A photo of a fiendish-looking recreational wave on the frontpage of today's Los Angeles Times reminds us of the awesome power of the tsunami that struck on December 26th.*

It is also a reminder that what is fun in moderation can be cataclysmic in the extreme: [UPDATE* on continuing tsunami tourist impact at bottom of this post.]

"Surfs up!" at Bondi Beach
The maw is on the reach.
Climb aboard for the ride
This ain't no hang-glide
You're a bullet locked in the breach.

http://www.surfrider.org/surfreport/
Note: Link changed because latimes.com changed frontpage photo. Unfortunately, this "maw" is only half as "fiendish-looking" as the one the LA Times displayed earlier today.

For those not familiar with firearms, "breech" is defined as the "opening in the rear of the barrel of a gun where bullets can be loaded" at Onelook.com. This allows for interplay with "breach" defined as follows:

Dictionary.com: breach n.

An opening, a tear, or a rupture.
A gap or rift, especially in or as if in a solid structure such as a dike or fortification.
A violation or infraction, as of a law, a legal obligation, or a promise.
A breaking up or disruption of friendly relations; an estrangement.

A leap of a whale from the water.
The breaking of waves or surf.


Dictionary.com: maw
The opening into something felt to be insatiable: “I saw the opening maw of hell” (Herman Melville).

Bondi Beach
Many will remember this world famous surfing beach from the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Bondi Beach was the venue for the Beach Volleyball competitions.

http://www.voyeurmagic.com.au/olympic.htm

* UPDATE
Tsunami effects on tourism lingers: report
ChinaView.cn

BANGKOK, March 11 (Xinhuanet) -- The Dec. 26 tsunami still has negative effect on the world's tourism with international travel to some destinations being washed out, a recent report shows.

Among all travelers, Japanese and Korean tourists lost interestnot for tsunami-affected destinations such as Phuket, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, but also the Asian region as a whole, said the Post-Tsunami Global Travel Intentions Research Report


http://snipurl.com/ddee