FTT shark movie rec, vacay pics & more

(debate antidote post)

Good morning, Frog Troublers! We are back from vacation and we do NOT want to talk about that debate.

Instead, how about…

a squirrel eating a peach?

a beautiful seaside cat?

tide pools with cousin Charlie?

Steddy’s first trip to the beach?

Also, SHARKS! Mamie and I saw a shark very close to shore and got right out of the water. We warned as many people as we could—and of course the shark didn’t bite anyone, because as Sky reminds us, “if sharks liked to eat people they’d do it every day.”

But it’s hard, once you see a shark or start thinking about them, not to imagine every brush with seaweed or wave-jumping fish as a sign that you’re about to get chomped. This experience was exacerbated by Jaws and its creation of the “Jaws Effect,” an excessive and irrational fear of sharks that has hampered conservation efforts.

In the interest of not stoking irrational fears, I’ll probably never suggest that the girls watch Jaws (or The Blair Witch Project, for that matter—so glad that movie didn’t exist to spoil my woodland childhood!). But on vacation we watched a shark movie that had an interesting, opposite effect. It’s called Under Paris, and you can watch it on Netflix. I’ll let Bea tell you about it:

Under Paris is about a scientist named Sophia who studies whales and in that study, she tags a mako shark named Lilith. After two and a half months, Lilith has grown to seven and a half meters, and as Sophia’s team tries to get a blood sample from the shark, Lilith attacks and eats her team. This all happens in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Three years later, Sophia has to face her tragic past when Lilith gets into the Seine. Paris is preparing for a triathalon held in the Seine, ahead of the Olympics. There’s also a group called Save Our Seas, trying to help Lilith.

I’ve only watched one shark movie, but I understand that this one is different because it’s about the environment, and how dangerous it is to pollute our waters. It didn’t make me afraid to go into the ocean. I think that sharks are cool, and I’m not really scared of them because they won’t attack unless provoked, or unless they mistake you for prey, and that’s really rare.

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Under Paris isn’t exactly a serious film (it gets pretty bonkers in its second half), but it takes climate change seriously. Even though it’s bloodier than even Jaws, it makes you think about plastics, environmental degradation, and greed in a similar way that Jaws makes you think about the great white—a danger requiring vigilance.

I’ll give you an example: after getting water in her ears, Bea was going to try foam ear plugs for diving under waves. But what if they fell out? “Wouldn’t want them to get into the ocean,” she decided. And she convinced Harriet not to get her ice cream in a styrofoam cup, but a delicious edible cone.

Small steps!

I said I wasn’t gonna talk about the debate but “We had H2O” (!!) What a monster.

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In other news…

We came home to the first ripe tomatoes! How great to make dinner from the garden after a long trip.

Our compost peaches are also ripe. Tiny, but delicious!

We loved this story about painted lady butterflies making a 2,600-mile journey across the Atlantic. (Talk about a long trip—thanks, Cat!).

How are you spending your Sunday, Frog Troublers? Have you seen Under Paris? Don’t forget to check out Thursday’s summer reading guide, and look in the comments for great recs from Cousin Anne!

Lots of love from us.