Sunday, June 24, 2012

Simpsons' Simon Sea Shepherd Saviour

Matt Groening and James Brooks are the two names most associated with that ghastly cartoon The Simpsons.
But producer Sam Simon also had a hand in the show's success. He
left the show in 1993, but still receives wads of cash each year... which he puts to good use.
The 'Sam Simon Foundation' rescues and rehabilitates stray dogs that would otherwise be euthanised: they then become service dogs for the disabled. His foundation also offers a free mobile spay and neutering programme for low-income pet owners (neutering their animals, not them!). Last year, he launched the 'Sam Simon Foundation Feeding Families' which provides food for people and animals in need. He's also a board member for 'Save The Children' and hosts the largest annual fundraiser for PETA. In other words, Simon's seriously committed to making the world a better place.
Now he's fully funding Sea Shepherd's next anti-whaling vessel: "Paul Watson said they needed something fast, and with a reinforced hull to battle the Japanese. So next whaling season— if there is one, we're not sure—the Sam Simon will be bashing through ice, and hopefully we can end the atrocity of whaling in the southern ocean
Bob Barker
forever."
Whatever SS ends up getting, it won't be cheap. The icebreaker Bob Barker cost around $5m. And SS learnt the hard way that space-age vessels like Ady Gil and Brigitte Bardot were no match for monster rogue waves and Japanese skippers, so hopefully Sam will buy something more solid. It'll need to be fast enough to outrun fast harpoon ships, helo-capable with room for a hangar, enough deck space for delta fizzboats, have large fuel capacity or the ability to have the range extended, and have a ice-strengthened steel hull.
Oh. Is that all?
Luckily Mr.Simon has a very healthy bank balance...

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