Force the Change

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Blair Mott

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Scuba Instructor
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Santa Barbara , California
Last Night the SBIFF awarded the David Attenborough Award to The Cove for Excellence in Nature Filmmaking. I hope you have all seen the movie The Cove, if not it is a must see and someone should have told you that you must see it.



I arrived at the Lobero Theater with Bob Evans a good hour before the film was to begin.
The Lobero is the oldest working theater in California and is a great venue. Suddenly Sandra Squires, Executive Coordinator for Jean-Michel Cousteau walks up with The Cove Poster for the backdrop during the Q & A and awards presentation after the film.

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She stopped to take photos and swap stories. Thanks Sandra and good luck to all your efforts in saving the planet. I could see the head of the communications department at SBCC, various ocean activists, enthusiasts, local Natural History Museum staff, plus a plethora of local and out of town individuals who were jazzed for the night.We were soon joined by Dr. Marc Grandle Alki Chiropractic and Myotherapy, Kirsten Candy ,Holly Lohuis from Ocean Futures Society
and Michal Hanrahan President and co-founder of the Ocean Channel.

Mike deGruy has been the head of the Reel Nature Series for the SBIFF for years and he stopped by. We had a chance to talk about the success of the Reel Nature series this year and about the man himself Ric O’Barry being on-site for the show.

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Holly Lohius immediately whipped out her book to ask Mike if he could help her get the book signed for her son Gavin. They devised a plan and something about 8:45, green room and it was another covert OPS in the works.Mike had to run, we moved inside and when we started to move down the isles we could not get 5 rows into the theater before we ran into Fred Benko from the Condor Express and started a pile up in theater as our group broke into a barrage of greetings as almost everyone in the group began reconnecting with someone else in the theater. Energy was everywhere and the Lobero was the prefect backdrop.

The Film……is….a MUST SEE!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t know, but I believe if you find someone who has not seen it, I was one of them, tell them it is about poison and they might leave behind their thoughts of watching a movie filled with dolphins being massacred in an unknown cove in Japan.

The blend of allowing us to see a bit of the mobilizations and “behind the curtain” moments drive the film for me and were inserted appropriately throughout the film. There is excellent historical footage and an extremely visually compelling sequence of a dolphin blowing air rings and manipulating the rings with its sonar and body movement that leaves in you in awe of the intelligence of the mammal. Bob and I will be talking about that forever. I have heard and read about Ric O’Barry for years, but having him in the film allowed me to get to know him and become a bigger fan! He said to us last night “this is not a cultural- we could not win that argument, this is not an emotional issue– we eat cows they eat dolphins – we could not win this either, but we can win because this about health” Japan is poisoning their people by selling them contaminated dolphin meat. They are actually selling poisonous meat to humans, dolphin meat no less, dolphins can you believe that!

The film is well put together and allows the audience to feel the energy behind a story that needs to be told because it can start a change in the world. Mike deGruy hosted a conversation session with the Director Louis Psihoyos and Ric O’Barry that covered filming making, inspirations and anecdotes with nothing left behind. Ric O’Barry is trying to get 1000 people to Tijia, Japan September 1st and he opened the invitation to everyone last night at the show. Get your frequent flyers miles ready and go the website as he said they will be posting more info on how to get on board. September 1st 2010 we need THOSANDS of people in Taiji, Japan. Thanks for the invite Ric!

It was a real blessing having the Director Louie Psihoyos there. He is also the Executive Director at the Oceanic Preservation Society- “We are Not Trying to Save the Whole Planet- Just 70% of it.” His accomplishments are truly respectful and he is the prefect man for the job. His quest to use movies to make change is an excellent fit! " We are destructing the planet and movies can be a tool that can begin reconstructing the Planet" He is very passionate and very well spoken. Listening to the two of them speak was truly inspiring. I did not know how much until I realized why I could not sleep once I got home.
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Afterward Peter Howorth presented the David Attenborough award to The Cove received by Louie Psihoyos and Ric O’Barry and the lights came on.
I asked Holly if she had Ric O’Barry’s signature on her book that he wrote and she sheepishly said she tried, but no. Bob said let’s go and try again, Holly hesitated and I looked and Bob and said,” Get her backstage NOW!” they took off and the theater started to let out.
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I did a resonances mission and located Simon Hutchins – and Expedition Director for The Cove and Director of Expeditions for OPS, Charles Hambleton – Clandestine Operations -The Cove as well as Mary Jo Rice from the Earth Island Institute. They all stayed late after the show and when the staff of the Lobero finally kicked us out they hung around a bit more to talk and take pictures. Thanks a lot guys and your respective dates for staying till the very end. Out of the 150 plus people that were there last night were we the remaining 9.

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Myself and Simon Hutchins talk logistics and life on expedition.


