I look forward to this week all year. All you have to do is check my social media. I love Shark Week. Hell, it was on the TV in the delivery room while I was in labor. No lie. I don't remember much, other than some Air Jaws between contractions, but it. Was. On. I wasn't going to watch something else in the middle of night while suffering. Nope. It was SHARK WEEK!
My daughter was born on August 4th 2009. It was the happiest day of my life.
And I managed to get though my contractions while watching giant great white sharks fly out of the water while trying to eat fake seals. It was amazing. If those massive creatures could launch themselves from the water, then I could get through the birth of my gorgeous daughter.
I eagerly await Shark Week each year. I set up my DVR as far in advance as possible. There are snacks planned ahead of time. At some point I'm going to host a really kick-ass Shark Week party. Complete with awesome cupcakes, shark fin hats, shark inspired snacks. Oh yes, it's going to happen.
And when I do have this party, it will be awesome.
Shark week is this wonderful bit of TV that shows us how beautiful (and terrifying) nature can be. Without realizing it, hundreds of thousands of people sit in front of the TV soaking up real-life facts. They're watching television and learning. (And deciding how they would fight off a shark attack of course.) This is a huge deal. With all of the misleading information on the internet this is your chance to flush your audience with truth. The Discovery Channel should continue it's legacy of education. Show the world how amazing our planet truly is.
But I've got to take my enthusiasm down a notch and tell you that I was so disappointed by the Megalodon crap. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Mermaid Mock-umentary. Loved it. (I write about mermaids, so duh, I love them!) But uh, mermaids have no real evidence. Megalodon actually existed at one point. So all of these people that were open to receiving fun facts and instead were given a load of B.S.
I get it. You've got to keep Shark Week fresh, interesting, give the people something new.
So, last night as I set up my DVR I thought of a couple topics that might be fun to look into for future shows. Ready? Here I go:
- Prehistoric sharks. (Hey, Shark Week/ Discovery Channel PR people? You totally dropped the ball here. Jurassic World came out this summer. People are LOVING dinosaurs right now. They're hot. My daughter would have loved a show about sharks/shark types that were alive with dinosaurs and what dinosaurs they would have eaten. You could have possibly even done some promo with Jurassic World. How cool would that have been?)
- Has global warming affected sharks and their habitat? We hear more and more about bull sharks farther up rivers. Have they always been there? Or is this a new development?
- What about baby sharks? Where do all of the little baby sharks live? What do they eat? Where are do they hide and for how long?
- What about animals that sharks are wary of? Can dolphins really kill a shark? Would they protect people? What about orcas? Will they hunt sharks?
- I'm sure I can come up with more ideas. Those only took me like five minutes.
If you ever want talk ideas, hit me up. ;) Seriously, I just love Shark Week. But can we save the mock-umentaries for another time? You know what was an awesome *documentary*? The one about the giant squid. I still watch it when it comes on t.v. (Yeah, I'm a dork, but the good kind of dork.)
So, I guess the main point of this post is that I want to see more of the awesomeness that is nature and less of the trumped up fake shows.
Now, excuse me while I go make sure that my snacks are lined up and my schedule is cleared for next week.
This looks like my toothy grin
as I prepare for my favorite
week of the summer.
P.S. Readers, please be careful if you decide to go swimming in North Carolina. Maybe Shark Week can tell us what's up with that. ;) Also, avoid swimming on Tybee Island or Hilton Head Island--There is a warning about bacteria in the water. Just an FYI.
