Something to think about...

["James Purchase" <jpurch@interlog.com>]

I don't know how many of you have access to the magazine AquaJournal (the
English translation of Amano's magazine, put out by Vectrapoint). In Vol.
33, Neil Frank, the American editor of The Aquatic Gardener, the Journal of
the AGA, wrote an article titled "Aquarium Plant Hobby in America, Past,
Present & Future" (pg. 48).

In his article, Neil writes:
_________

"Aquarium plants are still a relatively minor part of the overall aquarium
hobby in America. We are still far behind Europe and Asia, both in interest
of our hobbyists and in the general methods of aquarium management."
<snip>
"There are probably several factors which have been inhibiting the
development of the aquarium plant hobby in America: (1) until recently,
there has been a general lack of information and lack of pictures of
beautifully aquascaped aquaria in popular aquarium literature; (2) there are
a small number of recognized American experts (our publications are only in
aquarium magazines and journals) to help champion this effort,..."
<snip>
"Starting in the mid 1980's, several signifigant events occurred. First,
English language translations of European books became available in America.
The most notable of these was The Optimum Aquarium. The planted aquarium has
been a dominant focus of the aquarium hobby in Europe for some time. With
these new books, the splendor of the planted aquarium was clearly
illustrated."
<snip>
"Through the late 1980's, and into the 90's we have started to see many new
books on the planted aquaria... The most signifigant of these is Nature
Aquarium World by Takashi Amano."
<snip>
"In the 1990's, the new vehicle for communication is the "Information Super
Highway"."
<snip>
"With a steady increase in the number of translated publications and through
the electronic medium of the Internet, information exchange will continue to
improve throughout the world. This has coincided with an increased interest
in the planted aquarium among average American hobbyists."
<snip>
"With our large number of aquarium hobbyists, including a growing number of
specialists, America has a very large potential to also contribute to the
world hobby. I am hopeful we will continue to make advances in the art and
science of the planted aquarium and soon catch up to the level of interest
and expertise of our European and Asian counterparts."
________

This event is supposed to be International. We currently have representation
from Peru and Holland. Both Olga and I are actively seeking people from
other countries to join us.

Olga says:
And what's wrong with a jam making contest at a county fair? Let's make our
contest more "county fairish" and less "this is art that you peasants
wouldn't understand". [said in a friendly way with no tension (visual or
otherwise) in it.]

James replies:
I don't expect that anything Neil may have written in his article quoted
above might change your mind.... but its worth a try.

You want a "country fair" - some of us want an International Aquascaping
Showcase & Contest, with participation from all over the world. I don't want
to look at "plants underwater", I want to see examples of beautifully
aquascaped aquariums.

There is more to the world than North America.

James Purchase
Toronto

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