So I'm really into dinosaurs right now. The museum that I work at has an animatronic dinosaur exhibit right now, and everyday when I go into work I feel like I'm in Jurassic Park. No joke, it's awesome. Most people who come in, however, comment on how much cooler it would be if there were actual skeletal displays to go along with our robotic pals. I agree it would be awesome, but also understand how much difficult and expensive that would be.
And now I'm also starting to understand just how difficult it is to even discover prehistoric fossils. The Globe & Mail recently published this article which explains various acts of vandalism towards fossil sites. While this team of paleontologists was out digging in the middle of nowhere (Alberta) they were lucky enough to come across a perfectly preserved skeleton of a Hadrosaur (think Ducky from The Land Before Time; they're similar). So they got all excited - naturally - went home for the night, and when they got back the next day they found that someone actually went to their dig site and smashed the skeleton to pieces!
Words cannot explain how confounded I am that someone would do this.
How did anyone find out about their discovery when it hadn't even been officially announced? What made them think it would be a good idea to go smash it to bits? Why are they stopping people from being able to properly preserve fossils for future generations to enjoy them?
The skeleton was supposed to be the centre-piece of a newly opening museum, but nope, some jerk had to go smash it to pieces. Seriously, who does that?! Were they insanely religious and didn't want people knowing the earth is millions of years old? Were they an employee of another museum that wanted to see their competition fail? Were they a fellow paleontologist who was jealous of their friend's discovery? It doesn't even matter who they were, what they did was disgusting and wrong.
The past is just as important as the present, but if people keep destroying valuable objects such as this, there will be nothing left for us to learn about. Paleontology is already under-valued and under-funded, and actions such as this only make the situation worse. People need to stop being so stupidly inconsiderate and allow the past to prosper throughout the present.
Plus, dinosaurs are just plain awesome, and everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy them.
Sunday 22 July 2012
Friday 20 July 2012
Violent Society
Everyone hails that we live in a modern, civilized society; but do we? Earlier this morning, reports began to trickle in regarding a mass shooting late last night that occurred during the premiere of Batman: The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado. So far, 12 victims have been declared dead, and up to 40 injured. The youngest victim was only 3 months old. The gunman has been identified and arrested, and while he is being held, police are continuing to search his apartment, where various explosives are believed to be held.
More information can be read here, here and here.
No one understand why such an atrocity was able to occur, and apparently no one remembers other mass shootings that have been able to occur due to the gun laws in America. Remember watching Bowling for Columbine? Remember when Michael Moore walked into all those gun stores and was told he could make a purchase right there? Yes, that was years ago, but things haven't really changed much. The gunman this morning actually purchased all of his weapons legally from sport stores (article above). If you want, you read can American firearm legislation here.
Compared to other countries, America's gun laws are quite passive. In Australia, for example, citizens are prohibited to own any form of firearm, with the exception of licensed hunting and employment. Chinese citizens can face the death penalty for owning a firearm without a proper (and extremely difficult to acquire) licence.
So, as terrible as the shooting this morning was, and as terrible as this sounds, I'm not completely flabbergasted that this unfortunate event occurred. In fact, the only reason it is getting so much attention is because it was a mass shooting. If 12 people were killed over a series of multiple days, I highly doubt it would be getting as much attention. Don't believe me? Let's take a look at Chicago.
You can view how many homicides occur in Chicago by simply going onto Redeye's website. July 17, homicide via gunshot. July 15, homicide via gunshot. July 14, homicide via gunshot. The list goes on. It also includes homicides via stabbing. According to the article, July has seen more than half the amount of homicides than what occurred altogether in 2011. But no one is paying attention to these. Chicago has seen fifteen more murders this month than what occurred late last night.
I'm not trying to say that the shooting last night wasn't a big deal, because it was. None of those lives should have been taken, and it was horrendous. I'm only trying to make people aware of atrocities that are occurring across America as a whole. People need to stop and realize that terrible things don't just happen all at once in one isolated area. Innocent people are losing their lives every day, and if these problems are going to get fixed, they all need to receive equal attention. So continue to mourn the events of last night, but don't ignore other issues. And don't think this is a problem only in America, because it is affecting countries all around the world, including Canada.
More information can be read here, here and here.
No one understand why such an atrocity was able to occur, and apparently no one remembers other mass shootings that have been able to occur due to the gun laws in America. Remember watching Bowling for Columbine? Remember when Michael Moore walked into all those gun stores and was told he could make a purchase right there? Yes, that was years ago, but things haven't really changed much. The gunman this morning actually purchased all of his weapons legally from sport stores (article above). If you want, you read can American firearm legislation here.
Compared to other countries, America's gun laws are quite passive. In Australia, for example, citizens are prohibited to own any form of firearm, with the exception of licensed hunting and employment. Chinese citizens can face the death penalty for owning a firearm without a proper (and extremely difficult to acquire) licence.
So, as terrible as the shooting this morning was, and as terrible as this sounds, I'm not completely flabbergasted that this unfortunate event occurred. In fact, the only reason it is getting so much attention is because it was a mass shooting. If 12 people were killed over a series of multiple days, I highly doubt it would be getting as much attention. Don't believe me? Let's take a look at Chicago.
You can view how many homicides occur in Chicago by simply going onto Redeye's website. July 17, homicide via gunshot. July 15, homicide via gunshot. July 14, homicide via gunshot. The list goes on. It also includes homicides via stabbing. According to the article, July has seen more than half the amount of homicides than what occurred altogether in 2011. But no one is paying attention to these. Chicago has seen fifteen more murders this month than what occurred late last night.
I'm not trying to say that the shooting last night wasn't a big deal, because it was. None of those lives should have been taken, and it was horrendous. I'm only trying to make people aware of atrocities that are occurring across America as a whole. People need to stop and realize that terrible things don't just happen all at once in one isolated area. Innocent people are losing their lives every day, and if these problems are going to get fixed, they all need to receive equal attention. So continue to mourn the events of last night, but don't ignore other issues. And don't think this is a problem only in America, because it is affecting countries all around the world, including Canada.
Sunday 15 July 2012
Excuses
I have a lot of excuses as to why I haven't been writing about enlightening subjects as I initially promised to. Truth is, I've just been really lazy lately. I do plan on pursuing my goals with this blog, and hope some of you stick around to see what I have to offer. For now, though, here are some (maybe hilarious?) excuses as to why I've been slacking:
"A goddamn pteranadon flew into my room!"
"My socks don't match and the different colours are disorienting my eyesight!"
"I have a q-tip in my ear!"
"Because when I woke up this morning I felt like a blobfish!"
"A vampire bat got a hold of my big toe and just wouldn't let go!"
FYI: I actually said all of these to people this past weekend.
"A goddamn pteranadon flew into my room!"
"My socks don't match and the different colours are disorienting my eyesight!"
"I have a q-tip in my ear!"
"Because when I woke up this morning I felt like a blobfish!"
"A vampire bat got a hold of my big toe and just wouldn't let go!"
FYI: I actually said all of these to people this past weekend.
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