jacques cousteau – Southern Fried Science

Jacques Week 2018 Begins July 22! Join us for a week of classic Cousteau Documentaries!

July 17, 2018July 21, 2018 Andrew Thaler 1 Comment

Education

Jacques Week begins this Sunday, July 22, 2018! Join us for a week-long celebration of the ocean documentarian who started it all! Without Jacques there would be no Blue Planet, no Mission Blue, and no Shark Week. All next week we’re watching classic Jacques Cousteau Documentaries, discussing ocean science and conservation, and celebrating all things Ocean!

Most of these films will available online. Some will require purchase. We’ve provided links to the for-purchase options and offer alternates if you can’t find them. It’s become nearly impossible to find copies of the Jacques Cousteau Odyssey collection, so, though this series includes some of my all time favorites, we’re going to phase them out this year and instead lean more heavily on River Explorations for more recent Cousteau work. Links to all available films can be found at the JacquesWeek2017 YouTube playlist.

Jacques Week is a collective viewing experience. We’ll provide links to each piece of media, due a countdown on Twitter, and then everyone hits play at the same(ish) time and we watch these incredible documentaries together.

Unflappable Mola Molas, a Cousteau biopic, sharkcats, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: August 21, 2017

August 21, 2017August 21, 2017 Andrew Thaler

Weekly Salvage

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

Gratuitous self-plug alert! There’s still a few chance left to get your own Unflappable Mola Mola sticker, but they’re going fast. For this and the rest of the Jaunty Ocean Critter series, subscribe to my Patreon campaign and help keep Southern Fried Science and Oceanography for Everyone running!

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Happy Eclipse Day! If you’ve ever wondered what happens in the sea during an eclipse, Rebecca Helm at Deep Sea News has you covered!
This is an utterly amazing video of Blue Whale feeding behavior. Kudos to Slate, who went with the headline “Krill Joy“.

“Thirty years ago, I discovered a new world. I wanted to conquer it when I should have protected it. It’s not too late.” An uncompromising Jacques Cousteau biopic starring Lambert Wilson? Yes, please!

Jetsam (what we’re enjoying from around the web)

It’s here! The Official Schedule for #JacquesWeek 2017!

July 12, 2017July 20, 2017 Andrew Thaler

Uncategorized

Jacques Week is only a week and a half away! Join us, beginning July 23 for six nights of classic Cousteau documentaries! From the very earliest films to his last adventures, Jacques Cousteau set the standard for underwater film, adventure storytelling, and conservation messaging. So batten the hatches and haul the sheets, it’s going to be an exciting journey!

Some of these films are available online. Some will require purchase. We’ve provided links to the for-purchase options and alternates if you can’t find them. Links to all available films can be found at the JacquesWeek2017 YouTube playlist.

Jacques Week is not associated with any of the Cousteau organizations. It is a purely grassroots celebration of the man who brought ocean adventure, science, and conservation to the world.

#JacquesWeek 2016 Official Schedule

June 16, 2016July 2, 2016 Andrew Thaler

Education

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”

Jacques Yves Cousteau

Summer is here, and with it comes the perennial ocean explosion that is Shark Week. Last year, in response to Shark Week burn out (heck, David and I even published a paper on it) and being tired of becoming the saltiest of wet blankets during a week where people are excited about the oceans, we launched #JacquesWeek! #JacquesWeek is an online alternative the Shark Week. We sourced and screened Jacques Cousteau documentaries from the early years all the way through his later works and provide context and discussion from an array of marine scientists and explorers.

#JacquesWeek is back!

From June 26 to July 1, we’ll feature classic Cousteau films, hold Twitter discussions, and host a few hangouts with experts to discuss these films and help put them into context. As with last year, we will try to provide as many free options as possible (due to some very complex issues surrounding copyright, the Cousteau estate, a production company that no longer exists, and some fascinating interpersonal politics, many of Cousteau’s earlier films are de facto public domain) but we will also be drawing from his later series: The Jacques Cousteau Odyssey, Jacques Cousteau Pacific Explorations and Jacques Cousteau River Explorations which you will have to track down on DVD (but don’t worry, alternate suggestions are also provided)

Are you ready for adventure?

Need a #SharkWeek Alternative? Watch classic Cousteau documentaries with us for #JacquesWeek

July 6, 2015July 9, 2015 Andrew Thaler

Blogging

Last night, I was in the mood for some Cousteau. The classics from the Undersea World, Odyssey, River Expeditions, and host of other long running series, still hold up as some of the best ocean documentaries of all time. So I picked a few of my favorites, pulled some people together online, and called it #JacquesWeek, an alternative to Shark Week for those who either don’t get the Discovery Channel or just want something different.

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”

Jacques Yves Cousteau

I’ll be honest, I’m burned out on Shark Week. After several years of intense livetweeting, post-show debunking, and high-level critique (look for my and Shiffman’s paper on best practices for responding to fake mass media documentaries in Ocean and Coastal Management later this year), I find that I just don’t have much more to say. Some shows will be good. Some shows will be great. Some shows will be bad.

Jacques Cousteau has never let me down. Sure, sometimes the science is off (pretty much everything in Blind Prophets of Easter Island is incorrect, for example), but that’s because the Calypso crew was working at the boundaries of human knowledge, and their work comes off earnest, heartfelt, and compassionate. And so full of wonder. Much of what Cousteau’s team did was done for the very first time.

Misunderstood Marine Life # 1 – The five biggest myths about Marine Biologists

October 7, 2011November 10, 2011 Andrew Thaler 6 Comments

Popular Culture, Science

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, the single most misunderstood marine creature that calls our oceans its home: the rare, elusive, often smelly, occasionally employable, Marine Biologist! For something so incredibly popular, articulate, good-looking, and revered, there sure are a lot of misconceptions about who marine biologists are and what they do. Myth … Read More “Misunderstood Marine Life # 1 – The five biggest myths about Marine Biologists” »