Philip Christian Stead's 365 Boats

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Boat #53, Golden Gate (sans bridge)

Here we have the scenic Golden Gate of San Francisco, pre-bridge. In 1937 the Golden Gate Bridge was constructed. At the time it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. We Michiganders know a thing or two about bridges. In 1957 we completed construction of the Mackinac Bridge and subsequently set off a decades long feud over how exactly a bridge should be measured. The Mackinac Bridge, AKA Big Mac, connects the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. From anchorage to anchorage (meaning from beginning to end) it was the longest bridge in the world. However, the Golden Gate Bridge has a larger distance between towers, which is the more typical way of measuring a bridge. If you ask me I think that the Michigan way of measuring makes more sense. Ours is bigger, plain and simple.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Boat #54, Suriname

I'm pleased that we finally have an opportunity to visit Suriname. Seeing as how it's the smallest sovereign nation in South America it is sort of easy to miss. We're very thorough though here at 365 boats!

Friday, April 1, 2011

I Find Myself Filled With Contempt

I find myself filled with contempt for Godaddy CEO, Bob Parsons, who recently videotaped his vicious killing of an elephant while on vacation in Zimbabwe. He then posted the video on the internet and bragged about his accomplishment on Twitter. Ugh. This world is full of ugliness—so much so that we become immune to it. But this action has filled me with disgust to indescribable degree. So what can we do? I doubt shame will have much of an effect on Mr. Parsons. Sociopaths have trouble with shame. But we might just be able to hit him where he actually feels something—his wallet. As of today philipstead.com and erinstead.com are no longer hosted by Godaddy. If you happen to have a website hosted by Godaddy then I would urge to transfer to another company as well. It's cheap, it's easy, and it's worth it. Godaddy competitor Namecheap.com is even offering a transfer deal in which 20 percent of the profits go to Save the Elephants. Act now and stand up in some small way for kindness and intelligence—two things this world could use a little bit more of.

Philip Stead

Boat #59, Portugal

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Boat #60, France (and the Big Blue Boat too!)

My favorite thing about doing this blog is when I scan boat, enlarge it, and then find something I'd never noticed before—in this case, the tiny sailboat. It reminds me of my opening illustration for Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat.