Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Whale Watching #1, Guinea Bissau
To shake off the negativity of yesterday's post on Norwegian whale hunting we'll be spending the next three days visiting some ocean friends, sans explosive harpoon.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Boat #118, Norway
Let's all send a collective boo and hiss in the direction of Mr. Foyn here. This scoundrel invented an explosive harpoon which, coupled with the new practice of whale hunting from steamships (the 19th century version of Sarah Palin's favorite hobby, helicopter wolf hunting), worked almost instantly to deplete global whale populations. Dumb jerk.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Boat #119, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania
These three neighboring East African nations have had somewhat intertwining governments since their days as Royal British Colonies. Ah, Great Britain, is any nation better than you at putting opposing cultures together and drawing single boundary lines around them?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Boat #122, Guyana - A Stead on the Titanic
A distant relative of mine, William T. Stead, was aboard the Titanic as she embarked on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. Sadly, he was still aboard when the Titanic reached its final destination. William T. Stead was an unusual character—a famous journalist, a oddball spiritualist, and an all around interesting guy. Read more about William and the unusual circumstances surrounding his life and death here.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Boat #123, Japan
Today is our fifth and final day in the Sea of Japan. Tomorrow we sail to points unknown. Beware, there be monsters!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Boat #127, Japan
We'll be spending the next few days in Japan. Quite frankly I'm too tired this week to ship off to new ports.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Boat #128, Singapore and Malaya
in 1963 Singapore merged with the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia. Things didn't work out too great though. By 1965 Singapore had declared it's independence.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Boat #131, Bolivia
Did you know that Lake Titicaca sits 12,500 feet above sea level? Wow! Also, it's the largest lake in South America, although apparently Lake Maracaibo has a thing or two to say about that. Lake Titicaca thinks Lake Maracaibo is too brackish, and Lake Maracaibo thinks Lake Titicaca is just being uppity.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Hooray!
I know you're all wondering what's happened to the boat countdown over the last few days. The truth is it'll have to wait, because congratulations are in order for Erin, my lovely wife, who has just won the 2011 Caldecott medal for A Sick Day for Amos McGee! Not bad Erin. Not bad at all.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Boat #133, In Which Our Hero, Jonathan, Embarks on a Journey Aboard His Favorite Blue Boat
I couldn't resist showing one more image from Jonathan before returning to our regularly scheduled postage stamp countdown. Here we see Jonathan waving goodbye to the tugboat captain as he embarks on a journey to find his lost friend Frederick. Bon voyage, Jonathan!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Boat #134, The Big Blue Boat
This week I was excited to receive the scanned art for Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat back from my publisher. I can be pretty ornery sometimes, but I have to say I think these images look great—somehow better than the originals themselves. This illustration is from the opening spread of the book. That's Jonathan and his stuffed bear Frederick out on the dock, looking up at their favorite blue boat.
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