Amazon)

On a top-secret dive into the Pacific Ocean's deepest canyon, Jonas Taylor found himself face-to-face with the largest and most ferocious predator in the history of the animal kingdom.  The sole survivor of the mission, Taylor is haunted by what he's sure he saw but still can't prove exists--Carcharodon megalodon, the massive mother of the great white shark.  The average prehistoric Meg weighs in at twenty tons and could tear apart a Tyrannosaurus rex in seconds.

Written off as a crackpot suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Taylor refuses to forget the depths that nearly cost him his life.  With a Ph.D. in paleontology under his belt, Taylor spends years theorizing, lecturing, and writing about the possibility that Meg still feeds at the deepest levels of the sea.  But it takes an old friend in need to get him to return to the water, and a hotshot female submarine pilot to dare him back into a high-tech miniature sub.

Diving deeper than he ever has before, Taylor will face terror like he's never imagined, and what he finds could turn the tides bloody red until the end of time.

My thoughts:

I am going to agree with many others who have reviewed this book, it is a book for shark nerds. You cannot go into this book expecting Moby Dick, it is a Sy-Fy original movie in book form. This book knows what is is and does not try to be more than that. Ya, I knew what was going to happen to many characters before it happened but that did not take away my joy of this book. It had actual facts about sharks, whale migrations, and Navel issues. I have read some books that are cheesy but they think that you are stupid Alten does not do this, he does not insult your intelligence. How serious can a book be when it is talking about a 60' shark going on a killing spree? As long as you go into this book expecting an entertaining fast read you will be very happy.

My Rating:

♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5 

All in all this book gets 5 hearts from me because it is about sharks, I plan on reading it multiple times and I love the whole premise. 

What books are you reading now?

End to a Guilty Pleasure

Yikes! That title sounds like a title to a dirty movie or book but my post is completely innocent I PROMISE!! Now, please tell me I am not the only one who was completely disappointed with the series finale of Secret Life of an American Teenager. 

I have loved this series as a guilty pleasure, and now it is over and I have so many questions left unresolved. 

Will Ben and Amy get together? Who will Ricky(my favorite) end up with? What about Henry? There are so many questions about him - how will he cope with the military, what about the distance between him and Alice, if the show got a spin-off would he die in battle? What about Grace would she finally live for herself or would she go looking for someone else like Grant? Will Amy finally quit being selfish? What about John? Whatever happened to Ashley, she was not even in the finally (except flash backs). 

I really hope they have a spin-off so I can have answers to my questions. There were times I seriously hated this series but it is a train wreck that I cannot stop watching. I have to know what happens.  

What are some of your guilty pleasure TV Shows? I need a new one.