I look forward to keeping in touch and keeping informed! Thanks for inspiring us all!

All Photos taken by Bob Evans.
 
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I know for a fact that Force Fin harms no Fish during Fin trials and they are Dolphin free as well.
 
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I had forgot to mention that after the film Ric O'Barry announced that one of our local legends Bud Bottoms is donating 50% of the money he receives for his brilliant sculptures to the cause through Earth Island Institute.
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As most of the Local residents of Santa Barbara know of his large public sculptures around town a lot of people do not know of his smaller bronze works. Get yourself some exceptional ocean related sculptures and support the efforts to stop the Killing in Taiji, Japan. Thank you again Bud for your energy,kindness and support!
 
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"He said to us last night “this is not a cultural- we could not win that argument, this is not an emotional issue– we eat cows they eat dolphins – we could not win this either, but we can win because this about health” Japan is poisoning their people by selling them contained dolphin meat. "

I recall in the early 80s when there was an international campaign to limit Japanese whaling I was in Santa Barbara and came upon a car with the vanity license plate whales (or a variation of that spelling), bumper stickers adorned the car that proclaimed "I love whales" and "I brake for whales". The only problem was that the car was a Honda Civic. Apparently the owner missed the connection.

Food safety may be the way to do it. I agree, it is not cultural. If it were, the Native Alaskan peoples of the Beaufort, Chukchi, Bering, and Cook Inlet areas would be as open to criticism because of their taking of whales, beluga, and other marine mammals for subsistence and because it is a central organizing principle for their culture and identity as individuals and a people through hunting and sharing. But emotionalism and cultural aspects give people a more feel good feeling than 'food safety" so it looks like the advocates task will be a difficult one. One needs to be careful on the food safety arguement given some of the problems that our own FDA and USDA is having policing the safety of our food.

And thank you for the update on Holly. Been a long time since I heard any news about her. She always had a way of making the oceans accessible for visitors to the Channel Islands, especially the children, and her enthusiasm was infectious. Good to see she is still at it.
 
I am talking to Blair now and typing one handed and he say to go and see this movie!
I met one of the people in this movie and she is hot so go now.
 
As I have mentioned in the earlier posts in this thread, Bud Bottoms is a local legend, brilliant artist and good friends of Bob and myself. The last time he was here at Force Fin I snapped this photo of the both of them holding a master of the Monofin Blade that Bob has been working on for years and will someday be available to the public.
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When you purchase art work from Bud Bottoms 50% of the money he receives goes to Earth Island Institute and you will be helping support environmental change for the better! Thanks Bud for all your great energy!
 
Congratulations to The Cove for the well deserved Oscar for Best Feature Documentary! We could only imagine what they were yelling in the Control Van when they hit the stage! Surprised, but not so much. It was a shame as we would like to have heard and seen more from the team on stage. Well deserved award! We will never forget meeting everyone at the SBIFF and becoming inspired! Congratulations to everyone involved and to everyone who supports your efforts!

Bob showed me a response he had written to The Santa Barbara News Press's editorial "The case against captivity" many years ago when the Atlanta Aquarium opened and he asked me to share it with you.

“Good for the Santa Barbara News Press for pointing out the sadness captivity brings to these beautiful marine animals. When I was a child I lived in Rome, right next to the Colosseum.

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Bob his mother and his sisters in Rome.


Towards the end of the empire, the Romans would bring animals from Africa-giraffes, elephants, leopards, lions, monkeys, etc. They would perform in the Colosseum. The latest great aquarium in Atlanta, Ga., reminds me of the Colosseum. It is the end of civilization when they can justify captivating people in awe of spectacular animals. If you wish to learn about dolphins, whales, look to our oceans, take a scuba class from one of Santa Barbara's instructional centers, or book a snorkeling adventure. You'll get more out of the experience of floating in the water and watching what marine life may swim by than a beast circling in a Plexiglas Coliseum.


I speak from experience. I have photographed marine animals in their native environment and in Santa Barbara's own Undersea Gardens in the 1970s. I rejoiced when Myrtle the Turtle somehow escaped from Undersea Gardens Aquarium in Santa Barbara, California.


[FONT=&quot]when I was on a photo assignment for a water park in the 1973,
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Bob's cover shot for Science Digest.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]I first came in contact with how dolphins were treated. They were in these very small pens, and the trainer told me the dolphins became aggressive over time. I thought to myself that I would become crazy being put in these dark water coffin pens. Time to let killer whales, sea lions, dolphins etc. all go back to the sea and close down these modern day Colosseums[/FONT]
 
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Bob,
Thanks for the post. I know Gale Mead as an accomplished diver and a creative artist whose music has great emotion on important issues and as you posted she is good behind the camera, both with still and video. Thanks Gale for sharing all your great photos and music with us
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over the years.
 
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