HOORAY! ~ Happy Holidays to you all!…

Enjoy yourself and life to the fullest ~~ Life is short, sweet and full of great surprises, just like “Christmas Under the Tree” should be…and the “Day of Faith, Hope & Belief” can continue forever when accepted as reality on our daily path…

But whatever you believe or whomever you follow, enjoy the journey as that what it is: “The School of Life”…

Aloha from the Middle of the Pacific!

Thomas

PS: ~ bytw: We are at the point to receive DONATIONS for our new MARINE EDUCATION CENTER (the new “Savings Account” is in place)!

To learn more about this project how we serve the general public through our growing “SOS” marine education program (”Ocean Pulse”), contact us via this form below (or call our “Serve Our Seas” President Paul Clark at: 808.651.3452):

We are very, very close to cut a deal with a successful business man on Kauai to get a head start with a facility! So, this is the time to show support and to promote this enormously important education project!

Join us today and see what we can do for you to have more fun in life, enriched by the goods and services we can offer ~ all tied into “Sea Love” & “Planetary Wellness”…

You can join SOS as a new member or donate to this great, great organization at: http://www.saveourseas.org/saveourseas/join.html

Meanwhile we continue our quest for public exposure of our marine education & monitoring program, and have produced 3-4 videos for TV & Internet presentations since November (we expect “Air Time ” soon in 2009).

With this, once more we wish everyone a happy “Mele Kalikimaka” ~~”Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays” (…”from the Mountains to the Oceans…we do it the Hawaiian Style…”)

Paul Clark's SOS~Assistant enjoying Sea~Love time with a Honu

HOORAY! ~ Our new President BARACK OBAMA is from HAWAII (sorta…)! – …and so are we, bytw (sorta)…

Paul Clark, SOS-President (SaveOurSeas.org) recently visited with the famous local artist – Patrick Ching, owner of the “Naturally Hawaiian Art Gallery” in Waimanalo (Oahu) — AAAAND now also in Princeville, Kauai.

Patrick offered a secret glimpse into his rich life — full of art, animals, love and more…Patrick Ching, Master of the “Funner Art…” – and “funner IS a word…!” (Patrick Ching, Waimanalo, 2008).

Click here to watch our video on VIMIO:

Save Our Seas & Art Biologist Patrick Ching in Princeville and Waimanalo from Save Our Seas on Vimeo.

CLICK HERE to order the full-resolution DVD:

“Talk story with Patrick (Ka)Ching”

- Naturally Hawaiian Art Gallery -

10% of all DVD proceeds go to SOS (SaveOurSeas.org) in support of our growing marine education program, called “OCEAN PULSE” - where marine education, conservation AND fun are key! Stay tuned and watch soon our up-coming OCEAN PULSE VIDEO on this and on other websites…

You can also DONATE NOW! to this exciting and rapidly growing non-profit marine education program - simply by CLICKING THIS LINK NOW!

MAHALO for your kind (and tax-deductible!) contributions, and, of course, to PATRICK CHING for the most “funner” activity we had in a LONG time!

Thomas

PS: A majority of the FISH & TURTLE HDV footage for this piece was contributed by TERRY LILLEY, marine biologist with and for “SOS”. Thank you, Terry, for making it SO easy this time to get all the footage we needed. Brilliant work! (All HDV Stock footage can be acquired through SOS…)

AMAKUA VIDEO proudly announces its new “KIDS UNDERWATER VIDEO & MARINE EDUCATION TRAINING”!

GOAL & MISSION Our goal is to offer children a “digital” voice & eye to express themselves and showcase their love for the oceans. By active involvement in this program the kids start to share their values and ideas with the world via Internet and TV, and thus develop ownership for “their ocean” - an important step forward to encourage a responsible resource management in the future.

Watch this short video and entice yourself to participate. Photo credits go to Maya (11) and Noa (8):

KIDS MARINE EDUACTION & UNDERWATER VIDEO PROGRAM from Thomas Gorgas on Vimeo.

WHERE IS IT? Our program is based out of Hanalei, located on the beautiful Island of Kauai, and organized in close conjunction with the marine education program & non-profit organization SOS (http://www.saveourseas.org) and the professional “Reef Guides” team (www.ReefGuides.com).

