gettin' chum-my with it

I can still remember the first time I saw Jaws.  I had sneaked down into our basement for some illicit TV watching, and happened upon Jaws.  Face hidden under a blanket, one eye peeping out, I wanted to change the channel, but my fear paralyzed me.  And yet, a small part of me was electrified... I couldn't look away.  The everlasting impression?  Sharks were everywhere, and would strike without warning.  Any and every body of water was unsafe. (Years later, I still prefer to stick to pools and the Great Lakes)

Despite the scare factor, sharks are amazing.  Between their rows and rows of teeth, super senses ( A drop of blood from a mile away? Wowza! ), and the fact that they kicked evolution like a bad habit 100 million years ago?  I'm fascinated.  They've got me hook, line and sinker, if you will.  And that's why every summer, Discovery Channel's Shark Week is like my birthday come early.  A whole, glorious week of everything sharks! 

Why you, too, should love Shark Week:

1. Great advertising -- and I'm not talking about the scary commercials, and the shark-man billboards.  I'm talking about the great whites that are flocking to Cape Cod and Hawaii, causing beach closings.  Forget Mad Men, this is real passion for advertising!
2. It's a week!  Most celebrations get just one day -- 4th of July, Memorial Day, Birthdays, Christmas.  But sharks--all 440 kinds-- get a whole week. 
3. Rhinoceros Week just doesn't have the same ring to it.  Sure, there are a lot of fearsome predators in the animal kingdom, but few elicit the same type of fear that sharks do.
4. The Shark Week Drinking Game.  Take a drink every time you hear the phrase "apex predator," and a shot every time you're forced to look away from a video of a shark attack.  
5. Andy Samberg, the first ever appointed CSO (Chief Shark Officer), is hosting this year.  He's basically one of my favorite funny men for no particular reason, and it's going to be nothing short of amazing.
6. Shark Week is like steroids for the Discovery Channel's ratings.  Last year, almost 31 million unique viewers tuned in for Shark Week.  The Discovery Channel brings us all kinds of gems, like Cash Cab, Planet Earth, MythBusters, and Deadliest Catch.  They definitely deserve a blow-out week once a year.
7. You get to wear dorky awesome Shark Week clothes, and tell shark jokes.

It's going to be another hot week, so what better excuse do you need to set the Tivo and stay inside where it's cool?  You'll know where to find me...

L

PS: Why do sharks live in the ocean and not the sky?....The sky is Jet territory!!