Global Warming?

I haven't written in a while cause I have been reading Twilight.
yes... Tasha and I practically are speed-reading through this shit.
(Like insane teen vampire throb banshees...)

I'll write more on Vampires another time.
And cause I don't really know how to move gracefully from that into my next subject...


Now...


Mother Nature is a huge, strong and creative entity.
So beautiful she brings me to tears!
There is no doubt that humans have an impact on the environment... but with this
global warming thing-
a. are we really so self absorbed to think that we have a truly lasting impact on her?
b. really folks... let's face it- What are we really talking about here? We care most about our own preservation. Our species.

Which is fine! That is so natural!
And don't get me wrong- Humans have contributed to the extinction of so many species in the animal kingdom. They've done bad and wonderful things!

Here are some things to consider:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_event

There has been 5 major extinctions that we can prove or know of.
In the most recent New Yorker they talk about us as the 6th:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/25/090525fa_fact_kolbert

Here are some sites about ice ages, and their cyclical behaviors:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ice/chill.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_age

There have been four major ice ages that we have recorded.

Our planet is on a wonderful cyclical pattern.
She has her own separate summers and winters that we never witness, cause we don't live that long.

That and She has her own beginning and end.
And though we might destroy much in our path... and as little as I like that...
We could not kill her.

Also- We evolved into the creatures that we are from primates and lemurs and such.
Here is an article/video about the new missing link in human evolution:
http://quietube.com/v.php/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nk9nwohqts

I am so excited to think about what we may evolve into as a species.
And the future creatures!

But I've always been insanely nostalgic about our extinct friends. (and totally and fully love all animals- because life is so miraculous!!!)
I remember being a little girl and found out that my favorite group of animals, the dinosaurs, were extinct- and really fully realizing what that meant.
I then sat at my father's piano and wrote a song called "Why Did the Dinosaurs have to Die."
(While sobbing uncontrollably)

Here is a little shout out to my favorite ancient extinct mammals-
I am so happy you were here.





Indricotherium (largest Mammal to ever roam planet Earth)



Entelodont (a vicious relative of the boar)


Megatheriine (Giant Sloth)


Glyptodont (car-sized relative of the armadillo)


Andrewsarchus (12 feet long not including tail, 6 feet tall- This is one of the largest land predators. It also had the early stages of hooves... It's closest known relatives are small hooved creatures like sheep and goats... weird, huh!)


Smilodon (yes... it is pronounced, "SMILE-O-DON")


Ancylotherium (looks like a cross between a horse and a gorilla, but much much larger... it's closest relative is the Tapir and Rhino)

Seahorses.

Thanks to my ol' friend Jason-
He sent me this article:
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/05/06/seahorses-stand-up.html
Reminding me how much I love this bizarre little creature.
The fathers carry the children in a little pouch in the front of their bellies. (They carry and care for the little ones)
They are also one of the only animals that are "upright" *humans being another rare
example*
Once I was snorkling in the Keys with my family in Florida. We stopped the car in a random location where the water was three feet deep and full of reeds. I think it was literally the water/marsh near the parking lot of an Outback Steakhouse.
Our first spot was run over by the choppy surf, but it didn't ruin our day.

Mostly I saw giant sea snails, hermit crabs and the occasional little plain-looking
small grey fish. Then... this little magical creature appeared in the grass. It was a tiny
little seahorse.
I reached out to him/her and instead of retracting or acting scared it floated to me and held on to one of my fingers! One great way to get to know an animal is meet one- and since then, I've forever been a fan.

They are some of the most beautiful angelic creatures on the planet.

here is some PBS basics on them: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/seahorse/
some basic anatomy and what they do, eat, etc. -http://www.allthesea.com/Seahorses.html

and some seahorse eye candy:

Shy!


Sweet!


Dragon!



They snuggle!




Pygmy!


Puerto Vallarta!

and here is one of my favorites that is a related to the Seahorse... in one way or another:
the Hippocampus!


(but alas, that is another story.)
Thanks Jason. Miss you- Bros before hos.

the Dragon.

My sister, Bob and I were in the kitchen talking about dragons as a possible
topic of conversation.
Mostly it came up because Bob and I went to see the Mythical Creatures exhibit a while back at
the Museum of Natural History here in NYC and left a wee bit disappointed.
Why didn't they really go into the history? The mythos? Why did they have huge plastic mythical creatures instead of maybe showing the texts and early drawings in which the creatures gained their mythical momentum? It seemed "dumbed" down... maybe because they thought that kids wouldn't get it?

So... I was thinking of dragons. They could have done an entire exhibit on them alone.
I remember in Asian Art History hearing of the Shanghai World Financial Center building- That it was to be the largest building in the world, and people were so concerned that it would be an obstruction to "the dragons" that they built a hole in the top of the structure.

Which, depending on how you measure it is the 2nd tallest, to the "tallest with a roof" building in the world.
Tasha (my sister) said that they had to do it otherwise it would not be structurely sound and would blow over.

As I understood it, Chinese and Japanese Dragons tend to be a sort of "nature" figure.
(and apparently they also have the ability to turn into humans!?)
here is more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_dragon

Dragons however span across many cultures!
European, Greek, Persian, Australian, etc!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon

Bless these humans for these websites:
http://www.draconian.com/home/frameset.htm

www.freewebs.com/kennara/dragoninfo.htm

http://pictures.linkmesh.com/dragons/slavic_dragons.php

now sit back and enjoy dragons:



















Seriously... I could go on.
Like in my section of the Dragon exhibit of the Museum of Natural History, we'd also cover:
Dragons in Movies, Dragons in TV, Dragons of the World (in every culture!), Colors of Dragons, Dragon Symbolism (Chinese sign, etc.), Dragons in family crests, Dragons and Vampires (As in Vlad Tepes Drakul/Vladimir the Impaler), Dragons in fossils (early beliefs with the findings of dinosaurs)
and much much more!

On a personal note: I had a Puff the Magic Dragon doll, that when you hugged or squished him baby powder came out it's nose and looked like smoke!