This course is essentially part of the ongoing SOS “OCEAN PULSE” project (http://www.saveourseas.org/saveourseas/op.html).

SO: WHAT ARE WE DOING, WHEN AND HOW? The training starts in the morning on land and then leads to basic shooting exercises in a pool with our camera systems (DVCAM & HDV). After we provide lunch for the kids we take them out into the ocean. Our very experienced and well-trained staff ensures that every child is safe & sound.

We have over 5 years of experience with educating school children between Age 5 and 17 about the value of our oceans. “OCEAN PULSE” was a success in 1996 and 1997, and has been again between 2003-2008 at Kula High, Intermediate and Elementary K-12 and 2003 at the Myron B. Thompson Academy on Kaua’i.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? One day of training is priced at $199. Group & special “Kamaaina” values apply, and we tailor our training as much as possible to the specific needs and skill levels of each individual (coordination; understanding of basic camera operation; water skills).

HOW CAN I SIGN UP? Use the contact form below to inquire about details for this extensive training & also associated costs.

“YES! I want to participate. Sign me up as soon as possible!”

We love to see you soon in Hanalei!

With Aloha - Thomas

PS: 50% of all proceeds are donated to SOS. Additional donations from this audience to SOS are most welcome!

Patrick Ching, former wildlife ranger and by now famous Hawaiian Island Artist with a big heart for people (in particular for “children”), gives us the honor to interview with us on Kauai - home-base of SaveOurSeas.org!

Watch this 6-min. video with Patrick Ching talking about his beautiful art, protecting the marine environment, and what we all can do to “protect, preserve & restore our oceans”.

Contact Patrick Ching directly at Patrick@NaturallyHawaiian.com, or use this contact form to learn more about his art work and/or SaveOurSeas.org.

Enjoy - and “Donate NOW at SAVEOURSEAS.org/join.htm to protect, preserve & restore our oceans!”

Thomas, “King of Follow-Up”

AMAKUA VIDEO = PRODUCT PROMOTER

PS: Orion (11) is the young camera operator in our last video blog.

If he chooses to do so, he is well on his way to become a famous marine scientist & documentarist (…watching this current video you may realize: Orion can talk well & A LOT!)

Orion’s younger sister (Maya, 7) is also incredibly proficient with “Ocean Stuff” for her young age - and she does not even remember when she started snorkeling in the ocean…

Good job Kiddos, good job Daddy!

Are you one of those people who got inspired by Jacques Cousteau like I was as a young boy?

Now we - that is AMAKUA VIDEO & SAVEOURSEAS.org - are at the juncture to offer an AWESOME KIDS MARINE EDUCATION PROGRAM where children Age 5 to 18 are trained in reef-monitoring, and to learn to document their observations with digital video/photo cameras & software.

Watch this 3-min. video of Paul Clark, Director & President of Saveourseas.org, with his son Orion and daughter Maya (8-years young) and get some impressions of the marine environment of Kauai. Orion, 11-years young, enjoys a first “touch & feel training” in underwater videography as he operates the PD150 AMPHIBICO camera housing:

Contact PAUL@SAVEOURSEAS.ORG to learn more about this rapidly growing Marine Education Program on Kauai, or fill out this form below as a way to contact AMAKUA VIDEO & SAVEOURSEAS.org:

By the way: DONATIONS TO SAVEOURSEAS.ORG are most welcome to build a MARINE EDUCATION CENTER for the general public!

The goal is to raise $10 million. over the next 1-5 years to turn our dream into reality…(Hawaii Investors enjoy ACT221 benefits, and can be matched with investor contributions from other States).

Aloha - Thomas

PS: All digital video is recorded with AMPHIBICO underwater equipment. Contact AMAKUA VIDEO for more information about “How we do it!” As AMPHIBICO’s “Point of Contact in the Pacific” AMAKUA VIDEO gets you the right gear at the right price.

PS#2: In the near future AMAKUA VIDEO & SAVEOURSEAS.org will feature our video art on THE OCEAN NETWORK (www.OceanNetwork.tv) — THE “Ocean Content Aggregator” on CHANNEL 349 in the State of Hawaii!