Meme McDonald -
Author - Sister Chick

Marine Gifts

Anth, Bron and Dave are all in the studio, and this is the second last show before the end of the year - so today will be a useful show to help out.

There is a new Environment Minister - John Thwaites, also the Deputy Premier - quite a coup for the Environment. There is also a new Minister for Fisheries, Andrew Theophanus.

Remember the ship that sank off Spain (the Prestige) and is now in 3 500 m of water. Authorities say that the oil in the ship will be fine at that depth and temperature, but the French minisub is showing the oil is leaking out in thick streams. There will be more to come from this ship.

Thanks for the caller who told Anth off for referring to rainy weather as yuck - it appears this is driving the good rain away.

Anth loves a book targeted at 8 - 12 year old. Meme's latest book is about a girl who is born at the same time as a curlew on the other side of the world. The girl, Eva, doesn't find her voice until a curlew turns up in the old wetland behind her home, and she begins a dreaming journey to follow the path.

It started as a book, a theater production, an award-winning animated film, then an on-line animation, and now it has come out as another book

Sister Chick is a great book and worth a look, not just for kids. It is recommended at $13.95, published by Allen and Unwin and is available in all good bookstores (and probably some crap shops as well).

Anth gave it 4.5 seastars out of 5.

We got a bit hung up on books, so here goes with:

Dave's Book Specials

The White Divers of Broome - the story of an unsuccessful attempt to change the pearl diving industry at the turn of the century by John Bailey (Pan Macmillan)

In search of Moby Dick - the sperm whale saga continues by Tim Severin (Penguin Books)

Farther than Any Man - the rise and Fall of Captain James Cook - a bio by Martin Dugard (Allen& Unwin)

Into the Blue - Boldly going where Captain Cook has gone before.- a travel book by Tony Horwitz (Allen &Unwin)

Anth's Ideas

Marine National Park Picnics - make a picnic for your loved one and take them to a new Marine National Park.

The Queenscliff Marine Discovery Centre - stay tuned next week for more info on what the MDC is offering over summer.

Bron's Books

Priceless - Vanishing beauty of a Fragile Planet by Bradley Trevor Greive (Random House)

Field Guide to Australian Sharks and Rays by Daley, Stevens, Last and Yearsley (CSIRO)

The Oceans by Ellen Prager and Sylvia Earle (McGraw Hill)

Good News for a change by David Suzuki and Holly Dressel (Allen&Unwin)

Next week - look out for the rest of Bron's present ideas

The idea is to use the resource of recreational divers to help monitor our reefs - A participant gets all the gear needed to be able to conduct surveys and contribute to the database to further our understanding of what goes on under the water.

For more details contact the c/- Museum Victoria, GPO Box 666E, Melbourne 3001, Ph (03) 8341 7446 or click on the links.

"Sunday Morning "

"Here Comes Santa Claus"

"One Mo' Time "

Velvet Underground

Elvis Presley

Revelators

"West West Westerly and Filthy Dirty" The dredging is also contributing to some poor vis and "chokes the life out of the joint"